Book picks similar to
The Better Brother by Rye Hart


romance
contemporary-romance
contemporary
arc

Rewrite the Stars


Charleigh Rose - 2018
    Beautiful and popular, if not a little jaded. A chance encounter with a green-eyed stuntman sets off a chain of events that turns her perfect, little world upside down. Short on options and desperate for adventure, she joins the traveling carnival for the summer. Thrust into a world full of drama, deception, and secrecy, Evangeline tries to find herself and protect her heart in the process. Sebastian McAllister is cursed. He knows better than to think otherwise. He’s content to live out the rest of his life traveling the country as one of the four Sons of Eastlake, seeking thrills the only way he knows how. The one thing he doesn’t see coming is the spoiled blond with stars in her eyes. The only problem is, the more time he spends with her, the more hope starts to stir in his dormant heart. Too bad hope is a dangerous thing when you’re a McAllister

Forsaking Gray


K.L. Kreig - 2015
    Deception. Betrayal.Within less than twenty-four hours of proposing to the love of Gray's life, Liva disappeared. No note. No trace. No explanation. Nothing. Now, five years later, she’s resurfaced and Gray will stop at nothing to make Livia his again. But is love enough to forgive an unforgivable wrong?Livia had less than sixty seconds to make a decision that would change her life forever. She sacrificed. She suffered. She survived. Now that she's back, she's determined that no one ever discover her shameful secret - especially the only man she's ever loved. But will hiding the past destroy her future?

My Favorite Souvenir


Penelope Ward - 2020
    Rather than let my breakup get me down, I packed my bags and decided a week at a luxury resort was just what I needed.But one calamity after the next, and suddenly I was stuck without a hotel room, along with a few hundred other people.It looked like my fancy vacation was about to turn into me sleeping on the hotel lobby floor.Until I overheard a gorgeous man pretending to be someone he wasn’t in order to steal a reservation from a guest who hadn’t shown up yet.When I realized there were two rooms, instead of calling him out, I pretended to be his sister. That’s how the story of “Milo and Maddie Hooker” began. We were the Hookers.My depressing trip quickly made a U-turn into an adventure. My fake brother spent the next few days showing me around his hometown. When it was time to leave, neither of us really wanted to go yet. So, instead of flying back to our respective homes, we ventured on a road trip. At every stop, we’d pick up souvenirs.But as hot as our chemistry was, we never crossed the line.Milo knew I’d just come out of a tough relationship and didn’t want to mess with a vulnerable woman.So instead, at the end of our trip, we made a pact to meet again in three months. It was always my intention to meet him.But when I got back home, reality hit in a big way.And I worried I may have lost my handsome stranger forever.Was there a place for him in my future?Or had the memory of him just become my favorite souvenir?

Medicine Man


Saffron A. Kent - 2018
    But this is no ordinary castle. It’s called Heartstone Psychiatric hospital and it houses forty other patients. It has nurses with mean faces and techs with permanent frowns.It has a man, as well. A man who is cold and distant. Whose voice drips with authority. And whose piercing gray eyes hide secrets, and maybe linger on her face a second too long. Willow isn’t supposed to look deep into those eyes. She isn’t supposed to try to read his tightly leashed emotions. And neither is she supposed to touch herself at night, imagining his powerful voice and that cold but beautiful face.No, Willow Taylor shouldn’t be attracted to Simon Blackwood, at all. Because she’s a patient and he’s her doctor. Her psychiatrist. The medicine man. WARNING: This book discusses sensitive issues including but not limited to, depression and suicide.

