Book picks similar to
Summer in the City by Lori Wilde
romance
netgalley
anthology
novella
The Bachelor Auction
Rachel Van Dyken - 2016
Sure, she had a rough start, but didn't she eventually land a prince and a happily-ever-after? Meanwhile, Jane is busy waiting on her demanding, entitled sisters, running her cleaning business, and . . . yep, not a prince in sight. Until a party and a broken shoe incident leave Jane wondering if princes---or at least, a certain deliciously hunky billionaire---maybe do exist.Except Brock Wellington isn't anyone's dream guy. Hell, a prince would never agree to be auctioned off in marriage to the highest bidder. Or act like an arrogant jerk---even if it was just a façade. Now, as Brock is waiting for the auction chopping block, he figures it's karmic retribution that he's tempted by a sexy, sassy woman he can't have. But while they can't have a fairy-tale ending, maybe they can indulge in a little bit of fantasy . .
Leaving Blue Bayou
JoAnn Ross - 2012
With her lush body and hearty appetite, she's no Hollywood matchstick, and oh cher, does he like that. Emma just has to stop thinkig about her former Cajun crush, so she makes a list of all the things she wishes he would do to her and buries it in a graveyard at night. Except it's the wrong list--Gabe finds the right one, and he intends to fulfill every blissful one of them...Love Potion #9It's bad enough thet Hollywood hotshot Sloan Hawthorne's knowledge of Roxi Dupree's witchcraft comes from comic books and fairy tales. What's worse is that she's falling hard for the outrageously sexy hunk. Pretty soon they're both finding that the seamy Savannah nights are perfect for conjuring up some michevious magic of their own...Plus Bonus Novella, Dear Santa...Mystery author Holly Berry's SUV has broken down in the little hamlet of Santa's Village, Washington. Holly hates the holidays--that is until lodge owner Garbriel O'Halloran and his five-year-old daughter rekindle her belief in passion, magic and Christmas...
The Italian Party
Christina Lynch - 2018
Newly married, Scottie and Michael are seduced by Tuscany's famous beauty. But the secrets they are keeping from each other force them beneath the splendid surface to a more complex view of ltaly, America and each other.When Scottie's Italian teacher--a teenager with secrets of his own--disappears, her search for him leads her to discover other, darker truths about herself, her husband and her country. Michael's dedication to saving the world from communism crumbles as he begins to see that he is a pawn in a much different game. Driven apart by lies, Michael and Scottie must find their way through a maze of history, memory, hate and love to a new kind of complicated truth.Half glamorous fun, half an examination of America's role in the world, and filled with sun-dappled pasta lunches, prosecco, charming spies and horse racing, The Italian Party is a smart pleasure.
Blue By You
Rachel Gibson - 2013
Yeah, it was hot while it lasted, but then he went off to join the Marines, leaving Blue in New Orleans. She's tried to block him from her mind for good, but nothing can really erase the feeling she had when she was with him.And now he's got the nerve to return—leaner, meaner, and strong enough to pull her into his arms and kiss her senseless. Blue's a successful businesswoman now, with no time to figure out what went wrong all those years ago. But Kasper knows she's the one woman for him … and now he's got to prove it to her all over again.
