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I’m sticking to my pattern yet again this week and it’s a behaving week for me after a total fail last week. Now when I say I behaved this week I even went way beyond my own expectation and only added two new titles. They both look fun though so here’s to hoping I love them both!

As always clicking the covers will take you to the book on Amazon!**

New additions from Netgalley May 21st – May 28th

In this clever and swoonworthy YA debut from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis, life’s moving pieces bring rival chess players together in a match for the heart.

Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious “Kingkiller” Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess.

Nolan’s loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What’s even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory’s victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can’t help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist….

As she rockets up the ranks, Mallory struggles to keep her family safely separated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she so desperately wanted to hate begins to rekindle, Mallory quickly realizes that the games aren’t only on the board, the spotlight is brighter than she imagined, and the competition can be fierce (-ly attractive. And intelligent…and infuriating…)

ONE DECKCHAIR FOR HIRE! Must bring: good conversation, own flask, and one tried and tested tip to help a lonely heart learn to love again…

Olivia’s heart is breaking watching her mother Hattie withdraw after her husband’s sudden death. He was Hattie’s whole world and without him, she’s never been lonelier. Every morning, Hattie pulls a pair of tired old deckchairs from her equally tired-looking beach hut and places them looking out to sea. Seeing her mother sit next to the empty chair, Olivia comes up with a plan.

One deckchair for hire! Must bring good conversation and have own flask.

When she places the advert in the window of a local café, responses from other lonely locals looking for company start flooding in – which only makes Hattie withdraw even further. Olivia is so busy trying to bring the light back to Hattie’s life that she doesn’t notice the darkness creeping into her own. And as news of the advert spreads, Olivia realises her long-buried secret is in danger of coming to light…

Can Olivia convince Hattie to let someone fill the empty deckchair and bring a smile back to Hattie’s life? And when Olivia is confronted with the demons in her past, is this her chance to finally move on – and to re-open her heart to love…?

The Lonely Hearts Beach Club is an absolutely heart-warming story about the power of the mother-daughter bond, family secrets and second chances, perfect for readers who love Jojo Moyes, Faith Hogan and Sheila O’Flanagan.

**This post contains Amazon affiliate links which will allow me as an associate to earn a small commission on any purchase made through the link of the products I share. This commission in no way changes the pricing of any items for the buyer.**

Some Day Soon
Anna Lindgren
Publication date: May 24th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Everyone wants something…

But why can’t I figure out what Noah James wants out of our relationship? His sister hates me hell, the whole town fears me, and if he knew what I’m capable of, he’d leave like everyone else.

I’ve terrorized the quaint town of Smugglers Cove, blazing a trail of self-destruction when anyone gets too close. So when Noah buys the cottage next door and finds out about my past, he creates a list of childish activities to complete together.

I try to keep him at arm’s length, but every-time I think I’ve scared him off, he’s back for more. He’s always there when I need him and even when I don’t.

One thing’s for certain, people like me don’t end up with Noah James.

***

Noah:

Samantha Simmons stole my heart the minute I saw her standing near the bar, in an off-white dress, at my little sister’s wedding. Everyone warned me about the infamous villain of Smugglers Cove, but I never thought it’d be impossible to stay away.

When I move in next door, she lets me in on some of her secrets and reveals a side of her few have uncovered. The more she lets me in, the more I want to defend her and prove there’s more to her than a bad reputation.

Each-time I think I’ve earned her trust, all hell breaks loose. She’s scared to let me in but I’ll wait until she sees,

She may be the villain in everyone’s story but I think she deserves a happily ever after.

 

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

“Don’t do that,” I say. “Don’t shut me out.”

“Go away,” she warns.

“No,” I say. “Talk to me, Sammy.”

“I can’t!” she yells at me.

I step toward her, lowering my voice as emotion threatens to crack my voice. “I can’t help if you keep fucking pushing me away.”

“Stop it,” she spits the words.

“I’m not going to leave you,” I say, holding onto her hands before she rips them away. “Nothing you say to me, nothing you do is going to convince me you aren’t worth it.”

