Book picks similar to
The Bitter Rival by L.M. Fox


contemporary
contemporary-romance
freebie
single-parent

Hot Mess


Emily Goodwin - 2017
    Forget about dating--nobody's got time for that. Even if love hadn't left me jaded, I'm not settling for anything less than perfect this time around.Lucky for me, the perfect man just happens to work in my office. But there's just one small problem: he's my boss, and is totally off limits. But hey, if it's meant to be, it'll find a way, right?Then a night out with friends turns into a night in with the walking-talking bad boy cliche of a bartender. It's just one night. No harm, no foul, right?Except when the hot bartender turns out to be my boss's trouble-making brother, who wants more than just one night with me. The more I resist the spark between us, the more I find myself wanting him too. Which puts me in the middle of what could be the biggest sibling rivalry of the century.Life is messy.And love?Well, love is even messier.

Hot for Teacher


Whitley Cox - 2020
    Three sexy single ladies who drink a ton of wine every Saturday night, bitch about life, have each other's backs, are the ultimate mama bears, and hope to one day, just maybe find love again.This is Celeste's story ...Fifteen years ago, Celeste was eighteen, in love and on the honor roll.Then she got pregnant.Now, a widow and a single mom, she does her best to give her daughter, Sabrina, a good life.But something is missing in her world.Or someone.Back when he taught her math, Celeste didn't have a crush on Mr. Travis, but that doesn't mean she's not hot for teacher now or able to ignore her rampant fantasies.All Max wanted to do was buy was a pair of jeans. However, when he bumped into his former student, Celeste, he ended up with so much more.She's not a kid anymore and it's impossible for him to stay away from her. Even when he knows he should.But an angry student is out to wreak havoc for them all. One who hates Sabrina, and wants to cause problems for Max and Celeste.Like love, high school can be a battlefield, only neither of them knew just how dangerous it could be until the scandal explodes like a grenade. Celeste and Sabrina's relationship hangs precariously in the balance, and Max isn't sure if he should stay and fight for the woman he's falling for, or get out of dodge before everything he's worked so hard for goes up in smoke.**Note: This book can be read as a standalone. It includes lots of steamy scenes, cursing, a sexy alpha male, and of course as with all my books, this has an HEA and no cliffhanger or cheating. If you liked my single dad series, then you'll love this spin-off trilogy.

Love & Other Chaos


Jackie Walker - 2020
    Brody’s my friend - just a friend. He’s also my autistic son’s favorite teacher.He’s as off limits as they come, no matter how drop dead gorgeous he is. Falling for him would be wrong. Resisting him though, is becoming pure torture. After being burned by men who can’t handle dating a single-mom of a special-needs child, I refuse to date anymore. Not until my son is grown. My plan is working fine until my trouble-making bestie presents me with a dare that I can’t resist. I’m a sucker for a good dare - especially when margaritas have been consumed. And she’s just dared me to plant a surprise kiss on Brody’s sexy lips, while she records it for a trending TikTok challenge video. But if I do this, it could change everything. My life is already pure chaos and maybe now is not the best time to shake things up even more. Is it worth risking our friendship and his important role in my son’s life for one kiss? What if he wants more? What if I do? Love & Other Chaos is a hilarious, steamy, friends-to-lovers romantic comedy featuring a drop dead gorgeous and seriously buff teacher with the hots for a single-mom of an autistic pre-teen son... who happens to be one of his students. This story also includes wise-cracking grandparents with zero respect for personal boundaries, swoon-worthy beach scenes, a jerky boss with no concept of personal space, nosey siblings and a foul-mouthed best friend who loves to instigate trouble. If you don't like sarcasm, steam, sexy-times, heroines who drink copious amounts of margaritas and laugh-a-minute dialogue, then this might not be the book for you. It’s a stand-alone novel with a happy ending, because cliffhangers will kill your margarita buzz.

Protecting Her Honor


C.C. Monroe - 2021
    Audrey. She stole my every breath when we were younger and watching her love the man I know would one day be the very reason I protect her today. But power and money run deep and he swam those rivers without any care of drowning and that made him the most dangerous man that I would lay my life on the line to protect her from.  Audrey I was blinded to find a love I never had growing up. Too blind to see the warning signs and too blind to see my future right in front of me. Sterling. He was only a friend, that I looked passed, he was my safety net, my caution tape and I pushed past that line without heading the signs. Now he's back and he is my only hope. But losing him hangs in the balance and I don't know if thats a bet I'm willing to gamble.

