Book picks similar to
Hard Love by Joanne Schwehm


romance
dnf
brothers-best-friend
second-chance

Betting on her Best Friend


Gina L. Maxwell - 2014
    This edition has been re-edited and a second epilogue has been added that introduces the couple in book 2, Friendly Engagement (coming early 2022).She’s flying to Vegas, hoping to get lucky…Tired of waiting for her best friend to see her as more, Alyssa Matthews heads to a romance reader convention in Las Vegas, and if things go as planned, she’ll be hooking up with one of the sexy cover models and forget all about her off-limits BFF.He’s following her, hoping she’ll take a gamble on him…Dylan Aleksander is not the forever kind of guy. So, as much as he craves his best friend, he doesn’t act on his feelings at the risk of ruining their friendship. But when he realizes that Alyssa is determined to have a random hookup in Vegas, he hauls ass after her to make sure he’s the one she chooses.It’s time to go all-in, and roll the dice…Risking everything, they agree to be friends-with-benefits for the weekend, and after years of holding back, their explosive chemistry burns hotter than the desert sun. It’s perfect.So, when Alyssa says she wants to honor their three-day agreement, Dylan has to work fast to convince her that what happens in Vegas, shouldn’t always stay in Vegas.

Shuttergirl


C.D. Reiss - 2015
    A girl paparazzi. What could go wrong?I never forgot her. Not for one minute. Not from the last time I saw her, at seventeen, to today. I measured all women against her and all women came up short.But being with her was unfeasible in high school, and it’s taboo now.I see her sometimes, but I’ve never spoken to her. She runs, or I run. We’re in the same town, on the same block, in the same building, and the gulf between us is just too wide to cross.Until tonight.He was my high school crush, back when I lived in a world that didn’t want me. He was the perfect boy, and I was the outcast kid from the other side of town. And when he held my hand I thought I could fit in, just a little. I thought I could be his and he could be mine.Then he left, and my life fell apart.Now we are the king and queen of opposite sides of Hollywood. And we haven’t spoken a word to each other.Until tonight.

Start Me Up


Maggie Riley - 2017
    And now I have to write his book. Jack Willis is every bit the start-up prodigy—seriously smart, inventive, and totally sexy. With his incredible mind, extraordinary body, and a bank account with more zeroes than you can count, he would give the sharks from Shark Tank a run for their money. Everyone from Wall Street investors to drooling house wives wants a piece of him. Everyone except Libby Hanson, that is.Libby Hanson is a crafty, curvy bombshell, more accustomed to macrame and crochet than fine dining and stealth engineering. She reads, she writes, she drinks wine with her cat...and she's never even heard of Jack Willis until she lands an interview that will change her life forever.Jack needs a book written—and fast. His sexy new car is about to be released on the market, and a New York Times bestselling book would be the perfect marketing push to get his business to the next level. He could have any writer he wants: but he wants Libby. She's feisty, gorgeous, and has a way with words like nobody else.To write his book, Libby has to see everything he does. She gets thrust into a brand new world of A-list red carpet events, meetings with executives, and long nights in the workshop that grow increasingly intimate. But to write a bestseller, Libby needs more. Their connection is off the charts, but she'll need to discover the real Jack—the man behind the inventions, the man who's steadily stealing her heart. Jack has secrets—lots of them—and Libby will do anything to get the scoop. With Jack's true nature coming to the surface, Libby finds herself torn—will she expose the man everyone is dying to get the dirt on? Or will she protect the man she is slowly but surely falling for?

