Book picks similar to
The Missing Ingredient by Marika Ray


romance
contemporary
contemporary-romance
fiction

Lucky Cowboy


Heatherly Bell - 2021
    Lincoln's only interest in her now is one of obligation and guilt. After all, he's the one responsible for the lassoing "incident" (don't ask. Lincoln's life was perfect until his matchmaking granny stuck her nose in his business. Now, he’s accidentally injured his best friend's sister, the woman partly responsible for a family feud."What a thoroughly delightful story! I adored it." ~ Lori Wilde, New York Times bestselling author"Lucky Cowboy is an engaging read you can really sink into and enjoy!" ~ Cora Seton, New York Times bestselling author"Be prepared to fall in love, with a story that will warm your heart and curl your toes!” ~ New York Times bestselling author, Marina Adair"If you like Virgin River, you'll love Lucky Cowboy!" Kate Kisset, USA Today bestselling author of the Lonesome Cowboy seriesLucky Cowboy is a small-town western romantic comedy involving a hot but grumpy cowboy and a "sunshine" teacher. It can be read as a stand-alone, contains no cliffhangers with a guaranteed HEA!

The Guy Next Door


Kelly Myers - 2021
    What could possibly go wrong? How about a baby…Getting dumped is the pits.At least I still have my job.Until the hot guy next door becomes my new boss and lays me off.Thankfully, he gives me a new job as a favor and only asks one thing in return…A date.Only the fake date leads to something very real happening…in bed.Zack Noble is every bit as confident between the sheets as he is in the boardroom.I’m helpless to resist him.I know office relationships are forbidden.Yet sneaking around makes what’s happening between us even hotter.Until our secret is discovered…But I have one of my own—a little munchkin with the same blue eyes as his dad. When the truth finally comes out, will I lose Zack forever, or will we have our second chance at love?

My Boss Can't Get Enough


B.B. Hamel - 2019
     I know it’s not smart to poach your rival’s assistant… and yet when I see that gorgeous little thing, her big doe eyes staring at me across the conference room table, I know I better take her. Silky skin, gorgeous hair, lips that make me crave a taste. She’s the sort of assistant that drives her boss absolutely wild with animal need. Bringing her into my life is a huge mistake, but I can’t help it. Now we’re tied together… and she’s all mine. It takes just one taste and I’m absolutely drowning in her. But my rival isn’t letting this go. She’s going to ruin us… no matter what. I should walk away, find a new assistant, focus on my career… But now that I’ve run my hands along her perfect body, I know I’m not backing down. Forget career… I can’t get enough. Here it is! A brand new series full of alpha males and their insta-loves! They can’t get enough and it’s totally okay if you can’t either. Plenty of steam, a little office intrigue… the perfect mix of excitement and pleasure! There’s no cheating, no cliffhanger, and it has a happily-ever-after. Go ahead and enjoy! xo,BB

Fooling Around with Ford


Piper James - 2021
    Tricked. Manipulated. The life and career I’d worked so hard to build crumbled around me, so I abandoned it and moved in with my parents. Shady Springs Retirement Community in Sweet Pea, Florida was the perfect place to hide out, even if I was stuck sleeping on the couch.Then along came Ford Birmingham, a jerk who ran over my things with his lawnmower, destroying them and blaming me for the whole thing. As frustrating as he was charming, it didn’t take long for me to soften toward him…but I knew it was a dead end.His life was here, but mine wasn’t. I would be leaving as soon as I found a new job in a new town where I could rebuild my shattered world. Ford I’d mowed the grass at Shady Springs for twenty years and never met a resident as intriguing as the beautiful and feisty Virginia Jones. Of course, everyone else who lived there was at least twenty years my senior, so…When I accidentally shredded her e-reader, sunglasses, and towel one bright and sunny December afternoon—starting a feud I was definitely all-in for—I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I knew I’d eventually win her over, but to what end?She would leave Sweet Pea, and me, eventually. But sometimes, the reward was worth the risk.Fooling Around with Ford is the first book in the Sweet Pea Flings series of interconnected standalone novels. A sweet & steamy romance, this book has all the spice with a guaranteed HEA.

