Welcome to Apple Ridge!
Welcome to Apple Ridge, a gem nestled in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Come for the apple picking, stay for the local flavor! You'll love our mascot, Sir Gala-Head, our famous local diner, The Clean Plate Diner, our cideries, and more.
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(Newsletters are sent out every other month.)
Falling for Mr. October
The whole town’s falling for the famous Shirtless Chef. Even his fake girlfriend.
Bianca
Call me suspicious, but I know something’s up when my nonna’s former best friend shows up at our house for an extended stay with her adult grandson Giovanni. Nonna says we’re lucky they’re going to “help out” with our failing family farm for the fall. I don’t buy it. No man would abandon his life to play his grandmother’s vacation companion.
Is Giovanni gorgeous?
Yes.
Charming?
Yes, and he’s always cooking for us.
But he’s definitely hiding something, and one day at our pumpkin patch, I discover his secret:
Giovanni was recently unmasked as the anonymous YouTube sensation known as The Shirtless Chef.
Everyone back home knows, so he left to escape the chaos.
Too bad the chaos follows him, and now I’m part of it.
Giovanni
I didn’t mean to kiss Bianca.
I definitely didn’t mean to kiss her in front of a photographer, but one stolen snap later, everyone’s insisting that I came to Apple Ridge for her.
I'm about to clear it up when she begs me not to—
The farm is failing, and a fake relationship with an accidental celebrity could solve her problems.
So I agree.
The next thing I know, I’m crowned the town’s Mr. October, Bianca and I are drowning in fall festivals, and I’m falling for a woman I know I’ll have to leave.
**Falling for Mr. October is a fall-themed, fake-dating romcom with meddling relatives, small-town charm, and romcom antics.**
Giovanni Cafiero first appeared in The Holiday Hate-Off!
Note: There are TWO different versions of this romcom:
1) A spicy open door version with some strong language and sex scenes
2) A closed door version with mild language and only kissing.
Please choose the version that's best for you!
Spicy version
Closed door version
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Kissing Mr. Mistletoe
When you kiss the one person who should be off-limits, blame it on the mistletoe
Emily
That’s exactly what I did when I kissed the town bad boy outside my bookstore one Christmas Eve. Everyone in town blamed him for the car accident he’d survived, which was baloney. I knew he deserved some kindness.
But the kiss was a lot hotter than expected. It unleashed some sort of madness in me, and I ran inside the shop to grab a book for him. I knew in my soul it would help him heal.
I didn’t tell him I wrote it, but when he returns to town for the holidays years later, he knows. Worse: he has a tattoo on his arm inspired by my book, and he wants all of my secrets.
That makes Miles Public Enemy Number One. Because four years have changed a lot—for one thing, I’m best friends with his sister, and for another…
The life I’ve built in this town depends on me keeping my secrets.
Miles
Kissing Emily was definitely not a mistake.
I aim to prove that to her, even if she’s not currently my Number One Fan.
Joining her retirement home book club?
Sure, I’ll even dress up.
Selling Christmas trees to tourists outside her shop?
I’ll throw in an ornament.
But the closer I get to Emily, the more I realize the girl who saved me might need saving right back.
Kissing Mr. Mistletoe is an (fr) enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, secret identity, best friend’s brother, small town Christmas romcom featuring a book store cat, a retirement home romance book club, and two leads who help each other heal at the holidays.
Spicy version
November 9
Apple (TK), Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Google Play
November 12
Closed door version
Don't miss the prequel!
The Holiday Hate-Off
All I want for Christmas is his complete and total destruction.
Lucy
The only thing standing between me and an idyllic Christmas in Hideaway Harbor is Enzo Cafiero, the hot jerk whose family runs the Italian market next door to the coffee shop where I work.
He hates me because I convinced his girlfriend to break up with him a few months ago. In my defense, his now-ex ran into the coffee shop sobbing. All I did was make her a latte and validate her feelings.
He didn’t even live here at the time—they were just visiting—but he does live here now.
He ditched his cushy NYC consulting job so he could save his family business. I’d admire his loyalty if he didn’t seem determined to ruin my Christmas. Because within minutes of his return, we’re trading barbs, destroying each other’s holiday events (RIP Santa Speed Dating), and having price wars.
I loathe him. And, unfortunately, I really want to push him under the mistletoe.
Enzo
Hideaway Harbor is the last place I want to be. But family means everything to me, so I left the big city to help mine.
Getting dragged into a full-on holiday feud with the girl next door wasn’t part of the plan, but I’m living for my hate-off with Lucy.
The truth is, I’d rather argue with her than get along with anyone else.
The Holiday Hate-Off is a small-town enemies-to-lovers romcom with dueling shopkeepers, sharp banter, intense chemistry, secret letters (think You've Got Mail), and close proximity.
Grab it here-
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