Book picks similar to
Eight Steps to Alpha by Taylor Sullivan
romance
contemporary
new-adult
hot-nerd-geek
The Second Chance Patriot
Anne-Marie Meyer - 2019
Zach "The Stud" Stedman has it all. As an Offensive Lineman for the Georgia Patriots, life couldn't get any better. Until Danielle returns. Danielle is just trying to survive. As a single, working mom, she's put her past behind her and is trying to do what's best for her son. Reuniting with Zach was not part of her plan. If only Zach wasn't so nice. If only she were stronger. If only he wasn't the exact thing that's been missing in her life, then keeping a secret from him wouldn't be so hard. If you love second chance romances with heroes that make your heart pound, you'll love The Second Chance Patriot. PLUS, Jonathan Braxton, from the Braxton Brother's series makes an appearance in this book as Zach's best friend. Grab it today!
Laid Over
S.E. Hall - 2018
If he insists that she travel to him, when he’s the one who gave up, the one who cheated, then the least he can do is pay for her to fly in comfort.But Lily soon learns, the bigger seats and ample leg room aren’t the only things that are better beyond that classing curtain. The company’s more than worth every extra cent.****Trevor Kinkade always flies first-class… on his private jet. But the one time he finds himself aboard a commercial flight, he also finds Lily.Not that he had to look very hard; she’s sitting right beside him.****They’re nothing alike, from two very different worlds, except for one huge, perhaps serendipitous, similarity — they’re in the same place, where neither have ever been before, at the same time — because of two, perfectly aligned off-chances.Or, could it be the chance for both of them to find what they’ve always wanted?**** Originally featured, in part, in Pick Your Pleasure, this is Laid Over- Lily and Trevor’s story- in its entirety, with refurbished scenes, new scenes, and of course… its HEA.******** Not your usual S.E. Hall book… hot, fun, and an over-the-top “what if” to sweeten your dreams! Just enjoy!!!****
Out Bad
Janice M. Whiteaker - 2019
The one you warned your daughters about and crossed the street to avoid.
Not anymore.
Seven years ago I left the club, and everyone in it, behind me. Walked away with nothing but the clothes on my back, carrying the burden of the things I'd done.
But I won't look back.
Not when the view in front of me looks as good as it does.The minute I saw Gwen I knew she could save me. Take on the demons I can't seem to escape and make them beg for mercy.
Only there's more than demons coming for me.
Because my past doesn't want to stay buried. When I left I didn't go quietly. Now it wants me to pay, and to the kind of men I used to know, there's only one thing I have worth taking.
The only thing that really matters to me.
Gwen.
Tough Love: A Forced Proximity Romance
Melanie A. Smith - 2021
Smith comes a standalone steamy contemporary romance about life choices, love, and finding yourself in between.
Sometimes you need a bit of tough love to get where you’re supposed to be …
Mia Anderson has been living a life that was chosen for her. But her impending thirtieth birthday is the wake-up call she needed to stop wasting time on all the wrong pursuits. Just as she’s figuring out what she wants to do about it, her beloved grandmother falls ill and Mia drops everything to be with her. What she didn’t expect to find in her grandmother’s tiny mountain town is the courage to quit working for her father, supplied by a little tough love from her Gran. Now faced with an uncertain future, the last thing on her mind is finding love. Nate Edwards is living a solitary life deep in the Cascade Mountains of Washington. He’s content, or at least he thinks he is — until the granddaughter of a good friend shows up and he starts having feelings he thought he’d never have again. But Mia’s future isn’t in Alpine Ridge, so acting on it would lead to nothing but heartbreak. Still, their connection is undeniable and circumstances continue to push them together, despite their resistance. Will Mia stick to her decision to carve her own path? And if she does, will it be with Nate? Or is he doomed to an isolated life?
Blind Date Bet
Nicole Flockton - 2019
She’s rebuilt her life and has a classroom full of fifth graders to love, which is more than enough even though her father doesn’t agree. When he sets her up on a blind date, she only goes to humor him – never dreaming that the man she meets will tempt her to break her one rule. In theory, Ethan Masters is not opposed to the wife, kids and house with a white picket fence. But he loves his career as a K-9 handler in the air force, and a dream promotion dangles before him like dog tags. While contemplating his future, he accepts a drunken bet for a blind date, never dreaming that the captivating woman fits perfectly into his ideal, all-American dream. Only one problem. She's gun-shy about all things military. Can Ethan prove to Isabella love is worth the risk?
