Book picks similar to
Santa Reads Romance by Dara Joy


romance
christmas
contemporary
holiday

Bouquet Toss


Melissa Brown - 2012
    Be it a blessing or a curse, Daphne (a hopeless romantic and perpetual single girl) catches the bouquet at every single wedding she attends. Daphne’s love life is a mess. Her first love, Mayson, haunts her heart and keeps her from pursuing happiness with any man who comes along. As she struggles to move on from the one who got away, Daphne wonders if she will ever break her curse and find her happily ever after.

The Bookshop on the Corner


Rebecca Raisin - 2014
    The meet-cute, the passion, the drama and the gorgeous men! Now this wouldn’t have been such an issue if she hadn’t been the owner of the only bookshop in Ashford, Connecticut.Ever since her close friend Lil, from The Gingerbread Café, had become engaged she had been yearning for a little love to turn up in her life. Except Sarah knew a good man was hard to find – especially in a tiny town like Ashford. That was until New York journalist, Ridge Warner stepped into her bookshop…Love could be just around the corner for Sarah, but will she be able to truly believe that happy-ever-after can happen in real-life too!

In Case of Emergency


Keira Andrews - 2017
    Maybe he's a workaholic (definitely), but he loves his HR career. What he doesn't care for is getting a bizarre call from the ER telling him an injured grad student with a concussion put him down as his emergency contact. Daniel doesn't even recognize the name at first. Cole Smith? Cole told the hospital to call him? Their parents were married for five minutes! And it was ten years ago! But Cole has no one else to look after him. The doctor says he can't be left alone. What's Daniel supposed to do? He has a snowy mountain getaway booked, and he's not skipping his first vacation in years. Even if it means babysitting Cole. Little does he know, Cole had a secret crush on him when they were teenagers.And the kid has really grown up. He's sweet and funny and sexy. He just might thaw Daniel's grumpy heart in a romantic winter wonderland...In Case of Emergency is a fluffy MM holiday romance from Keira Andrews featuring forced proximity, hot-tub shenanigans, Christmas feels, and of course a happy ending.

Codename: Mistletoe: A Military Bad-Boy Christmas Romance... With Explosions!


Simone Scarlet - 2018
    I'm single, alone for the holidays - and this sexy hunk of burly British beefcake is exactly what I need to come down my chimney tonight. Or he would have been - if our Christmas kisses hadn't been interrupted by a terrorist takeover.Now this Sexy Santa and I are under fire, on the run, and stuck on the top floor of a towering skyscraper fighting for our lives.And the truly scary part? The way this Santa is snapping necks, shooting guns and keeping me safe... I'm starting to suspect he's not really a stripper at all! DEX Talk about 'right girl, wrong time.' Surely there's no worse time to meet the girl of your dreams than the middle of a hostage situation.But these ruthless terrorists don't know the truth. I'm only humiliating myself, working as a Santa-themed stripper, because I haven't got my green card yet. It's the only job that'll pay cash-in-hand, no questions asked.But before I'd come to New York, I'd been Codename: Mistletoe - a sergeant in B Squadron, 22 Regiment, Special Air Service.I'd traveled all around the world, met interesting people - and killed them.I'd been honorably discharged and come to America to find a new life.Instead, I found Holly - and I think she's the most amazing girl I've ever met.So, I'll do anything to keep her safe - and as these terrorists are fast discovering, I've got the skills and training to do exactly that. Codename: Mistletoe is a 42,000 word Christmas romance packed with explicit scenes of sizzling sensuality, taut excitement and intense emotion. Enjoy!

Christmas with a Soldier


Makenna Jameison - 2012
    A handsome soldier. And a deserted cabin…Single-mom Meghan Jones is heading home to finish last-minute Christmas preparations with her five-year-old daughter. Major Trent Harrison is returning to town to say goodbye to his father. When a sudden snowstorm leaves them both stranded, heated animosity between them quickly turns into a night of sizzling passion.Two strangers become intimate lovers as two lonely people find one another at Christmas in this steamy romance.Heat things up tonight! Christmas with a Soldier is a sexy, steamy romance novella.

The Boat Builder's Bed


Kris Pearson - 2012
    Sophie Calhoun can't imagine how she'll pay for the damage to the luxurious car.Already cash-strapped, she's struggling to launch her new interior design studio and make a home for her daughter. She's only days away from disaster.Out of the sleek black Jaguar storms super-yacht tycoon Rafe Severino. Steaming mad. Totally gorgeous. And desperately in need of a top-line decorator for his spectacular new harbor-side mansion.Sophie fears her dream contract comes with strings that tie her to the boat-builder's bed. No matter how she tries to escape, he's always there - implacable and irresistible.She knows he doesn't want a preoccupied single mother, but concealing her daughter's existence from the man she's falling in love with is getting harder and harder. If he discovers her lies, she'll instantly lose everything.Warning: contains one determined golden-skinned man who knows his way around boats, bodies and bed-sheets.

