Book picks similar to
Rags to Bitches by Pamela Burford


romance
cheating
second-chance
contemporary-romance

Can't Shake You


Molly McLain - 2014
    Cue the small town drama.One thing Carissa Brandt knows: spontaneity always gets her in trouble. But she’s gone and jumped head first into an impulsive summer renovation project anyway.When her contractor turns out to be a cheat, her only lifeline is the proffered hand of Josh Hudson—the sexy Marine who left her aching for more than their single night together three years ago.Josh has two hard and fast rules: never mix business with pleasure and never look twice at women his friends have dated, much less loved. It makes life in a small town simple. Or rather it would...If he weren’t keeping a secret that could ruin his good name and the reputation of the woman he can’t get out of his head…The woman who now needs his help.*Can't Shake You can be read as a standalone!

Wednesday


Kendall Ryan - 2016
    He’s filled with turmoil and heartache and regrets, but for two hours every Wednesday all he feels is me. How much I desire him, how desperate he makes me, how much I’d like things to be different between us. Real.He used to be my best friend back before he got married. And now? Now, he’s a young widower. It would be wrong on so many levels to expect something more from him, so I give him what he needs. Dark, delicious fucking.But I know I can’t keep this up. I’ve already given him my body, my soul. I want him to have my heart. It might drive him away forever, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take.Wednesday is an angsty romp told from dual points of view. If you’re in the mood for something quick and dirty, you’ve found it. Proceed at your own risk.

The Wedding Game


Meghan Quinn - 2021
    So it’s only natural that Luna would convince her brother and his husband-to-be to compete on The Wedding Game, a “do-it-yourself” TV show, for the title of Top DIY Wedding Expert.As a jaded divorce lawyer, Alec Baxter scoffs at weddings and romance. But when his recently engaged brother begs him to participate in The Wedding Game, Alec grudgingly picks up a glue gun and prepares for some family bonding.Both fierce competitors, Luna and Alec clash on national TV as harsh words and glitter fly with abandon. But as they bicker over color swatches and mood boards, they find themselves fighting something else: their growing mutual attraction. While Luna is torn between family loyalty and her own feelings, Alec wonders if he might have been wrong about love and marriage all along…

The Tycoon's Kiss


Jane Porter - 2014
    When she's pushed into attending the formal Valentine Ball with Marietta's Most Eligible Bachelor, Troy Sheenan, Taylor can't imagine a worse pairing. What in the world would she have in common with a wealthy playboy like Troy? Technology tycoon Troy is forced by business concerns to return to his hometown and take the town librarian to the Valentine Ball... what he doesn't expect is that Taylor is even less excited about the prospect than he is! Intrigued by the only woman in town who wouldn't be thrilled to take his arm at the big event, he's determined that she will not just agree to be his date… bur she's going to like it. Can Taylor turn a cold shoulder to Troy's heart-melting charms, or is this about to be Marietta's hottest Valentine's Ball yet?

The Wager


Calista Kyle - 2013
    This unassuming book shop owner would rather spend a night in with a good book rather than hobnob with the rich and famous.When her best friend Mel begs her to attend a charity gala with her, Lily reluctantly agrees. All she wants is to get through the night without embarrassing herself or snapping someone's head off. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen. Lily causes a bit of a stir when she berates another guest for spilling his drink on her. ...and a Billionaire Roman Conrad is rich, bored and too handsome for his own good. He's never had a problem attracting women. When he sees Lily at a charity gala, she's already made a little name for herself as an Ice Princess. Seeing the perfect opportunity to alleviate his boredom and to get one over an acquaintance, he makes a bet that he can make Lily fall in love with him.What he never expected was that he would be the one in danger of falling in love. The Betrayal After a painful past, Lily is gun-shy when it come to love and trusting her heart to anyone. She suspects Roman may be too good to be true, but against her better judgment, she can't help being drawn to him anyway.She has no idea about the bet and Roman wants to keep it that way, but fate has other plans. After spending his whole life waiting for a woman like Lily will one careless wager ruin everything and tear them apart?

