Author: Reluctant Retiree

Living in FL and enjoying life.
Posted in #BookTours

Roped into Paradise

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Roped Into Paradise: A Sweet Cruise Rom-Com
Shanna Hatfield
Publication date: January 29th 2026
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

A cowboy, a cruise, and a meddling grandma—what could go wrong?
JJ McKade expected to spend two weeks with his grandmother at her condo in sunny Florida, celebrating her birthday. Instead, he got shanghaied by his mischievous grandma on a Caribbean cruise—complete with hot pink luggage, a gaggle of giggling octogenarians, and a humiliating childhood nickname haunting his every move.

Between meddling matchmakers, unexpected friendships, and the endless chaos of cruise life, JJ can’t help being drawn to Kinsley Kline, the ship’s enchanting horticulturist. There’s just one catch: crew fraternizing with passengers is strictly forbidden.

With only a few months left in her contract aboard The Affinity, Kinsley can’t let anything rock her boat or derail her plans. Then the arrival of a hunky cowboy on the ship makes her question if some rules are meant to be broken, and a little boat rocking is a good thing.

From sun-drenched beaches to moonlit strolls, JJ and Kinsley must decide if an onboard romance can last on land, and if love is worth risking their hearts.

Packed with laughter, longing, and a grandmother who refuses to play by the rules, Roped Into Paradise is a heartwarming romantic comedy about family, hope, and finding love where you least expect it. Perfect for fans of witty banter, slow-burn romance, and cruise ship escapades that sweep you off your feet.

Goodreads / Amazon

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EXCERPT:

They moved off the elevator and had only taken a step when Trudy’s air-raid siren voice alerted him to the presence of his grandmother’s friends.

The gazes of everyone in the vicinity swiveled to them as Trudy and Marsha gave Grams big hugs, then all four women turned to JJ. The scrutiny in their gazes was enough to unsettle him, but from the corner of his eye, he saw something move and shifted just slightly to see Kinsley pressing moss inside a planter filled with colorful blooming flowers.

“Yoohoo! Girls! If you’re looking for a great guy to date, this one is single!” Trudy shouted, then she and Marsha made exaggerated pointing motions at JJ.

The heat searing from his neck to the top of his head made him momentarily question if he might implode. The mortification he felt was indescribable, particularly with Kinsley staring at him wide-eyed, as though she wasn’t sure what to make of Trudy’s declaration. He certainly had no idea what to do with the big-mouthed old woman.

JJ closed his eyes and wished Neptune would rise from the sea, reach into the ship, and drag him under. Where was a good, solid iceberg when you needed it for a distraction?

At the very least, maybe they’d sail straight into the Bermuda Triangle. After all, this doomed adventure had felt like a trip through a nightmarish alternate universe from the moment his grandmother had announced they were taking it. Right now, with dozens of passengers laughing at him and a few women passing him scribbled notes with their room numbers, he forgot about the fun he’d had earlier in the day.

It was hard to focus on anything when he wanted to simply disappear.

JJ had never enjoyed being the center of attention. Sure, he’d played sports in high school and even participated in rodeo a few years after he graduated, but the attention wasn’t solely on him, like he’d stepped into the glaring center of a spotlight.

Grams and Shirley were madly whispering something to Trudy and Marsha, but before he could kick his brain back in gear enough to hear what they said, a hand settled on his shoulder. He looked over to see Ted, who nodded once to him. Wynn offered a commiserating look of encouragement.

Afraid to glance at Kinsley but needing to know if she had joined those laughing at him, he turned his head, and their gazes connected. She smiled and winked at him, and that one little gesture made him feel better than anything anyone else could have offered.

“Let’s get these cackling hens to the restaurant before they humiliate every male on the ship,” Ted said quietly, moving forward to stake his claim beside Grams.

Author Bio:

USA Today Bestselling Author Shanna Hatfield writes sweet romances rich with relatable characters, small town settings that feel like home, humor, and hope.

Her historical westerns have been described as “reminiscent of the era captured by Bonanza and The Virginian” while her contemporary works have been called “laugh-out-loud funny, and a little heart-pumping sexy without being explicit in any way.”

