Grumpy Hotel Owner Romance: Meet The Codmere Trilogy
If you want a grumpy hotel owner romance with enemies to lovers and forced proximity, start The Codmere Trilogy by Anita Shaw with Four Weeks With My Enemy. Lyla Harlan is the consultant sent to buy him out, and Wesley Whitmore puts her in the room behind his connecting door. All three books are out now. Read FREE with Kindle Unlimited.
This is my newest series, and it's set somewhere I'd love to visit. The Codmere is a family hotel built in 1927 in Raven Harbor, a tourist town off the Washington coast. Ferries, storms, a festival weekend the hotel isn't ready for, and an owner who carries his own toolbox and has zero patience for consultants.
Why enemies to lovers and forced proximity work so well together
Enemies to lovers is the trope. She works for the company that wants his hotel, and he calls it the day they meet.
What readers really come for is sharper. Lyla is the one person who sees through the man everyone else finds impossible, and Wesley may be the one person who could see through her. She ends up wanting the man she was sent to undo.
Forced proximity takes away the exits. They can't avoid each other at work, because his bank made her stay a condition of any loan talks. At night, there's one door between their rooms. A floorboard creaks by that door, and she can guess exactly who is on the other side.
Four Weeks With My Enemy (Book 1)
Lyla Harlan is a hotel consultant whose company buys struggling family hotels. Her boss has dangled a director-level job in front of her, and all she has to do is deliver the Codmere. The hotel has gorgeous bones, neglected systems and crippling debt, with a loan deadline only ninety days away and a rival chain circling.
To the hotel and the town, Lyla is a neutral consultant hired to help them get through the festival. Her real job is to find every weak spot her company can use. Four weeks, maybe five. Then Wesley Whitmore shows her to her room.
“Temporary,” he says. “There’s a connecting door between the rooms. It should be locked on both sides. Keep it that way.” 8pza2o1xs2dwb4lsqvrngl7xg8gc873.62 KB📌 Save this picture to Pinterest
Wesley is guarded, stubborn, and carrying his family's hotel on his back. He treats her like the threat she secretly is. She can't tell him the truth, and he's making it very hard to keep thinking of him as the enemy.
The Codmere Trilogy reading order
Read these in order. Lyla and Wesley's story continues in Book 2, and Book 3 belongs to his sister.
Wesley and Lyla aren't done yet. His sister calls at midnight with a toddler and nowhere to go, and her rich ex is suing for custody. Wesley goes full protector, all scowl and rolled-up sleeves, and plants himself between Lyla and that man in the lobby. The trouble is, he wants to protect her from everything, including the truth.
Book 3: Secret Nights with My Protector
Sophia is a single mom restoring her brother's hotel and signing off on every repair. Eric Holloway is the maintenance chief she argues with over every change order. When someone sends her a photo of her daughter's car seat, Eric is the one who spots the stranger first. Soon she's sneaking into bed with the man her brother pays, and if her ex's lawyers find out, they'll call her unstable.
Who will love this trilogy
Enemies to lovers with real stakes on both sides
Forced proximity with one connecting door
A grumpy hotel owner and the consultant sent to buy him out
A secret agenda, then a secret affair
A stormy island town and a 1927 hotel full of staff you'll want to adopt
Workplace romance with a festival deadline
Protective heroes and single mom drama in Books 2 and 3
Full-length books, with love scenes on the page in Book 1
What readers are saying
"Four Weeks With My Enemy by Anita Shaw hooked me with its forced-proximity setup and delicious enemies-to-lovers tension!"
"Paced smoothly with a wonderful blend of emotion and cozy drama, it keeps you hooked from beginning to end."
Frequently asked questions
What is forced proximity in romance books?
Forced proximity is a romance trope where two characters are stuck sharing space and can't avoid each other. It might be a snowed-in cabin, one bed, or, in Four Weeks With My Enemy, two hotel rooms joined by a connecting door. It pairs well with enemies to lovers because nobody gets to walk away from the fight.
What is an enemies to lovers romance?
An enemies to lovers romance starts with two people on opposite sides, then lets the fight turn into attraction. In The Codmere Trilogy, she works for the company that wants his hotel, and he knows exactly what a consultant from a hotel chain means.
Do I need to read The Codmere Trilogy in order?
Yes. Lyla and Wesley's story starts in Four Weeks With My Enemy and continues in My Overprotective Hotel Grump. Secret Nights with My Protector follows his sister, so start with Book 1.
Is The Codmere Trilogy in Kindle Unlimited?
Yes. All three books are in Kindle Unlimited. Read FREE with Kindle Unlimited, or buy the ebook on Amazon.
Anita Shaw writes steamy contemporary romance and romantic suspense with grumpy, protective heroes and the smart, stubborn women who refuse to back down.
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