Her chest heaves as tears stream down her cheeks. Her lips are parted, ready to fight back, ready to tell me how wrong I am, how I won’t understand.

This moment is do or die, leave it all on the table.

I take another step toward her, and crush my lips against hers, showing her how I feel before I tell her.

“I love you,” I pant against her lips. “I think I’ve loved you since the first day I met you when you wore white to my sister’s fucking wedding.” I laugh. “I fucking love you, Sammy girl. Don’t push me away. You can shut the world out. Just leave me in this one with you.”

She leaves her forehead pressed against mine, our noses breathing in the smell of one another.

“I can’t,” she whimpers, swallowing down the building emotion. “I can’t love you, Noah. I can’t risk losing you.”

Her voice cracks with each word. My ears ring as though a bomb has detonated near us, and I guess, in some metaphorical sense, one has.

“You lose all the fucking time when you push everyone away,” I say, my voice cracking under the pressure of each word. “Isn’t it worth trying to stay for once? To work through it rather than shut me out?”

“I’ll never be what you need,” she says. “I’ll never be able to give myself to you completely, to trust you fully.”

“Bullshit,” I snap.

“It’s not bullshit. You made a mistake ever thinking you could change me.” She sighs before hammering the final nail in our coffin. Her eyes locked on mine full of honesty and meaning. “I was your biggest mistake. You’re just too stubborn to acknowledge it.”

 

Author Bio:

In the 3rd grade, Anna won a notable mention for her holiday story in her small hometown’s daily paper. Since then, no awards have been won but the writing has, fortunately (or not––depends on who you ask) continued. She is now the author of two small-town Alaskan romances with a third set to be released in 2022. Her stories feature tales of friendship, bouts of laughter, and lots of swoon-worthy moments. She shares stories of adventure, love, and loss all the while remaining true to the quirkiness of the loveable small town she grew up in.

 

Goodreads / Instagram / Bookbub / TikTok

 

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Title: The Revenge List

Author: Hannah Mary McKinnonhttps://amzn.to/3qcWw2Y

Publisher: MIRA

Publication Date: May 23, 2023

Page Count: 347

My rating: 4 stars

About the book:

As a therapy exercise, a woman writes a list of people she wants to forgive, and thinks nothing of it when she loses it in an Uber…until one by one the people on the list become victims of freak accidents. Set in Portland, Maine, Hannah Mary McKinnon’s breakout suspense novel THE REVENGE LIST will appeal to fans of Lisa Unger, Joshilyn Jackson, and Tarryn Fisher.

Following an epic run-in with a client who threatened to pull out of a contract at her father’s company if she doesn’t suffer some consequences, Frankie Morgan agrees to go to anger management. With the business struggling with cash-flow and her brother needing help with the medical bills for his sick daughter, she can’t risk harming the business further. But that doesn’t mean she’ll be happy about attending.

During the first session, the group is asked to spend some quiet time exploring their pasts and sitting with the emotions that generates, before making a start on a Forgiveness List—a list of people with whom they’re angry and might work on forgiving. She begrudgingly goes along with it and doesn’t worry too much when she forgets the list in an Uber on her way home. It shouldn’t matter—it was just a therapy exercise—except a few days later the first person on that list is injured in a freak accident. When the second person gets hurt, she hopes it’s coincidence. After the third is targeted, she knows it’s a pattern. And she’s in trouble. Because the next name on that list is…hers.

Find this book online:

Goodreads  /  Amazon  /  BookShop.org /  Barnes & Noble / IndieBound / Books A Million

Excerpt:

CHAPTER ONE

***

The sharp sound of a high-pitched scream filled the air. A noise so unrecognizable, at first I didn’t register it had come from deep within me, traveling up my throat in stealth mode before bursting from my mouth.

The remnants of the yell reverberated around the car, forcing their way into my ears and penetrating my skull, urging me to do something. Survival instincts kicked in, and I fumbled with the seatbelt, my other hand grasping for the door handle. The need for the relative safety that solid, stationary ground would bring was so intense it made my stomach heave. A loud click of the central locking system meant my captor had outsmarted me again, obliterating my immediate plan to throw myself from the moving vehicle.

