Book picks similar to
At the Heart of the Stone by Roxanne D. Howard
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Blessed Betrayal
Livia Grant - 2015
He thought he had it. Underneath the perfect exterior of Calista Bennett’s marriage lay an ugly truth that threatens to drown her when she is betrayed. Across town, Nickolas Mikos isn’t doing much better after his life is plunged into his new reality by his wife’s lies. Life can change in the blink of an eye. Can Cali and Nick comfort each other’s raw pain enough to allow for a second chance at happiness, or will their fears and anger prevent them from uncovering the blessing in the betrayal?
Call Me Saffron
Talia Quinn - 2014
She can’t handle a serious commitment, but casual affairs don’t do it for her either. So she’s resigned herself to being alone.Her call-girl roommate Jeanine has other ideas. She persuades Samantha to take her place for one night with Dylan Krause, an incredibly hot prospective client recovering from a messy divorce. She says it’ll be good for Samantha to be with someone without her usual expectations and complications. It’s more than good. It’s intense, extraordinary, and emotionally devastating. During their long, intimate night together, they bare, not just their bodies, but their souls. But after that one amazing night, Samantha flees. This feels too real for her. And yet she can’t forget Dylan, even though she tries. Then one day, he walks into the architecture firm where she works. Seeing him threatens to destroy the careful walls she’s built around her heart—and this time she can’t run away.
Kiss Me (Fairlane #2.5)
Harlow Layne - 2019
He rescues a beauty from the side of the road and never expected one night would change his life forever.Gabi needed an escape from her world in LA. When her rescuer found her and her wrecked vehicle, she thought he was an angel. She quickly discovers she can rescue him back in a different way.A holiday power outage still manages to shine light upon what matters most to Gabi and Jax—the people and the moments that define us.One accident.A one-night stand.Two hearts.And...some mistletoe. What happens when the ball drops on New Year’s?Kiss Me is a stand-alone in the Fairlane series. The series has crossover characters from each novel. It is not required to read the books in order but it is recommended to enhance the reading experience.Fairlane Series:1. Hollywood Redemption (Luke and Alex)2. Hollywood Fairytale (Luke and Alex)3. Unsteady in Love (Holden and Prue)4. Kiss Me (Jax and Gabi) *Previously in the Spiced Holiday Kisses Anthology.
A Bride for Christmas
Charlotte Grace - 2017
With his PA. So I did what any jilted bride would do... The wedding might be cancelled but the luxury accommodation was still booked. I decided I didn’t need a man. I’d marry myself, have the honeymoon, celebrate me. I’m alone in the lodge in the Rocky Mountains I’d booked for our Christmas wedding. But when I wake the next morning, there’s a man in my kitchen. It was his scent I noticed first, because I’d never forgotten it. One look at him and my heart threatens to detonate in my chest. It’s Hunter. My first crush. My brother’s best friend and business partner. My ex-fiancé’s cousin! Turns out, not only does he own the house, but we’re trapped by a snowstorm. And I’m supposed to be healing my betrayed heart. But Hunter looks at me like all his Christmases have come at once, And since the best way to get over a man is to get under one... It might be snowing outside, but inside, things are about to get very steamy.
Legend: A Rockstar Romance
Ellie Danes - 2018
Money, music and headaches. A town that depends on my name to make a living and I’m ready to leave it all behind. I'm tired of staring down the hill from my mansion at a town that resents me. I’ve chosen to hide in plain sight, blending in and keeping to myself. Hiding who I really am. Until she crashed the last party I’d ever have and made me realize everything I was missing. Cora Sinclair is anything but your average woman. Gorgeous with curves in all of the right places From the moment I saw her the music and blood pumped through me. A feeling I hadn’t had in years. But she came with a purpose, a night of fun and to confront the one person that is destroying her town, me. She wasn't counting on staying for the weekend and uncovering my deepest, darkest secrets that would change her live too. Legend is a 50,000 word, standalone, Rock Star romance with plenty of steam, no cheating and a HEA.
