KissingBooks 101 Lesson Four (and a Giveaway!): Your Fave KissingBooks

Happy Sunday! Grab your fans & fainting couches because it’s time for a new KissingBooks 101 lesson – YOUR fave reads! If you’ve missed any of the other lessons, you can catch up here:

• KissingBooks 101 Lesson 1
• KissingBooks 101 Lesson 2
• KissingBooks 101 Lesson 3: Closet Kisses

PLUS – stay tuned on April 10th for Lesson 5 – some of MY fave recent KissingBooks to celebrate my blog’s sixth birthday!

But today I’m looking at some KissingBooks that you, my dear readers, recommended. Let me tell you, reading all your reasons for why these books should be part of my KissingBooks 101 syllabus have pushed the ones I haven’t read yet up to the very top of my TBR list. I have such a tough job 😉

Fans & fainting couches at the ready? Fair warning – this is a long post with lots of swoony excerpts but i don’t think anyone will mind lol.

Here we go with your most nominated books and authors, in no particular order…

affiliate links used

“Pepper is the queen of kissing books… and this has kissing friends #ChristianKisses” – Joy

kissingbooks 101 excerpt

He tugged her through the door and turned a corner into a tiny closet she’d once hid inside during a youth hide-n-seek game. What had they stored in this closet then—the communion items? She didn’t have time to figure it out because before the door even snapped closed, Jon’s palms cradled her cheeks and his lips caught hers in a warm and secure embrace.

Her slight gasp slit the darkness, a whole new world of sensations eclipsing her surprise. His citrusy scent enveloped her, and the tiniest hint of apples and vanilla icing flavored his lips. Oh, what a sweet combination for such a delicacy as Jon Noble’s kiss.

She slid her palms up his back, her eyes burning with a sudden rush of tears. Her chest squeezed with the realization. She loved him. This wonderful, tender, excellent-kisser-of-a-friend. And he loved her back. Like this.

His palms slid into her hair, loosening a few of her pins. Her fingers moved to caress his cheeks. No hesitation. No uncertainty.

Just right.

He smiled against her mouth, and she breathed a light laugh between them. Could this be real? The movements came as easily as if her muscles had been waiting for the opportunity her whole life. How long had her heart belonged to him? She grinned. Always, it seemed now.

“You taste like cupcake icing.” He skimmed his lips over hers, inciting a lovely tingle over the ridges of her mouth.

“You like that, do you?” Her breath skittered into shallow. Wow, who would have ever guessed Jon Noble kissed like this? She closed her eyes, willing his lips to descend on hers again.

“The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, I hear.” His voice brewed deep, husky, as his nose trailed a soft pattern over her jaw to end with a kiss to her chin.

Mercy!

“Oh, good.” She clutched his shirt, her knees weakening from his tender assault against her senses. Any worries about the awkwardness of the whole friendship to attraction thing dissipated with the air in her lungs. “If that’s the only prerequisite, then I feel well equipped to hold your heart forever.”

“Emma Mitchell.” His apple-scented whisper pearled over her skin in the darkness. “I’m planning on forever.”

Their lips found each other again, sealing his words and her heart. The tears threatening Emma’s eyes slipped free. How could God have been so good to her when she’d made so many mistakes? Been so ridiculous?

Jon Noble loved her? And with such special kisses that grew out of a time-cultivated friendship. Seasoned to perfection. Sweet, savory, spicy, and everything in between. A taste of what the best romances should be.

Excerpt from A Match for Emma by Pepper Basham. Used with permission

Goodreads | Amazon

“There’s so much simmering beneath the surface that explodes in passion when they kiss.” – Nina

kissingbooks 101 excerpt

As quickly as the kiss started, Jonathan stumbled back, leaving Laurel’s brain as foggy as an August morning. She blinked her eyes wide and stared at the man who was much too far away for her peace of mind. . .and body. A whole host of emotions crashed through her as he drew back from their embrace: kind of hungry, a little mad, completely in awe, and a teensy bit lonely.

