Book picks similar to
Once Upon a Rose by Laura Florand


romance
contemporary-romance
contemporary
adult

Sneaking Candy


Lisa Burstein - 2013
    Of course, secretly I already have made a name for myself: as Candy Sloane, self-published erotic romance writer. Though thrilled that my books are selling and I have actual fans, if anyone at UM found out, I could lose my scholarship…and the respect of my faculty advisor, grade-A-asshole Professor Dylan.Enter James Walker, super-hot local barista and—surprise!—my student. Even though I know a relationship is totally off-limits, I can’t stop myself from sneaking around with James, taking a few cues from my own erotic writing…if you catch my drift. Candy’s showing her stripes for the first time in my real life, and I’ve never had so much fun. But when the sugar high fades, can my secrets stay under wraps?

Sweet Talk


Susan Mallery - 2008
    The twenty-eight-year-old piano prodigy has never had a regular boyfriend, much less a real romance. Her music career has left little room for friends or family--which is just part of the reason she hasn't seen the family bakery or her two sisters in years.But now Nicole is sick, and Jesse is AWOL. Despite the fact that Claire can't boil water, she's determined to play caretaker. Connecting with her sisters tops her to-do list...along with falling in love, or at least in lust, for the first time.Ruggedly sexy Wyatt just might fit the bill. Although he keeps saying that he and Claire come from entirely different worlds, he lights up hotter than a bakery oven whenever Claire is near. If this keeps up, she just might sweet--talk him into her bed...and her life.

A Date with Fate


Tracy Ellen - 2012
    She’s twenty eight, owns a bookstore, and is one determined, control freak of a woman. She’s decided to take the entire weekend off to have some fun. Except Anabel’s unapologetically single and perfectly uncomplicated life is suddenly upside down with problems! The cheating love of her life is back in town. Her family is meddling in her personal business. An adulterous wife of a good friend has gone missing. She’s been targeted for death by a homicidal serial rapist. An evil aunt has gone fanatic. Her sociopathic cousin has stolen her gun. The macho police chief is driving her nuts. And one not-too-tall, deliciously dark, and definitely not handsome stranger is enticing her to break all her ironclad rules on dating in the most intriguing of ways. Strange things are happening in Northfield, Minnesota. But Anabel’s never met the challenge she won’t stare in the eye while daintily spitting sideways in the dirt. Will Anabel begin to believe that life is never simple, some rules are meant to be broken, and a certain mesmerizing complication may be worth the trouble--even if it kills her? (Adult Content)

Always Room for Cupcakes


Bethany Lopez - 2020
    The next thing I knew, my entire world crashed and burned.I used to wake up at night in a sweat, crying because I’d dreamt my husband was cheating on me, or he hated me, and resented our kids. He’d always hold me close and tell me it was all just a dream, that he loved me and our family and he’d never let me go.He was a f*cking liar.Now I spend my days taking photos of scum just like him, trying to be a champion for others who are being taken advantage of by the losers in our town, and my nights being a single mom to my beautiful twins.I've got great friends who always have my back, and a sexy, mysterious motorcycle man who keeps showing up when I need him. Things are finally starting to look up. And, one thing's for sure... There's always room for cupcakes.WARNING: THIS BOOK CONTAINS FOUL LANGUAGE, SEX, SOME VIOLENCE, AND SHENANIGANS. IF NONE OF THAT BOTHERS YOU, GRAB A CUPCAKE AND READ ON!Cupcake Series - Should be read in orderAlways Room for CupcakesCupcake OverloadLei'd with CupcakesCupcake ExplosionCupcakes & Macarons: Honeymoon ShortLei'd in Paradise: A Cupcakes Series Novella (Carmen and Bran)Crazy for Cupcakes - Coming Soon

