Iโm the first to admit I have a warped since of humor. It varies from dry to
witty to (at times) juvenile, but Iโm always up for a laugh. So itโs no wonder
that I try to incorporate a few comedic moments in my romance novels.
Laughter lightens the mood, relieves the tension, breaks the ice. In the
beginning of a relationship, it can help tear down the walls between a couple.
How many people out there met their significant other over a joke or a funny story?
But as the initial phase of a relationship deepens, so does the need for
laughter. According to author Lauren Blakely, โLooks fade, but humor lasts
forever!! Laughing together is key to a great relationship!โ
Studies have shown that laughter increases intimacy and strengthens the bond
between couples. It can smooth over differences, help couples overcome problems
and setbacks, put things in perspective, and increase creativity. Humor
neutralizes conflict by interrupting the power struggle, allowing people to be
more spontaneous and be less defensive. Laughter opens people up, freeing them
to express what they truly feel and allowing their deep, genuine emotions to
rise to the surface.
So when was the last time you and your significant other shared a laugh?
Ten Novels by Ten New York Times Bestselling Authors
From the hot big city heroes that make us melt, to the
sassy small town heroines that make us smile, this limited
edition collection has something for everyone. Ten sexy and
sweet full-length novelsโa wide mix of fun, heart-tugging,
addictively romantic love storiesโeach handpicked by an
all-star gathering of ten of todayโs most popular
contemporary romance authors.
10 Full-Length Novels, **NO Cliffhangers**, SAVE over $40
for 2,000+ pgs
BELLA ANDRE --
Can't
Help Falling in Love (The Sullivans)
He can't make the mistake of
falling for another fire victim. She can't love-and
lose-another man with a
dangerous job. Gabe Sullivan & Megan Harris have every
reason to stay
apart...but they can't help falling in
love.
MELISSA FOSTER -- Seaside
Dreams (Seaside Summers)
Bella Abbascia has quit her job, put her
house on the market, and sworn off relationships while she
builds a new life in
her favorite place on earth, Wellfleet, Massachusetts. That
is, until good-time
Bella's prank takes a bad turn and a sinfully sexy police
officer Caden Grant
appears on the scene. After fourteen years of focusing
solely on his son, Caden
cannot resist the intense attraction he feels toward
beautiful Bella, but
starting over proves more difficult than either of
them imagined. Can true love really conquer all?
LAUREN BLAKELY --
Trophy
Husband (Caught Up in Love)
Sometimes you can't help
falling in love, even when you try to do the
opposite...
McKenna embarks on a playful, ironic quest for a trophy
husband after
her ex has ditched her, but along the way she meets someone
who rocks her
world. And she'll have to choose between protecting her
heart from hurt, or
letting go of her fears of a new beginning.
VIOLET DUKE --
Love,
Tussles, and Takedowns (Cactus Creek)
After his combat injuries
retire him from the military career he wasn't ready to give
up, battle-scarred
Hudson Reyes now spends his new life as a movie industry
fight scene and
weapons specialist simply doing what he knows best:
surviving. Until he meets
her. The
sweet, angel-faced
wrecking ball to his good intentions--antique arms
authenticator and martial
arts maven, Liana Lin. Even though she's everything he's
told himself he can't
have, sure as sin, if one woman could sneak past the barbed
wires he's wrapped
around his heart, it'd be her. Now if only they could stop
sparring long enough
to find out...
SAWYER BENNETT --
On
the Rocks (The Last Call)
He left to travel the
world for fame and glory, but only after spurning Gabby Ward
and crushing her
young heart. Now Hunter Markham has come back home to the
salty breeze of the
North Carolina Outer Banks and looking at the all-grown-up
Gabby in a whole new
way. Still bitter over his rebuff years before, Gabby is
content to stay far
away from him and his dangerously charming ways, but when
Hunter presents an
offer to her that she simply can't refuse, she has to battle
her ever growing
attraction to the man that first taught her about
heartbreak.
CARLY PHILLIPS --
Dare to Desire (Dare to Love)
Quarterback Alex Dare, had
it all--an all-star football career and his choice of
willing women--until injury
forces him into early retirement. Social worker Madison
Evans grew up in
foster homes and knows what it means to have-not. She isn't
impressed by Alex
Dare's wealth or charm. Not since she fell hard for him once
before, only to
discover she was just one of his too-easy conquests. This
time around Madison
refuses to succumb. But Alex wants Madison. And if
there is one thing Alex
does well, it's to get what he wants. Can he convince
Madison to take a risk
and dare to love?
ERIN NICHOLAS --
Out of Bounds (Boys of Fall)
Wild child Jackson Brady
doesn't think twice about returning home to help
out when his beloved high school football coach
gets sick. Jackson's done a lot of growing up in the past
twelve years and this
is an opportunity to atone for his past sins. But to get
back into everyone's
good graces, he needs to prove he's changed. Sweet,
well-respected Annabelle
Hartington is the key. If she'll give him a second chance,
everyone will know
he's a new man. Surprisingly, he's not the only one who's
changed and it turns
out nothing stirs his inner bad boy like the *former*
goody-two-shoes.
MELANIE SHAWN --
Actually Love (Crossroads)
Real or fake... As VP of public relations for SPC, the
beautiful and
talented Jessie Sloan knew the difference. The order and
control she had in her
life was real. Love was fake and she didn't have time for
fake. Win or lose...
Sexy, sculpted boxing champ Zach Courtland has had his share
of losses in life,
but inside the ring, he knew nothing but wins. He was used
to taking and
landing punches, but little did he know that he was about to
get the knockout
of his life.
JESSIE EVANS --
Diamonds and Dust (Lonesome Point
Texas)
Pike Sherman is a legend in
Lonesome Point, a hometown boy who made it to the big
leagues. Literally.
Professional baseball acquired one hell of a pitching arm
and its latest
celebrity bad boy when the gifted Pike was drafted. His
broken heart came along
for the ride, too, but he kept that private. After a
few days back in
Lonesome Point, Pike can't imagine life without Tulsi
Hearst, the girl he left
behind, but when Tulsi's secret is revealed, his heart is
broken all over
again. The only thing worse than losing Tulsi, is losing six
years with the
daughter he didn't know he had.
CRISTA MCHUGH --
Falling for the Wingman (The Kelly
Brothers)
Air Force pilot Caleb
Kelly has come back home with one mission in mind--to
propose to the woman whose
letters and lucky charm helped him survive his deployment in
Afghanistan. But
when he finds their apartment empty with a note saying she's
left him, he
arrives at her mother's house in rural Alabama too find
Kourtney is about to
marry another man. Her little sister, Alex, convinces him
that the best way to
get Kourtney back is to make her think he's fallen for
someone new--her. But
when a fake romance becomes all too real, Alex's deception
may leave them both
grounded.
Crista
McHugh is a multiple award-winning author of fantasy romance and paranormal
romance with heroines who are smart, sexy, and anything but ordinary.
Growing up in small town Alabama, Crista relied on story-telling as a natural
way for her to pass the time and keep her two younger sisters entertained.
She currently lives in the Audi-filled suburbs of Seattle with her husband and
two children, maintaining her alter ego of mild-mannered physician by day while
she continues to pursue writing on nights and weekends.
© 2003-2026