Book picks similar to
The Harder They Fall by Doreen Owens Malek


romance
contemporary-romance
contemporary
western

The Cowboy's Christmas Plan


Shanna Hatfield - 2011
     Cadence Greer’s plans for a happy-ever-after are quickly derailed when her fiancé runs off with his secretary a week before their wedding. Homeless, jobless, and jilted, she escapes to Grass Valley, Oregon, where she takes a job as a housekeeper and cook to seven cowboys on a sprawling ranch. Trey Thompson is a well-respected pillar of the community, running a successful ranch with his brother. All he wanted was someone to cook meals and keep the house clean. When he hires Cadence Greer for the job, he gets more than he ever planned on, including a sassy little redheaded orphan. Spend Christmas in Grass Valley at the Triple T Ranch, where mistletoe hangs in abundance and holiday magic floats in the air.

Every Wrong Reason


Rachel Higginson - 2015
    She thought she had her happily ever after. But seven years into Kate’s marriage, she realizes that her husband Nick is not what she wanted. He’s selfish, he’s oblivious and he doesn’t love her anymore.Maybe she doesn’t love him anymore either.Divorce is the only option if either of them wants to find happiness.Kate and Nick thought they knew what they wanted, but neither is prepared for the heartache that separating will bring them. The journey they embark on is not the freedom they wished for, but a painful look at the people they’ve become.At the end of it, Kate has to decide if this is really the life she wants or if maybe there’s a way to salvage her broken heart.

To Protect & Serve


Staci Stallings - 2012
    He's not afraid of anything, and no situation is too dangerous to keep him on the sideline if lives are at stake.Lisa Matheson runs a semi-successful ad agency that's on the brink of falling apart. Her employees are incompetent and her schedule has become exhausting. When she takes on a client with a brilliant idea for a big conference, she thinks that maybe, finally this is her lucky break. However, the fire station wasn't what she had in mind for finding conference speakers. When she falls for a handsome but shy firefighter, it's possible that life might just be going her way for a change. The only problem is she can't control Jeff and the death wish he seems to have...

The Space Between


Victoria H. Smith - 2013
    Losing high-stakes poker has its consequences, but he’d repeatedly face them just to hear Lacey Douglas sing. Drake sees Lacey light up the stage, and he has to have her. But his intentions for being on her side of town turn out to be the reason he can’t. Chicago native Lacey has dreams of the opera, but life has its obstacles. Lacey has come to know her hardships as part of living in the real world and accepts them fully. When Lacey meets the intense and invigorating Drake, a fire is lit inside her, unleashing those dreams again.Two paths that should have never crossed prove to create the exact pairing the other needs. But when their worlds take time to catch up, everything they have is tested. Finding the space between the two sides that challenge them will be hard, but it’s the only place that will keep them together.The Space Between is a new adult contemporary romance.

Seeing Julia


Katherine Owen - 2011
    A weak moment. One Kiss. Jake Winston has always done the right thing, which is why he walked out of his best friend's wedding over a year ago and took the job in London to avoid meeting up with Evan's beautiful, young bride. But now, Julia needs him, and he can't just walk away this time.Julia Hamilton is well acquainted with grief, but when she carelessly imbibes in a deadly combination of pain killers and martinis at her dead husband's funeral and confides to a complete stranger that she's unsure she can start over again, it leads to an inexplicable connection that never should have happened. After all, Julia loved Evan, didn't she? And, it turns out; Jake Winston has secrets of his own. Julia explains it away by telling her well-meaning friends that it was just one kiss in a weak moment for both of them. It doesn't change anything. Or, does it change everything? And, therein lies the problem. Please be advised that SEEING JULIA contains adult language and adult situations and is not appropriate for young readers. (New Adult Fiction, Contemporary Romance)

Knocked Up by the Cowboy


Kate Swain - 2020
    A Secret Baby RomanceAfter my big city heartbreak,I moved home to middle-of-nowhere, Oklahoma to figure out my next steps.My big brother seems to have it all figured out for me,Including getting me a job with his best friend,Who also happens to be my teenage crush.It’s been ten years since we’ve seen one another,And he’s cold, dismissive, and borderline rude,A direct contradiction from way he looks at me.But even his infuriating behavior can’t quell the fire that burns between us,A fire that’s sure to burn our worlds downWhen everyone finds out what we’ve really been up to.And the baby that's developing from our naughty escapades...

Lacy


Diana Palmer - 1991
    But after the war, he returned to the rambling Whitehall cattle ranch a changed man, the promise of lasting love replaced by a cold, hard distance. And Lacy yearned to reignite the unquenched passion they'd once shared.Unwittingly compromised into marriage, Cole refused to let Lacy get too close—but still, she longed to learn the secrets the handsome Texan harbored in his heart. Tormented, she wouldn't let him shoulder the burden alone, and soon the pursuit of an endless love burned bright enough to set their world ablaze….

Shoulda Been a Cowboy


Maisey Yates - 2015
    Except maybe for keeping his hands off cute, kind-hearted Cassie Ventimiglia. She was the only one who saw him as more than a tattooed rebel who couldn't wait to leave the ranching life behind. Now he's back in Copper Ridge to sell his father's property-and staying right above Cassie's coffee shop. And out of nowhere, the girl he's never forgotten is offering a whole lot more than fresh-baked muffins...Jake's dark, smoldering appeal hasn't changed one bit. But Cassie has. Following everyone else's rules didn't quite work out. Time to ask for what she's always wanted...and what Jake's more than happy to give. A wild, hot romance that could make a one-time bad boy realize he's back for good.

