Book picks similar to
Back to the Drawing Board by L.L. Collins
romance
arc
standalone
dual-pov
Because You're Mine
K. Langston - 2013
She’s already working for one of the most prestigious law firms in Boston as a research assistant, and in a few short months, she will finally graduate from Harvard and collect her law degree. Everything she’s worked so hard to accomplish is well within her reach. But when Madison has to take an unexpected trip back home, she's blindsided by the one thing she never anticipated. A man who not only tests her patience but tempts her heart. Madison doesn’t have time for love and a love as consuming as his will only derail her perfectly laid plans. Desperate to escape his wicked past, Holden Brooks moved to Madison's hometown five years ago, hell-bent on overcoming the demons that nearly destroyed him back in Texas. He’s in a good place in his life. Love is the last thing on his mind until he tastes her honeysuckle skin and looks into those deep blue eyes. Desire ignites as their two paths collide and they soon find out, fate has a plan of its own.
Mercy
Debra Anastasia - 2017
Murder is in my blood now. It runs through my veins and though I hide the monster I see in the mirror with ink, it doesn’t keep him from coming out. My street name is Mercy, but I never show any. Except for her. I watch Becca, though she doesn’t know. She saved me a long time ago; the day my father killed my mother. Her bravery turned her into a target.My father holds a grudge and knife with the same proficiency, and Becca is the focus of his hatred. And I’m the only monster who can save her.
Nerdgasm
Kimberly Reese - 2018
My stutter makes it easy to become the center of attention for all the wrong reasons, so I try hard to stay out of the spotlight. But when Addison Mitchell breezes into the class I TA for, she turns my world upside down, shaking me out of my comfort zone. Confident and bold, her wandering hands set my body on fire. She sees the real me, and she’s still interested. I’m completely out of my element, yet I’ve never felt more alive. Fingers crossed we're not a one-off fling. I have a lot to learn, but I’m willing to make this work. I’m going to give her more than a nerdgasm. I’m going to give her my heart.
Love, Your Concierge
Jessica Ingro - 2014
Control—it’s my middle name.Hello. I’m Elizabeth – your personal concierge. My job is to play fairy godmother to the rich and famous.The universal rule book may say to never mix business with pleasure, but its author never worked for Grant Morgan, my sexy and brooding client. As a top attorney in Manhattan, Grant is used to calling the shots and dominating everything he touches. He also changes girlfriends as often as I pick up his dry cleaning. A part of me still wishes I could let him command my body and take me in ways I've never imagined, though.
One moment of weakness is all it takes to change everything forever.
Addicted—I can’t get enough of him. Consumed—He’s all I think and dream about.The book has officially been thrown out the window. I’m in love and completely terrified. With lines blurred, I find myself lying, cheating and stealing to protect myself from being hurt. But my choices affect more than just me and now I’m not so sure what I’m trying to protect myself from.Will love be enough to erase all I've done? Or have I made the biggest mistake of all?
Rules of a Rebel and a Shy Girl
Jessica Sorensen - 2016
The middle is a bit more complicated.The list of rules is supposed to protect mine and Beck’s friendship and stop us from accidentally kissing again. But most of all, it’s supposed to protect my heart from getting crushed and keep me from ending up broken like my mom.I’ve always been great at following rules. But the more time I spend with Beck, the more I can’t stop thinking about that kiss and how amazing his lips felt against mine. For the first time in my life, I wish I was a rule breaker. But I can never cross that line. Not with Beck. Not with anyone.Besides, if Beck knew the truth about my life, then the list wouldn’t have to exist because he wouldn't have kissed me to begin with.BeckIt started with the most amazing kiss ever and led to Willow handing me a list.That stupid list. When she gave it to me, I wanted to shred it to pieces, pull her against me, and kiss her until she realized a piece of paper wasn’t going to stop me. Willow’s been my best friend since forever and she should know by now that I’m not a follow-the-rules kind of guy.She may think that kiss was a mistake, but she’s wrong. Kisses like that can’t be a mistake. Willow and I belong together, have since the day I promised to always protect her from the bad stuff in her life. And somehow I’m going to prove it to her. Just like I’ll always protect her no matter what.A standalone contemporary romance.Suggested reading age 18+
Uncovering Love
Kacey Shea - 2015
You’ve got to hold onto it with everything you’ve got."As part owner in a PI firm that specializes in matters of the heart, the rules are simple. I catch cheaters and vet potential suitors. I don't fall in love, especially with the man I'm hired to investigate. Only, that's become a problem. As one case moves beyond professional, I find myself fighting an attraction I cannot resist. This hunky, tatted muscle man is hiding a wicked sense of humor and generous spirit behind his six pack. The more I learn about him, the more I want him for myself.But I can't break the rules, even if I've uncovered love in the most unexpected of places.Uncovering Love is the first in a series, but can also be read as a standalone.
