Book picks similar to
Trouble's What You're In by Danielle Allen


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Lease on Love


Falon Ballard - 2022
    When one drink turns into one too many, Sadie mixes up a long-ignored dating app for a roommate-finding app and finds herself on the doorstep of Jack Thomas’s gorgeous Brooklyn brownstone. Too bad she’s more attracted to his impressive real estate than she is to the man himself. Jack, still grieving the unexpected death of his parents, has learned to find comfort in video games and movie marathons instead of friends. So while he doesn’t know just what to make of the vivaciously verbose Sadie, he’s willing to offer her his spare bedroom while she gets back on her feet. And with the rent unbeatably low, Sadie can finally pursue her floristry side hustle full-time. The two are polar opposites, but as Sadie’s presence begins to turn the brownstone into a home, they both start to realize they may have just made the deal of a lifetime.

Play to Win


Ja'Nese Dixon - 2020
    Jayda’s a single mother uninterested in another relationship until she sees Kamal with her daughter.Every rejection will only make his victory sweeter. He plans to lick, taste, and devour her like the delicacy she is until the world, her ex, and Jayda recognizes his name tatted on every inch of her curvy body.Kamal never plays by halves, and Jayda has a thing or two to show this deviously handsome player. But when the past runs an interference, they’ll learn in matters of the heart there are no rules.

The Real Deal


Lauren Blakely - 2018
    She doesn't even spend that much time online. And even if she did, she would not be looking up personal ads. But going home alone for her family's summer reunion is an invitation for every single relative to butt into her personal life. She simply can't handle another blind date with the butcher, the baker or the candlestick maker from her hometown. So when she finds the Craigslist ad for a boyfriend-for-hire, she's ready to pay to play. Heading Home and Need a Buffer? I'm the REAL DEAL. Theo Banks has been running from the past for years. He's this close to finally settling all his debts, and one more job as a boyfriend-for-hire will do the trick. He's no gigolo. Please. He's something of an actor, and he knows how to slip into any role, including pretending to be April's new beau -- the bad boy with the heart of gold.Even if it means sleeping in close quarters in that tiny little bed in her parents' inn. Even if it means spinning tales of a romance that starts to feel all too true. What neither one of them counts on is that amid the egg toss, the arm wrestling, and a fierce game of Lawn Twister that has them tangled up together, they might be feeling the real deal.She only wanted to show her family once and for all that she had no need to settle down.He didn't expect to have the time of his life at her parent's home.They didn't plan on loving every single second of the game.But can a masterful game of pretend result in true love?

Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry


Joya Goffney - 2021
    It’s a heartfelt, tortured, contemporary YA high school romance with epistolary elements. Fans of Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and Kristina Forest’s debut I Wanna Be Where You Are will love the juicy secrets, leap-off-the-page sexual tension and the enemy-to-lover romantic arc.Quinn keeps lists of everything—from the days she’s ugly cried, to “Things That I Would Never Admit Out Loud,” to all the boys she’d like to kiss. Her lists keep her sane. By writing her fears on paper, she never has to face them in real life. That is, until her journal goes missing…An anonymous account posts one of her lists on Instagram for the whole school to see and blackmails her into facing seven of her greatest fears, or else her entire journal will go public. Quinn doesn’t know who to trust. Desperate, she teams up with Carter Bennett—the last known person to have her journal—in a race against time to track down the blackmailer.Together, they journey through everything Quinn’s been too afraid to face, and along the way, Quinn finds the courage to be honest, to live in the moment, and to fall in love.

Dangerous Girls


Abigail Haas - 2013
    Anna, her boyfriend Tate, her best friend Elise, and a few other close friends are off on a debaucherous trip to Aruba that promises to be the time of their lives. But when Elise is found brutally murdered, Anna finds herself trapped in a country not her own, fighting against vile and contemptuous accusations. As Anna sets out to find her friend's killer, she discovers hard truths about her friendships, the slippery nature of truth, and the ache of young love.As she awaits the judge's decree, it becomes clear that everyone around her thinks she is not just guilty, but dangerous. When the truth comes out, it is more shocking than one could ever imagine...

Every Other Weekend


Abigail Johnson - 2020
    Straight As, close friends and a home life so perfect that it could have been a TV show straight out of the 50s. Then his oldest brother died. Now his fun-loving mom cries constantly, he and his remaining brother can’t talk without fighting, and the father he always admired proved himself a coward by moving out when they needed him most.Jolene Timber’s life is nothing like the movies she loves—not the happy ones anyway. As an aspiring director, she should know, because she’s been reimagining her life as a film ever since she was a kid. With her divorced parents at each other’s throats and using her as a pawn, no amount of mental reediting will give her the love she’s starving for. Forced to spend every other weekend in the same apartment building, the boy who thinks forgiveness makes him weak and the girl who thinks love is for fools begin an unlikely friendship. The weekends he dreaded and she endured soon become the best part of their lives. But when one’s life begins to mend while the other’s spirals out of control, they realize that falling in love while surrounded by its demise means nothing is ever guaranteed.

A Very Special Christmas


K. Alex Walker - 2014
    From her sultry brown skin to her luscious, berry-ripe lips, he can think of nothing else than to find a way to get to know her better. With loss so close to his own heart, he feels that Morgan could be his second chance at happiness. The only problem? Getting to their first date.For the first time in her adult life, Morgan Henderson does not have the resources to stand on her own two feet. After losing her job in Miami and having to move to New York to stay with her best friend Ashlee, the only thing she is focused on is regaining control of her life...that is, until Noah Adams comes into the picture. Completely caught off-guard when the dark-haired, blue-eyed epitome of rugged sexiness asks her out to dinner at a skating rink, she politely declines. Little does she know, that day on the ice won't be the last time she sets eyes on Noah.In the battle of love vs security, Morgan will be forced to choose between a terrifying, yet passionate romance with Noah in New York, or the assurance of her livelihood...in Miami.

