Book picks similar to
Breathless by Maria Luis


romance
bookfunnel
novella
contemporary

Work in Progress


B.J. Harvey - 2019
    He’s always wanted what his parents have: a good marriage, lots of kids, and financial security. He thought he’d have the first two with his ex-girlfriend while the third would come once he got his house-flipping business off the ground. When his ex doesn’t subscribe to his five-year plan, he makes Cook Brothers Construction his sole focus.Then he moves next door to April Williams, a sassy single mom he can’t stop riling up. Throw in her matchmaking mother-in-law, who’s set her sights on Jamie being April’s knight in a leather tool belt, and a house threatening Jamie’s sanity, and it should be a recipe for disaster, but Jamie wants this three-month project to last forever. That’s if he can stop being the neighbor from hell and prove to April he’s not just flipping a house — he wants to flip her heart.

Dirty Filthy Rich Boys


Laurelin Paige - 2017
    I didn’t know he was filthy. Truth be told, I was only trying to get his best friend to notice me. I knew poor scholarship girls like me didn't stand a chance against guys like Weston King and Donovan Kincaid, but I was in love with his world, their world, of parties and sex and power. I knew what I wanted—I knew who I wanted—until one night, their world tried to bite me back and Donovan saved me. He saved me, and then Weston finally noticed me, and I finally learned what it was to be in their world. Because when dirty, filthy, rich boys play, they play for keeps. From NYT Bestselling author Laurelin Paige, discover a whole new world filled with sex, love, power, romance and dirty, filthy rich men.

Frenched


Melanie Harlow - 2014
    But my friends convinced me that bitter tastes better drowned in Bordeaux, so I came to Paris for a single-moon. Then I met him. He's shown me things I’ve never seen before, and I’m not talking about the Louvre. Is it just the seduction of Paris? Or could this be the real thing?

Love So Hot


Marquita Valentine - 2015
     LOVE SO HOT, Book One of The Lawson Brothers Bank Teller and all around good girl, Sydney McKnight, is tired of being the girl all the guys want to have as a friend. Who better to help unleash her inner vixen than her best friend and secret crush, Brody Lawson? Only, Sydney has no idea how to ask him, without their friendship going up in flames, until that is, the town of Jessamine's annual Firemen's Auction gives her the perfect excuse to set her plan into motion. Fire Captain Brody Lawson has been in love with his best friend, Sydney, for years, but he would never risk their friendship by confessing his feelings to her. So, when Sydney beats out the competition to buy his time at the annual Firemen's Auction, Brody can hardly believe his luck until she asks him to teach her how to seduce a fellow fireman. Now, it’s up to Brody to show Sydney how perfect she already is and convince her that the only man for her is him, because if Sydney is going to seduce any man, it’s going to be him. And once he has her in his bed, he’s not letting her go.

A Hole


Phoebe Alexander - 2021
    The start of a steamy romance--or just a funny stand-up bit?Ace Bennett’s comedy career is taking off--and his love life might be too when he meets a beautiful curvy blonde bank teller named Ella Craig. She’s skeptical about dating him, so Ace bets her he’ll make her laugh if she comes to watch his stand-up act. If he wins? She has to have a drink with him.But then Ella's friends warn her about some rumors they've heard about Ace--now all bets are off.With meddling friends and myriad misunderstandings, can these two find a happy ending? Or will Ella become the punchline of Ace’s next joke?A Hole is part of the Alpha Bet Guys series, which is about five alpha’ish guys who like to make bets and the curvy women who bring them to their knees. Each steamy 20,000-30,000-word romcom novella can be read as a standalone.Part of Big City Heat: A High-Rise Romance Anthology

Boyfriend for Hire


Kendall Ryan - 2019
    Yeah, I’m a male escort, but not just any escort, I’m the escort. The one with a mile-long waiting list and a pristine reputation that’s very well-deserved. I’m the guy who’ll make you feel beautiful, desired, and worshipped... all for a steep price. I’m hired to make you shine, and I always deliver. I’ll be whatever you want me to be for one night — except my true self. This is just a job, a role I play to earn a paycheck. But I’m not the guy who falls for a client. Not once in six years. And then I meet Elle. Her friend has hired me to escort her to a wedding, but Elle doesn’t know we’re just pretending. There’s a fire between us I never expected. A connection I haven’t felt in so long. One kiss, and I’m losing all control. But what will happen when she finds out who I really am?

Never Date Your Brother's Best Friend


Jules Barnard - 2014
    My friend needed a date, and my brother's best friend was single. Problem solved.Until I saw Jaeger for the first time in years, and sparks flew in the wrong direction.Jaeger has grown up and bulked up. But that shouldn't matter, because I have the perfect life. Really.Only my plans are beginning to unravel and now visions of Jaeger's hard abs, broad shoulders, and intense green eyes fill my head.I should hold back in case my friend is interested. Or in case of a million other reasons. But if Jaeger isn't willing to play by the rules, I don't think I can either.

Chez Stinky


Susan C. Daffron - 2013
    She hasn't laid eyes on her great aunt Abigail since she was eight, so she’s stumped when she inherits Abgail's house in the small hamlet of Alpine Grove.Kat's uncomplicated life gets decidedly less so when she discovers the inheritance comes with some hairy conditions: four dogs and five cats that her aunt wanted her to love as her own. Of course, the house smells like a barn--with a touch of antique skunk--and, naturally, has serious roof issues. And that's before the three-legged cat gets stuck in the wall and the shower goes kablooey.When Kat meets Joel, an unemployed techie type with no love lost for his sister, Kat looks past his obvious flaws, given his timely and desirable skill set: a talent for fixing things (and his own tools).Despite out-of-control dogs, cat fights, dust dinosaurs, massive spiders and an old grizzled hippie passed out in the yard, Kat discovers the tranquility of the forests of Alpine Grove starting to seep into her soul.And why she can't she stop thinking about Joel?

