ROUGH AROUND THE EDGES presents a powerful narrative of cause and effect. The author shares his experiences of growing up in the streets of Compton, California. An environment that brought about a multitude of events resulting in an adolescent feeling broken, angry and volatile. At the age of 12, an unfortunate tragedy unfolds in front of his very eye's. At the age of 14, he joins a gang, and at the age of 19, the author is sentenced to 20 years in prison for making one of the worst decisions in his young life. But it's while incarcerated and faced with a whole new series of events, he reaches a turning point and sets out to transform his life for the better.

Four extraordinary romance authors pen scintillating stories of the most dangerous rogues-and the fiery women who can soften their hardened hearts... Playing with Fire by Susan Johnson Once Burned by Dee Holmes Melting Ice by Stephanie Laurens Simple Sins by Eileen Wilks

Can a new beginning be found in leather and chains? Kai Smithson’s life changes dramatically with his first glimpse into the world of BDSM. Completely innocent, Kai can hardly believe his eyes, but he knows what he likes and apparently that’s hot, dominant men in leather. He isn’t sure if he’s a submissive because he doesn’t really know what that means, but the feelings he is experiencing are exciting and new. Harry Croft, bar manager at The Underground BDSM Club, believes in insta-lust rather than love at first sight. And when he agrees to train Kai, the contract between them has one condition—no sex. But Kai has some very definite plans about losing his virginity and a piece of paper is not going to stand in his way. In his new friends at the club and at The Edge, Kai has a ready-made support group of subs that show him that the only rules in a D/s relationship are those he wants to make for himself. The old saying that you can choose your friends but not your family is proved horribly true for Kai, as the mysteries of his past are revealed. As he and Harry start out on their journey together, they must contend with bullets as well as bondage, danger alongside domination, and it’s not easy to establish trust when the whole world is going to hell.

Stranded and about to go into labor, Kitt Dawson had to depend on her wits--and Shawn O'Rourke. The gorgeous man delivered her baby with the same gentleness he bestowed on gun-shy Kitt. Then he popped the question! Mr. Rough Around the Edges was in desperate need of a green card wife. And while Shawn hadn't promised forever, and the words of love he spoke were only part of their charade, he couldn't deny the attraction--or the need to brand Kitt with searing passion....

A dark warrior whose touch was as seductive as it was dangerous . . . Alex Jamison knew at a glance that Dr. Kristen Helton spelled trouble. The emerald-eyed physician was an outsider, a rich do-gooder he expected to run when things got rough on the mean Miami streets he called home. Kristen, however, was no quitter and insisted on joining his fight to keep kids out of trouble. But could a woman who'd always played by the rules help a renegade battle the odds and win? She was his equal in courage and determination, a woman as stubborn as she was beautiful, but could he ask her to share a desperate struggle that risked their future, even their lives?

Raw, real romance from an all-male point of view. For Ryan Moore, the choice to fight is like the choice to breathe – necessary. After being wounded in war and discharged from the United States Marine Corps, competitive MMA fighting is the only thing he’s still able to excel at. Every round is a risk he can’t afford to take, but time spent outside of the cage is purgatory, until he meets female fighter Ally Rivera. For the first time since an IED blast destroyed life as he knew it, he wants something – someone. And she wants him, but the lingering effects of war might just tear them apart, if the gang violence that plagues her family doesn’t kill them first. Rough Around the Edges is Ryan’s side of the love story told in Battered Not Broken. It’s not a sequel, but a separate novel written for those who want to experience the story through Ryan’s eyes. Full-length standalone novel.

"Unzip that dress before I shred it." You married a decent man. A rock solid, arrogant war hero who knew exactly who he was and what he wanted. He wanted you, and you gave yourself to him. You are his only desire--the only woman in his orbit--but the intensity of that desire is turning dangerous. Love may be the death of both of you. ---- NY Times Bestselling author CD Reiss brings dark intensity to a couple so in love, they'll make the darkest of sacrifices to save each other. ------ Rough Edge is an epic, intense, love story with some dark elements that could freak out some readers. I encourage you to read the reviews carefully in order to determine if this book is for you.

Poetry. "Let's twin and twine together two primary aspects of how America can see herself--the good atoms of Whitman's leaves of grass, and the engines humming their freedom on the highways that cut across those 19th century fields. Now, Jason Labbe well knows, as Whitman's atoms become pixels, we find ourselves at a crossroads, learning again and again the consequences of 'the indescribable way you shape / a past of little use.' Seeking to find that law or logic to shattering, be it in the memory-echo of personal trauma caught on infinite loop in the mind, or be it the dismal virtualities of the post- modern ether, the poems of SPLEEN ELEGY unfold their rueful nostalgia: 'I have something accurate to say that lacks perspective.' That may well be the very accuracy we most need, riding the routes of America, the byways and frontage roads, seeking anyone who is willing for a poem or two to see."--Dan Beachy-Quick "'A chunk of broken tar'--that's the color of this book. And the sound of this book is 'a train in the static.' Its poems count time in 'decaseconds of dusk.' To read this book is to feel the uneasy passivity and unerring stuckness, the particular absurdity, of certain citizens stuck in this millennium. So many lines made me laugh. And sigh. But not cry. Jason Labbe is great at melancholy. Baudelaire's mosquito is definitely here: 'I am Past / who passing lit and sucked your life and left.' The future is unthinkable and unalterable. Except. Except! Lucretius' swerve is also here. Atoms may veer randomly, which is extra significant in a book that takes place mostly on the road. 'My sutures are beautiful as a tread pattern,' he says, and it is easy (and dangerous) to fall in love with Labbe's strangled version of optimism."--Darcie Dennigan

"I laughed so much, swooned often, and the tender, hot love Joey and Kendall shared was electric." - Amazon Review"This book was so full of fun situations and dialogue, I was beaming from ear to ear even til the last page and line!" - Goodreads ReviewLove is the adventure no one sees coming. Joey Moore got her heart stomped on. At her engagement party. So, she does what any normal, completely rational 28-year-old would do - she moves to a new city with her dog to start a new life. Without much of a plan, it turns out. Kendall O'Hara doesn't enjoy chaos - at 42-years-old, she has a stable job and two cats she likes more than most people. Okay, all people. She likes routine (and yelling the correct Jeopardy answers right before the contestants do). She's not boring. She's just protecting her still-healing heart decades later. When Joey and Kendall's paths cross, a rocky start with an accidental laundry switch turns into an unlikely friendship. From there, the two friends make a pact to get out of their comfort zones, one piece of paper drawn from an "Adventure Jar" at a time. A growing mutual attraction leads them on an adventure that neither one might have expected...