Book picks similar to
On the First Night of Christmas by Heidi Rice


romance
contemporary-romance
harlequin
christmas

The Ex Factor


Nancy Warren - 2010
    Her newest client, Sophy, has brought along her best man for advice. And the best man is none other than Karen's sexy ex-husband, Dexter Crane. But there are rules when engaging in ex-sex:1) Do not get romantically involved (obviously)2) All fun. No fight.3) Two words --- booty call!4) (Reminder: nix the romantic involvement)5) Remember why it ended (important!)6) And get out before you fall in love with him again ...

Forever Wild


K.A. Tucker - 2020
    Jonah is bracing himself for two weeks with a stepfather he loathes, and while Calla is looking forward to her mother and Simon’s arrival, she dreads the continued pressure to set a date for their wedding…in Toronto. Add in one bullheaded neighbor’s unintentional meddling and another cantankerous neighbor’s own family strife, and Christmas in Trapper’s Crossing will be anything but simple.

The Parisian Christmas Bake Off


Jenny Oliver - 2013
    But Rachel hasn’t come to Paris to mope she’s come to bake. Hard.Because the search for Paris’s next patisserie apprentice is about to begin! And super-chef judge Henri Salernes is an infamously tough cookie. But Rachel isn’t about to let her confidence (or pastry) crumble. She’s got one week, mounds of melt-in-the-mouth macaroons and towers of perfect profiteroles to prove that she really is a star baker.As well as clouds of flour, and wafts of chocolate and cinnamon, there’s definitely a touch of Christmas magic in the air… Rachel hasn’t come to Paris looking for a fairy-tale romance, but the city of love might gift-wrap her one anyway…Not even a dusting of icing sugar could make The Parisian Christmas Bake-Off a more perfect Christmas treat!

Finn's Pregnant Bride


Sharon Kendrick - 2002
    Their strong mutual attraction leads them to a night of mad, passionate love.Then Catherine learns she is pregnant! She tells Finn the truth, and they embark on a marriage of convenience for the baby's sake. But what happens to the simmering passion that drew them together in the first place? Can they resist the temptation, or will they risk it all for a real marriage?

Switch


Megan Hart - 2009
    Original.Don't think. Don't question. Just do. The anonymous note wasn't for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not in the habit of reading other people's mail, but it was just a piece of paper with a few lines scrawled on it, clearly meant for the apartment upstairs. It looked so innocent, but decidedly-- deliciously--it was not. Before replacing the note--and the ones that followed --in its rightful slot, I devoured its contents: suggestions, instructions, summonses, commands. Each was more daring, more intricate and more arousing than the last... and I followed them all to the letter. Before the notes, if a man had told me what to do, I'd have told him where to go. But submission is an art, and there's something oddly freeing about doing someone's bidding...especially when it feels so very, very good. But I find that the more I surrender, the more powerful I feel--so it's time to switch up roles. We play by my rules now.

The Most Expensive Night of Her Life


Amy Andrews - 2013
    But she desperately needs a refuge from the paparazzi and delectable Blake Walker's boat will provide the perfect bolt-hole. This brooding ex-soldier is bound to rescue her, right…? Wrong. Pampered princess Ava is the last person Blake wants in his personal space—she's far too tempting! But with a million-pound charity donation hanging in the balance Blake can't say no. Now that Ava's close enough to touch, keeping his hands off her is pretty difficult, too! Maybe money isn't the only thing at stake this Christmas….

His Until Midnight


Nikki Logan - 2013
    Keeping her at arm's length—quite literally!—is a battle of epic proportions for Oliver, but also an irresistible temptation. Until the year she doesn't come. Now the rules have changed! Because, this Christmas, Audrey is single, and Oliver must decide if he will let her run away at midnight for good, or fight for her to stay until morning!

My Favorite Mistake


Stephanie Bond - 2005
    No, wait...I did that already -- three years ago in a Vegas chapel after one too many Long Island Iced Teas. I married a hunky U.S. Marine I'd met only hours before. (The uniform did it.)The wedding night -- week -- was spectacular. Then Redford went back to the Gulf. And I went back to my real life as a New York City financial planner...and filed for an annulment.I'm dating Barry the TV producer these days, but I think about Redford...a lot. And now, thanks to an upcoming IRS audit, I'm about to see ex-husband again. So why am I flustered? He's probably married, and I have -- um, what's his name. It's not as if Redford plans to take me back...or take me -- gulp -- to bed.Besides, I'd never make the same mistake twice. Not even my favorite one...

Christmas Fantasy


Janelle Denison - 1999
    Then he met Teddy Spencer. She was smart, sexy...and terrified of commitment. But she also needed him--to play the role of her lover at the company Christmas party. Austin was willing to take the job...as long as he could convince her to make it a full-time position!