When this farm girl isn’t writing or indulging in rich, decadent chocolate, Shanna hangs out with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller. She also experiments with recipes, snaps photos of her adorable nephew, and caters to the whims of a cranky cat named Drooley.

To learn more about Shanna or the books she writes, visit her website http://shannahatfield.com or find out more about her here: linktr.ee/ShannaHatfield

Website / Goodreads / Instagram / Facebook / Pinterest / Bookbub / Newsletter


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Posted in #LGTBQ+

The Devil on my Chest: Rocky and Mal’s Story (Arrowtown Book 10)

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

“I can’t feel my wolf. I don’t know how much longer I can go on.”

Sheriff Rocky has been fighting some inner demons that seem more real than most. When he finally loses his control completely, committing a near-criminal act, it has people around him realizing he needs more help than the good folk at Arrowtown can give him.

“I’m not letting you go without a fight, you stupid wolf. Don’t you know how much I love you?”

Mal, Rocky’s closest friend, can’t imagine a life without Rocky. His journey to fight for his friend takes them to New York where a diagnosis is easy enough, but the cure for what ails Rocky could have life changing ramifications. Mal would have to claim him.

Can you save me from Mrs. Hooper? She’s got two of her boys with her and there’s probably a wooden spoon in her handbag.

Back in Arrowtown, Rocky and Mal settled into life together. In a lot of ways, it’s no different to what they enjoyed before until Mal’s wolf starts pushing for Mal to tell Rocky an impossible truth. Will they ever get their happy-ever-after, or will their lives come crumbling down in the back of a police cruiser?

Rocky and Mal’s story is the last book in the Arrowtown series, and while it could be read as a standalone, the relationships between secondary characters and more in depth knowledge of past events would be clearer if you read the other books preceding this one.

This is an MM Fated Mates story and contains mpreg. If this is not your type of story, then thank you for reading this far and have a lovely day.

Posted in #BookTours

Had Me At Howdy

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Had Me At Howdy
Mary Karlik
(A Hillside * Spring Creek Novel)
Publication date: November 22nd 2025
Genres: Comedy, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult

Platinum credit card? Deactivated. New car? Sold. Best life ever? Canceled.

Thanks to my dad losing his job, we’ve ditched Chicago for Fumbuck, Texas—population: redneck. Now I’m living on a rundown farm, scrubbing dishes, and driving a rusty pickup. Worst of all? I’m stuck working alongside a cowboy.

But this Cinderella isn’t giving up. I’ll claw my way back to the luxe life I left behind—and no one, not even infuriatingly chill, stupidly handsome Austin McCoy is going to stop me. Even if he does make feeding the chickens weirdly… enjoyable.

She thinks she’s just passing through. I’m hoping she stays.
I kind of feel for the Quinn sisters. City girls don’t belong in Spring Creek—but Kelsey? There’s more to her than designer labels and eye rolls. When she forgets to be angry, I see it—like the way her eyes light up when she feeds the chickens.

Now all I have to do is convince her the guy she really wants is me, not some rich dude taking her to a ball in Chicago.

Content Warning: This work contains a subplot involving death, grief, and an off-page instance of date rape. While these events are not depicted directly, they are referenced and may be distressing to some readers.

Goodreads / Amazon

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EXCERPT:

The universe had completely crapped on Kelsey Quinn’s life.

She dabbed at her eyes, blew her nose, and wadded up the tissue before dropping it to the pile on the seat next to her. Pressing her forehead against the car window, she watched the scenery fly by at seventy miles per hour. They passed Bob’s Stay and Go combination gas station—fast food restaurant—hotel, followed by some weird concrete starship-shaped pizza parlor. Next, three-foot fluorescent letters screamed about redemption across a junkyard fence surrounding rusted pieces of mangled metal. The few words of scripture painted there weren’t going change her fate. Her dad was in the driver’s seat and they were heading straight for the armpit of Texas.

