Book picks similar to
Shoe Strings by Christy Hayes


romance
chick-lit
contemporary
contemporary-romance

Honeymoon for One


Chris Keniston - 2013
    Coaxed by a thrill seeking hunk she never expects to see again, she slowly sheds her good girl persona to have some well deserved fun. But unlike Vegas, what happens on the high seas doesn't always stay there.

Find Her, Keep Her, A Martha's Vineyard Love Story


Z.L. Arkadie - 2015
    It's addictive romance reading that gets more satisfying as you journey further into these characters experience. Book one of the LOVE in the USA series features Daisy Blanchard and Belmont (Jack) Lord. Don't be surprised by the hot and fast start, Daisy and Belmont have a lot to learn about love, and here is where their education begins. It was one intense week in late October. I probably should've slowed our pace but I wasn't thinking clearly. I had just learned my boyfriend and best friend were engaged via a Facebook post, which left me heartbroken and wrestling with ghosts from my past.But Belmont Lord was so convincing and uninhibited, unlike me. He also had demons of his own. We threw caution to the wind. Could fate had picked a more perfect time and place for two people to meet?Yes, it was one steamy and surprising week, but was it long enough to make us last forever?Find Her, Keep Her: A Martha's Vineyard Love Story is the first sexy, sensual and addictive contemporary romance in the LOVE in the USA series by author, Z.L. Arkadie.This manuscript has been updated as of 6/18/2017. Sex scenes are still frequent but they are no longer written in graphic detail. Also, some of the details that were hard to swallow have been made palatable. Although, do realize that I had chosen to write two imperfect human beings. In later books, as they choose to make their relationship work, they also choose to resolve their personal issues. After all that is the theme of the LOVE in the USA series--true love, real love is another catalyst in life which helps evolve two people for the better. So I write love stories more than romance, and from book one through twelve of this series, you will be able to read the difference. Visit zlarkadiebooks.com to learn more about the author.

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.

Full Circle


Mona Ingram - 2011
    Give up her child for adoption or leave town.New Cover April 2019Single and pregnant, Bella is given a choice. Give up her child for adoption or leave town.The choice was never in doubt. Bella moves across the country, settling in Santa Monica. Determined to make a life for herself and her child, she and her new friend Sophia sell children’s clothing at the Venice Beach market. When their creative designs are featured on television, their business takes off and they accept an offer from Rafael Vargas to expand their business. Bella fights her attraction to the handsome entrepreneur, but deep in her heart all she really wants is love.

Black Keys


Rose B. Mashal - 2015
    He returns with the contract and news of his engagement to a princess. With the surprise royal wedding only four days away, Marie’s Catholic upbringing makes her question the rush, but she swallows her misgivings and agrees to attend in order to make Joseph happy.Disoriented by the language barrier and bewildered by Muslim wedding traditions, Marie is further confused by her elevated role in the wedding party. She is paired with the bride’s brother, Crown Prince Mazen Alfaidy, a breathtakingly handsome man with mysterious eyes, whose silent attentions leave her disconcerted.Marie’s joy for her sibling is cut short by her brother's betrayal. Joseph forces her into an arranged marriage with Prince Mazen in a Sister Swap, to save his own bride from a horrible destiny.Confined in the palace with a husband she doesn’t know or trust, Marie’s life is riddled with lies and secrets. Royal intrigue, traditions, and rules have put her in danger. Now, the new princess has a lot to learn, and many black keys to find.Can she open her heart to a world so unlike her own, or will her prejudices prevent her from finding happiness?Because when it comes to love, rules blur and traditions fade.A Multicultural Romance filled with drama and suspense.

