Book picks similar to
Southpaw by Raen Smith


romance
novella
new-adult
netgalley

Shadowboxer


Cari Quinn - 2014
    I’ve faced the darkest parts of life and survived. But now I’m starting a new life with my baby sister. And that means I need cash.Quick. To get the money I need, I’m going to beat the reigning king of the male fighters in New York’s underground MMA circuit, Tray “Fox” Knox. Tray refuses to fight a woman, until he learns I’m not what he expected. At all. Then he makes me a bet I can’t refuse. He’ll fight me, but if he wins, I will spend the night in his bed. All night long, his rules. No tapping out. I agree, certain he will lose. Because I have to win. I have no choice. What I didn’t realize is that Tray loves to fight dirty…and that this match may end up being the most important one of our lives.Author’s note: Shadowboxer is a full-length MMA novel and is book 1 in the Tapped Out MMA series. It has a happily ever after ending and no cliffhanger, though it contains violent material that may be triggering. It was previously published by Cari Quinn in 2014 and has been lightly re-edited.

Very Wicked Beginnings


Ilsa Madden-Mills - 2014
    Meet Cuba Hudson, the heartbreaker of Briarwood Academy:I'm the tattooed bad boy girls think they can change.I have it all: a football career, a stellar GPA, and a family that owns half of Dallas, Texas. Everyone wants to be me, but all I want is to forget...Then she shows up.Dovey Beckham arrives at Briarwood Academy and looks right through me, unconcerned that I rule the school. I wasn't part of her precious plan, and it drove me insane...so I made it my mission to claim her, to put her notch on my bedpost.She would be mine and her heart would be broken.I didn't plan on falling for her, and I sure as hell didn't plan on losing her...Welcome to Briarwood Academy...where sometimes, the best things in life are Very Wicked Beginnings.

The Party


Katie Ashley - 2013
    But after standing up as godfather for his great-nephew, Mason, that’s just what he gets at the Christening Party. Escaping the wrath of his father and sisters, he wants nothing more than to get to the company Christmas party. There he knows he can knock back a few stiff drinks and find some new no-strings-attached girl to take home for the night.The last thing Emma Harrison wants is to attend another party—least of all one at work. After throwing the annual life celebration (for the anniversary of her fiancée’s death) with close friends, she’s finally gotten the courage to take matters into her own hands and become a mother. Convincing her slightly inebriated best-friend, Connor, to be her sperm donor was a lot easier than she thought, and all that’s left now is to start the process. But at her best friend and work colleague, Casey’s, insistence, she decides to make an appearance at the company Christmas party for her new boss’s sake.Neither Aidan nor Emma could imagine what fate had in store for them at the party.

Everly


S.M. Shade - 2015
     That should have been a warning. An MMA champion, trainer, and philanthropist, but not a man who gives up easily, Mason is trouble dipped in ink and covered in muscle. Growing up in foster care, I'm well aware that relationships are temporary, and I do my best to avoid them. After a sheet clenching one night stand, I'm happy to move on, but Mason pursues me relentlessly. Sweet, caring, protective, and at times, a bossy control freak, this persistent man has climbed inside my heart, and I can’t seem to shake him. After saving me from a life threatening situation, he’s also won something much harder to obtain. My trust. But does he deserve it? Is his true face the one he shows the world? Or is his charitable, loving manner only a thin veneer? This book contains sexual situations and is intended for ages 18 and older.

One Last Night


Lynne Jaymes - 2014
    One last fight, one more tragedy, one final lie, and the relationship is over. The novella One Last Night, explores the relationships that shaped both Ty and Jenna and made them who they are at the moment they meet in the hallway of their Texas apartment building. Ty and Hailey have been together since their senior year in high school. Their last night together is at a surprise going-away party for Ty as he leaves for Texas the very next day. Ty’s love and loyalty are challenged when Hailey goes back on a promise—resulting in a night that neither of them bargained for. Jenna thinks she’s found her true love in college football-player Jake. A whirlwind summer has been spent playing ball and playing house and Jenna thinks Jake is ready to pop the big question any day now. When Jenna arrives home unexpectedly, her solid world is shattered and she’s forced to confront a relationship full of lies. The prequel to the novel One True Thing, One Last Night takes you on a journey as two relationships end and one might just begin.

Valentine


Samantha Young - 2015
    Ellie & Adam. Jo & Cam. Olivia & Nate. Hannah & Marco. Shanon & Cole. And one Valentine’s Day they’ll never forget.It’s Valentine’s Day! How do Joss & Braden, Ellie & Adam, Jo & Cam, Olivia & Nate, Hannah & Marco and Shannon & Cole keep the fire burning in their relationships while trying to juggle busy careers and the joyful chaos of parenthood? Find out in Valentine, six sexy and emotional short stories, one for each couple in the On Dublin Street series so far, making up a short novella about one very special day.Valentine is a special gift to fans of the series in thanks for supporting Hero, her first standalone contemporary romance.The digital edition is free.Also part of the paperback edition, On Dublin Street: The Novellas.