A Really Bad Idea


Jeannine Colette - 2019
    Mine just happens to be Dr. Christian Gallagher— the gorgeous, green-eyed heart surgeon who wants to have a baby with me. Yes, you read that correctly. When my mother approached me on my thirty-third birthday with a brochure for egg freezing, it was a glaring reminder that my biological clock is ticking toward its expiration date. I’ve always dreamed of being a mom and had a plan — one that was destroyed when I caught my professional hockey player husband in bed with another woman. Despite my broken heart I still believe in love. I want the happily ever after, but I also want a child desperately and won't settle in order to make it happen. That’s why when I decided to take my mother’s advice, Christian came up with his own plan: Let’s have a baby together. It’s a bad idea. A really, really bad idea. And yet...I can’t stop thinking about how great it could be. There’s just one condition. Before we have sex (oh, yes, we’re doing this the old fashioned way!) Christian is adamant we go on three dates. Sounds easy, but it's not.I thought sex would be the hard part, but the dates are only making me fall for the man I’ve known almost my entire life. Whoever said sex doesn't change things never went to bed with their best friend.

Off to the Races


Elsie Silver - 2021
    The horse trainer I need to turn the family racing business around. She’s feisty, confident, and so damn tempting. And our chemistry? It sizzles.We clash from the moment we meet. And in a small town, on an even smaller farm, it’s hard to keep your distance. It’s even harder to keep that friction from turning to fire.But keeping things professional? That might be the biggest struggle of all. Because Billie is the whole package, whip-smart with a body I fantasize about when I’m alone, and quite possibly the only woman who can save this place—and me.She drives me crazy. In every sense of the word. Every smart-mouthed little comment—every game we play—I end up wanting more. Wanting her closer. With me. Under me.I try not to let her get to me, but the more time we spend together the more I crave her. Her lips. Her trust. Her heart.I want it all.But at what cost?Because suddenly I don’t just want to win races, I want to win the girl.OFF TO THE RACES is a sizzling slow burn, standalone romance with no cheating. It’s the first book in the Goldrush Ranch series, set in a small town called Ruby Creek.

The Problem with Planning Love


Claire Cain - 2020
    Divorcé. Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army.All titles I’ve come to terms with, even if I didn’t see those first two coming.I never imagined making a military move to Germany as a single parent. What else I never imagined? Having an insane spark like I’ve never felt with my son’s kindergarten teacher.Livie’s a singular force of light and beauty, and I’ve never wanted someone so much. But after what happened last time, I can’t escape the dread of dragging a new wife into this life and failing again.Besides, our lives are too different. Our plans don’t match. We definitely shouldn’t date and absolutely can’t afford to catch feelings.Everything changed the day I walked into that classroom. And now the only thing that scares me more than trying for another chance at love is living with regret if I don’t.The Problem with Planning Love is a dual point of view romance told in first person that will give you all the sizzle and heat but keep it sweet.

Coming Up Roses


L.K. Farlow - 2017
    She doesn't need a man. After all, her Grams taught her a thing or two about making lemonade out of life's lemons. Then she meets Cash Carson. Reeling from a bad breakup, Cash has sworn off love. It led to nothing but pain and misery, and he’s determined to move forward alone. Until a redheaded Southern beauty crashes into him. With her shopping cart. At the local Piggly Wiggly. If love wasn't for him, why did his heart beat a little faster every time Myla Rose sent that sweet smile his way? He was no knight, and she didn't need saving. But damn if he didn't want to try anyway. COMING UP ROSES is a sweet, Southern fairy tale—with a twist.

Hating the Boss


Kristen Granata - 2021
    That’s all it was supposed to be. Imagine my surprise when Mr. Sexy in a Suit breezed through the door on the first day of school. Ladies and gentlemen, meet my new boss. Not only does he instantly recognize me, but he accuses me of stealing something valuable from him the morning I walk-of-shamed out of his apartment. When bullying me into a confession doesn’t work, he turns my life into a living nightmare – as if that will coax me into returning what I supposedly stole. But this is my school, and the only thing I’ll be returning is payback. Game. On. There’s only one problem. I wanted him before I hated him, and even now, a part of me still wants him. Somehow, through all of our fighting, through the anger and the pranks, I think I’m falling in love with the enemy.

