Book picks similar to
Breathless With Her by Carrie Ann Ryan


romance
contemporary
contemporary-romance
free

Offside


Juliana Stone - 2012
    Not because Billie's talent is in question, but because Billie is a woman. And though these are modern times, some of the local guys still have a problem letting a girl into their 'men's club.'Soon, Billie is at the center of a small town battle of the sexes, with everyone choosing sides. Her sisters. The townsfolk. Her friends. And yet, the only person whose opinion she cares about doesn't seem to care much at all. Logan Forest, the man who broke her heart when she was eighteen and the man she now shares the bench with every Friday night. She's got a lot to prove and though Billie Jo Barker scores on the ice, will this girl ever score with the man of her dreams?

Falling for You


Julie Ortolon - 2002
    Slow and Steady collides with Ms. Full-Speed-Ahead they're both in for the wildest ride of their lives.The forecast is smooth sailing for Oliver Chancellor, scion of Galveston's premier financier. Destined to take his place in the hallowed marble corridors of his family's bank, Chance is content with the future that's been mapped out for him, right down to his upcoming engagement to a prim debutante enthusiastically approved by his socialite mother.But when beautiful Rory St. Claire crosses his path, Chance recklessly plunges into uncharted territory with nothing but his heart to guide him-and a beautiful woman to tempt him.Propelled by a lifelong goal to buy the island home reportedly haunted by her colorful ancestors, Rory desperately needs Chance's help in securing a business loan, and she won't take no for an answer. In the midst of convincing the hesitant blue blood to take a chance on her dream, Rory unexpectedly lands in Chance's arms, stunned by his red-blooded passion-and her own awakened desire. Now, the mismatched pair can't keep their hands off one another, and something tells Rory she's headed for trouble-trouble in the name of love."I had a blast reading Falling for You... As long as Julie Ortolon is writing books like this, romantic comedy is in good hands." --All About Romance"A thoroughly delightful, fast-paced romance about what happens when opposites attract. And the setting is so vividly drawn, you feel part of the surroundings. A lovely story!" --Old Barn Gazette"Full of humor... Very entertaining and well worth your time!" --Huntress Book Reviews

A Perfect Fit


Heather Tullis - 2012
    Learning her father picked him out to be her future husband, she is not amused, but neither can she back off the path they’ve begun together. But can two people miles apart in so many ways really make things work?

Sweet Dreams


Nina Lane - 2016
    Sugar Rush Candy Company CEO Luke Stone is a devoted businessman who doesn't do relationships. He does short-term affairs with clearly defined rules. But when a sexy bohemian angel propositions him in a bar, Luke is tempted to want more. Polly Lockhart is horrified when she wakes the morning after her twenty-third birthday to realize she made a fool of herself with a sinfully delicious man. She tells herself she doesn't have time for romance anyway, as she's fighting to keep her mother's beloved bakery afloat and finish her culinary studies. That all changes when her class tours the famed Sugar Rush headquarters, and Polly collides with her dream man again. As she succumbs to their hot attraction, Polly soon realizes her bakery isn't the only thing that needs saving. Luke, driven and unyielding, will burn out unless someone convinces him to taste the sweetness of life. But can Polly remember this sugar rush is only temporary?

On A Night Like This


Barbara Freethy - 2012
    Everyone blames Aiden for what happened, but he doesn't remember, nor is he sure he wants to remember. The truth may clear Aiden of blame but destroy Kyle's reputation and hurt the people he left behind.Aiden seeks help from an unlikely partner…Sara had always been untouchable, sweet, innocent, his sister's best friend, and the girl next door. But one reckless night in their youth took their relationship to a new level. Sara has never forgiven or forgotten the way Aiden brought it crashing down, but she's no longer that girl with the crazy crush. She's a woman in search of her own truth. The sparks between Aiden and Sara have been smoldering for a very long time. Sara is afraid to take another chance on a man who broke her heart, and Aiden knows better than anyone how dangerous an intense fire can be. As teenagers they weren’t ready for each other. Are they now?

To Get Me To You


Kait Nolan - 2014
    But when she threatens to blow the whistle on some shady business practices at her Chicago marketing firm, she gets fired fast as all get out. Licking her wounds, she heads back below the Mason-Dixon for a little home-grown Southern comfort.Just a small town boy.With his iron-clad Mississippi roots, Councilman Cam Crawford is a man who values tradition, preservation, and the love of a good dog. When a big box warehouse store tries to capitalize on his hometown's economic downturn, it seriously burns his biscuit. He's not about to let anyone's ambition destroy what he holds dear.A David vs. Goliath story with a side of grits.This unlikely pair just might be the perfect allies--in war and out. But as the battle to stop GrandGoods heats up and sparks of attraction turn to something more, will Norah's bigger-picture perspective go with Cam's "keep it as it is" attitude? Are they meant to be like biscuits and gravy? Or are they just as wrong as unsweetened tea?

