Book picks similar to
Holding Out for You by Anna Paige


contemporary
dnf
brothers-best-friend
brother-sister-friends

Grumpy Single Dad


Melinda Minx - 2021
    The mustard-stained apron never suited her anyway. She looks a lot better in stockings and a pencil skirt.She's given me a list. “Smile.” “Tell people ‘good job.’” “No growling!” She doesn’t seem to understand that running a Fortune 500 company isn’t the same thing as selling sandwiches.She’s determined though, and determination is exactly what I’m looking for in my new assistant. So I’ll humor her and follow her little list, just long enough that she thinks she’s got me under control.But once I get her in bed, I’ll growl all I want.WENDYI’m going to tame the big bad Mr. Wolfe, and if I can’t break his iron fist, I’ll at least put a cute little mitten over it so he doesn’t hit his employees so hard.

Starting Over


Evan Grace - 2014
    And if it weren’t for her brother’s imminent deployment, she wouldn’t even have considered coming back home. But she did. And now she needs to do everything she can to avoid the reason she left in the first place. Luke Carter. The man who turned his back on her when she needed him most. There’s just one problem…Luke seems to have other plans. He’s determined to set things right, making it impossible for Bellamy to ignore the connection they still share after all these years. But Bellamy has a secret. And it’s the kind of secret that has the potential to destroy every last bit of hope she has for a second chance at happiness. The question is, will the truth bring them closer together…or will it tear them apart for good?

He's All That


Juliana Stone - 2019
    It took forever to get over him. Now I’m stuck with Boyd in the Catskills. Do I hide? Do I protect myself from the insane attraction I still feel? Hell no. I just have to make sure the past doesn’t bite me in the ass because I can’t fall in love with him again. Call me crazy. Call me stupid. But don’t ever call me afraid. Boyd The last person I expected to run into is Echo Mansfield. The girl is a hot mess with more scandals in her back pocket than the Kardashians combined. She’s a pain in the ass. An opinionated, spoiled rich girl with a body made for sin and a mouth I can’t forget. We had one crazy, hot summer. Now she’s stuck here and all I can think about is having her again. And again. This isn’t a good idea. Even I know that. We’re alone in the Catskills for who knows how long. What the hell can go wrong?

Black Number Four


Kandi Steiner - 2015
    Her sole focus for spring semester is to perfect her game and get tournament ready – and have some fun with her sorority sisters, of course. Meeting a care-free pledge with incredible arms adds a whole new element of fun to her semester, but when a shocking discovery about his past surfaces, Skyler finds herself stuck in a game she wasn’t prepared to play. Kip Jackson is on a mission from his father. His plan was to get in, have a little fun, and then get out – on to bigger and better things. A feisty girl with bright blue eyes wasn’t on his list of things to do, but she quickly moves her way up to the very top. When he realizes completing his dad’s mission means crushing her in the process, he must decide if his dreams are worth the risk – or if he even has the same dreams, at all.Two secrets. Two hearts. Two hands being played in one twisted game of deceit. When the cards are on the table, will anyone be left standing?The perfect poker face can only hide them for so long.

Fighting for Us


Bella Emy - 2020
    In this steamy holiday romance, can an MMA, ex-Navy SEAL, single dad find love again? Can a brokenhearted young woman believe happily ever afters don't only exist in books?Blurb:LORENZOI had it all.A wonderful family with a loving wife who was my world and a beautiful baby girl.I didn’t need anything more to be rich in my eyes.Then one day, everything changed and my world was ripped apart.My wife, my everything, was taken from me, and I was left alone to raise our baby girl.I was forced from late night sessions at the gym to changing diapers all by myself.Thank God for the help I received from my parents and siblings or I would have been lost.I accepted my fate of being alone with my baby girl and living life with just us two…Until the day I met her, and she became everything worth fighting for.CARISSALife was so perfect.A loving fiancé, wonderful friends and family, and a job I adored.Until one day, my world was turned upside down and the man I loved threw the promise of forever down the drain and walked out of my life.The day he walked out of my door, I knew that everything I had ever grown up to believe in was a lie.Love is unconditional but love sure as hell doesn’t last forever.The vow to love me for the rest of our lives ended quickly as he pulled away from me, and buried himself in the arms of his ex.I was left alone, cursing the male species and everyone who had found their happily ever after.My sister and my best friend were the only ones there for me…Until the day I met him, and he became everything worth fighting for.

No Weddings


Kat Bastion - 2014
     I think I have my act together as a successful bar owner, my master’s degree within reach, and a list of no-strings-attached women warming my bed. Turns out, I don’t. Hannah believes she has safeguarded her wounded heart by shunning men and focusing on her new baking business. The thing is, she hasn’t. When my three sisters and I start a new event-planning business with Hannah as our baker, I have no idea how my life is about to change. As Hannah and I work closely together, the attraction between us becomes irresistible. And complicated. I’ve promised my sisters I wouldn’t mix business with pleasure. But I’ve never been one to follow the rules. *** The No Weddings Series Release Dates *** No Weddings ~ Sep 8th One Funeral ~ Sep 29th Two Bar Mitzvahs ~ Oct 20th Three Christmases ~ Nov 17th

The Seven Devils


Sara Danvers - 2011
    Ellen soon meets Neil, a gorgeous loner with a bad reputation. Her classmates warn her to stay away, but he seems to be the only one who understands her. Besides, the rumors about Neil are too far-fetched to be believed. When she is threatened by Derrick (a jealous classmate) it becomes clear that there is more to Neil than meets the eye. In this sexy page turner, Ellen must discover Neil's dark secrets and learn to stand up for herself before the plot hatched against her unfolds.

