Book picks similar to
Reluctant Romance by Leighann Dobbs


romance
chick-lit
leighann-dobbs
contemporary-romance

Sparks Fly


Lucy Kevin - 2011
    Angelina Morgan is a beautiful consultant who practices an ancient art form called Feng Shui. Will Scott is an all-business CEO who doesn't believe anything he can't see and touch. With the help of a meddling ex-wife, a well-meaning best friend, and a matchmaking mother, Angelina and Will are about to find out what happens when opposites attract...and sparks fly.* * *

Better Off Wed


Laura Durham - 2005
    Annabelle knows that even her trusted wedding emergency kit won't be able to salvage their careers if she and Richard can't find the real culprit.It's no easy task since the slain matron was perhaps the most hated socialite in DC, but Annabelle navigates through the city's colorful wedding industry and powerful social scene on the deadly trail of a killer. Always the bridal consultant and never the bride, she's seen her fair share of bouquet tosses. But there's no telling what surprises a ruthless killer will throw her way if she gets too close.

One Hot Texas Summer


Nicole Flockton - 2020
    If only she didn’t have to work closely with the town player, Tate Prentice. After being burned once by a serial cheater, her inconvenient attraction toward Tate needs to be nipped in the bud. Tate Prentice’s focus is on ensuring his father recovers fully from his stroke and making sure the family’s peach farm continues to thrive. When his brother nominates the farm to be the satellite site for the festival, he’s less than impressed. The only good thing is he'll be working with Kelly – even though he knows she’ll never give him a second glance, not with his reputation. The more time Kelly spends with Tate, the more she sees the man behind the reputation. Can she trust her instincts, or will her heart be broken once again?

Ticket to Forever


Lizabeth Scott - 2019
    No matter the mode of transportation, love is always the destination in USA Today Bestseller, Lizabeth Scott’s Love in Transit Series.Grant has never been able to forget his first love. He’s tried to forgive himself for what happened and move on with his life. But he can’t because his life was always supposed to include her. He has to try one more time to get his girl back. A cruise is the perfect place to confront their past so they can more forward hopefully together.Kaylee is ready for a relaxing getaway after the rough few years she’s had. She doesn’t even care that she’s going on a romantic cruise, solo. She chooses to consider it an opportunity to restart her life. Until she sees her ex walking towards her on the deck of the ship. She considers jumping overboard and dog paddling back to shore. Swimming was never her thing, but with the determined spark she sees in his eyes she wonders if she should give it a try anyway.Kaylee can’t believe her eyes…and she can’t believe her traitorous heart. But even she knows, she can’t start anew if she hasn’t reconciled her past.These sassy & sexy standalone novels in Lizabeth Scott’s Love in Transit series can be read as standalones but for a richer reading experience start with book one:Love in Transit Series:Ticket to ForeverTicket to PleasureTicket to DesireAnd don’t miss Lizabeth’s other swoon-worthy reads:Royal Heirs SeriesOver RuledBillionaire of White Oak Series:HeartbreakerTroublemakerMastermindHotheadKissed SeriesSnow Kissed by the BillionaireChased by the BillionaireSun Kissed by the BillionaireFrench Kissed by the BillionaireDirty Ankle SeriesYou Promised Me ForeverHearts of Gold SeriesA Sheik for RoseA Star for AnnieA Cowboy for MaryRoyal Vow SeriesSweet SurrenderSweet DenialSweet SeductionSweet TemptationSweet Destiny

Her Baby, His Love


Lynne Marshall - 2017
    Soon after discovering that her boyfriend was secretly engaged and she moves to Charity, Montana for a fresh start, she realizes she’s pregnant. As her new friendly and sexy landlord helps her settle in, they become friends, although Taylor has to keep reminding herself to keep her distance. The last thing she needs is to start something new. As an ex-con, Joe Collins knows a little something about fresh starts. Despite his determination to keep his head down, he can’t ignore Taylor’s natural beauty or obvious vulnerability. In short time, a tentative friendship blooms along with something more precious—trust. When Taylor’s ex comes to town, he threatens everything that Joe and Taylor have built together. Joe steps up to care for and protect her, even though he risks losing more than the woman he loves.

