Book picks similar to
Something Worth Having by C.K. Carr


romance
freebie
contemporary-romance
contemporary

Emma's Dream


M. Lee Prescott - 2015
    Doctor's orders, he's home to heal, but the sooner he can get back to Santa Barbara, the better. Then he runs into Maggie Williams on Main Street, prompting vivid memories of a magical night, and Ben's ailing heart skips a beat. Father of her beloved five year old daughter, the eldest of the Morgan sons is the last person Maggie expects to have crash into her car and back into her life. For years, she has struggled to forget him and to make a life for herself and her daughter, Emma, the mirror image of a father, who is unaware of her existence. Now, here he is, looking more gorgeous than the day he ran out of town. Maggie swears Ben Morgan will never break her heart again.

Unlawfully Yours


Ellie Danes - 2017
    A man she met and married in less than 30 days. 18 months later he’s standing on my doorstep with a box of her things and a story I can barely believe. Carter Jones. A name I never wanted to hear again. I’d met him once. The night he took my sister out while we vacationed in Italy. Twenty-four hours she was leaving with him for good. Sure, he was rich and gorgeous and impossible to resist, But he’s my brother-in-law. Or at least he was. Until my sister up and disappeared with a million dollars of his Money… and a whole lot more. Unlawfully Yours is a standalone romance with extra steamy bonus content included!

Caleb


Cindy Stark - 2015
    That's beyond crazy.3--Lie about your fiancé, unless the only way to keep what should be yours is to find a stand-in husband. Don't forget to make him cute.4--Last, and most important, don't fall for a man when the contract between you states he must leave you.

Tales From The Crib


Jennifer Coburn - 2006
    She and her husband Jack have been trying to get pregnant for years throughout their rocky marriage. But before she can tell him the big news, Jack has something he needs to announce – he wants a divorce!Rather than split up, Lucy and Jack decide to live together as friends. This way, they can share expenses and parenting responsibilities. Co-parenting is a fine deal for Jack who is back in the dating scene by Lucy’s third trimester of pregnancy, but is a frustrating one for Lucy who has unfulfilled sexual fantasies about every man from restaurant delivery boys to puppeteers. Meanwhile, Lucy’s mother is taking over her life. The grand dame of Planet Earth, Anjoli frequently visits her daughter to share her own brand of maternal wisdom. As Anjoli leaves her Drama Queen bookstore to “help” Lucy with baby Adam, the new grandmother has an affair with baby’s pediatrician, hosts two weddings (including cousin Kimmy’s wedding to herself), and constantly frets about which kind of pie to serve guests. With a cast of family and friends from Lucy’s Jewish aunts to Junior League neighbor, Candace, Tales From the Crib is the story of how one baby can bring people together – so they can drive each other nuts!

Big Love in a Small Town


Kate Goldman - 2015
    Three weeks later, Tessa meets Nate Wilder, a Hollywood star, at a restaurant where she waits tables on weekends, and he doesn’t hide his immediate attraction to her. Despite still being heartbroken, Tessa feels a spark and they begin secretly seeing each other. Tessa begins to fall in love with Nate and their relationship seems perfect until a miscommunication causes her to break things off abruptly. A little time passes and Tessa’s ex-boyfriend returns, asking her to come to Nashville so that they can be together again. She realizes that she definitely doesn’t want that – she has fallen for Nate, and she hopes that she hasn’t missed her chance. Now that Tessa finally realizes the truth about her feelings and what a mistake she has made, she hops on a plane for Los Angeles, but when she arrives, she isn’t prepared for what she sees.

Man Hunting in Memphis


Rhonda Russell - 2018
    She’s had plenty experience with true-fools, true-deadbeats, true-liars and true-cheats, but when her last boyfriend steals her mother’s diamond engagement ring, then skips bail and Georgia is left with no choice but to join forces with bad-ass bounty hunter Linc Stone, she soon discovers that she hasn’t had any kind of experience with true-lust. Inconvenient? A bad time? Out of the question? Most definitely. Her last foray into the dating pond resulted in her losing an irreplaceable heirloom and a big chunk of her self-respect. Hooking up with a perpetual frat-boy look-alike with a set of abs that make her drool might feel like a good idea, but in reality would be a disaster. Under the impression that love will come like a tidal wave and knock her off her feet, Georgia doesn’t realize she’s gone and given her heart to Linc Stone until it’s entirely too late. Linc Stone might look like a perpetual frat-boy, but he’s got an old soul and he’s a sucker for a sad case. Though she’s the most put-together, organized woman he’s ever seen, Georgia Hart is a mess--a hot one--but she's nothing he can't handle...and handling her soon becomes his prime mission...

