Book picks similar to
Curveball by Mariah Dietz


arc
romance
contemporary-romance
single-parent

Between Here and the Horizon


Callie Hart - 2016
    You think you want to know me. But trust me, Miss Lang. Pursuing me will be the worst mistake you ever make. I’m broken beyond repair......and I take great pleasure in breaking everyone else around me.”Ophelia Lang needs money, and she needs it bad. Her parent’s restaurant is going under, and ever since she lost her job teaching third grade elementary, scraping enough cash together to pay the bills has proven almost impossible. Her parents are on the brink of losing their home. The vultures are circling overhead. So when Ophelia is offered an interview for a well-paid private tutoring gig in New York, how can she possibly say no? Ronan Fletcher is far from the overweight, balding businessman Ophelia expected him to be. He’s young, handsome, and wealthy beyond all reason. He’s also perhaps the coldest, rudest person she’s ever met, and has a mean streak in him a mile and a half wide. A hundred grand is a lot of money, however, and if tolerating his frosty temperament, his erratic mood swings and whatever else he throws at her means she’ll get paid, then that is what Ophelia will do. Her new boss is keeping secrets, though. Awful, terrible secrets. The ghosts of Ronan Fletcher’s past are about to turn Ophelia’s future upside down, and she can’t even see it coming. Note: Between Here and The Horizon is a brand new standalone contemporary romance novel from USA Today bestselling author, Callie Hart. Between Here and the Horizon does contain some scenes of violence and sexual content, and so is directed at audience 18+.

A Veil of Vines


Tillie Cole - 2016
    Crowns, priceless jewels and gilded thrones belong only in childhood dreams.But for some, these frivolous fancies are truth. For some, they are real life. On Manhattan’s Upper East Side, people have always treated me as someone special. All because of my ancestral name and legacy. All because of a connection I share to our home country’s most important family of all.I am Caresa Acardi, the Duchessa di Parma. A blue blood of Italy. I was born to marry well. And now the marriage date is set. I am to marry into House Savona. The family that would have been the royals had Italy not abolished the monarchy in 1946. But to the aristocrats of my home, the abolition means nothing at all.The Savonas still hold power where it counts most.In our tight-knit world of money, status and masked balls, they are everything and more. And I am soon to become one of them.I am soon to become Prince Zeno Savona’s wife…… or at least I was, until I met Achille. And everything changed.

Over the Fence


Melanie Moreland - 2015
    But is that the only thing they share?Nathan Fraser lives a solitary life, never letting anyone get too close. It’s safer that way.Kourtney Whyte hides from the world and behind her work, too afraid to really live her life to the fullest. Rejection is what she knows best. But one night, the sound of her soft voice and the tantalizing aroma of her evening meal, prove too enticing for Nathan to ignore. So begins their unconventional relationship—talking, learning, texting, and gradually opening up to one another, all over the fence. That is, until the day Nathan braves the high fence to protect Kourtney from her past, and changes everything forever. Can they move forward together, without the buffer of the fence?Or will their pasts prove to be too much of a barrier?

Four Letter Word


J. Daniels - 2016
    Hate. Love. Lies.Which four letter word will change their lives forever?Sydney Paige was never so mortified to hear the words "wrong number" in her life. She meant to tell off the guy who broke her best friend's heart but unleashed her anger on a perfect stranger instead. And now her world is turned upside down by the captivating man who wants to keep her on the line.Brian Savage is living a life he's quickly come to hate-until Sydney's wild rant has him hooked and hungry for more. Soon the sexy woman on the phone becomes the lover in his bed. But Brian has secrets, and the closer he lets Syd get, the harder it is to shield her from the devastating mistakes of his past . . .

