Marika Ray's Blog

What a sweet and heartwarming read! Anchored is an utterly delightful story, filled with charming characters who will touch your heart. Maple and Holt are absolutely adorable—you can’t help but fall in love with them and their grandparents.

Why you want to read:
Fake engagement with her grandma’s physical therapist
Forced proximity in the cabin on Anchor Lake
Opposites attract
Childhood vacation crush to lovers
No third act breakup
Family mystery solved

I didn’t mean to blurt out that the ridiculously handsome physical therapist at Sunny Shores Retirement Home is my fiancé. (Spoiler alert: he’s not.) But hey, at least my grandmother—the one recently diagnosed with dementia—is thrilled for me. Which makes lying to her feel so much worse, especially since my actual love life has sunk to the bottom of the lake.

My favorite memories are those magical summers at Grandma’s cabin in Anchor Lake. The ones filled with cannonballs, sunburns, and my first crush. Well, guess who’s now renting that very cabin and strutting around like a walking men’s fitness magazine cover? Yep, my childhood crush (aka: the hot physical therapist turned fake fiancé). Except now he comes with bonus muscles and designer glasses that make him look like Clark Kent’s hotter cousin. And apparently, he’s allergic to shirts. (I’m not complaining, but my ability to form coherent sentences sure is.)

Thanks to the town being packed tighter than a tin of sardines with tourists, we’re now playing house in Grandma’s cabin. He thinks his ADHD makes him challenging to live with, but after dating my ex (a two-timing toad), this guy’s like a breath of fresh air – or maybe that’s just the lake breeze talking.

As we investigate Grandma’s mysterious health decline and uncover love letters that suggest she was quite the heartbreaker back in the day, I’m starting to wonder: will this fake engagement lead to real heartbreak, or is Anchor Lake about to work its romance magic one more time?

The post ANCHORED is LIVE & in KU! appeared first on Author Marika Ray.

I adore the Wolfe brothers – Colson and Tully’s story is a magical second chance at love. This story is filled with love, acceptance, forgiveness and another chance at love. So much amazing banter, dialogue. and chemistry! – Goodreads, KristieReadsBooks

TROPES:
Divorced couple/Second Chance
Returning home
Heroine mends the heart she broke
Hero has always loved her…even 19 years after their divorce
When he says MY WIFE…he means it!
Mending families
Firefighter hero
Celebrity heroine
Forced proximity

BLURB:

The last person I expected to run into when I moved back home was my ex-wife, Tully Cassio—my high school sweetheart, the love of my life, the woman I hated as much as I still loved. She dumped me nineteen years ago and moved to Hollywood, quickly becoming a star and leaving our marriage in the dust.

My dad’s last wish included me moving back home and joining the local fire department. I agreed, mostly to be there to take care of Mom. But apparently, I’m not the only one back in Blueball, and now I’m somehow working with Tully on the fundraiser needed to keep the fire station open and me in a job.

On the one hand, seeing her again is everything I’ve ever wanted. On the other hand, I’ve harbored a lot of anger toward her over the years. After all, she damaged my pride and took my heart with her when she left town. She’s still a gorgeous spitfire, however, and doesn’t take my snarky comments lying down. Which means our fights start with a tiny spark of leftover attraction and billow into an inferno of feelings and frustration and…well…other F-words.

Instead of dumping water on this situation, we let it burn. In secret. Except nothing in a small town stays a secret for long. Soon everyone knows that the crush I’ve had on this woman since freshman year of high school hasn’t gone away just because she handed me divorce papers. Now my pride’s on the line again…along with my heart.

Because this town has always been too small for Tully, and her agent just called with the offer of a lifetime.

The post AN EX AFFAIR is LIVE & in KU! appeared first on Author Marika Ray.

“I literally find my hand pressed over my heart in a love-filled swoon of a feeling as I finish the epilogue. This book captured that so well, it’s lingering in the best of ways. I could give you a synopsis, but really all you need to know is that this book is a must-read. Go get lost in the town of Snowhaven and two artists who find themselves while finding true love in each other.”

-Goodreads, Cecelia

Santa’s Naughty List:
Single dad hot enough to melt the snow
Divorced nanny to the stars…now taking applications for a personal life
Snowed-in (with plenty of ugly holiday sweaters)
Famous country music singer…with a legendary
He’s looking to slow down in midlife…she’s looking to launch her career
Sugary sweet small-town Christmas romance
Hilarious town group text: where autocorrect turns “Merry Christmas” into “Merry Crisis”
Guaranteed happily ever after in the New Year

𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐛

I have one job as a nanny—watch the kiddos while their parents attend a fancy celebrity wedding at a remote ski lodge. What I don’t expect is to go on a candy finding mission at the check-in desk and run smack into famous country singer Hutton Calder—a scorching hot single dad. And my old hall pass.

