Simple Gone South

Simple Gone South
Author: Alicia Hunter Pace
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 327
Release: 2013-11-04
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1440562660

The last time Brantley Kincaid had an argument with someone, he was eighteen years old - and he regrets it like he will never regret anything again. If only he had not balked at going to pick up his grandfather that day, his mother would not have driven into the path of a truck and there would be two fewer graves in Merritt Cemetery. Though a frequent visitor, he hasn't lived in Merritt since burying his mother and grandfather. But now he's coming back and it might not be so easy to hide behind his wit and charisma. Outwardly, interior designer Lucy Mead is a beautiful, confident professional. Inside, she's the friendless, overweight girl who spent her life following her archeologist parents all over the globe. And who could forget those teenage years of turmoil and unrequited love? It would have been kinder if Brantley had not known she was alive rather than treating her like Robin to his Batman. She carries the humiliation to this day. Their friends and Brantley's family are delighted when he sets his sights on Lucy, though Lucy isn't so sure. She cannot deny the attraction, but something is wrong. Does he really love her, or does he see her as a refuge and another way to run from his grief? If she can’t find answers, what could be a simple, sweet life might go completely south. Sensuality Level: Sensual

Gone South

Gone South
Author: Robert McCammon
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 531
Release: 2011-10-18
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1453231579

A veteran’s moment of rage leads to a chase through the bayou in this tale of “jackhammer suspense” by the New York Times–bestselling author of Swan Song (Kirkus Reviews). Two decades after he finished serving his country in the jungles of Southeast Asia, Dan Lambert still pays the price. As he hustles for construction work in the heat of a brutal Louisiana summer, Dan tries to ignore the pounding in his head—a constant reminder of the Agent Orange–caused leukemia which will soon end his life. And now the bank wants to repossess his truck. His attempt to reason with the loan officer does not get him far. Dan loses himself in rage, and for a moment is back in the jungle again. When he comes out of his bloodlust, he has shot the banker through the chest. There is nothing to do but run. On his trail are two peculiar bounty hunters: a onetime Siamese twin and a heavyset Elvis impersonator. To save his own life, Dan is going to have to remember why it was worth living in the first place.

High Stick

High Stick
Author: Alicia Hunter Pace
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2018-02-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1507205872

Two twentysomethings struggle to let go of their idea of a perfect world on and off the ice in this emotional third book in the Nashville Sound series. Ambitious, smart, and straightlaced, Nashville Sound forward Jarrett MacPherson is determined to walk in the footsteps of his All-American hockey-playing grandfather. He prides himself on doing the right thing above all, with ethics so sharp they could cut the heart out of a saint. Hard-working Merry Sweet toils by day in a paper shop and coffee bar in Sound Town and at night at the arena, cleaning, selling concessions, and taking tickets. Jarrett notices and admires Merry’s determination and believes her when she says she needs money for law school, even offering to help solve her financial problems. When she refuses him, his esteem for her only grows. But when the public catches wind of their budding relationship, a surprising secret from Merry’s past comes to light. Now, Jarrett must decide if he’ll let his image take precedence over his heart and cost him the chance at something perfectly real. Sensuality Level: Sensual

Redeeming Rafe

Redeeming Rafe
Author: Alicia Hunter Pace
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 294
Release: 2015-07-20
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1440582017

To the world, professional rodeo cowboy Rafe Beauford is the fearless rider with an easy smile who never backs down from a challenge. But when a buckle bunny he knew back in Odessa dies in a motorcycle accident and Rafe learns he's the father of twin baby girls, he finally gets a taste of real fear. There's not much call for a Shakespeare scholar in Beauford, Tennessee, so widowed single mother Abigail Whitman is coming up short on earning options. Then blond, sexy Rafe rides into town needing a nanny. He's willing to pay generously--not to mention Abby and her son can live at the family plantation, Beauford Bend. Abby agrees to take the job, on the condition that he stays home for a month to bond with his daughters. There aren't any bulls at Beauford Bend to distract Rafe, but there is Abby with her classy ways and heart-stealing eyes. When she manages to cut through his defenses to his vulnerable heart, Rafe's new biggest fear is that he'll fall hard and end up hurt all over again. What's a cowboy to do? Sensuality Level: Sensual

