Book picks similar to
Shameless Chef by Gwyn McNamee


cocky-hero-club
romance
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cocky-hero-world

Bad Influencer


Kenzie Reed - 2021
    That’s not me. Nope, quite the opposite. I’ve been hired—well, blackmailed is more like it—to be a bad influence on grumpy, gorgeous, humor-deprived billionaire Elliott Bradford. He’s just become the public face of his family’s company, Bradford Amusement Parks. Problem: The board is about to kick him to the curb because they think Elliott wouldn’t recognize fun if it bit him in the as… spiration.And they’re not wrong. I can’t believe I have to spend the next three months trying to coax a smile out of Jerk-in-a-Box. But if I fail, my secret shenanigans will be brought to light and my parents will pay the price. Again.So here I am, getting stuck on top of a midnight roller coaster ride with him… and letting him kiss my panic attack away. Signing us up for a mud run… and letting him wash the mud out of my hair in the shower… Yes, I’m that dedicated to my job.But the more I get to know broody Elliott, the more I think there might actually be a beating heart hiding underneath that navy double-breasted jacket. And the closer I get to the end of my assignment, the more I want to be the girl who can make him smile for real.

Falling for Your Best Friend's Twin


Emma St. Clair - 2020
    He dates a steady string of women who are nothing like me.And there’s no way I would risk Zoey’s friendship over my teensy, tiny crush on her brother.But when Zane hires me to help fix a glitch with his startup’s software, I run into two problems:1. Someone on the inside seems to be sabotaging it.2. Working with Zane every day sends my feelings into overdrive.My master plan is to sniff out the rat, help Zane save the company, and get out while my heart is still intact. No biggie.But somehow, I get roped into an investors’ spa trip. Which means spending a whole weekend with Zane and sharing a room with his date.Kill. Me. Now.This might serve to destroy my crush once and for all.If it doesn’t destroy me first …

RomeAntically Challenged


Marina Adair - 2020
    Helena Vineyard series that fans of Emily Henry, Jen DeLuca, and Kate Clayborn will adore. Growing up the lone Asian in a community of WASPs, Annie has always felt out of place. Her solution? Start a family of her own. Not easy when every man she’s dated, including her ex-fiancé, finds “his person” right after breaking up with Annie. Even worse than canceling the wedding eight weeks beforehand? Learning the “other woman” plans to walk down the aisle wearing her wedding gown. New plan—find a fresh, man-free start. Too bad her exit strategy unexpectedly lands her working at a hospital in Rome, Rhode Island, rather than Rome, Italy, and sharing a cabin with a big, brooding, and annoyingly hot male roommate. Home on medical leave after covering a literally explosive story in China, investigative photojournalist Emmitt embarks on his most important assignment—cementing his place in his daughter’s life. Three men and a baby might work in the movies, but with a stepdad and devoted uncle competing for Paisley’s attention, Emmitt has lost his place at the family table. Then there’s the adorably sexy squatter in his cabin, who poses another problem, one he’d very much like to solve up close and personal. But he can’t win—Annie has sworn off men, Paisley’s gone boy crazy, and Emmitt’s estranged father reappears with a secret that changes everything. Annie and Emmitt are about to discover love comes in many forms, and sometimes the best families are the ones we make.

Blackout


Bethany LopezC.A. Harms - 2019
    Roll the dice and get ready to feel the heat!Close Encounter by Stephanie St. Klaire :The day started with a quick screw, a couple of quirky two-bit cons and ended with a diabolical serial killer. What do you do when the lights go out? Run.The Do-Over by Christi Barth :The best way to move on after being dumped? A hot fling. An even better way? Revenge sex and the chance to turn the tables on the guy who dumped you... Night & Day by Bethany Lopez :One explosive weekend together nearly ruined them. But, there's no way Simone and Micah can ignore their chemistry when they're alone in the dark.Night Games by T.K. Leigh : Note to self: Never agree to play an innocent dice game during a blackout in Vegas. I should have known it wouldn’t remain innocent, not in the city of sin.Absolutely Mine by Terri E. Laine :I made a promise to stay away from my best friend’s little sister. But it’s Vegas and that’s one promise I’m probably going to break.Just Us by J.H. Croix :Ellie asks me to promise her one thing. We can’t tell her brother about us. Small problem though. One night will never be enough.Blind Faith by Lauren Runow : I never expected to be locked out of my room basically naked in a total blackout. Thinking that would be the biggest shock of my night was my first mistake.Dirty Thoughts by C.A. Harms :He was the crush I never thought I’d see again. Yet here we were in Vegas, during a total blackout. I figure why not explore all the possibilities, or more like let him explore me?Going Down by Lisa Shelby : She’s the only person I’ve ever loved and I’m the last person she wants to see. She’d hoped to avoid me as much as possible in Vegas, but when we get stuck alone in an elevator, not even she can deny that our chemistry still runs hot.Hard Luck by K.A. Ware :Ellis James is my kryptonite, the only person who could drag me back to Vegas after I promised myself I was done with that life. I'd bleed for her, I'd die for her, but can I save her?Becoming His by K.I. Lynn :When I slammed into Hollywood heartthrob Reid Gallagher, I never imagined it would turn into a first date I’d never forget. After all, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas...right?Honeymoon Hideaway by Cary Hart :What’s worse than being locked in a room with a vibrating bed and your sworn enemy? Waking up next to him… naked! Did I mention he’s also my boss? Oops.Free Bird by Leddy Harper :She's a Vegas showgirl. He's a British rugby player.They have nothing in common ... until the lights go out.

