Book picks similar to
Love From Scratch by Summer Dowell


romance
clean-romance
romantic-comedy
contemporary-romance

A Spot of Trouble


Teri Wilson - 2021
    Sam knows that’s impossible—for one thing, his dog Cinder is a well-trained fire safety dog who never steps out of line. Violet’s dog Sprinkles, on the other hand, has never met a command that she didn’t ignore completely, much like her bubbly owner. So when Sprinkles and Cinder accidentally switch places during the annual police vs. fire department softball tournament, Violet is thrilled by her dog’s sudden perfect behavior, while stubborn-yet-charming Sam is horrified to find that his dog no longer listens.But when the dogs are eventually switched back, Sam and Violet are shocked to find that not everything is as simple as it seems. And a little puppy love might be just the thing they’ve been missing...

Hit or Miss


Everly Ashton - 2021
    When I find out he’s a doctor who treats children with life-threatening heart problems? I’m determined to make it up to him.Playing nursemaid to Dr. Oliver Kinkaid is easier said than done. At least while having to pretend I’m not attracted to him. He’s a decade older than me, supremely sexy and has his life together. What’s not to swoon over?Especially since I’m scraping by as a teacher, sharing an apartment with two friends and an exciting Friday night means binge-watching Dateline episodes with a bag of potato chips. Not much to swoon over here. Until I find a hidden letter in our century old apartment that predicts I’ll meet my soul mate and live happily ever after.Things start to develop between Oliver and me. Our mutual attraction grows to combustible levels and I can’t help but wonder if the letter was right—is he my perfect match?Then I find out Oliver’s secret and I want to put another bullet through him.Hit or Miss is a lighthearted, heartwarming and steamy romantic comedy with a happy ending and a cast of hilarious characters that will have you laughing out loud until the last page. No cheating.

How to Love Your Neighbor


Sophie Sullivan - 2022
    Cute house to fix up? Check.Sexy, grumpy neighbor who is going to get in the way of your plans? Check. Unfortunately.Grace Travis has it all figured out. In between finishing school and working a million odd jobs, she’ll get her degree and her dream job. Most importantly, she’ll have a place to belong, something her harsh mother could never make. When an opportunity to fix up—and live in—a little house on the beach comes along, Grace is all in. Until her biggest roadblock moves in next door.Noah Jansen knows how to make a deal. As a real estate developer, he knows when he's found something special. Something he could even call home. Provided he can expand by taking over the house next door--the house with the combative and beautiful woman living in it.With the rules for being neighborly going out the window, Grace and Noah are in an all-out feud. But sometimes, your nemesis can show you that home is always where the heart is.“This is a novel you'll want to read over and over again.” - USA Today

I Do (Sorta)


Johanna Evelyn - 2020
    Women fall at my feet vying to become the next Mrs. Taylor, only they are always after one thing. The money. Instead of picking someone they want, I turn it into a game. My chosen bride will be placed on a budget with a strict set of rules. I have a year to turn a gold-digging diva into a domesticated housewife. What have I got to lose, besides true love?***Rich men are all the same and I want nothing to do with them. I left Texas to get away from my meddlesome mother and her dreams of me marrying old money. But the first thing I see in New York is a giant billboard sporting a billionaire looking for a wife, Bachelor style. I don’t find out my mother has filled out an application for me until I am chosen to come to Edward Taylor’s penthouse.That’s when I realize my mother will never stop unless I do something drastic. If I ramp up my pageant persona there’s no way he’ll choose me to become his wife—and in the process, I’ll get my mother off my back about getting married while teaching this full of himself billionaire the way to a woman’s heart isn’t by hiring a billboard!This romantic comedy is free from language, and graphic sexual content, and has mild Christian themes. Pick it up today!

The Roommate Situation


Katie Bailey - 2021
    Ever. He’s also my new roommate. In the past few days, I became jobless, homeless, and boyfriendless. So, I did what any 28-year-old woman with her life together would do: I ran. Far, far away from my life in New York and straight to my big brother’s house in Atlanta. Only, it turns out that my brother is away on a business trip. And, he failed to tell me that a full-on, godlike hottie—who happens to be a premier house flipper—has taken up residence in the spare bedroom while his enormous new house is being renovated. There’s a million reasons why I shouldn’t fall for Conor. But our chemistry is undeniable. Which means I have a teeny, tiny situation on my hands… The Roommate Situation is a laugh-out-loud funny, swoony, closed door romantic comedy. Expect some mild language and suggestive jokes alongside sizzling hot chemistry and tension you could cut with a knife—all without the explicit scenes.

