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Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Bookish college sophomore Sydney Baker wants Evan Taylor with every ounce of her being. The hottest stud on campus, Evan is six foot four, ripped, stacked with muscles. He’s even easy to talk to.

There’s just one problem: he’s her roommate Melanie’s boyfriend.

But when Melanie tragically dies after a night of wild partying, Sydney and Evan turn to each other in a time of intense grief. And it doesn’t take long for their close friendship to blossom into something more.

Unfortunately for Sydney, secrets from the past soon put her relationship with Evan to the test. Especially when a sexy blonde freshman makes her way into Evan’s life, and tries to rip away everything Sydney holds close to her heart.

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Author Bio

B.D. Rowe is a Sacramento native with a penchant for crafting tales of romance, mystery, and intrigue. You can often find B.D. at the local coffee shop drinking white chocolate mochas and writing into the wee hours of the night. This is B.D.'s first New Adult novel.

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Excerpt

James pushed himself against me and slammed my back against the door. I gripped his

belt with my left hand, and his ass with my right.

“Is your car unlocked?” I asked.

He set his hands against my hips, and kissed the bottom of my neck. “Yeah. What are you

waiting for?”

I reached for the door handle. Pressed my fingers against three different places.

“You need some help?” he asked, with a chuckle.

“No, no. I got it.”

My fingers touched what I thought was the handle. I tried to open it, but it wouldn’t

budge.

James kissed the edge of my shoulder, and took a step back. “Uhh, Sydney. That’s the

gas tank.”

I finally turned my head. I brought my hand to my mouth and laughed out loud. “Oh,

oops.”

“I think someone's had one too many tonight,” he said, with an exaggerated raise of his

eyebrow.

“Shut up. I didn't have that much.” And it was true. I’d only had mixed drinks. Four,

maybe five. I had a slight headache, but nothing to ruin the night over.

“Good,” James said. “I wouldn’t want to take advantage.”

“Yeah?”

I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him closer, deeper. I kissed his peppermint

lips, then dipped my tongue into his mouth, for one tantalizing second.

I smiled, and pushed my forehead against his. “But I want you to.”

My fingers found the door handle, no problems this time. I pulled it open, and dropped

down against the back seat of his Jeep Wrangler.

He was on top of me before I had a chance to catch my breath. My hands found his chest

and the soft tuft of hair right below his belly button. He tried to look suave as he took off his

shirt—but his right arm got stuck, and he almost fell off the seat.

I laughed. “Now who’s the one who had too much to drink?”

“I didn’t… I’m fine.”

Fine, my ass. I wasn’t stupid. I saw him taking shots of that silver tequila like it was ice

water.

He pulled the shirt over his head, with way too much difficulty, and threw it on the

passenger seat. He ducked down and ran his tongue along my neck, all the way up to my right

earlobe. It was so warm and comforting. I didn't want him to stop.

When he came up for air, I scooted out from under him and switched places. I sat on his

chest, reached back, and grabbed hold of his belt.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked, with a knowing grin.

I leaned down and whispered into his ear, “Anything I fucking want.”

I pulled the belt right off, no hiccups, no struggles. I dangled it above his face, and

dropped it to the floor.

Was this supposed to feel daring? James and I had made love before, but never in a car,

never out in the open. I thought I might keep darting my eyes toward the windows, or feel my

heart trying to beat its way out of my chest. Instead, as James brought his hands to my hips,

a wave of relaxation washed over me, like no harm could ever come to us, to what we had

together.

I reached back and pulled his zipper down. He sat up, moved his hands up to my hair. He

stopped, only for a second, and looked into my eyes.

“I love you, Sydney.”

“I love you, too,” I said.

He took off my shirt and kissed me on the mouth, hard, for a full minute. He brushed his

lips against my cheeks, and my chin, then ran his tongue down to my breasts.

I leaned my head back, stared up at the ceiling. “Oh God,” I said. “James...”

“Does that feel good?”

“Oh God, it feels amazing... it feels so—”

Knock knock.

On the window.

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The Summer Series by C.J. Duggan
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

The Boys of Summer

It seemed only natural to nickname them the ‘Onslow Boys’. Every time they swaggered in the front door of the Onslow Hotel after a hard week’s work, their laughter was loud and genuine as they settled onto their bar stools. I peeked through the restaurant partition, a flimsy divider between my world and theirs. I couldn’t help but smile whenever I saw them, saw him ... Toby Morrison.

Quiet seventeen-year-old Tess doesn’t relish the thought of a summertime job. She wants nothing more than to forget the past haunts of high school and have fun with her best friends before the dreaded Year Twelve begins.

To Tess, summer is when everything happens: riding bikes down to the lake, watching the fireworks at the Onslow Show and water bomb fights at the sweltering Sunday markets.

How did she let her friends talk her into working?

After first-shift disasters, rude, wealthy tourists and a taunting ex-boyfriend, Tess is convinced nothing good can come of working her summer away. However, Tess finds unlikely allies in a group of locals dubbed ‘The Onslow Boys’, who are old enough to drive cars, drink beer and not worry about curfews. Tess’s summer of working expands her world with a series of first times with new friends, forbidden love and heartbreaking chaos.

All with the one boy she has never been able to forget.

It will be a summer she will always remember.

An Endless Summer

Sean looked out over the lake, squinting against the sunlight. He turned to me, his expression sobering as his eyes flicked over my face in a silent study.

“Come on Amy, I saved you once, I’ll save you again.”

