Book picks similar to
The Sheikh's Surprise Heir by Leslie North
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contemporary
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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."
Heart of the Texas Doctor
Eve Gaddy - 2019
Graham McBride is a cardiothoracic surgeon and the eldest of the McBride siblings. Dedicated, hardworking, traditional, and oh, yeah, hot. But Graham married young and divorced, and is now convinced no woman will tolerate his dedication to his career. When he meets Bella Benson at a party he’s immediately attracted to her, probably because she’s totally different from any woman he’s ever dated. ...but can they stay together? Bella owns one of the local hair salons. She’s young, hardworking, successful and unconventional. And to Graham there’s no denying that, from the tips of her rainbow-colored hair to the soles of her fancy turquoise cowboy boots, Bella Benson is smokin'. Bella is no more interested in getting serious than Graham. After all, other than a sizzling physical attraction, they don’t have a lot in common. But oh, that sizzle! Irresistible right? So they jump into the fire, both confident they can keep their emotions in check. Love and passion rarely stick with a plan, and while Graham has expertise in repairing hearts, he is disastrously clueless figuring out his own. Can he prove to Bella that he’s worth the risk?
Only the Pretty Lies
Rebekah Crane - 2021
It doesn’t in Amoris Westmore’s family either. Daughter of a massage therapist and a pothead artist, inheritor of her grandmother’s vinyl collection, and blissfully entering her senior year in high school, Amoris never wants to leave her progressive hometown. Why should she?Everything changes when Jamison Rush moves in next door. Jamison was Amoris’s first crush, and their last goodbye still stings. But Jamison stirs more than bittersweet memories. One of the few Black students in Alder Creek, Jamison sees Amoris’s idyllic town through different eyes. He encourages Amoris to look a little closer, too. When Jamison discovers a racist mural at Alder Creek High, Amoris’s worldview is turned upside down.Now Amoris must decide where she stands and whom she stands by, threatening her love for the boy who stole her heart years ago. Maybe Alder Creek isn’t the town Amoris thinks it is. She’s certainly no longer the girl she used to be.
Lie, Lie Again
Stacy Wise - 2021
And a potential Mr. Right. He’s sweet, simple, and dependably clueless about what she’s up to. The only thing unpredictable about him is his needy ex-girlfriend, who is this close to shattering Sylvia’s dreams. But Sylvia’s not going to let that happen.Riki McFarlan has a good career and an amazing boyfriend who wants to settle down. If only she didn’t have feelings for her neighbor—who happens to be her close friend’s husband. With everything going so right, why is Riki flirting with something so wrong, so…dangerous?Embry Taylor is as devoted to her children as she is to her husband, who’s a bartender by night, an aspiring actor by day. She is his biggest fan. But with his career not taking off and tensions high, even sweet Embry has something she’s desperate to keep hidden.Lies, secrets, and revenge. For three neighbors with stakes so high, someone is headed for a downfall.
Don't Ask Me Where I'm From
Jennifer De Leon - 2020
But when family secrets spill out and racism at school ramps up, she must decide what she believes in and take a stand.Fifteen-year-old Liliana is fine, thank you very much. It’s fine that her best friend, Jade, is all caught up in her new boyfriend lately. It’s fine that her inner-city high school is disorganized and underfunded. It’s fine that her father took off again—okay, maybe that isn’t fine, but what is Liliana supposed to do? She’s fifteen! Being left with her increasingly crazy mom? Fine. Her heathen little brothers? Fine, fine, fine. But it turns out Dad did leave one thing behind besides her crazy family. Before he left, he signed Liliana up for a school desegregation program called METCO. And she’s been accepted. Being accepted into METCO, however, isn’t the same as being accepted at her new school. In her old school, Liliana—half-Guatemalan and half-Salvadorian—was part of the majority where almost everyone was a person of color. But now at Westburg, where almost everyone is white, the struggles of being a minority are unavoidable. It becomes clear that the only way to survive is to lighten up—whiten up. And if Dad signed her up for this program, he wouldn’t have just wanted Liliana to survive, he would have wanted her to thrive. So what if Liliana is now going by Lili? So what if she’s acting like she thinks she’s better than her old friends? It’s not a big deal. It’s fine. But then she discovers the gutting truth about her father: He’s not on one of his side trips. And it isn’t that he doesn’t want to come home…he can’t. He’s undocumented and he’s been deported back to Guatemala. Soon, nothing is fine, and Lili has to make a choice: She’s done trying to make her white classmates and teachers feel more comfortable. Done changing who she is, denying her culture and where she came from. They want to know where she’s from, what she’s about? Liliana is ready to tell them.
