Book picks similar to
The Rules of Heartbreak by Brittany Taylor


romance
contemporary
contemporary-romance
arc

Drive Me Wild


Melanie Harlow - 2020
    I’m a mechanic, not a hotel manager. I've got enough on my plate trying to keep my shop from going under, my overbearing mother off my back, and my baseball team in contention for the league championship. I don’t have time for a former debutante with zero street smarts and a cash flow problem, even if she is crazy beautiful. Problem is, she’s stranded in my small town, and I’m hiding a protective streak underneath my grumpy exterior that runs deep. So I offer her a place to stay and keep my hands to myself. For exactly one night. If only she weren't so gorgeous. So funny. So eager to please. She’s a disaster behind the wheel, but she drives me wild without even trying--at work, at home, in the back of my truck . . . I can’t get enough of the way she makes me feel. But I know better than to think it can last. She wants a fairy tale, and I’m no prince. So when it comes time for her to leave, there’s nothing I can do but let her go. No matter how much it hurts to say goodbye.

Something Like Hate


Harloe Rae - 2021
    A sizzling enemies-to-lovers romance from USA Today bestselling author Harloe Rae where a billionaire CEO battles against a snarky redhead who has her own agenda.“I’d say it’s nice to meet you, but I’ve never been a good liar.”That’s his initial offense against me.Don’t worry—there’s plenty more where that came from.Landon Winters is colder than his last name suggests.Cruel and callous too.I'm certain he finds pleasure in making others miserable.He’s a billionaire by his own making—not satisfied with simply inheriting a white collar and silver spoon.Landon's arrogance is so thick I could choke on the stench alone.He’s also responsible for gouging a jaded chip into my shoulder.The only saving grace is never having to see him again.Wishful thinking is a fickle beast.My boss just announced that Landon is my latest client.I’ll need to impress him or kiss my promotion goodbye.Either way, this is my chance to get even.Revenge is all I see.The price for redemption is steep.Landon will pay a small fortune in humiliation.And I’ll walk away filthy rich in vindication.

Shameless King


Maya Hughes - 2018
    Voted Biggest Flirt. Highest goal scorer in Kings of Rittenhouse Prep history. Everyone’s impressed, well except one person…After a blow out in high school, Makenna Halstead and I were happy to never have to cross paths again. Except life has a way of knocking you straight in the teeth with a puck when you least expect it. She hasn’t just returned to my life, she crashed into it like a wrecking ball...into my college kingdom, into my class, and smack dab into the seat next to mine. My new lab partner to be exact. For years we hated each other... I may be King on the ice, but she is the Ice Queen. She has no problem calling me out, doesn’t back down, and her piercing blue eyes have me picturing more than than just my arms wrapped around her. Now we’re stuck with each other and there’s no getting around that fact that we have to work together. My hockey career hangs in the balance. Problem? Oh, yeah.I can’t deny it. I want her. More than I ever thought I could want a woman. I’ve got one semester–only four months–to convince her everything she thought about me was wrong. Will my queen let me prove to her I’m the King she can’t live without? Only one way to find out...

Love at First Fight


Carrie Aarons - 2020
    Since the moment Smith Redfield laid eyes on me, he’s hated my guts. I’m serious, I think the raven-haired restaurateur gets physically sick just being in my presence. And he’s never been shy about hiding that fact. There was the time he cackled when I landed face first in a pile of Manhattan trash bags. Or the night I tried to throw my ex-boyfriend a surprise party, and Smith had strippers crash the bash. Or maybe it was New Year's Eve, when he got in my face and called me a sheltered goody two-shoes who wouldn’t know passion if it smacked me in the lips. He’s rooming right next door for the summer months, and I don’t think more animosity could exist than in the hallway of our vacation rental. As if I wasn’t already sporting a bruised ego and broken heart from the way his best friend left me. But the more midnight run-ins we have, the more I can’t help but think about the way his mouth would feel against mine. With each heavy-eyed glance over the dinner table, I’m starting to wonder if the damaged alpha male doesn’t harbor more than just loathing towards me. After all, they say hate is the closest emotion to love. And with the way we’re skating that thin line, it’s bound to burn this whole house down.

