Book picks similar to
Gloria by Jessica Lynch


christmas
romance
holiday
contemporary

Throw Down


Teagan Kade - 2020
    Scoring’s easy when you’re the king.The Kings are the frat-party poster boys of Crestfall Academy, and Peyton King is top of the pile.Quarterback, superstar, and O-bringer extraordinaire, I hate everything he represents.I hate him.But I can use him.He’s going to make the perfect centerpiece for my newspaper exposé on campus parties.I’ll get close to him, find out what makes him tick, and lay it out in black and white for the world to see.If that kind of cutting journalism doesn’t get me out of this two-bit town, I don’t know what will.It should be easy, so why do I become a giggling idiot at the sight of his mocha eyes and sculpted arms?I’m, like, totally not obsessed, right?Right?There couldn’t possibly be an actual beating heart in that beautiful cold, rock slab of a body, could there?But questions alone do not a quality story make.I need to dive deep into Peyton King to make this work.I need all his dirty little secrets before I blow his world apart.

Healed by Her Soothing Sight


Aurora Hanson - 2019
    But after the death of her parents, things for her and her brother have gone downhill. When her brother suggests that the only remedy to the situation is to find a husband for her, she rejects his proposition, and vows to marry for love. Her willful and stubborn nature will make her run off to Arizona City as a mail-order bride. Will her dream of finding true love come true or will she be trapped in a terrible nightmare?Red Wilson has just received a letter that informs him that his estranged parents succumbed to yellow fever three years prior, and his inheritance awaits him in Savannah. Intent on buying his own ranch, Red eagerly makes his way back home to claim the fortune. A stipulation in his father's will, though, will ruin his plans; in order to collect his birthright, Red must be married. Out of nowhere, the ghosts of the past will come back alive in his effort to claim what belongs to him...Magnolia has decided to refuse Red without even giving him a chance to prove himself. Red needs to cast his demons, so saving Magnolia could be his salvation. Will Magnolia return to reality and make the right decision for her? Will Red manage to protect her, or will he relive the painful past?"Healed by Her Soothing Sight" is a historical western romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

The Gull Motel (A Barefoot Book)


Amie Denman - 2014
    Finally finished with college, she heads to her favorite shabby motel on Florida’s Gulf Coast where her aunt and uncle always save her room twenty-four. She quickly finds out, though, that The Gull Motel is not just her home away from home. It’s hers to manage while her aunt and uncle take an extended trip. Skip McComber, The Gull’s former maintenance man, has been working on Savvy’s nuts and bolts for years. Now the new owner of the bar next door, his mission is to renovate a pirate bar while being a walking temptation for the girl he can’t get off his mind.For Savvy, keeping her cool running a motel in Florida heat is one thing, but navigating the steamy waters of a former fling takes a whole other kind of savvy. In addition to the motel and the man next door, Savvy stumbles on a plot to swindle land from the residents of Barefoot Key. Devalued properties tumble like dominoes until Savvy musters her colorful crew from The Gull Motel to make the pillagers walk the plank.

Foundation: A Grouchy Geek Romance


Lainey Davis - 2020
    They're brilliant, brooding and barreling into relationships whether they like it or not.Zack Brady doesn’t do relationships. He does calculations.When his family engineering firm sends him to investigate a sinkhole at a client’s house, Zack feels a tremor in the foundation of his carefully calculated world.Her name is Nicole Kennedy. She’s loud and crass, and has no time for nonsense. She certainly doesn’t have time for a mysterious trench swallowing her yard. To make matters worse, the grouchy engineer who shows up to fix it is the same jerk she’s forced to run beside during the corporate relay race her boss insisted she run.Somewhere between jogging and poring over geotechnical engineering plans, Nicole and Zack feel the earth move. Can they overcome their past to build something meaningful?Foundation is book one of the Brady Family series. If you love messy family dynamics, unforgettable characters and sizzling chemistry, you’ll devour this new series by Lainey Davis, creator of the Stag Brothers series.

