Stronger Than Yesterday: A Small-Town Irish Protector Romance

Got it—here’s your updated, HTML-safe Amazon description with “About the Author,” your team/handlers section, and an awards note including The BookFest recognition: html</span><p><b><span>A small-town Irish protector romance about healing, found family, and a love that chooses safety without losing heat.</span></b></p> <p><span>She ran for her life to a windswept village and her aunt’s stone-roofed house. He hung a bell on the gate and promised she’d hear trouble coming before it reached the kitchen door.</span></p> <p><span>After years of walking on glass, </span><b><span>Isla Rowan</span></b><span> is learning to breathe again—stocking shelves at </span><b><span>Rowan & Tide</span></b><span>, the little bookshop that smells like paper and lemon oil, and trying to believe that “quiet” can be a safe word. </span><b><span>Cormac</span></b><span>—steady-voiced, storm-eyed, a friend of the family—keeps an eye on the hedges and the locks, offering choice where other men took it.</span></p> <p><span>But the past doesn’t give up easily. A watcher in a dark coat. Footprints in frost. A name whispered on the quay. When a local enforcer tests their gates, Cormac draws the line with plain speech—and Isla finds herself standing her ground beside him. What begins as protection becomes partnership; what starts as survival turns into a love that lets her take up space, speak, want, and be wanted.</span></p> <p><b><span>Stronger Than Yesterday</span></b><span> is a slow-burn, emotionally rich romance set on Ireland’s rugged coast—about rebuilding a life that holds, and choosing tenderness without surrendering strength.</span></p> <p><b><span>You’ll love this if you crave:</span></b></p> <ul class="a-unordered-list a-vertical"> <li><span class="a-list-item"><span>Protector hero & survivor heroine</span></span></li> <li><span class="a-list-item"><span>Slow burn, low open-door intimacy</span></span></li> <li><span class="a-list-item"><span>Found family (hi, Aunt Moira) & community solidarity</span></span></li> <li><span class="a-list-item"><span>Bookshop vibes, sea air, stone walls, cozy kitchens</span></span></li> <li><span class="a-list-item"><span>Romantic-suspense undercurrent with a firm HEA</span></span></li> <li><span class="a-list-item"><span>Emotional safety, consent, and quiet courage</span></span></li> </ul> <p><b><span>Content notes:</span></b><span> References to past domestic abuse and stalking; on-page menace and confrontation; no sexual violence on the page. Supportive secondary characters, therapy-positive framing, and back-matter resources for readers who may need them.</span></p> <p><b><span>Standalone.</span></b><span> No cliffhanger. Happy ending guaranteed.</span></p> <p><b><span>About the Author</span></b></p> <p><b><span>Laura Carpenter</span></b><span> writes cinematic, emotionally charged romances rooted in Irish heart, found family, and fierce hope. A survivor of domestic violence, she champions trauma-aware love stories where safety and consent lead the way. When she isn’t drafting by the sea, she’s building multi-book sagas and connecting with readers who believe tenderness is a strength.</span></p> <p><b><span>Awards & Recognition</span></b><span><br>Entered into several book awards; recognized by </span><i><span>The BookFest</span></i><span> for Work Excellence.</span></p> <p><i><span>Resources for readers:</span></i><span> A curated list of international support organizations appears in the book’s back matter.</span></p> <p><span>One quiet street. One ringing bell. One promise: love without fear.</span></p> <span>