Book picks similar to
Delicate Balance by Brooke St. James


romance
fiction
contemporary
contemporary-romance

Billionaire Hotshot—Levi: A Modern Cinderella Retelling


Scarlett Avery - 2021
    No names.I’ve never regretted anything more in my life because God knows I’d sell my soul to know his name...It all started with a ball…I never believed you could fall for someone at first sight until I locked eyes with him… a stranger who quickly becomes an addiction––a man I don’t want to walk away from.Just like Cinderella, my time with my prince is measured in breaths.Forced to return to the shipwreck that is my life, I escape in the shadows of the night, my heart bleeding, leaving behind the one man who ignited my body and my soul…Life is unfair. I should know.I don’t even know his name…

The Mixtape


Brittainy C. Cherry - 2021
    Emery finds him first.Emery has never felt more alone. Raising her daughter is both her pleasure and her pain as she struggles to hold on to her job as a bartender and keep a roof over their heads. With no one to help them—no support system—any unexpected expense or late bill could turn their whole world upside down.Reeling from the death of his twin brother and bandmate, rock star Oliver Smith is trying to drink his problems away. Apparently he isn’t very good at it; they follow him wherever he goes. Also in hot pursuit are the paparazzi, who catch Oliver at his lowest low.He could have walked into any bar in California, but he walked into hers. Emery helps Oliver lose the crowd, and they find themselves alone: two people whose paths are marked with loss and pain. However, they hold an unshakable hope for healing. They find solace together, but can their love withstand the world?

Bad at Love


Karina Halle - 2017
     Marina is hot, blonde, and wickedly smart, but when it comes to men? She's hopeless. Between her quirks and her lack of filter, there isn't a man in Los Angeles that will stick around after the third date. Her handsome, charming friend Lazarus has the opposite problem. Everyone wants to be the sexy Brit's girlfriend, but he gets bored and moves on quickly. There's only one way to figure out why neither of them has cracked this love thing-- they'll date each other. On paper, it's the perfect experiment. But in reality, things between Marina and Laz get complicated quickly. They might be bad at love, but they are even worse at being friends. Note: This full-length romance is a complete standalone with no relation to any other books and was inspired by the Halsey song "Bad at Love." It does contain ample amounts of profanity, filthy language and graphic sex scenes. Sensitive readers should be advised.

His Longing Heart


Jan Thompson - 2015
    She is a billionairess violin collector with a trust fund. Living in two different worlds, will their unexpected romance last?His Longing Heart is the first novel in USA Today bestselling author Jan Thompson’s Seaside Chapel Christian small-town beach romance series. This book is the updated second edition of the previously published Share with Me.The musician…Six years ago, Ivan McMillan was a budding crossover violinist on a world tour with his pianist sister. His career was cut short when Grandpa Otto died suddenly, leaving Grandma Yun saddled with enormous medical bills that ate up all their savings. In the midst of Ivan’s struggle to provide for his elderly grandmother and to save their family home from foreclosure, he finds himself falling in love with his billionairess friend, whose lifestyle he cannot afford.The muse…After Brinley Brooks’s ex-boyfriend abandons her due to her vow of purity, the twenty-something heiress goes home to St. Simon’s Island to spend time with her family and to accept her life as a single woman. At her sister’s birthday party, Brinley is mesmerized by a violinist friend, Ivan, when he plays one of Bach’s orchestral suites. Music therapy or not, her heart starts to seek its own second movement in her love life. Or is she just lonely? One thing leads to another, and Brinley enters Ivan’s world of material poverty and spiritual wealth.The minuet of their lives…When one of Ivan’s worst fears comes to pass, he feels obligated to show Brinley what it means to be a Christian living through adversity. However, trusting God is the last thing on his mind as the crisis affects his career, his life, his family, and his relationship with Brinley. Ivan cannot let her see how far he has sunk. What is a Christian man to do?

Loving Rowan


Ariadne Wayne - 2014
     Andrew loves Charlie. The friendship between the three of them is shattered when Rowan finds Andrew and Charlie together. Cutting them off is easy for the painfully shy and socially awkward Rowan. When Kyle becomes her new best friend, she assumes that’s all he wants. Kyle has other ideas about the direction of their relationship. But when tragedy strikes, Andrew’s not quite ready to let go of the girl who’s loved him most of her life. And he’s prepared to do anything to keep her.