When an early snowstorm strands us together, I find herself playing hostess to America’s most eligible bachelor and his adorable five-year-old son. I try to play it cool, but there’s no ignoring the smokin’ hot chemistry between us as we bake dozens of sugar cookies to make his son’s holiday memorable. Hutton proves to be more than just his public persona—kind, thoughtful, and surprisingly down-to-earth. As we dig out from the snow, Hutton not only stays with me longer, he boosts my confidence and encourages my artistic dreams, all while charming the entire town of Snowhaven with his impromptu Santa appearances and involvement in the local Christmas festivities.

But as Hutton’s presence in town draws unwanted attention, including from my nosy ex-husband, I have to navigate small-town gossip, growing feelings, and the fear of losing my heart to the man who has no plans on staying past Christmas. With Christmas approaching, I face my biggest challenge yet: convincing Hutton that the magic of small-town life is exactly what he and his son need.

The post SUGAR NOOKIE is LIVE & in KU! appeared first on Author Marika Ray.

“I am so in love with the start to another series in Blueball. Em and Warrick’s story was so good. The laughter, emotions and love throughout this story made it that much better. Em is a fiercely independent survivor, raising a child alone and building a business one day at a time. Warrick is at a crossroads and hires Em to renovate his mother’s home, but it is the sexy contractor and her daughter that set his heart free. If you are a fan of age gap and or found family stories. Then this is one you are going to love.” – -Review by Cindy, Goodreads

He falls first…for the heroine AND her daughter!
Marriage of Convenience to save the heroine
Single Mom with a little girl who will melt your heart
Small-town romance with all the feels
Hero returning back home
Toolbelt slingin’ heroine
Dirty-talkin’ millionaire hero
Hilarious farm animal sidekicks
Guaranteed happily ever after

My return home to my family’s small town hasn’t been easy, but the new female contractor I hired—a struggling but strong willed single mom—keeps stripping her clothes off on the jobsite, which certainly spices things up.
(She swears a spider crawled under her shirt.)

She also divulges she’s scared of her ex and he’s taking her to court for custody of their daughter. I hate to see a woman mistreated, so I step up and marry her so she has a stronger case in front of the judge. Temporarily, of course.

As a retired millionaire, I’ve had my fair share of women use me for my wealth. I’ve given up on finding my happily ever after and I’m okay with it. I just need to find something else to do with the second half of my life.

My new wife, Emmerleigh Slaywright, has spicy comebacks galore, a stubborn streak a mile wide, and the kind of bellow on the job site that can unman even the toughest of workers. Add in her pint-sized daughter, Georgia, who loves the animals on our hobby farm and has me wrapped around her pinkie finger, and I’m not sure why I pushed for the marriage to be fake.

One night, all the tension between us boils over and Em gives up control.
(Only in the bedroom and I’m very okay with it.)

Suddenly she wants the marriage annulled, so she’s not taking advantage of me. Right when I think I want to make this marriage real. She might think she’s looking out for me, but she doesn’t understand that Em and Georgia have become the future I thought I’d never have.

How can I convince her they’re the package deal I want?

Download in KU!

The post A PACKAGE DEAL is LIVE & in KU! appeared first on Author Marika Ray.

Marika Ray writes romcom romances like nobody else! 𝗦𝗔𝗟𝗧 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 had me on the floor more times than I can count. I laughed out loud at all the craziness that was Dec, Kenna, Harley, Char, Liz, Daniel, Mona and Maeve. Seriously what a fantastic cast of characters. I also developed strong feelings for a certain baseball hat wearing tanned fisherman and would have liked nothing more than to get me some of that but the truly best part of this book was the full blown crush I developed for Kenna. What a fantastic woman she was. Hot mess aside, she was such an inspiration. Yes, she had a bit of a meltdown and she shed no small amount of tears, but all that and her courageous outlook endeared her to me. This book is truly special and gets the judy.ann.loves.books stamp of approval…TBR and Enjoy!

JudyAnnLovesBooks – Goodreads Review

Small, beach town
fish out of water
secret identity
found family
second chance at life after divorce
beach read
summer romcom
schmexy times
forced proximity/ next door neighbors/ business partners
grumpy/sunshine
Family secrets
Hot mess FMC gets a life makeover
healing from the past
Gator encounter
Meddling old people…even from the afterlife!

What do you do when you find out your husband’s cheating on you, your aunt just passed away in Florida, and your boss gave the promotion to your work nemesis, so you threaten him with bodily harm in the middle of a board meeting?