Seaside Dreams


Melissa Foster - 2014
    They’re funny, flawed, and will have you begging to enter their circle of friends. You met them in READ, WRITE, LOVE, (The Remingtons, Book 5), follow these friends on their search for forever love in the Seaside Summers series. COMING SUMMER 2014.Bella Abbascia has returned to Seaside Cottages in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, as she does every summer. Only this year, Bella has more on her mind than sunbathing and skinny-dipping with her girlfriends. She’s quit her job, put her house on the market, and sworn off relationships while she builds a new life in her favorite place on earth. That is, until good-time Bella’s prank takes a bad turn and a sinfully sexy police officer appears on the scene.Single father and police officer Caden Grant left Boston with his fourteen-year-old son, Evan, after his partner was killed in the line of duty. He hopes to find a safer life in the small resort town of Wellfleet, and when he meets Bella during a night patrol shift, he realizes he’s found the one thing he’d never allowed himself to hope for—or even realized he was missing.After fourteen years of focusing solely on his son, Caden cannot resist the intense attraction he feels toward beautiful Bella, and Bella’s powerless to fight the heat of their budding romance. But starting over proves more difficult than either of them imagined, and when Evan gets mixed up with the wrong kids, Caden’s loyalty is put to the test. Will he give up everything to protect his son—even Bella?

Securing Caite


Susan Stoker - 2019
    It is a spin off of the original SEAL series. It will have a whole new team of Navy SEALs (that you have already met in Protecting Dakota) and takes place in the same city and Navy base as the original. This is Caite McCallan and Blake "Rocco" Wise's story.Caite McCallan is a Department of Defense admin working in Bahrain when a glitchy elevator, of all things, leads to an unexpected invitation to dinner by a gorgeous Navy SEAL. When he later stands her up, Caite’s understandably upset… until she overhears a plot that confirms Rocco didn’t blow her off. Instead, he and two fellow SEALs are in danger — and Caite is forced to put her career and her life on the line to save them. Blake “Rocco” Wise never expected his routine mission to go sideways, but he was even more surprised to find himself and his teammates rescued by the adorably shy woman he met in a stalled elevator. Caite’s selfless act saved his life, but when attempts on her own make it clear someone wants her gone, it’s Rocco’s turn to protect the brave, sweet, sexy woman. The longer he knows her, the more he wants her… but keeping Caite close could bring her nearer to the enemy than ever before.**Securing Caite is the 1st book in the SEAL of Protection: Legacy series. Each book is a stand-alone, with no cliffhanger endings.

It Had to Be Him


Tamra Baumann - 2015
    But with another job lost and the gorgeous father of her daughter trying to make contact after disappearing three years ago, a break is definitely in order. Hopefully the little town filled with big, juicy secrets can help.After being off the grid for years, Josh Granger, a man with his own secrets, wants Meg and his daughter back. But first he has to get past townspeople as protective as a pack of rottweilers. He’s not the man Meg thinks he is, but he can’t tell her why…not yet.As Meg slowly warms to Josh, it’s clear the old spark is still there. But when his secret is exposed—along with Meg’s own shocking revelation—will it tear their family apart again, or bind them forever?

Finding Pride


Jill Sanders - 2012
    Now she can finally start a new life and figure out just who she really is. When her brother Matt dies suddenly, she takes a big risk and moves cross country to live in his house and take over his new business. This could be the chance she’s needed. There’s only one problem now. She can’t seem to escape the irresistible charm of her departed brother’s best friend. Todd Jordan just lost his best friend and business partner. Watching Matt’s sister move into town, his attraction to her is instant. Can he prove to her that all men are not the same, and resist his own desires as she learns to trust again? Overcoming the odds is just part of their journey. The two must first survive a fateful visit from Megan’s ex to have any chance at happiness.