When I looked out the windshield, I knew there was no time to find an alternate escape. The end of the road—the edge of the cliff—announced by signs and broken red-and-white-striped wooden barricades, had been far enough away seconds ago but now gleamed in the car’s headlights, a looming warning yards ahead. I couldn’t comprehend what was about to happen, couldn’t do anything as the vehicle kept going, splintering planks and racing out the other side with nothing but air below. I let out another scream, far louder than my first, the absolute terror exploding from my lungs.

For the briefest of moments, we were suspended, as if this was a magic trick or an elaborate roller coaster. Perhaps, if I were really lucky, this was all a dream. Except I already knew there were no smoke and mirrors, no swirling track leading us through loop-the-loops and to safety. It wasn’t a nightmare I’d wake from with bedsheets wrapped around my sweaty body. This was happening. It was all terrifyingly real.

As the car continued its trajectory, it tipped forward. The only thing to stop our momentum was whatever we were rushing toward, obscured by the cloudy night skies. Pushing my heels into the floor, I tried to flatten my shoulders against the seat. My hands scrambled for the ceiling to brace myself, but I flopped like a rag doll, my loosened seatbelt tearing into my shoulder.

They say your life flashes before you when you’re close to death. That didn’t happen to me. Instead, it was all my regrets. Choices I’d made. Not made. Things I’d said and done. Not said. Not done. It was far too late to make amends. There would be no opportunity to beg anyone for forgiveness. No possibility of offering some.

As the finality of the situation hit me full on, I turned my head. The features of the driver next to me were illuminated in a blueish glint from the dashboard lights. His face had set in a stony grimace; his jaw clenched so tight he had to have shattered teeth. But what frightened me the most were his eyes, filled with what could only be described as maniacal delight.

He’d said we were both going to die. As the car hurtled to the bottom of the cliff, I closed my eyes and accepted he was right.

***

Excerpted from The Revenge List by Hannah Mary McKinnon, Copyright © 2023 by Hannah McKinnon. Published by MIRA Books.

The Revenge List by Hannah Mary McKinnon is a thriller novel. The story in The Revenge list is one that is told from the point of view of the main character who is somewhat of an unreliable narrator.

Frankie Morgan has a temper and is going to attend anger management classe at the request of her father, and boss. The class Frankie joins is headed up by her father’s friend and the first task Frankie is given is to create a list of those she feels the most anger towards with the intention of forgiving those on the list.

After Frankie created her list of those she has struggled with hating the most though Frankie finds that her list has gone missing. Frankie doesn’t know how or why the list has vanished but she does know that some strange things begin to happen to those people that she wrote down on that list.

The Revenge List is not the first book I’ve read from author Hannah Mary McKinnon and it certainly will not be the last either. Quickly after picking up The Revenge List I found myself engrossed in the story and getting to know the main character. I found it interesting to focus on a character with anger issues that wasn’t an abusive character but someone that had plenty of things in her life to be angry about. I could feel sympathy with Frankie while also becoming intrigued as to what was happening and turning the pages faster and faster to see the outcome. Another engaging tale from the author who I have become a fan.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley

About the author:

Hannah Mary McKinnon was born in the UK, grew up in Switzerland and moved to Canada in 2010. After a successful career in recruitment, she quit the corporate world in favor of writing. She now lives in Oakville, Ontario, with her husband and three sons, and is delighted by her twenty-second commute. Connect with her on Facebook, on Twitter @HannahMMcKinnon, and on Instagram @HannahMaryMcKinnon. For more, visit her website, http://www.hannahmarymckinnon.com.

Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Goodreads / Bookbub / Linktree

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The Keeper
Lynn Montagano
Publication date: May 23rd 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

It started in the English countryside when he stopped to see if I was having car trouble.

It should have ended there.

 

But it turned into three of the most intense days of my life. And guess what? It didn’t end there either.

His name is Xavier Maddox. Sexy, talented, athletic. A British soccer star. The enticing bad boy.

He should be off limits for me.

My name is Victoria Chase. Ambitious, successful, broken. I’m the media relations director for the most successful football team in the United States. I have this policy about getting involved with athletes…or as I call them, the product.

