Book picks similar to
The Secret Pool by Betty Neels


betty-neels
romance
harlequin
contemporary

Dangerous Masquerade


Janet Dailey - 1976
    Each of the fifty novels is set in a different state, researched by Janet and her husband, Bill. For the Daileys it was an odyssey of discovery. For you, it's the journey of a lifetime.

Take Me


Cherry Adair - 2002
    And when he meets gorgeous Jessie Adams at a party, he wants her. Now. Naked in his four-poster. Together the two of them could have a hot sexual affair—with no commitments. She's his for the taking... That suits Jessie to a T. Long nights of incredible sex. No ties. All she wants is a baby by the man she's always secretly hungered for...and then she's moving on. Except Jessie and Joshua share a surprising past. One that's about to take them where they never ever expected to go...

Grayson's Vow


Mia Sheridan - 2015
    With little money, and even fewer options, the quick-witted and vibrant twenty-two-year-old needs to reinvent herself. Known for her generous heart and impulsive personality, she devises a survival plan, possibly her most outrageous idea yet. Grayson Hawthorn is losing hope.Some obstacles in life seem too hard to overcome. Betrayal definitely being one of them. With limited capital, and dwindling resources, he is attempting to resurrect his failing family vineyard, a self-imposed vow seemingly destined to fail. That is until a young woman enters his office with an outlandish, unexpected proposition impossible to refuse. What begins as a temporary business arrangement, soon evolves into more as vivacious, spirited Kira challenges detached, arrogant Grayson to want more from life. To want more for himself. But as their wills clash and fiery passion ignites, they'll realize that sometimes the past creates walls too difficult to climb, and that lies and deception rarely precede a happily every after.As Kira and Grayson race toward their destiny, they will discover that some vows are meant to be broken, and others are worth risking everything for . . . even your very own heart.THIS IS A STANDALONE SIGN OF LOVE NOVEL, INSPIRED BY LIBRA. New Adult Contemporary Romance: Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.

Summer Campaign


Carla Kelly - 1989
    Surely her husband-to-be, the right Reverend Andrew Littletree, would not condone her leaving the safety of home for the perils that this place posed for so lovely and desirable a young lady. Surely tongues would wag about what she was doing with so eminently attractive and intriguingly unattached a gentleman as the major. But Onyx's worry was not what her fiancé would think or what the world would say. Rather it was what she would do if Jack Beresford took her in his arms…

Love and Other Words


Christina Lauren - 2018
    Once upon a time, Elliot was Macy’s entire world—growing from her gangly bookish friend into the man who coaxed her heart open again after the loss of her mother...only to break it on the very night he declared his love for her.Told in alternating timelines between Then and Now, teenage Elliot and Macy grow from friends to much more—spending weekends and lazy summers together in a house outside of San Francisco devouring books, sharing favorite words, and talking through their growing pains and triumphs. As adults, they have become strangers to one another until their chance reunion. Although their memories are obscured by the agony of what happened that night so many years ago, Elliot will come to understand the truth behind Macy’s decade-long silence, and will have to overcome the past and himself to revive her faith in the possibility of an all-consuming love.Love, loss, friendship, and the betrayals of the past all collide in this first fiction novel from New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Christina Lauren (Autoboyography, Dating You / Hating You).

The Desert King's Pregnant Bride


Annie West - 2008
    But innocent Maggie is too hard to resist--and he takes her...The next morning she disappears. But Maggie is unfinished business, and he has her sent to his kingdom. There they discover the consequence of their night of passion.Marriage is the only answer--but it must be one with no emotions, no expectations of love. Maggie will take her rightful place by the sheikh's side...and in his bed!

22 Indigo Place


Sandra Brown - 1986
    What gave this man the devastating power to seduce her senses, to make her shiver with emotions she dared not confess? In his mind she'd always been the girl he couldn't have, the rich man's daughter for whom he'd never be good enough...until that moonlit night when the fierce touch of his lips branded her forever his...