Santa's on His Way
Lisa Jackson - 2018
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A BABY FOR CHRISTMAS * Lisa Jackson The uneventful Christmas Annie McFarlane expected is suddenly anything but. First, there's the adorable baby left on the snowy doorstep of her Oregon cabin. Second, there's the extremely attractive, yet extremely angry man claiming to be the father. Liam O'Shaughnessy may be intimidating, but this is one precious gift Annie isn't giving up so easily . . .WHAT THE COWBOY WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS * Maisey Yates When Meg O'Neill's longtime boyfriend lets her down, again, on Christmas no less, she braves an Oregon blizzard to get to her best friend Noah's comforting arms. But this time Noah's not telling her what she wants to hear--he's telling her the truth, from his heart . . .SNOWED IN * Stacy Finz Rachel Johnson has found the perfect spot for her second Tart Me Up bakery in Glory Junction, California. Except she's in fierce competition with hunky bar owner Boden Farmer. Worse, while the icy rivals await the city's decision, they end up catering the same Christmas Eve mountaintop wedding--and getting snowed in . . .A COWBOY WEDDING FOR CHRISTMAS * Nicole Helm Big city art teacher Lindsay Tyler isn't just back home in Colorado for her brother's wedding at the Barton Christmas Tree Farm and Ranch. She's back for good. She just hasn't told anyone yet--including Cal Barton, the ex-boyfriend she left behind . . .
Rock the Boat
Beck Dorey-Stein - 2021
She knows she won't be home for long; she's got every intention (and a three-point plan) to win back everything she thinks she's lost.Meanwhile, Miles Hoffman--aka "The Prince of Sea Point"--has also returned home to prove to his mother that he's capable of taking over the family business, and he's promised to help his childhood best friend, Ziggy Miller, with his own financial struggles at the same time. Kate, Miles, and Ziggy converge in Sea Point as the town faces an identity crisis when a local developer tries to cash in on its potential. The summer swells, and white lies and long-buried secrets prove as corrosive as the salt air, threatening to forever erode not only the bonds between the three friends but also the landscape of the beachside community they call home.Full of heart and humor--and laced with biting wit--Rock the Boat proves that even when you know all the back roads, there aren't any shortcuts to growing up.
The Futures
Anna Pitoniak - 2017
For Evan, who grew up in a small town in Canada, Yale is a whole new world, and Julia--blond, beautiful and rich--is part of his vision for a successful future. After they graduate in 2008, they move together to New York city, where Evan takes a job at a hedge fund--another step forward in the life he imagines for himself.Julia, who has only known a life of privilege, graduates with an art history degree and no plan for her own future. She lands a low paying assistant job at a nonprofit, unsure about what she really wants, and wondering when everyone else figured that out for themselves. With the market crashing and banks failing around him, Evan becomes involved in an increasingly high-stakes deal at work, and begins to realize that the price of privilege may come with dangerous strings attached. Meanwhile, Julia reconnects with someone from her past--someone who offers her a vision of a different kind of life.Told in alternating perspectives, The Futures is a vivid story about love--falling in and out of it--betrayal, and the burning desire to be valued.
Love at First Fight
Mary Jayne Baker - 2021
If this ‘love’ thing really is a numbers game, then surely she’ll find The One. And if not? Well, at least the memory of her date with the Spice Girls’ biggest fan will be enough to put her off for life. She’ll never again wonder what she was missing.But being love’s biggest sceptic is a challenge in the face of best friend Hattie’s upcoming nuptials. And as maid of honour, she really has to give it a chance.Then Bridie’s lifelong nemesis Ben Kemp returns home to join the wedding party. Ben, who left her waiting outside their leavers’ prom in a brand-new dress, alone. Ben, who triggered the sorry state of affairs that has been Bridie’s love life ever since. Ben, the best man to her maid of honour.As old enemies reunite, sparks fly – in ways Bridie could never have seen coming…
The Next Thing You Know
Jessica Strawser - 2022
An end-of-life doula with everything, and nothing, to lose. A Star Is Born meets Me Before You in this powerful novel by the author of A Million Reasons Why.