Xavier was only supposed to be a one night stand. A distraction for me while I dealt with a long ignored family situation.

But he had other plans…

If he finds out what I’ve done, what I’ve destroyed, he’ll leave. Broken people like me don’t deserve a happy ending.

 

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT (Book 1):

“Victoria,” a sultry, baritone voice revealed my name.

I stilled. Its tone washed over me, quickening my pulse. Taking a deep breath, I glanced to my left. Getting caught up in Xavier’s heated blue stare was not something I thought would happen tonight, or ever again for that matter.

Dressed in gray pants and a white button down shirt, he stood with his arms crossed. The sleeves were rolled up to expose his defined forearms. And more tattoos, just like he’d hinted at. He was motionless except for the subtle way his ring-clad thumb stroked his lower lip.

He didn’t wear a tie and the shirt remained unbuttoned at the top, but my assumption that he’d look hot in a suit, or some variation of it, was correct. I finished the rest of my bourbon in one swallow and put the empty glass down.

“Nice to see you again,” Xavier said with a sly grin.

“Alright, wait a bleeding second,” Cade interjected. “How do you—” His eyes widened. “This is the one from the pub, isn’t it? The one that got you all hot and bothered.”

Bennet draped his arm over Cade’s shoulders. “How about you and me go downstairs for a drink.” Without waiting for a reply, Bennet guided him to the stairs, where they disappeared down into the crowd.

“You seemed pretty involved in your conversation with those two.” He lifted an eyebrow. “Did I miss anything good?”

“Not as good as what just walked into the room.” The words tumbled out before I could stop them. Hitting on him wasn’t an option.

Or maybe it was.

Yep. It definitely was.

I’d blame it on the bourbon but that was a lame ass cop-out. He was hot and I felt more than a little frisky.

“I see.” He slid his hands into his pockets and before I knew it, stood inches away from me.

He smelled so good. Not of cologne or body spray or any of the manufactured crap some men seem to think they need. Just soap, shampoo and him. His scent reminded me of the outdoors. Fresh and earthy, like vetiver.

“Shouldn’t you be doing the rounds with your friends?” I asked.

“Not necessary.”

“Are you a soccer player too?”

“Soccer,” he mimicked with a grin. “Yes. I play football.”

I bit my lip to stifle a laugh at his correction.

He leaned toward me, invading my personal space the way a five star general crosses enemy lines, with precision and a healthy serving of arrogance. I was essentially caged between him and the railing.

It took quite a bit of effort not to slide my fingers up his chest and unbutton the rest this shirt. Or tear it open and watch all the buttons scatter.

“Did you come here with someone tonight?” he asked.

“Like a date?”

“Yes, like a date.”

“No.”

“Lucky me.” A mischievous smile pulled at his lips. “Guess that means we’re on a date now. Or at least picking up where our last date left off.”

“Hardly. I’m not so sure you’re my type.”

“I’m everyone’s type.”

“I’m not everyone.”

 

Author Bio:

Lynn Montagano is a contemporary romance author, writing coach, podcaster and unapologetic football fan. When Lynn isn’t writing or recording her weekly podcast, you can find her cheering loudly for her beloved New England Patriots or traveling somewhere new in this great big world.

 

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Title: Mickey Chambers Shakes It Up

Author: Charish Reid

Publisher: Canary Street Press

Publication Date: June 6, 2023

Page Count: 309

About the book:

For readers of Talia Hibbert, a witty, contemporary love story with high emotional stakes and a multicultural cast, about a widowed bar owner who, upon returning to college at 42, inadvertently hires the woman who turns out to be the adjunct instructor of his online writing class to help tend bar at his failing establishment; for fans who love grumpy vs. sunshine.

Mickey Chambers is a 33-year-old adjunct instructor with a sunny disposition despite her chronic illness and dwindling bank account. When she finds out a local bar is hiring in a hurry, she throws her hat in the ring. Has she ever worked at a bar? Nope! But there are a lot of things Mickey hasn’t done before and after years of her youth spent ill, she is willing to try anything once. Especially if it helps her cover her medical costs for the summer.

