Book picks similar to
The Old-Fashioned Way by Cynthia Ayman
romance
contemporary
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new-adult
Always Have
Claire Kingsley - 2016
Except Kylie. Mostly.Kylie is anxious to get off the dating carousel and find something real. Despite the way Braxton tends to suck the air from her lungs, she knows he's trouble. He's just another player, and she's tired of the game.But Braxton isn't the man she thinks.The real reason he's sh*t with women is simple. None of the women he's with are the one he wants. None of them are Kylie.He wants to love her in every way imaginable, but there's always something in the way. So he stays her friend, watching her date men who are too stupid to realize how special she is. Always worried the next one won't be. The next one will be the man who takes her from him forever.Loving Kylie risks every fiber of their friendship, but losing her might be more than Braxton can take.***Always Have is a full-length, stand alone novel with a guaranteed HEA. It's a bad boy romance with a big heart, lots of feels, and a sexy-as-hell, dirty talking hero. Due to explicit language and content, this is intended for a mature audience.***
Fighting Silence
Aly Martinez - 2015
We spend our lives blocking out the static in order to focus on what we believe is important. But what if, when the clarity fades into silence, it's the obscure background noise that you would give anything to hold on to? I've always been a fighter. With parents who barely managed to stay out of jail and two little brothers who narrowly avoided foster care, I became skilled at dodging the punches life threw at me. Growing up, I didn’t have anything I could call my own, but from the moment I met Eliza Reynolds, she was always mine. I became utterly addicted to her and the escape from reality we provided each other. Throughout the years, she had boyfriends and I had girlfriends, but there wasn't a single night that I didn’t hear her voice. You see, meeting the love of my life at age thirteen was never part of my plan. However, neither was gradually going deaf at the age of twenty-one. They both happened anyway. Now, I'm on the ropes during the toughest battles of my life. Fighting for my career. Fighting the impending silence. Fighting for her. Every night, just before falling asleep, she sighs as a final conscious breath leaves her. I think that's the sound I'll miss the most.
Each book in this series can be read as a standalone.
Deep Down
Elle Aycart - 2014
He’s never needed much to be happy: his family, his friends, his girl. Especially his girl. But when Kyra left him seven years ago to chase her dreams, she all but destroyed him.Contemporary dancer Kyra Brims made it big, but it cost her dearly. With her life and career in shambles, she doesn’t need a do-over, she needs a friggin’ miracle. Injured, broke, and out of options after going through hell, she’s come back to Alden, the town she swore she’d never return to and home of Mike Haddican, the man who ripped her soul to pieces, to lick her wounds and recover.Forgetting and letting go proved impossible when they were worlds apart; now that they’re stuck together they don’t stand a chance, especially with Mike’s grandma and her partners in crime plotting, meddling and refusing to give up on them.As the passion that never died burns out of control, so do old hurts and unresolved issues. Both have reasons to be angry and feel betrayed, but now that they’re older, are they wise enough to make things work?
Wicked Games
Jessica Clare - 2011
She's just not the survival type. But when her boss offers her a spot on the show and the opportunity of a lifetime, she packs her bags and heads to the tropics to be a contestant. Once in the game, though, it's clear that Abby's in over her head. No one's more competitive than sexy, delicious and arrogant Dean Woodall. Sure, he's clever, strong, good at challenges, and has a body that makes her mouth water. He also hates Abby just as much as she hates him. That's fine with her; she'll just ignore the jerk. But the rules of Endurance Island are working against them. Abby and Dean are teamed up & alone on the beach. It's either work together, or go home. Stuck with no one's company but their own, they learn they might just make a good team after all. And Abby learns that with just a little bit of kindling, the flames of hate can quickly turn to flames of passion. This book features enemies, lovers, enemies who become lovers, and lots and lots of tropical heat. Length: 59,000 words
Have My Baby
Taryn Quinn - 2017
But Seth is a workaholic millionaire and doesn't have time to meet someone. Someone who won't screw him over, like his kid's mother. Only problem is this someone has secretly been in love with him since high school. I've been hiding it forever, not wanting to risk our friendship. Sleeping with him is my biggest fantasy. And I've fantasized plenty, being a virgin. Another thing he doesn't know.Now I have to make the biggest decision of my life.Is having a no strings attached affair just to make a baby better than never having him at all?Author’s note: this case of insta-love and insta-naked-time has been brewing for over a decade. Babymaking has never been so hot…or so funny…or so complicated.Author’s Note part deux: Have My Baby is a standalone rom com with a romantic HEA ending and no cliffhanger.
