I’ve lived my whole life in a golden cage, the captive daughter of a powerful mafia don. When my father arranges my marriage to Vincenzo Vici, a cold-blooded assassin from a rival family, it’s a death sentence. For both of us. Because my father uses our engagement to slaughter the Vicis and take their territory.
But he makes a grave error. He doesn’t kill the most dangerous Vici of all: Vincenzo himself.
I’ve never met my intended fiancé, so when I stumble upon a handsome, bloodied stranger being tortured in a laundromat in the middle of the night, I follow my instincts and save his life.
Big mistake. The man I saved is Vincenzo Vici, and when he discovers I’m the woman who led his family to slaughter, I realize there are circles of hell my father never showed me.
Vincenzo should kill me. He wants to kill me. Instead, he decides to make me pay in a different way—by holding me to our arranged marriage and exacting his revenge on me.
But Vincenzo isn’t the monster I expected. His ruthless kisses light up my soul. His darkness is a dangerous addiction. And when my father hands me poison and orders me to finish what he started, I’m caught between two impossible choices: loyalty to my own blood, or devotion to the darkness that sets me free.
Author’s note: Cruel Savior is a standalone MF arranged marriage mafia romance with a virgin heroine and a possessive and obsessed alphahole. There is no cheating and no other women. The story is dark, dirty, and delicious, so please read at your discretion.
Lilith Vincent is a steamy romance author who believes in living on the wild side! Whether it’s reverse harem or M/F romance, mafia men and bad boys with tattoos are her weakness, and the heroines who bring them to their knees.
Genre/Tropes: Mafia Romance; Forbidden Romance; Enemies-to-Lovers; Age Gap of 13 years; Touch Her and Die; Revenge/Redemption; Found Family; Strong Heroine; Slow Burn; Virgin FMC; Angsty; Penpal
Release Date: February 23, 2026
He stole my brother. So, I stole his freedom…
There’s a villain in all of us.
I just never realized that until the worst day of my life.
It started with a sandwich from a stranger—an act of kindness that was nothing more than a veneer to hide the devil behind the mask.
Renzo Iannelli took everything from me that day. My family. My life. My future.
I wasn’t even a blip on his radar when he made me an orphan—left alone to be bruised and abused in foster care—all for the sake of his revenge.
Well, he got his. Now, I’m going to get mine.
No matter how long it takes, no matter what I have to sacrifice, I will make him rue the day he destroyed my life.
But the world is never black and white, and there are far more heartless monsters closing in around me.
So what happens when the devil I know becomes the only person I can trust?
He was my downfall.
I never expected him to also be my redemption.
**This book spans over eight years and is divided into three parts: then, letters, and now. During the “then” portion of this book, the main female character, Ainsley, is a minor. As a disclaimer, there is absolutely no romantic interaction during that portion of the book. However, this section is crucial to the development of their romance later on.
The first time I met Renzo Iannelli was the day Noah died.
I hadn’t known Noah was dead at the time. All I knew was that my brother was missing. He didn’t come home, didn’t go to his second job of the day, and didn’t answer his phone or check in on social media.
Renzo Iannelli—though I didn’t know it was him—approached me, slouched as I was against a corridor wall at the busy police station with my arms wrapped tight around my growling stomach.
“Are you lost, piccola?”
Such a simple question. Almost kind, delivered in a bass, nearly apathetic voice that seemed to mute the surrounding conversations and the nonstop ringing phones. It was so rich and deep that it reminded me of creamy chocolate on a hot day. Dreamy, but the man himself…he made my teenage brain fire in all directions. I didn’t even realize guys like that existed outside of movies.
He had to be in his mid-twenties, towering over me by a good head and a half, every inch of his face defined and strong. His jaw was all hard angles with prominent cheekbones. Thick eyebrows framed cold emerald eyes, gleaming with different shades of green. Man, I wished mine were that color instead of wet dirt.
His suit looked crisper and finer than the ones my dad used to wear, giving him that over-the-top refined image, broken only by the tattoos covering his hands, from his knuckles to the tips of his sleeves. A few also crawled up his neck over his dress shirt collar. A gaudy gold ring decorated one of his hands, with diamonds encrusted around the band, and a large but delicate pendant hung from a thick gold chain around his neck. Whoever this guy was, his look practically screamed, “Wealthy and perilous, pay attention.”
