Book picks similar to
Tip the Scales by A.K. Evans


romance
contemporary
contemporary-romance
free

Beneath the Scars


Melanie Moreland - 2014
    She wants to leave the rest of the world behind, and find some peace. The offer of a private house on the beach, set in a small town in Maine, is perfect. Time to think—to be by herself. It’s all she wants. It’s the escape she needs. Until she stumbles across the painting that seems to echo her own chaotic mindset. Until she meets the unfriendly artist behind the stormy painting and discovers his secrets.All Zachary Adams wants is to be left alone. His canvases, and the unending scope of the ocean and sand, are his life. They direct him—fill his hours. Bring him focus.Until she enters his life. She dredges up memories of the past—the haunting images he has hidden for years; the fears he has never shared. A story he keeps buried below the surface. Can she make him see what he is missing? Can he trust her enough to believe?Together they embark on a journey where their pasts collide and threaten to tear them apart. Will their fragile bond hold or wash away with the ebbing tide?

Only for a Night


Naima Simone - 2016
    Now, as the co-owner of Boston’s hottest aphrodisiac club, he’s traded crime for the ultimate sexual fantasy. But when the “good girl” from his past walks through Lick’s doors, he discovers that his unconsummated hunger for her never abated.Widowed for two years from a man who felt that anything besides the missionary position was dirty, Harper Shaw is ready to move on. The first step to feeling alive again is sex. Hot, dirty, black-out-from-orgasm sex. And who better to provide it than the brooding, sexy, tatted bad boy-turned-man she’s known for years? Rion, however, has one stipulation: He’ll be hers only for one night. One night to explore her every fantasy. One night to push her limits. One night to introduce her to a passion that makes both doubt if it will be enough…

Painted Faces


L.H. Cosway - 2012
    She has a habit of making offensive jokes and speaking her mind too often. She doesn't have the best track record with first impressions, which is why she gets a surprise when her new neighbour Nicholas takes a shine to her.Nicholas is darkly handsome, funny and magnetic, and Freda feels like her black and white existence is plunged into a rainbow of colour when she's around him. When he walks into a room he lights it up, with his quick wit and charisma. He is a travelling cabaret performer, but Freda doesn't know exactly what that entails until the curtains pull back on his opening night.She is gob-smacked and entirely intrigued to see him take to the stage in drag. Later on, Nicholas asks her if she would like to become his show assistant. Excited by the idea, she jumps at the chance. Soon she finds herself immersed in a world of wigs, make-up and high heels, surrounded by pretty men and the temptation of falling for her incredibly beautiful employer.In this story of passion and sexual discovery, Nicholas and Freda will contend with jealousy, emotional highs and lows, and the kind of love that only comes around once in a lifetime.**Not suitable for younger readers. Contains some strong language and scenes of a sexual nature.**

Nudes


Sarah Robinson - 2017
    Ben Lawson is making a comeback...After a few tabloid headlines, they think they know me. They don't know a damn thing.  As CEO of a movie production company, I'll show them who I really am when we hit it big at the box office. My ex thought her smear tactics would ruin me, but I'm unbreakable. Rising from the debris, I swore I'd never let a woman distract me like that again. But then, my leading actress walked on the set and changed everything. Seductive, sexy, and unapologetic, Aria Rose could break me. I wanted to help her, protect her...love her. Instead, I destroyed her. Aria Rose is baring it all....I knew better. I knew not to trust another Hollywood heartthrob with a reputation like his. He was my boss and became my ruin. I should have stayed far away from him. Ben Lawson promised me the world. He even promised me his heart.  But he destroyed everything--my heart, my career, us. Disclaimer: This novel is for 18+ years old as it contains graphic sexual content.