Wrapped In My Wife
Alexa Riley - 2018
But when her twin boys go to kindergarten she finds herself with too much time on her hands.Dylan built his construction business with his wife by his side, until she had their boys and decided to stay at home. The past few years he’s been working hard to build the perfect life for her, but he’s ready to slow down.When Emily takes a job at the local library she’s not prepared for a creepy new boss. She misses her family, but she’s determined to make it work. But little does she know her husband is on the prowl, and nobody gets in the way of what still belongs to only him.Warning: This sugary sweet husband and wife romance is everything your heart desires! It’s safe, sexy, and over the top! Put a ring on it and dive in!
Single Dad's Waitress
Amelia Wilde - 2017
Valentine is serving up the exact opposite at the Short Stack Café.She’s a disaster waiting to happen—a gorgeous, irresistible disaster.Ryder can’t risk his newfound stability on a whirlwind like Valentine. He definitely can’t risk his heart. But one taste of her has him willing to pick up the tab, no matter the price.(Previously titled Over Easy.)
Impact
Haley Jenner - 2019
Before. 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳. You don’t need to know too much of my life before. It’s no longer relevant to my story. The damage is mine. I’m a ghost. The shell of the girl from 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 striving to survive in the 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳. Love. Life. Friendship. I’ve pushed it all away in my fight to breathe another day. Who am I? No one. Worse, I’ve lost sight of 𝘸𝘩𝘺 I continue to endure. Until him. Until he reminds me of the girl of before.
Castle of Kings
Betty Shreffler - 2017
He consumes my very breath and melts my delicate little panties. From the moment he set eyes on me, he decided I was his. No one – not even my brother, Nix – was going to tell him otherwise. It doesn’t matter that Nix is President of the Kings MC Club. Jake wants what he wants, and he’ll set out to get it, whatever the cost.Jake may be an arrogant asshole, but there’s no denying the hold he has over me. His fierce, carnal need to make me his, and his alone, is a snare I can’t escape. And truth be told, I don’t want to. But when my life becomes threatened, Jake Castle is the only man my brother trusts to protect me. He knows Jake will do anything to keep me safe.Anything.
The Weight of Life
Whitney Barbetti - 2017
The words I would soon say again, in a moment that didn’t involve bridges, but something much more fragile: my heart.He held onto me for three weeks, in a time when I needed to be held. Needed to connect to someone who understood how loss tunneled unrepentantly through the fabric of your soul.Although he said he'd stay, we both knew he wouldn't. I had already survived one loss—I didn't know if I'd survive another.-Ames-She spun into my life like a tornado of smiles and chatter and everything else I'd long avoided, with a persistence that I admired, albeit begrudgingly. She broke down each neat wall I’d constructed without even trying. Her presence alone caused me to remember what it felt like to smile, to look forward to what the day would bring.But it was only supposed to last three weeks.“Don’t let go,” she’d pleaded.I’d promised her I wouldn’t—but I would. I didn't have a choice.
Before Girl
Kate Canterbary - 2018
He's the guy who's loved her from afar. They're in for an unexpected tumble into love. She'll juggle your balls. For Stella Allesandro, chaos is good. She's a rising star at a leading sports publicity firm. She's known throughout the industry as the jock whisperer—the one who can tame the baddest of the bad boys in professional sports without losing her signature smile. But Cal Hartshorn is an entirely different kind of chaos. He'll fix your broken heart. This former Army Ranger and now-famous cardiothoracic surgeon fails at nothing…except talking to a woman he's adored from afar. Whether on the battlefield or operating room, he's exacting, precise, and efficient, but all of that crumbles when Stella is in sight. Cal always knows—and gets—what he wants, and now he wants all of her. His forever girl. But Stella isn't convinced she's anyone's forever.
