Book picks similar to
The Trouble with Love by Christina C. Jones


romance
author-of-color
african-american-romance
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The Coldest Winter Ever


Sister Souljah - 1999
    Ghetto-born, Winter is the young, wealthy daughter of a prominent Brooklyn drug-dealing family. Quick-witted, sexy, and business-minded, she knows and loves the streets like the curves of her own body. But when a cold Winter wind blows her life in a direction she doesn't want to go, her street smarts and seductive skills are put to the test of a lifetime. Unwilling to lose, this ghetto girl will do anything to stay on top. Featuring a Special Collector’s Edition Reader’s Guide—including an author Q&A, detailed character analyses, and the author’s own remarks about the meaning of her story.

The Key to Happily Ever After


Tif Marcelo - 2019
    All’s fair in love and business. The de la Rosa family and their wedding planning business have been creating happily ever afters in the Washington, DC area for years, making even the most difficult bride’s day a fairytale. But when their parents announce their retirement, the sisters—Marisol, Janelyn, and Pearl—are determined to take over the business themselves. But the sisters quickly discover that the wedding business isn’t all rings and roses. There are brides whose moods can change at the drop of a hat; grooms who want to control every part of the process; and couples who argue until their big day. As emotions run high, the de la Rosa sisters quickly realize one thing: even when disaster strikes—whether it’s a wardrobe malfunction or a snowmageddon in the middle of a spring wedding—they’ll always have each other. Perfect for fans of the witty and engaging novels of Amy E. Reichert and Susan Mallery, The Key to Happily Ever After is a fresh romantic comedy that celebrates the crucial and profound power of sisterhood.

Unwrapping The Holidays: Hot Coded Christmas / Be Mine For Christmas


Nana Malone - 2016
    She didn't count on sharing this secluded wonderland with her business rival, Cole Nichols. But the sexy tech billionaire just might be the one to make all Jamie's winter wishes come true… Be Mine for Christmas by Sheryl Lister After her dream Christmas wedding is canceled, Maya Brooks aims to revive her spirits with a little holiday fling. Ian Jeffries finds the gorgeous bakery owner as luscious as her desserts—and wants more of both. But Maya's trust is shattered when she discovers that Ian's real-estate firm is trying to buy out her shop. Can he prove his passion isn't a ruse and that her love's the only gift he will need forever?

The Way You Tempt Me


Elle Wright - 2020
    In this sizzling new series, they gamble big on every  wild-card, industry-outsider client—and on delicious, unexpected, crazy-irresistible passion . . .   The heir-apparent to Pure Talent, ex-playboy Xavier Starks had it all figured out. With an engagement to Hollywood's hottest actress and his innovative expansion plans, he can finally prove to his dad, Jax, that he’s responsible enough to step into a leadership role at their company. Until a jilting-gone-viral puts Xavier back in the relentless social-media spotlight, out of the running for partner—and in competition with the last person he ever expected: his very-grown-up childhood friend and girl-next-door . . .   With her acclaimed sports talent roster and unparalleled instincts, agent Zara Reid knows she can take Pure Talent to the next level. To make the most of her mentor Jax’s faith in her, she'll go head-to-head and scheme-to-scheme with Xavier to prove she's got what it takes. But suddenly, long days working too close together turn into reckless, insatiable nights. Now, being co-workers-with-benefits means Zara and Xavier must face their secrets, dare to trust—and negotiate the toughest game of all—love. “The heat is high in this lustful tale.”  —Publishers Weekly on Enticed by You

The Last Time I Saw Paris


Lynn Sheene - 2011
    May 1940. Fleeing a glamorous Manhattan life built on lies, Claire Harris arrives in Paris with a romantic vision of starting anew. But she didn't anticipate the sight of Nazi soldiers marching under the Arc de Triomphe. Her plans smashed by the German occupation, the once- privileged socialite's only option is to take a job in a flower shop under the tutelage of a sophisticated Parisian florist. In exchange for false identity papers, Claire agrees to aid the French Resistance. Despite the ever-present danger, she comes to love the enduring beauty of the City of Light, exploring it in the company of Thomas Grey, a mysterious Englishman working with the Resistance. Claire's bravery and intelligence make her a valuable operative, and slowly her values shift as she witnesses the courageous spirit of the Parisians. But deception and betrayal force her to flee once again-this time to fight for the man she loves and what she knows is right-praying she has the heart and determination to survive long enough to one day see Paris again.

