Book picks similar to
McKenzie's Turn to Fall by Harlow James
age-gap
holiday
arc
romance
Ruined Promises
Stefanie Jenkins - 2020
One decision. It only took one night out to turn Lexi Baker’s so-called perfect world upside down. A chance encounter with a tall, dark, and handsome stranger makes her feel things she’s never felt before, both physically and emotionally. When her emotions get the best of her, she escapes with only his first name: Ben. A one-night stand—that’s all it was supposed to be. She was never supposed to see him again. And he definitely wasn’t supposed to be standing in her office Monday morning being introduced as her new boss. Ben and Lexi promise each other that nothing more can happen and they must remain professional. But some promises are meant to be ruined, right?
In a Holidaze
Christina Lauren - 2020
She’s living with her parents, hates her going-nowhere job, and has just made a romantic error of epic proportions.But perhaps worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will be at her favorite place in the world—the snowy Utah cabin where she and her family have spent every holiday since she was born, along with two other beloved families. Mentally melting down as she drives away from the cabin for the final time, Mae throws out what she thinks is a simple plea to the universe: Please. Show me what will make me happy.The next thing she knows, tires screech and metal collides, everything goes black. But when Mae gasps awake…she’s on an airplane bound for Utah, where she begins the same holiday all over again. With one hilarious disaster after another sending her back to the plane, Mae must figure out how to break free of the strange time loop—and finally get her true love under the mistletoe.Jam-packed with yuletide cheer, an unforgettable cast of characters, and Christina Lauren’s trademark hijinks, this swoon-worthy romantic read will make you believe in the power of wishes and the magic of the holidays.
Marx Girl
T.L. Swan - 2017
addictive.I fell hard and fast and then I left.I've thought about her every day since.As I sit here at a wedding watching her with her new boyfriend......I have regrets.Regrets for the past things I've done.But I won't regret what I'm about to do.She's telling me no but her body's telling me yes.I need her beneath me.I'm having her tonight.
Bridget.
It's the little things I remember about Ben.His smile and the icing sugar he had on his pancakes.What started out as private jokes between us soon turned into private visits.The quiet man at the back of the crowd.His dry wit made me laugh.His dominant body ruined me foreverHe never told me he loved me, until he was leaving.That was five years ago.Things are looking up for me.I met someone, someone special.But Ben is back.I find myself thinking about him ......more than I should.No matter how hard my heart is freefalling from my chest.I will never go back there.You only get to break my heart once.This is a stand alone, Contemporary romance.
A Pizza My Heart
Teagan Hunter - 2019
Foster Marlett was always there...until he wasn't.After disappearing for four years without so much as a goodbye, he's back, and something has definitely changed about him other than his marital status.Long gone is the boy who left on a whim.He's taller.Darker.And have his arms always been that big?When he starts sending looks my way I know I should ignore, I can't help but wonder if there's something between us that wasn't there before.But that can't be possible.He's always just been my brother's best friend.I can't fall for him...can I?
The Meeting Point
Olivia Lara - 2021
You must be the blonde in the red dress? I'm the Lift driver who dropped you two off earlier.' And with these words, the life of the brunette and t-shirt wearing Maya Maas is turned upside down. Having planned to surprise her boyfriend, she finds herself single and stranded in an unknown city on her birthday.So when the mystery driver rescues Maya with the suggestion that she cheers herself up at a nearby beach town, she jumps at the chance to get things back on track. She wasn't expecting a personalised itinerary or the easy companionship that comes from opening up to a stranger via text, let alone the possibility it might grow into something more...>
Falling Like Stars
Eve Kasey - 2021
For everything.”Elle’s fairy-tale is simple: job, man, cottage by the sea. She just ticked the first thing off the list: a dreamy new job planning guest experiences for OrbitAll, the world’s first space tourism company. Cottage by the sea? More like an apartment in California’s Mojave Desert. And the only man in her life is Chen, OrbitAll’s annoying new astronaut, who also happens to be her (loud) upstairs neighbor. Chen’s always hated boundaries. He became an astronaut so not even gravity could hold him back. Unfortunately, his parents can. As the oldest son in a Chinese family, his fate has been decided since birth. When Chen gets an incredible offer from a space tourism company in America, he ditches his duties—for now. There he meets Elle, the eye-rolling beauty who lives and works ways too close. With her wild hair and fast car, she looks like freedom. Tastes like it, too. Together, Elle and Chen are hotter than the center of the sun. And they’re hurtling towards their deadline as fast as they’re falling. Falling Like Stars, Book One of the All In series, is a steamy contemporary interracial romance that takes place all over the globe and beyond, and guarantees a happily ever after. The All In books are standalones in a series with no trigger warnings.
