Running on Love and Donuts Paperback Bundle

REBEL WITH A DONUT
Five teenagers, four grandmothers, and three weeks in a retirement community. Anything can happen.

My grandma conspired with three of her friends to bring their grandchildren to visit Florida at the same time the summer before our senior year. We’re expected to eat donuts together every morning and help each other break a habit. I’m a strict rule follower and must break a rule a day.

Spending time with four other teenagers I’d never hang out with in school is either going to make me stronger or break me. It’s even harder when I know the boy staying next door and he doesn’t remember me. Would I be breaking a rule if we have a summer fling, and I don’t tell him who I am?

A contemporary Golden Girls meets The Breakfast Club, this YA sweet romcom is a laugh-out-loud story about forging real friendships, breaking habits, discovering yourself, and finding your favorite donut. It’s perfect for all ages, and a great read for multigenerational book clubs.

REBEL WITH A BOYFRIEND
Are there rules for having a boyfriend? Because I’m bound to break them all.

My summer fling with Tyler has turned into a senior year romance. I was fine being a loner, but now I have a boyfriend who is somebody. And I have no idea how popular Tyler is.

When Tyler and I attend the same school for our senior year, I’m throw headfirst into social chaos. I’d much rather hide in the library over entering the cafeteria. It only gets worse when the secret Tyler is keeping is exposed. I’m not ready for Tyler’s world when I can’t tell fiction from reality. It’ll take the other senior kids and the senior citizens of the Donut Club to show us what’s real.

Rebel with a Boyfriend follows Emma and Tyler after their summer fling in Rebel with a Donut. Grab your favorite donut and get ready for the distractions (and squirrels) thrown in their path. The grandmas from The Villages, plus Ravi, Hannah, and Cole make meddling appearances.

REBEL ON A BREAK
You can solve any problem over a box of donuts.

The donut club is back, and we’re on a break. My friends and I reunite at our grandmothers’ retirement community during Christmas break, but a divide in trust forces Tyler and I to act.

We fake a breakup. If a fake breakup works as well as fake dating, Tyler and I are headed for trouble when we meet for spring break. We must wade through the rumors and fake news to uncover what’s real, and we can only do that with our friends and grandmas. But it seems to be one of them feeding the media news about our relationship and threatening to destroy our friendship. Will we discover the source of the leak before it’s too late?

Rebel on a Break is the third book in the Running on Love & Donuts series. From winter break hijinks to spring break shenanigans, the four grandmas and five grandkids of the Donut Club will have you in stitches of laughter with their antics. Take a break to enjoy a story with donuts, texting mishaps, and adventures in friendship.

REBEL ON A HOLIDAY
One summer trip. Two teenagers. Four grandmothers. And a little bit of luck.

I don’t know what I like, and a vacation might be what I need to find my own interests. For my high school graduation, I’m gifted a senior tour of Ireland. Except, it’s the wrong kind of senior. In an unlucky mix-up, I end up on a two-week tour for senior citizens. I may be the rebel on a holiday, but I’m not the only teenager. The bag boy working on the tour is my age, but he’s grumpy.

I can’t quite figure Declan out. He seems to be pulling the wool over my eyes and lying about who he is. But I won’t let a little rain and a grouchy boy wreck my holiday. With the help of four meddling grandmothers, I’m determined to not follow anyone else’s path and find what I like. But every sheep filled path I take leads back to Declan, and he seems to be searching for the same thing as me. What do we really like?

Will the luck of the Irish help me during these two weeks or will I end up forever seeking the pot of gold and never finding it?

Travel through Ireland with Chelsey and an unlikely cast of characters. You’ll laugh, think about what you like, and swoon over a sunshine/grumpy romance. After all, it takes sun and rain to make a rainbow. Find the treasure in this YA romcom for all ages. “Rebel on a Holiday” is the fourth book in the “Running on Love & Donuts” series. It follows the first three books but can be read as a standalone.

REBEL WITH A DONUT

My bag is packed. It’s been packed for a couple of days. I checked in for my flight exactly twenty-four hours before the plane takes off and received a number in the first boarding group, just like I hoped for. My alarm clock is set for five in the morning. I climb into bed and doublecheck the alarm on my phone.

After confirming both alarms are set, I type a quick text.

Me: We need to leave for the airport at 5:30

I send the text and decide to send one more.

Me: Thanks

The door to my room is open wide and I hear two chimes from the next room. My mom’s phone has received my texts. I hope she looks at them and doesn’t forget she’s driving me to the airport. My parents have been busy for the last couple of years starting up and running their own event planning business. When they aren’t out with clients, they’re holed up in the office next to my room on their phones and computers. At night, I lie in bed and listen to them talk, or rather debate about how to run the company, and which photo to put up on social media. Having me leave for three weeks won’t put a damper on their activities. They’re so busy they hardly notice when I’m here, except when they need my help. The events in other people’s lives are more interesting than the events occurring in their only child’s life. And that’s fine. I don’t really do anything to make myself known. I prefer to blend into the background, at home and school.