The Perfect Illusion


Winter Renshaw - 2017
     I’m in the midst of scrawling “I QUIT!” onto his fancy cardstock letterhead when my boss corners me. He needs a favor, he says. And then he asks how well I can act … Hudson Rutherford needs a fiancée. With his old-moneyed parents forcing him to marry some bratty hotel heiress and his hedonistic, playboy lifestyle at stake, the only way to get them to back off is to make them think he’s truly, madly, deeply in love … with me—his third personal assistant this year. But I can hardly stand working for him as it is. Hudson is crazy hot and well-aware. He’s arrogant, spoiled, and silver-spooned. He checks me out when he thinks I’m not looking, and his life is a revolving door of beautiful women. Plus, he can’t even pronounce my name correctly—how’s he going to convince his family he’s in love with me?! I’m seconds from giving him a resounding “no” when he flashes his signature dimpled smirk and gives me a number that happens to contain a whole mess of zeroes … On second thought, I think I can swallow my pride. But, oh baby, there’s one thing I haven’t told him, one teensy-tiny thing that could make this just a hair complicated … Here’s hoping this entire thing doesn’t explode in our faces.

Nuts


Alice Clayton - 2015
    After a dairy disaster implodes her carefully crafted career in one fell ploop, she finds herself back home in upstate New York, bailing out her hippie mother and running the family diner.When gorgeous local farmer Leo Maxwell delivers her a lovely bunch of organic walnuts, Roxie wonders if a summer back home isn’t such a bad idea after all. Leo is heavily involved in the sustainable slow food movement, and he likes to take his time. In all things. Roxie is determined to head back to the west coast as soon as summer ends, but will the pull of lazy fireflies and her very own Almanzo Wilder be enough to keep her home for good?Salty. Spicy. Sweet. Nuts. Go on, grab a handful.

Just One Year


Penelope Ward - 2020
    On the first day of orientation, I had an altercation with an infuriating British dude in a campus bathroom. (The ladies’ room was out of order. So, I used the men’s room. Don’t judge.)I got home later that night and realized that the foreign student we were expecting to rent a room in my parents’ house was allergic to our cat.So, the spare room went to someone else: Caleb—the British guy from the men’s room. And so it began…my love-hate story with Caleb Yates. Or was it hate-love in that order?The guy knew how to push every one of my buttons. Sometimes I’d email him to express my aggravation and disdain.He’d actually rewrite my own words and send them back to me. That was the type of infuriating person Caleb was.So frustrating.And…Sometimes incredibly funny and endearingly sweet.And hot. He eventually grew on me, and Caleb soon became one of my best friends that year. Too bad he was headed back to England soon, so nothing could happen between us—for so many reasons. I definitely couldn't fall in love with him, especially since all we had was just one year.

Teach Me


Olivia Dade - 2019
    But that's about to change...When Martin Krause arrives at Rose Owens's high school, she's determined to remain chilly with her new colleague. Unfriendly? Maybe. Understandable? Yes, since a loathsome administrator gave Rose's beloved world history classes to Martin, knowing it would hurt her.But keeping her distance from a man as warm and kind as Martin will prove challenging, even for a stubborn, guarded ice queen. Especially when she begins to see him for what he truly is: a man who's never been taught his own value. Martin could use a good teacher--and luckily, Rose is the best.Rose has her own lessons--about trust, about vulnerability, about her past--to learn. And over the course of a single school year, the two of them will find out just how hot it can get when an ice queen melts.

The Ruthless Gentleman


Louise Bay - 2018
    Until British businessman Hayden Wolf comes aboard—all sexy swagger and mysterious requests.He wants me. And Hayden Wolf’s a man who’s used to getting exactly what he demands. Despite being serious and focused. Demanding and ruthless. He’s also charming when I least expect it as well as being devastatingly handsome with an almost irresistible smile.But guests are strictly off limits and I’ve never broken a rule. Not even bent one. My family are depending on me and I can’t lose my job.Only problem is Hayden Wolf is looking at me like I just changed his life. And he's touching me like he’s about to change mine.A standalone romance.

