Book picks similar to
Christmas Without You by Celeste Granger


romance
black-romance
5-star
fast-easy-reads

Heatstrokes: A Summer Fling Novella


Kema B. - 2021
    She lives her life loudly, unapologetically, and free until a devastating betrayal rocks her world. Deciding she is off men for the foreseeable future, she puts her focus on her career and building her brand instead. That is until she shares a kiss with a handsome stranger that makes her want to risk it all. Model turned actor Zion Masters is intrigued by the gorgeous woman that kissed him then ghosted him. Unable to get her off his mind he vows to make her his if they ever cross paths again. Fate lends a helping hand when a close friend calls in a favor that he reluctantly agrees to. Will he be able to convince her to take a chance on him or will the heatstrokes he gives her be too much for her to handle?

Gambled Away


Tiana Cole - 2020
    Good looks. Money.A billion dollar empire would all be his…As soon as he found a woman crazy enough to marry him for a year.Then Cara walked into his life, turned it upside down, made him want something he never wanted before.Everything.With her.Now he just has to convince his fake wife that he wants her for real. Forever. ***This is a standalone novel with a touch of steam and HEA.***

The Dare


Harley Laroux - 2019
    Please review the full content warning below.Jessica Martin is not a nice girl. As Prom Queen and Captain of the cheer squad, she'd ruled her school mercilessly, looking down her nose at everyone she deemed unworthy. The most unworthy of them all? The "freak," Manson Reed: her favorite victim.But a lot changes after high school.A freak like him never should have ended up at the same Halloween party as her. He never should have been able to beat her at a game of Drink or Dare. He never should have been able to humiliate her in front of everyone. Losing the game means taking the dare: a dare to serve Manson for the entire night as his slave. It's a dare that Jessica's pride - and curiosity - won't allow her to refuse. What ensues is a dark game of pleasure and pain, fear and desire.Is it only a game?Only revenge?Only a dare?Or is it something more?This dark erotic novella is written in First Person POV and is about 32k words in length.This book contains intense fantasy scenes of hard kinks/edgeplay, graphic sex, and harsh language. It is intended only for an adult audience. Beware: this is a dark, weird, kinky read. The activities depicted therein are dangerous and are not meant to be an example of realistic BDSM. Reader discretion is advised.Kinks/Fetishes within: erotic humiliation, fearplay, painplay, knifeplay, consensual non-consent (CNC), orgasm denial, boot worship, spanking, crying, blowjobs, clowns, group sexual activities, spit, bondage, public play, bloodplay.

The Grump Who Stole Christmas


S. Doyle - 2021
    Mistletoe and family. Except my dad broke his leg hanging the family wreath. My brothers are at war over taking proper care of Dad. Oh, and I just found out our family business, the Kringle Inn, is failing!The last thing I need is this mysterious new guy, who runs the Kringle tree farm, interfering. He’s big, bearded and grumpy. He wears a lot of flannel and he does NOT like taking orders. Especially from me. We can’t agree on anything other than saving the business.Even if we have to kill each other doing it. Or kiss each other doing it…Because I might be falling for the guy.My name is Kristen, don’t call me Kris, Kringle and this is a Christmas Romance Emergency!

Office Hours


Katrina Jackson - 2020
    Deja Evans, it sucks. Hard. Every day. Between the class prep, the meetings, grading student work, trying to find time to complete her own research and the meetings, she didn't have a life, she had a digital calendar that decided whether she got to wallow in her feelings at 3pm or 7pm, on Thursday or maybe Sunday. And the worst meeting of them all was the two-and-a-half-hour, once a month Faculty Senate, which was drier than her dating life, duller than her skin in winter and far longer than her attention span. The only thing that made those never-ending Faculty Senate meetings bearable was watching Dr. Alejandro Mendoza, Associate Professor of History, breathe. For years, Deja had harbored a kind of secret crush on the sexiest man on campus never thinking that he would ever feel the same, until one unexpected day, they have a steamy after hours encounter in her office and suddenly her life seems much more exciting.That lasts about half a minute. Over the course of a hectic academic year, Deja tries to survive her classes, help her students, prepare herself for her third-year review, and most important of all, she has to learn how to get out of her own way and just let Alejandro love her.