Tasty Cakes (Racing Heart, #1)
Molly Sloan - 2021
There is no room for distractions. But a stop-off at the new bakery brings me face to face with the owner, Vivienne Cross. Now I can’t get her sexy little smile out of my head. Her desserts are in my house and I see her “cupcakes” all over town. It’s been a long time, but I feel alive again. My world is not as dark as it once was. I even fantasize about frosting. But she lied to me. Even if I can forgive her, I don’t know if it would work out? She’s an heiress and I’m an old-school kind of guy. I like to take care of the women I love. Do I even fit into her world?What can I offer her that she doesn’t already have? Will she be happy with me or want the bigger life within her grasp?
Cupids Anonymous
Lila Monroe - 2019
Now fall in love with her brand new sizzling standalone - perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Christina Lauren!Poppy Hathaway is a professional Cyrano - minus the honking great nose. Need a love note, raunchy sext, or apology letter so epic that your other half will forget you hesitated a beat too long when you asked, 'does this make me look fat?'? She's got you covered. But when her most frequent client, the annoyingly charming (or is that charmingly annoying?) Dylan Griffin comes to her with an unconventional new job, Poppy discovers that three little words can add up to one big complication. Because Dylan doesn't want help seducing another swimsuit model (for once in his life). He wants Poppy's help winning over her his high-school crush (aka, his one true love) - and he's prepared to make it worth her while. Throw in a summer Catskills trip that's equal parts 'Dirty Dancing' and dirty-talking, and this Cupid is soon out of her depth - and head over heels with the last man she expected. But can she find the right words when it comes to her own heart? Or will this happily ever end in disaster?
Holding Out for You
Anna Paige - 2020
He was my friend, my ally, my protector all my life. Everyone loved him, looked up to him almost as much as me.My big brother’s best friend, though?He was my nemesis, my tormentor, my least favorite person on earth. Ashton Hunter was a complete jerk.And yet, like my brother, everyone loved him. Not me, though. No way. Not after a lifetime of his snide comments and not-so-subtle jabs. Years of treating me like the bratty little sister he barely tolerated. But I refused to let him deter me from seeing my brother.I’d just have to ignore him. Like I always had. Or—more accurately—like I always pretended to. I was used to pretending when it came to Ash.But some feelings refuse to stay hidden forever. ***My best friend was better than all the other friends on earth. Hands down. My partner in crime, my ride or die, my brother in every way that counted. His little sister, though?She was an entirely different story.Blair Martell was…complicated. Where her brother acted like she was made of glass, I tried to make her shatter. When others bowed to her wishes, I challenged every word out of her pouty little mouth. She wasn’t meant to be on some pedestal. And I made sure she knew it. Maybe she hated me for the way I treated her, But I knew exactly what she needed.Even when she didn’t know.And after so many years of biding my time, I was finally going to be the man to give it to her.
The Real Deal
Lauren Blakely - 2018
She doesn't even spend that much time online. And even if she did, she would not be looking up personal ads. But going home alone for her family's summer reunion is an invitation for every single relative to butt into her personal life. She simply can't handle another blind date with the butcher, the baker or the candlestick maker from her hometown. So when she finds the Craigslist ad for a boyfriend-for-hire, she's ready to pay to play.
Heading Home and Need a Buffer? I'm the REAL DEAL.
Theo Banks has been running from the past for years. He's this close to finally settling all his debts, and one more job as a boyfriend-for-hire will do the trick. He's no gigolo. Please. He's something of an actor, and he knows how to slip into any role, including pretending to be April's new beau -- the bad boy with the heart of gold.Even if it means sleeping in close quarters in that tiny little bed in her parents' inn. Even if it means spinning tales of a romance that starts to feel all too true. What neither one of them counts on is that amid the egg toss, the arm wrestling, and a fierce game of Lawn Twister that has them tangled up together, they might be feeling the real deal.She only wanted to show her family once and for all that she had no need to settle down.He didn't expect to have the time of his life at her parent's home.They didn't plan on loving every single second of the game.But can a masterful game of pretend result in true love?
Refuse: A Junkyard Wedding
S.H. Richardson - 2017
We turned our back on him and now he’s disappeared. But amongst all the sorrow and pain, I found happiness and love. Clover will be my wife and we will have our happily ever after. Clover I was shot during a robbery and almost died. My sister Ashley was held at knifepoint by a psycho hell bent on having her for himself. My nightmares are destroying my life, but I’m getting married and I will have my happily ever after. Clover Benjamin and Range Reardon are getting married. The stage is set for their magical fairy tale wedding complete with two hundred guests and a string quartet. But one lie by omission could ruin their chances at happiness. Will Range and Clover have their happily ever after? After all, anything worth having is worth waiting for.