Ride


Roxie Noir - 2016
    Ride a cowboy. Bull riding is dangerous as hell, but that’s half the fun. Guts, glory, and cute country girls lined up for days. It may only take eight seconds to win, but I can go all night. Yeah, I’ve broken almost every bone in my body at some point, but I’ve been the World Rodeo Champion two years running. Nothing’s gonna keep me from making it three. Not even Mae Guthrie, a spitfire who’s as hot as a Texas wildfire and one hell of a distraction - and who acts like she doesn’t remember me at all. ...I’ll just have to remind her that we’ve been acquainted. I bet she’ll remember once she’s screaming my name. Jackson Cody nearly ruined my life. I was dumb, drunk, and eighteen. He was a rodeo star with a smile that could melt steel, and I was this close to giving him everything. Thank god for that close call with the cops. I learned my lesson, grew up, and moved on. Now I’ve got my first huge assignment as a photographer, and if I play it right, this rodeo shoot could make my whole career. There’s just one problem, and it’s got spurs, boots, and hazel eyes. He’s grown up too - Lord has he grown up - and he’s only gotten hotter, cockier, and more dangerously alluring since the last time I saw him. But now I’m older, wiser, and not interested in a fling with a cowboy… ...right? It’s only a couple of days. How hard can he be to resist? Ride is a 90,000 word standalone romance, and it’s got a happily-ever-after ending and explicit scenes that’ll make you need to turn the AC up.

Forget Me Not


Willow Winters - 2017
     I was only a small girl. Scared and frightened, I was taken from my home and held against my will. His father hurt me, but he protected me and kept me safe as best he could. Until I left him. I ran the first chance I got and even though I knew he wasn’t behind me, I didn’t stop. The branches lashed out at me, punishing me for leaving him in the hands of a monster. I’ve never felt such guilt in my life. Although I survived, the boy was never found. I prayed for him to be safe. I dreamed he’d be alright and come back to me. Even as a young girl I knew I loved him, but I betrayed him. Twenty years later, all my wishes came true. But the boy came back a man. With a grip strong enough to keep me close and a look in his eyes that warned me to never dare leave him again. I was his to keep after all. Twenty years after leaving one hell, I entered another. Our tale was only just getting started. It’s dark and twisted. But that doesn’t make it any less of what it is. A love story. Our love story.

All I Need


Jennifer Van Wyk - 2018
    I thought my luck with men had finally turned around until I walked in on my new fiancé with my maid-of-honor.I’m done with men entirely. I’m definitely old enough to know better than to let that happen to me again. Trust isn’t something I have in me to give… to anyone. At least, not anymore.Besides, even if I wanted to give someone my everything, I have nothing left to give. Now, if Walker could be just a tad less handsome, his relationship with his nephew not quite as sexy and his body… well, let’s not get crazy. His body is just a gift to womankind.The moment I laid eyes on Ellie, I knew she’d be full of spit and vinegar. And why wouldn’t she be? She’d just caught her fiancé with her maid of honor – and they weren’t chatting about the upcoming nuptials. I can’t help but push her buttons, she’s sexy as hell when she’s fired up. Or cooking dinner with Miss Polly, or… well, any time, really. Maybe having her work for me in my vet clinic wasn’t the smartest move I’ve ever made considering I can’t stop my body from aching for her.She said she was done with men entirely, that she’s broken. Still, I can’t help but hope that she realizes she’s All I Need.

Within These Walls


J.L. Berg - 2014
    I am not strong. I am just a survivor of circumstance.Isn’t that what we all do? Survive?Each of us has our own set of circumstances to muddle through. Mine are just more…complicated. Born with a severe heart defect, I’ve seen the inside of a hospital room more than my own bedroom. I was drowning, a prisoner to the illness that owned me, until he appeared. He thinks he’s blocked out the world with his tattoos and hard exterior, but I see the real Jude, the one he so desperately wants to forget. But is he the answer to my prayers or will he break my already damaged heart forever?My name is Lailah Buchanan, and this is our story of hope, redemption and sacrificing it all for the one you love.