Bayou My Love


Lauren Faulkenberry - 2016
    For Enza, Bayou Sabine means pain and heartache: a mother who left her and a father whose lies have caught up with him. Her only fondness for the bayou comes from the summers she spent there with her grandmother, Vergie. Now that Vergie’s gone, Enza wants to flip the house and put her past to rest—but this small town is full of big secrets—and it has one more surprise for her.When Enza finds her grandmother’s house occupied by sexy firefighter Jack Mayronne, she wants to kick him out. But Jack turns on the charm and convinces her to let him stay in exchange for helping her flip the house. Sparks fly as they share the same roof, and as their fling intensifies, Enza learns that Jack has dangerous secrets of his own. When the truth about her mother’s disappearance begins to surface, Enza must decide: how much is she willing to sacrifice to start over—and can she trust Jack with her heart?  Note: This book was previously published with the title Bayou My Love.“Faulkenberry creates a world of magic, suspense, and desire. An engrossing romance with just the right amount of heat!” -Julie C. Gardner, author of Letters for Scarlet

Where's the Groom?


Cathryn Brown - 2020
    Now her groom’s missing and a new man’s helping her search for him.Summer realized she’d made a big mistake. Why did she say yes to him? When her groom never arrives at the church, she uses her one clue to find him. She gets a big surprise. And she meets her Watson to help her search.Cameron agrees to help Summer because a family member’s caught in her mystery. She’s glad to have someone working with her, especially when he’s handsome and has a great smile, but a new romance is out of the question. But she sometimes (maybe too often) gets in trouble when she leaps before she looks, so he could come in handy.Cameron and Summer are immediately pulled into a mystery bigger than a missing groom (with no dead bodies!) and fighting their attraction to each other. If they can find the groom—and solve this mystery—they’ll part ways and never need to see each other again.They’re caught in a situation they didn’t create. Can a woman who almost got married find love on the run?

Michaels Family Romance Box Set: Books 1-3


Toby Jane - 2020
    Thomas. Each young woman has a unique path to walk, and a powerful, thrilling love to discover--and they are as different as the gemstones they're named for. Somewhere on St. ThomasRuby Why him? Why now? What else could go wrong? Set in 1984, in a world before sexting and texting, this "lushly written and emotional" New Adult romance stars redheaded spelling champion Ruby Michaels, who meets the wrong kind of man on the eve of her departure from St. Thomas for college.♥♥WINNER: SILVER MEDAL, eLit AWARDS, 2016♥♥ Somewhere in the CityPearl It's a long way from sleepy St. Thomas to the big city. The year is 1989, and magnet-for-trouble Pearl Michaels leaves her childhood home, the tropical paradise of St. Thomas, to live with her sister in Boston. Discovered as a model, Pearl finds fame, fortune, and Magnus Thorne.Harley-riding, enigmatic Magnus Thorne is a man with a past and a hazardous, secret present. The last thing he needs or wants is an addiction to a woman so famous she's known simply as "Pearl," but he can't seem to let her go. Somewhere in California Jade Dancing is everything--until it leads to love. Jade Michaels runs away and risks everything to compete in the first-ever dance reality show in LA in 1992, and meets the perfect guy--until she finds out he's her sister's ex.Can Jade and Brandon navigate the past that separates them? "These books are a fun, guilty pleasure that will leave you wanting more from Toby Neal!" ~Author Noelle Pierce

The Lying Game


Maxine Barry - 2006
    She has one goal: to find the real killer of Rollo Seton.While inside, a mysterious benefactor has put £2 million in trust for her. She uses the money to buy the Manor House in Nether Dene, the tiny village she grew up in.THE VILLAGE DOESN’T WANT HER BACKShe hires Connor O'Dell, a good-looking bodyguard. He’s there in case things get rough. But it's Lowell Seton, the younger brother of Rollo and the love of Oriana's life, who quickly becomes the greatest danger . . . to her heart.And when Connor falls for Mercedes Seton, Oriana's former best friend, things threaten to totally fall apart.THE REAL KILLER WILL STRIKE AGAIN TO PROTECT THEIR SECRETS