Wrecked
Vivian Lux - 2017
One night back home in Reckless Falls is more than enough.But he’s in my way.Derek Granger. The high school bad boy. The one I spent every night daydreaming about. I thought I knew what to expect with him. He was a misguided kid back then, but now?
What is he hiding?
I don’t care that Derek has piercing eyes and cheekbones that could cut glass. I definitely don’t care about his reputation for a huge… ego. Derek is an arrogant, drunken party boy. I need him gone.But when he looks at me with those dark eyes, his voice heavy with desire, I can barely manage to whisper, “Stay.”Derek: She’s the one who left, not me. Even though I had every reason to go. She ran away and broke her parents’ hearts.Now, she’s back from her glitzy life and she wants something from me.Little Miss Priss thinks she’s entitled to everything just because she’s a star. She can bat those pretty eyelashes at me. She can strut around in that curve-hugging dress and those tall boots.She can throw me against the wall and beg me to f*ck her, hard.She’s not kicking me out of my house. But I just might invite her into my bed.
Take Me, Boss
Juliana Conners - 2017
It features a bad boy billionaire alpha male and the curvy, feisty heroine with whom he finds a very happily ever after. It can be read alone but for a limited time this edition includes all the other books from the Yes, Boss series, as they're best enjoyed all together!
Vegas Virgin
Kelli Callahan - 2017
Peoria: It was supposed to be the vacation I had always dreamed of until someone stole my luggage. Tracking him down was the worst mistake I ever made. Once he saw me, he wanted more. Once he had a taste, he wanted everything. Vincent: Stealing luggage wasn't my proudest moment, but a man has to eat. I never expected the woman I stole it from to become Ms. Detective and find me. She's was so sweet, so sassy, and so innocent. I wanted it all and I'm a man who gets what I want. Even if I have to take it. This is a steamy 35,000 word novella and the first in the Nevada Bad Boys series. Each one is a STANDALONE. This is a suspenseful romance with plenty of steam. I'm a girl that likes wild and crazy romances mixed with some instalove and plenty of angst along the way to a beautiful HEA. Take a chance and fall in love with a Nevada Bad Boy.
Teach Me Sweetly
Abby Gale - 2019
My time here was supposed to have an expiration date. My plan was simple.Until her.The girl with a cupcake and fascinating sadness.Her beauty got my attention first, then her loneliness and melancholy captivated me. Her words and pain fed my interest, but it was her heart that sealed my fate. I came to this town with no expectations. But I didn't know my dream and muse was waiting for me in a school uniform.
Ruled
Anne Marsh - 2018
The PrincessComplete opposites who share the same burning passion!Jaxon Brady of the Hard Riders MC has sworn to protect Evie Kent from a rival gang. His hard muscles and black leather motorcycle boots are a sharp contrast to the girlie dresses Evie wears for her successful party-planning business. Their instant attraction is magnetic, and their lust keeps them glued to each other’s side…but is it a dangerous distraction?“Dare is Harlequin’s hottest line yet. Every book should come with a free fan. I dare you to try them!” —Tiffany Reisz, international bestselling author
One to Hold
Tia Louise - 2013
Melissa Jones is a small-town girl trying to escape her troubled past. When the two intersect in a bar in Arizona, their sexual chemistry is off the charts. But what is revealed during their "one week stand" only complicates matters. Because she'll do everything in her power to get away from the past, but he'll do everything he can to hold her. Adult Contemporary Romance: Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18. (M/F)
Filthy Rich
Virna DePaul - 2015
Cara Michal has had to fight every step of the way to earn her place in the glittering seven-figure world of Wall Street. Years ago her hardworking father, a small-time investment adviser, was humiliated and wrongfully accused of fraud. Now Cara is at the top of her game, trying to support not only herself but her mother and brother. The occasional night out dancing soothes Cara’s soul, even as a bitter need for revenge against the man who destroyed her father makes inner peace elusive. Then, in a moment of heat, Cara kisses a sexy stranger at a party—only later to discover that the man is Branden Duke, her new boss, an infamous operator with a wicked reputation in bed and on the Street. Branden is a man who seemingly has it all—except a woman who connects with him on a physical and emotional level. Now that he’s found Cara, he’s not sure he can let her go, even if he should. In spite of herself, Cara is drawn to this charismatic guy. He is a challenge like none she has ever faced in her life. Their passion for each other is unquenchable, surprising them both with its ferocity. Even as Cara wonders if she can trust this man with her heart and soul, the ecstasy of their love cannot be denied. But when the past threatens the present, the two are faced with a truth from which they may never recover.
