Title: The Challenge
Author: Penelope Ward
Genre: Standalone Contemporary Romance
Tropes: Single Dad, Second Chance, Forced Proximity
Friends to Lovers, Small Town, Found Family
Release Date: August 30, 2026
BLURB
From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward comes a new, STANDALONE contemporary romanceβ¦
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Nothing says welcome home like accidentally moving in with your first heartbreakβ¦and his little girl.
Coming back to my small Wyoming hometown was supposed to be temporary. I only planned to stay long enough to help my ailing mother and sort through the mess of my familyβs old belongings.
Instead, I somehow ended up living in Evan Ricciβs house. The single dad now owned a bunch of properties and one of them was the place Iβd rented. Heβd taken it off the market and moved in before I got there. I just never got the memo. Unfortunately, there was no other place in town available, so Evan let me stay.
Evanβthe guy my parents took in years ago after his mother died.
The same Evan who used to dare me into ridiculous challenges that somehow always made me strongerβa game weβd dubbed The Challenge.
The same guy who ultimately rejected me before I left for college after Iβd finally garnered the courage to shoot my shot.
Now Evan was a rugged single dad with an eight-year-old daughter, a cocky attitude, and a dangerous ability to make me forget every reason I should still hate him.
Sharing a house with him shouldβve been unbearable. Instead, it felt dangerously familiar, nearly making me forget that I had a life and a job to get back to in Chicago. I realized the biggest challenge wasnβt surviving living with Evan Ricci.
It was not falling in love with him all over again.
PURCHASE LINKS
Special release price of $3.99
for a limited time only!
Free in Kindle Unlimited
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A model-cover paperback will be live on release day
Lita’s Book Review: 5 STARS
The Challenge by Penelope Ward. Chloe has decided to go back to her home town to get her mother’s affairs in order since she now is a nursing home. When she goes to the house she has rented for her stay, she finds the resident is already occupied. Surprisingly the occupant happens to be Ethan. Chloe has had a crush on him since he first moved into her family house when he was 17 and she was 12. Now he has a daughter and an ex wife. When Chloe has no choice but to stay at Ethan’s house, unresolved feelings resurface. A drunken letter written in college seems to be the biggest issue. Add in a precocious 8 year old and a recipe for sexual tension is the bases for this story. I love a precocious child with all the naivete that comes with them and Ethan’s daughter kept me entertained from the beginning to the end. Yes the interaction between Chloe and Ethan was a constant roller-coaster of emotions. This author never disappoints. Loved the characters. Loved the roller-coaster of emotions of the characters and the resolution of everyone’s feelings. 5 stars for me.
The Challenge by Penelope Ward
Tanya’s rating: 5 of 5 stars
Audiobook Review:
Narrators are Connor Crais and DesireΓ© Ketchum
The Challenge is a single dad romance and a standalone. This is Evan Ricci and Chloe Cavanaugh!
The Challenge with a pink sticky note was not a challenge to read! How could you not love the MMC and the FMC in this book.
My favorite line in the book!
βIf you ever ask me to have Chex again, Iβm going to eat the sh** out of it and lick the bowl clean!β
The Narrators Connor and DesireΓ© brought the book to life! Connor Crais is fast becoming one of my favorite narrators. DesireΓ© Ketchum did a wonderful job too. This book was the first book that I have heard her narrate. I loved listening to The Challenge!
Penelope Ward is one of my favorite authors. I know that I am going to get a great book every time! Soooo GOOD! 5 β’s!
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT
SINGLE DAD
SMALL TOWN
FRIENDS TO LOVERS
SECOND CHANCE
FORCED PROXIMITY
FOUND FAMILY
AUTHOR BIO
Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary romance.
She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor. Penelope resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and beautiful daughter with autism.
With millions of books sold, she is a 21-time New York Times bestseller and the author of over forty books. Her novels have been translated into over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.
AUTHOR LINKS
OTHER BOOKS BY PENELOPE WARD
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