I wait to see if Mom will walk past my door and say anything. Instead, the cat, Tinkles, walks by. She pauses at the opening and swishes her gray, fluffy tail against the door frame. I narrow my eyes at Tinkles. She hisses before she saunters off. That cat hates me. I once had a throw rug covering the wood floor in my room, but Tinkles took her name literally and tinkled all over it, more than once. I won’t miss the nasty feline while I’m away, and Tinkles won’t miss me. My parents are the only ones who will notice I’m gone, because no one else will.

Mom hasn’t texted me back. The click of her fingers on the keyboard carries into my room. It’s my nightly background noise. I stare at the silent phone in my hand. It’s just after the Fourth of July and everyone is in full vacation mode during summer break. Most teenagers’ phones are full of texts and messages from friends, but mine barely ever makes a peep. My closest peer, Morgan, found a boyfriend before school ended and I haven’t heard from her. It’s fine. We aren’t close, and I think she talks to me out of pity.

I open my few texts and look at the most recent one.

Grandma: I can’t wait to see you tomorrow! I have a few surprises planned for you!

Grandma’s type of surprise means she’ll make some of my favorite foods and plan a chick flick marathon. That’s more excitement than I’ve had all summer.

A heavy sigh escapes me. I close the text and place the phone on my nightstand. I feel lonely, which is odd because I’m used to it. I normally prefer to be alone. I yank up the quilt I’ve had on my bed since elementary school and snuggle up with the stuffed bunny whose been with me since birth. Bunny’s fur is matted, and his stuffing is compressed, and I’m afraid he’ll fall apart. When I was younger, I had a habit of sucking my right thumb and holding Bunny next to my face. I would grasp his ear with my right forefinger and rub the soft material against my nose while sucking my thumb. Much to my parents’ displeasure, I didn’t stop sucking my thumb until I was eight years old. It was a hard habit to break.

“Wait!” I hear Mom’s sharp voice from the next room, but she’s not talking to me. “Use the second photo.”

I can’t hear what my dad says, but his muffled tone conveys his agreement.

Little do my parents know, I was a closet thumb sucker until thirteen. I still rub the soft material of Bunny’s ear against my nose. This is one habit I haven’t broken. The ritual is comforting, and the scent of my childhood lingers on the stuffed animal.

Bunny will stay home while I leave for the next three weeks. A month ago, my grandma asked if I would come and visit. When I said I would think about it, Mom encouraged me to go. She thinks I’ll be a good distraction for Grandma and help cheer her up. My family visited Grandma seven months ago, when we flew to Florida for Grandpa’s funeral.

A jaunty theme song from an old television show carries to my room. It’s the ringtone Mom uses for Grandma. Grandma must have sensed I was thinking of her, and I listen in when my mom answers.

“Hi, Mom,” she says. “You’re up late.” There’s a pause while Grandma speaks on the other end. I can only imagine what Grandma’s saying, probably something about me arriving tomorrow. “No. She hasn’t done much. No friends.” Another pause. “Never had a boyfriend, though I don’t think that’s important right now.” Silence again. “This will be good for her. I’m glad you were able to plan this.” Another pause. “Okay. Thanks. Love you too. Bye.”

A small tear runs into Bunny’s face and I rethink the decision to not pack him. I wonder if my parents know I can overhear them.

“Night, Emma!” Mom yells from the other room. Dad echoes her.

I roll on my side and don’t answer. The phone on my nightstand vibrates.

Mom: Thumbs-up emoji

I sigh and rub Bunny’s soft ear. No friends. Never had a boyfriend. I do wonder what it would be like to have either. I need a miracle or a brand-new start to get away from the nothingness I’ve created.

The glow in the dark stars stuck to my ceiling shine dimly. I received them when I was eight, as a reward for breaking my habit of thumb sucking. I know I didn’t really break the habit, but at least I stopped sucking my thumb in front of others, not that anyone except my parents noticed. I’d have to do something impressive to be observed, and I’m not a larger-than-life type of person.

Everyone says the summer before your senior year is supposed to be epic. My summer excitement involves working for my parents, volunteering at the local library, and now a trip to Florida for three weeks. My vacation won’t be the thrilling one of teenagers, full of theme parks and parties on beaches. I’m headed to The Villages, where Grandma lives. I plan to get lost in a sea of wrinkles and gray hair for twenty-one days.

I imagine if I had friends, they’d good naturedly make fun of me for vacationing in a retirement community, but I don’t have anyone close to me. And that’s fine.