Book picks similar to
Not Actually Engaged by Jan Hinds


romance
contemporary-romance
ebook
new-adult

The Flip Side


James Bailey - 2020
    He just broke up with his long-term girlfriend, lost his job, and moved back home with his parents (shudder). Welcome to rock bottom in Bristol. As Josh starts questioning all his life choices, he has a mad thought: Maybe he would just be better flipping a coin. After all, careful planning has landed him homeless, jobless, and single.What starts as a joke soon becomes serious and Josh decides to start putting his faith in the capriciousness of currency. He doesn’t have anything to lose.But when the chance of a lifetime and the girl of his dreams are on the line, will the coin guide him to a rich love life or leave him flat broke?

Marriage by Mistake


Alyssa Kress - 2011
    She knows the cold and puritanical man who claims to be her husband is not the man she'd married. But she suspects the warm and tender man she does love is buried somewhere deep inside. And she's determined to find him...

Bound


Melody Anne - 2014
    Relinquish Control is an exclusive escort service catering to the most distinguished customers, from business magnates to foreign royalty. This proven and well-established international business offers an elite selection of women who are ready and willing to attend to your every need with no questions asked. Confidentiality is our special obligation. Jewell Weston is homeless and desperate at age twenty-four. Two years ago, she quit her job to care for her ailing mother and her young brother; the medical bills incurred because of the cancer that killed her mother two months ago took everything the family had, and the state then took away her brother, now age fourteen. The only way for her to get the boy back is by finding a job and securing a home. When she's approached by a woman in cashmere and pearls who tells her she can change her life, and is handed a card with the business name Relinquish Control on it, she thinks she has nothing to lose by calling the phone number. Maybe this will be the answer to her prayers, a way to save her little brother from the nightmarish foster home he's been placed in. Blake Knight, known to the world as cold and without a heart, is given an exclusive membership to Relinquish Control by his devilish younger brother, who thinks it would be amusing to make his staid brother squirm. Little does this brother realize that Blake does indeed have unusual desires that Relinquish Control can cater to perfectly. What started as a joke turns out to be just what Blake needs. Though the world sees this man as deliberate and emotionless, it's nothing but a facade. What lies underneath would shock all those who know him. When he and his two brothers were six, eight and ten, they were tied up and forced to watch while their parents were murdered. The image has been burned into their minds, though they've tried to forget, leaving each of them guarded and unwilling to give their trust to anyone other than each other. No one is allowed to have their hearts. The brothers would never think of letting down their guard with anyone else, certainly not with a woman. Follow Blake and Jewell's journey and see if they can find a happily ever after...

Intentional


M.K. Harkins - 2013
    But their perfect love disintegrates when Mattie discovers evidence of Jeremy's massive betrayal.With her heart in pieces, Mattie flees to Mercer Island, Washington intent to start over. Everything was going according to plan - until she meets Cade.Tattooed engineer by day, lead singer in a rock band at night, Cade has experienced his own brand of pain with the loss of his college sweetheart. As their friendship deepens, it ignites a new flame within Mattie, soothing the constant heartache for her former fiancée.Just when Mattie thinks she may have found another stab at happiness, Jeremy reenters her life, and with him, all the crushing memories. It's soon clear, though, that the trauma from her past may not be quite what it first seemed. Will the truth bring closure and a new beginning - or will it mean the end of both relationships forever?Offering a rarely-before-seen glimpse into the heart and mind of a romantic villain, audiences will find a welcome reprieve from the typical romance novel.

If We Were a Movie


Kelly Oram - 2016
     NYU freshman Nate Anderson is a triplet who is desperate to escape his wild and crazy brothers. After they screw things up for him one too many times, Nate flees his housing situation and takes the first available room for rent as far from his brothers as he can get. Enter his new roommate Jordan--a quirky LA girl who believes that everything in life has already been done in the movies. In this heartfelt tale of love, friendship and family, Nate learns how to deal with his new adult life using Hollywood films as a guide.

