Book picks similar to
Once Upon a Mattress by Vicki Lewis Thompson


romance
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contemporary
contemporary-romance

Merry Christmas, Babies


Tara Taylor Quinn - 2006
    and her biological clock is clanging like a church bell. So independent Elise takes matters into her own hands and now she's pregnant--with quadruplets! Her business partner and best friend, Joe Bennett, can't believe she's going to be a mom--times four! There's no way he's ready for the chaos of parenthood. Being one of seven children has taught him that much. But now that Elise's doctor says she shouldn't be home alone, Joe's ready to move in. Strictly as a friend, of course. At least until Christmas...

Courting the Cowboy Boss


Janice Maynard - 2015
    He needs a housekeeper, but he's been burned before by gold-digging employees. Still, when fiery redhead Melinda Winslow shows up, his attraction is undeniable. Mellie has big plans for her small cleaning service. A powerful client like Case Baxter is a boon to her business. But falling for him could mess everything up. Mellie knows how to handle a mess…if Case isn't too hot to handle! Enjoy a special Texas Cattleman's Club: Lies and Lullabies bonus prequel short story from Janice Maynard

Texas Wanderer: Lone Star Lovers Book 6


Jean Brashear - 2012
     Hotshot adventure photographer Dane Sullivan's career is grounded after a near-death fall, and he's no longer sure he wants the life of death-defying risk that energized him for so long. While he's recovering and assessing his options, his kid sister Jilly volunteers him to help her friend Vanessa with handyman skills he and his brothers learned from their dad. The irascible, too-handsome photographer turned handyman won't be around long, which suits Vanessa just fine—until the sparks between them turn from aggravation to smoldering attraction. Though her life has been filled with loss, can she survive losing this man who's come to mean so much to her? As Dane begins to contemplate sinking roots, the once-in-a-lifetime trip to a forbidden land suddenly is his for the taking, and he will have to choose between a life he never imagined and the dream that would restore the career that was once all he ever wanted.

Shadow Woman


Linda Howard - 2012
    . . and memories that can kill. SHADOW WOMAN  Lizette Henry wakes up one morning and makes a terrifying discovery: She doesn’t recognize the face she sees in the mirror. She remembers what she looks like, but her reflection is someone else’s. To add to the shock, two years seem to have disappeared from her life. Someone has gone to great and inexplicable lengths to keep those missing years hidden forever. But the past always finds a way to return.   Strange memories soon begin to surface and, along with them, some unusual skills and talents that Lizette hasn’t a clue about acquiring. Sensing that she’s being monitored, Lizette suddenly knows how to search for bugs in her house and tracking devices in her car. What’s more, she can elude surveillance—like a trained agent.   Enter a mysterious and seductive stranger named Xavier, who claims he wants to help—but who triggers disturbing images of an unspeakable crime of which Lizette may or may not be the perpetrator. With memories returning, she suddenly becomes a target of anonymous assassins. On the run with nowhere to hide, Lizette has no choice but to rely on Xavier, a strong and magnetic man she doesn’t trust, with a powerful attraction she cannot resist. As murky waters become clear, Lizette confronts a conspiracy that is treacherous and far-reaching and a truth that, once revealed, may silence her and Xavier once and for all.BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Linda Howard's Running Wild.Praise for Shadow Woman  “Dazzling . . . From the opening line, [Shadow Woman] will grab readers and take them on an exhilarating and terrifying adventure!”—RT Book Reviews   “Fast-paced, intricately detailed romantic suspense . . . Readers won’t want to put it down until the extraordinary conclusion. . . . Highly recommended.”—Fresh Fiction   “An intriguing plot and captivating characters [with] lots of drama, tension, intrigue and suspense.”—The Star-Ledger

Crazy on You


Rachel Gibson - 2012
    Now Lily is happily single, and she's turned it all around. She knows she's a good mom, a homeowner, and a businesswoman, all wrapped up in one good-looking package.A package that police officer Tucker Matthews is dying to unwrap. This ex-military man sure doesn't need another woman in his life. His last girlfriend left him with nothing but memories and a cat named Pinky! But living next door to Lily has been driving him nuts. He dreams about her long blonde hair and even longer legs. And maybe it's time to go a little crazy . . . and fall in love.

No Regrets


JoAnn Ross - 1997
    Now, tragedy will bring the sisters together again, offering them the chance to find happiness in sorrow. A POWERFUL AND PASSIONATE STORY OF THREE SISTERSTorn apart by tragedy, Molly, Lena and Tessa McBride chose different paths ... until fate and one man reunited them.Molly chose God -- but could never forget the child she gave away ... or her sister's husband.Lena always searched for love -- Dr. Reece Longworth offered her that. Raising her sister's child created the family she so desperately craved.Tessa wanted fame -- but the love of a man led her into terrible danger. A vice cop who needed her to betray her friends offered her the only promise of survival.Only after tragedy strikes once again can the surviving sisters choose happiness .... if they dare pay the price.

The Cinderella Solution


Cathy Yardley - 2000
    She turned her tomboy self into a sexy siren, the world’s most eligible bachelor moved in next door… and Gabe realized he’d made a big mistake!

Having Faith


Barbara Delinsky - 1990
    First of all, he was an old and dear friend, and secondly, they were representing opposing clients in a complicated divorce case. She wished they'd never crossed that line between friends and lovers .. . .But they had--gloriously!--and there was no turning deck Even when she would have run in the other direction, she still had to negotiate with Sawyer on legal matters. But Faith was no match for Sawyer when he started pleading his own case. She knew that if he had his way, she was going to get life....