A Beautiful Struggle


Lilliana Anderson - 2012
    She has a very full life attending university to study a law degree, training for triathlons and now she is working part time as well. She couldn't possibly find time for a relationship, especially after her last one ended so catastrophically.Right now she is content focusing on work, study and training while hanging out with her best friend David Taylor, a womanizer with a heart of gold that would do anything for Katrina – except watch her get hurt again.That is, until the dashing Elliot Roberts, a junior solicitor from her work, shows an interest in her despite their office’s ‘No Dating’ policy. Katrina struggles with following her heart or following her mind and has trouble seeing where her heart truly lies in this gripping romantic drama.

Take Me if You Dare


Nina Crespo - 2014
    But just as she hits her cheesy-come-ons limit, a wickedly hot former soldier comes to her rescue.Security specialist Ethan Worth’s instincts tell him the gorgeous woman at the bar is trouble. After a sexy dance and even sexier kiss, he knows she is. But when their scintillating night leads to more, the possibility of another long distance relationship sends Jasmine running for the door.Until the unthinkable happens. Jasmine’s company assigns her to Bode-Wynn, the military security firm where Ethan works. Forced back together, the undeniable heat between them flares to life. But sex is all it can ever be, because taking it further goes against everything Jasmine wants…and everything Ethan fears.

Snowed In (Christmas With A Billionaire Novella Collection)


Lila Monroe - 2015
    Perfect for fans of Lauren Blakely, Sophie Kinsella, and Julia Kent!In SNOWED IN WITH THE BILLIONAIRE, an event planner finds that a sexy rockstar client plus an unexpected blizzard equals a very private party... for two!In CHRISTMAS WITH THE BILLIONAIRE, wannabe-actress Jill winds up playing girlfriend when she's stranded with arrogantly hot producer Oliver. But will their romance last when the snow starts melting?

A Date with Fate


Tracy Ellen - 2012
    She’s twenty eight, owns a bookstore, and is one determined, control freak of a woman. She’s decided to take the entire weekend off to have some fun. Except Anabel’s unapologetically single and perfectly uncomplicated life is suddenly upside down with problems! The cheating love of her life is back in town. Her family is meddling in her personal business. An adulterous wife of a good friend has gone missing. She’s been targeted for death by a homicidal serial rapist. An evil aunt has gone fanatic. Her sociopathic cousin has stolen her gun. The macho police chief is driving her nuts. And one not-too-tall, deliciously dark, and definitely not handsome stranger is enticing her to break all her ironclad rules on dating in the most intriguing of ways. Strange things are happening in Northfield, Minnesota. But Anabel’s never met the challenge she won’t stare in the eye while daintily spitting sideways in the dirt. Will Anabel begin to believe that life is never simple, some rules are meant to be broken, and a certain mesmerizing complication may be worth the trouble--even if it kills her? (Adult Content)

Saving Me


Alannah Lynne - 2010
    Deceit. Backstabbing friends… Welcome to the jungle known as advertising… Kat Owens can tell you all about the snake-infested world of big-time advertising. Thanks to an ex-best friend co-worker and a gone-wrong love affair with a client, she’s forced to leave her large Charlotte agency for a small-town coastal one. It’s do-or-die time to prove she can be a success to the aging grandfather she adores. Which means she can’t afford to be distracted by a client who’s a walking, talking definition of sex… Even if he is the man who stole her heart thirteen months before in a one-night stand she can’t forget. Erik Monteague is a handsome, charismatic, highly respected businessman who has it all. Or so it seems. Only his closest friends know the truth about the guilt and emotional scars he carries, or why, following his fiancée’s death, he invoked the twenty-four/two rule. He never spends more than twenty-four hours with a woman, he rarely dates them twice, and he never thinks about them afterward. But Kat Owens is different. She cheated him out of twelve hours, and now he can’t forget her. At least that’s what he tells himself, because admitting the truth is too dangerous. When she suddenly appears in his hometown, he sets out to finish what they started thirteen months earlier. But while his perfectly executed seduction gets Kat back in his bed, the emotional fallout is more than he counted on. Will he face his tragic past once and for all… or spend the rest of his life running?

Eat Play Lust


Tawna Fenske - 2013
    Not even an irresistible man can replace the mouthwatering wickedness of her favorite foods. Until, that is, Paul Hammond signs up for her class. He’s a gourmet chef looking to score some fitness tips, and a date with Cami. Suddenly Cami’s lust for junk food isn’t the only thing making her tingle. When this sinful chef and hot yoga teacher eat, play, and lust together, they just might bring their obsession to a new level.

Bound to Submit


Laura Kaye - 2016
    Twelve Masters. Infinite fantasies. Welcome to Blasphemy...He thinks he caused her pain, but she knows he’s the only one who can heal her…Kenna Sloane lost her career and her arm in the Marines, and now she feels like she’s losing herself. Submission is the only thing that ever freed her from pain and made her feel secure, and Kenna needs to serve again. Bad. The only problem is the Dom she wants once refused her submission and broke her heart, but, scarred on the inside and out, she’s not looking for love this time. She’s not even sure she’s capable.Griffin Hudson is haunted by the mistakes that cost him the only woman he ever loved. Now she’s back at his BDSM club, Blasphemy, and more beautiful than ever, and she’s asking for his help with the pain he knows he caused. Even though he’s scared to hurt her again, he can’t refuse her, because he’d give anything to earn a second chance. And this time, he’ll hold on forever.