Book picks similar to
The Guy Next Door by D.L. White


romance
contemporary-romance
black-love
authors-female

Beautiful Assassin


Stephanie Nicole Norris - 2017
    When Celine took her marital vows, she exchanged the life of guns, drugs, and violence for the peaceful life as Caleb's wife. However, not all things buried stay hidden. When Celine’s past comes knocking, it rattles her world and forces her back into the life she vowed to give up. Now she is turning up the heat on the streets of Chicago, showing no mercy to the men who’ve undoubtedly marked themselves.

Caught up in the Rapture of Love


Britt Joni - 2019
    Leaning on each other at every low and celebrating each other at every high. When one needs the other they are always there. So it was no surprise when placed in a position to lose an inheritance, Wellington thought nothing of asking his friend for help. He knew without a shadow of a doubt Olivia would come running, but can their friendship survive something as big as this? Olivia has loved her best friend her entire life but she’s always been afraid to act on it. She’s been content playing in the shadow of being Wellington’s dorky best friend. Even when her heart was telling her to speak up she stayed silent. After her friend asks her to sacrifice her time to help him out of a bind, Olivia jumps at the offer, hoping that eventually he sees her as more. Will she ever speak of her love, or will she suffer in silence forever? Wellington has known he’s loved his best friend since she entered his life. He never wanted to be anything except her man, but he knew she wasn’t ready for the type of love he had to offer, nor did he desire to change their friendship forever. When his longing to make her his became too much, Wellington set a plan in motion to make sure the desires of his heart were made clear. Will lying to his best friend win her heart, or will it ruin their friendship forever?

Weather or Knot


Tracy Brogan - 2019
    So when the Chanel 7 news director sends her on assignment to join a team of adrenaline-loving, tornado-seeking storm chasers, she's beyond thrilled. Live weather segments from the road is just what Allison needs to boost her on-air visibility and land that promotion she's been working toward. There's just one problem. Dylan Parks. Her one-time fiancé and the man she's never quite forgotten.The last time Dylan Parks saw Allie Winters, she'd just returned his engagement ring and twisted his heart like an F5 tornado. Now here she was in the back of his tech-laden SUV looking more beautiful than ever, and expecting to spend the week with him and his team. In the five years since their break-up, Dylan has worked hard at establishing his career - and he's worked even harder at getting over the love of his life. Neither was easy, and her surprise appearance has left him as unstable as a springtime weather system in Kansas.Long days spent chasing ominous clouds give way to nostalgic evenings that stir up long-buried emotions, but can Dylan and Allie leave behind their turbulent history in the hopes that love, like lightning, sometimes strikes twice?***Includes an excerpt of Tracy Brogan's new release THE NEW NORMAL***

Endless Blue Seas


Annie Dyer - 2019
    The first time I saw Anya I was shirtless and holding an axe.It was June, the weather balmy and Anya was beautiful, but that didn’t matter because I was drowning in my own grief.Anya wasn’t meant to be my saviour.I wasn’t meant to be hers.A perfect summer, an idyllic island, a stream of stolen nights.All bandaids on an open wound.If we were going to live again, she deserved more than the fractured shards of the broken creature I’d become.She deserved love.Endless Blue Seas is a standalone summer romance, guaranteed to melt your heart and other items.

BDE.COM: Interludes


Genesis Woods - 2021
    The popular dating site was supposed to be just for random hookups not love connections right?A couple of months have passed since Dickem Down Dom, LongStrokeLinc_69, NastyNate08, and Hurrikane Chris have entered the lives of these four women. For the most part everyone seems to be happy, however, it’s a new year, which means that there’s a bit of new drama on the rise. Catch up with the Rawlin girls as Charity calls for another “Sister Circle” to dish about what’s been going on in each of their revamped love lives. Will happily ever after be in the cards for the sisters or will their adventures in online dating continue?

His Weekend Special


Endiya Carter - 2019
     What was supposed to be a one-time fling between Heavenly and Fabian transpired into a full-blown, secret relationship. Certain her son, Maverick, would not approve of them, Heavenly swore to keep their relationship discreet. Fabian’s feelings were growing for ‘Miss J’ by the day. He wanted Heavenly and would do anything to keep her happy. Harboring their secret was the plan he agreed to, until Maverick’s dad, Mason, came into town trying to get back what Fabian had deemed his. Fabian loved his best friend, Maverick, but he loved his mother more. He wasn’t willing to let her go that easily. Will Fabian and Heavenly get the happily ever after they deserve? Or will their love for Maverick stand in the way?

