A Steamy Rivalry, A Reality Show, and One Big Risk

Today is the day—Her Hottest Challenge is officially out in Kindle Unlimited! 🎉

This book was such a fun, fiery ride to write, and I’m so excited to share Staci and Remy’s story with you.

At the heart of this novel is one of my favorite tropes: enemies to lovers. Staci Rowland is a bakery owner determined to prove she’s more than the “sweet” contestant on a high-stakes reality cooking show. She’s focused, driven, and not about to let anything—or anyone—get in her way.

Enter Remy Cruzel: a smokin’-hot Cajun chef, her biggest rival, and the one man who knows exactly how to get under her skin… and stay there.

When they’re forced into close quarters—living together, cooking together, competing side by side—their rivalry turns into something much harder to ignore. The tension? Off the charts. The banter? Sharp, flirty, and just a little dangerous. And with cameras capturing every misstep, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Because this isn’t just about winning. It’s about ambition, pride, and what happens when the one person who could ruin everything might also be the one you can’t live without.

I loved exploring that push and pull between Staci and Remy—the way competition fuels their chemistry, and how vulnerability sneaks in when they least expect it. Throw in the pressure of reality TV, a little forced proximity, and a lot of heat, and you’ve got a romance that simmers… then boils over.

If you’re a fan of:

• enemies to lovers

• forced proximity

• flirty banter

• high-heat romance

• reality TV drama

…then this book was written for you.

This edition is a refreshed reissue of one of my original Harlequin Blaze titles, and I’m so thrilled to bring it back for new readers (and longtime fans!) to enjoy. 💛

Thank you so much for being here and supporting my stories—it truly means everything.

Her Hottest Challenge is available now in Kindle Unlimited, and I can’t wait to hear what you think of Staci and Remy’s journey. Start reading here.

Happy reading! 📚✨

Tuesday Teaser featuring Her Hottest Challenge

Happy Teaser Tuesday, romance readers!

Today I’m sharing a little peek at the second book in my One Night Scandals series, Her Hottest Challenge. If you love high-heat romance, fierce rivals, and a little friendly (or not-so-friendly) competition, this story might be exactly your flavor.

Staci Rowland is a talented bakery owner who knows her way around sugar, spice, and everything nice. When she joins the hit reality cooking show Premier Chef, she’s determined to prove she’s more than the “sweet” contestant everyone expects.

There’s just one problem.

Her partner—and biggest distraction—is smokin’-hot Cajun chef Remy Cruzel, a man who thrives on competition and has no intention of letting Staci beat him.

From the moment they’re paired together, sparks fly. And not the good, cozy kind. The fiery, impossible-to-ignore kind.

Living together, cooking together, and competing under the bright lights of a televised competition pushes them both to their limits. But as their rivalry heats up, so does the chemistry between them.

And suddenly the biggest challenge in the kitchen… isn’t the food.

It’s resisting each other.

What you’ll find inside Her Hottest Challenge:

• Enemies to lovers

• Forced proximity

• Reality TV competition drama

• Opposites attract

• Flirty banter

• High-heat romance

If you enjoy romance that mixes passion, tension, and a little delicious chaos, Staci and Remy’s story delivers plenty of all three.

Question for you:

What’s your favorite romance trope—enemies to lovers, forced proximity, or something else entirely?

I’d love to hear in the comments.

And if you enjoy spicy contemporary romance, keep an eye out for more from the One Night Scandals series. Her Hottest Challenge is available to preorder here.

💕 Katherine

Her Sweetest Mistake Is Live 💗

Her Sweetest Mistake is live today… and I mean right now.

If you’re a Kindle Unlimited member, you could already be diving into Jay and Alysse’s smoking-hot, second-chance romance. So tell me… what are you waiting for?

But if you need a little more convincing, let me share the backstory behind this book.

This story was originally published by Harlequin Blaze—who remembers that line? I still miss it. There was something so bold and electric about Blaze romances. This book was titled One More Kiss back then, and it has always held a special place in my heart.

And now, I’m so excited to bring it back to print—and back to you.

Originally, this book was conceived as part of a duology centered around two friends who become sisters of the heart. (The second book, Her Hottest Challenge, is coming March 19th!) I’ve always believed that some of the deepest relationships in our lives are built around shared meals, late-night conversations, and lingering over a glass of wine. Food connects us. It comforts us. It tells stories when words fall short.

For me, food is rooted in my memories of my maternal grandmother.

She passed away just a month before I turned thirty, and I still miss her every single day. She was the one who made me feel beautiful and special—even when I didn’t believe I was. She dyed her hair a vibrant red, and when she walked into a room, everyone knew she was there. I always felt so incredibly lucky that someone so luminous loved me the way she did.

That sense of love and care—expressed through food, through presence, through showing up—made its way into Alysse and Staci.

They use food to communicate. Their bakery (originally set in San Diego while I was living in Southern California and loving every minute of it) became a place where love and healing could rise like perfectly proofed dough. Being so close to the Marine Corps base also inspired Jay. I wanted him to be a man shaped by discipline, by service, by conflict—a man who knows fighting and war. He’s the perfect contrast to Alysse, whose love language is baking, nurturing, and creating sweetness in the world.

He fights battles.She builds comfort.

And when those two worlds collide again? Sparks.

If you love:

• Exes who can’t let go

• Small-town charm

• Marry-me cupcakes

• A Marine hero fighting for one more chance

Then this story is for you.

Thank you for being here—for reading my books through traditional publishing and now joining me in this exciting indie chapter. Bringing Her Sweetest Mistake home feels like reclaiming a piece of my creative journey.

And I’m so grateful to share it with you.

💗 Available now in paperback

💗 Free to read in Kindle Unlimited