Book picks similar to
Confidently Lost by Asia Monique


romance
romance-tbr
black-romance-authors
characters-of-colour

If You Ask Me


Libby Hubscher - 2022
    She has an answer for how to politely handle any difficult situation…until she discovers her husband, Sam, has been cheating on her. Furious and out of sensible solutions, Violet leaves her filter at the door and turns to her column to air her own frustrations. The new, brutally honest Dear Sweetie goes viral, sending more shock waves through Violet’s life. When she burns Sam’s belongings in a front-yard, late-night bonfire, a smoking-hot firefighter named Dez shows up to douse the flames, and an unexpected fling quickly shows potential to become something longer lasting.A lot of people want to see the old polished Violet return—including her boss, who finds her unpredictability hard to manage, and Sam, who’s begging for another chance. But Dez appreciates Violet just the way she is—in fact, he can’t get enough of her. The right answers don’t come easily when Violet finds herself at her own personal crossroads. But maybe, by getting real, Violet can write her own happy ending.

Your B&B or Mine?


Melissa West - 2015
    Her hometown has too many painful memories, especially of her high school sweetheart, who was killed during combat. And yet here she is…broken-hearted from her mother's death and left to deal with the Hale family legacy—Maple Cove's landmark bed and breakfast. In need of repairs and near foreclosure, she’s hanging on to the B&B by a thread. And the man out to buy it is the man she's never been able to forgive…or forget.Former soldier Logan Park is haunted by memories of his own. Some are of his best friend. Other are filled with longing for the girl he could never have. Now Savannah is back, and their attraction can’t be denied. But Logan has already sacrificed everything to atone for his sins, and there’s no way he’ll let himself fall for a girl who might never love again.

Caleb's Mail Order Bride


Cia Leah - 2013
    She was beautiful and quiet too. He just hoped she would be happy with him. He was his own man and wouldn't let any woman disrupt his life, but his Pa wasn't in good health and wanted a grandchild. He felt it his duty to make his Pa as happy as he could for what time he had left. Little did Caleb realize that Sissy Drake would rope his heart on their wedding night despite his reservations. Sissy Drake had no choice but to become a mail order bride. Her Pa was dead for a year when her aunt passed too, taking away her home with no other options available to her. When she met Caleb, she found him to be domineering and gruff, but she was determined to tame him and be the wife he needed. Little did both of them know that her brother, Lawson, followed Sissy to Caleb's ranch determined to find the stagecoach money their Pa hid. He had an old score to settle with Caleb too and wouldn't let anything stand in his way.

Santa, Baby


Cassandra B. - 2020
    When trauma wrecks Cartier’s world with an added insult to injury a rift is caused that may never be healed.Will Cartier and Berkleigh make the holidays unbearable for the entire family or will Santa grant a last-minute wish?

Fake It Till You Bake It


Jamie WesleyJamie Wesley
    When she comes home to lick her wounds, Jada finds herself working at San Diego's newest cupcake bakery, Sugar Blitz, alongside the uptight owner and professional football player Donovan Dell. When a reporter mistakenly believes Jada and Donovan are an item, they realize they can use the misunderstanding to their advantage to help the struggling bakery and rehabilitate Jada's image. Faking a relationship should be simple, but sometimes love is the most unexpected ingredient. Fake it Till You Bake It is a sweet confection of a novel, the perfect story to curl up with and enjoy with a cupcake on the side.

Now That I've Found You


Kristina Forest - 2020
    That is until a close friend’s betrayal leads to her being blacklisted . . .Fortunately, Evie knows just the thing to save her floundering career: a public appearance with America’s most beloved actress—her grandma Gigi, aka the Evelyn Conaway. The only problem? Gigi is a recluse who’s been out of the limelight for almost twenty years. Days before Evie plans to present her grandma with an honorary award in front of Hollywood’s elite, Gigi does the unthinkable: she disappears.With time running out and her comeback on the line, Evie reluctantly enlists the help of the last person to see Gigi before she vanished: Milo Williams, a cute musician Evie isn’t sure she can trust. As Evie and Milo conduct a wild manhunt across New York City, romance and adventure abound while Evie makes some surprising discoveries about her grandma—and herself.

