Book picks similar to
Fixing Lia by Jamie Bennett
romance
contemporary-romance
standalone-in-a-series
lau
My Favorite Half-Night Stand
Christina Lauren - 2018
A UC Santa Barbara professor, she’s a female-serial-killer expert who’s quick with a deflection joke and terrible at getting personal. And she, just like her four best guy friends and fellow professors, is perma-single.So when a routine university function turns into a black tie gala, Mille and her circle make a pact that they’ll join an online dating service to find plus-ones for the event. There’s only one hitch: after making the pact, Millie and one of the guys, Reid Campbell, secretly spend the sexiest half-night of their lives together, but mutually decide the friendship would be better off strictly platonic.But online dating isn’t for the faint of heart. While the guys are inundated with quality matches and potential dates, Millie’s first profile attempt garners nothing but dick pics and creepers. Enter “Catherine”—Millie’s fictional profile persona, in whose make-believe shoes she can be more vulnerable than she’s ever been in person. Soon “Catherine” and Reid strike up a digital pen-pal-ship...but Millie can’t resist temptation in real life, either. Soon, Millie will have to face her worst fear—intimacy—or risk losing her best friend, forever.
The Book of Luke
Jenny O'Connell - 2007
Her parents have decided to move the family from Chicago back to their hometown of Boston in the middle of Emily's senior year. Only Emily's first real boyfriend, Sean, is in Chicago, and so is her shot at class valedictorian and early admission to the Ivy League. What's a nice girl to do? Then Sean dumps Emily on moving day and her father announces he's staying behind in Chicago "to tie up loose ends," and Emily decides that what a nice girl needs to do is to stop being nice. She reconnects with her best friends in Boston, Josie and Lucy, only to discover that they too have been on the receiving end of some glaring Guy Don'ts. So when the girls have to come up with something to put in the senior class time capsule, they know exactly what to do. They'll create a not-so-nice reference guide for future generations of guys -- an instruction book that teaches them the right way to treat girls. But when her friends draft Emily to test out their tips on Luke Preston -- the hottest, most popular guy in school, who just broke up with Josie by email -- Emily soon finds that Luke is the trickiest of test subjects . . . and that even a nice girl like Emily has a few things to learn about love.
After We Break
Katy Regnery - 2014
It is intended for readers 18+**
Frenemies
Emma Hart - 2020
Like your hot as hell college booty call moving in next door with his adorable daughter. The only time we’ve ever gotten along is under the sheets. Old habits die hard because two minutes on my front porch is how long it takes us to bicker. Not that a little fact like that bothers my healthy, eighty-year-old grandmother and roommate who’s determined to see me married before she bites the dust. Unfortunately for me, she’s got her eye set on Cameron Black. She’s barking up the wrong tree. He’s not The One, no matter how much I swoon when I see him with his daughter. I have no intentions of rekindling anything with him—until a rubber spider in my mailbox starts off the mother of all neighborhood prank wars, just like the ones we had in college, and throws me right into his path. One that leads right to his bedroom…
His Curvy Attraction
Sadie King - 2019
Between school runs, checking homework, and running my own business, there’s not a lot of time for myself. My well-meaning brothers are always trying to set me up with someone, but I’m not interested, and I just don’t have the time. Then I meet the hot new substitute teacher at my daughter’s school, and she awakens a desire in me I haven’t felt in years. Suddenly I want to find time for her, and I want to find out what she wears under her tight bike leathers. Cassie I’ve spent my life on the road, never staying in one place for long. I’ve worked in all the schools in the county except this one. I knew it was a mistake coming back; the memories are too painful. And now I’m falling for the hot single dad of one of my pupils. I need to get out of this town before I get in too deep. Book One in the Biker Brothers of Winter Town series. Short, sweet tales of men who ride and the curvy women who claim their hearts. Each book in the series is a standalone; no cliffhangers!
Blue Roses
Mimi Strong - 2014
Tina has seen first-hand how Luca's relationships end with him sending apology flowers. She's worried she might be his next disaster. BLUE ROSES is the first book in Mimi Strong's BAKER STREET ROMANCE series, which is a collection of linked stories that may be read in any order. Blue Roses was published in April as part of the limited-time "Alphas After Dark" anthology, and is being re-released on its own with additional scenes as of May 1st. COMPLICATED GIRL, the second book in the BAKER STREET ROMANCE series, is about Tina's sister, Megan. That book is due out May 5th, 2014. BLUE ROSES is a complete, stand-alone novel, with no cliffhanger. The Baker Street Romance books may be read in any order.
