Book picks similar to
Maintenance Required by Giulia Lagomarsino
romance
arc
funny
dnf
Control the Burn
A.K. Evans - 2020
As a labor and delivery nurse, she covets the joy and love she sees every day in expectant couples. When she met the owner of the local race shop, Kendall finally felt that spark. She thought he did, too.But he never called. Logan Townsend is a man whose skills are unparalleled. With so many people vying for the racing guru’s attention, Logan doesn’t have much free time to himself. But he knows he needs to find some. Because he can’t stop thinking about the woman who gave him the best night of his life. Just as Kendall decides to move on, Logan reappears. Try as she might to resist the temptation, Kendall fails. Because with a man like Logan, it’s hard to control the burn.
The Reunion
Meghan Quinn - 2022
With their fiftieth wedding anniversary on the horizon, they’ve modeled a beautiful relationship for their three grown children. But to their dismay, that lesson hasn’t quite caught on—the three siblings just can’t seem to take a chance and find love in their own lives.There’s Ford, the eldest, devoted to his work and resistant to romance…or so he claims. Cooper, the middle child, can’t get past his divorce—until he reconnects with a feisty baker from his past. And Palmer, the baby of the family, is the free-spirited world traveler who always pictured herself with someone other than a handsome small-town family doctor.When the Chance siblings come together to plan the ultimate anniversary party for their parents, they’ll have to navigate romantic entanglements, sibling rivalries, and the definitive end of their childhood. Whatever happens, The Reunion promises to be a fun, flirty, wild ride.
The Hate Vow
Nicole French - 2019
Looks like millions. Worth billions. A body like the David with a mind to match. Unfortunately for this wayward heir, to keep his money, he needs a wife. And of all the women in the world, he chooses me. Too bad I’ve hated him for five years, since he took all my tears and tossed me away. The guy slept his way through half of New England and discarded women like hotel toiletries. Been there. Done that. Still...what would you do for twenty million dollars? Would you wear the dress? Fake a smile for the man who broke your heart? Or would you run far, far away? Yeah, that’s what I thought. I’ll see you at the church.
Hold on to Hope
A.L. Jackson - 2019
Jackson . . .
Evan Bryant wasn't your typical hero.But he was mine.Broken by the worlds' standards, he was still the strongest boy I would ever know.My best friend. The boy I'd given everything to. My heart, my body, and the promise of forever.The day I'd needed him most, he walked away.He left me shattered and questioning the love I'd thought we'd shared.Three years later, I wasn't prepared for him to return to Gingham Lakes.It wouldn't have mattered if he wasn't the most beautiful man I'd ever seen.My fingers still would have ached to caress his skin.My body still would have begged to get lost in his touch.And my heart . . . it would have always sung his name.But time changes things. With it, secrets that could ruin everything.Can we find a way to love again, or have the fears of our past stolen the hope of our forever . . .
Pack Up the Moon
Kristan Higgins - 2021
That's what Lauren decides to leave her husband when she finds out she's dying. Each month, she gives Josh a letter containing a task to help him face this first year without her, leading him on a heartrending, beautiful, often humorous journey to find happiness again in this new novel from the New York Times bestselling author Kristan Higgins. Joshua and Lauren are the perfect couple. Newly married, they're wildly in love, each on a successful and rewarding career path. Then Lauren is diagnosed with a terminal illness. As Lauren's disease progresses, Joshua struggles to make the most of the time he has left with his wife and to come to terms with his future--a future without the only woman he's ever loved. He's so consumed with finding a way to avoid the inevitable ending that he never imagines his life after Lauren. But Lauren has a plan to keep her husband moving forward. A plan hidden in the letters she leaves him. In those letters, one for every month in the year after her death, Lauren leads Joshua on a journey through pain, anger, and denial. It's a journey that will take Joshua from his attempt at a dinner party for family and friends to getting rid of their bed...from a visit with a psychic medium to a kiss with a woman who isn't Lauren. As his grief makes room for laughter and new relationships, Joshua learns Lauren's most valuable lesson: The path to happiness doesn't follow a straight line. Sometimes heartbreaking, often funny, and always uplifting, this novel from New York Times bestselling author Kristan Higgins illuminates how life's greatest joys are often hiding in plain sight.
