My Orc (Fake) Boyfriend

Eastshore Isle, Book 2

By: Veronika Kane

Narrated by: Keara Ryan, Tristan Warden

I'm pretty sure there's a rulebook somewhere that says the owner of a successful small-town bakery must be cheerful, friendly, and a little bit curvy, which means I'm nailing it. But my family doesn't see it that way, especially since there's no handsome doctor or lawyer keeping me company. They're visiting Eastshore Isle for our summer celebration, and they're planning to bring me a date to cure my case of singlehood.

Desperate to escape their matchmaking, I make up a story about my own knight in shining armor, and cast the grumpy, seven-foot-tall town mechanic in this role. It's not like Cairo knows I've been crushing on him forever, so he has no reason to step up and help me out. But when my mother demands proof we're actually dating . . . Cairo delivers.

Oh boy, does he ever.

He's definitely not the kind of guy my family wants me to be with, and he's clearly not really interested in me. But as we spend more time together to sell the story, I realize that we might have the secret ingredient for a perfectly sweet romance. What's it going to take to convince my overbearing family—and Cairo himself—that the pair of us are perfect for Eastshore Isle?

Contains mature themes.

©2024 Veronika Kane (P)2026 Tantor Media

My Orc (Fake) Boyfriend

My Orc (Fake) Boyfriend by Veronika Kane

🎧 reread Oct 2026. Listened to the audiobook version narrated by Tristan Warden and Keara Ryan who appear to be performing multiple books in this series.
The performances bring the characters off the page into 3D for me. In the dual format, each performs both MCs. A fun and steamy listen.

Eastshore Isle series #2. Paranormal erotic romance. 1st person, alternating between Melinda and Cairo. Can be read as a stand-alone romance but characters from the first are in this book, and this one takes place after the first.
Melinda O’Donnell owns the bakery on Eastshore Isle. She’s happy with her success but her wealthy family coming to visit in July expects to set her up with a doctor or lawyer and have her moving back home. Impulsively, Meli tells her family she has a boyfriend and she’ll stay with him while they are in town.
Cairo is an Orc. He’s lived and worked as a mechanic on Eastshore for years and enjoys picking up cupcakes from the bakery a couple times a week. Usually the place is closing when he shows up, but this time there are several people in the store and he’s shocked when Meli announces they are a couple and he finds himself in a lip lock with her!
Meli needs to convince her family that Cairo is her choice, while he needs to convince her to be his mate.

Feel good, low angst, high heat romance with fated mates, one bed, grumpy sunshine, all in a small town setting.

Entertaining and a steamy quick read. A humorous version of monster porn without anything extra.