Diego Acosta, a 42-year-old bar owner, needs help in a hurry. Since his wife, Lucía, died five years ago, he’s been running The Saloon by himself. But with only a skeleton crew and the pressures of returning to college, Diego fears he might be running his late wife’s bar into the ground. Between rowdy college students, one final English class, and an upcoming music festival, Diego accidentally hires his writing instructor in a panic to keep the bar afloat.

When Mickey brings her cheerful attitude to The Saloon, Diego balks at the changes: new cute cocktails, karaoke nights, and her pretty smile. It’s been so long since he’s had feelings for another woman, he wonders if a relationship with her is even possible. Mickey is trying to avoid a messy entanglement, but she’s ready to embrace everything life has to offer, including the grumpy Diego.

Find this book online:

Goodreads  /  Amazon /  BookShop.org / Harlequin / Barnes & Noble / Books A Million

Excerpt:

Plink, plink, plink…

Mickey Chambers’ heart stuttered as she held her breath. Each prescription pill she dropped into different days of the week was an ominous warning of finite resources. When she got to Saturday and found a nearly empty bottle of her thyroid medication, she had to do quick math in her head. To refill her prescriptions, she’d have to visit Dr. Curtis and get bloodwork done.

Another expense…

She’d been counting pills for most of her adult life. But at thirty-three, it was getting hard to pay for them. At her kitchen counter, Mickey carefully spilled the remainder of her medication on to a place mat and slowly separated them. Two weeks.

She quickly started on the mood stabilizer next, counting with the same slowness, and making note of how few were left in the bottle. Three weeks. Any gaps in medication could be bad news for her hormone levels, knocking her flat on her ass.

This was going to be a hellish summer if Mickey couldn’t fund the medication for her hyperthyroidism. Her teaching load had always been somewhat precarious, but this was the first time she worried. Hargrove University’s English Department had always made room for her, but they had also hired more adjuncts like her. Other part-time instructors who needed to grab up as many classes to cover their bills.

She gathered her medications and placed them back on the top of her refrigerator before checking her cell phone again. She was expecting a call from the department chair today with confirmation of her summer schedule. So far, Mickey only had one online class.

Because she’d taught a few distance-learning courses before, Mickey had a slew of class plans ready to be taught online. She’d need to update a few PowerPoint presentations from last year, but she counted on her Food Studies and Culture course to be easy to navigate. Now, if Lara could just give her a heads-up on a Comp 101 or an American Lit, she’d have extra syllabi for those as well.

But alas, no missed calls.

Mickey sighed as she tucked her phone in her skirt pocket. No point in waiting around her apartment when she needed to be at her parents’ home for Sunday dinner. This was the first dinner she’d shown up to since a hectic finals week and logging grades, so she missed them. She grabbed her purse and locked up before running into the Columbus, Georgia, heat. Even in late May, she felt the blast of the outdoor furnace that frizzed her curls and made her under-boobs sweat. She blew out another frustrated sigh. The heat was an annoyance for any average Georgian, but for someone with her condition, these summers were hell.

When she got on Forest Street, she tapped out a quick message to her mother, letting Rita Chambers know she was on the way. Mickey made a quick loop around Lakebottom Park, admiring the people who could stand jogging in the bright sun and catching a glimpse of her favorite brick-red bungalow on the corner of Cherokee Avenue.

She loved how it stood out from the surrounding houses with its delicate white trim and shutters and large wraparound porch. A couple years back, two rocking chairs used to sit near the door, now only one remained. The owner also seemed to neglect the spread of kudzu vine clawing its way up the west side of the house. Mickey noticed the changes and it made her sad.

Her mind quickly went back to the road toward her parents’ home. Through the shaded boulevard of dogwood trees, Hargrove students were already walking to the downtown area, ready to tear it up. She drove past them carefully, trying her best not to hit the pregame wobblers.

When she reached her parents’ house, she parked her car in the driveway behind her brother’s Beemer and walked past the pecan saplings piled up in the yard. Mickey’s father must have been amid a landscaping project. Her mother would object to Virgil Sr. lifting more than necessary, but she’d let her parents argue about that.

