Book picks similar to
Defect by Danielle James


romance
standalone
age-gap
freebie

My Love Wasn't Meant For You


B. Love - 2019
    He’s suave, alpha, handsome, and wealthy. Mekhi craves control, and he likes everything to go his way. As the founder of For The People multimedia company, Mekhi is determined to put out quality content for his African American culture. So when BaddieBookBabe, an infamously tough book reviewer, gives a one star review to Mekhi’s most popular and highest paid author, he is determined to get her to remove the review… or join his team. Because it’s best to keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right? Jacintha Freeman, or the BaddieBookBabe as the literary industry knows her, is tough on books and even tougher on the authors that write them. She’s determined to make sure that Black people are portrayed in the brightest light and highest high in the books that are supposed to represent them. When she is recommended a book by Stone, a male author who stands for the complete opposite of what she believes in, Jacintha refuses to promote him as a noteworthy author – no matter how much Mekhi tries to get her to. Because it’s best to stand firm on your values than fall for a handsome face, right? When Mekhi offers Jacintha a job as his Top Critic, she is skeptical to accept, but does so with the intent of making the industry she loves better. As time progresses, enemies become lovers who turn to enemies and lovers all over again. Promises are made, secrets are kept, and reputations are destroyed. It comes as no surprise to anyone when their professional relationship turns personal, but will their love be able to stand when it wasn’t meant for each other to begin with?

I Am Yours (Love & Passion Series Book 1)


Aja - 2015
    Well not exactly. I mean, he is the love of her life. Passion-filled days and nights are all she can think about when she is close to him. But so is fear. Fear of him taking her heart and ripping it to pieces-- so she decides that leaving him and his love for her alone, is the best thing for her. But love is a mercurial thing, it has a way of pulling back up to you when you think you have deserted it, which is what happens when Amara finds a reason to work with Noah on an upcoming project at work. Things that complicate this even more? Keith her current boyfriend, and "the past" which she seems to want to also run away from as much as she runs away from Noah. Can Amara overcome her fears and give into what makes her feel whole? Can she finally begin to trust the love that Noah has always had for her? Find out in I Am Yours...

Have Your Way with Me


Weston Parker - 2020
    Something about living his dreams. Guess I wasn’t included in that dream. But I moved on from my brother’s best friend and started a life of my own. Now it’s time to reconnect with family, and the last person I expect to see his him. Grown up. Strong. Ripped with muscles. Hot as hell. It’s not just about butterflies and childhood wishes. I’m drowning in grownup fantasies and passion I didn’t know existed. I should give him the finger and turn my back, but I can’t. Five words rush around my mind every time I see him now: have your way with me. It’s time for a second chance. A last chance. My only chance.

My Uptown Girl


C. Morgan - 2020
    I’m all for it.The electricity between us has me taking one step back and three forward.This is the woman I want beside and beneath me for the rest of my life.But her father thinks I’m riffraff. And he just might be right.Maybe if I just keep things professional, which is almost impossible.Heat blazes in and out of the kitchen as we try to work together, and I’ve got one thing on my mind.Owning every part of her.No matter what her family or anyone else thinks about it.This woman is my uptown girl.

FALLIN' FOR THE KING OF HOUSTON


Tabby - 2020
    

Forbidden Boss: A Standalone Secret Baby Romance


Summer Brooks - 2019
    His secret. I was supposed to be the good girl. No flings, perfect grades, career-focused. Now I might lose it all... because of him. Oliver Price. My father’s new business partner. At least ten years older. Father of two little girls. And my new boss. The man is virtually impossible to resist. His tattooed chest. Those hypnotizing eyes. And damn, that wicked smile. I know I want him. I know my devil dad would do everything to stop me. I also know that play time will be over once I leave for grad school. But the one thing I didn’t know until now? I’m pregnant. And the only person I can’t tell? Him.

About My Daddies


S.E. Law - 2019
    Vlad is a filthy rich Russian billionaire who’s utterly possessive. The catch? They’re both my mom’s ex-husbands. My mom Vivian is a crazy woman. She marries and divorces men like it’s no big deal. As a result, even though Vivian’s not old, she already has two ex-husbands. I come home from college one day, and my mom says she wants to take a family photo with both men. This is crazy! Vlad and Jared aren’t even family anymore. Why are we doing this? But when the shutter starts to click, both men of the house are ready to CLAIM … and I’m just the brat to make it happen! About My Daddies is a collection of taboo romances with growly, possessive OTT alpha males, feisty curvy girls, and lots of bouncing babies! The collection features three standalone, full length novels and one short story, including: About My Daddies, About Last Night, About This Morning and About This Evening. They don't have cliffhangers or cheating. They DO have very happily ever afters and plenty of steam!