Wrong Text, Right Love


Claudia Y. Burgoa - 2020
    I’m an influencer. I run a popular blog where I give all kinds of dating tips, and girls all over the world thank me for helping them with their love lives.I wish I could follow my own advice because my love life is totally dead. I just drunk texted my ex-boyfriend… except, I didn’t. That text ended up going to someone else.Oops.This new relationship is almost picture-perfect, just like my online life. I guess I give good… text.He doesn’t have to put up with my colorful personality — as my hot next-door neighbor describes me. Or my messy schedule.This long-distance relationship is the best thing that’s happened to me and I plan to keep it that way.Until we agree to meet up, and I’m freaking out.When he meets the real me, will he hate me forever?Or will we be one day telling our grandkids about that wrong text, right love?***Wrong Text, Right Love is a cute rom-com of two secret lovers who prepare to risk it all for love. Claudia Burgoa brings the flirty fun in this cozy novel of risking it all for romance.This is a standalone story with an HEA.

Mister Tonight


Kendall Ryan - 2018
    And the more I drank, the more I wanted to do something reckless to celebrate.By reckless, I mean the sexy and alluring man dressed in a business suit standing near the bar. You know his type—tall, dark, handsome. I was sure he was out of my league, but I’d had just enough alcohol that things like that no longer seemed to matter. I’m not fat, mind you, but you can tell I like french fries, so there’s that.He took me home, and I enjoyed the hottest birthday sex of my life. Well, until it came to a screeching and rather unwelcome halt.There’s nothing quite like being interrupted mid-ride with a little voice asking, “What are you doing to my daddy?”Just kill me now . . . or so I thought.Come to find out, the man I rode like a bull at the rodeo is my new landlord.

The Wedding Game


Meghan Quinn - 2021
    So it’s only natural that Luna would convince her brother and his husband-to-be to compete on The Wedding Game, a “do-it-yourself” TV show, for the title of Top DIY Wedding Expert.As a jaded divorce lawyer, Alec Baxter scoffs at weddings and romance. But when his recently engaged brother begs him to participate in The Wedding Game, Alec grudgingly picks up a glue gun and prepares for some family bonding.Both fierce competitors, Luna and Alec clash on national TV as harsh words and glitter fly with abandon. But as they bicker over color swatches and mood boards, they find themselves fighting something else: their growing mutual attraction. While Luna is torn between family loyalty and her own feelings, Alec wonders if he might have been wrong about love and marriage all along…

Sugarcoated


Erin Nicholas - 2020
    He's known her all his life. He's practically part of the family. There is nothing either of them could do to surprise the other at this point.Then she showed up in his bedroom in lingerie and asked him to take her V-card.Okay, that was a surprise.Aiden is pretty sure Zoe was equally surprised when he told her no. To say that he didn't handle it well would be a massive understatement. Almost as massive as the amount of work he's going to have to do now to convince her that he wants her. Forever. Right after he tells her that he's bought the company that's her bakery’s biggest competitor. Maybe if he tells her he’s in love with her first, that will help sugarcoat the whole we're-rivals-in-business-now thing. So, first "I'm in love with you", then "take off your clothes", then "I'm now your business adversary".Piece of cake.

Chez Stinky


Susan C. Daffron - 2013
    She hasn't laid eyes on her great aunt Abigail since she was eight, so she’s stumped when she inherits Abgail's house in the small hamlet of Alpine Grove.Kat's uncomplicated life gets decidedly less so when she discovers the inheritance comes with some hairy conditions: four dogs and five cats that her aunt wanted her to love as her own. Of course, the house smells like a barn--with a touch of antique skunk--and, naturally, has serious roof issues. And that's before the three-legged cat gets stuck in the wall and the shower goes kablooey.When Kat meets Joel, an unemployed techie type with no love lost for his sister, Kat looks past his obvious flaws, given his timely and desirable skill set: a talent for fixing things (and his own tools).Despite out-of-control dogs, cat fights, dust dinosaurs, massive spiders and an old grizzled hippie passed out in the yard, Kat discovers the tranquility of the forests of Alpine Grove starting to seep into her soul.And why she can't she stop thinking about Joel?

