Book picks similar to
Miss Congeniality by Marie Garner
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new-adult
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Love Always: A Game of Hearts Novel
Candace Knoebel - 2015
Phillip Warrington is smart, sexy, and goal-oriented. He has always had his life planned out. But none of those plans involved falling for a wildly adventurous employee at the resort. She liberates him in ways he never thought possible—with methods that his parents would never approve. But he can control his yearnings, right?Maggie Fairchild knows the season is almost over. With her plan to take to the seas only months away, she wasn't expecting Phillip, one of those off-limit kinds of boys, to stumble onto her path and steal her heart. Between steamy kisses and late-night moments near the ocean, Maggie finds herself caught in a riptide of passion, one she never anticipated. But who’s ever prepared for meeting the greatest love of your life?With summer coming to an end, Maggie and Phillip take their relationship to the next level before they have to say goodbye. Can their budding romance be enough to survive the pulling tides of change, or will they drift apart before they even have a chance to explore what could have been?
Wait With Me
Amy Daws - 2018
When romance novelist Kate Smith suddenly gets writer's block as she's beginning the final installment of her international bestselling erotic Bed 'n Breakfast series, she'll do pretty much anything to get her groove back. Like sneak into a Tire Depot waiting room because her words flow there just like complimentary coffee-smooth, sweet, and scorchingly hot. She manages to fly under the radar until the rugged and charming mechanic, Miles Hudson, notices the quirky redhead slinking in and out of the employees only entrance. But she's way too intriguing to blow the whistle on. Doing a test-drive of her new book idea sounds like a much better option.
Lost in Us
Layla Hagen - 2014
But when her boyfriend of six years abruptly leaves her, she’s catapulted back into pain, nursing a broken heart. When indulging in mountains of chocolate doesn’t work, Serena decides the best way to deal with her shattered heart is to indulge in something else. A rebound... The night she swaps her usual Sprite for tequila, she meets James. The encounter is breathtaking.Electrifying.And best not repeated. James is a successful entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. A man who has amassed a fortune by taking risks. A man who has shunned commitment completely, and still does. He’s the exact opposite of Serena. But sometimes opposites attract. Sometimes they give in to burning passion. Sometimes opposites are perfect for each other. James is everything her damaged soul could want. His kisses are intoxicating, his touch out of this world. He makes her forget. He grants her peace from her pain. But as they grow closer, Serena discovers she isn’t the only one with a past. James carries the scars of a past much darker than hers. One that has left him damaged, hurt, and wary of love. A past that gives him the power to shatter her. Now James and Serena must find a way to mend one another. Or risk losing each other forever.
Tough Love: A Forced Proximity Romance
Melanie A. Smith - 2021
Smith comes a standalone steamy contemporary romance about life choices, love, and finding yourself in between.
Sometimes you need a bit of tough love to get where you’re supposed to be …
Mia Anderson has been living a life that was chosen for her. But her impending thirtieth birthday is the wake-up call she needed to stop wasting time on all the wrong pursuits. Just as she’s figuring out what she wants to do about it, her beloved grandmother falls ill and Mia drops everything to be with her. What she didn’t expect to find in her grandmother’s tiny mountain town is the courage to quit working for her father, supplied by a little tough love from her Gran. Now faced with an uncertain future, the last thing on her mind is finding love. Nate Edwards is living a solitary life deep in the Cascade Mountains of Washington. He’s content, or at least he thinks he is — until the granddaughter of a good friend shows up and he starts having feelings he thought he’d never have again. But Mia’s future isn’t in Alpine Ridge, so acting on it would lead to nothing but heartbreak. Still, their connection is undeniable and circumstances continue to push them together, despite their resistance. Will Mia stick to her decision to carve her own path? And if she does, will it be with Nate? Or is he doomed to an isolated life?
Owned by the Hitman
Alexis Abbott - 2016
I will not hurt you, unless you want me to.”I'm in deep to the Mafia. My father was the one who made the deal, and when I inherited his club, I also inherited his troubles.Ivan wants to save me, or so he says. More like he wants me to be his slave for a year. After the one-night stand I had with him, though, would that be so bad? With his impossibly hard body, and the way he always makes me scream...But he's still a monster. He's a criminal, and something so much worse.And yet I can't stop the tingling in my body every time I think of how he touched me, and those dark but delicious words rolling off his tongue, tinged with his Russian accent.He knows what I'll say, even before I do. "I'll take your offer."
