Book picks similar to
The Roommate by Shae Buggs


romance
contemporary
ebook
chick-lit

Summer at Sea


Beth Labonte - 2015
     Have you ever helped your parents pack for a weeklong cruise? No? I didn't think so. So shut it. So begins vacation for Summer Hartwell - twenty-six years old, living with her anxiety-ridden parents, and unwillingly booked by her brother on a weeklong cruise to Bermuda. Despite the nightmare of being trapped aboard a cruise ship with Mom and Dad, Summer sees a rare opportunity to fulfill The Prophecy – her mother’s declaration that she will live at home until she gets married. With two thousand passengers onboard, at least one of them must be husband material, right? The only problem is Graham Blenderman – her brother’s best friend who is joining them for the week, in all of his tall, blonde, extroverted glory. Graham doesn’t believe Summer needs a husband in order to break free from her parents. He thinks she just needs a little bit of nerve. And to Summer’s introverted horror, he’s willing to spend the entire week proving that he’s right.

The Boy Next Door


Natasha L. Black - 2020
    What in the world did I do deserve this?The boy next door doesn’t let me sleep.And not just because he's loud...Jayson is a rockstar.He’s as skilled as he is hot.I never thought I’d be attracted to an alpha jerk like him.But Jayson is all I ever think about.I mean, what choice do I have, really?We're next door neighbors for goodness sake.He’s always on my mind (and in my ears).And now…I’m carrying a piece of him.I’m carrying his baby.No, he can’t find out.And no, I’m not saying a word about it to him.Jayson and I are poles apart.Our lives couldn’t be more different.He should be on the road, leaving me behind.Leaving my secret behind.And me?I should start preparing to mend my heart.To raise a baby that will forever remind me of him.

Drawing Lessons


Julia Gabriel - 2015
    One that isn't an insta-love relationship, it builds with each lesson, making it much more romantic ... There are twists and turns in this story that one will not expect, which is a delightful surprise. Ms. Gabriel does an amazing job of making the reader want to turn every page and savor it." -- InD'Tale Magazine"Gabriel paints white-hot sex scenes."-- Kirkus ReviewsWhen you're enrolled in the school of hard knocks ...Marie Witherspoon can't catch a break. She's been dumped by her husband—a rising political star in Washington, DC—and humiliated by his gossip blogger mistress. Just when she's picked herself up and dusted herself off, her ex changes his mind and calls off the divorce.Falling in love with your teacher can't possibly make things any worse.There's just one hitch. Marie has rekindled an old hobby and her relationship with her new drawing teacher, French artist Luc Marchand, is way past the point of no return. With her heart on the line, she's prepared to do anything to keep from returning to her old life.Or can it?It's been twelve long years since Luc Marchand's life was shattered by a former student. Forced out of academia, he's walled off his heart and his career. Now he has a chance to revive both—if his past doesn't destroy everything for Luc and Marie.

Seaside Sweets


Melissa Chambers - 2018
    He's got a big one.After her ex runs up her credit card, clears her bank account, and gets her fired, Seanna Perry makes her escape to the quaint beach town of Seaside, Florida. The houses are pastel, the ocean air heaven, and the men hot as the Gulf Coast sun…one in particular. But while paying the price, literally, for the last man she trusted with her heart, she’s not interested in any sort of beach romance, or so she keeps reminding herself.Living in the idyllic coastal paradise of the 30A area hasn’t eased Blake Evans’ guilt over what went down three years ago. He can’t stop blaming himself, and certainly none of his wonderful friends can ever find out what happened. Blake’s done a good job of keeping romantic feelings toward any women at bay, and he needs to keep it that way. But when Seanna begins to show him how to live again, he finds himself struggling to keep his guard up. Seaside Sweets is book one in the Love Along Highway 30A series, which features beautiful beach communities, a circle of unique and amazing friends, and romances that will have you cheering on the couples and fanning yourself from the heat. All books are standalone and can be enjoyed in or out of order.

She Doesn't Know


Shane Morales - 2017
    You’d think after fourteen years of being an Air Force brat, she’d be used to being the new kid, but it still sucks. At least until she meets charming, charismatic Alex and falls for him hard. But Alex is a year older and is heading off to boarding school in Switzerland. Chloe won’t see him again for nine months and it’s breaking her heart. She doesn’t even know if Alex likes her back until he gifts her his private binder of hand-written stories and song lyrics to remember him by. That has to mean something, right? At long last the wait is over and Alex returns, but he's a haunted shell of his former self. Something bad happened while Alex was away, something that killed the light in his eyes, and Chloe is determined to help him. She has to get the old Alex back. But Chloe doesn’t know you can’t bring someone back from a place you’ve never been. All you can do is be there when they finally decide to come home. Due to strong language and sexual situations, She Doesn't Know is recommended for ages 16+.