So Much More
Kim Holden - 2016
It comes out of nowhere. There’s no logic to it. It’s not methodical. It’s not scientific. It’s pure emotion and passion. And emotion and passion can be dangerous because they fuel love…and hate.I’m now a reluctant connoisseur of both—an expert through immersion. I know them intimately.When I fell in love with Miranda, it was swift and blind. She was the person I’d elevated to mythical status in my head, in my dreams.Here’s the thing about dreams, they’re smoke.They’re spun as thoughts until they become something we think we want. Something we think we need.That was Miranda. She was smoke.I thought I wanted her. I thought I needed her.Over time reality crept in and slowly dissected and disemboweled my dreams like a predator, leaving behind a rotting carcass.Reality can be a fierce bitch.So can Miranda.And I can be a fool...who believes in dreams.And people.And love.Note from the author: Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is recommended for mature audiences only.
Payback
Amy Daws - 2019
Her cheating ex deserves to see her living her best life; a one-night-stand with a hot South African soccer player would be the perfect revenge. Right? Wrong. Allie is so, so wrong. ROAN DEWALT HAS ALL THE MOVES. On and off the field he’s at the top of his game. Roan respects hard-work, dedication—and follow through. He’s not a one and done kind of man, and he’s far from being done with Allie Harris. One sexy night and two years later, Allie’s job brings her back to town. An opportunity for the perfect replay Roan has been fantasizing about since they slept together. THE PROBLEM? Allie Harris has a secret; one she’s been keeping from Roan all this time. Video proof of their one night together—taken without his consent. Will Allie’s payback plan come back to bite them both? Or can she erase her past mistake and embrace a new future with Roan?
Wait for Me
Tia Louise - 2019
Her brother Sawyer would kick my ass if he knew how many times we made out that summer, how close we got.Everything changed when Sawyer and I joined the military.We were honorably discharged, but I didn’t go to her.Instead, I went back to the city… where no amount of money, no amount of pills can heal this wound.Only her whiskey eyes and dark hair, her slim arms and her sweet scent, give me hope. I broke her heart just as surely as I broke mine, but I’m going back to make it right.If she’s still waiting…
(WAIT FOR ME is a STAND-ALONE second-chance, military romance with a guaranteed HEA. No cheating. No cliffhangers.)
Summer's Temptation
Ashley Lynn Willis - 2014
Women will always try to change a man. Men will always say anything to get a girl in bed. Tyler Mason will always have a long line of girls trying to domesticate him, and none will succeed. If one of these ceases to be true, the world will cease to exist.These are the rules as college student Cassie Faye knows them, so when she gives up on dating in favor of a man who can satisfy her without tempting her heart, her next-door neighbor Tyler tops the list. Tyler isn’t the type of boy Cassie would fall for, but he’s the perfect guy to teach her how to claim her sexual independence without losing her heart in the process. Too late, Cassie finds out that under his womanizing exterior is an attentive, considerate lover who brings out passions in her that she'd barely glimpsed before. What if she’s wrong about the third truth? What if the world as she knows it is about to cease to exist?
This is War: Travis & Viola, #1
Kennedy Fox - 2016
His sculpted abs and gorgeous eyes are wasted on such an arrogant man, which makes me hate him even more.Even though I’ve had a crush on him since I was ten, the feelings weren’t mutual and he’s made that very clear. He’s always loved getting under my skin and one night against my better judgment, I let him in my bed. I’ve succumbed to his manw**re ways, but that doesn’t change a thing.Because the King is about to get played at his own game—and lose.Checkmate, King.This is book 1 in the Travis & Viola duet and must be read first. Suggested for mature readers only.