Queen of First Dates
Jaimie Case - 2019
Seems like fun right? Yeah, not so much...When my boss asked me to write an article about online dating and more specifically the do’s and don’ts of first dates, I expected it to be a mess. I hadn’t expected it to be a complete and utter disaster, though. How was I to know that I’d be paired up with arrogant, cocky, and too ‘handsome for his own good’, Nolan Montgomery? Nolan had always treated me as his little sister’s annoying best friend and I couldn’t stand his bossy ways. The last thing I needed was him following me around with a video-camera and lecturing me on all the things I was doing wrong. I certainly didn’t need him showing me how I could improve; even if his lips and hands were recurring images in my dreams. He may have been my first kiss, but there was no way I was going to let him get his hands on me again.
His Lost Love
Ava Ryan
I want her out of my head...I don't know how his eyes manage to look so hot and so cold at the same time. Eyes like that want to either murder me or screw me...LiamI made my name fixing hearts.Most people know me as a world-class cardiac surgeon.Even more know the device I invented that made billions while saving lives.I’ve achieved success beyond my wildest dreams—and I’ve always dreamed big.Funny how the one heart I can’t put back together is my own.That’s why I’ve returned to New York.More accurately—she’s why.In the fashion world, Mia has arrived. But to me, she’ll always be the one who got away.Back in college, she claimed she loved me.Then she ripped my heart to shreds.Now I can have anything I want. Any toy. Any woman.And what I want is her—out of my system. This time, I plan to be the one leaving.They say revenge is best served cold, but once Mia is back in my bed?It may be too hot to walk away from…
His to Hold
S.L. Sterling - 2019
But that was about to change. Getting dumped at the start of my much overdue vacation was not how I planned to spend my time off. Neither was running into someone from my past. It was the last thing I expected.... but just what I needed.My brother’s best friend was headed home when our paths collided at the airport during a massive storm. Twenty years of chemistry crackles around us like lightning, and we give in to what’s been a long time coming. From stranded old friends to insatiable lovers, spending a week together at his lake house, I'm reminded what it’s like to live in the moment. When I realize I didn’t really know him at all, I can’t help but think... I might have been his to hold, but could I be his to keep? Bryce I guess there are worse things than being forced into taking a vacation. I can think of a few. But being fresh out of a bad relationship, and in the middle of a huge merger, is not the ideal time to be jetting off for two weeks. One week in, I decide to cut my trip short, only to end up stranded at the airport. Just my luck. Everything changes when I run into my best friend’s little sister. Twenty years later, she’s all grown up and very much available. One thing leads to another, and we find ourselves back at my place riding out the storm and reconnecting in ways I never imagined. Feelings that had been delayed are finally able to take flight. The girl who held my attention all those years ago is now the woman holding my heart. I’m falling fast, but when we end up face to face in the boardroom, will our vacation romance go from pleasure to business?
Blind Kiss
Renee Carlino - 2018
Fourteen years ago, this shop was her childhood dance studio... Now she’s a suburban housewife, dreading the moment her son departs for MIT, leaving her with an impeccably decorated McMansion and a failing marriage. She had her chance at wild, stars-in-her-eyes happiness, but that was a lifetime ago. After The Kiss. Before The Decision.The Kiss was soulful. Magical. Earth-shattering, And it was all for a free gift card. Asked to participate in a psych study that posed the question, “Can you have sexual chemistry without knowing what the other person looks like?” Penny agreed to be blindfolded, make polite conversation with a total stranger, and kiss him. She never expected The Kiss to change her life forever and introduce her to Gavin: tattooed, gorgeous, and spontaneous enough to ask her out seconds after the blindfolds came off.For a year, they danced between friendship and romance—until Penny made The Decision that forced them to settle for friendship. Now, fourteen years later, both of their lives are about to radically change—and it’s his turn to decide what will become of their once-in-a-lifetime connection."
