Book picks similar to
A Crime of the Heart by Cheryl Reavis


contemporary-romance
olr-time-harlequin
category-romance
babyoops

Once Upon a Wedding


Kathleen Eagle - 2002
    and then you do what any self-respecting mother of the bride would -- you march right out and buy a sky-high stack of bridal magazines. Once upon a Wedding In award-winning author Kathleen Eagle's astonishing and warm new novel, we see just what happens to Camille, her family, and her friends when her beautiful and young daughter, Jordan, speaks those unforgettable words. After all, weddings are a time of unbelievable joy, a few tender tears -- and sometimes one huge headache.So Camille ignores the thought that her baby is simply too young to take such a big step and throws herself into action. There are flower arrangements to be chosen, favors to be lovingly created by her own two hands ... and lives to be put in order. And one of those disorganized lives belongs to her irrepressible, irresponsible, and somehow still irresistibleex-husband.When they were younger -- as young as Jordan is now -- Camille loved Creed Burke with all her heart and soul. This passionate Lakota swept her off her feet and right to the justice of the peace. Their wedding had been hurried, private ... nothing like the extravaganza their daughter is now planning.Creed is a musician who never seems to stay in one place long enough. Yet his wanderlust has never quite quenched his and Camille's passion for each other or his love for their daughter. But it did unravel their marriage.Now after years of cordial and casual, Camille finds that Creed is invading every aspect of her life. When she comes down for breakfast, he's sitting at the table helping himself to coffee. And when she goes out on the town with her girlfriends, he's sure to show up and ask her for a long, slow dance. Slowly but surely, Creed is weaving himself back into the fabric of her life. And their daughter's upcoming wedding brings back so many tender, tempting, and confusing memories of their own fiery union.Her two best girlfriends aren't much help. "Maybe it'll all work out," says gentle Ellie, a not-so-closet romantic who is clearly hoping for a reconciliation. "Don't trust him!" warns Bridget. But can you really trust someone whose husband has just stormed out of the house? As for Camille's own mother, Rosie, who is facing a serious illness and still has an expectant gleam in her eye and a soft spot in her heart for her ex-son-in-law, she declares Life's too short to pass up another shot at happiness.So when the big day arrives Camille realizes there is only one answer: follow her heart. But where will it take her?Kathleen Eagle has written an extraordinary story, filled with the complexity of female friendships, the tempestousness of the mother-daughter relationship, and the power of everlasting love. Anyone who has ever been a mother, daughter, friend, or lover will never forget Once upon a Wedding.

Fortune's Fresh Start


Michelle Major - 2020
    The last thing he needs is any personal complications slowing his pace—least of all nurse Becky Averill, a beautiful widow with twin baby girls. Callum’s past has convinced him he’s not cut out for commitment. Yet, drawn to Becky in ways he can’t understand, Callum is torn between moving on…and moving in!

A Man to Die For


Eileen Dreyer - 1991
    Louis Trauma nurse Casey McDonough thinks her life is interesting enough. Her best friend still drops acid, her ex-husband is a cross-dressing psychiatrist, and her mother has turned the third floor of the family home into the Chapel of Eternal Vigilance.Then, things begin to really go wrong when OB/Gyn Dr. Dale Hunsacker arrives. Handsome, wealthy and charismatic, the good doctor is enchanting the patients of the St. Louis hospital. But, Cassy believes he is a serial killer. And the only person who takes her seriously, is Hunsacker himself.Caught in a spiral of suspicion and intimidation, Casey approaches ex-Marine, ex-Jesuit homicide sergeant Jack Scanlan for help. All she has are hunches for proof, but she'll do anything to stop the monster walking the halls of her hospital.

Relentless Pursuit


Lulu Pratt - 2017
    Every inch. When I catch Ava upstairs in my mansion, I barely notice her amber eyes widening with fear... Not with the stiffening in my pants. All I can think about is taking her into my bedroom and giving her the welcome she deserves. Before I have the chance, she flees. But those moments with her were like a drug. I'm hooked. I have to find her. So I do. Turns out she’s a life coach. Suddenly my life needs coaching, 24/7. With every minute that passes, the chemistry between us gets stronger. But for some reason she’s resisting me. Resisting us. I won’t give up, There’s something in her eye when she says my name. I know she wants me. First I’ll find out why she’s resisting me. Then I’ll make her mine. *** A steamy STANDALONE contemporary romance with no cliffhanger, no cheating, and a guaranteed happily-ever-after.***

All Made Up


Kara Isaac - 2018
    Her professional career as a make up artist sees her traveling the world working with the stars and she's got no shortage of men wanting her affection. Only problem is she's never gotten over Caleb Murphy, the one guy she's ever loved. When she accepts a job on the latest looking-for-love reality TV show, Falling for the Farmer, she discovers to her horror that Caleb is the leading man and she's cast as one of his harem. But she hides a secret that means that even if she wanted a second chance with the guy who broke her heart she could never have it. Caleb Murphy couldn't care less about C-Class celebrity fame or reality TV and he certainly doesn't believe it could lead him to love. The one thing he does care about is fulfilling his mother's last wish. Kat's presence on the show seems to offer up a solution that will make both the network and his mother happy. It might have been almost ten years since they split but he knows he can trust her with his plan. Just as long as he doesn't fall in love all over again with the woman who will never stay.

