Book picks similar to
Substitute Bride by Ruth Ann Nordin


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The Castaway Bride


Kandy Shepherd - 2011
    She and Matt explore the island—and each other. Passion is instant, trust comes slowly—especially as Matt is not the carefree boat bum he appears to be.Can the love they discover survive in the real world away from their castaway fantasy?

Year of Jubilee


Peggy Trotter - 2015
    The wilds of Gibson County are just being tamed in the year of 1850, and Jubilee ekes a meager existence. But when Rafe Tanner, a cousin of her abusive dead husband, shows up with the deed to her property, Jubilee’s dream of her own home dissolves. Rafe, stinging from his ex-fiancée’s rejection, offers a business marriage, throwing him and Jubilee together in an effort to make the farm successful. But scars from the past keep her in constant fear of her new husband. The pair masquerades as a love-struck couple at Rafe’s family farm, enduring the romantic notions of his family, and the jealousy of his ex-fiancée. Once home, Rafe realizes his newfound love for Jubilee, and sets out to court her. Meanwhile, Jubilee fights demons from her past as her husband reveals his interest. Can Jubilee let go of her distrust and pain to embrace God’s plan of true love and finally find a place to belong?

Lavender & Mistletoe


Donna Kauffman - 2019
    . .   Avery Kent needs a project. The busy brain that earned her two PhDs before the age of eighteen is fascinated by the home she’s created with her three friends in Blue Hollow Falls, but the farm and the tearoom are running like clockwork now. As the holiday season approaches, it’s time for Avery to dive into one of her last uncharted research topics: love. Not for herself, of course; for her friend, Chey! But a closer look at the handsome young veterinarian Avery has chosen for this romantic equation has her wishing for gifts she never thought she wanted . . .   Another former child prodigy, Ben Chandler is more like Avery than she ever imagined. His intellect is a perfect match for hers—and everything else about him attracts her in ways that send delicious tingles down her spine. But a relationship? That’s something Avery will need to analyze—unless her friends can help Ben convince her that romance is more magic than science, and that a good old-fashioned kiss under the mistletoe is the perfect way to open her heart to the possibility of the greatest gift of all . . .     Praise for Donna Kauffman   “Charming characters, emotion galore, a small town—you’re going to love Donna Kauffman!” —Lori Foster    “We all know where there's Donna Kauffman, there's a rollicking, sexy read chock‑full of charm and sparkle.” —USAToday.com

When She Was Bad


Cindy Kirk - 2007
    It didn't get her the promotion she so deserved, and it certainly didn't get her Mr. Right. Or even Mr. Right Now. It's time for her to do something besides spend Saturday nights at the Laundromat. So she's letting down her long blonde hair, stepping out of her gray suits and into some sexy stilettos . . .Leaning against a bar, dressed in a lacy, curve-hugging red camisole, Jenny's ready for action—and gorgeous businessman Robert Marshall eagerly takes the bait. She tells him her name is Jasmine, a hairstylist, and gets ready for a mind-blowing evening. Robert, however, is smart, funny, sensitive—worth a lot more than a hot one-night stand. But one lie leads to another, plunging Jenny/Jasmine in way over her head. She can't keep this double life up forever—but will she still drive the handsome hunk wild if he discovers a good girl hiding inside?

Mail Order Husband


DiAnn Mills - 2001
    None of the nearby men meet her expectations, so she decides to advertise for a husband in newspapers back East. After all, she figures, men find wives that way. In Philadelphia, Gabe Hunters has spent his life buried in books, believing every question can be answered from the printed page - especially of the Bible. When he sees Lena's advertisement for a husband and father, he senses God pulling him to a place he's never before seen and work he has never done. Lena is confident that God doesn't make mistakes - but Gabe isn't at all what she expected. How can she ever learn to love this man?

It Was You


Carly Fall - 2012
    Sydney's best friend decides that Sydney needs the help of the online dating service, Match Made in Heaven, where trouble souls go to find peace.Jordan Henley was the guy who had it all: good looks and any woman he wanted. After an accident that left him scarred, angry and suffering from his own nightmares, he signs up for Match Made in Heaven on a dare after some beers with his business partner.Neither Jordan nor Sydney is prepared for exactly how well matched they really are, and how Match Made in Heaven can help them find the peace they both desperately need.