She checked her phone once more and found no new messages.

Mickey closed her eyes, trained a smile on her face, and readied herself for dinner with her family. As she stepped through the threshold of her childhood home, she called out, “I’m here, let the festivities begin!”

Her little brother, Junior, was the first to reply. “Girl, ain’t nobody waiting on you.”

Mickey laughed as she hung her purse in the yellow foyer her father had painted earlier in the year. Judging by the smells coming from the kitchen, she wouldn’t have waited on her either. She found her family eating dinner in the bright and airy living room, using the collapsible TV trays while her mother’s lovely dining room remained untouched.

“Baby, fix a plate and join us.” Her mother pointed her fork toward the kitchen.

“Thanks, Mama.”

“Michelle, when’s the last time you had that car looked at?” her father asked apropos of nothing.

Mickey bit back her grin. “Last time I was here.”

Virgil Sr. shook his head as he scraped at his plate. “Lemme change that oil before you leave. How them tires lookin’?”

It didn’t matter how she answered, her father would just examine the entire Honda Civic before she left the house. Even after a week of working for Columbus Public Works, he still needed to come home and tinker around with something. “I’ll let you have a look,” Mickey said on her way to the kitchen.

If it was hot outside, Rita’s kitchen was an inferno. Her mother’s cast-iron skillet had put in the work that day, producing fried chicken, fried pork chops and corn bread. Side dishes covered the counter like a small buffet line, with a roll of aluminum foil and Styrofoam plates sitting on the end, serving as to-go plates for Mickey and Junior.

A bottle of Ardbeg scotch sat near the refrigerator with a yellow sticky note pressed to the glass. If there was one thing she could count on her brother for, it was a free bottle of booze. No doubt, an end-of-the-semester gift. She smiled as she picked it up and inspected the label. She and Junior tried to get together as often as possible to try different spirits and share their opinions, but lately they’d grown too busy. He with his start-up in Atlanta and her constantly grading papers. As expensive as it was, his little reminder of simpler times touched her.

While she fixed her plate, Mickey listened to her parents give a familiar rundown of the Columbus, Georgia, happenings for Junior, who now lived in Atlanta.

“You remember Celestine on the West Side,” Rita said. “Henry Richard’s sister.”

“Uhh…”

“Taught at the dance school back in the nineties. Volunteered at the soup kitchen?”

“Mama, I can’t remember,” Junior said.

“Well, she passed a couple weeks back,” their mother went on. “I went to the visitation and saw her granddaughter, Layla. I didn’t know it, but she took over the dance school recently. You remember Layla? Real pretty girl…”

“Maybe?”

“Henry still working at Wilson’s Paper?” their father interjected.

“Sure is,” Rita said. “Coming up on twenty years. Oughta be retiring soon.”

When Mickey returned to the living room, she sat next to her brother on the sibling-designated couch, facing her parents, who sat in their own cushy recliners. On the television, an action movie played with the volume set low.

“Anyway,” Rita said, “you oughta let me introduce you to Layla. She’s such a professional little lady teaching those kids and I heard she was single…”

Junior made a noncommittal noise before stuffing his mouth with fried pork chop.

Rita switched gears and turned her focus on her other child. “Michelle, my favorite teacher! Are you feeling good? Have you taken your medications?”

“This morning, Mama,” Mickey said, trying to keep her smile up. Every time her mother laid eyes on her, she asked the same questions.

“Do you have enough for the month?”

Mickey nodded, trying not to worry about the number of pills she counted out earlier. “I get my refills on time.”

“Is that Obamacare still working for you?” her father asked. “‘Cause Roy said he’s paying an arm and leg over these prescriptions.”

Mickey eked out a strained smile. “It’s fine, Daddy. The ACA plan I’m on is okay.”

“Are you teaching this summer?” Junior asked, steering the conversation away from Mickey’s health.

She gave him a grateful look. Since she was first diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, her parents had dropped everything in their lives to make sure she was well taken care of. Now, at the age of thirty-three, they hadn’t quite stopped. “I am,” she said, quickly changing gears. “I’m still at Hargrove, in the English Department.”