All About Us
Tom Ellen - 2020
And then his old friend Alice gets back in touch. Ben’s always thought of Alice as the one that got away, and he can’t help but wonder: what if he’d done things differently all those years ago?He never imagines he might get to find out… but when a stranger sells Ben a mysterious watch one freezing winter’s night, he’s astonished to wake up the next morning on 5th December 2005: the day he first kissed Daphne, leaving Alice behind.Now Ben must make the biggest decision of his life, all over again. But this time around, will he finally find the courage to follow his heart?All About Us is a captivating novel of heartbreak and loss, friendship and hope – and how the choices we make throughout our lives will shape our destiny.
Under the Thistle-toe (Twelve Days of Kissmas, 11)
Mindy McKinley - 2021
Mostly. Her B&B, the Thistle Do keeps her busy in the small Scottish-American tourist town of Aberdeen, Illinois. With a dating pool she can count on one hand, though, she's come to terms with the fact that she'll have to learn to love being alone. That is until a six-foot-five, bagpiping hottie shows up on her front step and dares to make her feel again.As leader of the pipe band Aon Dueg, Finn MacGowan is growing tired of his life of travel. Aberdeen is just the latest stop in a whirlwind life that keeps him moving constantly. In town to work with the high school pipe band for the Christmas parade, the last thing Finn expects is to find is a woman that turns him upside down and a new calling that could change everything. All he has left to do is convince Mia that he's worth taking a second chance at love.
Love in the City
Jen Morris - 2020
And I think we all know what any sensible adult does in that situation: tequila shots. Lots of them.It’s okay, though, because I’ve finally escaped my tiny New Zealand home town and my negative parents. And New York is better than my wildest fantasies. So is Michael, the sexy single dad who lives in the apartment upstairs. And he’s featuring in my fantasies more and more—even if he’s a grump and I only ever seem to make a dork of myself in front of him. Ah well, a girl can dream.Anyway, I’ve got a writing career to build, and writing about being single is fun. If that means swearing off men for a bit, that’s fine. I can totally do that. It’s just a tiny crush. Besides… happily ever afters aren’t real. Are they?
Here’s what you can expect from Love in the City:- Slow burn, sexy romantic comedy- Kiwi girl moving to the big city- Bearded single dad- New York City vibes- Fun and endearing secondary characters- Gorgeous happily ever after
Love in the City contains cursing and sex scenes. If these aren't your thing, this book probably isn't for you.
One Week 'Til Christmas
Belinda Missen - 2019
One chance meeting. Seven days to Christmas.Isobel Bennett is waiting for the number 11 bus when a man quite literally falls into her lap. Snow is falling, Christmas lights are twinkling, and a gorgeous man with dark brown hair has just slipped on ice and is now pressed against Isobel.Isobel knows she’s not imagining the chemistry between them. But then his ride arrives and, embarrassed, he beats a hasty retreat, murmuring apologies – and Isobel realises only too late that she didn’t manage to catch his name…When she runs into him again the next morning, she decides it’s fate.It’s a second chance for Isobel and Tom – but there’s only one week until she’s leaving London for good. Seven days of enjoying all the festive delights the city has to offer: ice-skating at Somerset House, mulled wine on the Southbank, Christmas shopping at Liberty.There’s magic in the air and mistletoe in the trees – but what will happen when the week is over?For fans of Josie Silver, Lucy Diamond and Marian Keyes, this is one Christmas romance you don’t want to miss!
The Mistletoe Motive
Chloe Liese - 2021
She loves them. She’s full of festive cheer. He’s brimming with Bah, Humbugs. Besides unreasonably seasonable names, the only thing Jonathan Frost and Gabriella Di Natale have in common is a healthy dose of mutual contempt. Well, that and the same place of employment at the city’s most beloved independent bookstore, Bailey’s Bookshop. But when the store’s owners confess its dire financial state, Jonathan and Gabby discover another unfortunate commonality: the imminent threat of unemployment.With the Baileys’ requests to minimize expenses, win new customers, and make record sales dancing in their heads, Jonathan and Gabby conclude—barring a financial Christmas miracle—one of them will soon be cut from the payroll. Neither are willing to step down from their position, so they strike a bargain: whoever has more sales in December gets to stay on in the new year; the loser will resign. With a lifetime's worth of festive tricks up her sleeve, Gabby should easily outsell her nemesis, except the unreadable Mr. Frost’s every move seems purely designed to throw her off her game.As if that wasn’t bad enough, Gabby's deceptive ex won't quit pursuing her, and her anonymous online friend suggests they take a break. Worst of all, as the pressure mounts to save the bookshop and her job, Gabby meets a new, tender side of Jonathan. Is this the same man she's called her cold-hearted enemy?Maybe he’s got a motive she just can’t figure out—or maybe Jonathan Frost isn’t as chilly as she once thought. Maybe Jonathan and Gabby already know—and love—each other in ways they never thought possible.This is an #OwnVoices story for its portrayal of autism by an autistic author.