Doctor Taylor


Sharon Woods - 2021
    Out with my friends, I come across the man of my dreams. Tall, dark, and oh so sexy. When I see him with another woman, I move on, after all it’s just a night out and it’s time for me to focus on my career anyway.Until we end up at the same hospital.I had no idea he was a doctor, and now he’s become the forbidden fruit I see every day.MikeAt this age, I’ve had it with relationships. Call me sour, but nobody is faithful, and I’d rather have a taste and move on.Then, I run into the beauty from the club. I was attracted to her immediately, but didn’t make a move. Now, after spending some time with her, I might be convinced to change my tune about being a one-woman man. She’s smart, funny, and driven. Everything I’ve ever wanted.But she’s a lot younger than me, can she be trusted? We’re locked into a contract at the hospital together, only one way to find out.

My Heart Is Your Secret


Chelsea Maria - 2020
    With each passing day that went by without touching her… kissing her… I became more ill.Atlas fell in love with me when he thought it was impossible… I fell in love with him knowing it was guaranteed.I wanted Keatyn to be so in love with me that I became a second pair of skin to her. So engraved in her that she was unable to breathe unless I exhaled first… But I had secrets. And she had silent insecurities. With everything combined, we were a disaster waiting to explode…

Fight for Me : A Friends to Lovers Romance


Sloane Peterson - 2021
    

A Love That Melted A Capo's Cold Heart


Miss Jenesequa - 2021
    

Boxer Next Door


Summer Cooper - 2017
    My new neighbor. Lydia is not my type. A loving, caring single mother. I can tell that I’m not exactly her type either. A young broken boxer. But I know that we need each other. I need to pleasure her, kiss her, own her and most importantly, protect her. As for her, I think she just needs to be reminded of just how beautiful she still is... This is a full-length, standalone, older woman younger man with a happily ever after.

Sleeping with the Beast


B.B. Hamel - 2021
    A little twisted. A little broken.Ren’s the kind of man I’ve spent my life running away from: big, gorgeous, arrogant. He thinks the world revolves around his biceps.When I’m nearly killed in a drive-by shooting gone wrong, my father packs me up and ships me off to Philly, “for my protection,” whatever that means.Enter Ren, my new bodyguard. He wants to be the last man I ever need. I think he’s so full of it, he’s about to burst.But when a new war breaks out, I’m right back in dangerAnd Ren says he’ll do anything for me.I say, I want him to prove it.Welcome back, Leone Crime Family!!! Another story in the steamy mafia saga, and this one is as sizzling as all the rest. It was a blast to write and I hope you all love it! As always, this standalone has no cheating, no cliffhanger, and a guaranteed happily-ever-after. Enjoy! XO BB

Fake Boyfriend


Miley Maine - 2020
    She showed up in my life when I wanted time off.And it ended up being the biggest roller coaster ride. I met Loren at the airport.Sat right next to her on the plane while barely being able to keep my hands to myself. She’s irresistible. She’s also inexperienced. Maybe that’s why I’m attracted to her. Loren is innocent, and I’m a ruthless Army Ranger. But there’s something about her that makes me want to stay.That makes me want to play the perfect fake boyfriend for her. To protect her when she’s in trouble. I’ll give her my everything. And I bet she’ll forget that our relationship is fake. But will I be the one to remind her that it is?

Her Billionaire Inventor


Dobi Daniels - 2018
    She’d been emotionally scarred from her last relationship and has just managed to pay off the mountain of debts she was saddled with.Now all she wants for Christmas is to rediscover Christmas joy—no love in the equation, and what better place than her hometown Dexington where she recalled spending the happiest times of her life. She is determined to stick with her plan and not even a chance encounter with Phillip—billionaire hospital heir and inventor, and the town’s most eligible bachelor—can change her mind.Until she discovers he is the boy she kissed in high school.Phillip Dexington is finally about to launch a new medical device after having his last invention stolen by his former girlfriend and sold to his archenemy. He’s determined that nothing must go wrong this time around—which means avoiding a relationship at all costs—and is content with spending Christmas with the children at the orphanage.But when Phillip runs into Sarah Nash, the girl who stole his heart in high school, his world flips upside down. She’s only in town for Christmas, and the time before the launch party is Phillip’s only chance at determining if she is the one.Will they open their hearts to the fullness of Christmas and give love a second chance, or will their trust issues rob them of a happily ever after?This is a sweet/clean emotional scars Christmas medical billionaire romance with no cliffhangers and a guaranteed HEA.