“You shouldn’t wander off in a place like this.” He spoke without even glancing at me.
I eyed both ends of the corridor. Neither wait line had moved up. “Doesn’t look so dangerous.”
“Danger always lurks where you least expect it.”
As if to emphasize the dangers of starvation, my stomach picked that moment to growl as comically loud as a cartoon character’s burp. I squeezed my stomach, my face flaming, eyes wide and glued to the grout lines between the tile at my feet.
“Eat.” My good-looking stranger held out a sandwich in front of me.
Steak, cheese, cooked onions, peppers—the smells made my mouth water. Plus, I recognized the logo on the wrapper. I loved that Italian deli place. Mom and Dad used to take me there every Friday after school. Noah and I kept up the tradition but only once a month. I licked my lips, hesitating. Taking food from a random stranger always seemed like the start of a really bad kidnapping story. But…we were in a police station. It’s not like he could do much of anything to me here, with all these cops, right?
“Why?”
“If you starve, it’ll be your choice, not mine.”
Excerpt 2:
I thought he hadn’t seen me. I hoped he hadn’t. Out of sight, out of mind kind of thing, but he had, and now Boyan was exposed to him too.
“Cool car.” Boyan’s little voice trilled with excitement and awe as he squirmed out of my hold. His head peeked through the shotgun window. “Whoa. Anzy, it’s blue. Blue like Sally. Mister, that’s a girl’s car.”
I sucked my chuckle back in where it belonged and pinched my lips together. Still, a grimaced smile crept up my face from the shock on Renzo Iannelli’s.
“It’s not,” the outraged mafia man stated.
“Yes, it is.”
“Is not.”
“Is.
“Not.”
“Is.”
“Are you seriously arguing with a five-year-old right now?” I ridiculed.
“I win.” Boyan tossed his little arms in the air. The sleeves of his size seven shirt on his five-year-old frame slipped down to his shoulders, exposing the wrinkled, scarred skin on his left shoulder and bicep.
Iannelli cleared his throat, his fist wrestling the steering wheel. “Get in the damn car.”
“Language,” I snapped back, mockingly covering Boyan’s ears before he wiggled away. Honestly, the little chipmunk probably knew more curse words than polite vocabulary at this point.
Renzo Iannelli’s jaw clenched, and the veins along his neck popped out. Totally worth it. Jerkwad. His eyes death-glared at me, a silent dare to continue defying him. I almost did. Pissing him off gave me the same high as a slice of black forest cake—so freaking delicious—but I wanted a car ride more.
Addy Anders writes romance meant to tug hard on your heartstrings and never let go. Her books deliver deliciously possessive anti-heroes, strong heroines, a touch of angst to set you on edge, and a cocktail of spice. Addy loves to travel, preferably outside of major cities. When she’s not writing or out in the wilderness, she can be found with her kindle and a very large cup of tea surrounded by her very supportive husband, two kiddos, and two fur babies.
Rowan Harper, a relentless reporter with everything to lose, sets her sights on the Beckett clan, only to find her biggest story complicated by Clive Beckett, the self-sacrificing shifter she never meant to fall for. As prophecy unfolds and a traitor emerges, Making Her Mine blends fated mates, magic, meddling gods, and irresistible chemistry into a battle where love may be the most dangerous force of all. Pre-order this grumpy sunshine romance with a protective hero and a who-did-this-to-you trope from Bree Westland.
Title: Making Her Mine
Author: Bree Westland
Release Date: 02/26/2026
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Page Count: 359 pages
Tropes: Grumpy Sunshine, Meddling Gods, Who Did This To You, Dislike to Love, Protective Hero, Touch Her and Die, Grief and Healing, Fated Mates, Found Family, Telepathic Characters.
Blurb
Clive Beckett played as hard as he worked. Yet the truth of the matter, that he was slowly circling the drain, would soon be apparent to everyone.
He had his family fooled. His passion was saving lives. But his carefully built facade was disintegrating, piece by piece. Sacrifices needed to be made. And as usual Clive was all in, putting himself on the line one too many times.