The Trouble with Goodbye


Sarra Cannon - 2013
    She’s always been the girl who does what she’s told. Except that time two years ago when she shocked everyone in the small town of Fairhope by breaking up with the richest guy in town and heading off to Boston to follow her dreams.It was the single most exciting thing she’s ever done for herself, and it felt like the start of something big…Until one terrifying night ripped it all away.With no place else to go, Leigh Anne heads home to reclaim what’s left of her old life. On the outside, she seems like the same reliable girl everyone knows and loves. But deep inside, she’s hiding a terrible secret.That’s when she meets Knox Warner, a troubled newcomer to Fairhope. His eyes have the same haunted look she sees every day in the mirror, and when she’s near him, the rest of the world fades away. But being with Knox would mean disappointing everyone all over again.If she wants to step back into that old life, she has no choice but to say goodbye to him forever.Only, the Trouble with Goodbye is that sometimes it’s about courage and sometimes it’s about fear. And sometimes you’re too broken to know the difference until it’s too late.

Layers


Sigal Ehrlich - 2013
    According to Hayley love is a subject of ridicule, a myth created by hopeless romantics.When Hayley makes a resolution to declare her loose lifestyle era R.I.P, it’s all good in theory…That is until she meets Daniel Stark, a well-respected, mid-thirties business man who is known for his short temper, lack of steady relationships as well as his strict preserve of his private life.Opinionated, sharp tongued Hayley accidently steps into his office leaving Daniel resolved to put Hayley in her place and have her in his bed.Both Hayley and Daniel can’t avoid the immediate instigation of the attraction between them.In a unanimously agreed upon verdict by Hayley and her two best friends, Ian the gay self-absorbed, aspiring model and Natasha the witty, borderline neurotic soul mate, Daniel Stark is to be Hayley’s pure physical attraction, emotions aside era closure.Will it indeed be a closure, or a beginning to something neither Hayley nor Daniel ever bargained for…

My First: Jason & Katie


Melanie Shawn - 2013
    With his easygoing charm, whiskey-colored brown eyes, and sinfully sexy half smile, women just seem to fall all over themselves when he’s around.Well... most women, anyway. Katie Lawson’s the one woman who isn't putty in his hands, and she's the only one he’s ever wanted in his arms.Katie Lawson left Harper's Crossing in the middle of the night ten years ago, immediately after her high school boyfriend Nick's funeral. She left behind all memories of Nick, and she left behind her life-long best friend, Jason Sloan.Now she's on the fast track to junior partner at one of San Francisco's top law firms. She's made a life for herself that's all about maintaining order and sticking to the rules. Rule #1 is keeping herself WAY too busy to think about all that she ran away from. If she can do that, after all, she can keep everything under control.But that rule is about to be broken. She’s headed back home to be the maid of honor in Nick’s little sister’s wedding. It's time to face the truth she's been avoiding all these years, the same one that sent her running ten years ago - that maybe she didn't lose her first love the summer after high school. Maybe her first love has been waiting for her all this time, at home in Harper's Crossing.

Something Great


M. Clarke - 2013
    He was everything Jeanella didn’t need in her life. Only Maxwell didn’t see it that way. His pursuit was relentless, making her even more determined to push him away.Fresh out of college, life was simple and plain for Jeanella Mefferd. Every part of her life was smooth sailing; her friends, her job, and even the guy she’d started dating. Then one night, while at dinner, she spotted someone who made her feel things she’d never felt before—dangerous, heart pounding and breathless heat. Thinking she would never see him again, she brushed it off, but when she started to run into him unexpectedly, all she could think of was how he made her feel with his sweet flirtations. Everything about Maxwell Knight screamed trouble, especially when she found out he was her new boss’s son. Now, heading to a New York fashion show, would she be able to focus on her career instead of Maxwell, who had been scheduled to attend with her? As much as she tried to forget their encounters, his good looks, smooth words and determination to win her over gravitated her toward him. The next thing she knew, her mind was utterly consumed by him. Would she be willing to ignore all the dangerous signs and jump into his arms? Or would she miss out on the chance of finding something great?

