Book picks similar to
Betting on Hope by Kay Keppler
romance
contemporary
chick-lit
contemporary-romance
Flying by the Seat of My Knickers
Eliza Watson - 2016
NOT a cozy mystery series.Why run from your troubles when you can fly instead?When Caity Shaw is fired from her first job that doesn't require an elf uniform, her older sister, Rachel, an event planner, hires her to work a meeting in Dublin. Caity jumps at the opportunity to travel abroad and escape her pathetic life. However, even four thousand miles from home, there's no avoiding debt collectors, an overbearing mother, and haunting memories of a controlling ex.While in Dublin, Caity suffers a series of humiliating mishaps, causing her to lose even more faith in herself. Caity struggles to earn Rachel's respect--and to keep Declan, her hot Irish coworker, at arm's length. Declan repeatedly saves Caity's butt and helps boost her self-confidence, making it difficult to keep her distance from the charming womanizer. When Declan helps her research her Irish grandmother, Caity discovers the mysterious past of the courageous woman she barely knew might hold the answers to her future.
Corporate Husband
Beverly Farr - 2013
Justin Reilly seems like the ideal candidate, until he starts changing the rules. Corporate Husband is book one in the Love and Chocolate Series. Each book is a stand-alone sweet romance without cliff-hangers.
To Catch a Bad Guy
Marie Astor - 2012
When she lands a job at one of New York’s premier boutique investment firms, Janet begins to hope that her luck is finally turning for the better. Not only is she happy with her new paycheck, but things also seem to be looking up on the personal front, as the company’s handsome attorney expresses keen interest in Janet. However, her euphoria is short-lived, as Janet soon discovers alarming facts about her new employer’s business tactics. When her boss dismisses her suspicions as groundless, Janet finds herself confiding to a cute IT engineer, Dean Snider. The closer she gets to Dean, the more Janet is tempted to break her rule of not dating co-workers, but what she doesn’t realize is that everything she knows about Dean, including his occupation and even his name, is a lie.Dennis Walker is a top-notch white collar crime investigator who will stop at nothing to put culprits away. When an opportunity for an undercover assignment at one of New York’s premier boutique broker dealers comes up, Dennis jumps at the chance, adopting a persona of geeky IT engineer, Dean Snider. While he may be an ace at his job, years of experience fail him when Dennis meets Janet Maple and finds himself torn between his professional obligations and his personal desires. Will he have to choose between his feelings and duty, or will he find a way to satisfy both?
The Comeback Kiss
Lani Diane Rich - 2006
— ALL IT TAKES IS ONE LITTLE KISS... — In order to keep custody of her teenage sister, Tessa Scuderi told a small (okay, big) lie to the people of Lucy's Lake, Vermont, about what really happened ten years ago when Dermot Finnegan took off with her virginity, her car, and the town bell. It had been working, too, until she found her old car parked in front of her house, keys in the ignition, and a telltale red hair stuck to the headrest.TO TOTALLY SCREW EVERYTHING UP.All Finn wanted to do was return the stupid car and get going. But he stopped to save a burning pet shop (big mistake), ended up kissing Tessa behind the drugstore (big mistake, but worth it), and discovered that Tessa's been building him up as some kind of town hero all these years (gonna have to puzzle that out). Now Finn has to find out who's behind a string of mysterious fires and deal with the heat between him and Tessa. Hey, one more kiss can't hurt -- or can it?
Taste for Trouble
Susan Sey - 2013
Off the field? He’s pure trouble. When his fondness for fast women and bar brawls lands him a suspension from the game, he’s prepared to take his punishment like a man. But since when does a suspension come with a live-in nanny?TV baking maven Belinda West is the epitome of home-made hospitality, on-screen and off. The personal is the professional when you’re selling the good life, after all. But when her wedding day implodes in front of a live studio audience, Bel’s career goes into a death spiral. She’ll do anything to save it, even take charge of soccer’s most famous bad boy. To hell with the morals clause in his contract; James isn’t about to shape up for some knock-off Mary Poppins. But since when does Mary Poppins laugh like a naughty angel and smell like sugar cookies? He’s not looking for love but that kiss of hers is practically perfect in every way. And James has a powerful taste for trouble.