Gloria


Jessica Lynch - 2019
    Growing up an only child, all she had was her grandmother. After Nana’s passing, Gloria thought she was the last one left in her family.Well, she is. Since Great Aunt Patti is dead and all.That’s okay. The nice lawyer who wrote her a letter assured Gloria that her great aunt lived a long, happy life in a small town that Gloria has never heard of. And now, as her next of kin, everything she owned belongs to Gloria.Including a house. Which sounds like a godsend to Gloria, who is eager to start her dream business and could use the extra cash.Only there’s a catch. Because of course there is. The house is hers—but only after she lives there for a year. One year in Hamlet and then Gloria will have enough money to follow her dream. Why not? It’ll give her time to work on her flavors. And it wasn’t like she had much going on for her in the city anyway.She’s moved in by Thanksgiving, ready to spend the holidays in her new home.So what if her new neighbor is the hottest guy she’s ever seen? Franklin is as grumpy as he is handsome, and he hates Christmas.Seriously.A year? Gloria will be lucky if she makes it to January. * Gloria is a small town Christmas romance set in Hamlet! It’s not explicitly part of the Hamlet series and for two reasons: the timeline and how different in tone it’s going to be compared to the other (darker, more suspenseful) books. Gloria will be a sweet, low-stakes, fluffy romance, similar to Hallmark Christmas movies, though it will feature characters and settings from the Hamlet books. You don't have to be familiar with those books to read this book—it's definitely a stand-alone—but it's also a bit of a prequel to that series, set a couple of years before the first Hamlet book Don't Trust Me.

Through the Riptide


Bert Murray - 2015
    She has to decide whether she will date her ex-boyfriend or a mysterious new man she meets on a bus ride. Filled with passion, emotion, romance and the excitement of a summer by the sea...

Love at Last


Kate Kisset - 2015
    (It didn't help when Sarah caught them in the act on top of her cherished pastry table.) Oh, and they've been robbing her blind, so she's broke now, too. When Sarah's offered a fresh start, and a place to stay, she high tails it out of San Francisco and moves to rural wine country. Finally settled into her new, small town-sleepy life, with a cafe of her own, the last thing Sarah needs is drama. So, when notoriously sexy actor Jamie Santino, swaggers into her new business looking for baking lessons, and help with his new movie role, Sarah's blindsided. Jamie, one of six wealthy Santino Brothers, of Napa Valley Winery fame, has a feeling Sarah might be the off-screen leading lady he's been looking for forever. Wine flows and their passion has all the ingredients for everlasting love until a femme fatale from Jamie's past enters the scene.How can Sarah believe Jamie isn't acting, when everything he says sounds too good to be true? Love at Last (previously published as Just a Kiss) is now the first novel in a large contemporary romance series! If you like small towns, sweet and cozy romances, a full cast of friends, steamy scenes, laughter, and sexy book boyfriends, you'll love book one of Kate Kisset's Love in the Vineyards series.

Becoming Me


Staci Stallings - 2018
    Just ask her. She’ll tell you. After all, he is her sister’s best friend, “royalty” in her high school, a senior, and so talented he would never notice a nobody like her. So Paige resorts to pouring her non-existent feelings for Nelson into a very special notebook, a notebook of the words that cascade through her without her knowing how or where they come from. She’s always been like that, writing words that are poetic, ephemeral, and too precious to share with anyone else. But what happens when she loses the notebook that contains the words that are such a part of her? Worse, when Nelson starts to want to hang out, can she play it cool or will he learn all the secrets she’s been keeping from everyone, even herself? Nelson Samuels knows he’s always been a little weird. For as long as he can remember, he’s done his best to keep just how weird a secret from those closest to him. Yes, they know he writes music. What they don’t know is that he hears music in haunting melodies all the time. Having learned to capture some of them into notes on a page, he struggles to share just enough of his talent without risking anyone knowing all of it. It’s only when Nelson starts to notice his best friend’s younger sister that life is about to dare him to open the deepest secrets he holds about himself to someone else. Will he be brave enough to share the imagination side of him, or will he forever stay trapped in knowing he has this amazing gift but being too afraid to share it with anyone? “Becoming Me” begins The Imagination Series by USA Today Best-Selling Christian author Staci Stallings. This set of stories begins in the very real world and takes the reader on a journey to learn that we all have gifts and talents, and those were placed inside of us by a God Who loves us and wants us to learn to use them—for ourselves, for our friends and family, for the world, and for His Kingdom. Come along on this journey that dares to ask what would happen if we all stopped judging our differences and started celebrating them instead.

Not So Broken (Love Grows Series Book 1)


Renee Regent - 2019
    An independent woman. When they collide, love grows in a most unexpected way! A bitter divorce from my cheating ex-husband left me reeling, but I forged a new life on my own. Now on the verge of a promotion, everything I want is in reach—except a family. I’ve all but given up on ever having a child.So I decided I would adopt one on my own.Then one wild night changed everything. I was swept away by Gibson, a hot-looking handyman who was, well, pretty good with his hands. And then some.But there were unintended consequences from our tryst. Now he and I are forever connected, and it turns out Gibson was not at all what he seemed to be. We barely know each other, and now he is in my life forever. Maybe we can make this work if we stay platonic.That will be easy, right?The Love Grows Series- Strong, protective heroes. Feisty, independent heroines. When they meet, Love Grows in unexpected ways.