Freefall


Tess Oliver - 2013
    A small inheritance from his grandfather has given him the funds to open up his tattoo shop, Freefall, and he has started to pull his life together. Aside from trying to keep his best friend, Dray, from killing himself in the fight ring, and his slight obsession with a pin-up model he's never met, Nix's life is going smoothly . . . until Scotlyn James, the object of his obsession, walks into his shop.Ever since a tragic accident killed her family and left her alone in the world, Scotlyn James hasn't spoken one word. Up until now she didn't care that she had no way of talking to people. Her awful aunt would never have listened, and Lincoln Hammond the arrogant, selfish man who pulled her from the streets of Los Angeles wouldn't hear her words if she could speak. But when Lincoln insists she get a tattoo to cover up a scar on her side, Scotlyn meets the artist, Nix Pierce. And now she longs for her voice. Now she has found someone who will hear her.

The Sheik's Dangerous Lover


Elizabeth Lennox - 2013
    There was a darker side to this story though. The urgency was due to several assassination attempts and Malik had to marry quickly and produce an heir. The stability of his country depended on constancy and conservative leadership. He couldn’t allow his enemies to win. But he wasn’t prepared for the silver clad goddess that caught his vision as she snuck down the servants’ hallway. Nor was he prepared for her resistance. In a room full of beautiful women, his interest was captured by a beauty that wanted nothing to do with him. Except that she caught on fire when he touched her and her soft, sensuous body inflamed him with need. What was a man to do? Accept the challenge of convincing the lovely Shanelle to fall in love with him. Over a weekend of passionate kisses and stolen passion, Shanelle and Malik discovered that protecting the kingdom could be quite exhilarating. A very short novella by Elizabeth Lennox! Enjoy!

A Perfect Fit


Heather Tullis - 2012
    Learning her father picked him out to be her future husband, she is not amused, but neither can she back off the path they’ve begun together. But can two people miles apart in so many ways really make things work?

The Cowboy's Bride


Donna Alward - 2006
    By marrying Alexis Grayson, he'll be able to access the trust fund his parents left behind...and keep Windover Ranch alive.Alexis isn't sure how she's going to get through the next several months, especially when her baby is born. When Connor lands in her life, he seems heaven-sent, and the temporary solution he offers is both crazy and perfect. A fake marriage to save his ranch and give her the security she needs.But when happens when the wedding doesn't seem so fake after all? Can this bride-for-hire become Connor's wife-for-real?

Beautiful Oblivion


Addison Moore - 2013
    She’s tired of dating Warren McCarthy just to make her father happy. Reese has long since had her eye on someone else, and this summer she’s determined to make it happen.Growing up in Lake Loveless there has always been a strict monetary divide—there was the rest of the Lake and then there were the Waterman’s. Ace Waterman has worked for everything he has, and he doesn’t have a lot. He breaks his back doing grunt work while putting himself through college. He’s used to life passing him by.Reese has loved Ace from afar for as long as she can remember. The summer of her freshman year she comes home with plans to land Ace in her bed at least for a few short weeks, and, if she’s lucky, forever.Ace has loved Reese for as long as he can remember, but their friendship has never graduated beyond platonic, so when Reese comes home from her first year away and proposes the two of them have a summer fling, Ace is quick to comply. The rules: no strings, no expectations, just something hotter than the sun to set the sheets on fire.But when their worlds collide, and neither of them is willing to admit to having true feelings, it becomes clear to Ace he’s nothing more than a dirty little secret—that the summer fling was just something meaningless to pass the time.Reese wonders if she can ever stop trying to please her father, and it’s only through her mother’s letters that she finds the answers she truly seeks, but will they be the ones she wants to hear?As summer draws to a close, Ace and Reese are still very much enraptured even though the time has come to douse the flame and move on—but neither one of them is prepared to leave this BEAUTIFUL OBLIVION.

Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo


Heather Wardell - 2009
    After only two years of marriage, their guilt and pain have left them living together but apart, unable to really talk for fear of what they'll say to each other.Ian leaves for a month-long contract overseas, and Candice plans to use the time apart to decide whether her marriage can be saved. When her ex walks back into her life as the new client at work, ten years more attractive yet saddened by his own recent loss, she's left wondering what she really wants from life and love.