He stared at her as if he knew she was crazy hungry for more kisses. “I. . .became overzealous. I. . .I’m sorry.”

“You are?” she squeaked. Something felt wrong about an apology over a kiss from man to wife, but then again, the heat behind that kiss might be the trouble.

Overzealous sounded like a great way to continue their kissing conversations.

“Well, no, I’m not really.” She shifted a step toward him.

“You’re not?” With each blink of his eyes the uncertainty began to clear.

“No.” He gave his head a shake, his very fine lips crooking up on one side. “No, I’m not.”

“Well, I’m sure as sunrise not sorry,” she said, aching to close the distance between them to nothing. “I think my whole soul’s been waiting for a kiss like that from you.”

He stared at her, his breath still pumping his chest up and down. “Yes. I believe you’re right.”

He looked at her. She looked at him. Neither stirred. What did they do now? She knew what she wanted to do, but somehow diving across the room at the gentle, tenderhearted man seemed unladylike and a little desperate.

Silence yawned into the discomfort and then Jonathan walked forward.

Not really walked. Kind of charged at her like a wild boar. Without any hesitation at all, he cupped her face in his hands and took her lips with his. Great day in the mornin’, she loved this man. Every piece of him. His mind, his laugh, his heart, and, without one solitary doubt, his lips.

Excerpt from My Heart Belongs in the Blue Ridge: Laurel’s Dream by Pepper Basham. Used with permission

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“That was a wow kiss & very yummy chemistry!” – Beth

kissingbooks 101 excerpt

Can we talk?

No. I just didn’t have it in me to face a chat with Sexy Texty Max. I threw the pillow across the room and sat up, taking my phone with me.

I don’t think we have anything to talk about.

I studied my phone, awaiting his reply, but it came in the form of a knock at my door. It was him. I just knew it was him.

Are you at my door?

I need some more Bouille Hadley. I NEED IT!

Nope. Nope, nope, nope.

I stormed to my front door and threw it open.

“What is your problem? Seriously! Do you have some sort of texting alter ego? You don’t get to be like that in the kitchen, and then like that!” I raised my phone in the air and shook it and, again, waited for his reply.

This time it came in the form of two self-assured steps into my house, both of his hands cupped around my jawline, his fingers tangled in the hair at the nape of my neck, and his lips pressed against mine.

There was no thought of protest. No breath left for words. There was only Max and his kiss—gentle but urgent. Growing more urgent as we ignored the need to breathe in favor of something we needed even more desperately. He grasped a fist of my hair and pulled my face away from his. Delicately so he didn’t hurt me, but intensely, as if his hands were capable of doing what his mouth was not—separating, just long enough to gasp for air.

He panted. “Hadley, I’m—”

“Shut up,” I whimpered as my arms locked around his neck and pulled him back to me.

Excerpt from Hadley Beckett’s Next Dish by Bethany Turner. Used with permission

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“Fox. No other words are needed 😍” – Jessica

kissingbooks 101 excerpt

He gave Beth a brief nod and then pierced me with his gaze. Before I could ask what was wrong, he dropped to one knee. “Tori Bell, you have bewitched me, body and soul, and I never wish to be parted from you. Will you marry me?”

I stared in shock as he quoted from one of my favorite movies of all time. He hadn’t said he loved me or asked if my feelings had changed, but the Darcy declaration was like a gut punch and I gasped. A slight sound but audible to those around me. I swallowed, remembering this was for show and I needed to respond.

“Yes,” I breathed.

Fox’s eyes closed in relief and then opened, a jubilant grin covering his face. He slid the ring onto my finger and then rose, gathering me into his arms. I buried my face in his chest, embarrassed by the clapping going on in the background. Just pretend. Just pretend.

“Perfect!” Beth exclaimed.

I pulled away and looked at my friend. “What’s perfect?”

She waved a black cell phone in the air. “I got it all on video just like your fiancé requested.”

“You did what now?” I looked at Fox. Hadn’t I told him I had the publicity side covered?

“Surprise.” He leaned down and whispered in my ear. “I understand how publicity works too, Princess.”

