Book picks similar to
Hot Winter Nights by Codi Gary


romance
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contemporary

Devil to Pay


Jeaniene Frost - 2009
    Plagued with constant black outs and a trail of dead bodies in his wake, Blake thinks vampire Elise is his best chance at ending the nightmare. It's just too bad he's fallen in love with the gorgeous vamp right before he has to die.

The Weekenders


Mary Kay Andrews - 2016
    Others come only for the weekends-and the mix between the regulars and “the weekenders” can sometimes make the sparks fly. Riley Griggs has a season of good times with friends and family ahead of her on Belle Isle when things take an unexpected turn. While waiting for her husband to arrive on the ferry one Friday afternoon, Riley is confronted by a process server who thrusts papers into her hand. And her husband is nowhere to be found.So she turns to her island friends for help and support, but it turns out that each of them has their own secrets, and the clock is ticking as the mystery deepens...in a murderous way. Cocktail parties aside, Riley must find a way to investigate the secrets of Belle Island, the husband she might not really know, and the summer that could change everything.Told with Mary Kay Andrews’ trademark blend of humor and warmth, and with characters and a setting that you can’t help but fall for, The Weekenders is the perfect summer escape.

Busted


Karin Slaughter - 2013
    This electrifying eBook novella featuring Will Trent is a prequel to Slaughter’s upcoming novel, Unseen.   Detective Will Trent is standing in a Georgia convenience store, waiting on an obstinate Icee frozen drink machine. To the surveillance cameras and bored staff of the Lil’ Dixie Gas-n-Go, however, Will appears to be someone very different—the menacing ex-con Bill Black. Going undercover as Bill, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent is about to infiltrate the most corrupt town in the most corrupt county in the new American South. But first: his Icee.   Everything changes in one horrific instant, as all hell breaks loose at the Lil’ Dixie. A cop is shot. A bag of cash goes flying across the floor. A young woman disappears while a killer takes off in a battered pick-up truck. Within seconds, Will is in pursuit.  Includes an exclusive preview of Karin Slaughter’s thrilling new novel of suspense, Unseen.

Long Time Coming


Sandra Brown - 1988
    In this classic tale, a woman is reunited with the man she has loved for years—and must reveal the secret that will jeopardize her chance for happiness at last. He arrived out of the blue—a flesh-and-blood phantom from the past in a sports car as sleek and sexy as Law Kincaid himself. The world-famous astronaut was as devastatingly attractive as the first time Marnie Hibbs had laid eyes on him, seventeen years before. But she well knew the perils of falling for a ladies’ man like Law. And this time she had someone besides herself to protect. Law is determined to discover who is sending him anonymous letters claiming he’d fathered a son he knows nothing about. Showing up at the Hibbs’s return address from the letters seemed like a step in the right direction. Marnie swears she isn’t the guilty party, but when Law meets her son, it’s like a one-two punch to his solar plexus. The boy is nearly the spitting image of Law. Law can’t remember sleeping with Marnie—then again, he can’t remember much about his crazy past. But there’s more to it than that: Marnie claims the boy isn’t biologically hers. As the tension between them becomes unbearable and the attraction undeniable, Marnie is forced to reveal a long-held secret...one that might cause her to lose both the boy she loves more than anyone—and the man she desires more than anything.From the Hardcover edition.

Hope Flames


Jaci Burton - 2013
    Independent and driven, she's not letting any man get in the way of her dreams. Not again.That's fine with Luke McCormack. Divorced and hardly lacking in female company when he needs it, he's devoted to the only faithful companion in his life - his police dog. Still, there's something about Emma he can't shake.When a series of local break-ins leaves Emma vulnerable, she seeks help from the first man to spark her desire in years. And now they're giving each other something they thought they'd lost forever... hope

Everything After


Jill Santopolo - 2021
    Two choices. One chance to follow her dreams.Emily has come a long way since she lost her two passions fifteen years ago: music, and Rob. She's a psychologist at NYU who helps troubled college students like the one she once was. Together with her caring doctor husband, Ezra, she has a beautiful life. They're happy. They hope to start a family. But when a tragic event in Emily's present too closely echoes her past, and parts of her story that she'd hoped never to share come to light, her perfect life is suddenly upturned. Then Emily hears a song on the radio about the woman who got away. The melody and voice are hauntingly familiar. Could it be? As Emily's past passions come roaring back into her life, she'll find herself asking: Who is she meant to be? Who is she meant to love?

Foul Play


Steffie Hall - 1989
    Jake just can't resist a damsel in distress, and Amy certainly doesn't mind Jake's charming sincerity.Then suddenly the job-stealing chicken disappears and Amy is suspected of foul play. Amy and Jake search for clues to prove her innocence. But will Jake be able to prove to Amy that love, too, is a mystery worth solving?

