Book picks similar to
Won't You Be My Neighbor? by Vanessa Gray Bartal


funny
contemporary
slow-burn
contemporary-romance

Adorkable


Cookie O'Gorman - 2016
    For reference, see Sally Spitz.Seventeen-year-old Sally Spitz is done with dating. Or at least, she's done with the horrible blind dates/hookups/sneak attacks her matchmaking bestie, Hooker, sets her up on. There's only so much one geek girl and Gryffindor supporter can take.Her solution: she needs a fake boyfriend. And fast.Enter Becks, soccer phenom, all-around-hottie, and Sally's best friend practically since birth. When Sally asks Becks to be her F.B.F. (fake boyfriend), Becks is only too happy to be used. He'd do anything for Sal--even if that means giving her PDA lessons in his bedroom, saying she's "more than pretty," and expertly kissing her at parties.The problem: Sally's been in love with Becks all her life--and he's completely clueless.This book features two best friends, one special edition Yoda snuggie, countless beneath-the-ear kisses and begs the question:Who wants a real boyfriend when faking it is so much more fun?

Frenched


Melanie Harlow - 2014
    But my friends convinced me that bitter tastes better drowned in Bordeaux, so I came to Paris for a single-moon. Then I met him. He's shown me things I’ve never seen before, and I’m not talking about the Louvre. Is it just the seduction of Paris? Or could this be the real thing?

Out of Love


R.C. Boldt - 2016
    Now that he’s running his own security consulting firm, not much has changed.Except the curvy blonde he hired as his office manager.Noelle Davis has been through the damn ringer. Swearing off men after escaping a toxic relationship, she’s grateful for a fresh start—new job included. Except her job isn’t tranquil and calm. In fact, it’s quite the opposite because her boss is the most infuriating man on the planet.And, not to mention, sexy as hell.Foster has limits. Rules. No attachments allowed because he doesn’t do love—and Noelle Davis foiled that plan and took a red pen to his list of rules. With her smart mouth and quick witted banter, he found the woman beginning to creep past his defenses.When circumstances put Noelle in a perilous position, the first person to come to her rescue is none other than Foster Kavanaugh. She gets to see the man in action—not as her aggravating boss, but the man who will stop at nothing to keep her safe.The same man who makes her want to reconsider her self-imposed embargo of men.The man she wants to get to know now that she’s seen another side of him.The man who makes her want…more.But is more possible when you're OUT OF LOVE?**Out of Love is a full-length, standalone novel that does NOT need to be read in conjunction with any other book. **

Becoming a Vincent


C.M. Owens - 2017
    You can call it a "locational" hazard, if you will.That’s Tomahawk for you.We rank people based on just how crazy they are. And the four craziest families in town are called the Wild Ones. I’m on the bottom tier of those, so technically I’m not as crazy as the other Wild Ones. In fact, if it wasn’t for my brothers and their endless antics, I wouldn’t be considered a Wild One at all. Ahem. Sure. We’ll go with that.Anyway, I have a best friend who endures it all with me. Benson Nolans is my one, constant favorite person.Without him, I’d probably go really crazy, and not the fun kind. It’d be ridiculous, after three years of a flawless friendship, to mess that all up by falling for him.I mean, even if we did get a little too close one night, it’d be reckless endangerment. Even if we did suddenly feel the chemistry that’s always been there and stop toeing the line, it’d be a foolish risk to take.It’d be stupid to start hoping a really fun, but completely irrational, night with zero inhibitions might accidentally happen.Really stupid… Right?*NO cliffhanger*Stand-alone book *Sexual Content*Adult language*Completely, 100% crazy

Muscling Through


J.L. Merrow - 2011
    in love.Cambridge art professor Larry Morton takes one, alcohol-glazed look at the huge, tattooed man looming in a dark alley, and assumes he’s done for. Moments later he finds himself disarmed—literally and figuratively. And, the next morning, he can’t rest until he offers an apology to the man who turned out to be more gentle than giant. Larry's intrigued to find there's more to Al Fletcher than meets the eye; he possesses a natural artistic talent that shines through untutored technique. Unfortunately, no one else seems to see the sensitive soul beneath Al’s imposing, scarred, undeniably sexy exterior. Least of all Larry's class-conscious family, who would like nothing better than to split up this mismatched pair. Is it physical? Oh, yes, it’s deliciously physical, and so much more—which makes Larry’s next task so daunting. Not just convincing his colleagues, friends and family that their relationship is more than skin deep. It’s convincing Al. Contains comic misunderstandings, misuse of art materials, and unexpected poignancy.

