Book picks similar to
Behind the Strings by Courtney Giardina


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When the Stars Align


Isabel Jolie - 2019
    I can’t stand the place. But when an offer to move to NYC includes a fast track to partner at a well-respected law firm, there’s no way I can decline. My move to the city goes exactly according to plan, everything falling perfectly into place…until the elevator door in my new apartment building opens, and I come face to face with my past. Four years ago we parted ways, neither of us willing to change our future career plans. We were too stubborn, too ambitious, and refused to make sacrifices. To add salt to the wound, she ended the year dating my roommate. But right now, staring at her beautiful face after all this time, I can still feel it. The attraction, the desire—it’s palpable. Four years ago, I wanted forever with Anna. Now, I’m a different man. A relationship isn’t in the cards. She threw that chance away. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun…right?

Moose Mountain Brothers: Series Boxed Set


Marley Michaels - 2020
    Then she's rescued by Gray Cooper and sparks fly.Introvert Seeking Mountain ManWhen Jemma Scott’s boss goes m.i.a. during a writing retreat on an Alaskan mountain, Jemma books a flight to track her down: destination Moose Mountain. What she didn’t expect was to faint at the feet of Cole Cooper, her mountain guide, the moment she meets him. She also didn't expect to fall head over heels for the man either.Fan Girl Seeking Mountain ManIt’s time for the inaugural Moose Mountain Romance Readers Retreat, and Amy Robinson has been waiting all her life for a reason to visit Alaska and find a mountain man to call her very own. So, when she literally walks straight into the arms of Boone Cooper outside a bookstore on her first day, she thinks she’s died and gone to mountain sheriff heaven.Hiker Seeking Mountain ManAfter traveling to the Moose Mountain Romance Readers Retreat, Sadie Parker decides to take a few days of R&R to spend more time exploring the captivating Alaskan mountain she’s read about. When Sadie gets herself into trouble and faces down a wolf, Brooks is compelled to save her, no longer able to ignore the voice inside saying he should look after her and keep her close.***Moose Mountain Brothers is a sweet, flirty, instalove series about four big, gruff and tough brothers living their lives on Moose Mountain. The mountain has always provided for these men, and now it’s sending them feisty women to warm up their cold mountain hearts and complete their mountain lives forever. Can we all say, awww.

Boss With Benefits


Talia Hunter - 2017
    One arrogant boss. One determined woman. Escaping a painful past, Rosa is thrilled with her new job running the beautiful Lantana Island Resort. There's only one fly in her tropical cocktail: her gorgeous new boss, Dalton. He might be hot, but he's also arrogant, infuriating, and has plans to sell the resort.Not if Rosa has anything to do with it. This. Is. War. 1-Click to start this funny, romantic, and sexy new series now! "I loved this story. It’s unpredictable, heart warming and just plain good to read." ★★★★★

Star Crossed


C.D. Reiss - 2020
    Not for one minute.Since that day I’ve measured all women against her and every one of them has come up short.We're in the same town, on the same block, in the same building, and the gulf between us is just too wide to cross.Until I stop running from trouble long enough to throw her camera off a balcony.She’s a career-killer. A PR disaster.Loving her again is career suicide, and I don’t care.This time, I’m running toward her, even if it ruins me.Star Crossed is a new and improved version of previously published title, Shuttergirl, with a brand new epilogue and previously unpublished, totally swoon-worthy and emotional new scenes.

The Romance Dance


Allie Burton - 2016
    He’s pieced his life back together becoming a landlord and remodel construction specialist, but shies away from a social life.Ex-ballerina Quinn Petrov moved to Castle Ridge and invested her money to start a dance studio with plans to put down roots. She wants to get involved in the community to promote her business and make real friends, not the acquaintances she’d made in New York. When she meets her secretive and sexy landlord, she’s intrigued but he always seems to be hiding behind a mask. Reed can’t stop the attraction he feels toward his new tenant, but she’s beautiful and outgoing, while he is not. When his younger brother begs him to help impress Quinn, Reed can’t say no. Using the musical language of love, he woos Quinn for his brother, but when his own mask slips will he reveal his secrets?In this modern take of Cyrano de Bergerac meets Beauty and the Beast, Quinn and Reed dance their way into each other’s hearts. Other books in the series: The Christmas Match and The Flirtation Game.