As an end-of-life doula, Nova Huston’s job—her calling, her purpose, her life—is to help terminally ill people make peace with their impending death. Unlike her business partner, who swears by her system of checklists, free-spirited Nova doesn’t shy away from difficult clients: the ones who are heartbreakingly young, or prickly, or desperate for a caregiver or companion.When Mason Shaylor shows up at her door, Nova doesn’t recognize him as the indie-favorite singer-songwriter who recently vanished from the public eye. She knows only what he’s told her: That life as he knows it is over. His deteriorating condition makes playing his guitar physically impossible—as far as Mason is concerned, he might as well be dead already.Except he doesn’t know how to say goodbye.Helping him is Nova’s biggest challenge yet. She knows she should keep clients at arm’s length. But she and Mason have more in common than anyone could guess… and meeting him might turn out to be the hardest, best thing that’s ever happened to them both.The Next Thing You Know is an emotional, resonant story about the power of human connection, love when you least expect it, hope against the odds, and what it really takes to live life with no regrets.
Men or Paws
Rich Amooi - 2022
Piece of cake, right?Wrong.First, I have to stay in my client’s guesthouse while he’s in the main house working on an important project. That may not sound so bad, but HE is Hollywood’s Bad Boy, Rocco Romano, voted “Sexiest Man Alive.”The guy could charm the pants off a mannequin.Luckily he’s not my type.Seriously.A rich, sexy, generous man? Pass. Ten-pack abs? Whatever.My heart palpitations are obviously caused by something else.As for the dog, he’s sweet and adorable, but he’s named Houdini for a reason.Then I accidentally kiss him.Rocco, not the dog.Then he escapes.The dog, not Rocco.Things can’t get any worse, right?Wrong, wrong, wrong.Men or Paws is a hilarious, opposites-attract, closed-door romantic comedy with sizzling chemistry and a guaranteed happy ending.
The Sisters Café
Carolyn Brown - 2013
She's taken step one and gotten engaged to a reliable man, but she's beginning to question their relationship. Does he really love her, or is she just arm candy for his political career? Why is her future mother-in-law getting increasingly hostile? Worse, why does he stand up for his mother when she says those awful things, instead of protecting her? Cathy is full of self-doubt. Both of her options—going through with the wedding or breaking off her engagement—are beginning to look like a nightmare either way. She knows her friends will back her up, but she's the one who has to make a decision that's going to tear her apart.
The Astronaut and the Star
Jen Comfort - 2022
But after a PR disaster, Reggie is off the list for a lunar mission. To rehabilitate her reputation with NASA, she agrees to a different kind of assignment: astronaut “training” with a Hollywood action hero.Jon Leo is a charmer. With credits that include an underperforming sitcom and a campy action flick called Space Dude, his upcoming role in a prestigious movie could prove he’s a star. But Jon isn’t just big muscles and an otherworldly smile—he’s also a total space nerd. He’s pumped about his own personal space camp…until he meets ice-cold Reggie.Although Reggie and Jon are polar opposites, their mutual attraction is undeniable, and it only takes a few weeks in close quarters for them to give in to its magnetic force. Jon is set on convincing Reggie this is a match made in the heavens, but her future is in space, and his is among stars of the Hollywood kind. The odds of successfully launching a real relationship outside the confines of the training base are anything but optimal.Reggie, content with keeping things casual, is forced by a sudden turn of events to confront the possibility of losing Jon forever. Now, she’ll do whatever it takes to win both the man and the moon.
Wicked Grind
J. Kenner - 2017
Kenner, the first in an all new series of fast-paced, provocative novels centering around the ambitious, wealthy, and powerful men who work in the glamorous and exciting world of the Stark International conglomerate … and the sexy and passionate women who bring them to their knees.Photographer Wyatt Royce’s career is on the verge of exploding. All he needs is one perfect model to be the centerpiece of his sexy, controversial show. Find her, and Wyatt is sure to have a winner.Then Kelsey Draper walks in. Stunning. Vibrant. And far too fragile for a project like this. Wyatt should know—after all, he remembers only too well why their relationship ended all those years ago.Determined to break free from her good girl persona, Kelsey wants spice. Adventure. And she’s certain that Wyatt is just the man to help.But when Wyatt agrees to give her the job only if he has complete control—on camera and in his bed—Kelsey can’t help but wonder if she’s in too deep. Because how can a good girl like her ever be enough for a man like Wyatt?