With a sigh she slumped against the seat and tried not to think about the boyfriend who’d been ripped from her life, or the best friend she’d been forced to leave behind. But it wasn’t just her forced exile from Drew and Zoe. She’d lost her identity. At St. Monica’s, she knew who she was and where she fit in. It was her senior year, the year she’d looked forward to for as long as she was in school. They had taken it away with less thought than the car they’d sold one afternoon while she and Zoe were shopping. None of it was her fault. She was a victim of her dad’s incompetence on one hand and her sister’s immorality on the other.

Her dad exited onto a two-lane highway where they were greeted by a faded, Welcome to Hillside Texas, Population 5000, sign. They slowed to a crawl as they entered the town. At a four-way stop her mom screeched, “Oh my God Tom, look at the cute little diner. We’re all starving, let’s stop before we go to the house.”

“Sounds good to me. Jack’s not expecting us for another couple of hours anyway.” Dad angled the Infinity between two pickup trucks and turned off the engine.

The diner was nestled in the center of a row of dilapidated two story buildings. Early Bird Café was painted in bright blue letters across the glass. Kelsey pulled her compact mirror from her purse and studied her reflection. She’d been crying for two days, no amount of makeup magic would fix her swollen red eyes. It didn’t matter. She didn’t care about this place or these people. She sure as heck didn’t care what they thought about her. She shoved the mirror back into her purse.

Her younger sister, Ryan, looked all wide-eyed and curious. And worse, she actually looked excited to investigate this hick little town. Why not? It was her fault they were in this mess in the first place. Her parents would have been justified to ship Ryan off to some kind of school for troubled kids. But no—Quinns don’t give up on their own. Everybody had to suffer because Ryan couldn’t say no to drugs or boys.

Mackenzie, Kelsey’s youngest sister, flipped her compact gymnast’s body from the third seat to the back seat nailing Ryan in the shoulder with her foot.

“Watch it!” Ryan drew her fist back, but before she could get the hit off Mackenzie flashed a cherub smile and released a powder sugar apology. Yeah. That wasn’t an accident. Kelsey almost smiled when she saw foot impact with shoulder. Mackenzie had been fairly silent about the ruin Ryan’s exploits had done to her life. Apparently, she had her limits too.

Author Bio:

Join Mary’s newsletter: https://maryjwilson.com/contact/

Mary Karlik (also writing as Mary J. Wilson) combines her Texas roots with her Scottish heritage to write happily-ever-afters from Texas to Scotland.

Mary has five indie-published contemporary young adult romance novels and two fantasy novels.

Mary earned her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University, has a B.S. degree from Texas A&M University, and is currently studying Scottish Gaelic at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig in Skye, Scotland. She is also a certified, professional ski instructor and a Registered Nurse.

Mary is an active member of Contemporary Romance Writers, Romance Writers of America, and Dallas Area Romance Authors. Married to a Scott, Mary lives in both and Scotland and Texas.

Website / Goodreads / Instagram / Facebook / Newsletter / Bookbub


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Had Me At Howdy Blitz

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Posted in #BookTours

The Fall of Summer

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

This isn’t a fairytale. 

It’s a reckoning.

The Fall of Summer

The Reckoning Duet Book 1

by Rebecca Dale

Genre: Dark Romantic Thriller



When her father locks away a powerful man, Summer Miller becomes the one marked to pay the price.

The sheriff, Jacob Darnell, swears he’ll protect her. But he has always blurred the line between duty and desire. His badge is her shield. His house, her prison. His touch, the most dangerous risk of all.

In Rosefield, every promise hides a lie. Every smile conceals a weapon.
And the closer Summer comes to escape, the deeper betrayal cuts.

Because love isn’t salvation.
It’s obsession.

And vengeance isn’t the only thing waiting in the dark.

This isn’t a fairytale. It’s a reckoning.

 

What readers are saying:

“..my first time reading Rebecca Dale, and wow… what a read. The writing is smooth, addictive, and flows so effortlessly that it pulls you in from the very first chapter. Add in the constant suspense, and I genuinely couldn’t put this book down…..The plot and the angst are so well done. I was racing through the pages desperate to know what would happen next, while also dreading it at the same time. And that cliffhanger… absolutely brutal. I need book two now!

