FROM CONNEMARA WITH LOVE SERIES
SMALL-TOWN ROMANTIC FICTION
THE BEST MAN
I always turn up at just the wrong moment. I never know how to make the most of a situation; I don’t know the right thing to say, or when I should come or go.
Let’s just say I have really shit timing. I’m not a smart guy.
I don’t have great ideas. I’m practical, a hard worker; someone who lives for his family, and for the air that she breathes.
It’s just a shame that the “she” in question never knew this. It’s a shame that I waited all these years to make my move. It’s useless to tell you, readers, that it was already too late; that I’d screwed everything up, once again. And, this time, my mistakes forced her to come home.
Except she didn’t want to stay.
And now she hates me – or maybe she doesn’t. I still haven’t worked out what’s going on between us, but like I said, I’m not the sharpest tool in the box. And even though this could be my last chance, I’m not going to be the one to ask her to stay. Not even if she turns out to be the one I’ve always waited for.
Because she doesn't belong in this place. And she doesn't belong in my life.
My name is Alex Brennan, and this is my story: of how I realised I’d lost the most important person in my life, before I even had her.
ROMANTIC FICTION / SMALL-TOWN / FRIENDS TO LOVERS / SINGLE DAD / HE FALLS FIRST / FAMILY DRAMA / FAMILY SAGA / CINNAMON ROLL HERO / STANDALONE
TRIGGERS: LOSS OF A PARENT OFF-PAGE / CHEATING
SENSUALITY LEVEL: HIGH
What People Are Saying
“What a great story this turned out to be!!! It wasn’t just a romance story, far from it, it was a story of family and friendship and growth and perseverance and love!”
— Jessica, OMG Reads
“The Best Man is a fun read that will make you smile ear to ear and put love in your heart.”
— Heidi Lynn’s Book Reviews
THE FIRST MAN
Shane
Do you know what it means to live like me?
It means being forced not to look at him, not to touch him, not to be left alone in the same room as him.
Not to seek him out. Not to want him.
Not to love him.
Do you know how it feels to spend your entire life pretending to be someone else? Do you know what it’s like to love someone who doesn’t want to be loved?
I’ll tell you how it feels.
It feels as if you’re living in constant torment: you know which path you should follow, but you also know that, if you follow that path, you can never turn back.
And I can’t do that to him.
Every day I come back, because I know that he’s waiting for me.
Every day I promise him that he will never have to live without me.
Andy
Do you know what it means to live like me?
It means being forced not to touch him, not to kiss him, not to be able to leave the room while he’s still in it.
Not to breathe him in, not to lust after him.
Not to love him.
Do you know how it feels to spend your entire life pretending to be someone else? Do you know what it’s like to love the only person you’re not allowed to love?
I’ll tell you how it works.
You can’t seem to feel anything other than him; when you walk away, you know that you’re turning your back on the only thing that’s good in your life.
Yet you still walk away.
Every day I leave, knowing that he will be standing there, watching.
Every day I ask him to promise me that I will never have to live without him.
ROMANTIC FICTION / SMALL-TOWN / MM ROMANCE / LGBTQ FICTION / FRIENDS TO LOVERS / BEST FRIEND’S BROTHER / ANGST / FORBIDDEN LOVE / FAMILY SAGA / STANDALONE
TRIGGERS: LOSS OF A PARENT OFF-PAGE
SENSUALITY LEVEL: HIGH
What People Are Saying
“To say I loved this book is an understatement. It was amazing and is one of my favourite books of the year. I need a physically copy once it gets released!! So much emotion is portrayed in this book and the emotion makes so much sense in terms of reality.”
— Sara, NetGalley Reviewer
‘It was such a beautifully honest look at love in a small town. The slow burn, the angst, the longing looks - gah! I was hooked. The heartache that Shane and Andy go through was so raw it made my chest hurt. I adored both of them and desperately wanted their HEA.’
— Michelle, NetGalley Reviewer
THE GOOD MAN
Once upon a time, there was a solitary, grumpy man who would spend his days watching the world around him without ever attracting any attention to himself.
Once upon a time, there was a man who stood aside, imagining he could live someone else’s life and dreaming of something which would never be his; yet he wasn’t ready to give it up.
Once upon a time, there was a man who loved a woman. His only wish was to watch her achieve her dreams – without knowing that the only dream she ever wanted to achieve was him.
Once upon a time, there was a woman afraid that no one would ever be able to love her – without knowing that there was a man who had loved nothing but her for his entire life.
That man is me: Reid Johnson. And that woman is her: my deepest secret. Fine, so I have a few secrets – but it would be best not to reveal them, as they could take everything I have away from me. And without those secrets, I’d have nothing to dream of.
There are two things you should know about me before deciding whether or not to read this story:
I’ve never been the person everyone thinks I am.
I’ve never been the man she believes me to be.
ROMANTIC FICTION / SMALL-TOWN / SINGLE PARENT / GRUMPY-SUNSHINE / FAMILY DRAMA / FAMILY SAGA / DISABILITY REP / STANDALONE
TRIGGERS: LOSS OF A PARENT / DISABILITY / DIVORCE
SENSUALITY LEVEL: HIGH
What People Are Saying
“I adore this beautiful and stirring love story that affirms it’s not bad at all being happy and love is the best thing we do. I recommend you read this book and the series. I guarantee you won’t be able to put it down.”