His Semi-Charmed Life
Lisa Hughey - 2021
She grabs at the opportunity to work at Camp Firefly Falls—home of her most treasured childhood memories and the haven where her spoiled heart expanded, and her perspective changed, after an encounter with an older boy. Now she’s hoping that the camp can work its magic one more time and help her craft a new life. Rags to riches entrepreneur, Diego Ramos, never wanted to see Camp Firefly Falls again—the site of the most hated year in his teenage life as camp counselor, and his most regrettable moment ever. That one clash with an entitled little girl had a profound impact on him, changing the trajectory of his future. So, when his assistant books a corporate retreat at Camp Firefly Falls, he’s more than a little unsettled at the irony. Now, twenty years later, Penelope and Diego are reunited. A second chance at happiness won’t come easy when their reversal in fortunes and unexpected sexual attraction complicates everything. Will they be able to work through their regrets and memories, and learn that love is the greatest fortune of all? I was so thrilled to be chosen to write a story set at Camp Firefly Falls. Check out books from these wonderful authors, Gwen Hayes, Zoe York, Violet Vaughn, Jamie Wesley, Farrah Rochon, Lily Danes, and season one of camp! Winning Back His Wife (CFF #1) by Gwen Hayes His Counterfeit Campfire Bride (CFF #2) by Gwen Hayes Crushing on Cooper (CFF #3) by Violet Vaughn Skinning Dipping Dare (CFF #4) by Zoe York The Time of His Life (CFF #5) by Jamie Wesley Mr. Right Next Door (CFF #6) by Farrah Rochon One Last Fling (CFF #7) by Lily Danes Camp Firefly Falls Are you thinking of Dirty Dancing? Yeah. So were we. And Indian Summer, and all those fantasies we had about making out with Matthew Broderick on the dock… But this isn’t a flashback to our youth (at least not entirely). We’ve got hot, sexy, modern, adult stories, intersecting with some of your favourite romance series, from award-winning and bestselling authors Gwen Hayes, Violet Vaughn, Zoe York, Jamie Wesley, Farrah Rochon, Lily Danes, Cate Dean, Lisa Hughey, Tamsen Parker, Kait Nolan, Kate Willoughby, and Ally Decker.
Snow Day: Heart of the Storm\Seeing Red\Land's End
Shannon Stacey - 2013
But unexpected help soon arrives-in the form of her secret high-school crush. LAND'S END by Barbara Dunlop Tessa Ambroise is desperate to ditch the charming, infuriating hotelier circling her late aunt's century home like a vulture. But the snow piling up outside the mansion puts both their plans on hold. When a child goes missing, this perfect storm of cramped quarters and freezing temperatures brings old flames and new acquaintances closer together...but will they go separate ways once the sky clears?
Dirty Boxing
Harper St. George - 2017
A fighter made of chiseled muscle and steel resolve who can bring a man to his knees with his bare hands. In the octagon, he always wins. But when he joins a new fighting organization, he comes face to face with Jules Darcy, the only woman who ever broke his heart. The daughter of the man who could make or break Nick’s career. And Nick knows one thing: Jules is his, and he wants her back. Jules Darcy doesn’t do love. After an unstable childhood and a front row seat to the damage it does, she’d have to be crazy to sign up for inevitable heartbreak. But a year ago, her fling with Nick quickly escalated into something more, scaring her and sending her running. Now, he’s back in her life and sexier than ever. And he wants her. In his bed. In his life. His, fully and completely.She’s as powerless to resist Nick now as she was a year ago, but even if she does give in, no one can ever find out. Revealing their relationship could end Nick’s career. But something this hot, this intense, can’t stay secret for long…
Secret for a Song
S.K. Falls - 2013
Literally.She ate her first needle when she was seven. Now, at nineteen, she’s been kicked out of college for poisoning herself with laxatives. The shrinks call it Munchausen Syndrome. All Saylor knows is that when she’s ill, her normally distant mother pays attention and the doctors and nurses make her feel special.Then she meets Drew Dean, the leader of a local support group for those with terminal diseases. When he mistakes her for a new member, Saylor knows she should correct him. But she can’t bring herself to, not after she’s welcomed into a new circle of friends. Friends who, like Drew, all have illnesses ready to claim their independence or their lives. For the first time, Saylor finds out what it feels like to be in love, to have friends who genuinely care about her. But secrets have a way of revealing themselves. What will happen when Saylor’s is out?