– MW Booklover

 

I was thoroughly immersed into this world! At first I didn’t know how this story was going to go with it being a dark romance but saying that, this is not your typical dark romance book!
This story had me wanting to keep reading late into the night purely because the story was intense, you got to see the different sides of characters and it all just gelled together into one amazing story!  The second half of the book for me was when the intensity picked up, it was making my heart rate go up purely because I wanted the happy ending the characters deserved!
I love the setting of the story and overall everything was written extremely well for this debut author. I NEED BOOK 2 NOW!! – @katielouisepage

 

**Only .99 cents!**

Amazon * Author’s Site * Bookbub * Goodreads

 





Jacob

 

They think I’m smiling.

      That’s the part that always gets me—how fucking easy it is.

      A tilt of the mouth. A nod. A badge pressed to my chest like a holy relic. People will believe anything if the devil’s wearing a uniform. I could blow a man’s brains out in this bar and half of them would call it justice. The other half would thank me for keeping the peace.

      But I’m not thinking about them. I’m thinking about her.

      Summer.

      Out there, with another man like she’s forgotten the name I carved into her life. The woman I dragged from the dark and put under my roof. The woman I told myself I would keep.

      The woman I have been in love with for two years and have taken into my home to protect from the monsters that lurk in the dark. But she’s dancing with that fucker for all to see.

      That singing stray with hands too familiar and eyes that don’t understand what it means to touch something sacred.

      And she’s smiling. Not the smile she gives me. Not the one she wears when she thanks me through her teeth for the silk I buy or the food I put on the table. This one’s real. Soft. Lit from inside.

      Unforgivable.

      “She’s got moves,” some idiot mutters nearby. “Didn’t think the sheriff would let her off the leash.”

      My head turns slow. Wouldn’t want anyone to think I’m the kind of man who loses control. Yet.

      I find the voice. Lock eyes. Some oil-rig rat with beer on his breath and death behind his teeth.

      “You want to repeat yourself?” I say, calm as a storm gathering under skin.

      He chuckles. Weak. Backpedals. Good.

      I’m not in the mood to bury another one behind the diner.

      Haywood says something beside me—laughing about blood on a porch turning out to be barbecue sauce. I nod. Smile. Pretend I give a shit.

      I don’t.

      I’m too busy watching her. Still swaying. Still glowing. Still fucking mine.

He touches her waist. My hand twitches, the urge to pull out my gun and shoot the fucker burns through me like lava.

      If she were smart, she’d be crying right now. Begging me to make it stop. Begging me to get him to take his hands off her. But she doesn’t⁠—

      She’s gotten stupid. Or brave. Or both.

      From the first second, she was mine. Not a passing obsession—an inevitability carved into me. I’ve memorized every shiver, every tear, every defiance. She’s always belonged to me, even when she thought she was running. She still looks at me like I’m the danger. Maybe I am. But I’m also the only thing standing between her and the monsters who wanted her. Who planned her destruction. And if she knew what they had planned, what I had really saved her from, she would never lead a normal life again.

      Every road she takes will always lead back to me. Every breath she takes is already inside my hands. She can fight, she can hate, but she’ll never escape. I won’t let her. Not now. Not ever.

 

I haven’t owned her in the bedroom yet. I was never going to be the man to tie her down and take her against her will. Hell, that’s the men I’m saving her from. But right now, the idea of her in chains, taking every inch of my cock and staring into my eyes sounds like heaven. Maybe that’s what she needs. Maybe then she’ll stop eyeing bar rats and thinking it’s alright to let them put their hands on her.

      I’m a fucking monster. But a rapist?

      No.

      It takes every ounce of strength I have to walk back to the table and sit, to hide the storm clawing at my insides and let the room think I’m calm.

      “I’m waiting for you baby,” I mutter under my breath.

 

      The song ends and he finally takes his greasy fucking hands off her.

