Fall head-over-heels in love with the unforgettable men of The Exception Series from USA Today Bestselling author Adriana Locke. This collection includes The Exception, The Connection, and The Perception.

After losing her husband in a tragic accident, Julia Gentry is barely surviving. Raising her young daughter alone takes everything she has—and that’s not enough. She’s barely making ends meet. And then tragedy strikes again. Julia’s only hope lies in the last place she wants to look—in Crew Gentry. Her husband’s brother is broody. Irresponsible. He’s broken her heart more than once and let her down every time she’s needed him.

Falling in love is easy. Falling out of love is the hardest thing in the world. And Elin and Ty Whitt are terrible at it. The first time the local basketball star smiled at Elin, she was a goner. It was just so damn easy to fall for the dark-haired hometown hero with his charming smile and strong, athletic build. Thousands of sleepy smiles, aimless drives down country roads, and squeaks of the backdoor after a swing shift later, reality hits. And it hits hard.

After being burned by her dream job in New York City, sports journalist Neely Kimber suddenly finds herself jobless and paying a long-overdue visit to her hometown in Tennessee. Her plan? Relax, reset, and head back up the corporate ladder. There’s just one unexpected step. Neely’s back in Dogwood Lane for barely a day when she sees the man she ran from nine years ago: the bad boy next door who was her first kiss, her first love, and her first heartbreak.

Our first kiss was a lie. Our second was a mistake. And the night we spent tangled up in each other? Hot as hell, but a complete disaster.

When Gabrielle Solomon falls, she falls hard. Even if that means literally toppling over a porch railing in nothing but a flimsy towel—right in front of her sexy new neighbor. Jay Stetson is 100 percent hero material with those arms, that chest, and his deliciously oh-so-sexy smirk. The chiseled hunk in flannel has an irresistible off-limits attitude while plucking Gabrielle out of the bushes and saving her from a snake. Unfortunately, he’s not indulging in what Gabrielle is offering—not with his emotional train wreck of a past.

He’s a criminal—an abomination. We’re wrong in every way. If only I could’ve convinced my heart. His lips whispered promises of all the stars in the sky. I dreamt of a love that would last forever. We were gorgeously young and desperate for one another. But we're star-crossed. Fate had decided our course. Leaving us to cling to each other as we crumbled to ash. His need became possession. My innocence turned jaded. Our families declared war. All that remained was hate. But Calder was raised by wolves. The rules didn’t apply. I was his until he said otherwise—for better or for worse.

If Renn Brewer would’ve asked me to marry him, I would’ve said no. Why? One, his reputation precedes him. His name is in the headlines at least once a month. Two, he’s not just my brother’s best friend. They’re teammates. And three, I’m in my self-care era. Unfortunately, a version of me equates self-care with bad choices.

Single mom Palmer Clark will not be sidelined by the new man in town. Sure, the honey-tongued baseball legend is gorgeous, loves puppies, and has charmed his way into the community’s heart, but Palmer craves stability. Nothing about Cole says forever. So why is he so hard to resist?

I never thought I’d be a runaway bride. But when it came down to it, I just couldn’t marry the wrong man. So, I ran. And somehow, I ended up in Star Falls, Colorado—stranded, no luggage, no plan—in a wedding dress with a past I’d rather forget. Fate lands me in the only available rental in town, a cozy little cabin… right next door to Byron Miller, the brooding billionaire who wants nothing to do with me. Or this town.

After twenty years, the cracks in Lauren Reed’s marriage are showing. She and her husband, Jack, feel more like roommates than a loving couple. What they have in common are two wonderful teenagers, Michael and Maddie, and the same wistful question: When did it all go wrong? Now that Lauren’s decided to get on with her life—alone—divorce is inevitable. Not to the kids. They aren’t giving up so easily.

With one glance at her in the club, I’m ready to claim her for the night. Dark, flowing hair. A smile that causes my heart to pound. Eyes that pierce my soul. And a perfect body that makes every part of me pulse. She’s addictive. Electrifying. Consuming. I’ve never wanted anyone more. Our eyes meet, but she looks right past me. She isn’t here for me. She’s here for the music. For the first time in my life, a woman makes me work for it. Her indifference fuels the fire inside me. The result? One night. No names. No introductions.

Logan Murphy should come with a warning. He’s as hot as a Carolina Reaper on black asphalt in the middle of July. With perfectly messy dark hair and smoldering blue eyes—and don’t even get me started on the way that black tee stretches across his toned chest… He’s my brother’s best friend. He’s also a football star on track to win the first wide-receiver MVP in league history. Good thing I only date golfers… or I did.

My stress level is off the charts. I can’t sleep right on a normal day, and lately my days are filled with the best kind of chaos. My ex-wife and husband number two are filming in Poland for three months, so I’m turning down movie parts to focus on the most important role of my life—impossibly charming and somewhat capable young single dad.

Henley Holloway is my boss’s daughter, and I’ve been assigned to mentor her. The problem is, I’m not looking to babysit anyone. But I’m determined to make partner at the firm, and this is the final obstacle in my way. So, I agree to take the little princess under my wing. I’ll work her so hard, she’ll beg me to leave her alone. But from the first day she walks into the office and spills scalding hot coffee on my chest—I’m intrigued.

“I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend.” When those words left the lips of Damien Shaw, my childhood nemesis, I should have told him to kick rocks right then and there. But sadly, his scheme to impress his boss left me with something to gain from it too—getting my meddling mother, who was obsessed with my love life, off my back just in time for my parents’ thirtieth wedding anniversary celebration in Hawaii.

