Book picks similar to
Prelude to a Wedding by Patricia McLinn


romance
contemporary
contemporary-romance
fiction

To Get Me To You


Kait Nolan - 2014
    But when she threatens to blow the whistle on some shady business practices at her Chicago marketing firm, she gets fired fast as all get out. Licking her wounds, she heads back below the Mason-Dixon for a little home-grown Southern comfort.Just a small town boy.With his iron-clad Mississippi roots, Councilman Cam Crawford is a man who values tradition, preservation, and the love of a good dog. When a big box warehouse store tries to capitalize on his hometown's economic downturn, it seriously burns his biscuit. He's not about to let anyone's ambition destroy what he holds dear.A David vs. Goliath story with a side of grits.This unlikely pair just might be the perfect allies--in war and out. But as the battle to stop GrandGoods heats up and sparks of attraction turn to something more, will Norah's bigger-picture perspective go with Cam's "keep it as it is" attitude? Are they meant to be like biscuits and gravy? Or are they just as wrong as unsweetened tea?

Fakers


Meg Collett - 2014
    Her bubbling personality and fresh beauty capture her audience each week, but they don't know the truth-she's just faking it. Beneath the surface of light-hearted smiles is a simmering darkness threatening to pull Kyra under. When Kyra moves to Canaan Island and buys her deceased mother's childhood home, she hopes to confront the lurking shadows haunting her every step. But when she meets her grumpy contractor, even her best-laid plans start to unravel. Hale Cooper is as brutally honest as he is intriguing. He hates fakers, and isn't afraid to call Kyra on her false personality. Yet, she is drawn to him, and the unexpected attraction to a man who challenges her to be her true self lands her in unchartered waters. But if she lowers her guard and allows herself to be honest with Hale, will the darkness creep in too?*This book is recommended for mature readers due to some sexual content and language. Cutting is represented in this book, and scenes may be considered triggering to some.*

Meant for Her


Amy Gamet - 2012
    Ordered to the scene of a fiery homicide, Navy officer Hank Jared wants nothing more than to wrap it up and get to his sister's wedding. His sense of duty won't let him walk away from a case, even if he can't figure out why his boss insisted he handle this one personally.When the key to a safe deposit box is found among the ashes, Hank finds himself staring at two pieces of paper--on one is a coded message, on the other, a name that will change the course of his entire life.Julie Trueblood wouldn't trust a Navy man if he handed her a life jacket on board a sinking ship. Her father was a cryptologist for the Navy, who went into hiding a decade earlier to avoid charges of treason. In his absence, Julie was harassed and interrogated by Naval officers who believed she was a traitor, just like her father.Hank tracks Julie down and confronts her with the cipher. She can't stand what he represents and sends him away, insisting she knows nothing about the message. But when she realizes someone is after her, Hank is the only person she can ask for help. He finds the perfect place to hide Julie, right by his side, pretending to be his girlfriend at his sister's wedding. Now he just needs to remember their relationship is all an act.The coded message brings Hank and Julie together, but its secrets hold the power to tear them apart. Guided by her generous and quirky Aunt Gwen, Julie will gather the courage to unravel the cipher that was meant for her to decode, as she learns to trust the man she was meant to love.

Alaskan Dawn


Edie Claire - 2015
    So when her twin sister Micah needs a surrogate mother, Haley willingly volunteers. Like most feats the capable workaholic attempts, her pregnancy goes perfectly... until the results of prenatal testing threaten to tear Micah’s marriage apart.Pregnant, overworked, and driven to the end of her rope by the neediness of the sister and widowed mother who depend on her, Haley seeks refuge with a week’s vacation on the Alaskan coast. As she soaks up the serenity of the unexpectedly vast and beautiful wilderness, Haley finds something else she doesn’t expect -- deep feelings for the wildlife-loving boat captain who reminds her how to laugh.With her unborn niece or nephew on the way and thousands of miles of ocean between their lives and careers, Haley and Ben settle for a friendship. But back home in California, the emptiness in her heart refuses to heal, and when her pregnancy takes a frightening turn Haley must examine what really matters -- and rediscover the childhood dream she never realized she had lost.

Every Little Kiss


Susan Hatler - 2015
    Now she’s a successful Realtor, and a workaholic who stays away from complicated emotions—until her grandmother dies, leaving Wendy the Inn at Blue Moon Bay and mandating that if Wendy sells it, she must put it on the market herself “in person.” As soon as Wendy arrives in Blue Moon Bay, bad memories, the inn’s poor condition, and her brother’s pleas to keep the inn overwhelm her. Then she meets a sexy laid-back stranger on the beach, and Wendy does something she never does . . . she opens up and confides her problems to him. Since Max Huntington’s only in town for one night, Wendy spontaneously kisses him, hoping to be distracted from her troubles for just one evening. But when Wendy begins the painstaking process of fixing up the inn in order to sell it, Max tells her he’s staying on longer. He’s enchanted by the charming inn and even more with the kisses they shared on the beach. He wants to help her with the repairs, and she reluctantly accepts his offer. Although she’s determined to remain detached from the allure of her inn, Blue Moon Bay and Max, every repair, every stroll on the beach, and every moment spent with Max, draws her in and reminds her of the local legend she’d believed as a child: that being kissed by the bay under a blue moon will lead to love that lasts forever.

