Book picks similar to
Not Your Cinderella by Kate Johnson


romance
royalty
contemporary
interracial-romance

Duched


Xavier Neal - 2017
    Her college graduation is just a few months away, she has no idea what to do with her life when the degree is in her hands, and is most likely going to be kicked out of her apartment when her best friend's boyfriend moves in. Enter One Nightstand King, Kellan Kenningston, who also happens to be a real life prince as well as a duke. From first blinding white smile, Kellan becomes a royal pain in the butt who keeps her laughing and Brie becomes the breath of fresh air he desperately needs. Unfortunately, for both of them, this isn't a fairy tale with an immediate happily ever after. The media is a monster that can barely be tamed. Balls are not beautiful and bright. And more often than not, true evil is found in surprising forms. *This is the FIRST in a trilogy*

Unfriended: A Geek and Stud Romance


Deana Farrady - 2017
    A friends-to-lovers romance. Charis Asher Norrell is my dream man - hot, brilliant, and charming, every big, strapping inch of him. Too bad he thinks of me as a platonic buddy.I mean, I get it. I'm no femme fatale. Nope, I'm the tomboy who shoots hoops with the guys, not the love bunny who sits on their laps.But, oh, well. I guess it's all for the best. Because I just got engaged. Even if the marriage won't be quite...the usual kind.I just wonder if Asher will be pissed when he finds out who my fiance is. Asher On the surface things are perfect. I'm sailing through college, I'm already successful in my field, I've got a beautiful girlfriend, and life is sweet.To top it off, I have the best f*cking friend in the world in Charis Sloane, doctoral student, gamer, and honorary family member from way back. Sure, she's a geek, but so am I under all these muscles.She and I connect via brainwaves. I don't need my bestie to be a girly-girl; I already have one of those to warm my bed. The important thing is, I have Charis's back and she has mine.Good thing, too, because below the surface? My life isn't nearly as awesome as it looks.Then Charis tells me she's getting married to...to...Pissed? Right, try livid.Now I have to stop her, or we'll miss our last chance to make right what should have happened long ago.Us.

Wild Reckless


Ginger Scott - 2015
    It involved her best friends, her posh private school in downtown Chicago and time alone with her piano until her audition was perfected, a guaranteed ticket into the best music programs in the world.Instead, a nightmare took over.It didn’t happen all at once, but her life unraveled quickly—a tiny thread that evil somehow kept pulling until everything precious was taken from her. She was suddenly living miles away from her old life, trapped in an existence she didn’t choose—one determined to destroy her from the inside, leaving only hate and anger behind. It didn’t help that her neighbor, the one whose eyes held danger, was enjoying every second of her fall.Owen Harper was trouble, his heart wild and his past the kind that’s spoken about in whispers. And somehow, his path was always intertwined with Kensington’s, every interaction crushing her, ruining her hope for any future better than her now. Sometimes, though, what everyone warns is trouble, is exactly what the heart needs. Owen Harper was consumed with darkness, and it held onto his soul for years. When Kensington looked at him, she saw a boy who’d gotten good at taking others down when they threatened his carefully balanced life. But the more she looked, the more she saw other things too—good things…things to admire.Things…to love. Things that made her want to be reckless.And those things…they were the scariest of all.** This book is a standalone with no cliffhanger. A second, full-length companion novel about a related character, Andrew Harper, is out now. Wicked Restless also available on Amazon. **

Southern Charmer


Jessica Peterson - 2018
    He's southern. And he won't stop showing up at my door half naked. Meet Elijah Jackson, my hot new neighbor...From the outside looking in? I’ve got it all. Prestigious job. Pretty house. And a perfect boyfriend who just proposed with the perfect ring.I should feel ecstatic—but instead, I feel suffocated. So I break up with my boyfriend, hop in my car, and head south.Charleston, South Carolina: home to stunning architecture, sultry accents, and—oh yeah—my perpetually shirtless neighbor, Elijah Jackson. As if his abs for days and inked up deliciousness aren’t enticing enough, he also encourages me to chase down my dreams. And the chemistry between us? Hotter than the kitchen at Eli’s restaurant. But I still have a life a thousand miles away. One I’ve worked really hard to build. And I don’t know if I can just leave it all behind.I have to choose. A choice Eli doesn't make any easier by inviting me out to his cabin for a long weekend. Just the two of us. And one bed. I swear to God this southerner is out to charm the panties right off me. Just this once, I might let him...SOUTHERN CHARMER is a slow burn, standalone romance with no cheating. It is part of the Charleston Heat Series, which is a series of interconnected standalone novels set in the steamy southern town of Charleston, South Carolina.SOUTHERN CHARMER: Oliva and Eli’s bookSOUTHERN PLAYER: Gracie and Luke’s bookSOUTHERN GENTLEMAN: Julia and Greyson’s bookSOUTHERN HEARTBREAKER: Eva and Ford’s book