Sweet Hearts of Sweet Creek Box set: Three sweet and clean romances


Carolyne Aarsen - 2021
    As she and Mark spend time together, and their friendship deepens she wonders if maybe, this man might be different. Wonders if she dare let go of her heart. Can she forgive her family and herself before Mark too becomes a man of her pastHer Heart’s PromiseNadine aims to use her job as editor of the town newspaper to probe into the her father’s mysterious death but her secret high school crush Clint just took over the paper, and he wants the story buried. The same way she would prefer to keep her changing feelings for him under wraps.When Clint reveals a hidden truth about the past, Nadine has to make a choice: continue the quest for justice or find room in her busy life for love…Close to His HeartJace Scholte is determined to rise above his poverty-stricken childhood. Now he’s back in Sweet Creek to win the residents' support for a high-rise condo. He volunteers in a local fundraiser to melt their resistance, but he never expected he'd work side-by-side with the one who got away…Tess Kruger remembers the plan she and Jace constructed all those years ago. But she can't forget the dark secret that caused her to run away from their potential future.Old flames reignite between Jace and Tess, though as they find themselves questioning a past they thought they knew. For a second chance at love, they'll have to face the harsh truth together…The Sweethearts of Sweet Creek Series brings you three heartwarming stories that will entertain, inspire and stir your heart and soul.

This Side of Midnight (Tildas Islands #4)


Tamsen Schultz - 2021
    But when tourists start dying under suspicious circumstances, she never imagines that the biggest battle she’d have to fight is within her own department. That is, until her friend, Dominic Burel, and the FBI Task Force he’s a part of, prove she’s right to be concerned.As an FBI agent and former PJ with the elite Air Force Pararescue Unit, Dominic Burel has been happy to move through life solely focused on work. But when a family visit leaves him shaken, he realizes his friendship with Anika could, and should, be so much more. Now he has to change her mind about them and he’s not above using his investigative skills to finagle his way into her case—and life—to do it.As Anika and Dominic hunt a killer, they quickly realize they’ve uncovered something much more sinister. The simple murders aren’t so simple and there’s a much grander plan at play. And when they find they aren’t the only ones hunting, it will take everything they have to stay out of the true killer’s crosshairs.If you revel in escaping into a story, this friends-to-lovers romantic suspense will keep you turning the pages.

His Shock Baby


Holly Rayner - 2021
    

The Loch Lannick Series


Hannah Ellis - 2020
    You'll be hooked on these wonderfully warm characters in no time!Book one: Coming Home to the LochWhat happens when you meet the right person, at the right time, in the wrong place?Twenty-two-year-old Leana Mackenzie is looking for adventure. Full of excitement, she leaves her home in a remote Scottish village and heads for the bright city lights. In Edinburgh she meets Alasdair – a cute and charming singer/songwriter. As their relationship develops everything feels perfect. But as the sparkle of her new life begins to fade, Leana finds herself longing for her cosy home on the Isle of Skye, and the close-knit family she left behind. When Alasdair is offered the career opportunity of a lifetime, Leana is left even more confused. Now, she must choose between a high-flying life as the girlfriend of a celebrity – or returning home to her safe, predictable life.Home is where the heart is … but what happens when the heart is pulled in two different directions?Book two: The Castle by the LochSometimes the road to happiness is longer than we’d like …At fourteen, Isla Mackenzie has her life all planned out. She’s going to be an artist and marry her best friend, Logan.Logan Donnell also has a plan. When he grows up he’s going to join his dad’s business and marry his best friend, Isla.By the time they’re eighteen, the two of them are inseparable. The future looks bright. Everything feels perfect.But when tragedy strikes, fate sets the pair on a different course. While circumstances keep Logan and Isla apart, their bond is not so easily broken. The course of true love might not run smoothly but a bumpy road can still take you exactly where you’re supposed to be …Book three: Fireworks Over the LochA sleepy Scottish village is about to be woken up …With her boyfriend moving to her hometown of Lannick, Leana Mackenzie is floating on cloud nine. All she needs now is for them to find a home of their own. Alasdair’s lack of interest in house-hunting soon has her worried.For Isla and Logan, moving in together is the logical next step in their relationship. Neither of them expects living under the same roof to be so challenging. If they can’t find a way to make it work how can they possibly have a future together?Single-mother Elspeth is ecstatic about moving out of her parents’ house. When she agrees to a temporary housemate she’s comforted by the friendship that grows. But are her feelings purely platonic, or is romance in the air?As the year draws to a close, Alasdair organises a celebration that will rock the quiet village of Lannick. The New Year’s party brings everyone together for a night to remember. But when midnight strikes, the fireworks bursting over the loch aren’t the only sparks flying …Download this gorgeous collection today!

