Book picks similar to
The Five-Year Hitch by Melissa de la Cruz
audible
audiobooks
romance
audible-plus
Brackish Waters
Matt Boren - 2021
She has no reason to believe that said trip is a Fyre Festival-level fraud and, in fact, the catalyst to her unraveling. But it is. Oh, but it is.Upon her return home, Kate, a failed writer, sets out to publish the world’s most anthemic one-star Yelp review of SeaView at Sandpiper Bay, detailing her week from hell on its brackish waters. And it will be her masterpiece.At first, it feels good to let her white-knuckled fingers fly ragefully across the keys. But after a while, Kate wonders: Is her Yelp review like the vacation itself, an ill-advised Band-Aid on problems she doesn’t know how to fix?
We Are All Made of Stars
Rowan Coleman - 2015
Married to a war veteran who has returned from Afghanistan brutally injured, Stella leaves the house each night as her husband Vincent, locks himself away, unable to sleep due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.During her nights at the hospice, Stella writes letters for her patients containing their final wishes, thoughts and feelings – from how to use a washing machine, to advice on how to be a good parent – and usually she delivers each letter to the recipient after he or she has died.That is until Stella writes one letter that she feels compelled to deliver in time to give her patient one final chance of redemption…
Close Enough to Touch
Colleen Oakley - 2017
With a rare allergy to human touch, any skin-to-skin contact could literally kill her. But after retreating into solitude for nearly ten years, Jubilee’s decided to brave the world again, despite the risks. Armed with a pair of gloves, long sleeves, and her trusty bicycle, she finally ventures out the front door—and into her future. Eric Keegan has troubles of his own. With his daughter from a failed marriage no longer speaking to him, and his brilliant, if psychologically troubled, adopted son attempting telekinesis, Eric’s struggling to figure out how his life got so off course, and how to be the dad—and man—he wants so desperately to be. So when an encounter over the check-out desk at the local library entangles his life with that of a beautiful—albeit eccentric—woman, he finds himself wanting nothing more than to be near her.
When Dimple Met Rishi
Sandhya Menon - 2017
With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family—and from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now, they wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers…right?Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on board. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi wants to be arranged, believes in the power of tradition, stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself.The Shahs and Patels didn’t mean to start turning the wheels on this “suggested arrangement” so early in their children’s lives, but when they noticed them both gravitating toward the same summer program, they figured, Why not?Dimple and Rishi may think they have each other figured out. But when opposites clash, love works hard to prove itself in the most unexpected ways.
The Dispatcher
John Scalzi - 2016
How? We don't know. But it changes everything: war, crime, daily life.Tony Valdez is a Dispatcher - a licensed, bonded professional whose job is to humanely dispatch those whose circumstances put them in death's crosshairs, so they can have a second chance to avoid the reaper. But when a fellow Dispatcher and former friend is apparently kidnapped, Tony learns that there are some things that are worse than death and that some people are ready to do almost anything to avenge a supposed wrong.It's a race against time for Valdez to find his friend before it's too late...before not even a Dispatcher can save him.___Zachary Quinto - best known for his role as the Nimoy-approved Spock in the recent Star Trek reboot and the menacing, power-stealing serial killer, Sylar, in Heroes - brings his well-earned sci-fi credentials and simmering intensity to this audio-exclusive novella from master storyteller John Scalzi.
Play by Play
Kaylee Ryan - 2020
but the best kind. Too gorgeous for his own good, the former professional athlete is every woman’s dream, including mine. I need to stay away, but he’s relentless.Most girls want Jase because of who he is, but that’s exactly why I don’t want to get involved. A guy like him and a girl like me are bound to fumble.His panty-melting smile is so hard to resist... until one day, I don’t. I give in and say yes to my boss’s cocky best-friend.His charming determination wears me down, and once I realize what I’ve been missing, there is no going back. Now we’re a team, and thanks to his insatiable drive, our squad is growing.JaseThe minute I lay eyes on her, I know she will be mine. I want her, even though my best-friend warns me to stay away from his assistant.Samantha Wilson is smart, gorgeous, and not afraid to call me out. She’s perfect. A refreshing change from all the women who threw themselves at me when I was in the professional league.Not Samantha. She turns me down. Every. Single. Time. For nearly a year. It makes me want her even more. I’m not giving up, I’ve got plays for days, and I’m not afraid to use them.When she finally says yes. My life is turned upside down in ways I can’t imagine— get ready for the play by play.This is a prequel Novella to the Riggins Brothers Series.
Something Beautiful
Jamie McGuire - 2015
Unlike his cousins, Shepley is more lover than fighter, but a road trip to her parents' home in Wichita, Kansas could mean the next step, or the end of everything.