Destroying my partner became sweeter when his daughter stepped on stage at a charity auction. But I don’t want her for a month. I’m upping my bid to make her sign for a year. Her strong will, independence, and defiant attitude toward her family indulges my carnal desires and need for revenge.

If the Upper East Side had an evil twin, it would be Tickled Pink, Wisconsin. This run-down, backwoods town isn’t worthy of the footprint of my Louboutins, never mind all of me. But when my grandmother has a near-death experience and realizes we Lightlys can’t buy our way into heaven, she relocates the family to Tickled Pink to work on improving our souls. And that’s how I trade my heiress existence for gigantic bugs, dishwater coffee, and a cranky single dad named Teague Miller.

Author Catherine Cowles brings you an addictive small-town romance series full of protective heroes and suspenseful twists and turns. Wrecked Beginnings contains the first three stand-alone novels in the Wrecked series. Includes Reckless Memories, Perfect Wreckage, and Wrecked Place.

She’s in a white dress that dances around her ankles, and her hair tumbles in a long sheet of curls down her back. A veil covers her beautiful eyes, and she smiles directly at him. Janie is everything Rafe’s ever imagined she would be on her wedding day. Breathtaking. Gorgeous. Perfect. The moment he sees her walking down the aisle toward him, he knows that she’s the one. Then, she passes him, making her way to the man she’s to marry.

"I’m kind of a lady, but definitely more of a weirdo." Hearing the woman at the table behind him say that to her friend should’ve turned Logan Gibbs off. It doesn’t. In all honesty, it only makes him listen harder. He’s had enough weird in his life to last a lifetime. The last thing his complicated life needs is a woman in it who has no clue what color you get when you mix yellow and blue together. Yet, her obvious blonde moments aren’t enough to deter him. Nor is her lack of finger-painting skills.

Men suck. They break you. Leave you. Take everything until there's nothing left. And frankly, I'm done allowing them to make me feel insignificant. So, forget men. I'll just throw myself into my job, because at least that never fails me. Jackson has other plans, though. I refuse to be impressed by his perfect body, the cute dimple on his cheek, or the rugged stubble on his face. Jackson Cole can be resisted. But, I'm only fooling myself. He's going to wear me down. I can feel it. In the end he'll prove that once again, I'm no one's beloved.

This may be my toughest mission yet. None of my SEAL training or my time in the CIA has prepared me for this: a prickly, five-foot-nothing hellcat Jasmin Smith. She was mine. She can fight it all she wanted, but in the end, I would have her every way a man can have his woman. She was a sassy little thing, making me work to bend her to my demands. But I will! I will bend her and tie her to me so tight she would never be able to get free. Only problem is I had to break her first. I had secrets that she needed to know.

Secretly hooking up with the team captain's sister was a bad idea. In my defense, the first time I saw her I didn't know who she was. Kind, gorgeous, a little naïve. Ginny brightened my world from day one. I knew I was no good for her. She was just out of a relationship, and I had a reputation for having a new girl in my bed every weekend. I tried to do the right thing. Honest. I'm the one who insisted we should be just friends. That lasted about as long as you'd expect. But Ginny? She's the best - best friend, best everything.

Let me start from the beginning… To stay out of jail, I’m forced to spy on Kyle Townsend, the billionaire heir to the Townsend Industries throne. My plan is simple: infiltrate Townsend Industries, get evidence of their alleged illegal dealings, and fork it over to the person blackmailing me. Then I’ll be free to leave that life of crime behind me forever and raise my niece in the peace she deserves. But Kyle’s smarter than the average trust fund baby. He’s also ruthless and distrustful. He never lets anyone in…until one day at work. I get sick. He’s there to care for me.

I was never supposed to see him again. Him being the man wearing the perfectly tailored suit, who oozed an intoxicating mixture of wealth, rebellion, and sex appeal. One night. No strings. No names. Still riding the high from last night, I walk in to meet my new client, and he’s wearing that same dangerous smirk. Yes, I’m consulting for Callahan Sharpe. That Callahan Sharpe. Billionaire heir who abides by no rules, bucks convention, and is determined to complete one final project to honor his late father’s legacy. Luckily, and unluckily for me, I’m tasked to help.

After being left at the altar, Jade Roberts seeks solace at her best friend’s ranch on the Colorado western slope. Her humiliation still ripe, she doesn't expect to be attracted to her friend’s reticent brother, but when the gorgeous cowboy kisses her, all bets are off. Talon Steel is broken. Having never fully healed from a horrific childhood trauma, he simply exists, taking from women what is offered and giving nothing in return...until Jade Roberts catapults into his life.

When the unthinkable befalls Alaska during a trip to Russia, it’s Drake’s turn to drop everything and race to her aid. Safely back at The Refuge, he just as quickly realizes what he’s failed to see for two decades—his oldest, dearest friend is the love of his life. A revelation that may be too little, too late. Because Drake’s brought the enemy right to their door.

When Sarah meets Eddie, they connect instantly and fall in love. To Sarah, it seems as though her life has finally begun. And it's mutual: It's as though Eddie has been waiting for her, too. Sarah has never been so certain of anything. So when Eddie leaves for a long-booked vacation and promises to call from the airport, she has no cause to doubt him. But he doesn't call. Sarah's friends tell her to forget about him, but she can't. She knows something's happened - there must be an explanation.

Former Navy SEAL Nixon Swagger is home. After 12 years of service and twice as many deployments, all Nix wanted was quiet. He’d sought the solace of the land he’d grown up on and found the peace he needed to silence the noise and figure out his next move. Nixon’s stay was supposed to be temporary.