I pinched his side and moved away as he chuckled. Infuriating man!

Excerpt from The Truth About Fame by Toni Shiloh. Used with permission

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“Josh and Carly are wonderfully passionate together.” – Courtney

kissingbooks 101 excerpt

Carly searched his eyes. This was crazy. What was she doing here? Did the darkness make her more susceptible to stupidity? Did it make her bolder? Less afraid?

She could deny it all she wanted, but nothing in her life had felt this right in a very long time. When she inhaled, her breath mixed with his, as he brought his forehead closer to hers, a hand at her chin.

“I need to kiss you,” he said, voice charged with urgency.

“This is a bad idea.” She pushed herself back against the wall, but barely moved, and the second his lips met hers, her doubts fell away. His kiss wasn’t soft or gentle or tentative, it was as if she was filling his lungs with air. Her hands found his chest, then slid upward and laced around his neck, drawing him closer as he deepened the kiss.

His tongue grazed her bottom lip, sending a shiver down her spine, then all at once he pulled back, resting his forehead on hers. “You have no idea what you do to me.” His hand rested on her shoulder, still wrapped gently at the side of her neck, and his skin on hers awakened something inside her that had been lying dormant for more years than she’d realized.

“This is crazy,” she said.

He shook his head. “It’s just crazy enough to be right.” He kissed her again, this time softer, gentler, sweeter, as if savoring every part of her in this moment.

“I told you,” he said.

“Told me what?”

“It would just take one kiss to prove this isn’t over.”

She didn’t argue. Instead, she pulled him closer, her kisses so intent they proved his point.

Excerpt from Just One Kiss by Courtney Walsh. Used with permission

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“… the best part of their kiss is all the build up…But then it happens in a simple moment and it is beautiful. And let’s not forget that Cole is a hot football coach, which always adds to the appeal of a kissing book!” – Haley

kissingbooks 101 excerpt

She stared at their intertwined fingers, and her pulse quickened as he hitched the thumb of his free hand under her chin and turned her face toward him. Charlotte’s heart raced as he leaned in closer, closing the gap between them.

He’s going to kiss me. Her mind repeated it over and over, and she shifted back.

“Sorry, I—” Cole looked away.

“No,” she said, “I’m sorry. I’m just nervous.”

He locked eyes with her. “About what?”

She didn’t dare look away. “What if I’m terrible at this?”

“Not a chance.”

“I might be,” she said, feeling like a teenager.

His face lit into a bright smile, and he shook his head. “Then we’ll keep practicing.”

Charlotte had spent years imagining what it would feel like to kiss someone, but in all of her daydreaming, she couldn’t have taken into account the deep emotions that would accompany this moment. Because it wasn’t about the kiss.

It was about Cole. And about her. And about the way he made her feel, the words he’d just said.

If love was really unconditional, if it didn’t need to be earned, she could stop striving so hard. She could simply be herself.

His hand wound up into her hair as he pulled her toward him. A shiver raced down her spine and straight back up again, anticipation bubbling through her body.

She knew it was customary to close your eyes when kissing, but she didn’t. And neither did he. Instead, he watched her with such a fierce intensity it nearly melted her into a puddle of lava on the ground.

He took his free hand and slid her even closer, then placed a kiss so soft, so sweet on her lips that it stunned her. She closed her eyes and let his kiss fill her up, pressing her hand against his chest and imagining for a moment that the rest of the world had disappeared.

She was overcome by the very idea of him. How had he won her heart so completely in such a short period of time?

He took her face in his hands and kissed her so fully it took her breath away. Every one of her daydreams paled in comparison to the way his kiss made her feel, like maybe she’d finally found the something more she’d been searching for.

Excerpt from Just Like Home by Courtney Walsh. Used with permission

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“They’re best friends. He’s been silently suffering in love forever, and she’s terrified of losing their friendship if anything should change the status quo. When they finally make it past the barriers keeping them apart–wow [cue intense fanning].” – Rachael

kissingbooks 101 excerpt

(this occurs in a lit garden at night when they’re dressed for her sister’s wedding reception….)

