Book picks similar to
Not Actually Engaged by Jan Hinds


romance
contemporary-romance
ebook
new-adult

Intimate Enemies


Joan Swan - 2012
    Searching for closure, Cassie returns to her childhood home on the Pacific Coast of Baja, Mexico, where she launches her own investigation into the accident. She never expected to find an adversary in the man who had once touched her heart with kindness in her darkest moment.Rio’s been fantasizing about reconnecting with Cassie for months. But not here and sure as hell not now. As an undercover agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he’s working the biggest sting operation in all of northern Mexico, and he definitely doesn’t have time for the wild attraction he feels for Cassie.Not only is his cover on the line, so is his heart. Because as the end of a yearlong operation draws closer, Rio knows if he tells Cassie the truth about who and what he is, it won’t only jeopardize his mission, it may result in him losing her forever. And if he doesn’t, his lies and deception could get them both killed.Note: Also appears in the 2013 anthology Dark Nights Dangerous Men

Devil You Know


Max Henry - 2015
    Love can be a sweet gesture of flowers on your anniversary. Love can be a meal waiting at home after a long day at work. Love can be a gentle caress. Or the unspoken words in your lover’s eyes.Love isn’t a backhand, given because of a warm beer. Love isn’t wearing long-sleeves to hide bruises from the ladies at the supermarket.I thought I’d never experience love. Such emotion didn’t seem to fit with what I had—who I was.But he stepped in, and showed me his.He pulled me from the dark abyss I had lost myself to, and showed me the simple things which could bring such joy. Sun on my face. The smell of fresh coffee. Colours in the autumn leaves. All the little things.He shows me these things, but he doesn’t share in them. He knows happiness, but he doesn’t feel it. He will give love, but never accept it. He saved me. Now it’s my turn to return the favour …

Fake Fiancé Next Door


Piper Sullivan - 2018
    The football player. The Golden Boy. Chase Donovan was the star of all my fantasies growing up But he wanted to keep our friendship a secret I fell in love with him anyway He became my first lover, then he left Guess it was just a one night stand But now he’s back, looking hotter and more rugged than ever Worst of all? He wants me to pretend to be his adoring bride-to-be. She was my best friend. My confidante. My secret crush. Kenzi O’Brien is everything a woman should be Sweet, curvy, independent and oh, so sexy Now that I’m back in our hometown, I need her help And a second chance to prove I’m not a jerk But I’m finding it hard to remember that this fake engagement of ours is just for show Author’s Promise:This is a heartwarming and steamy Second Chance Romance with a happily ever after ending and no cliffhangers

Clarity


Loretta Lost - 2014
    She did not expect a traumatic event to devastate her life and force her to drop out of college. Disillusioned by the cruelty of people, Helen retreated from society to live by herself as a reclusive writer in the woods--where no one could ever hurt her again.When a brilliant young doctor shows up on her doorstep, promising her that his new research can give her the ability to see for the first time, Helen stubbornly refuses. She has learned not to trust anyone, and to rely only on herself. But Dr. Liam Larson will not take no for an answer. He makes it his personal mission to rescue Helen from her loneliness, and bring joy into her world once more--the joy she has denied herself for so long.When Helen's demons come racing back into her life, threatening to rip her apart and destroy the strength she has carefully rebuilt, Liam is the only one who might be able to save her. Can he reach the broken girl in time, helping her to heal and see the world in a different light? Or will Helen's grief send her spiraling out of control, lost to him forever?**********This is the first book of a three-part series.**********

Shh!


Stacey Nash - 2015
    She has it all, until Christian breaks up with her in public, calling her out as a self-gratifying sexoholic: the kind that plays solo. But Olivia doesn’t masturbate all night — the only thing she does is sleep … right?Now all the boys on campus seem to want her attention for the absolutely wrong reason — including resident hottie, Logan Hays. He's pulling out his best moves to gain her attention, so resisting his sexy charm is hard work. With rapidly slipping grades, a disturbingly lurid reputation and demanding parents, Olivia must discover the truth behind her rumoured sleeping problem. If she doesn't, the perfect life she's worked so hard for may slip away, including the one person who has Olivia breaking all her rules — Logan.What do you do when you’re asleep?***Shh! is a story about acceptance, learning to trust and in turn love while facing life's unexpected difficulties.NB: This book is of a mild heat level, and contains no sex scenes.

