Book picks similar to
Defect by Danielle James


romance
freebie
age-gap
standalone

The Midwife's Playlist


Piper Lennox - 2019
    The day he left, he ruined every single song.My name is Easton, and I catch babies. When I’m called to a teen mom’s birth in the middle of a thunderstorm, the last person I expect to see is Caroline. No, scratch that: the last person I expect to see—the last person I want to see—is her brother. Six years, and the sight of Ford still wrings my heart dry. His voice still melts me. His smirk still pisses me off in ways he can’t even imagine. Our small, Southern town broadcasts rumors 24/7, yet no one thought to tell me Ford was back. And now I’m stuck living near him all over again—stuck replaying the hell he put me through the last summer I saw him. I swore I wouldn’t give him the time of day. I failed. But I sure as hell won’t give him a second chance.* * *Once upon a time, I thought Easton Lawrence would be the girl who saved me. I didn’t return to sleepy little Hillford for redemption; I don’t deserve it. I didn’t even return for her. I came back because my family needs me. As soon as this is over, I’m out of here. Gone. A ghost.At least, that was my plan. I didn’t count on seeing Easton again—much less confessing I’m still in love with her. The day we met, she hated me: eight years old and sworn enemies. But as the years passed, I changed her mind. So maybe there’s hope. Maybe I can change it again.

Heavy Equipment


Skye Warren - 2018
    Cold. Rough. Merciless. The foreman of the construction crew is going to make me pay every last cent.Author's Note: The hero is Asher Cook, the construction foreman from Survival of the Richest, though this is not part of the series and can be heard as a standalone.

Rebel Wayfarers MC Vol 4-6: Boxed Set


MariaLisa deMora - 2015
     BOOK 4: JASE - Meet Jase Spencer. Just your everyday kinda guy, a hard-partying, hard-living professional hockey player. Nothin’ special. Good-looking and ripped, the man has moves, on and off the ice. Then he met HER. Now, he’s about to turn his life upside down because of HER. Jase is on a mission to show her what they have together is worth fighting for, to convince her to take a chance on him. His attempts will bring him squarely into the path of a motorcycle club, earning him the attention of Mason, president of the Rebel Wayfarers MC. Jase says, “Bring it on.” BOOK 5: GUNNY - Shattered following a devastating betrayal, Lane Robinson finds himself in Fort Wayne, Indiana, a world away from his previous life as a Marine. Robinson meets a member of the Rebel Wayfarers motorcycle club, and with an introduction into the biker’s circle of friends, finds that elusive sense of home that has been missing from his life for too long. Into this meticulously constructed life dances Sharon Elkins, the first person who sees beyond his surface façade, the first he’s let get close in so long…but can he trust the emotions she stirs in his soul? BOOK 6: MASON - Davis Mason grew up dirt-floor poor in the rolling hills of rural Kentucky, escaping that life only to find himself adrift on the hard streets of Chicago in his teens. Introduced to what seemed a perfect brotherhood within a motorcycle club, Mason slowly works his way up the ranks to gain control of the club, and he’s resolved to make it better…stronger, able to withstand any challenge. Flirting with happiness time and again, just when Mason believes it’s finally within his grasp, he’s torn between what he wants…and what he knows he should do. He finally has the security and family he’s always wanted, but will Mason ever find the love and passion he craves?

Missing Piece


Lizzie James
    Exciting. Instead I’ve ended up living across the street from Johnny. Star footballer, charmer, intelligent. Perfect, right? Wrong! I have no intention of being this line-backer’s latest conquest. Staying far away from him is my only choice. Even if every little thing he does makes me swoon. Johnny Baker is bad news for any girl. He’s a player and no girl will change that. Only he wasn’t. He began to capture my attention more and more until all I thought of was him.He was my missing piece…JohnnyBeing the line-backer is easy. Especially when it gets me a different girl in my bed every night. That’s exactly what Tillie was supposed to be. Just another conquest. Wham and bam! She would be easy. I had never been with an art geek before but every other female fell at my feet or more accurately into my bed. Only she didn’t. Tillie Jacobs came into my world and blew it apart. Every little thing she did; every laugh, every moment… she possessed me.She was my missing piece…

Sinners of Hawthorne University Complete Series


Eva Ashwood - 2021
    It contains violence, dark subject matter, and high steam.**