Stubborn Love


Wendy Owens - 2013
    She had given him her youth, and all he gave in return was misery and pain. She was ready for a new beginning, but Ashton wasn’t about to let her go so easily, even if it meant destroying both their lives in the process.Three years later Emmie convinces herself she is ready to leave all of that heartbreak in the past and find a little piece of normal for herself. She heads to New York City to pick up where she left off, determined to finish art school. Emmie is determined to focus on school and not let anything distract her, but life has a way of throwing curveballs.Paige, Emmie’s new roommate, brings Colin Bennett into her life. His smoldering eyes and lean muscular body are difficult for any girl to ignore. Only thing is, Emmie isn’t any girl. Her past makes her resistant to his charms. Colin isn’t one to give up easily, and just when he thinks he may have found a way to her stubborn heart, her tragic history may have found a way to tear them apart.

Kissing in Cars


Sara Ney - 2014
    Studious and (mostly) sensible, the only thing Molly Wakefield wants to do is get through Senior Year and graduate. Well, that and hit the beach in her spare time. Okay, fine - and go shopping every once in a while for a new dress... (and who could blame her?) And things are going according to plan - until the day she spies Weston McGrath, handsome star athlete and scholar, spying on her in study hall. A tad creepy? Maybe. Thrilling? Absolutely. You see, Weston McGrath happens to be one guy no one can get close to. Despite her best efforts to avoid it (because let's face it - the guy isn't exactly "boyfriend material") Mollly and Weston form a friendship. And more.... Sort of. But it's a friendship that comes with a price - because Weston just cannot seem to stop screwing things up. Or saying all the wrong things. Possibly in that order... And who has time for an 18 year old "fixer-upper" that should know better? Not Molly. Or does she? This is book one and includes chapter one of book two, Ke Kissed Me First. This book is a stand-alone with no cliffhanger. Note: This YA book is intended for 17+ due to the vulgar language used by its male characters (and occasionally the females as well, even though they're too lady like to do it throughout the entire book). Some adult sexual situations that steam up a few car windows. This title is approx. 63,000 words.

The Hardest Fall


Ella Maise - 2018
    You smile, say hello. Should be simple, if you’re anyone but me. The first time I met Dylan Reed, I found myself making eye contact with a different part of his body. You see, I’m very good at being shy, not to mention extremely well-versed in rambling nonsense and, unfortunately, rather highly skilled at making a fool of myself in front of a guy I’m attracted to. At the time, I knew nothing about him and thought none of what I said would matter since I’d never speak to him again. Turns out, I was very wrong. He was the star wide receiver of the football team, one of the few players expected to make it into the NFL, and I ended up seeing him all over campus. I might have also propositioned him, run away from him, attacked him with a cooking utensil…and…uh, maybe I shouldn’t tell you all of it. It’s pretty normal stuff, things you’d expect…from me. Eventually, the time came when I couldn’t hide anymore—not that he’d have let me even if I tried. Before now, he never knew I was secretly watching him. Now that we see each other every day, he knows when I have a hard time looking away. It doesn’t help that I’m not the most subtle person in the world either. He smiles at me and tells me he finds me fascinating because of my quirks. I can’t even tell him that I think my heart beats differently whenever he’s around. He thinks we’re going to be best friends. I think I have a big thing for him, and the more I get to know him, the more I don’t care that I’m not allowed to be his friend, let alone fall for him. The thing is, that’s exactly what I’m doing—what we’re doing, I think. Falling. Hard.

Art & Soul


Brittainy C. Cherry - 2015
    Passed by. Glossed over. Unnoticed. Now I was Aria Watson… that girl.After one bad decision, and being labeled a slut, I was no longer unseen. I was the whore. The ignoramus. The tramp.I would never be invisible again.Particularly to Levi Myers. He was the odd boy with the beautiful soul who accepted and understood the broken girl inside me.Falling in love wasn’t the plan. But how could I resist his promises of hope? Of forgiveness? Of a future I had stopped dreaming of?We were shattered. We were scarred. We were something strange and beautiful.We were two lost souls holding on to the only thing that could keep us together. Each other.