Nothing excited Rowan Harper more than chasing a lead. She’s failed at everything though, except exploiting the truth. And with her personal life in shambles, she snags an exclusive contract. A tell-all story, centering on the famous Beckett siblings. Once the story breaks, she’ll be set for life, despite a high personal price. But a most unattainable, mountain of a man stands in her way.
When Clive finds himself dragged into yet another scheme to unravel the rogue fae’s hold on the clan, he can’t say no and comes face to face with his very human limitations. The pretty little reporter brightens his drab days, getting under his skin, complicating matters. But painful facts come to light, throwing everything Rowan has worked so hard for into question.
New battle lines are drawn and unforeseen allies called upon as the fight with the fae twists and escalates, aligning with prophecy. And a traitor hides in their midst. Danger lurking among the most vulnerable of them.
*Readers can expect healthy doses of hot shifters, naughty language, and intimate time with a fated mate, all wrapped up in a happily ever after. Can be read as a standalone romance but best enjoyed in the order written.
Hi, I’m Bree! Paranormal romance writer and lover of all things fantasy. I write steamy shifter romances with growly alpha men and the strong women who love them. Most days you can find me tucked away in my office, lost in the worlds and characters I create, listening while they tell me their stories.
When not writing, you can catch me curled up with a hot cup of tea and my ever-growing TBR pile. I call home the sunny beaches of Jacksonville, Florida, but I love traveling as long as I can take my laptop with me!
Tropes: Small Town; Second Chance; Secret Baby; Blue Collar; Past Abuse (FC); High School Sweethearts; First Everything; She Runs
Release Date: February 16, 2026
In fisherman tales, there’s always talk about the one that got away… This is that story.
When they were in high school, Brock and Courtney felt they were destined to be together. They’d had their future all mapped out. Until a week before graduation, when two pink lines changed everything, diverting the course of the life they’d planned.
Young and scared, Courtney made the impossible decision to keep it a secret and leave their hometown, never planning to return, and breaking both their hearts in the process.
And for years, her plan works. Until her abusive father dies, leaving her mother rudderless in her newfound freedom. Returning home with her secret daughter is the only answer. But what will happen when she comes face-to-face with the past she’s tried so hard to forget but couldn’t?
Thirteen years after the only woman Brock has ever loved ran from the small Alaskan island they’d called home, he learns she’s back—with a preteen daughter. Too many emotions and unanswered questions hang heavy between them. And when the answers are brought to light, the chasm between them widens further. Will it be possible for them to reconcile for their daughter’s sake?
Benny Reed came back to Waypoint to rebuild a baseball team, not to fall for Quinn Logan, the hometown girl turned global pop sensation who once wrote songs about him. Keeping their distance should be easy, but unresolved history, explosive chemistry, and nonstop attention from everyone make it nearly impossible. Readers who love missed connections and return-to-hometown romances will fall head over heels for Lineups and Lyrics by Tina Gallagher, a steamy, small-town sports romance.
Benny Reed has a plan. Quinn Logan isn’t part of it.
Managing an MLB team means building something from the ground up, and that challenge is exactly what drew him back to Waypoint. He knows the game. He knows the job. And he knows one rule that’s always served him well: baseball and his personal life don’t mix.
Then he meets Quinn Logan.
She’s Waypoint born and raised.
She’s also a retired pop star with a name the world recognizes.
He doesn’t remember the quiet girl from high school.
She remembers him—and the crush that inspired her first songs.
Getting close is risky.
The town is watching.
The media won’t stay quiet.
And some connections don’t care about timing.
Lineups & Lyrics is a steamy small-town sports romance about missed connections and unexpected love.
Benny and I stepped into the elevator and the doors slid shut. The car moved maybe two feet before a dull clang sounded and the motion stopped dead. A single, half-hearted ding followed—less “arriving at your floor” and more “I tried my best.”
I stared at the panel like it might offer an explanation.
Benny pressed one button, then another.
The lights flickered, then dimmed into a steady glow.
He hit the red emergency call button. A few seconds later, the speaker crackled to life.