The Forbidden Man
Karina Halle - 2019
Forty-years old and still reeling from a public and painful divorce, Thalia Blackwood is looking for a fresh start, somewhere far away from her upside down life. When she’s offered a new job as the sports therapist for a football (soccer) team, she jumps at the chance. This is just what she needs to leave the heartbreak and shame of Manchester behind, trading it in for the warmth and hopeful vibrancy of Madrid. He was her only desire. Twenty-three year old Alejo Albarado is rising up the ranks in his career. As the charming forward for the Real Madrid team, Alejo’s life revolves around women, parties, and being a tabloid darling, that is until the new sports therapist joins the team. Their passion could not be ignored. What starts out as a strictly professional relationship between Thalia and the young Spanish player, slowly evolves into something more. Much more. Their relationship was forbidden. But their combustible chemistry and simmering sexual tension can only go so far—should Thalia give into Alejo’s advances, she’s at risk of not only losing her job, but succumbing to a much younger man will drag her through the spotlight again. Alejo might be worth that risk. Unless he breaks her heart in the process. The Younger Man is a full-length standalone romance. Characters from Love, in English make a cameo in this book, however The Forbidden Man is intended to be read as a STANDALONE. This book will be approximately 400-500 pages or more.
The Sweetest Fix
Tessa Bailey - 2021
With her window of opportunity shrinking fast, a miracle happens. She wins an audition with Bernard Bexley, Broadway’s most respected dance choreographer. When disaster strikes and Reese misses the audition, she has to find another way in front of Bernard, otherwise face the disappointment back home. Following the sage advice of a Times Square Pikachu—Reese seeks out Bernard’s son, prepared to beg for his aid, never expecting mega sparks to fly between her and the gentle giant baker. With Reese’s heart now involved, she refuses to use Leo to her advantage and tries to walk away before her ulterior motives are exposed, but gravity continues to draw them back together…until it’s impossible to stay apart. But Reese’s lie of omission can only stay buried for so long. When Leo finds out how their relationship started, will Reese keep her ultimate role as Leo’s leading lady? Or will the curtain fall on their real-life fairytale?
Forever Friend Zoned
C. Morgan - 2021
I took all of that crap from the past and turned it into a goldmine. My body, namely. And there’s one girl I want that rejected me over and over. Lucky for me, the beauty is on the heels of a terrible breakup. Yes. I mean, aww… Her parents are pushing her to go to the gym to lose some weight. Boy, do I know how that feels. And guess who’s waiting for her when she gets there?That’s right. Me. The forever friend-zoned guy. But I have no ill will toward my curvy first love. I only want what’s best for her. Namely, me. *wink*So the game begins, and I’m lucky to be in the coach’s shoes this time. She has no clue who I am, but sparks fly high. No way in hell I’m telling her I’m the guy she remembered rejecting. ‘Cause I’m not out for revenge. I just want what I’ve always wanted… Her.
More of You
A.L. Jackson - 2018
. . The second I saw him walk through the door, I knew he was trouble. A gorgeous rebel with a bad attitude and a huge chip on his shoulder.My heart warned me. I didn’t listen. I fell hard and fast. He promised we’d be together forever, and then left me with a broken heart. Now, ten years later, Jace Jacobs is standing at my door.Sexier than he’s ever been. Provocative and commanding.Successful and powerful. The man I always knew he would become. But I promised myself I’d never lose my heart to him again.Even time couldn’t dim our chemistry. One glance of his intense eyes, and I become weak. One brush of his hand, and he brings me to my knees. Little do I know, Jace holds the key to everything I’ve lost and everything that threatens my future.Now he will either save me, or he will break me all over again . . . More of You – a Confessions of the Heart second-chance, stand-alone romance