On the Run


Susan Amanda Kelly - 2016
    Until her outlaw family’s turf war turns her into a target, and Daddy orders her home for good. Now she’s fleeing a biker gang, her psychotically over-protective brother and a family-assigned bodyguard the size of a small hut. All without carbs.When Minnie is snatched, the small hut rescues her. Big Mike is six-foot-six of tattooed, ex-biker, ex-Special-Forces muscle. Rowr. Plainer than homemade yogurt with a personality to match and zero small-talk, Big Mike is so much like the hard men Minnie was raised amongst that she finds him near-irresistible. But the last thing she needs is another autocratic protector. And he knows nothing about fashion. Nothing.When Big Mike proves impossible to ditch, Minnie is forced to accept his help. They team up to stay one step ahead of her kidnappers, save her cat, dispose of a body and evade the paparazzi. On the run with Big Mike, Minnie comes to realize that the quiet giant poses the biggest threat to her freedom. And heart.

Choices


Michelle Lynn - 2016
    But nothing was ever that simple. When she envisioned what her life would entail, she freaked and fled to her brother’s apartment in the city. Straight into the arms of his best friend, Jason Marks.  Jason--a hardworking, bar owner--scraped together a life anyone would be proud of. Anyone, but Michaela’s family. Theirs was a match made in desperation. Kindling, just waiting to be set aflame. When the reality of their separate worlds neared, would it be enough to light the blaze? The New Beginnings series: Choices - A Sweet Romance Promises - A Friends to Lovers Romance Dreams - A Sweet Hockey Romance Confessions - A Second Chance Romance

The Broody Brit for Christmas


M.J. Fields - 2020
    Hard earned Ivy League education? Check.Dream career in New York City? Check.Swoon worthy fiancé, who is heir to billions? Also, check. Until my life collapsed like a clapboard house in a blizzard. I retreat to my small hometown of Holiday Springs, where life is like a snow globe, feeling like all of my failings are on full display. Once I get my bearings straight, I’ll trade my old snow boots for brand new stilettos and strut back to New York City. Nothing seems to go right until I meet a hot, British, single father with an adorable son. He may be too good to be true. As Holiday Springs transforms into a winter wonderland, so does my belief that this Christmas I may receive the greatest gift of all: Love.

In the Grasp: A Second Chance Sports Romance


Cadence Keys - 2021
    I thought I’d have more accomplished by now - like a wife and family - but for nine years I’ve held onto the memory of the girl who got away. Now she’s back and I’m more determined than ever to make her mine. For good this time.PaigeAfter years of working tirelessly, I just landed my dream job at the largest newspaper on the west coast. Unfortunately, that lands me in the same city as the man who broke my heart nearly a decade ago - the same one I’ve never really been able to let go of. When my editor assigns me to write an exposé on Jack, I’m forced to decide where my loyalties lie - with the career of a lifetime, or the love of my life.In the Grasp is the first steamy standalone contemporary sports romance in the LA Wolves series.

The Wedding Game


Meghan Quinn - 2021
    So it’s only natural that Luna would convince her brother and his husband-to-be to compete on The Wedding Game, a “do-it-yourself” TV show, for the title of Top DIY Wedding Expert.As a jaded divorce lawyer, Alec Baxter scoffs at weddings and romance. But when his recently engaged brother begs him to participate in The Wedding Game, Alec grudgingly picks up a glue gun and prepares for some family bonding.Both fierce competitors, Luna and Alec clash on national TV as harsh words and glitter fly with abandon. But as they bicker over color swatches and mood boards, they find themselves fighting something else: their growing mutual attraction. While Luna is torn between family loyalty and her own feelings, Alec wonders if he might have been wrong about love and marriage all along…

Masquerade


Nicole Flockton - 2012
    Vowing to only look forward and not behind, she attends a Masquerade Ball with no expectations. That is, until a mysterious masked man sits beside her. Attraction ignites, and, setting her inhibitions aside, she embarks on one night of passion. Alex Scavoni has sacrificed a lot to be the best ER doctor he can be. Now he’s about to start his dream job as the Registrar of the ER Department and getting involved in a relationship is the last thing on his mind. When he meets a masked Sophie, he knows he has to have her, and he won’t take no for an answer. Fate plays her hand and Sophie and Alex find themselves working closely together in the stressful world of emergency medicine. Determined to keep their passionate interlude a secret they attempt to maintain a working relationship. Only they find that their one night together isn’t enough. Can they push aside their growing feelings or will fate have one more card to play that will change their lives forever?

