Book picks similar to
Tough Girl by Bonita Van Gerve


sports
romance
standalone
book-challenge

Heat


Sophia Gray - 2017
     There are bad men in this world. I would know: I’m one of them. I f*ck women and leave them behind without apology. I stomp out my enemies; I turn their wives into my slaves, their spawn into my servants. I hurt; I take; I kill. But despite all my sins and vices, I am not the worst this world has to offer. That title is reserved for the devil himself:. The bastard who murdered my family. I won’t rest until I’ve spilled his blood and condemned his soul to hell. He will feel the pain that I have felt a thousand times over. I will have my revenge. But I have one task left to complete before I leave to kill him or die trying. I cannot let my family name go to the grave with me. I need to know that my line will go on. That means one thing: I need a baby. But the women in my life aren’t fit to hold my seed, much less my heir. This requires someone special. Someone I can seduce. Someone I can shatter. Someone I can mold into the vessel my child will require. So I go hunting, and I find the one. Lily is the perfect specimen. Ghostly white skin perfect to brand as my own, curves to suck and squeeze. I’ve chosen her, and I’m not waiting to find out if she’s fully on board. I’m going to seize her and do what I’ve always done – Take until she has nothing left to give.

Alejandro: Padre Knights MC


Evelyn Glass - 2015
    I'd always been the good girl my whole life. Him? He was the bad boy. The outlaw who hurt people for a living--a fatal mix of ink and muscles and irresistible danger.Then everything changed.I fell into his arms, and those strong arms pulled me into his bed. He made me feel reckless.He made me feel wild.He made me feel alive.I know I'm not supposed to fall in love with him. I know that he can only break my heart. But all I can think about is how this bad boy wants to take me.To hold me.To claim me. Some flames never die I'm an outlaw who doesn't do love. I've had plenty of girls in my bed, but never a repeat customer. Not until her.Ali.From the moment I had her legs wrapped around me. From the moment she whimpered and gasped as I pinned her against the wall. From the moment she lost control in my arms...... I was hooked. Now, I can't get my mind off her. I can't stop thinking about her curves. I need her back in my arms.I need her screaming my name.And I'm going to make her mineThis is a full length standalone romance with no cliffhangers and a guaranteed HEA ending* This sexy steamy bad boy romance is perfect for fans of Joanna Blake, Devon Hartford, Sabrina Paige, Winter Renshaw, Vanessa Waltz and Dani Wyatt *

The Thing About Forgiveness


Jenni Lynn - 2018
    After a wrong decision costs him his wife and child, he knows he's beyond redemption.  How many times do you need to get burned before you stop playing with fire? Bennett Holloway's past is nothing but pain and betrayal at the hands of those she once held most dear. Leaving them behind seems like her only way forward. Can two people who've sworn off love find it in each other? Fate keeps bringing them together until they can't deny they're falling hard. But no one can outrun their past forever. And there is no hope for love without forgiveness.  An emotional standalone novel about a single father, a nurse, and how tragedy can forge the most beautiful bonds.

The Rose Journal: Rose Gardner Journal Entries


Denise Grover Swank - 2020
    Rose Gardner Journal entries between Come Rain or Shine and When the Bough Breaks.

Shadow of Love


Ellen Wolf - 2012
    He had learnt from early on that trust and unconditional love end badly. Both his mother’s failed relationship with his rich and absent father and his mentor’s marriage to a scrupulous and selfish woman taught him the lesson not to carry his heart on his sleeve. The man who had turned James’ life around in the darkest of his teenage years, died alone and rejected. Ridiculous accusations that prompted such ending left James incredulous and furious, the heat of his anger never completely leaving him in the years that followed.It is impossible to escape the past, his mentor’s suicide and the events that lead to it still very much on his mind. The fate has given him the rare opportunity to finally settle the scores. Avenging Steve Masden’s death is simply too tempting to be ignored. Emily Beggins knows right away that something isn’t right about her stepsister’s mysterious fiancé. He might well be the most handsome and charming man she has ever met, but there is a certain icy resolve in his eyes that frightens her witless. Behind the impeccable façade and lethal smile, she senses something dark and dangerous. Something that shouldn’t really be there…Loyalty has always been a big part of her character, even though her life with her stepmother and stepsister had proven far more challenging and difficult than she had ever anticipated. They share enough memories and dirty secrets to bind them together with the invisible thread of guilt and obligations. Saving Sophie from the unknown disaster leaves Emily no choice but to confront the man who had managed to capture her stepsister’s heart in a span of mere days.Only James isn’t ready to play fair, one sweep of his hand pushing aside any hopes she might have for a happy ending. He knows too much and cares too little to have any sympathy for her or her family.She has to play by his rules, each step taking her deeper and deeper into his world. Soon it becomes her world too and the lines between black and white blur, nothing certain any longer.As time goes by the question of how to survive being around James becomes replaced by another, more urgent one.How will she ever live without him?

