Book picks similar to
The Trouble with Cowboys by Victoria James


romance
contemporary
arc
contemporary-romance

Before I Knew


Jamie Beck - 2017
    In this first Cabot novel, a legacy of secrets tests old friends seeking a second chance at life and love. On the second anniversary of her husband’s suicide, Colby Cabot-Baxter is ready to let go of her grief and the mistakes made during her turbulent marriage. Her fresh start comes in the form of A CertainTea, the restaurant she’s set to open along Lake Sandy, Oregon, with help from her family. But when her executive chef quits just weeks before the grand opening, Colby is pressured to hire old family friend Alec Morgan. His award-winning reputation could generate buzz, but their friendship has withered since her husband’s reckless dare cost Alec’s brother his life.Distracted by guilty secrets concerning the tragedy that changed his and Colby’s lives, Alec self-destructed and lost his famed restaurant. With his career in tatters, he’s determined to use this opportunity to redeem his reputation and to help the woman he’s loved from afar find happiness again.But secrets have a way of coming out. When Alec’s do, they might destroy the new life he and Colby have rebuilt together.

Foolproof Love


Katee Robert - 2016
    Now he’s back—temporarily, if he has any say about it. Restless, he finds himself kissing the sexiest girl in town…and agreeing to be the fake boyfriend in her little revenge scheme.Jules Rodrigez isn’t interested in the role of town spinster. Being seen with a hell raiser like Adam is the perfect way to scandalize the residents, make her ex jealous, and prove she’s a sexy, desirable woman. And if their plan includes ridiculously hot sex—in public, of course—all the better.But this thing between them has an expiration date. Putting down roots isn’t in Adam’s blood, and Jules’s roots in Devil’s Falls are bedrock deep. He’ll leave, even if it rips out his heart. But this time, he’s not sure he’ll survive it…

Yours to Keep


Serena Bell - 2013
      Ana Travares has been looking over her shoulder her whole life. Her U.S. visa expired when she was a young girl, and if her secret is discovered, she’ll be forced to return to the Dominican Republic. Ana allowed herself to get close to someone once before—and after he broke her heart, she swore never to make the same mistake again. But when a handsome doctor asks for her assistance, she fantasizes about breaking all her rules.   Even though pediatrician Ethan Hansen is a natural when it comes to little kids, as the single father of a teenage son he just can’t seem to get it right . . . except for the Spanish tutor he’s hired for his son, Theo. Ana has managed to crack Theo’s shell—and he isn’t the only one taken with her. The sexy tutor has fired up Ethan with a potent mix of lust and protectiveness. But as he starts to envision a future with Ana, Ethan is devastated to learn the truth about her citizenship. Somehow he’s got to find a way to help her—and hold on to the woman he’s falling hopelessly in love with.  Includes a special message from the editor, as well as excerpts from these Loveswept titles: Accidental Cowgirl, After the Kiss, and Blue Lines.

Swimming for Sunlight


Allie Larkin - 2019
    While she figures out what to do next, she heads back to Florida to live with her grandmother, Nan. But Katie quickly learns there’s a lot she doesn’t know about Nan—like the fact that in her youth Nan was a mermaid performer in a roadside attraction show, swimming and dancing underwater with a close-knit cast of talented women. Although most of the mermaids have since lost touch, Katie helps Nan search for her old friends on Facebook, sparking hopes for a reunion show. Katie is up for making some fabulous costumes, but first, she has to contend with her crippling fear of water. As Katie’s college love Luca, a documentary filmmaker, enters the fray, Katie struggles to balance her hopes with her anxiety, and begins to realize just how much Bark’s fears are connected to her own, in this thoughtful, charming novel about hope after loss and friendships that span generations.

He's Going Down


Kelly Siskind - 2017
    Was there wine? Of course. Did I let loose with my best friends? Absolutely. Did I have one glass too many and follow a tattooed bad boy into a bar? Cue mortification.I don’t do reckless, or wild nights of hot sex.Correction: I didn’t used to. I also didn’t plan to drunk-email my boss and quit my soul-sucking job, leaving me in a financial mess.But I'm churning those lemons into lemonade! I’m chasing my dream job handling wine at San Francisco’s hottest restaurant. But guess who shows up as my competition? None other than my tattooed bad decision. Even worse, the mother-F-er smolders at me and says, “Six.”Jimmy claims he gave me six orgasms, but I don’t remember our wild night, and I don't climax from oral. Pretty sure I’d recall if my body did the impossible and unraveled under his tongue. I call him a liar. He calls me a challenge. I tell him this job is mine and he better watch out because he’s going down.Which is exactly what he offers with that dirty mouth of his…

Cowboy Heat


Sable Hunter - 2010
    Cowboy Heat introduces Aron, elder brother of the McCoys of Tebow Ranch, as he learns the meaning oftrue love and the power of a second chance.Aron McCoy has sworn off women - except for sex. When Libby Fontaine arrives at Aron's Tebow Ranch, she is determined to cram a lifetime of living into a few short months. The doctor has told her that she can't count on her remission from leukemia being a permanent one. Their attraction to one another is instantaneous and overwhelming. But when Aron finds out that Libby is innocent - he backs off. He has nothing to offer a girl who deserves white lace and promises. Then Aron catches Libby pleasuring herself in his stock tank and hears her cry out his name - and the heat is on.*Content Warning: Contains explicit scenes and language. Intended for 18+ Audience

Call to Honor


Tawny Weber - 2017
    But when a sensitive mission goes disastrously wrong, three of the team's finest will have to trust their hearts and instincts to uncover the truth… "No man left behind" is inscribed in the DNA of every SEAL and Lieutenant Diego Torres is no exception. But with a team member killed—and the body missing—Diego's honor is sorely tested. Now his career and reputation are on the line, and a traitor is hiding among them. Diego wants answers…and only one woman has them. Single mom Harper Maclean has two priorities—raising her son Nathan and starting a new life. Her mysterious new neighbor may be impossibly charming, but Diego asks too many questions about her past—and about the father of her child. Questions she fears will reveal her burning attraction for Diego, and ultimately put them all in danger's path.

