Book picks similar to
Delicate Balance by Brooke St. James


romance
contemporary
fiction
contemporary-romance

Emphatic


Kaylee Ryan - 2015
    I wasted my college years on a guy who played with my head, played with my heart. I was blinded by the fairytale, the one that didn’t exist. The day I gave up on the idea of happily ever after, my focus became me. Moving forward and establishing my career. Until one day… I didn’t expect him. My new boss, a six foot two, inked rock god. I believed I was working for the record label, I was wrong. It’s impossible for me to keep my distance, believe me I’ve tried. He’s not who I expected him to be. He’s so much more he’s… Emphatic

Intentional


M.K. Harkins - 2013
    But their perfect love disintegrates when Mattie discovers evidence of Jeremy's massive betrayal.With her heart in pieces, Mattie flees to Mercer Island, Washington intent to start over. Everything was going according to plan - until she meets Cade.Tattooed engineer by day, lead singer in a rock band at night, Cade has experienced his own brand of pain with the loss of his college sweetheart. As their friendship deepens, it ignites a new flame within Mattie, soothing the constant heartache for her former fiancée.Just when Mattie thinks she may have found another stab at happiness, Jeremy reenters her life, and with him, all the crushing memories. It's soon clear, though, that the trauma from her past may not be quite what it first seemed. Will the truth bring closure and a new beginning - or will it mean the end of both relationships forever?Offering a rarely-before-seen glimpse into the heart and mind of a romantic villain, audiences will find a welcome reprieve from the typical romance novel.

10 Dates


Emily James - 2017
    However, when her engagement starts to look more stalemate than soulmate, her best friend stages an intervention sure to make even the most hardened, serial daters wince: 10 Dates in 10 Days. Statistically, if you kiss a lot of frogs there's bound to be at least one that's not a complete toad, isn't there? With nothing to lose, Joanie embarks on a crazy rollercoaster of blind dates. After all, what can possibly go wrong in the search for Mr. Right? 10 Dates is a standalone, sexy, laugh out loud romantic comedy with a happy ending. It is not for the feint hearted and is best suited for readers over the age of eighteen due to sexual themes and mature content.

Code Red


N.R. Walker - 2021
    He’s at the top of every music chart, every award show, every social media platform, and every sexiest-man-alive list. He’s the bad boy, the enigma, the man everyone on the planet wants a piece of.He’s also burned out and exhausted, isolated and lonely. Not in a good headspace at the start of a tour.Roscoe Hall is Maddox’s personal manager. His job is high-flying, high-demand, high-profile, and he loves it. Maddox has consumed his entire life for the past four years. Roscoe knows him. He sees the real Maddox no one else gets to see.He’s also in love with him.When the tour and stress become too much, when the world begins to close in, Roscoe becomes Maddox’s lifeline. But as Maddox knows already, and as Roscoe is about to learn, the brighter the spotlight, the darker the shadow.Word count: 102K

The Beast's Fake Marriage


Bree Livingston - 2018
    Now, with him in jail, she’s ready to start fresh in Dallas as a housekeeper for Rowan Masters—a well known lawyer and recluse.A car accident left Rowan Masters burned—both physically and emotionally. He’s spent the last twelve years hiding in his family home—and now, to keep his home he’s forced to marry.Isabeau loves the feeling of safety that Rowan’s mansion offers, and he needs a wife. When a marriage of convenience turns into something more, can they leave behind the nightmare of the past and find the beauty in loving each other?

Lies We Tell Ourselves


Amy Matayo - 2018
    Like the stray cat she's allergic to, but continues to care for. Like her small-town newspaper, a business that’s been dying a slow death for the better part of a decade. And like Micah. Her best friend and the man she has loved since they were kids, back when no one else cared.   As for him… Micah Leven loves Presley. She’s the girl who’s always been there to help, the one who knows all the ugly things about him and makes him believe he can be a better man, the one who will never leave because she’s promised over and over.  But he also loves Mara.  Mara is his ideal. She’s the dream he conjured up as a boy and never wavered from. She’s beautiful, ambitious, driven, a fellow newscaster at his Atlanta station, and the perfect asset for the life he’s always wanted. Together, they could conquer the world and their respective careers. Even better, with Mara he could prove that he did—in fact—finally amount to something. Maybe then his father would be proud.   There are just a few things Presley and Micah have both forgotten. One, just because you rescue someone doesn’t mean they’ll love you for it. Two, some dreams disappear when reality wakes you up. Three, the only way to silence lies is to face the truth head-on. This is the story of the man torn between two existences, the woman who finally took the choice away from him, and what happens when you stop listening to lies once and for all. Even if the biggest liar is you.