Smug Bastard


Stacey Marie Brown
    Me, my dog named Goat, and the open road. That’s all I wanted.He wasn’t supposed to be part of it. My older brother’s high school friend and my sister’s ex. The cocky boy my eleven-year-old-self hated. The infamous Smith Blackburn.AKA Smug Bastard.The guy every girl wanted to be with and every guy wanted to be.The day after graduation, he left town and disappeared, losing contact with my family. But nine years later, he resurfaces and becomes a thorn in my side once again.After his motorcycle breaks down, my older siblings convince me to let him ride home with me. Kyle wants his old buddy at his wedding, and Kasey, still carrying a torch for him, wants nothing more than to see him again, convinced they are meant to be. It’s the last thing in the world I want, but I learned long ago going up against the powerhouse twins is futile. After nine years, we’ve both grown up, but our mutual dislike lingers. Though I can’t deny he is the sexiest man I have ever seen in my life. His piercing blue eyes, gorgeous rugged face, and muscular, tall figure belong on magazine covers. But he’s still a smug bastard, and I’m still the annoying little “Baby K.”Spending every minute together in a tiny camper van starts to twist the lines of hate, igniting feelings and passions I’ve never felt before, shoving me out of my safety bubble. Tension grows, and nights are filled with strain and forbidden desire. But I can feel him holding back. Cagey and cryptic, Smith’s dark past hints at the surface.When it finds us, nothing could have prepared me for the truth—the secrets that flip everything upside down. I wasn’t supposed to fall for him. He was never meant to be mine.

Fight or Flight


Samantha Young - 2018
     The universe is conspiring against Ava Breevort. As if flying back to Phoenix to bury a childhood friend wasn't hell enough, a cloud of volcanic ash traveling from overseas delayed her flight back home to Boston. Her last ditch attempt to salvage the trip was thwarted by an arrogant Scotsman, Caleb Scott, who steals a first class seat out from under her. Then over the course of their journey home, their antagonism somehow lands them in bed for the steamiest layover Ava's ever had. And that's all it was--until Caleb shows up on her doorstep.When pure chance pulls Ava back into Caleb's orbit, he proposes they enjoy their physical connection while he's stranded in Boston. Ava agrees, knowing her heart's in no danger since a) she barely likes Caleb and b) his existence in her life is temporary. Not long thereafter Ava realizes she's made a terrible error because as it turns out Caleb Scott isn't quite so unlikeable after all. When his stay in Boston becomes permanent, Ava must decide whether to fight her feelings for him or give into them. But even if she does decide to risk her heart on Caleb, there is no guarantee her stubborn Scot will want to risk his heart on her....

British Banger


Jennifer Woodhull - 2020
    When they’re attached to deep, baritone voices that belong to sexy, cocky men, you should have to sign a waiver.Most people wouldn’t touch short-term rental properties, but since my business partner took off with my client list, I need every deal I can get. Enter, one insanely sexy and completely exasperating Camden Reid.The smug executive found fault with every property I showed him. Too cramped. Too feminine. Too far from a decent pub. His demands were ridiculous, and I couldn’t wait to be rid of him and his British bangers. Somewhere between the first property and the zillionth, though, my attraction to Camden grew impossible to ignore. His insane demands finally met, the arrogant Adonis proposed we christen his new temporary home.Little did I know how addicted I’d become, or just how unforgettable my time with Camden would be.After all, I knew we had an expiration date.All good things must come to an end, right?Except our ending was one I didn't see coming.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Releasing May 31, 2020, British Banger is a Cocky Hero Club book, written in the world of Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward. British Banger features Camden Reid, brother of Calliope from British Bedmate.

Swoon


Lauren Rowe - 2021
    Whenever I spied on him through my bedroom window, as he banged away, shirtless, on his drum kit, I felt sensations inside me I’d never felt for my actual brother. But when we moved away and Colin’s band took off like a rocket, I knew my tweener fantasies would never become a reality.Fast-forward nine years to my brother’s wedding, when I saw Colin again and we shared a secret, drunken kiss that rocked my world. The next morning, Colin blamed the alcohol. Said we should pretend the kiss, and my unfortunate text afterward, never happened. Now that I’m heading to LA to work for Colin and crash at his place, though, all bets are off. I’m determined to make Colin swoon for me, the same way I’ve always done for him. Because no matter what he insisted, Colin’s body during our kiss, and the shocking thing he whispered into my ear right afterward, made it clear he doesn’t really think of me as his little sister, any more than I do.

Revved to the Maxx


Melanie Moreland - 2020
    Maxx Reynolds needs help.His shop, house, and life are all in a state of disarray.In desperation, he turns to the internet to hire a new employee, thinking it will make his life easierWhat he expects is a fellow named Charly.What he gets is a quirky, sassy, red-head namedCharlynn who runs circles around him.And she’s all woman.He can’t stand her.He can’t keep his hands off her either.

Man Hands


Sarina Bowen - 2017
    I don’t want to party or try to move on. I just want to stay home and post a new recipe on my blog: Brynn’s Dips and Balls.But my friends aren’t having it. Get out there again, they say. It will be fun, they say. I’m still taking a hard pass. Free designer cocktails, they say. And that’s a game-changer. Too bad my ex shows up with his new arm candy. That’s when I lose my mind. But when my besties dare me to leap on the first single man I see, they don't expect me to actually go through with it.TOMAll I need right now is some peace and quiet while my home renovation TV show is on hiatus. But when a curvy woman in a red wrap dress charges me like she’s a gymnast about to mount my high bar, all I can do is brace myself and catch her. What follows is the hottest experience of my adult life. I want a repeat, but my flying Cinderella disappears immediately afterward. She doesn’t leave a glass slipper, either—just a pair of panties with chocolate bunnies printed on them. But I will find her.