Book picks similar to
Tough Guy by Jamie K. Schmidt


cocky-hero-club
arcs
cocky-hero-world
romance

Damage (Lakefield #5)


Jennifer Vester - 2018
    It’s a choice that will put a series of events in motion, that could ultimately save her or break her.When she meets a man who isn't who he says he is, her reality is suddenly altered, and nothing is quite what she thought it was. Everything in both of their lives will dramatically change.Fighting against their pasts and a determined killer, two people that thought they knew what defined them, will have to rethink what they know about themselves and each other.**Full-length standalone romance, 80,000+ words. No cheating, or cliffhangers with a Happily Ever After!

Private Instructor


S.A. Clayton - 2022
    For Nicole Jensen, this is more than just a statistic. It's a reality she lives with daily. So when Nicole is thrust into planning a convention out of state, she soon realizes that she might have to face that fear head-on. Enter Nash Taylor, former playboy pilot, occasional as$hole, and way too good-looking for Nicole to take seriously. But the more time they spend together, the more she realizes that Nash is way more than what she thought, and falling for him becomes harder and harder. Without realizing it, Nicole and Nash need each other in ways neither of them expected. But will Nicole’s past hinder their connection or allow it to take off?

Finding His Redemption


Melanie A. Smith - 2022
    Smith comes a standalone steamy contemporary romance about a rock star, a former fan, and the real meaning of redemption. Kristoffer “West” Westberg is just out of rehab and ready to reclaim his rock-god status. But when his return to fame is threatened by a former fan turned rock magazine writer — and huge critic of him and his band — West is forced to reckon with the reality that he’ll need to prove himself before earning his redemption.Max Marshall is feisty, a little too honest for her own good, and so not here to babysit a fallen rock star. And nobody has fallen farther in her mind that Kristoffer Westberg. So when she’s forced to catalog his so-called “apology tour,” she has little hope that it’ll be anything but a headache dealing with the entitled, washed-up rock star she used to worship before she knew better.If West hopes to have a snowball’s chance in hell of changing Max’s — and his fans’ — minds, he’s got some serious groveling to do. Will he manage to fake it till he makes it, or will he be exposed as the lost cause everyone is convinced he is? And will he learn the real meaning of redemption in time to win Max’s trust and her heart?

Trust


Mignon Mykel - 2020
    Bromberg’s Everyday Heroes Worlds project.Trust. Verb. To rely upon someone or something.Six weeks ago, Crew Dawson lost the partner who he knew without a doubt would always have his back. Losing K9 Ammo was the hardest day of his police career, and finding a new K9 partner isn’t working out too well for him. He’s ready to give up his role in the K9 unit when Sunnyville Police Department teams up with a high-risk dog shelter. Instead of finding a K9 that the department is looking for, though, he chooses rescues that unlikeliest of dogs.Trust. Verb. To have confidence; hope.The last fifteen years haven’t been too kind to Shawn Ypma. A teenaged mother, she fought hard to land on her own two feet. While she had the support of her parents, she stopped believing in love and happily ever after. Why should she trust a man when they’ve all failed her time and again? Her first and only priority right now is getting her daughter Austin through school, and hope Austin doesn’t make the same mistakes she did.When Career Day comes to Sunnyville Middle School, Shawn doesn’t know how to take the smiles and kind words from the new School Resource Officer. Little does she know, he and that massive dog of his are about to teach her a lesson in trust...

Celebrating it All


Livia Grant - 2021
    Black Light is nothing like the Punishment Pit, but this exclusive club has something Lukus might need to take back to Chicago, and if he gets to use his lovely wife as a test subject, well that only makes it more fun. And just how much trouble can one bad boy Dom get into on his pit stop in L.A.?

A Sacred Vow


Willa Thorne
    We were certain that we had ended the bloodline. Now, the vow I swore plagues my mind. The guilt I harbour buries deep. The desire and lust burns.My pledge to my family is now a promise to protect the woman I love. Aurelia Galligan is a descendant of the Cormac bloodline. I should drain her. I have to destroy her. But she may just end me.**This is a forbidden romance between the hunter and the hunted. It features smoldering vampires and no cliffhangers. The content is not suitable for readers under the age of 18.**

Her Protective Mountain Man (Strong Mountain Men of Burly Creek Book 4)


Flora Madison - 2021
    

One Tough Cowboy


Lora Leigh - 2019
     LAW AND ORDER. For as long as Samantha can remember, Hunter—a man as strong as steel, with a heart of gold—has been her hero. It came as no surprise to Samantha when she found out that the ranch-hardened cowboy who always protected her from bullies went on to become the town’s sheriff. What does surprise her is how incredibly hot he still is. And how much she still wants him…PRIDE AND PASSIONAnd, lo and behold, Hunter still has feelings for Samantha. The long-smoldering heat of their innocent flirtation has grown into a full-raging fire. But when tragedy strikes, and their small-town community is shattered, Hunter vows to do everything he can to keep his childhood sweetheart safe. But can Samantha trust that Hunter has her best interests at heart…and that, after all these years, his love is true?“Leigh’s books can scorch the ink off the page.”—RT Book Reviews

Bossy Bastard


J.L. Perry - 2020
    B. for Bossy, is fast becoming the bane of my existence.After running into him, literally, he’s now popping up everywhere, and somehow managing to weave his way into my life.He's egotistical, smug, and so ridiculously good-looking it should be illegal—he's way too hot to handle. I don't do hot, those type of guys are more trouble than they’re worth.Although, I'd secretly love to do him.We’ve kissed once—it was smokin’, and led to me dry humping his leg in front of the entire club like a shameless hussy. Oh, and did I mention I deep throated his thumb within seconds of meeting him … I didn’t even know his name.Apparently I have issues, big ones.He makes me do things I never imagined myself doing.He makes me feel things I'm not comfortable feeling.It just wouldn’t work, even if I wanted it to. Between us we have more baggage than a carousel at LAX airport.He's everything I want, but can never have.Or so I thought.