Fool Me Once


Nikki Ash - 2020
    I wasn’t looking for romance, but his two-dimpled charm made my heart go haywire.We both had one thing in common: we were here to escape our realities. One week. Just the two of us. Not a care in the world. I didn’t know it at the time, but that week would forever change my life.Four years later, and as fate would have it, Keegan and I are brought together again. It’s as if the universe is telling us this is our second chance. The more I get to know him, the harder I fall.Falling hopelessly in love is inevitable with a man like him. Only the joke’s on me, because the guy I’m falling for isn’t the man I thought he was. You know how the saying goes: Fool me once...I’ll be damned if I’m fooled again.

Finding You


Lena Hendrix - 2021
    When she shows up in my small town, I’m thrilled. It turns out she’s my brother’s best friend--and the girl he’s always loved-- now I’m caught between the two people who matter to me the most. I’m a Marine which means honor and duty runs deep. Joanna is off-limits. That would be a whole lot easier if she hadn’t already agreed to helping run my brother’s fishing guide business for the summer, forcing me to work side-by-side with the woman I’ve fantasized about for years. I can keep her at a distance, push her away, man up. But she draws me in without even trying and I can’t get enough of how she makes me feel. I’m stealing moments with her and I know it’s wrong. She may not be my brother’s girlfriend, but I know a landmine when I see one. Does being an honorable man really mean I have to let her go?

Off to the Races


Elsie Silver - 2021
    The horse trainer I need to turn the family racing business around. She’s feisty, confident, and so damn tempting. And our chemistry? It sizzles.We clash from the moment we meet. And in a small town, on an even smaller farm, it’s hard to keep your distance. It’s even harder to keep that friction from turning to fire.But keeping things professional? That might be the biggest struggle of all. Because Billie is the whole package, whip-smart with a body I fantasize about when I’m alone, and quite possibly the only woman who can save this place—and me.She drives me crazy. In every sense of the word. Every smart-mouthed little comment—every game we play—I end up wanting more. Wanting her closer. With me. Under me.I try not to let her get to me, but the more time we spend together the more I crave her. Her lips. Her trust. Her heart.I want it all.But at what cost?Because suddenly I don’t just want to win races, I want to win the girl.OFF TO THE RACES is a sizzling slow burn, standalone romance with no cheating. It’s the first book in the Goldrush Ranch series, set in a small town called Ruby Creek.

The Fine Print


Lauren Asher - 2021
    Production companies. Five-star hotels.Everything could be all mine if I renovated Dreamland. My initial idea of hiring Zahra was good in theory, but then I kissed her. Things spiraled out of control once I texted her using an alias. By the time I realized where I went wrong, it was too late. People like me don’t get happy endings. Not when we’re destined to ruin them.ZahraAfter submitting a drunk proposal criticizing Dreamland’s most expensive ride, I should have been fired. Instead, Rowan Kane offered me a dream job. The catch? I had to work for the most difficult boss I’d ever met. Rowan was rude and completely off-limits, but my heart didn’t care. At least not until I discovered his secret. It was time to teach the billionaire that money couldn’t fix everything. Especially not us.Dreamland Billionaires is the first book in a series of interconnected standalones following three billionaire brothers.

Bought


Lauren Landish - 2016
    I trust no one. I thrive with control and I’ve learned to be ruthless and coldhearted. A love life? I’m not interested.But I still have desires.That’s where Dahlia came in; my treasure. She had never been a submissive before and I was eager to train her.The dusting of sparkles on her dress barely hid her tempting curves. I wanted to see all of her. My d*ck was already hard at the thought of my hand leaving a bright red print across her lush ass.When I saw her on stage at the auction, dressed in gold, I knew I had to have her.She’s mine for an entire month. I own her. But one lie changed everything.She’s going to be punished for it. But I’m doing this for her own good. She needs this.I’m going to make this right. I’m going to heal her.If it’s the last thing I do. *Bought is a full-length standalone romance with an HEA, no cheating, and no cliffhanger.