Mr. January


Jasmine Garner - 2020
    It’s why he’s a great firefighter. It’s also why he can’t get over the morbid scene he just witnessed during his last shift. And then he meets Tisha, who understands the emotional turmoil he’s going through. She ends up saving his life in the most embarrassing way possible, and he can’t get her out of his head.Tisha can’t think of the last time she’s laughed, yet she’s content with her life. When you’ve experienced indescribable trauma, sometimes good enough is, well, good enough.She meets Seth and suddenly wants more. But with both of them healing from the darkness in their pasts, a healthy relationship may not be possible. And she’s perfectly fine with rejecting his advances, until she learns that he is Mr. January in a smoking hot firefighter calendar. Suddenly, saying no isn’t as clear-cut as she thought it would be. Seth’s personal commitments and darkness prove to be too overwhelming to fully give himself to Tisha, although he’s trying his best. But his best may not be good enough. The logical part of her mind and the broken part of her heart say no, but they’re no match for the fire he kindles within her body.This BWWM romance is book one in the Hot Boys firefighter series. Each book can be read as a standalone and in any order. No cheating and a guaranteed happily ever after.Are you ready to step into the fire?

The Sheriff's Baby Bargain


Susan Lute - 2020
    Marshal-turned-Sheriff Taylor James can trace her family back to the original thirteen Marshals appointed by George Washington. She’s good at her job, but once they find out she’s the local law, she can’t get even one of her dates to stay past the appetizers. Her plan? Convince good friend and hot neighbor Dr. Gabriel Adams to give her dating lessons since his dance card is always full.A survivor of childhood leukemia with no guarantee his remission will last, Gabe lives by two rules: Don’t get emotionally involved and don’t let his well organized life spiral out of control. When he’s given a baby, with his name on her birth certificate, he needs Taylor’s help. But dangling dating lessons in exchange? If that will get the dedicated sheriff to lend a helping hand, could it be a bargain worth making?

Harbor Falls Romance Box Set: Two-Book Series Starter


Maddie James - 2020
    She will run the inn, write her cookbooks, and pick up an occasional catering job with her cousin, who owns the local bakery. Her life in Harbor Falls is predictable--a welcome change from the chaos of recent months (when her sister ran off with her fiancé)--and that's the way she likes it. Until chaos rides his bad ass Harley up to her bed and breakfast doorstep--and her perfect, predictable, and well-planned world starts crumbling like yesterday's blueberry muffins.Brad Matthews has other ideas. When Suzie worked as his sous chef in Asheville months earlier, he had no intention of falling in love with the sassy chef--no room in his life for romance. But when she disappeared and took Brad's heart with her, his good intentions shattered. Even though Brad's plan to win Suzie back involves making the people of Harbor Falls a bit angry (Suzie included), it is part of his bigger plan to get his life and career on track, and to win Suzie Hart back into his arms--permanently.But can Suzie let go of their muddled past, and her well-planned future, in order to find happiness with hunky Chef Brad? Can Brad alter his own plan, in order to win Suzie back? Take My Heart - When Shelley Hart ran off and married her sister, Suzie's, fiancé, the whole town of Harbor Falls was in a twitter. A few years later, her husband deceased and with two little girls in tow, her only recourse is to go home for the holidays. Will Suzie, forgive her? What about that boy she left behind?Harbor Falls Police Officer Matt Branson values being alone. Dubbed the town hermit, he prefers the solitude of his mountain cabin to socializing with friends--friends who say he still pines after the woman who got away. But the snowy day he pulls over an older model sedan speeding into Harbor Falls, things change. His gut slams against his backbone as a tearful woman rolls down the car window. His heart melts when she looks up into his eyes.Shelley Hart is back in town--the woman who sent him into his cave in the first place.

The Keatyn Chronicles: Books 1-2


Jillian Dodd - 2016
    She's popular, goes to the best parties, dates the hottest guy, and sits at the most-coveted lunch table. But she's thinking about giving it all up to date an adorable surfer. So she writes a new script. One where all the pieces of her life come together in perfect harmony. But little does she know, there's someone who will do anything to make sure that doesn't happen.Book 2 - Kiss Me Keatyn's always written scripts for her perfect life. But she never would have scripted this ... She's now at a boarding school, where she has new challenges to face. Like tutoring a hottie god that tortures her with his smile. And having the most popular girl hate her, because of a guy. So she's decided to stop trying to script her life, and just live it. Because who knows how long she has left.

Romance Reset


Kay Lyons - 2020
    That’s why she’s researching sperm banks and procedures. It’s also why her best friend hires a matchmaker for her. She insists Amelia deserves—needs—a romance reset before she embarks on single parenthood.Widower Lincoln Hayes is about to be an empty nester with his twins going off to college. He’s ready to have some fun, but he doesn’t want to do it alone. Dating, though.... Staying offline and hiring a matchmaker who vets his dates makes sense.Imagine Lincoln’s surprise when his first date in twenty years is actually his first love, the one who broke his heart and got away. Amelia is shocked to see Lincoln, and the chemistry between them is as strong as ever. Amelia can easily imagine having Lincoln’s baby— but is her biological clock and desire for a child more than Lincoln can handle?