The Worst Best Man


Lucy Score - 2018
    You don't buy me, a$#%^*e. You earn me." The bride is a doll. The groom is the perfect gentleman. But the rest of the wedding party? They're the stuff of nightmares. Rich? Check. Vapid? Double Check. Entitled? Not enough checks in the world. And the Best Man? More like the Worst Man.But Maid of Honor Franchesca takes her duties seriously. Kidnapped groom? She's got this. Rude attendees? You just watch her handle them. So a Best Man with a big attitude and an even bigger...checkbook? Yeah, there's no way she's going to let that pretentious, judgmental jackhole ruin her best friend's wedding. No matter how sexy he is. (Well, that's the plan anyway...)Aiden Kilbourn doesn't do long-term relationships. He's busy ruling the business world, and has yet to find a woman he can tolerate for longer than a month, two at the outside, anyway. Conquering the unconquerable is basically his bread and butter. And he hasn't met a challenge that he can't win. But Franchesca Baranski? This smart-mouthed girl from Brooklyn may just be his downfall.

Put Me in Detention


Meghan Quinn - 2022
    Being single and looking for a wild night, I asked him if he wanted to join me. To my delight, he said yes.Drinks were consumed, fun was had and then . . . one drunken conversation with a cranky gondolier in Las Vegas led to an Uber lift through a drive-thru wedding chapel with the incredibly hot, British bad boy, Pike Greyson.On paper, it seemed like I hit the jackpot. And if I wasn't fresh from a toxic marriage, I would have absolutely noticed the finer things about him.But I wanted nothing to do with being married, so when I arrived back home from my eventful weekend in Vegas, the last thing I expected to see was a new doting husband already moved in.I asked for an annulment, he pulled a Ross Geller and said no.That's right, he said NO! Instead, he asked for three months to prove we could be good together.Insanity clearly knocked him in the head and the only way I could convince him to give up on our sham of a marriage was to show him just how wrong we were for each other. Only problem with that was, he saw right through my every prank, every trick, and every yearning emotion I attempted to mask.

Bad Judgment


Meghan March - 2016
    I’ve been turning him down for two years straight.Every shut-down makes me work harder.I’m not a one-night stand kind of girl.She doesn’t realize I won’t settle for only one night.He’s a distraction I don’t need. She’ll say yes eventually because I’m not giving up.

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."

I Temporarily Do


Ellie Cahill - 2017
    A little white wedding. A pair of roommates in over their heads. Days before she's set to move across the country and start a prestigious graduate program, a con artist leaves Emmy with no where to live and less than zero dollars in her bank account. But her day doesn't seem quite so bad compared to Beckett's--his fiancée called off their wedding just days before they tie the knot. Now he's single and ineligible for his place in married student housing. So what are a girl without a home and a guy without a wife supposed to do? A quickie wedding in Vegas will solve both their problems. It's a business arrangement, and no one even needs to know. They'll just get an annulment in a few months. What could go wrong? Only Beckett forgot to mention his new apartment is a one-bedroom. And neither of them counted on their new friends at Middlesex University thinking they're a great couple. The platonic newlywed game might be harder to play than Emmy thought. Especially when it starts to feel less than platonic. I Temporarily Do is a Stand-Alone Romantic Comedy.

The Controversial Princess


Jodi Ellen Malpas - 2018
    She knows better than anyone that the united front of the royal family is nothing but smoke and mirrors - lies and secrets masked by power and privilege. She wants no part of it, and she will never surrender to The King’s demand to marry a man she does not love. But despite Adeline’s determination to retain her free will, she remains deeply unfulfilled, feeling caged and suffocated.That is until she meets Josh Jameson. Drawn in by his confidence, Adeline is soon captivated by the scandalously sexy American actor. His ability to penetrate her defences overwhelms her - his touch is pure fire, and his allure overpowering. Nothing has ever made her feel so alive in a world where she’s otherwise slowly drowning. However, while Josh may be Hollywood royalty, he’s not actual royalty, and Adeline knows The King and his advisors will do everything in their power to keep them apart.But Josh Jameson becomes the princess’s ultimate vice.And although she bows to no one, she bows to him.

Liam Davis & The Raven


Anyta Sunday - 2014
    But I’m about to find out.Jock. Big-boned. Broad shoulders. Tall. Runs fingers through hair as though he’s attractive and knows it. Walks into party like he has all the time in the world, slow but oddly graceful. Laugh lines around the mouth, a deep crack in his skin where a dimple might be. That’s how I described him in the notes for my latest party-page column.He fascinates me, but I’m not sure why. Or what to do about it. My belly is a fluttery, twisty mess.Best to focus on my mission to find The Raven—the campus vigilante—and warn him about the hate mail the student paper’s been getting for him.Except . . .Quinn looks at me and his eyes darken. He wants something. But what is it?Why do I want so badly to give it to him?Liam Davis & the Raven is a slow-burn, bi-awakening, New Adult, gay romance set in college. This roommates to lovers story follows quirky, socially awkward Liam to his heartwarming HEA.