Stay With Me


Kelly Elliott - 2016
    Only people who have never lost anyone they loved with all their heart can blindly believe those words. What if I didn’t want to move on? What if I wanted to wake up every morning with that familiar ache in my chest, knowing I’d never see her again? But, life can change in a moment.I knew that better than anyone … So, when I couldn’t get those mesmerizing green eyes out of my head, I decided to do something about it. Would one night with her be enough, or would my heart decide it was finally time to move on from the past?

The Last Single Girl


Bria Quinlan - 2012
    Last minute. Who doesn't already have plans on the busiest date night of the year.But, so far the best part of the search for a great date has been the cute café I found and the geeky-hot owner who keeps rescuing me from these crazy eLove.com dates. This should be easy-peasy. The internet is the home of all your hopes and needs, right?Spoiler Alert: it isn't.Between the bromance date and the crazed single dad who needs to hire a nanny and housekeeper, not get a date, I'm running out of options. If only a certain cutey didn't have a phone call with "sweetheart" every day.The weirder things get, the more I think just going solo is very I Am Woman, blah blah blah. Forget about the fact that my heart keeps bringing me back to a certain café even when I don't need to be there...I mean, my heart doesn't always get what it wants, does it?

Roots and Wings


M. Mabie - 2016
    Yet, all could think about was Mutt, or at least that’s what they called her.To me, she was gorgeous and witty ... and perfect. She knew more duty than desire, more perseverance than passion, and more acquaintance than affection, but here was no way I’d ever want to change her. In fact, I was dying to show her the life she'd been missing, but first she'd have to trust me enough to tell me her real name.I wanted to plant roots, but I refused to clip her wings. Not when she was everything I’d been looking for and all the home I’d ever need.Roots and Wings is a standalone contemporary romance. If you're looking for a good time, then you've come to the right place. Welcome to Wynne.

Tailored for Trouble


Mimi Jean Pamfiloff - 2016
    She was fired by one, which is why she has created her own executive training program—helping heartless bosses become more human. So Taylor shocks even herself when she agrees to coach Bennett Wade, the cutthroat exec who got her unceremoniously canned. She’d love to slam the door in his annoying but very handsome face, but the customers aren’t exactly lining up at her door. Plus, this extreme makeover will give Taylor the golden opportunity to prove that her program works like a charm.HE WANTS TO BUY IT.Bennett Wade is many things—arrogant, smug, brusque—but trusting isn’t one of them. Women just seem to be after his billions. So when he hires Taylor Reed, he has no desire to change. Bennett is trying to win over the feminist owner of a company he desperately wants to buy, but something about the fiery Taylor thaws the ice around his heart, making Bennett feel things he never quite planned on. And if there’s one thing Bennett can’t stand, it’s when things don’t go according to plan.They are a match tailor-made for trouble.

Running from a Rock Star


Jami Albright - 2017
    He’s a bad boy rock god. What could possibly go wrong? Scarlett Kelly is the poster child for responsible living. Growing up as the daughter of the town floozy, she’s made it her mission to be the exact opposite of her mother. So when she wakes up naked and hung over in bed with a bad-boy rock star, she bolts immediately. There’s just one problem: Scarlett’s bedmate is her new husband.Gavin needs to repair his image or his music career will go down the tubes. He’s also just learned he has a son he never knew existed. He needs to settle down, and bribing his new wife to stay married may just fit everything into place.Scarlett agrees to the ruse to help her family’s financial troubles even though she can hardly control herself around the rock star. As they search for Gavin’s son, will their unlikely matrimony give them exactly what they’ve been missing or send them packing?

Her Best Friend's Brother


T.J. Dell - 2011
    The problem? Tony is her best friend's older brother. Lately Tony has started looking at her in a new way and he emails her all the time. Could it be possible that he is starting to see her as more than his kid sister's best friend? Tony knows Libby McKay is off limits. She's his sister's best friend for crying out loud! But she is also smart, funny, and seriously hot. Plus she's not afraid to get a little sweaty-- on the track that is. Tony can't seem to help himself, besides what's a few emails? The occasional phone call? He can keep things light and friendly-- Can't he?