The Anti-Boyfriend


Penelope Ward - 2020
    When my daughter wouldn’t stop wailing one night, Mr. Manwhore came knocking on my door. Miraculously, at the sound of his voice, Sunny stopped crying. And when he held her…she eventually fell asleep in his arms.Deacon was rough on the exterior, but apparently on the inside? Mr. Single-and-Ready-to-Mingle was a baby whisperer.After that night, we became friends.He’d go for coffee runs. Come over to chat. Normal friend stuff.But over time, our conversations ran deeper. We got closer.Until one night we crossed the line.Our friendship turned into a complicated mess.I’d gone and fallen for a guy who’d sworn off commitment and kids.I knew Deacon was starting to care for me too, even though Sunny and I didn’t fit into any plan he’d ever imagined for himself.He was wrong for me—so wrong that I’d dubbed him the “anti-boyfriend.”Then why did I wish more than anything that I could be the one woman to change him?

Puck Shy


Teagan Hunter - 2021
    It's good, low angst fun with some hot hockey players.

Rush


Kandi Steiner - 2015
    With the perfect mix of angst, emotional romance, and romantic comedy, the Palm South University series is your next guilty addiction. Drama. Lies. Sex. Welcome to Palm South University.The weather isn’t the only thing heating up in South Florida. At a school where fraternities and sororities don’t exactly play by the rules, relationships are bound to be tested. Parties and sex are definitely key ingredients in the Palm South recipe, but what happens when family issues, secret lives, and unrequited love get tossed in the mix?Follow Cassie, Bear, Jess, Skyler, Erin, Ashlei, and Adam as they tackle college at a small, private beach town university. Written in television drama form, each episode of this serial will pull you deeper and deeper into the world of PSU.Where the sun is hot and the clothes are scarce, anything can happen.

Praise


Sara Cate - 2022
    His good girl. Broken down and wounded by my emotionally neglectful ex, I wanted someone to tell me I was good enough. Then, I stumbled into a new job with a boss who brings me to my knees—literally. He has me do things a real secretary would never do.Emerson Grant tells me I’m more than just good enough. I’m worthy of his praise.There are a million reasons why I should stay away. The owner of the Salacious Players’ Club is not just my new boss, he’s twice my age. And my ex-boyfriend’s father.With him, I am treasured. I am adored. I am his.I’m a good girl, but I’m falling for the wrong man. Emerson Grant knows what he wants—And he wants me.So how far will I go to hear his approval?

Freestyle


Bea Paige - 2020
    Dance is in my blood.It’s what keeps me sane, out of trouble. It used to keep them out of trouble too. A group of boys I grew up with.Xeno, York, Zayn and Dax.We were a crew once and we ruled the clubs.Separate we were insanely good, together we were unbeatable. F*&ing on fire. I was their girl and they were my Breakers.Until they did something they promised they never would; break my heart.We were sixteen when they left me.You see, for kids like us, dance was all we had.Growing up in a rundown housing estate in London with no prospects can make you view the world differently.It can make you choose the wrong path.I chose dance, and they chose crime.Three years later I’ve won a scholarship to Stardom Academy. I try to forget my past.But how can I do that when the four boys who hurt me are back?And this time they won’t walk away even when I ask them too.Freestyle is book one of this new gritty, contemporary reverse harem academy trilogy for 17+ readers and deals with adult themes and some subjects you may find upsetting. If you love dance, your men on the criminal side, alpha hot holes and the enemies-to-lovers trope, this is for you. Contains foul language and sexual scenes.

Heartbreak Me


T.L. Smith - 2020
    That was how I met Atlas Hyde. A man known by many names and admired by all. But most didn’t know he was ruthless, conniving, and always got what he wanted. No matter the cost. I was a good girl.Never in trouble with the law.Never took drugs. Always did precisely what was expected of me. Even with his hand around my throat and words that cut sharper than knives, I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to this beautiful man to make him that way. That wonder disappeared when he threatened to kill my sister if I didn’t follow his dark demands. The good girl I once knew had now been buried alive beneath this game of hatred and lust. And I had a feeling Atlas Hyde never lost.