Hero


Shani Greene-Dowdell - 2020
    ☆ Cherise ☆He found me again.I moved to another state, and the bastard found me.Worst part is, I tried really hard to help him get his life on track.Now, he was making me a nervous wreck.I couldn’t date, even if I wanted to.I couldn’t go out with friends.I couldn’t stay home and feel safe.Then, one day, I got a call from an ex-military guy looking for a therapist.He needed clearance to join the FBI.He could be my stalker, or he could be a hero.Determined not to live in fear any longer, I decided to help him.☆Tobin ☆After my brother's death, I realized in serving my country, I'd done a disservice to my family.So, I snapped and broke some shit.They quickly gave me my exit papers from the military.As an ex-Marine, if I ever wanted to get into the FBI, I'd need to prove I wasn't a safety concern.Apparently, people with anger management issues shouldn't carry weapons.So I found a therapist—a female therapist.We were all of fifteen minutes into our session when I realized all was not right in her world.She was on edge because she had a stalker.Lucky for me, I wasn't currently employed.Lucky for her, I was highly trained and intensely motivated to save her.I'd always been a sucker for a damsel in distress.And this woman needed a hero.

Politically Incorrect


Jeanne McDonald - 2016
    Lies. Greed. Power. Scandal. Politics.Political strategist, Elizabeth McNeal has been called a lot of things throughout her career—bitch being at the top of the list—but she doesn’t let it get to her. She’s bold, she’s blunt, and she takes orders from no one. This is how she’s survived working in a man’s world. She’s the master of diversion, and her specialty is winning an election—no matter the cost. That is, until she meets her new client, Democratic candidate, Congressman William Baxter. Kind, considerate, insanely handsome, honest, and ten years her junior, he’s a unicorn among politicians. He infuriates her. He challenges her. Most of all, he makes her see past the scandalous world of politics and helps her to discover the heart of the woman inside her. With sparks flying between them and the election rapidly approaching, the last thing either of them need is to be caught in a compromising position. Some lines are meant to be crossed and some rules broken, but for Elizabeth and Liam is it worth the cost of being politically incorrect?

Because Love Said So


Aubreé Pynn - 2019
     Avion has the weight of the world on her shoulders. Everyone relies on her to hold it together and keep the family moving. But when she seeks a much-needed break, she finds herself stumbling into something that isn't easy for her to get out of. Samson has the world at his fingertips and isn't looking for a soul to share it with. When his best friend drags him out for a night of relaxation, he spots his forever. But when Avion runs off to return to her reality he stops at nothing to find her. Relinquishing themselves to love is easy, staying in love is the hard part. Can Avion and Samson climb the mountain and let love have the final say so, or will they falter and give up on everything love has to offer? Find out in Because Love Said So.

The Cowboy's One and Only


April Murdock - 2020
    If you see the good in the change, it can make all the difference. Acceptance takes longer for some than others. Logan Thackston wasn't dealing with the changes that were coming well. In fact, he was choosing to be involved only when absolutely necessary. In the middle of his worry and annoyance about what felt like turmoil in his family, he met a woman who turned out to be his lifeline. Frankie Mills has been sent to live with her grouchy uncle while her parents jaunt around the world. The small town of Sagebrush, Texas was vastly different for a young woman than it had been for a child. The adventures didn't live up to her pleasant memories. And Uncle Elmer seemed more crusty than she remembered. Frankie and Logan met by chance and made a date the very night they met. They both felt the sparks. Their first date was a rock climb up Logan's favorite spot that lasted hours longer than planned. By the time they made it to Frankie's house, trouble was brewing. And from there, trouble was always near the surface. Though there was an intense pull to each other, it couldn't be permanent. Frankie would go back to Richmond one day - probably sooner rather than later. So they kept things simple. Easy. But were either of them happy to settle for this tepid friendship? When an accident changes the balance between them something snaps. The balance they'd created to survive the unknown was shattered. There were more unknowns now than ever before. While Logan tries to heal, will he be able to figure out what he really wants with Frankie? And when he does, will his plan be one that would work for everyone - including his family and hers, too? ~ ~ ~ Meet the family of ranchers in this book 1 as they do all they can to make their ranch thrive while making life meaningful. Each story in the series has a happy ending and no cliffhangers. Each book will have one brother finding love and a happily ever after.