“Building security,” a tinny voice said. “Are you stuck in an elevator?”
“Sure looks that way,” Benny said.
“All right. Maintenance will be there within the hour.”
The speaker clicked off, leaving only the hum of the fan.
Benny looked at me and exhaled a slow breath through his nose. “Guess we’re not going anywhere for a bit.”
“Guess not.”
“Might as well get comfortable,” he said.
He pushed off the wall and sank to the floor, one leg stretched out, forearm resting on his bent knee.
I hesitated for a second, then slid down the opposite wall. The space between us felt smaller sitting like this, our legs only a couple of feet apart.
“I like Dane and Marin,” I said.
“Yeah, I think they’ll work out well.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m glad Dane recommended her. She’s not someone I would’ve normally looked at.”
“Because she’s a woman?” I asked, feigning a gasp.
“Partly,” he admitted, a half-smile tugging at his mouth. “But mostly because her résumé isn’t what I’d usually go for. Most of her experience is in travel ball and D3 college—not exactly the traditional path to the majors.”
“Then why’d you hire her?”
“Because I trust Dane. And after talking to her, I believe him when he says she’s the best.”
“She comes across calm and collected,” I said. “Like nothing shakes her.”
“That was true until you walked in.”
“She was sweet.”
Silence stretched for a beat before he spoke again.
“I take it that happens a lot.”
“More than I ever knew how to handle,” I admitted. “And it still feels strange. Underneath all of it, I’m just me.”
“You ever miss it? The stage, the spotlight?”
“Sometimes,” I said honestly. “I loved my fans and performing for them. I loved the feeling of a song connecting with a stadium full of people. The way a show can feel like everyone’s heartbeat syncing.” I scratched lightly at my wrist, searching for the right words. “But the noise, the scrutiny, the feeling that every breath had to be on display wore me down, and I needed a break.”
“Everyone thinks they want the spotlight until they realize how hot it gets.” His eyes met mine. “Still…walking away takes guts.”
“Or weak knees.” His brow lifted, amused. “I’m serious,” I said, smiling despite myself. “Those final tour workouts nearly killed me. Dancing in heels under stage lights at forty? That’s an Olympic sport.”
He laughed quietly, the sound low and easy. For a moment, it felt lighter between us, like the conversation had traded its weight for something simpler.
“You know, sitting here, it’s hard to picture you as the same person who used to be on all those magazine covers.”
“That girl had a whole team behind her,” I said with a small laugh. “The lighting, the styling, the editing—none of it ever felt like me. I just look more like myself now.”
“Looks good on you,” he said. “The real version.”
The words landed softly but lingered. His gaze held, not sharp, just…intent. Curious. Like he was trying to see all the parts of me I kept tucked away.
“Thanks,” I managed, though my voice came out thinner than I meant it to.
“You make it easy to forget you used to fill stadiums,” he said.
“Good. I just want to be plain old Quinn.”
His mouth curved, slow and sure.
“There’s nothing plain about you, Quinn.”
My heart did an unhelpful fluttery thing, and I tried to steady my breath. He didn’t look away, and I didn’t want him to.
“Benny—” I started, but whatever I meant to say vanished the second his knee brushed mine. Funny how something so insignificant could change the temperature of a room. Or, in this case, an elevator.
He leaned in, close enough that I could catch the warmth of his skin and the faint, clean scent of his cologne. His gaze flicked to my mouth, then back to my eyes, and for a beat the world felt balanced on that breath between maybe and almost.
“Quinn,” he said, my name coming out rough, like gravel and hesitation all at once.
The sound of it was enough to undo me a little. I shifted forward just a fraction, and for a heartbeat, the world went perfectly still. Then the elevator jolted hard. A metallic thunk echoed through the car as the lights flickered back to full brightness.
The jolt sent me off balance, and I caught myself against the wall. Benny blinked, then let out a short laugh.
“Perfect timing,” he said.
“Yeah.” My voice came out breathier than I wanted. “Impeccable.”
Wait until I tell Erin the elevator cockblocked me out of kissing Benny Reed.