Secrets of the Heart


Lee Tobin McClain - 2017
    But when his interfering siblings hire Molly Abbott, a successful food entrepreneur and his high-school sweetheart, he’s livid. The way their relationship ended wasn’t pretty. And although Molly never married, she’s the single mom of an eleven-year-old daughter conceived right about the time of the breakup. Molly’s ideas about farm-to-table, health-conscious Mexican food conflict with Javier’s strong sense of tradition, even as her joyous faith convicts him about his own lapse from the church of his youth. Can a reunion romance bring happiness to two lonely souls who never forgot each other… or will their relationship be derailed by the secrets they both carry in their hearts? Secrets of the Heart is Book Four of the Arcadia Valley Romance series. These inspirational Christian romances all take place in the same Idaho town, with characters you'll come to love and a farm-fresh, sustainable foods focus. Look for a new book each month, including more books about the Quintana Family and El Corazon.

Jaded Billionaire


Jill Snow - 2018
     Ethan Thomas is disillusioned after selling his company for billions and discovering all the people he cared about are now only interested in him for his money. Needing to get away, he heads to a campground in Sweet Mountain, Montana. It’s the off-season and he is assured all the other cabins will be empty. He’s after complete solitude which is why the last thing he needs is a city-slicker faux camper in the cabin next door. Especially one who doesn’t even know how to boil water over an open fire. Lily Ryder doesn’t even know how to boil water over an open fire. Or on a stove for that matter. But she can’t pass up the opportunity for a big promotion at the newspaper where she works. All she has to do is spend one week at a campground and she’ll steal the job right out from under the nose of her rival. Camping, even in a cabin, turns out to be a lot hard than she expected, but the last person she’s going to turn to for help is the Neanderthal that almost shot her dog. They could just ignore each other, but Sweet Mountain is hiding a secret, one that could change both their plans forever.

Growing in Love


Paige Powers - 2014
    Breakups, makeups, drama in the halls, it’s all in a school day’s work. Jack is your all-American teenager experiencing the usual woes of his generation. Crazy parties, locker scenes, immaturity, and if that wasn’t enough, he’s got serious girl problems. It just so happens that Jack’s friend, Lidia, is having her own dating issues and the two of them come up with a plan to get back at their exes. Pretend to be boyfriend and girlfriend and flaunt their incredible happiness to make their past loves jealous. The plan is brilliant and they put on the performance of their young lives. They have high hopes the ruse will be successful and they’ll be back with their original partners before too long. Things are going good for the new, happy couple. But over the course of the faux relationship, they discover each other's true personas and are drawn together despite the false pretenses. Their affection toward one another becomes something neither one expected; genuine. Growing in Love is a tender, coming-of-age story about forgiveness, loss of innocence; self-discovery; relationships of all kinds–including abusive–and teenage love and romance.

A Piece of Cake


T.M. Franklin - 2013
    Well, at least not the hearts and flowers, see-your-soulmate-across-a-crowded-room-and-the-world-stands-still kind of love. No, Emily is a pragmatist and she’s abandoned her family’s tradition of matchmaking based on instinct and uncanny intuition for a more scientific approach to pairing people up. Emily believes love is more about compatibility and common interests than anything mystical.But a run-of-the-mill job turns her world on end when swoony cake designer Sam Cavanaugh pops up as a potential match for her newest client. The attraction she feels for him throws a wrench in her plans, but Emily’s not giving in without a fight.Emily is nothing if not practical. And reasonable. But she’s about to learn that sometimes the sweetest things in life…are neither.