The Marriage Bed


Stephanie Mittman - 1996
    Set on the Williamson Farm in 1897 Wisconsin, we are introduced to Olivia and Spencer on their wedding night.  Spencer's life has been beset with tragedy; Olivia is his second wife and a poor consolation prize for a man whose family was torn from him by Scarlet Fever.  Olivia has been a friend and neighbor to him throughout his life and she has been in love with Spencer for as long as she can remember.  Now she only wants to make him happy again and to help replace some of what he has lost.  Fighting his growing love for Olivia, Spencer makes terrible and hurtful mistakes, pushing Olivia away before he is finally able to court his wife and to accept the love she offers-- and to give love in return.

Hard to Handle


K. Bromberg - 2020
    Bromberg is back with an all new second-chance, standalone hockey romance.At first, the request seemed simple—sign a new athlete to the agency. Then I found out the new athlete was none other than the most wanted man in hockey today: Hunter MaddoxGifted. Sexy. At the top of his game. And the only man who has ever broken my heart.If signing him will help save our family business, I’ll swallow my pride and do what’s asked. But when it becomes clear his uncharacteristic antics off the ice are a hint of something deeper, keeping things strictly professional between us becomes more than complicated. But I know better than to cross that line. I’ll never date a client. Not even for him.***Win the Stanley Cup and do it before time runs out. Not a small feat, but it’s what’s motivated me since the start of my career. And time is running out.Enter Dekker Kincade.Feisty. Dogged. Damn gorgeous. The one I let get away.I have no idea why she’s traveling with the team, but hell if resisting her is going to be easy. But I have a job to do, and I refuse to lose sight of that end game. Even if she confuses me. Even if she sees parts of me I’ve hidden from the world. I can’t lose focus. Not even for her.Are you ready to fall for the Kincade sisters and the men who love them in K. Bromberg's sexy, contemporary, sports romance series? These books can all be read as standalones, but you’ll enjoy reading them as a series!Hard to Handle (Hunter & Dekker's story - hockey romance)Hard to Hold (Rush & Lennox's story - soccer romance)Hard to Score (Drew & Brexton's story - football romance)Hard to Lose (Gunner & Chase's story - baseball romance)Hard to Love (Finn & Stevie's story)

Simply Love


Catherine Anderson - 1997
    Nothing soothes his restless inner yearning -- until he spies Cassandra, as fresh and pure as a spring morning, and vows he will possess her. The radiant, charmingly naïve young beauty seems blind to the depth of Luke's desire or the lengths he is willing to go to seduce her. But the lady is wise, with an unwavering faith in the magical powers of love. And she's determined to awaken the good man hiding in Luke's tormented heart, for only one precious gift will truly win her: his deep, passionate, and unsullied love.

Heart Bones


Colleen Hoover - 2020
    After carving her path all on her own, Beyah is well on her way to bigger and better things, thanks to no one but herself.With only two short months separating her from the future she's built and the past she desperately wants to leave behind, an unexpected death leaves Beyah with no place to go during the interim. Forced to reach out to her last resort, Beyah has to spend the remainder of her summer on a peninsula in Texas with a father she barely knows. Beyah's plan is to keep her head down and let the summer slip by seamlessly, but her new neighbor Samson throws a wrench in that plan.Samson and Beyah have nothing in common on the surface.She comes from a life of poverty and neglect; he comes from a family of wealth and privilege. But one thing they do have in common is that they're both drawn to sad things. Which means they're drawn to each other. With an almost immediate connection too intense for them to continue denying, Beyah and Samson agree to stay in the shallow end of a summer fling. What Beyah doesn't realize is that a rip current is coming, and it's about to drag her heart out to sea.

Married by Mistake


Abby Gaines - 2007
    That really was Casey Greenebeing jilted by her fiancé on live TV! And that really was Memphis's most eligible bachelor who stepped in to marry her instead. Millionaire businessman Adam Carmichael wanted only to help Casey save face. He isn't prepared for the news that their "fake" wedding is legal and binding. While they secretly wait for an annulment, media and family scrutiny forces them to put on their best loving-couple act. Except by now, neither one is quite sure who's acting....