It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time
Kylie Scott - 2018
If being sent away at eighteen hadn’t been bad enough, the mess she left behind when she made a pass at her dad’s business partner sure was.Fifteen years older than her, Pete had been her crush for as long as she could remember. But she’d misread the situation—confusing friendliness for undying love. Awkward. Add her father to the misunderstanding, and Pete had been left with a broken nose and a business on the edge of ruin. The man had to be just as glad as everyone else when she left town.Seven years on, things are different. Adele is no longer a kid, but a fully grown adult more than capable of getting through the wedding and being polite. But all it takes is seeing him again to bring back all those old feelings.Sometimes first loves are the truest.
The Man I Love
Suanne Laqueur - 2014
When he transitions from protected to protector."Erik "Fish" Fiskare is only a college junior when a gunman walks into the campus theater, intent on stopping the show. From the lighting booth, Fish sees his girlfriend, Marguerite "Daisy" Bianco, get caught in the line of fire. Everyone runs away from the stage but Fish, in a watershed moment, runs toward it.Spanning fifteen years, The Man I Love explores how a single act of violence reverberates through a circle of friends. At the center are Fish and Daisy, two soul mates who always brought out the best in each other. Both are hailed as heroes after the shooting, yet the tragedy starts to bring out the worst in them, tearing the circle apart.Soon, Fish is running again—not toward Daisy this time, but as far away as possible. But can you really leave the one you were born to love? And is leaving always the end of loving?"You never got over her, Fish. You just left. You may think that's closure, but it isn't. You may think a woman like Daisy comes along twice in a lifetime, but she doesn't."Fearlessly touching on today's social and mental health issues, The Man I Love follows Erik Fiskare's journey back to the truth of himself and a woman he can't forget. With its gripping story and an unforgettable cast of characters, this epic novel of love and forgiveness lingers long after the last page is turned. on an emotional journey of love and truth."
Last Will and Testament
Dahlia Adler - 2014
But all that changes when her parents are killed in a tragic accident, making her guardian to her two younger brothers. To keep them out of foster care, she'll have to fix up her image, her life, and her GPA—fast. Too bad the only person on campus she can go to for help is her humorless, pedantic Byzantine History TA, Connor Lawson, who isn't exactly Lizzie's biggest fan.But Connor surprises her. Not only is he a great tutor, but he’s also a pretty great babysitter. And chauffeur. And listener. And he understands exactly what it’s like to be on your own before you're ready. Before long, Lizzie realizes having a responsible-adult type around has its perks... and that she'd like to do some rather irresponsible (but considerably adult) things with him as well. Good thing he's not the kind of guy who'd ever reciprocate.Until he does.Until they turn into far more than teacher and student.Until the relationship that helped put their lives back together threatens everything they both have left.
Rock the Heart
Michelle A. Valentine - 2012
She thought she was sensible when she told him his dreams of being a rock star would get him nowhere, but now that he's a rock god and her career is stagnant, she realizes just how wrong she was. When Noel hires the marketing company where Lane is an intern, she’s forced to see him again. If she wants to land her dream job as executive within the company, she has to win him over and secure his account. Too bad Noel is still pissed at her for breaking his heart.When Lane’s company flies her to a Black Falcon concert to gain Noel’s attention, emotions run high the moment she sees him and realizes she’s far from over him. But Noel’s countless trysts with groupies and his cocky attitude make Lane believe he isn’t the same guy she once loved—now he seems to only want her body. Then after Lane discloses she needs him to procure a job, Noel proves he’s a changed man by forcing her to go on the road with him in order to get it.After Lane reluctantly takes Noel up on his offer, she becomes willing to do whatever it takes to keep him satisfied, even if it means succumbing to his seductive ways. Lane soon finds deception is a dangerous game and she’s not the only one playing.Join Michelle's Facebook Reader Group: Valentine Vixens
True Love Story
Willow Aster - 2013
When she meets Ian Sterling, a musician who is rising in popularity, she instantly falls for his charm. The attraction is instant, but their relationship isn't so simple.At different places in their lives, Sparrow is off to college in New York, and Ian is traveling the country with the band. Over a five year span, Sparrow and Ian run into each other in unusual places. Each time, Sparrow has to decide if she can trust him, and if he feels the same for her. It’s hard to not get caught up in the magic they have together. Until something so devastating comes to light that threatens to shatter everything they’ve built with each other.True Love Story is a story about the real highs and lows that come with a relationship—happiness, pain, angst, and finding out if love really is enough.