Tangled up in Blue: A Rainy Day Women Romance


Linda Steinberg - 2021
    Deadbeat dads, that is. Until she's arrested by a handsome detective who won't listen to reason. But when she discovers a dead body while working a case, she needs Detective Tall, Dark and Handsome's Help.Protect and serveWhen Dallas P.D. detective Trey Donovan arrests a feisty, gun-toting woman with a stack of hundred dollar bills stashed in her camisole, he senses this is no ordinary drug bust. He manages to maintain his professional composure but he can't get her out of his mind. On his next case, when he finds Selena standing over a dead body, they agree to work together to catch a killer.Trey is by the book; Selena prefers to color outside the lines. But the chemistry between them sparks creative detective work. And ignites simmering passions. Despite their intentions to keep the relationship professional, a rainy night stakeout leaves them 'tangled up in blue.' And when Selena's out-of-the-box ideas put her in danger, Trey realizes this is a woman he will never put out of his mind. And that's a 'Dunn deal.'Tangled up in Blue is the first book in the Rainy Day Women series, featuring women empowering women--and the men who love them. In a converted warehouse near downtown Dallas a group of strong, professional women come together to volunteer their services to the women of an under-served community. They name their facility the Rainy Day Women's Center. Each book is a stand-alone romance about competent, independent women and the equally competent, independent men they can't ignore--or live without.

Revived


S.E. Roberts - 2018
    When what should have been her happiest moment turned out to be anything but, it sent her plummeting. But she has one reason to claw herself back up... her baby boy. Because of him she pulls herself out of it and makes a new life for them, far from the man that turned her life upside down. She even begins to trust again when she meets Ryker, a man that brings her back to life. But will her past ever let her go?Ryker Allen has been through hell and it's left him believing that love isn't in the cards for him. Finding your girlfriend in bed with another man will do that. So, romance and relationships? Not his thing and he makes sure every woman who gets near him knows that. But when he meets Claire, everything changes and he finds himself wanting exactly that, romance and a relationship. But will Claire's past get in the way of that?Sometimes the odds seem insurmountable. Can Claire and Ryke find their way through it all and find the one thing they both need? Each other...

Her Billionaire Boss


Jo Grafford - 2019
    That is, if they’ll consider hiring a hated Maddox… CEO Luca Calcagni is determined to teach the rebel youngest daughter of their biggest rival firm the lesson of her life by hiring her as his personal assistant. He never counted on their explosive attraction any more than she counted on discovering herself pregnant with his dead brother’s son. When she threatens to raise her child as far as possible from the reaches of their age-old family feud, it’ll take his most skillful negotiating to maneuver her into a marriage of convenience to keep her and the last tie to his brother – her unborn child – in town. Except marriage to the stunning, artistic, and complex Jacey turns out to be anything but convenient… Her Billionaire Boss is a turbulent flight through the lives of two shattered families. It’s a story of second chances, unexpected love, and the discovery that it only takes a little faith to make something beautiful out of nothing.

Untouchable


Danielle Hill - 2020
    Scratch that: she didn’t even like the guy.Maddox ‘Reno’ Renner, the resident King of Claremont High. Dark, brooding, arrogant… you get it. He’s the kind of gorgeous no girl is immune to, including Riley. She shouldn’t feel anything for him—falling for a guy like Reno would be stupid and reckless—but when he sets his sights on her, Riley’s forced to admit just how far she’s already fallen.With expert precision, Reno manages to break down every one of her defenses, but just when Riley starts to think it might be safe to lower her guard, tragedy strikes in a way neither one of them could have predicted, tearing them apart.When Reno needs her most, Riley will have to fight to reach the boy who’s always held her heart, but this might be one fight she can’t win.Because Reno’s heart has always been untouchable.**Note: "Untouchable" is an edgy, emotional, standalone in a series on interconnected books. Each book can be read alone, but it is advisable to read them in order. Due to offensive language and mature themes, this series is intended for readers 17+.

Changing Dreams


Kirsten Osbourne - 2019
    She’s in a serious relationship, her real-estate career is soaring, and she has a family who loved her. When she realizes her relationship was less than she wants, she isn’t sure how to handle things. After the death of her parents, she and her sisters decide to convert the lake house—a place filled with so many cherished childhood memories—into a bed and breakfast. As she becomes reacquainted with the town and all the people there, her dreams shift. With her sisters at her side, she forges her way into a new enterprise, rediscovering the woman she’d lost all those years ago—and finds love in the most unexpected place. Come and visit the Romriell sisters at Bear Lake and see how their beautiful B&B becomes the heart of their family.

O Line: The Complete Contemporary Reverse Harem Romance


Mia Luxe - 2018
     Three powerful men. Tall. Muscled. Dangerous. The three enforcers of the New York Ravens hockey team. They stare at me like I'm dinner. Like they've been starving and I'm on the menu. And now they are competing... For me. How could I choose between them? What if I don't have to? O Line is the complete three-part contemporary reverse harem romance. 120,000 words of hilarity, suspense, danger, and a satisfying HEA.