About Tina Gallagher
Tina Gallagher grew up and continues to live in Northeast Pennsylvania. As a tween, she and her best friend would create happily ever afters for their favorite soap opera couples. Eventually, the soap operas lost their appeal, but the writing never did. Before living her dream as a full-time author, she worked a spectrum of jobs ranging from baking and cake decorating to marketing and project management. In between creating memorable characters, traveling, and taking pole dance lessons, Tina enjoys spending time with her two grown children and Golden Irish named Thea.
Two weeks. One villa. A dangerous game of seduction and lies.
My job is simple: get close, get the intel, get out.
Then Locke Maris walks into my op.
He’s cold. Controlled. Heir to a billion-dollar shipping fortune. And so aggressively straight he doesn’t even look at me twice…
Until he does.
Locke makes me an offer: play his assistant by day, be his secret lover by night, at a house party where the world’s elite will gather to sip champagne, enjoy the Italian sun… and play a dangerous game called Paxis.
In this ancient variation of chess, humans are pawns and each coded move could start or stop wars. I should report this to my agency immediately. Walk away clean.
But I can’t walk away.
Because in the privacy of his suite, the moves Locke makes are just as dangerous, the words he murmurs in my ear as devastating, and the growing devotion I feel as destructive as any global war.
At the end of this, I’ll have to disappear like I always do.
I don’t get to want things that could ruin my cover—or my career.
But Locke Maris is ruthless about protecting what’s his, and as far as he’s concerned he owns me.
When everything falls apart, I’ll find out exactly how far he’ll go to keep me.
Lucy Lennox is a USA Today bestselling author and winner of the A.C. Katt Gay Debut Novel Award.
After enjoying creative writing as a child, Lucy didn’t write her first novel until she was over 40 years old. Her debut novel, Borrowing Blue, was published in the autumn of 2016. Lucy has an English Literature degree from Vanderbilt University, but that doesn’t hold a candle to the years and years of staying up all night reading tantalizing novels on her own. She has three children, plays tennis, and hates folding laundry. While her husband is no shmoopy romance hero, he is very good at math, cooks a mean lasagne, has gorgeous eyes, looks hot in his business clothes, and makes her laugh every single day. She writes gay romance with heart, humor, and heat!
Tropes: Unconventional Love Triangle, Protective Hero
Strong Heroine, Amnesia, Secret Love, Starting Over
Release Date: February 13, 2026
BLURB
Identical twins London and Lennon Tyler have always lived as mirror images—one a fearless race car driver, the other a quietly brilliant chef. Their secret talent? Switching places whenever life demands it. It’s always been harmless…until one switch ends in tragedy.
One twin wakes in a hospital bed with no memory.
The other never wakes at all.
Doctors tell the surviving sister who she is. They tell her who she loves—a charming physician who claims to be her boyfriend. She tries to settle into the life she’s supposedly lived…until a shaken race car driver storms into her room, calling her by a different name.
Her sister’s name.
Hospitals don’t make mistakes this big…right?
As her body heals, fragments of the accident—and the life she might have lived—start surfacing. Someone isn’t telling the whole truth. Her heart tugs her one direction, her mind another, and every step forward blurs the line between memory, desire, and what is real.
Is she falling back in love with the man she had before?
Or are there new feelings for the man who loved her sister?
A.B. Medley lives in Tennessee with the love of her life and three sons. Her husband stole her heart when she was sixteen and their relationship is one of those meant to be love stories you find in magazines and novels.
She is a dental hygienist who loves to read and has always dabbled in writing. When she’s not making people’s smiles shine, she enjoys belting out songs with her boys, dancing, raspberries, baseball, and anything vintage. Like any proper Tennessean, Sundrop is her drink of choice.
She loves her family and friends fiercely and believes in always chasing your dreams.
Deception in the Truth is her debut novel—but as she nurtures her love for writing romance stories, her list of released books continues to grow.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ from Sexy Sirens & Cajun Heat Book Blogs – “Another great addition to the Club V series. Ms. Haining has given us a very hot, sexy storyline (please be wary of triggers) with Ryder and Aspen’s story.”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Amazon “Booknerd” Review – “Been waiting for this story…definitely was worth the wait!! It had everything I love in a book!! If you love BDSM type books then please read this one!!”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Amazon Review – “Excellent read by a brilliant author.”