Sting
Sandra Brown - 2016
. . where nothing is what it seems and every truth brought to light exposes a darker lie.When Jordie Bennet and Shaw Kinnard lock eyes across a disreputable backwater bar, something definitely sparks. Shaw gives off a dangerous vibe that makes men wary and inspires women to sit up and take notice. None feel that undercurrent more strongly than savvy businesswoman Jordie, who doesn't belong in a seedy dive on the banks of a bayou. But here she is . . . and Shaw Kinnard is here to kill her. As Shaw and his partner take aim, Jordie is certain her time has come. But Shaw has other plans and abducts Jordie, hoping to get his hands on the $30 million her brother has stolen and, presumably, hidden. However, Shaw is not the only one looking for the fortune. Her brother's ruthless boss and the FBI are after it as well. Now on the run from the feds and a notorious criminal, Jordie and Shaw must rely on their wits-and each other-to stay alive. Miles away from civilization and surrounded by swampland, the two play each other against their common enemies. Jordie's only chance of survival is to outwit Shaw, but it soon becomes clear to Shaw that Jordie isn't entirely trustworthy, either. Was she in on her brother's scam, or is she an innocent pawn in a deadly vendetta? And just how valuable is her life to Shaw, her remorseless and manipulative captor? Burning for answers-and for each other-this unlikely pair ultimately make a desperate move that could be their last. With nonstop plot twists and the tantalizing sexual tension that has made Sandra Brown one of the world's best-loved authors, STING will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the final pages.
Blaze
Maya BlakeLorraine Wilson - 2012
8 scorching tales from The Minxes of Romance.Romance is in the air for Coombethwaite’s retained firefighters, and none of them will escape its heat unscorched! MEMORY’S FLAME by Maya BlakeA fiery reunion – when Ellie returns after twelve long years to bury her grandfather, the last person she expects to see is her first love, Jake Spencer. One look, one touch and they know memory's flame is as sizzling as ever!THE FIRE INSIDE by Romy SommerFire fighter Sam Redfern is used to being seen as just one of the boys. Until TV talent scout and celebrity Ryan Morgan shows up in Coombethwaite and starts to make her feel very much like a woman. A woman with needs.A SMOULDERING ATTRACTION by Suzanna RossShelley Fox is finished with all things romantic. So is Harrison Reid - until he meets Shelley and realises he might easily be persuaded otherwise.LOCKED INTO LOVE by Catherine ColesJournalist Cassie Parker returns to Coombethwaite with her dream in tatters—the last thing she needs is to rely on her ex for anything but on her second day back she needs hunky fireman Ben Spencer to release her from handcuffs!HOT, BOTHERED AND BEWITCHED by Kat FrenchAll alone on her birthday, Wiccan vet Seraphine conjures up more than she bargained for when she casts a Halloween love spell. Five minutes later a knock on the door heralds the arrival of handsome fireman Isaac Quinn, complete with a stray black cat. Is it just coincidence, or has Mother Nature answered Seraphine's request with lightning speed?LIGHTING LOVE’S SPARK by Sally ClementsPrimary school teacher Annabel Jackson knows flirting with the parents is a no-no, but when single father Daniel Walker arrives at Coombethwaite Primary in full fire fighter garb clutching an axe, how can she resist?WORTH THE RISK by Tara PammiBaker Annie Bennett has always stood on the sidelines while life passed her by. And it has brought Annie nothing but loneliness. With the New Year coming in, Annie decides it's time to come back home, risk her heart with the man she's always loved. Will her risk pay off or will Marcus never see her as anything but his best friend?A KINDLING ROMANCE by Lorraine WilsonStressed out lawyer Polly Minton felt trapped in her city job and now she's trapped again, this time in a Lake District chimney; hunky fire fighter and local landowner Drew Reynolds has problems of his own but will he be the one to set her free in more ways than one?