Book picks similar to
Lake of Dreams by Linda Howard
romance
linda-howard
novella
contemporary-romance
Like Never and Always
Ann Aguirre - 2018
She assumes it’s a case of mistaken identity, yet when the bandages come off, it’s not her face in the mirror anymore. It’s her best friend Morgan’s.Morgan always seemed to have the perfect life, yet Liv must navigate endlessly disturbing secrets of the criminal and murderous variety—and a romance that feels like a betrayal. Torn between the boy she loved as Liv and the boy she’s grown to love as Morgan, Liv still has to survive Morgan’s last request.
Closer
Kylie Scott - 2019
Enter former military man turned executive protection officer Ziggy Thayer. Having spent years guarding billionaires, royalty, and rock n roll greats, he’s seen it all. From lavish parties through to every kind of excess. There’s no reason some Instagram stylista should throw him off his game. Even if she does have the most dangerous curves he’s ever seen... **Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you'll enjoy each one as much as we do.**
Better Homes and Hauntings
Molly Harper - 2014
She never expects that her new client, software mogul Deacon Whitney, would see more in her than just a talented gardener. Deacon has paid top dollar to the crews he’s hired to renovate the desolate Whitney estate—he had to, because the bumps, thumps, and unexplained sightings of ghostly figures in nineteenth-century dress are driving workers away faster than he can say “Boo.”But Nina shows no signs of being scared away, even as she experiences some unnerving apparitions herself. And as the two of them work closely together to restore the mansion’s faded glory, Deacon realizes that he’s found someone who doesn’t seem to like his fortune more than himself—while Nina may have finally found the one man she can trust with her bruised and battered heart.But something on the island doesn’t believe in true love…and if Nina and Deacon can’t figure out how to put these angry spirits to rest, their own love doesn’t stand a ghost of a chance.
RoseBlood
A.G. Howard - 2017
RoseBlood is a Phantom of the Opera–inspired retelling in which Rune’s biggest talent—her voice—is also her biggest curse. Rune, whose voice has been compared to that of an angel, has a mysterious affliction linked to her talent that leaves her sick and drained at the end of every performance. Convinced creative direction will cure her, her mother ships her off to a French boarding school for the arts, rumored to have a haunted past. Shortly after arriving at RoseBlood conservatory, Rune starts to believe something otherworldly is indeed afoot. The mystery boy she’s seen frequenting the graveyard beside the opera house doesn’t have any classes at the school, and vanishes almost as quickly as he appears. When Rune begins to develop a secret friendship with the elusive Thorn, who dresses in clothing straight out of the 19th century, she realizes that in his presence she feels cured. Thorn may be falling for Rune, but the phantom haunting RoseBlood wants her for a very specific and dangerous purpose. As their love continues to grow, Thorn is faced with an impossible choice: lead Rune to her destruction, or save her and face the wrath of the phantom, the only father he’s ever known.
Shadowland
Karen Chance - 2012
It should be read after "A Family Affair".* Contains spoilers for the first four Cassandra Palmer books.
Bodyguard Bear
Zoe Chant - 2015
But on an overnight shift, she witnesses a murder. Ellie bravely agrees to testify against the murderer, who runs organized crime in her city. But she’ll need one hell of a bodyguard to make it to the witness stand alive. Growly bear shifter Hal Brennan runs Protection, Inc., an all-shifter private security company. A former Navy SEAL, he left his clan’s wilderness home for a life of danger and excitement. His parents keep calling and pestering him to look for his mate, but Hal is convinced that he doesn’t need anyone. Then he’s hired to guard Ellie. Now the bodyguard bear has a true challenge: to protect his mate… and open his heart. Bodyguard Bear is a sizzling hot, standalone BBW bear shifter romance. No cliffhangers!
Slow Summer Kisses
Shannon Stacey - 2012
With nowhere to "go, go, go, " Anna hails a cab to her grandparents' neglected New Hampshire camp to plan her next move. It seems like a good idea--until she realizes there's no takeout to be had and the boy next door has grown into a sexy but surly recluse.Cameron Mayfield knows he can kiss his peace and quiet goodbye when Hurricane Anna blows in. She was loud and bossy as a ten-year-old--and besides developing some attractive curves, she hasn't changed. Cam's not looking for a relationship, especially not with a woman like Anna. He nearly broke down on that road once before. So why can't he stop thinking about her?It's not long before their sizzling attraction leads to smoking-hot kisses. But as the days get shorter, Anna must decide if she's found a new road to happiness, or just taken a detour.25,000 words
Blackwood
Gwenda Bond - 2012
But when the island faces the sudden disappearance of 114 people now, an unlikely pair of 17-year-olds may be the only hope of bringing them back.Miranda, a misfit girl from the island’s most infamous family, and Phillips, an exiled teen criminal who hears the voices of the dead, must dodge everyone from federal agents to long-dead alchemists as they work to uncover the secrets of the new Lost Colony. The one thing they can’t dodge is each other.Blackwood is a dark, witty coming of age story that combines America’s oldest mystery with a thoroughly contemporary romance.
