He let her go once.
This time he wants to keep her.

 

Cruel North, an all-new surprise pregnancy, forced proximity contemporary romance with sizzling chemistry from New York Times bestselling author J.B. Salsbury is now available!

 

A gorgeously emotional second-chance-romance for the villain of the North Brothers series, this books is fun and feisty, with all the feels!

 

Amazon  |  Amazon Worldwide |  Apple  |  Nook  |  Kobo

 

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Blurb

Cruel North is an angsty second-chance, enemies to lovers romance where the most hated man in the North Brothers world finally gets brought to his knees.

A teenage girl with my eyes and a familiar glare, strolls into my life and she’s calling me Dad.

Vanessa was my high school girlfriend and the smartest person I knew. She had a plan, a future, and she swore nothing would get in the way. Until she became pregnant. I thought we agreed on our plan. I sent her the money. Then she disappeared.

Her parents told me she was in South America for a year. They told me she needed space. I never heard from her again.

Seventeen years later and she’s back. I’m staring into those green eyes that used to tempt and taunt me. But it’s not just about us anymore. We have a daughter.

Wanting to get to know her, I convince them to move in with me for one month. I’m so angry with Vanessa and she seems to be equally upset. Every insult from her smart mouth invites me to engage. The brutal chemistry between us ignites old embers. I wish I could hate her. Instead, I want her.

But too much time has passed, and I fear some hurts run too deep to heal.

At the end of thirty days, I’ll have to let them go.

Unless I figure out a way to keep them.

 

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Review

5 stars!

The fourth and final book in the North Brothers series, J.B. Salsbury has delivered a wonderous feat… she made me fall in love with the bad guy! Snarky, misunderstood Hayes finally meets his match (actually, two of them), when his previously unknown 17-year-old daughter comes barging into his world, bringing with her a blast from his past. This is a gorgeously emotional second-chance-romance that is fun and feisty, with all the feels, and I loved it!

You don’t have to have read the earlier books in the series to enjoy this one, but I would recommend it, because the build-up has been fantastic. The earlier books in this series left me hating Hayes so much, but it’s been a while since I read them, which means I had forgotten a lot of the specifics of his heinous behaviour before starting this one. Generally, the man is an a-hole. But seeing him here, in such a vulnerable position, learning more about him and watching him interact with Vanessa and Haven… bravo J.B. Salsbury, she made his snark almost endearing.

Hayes is a corporate lawyer whose work is his life. But his perfectly ordered world is thrown upside down with the arrival of a sassy 17 year old declaring that she is his daughter. Being a millionaire, he’s understandably sceptical, but when he learns that Haven’s mother is none other than his childhood sweetheart and first and only love, Vanessa, suddenly everything changes.

Vanessa is a fiercely proud single mother who bought Haven up all on her own after she and Hayes broke up and her family disowned her. She’s super protective and has put up huge walls to protect herself and her daughter, and when she learns that Haven has run off to New York City to meet her father, she immediately follows, bringing her face to face with the man that she feels let her down so long ago.

Hayes and Vanessa’s beginning was fun and sweetly romantic, but it ended in a heartbreaking mess. As teenagers, she was the only one that stood up to his arrogance, and he loved it. They had a feisty, argumentative dynamic, and they loved each other fiercely, passionately and intensely, and were completely devoted to each other and planning for a future. Their break up was a caused by a series of misunderstanding for which they were both at fault, and seeing each other again brings all of those feelings rushing back to the surface. And from the intensity between them, you know it’s going to be an epic ride, especially when Hayes convinces the girls to stay with him for a month so that he can get to know Haven better, and they move into his apartment.

Second-chance-romances are my favourite, and this book is an example of why. The attraction, the anger, the grief, the love, the pain, it’s all there, and I was feeling it right along with Hayes and Vanessa as they are confronted with the past, finally discover the truth of all that happened between them to tear them apart, and then are faced with the prospect of coming together again as adults, still with so much emotion between them. It’s epic!

Given the complexity of their circumstances, there is SO much hurt and anger there, and I completely understood what they were feeling. But underneath it all, their attraction is still very much alive, and they initially hate that they want each other so much, but as they start to spend time together and talk about the past, old emotion resurfaces, and they are able to start dealing with it and move forward.

“Is that what you remember about us? Pain?”
“Mostly, yes. Because I had to hold onto it to make me stronger. The angrier I was, the more I wanted to prove I could raise her on my own.”
“Jesus, Ness.” He runs both hands down his face … “I’m so fucking sorry you had to do this alone.”

Amidst all of the emotion, there’s lots of light and fun moments. Firstly from Haven, who is a perfect blend of both of her argumentative parents, and Hayes finds himself in the position of having two women in his life snarking back at him.

I shoot her a look and recoil when I come face to face with an even fiercer glare. Good god, I should’ve known Ness and I would make a fierce-as-fuck kid.

And then we get to see the playful side of Hayes come out when he and Vanessa fall into the familiar rhythm that was all theirs, and I loved seeing him tease and flirt!

“You’re wearing sweatpants.”
“Not what I was expecting.”
“And…” her gaze darts between my legs before jumping forward to the skyline. “I don’t know if dudes know what wearing sweatpants does to their…their…”
“Dicks.”
“Yeah.”
“We know.”
She jerks her heard around. “You do?”
I smirk.
Her eyes narrow. “That’s just mean.”
“Mean? Or effective?”

Despite their murky past, there’s so much chemistry between these two, and the sexual tension is fantastic! Their reunion quickly turns steamy, and with all of that passion, they find themselves falling for each other all over again… not that they never really stopped. It’s hot and steamy and full of emotion, and so much beautiful swoon!

I rest my forehead against hers. “Vanessa … I have always loved you … I will always love you.”