Summer Lovin'


Donna Cummings - 2011
    She discovers it's not easy chasing after a puppy with a shoe fetish, but there's a reward for all her troubles: the hunky guy next door.Luke is a workaholic forced to take two weeks' vacation, and at first he's sure the downtime might kill him. But then he gets to know his temporary neighbor. She's sexy and fun, and all of a sudden, two weeks isn't nearly enough time.

Escape


M.K. Elliott - 2011
    She had a great job, a flat in London, and a boyfriend who loves her. But one night at the hospital changes everything. On impulse, she runs away to Koh Tao, a small island off the coast of Thailand, hoping to figure out what to do with her life.What she hadn’t bargained on is meeting dive instructor, Rudy. With big brown eyes and a lop-sided grin, he instantly takes her breath away. He helps her escape into a new, underwater world, but, as they grow closer, Lucy is riddled with guilt. Should she tell him about the boyfriend back home and her early mid-life crisis, or pretend to be someone she’s not? When a storm hits the island, Lucy has to make a decision. But Rudy has secrets of his own and secrets drive people apart...PLEASE NOTE: ALTHOUGH THIS NOVELLA CONTAINS SOME EROTIC ELEMENTS, THIS IS NOT EROTICA.Escape is approximately 50K in length.Excerpt:I should tell him about Max, she thought. It was wrong that he’d gone to all this effort and him not know that she, albeit technically, still had a boyfriend back home. Because after all, Max was more than just a boyfriend, he wasn’t someone she only saw on weekends; they lived and worked together and before this week, spent all their free time together. By her sitting here with Rudy, she was being unfair to both him and Max.When had she turned into such a bitch?Tears threatened, but she didn’t know if they were because she felt bad about Max or because she hated the thought that after a few more days she would never see Rudy again.“What’s the matter?” Rudy asked, noticing she had fallen quiet.I’ve got a boyfriend.She looked into his face, willing herself to say the words. But they refused to come. Whatever her brain shouted, her mouth refused to comply. She simply couldn’t imagine giving Rudy a reason to not want to spend time with her.But Rudy didn’t allow her the time to talk herself into telling him the truth. Instead, he leaned in toward her. He paused for a moment, searching her eyes. Lucy’s body seemed to have a mind of its own and she found herself leaning toward him, just a fraction of an inch, but enough to tell Rudy he was what she wanted, and he moved closer and kissed her.His mouth pressed soft and tentative, against hers. She tasted salt on his lips and the faint hint of wine. His hand slipped around the back of her head, twining his fingers in the base of her hair, pulling her toward him. She melted into the kiss, loosened by the wine, and all thoughts of Max left her head.Rudy lowered her down into the sand. His hand moved from her hair and slid down her waist, coming to rest on her hip. His naked chest pressed against her breasts, and her nipples hardened in response. His kiss grew deeper, his tongue gently teasing open her lips, finding her own, moist and warm.Lucy moaned and sunk deeper down into the sand, and he crushed himself against her. His hand crept back up her body and he lifted himself slightly, his fingertips lightly trailing across her body, finding the swell of her breast and the sensitive nub of her nipple. He tweaked it lightly and heat spread down between her thighs.The sensations suddenly filled her with panic. Realizing where she was and what she was doing, she sat up quickly and pushed him away, her palms pressing against his broad chest. “No, I can’t,” she said, her cheeks burning. “I’m sorry.”

All Is Bright


Sarah Pekkanen - 2010
    . . Thirty-year-old Elise Andrews couldn’t bring herself to marry Griffin, her childhood friend turned sweetheart, so she let him walk away. Eight months after their breakup, she arrives in her hometown of Chicago on Christmas Eve and hears a voice from the past calling her name in the grocery store. It’s Griffin’s mother, Janice, who invites Elise over for a neighborhood gathering of eggnog and carols. Walking into Janice’s house sends Elise tumbling headlong into memories of her relationship with Griffin—and with Janice, who exudes the kind of warmth Elise ached for after her own mom passed away when she was six. But Griffin has moved on, and suddenly Elise doubts her decision to give him up and lose her chance at being folded into his wonderful family. Confused and reeling, she goes in search of an answer to a universal question: How do we say good-bye to people we’ve loved without losing everything they’ve meant to us? Heartwarming and witty, All Is Bright is a charming story about coming home for the holidays—and finding gifts in the most unexpected of places.