The Thing About Love


Kim Karr - 2018
     I prefer a man with an artistic vein in his body. 9 - 5 hours. And I can definitely do without the half-lidded, sleepy bedroom eyes. (Okay, so those are kind of sexy.) Tall, dark, and handsome doesn’t change the fact that he’s arrogant, cocky, and rude. Not that I care, but he’s made it clear he wants nothing to do with a quirky girl like me, which is why he said no. Turns out no isn’t an option. I have a quickie wedding to plan, and Dr. Jake Kissinger doesn’t have a choice. He looks at our situation like he’s stuck with me, but in reality I’m stuck with him. Stuck with his pouty mouth. His long, lean body. And stuck with those loose, low riding scrub pants. (Okay, so the doctor thing is growing on me.) When spending time together turns into more than it should, I know I’m in trouble. He isn’t supposed to make my heart pound. I’m not supposed to make him look twice. And we aren’t supposed to spend the night together. (Okay, so he has more than one artistic vein in his body, and other places.) Falling for him is definitely a mistake. Here’s the thing…Jake is unavailable, and I know it. Just not in the way you might think. I guess you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

Bend


Kivrin Wilson - 2016
    My boyfriend’s best friend. He was never supposed to be anything more—until he was. When my college boyfriend betrayed me and left, breaking my heart, Jay picked a side. He chose me. He stayed, and for the past six years, he’s been my rock, my anchor, my compass…Now we’ve grown up, finished school, and have careers. Me as a nurse practitioner; Jay as a doctor. He’s been everything I needed, but now I want more. I can’t stop thinking about him, and I’m done hiding it.   It’s time to find out if he wants me, too. 
JAY

A friend. Not a lover. That’s who Mia Waters is to me. I’ve tried damn hard to make sure our relationship stays that way. I’m the shoulder she leans on, the last one to talk to her before she goes to sleep at night… And after six years, she means more to me than my own family.The moment I met her, I wanted her. But she belonged to someone else, so I pushed the need down. I didn’t take what I wanted. I’m not that guy. Her happiness meant more.  Until now. Until she asks me a question that shatters our unspoken boundaries. Have you ever thought about having sex with me? Six years of keeping her at arm’s length, and I can feel myself starting to give in and lose control with her.I can’t let it happen. There are reasons I didn’t get close. She hasn’t let go of her ex-boyfriend, not really. And she has no idea about the lies I’ve told her.What if she finds out about me? What if she finds out who I really am?And what will she do when I leave?

Tumble


Adriana Locke - 2019
    Her plan? Relax, reset, and head back up the corporate ladder. There’s just one unexpected step. Neely’s back in Dogwood Lane for barely a day when she sees the man she ran from nine years ago: the bad boy next door who was her first kiss, her first love, and her first heartbreak.Devoted single dad Dane Madden knows he hurt Neely in the worst way. He’s got a lot to make up for. And as passionate as their reconnection is, it’s a lot to hope for. Having her back in his arms feels so right. But falling in love all over again with a woman who wants to live a world away is bound to go so wrong.What’s it going to take for Neely to give him—and Dogwood Lane—just one more chance?

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.

Chasing Spring


R.S. Grey - 2016
    I didn't belong in the small town, but my dad wouldn't listen. He dragged me back home in his beat-up truck and dropped a bomb along the way: Chase Matthews was moving in with us. He was the golden boy of my high school, my former best friend, and the last person I wanted sleeping across the hall. His presence was too great a reminder of the ghosts I was trying to forget.I didn't ask for a hero. I don't want to be saved.To me, Lilah Calloway meant late nights sneakin'; out, moonlit hair, and sparklers in July. She was my best friend until the day she left and I'd assumed Blackwater had seen the last of her. Then, like a tempest, she rolled back into town for the final half of senior year. The chopped hair and dark devil-may-care attitude warned most people away, but I knew if I fought hard enough, I could find the lost girl.I didn't want to be her hero. Some girls don't need to be saved.