Simply Sinful


Carly Phillips - 2000
    But when danger lurks, he’s the man she needs.Any rookie on the force could verify if Charmed! is a legit etiquette school for businessmen, or…something else. But coming off a wrenching drug bust, Detective Kane McDermott’s captain gave him a choice. Take the fluff case, or take enforced time off.The moment Kane meets Kayla Luck, he's in trouble. She’s fierce, keen-eyed intelligence in a body built for sin. And when they touch, the jolt of desire reminds him it’s never wise to mix police work with pleasure.Kayla is used to handling men who are more focused on her curves than her mind. But when her newest client arrives for lessons in foreign language and business etiquette, she’s the one who can’t tear her eyes off all those muscles wrapped in a sexy, double-breasted suit.Dinner out leads to a hot night in bed, and Kayla falls hard and fast. Until she learns the business suit hides a badge, and she calls it quits. But Kane’s already lost his heart—and discovered she’s in danger. And if he can’t convince her she’s safe with him, he’ll lose the woman he loves.

Feels like Home


Evelyn Adams - 2014
    But when her carefully constructed life crumbles around her, Autumn's forced to return to the small southern town that never let her forget she came from the wrong side of the tracks. Jude Southerland, the town doctor, is used to taking care of people and with a pedigree that has the Ladies Auxiliary reaching for their fans, he’s easily the town’s most eligible bachelor – a status he has no intention of changing. That is until he almost runs down the Maddox girl he never noticed in school and suddenly finds her lush curves, dark curls and blue eyes consuming his thoughts, day and night. Autumn would like nothing more than to live happily ever after with Jude. But with every local matron in the valley trying to marry him off to their own daughters, she knows they won’t let her forget that she's not good enough and never will be. With the chance to finally find happiness, can she overcome her family history and find the confidence she needs to believe in herself or will she let love pass her by?

Life, Unscheduled


Kristin Rockaway - 2021
    As a user experience designer at Virtuality, an artificial intelligence company in Los Angeles, Nicole is at her desk from sunrise to sunset. She doesn’t have time for a social life (or a love life), but that’s perfectly fine with her. Until her best friend, Parisa Shahin, announces her engagement and asks Nicole to be her maid of honor.That’s when Nicole decides to meticulously schedule out the next six months of her life—from her project due dates to her dress-fitting appointments to how many hours she plans to sleep each night. If she can stick to her schedule, she’ll balance everything fine. Of course, that’s a really big if. And after she crosses paths with emerging restaurateur Brandon Phelps, Nicole is feeling feelings she hasn’t felt in…well, ever. But scheduling time to fall in love might push even the most meticulous plans into pure chaos.

Callie


Sharon Srock - 2012
    Haunted by memories of a tiny coffin, Callie can’t understand how God could expect her to put her heart on the line a second time. But the evasive little girl attending her Sunday School class is so obviously in trouble that Callie finds her resolve cracking. Iris and Samantha Evans are living on borrowed time. Deserted, orphaned, betrayed, and deceived, they need rescuing in the worst way. Steve Evans had his life changed by God. A reformed drug addict, he’s searching for the family he abandoned ten years ago and praying for a miracle. The road to healing is rocky. But as Callie confronts her worst fears by bringing father and daughters together in a risky bid for reconciliation, she realizes that the Evans family aren’t the only ones God wants to rescue from a tortured past.

Squeeze Play


Aven Ellis - 2017
    Having spent a lot of her life in the background due to family circumstances, Hayley is eager to step up and be heard—and bring much needed change to her new organization. With romance on the shelf, it’s time to focus on herself and new career. Armed with a workbook to help her improve on a personal and professional level, Hayley is ready to become a better version of who she already is. But will a baseball player for the Washington Soaring Eagles challenge her thoughts on not only dating, but the person she thinks she needs to be? Brody Jensen is the new catcher for the professional team in DC. Baseball is everything to Brody and has been his salvation while growing up. Brody wants to make the most of his full-time shot behind the plate. Which means no serious relationships. However, when a chance encounter leads him to Hayley, Brody finds himself wanting to know all about the beautiful blonde who has engaged him from the moment he spotted her. Together, they find themselves questioning the ideals they had set for not only relationships, but themselves, too. When the cherry blossoms bloom in the nation's capital, Cupid puts a squeeze play on Hayley and Brody. Will they be brave enough to love themselves and each other? Will love be called out? Or will their relationship be safe at home?

