Book picks similar to
The Dating Experiment by Elodia Strain


romance
contemporary
clean-romance
chick-lit

The Neverland Inn


K.C. Grant - 2018
    So why is he feeling increasingly dissatisfied with his life? When the assignment to handle his late grandmother’s estate takes him to the California coast, Daniel welcomes the escape. Staying at the nearby bed-and-breakfast isn’t really his style, but he soon realizes the inn may hold the key to the answers he’s been seeking. Spindrift Cove has few opportunities for a young unmarried woman like Sarah Michaels. Even so, she enjoys her solitude as owner and chef at the Neverland Inn. She thrives on catering to the needs of her guests and treating them to her fantastic cooking. But when Daniel walks through her door, he immediately tests her patience. Though he is handsome and well-bred, she finds him insufferable. Soon, however, the tranquility of the inn works its magic, and Daniel and Sarah forge a sweet and unexpected connection—until the life he left behind in the city demands his return and it seems that a happily ever after may not be on the menu after all.

King of the Friend Zone


Sheralyn Pratt - 2016
    The problem stems from the fact that her best friend is named Hunter and, well. . .he’s kind of (totally) hot. It’s hate at first sight when her fiancé, Jon, and Hunter meet. Jon’s convinced that Hunter is in love with Esme, and that Hunter must be out of the picture if their upcoming marriage is to succeed. Esme thinks Jon is paranoid. The truth is, Jon’s not that far off. Hunter is in love with his best friend and always has been. What Jon has wrong, however, is that Hunter never had any plans of ruining Esme’s happily ever after. Hunter wants what’s best for Esme, even if that’s not him. When Jon pushes hard to end Esme and Hunter’s friendship, opposition comes from the most unlikely of places. It’s an eccentric lady with a cookie cart who suggests a different solution to Esme’s problem: Hunter and Esme should give each other a chance. They’ve both thought of the possibility over the years—of course they have. But with a ring already on Esme’s finger and a heap of hurt feelings and broken trust in the mix, there hasn’t been a worse time to explore the depths of their feelings for each other. Both Esme and Hunter think it’s time to move on and leave childhood crushes in the past. The question is: Can one woman and the taste of one cookie change their minds? Note to Reader: This book is a "clean" read with mainstream values and minor language.

Dating Disasters of Emma Nash


Chloe Seager - 2017
    If only real life were so easy…Emma Nash may be down, but after months of wallowing, stalking her ex online and avoiding showering—because, really, who’s going to care?—Emma’s ready to own her newly single status, get out with her friends and chronicle her dating adventures on her private blog.But life online doesn’t always run smoothly. Stumbling upon her mother’s Tinder dating profile, getting catfished and accidentally telling the entire world why her ex-boyfriend Leon’s not worth any girl’s…um…time… Okay, those were disasters.But surely nothing else can go wrong?Filled with fun, flirty encounters and heartwarming friendships, Dating Disasters of Emma Nash will shock and delight scores of readers looking for something fresh.

First & Last Christmas Date


Jennifer Griffith - 2018
    Their first date ended that. Ten years later, can their second date make them more than friends? Juliet’s life is in a holding pattern of dating wrong guy after wrong guy. When childhood friend Taggart messages to ask for second date—after a ten-year wait—she gets a holiday shakeup. Their first Christmas date a decade ago was an unmitigated disaster, ending with Pepto-Bismol and the police. They both probably needed the full ten years to recover. Now that he’s back in touch, Juliet must decide whether she will say yes. If this is just a one-time thing, she risks carrying a torch for him for another decade. This could be their last Christmas date. First & Last Christmas Date: A Legally in Love Christmas Novella is book 8 in the Legally in Love series. All are clean romantic comedies with swoony kisses and legal entanglements. This madcap adventure date follows in the hilarious tradition of It Happened One Night, Blind Date, and all other tales of wacky dates gone wrong. Set in balmy Los Angeles, this holiday novella is a madcap comedy of swoony kisses and second chances at love, with a side of peppermint hot cocoa. Perfect for fans of the Hallmark Channel romance movies. "Juliet and Taggart’s second-chance holiday date puts the antic in romantic." *** AUTHOR'S NOTE: Originally published in the TIMELESS ROMANCE: UNDER THE MISTELTOE Anthology. Minor updates to the story have been added for this edition. ***