Anybody But Him
Claire Baxter - 2013
What happens when you fall in love with the man you hate?Nicola Doyle's dating record is a disaster, and it doesn't improve when she returns to Redgum Valley, after an absence of twelve years, to look after her increasingly eccentric parents. There, she's thrown into regular contact with Blair Morrissey – the very reason she couldn't wait to leave town in the first place. The decade-old scars are still raw from that humiliating day in high school – when Blair went from the boy she loved to the boy she hated.Except Blair doesn't seem to be a ‘bad boy' any more – in fact, he's charming, infuriatingly helpful and extremely attractive. If only Nicola could forgive and forget . . .
Captive
Cassandra Bloom - 2017
One Feisty Assistant. Two weeks with only each other…ConradThe moment I laid eyes on Maya, I knew I had to make her mine.I’ve mastered the business world. Fighting for what I want has made me the man I am today. But until I met Maya, I had never thought that I could match myself with a woman. Maya is different – and she won’t be claimed easily!Now I’ll just have to convince her…Now I’ve got all the tools I need: two weeks in my cabin, and Maya has agreed to be my willing assistant.And I’ve got a whole lot of ideas for her... We’re about to learn a lot about each other. And if I’m right, this is going to be hottest laboratory in the history of science. MayaI know how to play the game, but I’m not a piece on anyone’s chess board. Conrad, though...there are possibilities here. He’s got some delicious ideas about what is expected of me whilst working under him… and why we might fit well together…. And I don’t mind one bit!I’ll have to be careful -- this billionaire’s bank account is rivalled only by his insatiable appetite for women. But now he’s hired me to help him with his research. It just so happens that our bodies and minds are the tools. I can’t wait to see the results. I can’t wait to get to work.Working under Conrad might just be my best move yet…
Much Ado About You
Samantha Young - 2021
And when she's passed over for promotion at work, Evie realizes she needs to make a change. Some time away to regain perspective might be just the thing. In a burst of impulsivity, she plans a holiday in a quaint English village. The holiday package comes with a temporary position at Much Ado About Books, the bookstore located beneath her rental apartment. There's no better dream vacation for the bookish Evie, a life-long Shakespeare lover.Not only is Evie swept up in running the delightful store as soon as she arrives, she's drawn into the lives, loves and drama of the friendly villagers. Including Roane Robson, the charismatic and sexy farmer who tempts Evie every day with his friendly flirtations. Evie is determined to keep him at bay because a holiday romance can only end in heartbreak, right? But Evie can't deny their connection and longs to trust in her handsome farmer that their whirlwind romance could turn in to the forever kind of love.
Roommaid
Sariah Wilson - 2020
That means getting out from under her family’s wealth and influence by saying no to the family business, her allowance, and her home. But on a teacher’s salary, the real world comes as a rude awakening—especially when she wakes up every morning on a colleague’s couch. To get a place of her own (without cockroaches, mold, or crime scene tape), Madison accepts a position as a roommaid. In exchange for free room and board, all she needs to do is keep her busy roommate’s penthouse clean and his dog company. So what if she’s never washed a dish in her life. She can figure this out, right?Madison is pretty confident she can fake it well enough that Tyler Roth will never know the difference. The finance whiz is rich and privileged and navigates the same social circles as her parents—but to him she’s just a teacher in need of an apartment. He’s everything Madison has run from, but his kindhearted nature, stomach-fluttering smile, and unexpected insecurities only make her want to get closer. And Tyler is warming to the move.Rewarding job. Perfect guy. Great future. With everything so right, what could go wrong? Madison is about to find out.
Ten Rules for Faking It
Sophie Sullivan - 2020
But catching your boyfriend cheating on you with his assistant?Even clichés sting.But this is Everly’s year! She won’t let her anxiety hold her back. She’ll pitch her podcast idea to her boss.There’s just one problem.Her boss, Chris, is very cute. (Of course). Also, he's extremely distant (which means he hates her, right? Or is that the anxiety talking)?And, Stacey the DJ didn’t mute the mic during Everly’s rant about Simon the Snake (syn: Cheating Ex).That’s three problems.Suddenly, people are lining up to date her, Bachelorette-style, fans are voting (Reminder: never leave house again), and her interest in Chris might be a two-way street. It’s a lot for a woman who could gold medal in people-avoidance. She’s going to have to fake it ‘till she makes it to get through all of this.Perhaps she’ll make a list: The Ten Rules for Faking It. Because sometimes making the rules can find you happiness when you least expect it.