CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

WHITMAN UNIVERSITY BOOKS

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They’ve got power, influence, good looks, and money to burn. But what about love?

Lyla Payne’s first series takes place at the fictional Whitman University, a posh, private college in Southern Florida. The kids who attend are from some of the country’s most prominent families…but that kind of money comes with it’s own set of problems.

These contemporary romances have been compared to both Gossip Girl and Cruel Intentions, and these sexy boys and dark, playful girls will keep your heart fluttering late into the night as you read on to find out which of your favorite couples will find a way to make it work.

The Whitman University books can be read individually and out of order, though characters from the first books appear regularly in the later companion novels.

Happy Reading!whitmanlogo


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Broken at Love (Whitman University, #1)
Purchase Links: Kindle | Nook | iBooks | Kobo | Google PlayPaperback (Amazon) | Paperback (B&N)

Book Description:
When a knee injury ends twenty-year-old Quinn Rowland’s pro tennis career, he’s not only dumped by his hot Russian girlfriend but ordered to attend college by his disinterested billionaire father. A rich kid who’s not used to being disappointed by life, Quinn and his sociopathic half-brother Sebastian create a frat house game intended to treat girls how they see them—as simple game pieces to be manipulated for their pleasure.

College sophomore Emilie Swanson knows Quinn’s reputation—after all, he did send one of her sorority sisters into therapy earlier in the semester—but the game and his charm bring them closer together and soon she starts to believe there’s more to Quinn than people think.

But what if the more is something darker than a game of toying with emotions and breaking hearts?

Quinn and Emilie might be falling for each other, but there are secrets he’s not ready to tell—and lifestyle changes he’s reluctant to make. She willingly stepped on the court, but if Emilie finds out she started out as nothing as a pawn in Quinn and Sebastian’s twisted game, she might never forgive him. To his surprise, Quinn finds that he might finally care about someone more than he cares about himself…even if that means letting Emilie walk away for good.

Hungry for more Broken at Love?
Chapters 1-3 | Epilogue | Bonus Scene: Ruby and Quinn | Bonus Scene: Emilie and Quinn

Praise for Broken at Love:

“Both she [Emilie] and Quinn are fighting with their parents’ expectations for them, and it’s Emilie who actually has enough courage to go for her dreams and who inspires Quinn. …she owns her choices and doesn’t blame them on anyone else. She’s very much characterized as being way stronger than Quinn in just about every respect, which is awesome. …if you like romance, I recommend Broken at Love, because it was hard to put down, which is a high commendation.” – Amazon Top 1000 reviewer Christina, from A Reader of Fictions

“The chemistry between these two was wonderfully written and the interaction between them is intense. I was so engrossed in the story itself that I couldn’t put this book down! I picked it up just before bed and stayed up way too late just to finish it. I adore this author’s style and I’m in awe of the fact that she made me fall for a guy who, in my opinion, was irredeemable at the start of the story. I’m absolutely looking forward to more of Payne’s stories!” – reviewer Jaime Arkin, of Fiction Fare


byreferralonlyBy Referral Only (Whitman University, #2)
Purchase Links: Kindle | Nook | iBooks | Kobo | Google PlayPaperback (Amazon) | Paperback (B&N)

Book Description:
After being unceremoniously dumped freshman year because of her family’s “new money” status, Ruby Cotton has taken care not to put her heart on the line. No matter how enticing Emilie and Quinn make it look, relationships are scary and hard—while a string of flings is easy and fun. That’s what Ruby wants. Easy and fun. The only problem is, when it comes to satisfaction in the sack, most of the boys at Whitman are nothing but pretty window dressing and false advertising.

Ruby takes it upon herself to make campus life more fulfilling, creating a referral database that allows female students to rate their sexual experiences, thereby informing girls of what they’re getting into before agreeing to a date.

When her acting partner, Liam Greene, finally shows some interest, Ruby figures she won’t need to utilize the helpful gossip. He’s handsome, fun, and most importantly, not a guy she’d ever fall for hard enough to let him break her heart.

Not only that, but dating Liam gives Ruby the perfect excuse to say no to Cole Stuart.

As a star swimmer and heir to honest-to-God Scottish royalty, Cole sits at the top of Whitman’s A-list—but he’s also the lowest rated referral on Ruby’s website. The ratings make rejecting his repeated requests for a date a no-brainer, but her real reason for avoiding Cole runs deeper than a string of unsatisfied exes.

