Book picks similar to
The Cowboy's One and Only by April Murdock


western
contemporary
freebie
contemporary-romance

The Summer Tour


Mandy Melanson - 2020
    It’s impossible to tell one face from the next when I’m up there. The mixture of fog, lights, flashing lasers, my astigmatism, and whatever else they put into the air to keep the crowd happy… It’s all just a mix for a big bunch of blurry fuzzy whatnots. She was not a whatnot. She stood out in her ripped black jeans and that adorable neon yellow thing holding her hair up out of her face. I don’t even know what it’s called, but it was perfect. She was perfect. The bright pink tank top that hugged her in all the right places. Those bright yellow heels that made her back curve in just the right way. Those were definitely factors that caught my eye, but it's not why I can't get her out of my head. Her dark brown eyes and that smile—her smile. That’s it. That smile had me hooked from the second I ran on stage. I even stopped short of my mark and totally threw off the spotlight tracker. Why?Because I was too busy watching her and how she just fell into the rhythm of the music. It’s a good thing Chuck didn’t plan any pyro for tonight, or I might have been screwed.I’m not even entirely sure I sang the right lyrics to the first couple of songs. It was more a series of barely audible grunts, caveman style. Nash probably turned his mic up to help with the background vocals. They’ve all gotten really good at covering my ass over the years. I’m grateful the crowd didn’t seem to notice. All I could think about was trying to figure out a way to find out who she is. I still have nothing. So I’m sitting here like a lost, lonely little puppy just hoping to catch another glimpse. What if she leaves and doesn’t come through the line? I can see both Exit doors from here. I’m watching those two doors like a pitbull watches the gate at a junkyard. Maybe I am a lost, lonely little puppy. No.I am a pitbull puppy. And just like that pitbull, I will jump this table and bulldoze whoever gets in the way if I have to.

Her Billionaire Inventor


Dobi Daniels - 2018
    She’d been emotionally scarred from her last relationship and has just managed to pay off the mountain of debts she was saddled with.Now all she wants for Christmas is to rediscover Christmas joy—no love in the equation, and what better place than her hometown Dexington where she recalled spending the happiest times of her life. She is determined to stick with her plan and not even a chance encounter with Phillip—billionaire hospital heir and inventor, and the town’s most eligible bachelor—can change her mind.Until she discovers he is the boy she kissed in high school.Phillip Dexington is finally about to launch a new medical device after having his last invention stolen by his former girlfriend and sold to his archenemy. He’s determined that nothing must go wrong this time around—which means avoiding a relationship at all costs—and is content with spending Christmas with the children at the orphanage.But when Phillip runs into Sarah Nash, the girl who stole his heart in high school, his world flips upside down. She’s only in town for Christmas, and the time before the launch party is Phillip’s only chance at determining if she is the one.Will they open their hearts to the fullness of Christmas and give love a second chance, or will their trust issues rob them of a happily ever after?This is a sweet/clean emotional scars Christmas medical billionaire romance with no cliffhangers and a guaranteed HEA.

Mr. Mystery


Melissa Williams - 2021
    Then, in a cruel twist of fate, she was gone. Even with all the evidence telling me otherwise, I know she’s out there. My heart can’t let her go. And I won’t rest until I find her. IsabellaLosing your memory is scary. Especially when every night you dream of being held in the loving, strong arms of a mystery man only to wake up alone. Is he a figment of my imagination or a tempting spark of memory? Even after all this time I don’t remember who I am. Or was. And I don’t have time to waste on dreaming and what-ifs—it’s not just me I have to look out for.Then he’s there—flesh and bone, standing in front of me. A dream come to life in the middle of a burlesque club. I don’t believe billionaire Cyrus Meinhold was ever mine—a man like him is too good to be true. Until he says the three words that echo in my dreams: Dance for me.More Than Money series will have you swooning over these sexy billionaires with big wallets and even bigger hearts this July! Grab a fan and a cool drink, it's about to get hot in here!

Mr. Legacy


C.G. Burnette - 2021
    Legacy, as he's known on Wall Street—knows hard work comes at a price. In business, he thrives on organization, control, and results, building a legacy and creating a future for his daughter.But his girl wants more for him than just the office. She knows he’s been alone for far too long and thinks now is the time for him to let go of the reins and maybe find love again.Indulging his daughter, Tyson leaves work behind for just one night and joins his friends for a boy’s night out. But when the haze of aged cigar smoke and fine whiskey parts, there’s a woman… One that, with just a look, Tyson knows will make him lose control in ways he never has before.And has him thinking of building a very different kind of legacy.