The Billionaires Surprise Baby


Harper West - 2019
    . . Ivy It’s funny how one little pill can change your entire life. Or, more accurately, the forgetting of one tiny pill. Just when everything was going right . . . fate threw a major ‘f*ck you’ my way in the form of a bun in the oven. So what did I do? Ran. Ran from the two men I adored, because they didn’t want kids. There was no place for them in their world. They’d told me that a dozen times. I had no intention of ever coming back—but desperation makes a woman do crazy things. So now, here I stand, begging for a job and eating crow by the bucket load. It doesn’t help that they look better than ever. Ripped muscles pressing against their suits with that utterly alpha look in their eyes. The look that promises to fulfill your every desire. And my body hasn’t forgotten for a second the way they made me scream in pleasure night after night. But I’ve got no plans to repeat the past. My life is different now, I’m different now. It's just business this time . . . right? Logan/Tyler She’s back. The one woman we’ve ever loved. The same woman who abandoned us a year ago with not so much as a god-damn post it note . . . She says she wants a job. No, not wants—demands—it. Who the hell does she think she is? Barking orders like we’re the ones who screwed her over. And how dare she? How dare she show up with all her attitude and hot little body, teasing us like she didn’t smash our hearts into oblivion? Just the sound of her voice makes us harder than steel, but we’re not giving in, dammit. She’s been keeping secrets . . . and we want answers. And we’re going to get them out of her, one good spanking at a time. This naughty girl needs to be punished. And before we give her the pleasure we know she can’t resist, she’ll have to beg for forgiveness . . . on her hands and knees . . . naked. The Billionaires Surprise Baby is a standalone, lip-biting, MFM Billionaire Menage Romance from your new favorite author Harper West. If bad boy billionaire alphas are your cup of tea . . . sit down and take a sip of this toe-curling romance! Guaranteed HEA & No Cheating.

Snow-Kissed


Laura Florand - 2013
    After the utter destruction of her marriage and her happiness, Kai knew it was better to shut herself away from the world than to hurt and be hurt. Holed up in her mountain cabin, she planned to spend her Christmas alone. Until her not-quite-ex-husband shows up as the first flakes start to fall. Now should she send him back out into the cold? Or can she be brave enough to let this winter snow bind them back together?(A novella of 34,000 words. Approx. 130 pages.)

Wish List


Sylvia Day - 2005
    When he works late and finds a crumpled piece of paper listing Steph's personal wish list, he knows he's in luck. Because all Steph wants for Christmas is him, in a number of naughty ways.And not-so saintly Nick is going to make every one of her carnal wishes come true.

The Plight Before Christmas


Kate Stewart - 2021
    And since the last three weeks of my life have been riddled with humbug—another breakup, a broken toe, an office promotion I deserved and didn’t get—I’m not at all in the mood to celebrate nor have the happ, happ, happiest Christmas EVER.When Mom insisted that we all gather at my Grandparent’s ancient cabin for an old school family Christmas, I fully intended to get into the holiday spirit with the help of the three wise men, Johnnie Walker, Jack Daniels, and Jim Beam. But those boys did absolutely nothing to offset the shock or temper the sting of seeing my EX on our doorstep the first day of our holiday soiree.Apparently, Santa missed the memo, and this elf is pissed.Stuck for a week with the man who obliterated my heart nearly two decades ago, I did the only thing I could do and put on my game face, thankful for the home advantage.I knew better than to drink that last cup of eggnog.I knew better than to get tongue tangled beneath the mistletoe with the only man to ever break my heart.I knew better than to sleep with Satan’s wingman on the eve of the Lord’s birthday.I could blame the nog. I could blame the deceitful light blue eyes, thick, angelic hair, and panty evaporating smirk…but mostly, I blame Eli because he always knew exactly which of my buttons to push.I foolishly thought a family Christmas filled with nostalgia was going to turn my inner Scrooge around, but this year’s festivities went up in flames. Leave it to the ghost of my Christmas past to be the one to light the match.Fa la la la la, la FML.