      I want to stomp on his fucking throat—but I won’t. I’ll play the long game. I’ll find out everything there is to know about that son of a bitch.

      She heads back over. Eyes down at the ground. She knows. She fucking knows. She has the audacity to sit there like nothing happened. Like she didn’t just look at another man like he could save her. Like he could take her home and fuck her into forgetting I ever existed.

      I saw it—that flicker. That spark she thought she could hide. She wanted him to look at her, to see her. To know she was interested. And now she sits there, all wide eyes and trembling lips, pretending she’s innocent?

No

“Had fun with your boyfriend?” The words come out smooth, almost playful, but they taste like rust on my tongue.

      What I really want to do is drag her out by the hair and make her confess how far she would’ve let him go if I wasn’t here.

 





I was born and raised in Hull, England, where I still live today with my four incredible children, two mischievous dogs, and a cat who thinks she’s the boss of us all. Life in my house is busy, loud, and wonderfully chaotic—but through it all, I’ve always had one constant: my love for stories.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been reading and writing. I was the kid who snuck books under the covers with a torch, the teenager scribbling down half-finished stories in notebooks, and now the woman whose imagination simply refuses to switch off. Stories have always been my way of making sense of the world, and I’ve carried that passion into writing books that dig into the messy, complicated sides of love, obsession, and survival.

When I’m not writing, you’ll usually find me surrounded by my family, walking the dogs, or curling up with a book and a cup of coffee (probably cold by the time I get to it). I’ve always had a soft spot for anything furry, and our house is very much a mix of kids, pets, and chaos—in the best possible way.

My debut novel, The Fall of Summer, is the first in The Reckoning Duet, and it’s the story that’s been tugging at my heart for years. It’s dark, it’s emotional, and it explores what happens when love and danger collide. My hope is that these books make you feel something real—whether it’s your pulse racing, your heart aching, or that little shiver down your spine when a line sticks with you long after you’ve read it.

Thank you for being here and for supporting my journey as an indie author. I can’t wait to share these stories with you, and I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

With love,

Rebecca Dale

 

Website * Facebook * Instagram * TikTok * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

 

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Posted in Cozy Mysteries

Tuesday the Rabbi Saw Red (The Rabbi Small Mysteries Book 5)

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

“The Jewish Sherlock Holmes” investigates a deadly disruption on a college campus in this New York Times bestseller (The Detroit News).

Edgar Award–Winning Author

Once again, Rabbi Small finds himself looking for solace outside the confines of the contentious world of his synagogue in Barnard’s Crossing, Massachusetts. When a member of his congregation expresses that she does not want him to officiate her wedding, Rabbi Small has had enough. He seeks escape by dabbling in academia with a part-time teaching gig at a local college. But his fantasy of a tranquil life in an ivory tower is about to come tumbling down.

A bombing at the school kills one of the rabbi’s coworkers, and Small finds himself caught between adversarial students and feuding faculty members. As he investigates possible suspects with the same logic and measured caution that make him a brilliant religious leader, Rabbi Small finds that everyone has a motive—and an alibi—and it’s up to him to uncover the truth.

“When Rabbi Small finally pins down the killer, the reader’s only regret is that its all over.” —Associated Press

“First rate.” —The New Yorker

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Very fine.” —The New York Times
 
“The Jewish Sherlock Holmes is not only as brilliant and perceptive as his British counterpart, but in time very likely will surpass him in exciting adventures.” —TheDetroit News
 
“A first-rate mystery.” —The New Yorker on Friday the Rabbi Slept Late
 
“Vintage Kemelman—clean prose, quiet wit, absorbing characters, and revealing conversations, with David’s discourses on Judaism as fascinating as ever.” —Publishers Weekly on That Day the Rabbi Left Town

From the Inside Flap

Small takes a break from the Barnard’s Crossing’s pulpit to teach a course on Jewish thought at a small community college. But he soon discovers all is not idyllic behind the ivy-colored walls. When a bomb goes off in the dean’s office, the peaceful campus mood is shattered and everyone — from professors and students to the indefatigable rabbi himself — is suspected . . . of murder.