Book picks similar to
My Bodyguard Summer by Michelle Pennington


contemporary-romance
contemporary
mystery-contemporary
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The Seat Filler


Sariah Wilson - 2021
    That’s the hiccup in a warm and witty romance by the bestselling author of Roommaid.The meet-cute award goes to dog groomer Juliet Nolan. It’s one of Hollywood’s biggest nights when she volunteers as a seat filler and winds up next to movie heartthrob Noah freaking Douglas. Tongue tied and toes curling in her pink Converse, she pretends that she doesn’t have a clue who he is. It’s the only way to keep from swooning.She’s pretty and unpretentious, loves his dog, and is not a worshipping fan. No way Noah’s giving up on her, even if his affectionate pursuit comes with a bump: Juliet has a pathological fear of kissing and the disappointments that follow. What odds does romance have without that momentous, stupendous, once-in-a-lifetime first smooch? Patient, empathetic, and carrying personal burdens of his own, Noah suggests a remedy: they rehearse.The lessons begin. The guards come down. But there’s another hitch they weren’t betting on. As for that cue-the-orchestra-and-roll-credits happy ending? It might take more than practice to make it perfect.

King of the Friend Zone


Sheralyn Pratt - 2016
    The problem stems from the fact that her best friend is named Hunter and, well. . .he’s kind of (totally) hot. It’s hate at first sight when her fiancé, Jon, and Hunter meet. Jon’s convinced that Hunter is in love with Esme, and that Hunter must be out of the picture if their upcoming marriage is to succeed. Esme thinks Jon is paranoid. The truth is, Jon’s not that far off. Hunter is in love with his best friend and always has been. What Jon has wrong, however, is that Hunter never had any plans of ruining Esme’s happily ever after. Hunter wants what’s best for Esme, even if that’s not him. When Jon pushes hard to end Esme and Hunter’s friendship, opposition comes from the most unlikely of places. It’s an eccentric lady with a cookie cart who suggests a different solution to Esme’s problem: Hunter and Esme should give each other a chance. They’ve both thought of the possibility over the years—of course they have. But with a ring already on Esme’s finger and a heap of hurt feelings and broken trust in the mix, there hasn’t been a worse time to explore the depths of their feelings for each other. Both Esme and Hunter think it’s time to move on and leave childhood crushes in the past. The question is: Can one woman and the taste of one cookie change their minds? Note to Reader: This book is a "clean" read with mainstream values and minor language.

A Match for the Marine


Jess Mastorakos - 2021
    All she has to do is outmatch her conniving co-worker. Maintaining her perfect matchmaking track record should be no problem, especially since her client is a hot Marine with bulging biceps and a killer smile.Gunnery Sergeant Dexter Harrington is not looking for love, but his mother has been laying on the guilt about not wanting him to die alone. So when she buys him the VIP package at Southern California’s premier matchmaking company, he has no choice but to play ball.Right from the start, Dex recognizes Amy is a better match for him than any of the disastrous dates she arranges. Amy isn’t going to let the gorgeous gunny get in the way of achieving her life’s goal. What happens when the matchmaker is the perfect match for the Marine?A Match for the Marine is the first book in a clean romantic comedy series. Get ready to laugh and swoon as these three handsome Marines navigate the waters of love with humor and heart!

Flower of the Winds


Dorothy M. Keddington - 1989
    Instead, an impulsive walk on a misty Oregon beach results in the discovery of two Russian scientists on the run. From the moment she meets Nikolai and dark-eyed Seriozha, Cassandra's safe, secure existence is challenged and changed, along with her perception of what love should be. Flower of Winds is a windy walk on an Oregon deach, a terrifying chase through mist and darkness, a love story that defies barriers of tradition and time, and an experience you'll want to savor again and again.

Because You Loved Me


Delaney Cameron - 2019
    As the eldest daughter of a successful businessman, she's never wanted for anything. After graduating from a prestigious college in New York, she didn't have to draft résumés or suffer through stressful job interviews. Instead she went to work for her father creating updated interiors for his hotel flipping company.The only gray cloud in Bridget's personal sky is her father's ridiculous idea that his ex-Navy pilot protégé and his daughter constitute a match made in heaven. His less-than-tactful (and downright embarrassing) attempts to force her and Graham together have made it necessary to keep her engagement to the man she does love a secret. But it's only a temporary thing. She has no doubt about her ability to bring her father around to her way of thinking.The best laid plans, right? When destiny shuffles the cards and deals out a new hand, Bridget finds herself questioning both her heart and her loyalties.

