Book picks similar to
Touching Wood by Claire Wilder


romance
reviewed
slow-burn
short-story

Dating Season Bundle 1


Laurelin Paige - 2021
    And another.I’m on the wrong side of my quarter-life crisis. Dead-end job, lease ending, and single af. It’s made all the harder by knowing exactly who the perfect man for me is: my super hot, incredibly kind, and extremely taken friend Austin. What’s a girl to do but drown her troubles in pinot and let her bestie open her an account on a dating app?Spring is for new beginnings, and Finn’s abs are a perfect introduction to dating.Boulder is starting to thaw, seeds are being planted, and I am determined that I will sprout this season too. Starting with one particularly muscular, earnest trainer:First I get to enjoy his rock-hard body.Then he’ll help me get one of my own.It’ll end with a different kind of rock altogether.All I have to do is become the kind of girl who doesn’t mostly just rock paint-stained pajamas.Summer is for throwing caution to the wind, and Dune’s a bad boy that lives for danger. Colorado is heating up, much like my newly re-discovered libido, and I’m hoping like hell that my new blind date’s hot, too. Fate ( and my bestie) truly deliver a doozy: He rides motorcycles.His tattoos are insanely hot.The mystery of his life is all but unsolvable. This good girl is about to get a little bit bolder in search of truth, justice, and a rebellious phase.

Beauty and the Boss


Fern Fraser - 2021
    I don’t have time for love; but I agree to one night with a beautiful stranger. Mistake. One-night turns into the best night of my life, and I don’t even know her name.Until one morning, my brand-new assistant turns up for work, and sets my black and white world on fire.Belle HopkinsI’m over being the ‘good girl.’ I want to be wild, reckless and free. I want to live by my own rules, in a town where nobody knows me, and my parents won’t find me.Except the stranger I spend one lust filled night with isn’t a stranger at all. He’s my new boss! A regular work arrangement isn't good enough for him. He has a very special proposition for me.Can I do what he wants? Or will I lose everything, including my heart?Dear Reader: This over-the-top CEO just met his match. He is used to getting what he wants, but she won’t let him boss her around. Not one little bit. Steamy, safe instalove short romance with guaranteed HEA.

This Is Fate


Zee Irwin - 2021
    He’s once-bitten and twice-shy. Together, their passion is—complicated.Maddie McComber is driven to succeed. Working her way through Harvard by tending bar, the dual MBA and law student isn’t about to lose focus by letting any of her regulars take her to bed. But the flirty banter she shares with the well-dressed older man definitely makes her tingle in all the right places.Daniel Jones has no faith in love. The high-flying billionaire divorce attorney knows from both personal and professional experience that almost all perfect affairs end in expensive disasters. But the way the attractive grad student at the pub sees past his wealth and acknowledges his true self has him totally hooked.Moved when he rescues her from an attacker, Maddie starts to feel her anti-dating regulations may require serious review. But though Daniel recognizes she’s everything he wants, his heart remains mired in the pain of the past.Can these two legal eagles soar over their fears and into a happy future?This Is Fate is the standalone first book in the delicious Fated Loves contemporary romance series. If you like strong women, conflicted men, and steamy open doors, then you’ll adore Zee Irwin’s gorgeous tale.

Brand New Man


Weston Parker - 2019
    To them. Not me. Women swoon over my wallet, but it’s a façade. A ruse. I keep to myself and always will. Besides, one thing I’ve learned is you never pursue romantic relationships at work. Especially not as the boss. The billionaire. The top shit.A girl from my past shows up at a fundraiser. The one that got away in college. She needs help changing the city for the better with a children’s home, but I have different ideas. Crazily enough, the more money I spend, the more time I get with her. And this time, I’m willing to pull out all the stops. It’s hard not to slip back into my old ways, but this woman is the one. She makes me want to be a brand new man.

Get Kissed List (Last First Kiss #1)


Anna Michael - 2020
    Everything that I’ve ever seen or read or heard about that sounds like fun but I’ve never done. And I want to do these things with you.I know a gorgeous guy like Clay couldn’t possibly be interested in me—the awkward, chubby girl. But he definitely knows how to kiss me senseless. I can’t help thinking that he’s the perfect guy to help me mark off all the items on my list, including losing my V-card at last.I’ve always had a crush on sexy, curvy Angela, but I never thought I’d have a chance with a girl like her. And when she tempts me with her kiss list—well, we all know I’ve never been able to turn down a dare. But I’m not going to be satisfied with just being a set of checkmarks on her list. I’m going to be her last first kiss.

Midnight Kisses


Alexa Rivers - 2019
    She’s the smitten small-town sweetheart. After years of waiting, it’s finally her time to make a move.Emily Parker has loved Justin Simons from afar for as long as she can remember. Even his being engaged to her high school nemesis didn’t stop her from yearning for him. But everything is different now. The other woman is out of the picture, and she’s finally ready to make a move on the only man she’s ever wanted. Surely she can convince the sexy, stubborn grouch to open up his wounded heart once more, right?The last thing Justin wants is love. He’s been down that road before and has the emotional scars to prove it. The invite to his ex’s wedding? Salt in the wound. But thankfully Emily is willing to be his plus one and help him prove that he’s finally over his broken engagement. Now all he’ll have to do is ignore his overwhelming attraction to the gorgeous woman who seems so determined to bring sunshine and joy into his life.Can Emily convince broody Justin that love is worth the risk? Or will he let happiness—and Emily—slip through his fingers?

