Book picks similar to
The Gift of Joy - Adult Version by Valerie Maarten
contemporary-romance
romance
fiction
contemporary
Spark
Brooke Cumberland - 2013
Weak, powerless, and fearing the one person who has hurt her the most…can she overcome the barriers to move forward?Being saved by a muscled Godsend was never on her agenda, but when firefighter, Eric Reilley comes into her life unexpectedly, everything changes. Velaney has never felt loved or cared for, and her past prevents her from letting anyone in. Eric manages to break down her walls—despite the repercussions that come for them afterwards.They have an undeniable spark—something she has never felt before, but will it be enough? Can love overcome all obstacles? Can they save each other to protect their love or will her past shatter everything she never knew she needed…?**Spark is for mature audiences only – strong language, explicit sexual content, and sexual abuse are apparent.**
Lost In Italy
Stacey Joy Netzel - 2011
Her itinerary did not include being stranded by her siblings, kidnapped by a sexy American movie star, dodging bullets, or fleeing criminals in a car chase around Lake Como.And that's just in the first three hours....often go awry.Trent Tomlin put his movie career on hold to investigate his brother's murder-ruled-suicide at his Italian villa. He's closing in on the suspects when an American tourist unwittingly films the murder of the retired cop helping him. The killers will stop at nothing to get the evidence-including holding Halli's family as collateral.Life's a little different unscripted. Thrust into the role of real-life hero, Trent finds himself falling for the Plain Jane whose beauty blossoms with every challenge they face. But how can he keep the evidence from falling into the wrong hands and get justice for his brother and friend without betraying Halli and her family?
A Date with Fate
Tracy Ellen - 2012
She’s twenty eight, owns a bookstore, and is one determined, control freak of a woman. She’s decided to take the entire weekend off to have some fun. Except Anabel’s unapologetically single and perfectly uncomplicated life is suddenly upside down with problems! The cheating love of her life is back in town. Her family is meddling in her personal business. An adulterous wife of a good friend has gone missing. She’s been targeted for death by a homicidal serial rapist. An evil aunt has gone fanatic. Her sociopathic cousin has stolen her gun. The macho police chief is driving her nuts. And one not-too-tall, deliciously dark, and definitely not handsome stranger is enticing her to break all her ironclad rules on dating in the most intriguing of ways. Strange things are happening in Northfield, Minnesota. But Anabel’s never met the challenge she won’t stare in the eye while daintily spitting sideways in the dirt. Will Anabel begin to believe that life is never simple, some rules are meant to be broken, and a certain mesmerizing complication may be worth the trouble--even if it kills her? (Adult Content)
Sexy in Stilettos
Nana Malone - 2012
What's worse than having to watch your sister marry your ex fiancé? How about when that fiancé fires you from the family business? Hyper-organized, event planner, Jaya Trudeaux is used to doing things by the book and never making waves. It's a strategy that's served her well until she finds herself in failure alley with no fiancé, no job and her thirtieth birthday looming. Maybe it's time to change her methods. Starting with an unlikely date to the wedding from hell.The only thing that can tie carefree, playboy, Alec Danthers down is his formidable step mother. When she calls him home to help find his wayward brother, he never imagines an uptight, list making, sass-talking woman would make him think about putting down roots.Can Jaya put the lists down long enough to enjoy the ride that is Alec? Will Alec stop running long enough to recognize true love?Warning: Sexy, sass talking women will make you laugh, cry and want a pair of killer footwear.
Stryder (The Billionaire Cowboys of Clearwater County #1)
Bonnie R. Paulson - 2018
He wants Melody Steel.Growing up, they'd been inseparable but a last minute choice had stolen his heart and made him rich beyond measure. Too bad he could never buy what he truly wanted...
Flint and Steel made fire and she was done getting burned.
With more debt than she can comprehend after her dad died, Melody doesn't need her poverty rubbed in her face or that Stryder found happiness and money without her. All she'd ever done was make her loved ones miserable.Well, no more. Stryder was free and Melody was going to keep it that way - no matter how much it tore her apart.