Bad For You


Weston Parker - 2021
    No peasant for her perfect son.She made sure to boot me out of his life when we were in high school and falling quickly in love.So I did what any respectable girl would do—I broke his heart and let him leave.Now the handsome billionaire is all grown up and back in our hometown where I never left.Seems the military did some good with him. He’s a hotshot pilot with a playboy attitude to boot.Being the heir to the most revered aviation company in the world doesn’t hurt either.However, he’s very different when it comes to me.That same flame that burned bright when we were kids is there, scorching me all over again.And he’s one of the good ones. He’s helping raise money for the local school I teach at.Unfortunately, my current boyfriend is the principal at the school—my boss.I can’t seem to shake my first love no matter how hard I try.But I need to. His mother was right—I’m bad for him.Every good girl deserves a bad boy. ~ Weston

8 Second Decision


H.J. Bellus - 2015
    He’s blessed with his granddaddy’s love of the ranch yet haunted with chasing that gold buckle eight seconds at a time. Tensions are high on the ranch when circumstances threaten to take it under. His dad and brothers pressure him to stay home and become an active cowboy on the ranch. However, Merek is addicted to the road and rodeo. He’s home anytime he can be and provides plenty of money to keep the family ranch afloat, but sometimes it takes more than what’s in the bank to protect tradition. Now home on a three-month break, Merek finds himself all tied up with the new girl in town. She’s quiet and reserved but there’s something about Challis’ green eyes and feisty attitude that makes her irresistible. When he runs into her at a rodeo and catches a glimpse of her on horseback all hopes of leaving her alone flies out the window. There are several rumors floating around town about her, however that doesn’t stop Merek from going after what he wants. He knows she’s off limits and only full of trouble, but Merek thrives on trouble and adrenaline. Then the road calls again and it’s time to leave. Eight SecondsGold BucklesAnd the high…What will he choose?

Sunset at Catoctin Creek


Natalie Keller Reinert - 2020
    It’s home to farmers and shopkeepers, dreamers and schemers. And it’s the perfect place to fall in love.Rosemary Brunner’s life might look small to some, but she has things arranged just the way she likes them. She’s turned her family farm into a sanctuary for troubled horses. She has dinner once a week with her elderly neighbors. And if she needs a little company and gossip, her best friend Nikki can swing by with dinner from the Blue Plate Diner and plenty to say. For a country girl with a heaping helping of social anxiety, she has things figured out just fine.Then Stephen walks into her life, and her careful little world falls apart.Stephen Beckett can’t understand why his father retired to sleepy Catoctin Creek. The days are too quiet, the nights are too dark, and everything moves too slowly for his high-octane lifestyle. The sooner Stephen can get his life back in order and head back home to Manhattan, the better.Then Stephen meets Rosemary, and a bolt of lightning seems to set the dark country night aglow.With opposite intentions, their chances at a happy ending don’t look great. But Stephen and Rosemary might not be able to help falling for each other…if Stephen’s ambitions and Rosemary’s traditions aren’t too much for this budding romance to bear.

Her Billionaire Co-Nanny (Candyman Sweet Family Billionaires, #1)


Shanna Delaney - 2021
    Her new job as a summer nanny to the ultra-wealthy could make all the difference.Richard manages international relations for his family’s massive candy company, and coming back to the family’s New Hampshire lake house for the summer is like coming home. But this time the house contains more than just family—his sister has brought along a nanny. A cute nanny.When circumstances pull Richard’s sister back to the West Coast, Richard and Emma agree to share responsibility for the kids.As attraction flares, Emma and Richard have to face their differences and decide: Is this just a summer sizzle, or can they each change perspective enough to make whatever’s between them last?

Tackling Summer


Kayla Dawn Thomas - 2017
    Her plans are derailed when she comes across a bottomed out sports car on a remote country road. When she discovers her father has brought on her university’s hotshot football star as summer help, she is furious. There’s no place for a lazy, city boy on the Double O.Maddox Warren has been banished to the middle of nowhere, sentenced to manual labor on a cattle ranch. As star of the Doumit University football team, this is unacceptable, but his coach is determined to boost his work ethic. Maddox can shut up and do his time, or he can kiss his football career goodbye. Determined to muscle his way through, his frustrations grow when he meets the bossy, cranky rancher’s daughter.The two battle their way through tractor driving and horseback riding lessons; both determined to conquer the other and to reclaim summer. In the process Maddox and Chanel discover there’s more to the other than either of them expected.

Welcome Home, Abby (Those Hawthorne Men, #1)


Jan Gallagher Dunn - 2019
    He has a bad track record with romance. Abby fell in love with Jackson when she was 19, not realizing he was from the wealthy Hawthorne family. His father sent her away to protect the family money. She returns five years later, escaping a nasty fiancé – determined not to fall in love anytime soon. She needs protection and Jackson needs a mother for his daughter. Abby agrees to a one-year deal, touched by the idea of a motherless child. Jackson admits Abby is the only woman he’s ever loved, but he married the wrong woman after she left. His deceased wife’s family is trying to stake a claim to his daughter. He proposed a platonic marriage. He can handle the fact she’s more beautiful. Too late he discovers she smells just as sweet as he remembered. Abby is wonderful with his daughter. He’s a man who can run any business, why can’t he keep her arm’s length? What happens when both of them want a more permanent relationship, but both are afraid to admit it? Trigger Warning: Heroine discusses past miscarriage