Recovery


L.B. Simmons - 2013
    I’ve finally found my happy ending. I fought through the loss of one husband, lucky enough to be given a second chance at a lifetime of happiness. Settling into our new lives, however, may not be as easy as it seems. What really happens after the fairytale ending? What happens after the prince rescues the princess? After he sweeps her off her feet and carries her off into the sunset? Do they truly live happily ever after?Well…This is our story.

That Man 1


Nelle L'Amour - 2014
    Until he meets Jennifer McCoy, his outspoken new assistant and development executive.Newly engaged Jennifer has no idea that her devastating new boss is the man she kissed, blindfolded, in a game of Truth or Dare. That kiss, that man, that beautiful stranger she cannot forget.Blake hasn’t been able to stop thinking about that kiss either…and he’ll do anything to win Jennifer —even if it means being a beautiful bastard and breaking all the rules.

Fighter


Tijan - 2015
    Wanting out of that life, she left for college, but on her first morning back home for the holidays, she’s back to chasing after a bail jumper. When she realizes the jumper is her ex-boyfriend, Jax, Dale gets dragged into helping him evade her brothers so he can win an underground fighting competition. Jax has to win the competition to help his sister, but soon sparks fly between Jax and Dale. Old wounds are reopened, and Dale may need help herself because she’s close to falling back in love with her Fighter. Novella*

Rock the Band


Michelle A. Valentine - 2013
    There’s no way he’ll let her slip through his fingers again without a fight.The instant they are together Noel begins to plot a way to ask his headstrong lady-love to be his wife, but every attempt to pop the question is foiled by a string of mishaps that prevents him from the perfect moment to get the job done before he goes back on tour with Black Falcon.Distance is a bigger challenge than Noel expects, and the one-eyed beast of jealous raises its ugly head when Lane takes on a job working on an ad campaign for Embrace the Darkness. With Striker—a man that’s made it clear in the past he’s very interested in more then her business sense—lurking around her constantly, Noel wants to claim Lane now, more than ever.ROCK THE BAND is a 27,000 word novella from the Black Falcon Series

Ivan


Roxie Rivera - 2013
    The intimidating, tattooed Russian operates one of the most elite mixed-martial arts training centers in the world but it’s his shadowy past and reputed connections with Houston’s underworld that interest her most.To find her sister, she’ll need the help of her big, scary Russian protector — but asking for help from a man like Ivan carries a steep price, one that might just include her heart.

Unrequited


Melody Grace - 2014
    But reeling from a broken heart, she runs straight into the arms of Dex Callahan: rock star, bad boy, and the most seductive man she’s ever known.Dex is looking for distraction, at any price. The innocent redhead is just what he needs to keep his demons at bay -- but one taste of her sweetness isn’t enough. He needs to possess her, body and soul.Two searching hearts. One night to discover the passion of a lifetime. Dex is determined to show Alicia the pleasure she’s been denied, but can she let go of her heartache and take a risk on the unknown? Find out in the sizzling new novella from USA Today bestselling author, Melody Grace!

Sweet Submission


Roxy Sloane - 2014
    Maybe you’ve even tried. Asked for his hands to grip you a little tighter. If he could tie you up. Hold you down. But he always stops too soon.He doesn’t mean it when he makes you beg for him, doesn’t push you to the limits of your pleasure and demand everything you have to give--and more.You wonder, what would it be like with a man who truly commanded you? How sweet would the release be, giving yourself up completely? No limits. No boundaries.His control.

Stolen Wishes


Lexi Ryan - 2013
    Intended for mature readers.**Cally…A sexy smile. Intense blue eyes. A goodness that makes him want to save me from these rumors when no one else would care. I didn't ask for a hero. William Bailey was never supposed to be anything more than a wish, a dream, an unrequited crush. Not for a girl like me--a girl whose fractured family has stolen her chance at a decent life.William…Since the death of my parents, I've always done what’s expected of me, what's "best" for me. Until Cally. The moment her haunted eyes meet mine, the fractured pieces of my heart feel whole again. I don’t just want to save her. I need her to save me.Stolen chances. Unbroken wishes. Two lonely souls grasping for hope in the darkness.**This novella takes place seven years before the events in WISH I MAY and shows William and Cally falling in love for the first time. It can be read before or after WISH I MAY or on its own.**

His to Take


Katee Robert - 2015
    Her blossoming career on Broadway tanked, forcing her to crawl back to home to Wellington. The icing on her failure cake? Her former on-again, off-again fling is in town, and the sexy Marine is taking up way too much space.Warren Davis always knew Erin was special, which is exactly why he can't have her. A girl like her deserves something permanent--something neither of them wants. But now that they're both back in town and she's right there in front of him, a challenge in her eyes he's never been able to resist, he's questioning everything.That challenge quickly escalates into an epic game of Truth or Dare. Erin's sure she's got him on lock, but as the night progresses, Warren's dares intensify, drowning her in lust. But with the past still breathing down their necks, there's no way either of them can win…