The Bar Next Door


Katia Rose - 2019
    In fact, she thrives on it. Taverne Toulouse is a mighty ship, and she its fearless captain, trusted by patrons and bar staff alike to steer them through choppy waters.If only she’d been given a little warning before a full-on tsunami swept in next door. Julien Valois’ wining and dining empire is making waves. The next item on his agenda is opening a trendy lounge right next to Monroe’s beloved Taverne Toulouse—one that’s meant to run the dive bar out of business so he can buy up that property too.His plans did not include falling for a five-foot-nothing brunette with an impressive vocabulary and an even more impressive ability to manhandle drunk frat boys twice her size.They’re rivals in every sense of the word, but when Monroe and Julien are in a room together, the battle lines fade away. Their defences lower, their hearts get louder than their heads, and the burn between them goes down like just the right shot—intense, intoxicating, and able to sweep their priorities away with a single taste.Until reality decides to slap up a big ‘For Sale’ sign and force them remember those priorities all too clearly.The Bar Next Door is part of the Barflies series, a set of standalone of romantic comedies that chronicle the lives and loves of the staff at a Montreal dive bar.

Runaway Groom


Weston Parker - 2021
    The cocky jerk has women throwing themselves at him in every episode, and it looks like he’s loving it. Well, good for him. He’s a cocky player with a wild streak ten miles wide. The man defies death for a living as a stuntman, for heaven’s sake. Well, when he’s not too busy being fed champagne by fifteen different girls on a yacht or breaking the hearts of the ones he sends home. No thank you. That’s a hard pass from me. All I want to do is make a name for myself by making sure the flowers on the finale are the best they can possibly be. Until I meet him. He’s famous for his gorgeous eyes, daring personality, and doing stunts for some of the biggest celebrities the city has ever seen. People love this guy. Men want to be him and women want to be with him, but one wrong move makes him the most hated man in the whole country. He’s the runaway groom, and his sidekick? Me. The girl that isn’t supposed to be in love with him.What could possibly go wrong?

Shouldn't Want You


Lilian Monroe - 2020
    I swooned.He left.Poof! Gone.His kiss still echoing on my lips, his face still etched on my brain.G-O-N-E. Disappeared. Ghosted. Never to be heard from again…...until now.My brother’s getting married, and his best man happens to be the one person I never want to see again.Sacha Black is all grown up.All man.All muscle.All thigh-clenching, cheek-burning, panty-melting misery.The moment his stormy, gray eyes meet mine, I know my poor heart doesn’t stand a chance.The only thing standing between us is ten years of pain and my very protective brother.Easy, right?... Wrong.

The Novel Approach


Heather Guimond - 2019
     He's romance's reigning sex god. When the two accidentally collide at a book conference, sparks - and their luggage - fly. Stacy Sanders had never heard of Gage Blackstone before. If she'd known he was the man everyone called the "king of one-handed reads," she would have run away as fast as her Prada heels would take her. Every woman who'd ever read a romance novel had at least one erotic book penned by him, hidden in her underwear drawer. From the moment Stacy caught Gage's eye, he only thought about messing up her perfect hair and kissing her senseless. Stacy never imagined she'd find herself waking up next to him. But as soon as he finds out what she writes, it will be him running in the other direction. Who would have thought the most novel approach to love would be sweet, spicy, and steaming hot?

No More Bad Dates


Kate O'Keeffe - 2019
    Together, they form the No More Bad Dates Pact: stop dating the wrong guys and start dating the right ones--weirdos and jerks need not apply.When Sophie's roommate Jason Christie--a.k.a. doctor-in-training and serial nurse-dater--joins the pact, he vows to weed out the bad ones for her. But with his rejection of every guy Sophie meets, she begins to wonder if he's got an ulterior motive. And anyway, why does she always have so much more fun with Jason than with the guys she's actually trying to date?While desperately seeking her "happy for now," could Sophie stumble into her "happily ever after?"No More Bad Dates is a fun, heart-warming enemies to lovers rom com for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Helen Fielding, Lindsey Kelk, and TV shows like Jane the Virgin. High Tea is a spin-off of Kate O'Keeffe's bestselling Cozy Cottage Café series. Escape to New Zealand in this fun, feel-good chick lit series!