I met his stare unflinchingly. “I don’t need saving.”

A wicked grin formed slowly. “Don’t you?”

After a rebellious summer night that almost claimed her life, Amy Henderson – the Onslow publican’s only daughter – is sent away to suffer a fate far worse than any other punishment:

Boarding School.

Three years on, a now nineteen-year-old Amy returns to Onslow for the summer. What once was a cauldron of activity with live bands, hot meals and cold beers, the Onslow Hotel now lies dark, deserted and depressing. All fond childhood memories of loitering on the hotel stairs and eavesdropping on customers’ colourful conversations are in the distant past.

How had her dad let it come to this?

With the new threat of putting the Onslow up for sale, Amy reluctantly turns to a local tradesman for help: Sean Murphy, the very same Onslow boy who saved her life all those years ago. With his help and that of some old friends, the task is clear: spend the summer building the hotel back up to its former glory or lose it for good.

In an endless summer, Amy soon realises that sometimes in order to save your future, you have to face your past, even if it’s in the form of a smug, gorgeous Onslow boy.

That One Summer

Loving Chris Henderson would be wrong. Diabolically disastrous. I mean, what is there about him to love? He’s moody, bossy, brooding, a control freak, and that’s on a good day … but there was one achingly obvious fact that haunted my every thought, every minute of every day …

He sure could kiss.

As the countdown to the new millennium begins, there is one thing everyone agrees on: no one wants to be in Onslow for New Year’s Eve.

So that can only mean one thing: road trip!

No longer the mousey, invisible, shy girl from years ago, Tammy Maskala is finally making up for all those lost summers. A new year with new friends, which astoundingly includes the bossy boy behind the bar, Chris Henderson.

She likes her new friends (at least most of them), so why does she secretly feel so out of place?

After chickening out on the trip, a last-minute change of heart sees Tammy racing to the Onslow Hotel, fearing she’s missed her chance for a ride. The last thing she expected to meet was a less-than-happy Onslow Boy leaning against his black panel van.

Now the countdown begins to reach the others at Point Shank before the party is over and the new year has begun. Alone in a car with only the infuriating Chris Henderson, Tammy can’t help but feel this is a disastrous start to what could have been a great adventure. But when the awkward road trip takes an unexpected turn, Tammy soon discovers that the way her traitorous heart feels about Chris is the biggest disaster of all.

Fogged up windows, moonlight swimming, bad karaoke and unearthed secrets; after this one summer nothing will ever be the same again.

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Author Bio

C.J Duggan is an Australian author who lives with her husband in a rural border town of New South Wales, Australia.The Boys of Summer is Book One in her Mature Young Adult Romance Series.

For more on C.J and ‘The Summer Series’, visit www.cjdugganbooks.com

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Excerpt (That One Summer)

“So what do you think?” Chris stood with his elbow leaning casually on the open door of his jet black panel van. He looked up at me expectantly. “Pretty sweet ride, huh?”

“If you’re a serial killer,” I said, cautiously descending the steps.

Chris’s head snapped around with surprise, his eyes almost as dark as the van itself. He slammed the car door and folded his arms, glowering at me as I approached.

“I’ll have you know, Toby and I have spent the better part of six months fixing this old girl up.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Really?”

“It’s got a 308 and a four barrel carby.”

“Why, it could be grease lightning,” I smirked.

I didn’t think a death stare could vary in so many ways, but Chris had mastered a variety of pissed-off stares like no other. The one he was now casting me was a whole new level of anger.

Oops.

I cleared my throat and looked away, suddenly super aware that the last thing I should do was alienate my ride, but then the thought did occur to me: did I want to be trapped in a car with Chris Henderson for three days? Three long, insufferable days – could I subject myself to any more death stares, sneers, scoffs and deep sighs? Maybe I would be doing myself a favour if I gave him good reason to leave me behind. Before I fully acclimated to the idea, my attention was snapped back to the present and the duffle bag that landed at my feet.

I frowned toward the verandah where Chris had moved and was readying himself to turf my other bag down.

“Hey! Watch it,” I snapped. “You might break something.” It was a possibility, though I didn’t know exactly what. Maybe Mum had slipped in a crockery set? Who could honestly guess?

“Let me guess,” Chris said with a smirk as he slung my beach bag over his shoulder and trotted down the steps. “Hairdryer?” He threw a cocky smile and grazed my shoulder as he passed, heading for the van. My eyes burned into his back as he opened the double doors to chuck in my bag. He turned to me expectantly, his hand out for me to pass him the duffle. I snatched it up, trying not to let the strain of its weight show as I lugged it over and carefully placed it into the back. I attempted to, anyway. With a rather inelegant lack of grace, I hitched it up onto my knee, trying to be all cool and casual, as if I was totally in control …

I so wasn’t.

Chris plucked it from me as if the bag weighed nothing and turfed it into the back.

“Careful!”

“Relax, it landed on the mattress.”

Mattress?

I peered into the back. Sure enough, a mattress lined the whole floor up to the front bucket seats. The windows were blacked out and the inside walls were lined with black carpet. Oh, ick. All it needed was some leopard-print cushions and a disco ball.

It would seem that black was a common theme throughout Chris’s van, and the colour matched his mood.

Chris slammed the back shut. Viewing time was over.

I half expected him to say, “Let’s get this show on the road,” or “We’re burning daylight,” but instead I got a rather lacklustre, “Get in.”

Yep! Three long days.

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