Where Your Heart Is


Rachel Schurig - 2016
     She just needs a little time to work out a come back plan and then she’ll be right back to taking over the real estate world in the big city. Getting fired and losing her home were a setback, sure, but there’s no reason to think she’ll need more than a few weeks to get herself together. After all, Lilac Bay isn’t exactly her favorite place. And the feeling is mutual—at least when it comes to her ex, David Jenkins. Getting involved with the quirky islanders is not on her agenda, no matter how many fish fries and drunken book clubs her cousin Posey drags her to. She definitely doesn’t have time to help reopen the family restaurant. And mending fences with David, her first love, is absolutely out of the question—even if that means ignoring the spark that’s growing between them. But the more time Iris spends on Lilac Bay, the harder it is to leave. She’s getting closer with David, getting closer with her family, and suddenly she’s not so sure her old life was as perfect as she always believed it to be. Maybe she’s actually looking for something new, for something more. Maybe she’s looking for love. And maybe that love is right in front of her.

To Love Again


Lillianna Blake - 2015
    Her children recognize the defeat and sadness in her eyes and she knows that her kids deserve to see their mother happy. When Nicole follows the suggestion of a friend to go on a spa getaway during a time that her children are away with their father, she does so believing that it might lead to the self-discovery she is seeking. What she ends up finding at the Cielo Spa & Resort is much more than what she bargains for. What she ends up finding at the Cielo Spa & Resort is Gavin Bell. Gavin Bell is a successful businessman who only cares about his clients and getting the job done—it’s how he’s always defined his life and it’s also the thing that led to the downfall of his marriage. But he hasn’t found a good reason to change his ways—it helps him to ignore any hints of loneliness or regret about his past mistakes. When Gavin’s boss and best friend sends him away to a spa in the mountains for a break from work, Gavin is anything but pleased about it. He decides that he’ll spend the time in his room on his computer working, but while checking in, he meets a woman that he can’t get out of his mind. Both deceived about the Cielo Spa & Resort by well-meaning friends, Nicole and Gavin find themselves amongst individuals looking for love—a fact that neither of them is pleased about. They’ll make the best of a night—or two, if a shared meal convinces them that an initial spark just might be turning into something more. *** The Forty and Free series features women finding themselves and love again. Many of these women will overcome the obstacles, fears and pain brought on by past heartbreak. Others will undergo a shift within themselves as they make room for unexpected love in their lives. Forty and Free series: Book 1: To Love Again Book 2: To Trust Again Book 3: To Hope Again Book 4: To Try Again Book 5: To Thrill Again Book 6: To Dream Again Book 7: To Feel Again Book 8: To Live Again

The Courage To Love


Christina Tetreault - 2014
    That is until she meets Sean O’Brien, the co-owner of the bed and breakfast. From the moment she checks in, Mia is drawn to Sean, a reserved man who sees past her celebrity status. Eighteen years ago Sean became the man of the house when his father walked out on the family. Without a second thought, he put his own hopes and dreams on the back burner and took care of his mom and younger sister. Now the co-owner of a successful bed and breakfast, Sean has accepted his position in life—until the day Mia Troy checks in. Despite his better judgment, Sean can’t ignore his physical attraction to Mia. Soon he gives into his desire, telling himself all she wants is a quick fling to pass the time. As they spend time together, his feelings grow. But can love between a small town guy and an A-list celebrity ever last?

New York In Love


J.B. Pettry - 2019
    . . or is it?After two years of providing juicy material for her aunt’s popular relationship column, Violet Monroe decides it’s time for her career as a serial blind dater to come to an end. That is until her aunt talks her into accepting one last date . . . 1700 miles away. Future heir to his family’s media company, wildly handsome Sawyer Quinn knows what’s expected of him, but longs to break free of his overbearing mother and her suffocating expectations. When his uncle hands him an interesting opportunity, he’s pleasantly surprised when it leads to a young woman unlike any he’s ever met before, but there’s a problem—his meddling mother. New York In Love is a full-length sweet, swoony romance with a HEA.

Friends Like These


Hannah Ellis - 2015
    With her sights set on the flamboyant Sebastian and his sophisticated group, Marie is sure that things are about to change for the better. But when a chance encounter brings some unlikely characters into her life, things start to veer off course. Marie would never normally be seen with this bunch of misfits but to her annoyance they just keep turning up. As lives quickly become entwined and unusual friendships form, Marie realises that we don't always get to choose our friends; sometimes they choose us. Buoyed by her newfound friendships, Marie might even take another chance at love.