Hard Pill to Swallow

Song-Smith Series: Book 3

Advance Reader Copy

Genres

Mystery Romance, Why Choose Romance, M M F Romance, Dark Romantic Comedy, and Novels

Trigger Warnings

Profanity, Death, Violence, Abuse, Sex, and Suicide

Type of Ending

Series

Song-Smith Series — Book 3

Series Read Order

Reading prior books is recommended, but not required

Author Prefers A Review On

Goodreads or Amazon

Reader Spots Remaining

199

Number of days to read

Publication Date

Mar 10, 2026

Page Length

490 pages

Available Formats

ePub and PDF

Hard Pill to Swallow

Song-Smith Series: Book 3

Advance Reader Copy

Blurb

They signed up for a fix, not feelings. Oops.

Stan’s a heartbroken wreck. After watching the love of his life marry someone else, he needs to lose himself fast. So screw it, he signs up for a sketchy drug trial in international waters. It’ll risk relapse, but it’s way better than opening up in therapy. Besides, he gets a sexy scientist to bug and a haunted hottie for a roomie.

That’s Nil, who’s fresh from a coma with barely any memories and too many scars from a foggy past he’s not ready to face. But between Stan and Em, he might feel alive again.

Em’s the ice-cold neuroscientist running the trial. The drug users are data points. The ship, a lab. But Stan refuses to be ignored, and Nil holds the answers she needs.

But soon, bodies turn up blue. The ship’s a death trap, and someone on board’s bloodthirsty. But hey, Stan’s had worse foreplay.

Hard Pill to Swallow is an MMF dark romcom around a murder mystery at sea with two broken men who want each other and the woman who was never supposed to feel a thing.

Details

Genres

Mystery Romance, Why Choose Romance, M M F Romance, Dark Romantic Comedy, and Novels

Trigger Warnings

Profanity, Death, Violence, Abuse, Sex, and Suicide

Type of Ending

Series

Song-Smith Series — Book 3

Series Read Order

Reading prior books is recommended, but not required

Author Prefers A Review On

Goodreads or Amazon

Reader Spots Remaining

199

Number of days to read

Publication Date

Mar 10, 2026

Page Length

490 pages

Available Formats

ePub and PDF

Author

Cate Roi writes dark romance with a body count and a sense of humor. Born Chinese-Filipino and raised between the U.S. and Canada, she grew up learning the power of diversity (and dramatic family dinners). Outside of writing, she keeps a low profile and leads a quiet life in research, but the details of that are strictly classified. These days, she conjures up morally messy love stories while enjoying the company of her partner-in-crime and their furbabies, who unlike her characters, are pure and innocent. Probably.