Heath's Hope

Heath's Hope
Author: Alicia Hunter Pace
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 116
Release: 2015-09-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1440585644

From USA Today best-selling author Alicia Hunter Pace comes this emotional gem in the Beauford Bend series. Heath Beckett would have never moved his renowned stained glass business to the artisan boutique town of Beauford, Tennessee, if he'd thought there was any chance Hope MacKenzie would return there. Ambitious and career-minded Hope left him with a bleeding heart years ago when she couldn't fathom that his art would ever turn out to be more than a hobby. Now she's back because her family's bank needs her desperately. Although she reluctantly settles into a quiet life in her hometown, she's soon embraced by the knitting circle at a local shop, and Hope finally begins to understand the charms of small-town living: the neighbors who truly care for you and the slower pace that affords an appreciation of more simple joys. She steers clear of Heath, knowing she foolishly lost her chance with him long ago. But when she gives a personal loan to the women who own the local knitting shop without consulting Heath, who has helped them with their finances for years, the two must work together to ensure the ladies' business plan is in tip-top shape. Surely a man capable of creating such pure beauty has a heart that can forgive. But can he still love? Free knitting pattern inside! Sensuality Level: Sensual

Nickolai's Noel

Nickolai's Noel
Author: Alicia Hunter Pace
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 178
Release: 2014-12-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 144058561X

Born an orphan in Russia, Nashville Sound center Nickolai Glazov never knew the warmth of a big family. Luckily, at age six, his talent for hockey was discovered. Now, with a multitude of championship titles, a berth on the 2014 Russian Olympic team, and plenty of puck bunnies to warm his bed on cold nights, he's not wasting his energy crying over his lack of roots. Even if he wouldn't mind a special someone to come home to . . . Artisan quilt maker Noel Verden, on the other hand, has so many roots they're threatening to strangle her. Her family depends on Noel for everything, from talking them through using the television remote to deciphering the telephone bill—all from 200 miles away. She loves them, but wishes they were more self-sufficient and would stop trying to force her to close her quilt shop in Beauford, Tennessee, to move back home to Kentucky. If only she had the strength and power to stand up to her family . . . A chance meeting and a snowy ice storm bring this unlikely pair together on the most enchanting day of the year, and a special connection flares between them. But when the ice melts, will the magic disappear too? Sensuality Level: Sensual

Reforming Gabe

Reforming Gabe
Author: Alicia Hunter Pace
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2015-02-16
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1440581983

The world loved Heisman trophy winner and two-time Super Bowl champion Gabe Beauford - until he blew it and cost San Antonio the chance to make history. Now his brother's wedding back in Beauford Bend offers the perfect hideout. Neyland MacKenzie has a passion for jewelry making and a hatred for football. Neither is working out very well. With sales down, it's getting harder to pay the rent or buy new materials, and she can't escape the notoriety of being the daughter of the beloved Beauford high school coach. Still, when Gabe walks into her shop looking like a cross between a GQ model and a Viking warrior and picks out the most expensive piece in her case, Neyland refuses to sell to him. Everybody knows he sends women jewelry as kiss-off gifts, and her art will not be part of that, even if Gabe does have the bluest eyes in Tennessee. Gabe has never been one to walk away from a challenge, especially when he needs a distraction - and most especially when that challenge has legs that would stop a locomotive. But if Neyland tackles his heart, could it cost him another ring? Sensuality Level: Sensual

Slap Shot

Slap Shot
Author: Alicia Hunter Pace
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2017-10-23
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1507205864