Before I Knew


Jamie Beck - 2017
    In this first Cabot novel, a legacy of secrets tests old friends seeking a second chance at life and love. On the second anniversary of her husband’s suicide, Colby Cabot-Baxter is ready to let go of her grief and the mistakes made during her turbulent marriage. Her fresh start comes in the form of A CertainTea, the restaurant she’s set to open along Lake Sandy, Oregon, with help from her family. But when her executive chef quits just weeks before the grand opening, Colby is pressured to hire old family friend Alec Morgan. His award-winning reputation could generate buzz, but their friendship has withered since her husband’s reckless dare cost Alec’s brother his life.Distracted by guilty secrets concerning the tragedy that changed his and Colby’s lives, Alec self-destructed and lost his famed restaurant. With his career in tatters, he’s determined to use this opportunity to redeem his reputation and to help the woman he’s loved from afar find happiness again.But secrets have a way of coming out. When Alec’s do, they might destroy the new life he and Colby have rebuilt together.

We Met in December


Rosie Curtis - 2019
    One house. A year that changes everything.  Twenty-nine-year-old Jess is following her dream and moving to London. It’s December, and she’s taking a room in a crumbling, but grand, Notting Hill house-share with four virtual strangers. On her first night, Jess meets Alex, the guy sharing her floor, at a Christmas dinner hosted by her landlord. They don’t kiss, but as far as Jess is concerned the connection is clear. She starts planning how they will knock down the wall between them to spend more time together.But when Jess returns from a two-week Christmas holiday, she finds Alex has started dating someone else—beautiful Emma, who lives on the floor above them. Now Jess faces a year of bumping into (hell, sharing a bathroom with) the man of her dreams…and the woman of his.

The Trouble with Christmas


Debbie Mason - 2013
    Dubbed "The Grinch Who Killed Christmas," Madison spoiled a deal that would turn quaint Christmas, Colorado, into a tourist's winter wonderland. Now the citizens want her fired but the company gives her one last chance, sending Madison to the small town to restore the holiday cheer.For Sheriff Gage McBride, no hotshot executive from New York City is going to destroy the dreams of the people he loves. But one look at this beautiful woman and it's his heart that may be broken. In just a few days, Madison causes more trouble than he's had to deal with all year. He can't decide if she's naughty or nice, but one thing is for certain—Christmas will never be the same again...

Eight Perfect Hours


Lia Louis - 2021
    But fate seems to have different plans.On a snowy evening in March, 30-something Noelle Butterby is on her way back from an event at her old college when disaster strikes. With a blizzard closing off roads, she finds herself stranded, alone in her car, without food, drink, or a working charger for her phone. All seems lost until Sam Attwood, a handsome American stranger also trapped in a nearby car, knocks on her window and offers assistance. What follows is eight perfect hours together, until morning arrives and the roads finally clear. The two strangers part, positive they’ll never see each other again, but fate, it seems, has a different plan. As the two keep serendipitously bumping into one another, they begin to realize that perhaps there truly is no such thing as coincidence. With plenty of charming twists and turns and Lia Louis’s “bold, standout voice” (Gillian McAllister, author of The Good Sister), Eight Perfect Hours is a gorgeously crafted novel that will make you believe in the power of fate.

The Consequence She Cannot Deny


Bella Frances - 2017
    But the beauty of her location, the private Greek island of Hydros, is nothing compared to the lethal charisma of its owner, tycoon Raffaele Rossini! A charisma that wary, innocent Coral is powerless to resist...Coral is astonished to discover her family is scandalously entwined with Rafa's, and she has a claim on his inheritance. Branded a gold digger, she's dismissed from his bed, and his life. Yet the biggest surprise of all? Their one night of rapture had unexpected, permanent consequences!

The Naughty List


Jodi Redford - 2011
    One suitable for public consumption…and a private one that’s too hot to handle. Right at the top: wild, wicked fantasies about her best buddies and business partners Ryan Hollister and Bram Colton.Besides the fact they’re both poster boys for Hunks ’R’ Us, they’ve been there for her through thick, thin and the heartbreak of a cheating fiancé. So what if her boys will never know they star in her sexiest daydreams? In her fantasy world, her heart will never get trampled again.Ry and Bram are pretty sure Lacey never meant to email a list of some of her raunchiest wants. Particularly the one that tightens their shorts—she wants a threesome. With them. Although they’ve loved her for years, they made a pact to keep Lacey off limits in order to protect their friendship. Now all bets are off. And the quest to give her all she wants—and more—is on.Warning: This book contains a wickedly hot M/F/M ménage that will heat up the holidays. Friends steaming things up in a hot tub. Bondage and blindfolds. Sexy shenanigans at a Christmas tree lot. And maybe even a glimpse of Santa…in a Speedo.