Book picks similar to
Carolina Mist by Mariah Stewart


romance
mariah-stewart
stewart-mariah
contemporary

Long Time Coming


Edie Claire - 2003
    But back at home, the past is ready and waiting to haunt her...Eighteen years have passed since Joy's childhood best friend, Jenny, met her death in a tragic car accident just a few days after their senior prom. A broken Joy left their small Kentucky hometown shortly after - determined never to come back. But when her father's illness forces her to return, she realizes that neither time nor distance have truly healed her troubled soul.Plagued with nightmares of the accident and crippled by a vague fear whose source she can't identify, Joy realizes that in order to move on she must face the truth behind several disturbing gaps in her memory of that fateful spring. But the only person who can help her is a man she despises - Jenny's erstwhile boyfriend Jeff, now a respected doctor, whose carelessness as a teenager was the cause of Jenny's horrendous death - and Joy's own emotional destruction. Can she ever forgive? She may have no choice but to try. Because both the danger she sensed - and the childhood friendship she treasured - now suddenly seem very much alive...

Texas Bodyguard


Jean Brashear - 2012
    His opportunity comes in the form of film star Annabelle Quinn, who's in town and in need of a bodyguard. Her best friend is his top suspect, and he can use the connection to break his case. But when Annabelle comes to mean so much more than a means to an end for Sean, his objectivity is in danger, and he's painfully aware that the lies between them could doom any hope for a future for them. Lives depend, however, on him closing the case. When his deceptions endanger Annabelle's life, can he convince her to trust him enough that he can save her?

Lost and Found


Elle Casey - 2014
    Sometimes engagement rings can get lost and then found. Sometimes people can too. All it takes is a heavy-duty dose of karma and the magic of Manhattan to make it all come together.Leah is a financially destitute new age hippy. James is a wealthy surgeon with a trust fund. She's awkward, he's poised. She's completely crazy, he's way too sane. People might say they have nothing in common, but they'd be wrong. They both live in Manhattan, they both have no idea how to change a baby diaper, and they're both lost … until they find one another. LOVE IN NEW YORK SERIES READING ORDER Love in New York: Book 1 (Lost and Found)Love in New York: Book 2 (Cabin Fever)Love in New York: Book 3 (Mister Fixit)About this series: I’d never been to New York City before, but I knew I would love it and wanted to write a story that was set in the most exciting city in the world. So I hopped on a plane with my friend Susan and spent 5 whirlwind days there, soaking up the culture, seeing the sights and nailing down the scenes that would eventually end up in this series. Those of you familiar with New York City know what I’m talking about when I say you just can’t beat Russ and Daughters’ bagels, Central Park, Times Square, Brooklyn, and Yonnah Schimmels’ knishes.

Out of the Blue


Kathryn Nolan - 2021
    Until a security job goes bad, and he suddenly finds his career on thin ice. Cope’s newest assignment comes with serious consequences - he’ll keep his job as long as he makes no mistakes.Cope isn’t worried…until his new client turns out to be a beautiful blast from his past.Big wave surfer Serena Swift loves the adrenaline of her sport. And the elite athlete hates being told what to do. That goes double when the orders are coming from the sexy bodyguard-in-a-suit who broke her heart.But she doesn’t have a choice when a mysterious threat materializes and Serena’s sponsor saddles her with the last man she’d want guarding her body. She’d rather focus on her next surf competition, not on some shadowy danger or the arrogant ex who dared to get even hotter since their breakup.Cope can’t stop butting heads with his new client. Just like old times, Serena refuses to play it safe, even when it’s clear she’s in peril. Now the intimacy of spending every second of the day by her side is wearing away at his self-control. He can’t afford to lose focus, but everything about the woman is a constant distraction. Including the fact that their divorce was never finalized…Author’s Note: One-click this scorching-hot bodyguard romance if you’re a fan of second-chance angst, sizzling sexual tension, thrilling action and mysterious danger set on the warm, sunny beaches of San Diego.