Captured


S. Nelson - 2021
    I’m alive. But I’m not living. I’m existing, clawing my way from one day to the next. My only saving grace is my job as a police officer, and it’s during a routine traffic stop one evening when the threads of my isolated existence begin to unravel. One glance from Quinn Harris and I feel like I’m dreaming. And the more chance brings us together, the more I’m powerless to stop the uneasy feeling that I’m losing control. She stirs up thoughts of something new and unexpected—of a life I’m no longer prepared to handle.***I’m done with men. I trusted my ex and he broke my heart.But life doesn’t seem to want to follow my plan, which is evident the moment I meet Nolan Bennett. He doesn’t score high on first impressions. In fact, he is downright rude. But as we continue to run into each other, I start to see another side of him, and I can’t deny I’m intrigued. Against my better judgment, I give him a chance. But again, life will step in and take over.Only this time I don’t think either of us will survive. Not with an unknown link between us too painful to overcome. S. Nelson’s Captured is a heart-wrenching, emotional, sexy, contemporary romance written in K. Bromberg’s Everyday Heroes World.

Leave Me Breathless


Jodi Ellen Malpas - 2019
    Ryan Willis has spent years in the protection business, a job that requires constant vigilance and quick thinking. His only chance to truly relax is at his secluded cabin in a small town where there are never any surprises. So when Ryan returns after an assignment and encounters a beautiful stranger, he isn't only surprised, he's also instantly intrigued.Hannah Bright is a breath of fresh air, and Ryan is soon completely consumed, unable to stop from falling for her. As the two grow closer, his instinct tells him something is amiss. Yet nothing could prepare him for what he discovers when he starts digging into her past.Hannah spends her days painting, running her arts and crafts store...and hiding too many secrets. It's why she won't let the ruggedly handsome bodyguard get too close. But their chemistry is undeniable, and Hannah quickly finds herself caught up in a whirlwind romance with Ryan. He is peace personified, a balm to her battered soul. Yet the gorgeous, captivating man who has swept Hannah off her feet doesn't even know who she really is. And the moment he finds out, both their lives are at risk.

Denial


Lisa Renee Jones - 2015
    This is a standalone spin-off of the INSIDE OUT series (soon to be a TV show) that follows Ella Ferguson, Sara McMillan's best friend.Ella Ferguson awakes alone in Italy, unsure of who she is, and a gorgeous man has claimed her as his own. He’s tall, dark, and sexy, with money and power, the kind of man who makes a girl want to be possessed. And he does possess her, whispering wicked wonderful promises to her, stealing her trust and her heart. Soon though, the past finds her, yanking her from a cocoon of passion and safety. Everything is not how it seems. The truth will shatter her world, but it can set her free, if it doesn't destroy her first.

Unfriending the Dr: A Small Town Friends to Lovers Romance


Piper Sullivan - 2021
    

Bossy Billionaire


Chiquita Dennie - 2020
    He justifies nothing for no one. He's determined to enter the political race in New York. Not even an astute and gorgeous woman as Maya Armstrong will stop him. A bitter ex-lover blows up his playboy lifestyle to the media and tries to ruin his chances with any woman that enters his life.Maya's reputation precedes her on and off the screen. As the host of Spotlight with Maya, it’s her job to take people to task and hold them accountable, but when billionaire banker turned candidate, Ethan West, sits on her proverbial couch, sparks fly in more ways than one. They both try and prove the other one wrong throughout the campaign, but a past ex-lover and a one night stand may cause more drama than neither one wanted to see.Find out what happens when two alpha personalities collide! Will their rift end his campaign, or will it be the beginning of something much, much bigger, like romance?This is based in the world of New York Times Bestselling Authors Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland Cocky bastard series

Sexy Scoundrel


Raisa Greywood - 2018
    Unexpectedly jobless and fostering an exotic pet with an insatiable appetite, this pastry chef needs a new gig faster than she can whip up a batch of scones. But when she’s tapped to serve as the personal chef to a haughty tabloid regular, she only considers the job out of sheer desperation. After all, Giorgio Acardi may be filthy rich and intoxicatingly handsome, but he’s also a first-class scoundrel.Giorgio Acardi has it all: money, fame, an endless string of beautiful companions, and the respect of his colleagues and rivals. From the outside looking in, his life is perfect. So perfect, in fact, that he’s even got his eye on a new personal chef. She’s talented and gorgeous, and it shouldn’t make a difference whether she hates him or not as long as she does the job. But there’s something about Carlina that Giorgio just can’t resist, and he hasn’t enjoyed success by backing down from a challenge.