Sidelined


A.M. Hargrove - 2016
    Hargrove and Terri E. Laine comes a new standalone sexy sports romance, Sidelined – A Wilde Players Dirty Romance. Cassidy I hate him… I love him… He destroyed me… and now He needs me. Fletcher Wilde, a gorgeous quarterback in the NFL, is the man I should have married. He’s the one that walked away, choosing football over me. He shouldn’t be back, especially not looking that good. And not sitting in my waiting room chair with a bum leg and confident cocky grin that sets my insides on fire. It’s impossible to forget how he rocked my world both in and out of the bedroom. Keeping things professional won’t be easy, especially given our history. My mission, however, is getting him back on the field—the place he loved more than me, while not losing myself in him all over again. Fletcher Cassidy Miller is the only physical therapist in town. And after a potential career ending injury, she’s my ticket back on the field or my NFL career is over. Unfortunately, she’s the same Cassidy who ripped my heart to shreds when I thought we were a team. Sexy and intelligent, she’s the last person I thought I’d see again. As it turns out, she looks better than ever, making me want that smart mouth of hers doing things to me that would drive a sane man crazy. Lucky for me, my determination is legendary. Winning is in my blood, which makes me number one on the field. Being a single-minded man, my focus is to get her back and this time for good. *Don’t go looking for a lot of football in this book, although there will be several touchdowns. This quick, sexy, second chance love story will ignite your e-reader. Be prepared to sweat a little when you read this hot, fast and frivolous erotic love story! **Story will end at fifty percent because we’ve added sneak peeks of our latest novels for your reading pleasure.

Beautifully Wounded


Susan Griscom - 2014
    is to take a leap of faith.What would you do if you had no place to go and no one you could trust?"The lyrics are about you, Lena," he confessed, and I watched his mouth as the tip of his tongue moistened his lips before he leaned his head down. Then those beautiful lips were on mine, soft, tender at first, then his tongue glided over my lips, breaking the seal. My pulse throbbed and quickened as his tongue swirled around mine. Taking and controlling, and... and I wanted this, needed his touch. I went limp in his embrace, and the heat rose under my skin, my body vibrated against his strong powerful one. Was this really happening?" Jackson Beaumont prides himself on being a nature-loving, guitar-strumming, carefree sort of guy. When the mysterious Lena Benton walks into his bar looking scared and defeated, it's not something he can ignore. He's immediately consumed by concern for her and driven by his desire to help. She's just so beautiful. So wounded. After being shuffled from one foster home to another growing up, Lena Benton dreamt of finding her prince charming. When the captivating Troy Harington sweeps her off her feet shortly after high school graduation, she's certain she's found her happiness. Unfortunately, Troy's true colors surface shortly after their marriage and things turn ugly. Lena only has one choice. She has to leave him. She has to run... Lena's escape has brought her to Jackson, and he clearly wants to be there for her, but can she trust anyone again after what she's gone through? And will Jackson be able to help her heal without losing his heart?18+ due to sexual content and mature subject matter.

Just One Song


Stacey Lynn - 2013
    When tragedy struck and she lost the most important people in her life, she turned away from everything she loved before; shutting out every reminder of the perfect life she lost. It has been one year, three months, one week and six days since the accident; and Nicole is ready to stop counting the days she’s survived, and begin living again. On a dare from her best friend, Nicole encounters Zack Walters - the popular alternative rock star and man who signifies so much of her past – and suddenly everything in Nicole’s safe and quiet life changes. When she’s forced to face the pain she’s carried for so long, will she truly be able to heal from her past and begin to live again? Or will her new adventure ruin her completely?

As Long As You Hate Me


Carrie Aarons - 2017
    What a load of bull. He might have been my first love, but it never meant I wanted to hear lyrics containing my name, love story, and *cringe* how I lost my virginity peddled out for the masses to digest. Seven years later, and I’m still being haunted by his photo in every magazine, his music on every radio station. I thought breakups meant that you never had to see the person again. Especially when they ripped out your heart and made hamburger meat with it. But when a chance encounter ends up going viral, I’m tied to him in a way I’ve always dreaded. And the last person on earth I’d want to spend an hour with, much less a lifetime, makes me an offer I can’t refuse. I might just be desperate enough to take it. Dean The girl in the song is real. And she’s made me a rich man. I’ve been dedicating choruses to her for a decade, she’s the muse she never wanted to be. Off of our love, I’ve become famous … and a complete egomaniac. When another one of my flings goes off the rails, and lands me in hot water with the media, my recording label is less than thrilled. And so comes the marching orders from my agent; devise a scheme to transform into a squeaky clean good guy. Coming face to face with her is something I’ve only dreamed about. If not to win her back, then to at least apologize for the ways I’ve exploited her. Instead, I rope her into my madness, proposing a deal only a masochist would accept.

The Girl in the Love Song


Emma Scott - 2020
    But most of us knew them as the Lost Boys...Miller Stratton is a survivor. After a harrowing childhood of poverty, he will do anything it takes to find security for himself and his mom. He’s putting all his hopes and dreams in the fragile frame of his guitar and the beauty he creates with its strings and his soulful voice. Until Violet. No one expects to meet the love of their life at age thirteen. But the spunky rich girl steals Miller’s heart and refuses to give it back. Violet McNamara’s life hasn’t been as simple as it looks. Her picture-perfect family is not so perfect after all. Her best friend Miller is her one constant and she is determined not to ruin their friendship with romantic complications. But the heart wants what it wants. As Miller’s star begins to rise to stratospheric heights, what will it take for Violet to realize that she’s the girl in all of his love songs?Lost Boys is a new series of interconnected, coming-of-age standalones from USA Today bestselling author Emma Scott, coming in 2020