The Roxy Letters


Mary Pauline Lowry - 2020
    She’s a sometimes vegan, always broke artist with a heart the size of Texas and an ex living in her spare bedroom. Her life is messy, but with the help of a few good friends and by the grace of the goddess Venus she’ll discover that good sex, true love, and her life’s purpose are all closer than she realizes.Bridget Jones penned a diary; Roxy writes letters. Specifically: she writes letters to her hapless, rent-avoidant ex-boyfriend—and current roommate—Everett. This charming and funny twenty-something is under-employed (and under-romanced), and she’s decidedly fed up with the indignities she endures as a deli maid at Whole Foods (the original), and the dismaying speed at which her beloved Austin is becoming corporatized. When a new Lululemon pops up at the intersection of Sixth and Lamar where the old Waterloo Video used to be, Roxy can stay silent no longer. As her letters to Everett become less about overdue rent and more about the state of her life, Roxy realizes she’s ready to be the heroine of her own story. She decides to team up with her two best friends to save Austin—and rescue Roxy’s love life—in whatever way they can. But can this spunky, unforgettable millennial keep Austin weird, avoid arrest, and find romance—and even creative inspiration—in the process?

The Sisters Café


Carolyn Brown - 2013
    She's taken step one and gotten engaged to a reliable man, but she's beginning to question their relationship. Does he really love her, or is she just arm candy for his political career? Why is her future mother-in-law getting increasingly hostile? Worse, why does he stand up for his mother when she says those awful things, instead of protecting her? Cathy is full of self-doubt. Both of her options—going through with the wedding or breaking off her engagement—are beginning to look like a nightmare either way. She knows her friends will back her up, but she's the one who has to make a decision that's going to tear her apart.

Other People's Houses


Abbi Waxman - 2018
    She knows her cousin is hiding her desire for another baby from her spouse, Bill Horton's wife is mysteriously missing, and now this...After the shock of seeing Anne Porter in all her extramarital glory, Frances vows to stay in her own lane. But that's a notion easier said than done when Anne's husband throws her out a couple of days later. The repercussions of the affair reverberate through the four carpool families--and Frances finds herself navigating a moral minefield that could make or break a marriage.

The Rule Book


Jennifer Blackwood - 2016
    Don't call your hot boss the antichrist to his face. 2. Don't stare at hot boss's, um, package or his full sleeve of tattoos. (No. Really. Stop!) 3. Don't get on the malicious first assistant's bad side.4. Don't forget to memorize the 300-page employee manual.5. If you value your cashmere, steer clear of boss’s dog.6. Boss’s dimples are lust-inducing. Do. Not. Give. In. 7. “The elevator ate your clothes” is not a valid excuse for showing up to important meetings half dressed. 8. Don't break seven of the rules within the first week of employment if you, ya know, are in dire need of money to support your sick mom.9. Whatever you do, don’t fall for the boss. See rule eight about sick mom.10. Never forget the rules.

Winter Fire


Rachel Ann Nunes - 2005
    Now, a year later, she wonders if she'll spend the rest of her life alone. When she meets Blake Simmons, Amanda finds her life turned upside down. Blake doesn't seem like the knight in shining armor she always imagined. With two adorable children in his care, he is locked in an ugly battle of wills with their troubled mother and worries that the children he has come to love will be lost to him forever. Will Amanda's relationship with Blake and the children only cause her more heartache? Or does she need him just as much as he needs her? Published: January 2005

It's in His Kiss


Bria Quinlan - 2011
    But, when she needs to do some research of this kissing kind, things may get a little more heated than she expected.Research has never been so fun.WARNING: This 11k short has no vampires, shape shifter or scorching sex, but it might make you snort your diet Coke out your nose.