Shelter by the Sea


Elena Aitken - 2016
    She’s committed to a new and better future. But a guarded heart and an inability to trust may be too much to overcome, even in paradise.Sometimes leaving your life behind to start over where nobody knows you is the only solution. That’s exactly what Archer Wolfe is trying to do, and the pretty little blond in the tight tank top just might be the person to help. Working together to run a charter business on her sailboat seems like the perfect solution for both of them, at least it would be if he could convince her to give in to the growing heat between them that’s only getting harder to ignore and quickly becoming more than just physical. Much more. Cass Cutler’s life is full—of nothing. Unless you count a dead end job and a pathetic excuse for a relationship with her boss—and she doesn’t. So when she gets word that her estranged father is presumed dead, and she’s the new owner of his yacht located in Panama, she jumps at the chance for change. And what better place for a new start than the picture perfect beaches and crystal clear water of the San Blas Islands, especially when they come complete with an unreasonably gorgeous man who’s become the star of her very naughty dreams. Now all Cass needs to do is a figure out a way to keep their increasing attraction from distracting her as she attempts to save her inheritance—and her heart—before she loses everything?

Worth the Wait


Sophia Sinclair - 2019
     Molly Miller is an overworked and underpaid librarian struggling to raise her three kids herself. The only romances she has time for are the novels she returns to the shelves. Then one day, David Conrad walks into the Fairview Public Library. He looks just like the sexy pirate on the cover of a romance novel her best friend, Lori, has been reading, so they secretly refer to him as The Pirate Man. But the truth is even stranger. His appearance means old secrets are about to be revealed, and not everyone in town will be happy about that. Who is David Conrad? David immediately rubs Molly the wrong way. But she somehow keeps getting entangled with him in ways she can't seem to avoid. He claims to be descended from a prominent Fairview family that was brutally murdered in the 1950s. The Conrad murders were never solved, and now that a Conrad is back in town and asking questions, the people of Fairview are in for some surprises. So is Molly. Who'd have thought an irritating Pirate Man could capture her heart? Review of Worth the Wait: I cannot say enough about this book! I love the whole librarian single mom angle and meeting up with “The Pirate”??!! So much YES! Sophia Sinclair creates this small town feel with real characters that have so much depth that you can’t help but fall in love with. Molly not only tackles being a single parent, but also issues with her beloved library and her crazy awful landlord! It’s real and I absolutely loved that it was such a big part of the story. Then, she meets this mysterious stranger who is new in this small town (we all know how that goes) and he shakes things up in her already chaotic life. They have this love/hate relationship that they have to struggle through.

Saving Ariel


Ellie Masters - 2021
    His focus is on raising his daughter as a single dad, and keeping his offshore oil rig crew safe. As his crew evacuates in advance of Hurricane Julian, a category five monster barreling down on the gulf, disaster strikes. Two of his crewmen are critically injured. He needs to get them to safety before the hurricane hits. When the aeromedical rescue helicopter pilot turns out to be a woman, he’s surprised. When she falls into his arms, his entire body takes notice. The tough, gorgeous, pilot is everything Aiden thought he’d never have—or want—again. Can Ariel be the one? His second chance at love?Too bad the storm seems to have other plans for them…Ariel Black doesn’t believe in love.With a category five hurricane barreling down on the Gulf, helicopter pilot, Ariel Black, is on a mission to evacuate wounded men from an oil rig. When the massive storm arrives ahead of schedule, it grounds Ariel’s helicopter, trapping them on the oil rig. She and her men, along with Aiden and his wounded, must ride out the storm. It’s the worst possible time to fall in love, but she does. Ariel falls hard…right into the installation manager’s arms. Aiden Cole makes her heart race, her pulse pound, and the butterflies in her stomach soar. Could he be the one?Will the storm of the century destroy Aiden and Ariel’s chance at happily ever after? Or does fate have something else in store?Saving Ariel, a steamy, second chance, contemporary romantic suspense, about love at first sight. It features a protective hero and the smart, feisty heroine who steals his heart.Get your copy today and let the binge-reading begin.(Saving Ariel was previously published as 'Aiden.')

Ladies Love Cowboys: The Daughters of Clem Jamieson


D'Ann Lindun - 2015
     From an aspiring country music singer to a world champion in the horse show ring, the women have one thing in common—a deadbeat dad who has made them leery of men. Can they break through their distrust and find lasting love?

Finding Hope's Ridge


Silver McKenzie - 2020
    However, he’s stunned to discover he still has feelings he can’t ignore for his sister’s best friend, the one woman in Hope’s Ridge who’s hated him since high school.When her business plans crumble overnight, Asha Jones is wrong to assume life can’t get any worse. She’s made an enemy of an influential local property developer, and the man who crushed her heart ten years earlier has returned to town. Sure, she can do her best to ignore Zane’s existence, but what will she do when her feelings resurface for him? She can’t go there again…can she?Zane needs to redeem himself and fight for a second chance. But is working with the man who wants to destroy Asha’s business a guaranteed way to reignite her hate - or could it be an opportunity to change her opinion of him?Finding Hope’s Ridge is the first story in the Hope’s Ridge small town series.