Never Say Never
Taylor Holloway - 2018
Never hesitate. Never get emotionally involved.Words I've lived by. Until her.I'm a fixer.I fix bad, embarrassing, illegal problems, for the right price.My clients are rich, famous, powerful, and very dangerous.Now I’ve got a problem of my very own: Eva Martin. She just happens to be both my best friend’s little sister, and at the center of the most explosive problem I’ve ever faced. As the body count rises around us, I’m falling for the one woman that’s totally out of bounds. Her wide innocent eyes, perfect curves, and sexy, smoky voice—she’s a liability and a weakness, but I'm unable to resist.Eva’s a risky distraction for a man like me. I'm going to make her mine, and I'll use everything in my arsenal to keep her safe.Even if it means everyone else—including me—becomes collateral damage.
The Fae Prince
Serena Meadows - 2019
Ejected from the palace with only a handful of coins, the prince suddenly finds himself a pauper. He must experience some of life’s harsher realities, say the king and queen, if he’s to become the leader the Seelie people need.
Across the fields his royal subject, Darby, knows all about harsh realities...
After losing her parents at thirteen the young farmer has had little time for royals or gossip. A good day means a warm hearth and full bowl. Anything else is a luxury. But things are finally improving and for the first time ever, winter’s approach isn’t quite so bleak.
Until she discovers a large, rumpled heap sleeping in her barn…
The thing—whatever it is—stinks worse than her animals (and sounds just as ornery) but questionable hygiene is the least of Darby’s concerns. The seasons are turning, and darkness is gathering at the edges of the Seelie Kingdom. More than ever, the people need a hero they can count on, but it seems that man is nowhere to be seen.
Note: Note: This is Book 1 in the series "Fae of Ballantine". All books in the series can be read as standalones with a HEA and no cliffhangers.
Warning: Adults Only
Never Ever
L.P. Maxa - 2015
She had never been more ready for her yearly girl's trip with her three best friends. A weekend of drinking, dancing, and laying in the sun were just what she needed. What she didn't need was a sexy playboy trying to tempt her into a weekend fling. Taylor knew what Livi thought of him. Arrogant, cocky, player...Not that she was wrong. She wasn't. But something about Livi made him want to be more. Now if he could just convince her to let him try. This is a stand alone novel...for now. Lot's of sex and cussing, 18+ please
Second First Impressions
Sally Thorne - 2021
Somewhere along the way, she’s forgotten that she’s young and beautiful, and that there’s a world outside of work—until she meets the son of the property developer who just acquired the retirement center.Teddy Prescott has spent the last few years partying, sleeping in late, tattooing himself when bored, and generally not taking life too seriously—something his father, who dreams of grooming Teddy into his successor, can’t understand. When Teddy needs a place to crash, his father seizes the chance to get him to grow up. He’ll let Teddy stay in one of the on-site cottages at the retirement home, but only if he works to earn his keep. Teddy agrees—he can change a few lightbulbs and clip some hedges, no sweat. But Ruthie has plans for Teddy too.Her two wealthiest and most eccentric residents have just placed an ad (yet another!) seeking a new personal assistant to torment. The women are ninety-year-old, four-foot-tall menaces, and not one of their assistants has lasted a full week. Offering up Teddy seems like a surefire way to get rid of the tall, handsome, unnerving man who won’t stop getting under her skin.Ruthie doesn’t count on the fact that in Teddy Prescott, the Biddies may have finally met their match. He’ll pick up Chanel gowns from the dry cleaner and cut Big Macs into bite-sized bits. He’ll do repairs around the property, make the residents laugh, and charm the entire villa. He might even remind Ruthie what it’s like to be young and fun again. But when she finds out Teddy’s father’s only fixing up the retirement home to sell it, putting everything she cares about in jeopardy, she’s left wondering if Teddy’s magic was all just a façade.From the USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game and 99 Percent Mine comes the clever, funny, and unforgettable story of a muscular, tattooed man hired as an assistant to two old women—under the watchful eye of a beautiful retirement home manager.