“You’re not worried?”

“About what?”

“That our dating relationship will crash and burn, which will end up ruining everything between us?”

He thought about it for a drawn-out space of time.  His attention traveled down to her lips, held there, then returned to her eyes.  “I’m terrified.”  He moved in even closer.

She positioned her bare feet between his dress shoes and lifted her chin.  She could feel his breath on her lips and her heart was racing at what felt like double its usual speed.  Until now, Zander’s love for her had been hypothetical.  She hadn’t known how she’d feel if and when she came face to face with the reality of it.

Now she knew.  She wasn’t scared.  She definitely didn’t want to run.  The opposite, in fact.

He inclined his face toward hers with exquisite deliberation, seeming to test every nuance of her response.

She caught her bottom lip in her teeth.  Let it go.  Patience wasn’t usually her thing, but she made herself wait.  If he could draw out the anticipation of pleasure, then so could she.

His eyelids sunk closed.  His lips met hers.  In less than a second, the kiss turned passionate. His hands framed her face.  Her hands wound behind his neck and insistently pulled him closer.

The rest of the universe ceased to exist.  No sounds penetrated but those they were making. No heat but that which they were building.  No sensations but these.  No people in the world but him.  She’d been waiting for this kiss for days that felt like years.

Excerpt from Sweet on You by Becky Wade. Used with permission

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“Sam has an Australian accent, need I say more?” – Haley

kissingbooks 101 excerpt

(Imagine this occurring in the grocery store….)

Eighteen years had come and gone, and here she was, still grappling with the ramifications of what had happened to her.  The bad.  And the extraordinary.  She’d done the hard work necessary to heal when she was a child, and again more recently with Dr. Quinley in their weekly sessions.  Yet nothing could change the fact that she’d been marked by disaster.  The earthquake was part of her story.  So was her phenomenal God, who she’d been unable to find for months now.

Pressure built behind her eyes.  Silently, she willed the tears not to come.  Not here, in the coffee aisle, in front of Sam, who was steady in a way she respected and practical in a way she trusted.

Sam moved forward, shrinking the space between them.

She pulled a rough breath inward.  What was he–

He pushed his hands into her hair and kissed her.

He….  They….

His mouth was gentle and conquering at the same time.  He smelled like an Australian summer and he kissed the way a maestro leads an orchestra.  Her brain cartwheeled with surprised joy.  She placed her palms on his chest and felt his heat and taut strength.  Every molecule of the heartache she’d just been experiencing swerved into euphoric awe.

The kiss tasted like destiny… as if she’d been waiting, without knowing she’d been waiting.  For him.  It felt more right than anything had felt in forever and a day.

Excerpt from Stay With Me by Becky Wade. Used with permission

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“Because the kissing scenes, and almost-kissing scenes, between Xander and Selah were completely swoon-worthy and made me want to name all my heroes Xander from now on.” – Regina

kissingbooks 101 excerpt

He laced her fingers in his, drawing her closer until she was in the sanctuary of his arms. Held so, her cheek against his chest, his heartbeat rhythmic and enduring beneath her ear, she felt . . . sheltered. Safeguarded amid their tenuous circumstances.

“Here and now, Selah, I declare my intentions to you.” His whispered words were warm against her temple. “I would have you as my bride, the mistress of Rose-n-Vale, if you decide that is what and where you want to be.”

Her heart welled and then her eyes. Her arms stole around his waist, anchoring him to her, giving him a half answer. When he cupped her chin in his hand and tilted her head back to look up at him, she felt little more than a puddle at his boots. Reaching up, he lifted a stray tendril and tucked it into her coif.

The longing in his gaze—did it mirror her own? She still had hold of his waist, though a niggle of impropriety bade her release him. Ignoring it, in a show of surrender she stood shamelessly on tiptoe, all but asking him to kiss her.

Begging.