Promised


Leah Garriott - 2020
    To keep her vow, she attends a notorious matchmaking party intent on securing the perfect marital match: a union of convenience to someone who could never affect her heart. She discovers a man who exceeds all her hopes in the handsome and obliging rake Mr. Northam.There’s only one problem. His meddling cousin, Lord Williams, won’t leave Margaret alone. Condescending and high-handed, Lord Williams lectures and insults her. When she refuses to give heed to his counsel, he single-handedly ruins Margaret’s chances for making a good match—to his cousin or anyone else. With no reason to remain at the party, Margaret returns home to discover her father has promised her hand in marriage—to Lord Williams.Under no condition will Margaret consent to marrying such an odious man. Yet as Lord Williams inserts himself into her everyday life, interrupting her family games and following her on morning walks, winning the good opinion of her siblings and proving himself intelligent and even kind, Margaret is forced to realize that Lord Williams is exactly the type of man she’d hoped to marry before she’d learned how much love hurt. When paths diverge and her time with Lord Williams ends, Margaret is faced with her ultimate choice: keep the promises that protect her or break free of them for one more chance at love. Either way, she fears her heart will lose.

Smothered


Autumn Chiklis - 2018
    Just a few minor problems: she has no job, no prospects, and she’s moving back into her childhood bedroom. Lou is grimly determined to stick to a rigorous schedule to get a job and get out of her parents’ house. Shelly “Mama Shell” Hansen, on the other hand, is ecstatic, and just as determined to keep her at home. Who else will help her hide her latest binge-shopping purchases from her husband, go to SoulCycle with her, and hold her hand during Botox shots?Smothered is a hilarious roman à clef told via journal entries, text messages, emails, bills, receipts, tweets, doctor’s prescriptions, job applications and rejections, parking tickets, and pug pictures, chronicling the year that Lou moves back home after college. Told from Lou’s point-of-view, Smothered tells the story of two young(ish) women, just trying to get it right, and learning that just because we all grow up doesn’t mean we necessarily have to grow old. (After all, what is Juvaderm for?)

Love on Pointe


Tiffany Odekirk - 2017
    With only two semesters left before graduation, he just wants to keep flying under the radar. Then he meets Emmy in a Book of Mormon class, and for the first time, the idea of keeping to himself doesn't sound so appealing.Emmy Jennings feels confident only when she's dancing ballet. With every plié and chassé, all her worries fade away. But when she fails to earn a coveted solo, her confidence on the dance floor disintegrates, and the future she's worked so hard to earn stands in jeopardy.Assigned to be study partners, both Rhys and Emmy face initial anxieties regarding who they really are. But slowly, their tentative friendship evolves into something more. Yet even as love deepens, the pair is faced with a disheartening truth: Rhys can't take Emmy to the temple, and the promise of eternity is not something Emmy's willing to give up. With everything on the line, the couple must decide if they're prepared to reshape their hearts—and their lives—for the promise of forever.

Aisling of Eire


Dorothy M. Keddington - 2002
    gt. grandmother who ran away with her coachman and came to American. When Catharine decides to write a book based on the woman's life, her own life undergoes some dramatic changes. Danger and discovery, a lost love and secrets from her own past become entwined with the events of the long ago.

Virgin


Radhika Sanghani - 2014
    I don’t need the perfect guy. I don’t need candlelight or roses. Honestly, I don’t even need a real bed.The guys I know complain that girls are always looking for Mr. Right—do I have to wear a sign that says I’m only looking for Mr. Right Now?Sooooo…anyone out there want sex? Anyone? Hello? Just for fun?I am not going to die a virgin. One way or another I am going to make this happen.Hey, what have I got to lose? Besides the obvious.