Deadly Summer


Denise Grover Swank - 2018
    Since then, she’s hit—what gossip sites just love to call—the gutter. Nearly bankrupt, betrayed, estranged from her greedy mother, and just about unemployable, she’s coaxed into that desperate haven for has-beens: reality TV. Winging it as a faux PI, she’ll solve off-the-cuff mysteries in her hometown of Sweet Briar, Alabama. For added drama, there’s police chief Luke Montgomery, inconveniently Summer’s first and only love. It’s when Summer stumbles upon a very real corpse that Darling Investigations takes an unexpected twist. The growing list of suspects is a big draw to viewers, but the reality is that Summer doesn’t know whom she can trust. Someone has written this killer new scene especially for her, and unless Summer gives the role everything she’s got, it could be her last…

Out of the Blue


Kathryn Nolan - 2021
    Until a security job goes bad, and he suddenly finds his career on thin ice. Cope’s newest assignment comes with serious consequences - he’ll keep his job as long as he makes no mistakes.Cope isn’t worried…until his new client turns out to be a beautiful blast from his past.Big wave surfer Serena Swift loves the adrenaline of her sport. And the elite athlete hates being told what to do. That goes double when the orders are coming from the sexy bodyguard-in-a-suit who broke her heart.But she doesn’t have a choice when a mysterious threat materializes and Serena’s sponsor saddles her with the last man she’d want guarding her body. She’d rather focus on her next surf competition, not on some shadowy danger or the arrogant ex who dared to get even hotter since their breakup.Cope can’t stop butting heads with his new client. Just like old times, Serena refuses to play it safe, even when it’s clear she’s in peril. Now the intimacy of spending every second of the day by her side is wearing away at his self-control. He can’t afford to lose focus, but everything about the woman is a constant distraction. Including the fact that their divorce was never finalized…Author’s Note: One-click this scorching-hot bodyguard romance if you’re a fan of second-chance angst, sizzling sexual tension, thrilling action and mysterious danger set on the warm, sunny beaches of San Diego.

Call Me Maybe


Cara Bastone - 2020
    Pick up the wrong coffee and bagel order. Drive from Brooklyn to Jersey in traffic so slow you want to tear your hair out. It’s amazing all the useless things I can accomplish while on hold for three hours with customer service. Three hours when I should be getting the Date-in-a-Box website ready to launch at the big business expo in a few days. Except my shiny new website is glitching, and my inner rage-monster is ready to scorch some earth… when he finally picks up. Not the robot voice I expected but a real live human named Cal. He’s surprisingly helpful and really knows his stuff, even if he’s a little awkward…. in an adorable way. And suddenly I’m flirting with him? And I think he’s flirting back.And suddenly it’s been hours, and we’re still on the phone talking and ordering each other takeout while he trouble shoots my website. And suddenly we’re exchanging numbers and sending texts and DMs every day, leaving voice mails (who even does that anymore?!).And suddenly I’m wondering if it’s possible for two people fall in love at first talk. Because I’m falling… hard. ***Vera Hoffman has just days to make sure her website for her new Date-in-a-Box business launches. When the darn thing glitches, she calls her IT company and connects with Cal Kantola. An intense week of phone calls, DMs, voice messages, and texts ensue, and in between troubleshooting, these two start to develop feelings. But will their systems be compatible when they actually meet face-to-face?

How Sweet It Is


Dylan Newton - 2021
    (Kirkus, starred review)Event planner Kate Sweet is famous for creating the perfect happily-ever-after moment for her clients’ dream weddings. So how is it that her best friend has roped her into planning a bestselling horror writer’s book launch extravaganza? But the second Kate meets—or rather, accidentally maims—the drop-dead-hot Drake Matthews, her well-ordered life quickly transforms into an absolute nightmare.Drake Matthews is tired of the spotlight and tired of his reputation as the Knight of Nightmares. He's really a nice guy! But he’s not prepared for Kate, a fearless agent of chaos in steel-tipped stilettos, or for that sweet sting of attraction he feels for her. She’s inspiring him to take his writing in a whole new direction—one that no one expects. Because now Kate and Drake are changing up the rules, and this plot twist might just surprise everyone . . . including themselves."Fans of The Hating Game by Sally Thorne, Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert, and Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur will adore How Sweet It Is!" --The Nerd DailyAs featured in:PopSugar: Must-Read July BooksPopSugar: 12 Swoonworthy Romances to Read in One Sitting

Dear Jane


Rachel Ward - 2016
    But all of that changed when Quinn got a Dear Jane email. Now she's stuck at home with no boyfriend, no job, no major, and absolutely no social life. Will Quinn ever find the path that leads to her eternal happiness?

