Book picks similar to
Banish Misfortune by Anne Stuart


romance
contemporary
contemporary-romance
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To Trust a Stranger


Karen Robards - 2000
    When his older brother vanished at the same time Sid Carlson's first wife disappeared, young Mac swore that someday he'd discover his brother's fate. After he became a cop, Mac's probe triggered a nasty frame-up that sent his career down in flames. Now a struggling private eye, Mac can't believe his luck when the second Mrs. Carlson, whose rags-to-riches marriage is headed for disaster, seeks his services to get the goods on her cheating husband. Mac's not about to reveal he's anything but a stranger to his quarry and miss this prime chance to pump Sid's neglected trophy wife, Julie, for inside information about her slimy spouse. With no one to trust but each other, and danger closing in on every side, the gorgeous ex-beauty queen and the sexy ex-cop are soon sharing much more than just information. Karen Robards has packed this story with adventure, intrigue, and steamy sensuality.

Ruthless Mountain Man


Jenika Snow - 2018
    All I want is peace and quiet and it’s worked well for me over the last decade. But then she moves in next door and disrupts my solitude. Kylie—my new neighbor—with her smart@ss mouth and destructive dog. It’s obvious she doesn’t belong here with her designer boots and city girl attitude but she’s stubborn and won’t listen to reason. Despite all that, there’s no denying I want her. Her sass and defiance get under my skin and admittedly turn me on. It’s a love/hate relationship in the most inconvenient way possible. When a snowstorm comes barreling through, it’s Kylie who’s at my doorstep needing heat and food because she’s completely unprepared. Although I’d warned her, she finally admits I was right. Between my hatred for her dog and her distaste for me, things are bound to get complicated. Secluded in my cabin together means the temperature rises, the gloves come off—but most of all—the arousal and chemistry moving between us reach its breaking point. **This is a 30,000-word standalone novella filled with steamy goodness and a rugged alpha male! Enjoy!**

Absolution (Absolution #1)


Amanda Dick - 2013
    Four years ago, while driving girlfriend Ally and best friend Callum home from a concert, they were involved in a horrific car crash. Ally’s life would never be the same and, consumed by guilt, Jack ran. He’s been running ever since.Moving from town to town, job to job, he found himself doing things he never thought himself capable of. Living in the shadows, he’d rather spend the rest of his life alone than go home and face everyone he left behind. Until the night he receives a phone call that forces his hand. With a recent history he’s anxious to keep hidden and a desperate need to somehow make amends, his homecoming will be anything but easy. Does he even deserve a second chance?Absolution is the first in a series of stand-alone novels in the Absolution series by Amanda Dick. It is contemporary romance at its most confronting - raw, honest and compelling.

An Heiress for His Empire


Lucy Monroe - 2014
    Now, marriage to the unscrupulous Viktor Beck is the only way to save what's left of her reputation!The contract: Maddie has always featured in Viktor's plans to take over her father's company and expand his empire. The intense attraction between them only sweetens the deal he's offeredThe secret: Though love doesn't beat in Viktor's heart, he'll show Maddie just how hot their chemistry can be. But even this corporate shark is in for a shock;his wild socialite is still a virgin!

My Torin


K. Webster - 2018
    A fortune. And horses too.It’s too easy.Nothing in my life has ever been easy.What’s the catch?There’s always a catch.

The Way Things Are


A.J. Thomas - 2015
    Determined to be there for his son, Patrick walked away from a sport he loved and forever hid his sexuality. After Patrick's brutal divorce and a vicious hate crime, his son, Jay, has become obsessed with graffiti. Hoping for a fresh start, Patrick moves Jay to his childhood home in Seattle. Within two weeks, Jay is arrested again. On his way to pick Jay up, Patrick stops an assault, then finds himself in handcuffs too. Thinking things can’t get any worse, he’s confronted by the sexiest man he’s ever seen—his son’s new probation officer, Ken Atkins.The hardest part of Ken’s job is working with difficult parents, and the undeniably handsome Patrick Connelly is going to be a difficult parent. A chance encounter and steamy hookup with Patrick leave Ken blindsided. As they work together to try to keep Jay on the right path, the passion between them proves impossible to resist. When the assault Patrick prevented comes back to haunt them and Jay gets into trouble again, Ken must convince Patrick that ensuring his son’s happiness doesn’t have to mean sacrificing his own.

Innocent Secretary...Accidentally Pregnant


Carol Marinelli - 2009
    Plain and prim Emma Stephenson might not look like a tycoon's assistant, but for Luca D'Amato--a playboy who likes to play-- breaking through her no-nonsense exterior is his favorite new game!Sensible Emma thought all they'd be sharing was an office--not a "bed!" But she's learning fast about what being Luca's "personal" assistant really means!Now he's standing there offering her a promotion, and she's trying to find the words to tell him...she's pregnant!

A Negotiated Surrender


Jayne Castle - 1982
    Slade York had taken Calla Nevin's challenge from the boardroom to the bedroom, where he was determined to conquer her once and for all!She vowed never to work for him, certainly never to expose her hear: to his impervious will. But his kisses burned through her frosty facade, igniting the embers beneath. One touch and she almost lost all reason. Somehow she had to summon her greatest defenses yet, or she could win the battle but lose the war against this man who thought he had bought her body and soul.

The Forbidden


Jodi Ellen Malpas - 2017
    Annie has never experienced the 'spark' with a guy-the kind of instant chemistry that steals your breath and blindsides you completely. Until a night out with friends brings her face to face with the wickedly sexy and mysterious Jack. It's not just a spark that ignites between them. It's an explosion. Jack promises to consume Annie, and he fully delivers on that promise.Overwhelmed by the intensity of their one night together, Annie slips out of their hotel room. She is certain that a man who's had such a powerful impact on her and who could bend her to his will so easily, must be dangerous. But she's already in too deep. And Jack isn't only dangerous. He is forbidden.

