Book picks similar to
The Problem with Fire by M.E. Clayton


romance
men-in-uniform
tbr-genre-contemporary
older-couple

New Year's Renovations (Starlight Bay, #1)


Kara Kendrick - 2021
    Fired from my job and dumped by my boss-boyfriend at the same time (lesson learned the hard way, don’t even start), I’m forced to adopt the ‘New Year, New You’ mantra whether I want to or not. The only silver lining is a rundown old house my estranged aunt left to me in Starlight Bay, Massachusetts.That is, until I run head-on—literally—into Jackson Montgomery, local hometown superstar and the best contractor in town. He offers to help with renovations so I can rent it as a side hustle once I find a job and move back to Boston. Unfortunately, he does not offer to date me, which is a crying shame because he’s exactly what I didn’t know I was looking for.Jackson:I’ve never made a New Year’s resolution until this year. Why? Because 99.9% of people break them within six weeks. But after my girlfriend cheated on me with my (ex-) best friend, I knew I had to do it. Give up dating for at least a year, but maybe the rest of adulthood.What I hadn’t counted on was meeting Harper, a perky city girl just begging to be kissed. Fixing up her late aunt’s house was proving to be a bigger job than I could handle in the feelings department and I didn’t like it one little bit. I just needed to get her fixer-upper fixed so she could get out of Starlight Bay before something happened I couldn’t repair with a hammer and some nails.NEW YEAR’S RENOVATIONS is a standalone, small-town steamy romance novella destined to give you all the feels!

Business or Pleasure?


Raquel Belle - 2019
    I’m about to get really pissed off. Maybe I should just go (in hindsight…even based on what happened next, I’d probably do it all the same!) As is, I hate blind dates! I usually create this “picture perfect” guy in my head and then reality generally walks in! Ohhh god, and reality can be REALLLLLY cruel at times (MOST of the time!!!).Anyway…I’ve just moved back to Seattle to work with my dad at his law firm. We haven’t always had the best relationship…I’m really hoping that this is him reaching out to me. Honestly, blind-dates are the last thing I need right now in my life!I’m about to give up on this night and leave when the most delicious looking specimen of a man comes up to me. I honestly thought I was hallucinating! This guy is ravishing…the type of “stop and stare” guy. Mr. I LITERALLY felt I wanted to get pregnant just by looking at him, says...“Please, tell me I’m the one you’ve been waiting for!” with a naughty smirk on his face.“Are you David Blake?” I ask.“No, but I can be anyone you want me to be.” He smiles, and my head…ohhh god…my head is filled with strong dose of naughty thoughts (a “bit” of an understatement actually!). It’s not my blind-date…and I think to myself (well, I’M TRYING to think!!!) What the hell should I do?I don’t know what the heck happened to me but I stare right into his eyes and say “Tell you what, I’m staying upstairs.” I pause. I could feel his eyes penetrating me. And then I drop the bomb… “Let’s skip the drinks and the preamble, you follow me to my room, and let's have one hell of a one-night stand. You don’t even have to tell me your name.”I couldn’t believe I just said that!He’s shocked. I’m shocked. I don’t normally do this kind of thing. But we do it. Oh, boy…do we do it. We have the most amazing, earth shattering night that I could ever dream of. And THAT was the gift…now comes the SLAP…When the weekend is over and I go in to work on Monday morning. The secretary shows me in to my dad’s office. What the heck is he doing in here? Mr. I LITERALLY felt I wanted to get pregnant just by looking at him turns and smiles.Guess what? My one-night stand is my dad’s billionaire best friend, Jared Hawthorne. He’s my new client. Things are about to get really complicated!Business or Pleasure? is a stand alone romance book with an amazing HEA!

Indiscretion: Volume One


Elisabeth Grace - 2014
    Pump and dump. Hit it and quit it. One night stand. Didn’t matter how I branded it—that’s all she had wanted it to be. That much was clear when she left me with my pants down and my dick still out.What she hadn’t counted on was fate intervening and our worlds colliding—again.The day I showed back up in the life of Chloe Griffins, I knew I had to have her again. My body was hungry for another taste. Like an addict, I’d been craving another hit for months, and there she was—flesh and bone, tits and ass.The fact that she worked for the competition should’ve been reason enough for me to leave her alone. I had a job to do that summer and f*cking Chloe wasn’t part of it. But I was like a man possessed.I’d do whatever it took to have her again.