***Books by Bonnie R. Paulson***
Clearwater County CollectionTHE BILLIONAIRE COWBOYSStryderTrevorBrodyMacZackWyattVanceJacobDeeganEthanShaneChanceThe MONTANA TRAILS SERIESBroken Trails (book 1) Forbidden Trails (book 2)Unbridled Trails (book 3)Hidden Trails (book 4)Forgotten Trails (book 5)Endless Trails (book 6)Forsaken Trails (book 7)Lonesome Trails (book 8)Lost Trails (book 9)Untamed Trails (book 10)Boxset – Books 1, 2, 3Boxset – 4, 5, 6Boxset – 7,8,9Full Boxset – 1-10LONELY LACE SERIESSpurs and Lace (book 1)Secrets and Lace (book 2)Sorrows and Lace (book 3)Boxset (all 3 books)REDEMPTION SERIESRomancing Redemption (book 1)Riding for Redemption (book 2)Resisting Redemption (book 3)Regretting Redemption (book 4)Rewarding Redemption (book 5)Boxset (all 5 books)Contemporary RomanceCLICKANDWED.COM SERIESWith This Click, I Thee Wed (book 1)IDo.com (book 2)DIY Vows (book 3)eHoneymoon (book 4)Keyword: I Do (book 5)Let US-B Wed (book 6)The Right Click (book 7)MADE FOR LOVE SERIESMade for Me (book 1)Made for You (book 2)Made for Love (book 3)DOWNSHIFT SERIESDownshift (book 1)Full Throttle (book 2)Block Pass (book 3)
Seaside Surprises
Stacy Claflin - 2015
Play often. Love unconditionally. Tiffany Saunders is on the run. When she winds up stranded in a seaside town, she wants nothing more than to forget her horrific past and kept moving. But a chance meeting with a handsome local changes everything. Jake Hunter has some deep emotional scars and is trying to cope with running the family business. The last thing he wants is a relationship—until a mysterious brunette walks into his store and complicates it all. Tiffany prefers to keep the painful memories of the past where they belong—in her rear view mirror. But dark secrets cannot stay hidden forever. Just as the walls around Tiffany’s heart start to come down, the past catches up with her. Will true love be able to conquer all? Seaside Surprises is the first book in the Seaside Hunters collection, a series of sweet contemporary romances featuring the Hunter brothers set in the beach town of Kittle Falls. If you like entertaining and heartwarming romances, then you'll love this entry in a light, romantic series. Budding romance and great chemistry abound with fully-developed characters that you'll fall for over and over again. **While each book in this series is a standalone, you'll also enjoy reading about the other Hunter brothers of Kittle Falls: Seaside Heartbeats: Brayden, the successful cardiologist Seaside Dances: Zachary, the struggling writer Seaside Kisses: Rafael, the disillusioned fashion designer Seaside Christmas: Cruz, the wild tattoo artist
Chez Stinky
Susan C. Daffron - 2013
She hasn't laid eyes on her great aunt Abigail since she was eight, so she’s stumped when she inherits Abgail's house in the small hamlet of Alpine Grove.Kat's uncomplicated life gets decidedly less so when she discovers the inheritance comes with some hairy conditions: four dogs and five cats that her aunt wanted her to love as her own. Of course, the house smells like a barn--with a touch of antique skunk--and, naturally, has serious roof issues. And that's before the three-legged cat gets stuck in the wall and the shower goes kablooey.When Kat meets Joel, an unemployed techie type with no love lost for his sister, Kat looks past his obvious flaws, given his timely and desirable skill set: a talent for fixing things (and his own tools).Despite out-of-control dogs, cat fights, dust dinosaurs, massive spiders and an old grizzled hippie passed out in the yard, Kat discovers the tranquility of the forests of Alpine Grove starting to seep into her soul.And why she can't she stop thinking about Joel?
Beautiful Oblivion
Addison Moore - 2013
She’s tired of dating Warren McCarthy just to make her father happy. Reese has long since had her eye on someone else, and this summer she’s determined to make it happen.Growing up in Lake Loveless there has always been a strict monetary divide—there was the rest of the Lake and then there were the Waterman’s. Ace Waterman has worked for everything he has, and he doesn’t have a lot. He breaks his back doing grunt work while putting himself through college. He’s used to life passing him by.Reese has loved Ace from afar for as long as she can remember. The summer of her freshman year she comes home with plans to land Ace in her bed at least for a few short weeks, and, if she’s lucky, forever.Ace has loved Reese for as long as he can remember, but their friendship has never graduated beyond platonic, so when Reese comes home from her first year away and proposes the two of them have a summer fling, Ace is quick to comply. The rules: no strings, no expectations, just something hotter than the sun to set the sheets on fire.But when their worlds collide, and neither of them is willing to admit to having true feelings, it becomes clear to Ace he’s nothing more than a dirty little secret—that the summer fling was just something meaningless to pass the time.Reese wonders if she can ever stop trying to please her father, and it’s only through her mother’s letters that she finds the answers she truly seeks, but will they be the ones she wants to hear?As summer draws to a close, Ace and Reese are still very much enraptured even though the time has come to douse the flame and move on—but neither one of them is prepared to leave this BEAUTIFUL OBLIVION.
Bellamy and The Brute
Alicia Michaels - 2017
After all, everyone in town knows about the mysterious happenings at the mansion on the hill—including the sudden disappearance of the Baldwin’s eldest son, Tate. The former football star and Golden Boy of Wellhollow Springs became a hermit at the age of sixteen, and no one has seen or heard from him since. Rumors abound as to why, with whisperings about a strange illness that has caused deformity…turned him into a real-life monster. Bellamy wants to dismiss these rumors as gossip, but when she’s told that if she takes the job she must promise to never, ever visit the 3rd floor of the mansion, she begins to wonder if there really is some dark truth being hidden there.Tate’s condition may not be the only secret being kept at Baldwin House. There are gaps in the family’s financial history that don’t add up, and surprising connections with unscrupulous characters. At night there are strange noises, unexplained cold drafts, and the electricity cuts out. And then there are the rose petals on the staircase. The rose petals that no one but Bellamy seems to be able to see. The rose petals that form a trail leading right up to the 3rd floor, past the portrait of a handsome young man, and down a dark hallway where she promised she would never, ever go…As Bellamy works to unravel the mysteries of Baldwin House and uncover the truth about Tate, she realizes that she is in way over her head, in more ways than one. Can her bravery and determination help to right the wrongs of the past and free the young man whose story has captured her heart?