Well, after getting escorted out of the building by security, I fly straight to Sunshine Key to deal with my aunt’s estate. There, I meet my new neighbor, a gorgeous, surly man with all the charm of a rusty anchor, but at least he’s easy on the eyes when he’s not scowling. My aunt leaves her boat club to the two of us. Fifty-fifty ownership despite the fact I know absolutely nothing about boats. Or Florida. The will declares I have to live on this tiny key one full year if I want to inherit the oceanfront house too.

As I reclaim who I am as a woman, as well as discover which pieces of my fractured life I want to glue back together, Dec Boggs starts to show a sensitive, protective side under that crusty exterior that has my battered heart beating again. But the man is hiding from his own past and not even a string of boat rides, gator encounters, and sultry nights below the palm trees can get him to open up. More secrets get revealed with each day I spend in Florida and old family wounds are exposed.

Should I abandon ship after the year is up? Or will this salty life in the Sunshine State become a salt love?

The post SALT LOVE, a Summer RomCom, is LIVE & in KU! appeared first on Author Marika Ray.

This is like no other book in existence, and holy smokes I loved it so much! Marlo is the epitome of a dark, twisted humor, somber, sees things in black and white, undertaker, and the polar opposite of Vander. But they fit together like peanut butter and jelly, black and white cookies, summer and sunshine. Watching them navigate their relationship, adventures, heartache, fear of rejection, betrayal, and existing in the same house as his geriatric hysterical grandmother, is an absolute and utter joy. Marika absolutely outdid herself with this witty, sarcastic, dark humorous love story. Five absolutely embalmed for eternity stars for this one! – Savannah

Small town RomCom with all the feels
Millionaire Hero
Enemies to Lovers
Dark Humor
Grumpy heroine
Neighbors in Hate
Black cat + Golden Retriever
Guaranteed happily ever after

He’s a dashing millionaire who thinks everything in life is one big joke, probably because he bathes in piles of money each morning. He’s also my new neighbor, and after a humiliating experience in the cemetery that is my backyard, he becomes my shadow, showing up everywhere just to annoy me.

I’m not a fan of happy people. They bother me with their constant grins and rainbows coming out of their ears, and Vander Booth is the king of smiles. Despite my efforts to scare him away with both my profession as an undertaker and my general need for frowning through most of my workday, he sticks around like a bad case of poison ivy.

He is gorgeous though. I’ll give him that. And when I see the way he coordinates outfits with his grandma just to make her happy, I’ll admit my biological clock starts ticking. Add in his fear of real human connections and suddenly I find myself cheering for the guy instead of plotting his death.

Though opposites can attract—and boy is my black lipstick attracted to his glow-in-the-dark smile—they don’t stay together long-term. And they certainly can’t co-exist when they’re fighting constantly in a knock-down, drag-out competition for the same piece of land for their business venture. Or can they? Cue ominous organ music…

The post Set My Heart Bonfire is LIVE & in KU! appeared first on Author Marika Ray.

I devoured this book in one day. The banter back and forth between these two neighbors was priceless.

Besties & Books

Grumpy/Sunshine
Delicious enemies to lovers
Single Dad with a little girl who will melt your heart
Small-town RomCom with all the feels
Wounded hero
Takes-no-shit heroine
Dirty-talkin’ hero
Guaranteed happily ever after
Spicy AF banter
A did-they or didn’t-they break up

He’s a tattooed, blue-eyed jerk who has no business being a single dad. He’s also my next-door neighbor, and after negotiations, my grumpy employer for the summer.

I don’t put up with cocky males normally and I certainly won’t put up with that man making noise at all hours of the day and night while he builds his glamp-ground. I offer advice, but the stubborn fool just turns his tractor on to drown me out. He returns the favor by pushing my buttons and making me so angry I can’t see straight. And I really want to be able to see his gorgeous body in those well-worn jeans and backward hat.

Amidst the verbal warfare, I discover he’s hiding scars from a recent accident. I also find out his light eyes heat up to a smoldering icy gray when I give as good as I get. Makes me want to see just how far I can push him and what he’ll do when he boils over.

Gannon’s been dealt a rough hand in life, and when I find a way under that gruff—and stupidly handsome—exterior, I find that maybe he’s not Grumpy the Bear as I nicknamed him, but instead just a teddy bear.

The post Grumpy the Bear is LIVE & in KU! appeared first on Author Marika Ray.

Get ready for another hilarious and sweet rom-com from Marika Ray. Ethan Hellman is probably the sweetest most romantic heart out of all the Hellman brothers. This story is everything I wanted for him and more!

Jenn M. – Goodreads Review

Our cinnamon roll hero falls in love first!
Reverse grumpy/sunshine
Fake engagement plus mistaken identity
small town RomCom hilarity

I’m unemployed and down to my last dollar—thank you, stranger, who bought my coffee when my card was declined this morning. If that wasn’t bad enough, I just T-boned the truck belonging to the guy I was meeting on a first date.