Take Me Home


J.H. Croix - 2015
    Croix, a new contemporary romance series! A sexy Christmas romance set against the wilderness and beauty of small-town Alaska. Gage Hamilton is a smoldering Navy SEAL and a man on a mission. He’s returning to Diamond Creek, Alaska to resurrect his dream of reopening Last Frontier Lodge. Marley Adams moves back home hoping to find a sense of security and safety after it was stolen from her.Gage has spent many years successfully avoiding emotional entanglements. He is looking for nothing more than peace and sanctuary at his family’s old ski lodge. His new neighbor, Marley, was definitely not part of his plans. Marley is a brainy computer whiz and way too sexy for Gage’s own good. A man who prides himself on always being in control, Gage finds that he has little when it comes to Marley.Marley only wants to get her feet back under her after her world was turned upside down in Seattle. She’s been focused on little else beyond her work and is seriously out of practice with anything resembling romance…including the scorching hot attraction that sizzles anytime Gage crosses her path.Gage and Marley are powerless against the magnetic pull between them. Steamy and snowy nights weave a spell around them. While Marley thought she escaped whoever set out to hurt her in Seattle, she finds the threat of danger has followed her to Diamond Creek. Gage must face the depth of his feelings for Marley when he realizes he will do anything to protect her. Can Marley and Gage discover love in time for Christmas? The magic of a white Christmas is right around the corner.*All novels in this series are full-length standalone novels with an HEA.**Take Me Home is an updated title for Chrismas on the Last Frontier

Merry and Bright


Jill Shalvis - 2013
    Wrong, and with yet another lonely Christmas looming, she decides it's time to alter the equation - and seek out someone who seems totally wrong for her. Eureka! The heart is a genius... Bah, Handsome Behind on her bills, B&B owner Hope receives an unlikely guest - stranded solicitor Danny, who has been threatening to put her out of business. Funny how the holidays can bring people together no matter how much they resist... Ms. Humbug Born rebel or overgrown man child, Matt is the kind of man no woman can tame--until an unexpected encounter with his nemesis, Cami, at the office holiday party proves there is an exception to every rule.

Secret Santa Baby


Robin Covington - 2012
    Even when she dated Nicholas’s best friend. Now that she’s giving up her position at GameNerdz to strike out on her own—and now that she’s single—maybe it’s the right time to see if there’s still something between them.Nicholas knows once Tessa leaves the company she helped found, they might drift apart. Before she starts her own company in the new year, he wants to woo the woman he fell in love with during college. So he poses as her Secret Santa, gifts her with items from the song “Santa Baby,” and plans a big reveal at the company holiday party. But when his best friend wants to rekindle his romance with Tessa, will Nicholas lose his last chance?

The Billionaire's Mistletoe Baby (a short Christmas story...) (Holiday Babies)


Tabitha Robbins - 2013
     Laurel Ashwood needs a miracle. All her six-week old daughter wants for Christmas is a daddy...just for the holidays while Nana visits from Montana. Laurel and her former boss, construction tycoon Nick St. John, used to share a chemistry. But will Nick want to cooperate? Six months ago, she’d left him without a word. Nick can’t believe Laurel is back. Now he can finish what they’d begun months before. But he won’t accept a “couple of days.” If Laurel wants him to play along with a fake engagement, he’s got his own naughty and nice list. A kiss under the mistletoe is just the beginning.

Perfect Husband: A Fake Marriage Romance


Leslie Johnson - 2018
    Sorry, Tiff. It’s over. My ex dumped me with a text. That's okay, I met a hot blonde. Yep, he was hot all right. Enough to make me forget about Andy as I ran my gaze over his godlike features. Strong jaw. Muscles that were evident even beneath the expensive material of his suit. He needs a favor. What do I have to lose?

Home for Christmas


Trisha Alexander - 1997
    It's been that long since the sister she once adored had stolen the man Quinn loved. But when Quinn's beloved Aunt Fiona has a bad fall and breaks her leg, Quinn can't stay away any longer. In order to help her aunt, she has to go home and face her past. But along with her past, the trip home brings her an even more difficult challenge in the form of her aunt's boarder, Peter Kimball.Peter has been curious about Fiona's niece ever since he first saw her framed photo in Fiona's living room. He hasn't been able to understand how someone Fiona speaks of so glowingly could so selfishly stay away for so long. He's prepared to dislike Quinn and is stunned to very quickly realize he doesn't. On the contrary, he's attracted to Quinn and wants nothing more than to get to know her better. But Quinn isn't the only one who has been running from her past. Peter has avoided confronting his demons by staying away from the place where he lost everything he held most dear.Can these two troubled people overcome the problems that have haunted them for so long? Will they be brave enough to forget and forgive and move forward into a future that promises to be filled with more happiness and love than they ever imagined? In the capable hands of best-selling author Patricia Kay, this heartwarming story will be the perfect accompaniment to your own holiday season.