Serena Singh Flips the Script


Sonya Lalli - 2021
    She’s smart, confident, and just got a kick-ass new job at a top advertising firm in Washington, D.C. Even before her younger sister gets married in a big, traditional wedding, Serena knows her own dreams don’t include marriage or children. But with her mother constantly encouraging her to be more like her sister, Serena can’t understand why her parents refuse to recognize that she and her sister want completely different experiences out of life.A new friendship with her co-worker, Ainsley, comes as a breath of fresh air, challenging Serena’s long-held beliefs about the importance of self-reliance. She’s been so focused on career success that she’s let all of her hobbies and close friendships fall by the wayside. As Serena reconnects with her family and friends--including her ex-boyfriend--she learns letting people in can make her happier than standing all on her own.

The Perfect Escape


Suzanne Park - 2020
    When one of his classmates offers Nate a ridiculous amount of money to commit grade fraud, he knows that taking the windfall would help support his prideful Korean family, but is compromising his integrity worth it? Luck comes in the form of Kate Anderson, Nate’s colleague at the zombie-themed escape room where he works. She approaches Nate with a plan: a local tech company is hosting a weekend-long survivalist competition with a huge cash prize. It could solve all of Nate’s problems, and Kate needs the money too. If the two of them team up, Nate has a true shot at winning the grand prize. But the real challenge? Making through the weekend with his heart intact…

Predator


Liz Meldon - 2018
    After centuries of scorn from his own kind in the underworld, Severus went topside and settled amongst the secret demon community in Farrow's Hollow. Located near a hell-gate, the city allows him to exist on Earth without sacrificing much of his demon abilities, but as with all incubi, he must take the life essence of humans to maintain his strength.Working as an escort, he has been able to keep himself satiated, juggling enough clients to ensure that he doesn't repeat the mistakes of past incubi--the murderers, the gluttons, the true demonic leeches.In his line of work, Severus sees much of the same every night: human women searching for surrender, for a connection, for love. He caters to them, steals from them, not realizing that he's desperate for all the same things.BLUE EYES, WATCHING HER WORLD FADE AWAYMoira Aurelia: grad student, TV-marathoner, bar trivia champion--unable to look in a mirror. Not anymore. Because when she does, she no longer sees herself. The person, the creature, staring back isn't her. It can't be.The physical changes started after her mom died a year ago. Hair, skin, eyes. Nothing is the same as it once was, and no one can tell her why. Doctors refer her to specialists. Specialists shrug their shoulders. And Moira assumes she's dying from the same mysterious illness that plagued her mom.But if she's dying, why is she getting stronger? Her body is changing, but into what? Something... supernatural. Inhuman. Other. Frightening new realities flash across her mind, but she can't accept them. She must be dying--because the alternative is crazy.Fearing the end is near, and refusing to accept other possibilities, Moira goes after the one thing she can control: her sex life. Twenty-three and still unable to experience a satisfying climax, she schedules a session with a Rus Tanner, esteemed male escort, and hopes for something to go right for once.LIGHT AND DARK COLLIDE--DESPERATE TO CONNECTBut the night takes a turn from the moment they meet. Severus, expecting just another dull session with a new client, is thrown by the otherworldly creature seeking his services--this strange, beautiful woman who arouses his long dormant demon side like none other. Moira, meanwhile, finds herself face-to-face with a man who can handle her newfound strength--and wears a dark stare and sinful smile like a second skin.Two lonely creatures grapple with the undeniable pull between them.Moira flees. Severus pursues.Desperate for answers, the demon seeks her out--unaware that he isn't the only predator to have caught her scent.PREDATOR is the first novella in THE HUNT, a paranormal romance serial. It contains coarse language, graphic sexual content, and a very mild cliffhanger. The Hunt is considered a continuous story containing one novella and three novels, and should be read in order:PREDATOR (#1)PREY (#2)STALKER (#3)KILLER (#4)