A Mistletoe Match for the White Duchess


Patricia Haverton - 2019
     Having grown up in the shadow of her glamorous cousin, she has resigned herself to a life of solitude. Until she attracts the attention of someone she’d never dare dream of. For Jonathan Allen, Duke of Ekhard, being back in England means the resurgence of painful memories. When a Christmas ball finds him dancing with his best friend’s sister he realizes not only that his wounds are still fresh, but also that he is undeniably attracted to her. After a riding accident leaves Isolde injured, Jonathan comes to a startling conclusion: the thought of losing her is too much to bear. When her father announces her betrothal to his business partner, Isolde is left with a terrible choice: marry him or see her whole family ruined. And then, the fates deliver the final blow in the form of a terrible rumor: Jonathan has been playing her for a fool all along... *If you like powerful Dukes, loving Duchesses and a marvelous depiction of the majestic Regency and Victorian era, then A Mistletoe Match for the White Duchess is the novel for you. This is Patricia Haverton's 4th novel, a historical Regency romance novel of 80,000 words (around 400 pages). No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a sweet happily ever after. Pick up "A Mistletoe Match for the White Duchess" today to discover Patricia's captivating story!

The Mistletoe Game


Ellis O. Day - 2020
    She looks like her world has ended. He’s just the guy to cheer her up. He’s rich, attractive and charming.Unfortunately, Ellie finds him annoying, arrogant, and too alpha. She’s done with alpha males who can’t keep it in their pants and wouldn’t know the meaning of the word faithful if they were reading it in the dictionary.But when Ellie’s cheating ex calls her cold, the only way to prove him wrong is to play The Mistletoe Game with Adrian.How bad can it be?They’re in public. It’s a game. Probably, a few kisses under the mistletoe, except this is La Petite Mort Club and nothing is as innocent as just a kiss.

Oh, Come On, Be Faithful


Cami Checketts - 2016
    His ex-wife cleaned out his savings account and abandoned their son. Sadly, he has no presents stashed.When he finds a job as a bodyguard for Mikayla Lambert, a billionaire heiress who has been tormented by a stalker for four years, he’s caught up in family drama that threatens this beautiful woman he’s becoming enamored with and might also endanger his son. Can Matt protect everyone and save Christmas for his son, or will the stalker succeed at kidnapping Mikayla and destroying any chance at love between them?

This Side of Midnight (Tildas Islands #4)


Tamsen Schultz - 2021
    But when tourists start dying under suspicious circumstances, she never imagines that the biggest battle she’d have to fight is within her own department. That is, until her friend, Dominic Burel, and the FBI Task Force he’s a part of, prove she’s right to be concerned.As an FBI agent and former PJ with the elite Air Force Pararescue Unit, Dominic Burel has been happy to move through life solely focused on work. But when a family visit leaves him shaken, he realizes his friendship with Anika could, and should, be so much more. Now he has to change her mind about them and he’s not above using his investigative skills to finagle his way into her case—and life—to do it.As Anika and Dominic hunt a killer, they quickly realize they’ve uncovered something much more sinister. The simple murders aren’t so simple and there’s a much grander plan at play. And when they find they aren’t the only ones hunting, it will take everything they have to stay out of the true killer’s crosshairs.If you revel in escaping into a story, this friends-to-lovers romantic suspense will keep you turning the pages.

For the Fight


Leah Ashton - 2018
    He’s a SWAT team operator who broke her heart.The gunman holding them hostage? He’s got no idea who he’s dealing with...Luella Brayshaw doesn’t think when she sees Nate Rivers, twelve years since he walked away. She just feels – all the hurt, and all the heat – and she runs. But by the time her brain clicks into gear she’s on a random train, with Nate – and that’s when it all goes very, very wrong.Driven and dedicated, Elite SWAT tactical operator Nate Rivers knows he made the right decision all those years ago. Although it’s hard to remember why with Lou right in front of him, all strong, gorgeous and justifiably furious with him.But then a gunman takes their carriage hostage… and suddenly the past doesn’t matter. Now it’s up to Nate and Lou – unarmed - to save everyone on that train.When their past and present collide, passion ignites – as hot and as powerful as a decade before. But can the mistakes of the past be forgiven? Or will they destroy any chance of a future together?** For the Fight is the first book in the Elite SWAT series. Each book is a stand-alone, with no cliff-hanger endings. For the Fight was previously published as Undaunted (WASP Team #1).