Book picks similar to
An Unexpected Valentine by Linda Goodnight


romance
contemporary
holidays
contemporary-romance

Meatloaf And Mistletoe


Katie Mettner - 2018
    They’ve spent years ignoring their feelings for each other, but this Christmas, the townspeople of Bells Pass, Michigan have a plan. It won’t be easy, but they’ll work together to teach Ivy and Shep to stop ignoring their hearts’ desires and explore their love. It will take an old spinster, an infamous diner, a mysterious man, and a hefty dose of Christmas wishing to get them under the mistletoe. Once there, they’ll let a dash of good old Christmas magic do the rest.

Love in A Blizzard: Christmas at the Lodge


Britney M. Mills - 2021
    What else could go wrong for Lauren? Lauren Burke realizes her life is nothing like she'd planned and she decides to do something about it. When she heads home to Coldwater Creek in a blizzard, she ends up sliding off into the fence and blacks out. But when she wakes up, she finds she's been rescued by her longtime teenage crush, Walker McBride. Walker has kept his heart locked since his ex-girlfriend ditched him for one of his bull riding competitors the year before. After putting all of his energy into restoring the old lodge in his hometown, he's almost ready to accept guests. But when Lauren comes into his life, he quickly figures out that he's been more lonely than he cares to admit. His feelings grow as they're stuck together for several days because of the storm but will he be able to get over what's happened to him in the past?

Maybe Not


Colleen Hoover - 2014
    It could be an exciting change.Or maybe not.Especially when that roommate is the cold and seemingly calculating Bridgette. Tensions run high and tempers flare as the two can hardly stand to be in the same room together. But Warren has a theory about Bridgette: anyone who can hate with that much passion should also have the capability to love with that much passion. And he wants to be the one to test this theory.Will Bridgette find it in herself to warm her heart to Warren and finally learn to love?Maybe.Maybe not.

The Gift


Cecelia Ahern - 2008
    He always had two places to be at the same time. He always had two things to do at once. When asleep he dreamed. In between dreams, he ran through the events of the day while making plans for the next. When at home with his wife and family, his mind was always someplace else.On his way into work one early winter morning, Lou meets Gabe, a homeless man sitting outside the office building. Intrigued by him and on discovering that he could also be very useful to have around, Lou gets Gabe a job in the post room.But soon Lou begins to regret helping Gabe. His very presence unsettles Lou and how does Gabe appear to be in two places at the same time?As Christmas draws closer, Lou starts to understand the value of time. He sees what is truly important in life yet at the same time he learns the harshest lesson of all.This is a story about people who not unlike parcels, hide secrets.They cover themselves in layers until the right person unwraps them and discovers what’s inside. Sometimes you have to be unravelled in order to find out who you really are. For Lou Suffern, that took time.

The Mistletoe Bride


Scarlett Jade - 2014
    Defying common sense and hoping for a Christmas miracle, she gives the companion ticket to a man she just met. Nick is handsome, single, and loves Christmas too! It seems like a perfect fit. Nick meets the lovely, sad Eve at a coffee shop, and he’s instantly smitten. Eve is beautiful, if not a little crazy. She offers him a vacation, all expenses paid. He takes her up on the offer because hey, who passes up a free vacation? Sleigh bells ring in paradise, and they find each time they come together, it’s magic. Sparks fly between them and soon, they’re well on their way toward falling in love. Maybe it’s the sun, surf, and sand, or the loosened inhibitions… But will the secret Nick keeps tear them apart forever? Eve has to decide if she can forgive Nick and take a chance on happily ever after. The fate of Christmas is in her hands, and time’s running out.