A Hollywood Deal


Nadia Lee - 2016
    Nothing can shock her--not the countless "humped and dumped" women or the wreckage in the wake of his wild ways--until he asks her to marry him for a year. Billionaire actor Ryder needs to marry for a year to claim his beloved grandfather's painting. Who better to help out than his big and beautiful assistant Paige? The rules are simple: give everyone a good show while keeping it strictly professional. But what happens when he can't keep his hands off his sassy, luscious "wife"? Note:This book contains a cliffhanger.

Just a Name


Becky Monson - 2018
    But she never could have planned for this.Holly Murphy’s perfectly planned life is not going so well. Her fiancé recently dumped her, the team she supervises at work secretly hates her, and now the promotion she’s worked so hard for is in jeopardy.Thinking that maybe Holly is too tightly wound and needs a break from everything, Holly’s boss demands she take a vacation. Holly’s best friend Quinn comes up with a wild idea for Holly to do a nationwide search for a man with the same name as her ex-fiancé to go with her on her honeymoon trip. That idea is a no-go for play-it-safe Holly, until her boss finds out and loves the idea.Resigned, Holly gives in and starts the nationwide search, and when handsome Nate Jones from Newport Beach gets picked to go with her, she wonders if this whole thing won’t be so bad after all.Will Holly learn that sometimes even the best laid plans need to be thrown out the window once in a while? Or will it send her running and screaming back to her safety net?

Scandalous


Ella Steele - 2012
    Your muse is back. The thing that gave you passion, tormented you, and haunted you is back. You're reeling in ecstasy and dread. It's something you want, but can't ever have. And the one that brings the pain is pure, white as snow... and standing in front of you."One kiss could have changed Abby's life, but when it didn't happen, she ran. Jack was everything to her and when he didn't respond, Abby couldn't bear it. Everything about that night--leaning in close to his face, feeling the night breeze teasing her hair, the way his scent filled her head--was burned vividly into her mind, including the moment when Jack pulled away. There was no kiss. Abby was wrong. She was wrong about him, wrong about them. Maybe she didn't have to go to college two thousand miles away, but she did. She had to forget about him. Abby threw herself off the grid, disappearing completely from the life she knew. After completing her undergraduate degree, she enrolled in seminary. All contact with her old life was severed and she never looked back, until she was forced to.When Abby puts idealism into practice, her congregation throws her out. If she can survive a year on her own, they'll take her back, and continue to pay off her student loans--but if she fails, Abby is on her own with enough debt to fund a small town. Seminary wasn't cheap. With no place left to go, Abby returns to New York and her best friend takes her in. Desperate to make it on her own and prove she was right, Abby follows a job lead to an art studio on Long Island. It isn't until she hears Jack's voice that she freezes. The hairs on the back of her neck prickle as she turns to see Jack, ten years later, looking even more tempting than before.Fate is cruel. Abby left this life behind, but she's thrown back into it, head first. It's like someone hit rewind on her life and its ten years earlier. She's the cotton-mouthed girl that she always was around Jack, and now her future relies on the man who rejected her.SCANDALOUS 2 WILL BE RELEASED SPRING 2013

Just One Day


Gayle Forman - 2013
    After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.

Never Close Enough


Anie Michaels - 2013
    At her greatest moment of need, a protective and sexy Porter Masters comes to her rescue. Ella takes a holiday week at the coast to discover herself and finds her attraction to Porter potent and undeniable. Uncertain of their future together, Ella struggles to open her heart to trust again. Porter Masters takes care of his own: his single mother, his company, and now he’s compelled to protect the beauty that walked into his world. Never one for relationships in his past, Porter discovers that he was waiting all along for Ella. As their time together comes to an end, will Porter fight for the woman who stole his heart? Porter will find a way to keep her, despite the obstacles.