Insatiable


Allison Hobbs - 2004
    She desperately needs something or someone to believe in. She plans her future around Marquise, the father of her toddler daughter. Devastatingly sexy, Marquise is currently in jail on drug charges. Terelle, however, is living for his imminent return and dreaming of the day they can start building a life together as a real family.A cunning seductress, Kai Montgomery is the bi-racial adopted daughter of a wealthy Caucasian couple. Rich, beautiful, and well-bred, Kai is Terelle's polar opposite. After being dumped by an affluent and very married physician, Kai is without a sex partner. When one of numerous trysts results in the best sex of her life, she becomes obsessed and is quickly set on a collision course destined to destroy many lives.

Finding Kristmas (Jacobs Brothers, #1)


Bella Jay - 2021
    He returned to bury his mom. Neither were looking for love but during Christmas time, love is always in the air. Kristmas Kasey hasn’t been back to her hometown Bexley, GA since she left six years ago. She never thought she’d want to come back but after a series of misfortunate events she decided to come home to recenter and find herself during her favorite time of the year. Instead, she finds her high school sweetheart and feelings she thought were gone come crashing back.Jonathan ‘Deuce’ Jacobs always hated home and avoided it like the plague but his mother’s rapidly declining health landed him back on its soil. The pressure to be great, the pressure to go pro, and the pressure to make something of himself were the only things he could remember about Bexley. And Kristmas. Kristmas had been his first everything and after they went their separate ways he never thought he’d see her again. But what’s Christmas in Bexley without Kristmas?Finding Kristmas is a novella that takes two former lovers on a whirlwind romance of reconnecting during a bittersweet time.

Across the Creek


Jeremy Asher - 2012
    An unlikely childhood romance between a poor boy and a wealthy girl began the day Jesse decided to do the impossible and cross the creek. A love was born, one that would become their shelter, protecting them from the storms of their lives, until the day Jesse witnessed his mother’s murder, forcing him to leave his childhood home…and first love. Ten years later, life has finally gotten better for Jesse. He has a loving family, a charming pet shop to run, and one semester left before graduating with a degree in architecture. Everything is great, until the day fate intervenes and his long-lost love walks into his shop and back into his life.Sarah, engaged to a budding attorney, is struggling to keep everything together. Her father, diagnosed with terminal cancer, is running out of time. Sarah races to build their dream business while planning her wedding in time for her father to walk her down the aisle.Their brief encounter starts a series of events that neither Jesse nor Sarah expects. After a decade of running, Jesse is now forced to face the demons from his past, while Sarah has to choose between her handsome attorney and her first love. Just when they think love has given them a second chance, Jesse is faced with an impossible decision, one that will change their lives forever.Across the Creek is the first in a 2-book series. Beneath the Willow is the second.

Digging Up Love


Chandra Blumberg - 2022
    Though Alisha relishes the close relationship she has with her family, she can’t help but dream about opening a cookie shop in Chicago. She may be a small-town baker, but Alisha has big ambitions.Then a dinosaur bone turns up in her grandparents’ backyard. When paleontologist Quentin Harris arrives to see the discovery for himself, he’s hoping that the fossil will distract him from a recent painful breakup. Instead, he finds Alisha—and sparks fly. The big-city academic and the hometown baker seem destined for a happily ever after.But Alisha is scared to fall in love. And Quentin’s trying to make a name for himself in a competitive field, which gets even more complicated when the press shows up at the dig site. For love to prevail, the two may have to put old bones aside—and focus on the future.

Take the Lead


Alexis Daria - 2017
    It’s her fifth season on The Dance Off, a top-rated network TV celebrity dance competition, and she’s never even made it to the finals. When she meets her latest partner, she sees her chance. He's handsome, rippling with muscles, and he stars on the popular Alaskan wilderness reality show Living Wild. With his sexy physique and name recognition, she thinks he’s her ticket to the finals—until she realizes they’re being set up.Stone Nielson hates Los Angeles, he hates reality TV, and he hates that fact that he had to join the cast of the The Dance Off because of family obligations. He can’t wait to get back to Alaska, but he also can’t deny his growing attraction to his bubbly Puerto Rican dance partner. Neither of them are looking for romantic entanglements, and Stone can’t risk revealing his secrets, but as they heat up the dance floor, it’s only a matter of time until he feels an overwhelming urge to take the lead.When the tabloids catch on to their developing romance, the spotlight threatens to ruin not just their relationship, but their careers and their shot at the trophy. Gina and Stone will have to decide if their priorities lie with fame, fortune, or the chance at a future together.