He’s gorgeous, he oozes sweetness and charm, and the electricity between them could power half of Whitman, but Ruby knows it will only last until his family or friends convince him she’s not good enough.

Before she knows it she’s falling anyway, waiting for the other shoe to drop but clinging to a tentative hope that Cole might be as different as he seems. When the secret behind his low ratings comes to light, that hope is torn apart, and Ruby wonders if she was right to give him her heart…and whether she has the strength to let him keep it.


bemydownfallBe My Downfall (Whitman University, #3)
Purchase Links: Kindle | Nook | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play | Paperback (Amazon)Paperback (B&N)

Book Description:
Toby Wright has always prided himself on being one of the most normal guys at Whitman University. He loves his parents, has a great job lined up after graduation, and with the exception of attempting to cross the unbalanced Sebastian Blair sophomore year, has kept his nose pretty clean.

But the rich never have empty closets, and memories long stashed away come spilling free when notorious party girl Kennedy Gilbert almost dies in his dorm room.

Nobody really knows how Kennedy manages to stay in good standing at Whitman–she never goes to class, doesn’t pretend to care about her future, and as far as people can tell, is never sober. This isn’t her first meeting with a stomach pump, but it is the first time she’s woken up to Toby’s concerned brown eyes. Despite the fact that she prefers life without friends, he gets under her skin with his insistence on playing the part of her guardian angel.

No one knows better than Toby that people can only be saved if they want to be, but the realization that she has no one else draws him back into the shadows of Kennedy’s life–and eventually into her bed. But she long ago came to terms a truth that Toby refuses to accept: she doesn’t want to be rescued, she only wants to forget.

Unwilling to give up on her, Toby’s dragged under by this broken girl and her dark, twisted Whitman University he never guessed existed below the manicured exterior. If he struggles to the surface, he’ll abandon someone he loves for the second time in his life. If he doesn’t, it won’t be long until they both drown.


450x700_StayingonTopStaying On Top (Whitman University, #4)
Purchase Links: Kindle | Nook | iBooks | KoboGoogle Play | Paperback (Amazon) | Paperback (B&N)

Book Description:
Sam Bradford has it all—he’s the #2 tennis player in the world, plenty of girls want to date him, and he’ll never want for money. At least, that’s what he thought until his accountant stole everything and disappeared. Interpol has no idea where to start, and neither does the American F.B.I., so Sam figures he’ll just have to take care of his body and play a few extra years to make it back.

When Blair Paddington, the accountant’s daughter and a friend of a friend at Whitman, shows up and claims she can help Sam get his money back he’s torn between wanting justice and the very real possibility that Blair is just as big a con man as her father. When she promises not only money, but justice, Sam agrees—but only if he can go along on the search.

The two of them set off on an adventure neither rich kid is prepared for—cheap hostels, the same clothes three days in a row, and nothing but a backpack of possessions—so they can fly under the radar as college lovers on a winter break. In spite of Blair’s shady family, her daring and resourceful personality strike Sam’s interest and he finds himself falling for the one girl he shouldn’t.

When they finally find her father, the truths that come to light not only make Sam question his affection for Blair, but could cost him more than money—if they can’t work together one last time, neither of them may be going home. Ever.


450x700LivingTheDream_LylaPayne_Sept2014_FrontCover_HiResLiving the Dream (Whitman University, #5)
Purchase Links:
 Kindle Nook | iBooks | Kobo | Google PlayPaperback (Amazon) | Paperback (B&N)
Add to Goodreads: Living the Dream or Read the First 5 Chapters

Book Description:
An unfortunate and embarrassing incident that precipitated Audra Stuart’s breakup last winter sent her scurrying for cover, unwilling to show her face again at Whitman University. When her roommate Blair Paddington tracks her down and learns what happened, she convinces Audra that letting her jackass ex win is not the answer…but that maybe going to Sebastian Blair for help just might be.

Sebastian has established a reputation of being the guy without scruples—the one who can get you what you want, no questions asked. For a price.
His price for Audra Stuart? Pretend to be his girlfriend so he can legitimize himself and maybe snag a job from one of his “friends” before graduation.
To get her friends (and his) to buy the ruse the two of them have to get in deep—so deep that they forget they’re supposed to be pretending. Sebastian Blair is about to fall hard, but he can’t help but worry.

Because the girl he loves is bound to learn he was behind the incident that sent her tumbling his direction in the first place.

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