A Very Blizzard Christmas


Kat Mizera - 2020
     right? But when Danielle Petrov welcomes her new bundle of joy just in time for the holidays, everything isn’t as magical as it should have been. She’s trying to plan a surprise for their first Christmas as a family of four while dealing with a touch of postpartum depression and a six-year-old who wants nothing to do with his new sibling.Sergei is completely smitten with his wife, his son, and the new baby, but he knows something is bothering Dani. Between being on the road with the Blizzard and trying to spend time with the kids, he’s not there for her the way he wants to be.As the holiday barrels down on them, nothing is going according to plan. Sergei is determined to salvage what he can of a complicated holiday season. Will an unexpected storm be what brings everyone together?

Mr. Mystery


Melissa Williams - 2021
    Then, in a cruel twist of fate, she was gone. Even with all the evidence telling me otherwise, I know she’s out there. My heart can’t let her go. And I won’t rest until I find her. IsabellaLosing your memory is scary. Especially when every night you dream of being held in the loving, strong arms of a mystery man only to wake up alone. Is he a figment of my imagination or a tempting spark of memory? Even after all this time I don’t remember who I am. Or was. And I don’t have time to waste on dreaming and what-ifs—it’s not just me I have to look out for.Then he’s there—flesh and bone, standing in front of me. A dream come to life in the middle of a burlesque club. I don’t believe billionaire Cyrus Meinhold was ever mine—a man like him is too good to be true. Until he says the three words that echo in my dreams: Dance for me.More Than Money series will have you swooning over these sexy billionaires with big wallets and even bigger hearts this July! Grab a fan and a cool drink, it's about to get hot in here!

Redemption


Measha Stone - 2018
    I'm one of them. My name's Adam, and Celeste has been assigned to me. I have three days to show her the error of her ways and help her redeem herself before she's marked permanently Naughty. She'll fight me, she'll struggle, but in the end I will win. Even if I have to use every implement in my arsenal, Celeste will find her way to the nice list.

The Replacement Fiance


Liz Durano - 2018
    And so she comes up with the perfect lie... that she’s engaged.Too bad her pretend-fiancé is grounded on the other side of the country and can't make it in time.Enter mechanic and friend Logan Garrison who volunteers to be the replacement. After all, he doesn't have any plans for the holidays and a road trip up North just might be the break he needs. Besides, what are friends for?But that’s before a practice kiss changes everything, revealing more than they ever wanted to admit to each other...The Replacement Fiancee is the first book in the Holiday Engagement series featuring the Peters family and the guests of the Soraya Lodge Bed & Breakfast, nestled in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Each book in the series are standalone romance, feature HEA and no cliffhangers.

A Christmas with Snow


Ellie Danes - 2017
    This time I got him. Christian Snow is off limits — he’s my best friends’ brother. Now we’re spending Christmas together. I would have run if I knew he was going to be there. There are reasons I can’t be with Christian, reasons why I shouldn’t even try. I’ve got a secret weighing on me, But all I can think about is unwrapping the perfect Christmas package. A Christmas with Snow is a hot and steamy holiday romance with plenty of love, romance and steam with a HEA you'll love

Indiscretion: Volume One


Elisabeth Grace - 2014
    Pump and dump. Hit it and quit it. One night stand. Didn’t matter how I branded it—that’s all she had wanted it to be. That much was clear when she left me with my pants down and my dick still out.What she hadn’t counted on was fate intervening and our worlds colliding—again.The day I showed back up in the life of Chloe Griffins, I knew I had to have her again. My body was hungry for another taste. Like an addict, I’d been craving another hit for months, and there she was—flesh and bone, tits and ass.The fact that she worked for the competition should’ve been reason enough for me to leave her alone. I had a job to do that summer and f*cking Chloe wasn’t part of it. But I was like a man possessed.I’d do whatever it took to have her again.

Stone Cold Heart


Lisa Hughey - 2013
    But on a humanitarian mission to aid an earthquake ravaged country, finally she finds a place where she fits, in Colin Davies' arms, and working for Global Humanitarian Relief, her big brother's company. But can the former SAS thaw Jess's stone cold heart?

The Tycoon's Make-Believe Fiancée


Elizabeth Lennox - 2014
    Now he has to produce a fiancée in a matter of hours when they meet for dinner!It had always been Miranda’s priority to avoid Royston at all costs. He might be sexy, rich, and powerful, but he was also intimidating and demanding as the CEO of her company. When Royston catches and questions her in his office, he decides she’s just right for the role of fake fiancée. She’s beautiful, smart, can think on her feet, and she has a spark that captures his attention in all the right ways.Will she accept his real proposal to be his faux bride to be, and will their act become more than that?

Four Bloody Kisses


A.J. Wyatt - 2021
    That note is my hit list. I will find out who killed my father.And I will have revenge.Each of these men is rich, powerful, and gorgeous.Magnus may be a giant Viking, but he has the sensitive heart of an artist.Tattoo covered, Bratva leader Yuri bleeds danger.Chess master Talon is the polar opposite of his wild twin, Vice.They make me burn with desire, but any one of them could have killed my father. How can I give in to temptation when I don't know the truth?I'm not the only one hunting. When bullets start flying, it's up to me to keep my men safe. Until I have my answers, these men are mine and mine alone.And if anyone's going to kill them, it will be me.Author’s Note: This book contains four swoon-worthy alpha males, one kick ass heroine, cursing, steamy sex, plenty of action and dark suspense and lots of sass. If you like books where the heroine never has to choose just one, then this is for you.