Ethan Hellman, small-town sweetheart with a secret, and an instant—unbelievable—love for me despite the condition of his truck.

It’s not that I don’t believe in love per se. It’s just that I’ve done the calculations—it won’t happen to me. And especially not now when I’m bouncing off rock bottom with the bruises to prove it. 

But Ethan doesn’t seem to care about all that. He offers me a job, a place to live…and a rock on my finger. I just have to turn my back on my career, pretend to be giddy in love, and be the face of his new company. His constant sunshine makes me grumpy. It’s also kind of addicting. So I agree to his terms and find myself living a life I don’t recognize.

Things are going surprisingly well when someone from my past reappears offering a similar lifeline. I’ll have to make some tough decisions that just don’t compute in my logical brain.

Ethan may have fallen first, but I’m afraid I’ve fallen harder.

The post Falling First Hell is LIVE & in KU! appeared first on Author Marika Ray.

“I adored this book. It really gives you all the feels, while having you feeling the heat, and then leave you a swoony, heart melted mess. The story is cute, funny, charming and has a heart of pure gold, but it also has a very serious side, so don’t just expect lots of laughs but plenty of heartstring tugging too.”

Gladys – Goodreads Review

Ten year age gap that not only works…but is explosive!
Hero is the town a-hole, hired to build the heroine her dream cabin
Heroine is widowed and now a single mom, looking for peace, not love and certainly not a fling
small town RomCom hilarity

Tropes: age gap, single mom, grumpy hero, enemies to lovers , mistaken identity

I have my fresh start in a new town, this time a widow with a preteen daughter who rolls her eyes enough to make them stay that way. Too bad my past mistake is also here to greet me.

Daxon Hellman. Town a-hole. Hot young contractor hired to build my house in the woods.

It’s only when I’m face-to-face with him for the first time that I realize he’s the mystery man from two years ago. It’s a long story of too many drinks, grief that made me resort to acting out, and an encounter in the dirty bathroom of a bar. Try as I might, I can’t forget that night. And now I have a name to go with that hot body.

Daxon growls at me…I irritate him with my constant social media posting. He orders me to do things…I trample all over his ridiculous commands with a smile and a choice finger in the air. He builds my house with that tool belt slung low on his hips and my cat steals his construction plans. We fit together like rain and exposed drywall.

Between insults and hot stolen kisses, Daxon and I reach a truce: to let our bodies do the talking and keep our hearts locked down. I’m older than him, which means I’m smart enough to keep a clear head. Until I realize when it comes to love, age and common sense do not go hand in hand. 

This crazy town has more surprises up its sleeve to drive us apart, which makes me think this might not be our forever home after all…

The post Cougar From Hell is LIVE & in KU! appeared first on Author Marika Ray.

“Another extraordinary tale of love and laughter in “Hell.” – Rebecca, Goodreads Review

“I thought Callan and Cricket’s romance was an absolute delight. The sweetness, swoon, feels and humor are ample and flow freely throughout this wonderful story. I absolutely adored these two. I love the chemistry and thought they were incredibly cute together. Friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and this one was excellent. The brilliant combination of angst, rich emotion, heart and drama gave me so many feels and had me firmly invested.” – Gladys, Goodreads Review

Best friends…but one of them has always wanted more
Hero is the town’s Mr. Nice Guy…total cinnamon roll hero
Heroine has an illness which forces them to live together
small town RomCom hilarity

Tropes: best-friends-to-lovers, heroine with an illness, hero has that golden retriever + daddy dom energy (okay, it’s not a trope, but it should be!)

The town’s most eligible bachelor just saved my life. I paid him back by puking on him.

Callan Hellman. Mr. Nice Guy paramedic. My best friend.

He buys my friends flowers when he knows they’ve had a hard day. Who does that? Callan’s the guy every girl wants to date and take home to mama. Not me though. We’re just friends. Have been since elementary school. I was the weird girl who kept him laughing with my antics, even when his father abandoned his family and Callan hid those scars behind his smile.

But due to my sudden medical diagnosis at twenty-four, Callan insists I move in with him. I accept and soon regret it. Since when did he grow all those muscles, and why is he allergic to wearing shirts? I’m getting white-picket-fences feelings I have no business feeling, and try as I might to suppress them, Callan makes a bold move that proves he’s carried a love-shaped torch for me for years.

Turns out, best friends make the best lovers, but when Callan’s daddy issues come between us, will his well-meaning brothers be able to patch us up and get our hearts beating together again? Or have I just lost the best friend I’ll ever have?

The post Friend Zone Hell is LIVE & in KU! appeared first on Author Marika Ray.