Special Delivery
Traci Hohenstein - 2011
Hope Love. She’s a beautiful, single doctor who delivers the babies of Hollywood's hottest stars. Her perfect, glamorous life is turned upside down when her father, a retired doctor and her partner in the practice, hires Dr. Brad Whitford to assist Hope in the ever-growing medical office. Hope doesn’t want or need the new guy—until she begins to fall in love with him. Her best friend, Venus Vanderbilt, is a best-selling romance novelist and should be able to offer good advice—but Venus is traumatized because she suspects her husband is having an affair. When Hope learns that Dr. Olivia Campanelli, a renowned heart surgeon, already has her trained eye set on Brad, she realizes she might have missed her chance with the new doctor. Can Hope juggle a successful medical practice and win the man of her dreams?Special Delivery is the first novel in the Hollywood Hill series.
The Wedding Game
Meghan Quinn - 2021
So it’s only natural that Luna would convince her brother and his husband-to-be to compete on The Wedding Game, a “do-it-yourself” TV show, for the title of Top DIY Wedding Expert.As a jaded divorce lawyer, Alec Baxter scoffs at weddings and romance. But when his recently engaged brother begs him to participate in The Wedding Game, Alec grudgingly picks up a glue gun and prepares for some family bonding.Both fierce competitors, Luna and Alec clash on national TV as harsh words and glitter fly with abandon. But as they bicker over color swatches and mood boards, they find themselves fighting something else: their growing mutual attraction. While Luna is torn between family loyalty and her own feelings, Alec wonders if he might have been wrong about love and marriage all along…
Full Circle
Mona Ingram - 2011
Give up her child for adoption or leave town.New Cover April 2019Single and pregnant, Bella is given a choice. Give up her child for adoption or leave town.The choice was never in doubt. Bella moves across the country, settling in Santa Monica. Determined to make a life for herself and her child, she and her new friend Sophia sell children’s clothing at the Venice Beach market. When their creative designs are featured on television, their business takes off and they accept an offer from Rafael Vargas to expand their business. Bella fights her attraction to the handsome entrepreneur, but deep in her heart all she really wants is love.
Hypnotic Seduction
L.L. Kellogg - 2012
Growing up in her centerfold mother's shadow and being raised by her pious grandparents hasleft her so self-conscious about her matronly, D-cup figure she gets tongue-tied around good-looking guys. So when Hannah discovers her fiancé/employer boinking her roommate, she's not only devastated--she's unemployed.He's got a problem fending off womenPharmaceutical CEO Jordan Calder has a huge image problem too--his professional image. Most guys would kill to be publicly proclaimed a world-class lover, but other men don't share his dark, shameful past. The only thing women have ever wanted Jordan for is what he can give them in and out of bed. So when his grandfather drags dowdy Hannah into his office as an executive assistant candidate, Jordan hires the mousey woman on the spot.Could hypnosis be a solution?After miraculously landing her plum new position, sexually frustrated Hannah resorts to hypnosis to boost her self-confidence with men, hoping to attract another mate. Unfortunately, a post-hypnotic suggestion compels her to kiss her sexy playboy boss, who she then stupidly falls for in and out of bed. Despair induces her to use similar hypnotic principles on him--in the form of subliminal messages--to convince the man she loves that he wants a happy ever-after with her. But as everyone knows, desperate measures usually spell disaster.