Closer Than She Thinks


Meryl Sawyer - 2001
    But when her successful costume jewelry company is acquired by TriTech, her only choice is to leave Italy-and return to the scene of a crime that nearly destroyed her life...A Mystery UnsolvedTriTech CEO Jake Williams is all business-and determined to find out the real reason why his partner acquired Rossi Designs. His investigation uncovers a first love's betrayal, a missing baby.and the mysterious Alyssa in the center of a storm of gossip and controversy that has raged for more than a decade.A Deadly ObsessionShunned by New Orleans society, yet coveted by her former lover, Alyssa tried to focus on her jewelry...and Jake. But her past-and a new murder-haunt her every waking moment. Now, amid the chaos of Madri Gras, Alyssa and Jake's attempts to uncover the truth bring them closer to one another-and to a killer who will stop at nothing to destroy them...

Kiss and Tell


Suzanne Brockmann - 1996
    Long out of print, this classic by "New York Times"-bestselling author Brockmann adds a dash of mystery to a favorite romantic fantasy, as her heroine goes on a thrilling quest to find the man who stole a kiss--and her heart--at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve.

Until I Die Again


Tina Wainscott - 1995
     Chris Copestakes’s young life ends in a second filled with twisting metal, shattering glass, and her own terrified cry. Against all odds, she wakes up in a hospital and discovers she’s been given a second chance. But there’s a catch. A big one. She’s been returned to earth in the body of beautiful Hallie DiBarto, the soon-to-be-ex-wife of a wealthy resort owner. Thrust into an unfamiliar world of glittering prestige, Chris struggles to hide her identity and make a new life for herself. But the self-destructive Hallie left a legacy of dangerous secrets and angry people for Chris to deal with. And when she finds herself falling for Jamie DiBarto—a man both husband and stranger—her new life becomes wonderful and precarious. Because lurking in the past, both hers and Hallie’s, is a danger that could end it all.

Give Me Yesterday


K. Webster - 2015
    Tough. Emotionless. What they don’t know, is that ten years ago, she lost everything. Including her hope for the future. Chase Monroe struggles with his own demons. Devastated by guilt and on a mission to correct his past, he uses his skills as a college psychology professor to help others move beyond their grief. When Victoria is forced to attend grief counselling, she meets Chase, and there is an instant attraction. Chase is determined to help her confront her past and find happiness. Victoria is afraid to relive her pain. Just as they begin to step forward, tragedy strikes and throws them backwards, and they find themselves, once again, shackled to the past. Can Chase and Victoria find the path to a happy future together? Or will they forever be wishing for yesterday? **Recommended 18+ due to language and sexual content.

Looking for Laura


Judith Arnold - 2001
    When spirited Sally Driver, owner of a New Age coffee bar, discovers a pile of perfume-scented love letters addressed to her late husband, Paul, from a woman named Laura, she joins forces with Todd, who was Paul's best friend, and together they search for this mystery woman and unexpectedly find love, forcing them to choose between the past and the present.

Resisting Roots


Audrey Carlan - 2016
    She makes the most out of raising her two siblings in the wake of their parents’ tragic accident. At twenty-four, she doesn’t have time to devote to a man…especially not the devastatingly handsome. Trent Fox, who’s known for being a “player” on and off the baseball field. Trent has the best hitting average in the league. Recently, he suffered a torn hamstring that takes him to the Lotus House Yoga Center for recuperation. There he meets the curvy, petite blonde with soulful black eyes and candy-coated glossy lips he’d like to do more to than kiss. He secures the flexible hottie for daily private lessons that ultimately show him how sensual the art of yoga can be. Can love grow between a woman who’s rooted in her life and a man who resists any notion of staying in one place?