Love, Laughter and Happily Ever After


Ellie HallCami Checketts - 2021
    Ho – Head Over StilettosMeg Easton – Looking for Love (sort of)Rachael Eliker – Lassoed into LoveSophie-Leigh Robbins – Take a HikeRachel John – Worst Neighbor EverJennifer Griffith – Elevator PitchCami Checketts – The Sassy OneSarah Gay – Once Upon a Midnight SwimJennifer Youngblood – Cold FeetKimberly Krey – Five Days With My (Super Hot) ExEllen Jacobson – Smitten with Candy CanesCindy Roland Anderson – Breaking All the RulesTaylor Hart – Secret Matchmaker Wedding DateCarina Taylor – Jude and the Matchmaking LlamaGigi Blume – Baby You Can Drive My CarAmy Sparling – Julie and the Fixer-UpperJohanna Evelyn – I Think Maybe I LiedLAUGH OUT LOUD NOW!

I Do (Sorta)


Johanna Evelyn - 2020
    Women fall at my feet vying to become the next Mrs. Taylor, only they are always after one thing. The money. Instead of picking someone they want, I turn it into a game. My chosen bride will be placed on a budget with a strict set of rules. I have a year to turn a gold-digging diva into a domesticated housewife. What have I got to lose, besides true love?***Rich men are all the same and I want nothing to do with them. I left Texas to get away from my meddlesome mother and her dreams of me marrying old money. But the first thing I see in New York is a giant billboard sporting a billionaire looking for a wife, Bachelor style. I don’t find out my mother has filled out an application for me until I am chosen to come to Edward Taylor’s penthouse.That’s when I realize my mother will never stop unless I do something drastic. If I ramp up my pageant persona there’s no way he’ll choose me to become his wife—and in the process, I’ll get my mother off my back about getting married while teaching this full of himself billionaire the way to a woman’s heart isn’t by hiring a billboard!This romantic comedy is free from language, and graphic sexual content, and has mild Christian themes. Pick it up today!

Broken Dreams


Traci Hunter Abramson - 2021
    Now a coach, her father Gordon is living his dreams through the skaters he trains—until Maggie is forced to deliver heartbreaking news: her mother’s battle against cancer will be a losing one. Shattered, her father loses his dreams in an instant—his beloved wife and his will to coach. Left to pick up the pieces, a devastated Maggie finds herself relying on the steadfast support of her childhood best friend, Lance Whitmore. Despite the fact that Maggie has never seen Lance as more than a friend, his heart has always been hers. Lance does what he can to help Maggie work through her grief, and soon their friendship blossoms into love. But when distance threatens their relationship, Maggie is torn between building a life with the man she loves and helping her broken father rebuild his life.

Snow and Mistletoe


Jen Geigle Johnson - 2020
    Mr. Easton will never ask.Except Julian must find a wife by Christmas or his brother Edmund will choose one for him.And Dosie finds she just might need that proposal after all, not only during her first season, but her first ball.Can they make a marriage between them? A marriage of convenience?Enjoy a romance full of regency wit and romantic quandries reminiscent of Jane Austen or Georgette Heyer. Get your copy now.For all fans of our usual Regency House Party series, this book will not be a part of a joint author series. It will now become part of a series of books celebrating the Easton family and their eventual marriages, each surrounding the events of a house party set at Christmas time. Please enjoy the first of these.

Talk British to Me


Robin Bielman - 2017
    Everyone’s hooking up…well, except for me. Sure, I can get any woman I want, but I’ve got a “no relationship” clause in my contract and the only woman I want has “relationship” written all over her. Probably stamped on her ass, too. And wouldn’t I like to confirm that.Unfortunately, she wants nothing to do with me. At all. Something about the next Ice Age might have even come up in her rebuttal. Adorable. Because she’s determined to ignore what one simple kiss proved: she wants me as badly as I want her.Everything in me is screaming to go after her, but I’ve got a secret that I’m fairly certain will end up with her roasting my nuts over an open fire. So, job on the line? Check. Nuts on the line? Check. Can’t get her out of my head? Nail…meet coffin. But what a way to go…