Take A Deep Breath
Shar Dimick - 2012
Recently divorced from a man who wouldn't or couldn't understand her, she retreats with her daughter to her grandmother's summer cottage on Lake of the Pines. Liv has fond memories of the summers she spent there with her grandparents. Always a safe haven, she hopes to spend the summer relaxing, healing and finding herself again. In the midst of a panic attack, she finds herself face-to-face with Cameron Preston, the boy with whom she'd spent her childhood summers. In love with him back then, she never found the courage to tell him and they drifted apart...Her heart leaps at the second chance for love. Confusion swamps her as she tries to figure out why Cam keeps pulling away... Can Liv rekindle their old friendship and to turn it into something more? Cam quit his busy big-city medical practice exhausted and disillusioned. He returns to his family's summer home on Lake of the Pines to regroup and determine where and what he wants to do next. When he runs into Liv, the girl he let slip away, he knows where wants to head and with whom. When Cam meets Liv's eight-year-old daughter, he assumes Liv is married. He struggles to keep his feelings for Liv in check while resuming the friendship he desperately misses. His one regret was not kissing Liv all those years ago when he had the chance... He has never stopped loving Liv. Will he let her slip away again? Not if he has his way.
Frosted Shadow
Nancy Warren - 2011
She’s also got a nose for trouble and a passion for solving mysteries. Imagine Columbo in a lavender suit. She never met a woman who wouldn’t look better with a little help from the Lady Bianca line of cosmetics. But don’t be fooled by appearances. Underneath the fake diamonds and the big hair is a sharp brain and a keen eye that sees the details as well as the funny side of life. When a Lady Bianca sales rep is murdered at the annual convention in Dallas, Toni is the one who notices things that some people, like sexy Detective Luke Marciano, might easily miss. Only someone who understands as much about how to make appearances deceiving could see into the mind of this killer -- a murderer who wants to give Toni a permanent makeover. Into a dead woman.
Wind Chime Café
Sophie Moss - 2014
Hearing rumors that a developer is about to build a five-star resort on the sleepy Chesapeake Bay island, she plans to transform the café into a premier upscale bistro. But Annie’s life is about to get a lot more complicated.Back on Heron Island for the first time in ten years, Navy SEAL Will Dozier has no intention of selling his grandparents’ property to a developer. As he works on renovating the house and trying to find another buyer, he’s forced to face a painful reality—that he’s secretly struggling with PTSD. Determined to hide his troubles from the rest of the islanders, Will decides that a fling with the new girl is the perfect way to help him “get his head straight.” The last thing Will expects is to fall in love…with his hometown and with Annie. But Will’s life and career are in San Diego with the SEALs. Can Annie’s love and the healing magic of the island be enough to convince him to stay?
Sexy in Stilettos
Nana Malone - 2012
What's worse than having to watch your sister marry your ex fiancé? How about when that fiancé fires you from the family business? Hyper-organized, event planner, Jaya Trudeaux is used to doing things by the book and never making waves. It's a strategy that's served her well until she finds herself in failure alley with no fiancé, no job and her thirtieth birthday looming. Maybe it's time to change her methods. Starting with an unlikely date to the wedding from hell.The only thing that can tie carefree, playboy, Alec Danthers down is his formidable step mother. When she calls him home to help find his wayward brother, he never imagines an uptight, list making, sass-talking woman would make him think about putting down roots.Can Jaya put the lists down long enough to enjoy the ride that is Alec? Will Alec stop running long enough to recognize true love?Warning: Sexy, sass talking women will make you laugh, cry and want a pair of killer footwear.
Claire's Not-So-Gothic Romance
Bonnie Blythe - 2008
(Christian romance)
Talk of the Town
Lisa Wingate - 2008
She's just arrived in the tiny town of Daily, Texas, to arrange a surprise "reunion concert" for hometown finalist Amber Amberson. Only it turns out everyone in town seems to know the secret. And paparazzi are arriving. And word from Hollywood is that Amber has disappeared with a "bad boy" actor. Can anything go right in this tumbleweed town?Imagene Doll loves her town of Daily, Texas, but things are lonelier without her beloved husband. Life seems dull. At least until that fancy-dressed woman pulls into town, looking terrified and glamorous all at once. Soon life's not the least bit boring as Imagene--and the rest of Daily--find themselves at the center of a media maelstrom...with a young girl's future on the line.