Falling for Her Fiance


Cindi Madsen - 2013
    Adrenaline-junkie Wes can prove to both his ex and his family that he’s well and truly moved on, and serious-minded Dani can prove to her boss that she’s worthy of the promotion he seems to only want to give to a family-oriented employee.But amid the fake swoons, fake kisses, and forced proximity, neither expects the very real feelings that develop. There’s nothing more dangerous than falling for your best friend…but what if the landing is worth the fall?

Against the Wall


Rebecca Zanetti - 2013
    But when this born-and-bred city girl is literally swept off her feet by a sexy cowboy on horseback, she realizes country life has some serious (and seriously steamy) possibilities. That is, until she finds out exactly who her smoking hot wrangler really is.Tribal lawyer Jake Lodge is desperately trying to block the development. And if that means playing hardball, so be it. But Sophie is a distraction he didn’t expect. A distraction that makes his blood burn. Two different worlds. Two opposing sides. And when they finally give into temptation, the consequences will shake the foundations of both of their lives…

Progress


Amalie Silver - 2016
    She was rounder than the girls who usually caught my eye. Not my type. But when I saw her sitting in that booth alone, for the first time something in my mind or my instincts or my heart told me to join her.She defied me.She challenged me.She gave me hope.Before I knew it, moving forward was my only option.CharlieI couldn’t tell you when it happened, but it had to have been a gradual change; I never moved too quickly.If someone would have told me earlier that year what I was going to go through, I wouldn't have believed them.Jesse was so different from anyone I’d met before. And everyone I’ve met since. He sucked all the life out of me, in the best—and worst—ways.We don’t get strong overnight. For most of us it takes time. Strength isn’t measured by how high and fast our walls go up, but how easily we can watch them fall.Warning: This book contains material that might be a trigger for some readers. Abuse and rape are implied, but not described in detail. Discretion is advised.

Dirty Little Secret


Kendall Ryan - 2017
    I’m dominating and possessive, and my control streak runs a mile wide. The way she looks at me—like I’m one of the heroes in the books she loves, like I’m broken, and she wants to be the one to piece me back together—it only complicates things further. I’m nobody’s hero. But there’s no denying my tragic past reads like one of her favorite literary classics. It’s raw. Visceral. Captivating. And together, we’re a perfect mess. How can I resist when the sexual sparks zapping between us set me on fire? The need to control, and claim her force my walls to come tumbling down, but when she learns about my dirty little secret, will my world come crashing down with it?

Dylan


Karla Sorensen - 2016
    It’s always been easy for him to make up his mind and stick with it. It’s why he works a lot, why he doesn’t need to make time for a girlfriend, and why he recently decided to move across the country for a new job. His brothers and sister are happily settled, and now that all eyes have turned on him, he needs a change. He does not need a relationship, and moving to Colorado lets him breathe. What he didn’t see coming was Kat, the much-too-young-for-him employee at his new restaurant. Kat Perry doesn’t have a family. She doesn’t even really have friends, but that’s by her choice. Her new manager, Dylan, has all the things that she should avoid; the muscles, the eyes, the smile and the kind of white-knight syndrome that she doesn’t know what the frick to do with. Dylan should be easy enough to disregard since she’s managed to hold people at arm’s length her whole life, especially when a relationship is the very last thing she wants. But she can’t ignore him, not when he befriends her, and definitely not when they tap into combustible chemistry that threatens to burn down everything around them. So instead of fighting it, they come to an agreement- just friends with a bunch of benefits on the side. Easy, right? Not exactly. Especially when the heart gets involved. **This is the first standalone book in a spin-off series from the Three Little Words series. Dylan is featured as a secondary character in the previous series, but it's not necessary to read them first. This book is 70k words long with a mild/medium heat level.**

Honeymoon Alone


Nicole Macaulay - 2019
    The psychic's advice seems insightful: stop ignoring fate's signs - fate will lead you to love. But when "fate" leads Lucy to London, she finds herself tangled in a web of lies. In a story about finding independence and taking chances, Lucy learns that leaving everything up to fate can be dangerous - and jeopardize her chances at happily ever after.

Beyond Reason


Kat Martin - 2017
    Now she’s burying Drake Trucking’s top driver, and the cops have no leads on the hijacking or murder. Faced with bankruptcy, phone threats and the fear of failure, Carly has to team up with the last man she wants to owe—Lincoln Cain.Cain is magnetic, powerful, controlling—and hiding more than one secret. He promised Carly’s granddad he’d protect her. The old man took a chance on him when he was nothing but a kid with a record, and now he’s the multi-millionaire owner of a rival firm.But Linc’s money can’t protect Carly from the men who’ll do anything to shut her down, or the secrets behind Drake Trucking. If she won’t sell out, the only way to keep her safe is to keep her close . . . and fight like hell.

Texas Secrets


Jean Brashear - 1999
    The only place he's ever thought of as home now belongs to a woman who doesn't want it, and he must keep her there for thirty days—or it will be lost to them both.