Kathryn Nolan's Blog, page 14
April 4, 2020
Spend your weekend with a steamy, enemies-to-lovers romance!
UNDER THE ROSE is live on Amazon and free in Kindle Unlimited! Behold a few early reviews (if you need convincing):
The suspense, action and HOT sexy times throughout Under The Rose made it impossible to put the book down... - Bex Book Reviews
One of the hottest scenes I have ever read takes place in the backseat of Sam's car! *fans self* - Laura - Not Now I'm Reading book blog
It was everything I love about an enemies-to-lovers romantic suspense.... - Norma, Goodreads
It captivates you from page one and keeps you on the edge until the very end! - Martina, Goodreads
Their bicker-banter is the stuff of legends. I didn't want this to end, but couldn't put it down. - Ayla, Goodreads
UNDER THE ROSE is a fun, action-packed escape - with toe-curling steam and a guaranteed happily-ever-after. I hope it warms your heart this weekend.
Lots of love (from home!) and lots of love for my readers,
Kathryn
Buy Under the rose
April 1, 2020
UNDER THE ROSE releases on Friday!
UNDER THE ROSE is almost here! (cue wild flailing arms!)
Freya's about to go undercover with her arch-nemesis.
The only man to ever get under her skin. They've been competing, bickering and arguing with each other for years.
Unfortunately, her arch-nemesis has the audacity to look like Captain America - with an arrogant smirk to match. And he pushes her every last button.
But you probably shouldn't kiss your arch-nemesis, right? Especially when doing so is a direct threat to your mission...and your safety.
Under the Rose is a steamy romantic suspense novel releasing Friday, April 3rd on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited!
Add it to your TBR!
A few early reviews…
The suspense, action and HOT sexy times throughout Under The Rose made it impossible to put the book down... - Bex Book Reviews
One of the hottest scenes I have ever read takes place in the backseat of Sam's car! *fans self* - Laura - Not Now I'm Reading book blog
The slow burn leading up to explosive pent up passion is classic Kathryn Nolan. Sam and Freya have one of those rare loves that make you swoon and sigh, poetically written as only Kathryn Nolan can. - Joyce, Goodreads
I was literally hooked from page one, and finished the whole book in one sitting. This book combined the elements of adventure, mystery, and romance, all of which I loved. - Christine F., Goodreads
March 27, 2020
March 21, 2020
Rivals forced undercover...what could go wrong?
She’s about to go undercover with her arch-nemesis…
From the outside, the gorgeous Freya Evandale seems like a quirky bookworm with a taco addiction. Most people would never guess she’s a proud drop-out of the FBI’s training academy and a highly-skilled computer nerd. These days, she’s happy as a private detective at Codex, specializing in stolen rare books.
That is until an old nemesis with an arrogant smirk and superhero shoulders ends up in her office.
Special Agent Sam Byrne is a tightly-wound workaholic with a secret…or ten. When a betrayal leaves him questioning his career with the Bureau, consulting for Codex seems like the perfect place to hide. But he certainly never expected to see Freya again. At the academy, their rivalry was legendary. And their sparring sessions resembled an actual battle, or worse… foreplay.
Now these enemies are forced to play nice as they go undercover to infiltrate a secret society. It’s a dangerous world of power, wealth, and shifting alliances. The higher the stakes, the harder it is to resist the true reason behind their rivalry. But surrendering to years of pent-up lust is a direct threat to their mission…and their safety.
Author’s Note: If smoldering enemies-to-lovers, volcanic repressed lust, secret tunnels, gun-toting bad guys, and delicious slow burns are your jam, Under the Rose is for you!
Add under the rose to your tbr
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
UNDER THE ROSE will be live on Amazon on Friday, April 3rd and free in Kindle Unlimited!
Over the next two weeks, keep your eyes peeled in this newsletter for directions on entering ARC giveaways and signed paperback giveaways
We have a lot of fun in my reader group during book releases. Make sure you're a member of Kathryn Nolan's Hippie Chicks!