Cavalier


T.L. Smith - 2018
    Enter at your own risk, and always remember our number one rule— You must never speak of Crimson Elite—the punishment is severe. Creed ‘Too Hot for Words’ Christopher If God created the perfect man he would closely resemble Creed, on the outside that is. He’s as cavalier as they come. Unconcerned. Cold. Dismissive. I wonder if he has any feelings at all. And when his lips touch mine, everything goes black. He takes me into his world, and it’s the most magical thing I’ve ever experienced. And I’m sucked in time and time again. Like a moth to the flame, I am ready to be set alight. Elicea ‘F*cks With My Head’ Beckham Elicea is a firecracker. She has piqued my interest, and no one piques my interest anymore. Beautiful women are what I do—it’s my work. Not one of them has managed to get their claws into me the way she does. It’s as if she’s seeing my icy heart and trying to melt it, set it alight with each touch of her sinful lips. But that can’t work, it won’t work. Not in my world. *Please note all books can be read as a standalone*

The Rest Of Me


Ashley Munoz - 2019
    Not with my kids, or the three horses in my barn...and definitely not in the small, country town we'd recently moved to.Being told all these facts, while being reluctantly rescued by my brand-new neighbor didn't help matters either.Arrogant, bossy, and rude—and okay, impossibly sexy— Reid was easily the most infuriating person I’d ever met. I had zero plans to ever speak to the recluse again after that night.Unfortunately, he happened to be the only local horse instructor and the only hope I had at getting my kids in a saddle.Desperation had me creating an alliance with him.Envy had me craving the connection he built with them.Distracted by his gentle touches, and his smooth smiles, I missed how close his demons danced to my ghosts.While I was slowly letting him into my heart, I didn't even realize he’d already stolen it once before.*This is a complete standalone book, with no cliffhanger and no cheating.*

Bossy


Kim Linwood - 2015
    No promises, no regrets. He was rich, ripped, inked up, and gone in the morning. I didn't even know his name. Not until I read it off the door on my first day at work.See, I don't do bad boys, I don't do troublemakers and I sure as heck didn't graduate college with a 3.9 GPA by screwing around.I was never supposed to see him again, but now he's my new boss, as sexy in a suit as he was between my sheets.And my new stepbrother.Having him was a slice of Heaven. Working for him could mean selling my soul. But if the devil looks like Declan Riordan, Hell might be worth the burn.

Picture Perfect Lie


Marquita Valentine - 2018
    All Knight King wanted was to leave his hometown behind. I never expected to end up in Castle Beach, surrounded by a family who believes that I’m not only their brother’s wife, but the mother of his infant daughter. I can’t tell them the truth—Knight and I met only three days earlier, during a layover in Atlanta. He was headed out to fight in a war that hardly anyone talked about anymore, and I was headed back home to a family who pretended that I didn’t exist. He helped me with my baby. He kept us safe while we slept. We shared lunch and dinner… and I spilled all my secrets to him. Then he gave me an address, along with an offer I couldn’t refuse. *** Six months later he’s back to bury his brother, and my lie is about to be exposed. Only Knight doesn’t say a word. He goes along with the charade, and each day we spend together, pretending to be husband and wife, it’s getting harder and harder not to believe in our lie. Could our picture perfect lie turn into a picture perfect forever? Kings of Castle Beach Series: Picture Perfect Lie Big Talking Man (May 2018) What Lovers Do ( Summer 2018) Dirty Little secrets (Summer/Fall 2018) Hide Your Crazy (Fall 2018)

Secret Baby with Brother's Best Friend


Ava Gray - 2021
    Not once… but twice.I slept with him twice.With the one man that I was supposed to stay away from.Not only that…I got pregnant the first time around and never told him.My world is spinning.How complicated could my life be?Especially now that Chase is also my boss?That’s not the only problem.Chase is also my brother’s best friend.And let me just say that my brother would be furious.He would be furious if he found out who the father of my first child is.But I couldn’t keep my distance from Chase.Even if that meant getting pregnant again.This time, it cannot remain a secret.Chase is about to find out about everything.Will that be the end of our story before it even begins?

Taken by Her Prince


B.B. Hamel - 2020
    So I took her home and nursed her back to health.With a fat padlock on the bedroom door.My crew’s moving in on the Irish mafia, and my sweet little princess is the Boss’s niece. I can’t let her go, not now that I have her.So once I fix her body, I’ll make sure she never wants to leave.Except she’s got a rebellious streak and a temper the size of Texas. She thinks she can fight back, but it only makes me want her more.In the end, she’ll come to me. And when she does, I’ll make her deepest, darkest, filthiest dreams come true.