Burn for You


J.T. Geissinger - 2017
    But for a sassy chef and an arrogant billionaire, the sparks are real…Jackson “The Beast” Boudreaux is rich, gorgeous, and unbelievably rude to the staff at Chef Bianca Hardwick’s New Orleans restaurant. Bianca would sooner douse herself in hot sauce than cook for Jackson again, but when he asks her to cater his fund-raiser, Bianca can’t refuse, knowing the cash will help pay her mother’s medical bills. Then Jackson makes another outrageous request: Marry me. The unconventional offer includes an enormous sum—money Bianca desperately needs, even if it does come with a contract — and a stunning ring.The heir to a family bourbon dynasty, Jackson knows the rumors swirling around him. The truth is even darker. Still, he needs a wife to secure his inheritance, and free-spirited, sassy Bianca would play the part beautifully. Soon, though, their simple business deal evolves into an emotional intimacy he’s built walls to avoid.As the passion heats up between them, Bianca and Jackson struggle to define which feelings are real and which are for show. Is falling for your fake fiancé the best happy ending… or a recipe for disaster?

Between Here and the Horizon


Callie Hart - 2016
    You think you want to know me. But trust me, Miss Lang. Pursuing me will be the worst mistake you ever make. I’m broken beyond repair......and I take great pleasure in breaking everyone else around me.”Ophelia Lang needs money, and she needs it bad. Her parent’s restaurant is going under, and ever since she lost her job teaching third grade elementary, scraping enough cash together to pay the bills has proven almost impossible. Her parents are on the brink of losing their home. The vultures are circling overhead. So when Ophelia is offered an interview for a well-paid private tutoring gig in New York, how can she possibly say no? Ronan Fletcher is far from the overweight, balding businessman Ophelia expected him to be. He’s young, handsome, and wealthy beyond all reason. He’s also perhaps the coldest, rudest person she’s ever met, and has a mean streak in him a mile and a half wide. A hundred grand is a lot of money, however, and if tolerating his frosty temperament, his erratic mood swings and whatever else he throws at her means she’ll get paid, then that is what Ophelia will do. Her new boss is keeping secrets, though. Awful, terrible secrets. The ghosts of Ronan Fletcher’s past are about to turn Ophelia’s future upside down, and she can’t even see it coming. Note: Between Here and The Horizon is a brand new standalone contemporary romance novel from USA Today bestselling author, Callie Hart. Between Here and the Horizon does contain some scenes of violence and sexual content, and so is directed at audience 18+.

The Simple Wild


K.A. Tucker - 2018
    Calla never looked back, and at twenty-six, a busy life in Toronto is all she knows. But when Calla learns that Wren’s days may be numbered, she knows that it’s time to make the long trip back to the remote frontier town where she was born.She braves the roaming wildlife, the odd daylight hours, the exorbitant prices, and even the occasional—dear God—outhouse, all for the chance to connect with her father: a man who, despite his many faults, she can’t help but care for. While she struggles to adjust to this rugged environment, Jonah—the unkempt, obnoxious, and proud Alaskan pilot who helps keep her father’s charter plane company operational—can’t imagine calling anywhere else home. And he’s clearly waiting with one hand on the throttle to fly this city girl back to where she belongs, convinced that she’s too pampered to handle the wild.Jonah is probably right, but Calla is determined to prove him wrong. Soon, she finds herself forming an unexpected bond with the burly pilot. As his undercurrent of disapproval dwindles, it’s replaced by friendship—or perhaps something deeper? But Calla is not in Alaska to stay and Jonah will never leave. It would be foolish of her to kindle a romance, to take the same path her parents tried—and failed at—years ago. It’s a simple truth that turns out to be not so simple after all.