UNDER THE ROSE is the second book in the Codex series. It can be read as a standalone - but I recommend reading the first book in the Codex series - BEHIND THE VEIL - first (it's also free in KU!)
March 6, 2020
A shortlist of UNDER THE ROSE tasting notes...
One of the (many) stages of my drafting process involves boiling down all the major themes, ideas and conflicts into a handful of colorful post-it notes that I pin up on my wall. It helps my writer brain zero in on the "hook" (what makes it juicy), what's keeping them apart (what makes it even juicier) and the overall texture (the juiciest!). The texture details appear sporadically (and sloppily) in the first few drafts until I finally smooth it all out- but they're my touchpoint while writing, an important reminder of the feel, the flavor, the sounds and smells and world-building aspects that are not just my favorite things to write, but my very favorite things to read.
From the desk of Kathryn Nolan -- my post-it notes for UNDER THE ROSE were:
Snarky, enemies-rivals-competitors-to-lovers
Historic Philadelphia
Prohibition-era secrets
Flickering candlelight
Code words
Masks
Love letters
Dangerous mysteries
Glamorous wealth (pearls, diamonds, gowns, martinis)
Heart-pumping adrenaline
Delicious slow-burn
UNDER THE ROSE is coming on Friday, April 3rd!
Rivals-to-lovers. Action-packed fun. Romantic suspense. The Codex team is back, baby! Keep your eyes peeled for a cover-and-blurb reveal soon. The cover is this-close to being finalized and I am low-key o b s e s s e d with it!
UNDER THE ROSE is the second book in the Codex series. It can be read as a standalone, but I recommend reading BEHIND THE VEIL first (because it's so damn good!)
If you haven't read BEHIND THE VEIL, it's a steamy, suspenseful, fake-marriage, action-packed romp with book thieves and private detectives and limo sex (
February 29, 2020
UNDER THE ROSE is coming Friday, April 3rd!
Can two lifelong rivals go undercover without falling in love?
UNDER THE ROSE is coming on Friday, April 3rd!
Rivals-to-lovers. Action-packed fun. Romantic suspense.
The Codex team is back, baby.
Add UNDER THE ROSE to your TBR: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51886174-under-the-rose
Keep an eye out for a cover-and-blurb reveal soon.
UNDER THE ROSE is the second book in the Codex series. It can be read as a standalone, but I recommend reading BEHIND THE VEIL first (because it's so damn good!)
If you haven't read BEHIND THE VEIL, it's a steamy, suspenseful, fake-marriage, action-packed romp with book thieves and private detectives and limo sex (
February 21, 2020
Girls just wanna have sun.
Rob and I are currently running out the door to gorgeous, sunny Miami Beach! That's right - we're going to the land of the Bluewater Billionaires. I'll be on the look-out for Beck Mason (of course), four female billionaires chillin' at a Drag Queen Brunch, and Frank the dirty-talking parrot. And if we swing by Lucky Dog, you know Rob and I will come home with ALL the rescue dogs!
There are a few reasons why we're ditching chilly South Philly for the tropical waters of South Beach:
1. February is my and Rob's anniversary month! Our very first date was on February 12th, 2010 which means we've spent a glorious decade together eating tacos, traveling across the country, drinking coffee around campfires, being obsessed with other people's dogs, then adopting our own dog, then being obsessed with our own dog, then turning our house into a veritable Dog Kingdom (Walter's bed is ALL of the beds!)....and I guess I wrote some books or whatever. Most importantly: DOGS. But as anyone who follows my Instagram knows...I'm low-key obsessed with my husband too. He's hilarious and handsome and really smart and super nice and a #1 Dog Dad. So it's only fitting that I take him to the beach and give him a bucket full of ice-cold Coronas.
2. It's really, really f%$#&*g cold out. And I just finished Freya and Sam's manuscript (wheeeeee!) Plus life is much too short. In summation: let's go to the f%$#&*g beach!