To Get to the Other Side


Kelly Ohlert
    The landlord at her apartment doesn’t allow pets and has caught Trixie in one too many pet-smuggling attempts in the past.Bear likes his quiet life with his close-knit family, who own a flower business, but he’s in for a rude awakening when his meddlesome sisters post an ad to rent the spare room in his simple home, without asking his permission. Still, when Trixie responds to the ad, he agrees to let her move in, despite immediate worries about keeping things platonic.Determined to keep her new room, befriend Bear, and give her rescue chicken the care she deserves, Trixie fights to keep her walls up and resist her romantic feelings for Bear. However, it’s not long before the pair’s proximity and chicken parenting ignite flames that have Trixie and Bear testing the boundaries of their platonic ground rules. They have to figure out how to save a family business, pay for mounting vet bills, and navigate their own emotional baggage if they want to find the love that they all deserve.

XOXO


Axie Oh - 2021
    When she meets mysterious, handsome Jaewoo in her uncle’s Los Angeles karaoke bar, it’s clear he’s the kind of boy who would uproot her careful plans. But in a moment of spontaneity, she allows him to pull her out of her comfort zone for one unforgettable night of adventure…before he disappears without a word.Three months later, when Jenny and her mother arrive in South Korea to take care of her ailing grandmother, she’s shocked to discover that Jaewoo is a student at the same elite arts academy where she’s enrolled for the semester. And he’s not just any student. He’s a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world—and he’s strictly forbidden from dating.When a relationship means throwing Jenny’s life off the path she’s spent years mapping out, she’ll have to decide once and for all just how much she’s willing to risk for love.

Love From A to Z


S.K. Ali - 2019
    Even ordinary-amazing. Like potatoes—because they make French fries happen. Like the perfect fries Adam and his mom used to make together.An oddity: whatever gives you pause. Like the fact that there are hateful people in the world. Like Zayneb’s teacher, who won’t stop reminding the class how “bad” Muslims are.But Zayneb, the only Muslim in class, isn’t bad. She’s angry.When she gets suspended for confronting her teacher, and he begins investigating her activist friends, Zayneb heads to her aunt’s house in Doha, Qatar, for an early start to spring break.Fueled by the guilt of getting her friends in trouble, she resolves to try out a newer, “nicer” version of herself in a place where no one knows her.Then her path crosses with Adam’s.Since he got diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in November, Adam’s stopped going to classes, intent, instead, on perfecting the making of things. Intent on keeping the memory of his mom alive for his little sister.Adam’s also intent on keeping his diagnosis a secret from his grieving father.Alone, Adam and Zayneb are playing roles for others, keeping their real thoughts locked away in their journals.Until a marvel and an oddity occurs…Marvel: Adam and Zayneb meeting.Oddity: Adam and Zayneb meeting.

The Boy Toy


Nicola Marsh - 2020
    She still resents her meddling Indian mother for arranging her marriage to a man who didn't stick around when the going got tough, but now with a new job Down Under, she's finally ready to reconnect with her. And while she's there, a hot international fling might be just what she needs to get out of her recent funk. Aussie stuntman, Rory Radcliffe, has been hiding his stutter for years by avoiding speaking roles. When a job he can't refuse comes up as a reality show host, he knows he'll need some help for the audition: a dialect coach. But he finds himself at a loss for words when he discovers it's the same sexy woman with whom he just had a mind-blowing one-night stand... Samira can think of many reasons why Rory is completely wrong for her: he's ten years her junior, for one, and he's not Indian--something Samira's mother would never approve of. Even if things were to get serious, there's no reason to tell her mother...is there?

Christmas at the Little Village School (Choc Lit)


Jane Lovering - 2017
    Sit back with the hot chocolate and enjoy! A teacher’s life is never easy … especially at Christmas! Working at a tiny village school in rural Yorkshire has its own unique set of challenges – but when teachers Lydia Knight and Jake Immingham are tasked with getting the children to put on a Christmas play for the local elderly people’s home, they know they’re in for a tricky term! But in between choreographing sugar plum dance routines, reindeer costume malfunctions and trying to contain Rory Scott’s wannabe rap star aspirations, Lydia realises that, even as a teacher, she isn’t past being taught a couple of things – and one of those things is a much-needed lesson in Christmas spirit.