A Quiet Kind of Thunder


Sara Barnard - 2017
    But Rhys, the new boy at school, sees her. He's deaf, and her knowledge of basic sign language means that she's assigned to look after him. To Rhys, it doesn't matter that Steffi doesn't talk, and as they find ways to communicate, Steffi finds that she does have a voice, and that she's falling in love with the one person who makes her feel brave enough to use it. From the bestselling author of Beautiful Broken Things comes a love story about the times when a whisper is as good as a shout.

The Professor


Serena Akeroyd - 2019
    Colder. Meaner.  And she had no choice but to take everything he had to give.  A desperate act, Phoebe's tumble from grace, and a man waiting in the wings to watch her downfall. The Professor is no hero. No charming knight. He’s a predator stalking his prey, and Phoebe, a college student struggling to get by, just walked into his crosshairs because even monsters have needs... A standalone bully romance. May offend or upset sensitive readers. Contains scenes with stalking.

Audrey, Wait!


Robin Benway - 2008
    All she wants to do is go to concerts, hang out with her friends, and maybe score a date with the cute boy who works with her at the Scooper Dooper.But now, her ex-boyfriend's song about their breakup is at the top of the charts and she's suddenly famous! The paparazzi won't leave her alone, the tabloids are trying to make her into some kind of rock goddess, and the Internet is documenting her every move!Will Audrey ever be able to have a normal life again? Get ready to find out, because it's time for Audrey to tell her side of the story.

Left Behind


Vi Keeland - 2014
    Sure, we were just kids, but I was old enough to know my life would never be the same. She was my best friend. My destiny. My fate. I wasn’t wrong…I just didn’t know how twisted fate could be.Nikki FallonAfter the death of my mother, moving from my dark and dreary trailer park to sunny California, I was focused on one thing – finding a sister I’d only just learned existed. Falling in love with him wasn’t part of the plan. But he filled a void I never knew was possible to fill. He had to be my fate. My destiny. Until the day I finally found out who my sister was…and how twisted fate could be.

99 Percent Mine


Sally Thorne - 2019
    She’s travelled the world, and can categorically say that no one measures up to Tom Valeska, whose only flaw is that Darcy’s twin brother Jamie saw him first and claimed him forever as his best friend. Despite Darcy’s best efforts, Tom’s off limits and loyal to her brother, 99%. That’s the problem with finding her dream man at age eight and peaking in her photography career at age twenty—ever since, she’s had to learn to settle for good enough.When Darcy and Jamie inherit a tumble-down cottage from their grandmother, they’re left with strict instructions to bring it back to its former glory and sell the property. Darcy plans to be in an aisle seat halfway across the ocean as soon as the renovations start, but before she can cut and run, she finds a familiar face on her porch: house-flipper extraordinaire Tom’s arrived, he’s bearing power tools, and he’s single for the first time in almost a decade.Suddenly Darcy’s considering sticking around to make sure her twin doesn’t ruin the cottage’s inherent magic with his penchant for grey and chrome. She’s definitely not staying because of her new business partner’s tight t-shirts, or that perfect face that's inspiring her to pick up her camera again. Soon sparks are flying—and it’s not the faulty wiring. It turns out one percent of Tom’s heart might not be enough for Darcy anymore. This time around, she’s switching things up. She’s going to make Tom Valeska 99 percent hers.

Kamila Knows Best


Farah Heron - 2022
    She lives a life of comfort, filled with her elaborate Bollywood movie parties, a dog with more Instagram followers than most reality stars, a job she loves, and an endless array of friends who clearly need her help finding love. In fact, Kamila is so busy with her friends’ love lives, she’s hardly given any thought to her own . . .Fortunately, Kamila has Rohan Nasser. A longtime friend of the family, he’s hugely successful, with the deliciously lean, firm body of a rock climber. Only lately, Kamila’s “harmless flirting” with Rohan is making her insides do a little bhangra dance.But between planning the local shelter’s puppy prom, throwing a huge work event, and proving to everyone that she’s got it all figured out, Kamila isn’t letting herself get distracted—until her secret nemesis returns to town with an eye for Rohan. Suddenly, it seems like the more Kamila tries to plan, the more things are starting to unravel—and her perfectly ordered life is about to be turned upside down.

The Hottie in Finance


T.K. Cherry - 2020
    Then, she met Dustin “The Beefcake” Collier. One glance, and the career-focused businesswoman is stumbling over her words like a love-sick teen. What Greer thought was a one-sided crush took a thrilling turn when Dustin sent her a friend request on social media. Unfortunately, the more she saw of his life online, the more she doubted the attraction would ever be mutual. She was the wrong height. Wrong build. And wrong complexion. Little does Foxy know, Beefcake has a taste for chocolate and he’s craving her. Can colleagues from two different backgrounds find a way to release their inhibitions? Or will the struggle between work and family squash their shot at love?

The Plunge: A romantic suspense


Linnea May - 2020
    Wanted criminal, ruthless assassin - and my sole protector in a world that's out to get me.But he is part of that world.There’s a bullet left in his gun, and it’s meant for me.Strapped to his strong chest I fall into the abyss, unsure what I will find at the bottom.Death?Mercy?Or… love?No. How could I possibly fall for the man whose job it is to kill me? A man who took everything from me and is now holding me as his captive, just waiting for the right moment to turn the passion between us into a deadly finale?We both know what he has to do.We both know that there’s hell to pay if we don’t stop this.Yet, here we are. On our road to ruin…