Night Walker
Lisa Kessler - 2011
Now, desperate for another chance to love her, he wants redemption for the mistake that cost her life.She’s haunted by dreams of her own death…After catching her fiance with another woman, Kate Bradley returns to San Diego to clear her head. The last thing she needs is romance, but after meeting Calisto she’s drawn to him in ways she doesn’t understand.They’ve waited in the shadows for centuries…Calisto has no doubt Kate is the reincarnation of his lost love, but the Fraternidad Del Fuego Santo has a new watcher with dark ambitions of his own. As old enemies reemerge and a new threat arises, the betrayal that enslaved Calisto to the night might destroy the only woman he’s ever loved again.
Hate F*@k: Part 1
Ainsley Booth - 2015
This doesn't end well. And it's going to get much worse before it ever gets better.Cole:I push her buttons. I want to push them in the good way. Dirty, up-against-the-wall, my-hand-in-her-pants kind of way.But that’s not possible, because I’m dark and she’s light, and we both know it.So I push her buttons in the bad way, making her hate me. Hailey:If a genie granted me three wishes, I’d ask for Cole Parker to never look at me again, that I’d forget the dark promise in his eyes, and that just once, before he vanished from my life completely, that he’d push me up against a wall and fuck me.Then I’d go wash my mouth out with soap.
Made for You
Melissa Marr - 2014
A killer is obsessed with Eva Tilling. Can she stop him, or will he claim her?When Eva Tilling wakes up in the hospital, she’s confused—who in her sleepy little North Carolina town could have hit her with their car? And why? But before she can consider the question, she finds that she’s awoken with a strange new skill: the ability to foresee people’s deaths when they touch her. While she is recovering from the hit-and-run, Nate, an old flame, reappears, and the two must traverse their rocky past as they figure out how to use Eva’s power to keep her friends—and themselves—alive. But while Eva and Nate grow closer, the killer grows increasingly frantic in his attempt to get to Eva.For the first time, New York Times bestselling author Melissa Marr has applied her extraordinary talent to contemporary realism. Chilling twists, unrequited obsession, and high-stakes romance drive this Gothic, racy thriller—a story of small-town oppression and salvation. Melissa’s fans, and every YA reader, will find its wild ride enthralling.
Find Me Alastar
T.L. Swan - 2016
I had it all, dream job, boyfriend, stability. So I did the unthinkable, I packed up and left everything that was dear to me. Set out on the journey of a lifetime and it was all going to plan until I met him. Alastar O’Shea. An enigmatic, artistic Irishman who had more sexual energy in his pinky finger than anything I had ever dreamed of. I should have stayed away from him. He was hot, toxic and the most exhilarating experience of my life. Like a drug he entered my bloodstream. Like a drug he brought me undone. Did I meet him by chance or was it a calculated hit? I did believe in fairy tales but he isn’t who I thought he was. Will he find me? Will it cost me my life?
The Clockwork Menace
Bec McMaster - 2014
So just why is this case coming between them? In a Victorian London ruled by the blood-drinking elite, Perry Lowell is a logical and accomplished Nighthawk: a rogue blue blood who tracks murderers and thieves for the Guild. So when she and her charming-but-reckless partner, Garrett, are charged with finding a missing theatre starlet, it should be a simple solve. But with an entire theatre of suspects, including a flirtatious understudy and whispers of a Clockwork Menace haunting the place, tension is brewing between the pair of them. Can they come together to solve the case—or will it be too late, when the murderer turns his gaze on Perry herself? Don’t miss any of the London Steampunk: The Blue Blood Conspiracy books! Book 1: Mission: Improper. Book 2: The Mech Who Loved Me. Book 3: You Only Love Twice. Book 4: To Catch A Rogue. Book 5: Dukes Are Forever What everyone is saying about Bec McMaster: "richly imagined, gritty and dark, and full of hot heroes and hot sex...utterly delicious." - Smart Bitches, Trashy Books for Kiss of Steel 'Dark, intense and sexy... A stunning new series with an intriguing twist on the vampire theme..." - Library Journal for Kiss of Steel The London Steampunk series: - Paranormal Romance - Steampunk Romance - Gaslamp Fantasy - Historical Romance - Victorian Era Romance - Action Adventure Romance - Friends to Lovers
Stolen Away
Alyxandra Harvey - 2011
Now she has been abducted and trapped in the Rath of Lord Strahan, King of Faery. Strahan was only meant to rule for seven years, as Faery tradition dictates, and then give up his crown to another. But he won't comply, and now chaos threatens both worlds.The only one who can break his stranglehold on the Faery court is his wife. . . Eloise's aunt Antonia. Using Eloise to lure Antonia, Strahan captures his wife, desperate to end the only threat to his reign. Now Eloise must become the rescuer. Together with her best friends Jo and Devin, she must forge alliances with other Fae, including a gorgeous protector named Lucas, and Strahan's mysterious son, Eldric-who may or may not betray them.Watch Alyxandra Harvey talk about Stolen Away
Ghost House
Alexandra Adornetto - 2014
Spending time at her grandmother's country estate in the south of England is her chance to get away from her grief and the spirits that haunt her. Until she meets a mysterious stranger…Alexander Reade is 157 years dead, with secrets darker than the lake surrounding Grange Hall and a lifelike presence that draws Chloe more strongly than any ghost before. But the bond between them awakens the vengeful spirit of Alexander's past love, Isobel. And she will stop at nothing to destroy anyone who threatens to take him from her.To stop Isobel, Chloe must push her developing abilities to their most dangerous limits, even if it means losing Alex forever… and giving the hungry dead a chance to claim her for their own.