Family Tree


Susan Wiggs - 2016
    A single cell, joining with another. And then dividing. And just like that, the world changes. Annie Harlow knows how lucky she is. The producer of a popular television cooking show, she loves her handsome husband and the beautiful Los Angeles home they share. And now, she’s pregnant with their first child. But in an instant, her life is shattered. And when Annie awakes from a yearlong coma, she discovers that time isn’t the only thing she’s lost.Grieving and wounded, Annie retreats to her old family home in Switchback, Vermont, a maple farm generations old. There, surrounded by her free-spirited brother, their divorced mother, and four young nieces and nephews, Annie slowly emerges into a world she left behind years ago: the town where she grew up, the people she knew before, the high-school boyfriend turned judge. And with the discovery of a cookbook her grandmother wrote in the distant past, Annie unearths an age-old mystery that might prove the salvation of the family farm.Family Tree is the story of one woman’s triumph over betrayal, and how she eventually comes to terms with her past. It is the story of joys unrealized and opportunities regained. Complex, clear-eyed and big-hearted, funny, sad, and wise, it is a novel to cherish and to remember.

The Right Time


Danielle Steel - 2017
    After her father’s untimely death, at fourteen Alex is taken in by the nuns of a local convent, where she finds twenty-six mothers to take the place of the one she lost, and the time and encouragement to pursue her gift. Alex writes in every spare moment, gripped by the plots and themes and characters that fill her mind. Midway through college, she has finished a novel—and manages to find a seasoned agent, then a publisher. But as she climbs the ladder of publishing success, she resolutely adheres to her father’s admonition: Men read crime thrillers by men only—and so Alexandra Winslow publishes under the pseudonym Alexander Green, her true identity known only to those closest to her, creating a double life that isolates her. Her secret life as the mysterious and brilliantly successful Alexander Green—and her own life as a talented young woman—expose her to the envious, the arrogant, and Hollywood players who have no idea who she really is. Always, the right time to open up seems just out of reach, and would cost her dearly. Once her double life and fame are established, the price of the truth is always too high.

All I Want for Christmas


Nora Roberts - 1994
    Their father, Mac Taylor, is a builder who fixes up old buildings in their small town, and the boys are afraid he'll be too busy to help them out with the new demands of their school. They decide to write to Santa and ask for a mother. When they see the new music teacher, Nell Davis, at school, she meets all their requirements, and they realize this is the mom they've requested. Mac is attracted to Nell, but is reluctant to pursue her, as his wife had walked out on him, and he doesn't want to risk hurting his children. The romance blossoms despite his fears, and the story is filled with the joy and anticipation of Christmas as the magic of the children's wish comes true.

Falling Under You


Laurelin Paige - 2016
    She climbed out of poverty, put herself through school and is now a chief financial advisor at Pierce Industries. She’s certainly a woman who won’t be topped. Not in business anyway. But she’s pretty sure she’d like to be topped in the bedroom. Unfortunately most men see independence and ambition in a woman and they run. Even her dominant boss, Hudson Pierce has turned down her advances, leaving her to fear that she will never find the lover she’s longing for. Then the most unlikely candidate steps up. Boyd, her much-too-young and oh-so-hot assistant surprises her one night with bold suggestions and an authoritative demeanor he’s never shown her in the office. It’s a bad idea…such a deliciously bad idea…but when Boyd takes the reins and leads her to sensual bliss she’s never known, the headstrong Norma can’t help but fall under his command.

The Bride Who Wouldn't


Carol Marinelli - 2014
     There are only two problems. It’s a marriage of convenience. And, the virgin bride is frigid. Kate Edwards has never embraced her sensuality, is terrified of intimacy, and the wedding night is a disaster. Instead of calling the whole thing off, Isaak Zaretsky listens to her and challenges her using his unashamedly sensual nature and superb bedroom skills. But can Kate really give herself without love?

Angel's Rest


Emily March - 2011
    Gabriel Callahan has lost everything that mattered. All he wants is solitude on an isolated mountain estate. Instead, he gets a neighbor. Vibrant, no-nonsense Nic Sullivan is Eternity Springs' veterinarian, and she has an uncanny plan to lure this talented architect back to the world of the living. First with a dog, next with a renovation project, and, finally, with a night of passion that ends with a surprise. Now a man still raw from tragedy must face the biggest struggle of his heart. Can he forgive himself and believe in the power of second chances? Dare he trust in the promise of a future and a brand-new family here in Eternity Springs?

Taken


Barbara Freethy - 2006
    Now, after a miraculous whirlwind courtship with the man of her dreams, she is his wife. But on their wedding night, he vanishes, leaving Kayla with the bitter realization that her desire has made her an easy mark for deception.Nick Granville has an ingrained sense of honor and an intense desire to succeed in building the world’s most challenging high-tech bridges. But when he crosses paths with a ruthless con man, he’s robbed of everything he values, including his identity. With nothing left to lose, he’ll risk any danger to clear his name and reclaim his life.Thrown together by fate, Kayla and Nick embark on a desperate journey toward the truth — to uncover the mysterious motives of an ingenious and seductive stranger who boasts he can’t be caught … and to reveal the shocking secrets of their own shattered pasts.

Paris for One and Other Stories


Jojo Moyes - 2016
    She's never even been on a romantic weekend away--to anywhere--before. Traveling abroad isn't really her thing. But when Nell's boyfriend fails to show up for their mini-vacation, she has the opportunity to prove everyone--including herself--wrong. Alone in Paris, Nell finds a version of herself she never knew existed: independent and intrepid. Could this turn out to be the most adventurous weekend of her life? Funny, charming, and irresistible, Paris for One is quintessential Jojo Moyes--as are the other stories that round out the collection.