KAREN’S KILLER BOOK BENCH: Welcome to Karen’s Killer Book Bench, where readers can discover talented new authors and take a peek inside their wonderful books. This is not an age-filtered site, so all book peeks are PG-13 or better. Come back and visit often. Happy reading!
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WORTH ANY PRICE
Boulder Beaumonts Book 1
BY NIKA RHONE
Blurb
Hot new karate instructor? Yes, please! Rick is delicious enough to melt Amber Lovett’s common sense into a sticky puddle of goo. Oh, that dimple! But it’s his kindness toward her son that makes him irresistible enough to forget her no-relationships rule and risk her heart on another try at love.
Except he’s not who she thought he was.
No, he’s everything she’s sworn to stay far away from. Rich. Powerful. Ruthless. She made that mistake once before and lost everything. Never again.
Investment guru Richard Beaumont just jettisoned one bad relationship. He’s not looking for another. Especially not with a struggling single mom, no matter how much her down-to-earth values seem to ground him. But the connection between them is undeniable, even though Amber has no idea who he really is.
Except it seems she does.
Turns out all that attraction was to his billions, not him. Again. A fact that cracks the guarded heart he didn’t even realize had gotten involved.
It doesn’t take long for Richard to realize he’s made a huge mistake about Amber. Now he’ll have to earn not only her forgiveness, but her trust as well. And she’ll have to decide if giving him another chance is worth the price, especially when her past shows up to remind her exactly how much is at stake.
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WORTH ANY PRICE
Boulder Beaumonts Book 1
BY NIKA RHONE
Excerpt
It was all kinds of wrong to lust after your son’s martial arts instructor.
Even as she reminded herself of that fact for the third time, Amber Lovett shifted against the wall to get a better look at the man in question. Tall, trim, dressed in dark blue sweatpants and a baby blue t-shirt that made him appear entirely too edible for any woman’s peace of mind, he stalked through the double line of kids checking form. He gave gentle correction when needed, praise where warranted, demonstrations when requested.
A happy little hum escaped her as a stretch of his arms doing just that pulled the tee tight across his back, emphasizing the flexing of lean muscles underneath.
Lordy, lordy.
It might be wrong, but he sure was making it hard to stop.
Besides, she’d come here to check the man out, hadn’t she?
All right, not exactly like this.
When Derek first mentioned the man who’d stepped in to take over the class after Sensei Steve broke his leg, she hadn’t paid too much attention. The only thing that mattered was knowing the community center’s twice-a-week program her son adored wouldn’t be cancelled. But after weeks of listening to Mister Rick this and Mister Rick that, she’d needed to come down and have a look for herself what all the fuss was about.
And boy, was she ever glad she did. The man was fine.
Dark brown hair with a slight wave in its thick depths framed a face that could only be classified as classically masculine, with chiseled cheekbones and a firm jaw emphasized by the hint of five o’clock shadow covering it. For such a tall man, his movements were graceful and precise, almost like a dancer moving across the stage.
Or a big cat prowling the savannah.
Obviously, none of that was why Derek seemed to worship the ground the man walked on. Since he didn’t normally warm up to strangers easily, his sudden fixation had been a little worrisome. No one liked to think the worst, but she knew better than most that sometimes people weren’t who or what they seemed to be. Better to be suspicious than caught by surprise.
Especially when it came to Derek.
Her gaze went instinctively to her son. In the second row, amidst the twenty or so other kids, he was noticeably smaller than almost all of them. Even though at ten he was squarely in the middle of the eight-to-twelve age range for the class. A sharp thorn of concern wormed its way into her brain like it always did.
Was he getting the right amount of protein? Enough exercise and fresh air?
Was she failing somehow as a mother?
“Just a slow grower,” his pediatrician had assured her at his last check-up. “Nothing to do with his health or asthma and everything to do with genetics. He’ll have a growth spurt before you know it. Nothing to worry about.”
Yeah, easy for him to say.
She was always going to worry about her baby. They’d been all the other had for so long now, she didn’t know any other way.
In her head, she knew the doctor was right. Just like she knew she couldn’t keep holding a monopoly on her son’s social life. Like it or not, he needed a chance to stretch his wings without his mommy helicoptering over him. Which was why after nervously observing the first class with Sensei Steve to make sure it wasn’t too strenuous for him, she’d stayed away, much as it killed her to.
Of course, if Sensei had looked anything like Mister Rick and his very biteable ass, she might have found it a lot harder to stick to those good intentions.
Mind out of the gutter, Amber Lee.
Easier said than done when the ass in question was currently aimed in her direction as he demonstrated some kind of kick that both started and ended in a half-squat position.
Day-am.
Why couldn’t he wear the baggy white uniform Sensei did instead of sweats that pulled taut against his delicious butt with every downward thrust? Maybe then she wouldn’t have to mop up the mental drool currently running down her chin.
Okay, time to go. The last thing she needed was him to notice her skulking in the corner like a pervy stalker.
With the class’s attention focused on their instructor, she slipped from the room. Not taking one last look at heaven was tough, but she managed. Barely. She grinned to herself. It had been such a long time since she’d done anything but look, she wasn’t sure she’d know what to do if she ever got the chance to do more.
But oh, it was sure fun to think about.
Nika Rhone spent her childhood wearing out library cards as she read her way through the extraordinary worlds far beyond her small hometown on Long Island, NY. By her teens, her imagination was taking her places all on its own, forcing her to learn how to type (badly) so she could get all the stories down on paper. After a long love affair with science fiction and fantasy, she finally discovered romance, fell head-over-heels, and now spends her days crafting happily-ever-afters for the characters who still tell their stories faster (and better) than she can type them.
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Links to Nika’s websites, blogs, books, #ad etc.:
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQGL16QJ
Books2Read: https://books2read.com/WorthAnyPrice
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=XKTpEAAAQBAJ
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/worth-any-price-nika-rhone/1144494256
Apple:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/worth-any-price/id6474487044
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/worth-any-price-5
You can contact Nika through her website at www.nikarhone.com. Sign up for her monthly newsletter, Nika’s News, to stay up to date on all new book releases, sales, and giveaways.
You can follow Nika on:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Nika-Rhone/author/B0191V6B6A
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/nika-rhone
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NikaRhoneAuthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikarhone/
Happy Reading!
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Thanks, Nika, for sharing your book with us!
Don’t miss the chance to read this book!
Hello, Nika…just the ticket to take one out of one’s worries.
Thanks, Nika and Karen
So glad you enjoyed it! Have a great day.
Sounds like a really good book! Love the premise and the tidbit you shared.
Thank you! I hope you enjoy it!
Thanks so much for sharing your book. It sounds delicious.
Thank you, Eileen! Have a great day!
Welcome to Karen’s Killer Book Bench, Nika. I loved your excerpt and, wow, that cover! Such a handsome, intriguing man. Le sigh. I can’t wait to read this book. Thanks for sharing it with us today!
Thanks for having me, Karen! Yes, he IS yummy, isn’t he? Very drool-worthy. 😉
Good morning , Thank you for sharing some of your book with us, it sounds and looks like a great read! Have a great week.
I’m so glad you found it intriguing! Thanks for reading. Enjoy the week!
This sounds so good!
Thank you!