Bedmates
Nichole Chase - 2016
But when you’re the daughter of the President of the United States, any little slip up is a huge embarrassment. Maddie McGuire’s latest error in judgment lands her in police custody, giving the press a field day. Agreeing to do community service as penance and to restore her tattered reputation, Maddie never dreams incredibly good looking but extremely annoying vice president’s son, Jake Simmon, will be along for the ride.Recently returning from Afghanistan with a life-altering injury, Jake is wrestling with his own demons. He doesn’t have the time or patience to deal with the likes of Maddie. They’re like oil and water and every time they’re together, it’s combustible. But there’s a thin line between love and hate, and it’s not long before their fiery arguments give way to infinitely sexier encounters.When Jake receives devastating news about the last remaining member of his unit, the darkness he’s resisted for so long begins to overwhelm him. Scared to let anyone close, he pushes Maddie away. But she isn’t about to give up on Jake that easily. Maddie’s fallen for him, and she’ll do anything to keep him from the edge as they both discover that love is a battlefield and there are some fights you just can’t lose.
Under the Northern Lights
S.C. Stephens - 2019
Every year she makes a trek deep into Alaska, but this time the unthinkable happens: she crash-lands after her plane stalls out in a storm. Injured, vulnerable, and threatened by the very creatures she loves, Mallory fears the worst—until she’s rescued by Michael Bradley, a mysterious mountain man living in self-imposed exile.Mallory is grateful for Michael’s help but desperate to return home to let her family know she’s alive. Unfortunately, neither of them can leave Michael’s secluded cabin until spring. Mallory’s stuck with a stranger for months.As Mallory recovers, a deep bond begins to form between the pair. Mallory is convinced that fate brought them together, but Michael is buried in his past, unable to move forward. Undaunted, Mallory tends to Michael’s heart as tenderly as he cared for her wounds—but will her love be enough to heal him?
Wedding Bells in Merriment Bay
Emily Harvale - 2020
Well, it is a leap year so it’s fine for women to do the asking, and besides, it took him eighteen years to tell her how he felt. She’s not going to wait for him to pop the question. All she needs to do is find the perfect time and place.Kyra’s fallen for Francis Raine, who seems happy to flirt and exchange banter but hasn’t actually asked her out. Does he reciprocate her feelings, or is he this way with every girl he meets? There’s only one way to find out. She’ll ask him on a date … as soon as he returns to Merriment Bay.Mary’s leaving Devon Villa after a lifetime spent in the house. She’s never lived alone so it’s both an exciting and a terrifying prospect. But change is good, isn’t it? Perhaps it’s time she tried a few other new things too.The Devon women want to move on to the next chapters in their lives. And as Viola Devon used to say before she died, “The only one who can write your own life story as you want it, is you.” Although Viola’s didn’t work out too well. Will Cat, Kyra, and Mary have better luck with theirs?This is book three in the Merriment Bay series. It can be read as a standalone but you would enjoy it more if you read the other two books in this series first. The Merriment Bay series is interlinked with the Wyntersleap series and several characters appear in both series.
You're The One That I Don't Want
Alexandra Potter - 2010
And, caught up in the whirlwind of first love, they kiss under the Bridge of Sighs at sunset. Which - according to legend - will tie them together forever. But ten years later, they've completely lost contact. That is, until Lucy moves to New York and the legend brings them back together. Again. And again. And again. But what if Nate isn't The One? How is she going to get rid of him? Because forever could be a very long time...A funny, magical romantic comedy about how finding The One doesn't always have to mean happily ever after.
Hide Your Heart
Tracey Alvarez - 2015
Distrust will tear them apart…Alexandra Lauren Knight has reinvented herself in the safety of her rural New Zealand hometown to become Lauren Taylor. She’s cut all ties with her past as a former model whose ex-husband turned out to be ruthless in both the boardroom and the bedroom. While Alexandra allowed other’s expectations to propel her into the spotlight, Lauren prefers the safety of anonymity; restoring classic cars with her brother, and snuggling with her four-year-old son. Nate Fraser, a burned-out photojournalist, plans to fix up the property next door to Lauren and sell it as a celebrity retreat. Always on the move, Nate is only comfortable with short-term assignments and even shorter-term relationships. But it’s not just his buyer’s tight deadline or that the restoration is far beyond his expertise which turns a short-term project into an ordeal. Nate’s plan of travelling the globe is in jeopardy — created by the intensity of his growing feelings for Lauren and her little boy.As the sparks of passion ignite between them it reawakens Nate’s long forgotten dream of having a home and family. Lauren must find a way to trust Nate not only with her secrets, but with her heart — before her safe haven is exposed and she can no longer hide in the shadows.