The Blackwells of Crystal Lake Complete Boxed Set


Juliana Stone - 2018
    He doesn’t believe in much, other than his brothers, his God, and his country. He likes his life simple and hates complications. So running into the girl he let get away, Rebecca Draper, is one complication he can do without. Yet the flames of desire still burn hot and it’s not so easy to break ties a second time around. Makes a guy wonder… Can a man who’s made a lifetime of leaving find a reason to stay? You Drive Me Crazy Coming home to Crystal Lake should be a walk in the park for famous race car driver, Wyatt Blackwell. He’ll collect an honor, see some family, and get back to his fast-paced life before anyone notices he’s gone. But when a fender-bender lands him in the local ER, the doc who treats him is none other than the prickly, straight laced, student president he screwed over at prom. Her dislike is evident but so are the sparks. Good ones. Bad ones. Hot ones. Regan Thorne refuses to acknowledge any of them and that makes it personal. Makes it challenging. Because Wyatt Blackwell doesn’t lose on the track, and he sure as hell doesn’t lose in the bedroom. You Rock My World Crystal Lake was supposed to be a weekend pit-stop for NHL goalie, Travis Blackwell. But a run in with his ex-wife makes him think twice. And though it’s probably not a good idea considering their history—married way too young, he’d been gone before the ink had dried on the divorce papers—he decides to stick around for the summer. Things are different now. He’s older. Not as wild. Some would say, even settled. He knows she was the one that got away, so he’s willing to overlook a few things. Like the fact she hates his guts and has every reason to. Call him crazy, but this hot shot goalie has just begun the game of his life.  And losing isn’t an option.   You Own My Heart Honey Harrison has come to Crystal Lake for one reason only—to expose a secret and finally move on from a past that won’t let go. But ruining the Blackwells isn’t as satisfying as she wants it to be. And the heart she’d long buried is not so cold and black after all. Complicating matters is the most infuriating man on the planet. Nash Booker makes her crazy. And hot. And bothered. What’s a girl to do? Does this southern spitfire up and leave? Or does she face her fears and risk losing her heart… Nash Booker has no time for complications. He’s busy. Focused. He’s definitely not looking for a relationship. Which is why the new hire at his bar pushes every single button he owns. Honey Harrison is edgy, opinionated, prickly, and unfortunately for him, sexy as hell. She’s also hiding something. She’s the kind of woman he doesn’t need in his life. Yet he can’t deny the pull or his need to get her into his bed. For a guy who likes risks, she might be the biggest one of all-or she could be his biggest mistake. As winter gives way to spring, Nash Booker is about to find out.

Dare You


Carol Moncado - 2017
    He’s just daring enough to try to turn it into something more.Betsy Haines is running away from a broken heart, but when she - along with her best friend, brother, and his best friend - arrive in Serenity Landing for the July 4 celebration, she finds herself the target of the affections of a creep.Dare Weaver has been half in love with his best friend’s little sister for as long as he can remember. When she needs a pretend boyfriend, he’s only too happy to oblige. He finds himself daring to live up to his name - to try to turn something pretend into something permanent.

Mad About Max


Lisa Plumley - 2006
    Her heart is in the right place. The guy who shows up wearing nothing but tighty-whities doesn't know Lucy - or understand why she won't let him buy back his lucky suit. Instead she insists he earn it back through volunteer work.

The Groomsman


Marcia Lynn McClure - 2018
    Although she had not had a good, solid look at him, she could sense he was very handsome. His voice alone revealed he was—the deep, rich nature of it. In truth, his voice made her feel—well, it somehow whisked her back—whisked her back four years, bathing her in memories of another supper and a voice she’d heard that night—a voice as deep and rich, as warm and wonderful as molasses taffy. “It seems we cross paths again, Miss Ambria Blanchard,” the man said. And she knew then. Ambria knew that the voice and the man were not simply similar to the voice and the man that had changed her life four years before—but that the same man himself was sitting next to her. Thinking of the worn photograph she still cached in a secret space in her wallet, Ambria turned and nearly fainted with euphoric shock when she found herself gazing into the blue, blue, bluest eyes of the most gorgeous, beefcaked, super-stud lady-killer she’d ever seen.

