CITY OF DREAMS
Dead-end job? Dreary apartment? Disastrous love life? Check, check, and check.
Toddler who makes it all worthwhile? Absolutely.
Juggling work, college, and the care of young Alex was never Sabrina’s plan.
But Sabrina’s dreams are bigger than any curve ball life can throw at her. Her top priority is keeping her small family together, no matter what the cost.
Vladimir Grigory doesn’t believe in dreams. He earned his position at the top of New York’s corporate ladder with his sweat and ruthless determination. His empire is his baby, and he’ll destroy anyone who threatens it. Even the sexy employee who challenges him on every level. When the New York tabloids and the world call him the baby daddy of toddler Alex, Vlad believes Sabrina is part of a plot to expose the secrets of his past. He threatens to destroy her future.
But Sabrina has secrets of her own. That’s why she has no choice but to agree to Vlad’s marriage ultimatum.
*Also available as an audiobook
REVIEWS
Favorite Reads of 2016 ~ Romance Novels for the Beach “Taking the concept of the ‘marriage contract’ to a whole new level. Lovable characters who seem different on the surface find they have more in common than they thought by having survived difficult pasts. They also have some explosive chemistry.” romancenovels4thebeach.wordpress.com
Impatient for independence, Lacey Reed escapes small-town life and her controlling parents for a modeling career in the city. But naivety and ambition blind her to the scheme of a blackmailer who holds an x-rated video of her. If she doesn’t pay up, her parents will bear the fallout.
Lacey’s out of money and options when she literally runs into financier Connor Devlin at her best friend’s wedding.
Connor trusts his gut in all things business and personal. He sees beyond Lacey’s dazzling appearance to the desperation she’s desperate to hide. He gives her a job as companion to his vision-impaired mother on the condition she pretend to be his fiancee to spare his mother’s pride.
Soon Lacey is enveloped in the warmth of the Devlin clan while Connor struggles to keep their interactions strictly business.
But when the blackmailer ups the ante, Lacey resolves to face him down. Even if it means losing Connor, the only man who’s ever seen who she truly is.
REVIEWS
“The absolute best part of this book was seeing Lacey transform herself from a victim to a survivor… What was even better was that she came to the decision completely on her own. …The ending was so freakin’ adorable though! After how quick their relationship started I really appreciated the patience Connor employed to go at Lacey’s own pace.” Romance Novels for the Beach
“Admit it, we want to see two souls come together against all odds. We want both the damsal and the knight to come to each other’s rescue and Ms. O’Shay has done it.” 5***** stars Tome Tender Book Blog
“Romantic, relevant and real.” 5*****review, Amazon reader
WINNER ~ 2019 National Readers Choice Award ~ Contemporary Series Romance by OKRWA (Oklahoma Romance Writers of America)
Honey packs everything she owns and heads to NYC to jumpstart her art career. Her cheating boyfriend is history, and she finally acknowledges the truth of her mother’s mantra: Careers are forever and happily ever after isn’t in their DNA.
All she needs is a job and a place to live. What she doesn’t need is a taciturn, sexy, ballbuster but she’s woman enough to know the difference between need and want. Isn’t she?
Jake’s childhood was marred by tragedy and his future hijacked to a promise born of guilt. His failure drove him to a career as a SEAL and a security expert.
But it’s not enough. Now he’ll give up his freedom in reparation for the life he lost. Honey may be the last sweet stop on the road to a bleak future.
If it’s what they both want, where’s the harm in a no-strings affair?
REVIEWS
Their No-Strings Affair by Charlotte O’Shay is a story of two troubled people overcoming their upbringings to find a path to happiness. The characters are detailed and believable. My heart broke several times at what Honey had to endure on her road to success in her field and the way she was treated growing up. Jake has his deep burdens from childhood as well. Their friends and work mates are vividly painted in the story and really bring additional life and depth. The twists and turns really pushed my limits for patience and anticipation.
This review is my opinion and was not influenced by the ARC I received.
5 stars CatQ, Booksprout reader
The “City of Dreams” from the series title is New York, a place where small town kids go to make it big. The main character’s name is Honeysuckle Hill, Honey for short, a small town girl who dreams of being an artist living and working in NYC. (Yes, she’s embarrassed about her name too, since she’s actually not a porn star. The girl’s mother has a lot to answer for, the least of which is the silly given name.)
Honey’s a complicated character, which Ms. O’Shay excels at creating. She’s brash and sassy but also vulnerable, smart but gullible, streetwise and naive at the same time. At “five feet nothing” she’s a bundle of kinetic energy moving at breakneck speed until she runs into Jake Ricco. Ex-Navy SEAL and human brick wall. Jake runs his own security firm, and they meet at a society wedding reception where Honey is filling in for a friend and Jake is running security. The wedding, coincidentally, is the same one from Book One in the series, tangling the story lines together rather nicely.
Jake has a host of his own issues and insecurities, not the least of which is the looming deadline on his arranged marriage in Italy. Honey’s tendency toward chaos doesn’t fit in with Jake’s neat and tidy lifestyle, but he’s inexplicably drawn to her — opposites attract, after all. The more time he spends with her, the more he loosens the tight grip he’s got on his buttoned-down life, and the more he begins to realize he wants more than the future he’s mapped out.
The back and forth between the characters is such fun to watch, as is the transformation of Jake’s character as his walls begin to crumble, his assumptions about life tangled into a knot and unraveled in new ways, thanks to Honey. Ms. O’Shay writes with heart and humor and keeps the pages turning.
This is a standalone story, and although the other characters and events are mentioned here you can read the series in any order without spoiling the underlying plots. Although the story starts after Halloween and runs through Christmas, this makes a great read for the beach or poolside.”
Katie O’Sullivan, Author, Cape Cod Dating Rules series katieosullivan.blogspot.com
There’s nothing better than a romantic meet-cute that puts a smirk on your face and makes your toes curl.” romance4thebeach
I’m a big fan of city romances. There’s something magical about New York City and in Their No-Strings Affair, Charlotte O’Shay brings NYC to life. It’s like the big city is a major character in this romance and we get to fall in love with NYC as well as the couple.
Favorite Character: Honey. Everything about her from her snarky attitude to her artistic view to her naivety to the way she can talk herself out of any situation, I love it all. She’s an everyday reader’s heroine, dealing with one crisis after another with aplomb. Highly recommend 5 stars Must read. N.N.LightBookheaven
A beautiful novel with a free-spirited artist and a broken man in need of some love. These characters are very different from one another, but Charlotte O’Shay really makes it work with the buildup of sexual tension between them. There’s no denying the yearning for Jake to get a happily ever after, and Honey seems like the perfect person to make it happen. Without a doubt, an author that readers will go back to again and again for an escape from their normal life and into a world of romance and red-hot passion.” InD’tale Magazine