Seizing Cinderella


Alice May Ball - 2021
    She’s slaving away, not only for strangers who ignore her, but even for her crowing step-sisters, too.But for one wickedly magical hour, fate flings her into the arms of a hot, brooding bodyguard. She’s swept away by the feel of his body against hers as they dance under the moonlight.The primal rhythm of the music opens up a need stronger than she’s ever known. Can she trust him? He might seem swept away by her sweet nature and generous curves, but there’s a huge secret hiding behind his mask.When the stroke of midnight tears the masked couple apart, with so much stacked against them, will they ever find each other again?Can her dreams come true? Can true love prevail and give the most unlikely couple a chance at happily ever after?

Unplanned: A 'Snowflake' Drop-in


Nia Forrester - 2020
    But she has something else entirely in mind.Kal Carter is disciplined and focused and those things have served him well while training for the Olympics. But in preparing for fatherhood, he learns that neither one of those traits is worth a damn.

Keep Me Warm


C. Morgan - 2019
    My wealth.But a weekend at the Winter Moon Lodge is exactly what I need to clear my head.And the hordes of hunky handsome guys that are coming out of the woodwork are just what the doctor ordered.But one has my attention without effort.Hunter. And this man is on the prowl.I, for one, am happy to get caught up in his net.Unfortunately, my family will never accept him.Wealth hasn’t corrupted me, but they’re a different story.If our love affair could just be a fling, all would be fine, but I can’t settle for anything less than all of him.Love or family? That is the question…

Booked for Christmas: A Short Story


Lily Menon - 2020
    Novelist Sophia Hart (real name: Sophie Bartholomew-Kaur-Hughes, but try fitting that on a book cover) absolutely hates her loudest critic—Evan Wolfe, evil mastermind behind the Lone Wolfe book review column. They've never met, but Wolfe's favorite pastime seems to be dumping on Sophie's unapologetically happy, magical romances. Sophie, not one to be left behind, gets her revenge in her own ways (never annoy a writer in search of a villain). When Sophie decides to throw a holiday party at her cabin, Wolfe is the last person on her mind. But the universe has a twisted sense of humor. Not only does Wolfe show up as someone’s plus one, but a massive snowstorm blows in, stranding them both alone together in Sophie’s cabin. Over the next few days, Sophie begins to realize that Wolfe isn’t as odiously cynical a man as she’d originally thought. In fact, he’s kind of…sweet. And impossibly hot. But still, Sophie’s been hurt before and she has so much to lose. What she needs is one sure sign that she and Wolfe are meant to be together. Will Sophie and Wolfe get their Christmas miracle?

Fit


Rebekah Weatherspoon - 2014
    What she hates is her expanding waistline. Determined to drop the pounds, Violet hatches a plan to kick start a fitness regimen. But when her determination isn’t enough to get her through even one intense group class without breaking down into tears, she knows she needs a new approach and possibly a new trainer—one with a lighter touch.Grant Gibson has always managed to mix business with pleasure, but now this trainer by day, and Dominant by night, is bored. Bored and lonely. Even though he owns one of L.A.’s hottest private gyms, his personal life is sorely lacking. After his last submissive tried to kidnap his dog and the contents of his bank account, he’s in no hurry to take a new lover under his wing. Not until the voluptuous Violet falls into his lap.She may be wary of his unorthodox approach of using sexual gratification as a reward, but even before her initial weigh-in Violet can’t seem to stay away from the sexy fitness god. She may have to let Grant show her there’s more than one way to get in shape…

Mine Again (Entangled Hearts Book 1)


Renee Williams - 2021
    I was too young and dumb to realize good men didn't come around every day. At twenty-one, I gave King away thinking we needed to mature, sow our wild oats, find our passion, and all the other silly mess that I currently regret.He married someone else, but if she ever messed up, I was going to be there because he was still the man that was everything I ever wanted but didn't know I needed. One day, I hoped King would be mine again.Two years, I was still broken up about it. But, two years was all it took for her to do the unforgivable. That was all I needed. I was going to make him mine again.