Hometown Lover
Annabelle Love - 2019
So, how did I end up in my best friend's bed?
Well, he did rescue me from my broken down car. Plus, he’s grown into a complete hunk of a man and is hardly the beanstalk that I recall growing up with. It just... happened. I mean, if you call being trapped inside due to a snowstorm and then finding yourself being ravished in bed 'just happening'. A fling… that’s what we agreed. We know this can’t last, I’m only back in my hometown for a couple of weeks. My life is in Vegas with the job I love. And his is here with his ranch. We physically can't be together… So, why don’t I want to leave? ***Hometown Lover is a stand-alone read with toe-curling romantic scenes. There's no cheating, no cliffhangers, no escaping the steamy nights (and days), and a guaranteed HEA***
Against All Odds
Angie McKeon - 2014
Our hearts broken... Our souls torn to pieces...He was my world, my whole life. My reason for breathing. I had a perfect marriage, a baby on the way, and I felt fulfilled—almost invincible. Until the day life hit, leaving me broken, vulnerable, and alone.She was my life. My ray of hope on the cloudiest day. With her, I thought I had the ultimate safety. A love that would never hurt or betray me. I gave her my heart, my body, and my soul. Until she broke me, destroying every dream and illusion I had about life, love, and marriage.In our grief, we made a mistake. A mistake I'm not sure we can come back from.
Bad Boy Daddy
Chance Carter - 2015
I needed a man.FaithThe first time I saw Jackson, I hated his guts. He was everything I could never have. Pure, panty-wetting, manhood. And I was trapped in a loveless relationship with his worst enemy. I never would have dreamed he craved my womb so badly he was willing to do anything for it.JacksonMy father's death taught me a lot of things. Most importantly, I needed a child. I had to have a son before my enemies caught up with me. So when Faith came begging for protection, I knew exactly what I wanted. I yearned for her body. Lust raged through me like a wildfire. I longed to make her pregnant with my child. I gave her an offer she couldn't refuse. A life for a life. My protection, in exchange for everything she had to offer. I'd die for her, but she would give me a son.I took her womb. I never suspected she'd take my heart.
SEAL Baby Daddy (The Baby Daddy - Book #2)
Claire Adams - 2018
I didn’t know he was back from Kuwait. When I came home from my position as an overseas correspondent, I’d expected I’d never see him again. And that was the way I’d wanted things to be. After all, I couldn’t let him know about my daughter. Our daughter. I couldn’t help my feelings for him, though. I’d always been drawn to him. But he had never wanted children. I had to respect that. But he wasn’t the same man I’d met in Kuwait, and I wasn’t the same woman either. I knew sooner or later he would find out my secret and sh*t would hit the fan.
Ruined Promises
Stefanie Jenkins - 2020
One decision. It only took one night out to turn Lexi Baker’s so-called perfect world upside down. A chance encounter with a tall, dark, and handsome stranger makes her feel things she’s never felt before, both physically and emotionally. When her emotions get the best of her, she escapes with only his first name: Ben. A one-night stand—that’s all it was supposed to be. She was never supposed to see him again. And he definitely wasn’t supposed to be standing in her office Monday morning being introduced as her new boss. Ben and Lexi promise each other that nothing more can happen and they must remain professional. But some promises are meant to be ruined, right?
Hot Vegas Nights
Logan Chance - 2020
#1. Always be attainable. #2. Never fall in love. And I’ve been living by these rules for a very long time. I love my life. I’m one-third of the Trifecta, only the naughtiest male revue show Sin City has ever seen. My days consist of working out, saving money, and entertaining women both on and off the stage. Until the moment, Clara walks into Big Willie’s and wants nothing to do with me. She avoids me at every turn. And it drives me crazy. But, when she needs a date for her step-sister’s wedding, there’s only one person she can turn to. Me. And I’m more than happy to be the piece of meat on her arm. Date for the wedding, and nothing else. Only one problem, I find myself wanting more. This is all new to me, and I find myself breaking both my rules. But this is Vegas, baby, and sometimes rules are meant to be broken.