Hanover House


Brenda Novak - 2015
    Why do psychopaths act as they do? How do they come to be? Why don’t they feel any remorse for the suffering they cause? And are there better ways of spotting and stopping them?After having been kidnapped, tortured and left for dead when she was just a teenager—by her high school boyfriend—she’s determined to understand how someone she trusted so much could turn on her. So she’s established a revolutionary new medical health center in the remote town of Hilltop, Alaska, where she studies the worst of the worst.But not everyone in Hilltop is excited to have Hanover House and its many serial killers in the area. Alaskan State Trooper, Sergeant Amarok, is one of them. And yet he can’t help feeling bad about what Evelyn has been through. He’s even attracted to her. Which is partly why he worries.He knows what could happen if only one little thing goes wrong...

Inhale


Kendall Grey - 2012
    Zoe Morgan is working her dream job: director of a whale tagging research project. She’s in her dream location: the beautiful beaches of Australia. But her sleep is plagued by nightmares—fiery hellscapes, hideous monsters, strange people … and the gorgeous man who rescues her from them. He might be a figment of her imagination, but he sure feels real.What Zoe doesn’t know is that he’s not a fantasy. He’s a Sentinel charged with protecting humans from Fire Elementals, using his own blend of elemental magic. In the Dreaming, anyway. In the real world, he’s Gavin Cassidy, a sexy rock star who indulges in all the excesses that money and fame can buy. Gavin hasn’t been summoned to help anyone since his partner’s death, and he likes it that way—until he meets Zoe in her dreams. With Zoe, it’s impossible to stay detached, impossible to say no.But Dr. Morgan is more than just his muse—she’s the key to restoring order in the Dreaming. Gavin never believed he could fall for someone like Zoe, nor does he realize he may have to sacrifice the woman he loves to save his country.

Trust


Kylie Scott - 2017
    Unwilling to put up with the snobbery and bullying at her private school, she enrolls at the local public high school, crossing paths with John. The boy who risked his life to save hers.While Edie’s beginning to run wild, however, John’s just starting to settle down. After years of partying and dealing drugs with his older brother, he’s going straight—getting to class on time, and thinking about the future.An unlikely bond grows between the two as John keeps Edie out of trouble and helps her broaden her horizons. But when he helps her out with another first—losing her virginity—their friendship gets complicated.Meanwhile, Edie and John are pulled back into the dangerous world they narrowly escaped. They were lucky to survive the first time, but this time they have more to lose—each other.

Bronwyn's Stand


E. Kelly - 2010
    She has loyal friends, a successful business, and a family who loves her beyond measure. She has everything she has ever had the courage to dream for. One man, however, has begun to threaten it all. She sent him to prison for eleven years, but now he's free to exact his revenge upon her. With menacing phone calls and vile threats, he stalks her. He is a monster from her past, the past she tries to hide. When Vincent Lane and his team are hired by Bronwyn's uncle to keep her safe, he finds himself drawn in by her beauty, strength, and wicked intelligence. And when he allows himself to look beyond the surface, he discovers the woman behind the defenses; a woman who strips him bare and makes him want more than he has ever wanted in his life. As the stalking and danger escalates to arson, Vincent is torn between ecstasy and terror. He must find a way to stop this madman before it's too late.

The Play


J.H. Croix - 2017
    Falling in love is complicated.I want her. There’s just one problem. She’s my doctor, and she says it’s a no-no. I’ve never been one to play by the rules.But she’s not falling for me. Olivia is the challenge I have to beat.With her lush curves and her by-the-book attitude, all I want to do is show her exactly what she’s missing. Again and again and again.I’ll bring her to her knees…in more ways than one. I didn’t count on her bringing me to my knees. *A full-length standalone sports romance.