Book picks similar to
No Strings by Nikki Ash


single-parent
age-gap
romance
single-dad

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+.

Hate You (Not)


Ella James - 2020
    You know—the one who gets the kids. But that’s what the will said. June Lawler: Legal Guardian. My niece and nephew are 6 and 9, and all they’ve ever known is San Francisco. I arrive the day after the wreck, pack up my sister’s mansion, and fly them back to Georgia. The small-town farm where their mom and I grew up isn’t what it once was, but it’s home. That’s all they really need.*I was courting an investor when it happened. Tromped all up and down the Himalayas, and he didn’t even buy in. It was a week before I found out what I’d lost. My little brother meant the world to me. Now even his kids are gone. Spirited away to Heat Springs, Georgia—population 298. They’re living on a farm that’s half a breath from bank foreclosure with a 26-year-old who didn’t finish high school. Nowhereville is not the place for little Mastersons. But I’ll get them back. It’s the money she must want, and I’ve got lots of that. “June Bug” Lawler is poorer than that red dirt she comes from. I can make her dreams come true—and do one last thing for my brother. I hate him.She makes me crazy.He thinks he can buy me off! I’ve never met a man so arrogant. There’s no woman anywhere more stubborn. I wish I had never met him.But that’s not the story.

River Wild


Samantha Towle - 2019
    A new identity. Pregnant and alone. And far away from a past that can never find me. River Wild.Moody. Sullen. Jerk.And my new neighbor.I have no interest in befriending River. And he definitely doesn’t want to be befriended by me.Then, he helps me rescue an abandoned dog. And, that day, I see something in his eyes that reflects back in my own. Sadness. Pain. Loneliness.I know all of those things well.An unwanted and unexpected friendship that somehow works. Then, without warning, it turns into something more.River and I both have our secrets, and that’s okay. Because I understand him. And he understands me.For the first time in my life, I have something I never thought I would have—happiness.But happiness isn’t forever. Not for people like me.Especially not when my past is waiting just around the corner, ready to come and take it all away.

Hero


Lauren Rowe - 2018
    Or breathe. Or string two coherent thoughts together. And I don’t mean any of that figuratively. I’m not talking about a guy being floored by the sight of a gorgeous woman—although, of course, Lydia is gorgeous beyond words.No, when I first laid eyes on Lydia Decker—my physical therapist—I was lying flat on my back in the ICU, high as a kite on painkillers, breathing on a ventilator, my bones as broken and splintered as my spirit. When I first laid eyes on Lydia Decker, she was a ray of light in the dark. Hope for the hopeless. A salve for my singed and battered soul.She said she’d been assigned to fix me. That she was there to bring me back to life. She said helping me was her calling. And then she touched me. Physically, emotionally, spiritually. She healed me. And I fell in love. But what I didn’t know . . . what I couldn’t possibly know . . . was that Lydia Decker needed fixing far more than I ever did.​​​​​​​NOTE: The Morgan Brothers are a series of five interconnected standalones. Recommended reading order is to start with HERO or CAPTAIN, as book 1, despite series numbering, because both books run on same timeline, alongside each other, and their events happen first in chronology. However, if you do not mind skipping around in time a bit, you can start with any of the Morgan Brothers books, despite series numbering, and fully enjoy it!

The Bet


Max Monroe - 2021
    But wise words, nonetheless.I just wish the Fortune Cookie People had considered how hard the whole “knowing when to quit” would be to carry out when a woman like me is gambling with her feelings.Heart-palpitating, vageen-tingling, butterflies-in-my-belly feelings for a noncommittal, hot-as-sin player by the name of Jude Winslow.After a crazy night where we were both pretending to be someone else, I’ve found myself immersed in the fun of the fling.The thrill.The irresistible charm.The pleasure of being with a man like him.Problem is, I’m positive he’s the exact opposite of husband material, and that is a serious issue for someone who is fixated on finding her happily ever after.I know the rules and I know the stakes, oh wise Fortune Cookie.Now I’d just like to know how close to self-destruction I have to get before I find the will to quit Jude Winslow.Goodness knows, when your heart is on the line, you can’t ante up your bet with an IOU.Author Note: The Bet is a full-length standalone romantic comedy and the first standalone book in the Winslow Brothers Collection. This book is chock-full of hilarious rom-com moments, but also, it’s spicy. We’re talking alllllll the sexy.