Blissed


Jamie Farrell - 2014
    But it’s redemption time, and she’s putting on her big girl panties to make sure this year’s bridal festival goes off without a hitch. Even if it means she has to play nice with the man who broke her fairy tale.She’s definitely not the one for him. Or is she...World adventurer and reluctant local hero CJ Blue doesn’t want to be in Bliss anymore than Natalie wants him here. But family obligations have brought him back, and now he’s somehow been roped into saving the town tradition he’d rather forget with the woman whose kiss he can’t forget. She frustrates him and drives him nuts but he's had more fun giving her a hard time about the bridal festival than he has in years.And their fun is just starting...Despite their rocky past, these two wounded souls have more in common than they expect. They’ve both loved and lost, they’ve both tried to move on, and now they’ve both been been banned from the local church confessional after...well, they’re not supposed to talk about it. But by joining forces for the sake of Bliss, they might find the courage and the sparks to risk love one more time.Note: BLISSED was previously published for like 5 minutes many years ago as THE HUSBAND GAMES. Publishers Weekly called it a "Marvelous romantic comedy" in a starred review and named it as a "Self-Published Star" of 2014.

You Lucky Dog


Julia London - 2020
    She is drowning in work, her divorced parents are going through their midlife crises, and somehow Carly's sister convinces her to foster Baxter--a basset hound rescue with a bad case of the blues. When Carly comes home late from work one day to discover that the dog walker has accidentally switched out Baxter for another perkier, friendlier basset hound, she has reached the end of her leash.When Max Sheffington finds a depressed male basset hound in place of his cheerful Hazel, he is bewildered. But when cute, fiery Carly arrives on his doorstep, he is intrigued. He was expecting the dog walker, not a pretty woman with firm ideas about dog discipline. And Carly was not expecting a handsome, bespectacled man to be feeding her dog mac and cheese. Baxter is besotted with Hazel, and Carly realizes she may have found the key to her puppy’s happiness. For his sake, she starts to spend more time with Hazel and Max, until she begins to understand the appeal of falling for your polar opposite.

Heidi's Guide to Four Letter Words


Tara Sivec - 2019
    So when I decided to entertain my drunken self by setting up some hand-me-down podcasting equipment and reading the steamy parts from romance novels, I never thought anyone would actually listen. The fact that I admitted my huge crush on my sexy next door neighbor made the whole thing even more mortifying. But sometimes life surprises you, and that’s how my podcast, Heidi’s Discount Erotica, was born.Now I, Heidi Larsen, a sweet former kindergarten teacher in Waconia, Minnesota, lead a scandalous double life reading erotic novels to the listening world. And with each episode, I find myself embracing my new alter ego more and more. Now I’m starting to feel more comfortable in my own skin and do things I never would have dreamed of - like kissing my neighbor.Look out, Waconia, because Heidi’s on the loose! She’s in your ears, in your hearts, and down your pants...wait, that didn’t sound as good as it did in my head. Well, you get the picture, don’tcha know!

Cupids Anonymous


Lila Monroe - 2019
    Now fall in love with her brand new sizzling standalone - perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Christina Lauren!Poppy Hathaway is a professional Cyrano - minus the honking great nose. Need a love note, raunchy sext, or apology letter so epic that your other half will forget you hesitated a beat too long when you asked, 'does this make me look fat?'? She's got you covered. But when her most frequent client, the annoyingly charming (or is that charmingly annoying?) Dylan Griffin comes to her with an unconventional new job, Poppy discovers that three little words can add up to one big complication. Because Dylan doesn't want help seducing another swimsuit model (for once in his life). He wants Poppy's help winning over her his high-school crush (aka, his one true love) - and he's prepared to make it worth her while. Throw in a summer Catskills trip that's equal parts 'Dirty Dancing' and dirty-talking, and this Cupid is soon out of her depth - and head over heels with the last man she expected. But can she find the right words when it comes to her own heart? Or will this happily ever end in disaster?

Personal Delivery


Ainsley Booth - 2017
    He’s got a billion-dollar secret. I recognize the sound of his truck turning off in front of my building. Not only do I recognize it, but my pulse picks up and I get all hot and bothered. Then I hear the low growl cutting out, followed by the clank of metal as he pulls up the back door to grab my package…. Grab my package? That sounds so dirty. Which is probably appropriate given some of the fantasies I’ve had about him. My obsession with the new, mysterious delivery driver is crazy. Intense. Distracting. The last thing I need is to be crushing on a six-foot-something distraction with a dirty grin. But my friends have other plans. First in a sexy new rom com series! The second book in this series is currently available in the Love in Transit anthology.