But their lives could not be more different. And with Vanessa and Haven in town for only one month, there’s a lot for the newly-formed family to figure out when it comes to their future.

I loved this book. It’s beautifully emotional and wonderfully romantic, with lots of light and funny moments that keep it all really entertaining. Hayes’ brothers and their girls are all a big part of the story, and I loved seeing all of their interactions. But the highlight of this book of me is seeing Hayes so easily brought to his knees by the women in his life. His growth as a character is really well written, and even though I may not have thought so earlier in the series, I loved seeing him get his HEA.

There is a wonderful epilogue that finishes off the series beautifully, but there is an opportunity there for more books, and I’d definitely love to read more. But I was completely satisfied with how this one ended, and loved this book, and the series, so much.

5 stars!

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

 

The North Brothers

 

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Excerpt

Hayes

“Let’s go.” I open the passenger side door to my car, and when Haven climbs in, I give Hudson a chin lift, thanking him for having my back.

He nods back with a look that says I better be nice.

Fuck me. My own twin acts like I’m the enemy here. Like I’d hurt my own daughter?

I climb behind the wheel and fire up the engine, grateful for the steady hum of the supercharged V8 that cuts through an uncomfortable silence.

“Nice ride,” Haven says and touches all the buttons and knobs. “Is this real leather?” She runs her hands along the seats, and I notice that she has long elegant fingers that are exactly like Vanessa’s.

“Yes.” I force my eyes to the road, feeling oddly uncomfortable with such precious cargo.

“I have a Jeep,” she says. “It’s a piece of shit.”

I’m not great at conversation on a good day, so I grunt like a fucking caveman.

“So what’s it like?”

I see out of my peripheral that she’s facing me. “What’s what like?”

“Being a millionaire.”

I lose the battle with my eyeballs, and they dart toward her before I wrangle them back to the road. Vanessa’s family has a net worth equal to mine. I can’t imagine Haven grew up without.

I clear the discomfort from my throat. “I hear you’re a pretty good athlete.” My tone sounds like I’m accusing her of something, and I don’t know why. Maybe I should’ve just let Hudson take her home. I suck at this.

“I am. I’m good at a lot of things.”

Confident, like her mom. Good. “Oh yeah?”

“Mm-hm.” She doesn’t elaborate.

I take the bait. “Like what?”

She shrugs and looks casually out the front window. “You want the condensed version of my life so that you don’t have to actually invest?”

“No,” I say dryly and grip the steering wheel tighter.

The uncomfortable silence is back and goes on for so long that I start to sweat. I flip on the AC and aim the vent right at my face.

“Listen, uh… Haven… I…” I sound like an idiot who can’t string two words together. “I’ve been thinking—”

“About how you wanted my mom to abort me?”

Fuckin’ hell. “No.”

“About how you abandoned her and left her to have a baby alone at—”

“Jesus, no.”

“About how you’re a rich selfish asshole who couldn’t even be bothered to look for the woman who carried your unwanted child to see if maybe she needed anything like money for food or clothes or a safe place to live or—”

“Haven, stop.”

“—or money so that kid could play sports and afford equipment so she wouldn’t let made fun of for wearing the wrong shoes or sweatpants to games.”

“What are you talking about? Your mom’s family is wealthy.”

“Yeah, well, thanks to you and your mighty sperm, they disowned her.” She tilts her head, just like her mother does before she delivers a brutal tongue lashing. “Ohh, you didn’t know that, did you?” She makes a tsking sound. “You would’ve if you looked for us. Ever heard of Google, asshole?

“That’s enough.”

“Hey, you’re the one who wanted me to ride with you—”

“I get it. You want to hurt me. I’d do the same in your shoes.”

She slams her mouth closed without response. She faces forward and crosses her arms at her chest. “Whatever.”

“We need to… get to know each other. The three of us have a lot to talk about.”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

I cough out a laugh. “Could’ve fooled me.”

“Are we almost to Uncle Hudson’s house?”

He gets to be Uncle Hudson, and I’m Asshole? My jaw ticks. “Yes.”

I use the rest of the time in the car to breathe in and out and try to calm my temper. Vanessa’s parents disowned her. I shouldn’t be surprised, and yet, I am. She’s their only child, for fuck’s sake.

I have a million questions and worry I won’t get the chance to ask Vanessa if we can’t even be in the same room without fighting. Time feels like it’s slipping away, and I don’t know how to grab onto it. But I know I have to try.

I pull up to Hudson’s building. Haven makes a reach for her seatbelt. “I have a proposition for you.”

Her hand freezes on the buckle, and her eyes narrow.

My God, it’s like looking in a mirror. “One month in New York. Rent free, all expenses paid, you and your mom.”

She eyes me cautiously. “What’s the catch?”

Here’s where I might lose her. “You live with me.”

“Yeah, right.” She snorts. “Mom will never agree to that. I’m pretty sure she hates you.”

She’s not exactly my favorite person right now either. “Leave the convincing to me.”

Her smile is a little wicked. “You’re either really brave or really stupid.”

“I’m not stupid.”

Her brows pop high on her forehead. “You clearly don’t know my mom.”

I don’t respond because she’s right. But she’s also wrong. I got the fiery Vanessa Osbourne to care for me once. A month in New York shouldn’t be too hard.

 

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About the Author

JB Salsbury, New York Times Best Selling author of The Fighting Series, lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with her husband and two kids. She spends the majority of her day lost in a world of battling alphas, budding romance, and impossible obstacles as stories claw away at her subconscious, begging to be released to the page.

Her love of good storytelling led her to earn a degree in Media Communications. With her journalistic background, writing has always been at the forefront, and her  love of romance prompted her to write her first novel.  She has since won a RONE Award.

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