Frisky Business


Staci Hart - 2016
    Not the drama of working in a tattoo parlor, which seems to be around every corner. When things get him down, he smiles and cracks a joke. But he’s not the kind of man you cross, or you’ll find yourself at the wrong end of his fists.Annika Belousov takes everything seriously.Like her job as a reality television producer, given that she typically has something to prove. Or her love life, which is defined by a series of requirements — affluent, ambitious, accomplished, to name a few. Definitely her family, who worked their whole lives to afford her every opportunity, a sacrifice she doesn’t take lightly. When she’s tapped to produce a reality show at Joel’s shop, she doesn’t think twice, just goes in for the kill, as if there were any other way.The second Annika walks into Joel’s shop, he makes it his mission to crack her open, but she’s not having it. He’s all wrong — too crass, too hairy, too un-serious. But it doesn’t take her long to find out there’s more to him than smirks and tattoos. And what she finds could put her career and his heart on the line.Not that Joel cares. Because for the first time in a long time, he’s found his tonic.

Only You: A Standalone Contemporary Romance


K.T. Quinn - 2021
    

Stalking His Obsession: Ex-boyfriend's Dad, Age Gap Romance


Kaci Rose - 2022
    He's her ex-boyfriend's dad.I never thought I'd be a Vegas showgirl, especially at the hotel my ex-boyfriend's dad owns.But I need the money and I liked the job, until my boss forces himself on me.I never thought Grant, my ex-boyfriend's dad, would be the one to save me.I never thought he'd admit he has feelings for me all this time just like I do for him.I definitely never expected my ex to find us in bed together,Or what my ex-boss would do for revenge.I never would have believed what Grant would do to keep me.Had I known all this I never would have taken the job.Welcome to a filthy dirty desires! Forget being sweet … this year we want to give into our dirtiest desires. Taboo, dangerous, and over-the-top, we’re bringing you everything you were too scared to ask for. **Don’t worry, loves, these are still packed with the heroes you crave and the HEA’s you deserve!

Room 452


T.L. Quinn - 2021
    One wrong room. Now every time I see him, I have to look at that smug, arrogant smirk. Ugh!Why can't he leave me alone? And worse, why do I not want him to?It's all a game to him though. It doesn't actually mean anything, but two can play this game. And no matter how charming Sawyer can be, I won't let him win.Warning: Contains Adult Content

Second Chances


A.J. Wynter - 2019
    One small town. One BIG secret. When my new boss showed up, she turned my small-town life upside down. That sophisticated woman sticks out like a sore thumb in this mountain town. Oh, did I mention that she’s older, curvy, and sexy as hell? Yeah, every guy in town want to get her into their bed. Not me. I know that city girls don’t last long in Chance Rapids. And, something doesn’t add up. For a fancy land developer, she doesn’t know the first thing about running a construction site. She’s hiding something from me. I can tell. But, those green eyes and yoga pants light a fire inside me and I can’t stay away. I want to put a baby inside her. It's crazy. I’ve been burned before, but she makes me want to risk it all. When Megan’s secret threatens to rip them apart, will Josh be able to give her a second chance?

Manny for Hire


Dezi Dixon - 2019
    Something had to give. Calling the nanny service, Helping Hands, was the first step, but instead of getting a nanny, they sent her a hot as sin manny with abs she could wash her clothes on.Zach Thomas wasn’t the kind of man who squelched on a bet. That’s why he would swallow his pride, hang up his construction belt, and be a manny for a week. He ran a successful business where his crews knew he was boss. He figured it wouldn’t be hard to get the hot new mom to follow directions too.Ali could tell that Zach didn’t have a clue, but when she realized the attraction she felt wasn’t one sided, she threw caution to the wind. It didn’t matter if he couldn’t vacuum to save his life, he was great at messing up the sheets. She wasn’t looking for anything permanent, so what was the harm in having a little fling with the manny?Warning: This book contains an over the top story of a single mom, a contractor turned manny, and his huge *ahem* aptly named Big John. There are also balls...bowling balls.

Claiming Cinderella


Lauren Milson - 2021
    Watch the bills pile up, maybe rent someone a power washer.Until the little bell over the door chimes and he walks in.My jaw hits the floor.I haven't seen Eli in years.I thought I remembered him.I thought wrong.He isn't acting like I'm just his friend's daughter anymore.He goes all alpha when other guys try to look at me.He doesn't want me going to a party on campus.He is just as obsessed with me as I've always been with him.But Eli's only in town for 24 hours.What will happen when our time is up?Has this all been a dream... or is it a dream come true?

Feels Like Love (Alondra Valley #1)


Jenna Hartley
    I'm secretly in love with my best friend's little sister. So, I do what any good friend would—avoid her.At least, until my house floods, and my best friend suggests I move in with Wren. Resisting her has never been easy.But when Wren convinces me to be her dating coach, it’s impossible. The more we "practice," the harder I fall for her and her amazing son.The more I start to believe what we have is real. It feels like love, but is it worth risking my friendship with Wren and her brother to know if she feels the same?