Tempting Secrets (Tempting Nights Romance #1)


Michelle Windsor - 2018
    Or at least, it’s the name my clients call me. I work for the elite escort agency, Temptations, and for a price, I’ll be whatever you want and need me to be. I have the body, I have the looks, and I have a smile that makes any woman swoon. But It’s just a job. A necessary evil to help fund my dreams of becoming a doctor. I’m simply a robot, performing my required tasks. Until the night I’m hired to seduce Charlotte Harvey and remind her how good a man can make her feel. I didn’t expect her beauty to spark a desire in me long buried. I didn’t expect her smile to turn that spark into a flame. And I definitely didn’t expect her passion to ignite that flame into an inferno. I should have walked away without looking back, but she started a fire in me that I can’t seem to tame. Tempting Nights is the first book in the Tempted Nights Romance Series. Each book can be read as a stand-alone and features a happily ever after.

Escape


Lorena McCourtney - 1984
    So when a double tragedy leads to their deaths at the height of the Great Depression, a brokenhearted Beth steps forward to keep her vow.However, Joey is also the grandson of Nat Wilkerson, a dangerous and wealthy tycoon, who will stop at nothing to gain sole custody of the child, sending his son Guy to find the child. Beth and her beloved nephew Joey escape by train into the night, but to her dismay, Guy follows-though not for the reasons she suspects.Previously published by Palisades, Escape has sold 50,000 copies.

Beside Golden Irish Fields


Ava Miles - 2021
    Art teacher Angie Newcastle’s life is all monotone.She wasn’t always this dull. She’d been an up-and-coming artist with the world at her feet. But after contracting the Wrong Man Syndrome and spending years doubting herself, she no longer recognizes herself.When she loses her job, she can’t afford to keep ignoring the obvious: her life needs a serious overhaul. And she knows exactly where to start: in Ireland, teaching art classes to her ex-pat cousin’s village community.Angie expected the golden fields beside her ancient Irish cottage to inspire her. She didn’t expect them to be populated by sheep sprayed with uplifting words. And she certainly didn’t expect anyone like their owner, reclusive sheep baron Carrick Fitzgerald, or the matchmaking ghost determined to bring them together.Neither want to find love—especially Angie, who’s on a self-imposed man-fast because she doesn’t want her life to take another nosedive. Only she slowly realizes that Carrick is the most unexpected of Prince Charmings and that he might help her make all her dreams come true.

The Bull Rider's Collection


Lynn Cahoon - 2015
    These heroes aren't afraid of danger or a challenge, and neither are the sassy, smart women in their world. Slip on your boots and get ready to crown these men champions of the heart: The Bull Rider's Brother: Lizzie Hudson is enjoying rodeo weekend to start her summer when James Sullivan, the cowboy who got away, walks his Justin Ropers back into her life. Can he learn to redefine family before she gives up on him and marries another? The Bull Rider's Manager: No one knows how tough it is to manage a rodeo rider's career like Barb Carico, who simply wants a break before she has a breakdown. But when she indulges in a little R&R with sponsor Hunter Martin, who's determined to do some unwinding himself, things quickly spiral out of control . . . The Bull Rider's Keeper: Rodeo star Jesse Sullivan isn't afraid of anything . . . except maybe following his secret dream of being an artist. When he decides to take a chance and make an offer on an art gallery, owner Taylor DeMarco teaches him what it means to be truly fearless. Sensuality Level: Sensual

Saving Grace


Sandy James - 2013
    The victim of a violent rape at the hands of a rich politician’s son, she must “disappear” to escape his constant attempts to recapture her. Moving from cattle drive to cattle drive as a cook, she avoids her tormentor for nearly twenty years. When she discovers that the brother she gave up for adoption after their mother died in childbirth was orphaned at an early age, she is frantic to verify that he’s safe. She tracks him to a cattle ranch in Montana.Widower Adam Morgan owns the Twin Springs ranch, but finds himself falling into a life of loneliness. Although he enjoys spending time with his grown daughter and the two men he rescued when they were living on the streets, he longs to meet a woman he can love. Living in the Montana territory where men greatly outnumber women makes finding a new wife difficult. Weary of working cattle, he is ready to make some changes in his life.Grace falls ill on her journey, but she manages to make it to the Twin Springs ranch where her brother is supposed to be living. Adam takes her in, concerned for her health and the reason she’s searching for one of his adopted sons. Their chemistry is immediate and intense, but can Grace heal from her past of pain and fear? When her secrets are finally revealed, can Adam forgive her deceptions and learn to love again?