Kissmas Eve


M.E. Carter - 2016
    What he does love is sports, the thrill of a competition and the mysterious identity of the woman he’s been flirting with on the company messanger… Meg McClane loves everything about Christmas, from her festive Ugly Sweaters, down to her candy-cane striped toenails. But not everyone appreciates her holiday cheer; not her co-workers, not her bosses, and certainly not Adam Roberts—especially the night they get stranded in the elevators on their way to the company Christmas party…

Fetching


Kylie Gilmore - 2021
    Only she’s no damsel in distress.WyattI’m a self-made billionaire with a soft spot for damsels in distress, so when I move to the quirky lakeside community of Summerdale, I immediately zero in on the woman I most want to…ahem, rescue. Only the stubborn woman refuses to cooperate.SydneyWhen Satan, aka Wyatt Winters, moves to town, I do my best to be welcoming. After all, I’m the owner of the historic restaurant and bar that he keeps showing up at, despite criticizing nearly everything about it. Deep breath. I might’ve lost my cool and made a rude gesture in his direction. And told him off. How was I to know he was considering investing in my place?Did I mention I’m in debt up to my eyeballs and every bank has turned me down?Still, there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell I’d ever work with him. Or admit he fires me up in every way.And then a snowstorm traps us together and—I’m melting.This romantic comedy stands alone with a swoonworthy happy-ever-after! No cliffhangers.NOTE: A portion of Fetching’s book sales will go to Pets for Vets, a nonprofit that trains shelter dogs to be therapy companions for military veterans with PTSD.

Sweet Hearts of Sweet Creek Box set: Three sweet and clean romances


Carolyne Aarsen - 2021
    As she and Mark spend time together, and their friendship deepens she wonders if maybe, this man might be different. Wonders if she dare let go of her heart. Can she forgive her family and herself before Mark too becomes a man of her pastHer Heart’s PromiseNadine aims to use her job as editor of the town newspaper to probe into the her father’s mysterious death but her secret high school crush Clint just took over the paper, and he wants the story buried. The same way she would prefer to keep her changing feelings for him under wraps.When Clint reveals a hidden truth about the past, Nadine has to make a choice: continue the quest for justice or find room in her busy life for love…Close to His HeartJace Scholte is determined to rise above his poverty-stricken childhood. Now he’s back in Sweet Creek to win the residents' support for a high-rise condo. He volunteers in a local fundraiser to melt their resistance, but he never expected he'd work side-by-side with the one who got away…Tess Kruger remembers the plan she and Jace constructed all those years ago. But she can't forget the dark secret that caused her to run away from their potential future.Old flames reignite between Jace and Tess, though as they find themselves questioning a past they thought they knew. For a second chance at love, they'll have to face the harsh truth together…The Sweethearts of Sweet Creek Series brings you three heartwarming stories that will entertain, inspire and stir your heart and soul.

Edwina


Patricia Strefling - 2008
    A small town librarian, she loved her predictable lifestyle. But her European-born stepsister Cecelia had other plans. As the two of them were about to board a plane for Scotland, Cecelia was suddenly called away to Italy. Edwina found herself alone in Edinburgh, tired, hungry, and very late. When the hotel clerk told her that she no longer had a room, she fainted - right into the arms of a tall Scot standing behind her. Anxious to meet his fianc, Alex Dunnegin whisked Edwina off to his castle and that's when the trouble began. The handsome Laird became the hero for the novel Edwina was writing. And Cecelia, her beautiful, entrepreneurial sister, the heroine. Could it be any other way? Edwina would find out that the stubborn Scot did not always play the part she wrote for him. My grandmother, a Southern farmer's wife, became the spark of light in my simple, quiet existence when she told me stories. As a child I listened in the dark of night as she, in the other twin bed in my small room, told me about her life. What it was like to live on a farm in the early 1900s. About the two children she lost to death and how it affected her. I felt like I knew the people who had died before I had been born. They had lived and it mattered. With her penchant for Irish story-telling, she began what was to become my own desire. To tell stories. For the last eleven years I have written a dozen fiction novels and as many true stories of my own life experiences, hoping that perhaps my stories will touch another's life like my grandmother did mine.