The First Word


Isley Robson - 2017
    Her job as a pediatric occupational therapist is the perfect distraction from the unspeakable tragedy she experienced as a child. But when she meets alternative-energy magnate Rhys Griffiths and his autistic toddler, Will, she quickly realizes her heart will never be the same. Especially when her name becomes Will’s first word.After accepting a position as a live-in therapist for Will, Andie steels herself against the appeal of the disconcertingly attractive—and attracted—Rhys. But their chemistry can no longer be denied, and their heated affair seems destined for happily ever after. A destiny Andie’s terrified to embrace.When Andie’s guilt, Rhys’s awkwardness, and the abrupt appearance of an erratic ex threaten to dismantle their delicately blooming relationship, they must decide if love is worth the challenge. Can Andie and Rhys find their way back to each other? Or will the demons of the past simply prove too strong?

Bridesmaid Lotto


Rachel Astor - 2011
    Finally, at 26, she may have actually lost the dreaded ‘McMaster the Disaster’ nickname that has followed her around her whole life. Josie’s quite content to be single, much to her mother’s disappointment. So when a bizarre contest is announced where a socialite is holding a lottery to pick her bridesmaids (and rake in a little extra cash), she can’t roll her eyes fast enough, even if it does mean meeting Jake Hall, her one and only movie star crush. Obviously, Josie doesn’t enter the bridesmaid lottery, so you can imagine her surprise when her picture pops up among the winners, thanks to Mom. With a little prodding -- okay bribing -- Josie agrees to participate.The wedding turns into the event of the year, and Josie finds herself in the middle of a paparazzi feeding frenzy, which gets even crazier after Jake Hall takes a special interest in her. Can Josie handle the pressure in the spotlight? Is it possible she might really have a chance with Jake Hall? And if she’s busy worrying about all that, how in the heck is she going to keep ‘McMaster the Disaster’ from showing up in front of the entire world?

New Orleans Rush


Kelly Siskind - 2019
    Even worse, she can't pay for damages.Huxley Marlow believes the sprite of a girl tearing up the side of his Mustang is a sign. One that reads: Free labor. He’s tasked with fixing his family’s crumbling theater or losing everything they own. Luckily, he has a way to earn fast cash on the side, even if it's not entirely above board. Unluckily, he now has an unbearably sexy, glass-half-full-of-sunshine woman working as his assistant, driving him to distraction.Beatrice never expected to fall for her grumpy boss, but the imposing man is secretly caring under all that gruffness. Huxley can’t believe he’s met the woman of his dreams at the absolute worst time. If Bea learns what he does at night, she might never look at him the same way again.Praise for NEW ORLEANS RUSH“The romance in New Orleans Rush will leave you smiling and filled with optimism.” ~ USA Today bestselling author Helen Hoang“New Orleans Rush is full of humor, explosive chemistry, the fun backdrop of New Orleans, and a couple I truly rooted for. This is a must read!” ~ USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Blackwood“Kelly Siskind knocks it out of the park with her evocative voice in this story of family, fun, and falling in love—you don’t want to miss the magic of Beatrice and Huxley!” ~ USA Today bestselling author Ellis Leigh

Man Candy


Melanie Harlow - 2016
    And he looks good enough to eat, which is just one more reason to stay away from him. But I can’t resist.The sex is incredible (pretty sure we’ve shaken the house right off its foundation), but he can’t fool me—not this time. A degree in marketing and five years in advertising have taught me that “true love” is a fairy tale used to sell lipstick, diamonds, and perfume. It doesn’t exist.He thinks I’m wrong, and he wants to prove it.I think he’s crazy, so I dare him to try.It might be the biggest mistake of my life.

No More Secrets


Lucy Score - 2019
    He just doesn't know what to do with this one. In the small town of Blue Moon Bend, where everybody is a matchmaker, Carter wants to be left alone to tend the family farm. After returning from Afghanistan with scars, his only goal is recovery. He doesn't need any distractions, and definitely not one with silver-blonde hair and lips that beg to be kissed. Summer Lentz is a journalist from the city sent to interview Carter and his family. She's out of place in the small town, with her designer wardrobe and workaholic lifestyle. She asks too many questions and doesn't take no for an answer, threatening to destroy the peace and balance that Carter has been working towards. She thwarts every attempt Carter makes to retreat back inside himself, somehow bringing him closer to being whole again. Summer has secrets of her own, but she never planned to open up to anyone - let alone the scowling, secretive farm owner whose story she's after. But as she gets drawn into the community, she starts to realize that she can't stay closed off forever. And what's more, she doesn't want to. As Carter and Summer grow closer, will they be able to push past the secrets that are holding both of them back?