With: A. J. Pine
Congratulations to "Dee", the winner in A.J.'s giveaway. Thank you to all who participated!
Doesn’t it always happen that
the guy we know we should stay away
from ends up being the guy who is hardest to resist? Annie Denning—bookshop
owner, romance blogger, and believer in happy ever afters—wants nothing to do
with bestselling author, Wes Hartley—the guy who wrote the most cynical book
that all her blog followers tout as the best romance of the year.
But the story of a man who is
a serial dater, breaking hearts left and right, and chooses to be alone—is not a romance! And Annie just can’t seem
to separate the author from the character he created. But, since the universe
enjoys messing with her, Wes ends up as her last-minute date to a wedding. This
is the scene where he show up to pick her up.
Excerpt
“Shit!” she yelled, squatting to
pick up the three-inch heel that was now nothing more than a stick. “Like,
throw me a freaking bone here, universe!”

“I guess I’m right on time?”
Wes said after he killed the engine and took off his helmet.
Annie’s stomach lurched.
He wasn’t supposed to look so
good. And that voice of his—playful and teasing with a sexy rasp—wasn’t
supposed to do things to her insides. But her palms began to sweat, and she
felt nauseous.
“Yeah.” She held up her broken
heel. “A minor wardrobe malfunction.”
His smile bloomed fully now. Annie
was still trying to reconcile the cartoon drawing, the ridiculous bio, and the
most cynical book she’d ever read with the specimen parked in front of her
apartment.
Because he didn’t look like a
cartoon or ridiculous, and that grin was anything but cynical. Wes Hartley
wasn’t how she pictured the hero of Down This Road. But he’d created the character and had all but admitted
the book was autobiographical fiction. Still, there was the hint of something
butterfly-like in her belly, and she wanted to tell the little buggers to knock
it the hell off.
A leather jacket, gray pants,
boots, and a body atop a Harley hadn’t found their way into her fantasies
before today. The heroes she read about were steadfast. Reliable. She could
tell by looking at Wes—from knowing he’d fled Chicago the first chance he
got—that he was more of a drifter. After all, Jeremy said he had just shown up
out of the blue looking for a place to stay—unsure when he’d leave again. But
maybe tonight she could throw expectation out the window and enjoy the view.
This was not the boy she barely knew in high school. This was—a man.
A gorgeous man smiling at her.
Annie
I know where to find my happily ever after—between the pages of a romance novel. It’s why I sell books, why I blog about them, and why I’ll never get disappointed by love.
So what if my brother’s best friend from high school is now a bestselling author? Or that he just blew back into town on a Harley, filling out a pair of jeans like he never did before? Or that he’s agreed to do a signing at my bookstore on such short notice? Because despite all his adoring female fans, I kind of hated his book.
Wes
The last time I saw Annie Denning, she was a senior in high school, three years older than me and way out of my league. Now I’m her last-minute date to a wedding, and what started as a night of pure fun has turned into something more real than either of us anticipated.
Annie is my muse. When I’m with her, my writer’s block fades away, and the words finally flow.
The only problem? She wants the fairy tale—her very own happily ever after—and anyone who’s read my book knows the truth. I just don’t believe they exist.
Each book in the Kingston Ale House series is a standalone, full-length story that can be enjoyed out of order.
Series Order:
Book #1 The One That Got Away
Book #2 Six Month Rule
Book #3 Three Simple Words
Book #4 Worth the Wait (January 2017)
Author bio:
AJ Pine writes stories to break readers’ hearts, but don’t worry—she’ll
mend them with a happily ever after. As an English teacher and a librarian, AJ
has always surrounded herself with books. All her favorites have one big
commonality–romance. Naturally, the books she writes have the same. When she’s
not writing, she’s of course reading. Then there’s online shopping (everything
from groceries to shoes). And a tiny bit of TV where she nourishes her undying
love of vampires, superheroes, and a certain high-functioning sociopath
detective. You’ll also find her hanging with her family in the Chicago ‘burbs.
AJ Pine is the author of the If Only series, the Only You
series, and the current Kingston Ale House series.
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Giveaway:
A.J. will be giving away a $10 Amazon gift card to one lucky person leaving a comment or email entry!
Giveaway ends 11:59pm EST Oct. 19th. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email maureen@JustContemporaryRomance.com with a subject title of JCR GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway. US residents only.
I was about to start Six Month Rule before realizing it's part of a series. How many more stories planned for this series, AJ?
ReplyDeletepuspitorinid AT yahoo DOT com
Sounds like a fantastic book! I can't wait to read how they each figure out how to get past their own ideas and get together!
ReplyDeleteahui89 at hotmail dot com
Brother's best friend story with a twist: she is 3 years older than the hero :) Adding it to my TBR list. Thanks!
ReplyDeletenatalija DOT shkomare AT gmail DOT com
This sounds great. I always love when books have authors as characters...it feels like you get a bit of abehind the scenes tour on what an authors life is like.
ReplyDeleteGoldgirl149 at hotmail dot com
Thanks for sharing about your book and series!
ReplyDeleteAhhhh. You definitely had me at "A gorgeous man smiling at her." What woman doesn't find it sexy when a man - albeit a gorgeous man - smiles at her. Swoon....
ReplyDeleteMaureen has my email address.
Ohh I'm definitely going to look this book up, sounds amazing!
ReplyDeletethebigbluewall77 (at) gmail (dot) com
Love a good brother's best friend story! I'm SUCH a sucker for that trope!
ReplyDeletecorozondemono at gmail dot com
interesting sounding
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot comm
Always interesting when one dates the sister of one's best friend.
ReplyDeletejtcgc at yahoo dot com