The Billionaire Next Door


Jessica Bird - 2007
    So why was he losing sleep over a fresh-scrubbed nurse in old jeans and a too-big T-shirt? Maybe it was those warm green eyes. Or the way she blushed when he got personal. There was no denying the serious chemistry between them. But sooner or later Lizzie would learn his deep, dark secrets: First, he had trust issues. And second—he'd rather not go into the whole family thing.He didn't do relationships…but amazingly, Lizzie made him want one anyway.

Song of the Buffalo Boy


Sherry Garland - 1992
    Only Khai, a young buffalo tender, shows her love and respect. Promised in an arranged marriage to a cruel older man, Loi flees to Ho Chi Minh City. Along with thousands of others, she applies for the chance to leave for the United States through the Amerasian Homecoming Program, and faces the most important decision of her life: Should she leave her beloved country, her family, and her gentle, loving Khai?      Includes a reader’s guide, an author’s note, and a glossary of Vietnamese words.

Brand New Man


Weston Parker - 2019
    To them. Not me. Women swoon over my wallet, but it’s a façade. A ruse. I keep to myself and always will. Besides, one thing I’ve learned is you never pursue romantic relationships at work. Especially not as the boss. The billionaire. The top shit.A girl from my past shows up at a fundraiser. The one that got away in college. She needs help changing the city for the better with a children’s home, but I have different ideas. Crazily enough, the more money I spend, the more time I get with her. And this time, I’m willing to pull out all the stops. It’s hard not to slip back into my old ways, but this woman is the one. She makes me want to be a brand new man.

Sunshine and Shadow


Sharon Curtis - 1986
    She was a woman from another time, innocent, yet wise in ways he scarcely understood.Irresistibly, Susan and Alan were drawn together to explore their wildly exotic differences. And soon they would discover something far greater—a rich emotional bond that transcended both of their worlds and linked them heart-to-heart...until their need for each other became so overwhelming that there was no turning back. But would she have to sacrifice all she cherished for the uncertain joy of their forbidden love?

The Maiden and the Unicorn


Isolde Martyn - 1983
    In the middle of the conflict is a most unlikely heroine. For Margery, the beautiful and spirited ward of Warwick the Kingmaker, freedom is the only prize worth having. But it is a prize that could cost her her life.Sent to France on a mission for King Edward IV, she finds herself the target of a man who may be one of the king's most dangerous enemies. Sir Richard Huddleston is bold, enigmatic, and devastatingly handsome. He is used to getting what he wants, and he wants Margery to be his wife. But what else does he want? Margery suspects that Richard has abandoned the king and the house of York and is conspiring with the rebel queen and the traitorous house of Lancaster.Caught between her role as a spy and a fierce passion that neither she nor Richard can deny, Margery finds her heart exposed to the ultimate danger: falling in love. Yet she cannot admit her real mission to Richard. For if she stays true to her noble cause, she'll save many men...and lose the one that matters most.

After I Do


Taylor Jenkins Reid - 2014
    They decide to take a year off in the hopes of finding a way to fall in love again. One year apart, and only one rule: they cannot contact each other. Aside from that, anything goes.Lauren embarks on a journey of self-discovery, quickly finding that her friends and family have their own ideas about the meaning of marriage. These influences, as well as her own healing process and the challenges of living apart from Ryan, begin to change Lauren’s ideas about monogamy and marriage. She starts to question: When you can have romance without loyalty and commitment without marriage, when love and lust are no longer tied together, what do you value? What are you willing to fight for?

Maggie's Dad


Diana Palmer - 1995
    But small-town lies tore their young love apart, forcing Antonia to flee.Years later, she's returned to find Powell raising a daughter alone. Fatherhood hasn't tempered his wild side or his feelings for the one woman he's always wanted—Antonia.Not even her pride could make her ignore the eager pull of her heartstrings. And taking a chance at a future family with Powell was simply too irresistible....

Sweet Talk


Susan Mallery - 2008
    The twenty-eight-year-old piano prodigy has never had a regular boyfriend, much less a real romance. Her music career has left little room for friends or family--which is just part of the reason she hasn't seen the family bakery or her two sisters in years.But now Nicole is sick, and Jesse is AWOL. Despite the fact that Claire can't boil water, she's determined to play caretaker. Connecting with her sisters tops her to-do list...along with falling in love, or at least in lust, for the first time.Ruggedly sexy Wyatt just might fit the bill. Although he keeps saying that he and Claire come from entirely different worlds, he lights up hotter than a bakery oven whenever Claire is near. If this keeps up, she just might sweet--talk him into her bed...and her life.

Locked In


Iris Darshi - 2020
    It's okay. She's fine. She just wants to sign papers with dignity and end it all civilly.Dev is pissed. For five years, he worshiped the ground Jiya walked on. And what did he get for it? Loneliness and heartache. And while he wants to punch the wall, his beautiful wife is sitting demurely signing papers.Fate intervenes in the form of two best friends, by locking them in the very room in which they signed their divorce. What happens when two people who never stopped loving each other are forced to confront their mistakes?

Jack's Baby


Emma Darcy - 1996
    Eight months! Could she have had his baby?He still missed and wanted Nina--with a passion--and now was his chance to get her back. Sure, he'd argued against having children, but he could change.Jack knew Nina was wary. She thought one cry from baby Charlotte would have him running for the door. But just how much trouble could one small baby be?