Betting on You
Jessie Evans - 2013
At least that's what she's told her sisters... But when Mason shows up at her best friend's wedding, talking sweet and looking even sweeter, Lark can't deny the man still gets to her in a major way.Mason Stewart was a messed up kid, but he's a man now, a man who knows what he wants and won't stop until he's convinced the only woman he's ever loved that they are meant to be. He persuades Lark to give him seven days to remind her why they belong together. At the week's end, Lark may tell him to get out of her life for good, but Mason's betting on true love for the win.But when old secrets come to light, Lark and Mason will find their rediscovered love tested, and happily ever after harder to hold on to than either of them wagered.Fans of Bella Andre, Kristan Higgins, and Susan Mallery will love the Always a Bridesmaid romance series, stories featuring sassy Southern women and the alpha males who love them.The complete Always A Bridesmaid series is available now!Book 1: Betting on YouBook 2: Keeping YouBook 3: Wild For YouBook 4: Catching You (A Summerville Short Story)Book 5: Taking You (A Summerville Novella)Jessie Evans gave up a career as an international woman of mystery to write the sexy, contemporary Southern romances she always wanted to read.A Southern girl, born and bred, Jessie loves writing Southern romances with just the right amount of sizzle, and hopes you'll enjoy her stories set in the fictional town of Summerville, Georgia. Especially the "Always a Bridesmaid" series!
Sleeping Handsome
Jean Haus - 2011
Reading to a boy in a coma is just plain creepy, but her English teacher somehow thinks her acting skills make it the perfect community service match.But when she finds the boy’s journal hidden among his books, things turn from creepy to interesting.
Good Neighbors
Sheila Roberts - 2013
Her family's cabin is the only thing she's got left after settling her late husband's gambling debts. But on the first night in her new home, Jed Banks shows up, claiming to be the cabin's rightful owner. Then her son, Leo, starts getting into trouble at school. Jed offers to help Leo adjust to life in Icicle Falls. His charitable organization, Youth Power, pairs up troubled kids with a responsible teen mentor. But how can Meredith accept Jed's help? He may be a devoted advocate for young people and a very attractive man, but he's also trying to take away her home...Look for all three ebooks inspired by real-life heroines: Good Neighbors by Sheila Roberts, Just Joe by Carla Cassidy and Light This Candle by Cindy Dees. Visit the Harlequin More Than Words website at www.HarlequinMoreThanWords.com or your favorite ebook retailer to download these free novellas today.
Damsel In Danger
Olivia Jaymes - 2015
With a little help from his friends, Logan Wright and Jared Monroe, he’s starting a new business and moving forward. He only thinks about the past during the long, dark nights. It’s then that he feels most alone. Brinley Snow has moved into her dream home. It’s everything she’s wanted and more although she's facing a mountain of renovation work. Luckily it came with the bonus of a sexier than sin neighbor. One sultry summer night, Brinley gathers up her courage and asks Jason to join her for dinner. They’re instantly attracted to one another but the evening quickly goes down hill as she ends up in the interrogation room of the local police. An unknown dead man had her address clutched in his hand. The authorities – and Jason – think she’s the key to finding a cold-blooded murderer. With a first date like that Brinley’s not sure she’ll survive a second. Then again she’s never met anyone like Jason. He’s not the typical boy-next-door. He’s all man. And with a little luck, he could become all hers. They just have to stay alive long enough to catch a killer.
The Almost Wives Club
Nancy Warren - 2015
Edward Carnarvon III is rich, handsome and hers. But at the final fitting of her wedding gown, one of the seamstresses pricks her and a tiny blood spot appears on the outrageously expensive gown. Its famous designer fires the clumsy seamstress on the spot, whereupon the girl puts a curse on the dress and storms out. Kate doesn't believe in curses. She’s modern, American and in love with the perfect guy. What could go wrong? But that very evening she meets a man who makes her question her future. And then she discovers that Edward has been hiding a secret or two… and before you can say, “This dress is so cursed,” she’s on the run from Edward, his family, her mother, the paparazzi and the person she thought she was. When the man who discovers her hiding place turns out to be the last man she should trust, it’s time to throw her cautious good sense out with the satin shoes she won’t be wearing. Playing it safe hasn’t done her much good. Maybe it’s time to play by a new set of rules. Her rules. Sometimes Prince Charming is the one who turns out to be the frog, and true love appears in the most unexpected places. Follow the cursed dress through five sets of bridal hands as four more women join The Almost Wives Club. These are complete novels. Watch for: Secondhand Bride coming in April, 2015 Bridesmaid for Hire coming in May, 2015 The Wedding Flight in June, 2015 If the Dress Fits in July 2015