The Novel Approach


Heather Guimond - 2019
     He's romance's reigning sex god. When the two accidentally collide at a book conference, sparks - and their luggage - fly. Stacy Sanders had never heard of Gage Blackstone before. If she'd known he was the man everyone called the "king of one-handed reads," she would have run away as fast as her Prada heels would take her. Every woman who'd ever read a romance novel had at least one erotic book penned by him, hidden in her underwear drawer. From the moment Stacy caught Gage's eye, he only thought about messing up her perfect hair and kissing her senseless. Stacy never imagined she'd find herself waking up next to him. But as soon as he finds out what she writes, it will be him running in the other direction. Who would have thought the most novel approach to love would be sweet, spicy, and steaming hot?

Rogue Love (Kings of Corruption #1)


Michelle St. James - 2017
    That’s where he learned the hardest lesson of all — we’re all alone in the end. And nobody can save us. When a raid goes terribly wrong, walking out is almost instinctual. Following the rules is for suckers. There’s only one way to get things done, and that’s to do it off the books. By the time he walks out, he knows there’s only one thing he’ll miss. Her. Nora Murphy never really had a choice. Law enforcement was in her blood. Raised by an old-school Irishman in a houseful of brothers, she learned early on there was only one way to survive. Be stronger. Be smarter. Be better. There was no time for romance. And certainly no time for love. Which made tabling her attraction to friend and fellow agent Braden Kane a no-brainer. But Braden’s defection from the FBI opens the door to their relationship in a new and surprising way. Nora’s still getting her head around the possibilities when she’s assigned an important case involving a string of high-profile crimes with a shocking purpose. She can’t wait to bring down the ring of brash vigilantes — until a connection to Braden reveals itself in the investigation. Now they’re on opposite sides of the law and order coin. Will their love be enough to bridge the gap? Will they survive long enough to find out?

As Deep as the Ocean


Serenity Woods - 2017
    “To save the vineyard. It’ll be strictly business.”He’s right, Winifred (Fred) Cartwright thought. It was just a contract, a way to access the money tied up in her inheritance. It didn’t mean anything.She mustn’t think about his broad shoulders. About the intriguing tattoo that curled around his arm, how his muscular body gleamed when he worked in the warm sunshine, or how his ocean-blue eyes heated her from the inside out. She mustn’t think about the stolen kiss, the way he’d slipped his arm around her waist to pull her against him. The soft touch of his lips on hers.“It’ll be strictly business,” he repeated.Yeah, right.

Billionaire for Hire


Cat Johnson - 2018
    Or that it could cost me my life.I'm Brent Hearst, for God's sake. A member of the one percent. As in old family money. Yet somehow I'm standing here, smiling while there’s a gun strapped to my leg ruining the line of my Italian suit.But my real issue isn’t with that gun. Oh, no. It’s my other weapon I can’t control when I’m around the sexy-as-sin brunette who might or might not be a spy. It seems I don’t care which while I’ve got her against the wall with my hand fisted in her hair.Oh, and while I figure out if I’ve been sleeping with the enemy, I’ve also got to keep us both from being killed by a couple of gun-toting Russians.No problem.Billionaire for Hire is a full-length standalone contemporary romance in the For Hire series, a loose spinoff from Cat Johnson's Hot SEALs with cameo appearances from favorite characters.

Saved by Grace


T.J. Rudolph - 2017
     She swears to never love again, until Chase Ryder walks into her life-a notorious bad boy from her home town. Everyone knows that Chase has spent time in juvi, but no-one knows why. Grace is determined to stay away from him, but Aaron's ghost keeps appearing and keeps telling her to move on. When Grace finds out that Chase, like her, had a damaged childhood, she finally understands why he pushes people away. She decides to try to break down those walls he has built around himself and show him that he is worthy of love. Grace is hiding a secret of her own about a life she lived before she met Chase. She tries to hide her past from him, but that secret is exposed. They learn to trust each other and fall in love--but then Grace finds out the truth about what really happened the night Chase’s father died. If Grace can't learn to accept all of Chase, including his past, she risks losing her second love, too!

Back to Your Love


Kianna Alexander - 2017
    As a hardworking businessman, mentor to troubled teens, and aspiring politician in his Southern hometown, the daily demands never let up. A weekend at the beach for his best friend's wedding is exactly what he needs. What he doesn't need is to run into the woman who broke his heart ten years ago.Imani Grant is more beautiful, confident and intelligent than ever, and their connection is still sizzling. But Imani harbors a secret that could destroy both their blossoming careers. She knows she has to keep her distance, but Xavier is determined to win back her heart--consequences be damned."A page-turner." --RT Book Reviews for This Tender Melody