3. I spent alllllllllll those months researching Miami to write WILD OPEN HEARTS. Then allllll those months writing about the sand and the beaches and the nightlife. Seriously, you should see the group chats between me, Lucy, Pippa and Claire. It was like a love-letter to Miami and our dreams of drinking a cocktail while watching the sunset behind a row of swaying palm trees. I told Rob that if WILD OPEN HEARTS was successful, then he had to take me here as a present. SO OFF WE GO! I mean, he promised.
Thus - why I'm hurriedly stuffing bikinis and paperbacks into a bag and dashing out the door! We'll be there through Tuesday, so if I'm quiet on social media that's why. Although if I do post, it'll be over on my Instagram (so give me a follow if you need some wave-therapy).
When I'm back, I'll have some fun and amazing news for you about my spring book release (!). Until then, I'll see ya at the beach bar...
xoxox
Kathryn
February 7, 2020
Date Night with Luna and Beck
Luna: Listen. You guys know that my boyfriend, Beck Mason, is basically the World's Greatest Human. And the best at sex.
Beck: ..........thank you.
Luna: Shhh. All of Bluewater knows you're the best at sex, so these newsletter subscribers might as well too. Anyway, this morning I set out to plan a romantic picnic date by the pool for my grumpy, meat-eating soulmate.
Beck:..........thank you?
Luna: After consulting with Daisy, Emily and Cam, I wanted it to look something like this:
Beck: I told Luna I'd be fine with a six-pack and my favorite cheeseburger from Barb's. *blushes* *tries unsuccessfully to hide it* However I, uh....also really appreciate when Luna shows me her love.
Luna *grinning like a love-struck idiot*: A partner like you deserves a candle-lit picnic every night, Beck. Plus, Penelope wanted to help by tearing up and eating everything I put down. It was really a team effort to celebrate Beck's amazingness. I'd set the table. Penelope would eat it. I'd set it again. Our sweet girl would eat it again.
Beck: I love that dog so fucking much.
Luna: Honestly, we should be cooking Penelope a picnic every night. She's the best. Beck recently brought home a shirt he bought that declares him '#1 Dog Dad'.
Beck: I bought it because it's the truth.
Luna: Sometimes Beck carries Penelope around from room to room so she doesn't get too tired.
Beck: What Luna doesn't know, is that I also spent the day preparing for our date-night-pool-picnic.
Luna: .....but it's your picnic. I wanted to celebrate you. All you have to do is show up and look adorable.
Beck *shrugs*: Too bad. Daisy helped me.
Luna: Oh, god.
Beck: I spent the day learning how to craft this vegan cocktail called a Blackberry ... Kombucha... Vodka Smash.
Luna: You made me a kombucha cocktail?? *launches herself at Beck and begins kissing him in a way not suitable for newsletters*
Beck *blushing outrageously again* I should, uh, make them for you more often.
Recipe courtesy of Darn Good Veggies! Also this cocktail legit looks delicious for a summer night!
Luna: See? He's the best.
Beck: Daisy did teach me a lot about European princes.
Luna: I also might have spent the day learning how to make something called a....Cheeseburger Tater Tot with bacon?
Beck: Wait, what?
Luna: It's like a tater-tot. And you smash it and fill it with beef, cover it in cheese then sprinkle bacon on top. Basically everything I can't eat. I made you like a million of them. And ten for Penelope.
Beck: You cooked beef-filled potatoes for me then slathered them in bacon-cheese?
Luna: Yes, sir.
Beck: I love you so much.
Luna: Right back atcha, Mr. Mason.
Now I legitimately need to make these though . Dammit Luna!
NSFW: And then things got dirty...
Pssst. This is Kathryn. Of course, Beck and Luna did some...ahem...other things on their date night that I can't post in here. But I can post a dirty bonus scene on Book+Main. Click the button below to read what happened pre-picnic...
Luna: Thanks for letting us come by and fill you in on our date-night plans. The truth is, every night with Beck feels just like this. Silly, magical, sexy and fun. And with lots and lots of dog shenanigans.
Beck: She stole my heart, that's for sure.
Luna: Penelope?
Beck: No, sweetheart. You.
February 3, 2020
January's Obsessions (All the Netflix!)