When it comes to love and kink, the lines are blurred, tensions are high, and there is everything to lose.
Ryder Stevens is the golden boy of Manhattan’s fine dining.
A Michelin star chef with very distinct tastes, and a regular at Club V, Ryder finds himself newly single and jaded as a Dom.
Brought into the lifestyle at nineteen, Ryder promised himself he would never willingly introduce a woman to kink. It’s not until he discovers one of his waitresses is a promising, potentially amazing chef, who also calls to his dark side, that his carefully constructed plans start to crumble.
“Naughty little thing. I’m in control here.”
Aspen Struthers is an aspiring chef.
Working as a waitress in the hottest restaurant in Manhattan for a glimpse of the great Ryder Stevens, Aspen is given a chance to learn from him. She is all in, until her feelings for the enigmatic chef threaten to ruin her shot. She’s been saving to buy her own restaurant, and it could all come tumbling down when she pushes to know more about the elusive Club V.
Will the allure of Ryder and Club V derail her life, or will she find everything she never knew she needed?
She wanted the parents who didn’t divorce when she was a kid and make her life a living nightmare. She wanted the sisters who actually liked her. She wanted to live in a town where everyone loved her and didn’t have a single bad thing to say about her.
That was not the life Birdee was given.
She had the exact opposite life. The kind of life where she slunk through the grocery store with a hoodie on so no one would recognize her. The kind of life where men like Creed Daugherty didn’t give her a second look.
After years of abuse and heartache, she built walls. Big, huge, thick ones that no one could ever breach. If she didn’t put forth the effort to get to know someone, she couldn’t be hurt.
At least, that was the theory.
She never counted on Creed Daugherty hitting her with his truck. Then, deciding that once he entered her life, he would never leave it.
Though Birdee should’ve known that Creed was too good to be true.
All it takes is one mistake on her part, and Creed freezes her out. Then forces the rest of the town to make it almost impossible for her to live in Sawtooth, Montana, anymore.
Birdee only thought it couldn’t get worse.
But Creed makes sure to show her that it can and will.
The thing about rock bottom?
Once you’re there, you have nothing else to lose.
And Creed Daugherty just made himself enemy number one.
Lani Lynn Vale is an American author of humorous romantic suspense novels. Born in the Great State of Texas, she has lived the majority of her adult life in East Texas where most of her novels are based. She’s married to her high school sweetheart whom her readers refer to as “LLV’s Bearded Half.” She published her first novel, Boomtown. in the summer of 2013 after the birth of her third child. She’s gone on to publish over 100 novels, with most of them going on to become USA Today Bestsellers.
Inkslinger PR is excited to announce the release of Barry S. Richman’s new Pride & Prejudice retelling, Doubt Not, Cousin. Check it out and be sure to read in Kindle Unlimited.
Title: Doubt Not, Cousin
Author: Barry S. Richman
Genre: Regency Romance
About Doubt Not, Cousin:
Darkness, in many forms, must be conquered to emerge into the light and embrace one’s happily-ever-after.
Fitzwilliam Darcy. Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam. Two cousins, closer than brothers. One finds love despite his inner demons; the other resists love because of them.
Elizabeth Bennet. Kitty Bennet. Two sisters, strengthened by adversity. One willingly yields to love; the other pridefully misinterprets it.
An epic saga steeped in intrigue and gift-wrapped in romance, Doubt Not, Cousin chronicles the trials and tribulations of three extraordinary families during England’s Regency era.
Barry S. Richman combines his background in the armed forces and expertise with a passion for Pride and Prejudice retellings.
After two decades of exploring countless stories from the JAFF universe, his wife challenged him to try writing one. During a trip to Istanbul, Barry wrote four pages that wove his real-world experiences into alternate-universe stories inspired by Jane Austen’s characters. He continued from there.
He published his first novel, Doubt Not, Cousin, in 2023, followed by The Scarred Duchess in 2024. Follow The Drum continues his military-influenced alternate universe populated by characters familiar and new.
Barry and his “Jane Bennet” divide their time between Los Angeles and a seaside town in southwestern
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