Finding Joy
Adriana Herrera - 2020
For Desta, the East African capital encompasses some of the happiest and saddest parts of his life--his first home and the place where his father died. When an unavoidable work obligation lands him there for twelve weeks, he may finally have a chance for the closure he so desperately needs. What Desta never expected was to catch a glimpse of his future as he reconnects with the beautiful country and his family's past. Elias Fikru has never met an opportunity he hasn't seized. Except, of course, for the life-changing one he's stubbornly ignored for the past nine months. He'd be a fool not to accept the chance to pursue his doctoral studies in the U.S., but saying yes means leaving his homeland, and Elias isn't ready to make that commitment.Meeting Desta, the Dominican-American emergency relief worker with the easy smile and sad eyes, makes Elias want things he's never envisioned for himself. Rediscovering his country through Desta's eyes emboldens Elias to reach for a future where he can be open about every part of himself. But when something threatens the future that's within their grasp, Elias and Desta must put it all on the line for love.
Love in English
Maria E. Andreu - 2021
She’s a poet and a lover of language—except that now, she can barely understand what’s going on around her, let alone find the words to express how she feels in the language she’s expected to speak.All Ana wants to do is go home—until she meets Harrison, the very cute, very American boy in her math class. And then there’s her new friend Neo, the Greek boy she’s partnered up with in ESL class, who she bonds with over the 80s teen movies they are assigned to watch for class (but later keep watching together for fun), and Altagracia, her artistic and Instagram-fabulous friend, who thankfully is fluent in Spanish and able to help her settle into American high school. But is it possible that she’s becoming too American—as her father accuses—and what does it mean when her feelings for Harrison and Neo start to change? Ana will spend her year learning that the rules of English may be confounding, but there are no rules when it comes to love.With playful and poetic breakouts exploring the idiosyncrasies of the English language, Love in English tells a story that is simultaneously charming and romantic, while articulating a deeper story about what it means to become “American.”
Dirty Little Lies
Clare James - 2014
(Yeah, she knows it’s stupid name, so don’t start.) But most importantly, Stevie’s lost herself. As she shuffles through her days in worn-out Hello Kitty PJs—eating ice cream, sipping wine, and contemplating her next move—a magazine article catches her attention. Blaring black letters read: "How to Get Your Sexy Back in Six Easy Steps."Stevie studies the article in the trashy magazine like the good student she is and immediately knows what she has to do. With the magazine article in hand, and a bottle of red in her bag, Stevie embarks on a journey to reclaim her life and win back her ex. Until she meets Gabe Shannon. Gorgeous, single, and on a quest of his own, Gabe introduces Stevie to a lifestyle that is sure to help get her sexy back and then some. If she doesn’t chicken out … (Oh, you know where this is going.)What follows is a story of self-discovery, romantic gestures, erotic encounters, and following one's heart--even if it leads in unexpected directions.Portions originally published online as The Club e-series, Dirty Little Lies now has 70% more content, chapters from Gabe's point of view, and a sizzling conclusion to this steamy tale.
Irresistible
Ava Claire - 2016
Beneath the armor is a man with a dark and painful past. A man with a heart that he guards by any means necessary. As far as Sadie McLeod is concerned, 'escort' isn't a bad word. It's a job, one of two that she works to pay off a debt that is not her own. Tough as nails and far from a damsel in distress, love is a luxury she can't afford. Can they put aside their dark pasts and find the love they both desperately want, underneath it all? Irresistible is the first installment in the Underneath it All Series. The Underneath it All Series 1. Irresistible 2. Irrational 3. Irreplaceable
Full Flight
Ashley Schumacher - 2022
And for new saxophonist Anna James, it’s her first chance to prove herself as the great musician she’s trying hard to be.When she’s assigned a duet with mellophone player Weston Ryan, the boy her small-minded town thinks of as nothing but trouble, she’s equal parts thrilled and intimidated. But as he helps her with the duet, and she sees the smile he seems to save just for her, she can’t help but feel like she’s helping him with something too.After her strict parents find out she’s been secretly seeing him and keep them apart, together they learn what it truly means to fight for something they love. With the marching contest nearing, and the two falling hard for one another, the unthinkable happens, and Anna is left grappling for a way forward without Weston.A heartbreaking novel about finding your first love and what happens when it's over too soon. Ashley Schumacher’s Full Flight is about how first love shapes us—even after it’s gone.