Not Over You


Amanda Torrey - 2014
    Can he catch her and help her heal? Savannah Grace left her hometown after the traumatic death of her young brother ten years ago. Fresh out of high school, she trudged through life under a shroud of guilt and shame. She couldn’t face her family after what she did, and she knew she didn’t deserve happiness. Quentin Elliott became a paramedic so he could save people. He hadn’t been able to help his high school girlfriend’s brother, but he vowed to prevent as many tragedies as possible. He managed to build a life without Savannah, but he never moved past her. When Savannah returns to town in hopes of donating bone marrow to her estranged mother, Quentin knows he will only have a short time to help Savannah realize she should stay in Healing Springs. Where she belongs. With him. Savannah prefers to lace up her running shoes, but Quentin is determined to create a treatment plan to help her settle in for the long haul. Can a decade of pain be healed with a healthy dose of love? Or will Healing Springs fail to live up to its legendary name?

For Now and Forever


Sophie Love - 2016
    When her boyfriend of 7 years takes her out for their long-awaited anniversary dinner, Emily is sure that this time will be different, that this time she will finally get the ring.When he gives her a small bottle of perfume instead, Emily knows the time has come to break up with him--and for her entire life to have a fresh start.Reeling from her unsatisfying, high-pressure life, Emily decides she needs a change. She decides on a whim to drive to her father's abandoned home on the coast of Maine, a sprawling, historic house where she'd spent magical summers as a child. But the house, long-neglected, is in dire need of repair, and the winter is no time to be in Maine. Emily hasn't been there in 20 years, when a tragic accident changed her sister's life and shattered her family. Her parents divorced, her father disappeared, and Emily was never able to bring herself to step foot in that house again.Now, for some reason, with her life reeling, Emily feels drawn to the only childhood place she ever knew. She plans on going just for a weekend, to clear her head. But something about the house, its numerous secrets, its memories of her father, its oceanfront allure, its small-town setting--and most of all, its gorgeous, mysterious caretaker--doesn't want to let her leave. Can she find the answers she's been looking for here, in the most unexpected place of all?Can a weekend become a lifetime?

Tease


Alexis Anne - 2014
    He was great in bed and only in town for a few hot nights.There was no way I could have known Adam wouldn't be satisfied with just sex. My craving for his body made me careless. I broke my rules. I let him in. I never thought two weeks could change everything. All I wanted was an escape, what I got was so much more.Something I couldn't live without once I had it.***Alexis Anne novels are explicitly romantic. You will find intense stories of love, passion, and self-discovery, alongside intimately detailed encounters that can only occur when two people are falling hopelessly in love. These novels are best suited for readers seventeen and up due to these exciting reasons. And language. Alexis Anne uses a lot of language.  THE TEASE SERIES Tease (#1) Stripped (#2)Tempt (#3) Burn (#4) *If you love Adam, be sure to check out his cousin Jake in The Storm Inside series!

The Cowboy Inherits a Bride


Cora Seton - 2015
    Luckily her Aunt Cecily has provided her with the perfect combination living and restaurant space to start over. Even though the building is located in small town Chance Creek, Montana, Sunshine is certain it’s only a matter of time before she’s back to take the big city by storm. When she arrives in Chance Creek, however, she gets a surprise. Her restaurant space—and apartment—are occupied by a rival to her inheritance: the incredibly sexy, incredibly wrong for her, Cole Linden. Cole’s been struggling to save his family’s holdings for far too long. The indoor rifle range he inherited from his father barely pays its rent, but it’s all that’s keeping his other concerns—two apartment houses—afloat. If he was smart, he’d walk away from all of it and start over, but if he does, several dozen of Chance Creek’s inhabitants will find themselves without a home. He thought Cecily meant to leave him the range building in her will. Instead she’s set him up in a four-month-long competition with her big-city niece to see who will win the place. A niece whose knockout looks are making it damn hard for him to concentrate on the job at hand. Sunshine can’t believe she’ll have to open a vegan restaurant in a rifle-range waiting room, and she can’t believe she’ll have to share her apartment with Cole, either. Cole can’t believe his friends are falling over themselves to help Sunshine succeed—and get a date with her. Now the competition is getting hot, but the sparks flying between them are even hotter. Can Cole and Sunshine find a way they both can win?