Hate Thy Neighbor


S.M. Soto - 2020
    Fresh out of a failed engagement, Olivia Hales is in dire need of a fresh start. Tired of being the charming and accommodating girl that always gets stomped on, she’s determined to change her outlook on life.When she finds her dream job in a small town in California, she thinks she’s finally found her place in life. That is, until she meets her new neighbor. Roman Banks.Moody. Foul-mouthed. Jerk.And the hottest man on the planet. At a sprawling six foot five, he was coldly distant and physically intimidating. Not only was her new neighbor a God that was good with his hands, he was also a grade-A jerk. Trapped on the same street, sharing the same space together, they’ve become entrenched in an addictive, ridiculous, never-ending game of insults and pranks that result in the destruction of two perfectly good homes. The tension between them is as thick as the walls of their houses are thin. Roman’s touch burned like fire even when his words were ice, and both of them will stop at nothing to make the others life hell. In the midst of the pranks and the hate they harbor for each other, Olivia slowly pulls back the layers of the man next door and finds herself consumed with wanting to fix him and his past. When both enemies start to catch feelings for each other, Olivia finds herself hiding her own secrets, not wanting to lose another man in her life. Lines are drawn. Strict rules put into place. But that doesn’t stop Olivia from wanting to save the quiet, broody man next door.They say you’re supposed to love thy neighbor, but that was the furthest emotion she felt when thinking about Roman. Hate was all there was to their relationship. At the very least, that’s what she tried to tell herself.

Right Where I Want You


Jessica Hawkins - 2018
    . . and it cuts right through the middle of their office. Bad boys? They run right over good girls like Georgina Keller. But after a confidence-shattering breakup, she’s determined not to let anyone at her new workplace push her around—least of all the brooding creative director, a “bad boy of publishing” who’s made it clear she’s enemy #1.Sebastian Quinn's taste for fast cars, late nights, and beautiful women may have gotten him to the top of a leading New York magazine, but the reputation that made him is suddenly threatening to end his career.Georgina can help Modern Man shed its bad reputation, but in order to do that, she’ll have to start at the top—and no amount of rakish charm or inconvenient attraction will distract her.Because if Sebastian gets her right where he wants her, it means she’s going down.

Hopeless Vows


Rachael Duncan - 2016
    The rules were simple: 1. Marry a complete stranger chosen for you by professionals.2. Live together as man and wife for eight weeks while cameras record your every move.3. Make a decision to stay together or get a divorce.Call me crazy, but I had complete faith in the process, until I saw who was waiting for me at the end of the aisle.Austin James has never met me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know him. With no other choice, I say my vows and pray I can make it through the next eight weeks. Then I’ll leave. What connects us is my best kept secret, and I’ll protect it at all costs even if that means walking away from the only person I’ve ever cared about.

Slick


Kristi Pelton - 2015
    Before fulfilling obligations her father has sentenced her to, she escapes and breathes eight weeks of freedom in southern California.Bodhi loves: his music, his body and his buddies...the order is debatable depending on the day. His past taught him to be selective with the people he trusts. Bodhi doesn’t date, and he was lucky if he remembered a woman's name. He was alone in a world of people. All that changed when an innocent, brown-eyed, smart mouthed beauty showed up on his doorstep.Are they the answer to each other’s prayers or will manipulation and deception destroy them?

Shacking Up


Helena Hunting - 2017
    She has one chance to turn things around with a big audition. But instead of getting her big break, she gets sick as a dog and completely bombs it in the most humiliating fashion. All thanks to a mysterious, gorgeous guy who kissed—and then coughed on—her at a party the night before.Luckily, her best friend might have found the perfect opportunity; a job staying at the lavish penthouse apartment of hotel magnate Bancroft Mills while he’s out of town, taking care of his exotic pets. But when the newly-evicted Ruby arrives to meet her new employer, it turns out Bane is the same guy who got her sick. Seeing his role in Ruby’s dilemma, Bane offers her a permanent job as his live-in pet sitter until she can get back on her feet. Filled with hilariously awkward encounters and enough sexual tension to heat a New York City block, Shacking Up, from NYT and USA Today bestselling author Helena Hunting, is sure to keep you laughing and swooning all night long.