It's The Chase For Me: A Heights Story (Heights Stories)


Christina C. Jones - 2020
    

Forever Ain't Enough


J. Chary - 2019
    The question was how long would she make me wait to claim her as mine? -Xander He saw me for everything I was and everything I thought I wasn’t. -Hayven

The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You


Amulya Malladi - 2019
    The best Zara store is in BCN (Barcelona, Spain). The best airport to buy whiskey at is ARN (Stockholm, Sweden). When stopping at CDG (Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris), you must have a long layover because of those damn funiculars; and never forget that the international terminal in ORD (Chicago) has no food after ten in the evening. Airplanes, airports, and hotel lobby bars make Asmi feel just as much at home as her apartment in Laguna Beach does. A marketing director in a biotech company, Asmi rose through the corporate ranks and never really took the time to think about couple-hood. She has good friends, a terrific sister who lives close by, and a married on-again, off-again lover in Paris she sees while she travels around the world for work.But as Asmi reaches the big 4-0 and contemplates making some life choices; her boss announces he is retiring, and she is suddenly thrown into a corporate Hunger Games against her nemesis Scott Beauregard III to win a promotion.Worried that her inability to commit to a real relationship with a man is a personality flaw and afraid that she’s unqualified for the job she desperately wants, Asmi must learn to lean in to have the career and life she wants and deserves, without worrying about what society expects from her.

Benefriends


Chencia C. Higgins - 2019
    I would have said it was a setup that was doomed to fail each and every time. I had friends who had been there, done that, and got the keyed car and broken windows to prove it. I didn’t need to experience it for myself to know that I was good on that. That’s what I would have said before if anyone wanted to know my opinion. In a way, I still thought like that, except… I’d known Aisha since I was thirteen years old and if you would have asked me, I would have said I knew her pretty well. That couldn’t have been further from the truth, and when she revealed some things to me—things I had somehow missed over all these years—I found myself uttering words I never thought I’d say. It was just an agreement. You could almost call it a selfless act on my part. I was just being a good friend. The thing was, I forgot who drew the lines in the sand and before long I found myself caught up in the more-than-friendly benefits with my very good friend. Author’s Note: This is short, steamy read featuring explicit language and situations. If either of those offend you, this might not be the story for you.

The Hook-Up Before Christmas


Phyllis Bourne - 2018
    However, the tree isn’t her only neglect on this lonely night. Toi hopes a one-and-done hook-up with her ex will revive her holiday spirit. Instead, she gets a surprise that might land her on Santa’s naughty list. This holiday story is short and contains both profanity and sexual content. If you're offended by either, you may want to select another story to enjoy.

Dog-Heart


Diana McCaulay - 2010
    Alternating between the perspectives of the woman and the boy, the story engages with issues of race and class, examines the complexities of relationships between people of very different backgrounds, and explores the difficulties faced by individuals seeking to bring about social change through their own actions. The dramatic climax and tragic choices made grow from the gulf of incomprehension between middle-class and poor Jamaicans and provide penetrating insights into the roots of violence in impoverished communities.

Birthday Shot


Rilzy Adams - 2020
    But that is old, old news. It was just a childhood crush. When Kofi returns to Antigua for her brother’s engagement party, Shae realizes maybe her crush isn’t such old news after all. But could Kofi be interested in the woman who used to follow him around with hearts in her eyes? Shae’s thirtieth birthday is approaching and she wonders if maybe it is finally the time to shoot her shot. After all, everyone knows birthday sex doesn’t count. Or does it?

Uncovered Truths: A Novella


Alexandra Warren - 2020
    what's the worst that could happen? Note: While this standalone book tells a complete story, it is novella-length meaning it is shorter by design. If you prefer your stories longer, I'd highly recommend checking out another Alexandra Warren project. :)

Pete & Daisy


Tani Hanes - 2018
    Pete is an exchange student from Italy with a chronic case of poverty. She needs a baby-daddy, he needs a place to live, so they decide to help each other out by engaging in the time-honored device used by people in need the world over: a marriage of convenience. She’s beautiful and smart, he’s a gorgeous and talented musician, surely they can live together as husband and wife for one academic year? In a one-bedroom on the Upper West Side? With her old-fashioned granny living on the first floor, Pete and Daisy move into a tiny, rooftop apartment, ready to be roommates, husband and wife in name only, for nine months. Real life has a way of getting in the way, though, of messing with the best laid plans... Come along for the journey of Pete Santangelo and Daisy White and their turbulent and very sexy romance, and see how two strangers can become best friends and fall in love. See how a modern American family is born.