With a chuckle deep in his throat, he brushed her forehead with his lips in a maddeningly gallant gesture. For a widower having tasted the fruits of marriage, he was a marvel of restraint. “I will not give you what you are yet unsure of, thus forming a bond between us that might well break.”

Closing her eyes again, she let the moment be what it was. Cherished the tense, excruciatingly sweet tie that begged strengthening.

“Fare thee well, Selah.” He rode off, his horse’s hoofbeats once again no match for her thudding heart.

Excerpt from Tidewater Bride by Laura Frantz. Used with permission

Goodreads | Amazon

“I needed a fan. No my husband. No a fan. Well you get the idea 🤣😜” – Jessica

kissingbooks 101 excerpt

She shook her head and laughed. The sound of it threaded through him, settling in his chest and bolstering a different kind of courage.

“Since we’re reminiscing, are we ever going to talk about the first time I kissed you?”

“You never kissed me.” She quirked a brow at him, the firelight dancing across her face.

He gave her a smile. “Not yet, but if we’re going to be able to talk about it…”

Her eyes widened, and his gaze roamed her face.

Then she smiled, and he couldn’t stop himself. He pulled her close, leaning down so his lips brushed across hers.

“Mmm.” The sound from her came out soft and sweet. Then she just about stopped his heart when she curled her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her, returning his kiss with a hunger he hadn’t expected.

She tasted like mint and winter and the thrill of flying down Honeymoon Bluff. She was fun and familiarity and yet, suddenly surprising.

He deepened their kiss, exploring the uncharted trails of their relationship. He didn’t know how he ended up with her cradled under him, but footsteps thundering down the stairs broke them apart. He still held her in his arms, however, when the basement door burst open.

Megan froze, her eyes wide as Jensen Atwood stood in the doorway, his hands on his hips, a dubious smile on his face. “I’m glad to see you’re both okay.”

Okay was one word for it.

Another might be breathless, caught in a place he’d never imagined.

Excerpt from Still the One by Rachel D. Russell (Susan May Warren Presents). Used with permission

Goodreads | Amazon

“Super romantic hero who peppers his speech with Gaelic and gives a Gaelic war cry before kissing the heroine at a decisive moment in their story.” – Courtney

kissingbooks 101 excerpt

She whirled back around to face him with all the unflinching nerve her pounding heart could spare. “No. I’m not sorry in the least bit. In fact, I’m glad I did. I’ve been wanting to for quite some time. As I think you have.”

“That I’ve been wanting to kiss you.” His brogue thickened, dropping to a husky pitch as he moved towards her.

Blood rushed to Lily’s cheeks. This time for a much different reason as the distance between them shrank to inches. “Don’t deny it.”

“Wasn’t going to.”

Spreading his hands over her cheeks, he met her mouth with an intensity long held at bay. He was light and darkness seeping into every crevice of her soul. Gentleness and boldness seeking her will as a match to his own. Lily wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer so that he might feel her heart calling for his. Alec was safety, and comfort, and exhilaration, and fierceness and he held her like a gem to be treasured.

His lips moved to her cheek, nose, forehead. With a spent sigh, he rested his forehead to hers. “I didn’t realize how lost I’d felt until now when I find myself in your eyes.”

Lily cupped his cheek. The soft bristles scraped gently over her palm. “A man of few words, but what words they are.”

Excerpt from Beauty Among Ruins by J’nell Ciesielski. Used with permission

Goodreads | Amazon

“…the slow burn from attraction to love between Philip and Arabelle is one of the best I’ve read. Plus, the kisses are so swoony and amazing! Seriously, I read this book in one day!” – Megan

kissingbooks 101 excerpt

Camden staggered back half a step from the force of her shove, his hands losing their place against her cheeks and forced to settle elsewhere. Her waist, though that brought another flash to her eyes.

Not exactly a flash of disdain, though.

“Don’t.” Her voice shook, strained, made him at once want to pull her close and to run away, to spare her another moment of his company and yet never to leave her again. “There is exactly one reason for you to ever kiss me, Phillip. And it isn’t sympathy—”

“I’m unfamiliar with it.” He eased a few inches closer again.