Broken Miles


Claire Kingsley - 2018
    I could feel it happening. Like she was gently unbuttoning the collar of a shirt that fit too tight.”Single-minded drive earned Roland Miles success—and cost him his first love. When his marriage to Zoe ended, he did the only thing he knew. He dove into work to put his heartbreak behind him.Zoe Sutton’s life hasn’t exactly gone to plan. She certainly didn’t plan on losing Roland or moving home to work for his family’s winery. Four years after their divorce, she wonders if her chance at happily ever after is behind her.After discovering his family might lose their land, Roland comes home to help sort out the mess. But between his brothers’ antics, a baby sister who’s all grown up, and a father keeping secrets, complicated isn’t even the half of it.And then there’s Zoe.He didn’t come home looking for a second chance with her. But the more time they spend together, the more he realizes what they lost. What they could have again.Because the truth is, they broke each other’s hearts. And maybe they’re the only ones who can put them back together.Author’s note: A stoic hero who’s soft on the inside. A sassy heroine who doesn’t take any sh*t. Messy family. Lots of shenanigans. Mattress burning bonfires. And a second chance at love with a big HEA.The Miles Family series are best enjoyed in order.

Blind Devotion


S. Nelson - 2018
    But in order for that plan to become a reality, I must do everything my father asks, including marrying a man I barely know. Enter Maxton Colter, a walking contradiction and not the man my father chose for me. He’s infuriatingly arrogant… yet charming. He’s inappropriate… yet intriguing. He’s a playboy… yet focuses all his attention on me. He’s doing everything he can to unravel my goal to one day take over the firm. Question is… will I fall prey to the undeniable chemistry between us and allow him to destroy my dream?

The Boss


J.L. Perry - 2017
    she’s been my obsession since I was seventeen.She’s the object of every dirty thought I’ve ever had.I’m consumed.I lust over her … albeit from afar.She has no idea how I feel.And my secret can never come out,because there’s one major hurdle standing in our way …she’s my best friend’s little sister.When she offers to stand in as my temporary secretary, I’m torn.Will I be able to risk the temptation?Or will I succumb and lose everything that I hold dear?

The Tycoon


Molly O'Keefe - 2018
     Five years ago, Clayton Rorick loved me. Or so I thought. Turned out he only wanted to get his hands on my daddy’s company. Heartbroken, I ran away with nothing but the clothes on my back. Like a twisted Cinderella. When my father dies, leaving my sisters in a desperate situation, it’s up to me to help them. I’ll have to beg the man who broke my heart to save us. But Clayton hasn’t forgotten me and what he wants in exchange for his help is…my body, my heart and my soul.

Teach Me


Lola Darling - 2016
    I bring my hand down on her bare ass, just sharp enough to make her feel it, not enough to leave a mark. She inhales sharply, her hips bucking. “And have you, Ms. Reed? Or will I need to reprimand you more thoroughly?”When Harper Reed came to Oxford, her dream was to study modern poetry with the infamous Professor Jack Kingston, NOT to sleep with him. But his lectures are intoxicating, his knowledge captivating, and his accent drops panties faster than Charlie Hunnam on a Saturday night.Harper has never made good decisions when it comes to sex and Jack has never been able to commit, yet there’s something between them that neither of them has felt before. But students and teachers are not supposed to fraternize, even as this out of control connection puts both of their futures on the line.When their forbidden love is tested, can they make the grade?

Talk Bookish to Me


Kate Bromley - 2021
    Kara Sullivan’s life is full of love—albeit fictional. As a bestselling romance novelist and influential bookstagrammer, she’s fine with getting her happily-ever-after fix between the covers of a book. But right now? Not only is Kara’s best friend getting married next week—which means big wedding stress—but the deadline for her next novel is looming, and she hasn’t written a single word. The last thing she needs is for her infuriating first love, Ryan Thompson, to suddenly appear in the wedding party. But Ryan’s unexpected arrival sparks a creative awakening in Kara that inspires the steamy historical romance she desperately needs to deliver. With her wedding duties intensifying, her deadline getting closer by the second and her bills not paying themselves, Kara knows there’s only one way for her to finish her book and to give her characters the ever-after they deserve. But can she embrace the unlikely, ruggedly handsome muse—who pushes every one of her buttons—to save the wedding, her career and, just maybe, write her own happy ending?"A fun and sexy romp, with chemistry that gave me all the feels!" —Jennifer Probst, New York Times bestselling author of Our Italian Summer"Add this book to your TBR list immediately!" —Sarah Smith, author of Faker

Dear Heart, I Hate You


J. Sterling - 2016
    Or for him. Or anything that had to do with Cal Donovan from Boston. Meeting him had been a complete and utter surprise, taking me one hundred percent off guard. I met new people every single day in my line of work and none of them affected me. Wasn’t that the way of things though? You could meet a thousand people and they’d all mean nothing to you. But then you’d meet that one and they suddenly meant everything.