Loathe Thy Neighbor


Teagan Hunter - 2020
    Next. Door.I see him all the time. At the mailboxes. In the elevator.Every single morning.It’s exhausting because he’s exhausting.Now, after setting his apartment on fire, he’s my roommate…and he’s the worst at that too.I don’t know what possessed me to let him stay with me. Pity, perhaps?I do know that I won’t be falling for his charm.Or that panty-dropping smirk.His quick wit.That body he works so hard for.Nope. Not falling for any of it…least of all him.There might be a fine line between love and hate, but I know exactly where I stand.

There's This Guy


Rhys Ford - 2017
    Every penny he makes as a welder goes to care for his dying father, an abusive, controlling man who’s the only family Jake has left. Because of a promise to his dead mother, Jake resists his desire for other men, but it leaves him consumed by darkness. It takes all of Dallas Yates’s imagination to see the possibilities in the fatigued Art Deco building on the WeHo’s outskirts, but what seals the deal is a shy smile from the handsome metal worker across the street. Their friendship deepens while Dallas peels back the hardened layers strangling Jake’s soul. It’s easy to love the artistic, sweet man hidden behind Jake’s shattered exterior, but Dallas knows Jake needs to first learn to love himself.When Jake’s world crumbles, he reaches for Dallas, the man he’s learned to lean on. It’s only a matter of time before he’s left to drift in a life he never wanted to lead and while he wants more, Jake’s past haunts him, making him doubt he’s worth the love Dallas is so desperate to give him.

The World's Ugliest Bridesmaid Dress


Lisa J. Crane - 2014
    Reynolds has terrible judgment when it comes to men. Losers and users litter her romantic past like rice after a wedding reception. Now when she thinks she might be interested in a man, she has a tendency to run. Parker Collier can't stop staring at the pretty, funny bridesmaid in his little sister's wedding. Over an introductory cup of coffee, he tells P.J. he wants her to know when he's going to kiss her for the first time. With P.J.'s running shoes firmly laced, Parker might have his work cut out for him to convince her he's neither a loser nor a user and that she can trust her feelings when it comes to him. Add an overbearing wedding planner with a fake French accent to the mix, and the wedding weekend is shaping up to be the recipe for success ... or disaster. This short story (approximately 13,000 words) is told in different points of view (POV), alternating between the hero and the heroine. There is no cliffhanger. I believe in happily ever after.

Right Where I Want You


Jessica Hawkins - 2018
    . . and it cuts right through the middle of their office. Bad boys? They run right over good girls like Georgina Keller. But after a confidence-shattering breakup, she’s determined not to let anyone at her new workplace push her around—least of all the brooding creative director, a “bad boy of publishing” who’s made it clear she’s enemy #1.Sebastian Quinn's taste for fast cars, late nights, and beautiful women may have gotten him to the top of a leading New York magazine, but the reputation that made him is suddenly threatening to end his career.Georgina can help Modern Man shed its bad reputation, but in order to do that, she’ll have to start at the top—and no amount of rakish charm or inconvenient attraction will distract her.Because if Sebastian gets her right where he wants her, it means she’s going down.

The Baby Maker


Lili Valente - 2018
    I’ve got a saying too: no thanks. The last thing I need is baby makes three. My business is expanding and the only thing I’m interested in getting knocked up is my bottom line.But then one night Emma Haverford makes me an offer I can’t refuse—she backs away from the land I have my eye on in exchange for a favor…A big, fat, baby making favor…******When I hear women have gotten pregnant shaking hands with Hunter men, I know I need Dylan Hunter’s…ahem, special skills…way more than I need to expand my vineyard. I’m ready to give my heart to a child and I’m tired of waiting for my late-to-the-party Prince Charming to make my dreams come true. So I promise Dylan—three months of hot, heavy, baby-making s-e-x and then I’m out of his hair forever.But what if when it comes time to say good-bye, all I want to do is keep bottling up more memories with this big-hearted man? This sexy Standalone romance will make you laugh, swoon, and blush baby-makin' red. Heat level: A risk of getting knocked up during download. Paperback and audio versions are especially dangerous. Handle with care...

You Deserve Each Other


Sarah Hogle - 2020
    They never fight. They're preparing for their lavish wedding that's three months away. And she is miserably and utterly sick of him.Naomi wants out, but there's a catch: whoever ends the engagement will have to foot the nonrefundable wedding bill. When Naomi discovers that Nicholas, too, has been feigning contentment, the two of them go head-to-head in a battle of pranks, sabotage, and all-out emotional warfare.But with the countdown looming to the wedding that may or may not come to pass, Naomi finds her resolve slipping. Because now that they have nothing to lose, they're finally being themselves--and having fun with the last person they expect: each other.