Bentley


Melanie Moreland - 2018
    Their pasts dictate the men they are, but their present shapes their future. What happens when these men meet the one person they are destined to be with? Can they fight their feelings and walk away? Or will they each succumb and learn the sweet agony of love?BentleyThe leader of the group. He is uptight, formal, and cold. Rigid and set in his ways, always following the same path. Until the day, he stumbles upon her. Emmy.She brings with her spontaneity and light. The world she lives in is so different from his, yet he cannot control the draw to her. Nor can he explain the way she makes him feel. Happy. Protective. Loved.

Disgrace


Brittainy C. Cherry - 2018
    I didn’t know my worth. I didn’t know how to exist without him by my side.All I wanted was for him to come back to me.Then, Jackson Emery appeared.He was supposed to be a distraction for my mind. A summer fling. A confidence boost to my bruised heart.We were perfect for one another, because we both knew we wouldn’t last. Jackson didn’t believe in commitment, and I no longer believed in love. He was too closed-off for me, and I was too damaged for him.Everything was fine, until one night my heart skipped a beat.I didn’t expect him to make me laugh. To make me think. To make my sadness somewhat disappear.When our time was up, my heart didn’t know how to walk away.Each day I prayed for my husband to love me again, yet slowly my prayers began to shift toward the man who wasn’t right for me. I prayed for one more smile, one more kiss, one more laugh, one more touch… I prayed for him to be mine.Even though I knew his heart wasn’t destined to love.*This book was previously known as Between the Notes.*

Second Chance Contract


M. Robinson - 2021
    Robinson comes a best friend’s baby sister, second chance billionaire romance.She was my best friends little sister which meant she was off limits, but I couldn’t help myself. I never could when it came to her and in the end, I just left town and made something of my myself.Ten years later and I was one of the richest men in the world. I had everything I ever wanted except for her. Little did I know, life would give me a second chance to make things right by her.She was suddenly my publicist, treating me as if I was nothing more than another client when I stole all her firsts. Including her heart.I needed to take matters into my own hands, making her an offer she couldn’t refuse.For the next time days, she signed a contract stating…She was mine.

My Favorite Half-Night Stand


Christina Lauren - 2018
    A UC Santa Barbara professor, she’s a female-serial-killer expert who’s quick with a deflection joke and terrible at getting personal. And she, just like her four best guy friends and fellow professors, is perma-single.So when a routine university function turns into a black tie gala, Mille and her circle make a pact that they’ll join an online dating service to find plus-ones for the event. There’s only one hitch: after making the pact, Millie and one of the guys, Reid Campbell, secretly spend the sexiest half-night of their lives together, but mutually decide the friendship would be better off strictly platonic.But online dating isn’t for the faint of heart. While the guys are inundated with quality matches and potential dates, Millie’s first profile attempt garners nothing but dick pics and creepers. Enter “Catherine”—Millie’s fictional profile persona, in whose make-believe shoes she can be more vulnerable than she’s ever been in person. Soon “Catherine” and Reid strike up a digital pen-pal-ship...but Millie can’t resist temptation in real life, either. Soon, Millie will have to face her worst fear—intimacy—or risk losing her best friend, forever.

The Thing About Love


Kim Karr - 2018
     I prefer a man with an artistic vein in his body. 9 - 5 hours. And I can definitely do without the half-lidded, sleepy bedroom eyes. (Okay, so those are kind of sexy.) Tall, dark, and handsome doesn’t change the fact that he’s arrogant, cocky, and rude. Not that I care, but he’s made it clear he wants nothing to do with a quirky girl like me, which is why he said no. Turns out no isn’t an option. I have a quickie wedding to plan, and Dr. Jake Kissinger doesn’t have a choice. He looks at our situation like he’s stuck with me, but in reality I’m stuck with him. Stuck with his pouty mouth. His long, lean body. And stuck with those loose, low riding scrub pants. (Okay, so the doctor thing is growing on me.) When spending time together turns into more than it should, I know I’m in trouble. He isn’t supposed to make my heart pound. I’m not supposed to make him look twice. And we aren’t supposed to spend the night together. (Okay, so he has more than one artistic vein in his body, and other places.) Falling for him is definitely a mistake. Here’s the thing…Jake is unavailable, and I know it. Just not in the way you might think. I guess you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