Hoops Holiday


Kennedy Ryan - 2018
    Years later, they've climbed so high and lost so much, but one thing hasn't changed. The attraction that simmered between them in a locker room before is still there. With success like theirs, everything has been possible... except them.That was then.But what about now?*Hoops Holiday Collection consists of FULL-COURT PRESS, a HOOPS novella originally published in the TEAM PLAYER Anthology. It has been expanded with all-new, never-before-published content & epilogue.It also includes Christmas-themed short stories for characters from LONG SHOT and BLOCK SHOT, books 1 and 2 of the series.

Her Best Friend (Love Off Limits)


Hannah Jo Abbott - 2021
    But that plan didn’t include moving home after college, single with no job. And it definitely didn’t include falling for her best friend.Travis never asked out the one girl he wanted to in high school. But it’s against the rules to date your best friend.Hoping things can be different now, Travis jumps at the chance to hire Julie at his store. But his plan to spend time with her is foiled when she tells him she signed up with a dating app.As Julie goes on dates that are epic failures in every way, Travis is the one she shares the stories with. He’s more and more sure she’s the girl for him. But admitting his feelings might scare her away.Will their friendship turn into something more, or will fear end their relationship forever?

Misfortune: Christmas with Scrooge


Peggy Ann Craig - 2014
    Or is rescued by one. Dexter O’Reilly, a cold and ruthless businessman, meets Laura Witherow, a loving and compassionate individual on Christmas Eve. Recently orphaned, Laura faces her first Christmas alone. After taking a wrong turn down a deserted snowy road, she finds herself stranded deep in the Pennsylvania backroads. Then, as miracles would have it, she is sent someone to share the holiday with that cold fateful Christmas Eve. True, he might not be old Saint Nick, but he was her very own Scrooge. After their brief and unusual encounter, Dexter hopes never to lay eyes on the woman again. However, eight months later she unexpectedly shows up on his business doorstep seeking financial aid for a homeless shelter she operates after a series of unfortunate events leads her to financial ruin. Dexter scoffs at any charitable organization, as well as his growing attraction toward the obstinate woman who refused to give up. Laura is determined to conquer the past, the present and even the future to show Dexter that there was more to life than money and that she was the way to true happiness.

Don't Wait For Me


Dan Kolbet - 2012
    The end is near, but he won't accept it. The store is all he has left of his wife and he can't let it go. Failure and loss have led him to a dark place.After a chance encounter with a shoplifter, he stumbles upon the help of Amelia Cook, who is struggling with her own loss. Through one holiday season the two of them hatch a plan to save the store and in turn touch the lives of everyone they know. What follows is a wonderful, but tragic tale of love, loss and new beginnings.

When We Touch


Brenda Novak - 2012
    Olivia Arnold is arranging the festivities ... It's the hardest thing she's ever done ... Because SHE should be marrying Kyle Houseman ... After all ... until fairly recently ... Kyle and Olivia were together ... for more than a year ... But her jealous sister, Noelle ... stole Kyle away ... and now ... Noelle's pregnant ...All their friends in Whiskey Creek know as well as Olivia does that Kyle's making a mistake. His stepbrother, Brandon, knows it, too. But Kyle's determined to go through with it, for his child's sake.Olivia's devastated, but surprisingly Brandon ... the black sheep of the family ... is there to provide comfort and consolation. The intensity between them, both physical and emotional, shows Olivia that maybe Kyle wasn't the right man for her ... But is Brandon!!!?!

Kinda Hate You


Allie Everhart - 2019
    Just the sight of him gets my blood boiling.Problem is, I'm best friends with his sister so it's hard to avoid him. And now we're going to the same college.He's also giving me swimming lessons but I have no idea why. I swear he's only doing it so he can drown me.I really hate him.I hate the smirk on his face.I hate his gorgeous blue eyes. His dark tan. His muscular arms.I hate the way my stomach flutters when he touches me in the pool.And most of all? I hate that I'm starting to like him.Me liking Cal? That was never supposed to happen.