Second Chances


H.M. Ward - 2014
    Ward and Stacey MostellerSex. Betrayal. Forbidden Love. Lawn Boy.I'm not a catch, I'm not even certain I'm what they'd call 'mentally stable,' not anymore. Too much has happened too fast and it ripped my soul in half. I'm alone, with a plastic stick in my hand that says the one word we'd been so eager to see. Pregnant. Lucky in love once is a miracle, but I lost him, and this baby is all I have left. My life turned to ash in a blink and there's nothing I can do about it. Years pass and I'm still here, but it doesn't feel like it, not until the lawn guy, Daniel Clemment, checks me out. Me. A yoga-panting, pony tailing, frumpy-butt, frizzy mommy who's covered in whatever the baby tossed on me at lunch. Daniel's dark eyes linger too long, as if he likes what he sees. I'm shocked and flattered, but he's too young. The age gap between us is over a decade, but that doesn't stop him. If I sleep with him everyone will think I've lost my mind. Maybe I have, because everyday that I see Dan's sexy, toned body glistening in the sunlight, I consider feeling him pressed against me, naked. The few times his fingers grazed my skin were heaven, but once the clothes come off--he's a god and I'm... me.I've been alone for so long. Surely one kiss won't hurt anything, one taste of his mouth should be harmless. Things don't have to go that far, but I'm wrong. Love only comes around once in a lifetime. Only fools think otherwise, and I'm the biggest fool of them all.Genre: New Adult RomanceType: Stand Alone Novel

Alexandr Obsessed


Alice May Ball - 2019
    He will make her his, teach her for the first time what it means to feel the strength of a Russian man who knows exactly how to take what he wants. The first time Cate encounters Alexandr, his power and his huge, gorgeous body make her tremble, fearful. Unsure how to respond to the strong man’s insistent demands, she is reluctant to trust him and give in. When she learns how raw, passionate, and determined he is to protect her and give her everything she needs in the long, blue nights, Cate starts to wonder what it might be like to feel the Russian oligarch’s power. This steamy, fast and sizzling hot, insta-love romance has pent-up passion and fulfillment of raw, surging need, enough to start a forest fire. There’s no cheating and a Happy Ever After Ending guaranteed to leave you breathless and drenched.

Everything She Ever Wanted


Liz Durano - 2016
    the same world she's about to return to?For Dax, a naked woman asleep in his bed when he thought his rental would have been available is the last thing he expected to find on his day off.He could walk away... but he can't.For there's something about Harlow James that he just can't turn away from.Sure, she's thirteen years older than him, but she's smart, independent, and beautiful.She's also broken.Set amidst the enchanting landscape of Taos, New Mexico, Everything She Ever Wanted is a contemporary emotional romance that explores one woman’s search for the things that really matter, like love and family, and where losing her way turns out to be the best prescription to finding herself... and falling in love.

Love & Other Chaos


Jackie Walker - 2020
    Brody’s my friend - just a friend. He’s also my autistic son’s favorite teacher.He’s as off limits as they come, no matter how drop dead gorgeous he is. Falling for him would be wrong. Resisting him though, is becoming pure torture. After being burned by men who can’t handle dating a single-mom of a special-needs child, I refuse to date anymore. Not until my son is grown. My plan is working fine until my trouble-making bestie presents me with a dare that I can’t resist. I’m a sucker for a good dare - especially when margaritas have been consumed. And she’s just dared me to plant a surprise kiss on Brody’s sexy lips, while she records it for a trending TikTok challenge video. But if I do this, it could change everything. My life is already pure chaos and maybe now is not the best time to shake things up even more. Is it worth risking our friendship and his important role in my son’s life for one kiss? What if he wants more? What if I do? Love & Other Chaos is a hilarious, steamy, friends-to-lovers romantic comedy featuring a drop dead gorgeous and seriously buff teacher with the hots for a single-mom of an autistic pre-teen son... who happens to be one of his students. This story also includes wise-cracking grandparents with zero respect for personal boundaries, swoon-worthy beach scenes, a jerky boss with no concept of personal space, nosey siblings and a foul-mouthed best friend who loves to instigate trouble. If you don't like sarcasm, steam, sexy-times, heroines who drink copious amounts of margaritas and laugh-a-minute dialogue, then this might not be the book for you. It’s a stand-alone novel with a happy ending, because cliffhangers will kill your margarita buzz.