A Love So Dangerous


Jessie Evans - 2014
    Are you ready?I've got a big c*ck, a bigger bank account, and zero interest in Happily Ever After. I just want to feel alive, to look into a woman's eyes and see something that's going to keep my mind off all the shit I refuse to think about for an hour or two.And then I meet her, a good girl with a body made for sin and ugly problems only a bad man can fix.A bad man like me...Gabe Alexander is the devil. Or an angel.He's a criminal hiding behind a millionaire dollar pedigree, but he also saved my life and my family. He's the worst kind of bad news, but every time he touches me, and whispers filthy, beautiful things in my ear, all I want is more.More of his kiss, his touch, and the dangerous, seductive things he makes me feel.I don't want to go bad, but the man makes it feel so damned good...Warning Part the Second: A Love So Dangerous is the first in a three part series. It is a full-length novel that ends in a cliffhanger. It was formerly published as One Wild Night and This Wicked Rush by Jessie Evans.

Barely Breathing


Pamela Clare - 2016
    Now, here she is—over thirty, out of a job and with little choice but to move back in with her father. Lexi knows it’s just a matter of time before she runs into Austin Taylor, her first boyfriend and her first heartbreak. She’s determined to show him she’s over him—until he steps out of a pickup truck and back into her life, looking sexy as hell in his mountain ranger uniform.As far as Austin is concerned, Lexi can turn her snazzy little convertible around and drive back to Chicago. After all, she ripped his teenage heart apart and turned her back on the town he loves. But from the moment he sees her again, he can’t get her out of his mind. Even her smile messes with his head. When an evening of conversation turns into something else, Lexi and Austin agree to be friends again—with benefits. But as Lexi starts making plans to return to the big city, Austin realizes he’ll lose her a second time unless he can show her that what she’s searching for has been right here all along.Note to readers: This is straight contemporary romance, not romantic suspense.

Dating Games


T.K. Leigh - 2019
    No kissing. No fooling around. No falling in love. What can possibly go wrong? Note to self: When your boyfriend dumps you on your thirtieth birthday, it's probably not the smartest idea to drink so much that you wake up in the same bed as the mysterious hottie wearing the gorgeous suit who you noticed sitting across the bar.The only silver lining in my obvious lack of judgment is the promise of never seeing Mr. Suit again, not in a city the size of New York.Or so I thought, until a story I'm working on about the country's most sought-after and elusive escort lands me in the same café as Mr. Suit. So I do what any self-respecting woman of my age would do in my shoes... Try to ignore him. But he won't let me. Instead he makes a proposition that leaves me questioning whether I need to have my ears checked. Be his fake girlfriend for a summer of wealth and excess in the Hamptons. In return, he'll help me win back my boyfriend's heart.Juvenile? You bet.Effective? Could be.Bad idea? Most likely.But what do I have to lose?Apparently, a lot more than I originally bargained for. Let the games begin... Dating Games is a standalone modern retelling of Cinderella meeting her billionaire Prince Charming. If you like a sassy heroine, a sinful hero, and a whole lot of laughs, then you'll love this fake relationship romance.

That Thing You Do


Maria Geraci - 2015
    She does, however, believe in the power of a permanent paycheck. So when a tipster reports that the soon-to-be demolished senior center in her hometown is haunted, Allie hightails it to Whispering Bay to get the scoop that could secure her dream job at Florida! magazine. What she finds, though, is far scarier than any ghost. Cue her ex-boyfriend, sexy construction foreman Tom Donalan.When Tom catches Allie poking around his construction site, he quickly realizes his former high school flame is just as feisty as ever. And, heaven help him, her irresistible, mile-high legs still take his breath away. But Tom isn’t about to delay the building’s demolition because of a silly ghost story.With neither of the stubborn exes backing down from their opposing positions, sparks fly. And, underneath the surface, the fire of their old attraction burns as hot as ever. When strange things start happening with increasing frequency around town, even a tough skeptic like Tom is tested. The question is, can Allie and Tom stop fighting long enough to get to the bottom of Whispering Bay’s ghost problem—and the more important matter of mending their broken hearts?

Bluestone Homecoming


M.J. Fredrick - 2012
    Leo doesn’t know how to be a single parent since the death of his wife, and he certainly has no desire to return to Bluestone. But he needs a place for his son, a place where he’ll be with family, while Leo does his job. He’ll stay long enough to get Max settled, then go back to work.School counselor Trinity Madison watches Leo struggle with his son, trying to overcome the mental barricade she’s erected against the man who sent his son away when he’s perfectly capable of caring for the child. The situation brings about her own unsettled feelings about giving her child up for adoption when she was young. But as she observes Leo’s difficulties, his sacrifices, she softens toward the man.While he’s in town, he ends up working with some old friends and Trinity on a committee to revitalize Bluestone. The former resort town is struggling and looking for ways to bring tourists back. Leo finds himself charmed, then smitten with the feisty counselor, but will he still love her when he learns her secret?