The Lawyer


Marni Mann - 2021
    Dalton, my sister’s cutthroat entertainment lawyer.And he has a proposition for me.He wants to make me famous.Of course, that means sharing a screen with my wildly jealous sister.It means giving up my career.It means the whole world will suddenly know everything about me.Which presents one catastrophic problem—Dominick doesn’t date famous people. So, do I take a chance at becoming a Hollywood star, or do I pass up the opportunity to be with the man who gave me a taste of forever?

Menace


J.M. Darhower - 2017
    So fucking bored. Most people either annoy him or avoid him, afraid to face him. Figuratively. Literally. With his face partially disfigured, scarred, he looks every bit the monster the stories make him out to be: the notorious menace they call Scar. They say he's a sociopath. Maybe he's a psychopath. Whatever path he's on, people tend to stay far away from it.Until one day, a young woman bumps right into him--a woman just as fed up with life, but for much different reasons. With a Scarlet Letter inked on her wrist and secrets buried deep in her soul, Morgan Myers is running from something... or maybe somebody. Lorenzo isn't quite sure.You can bet your ass he's going to figure it out, though.

In This Life


Cora Brent - 2018
      Will love turn them into a family?     KATHLEENHe's a loner. He's also volatile, wickedly hot and unforgiving.Probably not the kind of man anyone should trust with an infant.Definitely not the kind of man any woman should trust with her heart.When Nash Ryan returned to town for the sake of his baby brother I thought I already understood who he was.I also thought I was done giving my heart away until he proved otherwise.But we don't stand a chance.Everything is ready to unravel.And the secrets I've kept will be our undoing.NASHThis isn't the first time I've known tragedy.Maybe that's why I've chosen a solitary life.But my self-imposed exile ends when a terrible twist of fate makes methe guardian of my four-month-old brother.Suddenly I've got a kid to raise and a family business to save and there's no time for anything else.That's why Kathleen Doyle and I made this arrangement.Once a skinny little girl who used to follow me around everywhere, she's now a single mom with flaming hair, a killer body and too many responsibilities.We told each other it was just physical.We told each other there were no strings attached, no expectations.We lied.And the consequences will cost us.But I'm not surrendering this new family without a battle.Because in this life we might only get one chance to have it all...In This Life is a complete stand alone from USA Today and NYT Bestselling Author Cora Brent.**Warning: You may need tissues to deal with all the feels.**Excerpts and future book news also included at the end!

Dear Love, I Hate You


Eliah Greenwood - 2021
    And he definitely wasn’t supposed to answer it. We end up talking through letters and sticky notes in a book. One sticky note. Two sticky notes. Ten sticky notes. All baring our darkest, deepest secrets. It’s all fun and games until I find out who my pen pal is... Xavier Emery. King of my basketball-obsessed town, my childhood bully, and the guy I am in grave danger of falling in love with. But the rules were clear: we can never know who we’re talking to, and the confessions can never, ever get out. Seriously. It would destroy lives.  Fine by me. Even if Mr. Popular does find out his confidant is little old me, it’s not like he’d ever love me back…Right?

Friction


Emily Snow - 2017
    Recent divorce, check. Pending lawsuit, check. A move back to Boston to live with her mother, triple check. It can't get much worse, right? When she starts her new marketing job at EXtreme Effects, she's positive shit’s stopped hitting the fan. Sure, what she's advertising is a little ... unorthodox, but it pays the bills. And since she's seconds away from becoming Lucy Williams: Wednesday Night Bingo Enthusiast, she needs money to get the hell out of her mother’s house. The only problem is her boss, Mr. Extreme himself: Jace Exley. He’s everything any sane woman dreams of—alpha, successful, ridiculously gorgeous. He's also Lucy’s worst nightmare. Because like every overachiever, she has that underachiever she brushed off. The slacker who, once upon a time ago, was the object of her dirtiest schoolgirl fantasies. Jace Exley—with his sarcastic smirk and delicious accent—just happens to be that guy. And the friction between them? Well, that's the only adulting Lucy seems to be winning at