Remember Love


Jessica Nelson - 2013
    After years away, Alec Munroe has returned, a successful businessman who is snooping around her bookstore with an avaricious gleam in his eye. She’d like to tell him to leave, despite still being in love with him, but the secret she's kept all these years demands to be told. Alec Munroe has been successful in all ways but one: he has never been able to escape his memories of Katrina Ross. When he discovers the secret she's kept from him, he's faced with hard decisions. Justice or the forgiveness God calls him to offer...Can Alec and Katrina leave the past behind to embrace the promise of a love they have never forgotten?

Until I Do


T.I. Lowe - 2017
    The estranged couple can find no answers on their own, so they turn to their friend and pastor. He presents to them a copy of their marriage vows, advising them to reassess the commitment they made to each other on their wedding day. Through a rocky trial, where each vow presents itself in the couple’s life, Mia and Bode discover the true meaning of I do. Join this couple as they sort out the surprisingly romantic quest to rekindle the love they grasped in the beginning, but allowed to foolishly fade.

Running from a Rock Star


Jami Albright - 2017
    He’s a bad boy rock god. What could possibly go wrong? Scarlett Kelly is the poster child for responsible living. Growing up as the daughter of the town floozy, she’s made it her mission to be the exact opposite of her mother. So when she wakes up naked and hung over in bed with a bad-boy rock star, she bolts immediately. There’s just one problem: Scarlett’s bedmate is her new husband.Gavin needs to repair his image or his music career will go down the tubes. He’s also just learned he has a son he never knew existed. He needs to settle down, and bribing his new wife to stay married may just fit everything into place.Scarlett agrees to the ruse to help her family’s financial troubles even though she can hardly control herself around the rock star. As they search for Gavin’s son, will their unlikely matrimony give them exactly what they’ve been missing or send them packing?

Infinity + One


Amy Harmon - 2014
    She’s rich. She’s beautiful. She’s impossibly famous. And Bonnie Rae Shelby wants to die.Finn Clyde is a nobody. He’s broken. He’s brilliant. He’s impossibly cynical. And all he wants is a chance at life.One girl. One boy. An act of compassion. A bizarre set of circumstances. And a choice – turn your head and walk away, or reach out your hand and risk it all?With that choice, the clock starts ticking on a man with a past and a girl who can’t face the future, counting down the seconds in an adventure riddled with heartbreak and humor, misunderstanding and revelation. With the world against them, two very different people take a journey that will not only change their lives, but may cost them their lives as well.Infinity + One is a tale of shooting stars and fame and fortune, of gilded cages and iron bars, of finding a friend behind a stranger’s face, and discovering love in the oddest of places.

When the Music Ends


Simone Beaudelaire - 2013
    Young builder Sean Murphy isn't really in the market for a relationship. He's more interested in helping build his father's construction company. Even if he were, his sister's best friend isn't even on his radar. That is, until Sheridan plays matchmaker. A pity date quickly flares into irresistible passion. But as their love reaches a crescendo, personal tragedies and impossible decisions threaten to end their harmonious, unlikely romance. When the music ends, will these troubled lovers find a way to compose a life together? NOTE: this is a steamy romance and contains graphic sex scenes.

Find Me, Save Me


Barbara Gee - 2015
    In an effort to end their standoff and regain control of his lucrative criminal enterprises, Jimmy plots to abduct Tuck’s sister. He hopes to use her to get the tireless agent to finally back off. Although Tuck manages to keep Libby safe from his enemy’s clutches, her best friend pays the price. Now Maddy’s life depends on Tuck. Madison Harper has been fascinated by her friend’s older brother ever since seeing photos of him in Libby’s apartment and learning that he works as a federal agent. Given her close friendship with Libby, Maddy expects she will some day meet Tucker Simon. What she doesn't expect is to need him. When Maddy is accidentally drawn into the dark schemes of Jimmy Callahan, her chances of survival are slim. As she faces almost certain death at the hands of a man bent on revenge, she prays for Tuck to find her. But time is running out, and Jimmy isn't going to make it easy. It should have never come to this—Madison should not have been made to suffer at the hands of his enemy. As Tuck fights to rescue the most courageous woman he’s ever known and keep her safe from further harm, he’s also fighting his own sense of guilt. As she heals and his feelings for her become stronger, Tuck is forced to reevaluate the path of his life. He thought he had it all mapped out, but Madison Harper is changing everything. He can only trust that God will lead him where he is meant to go. He finds her—he saves her—dare he love her? Note: While this is a Christian themed book, the story is also intended to be as realistic as possible. The "bad guy" does swear at times. This is not meant to offend readers.