“Or pity.”

“Never waste my time on it.”

Her chin lifted. “Or even affection. I know this may be how you’re accustomed to comforting girls, but I’ll not have it. I won’t.”

He winced. She was probably right, a bit—he was used to a physical answer. But she was wrong too. Because he’d never cared enough to comfort a girl other than his mother or sister. He’d never wanted to hold one until all her troubles went away. Not until her.

“There’s only one reason.” She said it this time in a resigned tone, falling back against the wall. Defeated.

One reason. He knew very well what it was.

Love.

That was the only reason she’d accept for a man like him to kiss her. He took the last half step. Deliberately. Gaze tangled with hers. “I know.”

Excerpt from On Wings of Devotion by Roseanna M. White. Used with permission

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“…Nic & Esther’s soul connection is never more apparent than when they share their first kiss in a close-quarters room after a song rehearsal; involving a game of chess, a bet, and hair pins, it’s one of the most wonder-filled, insanely romantic kisses I’ve read yet.” – kmpearce

kissingbooks 101 excerpt

Esther smiled at Nic coyly when their eyes met again over the board and Nic relinquished his entire life and soul to her.

“Would you like me to hold those for you?” his voice wasn’t sounding the way it was supposed to.  Because his voice wasn’t supposed to crack like an ill-tuned scale half a way up the octave.

Esther shook her head and carefully lay them in the curve of a folded piece of Schubert.

They continued.

She surrendered more pieces and freed more hair, he sobered by thinking safe, logical thoughts such as how she got it to stay up on her head in the first place.  She pursed her lips and scratched her ear and tackled another pin before she yelped a slight owww.

“What’s the matter?” Nic set his queen down.

“It’s stuck.”

Nic wasn’t surprised. Her hair was like a field of wheat blazoned under a harvest sun. Great. Bad poetry. Just what the confusion in his brain needed. He slowly stood from his overturned milk crate and crossed to her.

“Let me help. You can’t see from there.”

She was doing a poor job of reaching over to the back of her head and straining her arm in the process.

Nic assessed the damage and leaned over.  There was so much of it. It was so long and the most illustrious color.  He gently parted a sea of hair and determined the opened end.  “I don’t want to hurt you.” He whispered, carefully untangling the pin and sliding its oblong top up, carefully separating it from her scalp.  “Did I hurt you?”

“No.” she whispered.

“There.” He held the pin up proudly. He lowered beside her to her shoulder level and dropped the pin in her open hand.  Now, their noses were almost touching and he could feel the soft exhale of her breath on his cheek.  Several stray strands of hair caught her chin and her forehead. Nic instinctively made to brush a shade from her cheek, surprised when she covered his hand in the movement.  Nic tightened his hold and pulled them to their feet. Esther was unsteady with the quick movement on her fashionable heels and fell into him a little.  Her riches of hair under his chin, the thrum of her heartbeat pressing the outer lace of her dress so he could feel it through his cotton shirt.  Their eyes met. Esther’s were wide and hopeful, expectant and a little shy.  He slowly looked in the direction of the masses of blonde hair down her back and then back to meet her gaze again. She showed consent for his wordless request with the slightest incline of her chin.

Fingers entangled in her hair and every weightless word strangling his throat and probably showing through his eyes, he smoothed her hair from her forehead, studied the canvas of her face from cheek to chin and lowered his mouth to hers.

Excerpt from Entanglements by Rachel McMillan. Used with permission

Goodreads | Amazon

“Oh the tension that builds. That kiss……my words won’t do it justice. I’m sure you’ve read. Yeah I’m just gonna leave it at that.” – Jessica

kissingbooks 101 excerpt

He placed my hands behind his neck and let go of my wrists. A second later, his palms skidded across my hips, causing my stomach to dip to my toes. His gaze delved into mine, catching me off guard and probing deeper than I expected.

I was a zombie. Not in the eating brains sense but in the undead sense. Or was I both dead and alive? Or alive again? The state of zombies confused me…just like the swirl of desire that hit me low in my gut.