“They had a hell of a busted pipe by that athletic center,” her father said. “I told Roy, they gonna have to dig up some of that parking lot that goes to Seaver Avenue.”

Her mother ignored her husband, who routinely rambled about construction. “Are you going to be busy this summer? How many classes will you have? Will you have to be on your feet in the classroom, or can you teach from home?”

Mickey followed her brother’s example and shoveled mashed potatoes in her mouth to avoid her mother’s interrogation. She hoped it would give her time to figure out a good enough lie about her unstable unemployment. She nodded. “Mmm-hmm.”

Her parents understood that she taught at a university. They bragged on her to everyone they knew, from the cashier at Winn Dixie to Monique at the salon. What they didn’t quite grasp was what nontenured track looked like at a place like Hargrove University.

While associate professors could use their summers for scholarship and traveling to conferences, adjuncts scrambled to find all the classes they could to make ends meet. Mickey loved teaching and her students…but she had the sneaking suspicion that her love for the job was being used against her by the university machine. She wasn’t making nearly enough money for the work she kept doing—the grim evidence hit her every time she paid her bills.

She swallowed the lump of mashed potatoes. “I’ll be fine,” she lied. As soon as her phone vibrated in her pocket, Mickey would know for certain. “Sorry, I gotta take this.”

She quickly excused herself from the living room and took her call in the kitchen.

Her boss started off on the wrong foot immediately. “Hey, Michelle…” she said in a contrite voice.

Mickey’s heart dropped. “Hey, Lara.”

“I’m sorry,” Lara said. “I had hopes for English 200, but there weren’t enough students for the Registrar’s Office to sign off on it. And then I only had 101 left, and I know you just taught it…”

“No, no, I get it,” Mickey said. “Matt needs a class too.”

“I tried to split the leftover classes as fair as I could,” Lara said. Her boss sounded so close to tears that Mickey had no choice but to let her off the hook. The availability of classes wasn’t necessarily her fault. She couldn’t help the fact that the administration had tightened up on summer course offerings.

“So, I’ve got the Comp 102,” she said with an upbeat voice.

“You do! Luckily, it’s the condensed early summer version; just four weeks. And you’d really be doing us a favor.” Doing them a favor made Mickey sound heroic instead of an underpaid professional who didn’t receive health-care benefits.

“Of course, no worries. Listen, Lara, I gotta let you go,” Mickey said.

“I get it,” Lara said. “Michelle, I’m so sorry. You’ll be okay?”

Even though she didn’t feel like coddling Lara’s feelings, she still lied, “I’ll be fine.”

“Okay. We’ll talk later?”

“Of course,” Mickey said brightly.

By the time she hung up, her mind was already on the next problem. What did the money situation look like for the next two and a half months? A quick calculation of savings told her she could handle rent—that always came first. Then came medication. Her savings account would take a hit, but it could cover those necessary pills. She had a roof over her head, but food and utilities were a different story.

“Was that work?”

She jumped at the sound of Junior’s voice behind her. Mickey could lie to her boss and her parents, but her brother would always be a tough sell. He may be five years younger than she, but he’d had to grow up fast when she was at her sickest. “It was,” she sighed.

“Are you going to need help this summer?” he asked.

He didn’t mean any harm, but it stung to be so far behind her brother, who graduated school on time, who found a career at an appropriate time. Meanwhile, Mickey’s constant absences due to illness meant flunking out of high school. She didn’t catch up to her peers until a proper treatment plan was put in place. Getting her GED, earning a bachelor’s and finally a master’s degree, in literature, gained her employment…just not a steady career in her thirties. “Please don’t tell mom and dad,” she whispered, glancing toward the living room. “They still see me as a sick teenager: reminding me to take my meds, offering me money they don’t have.”

“You need to come work with me and James,” her brother suggested as he rubbed his beard. His dark brown eyes focused on the stove behind him and narrowed. She could tell his computer-programmer mind whirred with a plan. “If you lived in Atlanta, I could help you get set up with a little apartment nearby. We could finally start the whiskey podcast…”

“You know I’d love to do the podcast,” Mickey said with a chuckle. “But I don’t want to move to Atlanta and I don’t want to work for my little brother doing—what are you doing?”