Watch Me Fall


Erin Trejo
    Then she left me to raise my daughter on my own. I made through every obstacle in my path and still grew my businesses to what they are today. So when life throws me a curveball in the form of my daughter's best friend, I'm not ready. She's perfect. Everything a man could ask for but she's off-limits. She's forbidden fruit. Something I can't have. And yet one touch just isn't enough. I need more and I'm willing to put everything on the line for this girl regardless of the consequences.

Be Mine, King


Chelsea McDonald - 2020
    But after his passing, demons of his past come to the surface to seek me out. Nikolai King doesn’t care about what I think is right and wrong. Unfair, fair it’s all the same in his book. With only a few words, he’s taken away my everything and shaken it until all that floats around me are fiery ruins. I loathe him. And I won’t be afraid to show it. While his sinister smirk may charm everyone else, I’m determined to hold my resolve. I see the way his eyes linger on me, like a lion licking his lips, that’ll be his downfall. I will use his greatest desires against him until he crumbles. He will not break me down. He will not take away my fight. By the time he’s through with me, I’ll have him begging for my forgiveness. I will not show weakness. I will stand tall. I will not show mercy.

Everest


S.L. Scott - 2017
    Dynamic green eyes. Utterly irresistible. Ethan Everest stole my breath the first time I saw him. He romanced me with skill, dazzled me with his charisma, and proceeded to steal my heart right after. I might have fallen for his easy-going smile the first time we met, but I fell for him the second time.Honey-colored hair. Cherry-kissed lips. Captivatingly gorgeous. Singer Davis was the first, and only, woman to ever intimidate me. She spoke to my heart with her wit, seduced me with her eyes, and became the only thing that made sense in a world that made none. I let her slip through my fingers once. I won’t make that mistake twice.Secrets broke us apart. Can a second chance bring us back together? From New York Times Bestselling Author, S.L. Scott, comes a ROMANTIC SUSPENSE STANDALONE that will have you on the edge of your seat and swooning over this new ALPHA BILLIONAIRE.

Finding Home


K.L. Humphreys - 2019
    It's easier than letting people in and telling them about that night.I live my life in the shadows because happiness is something that I can't have.I keep my pain where it belongs, in the past. I keep my secrets buried deep down.Now my past is colliding with my future, and I'm not sure how I'm going to survive.But in the midst of the darkness is a shining light: Trent.Sometimes you find home in the place you least expect it.

The Brave Line


Kate Stewart - 2017
    With a fresh perspective on life, she trades her tragic past in California for the coastal waters of Charleston. Fueled by a new career as a dispatcher, she’s determined not to let her scars weigh her down. She apologizes for nothing, especially her insatiable need for a certain police officer.Rowdy is a newly minted sergeant dedicated to his job, but the life of a Charleston police officer has never been more dangerous. With his need to take order of a city spiraling out of control, the last thing he wants is an entanglement with a mouthy dispatcher. But, there’s just one problem. He can’t get enough of her.As the heat rises between the unlikely pair, so does the tension.Three months of summer was all it took to shake their foundations, rattle their walls, and bring them crashing down.It was lust.It was love.It was real.And it would have been perfect . . . if it wasn't already over.Note to reader:This book has several elements and explores topics that some may consider triggers. For mature audiences only. Explicit sex, violence and language. (less)

Renegade Ridge


Arabella Steedly - 2018
    His prized mare is injured while barrel racing and needs medical attention fast! He is forced to turn to Dr. Vanessa Hart… The young, HOT inexperienced veterinarian who is new to town. When she shows up at the ranch, they get off on the wrong foot… Jake’s PTSD kicks in from his military days, and he gets angry with her. Jake can’t deny his attraction for the BBW, but he has a shady past. One he is afraid to admit to Vanessa for fear she will label him as a bad boy loser. Vanessa has come to town for a fresh start… She keeps to herself but when Jake does her a favor she agrees to go out with him. After their first kiss, Vanessa can’t keep her eyes off him. She wants more… But she holds a deep dark secret too that she isn’t about to share… a deadly secret! Will Jake and Vanessa’s love for each other be strong enough for them to find happiness and put their pasts in the rearview mirror? Renegade Ridge is a Bad Boy Action-Adventure Romance with a guaranteed HEA. This full-length novel is a contemporary romance but has elements of a thriller as well. Renegade Ridge is book #1 in the Renegade Series and can be read standalone. The book comes to a natural ending with no cliffhangers even though the novel has been developed to create interest in future books in the series.

The Modern Gentleman


Meghan Quinn - 2020
    This is what therapists refer to as LOSING IT. Oldest story in the book: boy meets girl, boy falls for girl, boy screws up MASSIVELY, girl tells boy to suffocate in the fruits of his very own unborn children. Heard it before? I'm sure you have.So what's so different about this story? Well, it's about me, The Modern Gentleman, New York City's top advice columnist, and my rather ungraceful downfall from my pristinely polished pedestal.It's about a girl I met who threw all my proven theories to the wind and left me awkward, needy, and absolutely head-over-wingtipped shoes in love.This is a story about June Lacy and how she single-handedly dismantled The Modern Gentleman.

Trapped in You


Nia Arthurs - 2020
    Except the main lead isn’t supposed to fall for an extra.The harder Hawk pursues me, the more the movie changes, bringing dire consequences and painful revelations.​Time is running out but, when I find a way to escape that world, I make a startling discovery. I've fallen for Hawk.Now, I'm faced with a heartbreaking choice. Do I stay or do I go?Trapped In You is a standalone BWWM science fiction romance, featuring a cocky hero and a fiesty black woman who charges through him like a hurricane.