Book picks similar to
Throttle by Kira Blakely


arc
romance
contemporary-romance
romantic-suspense

Living Again


L.L. Collins - 2013
    Then one day, her life changes forever when she loses her husband in a tragic accident. No longer sure how to navigate life after her enormous loss, Kayley clings to her newborn baby, her family, and her friends to keep herself living.When she meets someone that challenges her belief that she's better off alone, she has to decide if she is capable of letting him in after swearing she was never going to love anyone the same way again.She's not the only one with a painful past. He is struggling with trust issues after a previous relationship went horribly wrong. After a terrible misunderstanding brings out both of their insecurities, will the painful memories of the past keep them both from living again?

Someone to Believe In


Kathryn Shay - 2005
    He put her in jail for harboring a teen offender and never looked back. Eleven years later, she’s a thorn in his side as an anti-gang specialist trying to get kids out of gangs. While Clay wants to put them in jail, Bailey is determined to help these troubled teenagers make good lives for themselves. But when Bailey and Clay are thrown together on the mayor’s task force, the impossible happens—they’re attracted to each other. Their passion erupts early on, and only grows stronger the further they get into a relationship. When they fall deeply in love, their conflicting views drive a wedge between them. Both the Street Angel and the Senator must find a way to deal with their differences in order to make a life together.

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.

Love the One You Hate


R.S. Grey - 2020
    If I stick with the servants and he keeps to his sailboat and vintage Porsche, we should hardly cross paths at all. Unfortunately, at Rosethorn, I find that all roads eventually lead to Nicholas Hunt.Sparks fly as we spar at the dinner table. Fighting words are flung in the shadows of the palatial halls. We hang suspended in our hatred of one another, painfully oblivious to the heat and tension that build with every moment we’re left alone. We’re liable to kill one another, I think…right up until my eyes land on his lips and a new feeling grips hold of me: lust. What’s worse? He knows it.They say you should keep your enemies close, but when Nicholas tightens his grip on my waist and draws me near, I’m not sure if it’s out of loathing or love. One thing’s for sure—I intend to find out.

The Best Is Yet To Come


Bella Riley - 2017
    Now get ready for Calvin's emotional, sexy, and heartwarming second-chance love story in THE BEST IS YET TO COME.  Best friends. High school sweethearts. Passionate lovers. Once upon a time, Sarah Bartow and Calvin Vaughn were everything to each other. Until big dreams—and an even bigger tragedy—tore them apart.  Ten years after good-bye, they're finally together again at Summer Lake in the Adirondacks...and the sparks between them are hotter than ever. Soon one kiss is turning into so much more. Not only breathtaking, sizzling lovemaking—but also deep, honest emotions that can't be denied. Calvin refuses to let the ambitions and disasters that separated them a decade ago wreck them this time. Not when he knows for sure that Sarah is his one—his only—true love. He let her get away once. He won't make the same mistake again. Even if it means risking his entire heart, and every last piece of his soul, to show her they belong together now...and forever.  Note for readers:  THE BEST IS YET TO COME was previously published as Home Sweet Home under a pen name. This new edition has been extensively revised and rewritten.

Escort


Skye Warren - 2018
    There shouldn’t be any surprises, not for one as jaded as me, but when I walk into the penthouse suite of L’Etoile, everything changes.1) For one thing, Bea is heartstoppingly gorgeous. Pale green eyes and endless freckles. Curves I want to spend all night exploring, as if her body was made for me.2) Her innocence makes me want to use my entire inventory of bedroom tricks on her and then invent a few more.3) Except that… she’s a virgin.I can initiate her into the world of desire without letting her get attached, can’t I? A few hours of tutoring, and at the end of the night a small fortune will be deposited into my bank account.But once I realize one night with her won’t be enough, I’m the one who’s screwed.

You Make Me


Erin McCarthy - 2014
    Then he left without a word. The betrayal devastated Caitlyn and made her vow to forget the compelling bad boy. But forgetting his sensual touch and their deep all-consuming friendship is easier said than done. Isn’t the guy she needs… Determined to move on, in college Caitlyn has risen above her small town impoverished roots and has joined a sorority, reinvented her appearance, and landed the right boyfriend. Pre-law major and frat president, Ethan, is thoughtful and always laughing, and he makes her feel happy, calm. He also gives her the social acceptance she craves. But the perfect world she tried so hard to attain is ripped apart when Heath appears one night out of nowhere. Caitlyn remembers all the reasons why she loves him, even if they don’t make sense to anyone but her. Out of the military, Heath is as brooding and intense as ever, and he is determined not only to win her back, but to exact revenge on everyone who kept him from her… And when one love allows her to breathe, but the other feels as essential to her life as air, how does she choose between them?

Fake Fiancée


Ilsa Madden-Mills - 2017
    They say nothing compares to your first kiss,But our first kiss was orchestrated for an audience.Our second kiss . . . that one was REAL.He cradled my face like he was terrified he'd f*ck it up.He stared into my eyes until the air buzzed.Soft and slow, full of sighs and little laughs,He inhaled me like I was the finest Belgian chocolate,And he'd never get another piece.A nip of his teeth, his hand at my waist . . .And I was lost.I forgot he was paying me to be his fake fiancée.I forgot we weren't REAL.Our kiss was pure magic, and before you laugh and say those kinds of kisses don't exist,Then you've never touched lips with Max Kent, the hottest quarterback in college history.Three months. Two hearts. One fake engagement.