Southern Charmer
Jessica Peterson - 2018
He's southern. And he won't stop showing up at my door half naked. Meet Elijah Jackson, my hot new neighbor...From the outside looking in? I’ve got it all. Prestigious job. Pretty house. And a perfect boyfriend who just proposed with the perfect ring.I should feel ecstatic—but instead, I feel suffocated. So I break up with my boyfriend, hop in my car, and head south.Charleston, South Carolina: home to stunning architecture, sultry accents, and—oh yeah—my perpetually shirtless neighbor, Elijah Jackson. As if his abs for days and inked up deliciousness aren’t enticing enough, he also encourages me to chase down my dreams. And the chemistry between us? Hotter than the kitchen at Eli’s restaurant. But I still have a life a thousand miles away. One I’ve worked really hard to build. And I don’t know if I can just leave it all behind.I have to choose. A choice Eli doesn't make any easier by inviting me out to his cabin for a long weekend. Just the two of us. And one bed. I swear to God this southerner is out to charm the panties right off me. Just this once, I might let him...SOUTHERN CHARMER is a slow burn, standalone romance with no cheating. It is part of the Charleston Heat Series, which is a series of interconnected standalone novels set in the steamy southern town of Charleston, South Carolina.SOUTHERN CHARMER: Oliva and Eli’s bookSOUTHERN PLAYER: Gracie and Luke’s bookSOUTHERN GENTLEMAN: Julia and Greyson’s bookSOUTHERN HEARTBREAKER: Eva and Ford’s book
Craving Sugar
Elena M. Reyes - 2021
Travel, eat, and have your every expense taken care of.The catch: I’ll be someone’s sugar baby for a year. Paid to be a private escort.Beau Carter is young, beautiful, and with a bright future ahead of her. Her dreams of becoming the first woman in her family to graduate from college are just within her grasp, when the financial aid runs out. Up to her eyeballs in debt, she works night and day to make ends meet, but even that can only last for so long.Hendrix Parker lost it all four years ago. Angry at the world, he’s become an asshole—a bitter shell of the man his family once loved. A recluse, he is now forced to leave his sanctuary in the Florida Keys and become an active member of the real estate developer community he now dominates.Problem is he’s all alone and needs a buffer. Someone to draw attention away from him.“I bought you to be my whore.”
In Harmony
Emma Scott - 2018
The happy, driven girl is gone, and she is left wracked by post-traumatic stress her body remembers even if she does not. When her father suddenly uproots the family from their posh penthouse in New York City to the tiny town of Harmony, Indiana, Willow becomes more untethered and lost under the weight of her secret. On a whim, she auditions for a part in the community theater’s production of Hamlet and unexpectedly wins the role of Ophelia—the girl who is undone by madness, and her love of Hamlet… Isaac Pierce is from the ‘wrong side of the tracks.’ The town bad boy. Girls pine for his attention and guys are in awe of him. That he’s an acting prodigy only adds to his charisma. Isaac utterly disappears into his characters; the stage is the only place he feels safe from his own traumatic home life. He wants nothing more than to escape to Broadway or Hollywood, and leave Harmony behind for good. No one can play Hamlet but Isaac, and when the director pairs him with Willow in acting class, they clash again and again—neither willing to open their hearts to anyone. But clashing leads to breaking, breaking leads to the spilling of terrible secrets, and soon Isaac and Willow find Shakespeare’s words mirroring their lives. When they are cruelly torn apart, neither know how this play will end—with madness and heartache? Or healing, love, and the discovery of who they are truly meant to be. In Harmony is a standalone NEW ADULT love story, and is intended for readers 18 and up. PLEASE NOTE, this book contains sensitive material such as physical abuse, and the aftermath of sexual assault (off the page). Reader discretion is advised.