Two deeply scarred souls struggle with forbidden feelings in this heartfelt second novel in the Nashville Sound series. Life has taught defenseman Bryant Taylor never to look back and never to get serious about a woman. His ill, pregnant wife died while he was off playing an away game, leaving him—and both their families—heartbroken. Jokes and puck bunnies are his style now, and he’s sticking to it. Gabriella Charbonnet has idolized her brother Emile since he rescued her from their violently abusive father when she was eleven—and he’s supported her ever since. He even agreed to play for the Sound so that she could apprentice as a pastry chef in nearby Beauford, Tennessee. When Bryant and Gabriella find themselves thrown together at a society fundraiser, sparks fly. But Gabriella wants nothing to do with hockey players, aside from her brother, who just so happens to be Bryant’s best friend. The first rule of the bro code? Don’t mess with sisters. There are plenty of reasons why starting a relationship would be all kinds of wrong, yet walking away from each other doesn’t prove to be as easy as they thought. Sensuality Level: Sensual

Designing Women

Designing Women
Author: Alicia Hunter Pace
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 1326
Release: 2018-01-29
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1507208243

Romance fans won’t be able to resist these colorful stories of four designers who use their creativity to refresh their love lives. Simple Gone South: The last time Brantley Kincaid had an argument with someone, a loved one ended up in Merritt Cemetery. He’s high-strung enough about moving back home to the memories without running into his childhood playmate, Lucy Mead, who’s all grown up and designing the homes of everyone who matters in Merritt. But bringing the right balance to Brantley’s mess might be more than she can measure. Enlisted by Love: Ex-army officer Matthew Blake is eager to start a new career, until he comes up against the most challenging obstacle he’s ever encountered: Greta Ferguson, the interior designer who challenges his every order. Will stubbornness spell curtains for what could be a dynamic relationship? Baby by Design: Tony Corcarelli’s dying nonna is shamelessly pressuring him to choose a wife and kids or the priesthood. Trish DeVign is a successful interior designer, single by choice and satisfied…except for that ticking biological clock. When she asks Tony to escort her to a wedding, a night of fun and flirtation turns serious. Maybe a calculated conception is the answer they’ve both been looking for. Heart of Design: The tabloids portray flirtatious Ian O’Connor as Hollywood’s latest playboy, but Sophie Hartland is just there to renovate his bedroom, not become another notch on his bedpost. Yet Ian finds her a refreshing change from the actress wannabes trying to hop aboard his new gravy train of success. Can Sophie ignore her traitorous libido—and, more importantly, can she protect her heart in this game of wills? Sensuality Level: Sensual

Slightly South of Simple

Slightly South of Simple
Author: Kristy Woodson Harvey
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2017-04-25
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1501158066

NATIONAL BESTSELLER *Glitter Guide’s “Must Reads for April” *PopSugar’s “Ultimate Summer Reading” *Bustle’s Books to Read and Discuss With Your Mom and Grandma *New York Live’s “Ashley’s A-List” Pick “One of the hottest new Southern writers.” —Parade From the next “major voice in Southern fiction” (Elin Hilderbrand, New York Times bestselling author) comes the first in an all-new series chronicling the journeys of three sisters and their mother—and a secret from their past that has the potential to tear them apart and reshape their very definition of what it means to be a family. Caroline Murphy swore she’d never set foot back in the small Southern town of Peachtree Bluff; she was a New York girl born and bred and the worst day of her life was when, in the wake of her father’s death, her mother selfishly forced her to move—during her senior year of high school, no less—back to that hick-infested rat trap where she'd spent her childhood summers. But now that her marriage to a New York high society heir has fallen apart in a very public, very embarrassing fashion, a pregnant Caroline decides to escape the gossipmongers with her nine-year-old daughter and head home to her mother, Ansley. Ansley has always put her three daughters first, especially when she found out that her late husband, despite what he had always promised, left her with next to nothing. Now the proud owner of a charming waterfront design business and finally standing on her own two feet, Ansley welcomes Caroline and her brood back with open arms. But when her second daughter Sloane, whose military husband is overseas, and youngest daughter and successful actress Emerson join the fray, Ansley begins to feel like the piece of herself she had finally found might be slipping from her grasp. Even more discomfiting, when someone from her past reappears in Ansley's life, the secret she’s harbored from her daughters their entire lives might finally be forced into the open. Exploring the powerful bonds between sisters and mothers and daughters, this engaging novel is filled with Southern charm, emotional drama, and plenty of heart.