Wild Irish Ride


Jennifer Saints - 2008
    Now he's back in Savannah with his highly successful security company to put the Weldon name on the right side of the tracks. Unfortunately, before he can even make a move in that direction, he runs into Alexandria Jordan and ends up making the same mistake he did before. He succumbs to her allure, but this time, he plans on getting her out of his system for good and walking away.Except for a few wild moments with Jesse at seventeen, Alexi Jordan has followed the life expected of her. But a Wedding Day betrayal from her blue-blooded fiancé has her running from her life and right into the arms of the man she'd never forgotten, Jesse. Yet as she forges a new future for herself amid the scandal of her aborted wedding, Alexi finds herself the target of a twisted killer and both her and Jesse's days are now numbered.Excerpt:"Still a virgin on the run after all these years, Lexi?" he drawled.  His voice, as steamy and seductive as Southern summer day, challenged her on an elemental level, a sensual one. "Almost," Alexi said, letting the last illicit picture she had of Roger fall from her grasp to the ground.  She'd only ever been with Roger and he didn't count.  Not anymore.  She sucked in air, latching onto Jesse's appeal.  The reporters encircled them.  Jesse lifted his hot gaze to her eyes and smiled. "Almost?"  Slow and sexual, his grin spread awareness over her.  "Sounds frustrating.  Interested in changing that?"  He ran his finger under her chin and she caught her breath. Yes, some part deep inside her shouted.  Yes, she wanted to change that.  Here was one situation her grandmother couldn't smooth over with a lie.  With the cameras rolling, Roger and her grandmother would get a clear picture that Alexi meant it when she said she wasn't marrying Roger ever. "Yes," Alexi said to Jesse, stepping closer to him.  Waves of his sex appeal washed over her.  Waves she had no trouble remembering, though she'd only been seventeen when she'd last dipped into them.  His nearness and touch sparked something inside of her that wanted to rebel against everything that had just happened to her.  "Kiss me," she demanded, loudly.Jesse arched his brow and asked softly, "What's your game Lexi?"  His slid an arm around her and pulled her flush to his chest, her breasts to his hard muscle.  Then his mouth covered hers.  She gasped at the desire shooting through her as his tongue entered her mouth, and his gaze dared her to respond. She wound her arms around his neck, pressed closer to him, and met his tongue with hers.  His eyes widened with surprise, telling her that he'd expected her to put him off rather than to take him up on his challenge.  After that first moment, he didn't hesitate in delivering a four-alarm kiss.  He bent her back over his arm, inserted his leg between hers and had one hand cupping her butt.  In one kiss he ravished her from the inside out and she burned for more.  By delivering a message to her grandmother, what message had she delivered to herself? He ended the kiss, but kept her captive in his embrace as he stared into her eyes.  The cameras continued to flash and the world swirled crazily.

Tangled Beauty


K.L. Middleton - 2013
    That is, until she met Reed, Jesse's sexy as hell older brother, and ends up getting much more than what she'd bargained for.Reed Eddington assumed his future was settled until he met Sinclair, his brother's so-called "girlfriend," but the raw, sexual tension between them is hard to ignore. As he watches their ruse from the sidelines, he finds himself wanting to uncover more than just their amusing little facade.Due to sexual content and heavy subject matter, this book is recommended for ages 18+.

While You Were Mine


Ann Howard Creel - 2016
    But on V-J Day, her worst fear is realized. As celebrating crowds gather in Times Square, a soldier appears on her doorstep to claim Mary, the baby abandoned to Gwen one year earlier. Suddenly Gwen is on the verge of losing the child she has nurtured and loves dearly.With no legal claim to Mary, Gwen begins to teach Lieutenant John McKee how to care for his child, knowing that he will ultimately take Mary away. What starts as a contentious relationship, however, turns into something more, and Gwen must open her heart to learn that love means taking chances.While You Were Mine paints a vivid portrait of 1940s New York and tells an enchanting tale of the nature of love and trust.