Mountain Man's Virgin


Claire Angel - 2018
    It could not have come at a better time. I distracted myself with work and even welcomed the chance to work somewhere else to help out. I enjoyed staying busy… Hallie I never expected to meet Colton when I went back for a short but necessary trip to Chester. He wasn’t here before, just memories that I wanted to forget. He was gorgeous and rough around the edges. A Mountain Man. Colton was going to be the death of me. Every moment that I spent with him, I grew more addicted. Once I gave in to him, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to walk away. Would he be worth the risk? Could I walk away from this stunning mountain man? Colton I didn’t think I’d meet Hallie, the woman that changed my world the second I saw her. It was complicated as hell, but I wanted her. I wanted a future with her. Were a few weeks enough time to decide on your future? Was it worth taking the chance? Could I trust my feelings? ***Mountain Man's Virgin is 15,000-word full-length standalone Mountain Man Romance. No cliffhanger, plenty of steam and a guaranteed HEA! Steamy Bonus Romance Stories Included Just For You.***

Blaze


Erika Chase - 2015
    Because happily ever after doesn’t exist.” Kate McDonald is a small-town girl struggling to hold her head above water in San Francisco. Her dreams seem to be slipping through her fingers, her love life is non-existent, and the rent is due. When she attends an industry party, the most she hopes for is a bit of networking and a free dinner. She doesn’t expect to be swept off her feet by a sexy millionaire… Gabriel Call doesn’t believe in happily ever after, but that doesn’t stop him from writing the most popular romance novels in the world. His characters may ride off into the sunset, but to Gabriel, relationships are nothing more than a complication he doesn't want or need. Then he meets Kate McDonald and everything changes… Kate and Gabriel begin what they swear will be a no-strings-attached relationship, unable to get enough of each other. Can Kate stop herself from falling for a man who ignites passion inside of her she never knew existed? Or will her fears of the future, and Gabriel's tormented past, tear them apart? Blaze is the first book in the ongoing Blaze adult romance series.

The Christmas Promise


Nikki Larson - 2020
    But now that her dear husband has died and her money is running out, she reluctantly returns home to the small town of Crystalline Falls.Hunter Flynn is restless. Expected to work on his dad’s Christmas tree farm with his older brothers, he dreams instead of traveling and settling in some tropical location where he can enjoy the sun and the surf and keep his troubles at bay.Sabrina Townsend knows what she wants, and nothing will stop her from getting it. And this year, she’s decided, she wants Hunter Flynn back. If only Elise Silverstein would get out of the way.When Hunter runs into Elise, who broke his heart several years ago when she married Wesley, he is reeled in once again by her captivating personality. They were so young the last time they fell in love, and foolish. Now he is tempted to let himself become all wrapped up in her again. But wouldn’t that be a colossal mistake? An enchanting story about the joy of Christmas, the importance of family, and falling in love in the most magical holiday season of the year. This is a Sweet Contemporary Clean Romance with Christian themes, perfect for holiday reading.

Small Town Shepherd


Nala Henkel-Aislinn - 2021
    Sam lost her career and her boyfriend on the same day. Needing an escape, she makes a radical decision—leave the big city for a small town, get a regular job, and take a break from men and romance.Brody is picking up the pieces after divorce. He’s hoping for a fresh start in the small community of Maple Cove. Instead, he’s forced to co-manage a failing animal hospital with Sam, who seems ready to hate him on sight.Watch two people learn to face their fears and love again in this sweet, small-town enemies to happily-ever-after romance.Small Town Shepherd is the first book in the sweet romance series Maple Cove Dog Lover’s Society.