Pure Princess, Bartered Bride


Caitlin Crews - 2009
    Yet Luc has defied the odds, and a contract for marriage is drawn up. This will be a union on paper first, and in the bedroom later....Except Gabrielle is just the same in private as in public -- well-bred, well behaved and a credit to her country. Luc is determined to find the wanton within and leave his pure princess in total disarray!

Domesticated


Jettie Woodruff - 2014
    Animals were naturally conditioned, just like the rodent that I was, I needed to be conditioned. Aristocrats in our class had a trained way of living. Women had their place beside their hard-working spouses and weren't allowed to rock the boat.As a small child, I believed in the preparation requirements. Once learned, a conditioned response is hard to get past. No matter how much I tried, it was a part of me - deep within my subconscious. No matter how much I wanted it to be different, it never was, and nobody could change what had been acclimatized profoundly in my mind.I knew what I did was wrong. I knew what I hid from the world was dirty. And I knew Garrison would never understand. However, I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t control it. No matter how hard I tried. It was always there, always a part of me, and who I was.

More Than One Night


Sarah Mayberry - 2012
    A steamy night together. That's all Rhys Walker signs on for when Charlotte "Charlie" Long sashays across his path. Sure, maybe he catches a glimpse of forever in her eyes. But the brush-off note the gorgeous brunette leaves the next morning says it all, doesn't it? Time to move on.Rhys never expects that moving on actually means reconnecting with Charlie. Or that her big news changes everything. Becoming a father now, under these circumstances, never factored into his plans. Yet he's not as upset as he thought. Because now he has the opportunity to explore that glimpse of forever...and turn it into reality.

Love in Rewind


Tali Alexander - 2014
    His company, Bruel Industries, owns a big chunk of New York City’s most sought-after real estate, and together Emily and Louis embody the perfect hot fairy tale couple for ten happy years of marriage.But when Louis mysteriously starts pushing Emily away, becoming distant and secretive, she is forced to search for the truth among the lies, scandal and heartbreak of his past that threaten to shatter her world. What she finds out will test the strength of her love and her vows to the man of her dreams.Can Emily and Louis rewind far enough back to a time when life was simpler and love was all they needed? Follow their story with the help of some of their favorite songs from the 80’s to discover just how deep and how far love will go.

Where I Belong


Claudia Connor - 2018
    Owen is the cousin of Mia Winters from WINTERS HEAT.

Wrong Girl


Lauren Crossley - 2014
    I don't promise my readers or guarantee my characters a 'Happy Ever After...' Happy endings are harmonious but they're not always real life. I'm a sucker for bittersweet endings so please prepare yourself for one of them before purchasing one of my novels. Hearts and flowers won't be found in my writing and neither will perfect conclusions to my stories.This book is the first in the 'Wrong Girl' series."You don’t think I know how messed up this is? You think I don't know how sick and twisted it is of me to want you? I know this is wrong. I know I shouldn't even be thinking about you in this way but that doesn't change the fact that I do! Samantha, I want you every second of every minute of every day and it’s killing me. I can't stay away from you anymore, I just can't do it. I need you and I know you feel the same way about me. We belong together and nothing you say or do is going to convince me otherwise. When I’m with her... I’m aching for you, I physically hurt because I can't be with you and I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do to make this right! The idea of never being able to have you is making me crazy. You're driving me insane and I'm seriously close to losing my mind if you tell me I can't have one more night with you. You’re not the wrong girl, Samantha, she is.” – Zack.“There are roughly seven billion people in the world. Seven billion people and I’ve somehow managed to fall in love with the only person I can’t have. The only man on this earth who I can’t be with and who I should never, ever want. He’s my soul mate, my saviour and the only man I need. He’s also my sister’s fiancé.” - Samantha.Samantha is 23 and broken. She’s always been the one and only disappointment within her superficial and judgemental family. Over the years she’s given up on the idea of pleasing them, the only one who’s ever treated her fairly is Rachel and that’s why she doesn’t mind when all of the praise and glory is bestowed upon her older and extremely beautiful sister. She has never envied Rachel before… until now.Samantha feels something for her sister’s fiancé from the first moment that she sees him. He’s kind, gentle, unbelievably gorgeous and incredibly off-limits. She knows she shouldn’t want him but no matter what she does she can’t seem to get him out of her head. Of course all of the guilt and emotional torment that she’s dealing with is pointless because he doesn’t feel the same way about her… does he?Zack doesn’t understand the indescribable, overwhelming connection that he feels to his fiancé’s younger sister. At first he convinces himself that he only feels sorry for her, he doesn’t understand why the family he’s marrying into treat her like an outcast. He’s determined to find out what happened to this girl to make her so introverted and distrustful but even Rachel advises him to leave well alone. How long can Samantha and Zack deny what they’re feeling and stay away from one another? And will he still be there for her after he discovers her dark secret, one that she’s concealed for sixteen years?Decisions must be made and hearts will inevitably be broken when Zack is forced to make his choice. He’s always believed his attraction for Samantha to be wrong and he has come to despise himself for wanting the wrong girl but what if his own fiancé might just be the wrong girl for him?Wrong Girl is a story about forbidden love, envy, passion and heartache, a story about two people who fall in love in the very worst of circumstances.*** This New Adult romance novel contains mature themes, strong language, sexual citations and possible triggers regarding sexual abuse that may distress some readers. It is recommend for readers 18+***