Better Than the Movies


Lynn Painter - 2021
    You would think that her next-door neighbor would be a prince candidate for her romantic comedy fantasies, but Wes has only proven himself to be a pain in the butt, ever since they were little. Wes was the kid who put a frog in her Barbie Dreamhouse, the monster who hid a lawn gnome's severed head in her little homemade neighborhood book exchange.Flash forward ten years from the Great Gnome Decapitation. It's Liz's senior year, a time meant to be rife with milestones perfect for any big screen, and she needs Wes's help. See, Liz's forever crush, Michael, has just moved back to town, and—horribly, annoyingly—he's hitting it off with Wes. Meaning that if Liz wants Michael to finally notice her, and hopefully be her prom date, she needs Wes. He's her in.But as Liz and Wes scheme to get Liz her magical prom moment, she's shocked to discover that she actually likes being around Wes. And as they continue to grow closer, she must reexamine everything she thought she knew about love—and rethink her own perception of what Happily Ever After should really look like.

Viper's Kiss


Shannon Curtis - 2011
    Wanted by the police, the FBI and the criminal element, Maggie goes on the run—and runs straight into sexy Luke Fletcher. Unfortunately, when Luke pulls out the handcuffs, it's not because he has something kinky in mind...Security expert Luke is intent on seeing the murderous spy known only as Viper brought to justice. The un-spy-like behavior of his fugitive makes him suspect he's apprehended the wrong woman. Just as they give in to lust, new evidence convinces Luke that Maggie's not as innocent as she claims to be.Devastated by Luke's inability to trust her, Maggie runs again. She's determined to clear her name, and if that means tracking down a notorious spy even Interpol can't seem to locate, then that's exactly what she'll do...

Kian


Tijan - 2015
    Mysterious. Gorgeous. Loved by all the girls. Respected by all the guys. ...that was Kian Maston. As the heir to a billion dollar empire, his future was promising until the day he saved my life. Everything changed for both of us, and there was one more word that could be used to describe him—dangerous. The nation fell in love with him while falling in hate with me. He was sent to prison, and as far as they were concerned, it was my fault. I was forced to go into hiding until today. Kian's being released from prison, and he should go back to being the golden boy he always was supposed to be. I should remain in hiding, living my life as normal as could be. That's what we should do...

Half Truths


Claire Contreras - 2019
    New blood. New money, too.They think they'll elbow past me, that I'm here for their amusement, for them to walk all over, they'll find out soon enough that I'm not.I may look like one of them, with my designer bags and clothes straight from the Parisian runways, but I'm not. I'm here for answers, to take revenge for blood spilled on their centuries-old Persian rugs.I transferred here in search for answers about what happened to my older brother, who hightailed out of here, and my friend who seemingly disappeared into thin air. I certainly wasn't here for the attention of the star hockey player, regardless of how much he willed my eyes his way. I wasn't here for his scrutiny or his judgment or to read into his mysterious aura. I was here for the society, because only they held the answers I needed. That was, until I found out that in order to get those answers, I needed to to go through him. He's saying if I want in, I have to play by their rules, follow their lead.It's a game I'm willing to play.I may be the second person I know of to be invited into their society, but I'll be the first to make it out intact.

Hello, Darkness


Sandra Brown - 2001
    To her loyal listeners, she is a wise and trusted friend who not only takes their music requests but listens to their problems and occasionally dispenses advice. Paris's world of isolation is brutally threatened, however, when one listener -- a man who identifies himself only as "Valentino" -- tells her that her on-air advice to the girl he loves has caused her to leave him and that now he intends to exact his revenge. First he plans to kill the girl, whom he has abducted -- which he says he will do in 72 hours -- then he will come after Paris. Joined by the Austin police department, Paris plunges into a race against time in an effort to find Valentino before he can carry out his threat to kill -- and to kill again. To her dismay, she finds that one of the people she must work with is crime psychologist Dean Malloy, a man with whom she shares a history that had a catastrophic effect on both their lives. His presence arouses old passions, forcing Paris to confront painful memories that she had come to Austin to forget.As the clock ticks down, and Valentino's threats come closer and closer to becoming a reality, Paris suddenly finds herself forced to deal with a killer who may not be a stranger at all.