It's the end of the month - which means I'm bringing you January's obsessions - aka "what's distracting me from writing my book."
But before you get too concerned, Freya and Sam's story is going amazingly well, and I've been working with my intrepid beta readers this week to tweak, polish and fix a few pesky plot holes (there's always a few). The next couple weeks are the home stretch for me - and if you don't see me online much, it's because I'm editing like the wind!
You'll be getting more book news from me in February and March (wink!) but until then...enjoy my favorites this month! I hope I've inspired all of you to seize the day and go binge Netflix shows all weekend long! Wishing you a cozy weekend with coffee, good books and even better dogs.
xoxo
Kathryn
What I can't stop watching: Spinning Out
Hit me up if you're currently obsessed with this show! It's dark and slightly campy - just the binge-candy I need during these gray January days. I also binged the entire first season of DEAD TO ME (which I floved - even darker, even campier, hilarious, twisted and so fun) and finished SCHITT'S CREEK (favorite show of all time). Y'all know I'll be watching season 6 of GRACE & FRANKIE aaaaaaaaaaaaaand I just started MRS. FLETCHER on HBO and I need to talk to someone about it!
Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend! Because I walk my dog for like 100+ hours a day, I have a lot of free listening time on my hands. I've been obsessed with Conan O'Brien since middle school (used to come home from school and watch the 6:00pm replay of his show on Comedy Central) and this podcast is the hilarious, witty and light content you need to make your day brighter. Hilarious guests, thoughtful interviews, and all the zany, silly, good-hearted humor you need.
HAPPY TRAIL by Daisy Prescott! This book is making my little hiker's heart so dang happy! Love on the Appalachian Trail -- how can you resist? Plus it's funny and cute and flirty and when I'm listening I can pretend I'm walking through the Great Smoky Mountains and not past the garbage dumpsters near my city block.
THESE BOOKS! Everyone knows I'm a huge Tessa Bailey fan, and I've been saving these for a special treat. And special treat they were! Hot, sweet, funny, empowering and full of romantic swoon. Devoured them.
January 21, 2020
'Mr. and Mrs. Smith' meets 'The Da Vinci Code'
My first two releases in 2020 are about the Codex team! If you haven't met the team yet - don't fret! The first Codex book - BEHIND THE VEIL - is live on Amazon and free in KU. Think Mr. and Mrs. Smith meets The Da Vinci Code. Sexy, undercover librarian-detectives hunt down wealthy, eccentric book thieves - with all the steamy closet-sex you've come to expect from a Kathryn Nolan romance (wink!)
Keep your eyes peeled for a book announcement next month!
Our feet moved back and forth, our bodies pushed together as one as I stared into Delilah’s eyes. This was all part of the game, all part of my job—seducing her, seducing the crowd into believing our love was real. At least, that was the lie I told myself when I brushed my lips against her cheek.
“How come no one ever taught you how to dance?” I asked.
“I haven’t dated anyone who ever wanted to dance with me.”
She was tilting her neck, and I was entranced with the column of her throat—the line of her collarbone, the pale flesh disappearing beneath the beads. I wanted to caress her fluttering pulse point but held off. The minute my lips touched such an intimate place on Delilah’s body, I was going to permanently lose any remnants of this charade.
There’d be no more pretending between us.
“I don’t have a ton of experience with passion or romance.” Delilah beheld our joined hands, the diamonds of her ring twinkling. “I wasn’t sure I’d do a good job undercover because of it.”
“Because you couldn’t fake being married?”
“No.” Our lips hovered an inch apart. “I wasn’t sure I could fake being in love.”
I’d worried about this too. And yet even at our most awkward, our partnership had held the shape of something comfortable; a natural texture that made becoming the Thornhills easier and easier for me.
Delilah’s gown swished across the floor as we danced closer and closer to the string quartet. The opening melody of Etta James’s “At Last” swirled around us, serving only to loosen my tongue. “It’s not hard to pretend when you’re the most beautiful woman in this entire room, Delilah.”
Take me to Behind the Veil!