Hard Pass


Sara Ney - 2020
    She laughed, walked out of my penthouse—and I never saw her again. It doesn’t matter that I’m a rich, professional athlete; what mattered was my face. Beauty might only be skin deep for some—but I know better.“Pay up.” That’s what the last girl I spoke to said over the phone when I made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. Desperate to sell a set of rare baseball cards, she’s clever and entertaining. I’m instantly smitten, but nowhere ready to reveal myself. Thank god she has no idea who I am—or what I look like.I’m a professional athlete--how hard can playing the love game be?

Coming Home


Priscilla Glenn - 2014
    After discovering the man she loved had manipulated and deceived her, she refuses to even entertain the idea of a relationship. Instead, she focuses her attention on taking care of her family, a role she’s assumed since the death of her mother and the one place she knows her kindness won't be taken advantage of again. When a nostalgic trip back to her childhood home results in a chance encounter with Danny DeLuca, a smart-mouthed mechanic who’s as attractive as he is mysterious, Leah's carefully cultivated walls begin to crumble. She finds herself unexpectedly drawn to Danny, despite his unreliable behavior and mixed signals. But Danny has a secret...One that could shake Leah's already precarious foundation and bring her world crashing down around her. Suddenly, she's faced with an incredibly difficult decision--is she willing to risk everything for the chance at finding the love she's always wanted? Or are some obstacles just too big for the heart to overcome?

Break Even


Lisa De Jong - 2015
    Every day, River gives me ten reasons to stay away, and then eleven reasons why I can't. Our relationship was to remain strictly business, or at least I tried. Four years of marriage, and everything with Cole has changed. I never knew two people who lived together could be so distant. But I’m not ready to give up on him.One man wants to break me.The other is just trying to get even. Both are lying to me.

Hold My Breath


Ginger Scott - 2016
    One decision can ruin lives. A blink can be tragic. And loving a Hollister…can hurt like hell.I would know.They say the average person can hold their breath under water for two full minutes when pushed to the extremes. Will Hollister has been holding his for years. The oldest of two elite swimming brothers, Will was always a dominant force in the water. But in life, he preferred to let his younger brother Evan be the one to shine.Evan got the girl, and Will…he got to bury all of the secrets. A brother’s burden, the weight of it all nearly left him to drown.The daughter of two Olympians, my path was set the day my fingertips first touched water. My future was as crystal clear as the lane I dominated in the pool—swim hard, win big, love a Hollister.My life with Evan burned bright. He gave me arms to come home to, and a smile that fooled the world into believing everything was perfect. But it was Will who pushed me. Will…who really knew me.And when all of the pieces fell, it was Will who started to pick them up.In the end, the only thing that matters are those few precious seconds—and what we decide to do while we still have them in our grasp.

Running into Love


Aurora Rose Reynolds - 2017
    After countless mishaps, mistakes, and unmitigated disasters on the dating scene, she’s decided to give up and move on with her life…solo.Everything changes, however, after Fawn runs into Levi Fremont, a homicide detective new to New York City.Dedication to the job has rendered Levi’s love life nonexistent—until he moves in next door to the free-spirited Fawn. After a series of comedic run-ins push them together, will they finally give in to the inevitable and realize—maybe—they are perfect for each other?

Dirty Exes


Rachel Van Dyken - 2018
    A sizzling series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Rachel van Dyken. Blaire has never quite gotten over Jessie Beckett, the ex–NFL star whose kisses were hot enough to ignite the entire Eastern Seaboard. When he chose work over her, Blaire was left brokenhearted. Why else would she have married a skeezy two-timer, just to divorce him less than a year later?Now Blaire is getting even by becoming one half of Dirty Exes, a PI firm fully committed to humiliating cheating jerks. If only the new jerk she’s been hired to uncover wasn’t Jessie Beckett himself.Exposing Jessie isn’t going to be easy, especially when she still daydreams about his sexy smile. Further complicating matters is Colin, Jessie’s best friend. He’s gorgeous, a little bit cunning, and willing to help Blaire get the inside scoop on Jessie—for a price.Now caught between two men—one totally right and the other totally wrong—Blaire will need to decide just how much she’s willing to risk…and whom she’s willing to risk it for.