Shirts vs. Skins


Victoria Cabot - 2016
    The game will never be the same. Ethan Blake and Colt Stackford rule the gridiron each week - amazing audiences with their record breaking conquests both on and off the field. But underneath it all simmers a deep seeded rivalry... Until it explodes. Now, with their careers on the line, the one person in the entire league who can save them may be more of a badas$ than both of them combined. Curvy Julianna Heaton, the youngest team owner in the league, chews up bad boys for breakfast and spits them out before lunch. But is there room for both of them in her…lineup? As Ethan and Colt compete for the ultimate prize, a tantalizing new possibility presents itself - one that will change their lives forever, if it doesn't destroy them all first. Come cheer for this sizzling standalone MMF bisexual ménage romance - filled with brooding bad boy alpha males and the one woman who can tame them! No cliffhangers, but it’s a scorcher with super-steamy scenes of MF, MM, and MMF. Happily Ever After? You know it. As an thank you, also included is a bonus Victoria Cabot billionaire romance

The Baby He Never Knew


Tasha Blue - 2018
    Or so he thought. This was because the young playboy was totally unaware that he was actually the father of a 4 year old boy. Breanna Webb was not sure if she wanted Kevin involved in her child's life. And to this point, they had already done pretty well without him. However, fate would soon intervene and Breanna would have to introduce Kevin to the baby he never knew... Could Breanna and Kevin possibly work through their differences and actually become a family? Or was this meeting going to end in tears and heartbreak in more ways than one? This is a unique spin on the typical billionaire romance book. Expect to get completely enthralled in this dramatic and emotional romance novel.

Tempting Secrets (Tempting Nights Romance #1)


Michelle Windsor - 2018
    Or at least, it’s the name my clients call me. I work for the elite escort agency, Temptations, and for a price, I’ll be whatever you want and need me to be. I have the body, I have the looks, and I have a smile that makes any woman swoon. But It’s just a job. A necessary evil to help fund my dreams of becoming a doctor. I’m simply a robot, performing my required tasks. Until the night I’m hired to seduce Charlotte Harvey and remind her how good a man can make her feel. I didn’t expect her beauty to spark a desire in me long buried. I didn’t expect her smile to turn that spark into a flame. And I definitely didn’t expect her passion to ignite that flame into an inferno. I should have walked away without looking back, but she started a fire in me that I can’t seem to tame. Tempting Nights is the first book in the Tempted Nights Romance Series. Each book can be read as a stand-alone and features a happily ever after.

Her Billionaire Ex-Boyfriend Fake Fiancé (Christmas in Emerald Falls) (Emerald Falls Romance Book 4)


Christine Kersey - 2019
    Eager to raise money for more computers, books, and other critical supplies, when the auctioneer announces that a date with Ashleigh is on the auction block, she goes with it. Too bad her ex casts the winning bid.Billionaire Chase Matthews hadn't planned on spending December in Emerald Falls. And he certainly hadn't planned on offering the winning bid for a date with his ex. But now that both of those things have happened, he'll have to deal with the fallout.When Chase tells Ashleigh that his mother is dying and that her only wish is to see him happily engaged, he makes her an offer she can't refuse. But will her wounded heart be able to remember that this is all pretend?

Seduced: Book One


P.A. Jones - 2014
    Nikki is desperate to find a way to get back with the person she loves most in this world, but she needs someone as strong as Tristan to put her plan in motion.But when these two magnetic people, what will happen? Will they repel each other or will an undeniable attraction flow between them.Will they be able to survive this attraction? Will they be able to know each other's true intentions?***Intended for Mature audience due to Explicit Contents.***

Ridge


Stephanie Payne Hurt - 2015
    After two tours in Iraq, he returns to the 5 Oaks Ranch to take his place in the business. But he struggles with nightmares and the memories of everything he’s seen in the last seven years. Always the toughest of the siblings, he’s turned hard edged and even harder to get close to. When the new veterinarian comes in and starts to chisel her way through his stone façade Ridge tries to ignore the electricity that sparks between them. Find out what happens to the Oldest of the Cauthen siblings from the 5 Oaks Ranch.