Book picks similar to
First, Last, and in Between by Jamie Bennett


romance
contemporary-romance
slow-burn
beauty-and-the-beast

Enemies


Tijan - 2019
    while I made the worst decision of my life.Now I'm in Texas trying to pick up the pieces of my life.But, Stone is here.Stone is everywhere.It doesn't matter that disaster has struck my life again.It doesn't matter that he's the one trying to console me.It doesn't matter that he's the nation's newest football obsession.Because for me, he always has been and always will be my enemy.** Enemies is a 100k enemies-to-lovers football romance standalone!

Songs for Libby


Annette K. Larsen - 2020
    Libby was there to help him climb the ladder of success, but now that Sean has made it big in the music industry, he’s fallen into the cliché bad habits of stardom, and Libby is constantly having to pull her delinquent best friend out of trouble. The emotional toll is wearing her down, but she’s afraid that putting herself first will mean leaving Sean to self-destruct.Eventually, Sean's recklessness lands him in serious trouble, and Libby is forced to make a heart-breaking decision. Rather than becoming collateral damage to Sean's fame and addiction, she chooses to save herself...by walking away.Years later, Libby has lived a lot of life, and instead of being the one to pull Sean out of the darkness, she finds herself in need of rescuing. Can she trust Sean to be there for her, or will allowing him back into her life put her broken heart in greater danger?Full of heart-wrenching decisions and a friendship with the potential to be so much more, Songs for Libby takes a hard look at what it means to truly love someone, what it takes to restore trust after it’s been all used up, and the joy that comes from fighting the battles that need to be won.

Birthday Girl


Penelope Douglas - 2018
    He doesn’t use me, hurt me, or forget about me. He listens to me, protects me, and sees me. I can feel his eyes on me over the breakfast table, and my heart pumps so hard when I hear him pull in the driveway after work. I have to stop this. It can’t happen. My sister once told me there are no good men, and if you find one, he’s probably unavailable. Only Pike Lawson isn’t the unavailable one. I am. PIKEI took her in, because I thought I was helping. As the days go by, though, it’s becoming anything but easy. I have to stop my mind from drifting to her and stop holding my breath every time I bump into her in the house. I can’t touch her, and I shouldn’t want to. But we’re not free to give into this. She’s nineteen, and I’m thirty-eight. And her boyfriend’s father. Unfortunately, they both just moved into my house.

King


Riley Ashby - 2019
    I've always lived my life in a shell, protected from emotions that would harm me. But if I don't give in to him now, a grim fate awaits me.Because he intends to hand me over to someone far worse.I don't know what I'm sacrificing myself for, but I'll do anything to keep myself safe.This is a dark romance/romantic suspense that contains themes that may not be appropriate for all readers, including sexual assault and self injury.

Playing with Fire


L.J. Shen - 2020
    A scarred girl without direction. A love story carved in secrets, inked with pain and sealed with a lie. Grace Shaw and West St. Claire are arctic opposites.She is the strange girl from the food truck.He is the mysterious underground fighter who stormed into her sleepy Texan college town on his motorcycle one day, and has been wreaking havoc since.She is invisible to the world.He is the town’s beloved bad boy.She is a reject.He is trouble.When West thrusts himself into Grace’s quiet life, she scrambles to figure out if he is her happily-ever-after or tragic ending.But the harder she pushes him away, the more he pulls her out of her shell.Grace doesn’t know much about anything beyond her town’s limits, but she does know this:She is falling in love with the hottest guy in Sheridan U.And when you play with fire—you ought to get burned.

Room 452


T.L. Quinn - 2021
    One wrong room. Now every time I see him, I have to look at that smug, arrogant smirk. Ugh!Why can't he leave me alone? And worse, why do I not want him to?It's all a game to him though. It doesn't actually mean anything, but two can play this game. And no matter how charming Sawyer can be, I won't let him win.Warning: Contains Adult Content

Only You: A Standalone Contemporary Romance


K.T. Quinn - 2021
    

Reckless Entanglement


Iona Rose - 2021
    I was late at college, and then I went off to work my shift at the restaurant and the first thing I do is trip on someone's handbag.I'd have fallen flat on my face if not for a pair of hands that appeared out of nowhere to catch me.Oh my, what strong hands.I looked up and nearly fainted. The man was a freaking god! Those fabulous cheekbones, the extravagant sweep of sooty lashes, and that chiseled, arrogant jawline.Apparently, Matt Hunter was there to work though. Which kinda shocked me. What would a guy like him be doing in a job like this?Later I found out he had been running another branch of the restaurant chain, got demoted for unknown reasons, and sent here.Curiouser and curiouser.And then I found out his secret, and exactly what he was doing there... but not before our reckless entanglement and after I let myself fall for him. NOTE: This book is a full length standalone romance with a happily ever after.