When We Kiss
Tia Louise - 2018
What makes you say that?That uniform. Those handcuffs.Maybe I should put you in handcuffs.Maybe I’d like to see you try…”Tabby Green:Preacher’s niece. Website designer.Bad Girl.Chad Tucker:Retired military.Deputy sheriff.Hero.He’s a hot cop with a square jaw, a sexy grin, and a tight end.I’m a bad girl, a “Jezebel”—just ask all the old biddies in town.We’re oil and vinegar. We don’t mix.
But when we kiss…
All bets are off.She’s got flashing green eyes, red-velvet lips, and luscious curves in all the right places.She’s a bad girl all right, and after what I’ve lost, I’m not looking for trouble.
But when we kiss…
Oil and vinegar DO mix,And when they do...
it’s electric.
When We Kiss is a full-length, STAND-ALONE, opposites-attract romance about heroes, bad girls, and what happens when you stop fighting and surrender to love.
Perfect Love Story
Natasha Madison - 2018
That the vows you made to each other were simply empty promises.You pick up and move to the country to start fresh. When life hands you limes, you make sure you have tequila because your life is about to get stirred up.JensenMarried to my high school sweetheart, the best thing she gave me was my baby girl. But we weren't enough for her. I wasn't enough for her. The last thing I expected on my birthday was a Dear John letter, but that’s what I got when she upped and left. Now, it's just me and my girl against the world till the new girl moves in next door. Is there such a thing as a perfect love story?
Blitzed: A Football Romance (The Alpha Ballers Book 3)
Lucy Snow - 2016
That goes doubly so when you’re a pro football player and her father owns the team. But what do you do if she can’t stay away? Hudson Asher Mackenzie Mayfield is smart, interesting and the hottest girl I've ever seen. She's also the daughter of my team’s owner and a front office executive. And she's entirely off limits. For both reasons. The trouble is, she won’t leave me alone. And I can’t stay away from her either, not after I’ve saved her from something horrible. But how can we get together when we work together? The rule says I'm not supposed to date anyone at work. I'm definitely not supposed to undress Mackenzie with my eyes and with my hands every time she looks at me. All I want is to help my team win a championship. But in the meantime, I’m in danger of losing my heart to Mackenzie Mayfield. Mackenzie Mayfield Hudson Asher’s been on my father’s team for a decade. He’s a hulking beast of a man who destroys his opponents on the field. All I can think of when I see him are the naughty things I want him to do to me. After saving me from something terrible, I try and return the favor, but something is holding us both back from each other. I just hope I can find out what it is in time. Blitzed is book 3 of the Alpha Ballers series, but can be read standalone. It is 62,000 words long and contains an HEA with no cliffhanger. *This is not a football heavy story, but unlike other football romances, there is an attempt to get the facts correct, so if you're not into sports, don't worry! It's medium on the sports and heavy on the steam!*
Showmance
L.H. Cosway - 2016
Having won an Oscar at the tender age of thirteen, he had the life many could only dream about. But his success came at a price, and after a short but fruitful film career, he chose to live a life of obscurity on a remote Scottish island. Almost a decade later he’s finally ready to make his return, starting with a lead role in a musical on London’s West End. As a choreographer’s assistant, Rose Taylor has always faded into the background. She watches shows come to life from the side lines, but has never craved the attention of stardom. When rumours begin circulating of Damon’s involvement in her latest gig, she doesn’t predict how she will be thrust into the limelight, nor how the mysterious and strangely introverted man will need her to teach him how to be a star again. Rose knows that show crushes don’t last. Actors fall for each other during the intensity of a production, often losing themselves in their roles. These kinds of affairs burn bright and then they fade. The question is, should Rose let herself shine with Damon, or guard her heart from being broken after the final curtain call?
Train Wreck
T. Gephart - 2017
Not even a fine arts degree from Yale or her daddy’s bank account could save her from the scathing reviews. And failure was a word Eve would never be comfortable with. Not even close.Plotting the demise of every critic who’d written her off was her first instinct. But that would come later. Instead, she would show them that she wasn’t a bored socialite with more money than talent.She would prove everyone wrong, and she wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. But when her journey for redemption crashed headfirst into Josh Logan, the sexy, talented tattooist from Queens, getting her hands dirty took on a whole new meaning.Josh was everything Eve wasn’t, translating on skin what she couldn’t onto her canvas. All she had to do was convince him to share his jaw-dropping brilliance, and help her—seeing him naked—a bonus. Then she could go back to her regular life, vindicated.It should have been easy. Pity her plans had a habit of derailing.