The Not So Secret Emails Of Coco Pinchard


Robert Bryndza - 2012
    1 bestselling author Robert Bryndza.Coco Pinchard has just turned forty, and is feeling fabulous. Her long-held dream to be a writer has been realised, with the publication of her debut novel, her son, Rosencrantz, is attending a prestigious London drama school, and her musician husband, Daniel, seems more in love with her than ever. Coco feels poised to enter an exciting new chapter in life.When the New Year dawns after a hideous Christmas spent with her awful in-laws, Coco catches Daniel in bed with a younger woman, her novel flops, and Rosencrantz goes spectacularly off the rails.As her once-happy life unravels, and any chance of an exciting new chapter recedes into the distance, Coco's new iPhone becomes her confessional.Through emails to loyal friends Christopher, a neurotic middle-aged socialite, and Marika, a slightly alcoholic schoolteacher, Coco begins to document her seemingly endless (and often hilarious) run of bad luck.When Coco reaches the top of the local allotment list (after putting her name down nineteen years previously) she meets the drop-dead gorgeous Adam, and she's back in the world of dating as a single forty-something. Read the emails that tell the hilarious, feel-good tale of Coco picking up the pieces!Fans of rom coms by Sophie Kinsella will be glued to the pages of this totally addictive page-turner.

In Over Her Head


Stephanie St. James - 2010
    So, when the daughter he never knew he had shows up, the first thing on his to-do list is find a nanny. When fiery redhead Grace Standis arrives, reforming himself from playboy to play-dates becomes harder that Jason ever imagined. Instant attraction, a hot single dad, and a growing attachment to one little baby leave Grace in danger of losing her heart and in way over her head. REVIEWS: "(Stephanie’s) characters are passionate, humorous, and true to life." - Romantic Times Book Reviews "St. James is a new author for me, but I plan to be watching for more of her work in the future." - The Road to Romance Book Reviews

Unbecoming Behavior


Stephanie Rowe - 2004
    While being investigated for unbecoming behaviour on the job, Shannon descends into chaos as her sister prepares to marry a rich plastic surgeon, prompting her mother's latest matchmaking scheme, which forces her to take a stand and get her life back on track.

With a Little Luck


Caprice Crane - 2011
    She keeps a four-leaf clover in her wallet, never takes off her horseshoe necklace, and won’t tempt fate by walking under a ladder or opening an umbrella indoors. Ever.When it comes to love, though, she could use a little luck. Two disastrous relationships back-to-back can mean only one thing to a woman who knows that everything good or bad happens in threes: A third Mr. Wrong is imminent. But fellow DJ Ryan Riley goes against the odds. Their on-air battle of the sexes is a hit for the station and sparks some serious heat after hours. Ryan is funny and sexy, and he thinks Berry’s quirkiness is cute. Is their romance doomed by the numbers—or is a girl who leaves nothing to chance finally ready to gamble?Caprice Crane’s witty, winsome novel about the game of modern romance proves that with a little luck and the right stakes, everybody wins.

The Lost Husband


Katherine Center - 2013
    Now her crazy Aunt Jean has offered Libby an escape, a job and a place to live on her farm in the Texas Hill Country. Before she can talk herself out of it, Libby is packing the minivan, grabbing the kids, and hitting the road. Life on Aunt Jean's goat farm is both more wonderful and more mysterious than Libby could have imagined. Beyond the animals and the strenuous work, there is quiet, deep, country quiet. But there is also a shaggy, gruff (though purportedly handsome, under all that hair) farm manager with a tragic home life, a formerly famous feed-store clerk who claims she can contact Danny "on the other side," and the eccentric aunt Libby never really knew but who turns out to be exactly what she's been looking for. And despite everything she's lost, Libby soon realizes how much more she's found. Libby hasn't just traded one kind of crazy for another; she may actually have found the place to bring her little family, and herself, back to life.

The Wedding Girl


Madeleine Wickham - 1999
    Rupert and his American lover Allan were all part of her new, exciting life, and when Rupert suggested to her that she and Allan should get married, just so that Allan could stay in the country, Milly didn't hesitate, and to make it seem real she dressed up in cheap wedding finery and posed on the steps of the registry office for photographs.Ten years later, Milly is a very different person. Engaged to Simon - who is wealthy, serious, and believes her to be perfect - she is facing the biggest and most elaborate wedding imaginable. Her mother has it planned to the finest detail, from the massive marquee to the sculpted ice swans filled with oysters. Her dreadful secret is locked away so securely she has almost persuaded herself that it doesn't exist - until, with only four days to go, her past catches up with her.Suddenly, her carefully constructed world is about to crash in ruins around her. How can she tell Simon she's already married? How can she tell her mother? But as the crisis develops, more secrets are revealed than Milly could possibly have realised...

Barefoot in the Sand


Roxanne St. Claire - 2012
    Claire's beloved Barefoot Bay series! When a hurricane roars through Lacey Armstrong's home on the coast of Barefoot Bay, she decides all that remains in the rubble is opportunity. A new hotel is just what Mimosa Key needs, and Lacey and her teenage daughter are due for a fresh start. And nothing, especially not a hot, younger architect, is going to distract Lacey from finally making her dreams a reality. Love has already cost Clay Walker everything. And if he's going to have any chance of picking up the pieces of his life, he needs the job as Lacey Armstrong's architect. What's not in the plans is falling for the headstrong beauty. Her vision of the future is more appealing than anything he could have ever drafted for himself. Will Clay's designs on Lacey's heart be more than she can handle, or will she trust him to build something that will last forever?