Title: Red Hot Roaster
A Small Town Romance Perfect
for Lovers of Growly Guys and Smouchy Pups
Series: Tales from the Chocolate Lab Café #1
Author: Kristin Jeffries
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Tropes: Small Town/Meddling Friends & Fur Babies
OTT Protective MMC/Later in Life Love
Release Date: May 2, 2025
BLURB
What happens when an over-protective coffee roaster rubs up against an uber-independent café owner?
Watch the sparks fly in this strangers to friends to lovers romantic comedy.
Red Hot Roaster is a sweet and spicy small town romance featuring meddling fur babies and besties, a blind chocolate-truffle-tasting—clothing optional, holiday hijinks, and all the slow burn to roasting hot feels.
Rose is struggling to keep her café afloat while sad about her mom’s passing and her son leaving for college. Sure, Pirate, her lummox of a Chocolate Lab, keeps her company. Plus, she couldn’t ask for a better found family in her cozy neighborhood of Dogwood. So why is she so drawn to Rafe, her mysterious, muscly—and temporary—coffee roaster?
With her café on the line, Rose doesn’t have time for love. And she’s been burned once too often—she doesn’t trust men to stick around. Will she settle for a no-strings-attached fling or fight for forever love?
Rafe prefers his life as a roaming coffee roaster, going from gig to gig. That way, he’s only responsible for himself and for being a good girl-dad to his dainty rescue dog, Princess. So why can’t he resist trying to help Rose, his gorgeous and sad-eyed new boss, solve all her problems?
After his tough years in the army and his rough youth, Rafe fears he’s not worthy of love. Besides, he’s always been a loner with no home—and no woman—to call his own. Will he leave town with his secrets or stay to claim his true love?
Grab a table at the Chocolate Lab Café, where Dogwood denizens, canine and otherwise, help Rose and Rafe chase their happily-ever-after. And where, even later in life, love can find a way to rescue your heart.
HEA guaranteed. Dual POV. Intended for 18+ readers.
PRE-ORDER LINKS
EXCERPT
“Here are your shirts, nice and clean and blood-free.” Rose thrust the bag at me.
I stood frozen for a second before grabbing it. And another second before I pushed out “thanks” from my too-tight throat.
Why was I so surprised? Rose was a woman of her word, and she’d done something nice for me. When you’re on your own, you get used to taking care of yourself, taking care of everything yourself.
So this one time, I should enjoy it. Just don’t get used to it.
“Oh, and I stashed one of our private-label chocolate bars in there too,” she went on. “A new local shop makes them for us. I went pretty vanilla with our rich milk chocolate version since I don’t know what you like. Hope you’re not allergic or anything.”
I opened the bag and looked in. I saw a big-ass chocolate bar sitting on top of my folded—and ironed?—tee and flannel button-down.
What was the woman trying to do here—give me a heart attack? I rubbed the center of my chest where it’d started to ache. Calm down, man. Obviously, it wasn’t a big deal to her, but it was a big fucking deal to me.
This was my first gift since…well, since I was little, real little. So, a big fucking deal.
AUTHOR BIO
Kristin Jeffries writes about her favorite escapes—romcoms and dogs—from her home in Portland, Oregon. After years in health care marketing, she decided to prescribe a dose of healthy escape from daily stress for romance readers like her. Kristin draws her inspiration from her family’s past Chocolate Lab Café in a small Midwest town. Plus, she’s married to the original red hot roaster who advises her on all things coffee. And she injects her affection for a long line of smouchy pups, including an IRL Pirate, into her tales.
AUTHOR LINKS