Once Kissed
Cecy Robson - 2015
Now a chance encounter forces them back together. In Cecy Robson’s O’Brien Family series debut—perfect for readers of Monica Murphy and J. Lynn—two total opposites find that the flames of desire are still smoldering. Tough-as-steel cop Curran O’Brien is quickly rising through the ranks of the Philadelphia police department. But when his rookie partner is almost killed under his watch, Curran just wants to prove he still has what it takes to walk among Philly’s finest. So he’s pissed to be stuck on a cushy security assignment for the DA’s office... until he gets a good look at the sweet, straitlaced intern he’s supposed to protect — but not touch. Tess Newart recognizes Curran instantly. How could she not? Back in college she tied this former frat boy to the bed with her argyle socks! That sizzling one-night stand was the only indiscretion Tess ever allowed herself. She has survived law school so far, despite being pushed to succeed by her overbearing father. Now that she’s interning on a major case against a ruthless crime boss, she won’t jeopardize her career by giving in to temptation again. She just never expected temptation to look so damn hot in uniform. Tess knows her father has other plans for her, and they don’t include Curran. But soon she’s falling for him all over again. And when danger emerges, Curran will prove just how good a bad-boy cop can be.
Double the Fun
Jenika Snow - 2020
With her family life less than happy, she always relied on her tightly woven friendship with the Holden twins.
She’s known Rys and William Holden since they were five years old. They may have looked identical, but where Rys was the dominating, strong, silent type, William was all caring and comfortable. They were the only two people who cared about her but wasn’t just friendship that tied her to them.
It was love.
But she never wanted to blur those lines, risking they didn’t feel the same way about her. But things changed so fast, touches, whispered words… pleasure given, and she didn’t know if it was reality or fantasy.
When accusations were thrown, when drama ensued, lies—or maybe the truth—was revealed, Jane had to figure out if crossing lines with the Holden boys was worth it.
Because if she made the wrong choice, she could lose the only things that meant anything to her.
Her twins.Reader note: This story was previously published under the title Playing with Fire. Although the story itself is the same, it has since been re-edited, and parts revised.
His Voodoo Lily
Alexis Adaire
Like, glass shards on top of sandpaper rough. She managed to get out of an abusive relationship only to have her ex kidnap their 4-year-old son just days before the custody hearing. Lily has become so difficult to be around that her best friend, Alexa, has finally given up hope and abandoned her in Shorty’s Pub.Gerrit Rousseau is an oasis of calm in a stormy world, downplaying his smoldering good looks as he tends bar and keeps his head down. His emotions are not easily stirred, but the brazen, tattooed Lily is lighting a fire. There’s something about her, something beyond her looks, that gets his blood pumping to all the right places.Sexual fireworks are inevitable with these two, especially during Mardi Gras—but things in New Orleans are never as simple as they seem. When a man turns up dead and Lily admits to Gerrit that she was directly involved, all hell breaks loose in the Crescent City. Gerrit is compelled to get to the bottom of the twin mysteries of the death and the missing child, but first he must figure out where the mysterious Dani Weeks and her son Riley fit in.