Sweet Rivalry


K. Bromberg - 2017
     He was going to stride into the conference room, do the required song and dance over the next five days, and win the biggest contract of his career. But when he walked in and heard the voice of one of his competitors, all his plans were shot to hell. Harper Denton. She was always on top. In college. First in their class. Always using every advantage to edge him out to win the coveted positions. The only one who could beat him. His academic rival. More like a constant thorn in his side. And his ego’s. When he heard her voice, he was brought back to years before. To the bitter taste of being second best. But the woman who meets his gaze is nothing like the drab wallflower he used to know. Hell no. She was all woman now: curves, confidence, and staggering sex appeal. And no doubt, still brilliant. The fact that she’s gorgeous and bright won’t distract him. This time, Ryder’s determined to be the one on top. But not if Harper can help it.

Dirty Exes


Rachel Van Dyken - 2018
    A sizzling series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Rachel van Dyken. Blaire has never quite gotten over Jessie Beckett, the ex–NFL star whose kisses were hot enough to ignite the entire Eastern Seaboard. When he chose work over her, Blaire was left brokenhearted. Why else would she have married a skeezy two-timer, just to divorce him less than a year later?Now Blaire is getting even by becoming one half of Dirty Exes, a PI firm fully committed to humiliating cheating jerks. If only the new jerk she’s been hired to uncover wasn’t Jessie Beckett himself.Exposing Jessie isn’t going to be easy, especially when she still daydreams about his sexy smile. Further complicating matters is Colin, Jessie’s best friend. He’s gorgeous, a little bit cunning, and willing to help Blaire get the inside scoop on Jessie—for a price.Now caught between two men—one totally right and the other totally wrong—Blaire will need to decide just how much she’s willing to risk…and whom she’s willing to risk it for.

Moonshot


Alessandra Torre - 2016
    The daughter of a legend, the Yankees were my family, their stadium my home, their dugout my workplace. My focus was on the game. Chase... he started out as a distraction. A distraction with sex appeal poured into every inch of his six foot frame. A distraction who played like a god and partied like a devil. I tried to stay away. I couldn’t. Then, the team started losing. Women started dying. And everything in my world broke apart.

Ex-Rated Attraction


K. Webster - 2017
    With his full beard and sculpted ass, he’s every inch a heroic, powerful Greek god.He saved me from a bad situation and now he’s all I can think of. Every minute of every hour of every day, I want that man.He’s warned me away, says I can’t handle what he has to give.But I know better.Miles is exactly what I need—now, then and forever.This book is approximately 28,000 wordsEditor’s note: All characters in this story are over eighteen and all sexual interactions are fully consensual.One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!The Dirty Bits from Carina Press: what you want, when you want it. Over-the-top sexy microromances designed to be read in an hour or two.

Little Liar


Willow Winters - 2018
    That’s how stories like these get started. But every lie I told, he saw through it. I think in his heart he knew I was broken; he felt my pain as if it was his. And that’s what changed everything. He’s the reason it all fell apart.Sometimes it’s a single moment that alters everything in existence.Sometimes it’s the fall of dominoes, lined up in a pretty little row and designed so that each one will cause more and more pain.In a single day, it’s all changed, and there’s no way to take it back.I didn't know what would happen. But secrets and lies ruin everything.“I was captivated from the very beginning, and I couldn't let go until the very end. Winters wove an outstanding tale, which has an even better message within its pages.” - Kendra @ Reads and Treats** It's Our Secret was previously titled Little Liar **