Home For Christmas


Melissa McClone - 2013
    The smells of home.Rachel Murphy longs for home and family. Since childhood, she's dreamed of owning her own pastry shop, but after being burned by a celebrity chef and losing her new bakery in Arizona, Rachel's spending the holidays with her brother in Montana. To keep her dream alive, she's creating custom gingerbread houses and selling them around town. All she needs is a bigger kitchen...and to stay away from her brother's handsome boss.Former venture capitalist Nate Vaughn has embraced his inner cowboy and now runs a successful dude ranch where Rachel's brother works. Nate's commercial kitchen is perfect for Rachel's baking needs, and seeing the cute blonde's business acumen, Nate knows she'd be the perfect partner for a new venture. When he makes her an offer she can't refuse, he discovers he's interested in more than her gingerbread. While Nate could make her dreams come true, Rachel's heart, as well as her head, tells her mixing business with anything else could be a recipe for disaster. Should she return to Arizona, and leave Nate and her new eager-for-more customers behind? Or can Nate convince her that, here with him in the mountains of Montana, she's already home? For Christmas...forever.

Tofu Cowboy


Lola West - 2020
    He’s everything a cowboy should be - but he still feels like the blond sheep in his family because he’s also a soulful artist with a penchant for veggie lasagna.Twenty-five year old, blue-haired, buxom, beautician, Maddie Richards just moved to Conway, Montana. She’s new to small town life, the gossip and the intimacy. Being open and letting people in isn’t what Maddie does best. On a body positive journey, she’s inspired to model nude for a local drawing class. From the first minute he sees her, up on the podium, modeling, Luke can’t take his eyes off Maddie. Their attraction is magnetic, but Maddie has a secret that could ruin everything.This sexy, smart, rip roaring good time, gallops with tease and titillation and introduces readers to the entire Morgan tribe, a tight knit family of ripped and rowdy ranchers. When the Morgan’s get together, shenanigans abound. If this is your first foray into the Big Sky Boys Series...well, howdy and welcome to the family!

This Is Not How It Ends


Rochelle B. Weinstein - 2020
    Weinstein comes a moving novel of hearts lost and found, and of one woman torn between two love stories. When Charlotte and Philip meet, the pair form a deep and instant connection. Soon they’re settled in the Florida Keys with plans to marry. But just as they should be getting closer, Charlotte feels Philip slipping away.Second-guessing their love is something Charlotte never imagined, but with Philip’s excessive absences, she finds herself yearning for more. When she meets Ben, she ignores the pull, but the supportive single dad is there for her in ways she never knew she desired. Soon Charlotte finds herself torn between the love she thought she wanted and the one she knows she needs.As a hurricane passes through Islamorada, stunning revelations challenge Charlotte’s loyalties and upend her life. Forced to reexamine the choices she’s made, and has yet to make, Charlotte embarks on an emotional journey of friendship, love, and sacrifice—knowing that forgiveness is a gift, and the best-laid plans can change in a heartbeat.This Is Not How It Ends is a tender, moving story of heartbreak and healing that asks the question: Which takes more courage—holding on or letting go?

The Italian's Inexperienced Mistress


Lynne Graham - 2005
    Innocent and pretty, she had no chance when the Italian tycoon offered her the devil's bargain: pay for her father's freedom with her body.In her naiveté, Gwenna thought that Angelo would tire of her and her innocence very quickly. But he had more in mind than just one night…

Wyatt: Return of the Cowboy


Cathy McDavid - 2012
    Except for Paige St. John, his once-loyal childhood friend. As teenagers, they had planned to leave their small town behind together. But a falling-out with his father drove him from Roundup and Paige—and she has not forgiven Wyatt for striking out on his own. Now Wyatt is back, hoping to reconcile with his family—and with Paige. She's turned into the kind of woman he's always wanted. But she's been burned by handsome cowboys before, including the one that left her to raise her son alone. Can Wyatt convince Paige, and the rest of Roundup, that he's a man she can count on? Harts of the Rodeo prequel novella.

Come Home Cowboy


Alyssa Canter - 2015
    She decided to stay home and work on her family's ranch, when many of her friends went off to college. Although Paige could have become anything she wanted in life, she loved the everyday ranch life. One day a familiar face pops back into town and creates a buzz. Paige had a history with the handsome man and a flood of emotions came rushing back. Unsure of what the future holds with the blast from the past, Paige embarks on a journey of finding if true love is still real. *This book is part of a 3 book continuing series.

Silk & Spurs


Cheyenne McCray - 2011
    When Jessie meets Zane Cameron, she finds herself wishing the tall, dark, and gorgeous cowboy was free. Lately, Zane has had the feeling that things aren’t as they seem with his fiancée. When she shows her true colors, he calls off the wedding. Zane feels it’s too soon to fall for another woman, but when he meets Jessie, he just can’t get enough of being around her. It’s not long before the pair gets together and it grows hotter between them than an Arizona summer. But Zane’s ex-fiancée threatens Jessie and everything takes a dangerous turn…and Zane could lose her forever.