Dispossession
Tayari Jones - 2021
Ten years ago, Cheryl jumped at the chance to send her son, Javonte, to an exclusive boarding school in New England — far away from Atlanta and the violence of the city streets. It was the American dream, or was it? Now settled in Vermont, Javonte is married and well-employed, but Cheryl hardly ever sees him, and when she does, her own son seems like someone she only used to know. So, when Javonte announces he’s coming home to Atlanta for MLK weekend, Cheryl calls off work, thinking this could be their chance to reconnect.But a few days before the visit, Javonte cancels his trip.After begging for the hours back at the white-glove moving company where she works, Cheryl accepts a last-minute gig in her own neighborhood, cheered by the idea of a black family moving on to bigger and better. But on her way to the job site, Cheryl learns the home’s occupants aren’t moving by choice — they’re being evicted. Over the next several hours, Cheryl must reckon with her own unresolved past, in this searing story about family, race and the lasting consequences of a choice that can’t be taken back.
Little Miss Perfect
Julia Kent - 2019
He's used to performing when the clock's running out.Me? I perform well under pressure, too.But not when Will Lotham is about to kiss me.Or is he?Little Miss Perfect is a prequel to the events that take place in Fluffy, New York Times bestselling author Julia Kent's new book. It can be read on its own, without having read Fluffy.
Searching for You
Jennifer Probst - 2015
But she didn’t get to the top of her field without setting stringent expectations, and when it comes to finding a partner, she’s leaving nothing up to chance. Until her car breaks down in a blizzard, trapping her with the one man she’s always loathed and secretly crushed on: wealthy womanizer Dylan McCray.Tired of his reputation as a ladies’ man, Dylan longs for a serious relationship with the woman of his dreams. Countless casual dates and hook-ups have left him with no idea what that gut-clenching moment of rightness feels like…until he rescues the stunning woman who has always tempted his fantasies. Will these staunch opposites repel rather than attract, or will sunrise bring everlasting romance after a steamy night in the snowy mountains?
Home Tears
Tijan - 2016
Her mother died. Her two sisters loathed her. One aunt hated her. The other was strangely distant, but the worst storm—being dumped by her childhood best friend/high school boyfriend/first love for her younger sister. There went the one person who was hers and with that, the main reason she stuck around. So, she left for ten years. But now she’s back, and nothing’s the same. With help from Jonah Bannon, a reformed—kind of—bad boy she remembers from high school, Dani uncovers family secrets that have spanned generations. And along with those, she’s about to face the biggest sh*t storm of her life. Only this time, she may not survive.
Power Play
Maria Luis - 2017
She's a (struggling) sports journalist looking for her big break. Charlie Denton has been handed the most impossible assignment from her stick-in-the-mud boss: get an exclusive interview with the NHL's golden boy, Duke Harrison. The catch? She's got eight days or she’ll be demoted. Fired. Kicked to the curb - No way is she letting her future rest on the broad shoulders of a goalie who is at least three seasons past his prime. She has eight days to convince Duke that the loyal fans of The Cambridge Tribune (annual circulation: 1,000) are dying to know about his life, on and off the ice. Eight days to stand toe to toe with a man who is pure sex on a stick. Eight days to remember that every mind-blowing kiss is nothing but a power play. What could go wrong?
Dumplin'
Julie Murphy - 2015
Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked…until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back.Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.With starry Texas nights, red candy suckers, Dolly Parton songs, and a wildly unforgettable heroine—Dumplin’ is guaranteed to steal your heart.
Our Stop
Laura Jane Williams - 2019
Well, except if she oversleeps or wakes up at her friend Emma’s after too much wine.Daniel really does get the 7.30 train every morning, which is easy because he hasn’t been able to sleep properly since his dad died.One morning, Nadia’s eye catches sight of a post in the daily paper:
To the cute girl with the coffee stains on her dress. I’m the guy who’s always standing near the doors… Drink sometime?
So begins a not-quite-romance of near-misses, true love, and the power of the written word.
Packaged
Angela Graham - 2014
One lonely woman. One mysterious man. Not all secret admirers write poetry.As intrigued and aroused as she is frightened and appalled by the continuous stream of profound-yet-perverse letters arriving in her office mailbox, shy wallflower Amelia Hill, thinks she’s going insane. Notes turn to text messages, luring her to meet the elusive stranger in a room as dark and hidden as his intentions. Once there, Amelia realizes gut instincts should be heard louder than the deceptive call of temptation. Will one night be enough, or too much? Erotic stand-alone. No cliffy. 32,000+ Words