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.

The Mechanic


Ramona Gray - 2018
     Lily I grew up with everything I ever wanted. Wealth and privilege, and an attitude that practically screamed “I’m better than you”. Only, things went wrong and now I have nothing. The people in this town don’t give a damn that I live in a broken-down trailer and am one sandwich away from starving. They figure I got what I deserve. They’re not wrong. Now, I’m standing in front of the town’s sexy-as-sin mechanic, Jack Williams, and offering to let him… do things to me with those big, dirty hands of his, in exchange for car repairs. Things that the old me would be horrified by. I should be ashamed. Instead, all I can think about is how good it would feel to have Jack touch me. Jack I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. Raised by a man who liked to talk to me with his fists and didn’t give a damn if I lived or died. Taking care of myself is my number one priority, and I’m not interested in other people’s troubles. Especially trouble in the form of a stuck-up, former rich girl like Lily Carson. It’s not my problem her money, family and friends are gone. Only, she’s standing in my repair shop offering me something I’ve wanted for a very long time. One touch of her soft skin and I’m lost. Lily belongs to me now, and I’ll make damn sure she and everyone else in this town knows it. Author’s Note: This is the first in a series of stand-alone, short and dirty (So.Very.Dirty.) novellas of 20k or less. If you’re looking for quick, one-handed (ahem) reads with insta-love, over-the-top alpha, blue-collar men, then the trope-alicious Working Men series is for you!

Single Dad FILF: Fireman I'd like to.... (HotShots Book 3)


Savannah May - 2018
    Savior. Alpha I've been accused of all of the above but I'm no hero. Just a regular joe firefighter and single dad to my daughter. Until the night I carry the bare-a$$ed girl out of the blaze and something ignites in me. I'm bowled over by a backdraft of desire I can't control. Lainie sparks an inferno with her feisty mouth and luscious lips. Her perfect curves detonate my hunger to possess her. But she's tangled in a web of deceit and I have my kid to consider. Add possessive and obsessive to my personality traits because I can't get Lainie's perfect little body out of my head and into my bed. How can I convince the little spitfire that this Daddy is going to be her forever protector? Time to get hot with another in the FILF Firefighter HotShot series from Savannah. 50,000 words to melt your reader. All standalone, all HEA, all steamy.

Dirty at 30 (Love Without Batteries Book 1)


Cassandra Lawson - 2016
    There I was, just about to reach my big O when he died. I tried replacing his batteries, but nothing worked. It was that frustrating moment when I decided I wanted a real man in my life. Ty seems like the perfect guy. He’s sexy, sweet, and he can satisfy me in ways Raphael never could. Unfortunately, he’s also my stepson’s best friend. While only five years younger, Ty seems like forbidden fruit, but I still find myself unable to resist him. Now, I just need to figure out if this is the beginning of a forbidden romance that will end in tragedy, or if Ty could be my happily ever after. Love Without Batteries Following their disastrous marriages, Brook, Chelsea, and Delaney swore off men. After years of being on their own, these ladies have decided they want more. At the age of thirty, the three friends make a pact to re-enter the dating world. Little do they know they are all destined to find love in the arms of younger men. ***Each book in the Love Without Batteries series can be read as a standalone novel.

Prom King


Penny Wylder - 2018
    I was the nerdy girl with a fantasy crush. All of my childhood, I was invisible to Adam Carlisle. That was fine, because I was too shy, and too smart, to think I had a chance with the most popular guy in school. Until someone crowned him prom king... And me queen. But it was only a cruel joke that ruined my self-esteem and broke my heart. Ten years later and my friend begs me to attend our school reunion with her. I'm older, wiser, but still a nerd. This event is setting off my anxiety. I want it to be over. Then... I see him. My prom king. Adam is hotter than ever. But what really gets my attention? He's staring right at me. I'm not invisible anymore. What happens when my fantasy crush becomes reality? This full-length novel is all about second chances, true love, and a crazy hot alpha realizing that the nerdy girl is his modern day Cinderella. NO cheating, lots of kindle-melting action, and always a happily ever after!

Single Dad's Waitress


Amelia Wilde - 2017
    Valentine is serving up the exact opposite at the Short Stack Café.She’s a disaster waiting to happen—a gorgeous, irresistible disaster.Ryder can’t risk his newfound stability on a whirlwind like Valentine. He definitely can’t risk his heart. But one taste of her has him willing to pick up the tab, no matter the price.(Previously titled Over Easy.)

Someone Like You


Brittney Sahin - 2017
    A father. And totally off-limits.He was a rugged man she met in a bar--a man Grace couldn't get out of her head...A week later, she came home to find him sweaty and shirtless with a tape measure in hand, remodeling her loft. As a Parker-King, she's not allowed to want someone like Noah Dalton. She's sick of her life, though. Sick of the rules of being a Parker-King. She wants something more, even if it isn't forever. Finding comfort in the arms of a SEAL is easy, not falling for one . . . not so much.Noah left the military and moved to New York for one reason: his daughter. Not for some uptight businesswoman--a Manhattan elitist. So when Grace offers him the kind of relationship that no hot-blooded man can turn down, he should say no. And when her seemingly put-together life spins out of control, and his instincts to protect and save kick in, he should turn away. But he doesn't. A standalone contemporary military romance.