We probably only stood there seconds, but time had lost its grip on my reality. Unlike Drew’s fingers that pressed into the swell of flesh that rounded over my hip bone.

“Are you ready?” he muttered, that invisible line connecting our gazes so taut that it reached into my core and anchored all the unsettled feelings there.

Ready for what? Somehow I knew his question meant more than a simple readiness to have my feet back on solid ground.

Not waiting for me to answer—and good thing, because we could have been there until the second coming otherwise—he hoisted me over the edge of the bin as if I weighed nothing, attempting to make a liar out of the scale.

My chest pressed against his, and like so many moments in the last few minutes, time slowed as if a Hollywood director had control over effects. My body slid down his front, friction creating unseen sparks at every point where our bodies touched.

By the time my feet hit the ground, my lungs were heaving oxygen like I’d attempted to climb Everest instead of simply being lifted a couple feet and returned to standing.

Excerpt from Nicole by Sarah Monzon. Used with permission

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“FABULOUS…past AND present kisses!” – Beth

kissingbooks 101 excerpt

She couldn’t sweep from her mind the way Seth had looked at her, grinning, as if…well, she’d seen that look so many times from him toward Amelia, she was just reading waaaaay too much into it.

He was just glad to be back among friends. Deep Haven was like that—it got under your
skin, made you feel like you belonged, even when you were five hundred miles away.

And when life turned on you, it called you home.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she drew it out just as the door opened. Her father, again—

“I thought I saw you drive up,” Seth said.

She looked up and pocketed her phone. Mmmhmm. This man deserved her full attention. He’d recently showered, his blond hair short, still wet, and slightly tousled. He wore a long-sleeved flannel shirt, open, over a blue T-shirt, and his jeans hung low on his hips.

His feet were bare, and something about that unwound the band around her chest.

This was Seth. They were friends. Old friends.

They just didn’t have Amelia standing between them anymore.

“C’mon in.” He held the door open. “I hope you have some ideas, because I’ve taken this place as far as I can.”

“I think you’ve done a fantastic job,” her mouth said before her brain could stop her. No fawning. So what he smelled good.

He closed the door behind her, and she dropped her bag and stepped out of her fall rainboots. Set them next to his on the doormat. Her feet were bare, too, inside them.

“Thanks. But we can admit this place needs a woman’s touch.”

His voice was low and warm, and curled inside her.

“Let’s see what I can do.” And wouldn’t you know it—her voice squeaked. Sheesh.

Excerpt from Only You by Susan May Warren. Used with permission

GET THIS NOVELLA FREE

ONE of my readers will receive ELEVEN of these swoonlicious reads! This giveaway includes a mix of print, digital & audiobook copies. (Print copies sent at discretion of each author & are subject to change to digital copies without notice.) US only for print. Ebooks or audiobooks international eligibility at author’s discretion. Void where prohibited by law. Winner must be able to accept ebooks or be willing to accept a reduced giveaway of only the print copies available.

Special thanks to the authors who donated books & excerpts for this giveaway!

One winner will receive the following books:

• Print copy of My Heart Belongs in the Blue Ridge: Laurel’s Dream by Pepper Basham
• Print copy of Hadley Beckett’s Next Dish by Bethany Turner
• Print copy of The Truth About Fame by Toni Shiloh
• Winner’s choice of ebook – Just One Kiss or Just Like Home by Courtney Walsh
• Print copy of Stay With Me by Becky Wade
• Winner’s choice of print or ebook – Tidewater Bride by Laura Frantz
• Ebook copy of Still the One by Rachel D. Russell
• Audiobook copy of Beauty Among Ruins by J’nell Ciesielski
• Print copy of On Wings of Devotion by Roseanna M. White (signed if in US or from Book Depository if outside the US)
• Ebook copy of Entanglements by Rachel McMillan
• Ebook copy of Nicole by Sarah Monzon

This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway ends 11:59PM Eastern on March 21, 2021.

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What about you? What’s one of your fave KissingBooks from the last two years? Have you read the ones on my list?