Something So Right


Natasha Madison - 2016
    I caught my husband, my high-school sweetheart, the father of my children, balls deep in a sordid affair. That was when I gave up on men and love. I didn’t count on the NHL’s golden boy, the beautiful, arrogant Cooper Stone turning my life and my hockey rink upside down. My kids are why I wake up in the morning. Hockey is what Cooper breathes for. We’re from different worlds and places in our lives but when our hearts collided something so wrong and different turned into something so right.

Playboy


Logan Chance - 2017
    Calling the shots, and taking pictures of gorgeous women is every man's fantasy, including mine.That is, until Chelsea Sincock walks onto the set of one of my shoots.I've known Chelsea since before she was this hot as hell vixen wearing nothing but a bikini.What is she doing here?Does her brother, Declan, know?Did I mention he's my best friend?This is going to be hard, I mean difficult, to work with her. And the more I gaze at her from behind the lens, the more I realize I'm in way over my head.

Not Today, But Someday


Lori L. Otto - 2012
    Forced to transfer schools mid-year, she wasn't trying to make new friends. In that same month, sophomore Nate Wilson's girlfriend broke up with him. Searching for someone to fill the void left by his first love, he meets Emi in his art class. Nate knows he wants Emi from the moment he sees her. Emi knows she needs Nate after one night together. A life-long friendship is born, and a pact is made to ensure that nothing will come between them. This novella is the prequel to the Emi Lost & Found series. After the 3-volume series was published, readers wanted more. This is for them – the story of how Nate and Emi met – and although it’s a prequel, it can be enjoyed before or after the series.

Sucked Into Love


Rochelle Paige - 2014
    She knows better than to get pulled into any of Cee-Cee's antics. It must have been sheer exhaustion that made her agree to help her best friend out with a work project - one that ended up with her playing bachelorette for the night!No man ever wants to be knocked off his feet by a woman he meets while she's wearing a bachelorette "suck for a buck" shirt...Andrew knows that he wants Jocelyn the moment he lays eyes on her, but he's never been one to poach on another man's territory. He walks away but finds himself changed by the experience. Imagine his surprise when he sees her again, only to discover she isn't married and has never even been engaged.

Escort


Skye Warren - 2018
    There shouldn’t be any surprises, not for one as jaded as me, but when I walk into the penthouse suite of L’Etoile, everything changes.1) For one thing, Bea is heartstoppingly gorgeous. Pale green eyes and endless freckles. Curves I want to spend all night exploring, as if her body was made for me.2) Her innocence makes me want to use my entire inventory of bedroom tricks on her and then invent a few more.3) Except that… she’s a virgin.I can initiate her into the world of desire without letting her get attached, can’t I? A few hours of tutoring, and at the end of the night a small fortune will be deposited into my bank account.But once I realize one night with her won’t be enough, I’m the one who’s screwed.

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?

The Hookup


Kristen Ashley - 2017
    She’s definitely not prepared to engage in her very first hookup with him.Then Izzy wakes up the next morning in Johnny Gamble’s bed and good girl Izzy finds she likes being bad for Johnny.Even so, Izzy feels Johnny holding her at arm’s length. But Johnny makes it clear he wants more and Izzy already knows she wants as much of hot-in-bed, sweet-out-of-it Johnny Gamble.Floating on air thinking this is going somewhere, Izzy quickly learns why Johnny holds distant.He’s in love with someone else. Someone who left him and did it leaving him broken. Whoever was up next would be runner up, second best. Knowing the stakes, Izzy will take what she can get from the gentleman that’s Johnny Gamble. And even knowing his heart might never mend, Johnny can’t seem to stay away from Izzy.Until out of nowhere, his lost love comes back to town. He’s not going back, but Johnny still knows the right thing to do is let Izzy go.And Izzy knew the stakes, so she makes it easy and slips through his fingers.But that’s before Johnny realizes Eliza moved to town to escape danger that’s been swirling around her.And that’s why Johnny decides to wade in.That and the fact Eliza Forrester makes breakfast with a canary singing on her shoulder and fills out tight dresses in a way Johnny Gamble cannot get out of his head.