Junior rolled his eyes. “Coding the MedPlus app. We’re still trying to find a decent marketing manager… You could be it?”

Mickey grabbed her brother by the hand and dragged him to the kitchen patio door. “Let’s talk about this outside,” she sighed, hoping her parents weren’t listening. In the backyard, she finally felt relief from the stifling heat of the house.

“How long are you going to keep working for that school?” Junior asked, facing the setting sun. The vibrant red shined on his deep brown skin as he squinted his dark eyes against the light. He took his coloring and height from their father, while Mickey’s pecan-brown skin and short, chubby stature mimicked their mother.

She didn’t know the answer to that. “I don’t know. I guess I’ll teach until I find something else I’m good at.” Sometimes she woke up in a cold sweat, wondering why she’d chosen literature and composition as areas to study. The job market was rough for even those who had doctorates. What had felt like a comfortable job was quickly becoming an albatross around her neck. Anytime she tried to think about another vocation, her heart pounded and her brain froze. “I know I’m really good at organizing and planning, but those skills feel too vague to become a…career.”

“Well, you’re good with people—always friendly and helpful. I wish I knew how you stay so damn cheerful,” he said with a chuckle. “A bunch of spoiled-ass freshmen in English class would drive me up a fuckin’ wall.”

“Oh, it’s not them,” Mickey sighed. “When I step foot in the classroom, they respect me, they listen. Hell, they don’t even realize I’m a part-time lecturer. My students think I’m a scholar like everyone else.”

She certainly didn’t feel that way when she left the classroom. Since she didn’t attend department meetings, many of the tenure-track professors barely knew her name.

“Can I be honest with you?”

Her brother nodded.

Mickey blew out a sigh. “Teaching was accidental. After the bachelor’s degree, I didn’t know what to do with literature studies, so I continued and got a master’s degree. The first job I got was teaching English and I just stuck with it. I like doing it, but without a doctorate degree, being an adjunct is a permanent internship. It’s an aspiration job that will never become a career for me.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “It’s a hamster wheel masquerading as a noble pursuit.”

Quiet blanketed the back patio as Mickey fought to keep her shit together. That was the first time she’d spoken the truth to another person.

“Got it. So, you’re spinning your wheels at Hargrove.” Junior said in a serious voice.

Mickey kept her eyes on the horizon ahead of them. Anything to avoid her brother’s piercing stare. “I’ll need to make some real changes come fall.”

“For real though, if things don’t work out in Columbus, you can stay with me. I know MedPlus is still young, but James has a couple investors lined up. You’re a writer. I could get you in on the ground floor.”

Mickey nodded. “I hear you, and I’ll keep it in my back pocket.”

While Junior’s job offer was a lovely gesture, she was reluctant to accept it. Her family had done too much as it was to help her. Her parents had given up their time, getting the runaround from heath professionals. And then their money to send her to doctors and specialists. Junior even helped her with her college applications and her move to Athens for her master’s program. Living with her brother, while working for him, seemed like taking a step backward.

The patio door slid open. Their father stuck his head out and looked between the two of them. “It’s too hot out here for Michelle to be standing around,” he said with a frown. “Y’all come in here and get a cold drink.”

Mickey shot her brother a look that said, See?

Junior smirked as he shook his head. “Coming, Pop.” As she followed her brother back inside the house, she hoped that she could continue pretending things were fine. She adjusted her face, forcing the smile that people were accustomed to, and tried to forget about the ever-present money worries. Positive attitude, Mickey. She wouldn’t get anywhere feeling sorry for herself.

Excerpted from Mickey Chambers Shakes It Up by Charish Reid. Copyright © 2023 by Charish Reid. Published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

About the author:

Charish Reid is a fan of sexy books and disaster films. When she’s not grading papers or prepping lessons for college freshmen, she enjoys writing romances that celebrate quirky Black women who deserve HEAs. Charish currently lives in Sweden.

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