— Eclectic Review
“A.S. Kelly is a rather ruthless tease and a sly and crafty mistress of words. I am eager to amass and lose myself in more of her clever tales.”
— Honolulubelle
THE ONLY MAN
I was a different man, once.
I was a man with only one woman on my mind – the only woman I wanted to hold in my arms.
I was her man.
But things change. Life changes you. Choices, mistakes, resentment: they all change you.
So do unkept promises.
We hurt each other. We loved each other, then hated each other, then missed each other, then grew apart.
And then…
One day, we found each other again.
At the wrong time, in the wrong place.
Because the two of us are wrong together – we’re too far apart, too incompatible.
We’re the main characters of a story that doesn’t belong to us.
But I still keep loving her, even though she hates me.
And she keeps hating herself, because she can’t help but love me.
And we keep searching for each other, even though we’re destined to lose each other.
I wish I could be a different man, just once.
I wish I could be the kind of man who’s ready to give everything for the woman he loves.
Someone who was ready to let her go.
Because I want her to be happy more than I want her to be mine.
ROMANTIC FICTION / SMALL-TOWN / FIRST LOVE / FAMILY DRAMA / SECOND CHANCE / FAMILY SAGA / STANDALONE
TRIGGERS: LOSS OF A PARENT OFF-PAGE / CHEATING OFF-PAGE
SENSUALITY LEVEL: HIGH
What People Are Saying
“This is the exact kind of book that destroys a readers emotions, and the moment they finish reading it they recommend it to anyone who will listen. I personally hope this is not the last book in this series.”
— Bookgeek
“I think this author's writing is fantastic. Her ability to rip your heart out and stamp on it makes this a book you want to tell everyone about. I do hope I have the chance to read more of this series.”
— Beyond The Books
THE WRONG MAN
Silas
Leo and I have been so many things.
We’ve been rivals, classmates, teammates.
Friends.
Friends you watch from afar each day, and dream of each night.
Then we were… Well, we were just us.
We didn’t ask ourselves too many questions – not even when I pretended not to be hurt by the distance he placed between us.
We made each other no promises.
I waited, hoped, believed, right up until the day I realised that everything we had was merely an illusion.
My illusion.
My name is Silas Kylemore, and I’ve learned an important lesson: never fall in love with your best friend.
Not if he’ll never be able to love you back.
Leo
Silas and I have been through so many phases.
We’ve been close, far, just a hair’s breadth apart.
Each bound to the other.
I’m talking about that kind of bond you’re never quite able to recreate.
We were young, and we were… We were just us.
We didn’t ask ourselves too many questions – not even when I pretended his absence didn’t kill me inside.
We made each other no promises.
I could never have imagined back then that what we had would push me away from him for all those years.
Years that no one could ever give back to me.
Years he’ll never forgive me for.
My name is Leo Fitzpatrick, and I’ve learned an important lesson: never try to forget the person you loved.
Not if he’s never been able to forget you.
ROMANTIC FICTION / SMALL-TOWN / MM ROMANCE / LGBTQ FICTION / CHILDHOOD BEST FRIENDS / SLOW BURN / BI-PAN REP / FAMILY SAGA / STANDALONE
TRIGGERS: LOSS OF A PARENT OFF-PAGE / MENTAL ILLNESS (SECONDARY CHARACTER) / DIVORCE
SENSUALITY LEVEL: HIGH
What People Are Saying
“A.S. Kelly has become one of my favorite authors to read! This was a fin small-town story and I loved it!”
— Meghanne K, NetGalley Reviewer
“An emotional read that I could not put down.”
— Sony S, NetGalley Reviewer
THE LOST MAN
I left at dawn on a rainy day.
I left as he slept, believing that he’d still find me in his arms when he woke up. I left, taking everything I’d promised him. I took it all, and neither of us would ever have it again.
I left, turning my back on everything I knew, believing I could never be part of it.
I left the man who loved me, the family who raised me. I left my home, my roots, my dreams. I left my whole life behind in search of a past that was never mine. I hurt everyone who loved me, and broke him into so many pieces that I know I’ll never deserve his forgiveness.
But I’m here, now, trying to rebuild everything I’ve destroyed. I’m trying to find what I thought I’d lost. And although he says that he’ll never be the same, though he says that there’s nothing left of him, I can’t abandon him again. I can’t say goodbye to us.
They say that you always find your way back to happiness, but I’ve found my way back to the only place I’ve ever felt at home.
I’ve found my way back to him.
ROMANTIC FICTION / SMALL-TOWN / FIRST LOVE / SLOW BURN / SECOND CHANCE / MENTAL HEALTH REP / FAMILY SAGA / STANDALONE
TRIGGERS: LOSS OF A PARENT OFF-PAGE / ADOPTION / ABANDONMENT / MENTAL ILLNESS / DEPRESSION / ANXIETY / PTSD
SENSUALITY LEVEL: HIGH