Deconstructed


Liz Talley - 2022
    Her plan: hire an investigator; find an attorney; enlist the help of her new assistant, Ruby; and make her husband pay.Ruby knows how quickly everything changes. After a dicey past, she’s determined to forge a new future by working for Cricket and reinventing herself as a designer, deconstructing vintage haute couture. If anybody can help mend a few tears in Cricket’s life, she can.But turns out Cricket’s life isn’t just a little torn. It’s wrinkled, stained, and falling apart at the seams. With Ruby and her ragtag relatives—a soused PI and a hunky tow truck driver—Cricket is sleuthing her way to the truth, no matter how dangerous it gets.Sure, Cricket’s life isn’t what she imagined. But she’s embracing change and figuring out what she really wants. And that’s kind of fabulous.

Layers


Sigal Ehrlich - 2013
    According to Hayley love is a subject of ridicule, a myth created by hopeless romantics.When Hayley makes a resolution to declare her loose lifestyle era R.I.P, it’s all good in theory…That is until she meets Daniel Stark, a well-respected, mid-thirties business man who is known for his short temper, lack of steady relationships as well as his strict preserve of his private life.Opinionated, sharp tongued Hayley accidently steps into his office leaving Daniel resolved to put Hayley in her place and have her in his bed.Both Hayley and Daniel can’t avoid the immediate instigation of the attraction between them.In a unanimously agreed upon verdict by Hayley and her two best friends, Ian the gay self-absorbed, aspiring model and Natasha the witty, borderline neurotic soul mate, Daniel Stark is to be Hayley’s pure physical attraction, emotions aside era closure.Will it indeed be a closure, or a beginning to something neither Hayley nor Daniel ever bargained for…

Should Have Known Better


Grace Octavia - 2011
    But the road back will mean facing the hardest truths - and risking everything to discover what her life could really be.

Romiette and Julio


Sharon M. Draper - 1999
    In their case, a dangerous gang's disapproval of their interracial relationship puts the two in mortal peril.

Golden Lies


Barbara Freethy - 2004
     Every family has secrets -- some too intriguing to resist ... some too dangerous to ignore ... A novel about three remarkable families -- the fifty-year-old promise that once bound them together, the fiery betrayal that tore them apart, and the ancient bronze dragon that could destroy their future ... Riley McAllister, Paige Hathaway, and Alyssa Chen come from very different worlds. Tough guy Riley has overcome the hard knocks of a working-class upbringing. Paige struggles to define her place as the heir to a famous antiques emporium. And Alyssa feels trapped by the restrictions of her family's old world attitudes. Now this unlikely trio of strangers must come together to follow an elusive trail through the streets of San Francisco -- from glittering Pacific Heights to colorful Chinatown to trendy south of Market. Each will have to make the impossible choice between romantic love and family loyalty, between sheltering lies and revealing truth. Once the door to the past is opened, there's no turning back ... Reviews for Golden Lies ... "Golden Lies is an absolute treasure, a fabulous, page-turning combination of romance and intrigue. Fans of Nora Roberts and Elizabeth Lowell will love Golden Lies." Kristin Hannah "Freethy's smooth prose, spirited storytelling and engaging characters, are sure to send readers on a treasure hunt for the author's backlist books." Publishers Weekly "A priceless Chinese artifact, an ancient curse, and a decades-old betrayal set the stage for this gripping story, which unites the grandchildren from three diverse, yet strangely linked, families and sweeps them from the rarified world of high-priced antiques to the fragrant alleys of San Francisco's Chinatown on an urgent quest to unravel the past's secrets. Multidimensional characters at all levels (especially the strong-willed hero and heroine), realistic and sometimes funny dialog, and a well-constructed plot that Freethy unwraps with such consummate skill that the conclusion is at once surprising and totally logical result in a rich and compelling tale." Library Journal "The lives of three families collide and intersect in this wonderfully intriguing new drama by bestselling author Freethy." Romantic Times Magazine OTHER ROMANTIC SUSPENSE TITLES Lightning Strikes Trilogy (Romantic Suspense) #1 Beautiful Storm #2 Lightning Lingers #3 Summer Rain Romantic Suspense Novels All She Ever Wanted Don’t Say A Word Golden Lies The Sanders Brothers Romanic Suspense Duo #1 Silent Run #2 Silent Fall The Deception Romantic Suspense Duo #1 Taken #2 Played