The Return


Noelle Adams - 2020
    Stay strong. Stay busy. Stay focused on what's important. And don't start daydreaming again about a certain pair of soulful brown eyes. No, it won't be easy. Jacob Worth was her first love. Her first time. Her first everything. Until he left town one day without explanation. He broke her heart back then, but she's not a teenager with a crush anymore. She's an adult--with a plan. In the past eight years, Ria has built a good life for herself in her small hometown. She and her friends have used their creativity and business savvy to turn the little florist shop she inherited into an astonishing success. She's got more than enough in her life to be proud of, and she's going to make sure Jacob sees that. She's not going to let him rattle her. She's not going to watch him from afar, even if he's even hotter than before. And she's definitely not going to fall into bed with him. Or, if she accidentally slips up, it will only be once. She learned her lesson a long time ago, and she's not going to fall for Jacob again.

Truths and Roses


Inglath Cooper - 1994
    He heads home to the small Virginia town where he grew up and crosses paths with Hannah Jacobs, the only girl in high school who had ever rejected him. It’s Hannah who once made him question the choices he had made, and it’s Hannah who’s making him question them all over again. But with the weight of a secret he’s managed to hide from the world his entire adult life hanging over him, he can’t afford to question his choices. Hannah Jacobs had once made the choice to deny her feelings for Will Kincaid, at the time finding it the only possible option for a young girl intent on burying a nightmare she only wanted to forget. The life she’s made for herself as a librarian in Lake Perdue is a quiet one, and she’s hardly prepared for the day when Will rams his fancy Ferrari into her dependable old clunker. But for Hannah, Will Kincaid can only stir up memories she had long ago put away forever. And there’s nothing at all good that can come from bringing them back to life again.

Long, Hot Texas Summer


Carolyn Brown - 2014
    But when her daughter threatens to drop out of college to become a rancher’s wife, Loretta refuses to let her baby make the same mistake she did. She returns to the ranch, determined to get her daughter back in school by the summer’s end…and resolute on ignoring her feelings for her ex-husband.A bullheaded but oh so sexy cowboy…A cowboy from his hat to his boots, ruggedly handsome rancher Jackson Bailey is none too pleased that his feisty—and gorgeous—ex-wife has suddenly shown up seventeen years after their divorce. But despite all their fighting and fussing, the two stubborn former lovers soon discover that old flames burn the hottest. Can they finally put aside their differences and find happiness together…forever?

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

The Long Road Home


H.D. Thomson - 2012
    But Clarisse Madison is desperate. Terrified of flying and unable to drive long stretches because of a knee surgery, she sees no other way to get from New York to San Diego and her sister’s wedding.Three years ago, a plane crash disfigured her leg and destroyed her career as a model. Self-esteem crushed and fearful of rejection, Clarisse severed her relationship with John. Now, forced to travel across the country with him and his girlfriend, Vivian, she is determined to hide her disfigurement. Driving through state after state and mile after mile, though, she begins to fall in love all over again.But can anything come of it? Can she overcome her pride for the sake of love?

Mangled Hearts


Felicia Tatum - 2013
    Until the person she blames for her heartache is assigned as her new client. Cade doesn’t take life seriously, finding it easier to drink his problems away than deal with them. But when Francesca steps back into his life, he’s forced to revisit the past. Can he bring himself to tell her the truth about her sister’s death? Will the truth bring them back together, or push them further apart?

Legal Ease


Lori Ryan - 2013
    Dive on in to Book One of the Sutton Capital series and fall in love!Kelly Bradley is convinced she doesn't need to worry about falling in love when she comes up with her plan to marry Jack Sutton. She's dated so many great guys over the years, but hasn't fallen in love once. Not with any of them. It just isn't in the cards for her. So, when she approaches powerful, sexy Jack Sutton and proposes a temporary marriage-of-convenience, she's not one bit concerned that her heart will be on the line.Jack Sutton is used to having control over things, having things go his way. Things in his life aren't supposed to spin out of control. But Kelly Bradley flips his world upside-down and has him wanting more than he'd ever thought he would have. And, just when he realizes he wants a real marriage with Kelly, Jack finds himself racing to save the woman he loves.Before Jack and Kelly know it, not only are their hearts on the line, but Kelly's life is, too.Legal Ease is book one of the Sutton Capital series. It can be read as a stand-alone book. Lori's Sutton Capital series is a steamy series with adult language. For a sweeter series, please see her Evers, Texas series, beginning with Ever Hopeful.ISBN: 9780989245319 previous version found here, latest edition found here.