The Queen of New Beginnings


Erica James - 2010
    After agreeing to help out a friend by shopping and cleaning for the unknown man staying at Cuckoo House, she soon becomes suspicious that her strange and obnoxiously rude client has something to hide. Clayton Miller's life is a mess. His career as one of the country's best comedy scriptwriters has stalled, and his long-term girlfriend has left him for his ex-best friend and ex-writing partner. Just when he thinks his life couldn't get any worse, he commits a spectacularly public fall from grace, and with the press hounding him, his agent banishes him to the middle of nowhere until the dust has settled. When Alice and Clayton discover the truth about each other they form an unlikely friendship—until Alice discovers Clayton has betrayed her in the worst possible way.

The Fireproof Girl


Loretta Lost - 2016
    When the constant danger became too much to bear, she ran away, thinking she could survive on her hacking skills alone.That was until she met Cole Hunter. He became the only person she could trust: her family, her friend, her partner-in-crime. Her everything. After struggling through college and starting their lives together, she believed that nothing could ever tear them apart. Until it did.When news of a brutal murder reaches Sophie, she’ll do everything in her power to fix what is broken. If it isn’t too late…---------When Cole was nine years old, he watched his whole family burn to death in a house fire. Fueled by years of obsession, he started one of the world’s leading architectural firms, with a mission to design homes resistant to fire, earthquakes, floods, and every threat known to man. Sophie was his secret weapon. She was his purpose. Since they were teenagers, he was determined to build a better life for her, so she could finally be safe, and they could be together. But disaster has always followed Cole around, ripping away everything he loves. This time, if he isn’t careful…His enemies might just take him down.

In the Grasp: A Second Chance Sports Romance


Cadence Keys - 2021
    I thought I’d have more accomplished by now - like a wife and family - but for nine years I’ve held onto the memory of the girl who got away. Now she’s back and I’m more determined than ever to make her mine. For good this time.PaigeAfter years of working tirelessly, I just landed my dream job at the largest newspaper on the west coast. Unfortunately, that lands me in the same city as the man who broke my heart nearly a decade ago - the same one I’ve never really been able to let go of. When my editor assigns me to write an exposé on Jack, I’m forced to decide where my loyalties lie - with the career of a lifetime, or the love of my life.In the Grasp is the first steamy standalone contemporary sports romance in the LA Wolves series.

The Big Lead


Libby Kirsch - 2015
    Being on live TV in a small town has never been so funny, until Stella covers the town’s first murders in years.When the prime suspect’s girlfriend enlists Stella to help clear his name, she uncovers another shocking crime that could expose a handful of powerful insiders.Who is honest, who can’t be trusted, and who committed the murders? Stella is on a tight deadline to find out. Can she help free an innocent man, or will the real culprit get away with murder?

Killing Memories


Tatiana Moore - 2012
    But ask her mother or best friend and they’d tell you different. Moo says Estela fears rejection while her mother thinks she’s too gordita. Maybe they’re both right, but Estela is pretty damn happy with the status quo, well, sorta. At 26 years old, Estela is completely inexperienced in love, and the women in her life just won’t let her die a lonely virgin spinster with donut glaze on her face. She has no time for men, but after a few matchmaking attempts, courtesy of Moo and Estela's family, men begin descending upon her with great gusto and flair. One who may be the Antichrist, or at the very least have a psycho-complex, won’t take “no thanks” for an answer. The other, with striking green eyes and gentle touch, makes her entire body pulse and buzz. Estela is overwhelmed by both and one thing’s certain: She won’t get anywhere if she can’t learn to forget the past and really see the one who stands in front of her, eager to love her as she is. Revised: 9/6/2015