Slip of the Tongue


Jessica Hawkins - 2016
    Nathan Hunt has her coffee waiting every morning. He holds her hand until the last second. He worships the Manhattan sidewalk she walks on. Until one day, he just…stops. And Sadie finds herself in the last place she ever expected to be. Lonely in her marriage.When rugged and sexy Finn Cohen moves into the apartment across the hall, he and Sadie share an immediate spark. Finn reveals dreams for a different life. Sadie wants to save her marriage. Their secrets should keep them apart, not ignite a blistering affair. But while Sadie’s marriage runs colder by the day, she and Finn burn hotter.Her husband doesn’t want her anymore.The man next door would give up everything to have her.Slip of the Tongue is a standalone contemporary romance. The second book in the series, The First Taste, is a standalone about a different couple.

Levi's Blue


Michelle Leighton - 2016
    Three steamy nights. One breathtaking love. Levi Michaelson. He wanted four dates. Four opportunities to prove I could trust him. Four chances to change my mind about him. I agreed. Probably not my smartest decision. He was everything I knew to avoid—gorgeous, charming, sexy as hell—but I couldn’t help myself. When he touched me the whole world disappeared. I should’ve known I could lose myself to him, that he could be the one man to destroy me. I guess it’s true what they say—some things are too good to be true. And Levi Michaelson might just be one of them. Unzip this sexy, southern contemporary romance that’s guaranteed to make you sweat and make you swoon! Standalone. HEA. Intended for mature readers.

We Were Once


S.L. Scott - 2020
    Scott, crafts her signature heartfelt style into a brand new emotional, second chance, standalone romance. I have three goals: graduate from an Ivy League university, get into medical school, and follow in my father’s well-established footsteps. Everything was going exactly as planned until the local bad boy was delivered to my doorstep. Literally.From the moment we meet, my old life becomes unrecognizable, but I have no regrets. I’m utterly captivated by him. His smirk. His heart. His sharp wit. He pushes me to live, to be wild, to pursue the dream I’ve always hidden inside.To the rest of the world, we make no sense.Me, the girl from the gilded New England coast.Joshua, from the small city of New Haven.To us, we’re destiny.Together, we had it all. Desperately. Madly. In love.Until we didn’t. One tragic night changed everything.

Empire of Desire


Rina Kent - 2021
    It just happened.Nathaniel Weaver is the most attractive man I’ve ever seen with enough charisma to blind the sun.He’s bigger than the world, owns half of it and conquered the other half.He was forbidden. Wrong.So I totally got over him. Or so I told myself.Until we’re forced to get married.Now I’m trapped.But maybe he’s trapped too.Because we’re both reaching for that forbidden fruit dangling between us.Empire of Desire is a complete STANDALONE. No book should be read prior to this.Note: This is NOT a dark romance.

The Summer Remains


Seth King - 2015
    The first is that due to a quickly worsening medical condition, she faces a risky surgery in three months’ time that may or may not end in her death. The second is that she would like to fall in love before then.As spring sinks into her namesake season on the Florida coastline, Summer plays the odds and downloads a new dating app - and after one intriguing message from a beautiful surfer named Cooper Nichols, it becomes clear that the story of what may be her last few months under the sun is about to be completely revised. All she has to do now is write something worth reading.Tender, honest, devastating and triumphant, The Summer Remains explores a very human battle being waged in a very digital age: the search for a love that will outlast this temporary borrowing of bones. In an era when many feel compelled to share and re-share anything about everything, prepare to feel a love so special, you will want to hug it close and make it yours forever.

Undeniably You


Jewel E. Ann - 2014
    In a month, she’s off to visit the galleries of Europe and finish up the degree she needs to make her career as a museum curator. The life she's been working for is finally within reach.In the meantime, she’s getting paid to sip margaritas and wrangle a naughty dog poolside in California.When the pool guy shows up with his hot body, cool persona, and eyes like iridescent blue oceans, she’s mesmerized. Except Dr. Lautner Sullivan isn’t the pool guy at all. He’s a college wide receiver turned pediatric resident that fate delivered to the wrong house.Lautner is every girl’s dream, but Sydney is not every girl. She’s immune to rainbows, fairytales, surf-side picnics, and the “L” word. Thirty days is all she plans to give him, but fate wants to give them forever.