Intensity
C.C. Koen - 2014
Unable to get ahead of debt and loneliness since her grandmother’s death she finds a new job, placing the sheltered virgin in an underground escort business. She tells herself it’s just a temporary life choice, but destiny has a different plan. She meets a mysterious and gorgeous man, who happens to be her new boss. Will Serena fit in or will she be left all alone again?Lincoln (aka: Linc) Jefferson has an unusual life. He established The Lounge, an exclusive escort club for very personal reasons. A place where the women say who, when, and what type of sex they’re willing to have. The escorts possess all the power and the money. It’s a business Linc guards at all costs. Trying to maintain the secrecy is a constant challenge and one that’s tested when he enters into a relationship with Serena. She tempts him unlike any woman, even though he’s surrounded by beauty on a daily basis. The more time they spend together the harder it is for him to keep his secrets. Will Serena stand by his side or will she abandon him?Sparks and passion fly, taking these two on a journey neither could have expected.BOOK 1= INTENSITYBOOK 2= SERENITY, release fall 2015.
Drive Me Wild
Melanie Harlow - 2020
I’m a mechanic, not a hotel manager. I've got enough on my plate trying to keep my shop from going under, my overbearing mother off my back, and my baseball team in contention for the league championship. I don’t have time for a former debutante with zero street smarts and a cash flow problem, even if she is crazy beautiful. Problem is, she’s stranded in my small town, and I’m hiding a protective streak underneath my grumpy exterior that runs deep. So I offer her a place to stay and keep my hands to myself. For exactly one night. If only she weren't so gorgeous. So funny. So eager to please. She’s a disaster behind the wheel, but she drives me wild without even trying--at work, at home, in the back of my truck . . . I can’t get enough of the way she makes me feel. But I know better than to think it can last. She wants a fairy tale, and I’m no prince. So when it comes time for her to leave, there’s nothing I can do but let her go. No matter how much it hurts to say goodbye.
Dirty Work
Chelle Bliss - 2016
ReaganI hate him. Jude Titan is everything that’s wrong with the male sex: cocky, domineering and loaded with swagger. Oh, and did I mention he’s a Republican? Yeah, the guy’s so conservative he leans to the right when walking. And lucky me, I’m running against him for Senate. But I’ve got plenty of fight in me. A golden boy war hero opponent with a smile that leaves melted panties in its wake? Bring. It. On.JudeDamn, she’s sexy. Reagan Preston intrigues me from the moment I lay eyes on her. And speaking of laying…I want between those thighs. But I want to make her burn for me first. Every debate and stolen moment is foreplay for us. She claims she hates me, but her body tells a different story. I plan to win this election, but I also want to win the sharp, fiery Democrat who captures my attention like no woman ever has. Politics is filthy, just like all the things I want to do to Reagan Preston.
Landon
S.M. Shade - 2016
I’m not interested in his blue-green ocean colored eyes, his lean muscular body, or that crooked smile that can be so infuriating. I have more important things to worry about, like how to keep myself in college and my sixteen year old brother fed and sheltered. We all know life is hard, some of us just learn that lesson younger than others, but that doesn’t mean I’ll give up. I intend to succeed and make sure my brother has the opportunities he deserves, and no privileged jerk is going to distract me. Landon I don’t date. Don’t get me wrong, I’m far from celibate, but my condition makes carrying on any kind of normal relationship impossible. My life revolves around In Safe Hands or ISH, the underground hacker group I work with to track down and take care of predators and sex offenders who beat the system. I’m satisfied with my life until the day I meet the smart mouthed, compassionate, determined woman who opens my eyes to possibilities I never thought existed. This is book one in a series of standalone novels.
UnWritten
Chelsea M. Cameron - 2014
Romance novelist by night.British single father.Someone else is writing this love story...Blair Walton isn't your average curvaceous tattooed children's librarian. She's also one half of bestselling romance author, Scarlet Rose. Along with her BFF Raine, she spends her nights writing books so steamy, she's afraid they would shock her Southern conservative grandmother to death . . . if she knew about them. That's why she and Raine write in secret.On deadline for their latest book and out of ideas, Raine suggests (demands) that Blair find a guy and "do some research". Declan Bennet has all the qualifications: He's British, looks fabulous in a suit, has glorious blue eyes and gets bonus points for being an amazing single dad to his adorable son, Drake. But what starts out as a research project quickly turns into something much more. And Blair's not the only one with secrets.