Still Beating


Jennifer Hartmann - 2020
    This book contains subject matter that may be sensitive for some readers, including rape, as well as strong language and explicit sex. 18+ only. Please read responsibly. When Cora attends her sister’s birthday party, she expects at most a hangover or a walk of shame. She doesn’t anticipate a stolen wallet, leaving her stranded and dependent on Dean—her arch nemesis and ultimate thorn in her side. And she really doesn’t anticipate waking up in shackles in a madman’s basement.To make matters worse, Dean shares the space in his own set of chains.After fifteen years of teasing, insults, and practical jokes, the ultimate joke seems to be on them. The two people who always thought they’d end up killing each other must now work together if they want to survive.But Cora and Dean have no idea their abductor has a plan for them. A plan that will alter the course of their relationship, blur the line between hate and love, and shackle them together with far more than just chains.

Warrior Blue


Kelsey Kingsley - 2020
    Between working full-time as a tattoo artist and caring for his disabled twin brother Jacob, his plate is more than full - and he prefers it that way. But his meticulous planning is turned on its head when he meets the upbeat and beautiful Audrey Wright and her butterfly tattoo. Now, through a complicated maze of coincidence and fate, Blake begins to question if maybe there could be more to his life than just work and Jacob. That is, if the guilt doesn't eat him alive first. With the help of Dr. Vanessa Travetti and a girl he doesn't think he deserves, can Blake convince himself that even the bad guy deserves a happy ending?

Ruthless Princess


Rachel Van Dyken - 2020
    A mafia romance about best friends turned enemies by Rachel Van Dyken, the number one New York Times bestselling author of the Eagle Elite series.The enemy of my enemy is my friend…I never thought my father would ask this of me, to become the second generation at Eagle Elite University, to rule with an iron fist, and to take care of anyone who gets in our way.But ever since the incident.Ever since Him.There’s been a war in our little clique.After all, a house divided cannot stand.He’s the problem, not me.He used to kiss me like I was his oxygen.Now he looks at me like I’m his poison.But we both drank it, again and again, never believing there would be a day when our love would start a war.And our friendship would shatter into a million pieces.Then again, the worst thing you could do in the mafia is hang on to hope that your life will be normal.The second worse thing?Fall in love with your best friend.Enemy.And heir to the Nicolasi throne.

Diver's Heart


K.A. Knight - 2021
    All it took was one summer to fall in love with him...but I fell hard, too hard, and not just for him...A series of bad choices and actions causes me to leave him and our family behind. I have to find myself once again, and to do that I must dive deep.At twenty-four, I'm a world-class diver and explorer, one of the best. But when my newest job collides with my past, will we be able to work together, especially with the stakes so high?Down below, things can easily go wrong, and when they do, we only have two options—work together to survive, or fall apart and die.Down we go, right into the abyss.

Fake for Him


Caleb Borne - 2019
    Yet, I’m willing to submit. He’s claiming me. I know it and want it. In fact, I demand it. Richard’s my best friend’s brother, and totally off limits. He’s under the control of his family’s ambitiously demanding patriarch but longs for independence. His own father thwarts his every move. He needs a woman to help him overtake his father’s inheritance. That’s where I come in… as his fake wife. He asks me to pretend to be married to him, make it appear like we’re a loving couple. Not a difficult ask when I catch a glimpse of his chiseled body or feel the caress of his hand on my back. The way he looks at me is blurring the lines between real and pretend. How far will we go to keep up appearances? And will my heart stay intact through all of this? This is a stand alone. Hot and spicy. Twist and turns. Happy ending.

Twisted Loyalties


Cora Reilly - 2018
    Left to fend for himself, Fabiano is forced to fight for a place in the mafia world. As a ruthless street fighter, he quickly earns his place as the new Enforcer of the Las Vegas Camorra – a man to fear. Leona wants to build a decent life for herself, away from her drug-addicted mother. But soon she catches the attention of a dangerous man – Fabiano Scuderi. Staying out of trouble and living a normal life are near impossible with a man like him. Leona knows she needs to avoid Fabiano, but men like him aren’t easy to shake off. They always get what they want. Fabiano cares about only one thing: the Camorra. But his attraction to Leona soon puts his unwavering loyalty to the test. Is Leona worth risking everything he’s fought for, and ultimately his life?

Sex on Fire (Naughty Neighbor Book 1)


Ashley Bostock - 2021
    Turner is my sexy as hell neighbor.I have it dialed in, when he pulls into his driveway and when he leaves for work.I watch all of the other women in our neighborhood clamor over him like dogs in heat.Funny thing is: Turner ignores them all.He doesn't give any of them the time of day.When he confesses that I'm the one for him...it's too hard to believe.How can I be the woman he needs?Especially when I accidentally set his fence on fire.