My First: Jason & Katie


Melanie Shawn - 2013
    With his easygoing charm, whiskey-colored brown eyes, and sinfully sexy half smile, women just seem to fall all over themselves when he’s around.Well... most women, anyway. Katie Lawson’s the one woman who isn't putty in his hands, and she's the only one he’s ever wanted in his arms.Katie Lawson left Harper's Crossing in the middle of the night ten years ago, immediately after her high school boyfriend Nick's funeral. She left behind all memories of Nick, and she left behind her life-long best friend, Jason Sloan.Now she's on the fast track to junior partner at one of San Francisco's top law firms. She's made a life for herself that's all about maintaining order and sticking to the rules. Rule #1 is keeping herself WAY too busy to think about all that she ran away from. If she can do that, after all, she can keep everything under control.But that rule is about to be broken. She’s headed back home to be the maid of honor in Nick’s little sister’s wedding. It's time to face the truth she's been avoiding all these years, the same one that sent her running ten years ago - that maybe she didn't lose her first love the summer after high school. Maybe her first love has been waiting for her all this time, at home in Harper's Crossing.

Friends With Partial Benefits


Luke Young - 2011
    Done with writing, done with men, done with all of it…Suffering from a recent heartbreak of his own, tennis athlete and college senior Brian Nash, is Jillian’s son’s best friend. During a spring break trip to the Graysons, he meets the gorgeous and tennis passionate Jillian, and their shared interest quickly develops into an intense mutual attraction.As Brian secretly pines away over his sexy host, Jillian is cheered on by Victoria, her unfiltered, over-sexed best friend, to explore a hot affair with her young houseguest.Intoxicated by a perfect moonlit Miami night, Jillian and Brian hatch a plan to be Friends with Partial Benefits, complete with rules to define the boundaries. Will the lonely pair continue with this distinctive relationship, actually explore their desires, or discover all of it is a really bad idea?Friends with Partial Benefits is the first book in the series readers describe as sexy and laugh-out-loud funny. If you like quirky characters, razor-sharp wit and hilarious love stories, then you’ll love the first book in Luke Young's Friends with Benefits series.

A Gift of Ghosts


Sarah Wynde - 2011
    And ghosts.All the logic and reason in the world can’t protect her from the truth—she can see and communicate with spirits. But Akira is sure that her ability is just a genetic quirk and the ghosts she encounters simply leftover electromagnetic energy. Dangerous electromagnetic energy.Zane Latimer believes in telepathy, precognition, auras, and that playing Halo with your employees is an excellent management technique. He also thinks that maybe, just maybe, Akira Malone can help his family get in touch with their lost loved ones.But will Akira ever be able to face her fears and accept her gift? Or will Zane’s relatives be trapped between life and death forever?

Skating on Thin Ice


Jami Davenport - 2014
      Ethan Parker, a billionaire determined to bring professional hockey to Seattle, will stop at nothing to realize his dream. After signing an agreement to purchase another city's team, Ethan plans to make the move to Seattle, but a gag order by the League forces him to keep the sale a secret until the season ends, leaving him no choice but to go undercover as a consultant to study his team during the playoffs.   Lauren Schneider, Assistant Director of Player Personnel for the Giants hockey team, gets no respect from the team's testosterone-loaded staff. So when Ethan bursts onto the scene, full of charm and genuinely interested in her opinions, she shares the team's weaknesses and discovers a weakness of her own--for Ethan. But when his true identity is revealed, and he starts cleaning house based on her unwitting input, his betrayal cuts deeply on both a professional and personal level. Bound by an employment contract, Lauren reluctantly moves to Seattle to work for the newly christened Seattle Sockeyes and her sexy, infuriating boss.  Lauren and Ethan must come to terms with their passions--for the team, for hockey, and for each other. Will their situation build a frozen wall between them, or will their love burn hot enough to melt the ice shielding their hearts?

Love on Beach Avenue


Jennifer Probst - 2020
    Making dreams come true is her business at Sunshine Bridal, which she runs with her two sisters. When her best friend announces her engagement, Avery is thrilled to take charge of the giddy bride-to-be’s big day. Less thrilling? Her best friend's arrogant and demanding brother, who just so happens to be the man of honor.Carter Ross’s first instinct: call 911. He promised to always take care of his impulsive little sister, and he honors that vow. Even if it means taking over her wedding, where he is sure Avery will fail. At best, Avery is unpredictable. At worst, if she’s anything like the spitfire of a college girl he remembers, the main event could run wild.With Avery and Carter wrestling for control, tempers heat up. So does the spark of attraction they’re fighting with every kiss. As the wedding draws near, it’s time to reconcile a rocky past and make a decision that could change everyone’s lives. Because what they’re rebelling against looks a lot like love.

Waking Up Married


Mira Lyn Kelly - 2012
    Even worse, she's in a stranger's penthouse having woken up with something else as well - a funny, arrogant, sexy...husband!Up until now, finding even a boyfriend had seemed impossible - been there, got the broken heart, sworn off men for good. Then a few martinis with Carter...no, Connor Reed and she's gone from first meet to marriage in one night!Megan wants a lawyer. But Connor's shocking bombshell? "I don't want a divorce."