Fall Guy


Liz Reinhardt - 2012
    She's living with her grandparents after her parents bailed on her, she got kicked out of her posh private school, her ex-boyfriend proved to be the biggest sleaze imaginable, her former best friend is a back-stabber, and her current best friend is stuck in backwoods NJ. To top it all off, one teeny, tiny fire she lit to burn some memories of her ex goes a little out of control and winds up igniting a good piece of a very powerful family's pecan orchard.Evan lands her pampered behind in court and gets sentenced to community service. Which she knows she deserves. But the hard labor and humiliation may be her undoing.Until she meets Winchester Youngblood on the site. Everything about him is tricky, confusing, not at all what it seems, and so sexy, Evan can't resist pulling closer. But every step she takes to get to know him gives her more of a reason to back up and put him as far out of life as she possibly can. Because Winch is one hundred percent complicated, and Evan isn't looking for that. At all. She needs to meet a nice, responsible guy, not share searing kisses with the charming hustler she met after they both got sentenced in court.But Winch is so much more than what he seems, and Evan finds out that she's falling hard for the guy everyone underestimates and writes off. And Winch realizes that Evan is the one person who's ever challenged him to ask for more out of his life, and her courage inspires him to try to be the person she sees when she looks at him. With every single odd stacked against them, Evan and Winch need to find out whether they have what it takes to fall for each other.

Underneath It All


Kate Canterbary - 2014
    It's all the little things--the action plans, the long-kept promises--that started falling apart when my life slipped into controlled chaos. After I fell ass-over-elbow into Matthew Walsh's arms, I couldn't decide whether I wanted to run screaming or rip his pants off, and most days I wanted a little of both. If I was being honest with myself, it was rip his pants off, ride him like a workhorse, and then run screaming. Meet Matthew Walsh. A rebellious streak ran through Lauren Halsted. It was fierce and unrelentingly beautiful, and she wasn't letting anyone tell her what to do--unless, of course, she was naked. She wasn't looking for me and I sure as shit wasn't looking for her, but we found each other anyway, and now we were locked in a battle of wills, waiting for the other to blink.

Trouble in Loveland


Jennifer Peel - 2015
    At seventeen, her teenage crush, a man eight years older than her, marries and she naively thinks this is the worst thing that would ever happen to her. Then her parents divorce and her world crumbles. She finds herself being whisked away from her beloved home and estranged from her father. Now eight years later, with two degrees that she never wanted in hand, and no job prospects, her father offers her a position with his CPA firm. With no other options available, Charlee accepts his offer and returns to the hometown she loved. While rebuilding her relationship with her father, she discovers that perhaps a romantic relationship is in the cards for her, with her old teenage crush, Ryan Carter, who just happens to still live next door and is now a partner in her father’s CPA firm. Newly divorced and single dad, Ryan Carter, isn’t quite sure what to make of the girl next door, who’s all woman now. He finds himself having a hard time resisting this beautiful yet annoyingly charming woman, but their age difference and his complicated relationship with his ex-wife cause quite a bit of trouble for the couple. Ryan finds himself torn between keeping the peace with his ex-wife and mother of his child and his feelings for Charlee.Can they successfully overcome their troubles in Loveland? Find out in this clean romance filled with sparks, humor, and of course, a little bit of trouble.

Brutally Beautiful


Christine Zolendz - 2013
    With blood still on her hands, Samantha Matthews is on the run, running from dark secrets and a man she prays to God will never find her. Running and hiding, just to stay alive. She had no choice but to run, to leave, to hide and forget about her life before. When Samantha believes she's gained enough distance from her past and her demons, she stops running, hoping to find her future in the heavily wooded area of the Adirondack Mountains, a place she never expected to encounter a man with secrets as dark and as sordid as hers. Kade Grayson is hiding, not from the demons after him, but from himself and from the entire outside world, wishing every day he could have just died. Arrogant and domineering, he’s tormented and terrorized by his past, seeing nothing good for his future. With the ghosts of his past still haunting him, he has exiled himself to a life of solitude, only living for his words and through his stories.Until her.An undeniable attraction, turns into hate and then ultimately obsession, an obsession that grows into a powerful story of love and redemption.Will the bond they have begun to build between them grow stronger than the tragedies that have scarred both of their lives? Or will they allow their demons to consume them?