His Other Wife


M.L. Ray - 2019
    My husband, my trust, my world.  One rainy day in London when I found out that my darling, my Shawn had another wife. Had children.The day I found out he was a liar.I fled, back to my hometown of Seattle, and I vowed never to let anyone that close to me again.But then he walked into my gallery… Knox Zapata.He’s arrogant, and he thinks he’s irresistible.But he’s never met someone like me before.This is my work, my solace and no playboy artist is going to ruin that for me.Not even one as gorgeous as Knox Zapata… Knox: I know it’s time I grew up. I’m almost forty, single and yeah, okay, my career is nearing its peak and I have all the money and women I could ever want…But this isn’t me. Not really.I miss my family. My brother, my twin-brother and my younger sister.My dad.I ran from the family, from the business he built from nothing, to become an artistAnd I did…But at what cost?Now I’m back home in Seattle and I want to be a part of something, something real…I never expected that something to be Anouk Devi.She called me out on my arrogance the first time we met and I knew, right there, that this was someone who would change my life.And she did.Anouk has her ghosts too and for the second time in my life, a woman I love is in terrible danger.Can I save her and in the process, save myself?

A Change of Plans


Donna K. Weaver - 2013
    And the shipwreck. And the falling in love.Lyn North just wants to move past the anniversary of her heartbreak. Swearing off any romance, she embarks on a South Pacific cruise. But the handsome surgeon in the cabin next door revives emotions she's tried to forget.Braedon Randolph desperately needs this vacation to escape his workaholic life. He finds himself captivated by the beautiful schoolteacher next door. Unaware of the sensitive waters he navigates, he moves to take their relationship beyond friendship and is surprised when Lyn ghosts him-hard to do on a small ship. Yet the haunted look in her eyes draws him closer and awakens a need in him to protect her.Then they're thrown together on a snorkeling excursion where paradise turns to piracy. With the man she rejected, Lyn must fight for survival through storms, sharks, and shipwreck-while her heart whispers she may have been wrong.It was a relaxing vacation-until the pirates. And the shipwreck. And the falling in love.Lyn North just wants to move past the anniversary of her heartbreak. Swearing off any romance, she embarks on a South Pacific cruise. But the handsome surgeon in the cabin next door revives emotions she's tried to forget.Braedon Randolph desperately needs this vacation to escape his workaholic life. He finds himself captivated by the beautiful schoolteacher next door. Unaware of the sensitive waters he navigates, he moves to take their relationship beyond friendship and is surprised when Lyn ghosts him-hard to do on a small ship. Yet the haunted look in her eyes draws him closer and awakens a need in him to protect her.Then they're thrown together on a snorkeling excursion where paradise turns to piracy. With the man she rejected, Lyn must fight for survival through storms, sharks, and shipwreck-while her heart whispers she may have been wrong.***This is an updated and expanded edition***Other Books in the Safe Harbors SeriesA Change of Plans (#1)Hope's Watch (#1.5)Torn Canvas (#2)A Season of Change (#2.5)Swing Vote (#3)Kings Crossed Lovers (#4)

Merged With Him


Kylie Kent - 2021
    A hot nightclub owner with darker interest. Two souls destined to merge as one, can they hold on to each other when someone is out to keep them apart?Alyssa Summers, orphaned and raised within a broken system, is a fighter. She has focused her entire life on one goal, to graduate collage and have a stable, steady career. Her job in one of Sydney’s busiest ER’s keeps her busy and the last thing on her mind is love. She learned the hard way not to rely on anyone other than herself. But when her eyes are captured by a pair of emerald green ones she can’t look away from, everything changes.The Merge is the place to go when looking to unwind and experience an exciting night out. The Ambitious and driven owner Zac Williamson knows what he wants and how to get it, and right now? He wants the beautiful blonde who just stepped into his club. When these two meet the sparks quickly explode into so much more. But are his secrets too twisted for her to accept? And even if she could, will she stay with him when she realizes that being his has put a deadly target on her back?

Catch of a Lifetime


Candee Fick - 2015
    She shudders at the very mention of the sport. After a tragedy involving a football player destroyed her family, athletic trainer and graduate student Cassie moves across the country looking for a fresh start, but a change in financial aid lands her in the middle of her worst nightmare. Meanwhile, rookie coach Reed worries his dream career will slip away as injuries plague his players and his star receiver teeters on the brink of ineligibility. As the two work together to salvage the season, sparks fly, and Reed must eventually choose between the game and the woman he loves.