For Now and Forever


Sophie Love - 2016
    When her boyfriend of 7 years takes her out for their long-awaited anniversary dinner, Emily is sure that this time will be different, that this time she will finally get the ring.When he gives her a small bottle of perfume instead, Emily knows the time has come to break up with him--and for her entire life to have a fresh start.Reeling from her unsatisfying, high-pressure life, Emily decides she needs a change. She decides on a whim to drive to her father's abandoned home on the coast of Maine, a sprawling, historic house where she'd spent magical summers as a child. But the house, long-neglected, is in dire need of repair, and the winter is no time to be in Maine. Emily hasn't been there in 20 years, when a tragic accident changed her sister's life and shattered her family. Her parents divorced, her father disappeared, and Emily was never able to bring herself to step foot in that house again.Now, for some reason, with her life reeling, Emily feels drawn to the only childhood place she ever knew. She plans on going just for a weekend, to clear her head. But something about the house, its numerous secrets, its memories of her father, its oceanfront allure, its small-town setting--and most of all, its gorgeous, mysterious caretaker--doesn't want to let her leave. Can she find the answers she's been looking for here, in the most unexpected place of all?Can a weekend become a lifetime?

Midnight Sun


Trish Cook - 2017
    Confined to her house during the day, her company is limited to her widowed father and her best (okay, only) friend. It isn't until after nightfall that Katie's world opens up, when she takes her guitar to the local train station and plays for the people coming and going.Charlie Reed is a former all-star athlete at a crossroads in his life - and the boy Katie has secretly admired from afar for years. When he happens upon her playing guitar one night, fate intervenes and the two embark on a star-crossed romance.As they challenge each other to chase their dreams and fall for each other under the summer night sky, Katie and Charlie form a bond strong enough to change them - and everyone around them - forever.

Dark Fairy Tales


C.J. RobertsCelia Aaron - 2020
    But the party isn’t all glamor. Villains lurk in dark corners, evil deals are struck, and starcrossed loves are born.FAIRY TALES INCLUDED:The Ugly Duckling by CJ RobertsBeauty and the Beast by Willow WintersCinderella by Aleatha RomigLittle Red Riding Hood by Karina HalleJack & the Beanstalk by Marley ValentineSnow White by T.M. FrazierRumplestiltskin by Celia AaronKing Midas by Skye WarrenKing Thrushbeard by Cora ReillyPrincess and the Pea by Sierra SimoneSwan Princess by Natasha KnightAttend the ball, wear a red cloak, lose your shoe, spin straw to gold, or fall prey to a witch. In these fairytale retellings from bestselling authors, you will find a prince, but you might choose your happily ever after with the beast.DARK FAIRY TALES is a limited-time anthology of modern fairy tales containing all NEW novellas. Download your copy and tell a book-loving friend, because it won't last long.

The Agreement


S.E. Lund - 2013
    When she decides to write an article about BDSM in popular culture, she tells herself it's just research and nothing personal for she can't afford to become the target of gossip or scandal. She hopes that the carefully worded agreement she writes up will keep her relationship with the Dominant she will interview strictly professional. Then 'Master D' - Drake Morgan - walks into the interview and Kate is mortified for not only is he gorgeous, he's the son of her father's best and oldest friend… Drake Morgan, MD, bass player, philanthropist – Dominant. Known as Master 'D' in Manhattan's BDSM Community, Drake must keep the kinky side of his life secret to protect his very successful career as a neurosurgeon. After a heartbreaking divorce, Drake doesn't do girlfriends, he doesn’t do sleepovers, and he certainly doesn't do breakfast in bed the morning after. He keeps everything in his well-ordered life separate and under his firm control. Then Kate McDermott crosses his path and screws everything up. Now, nothing is neat and tidy anymore, and no longer under control for Drake is smitten and things are going to get messy… From Amazon Bestselling Romance author S. E. Lund comes a story of two people who find themselves in each other's arms. The Agreement will stay with you long after you read the final page. 18+ only for mature content.

Divorced, Desperate and Delicious


Christie Craig - 2007
    But all that changes when the reindeer-antlered Fabio drags in a very desperate, on-the-run detective who decides to take refuge in her house.

Down with Love


Kate Meader - 2018
    The only question is, what kind? If you ever get married, remember my name: Max Henderson. In my line of work, you acquire a certain perspective on supposedly everlasting unions. . . . 1. Pre-nups are your friend. 2. The person you married is not the person you’re divorcing. 3. And I hope you didn’t spend much on the wedding because that was one helluva waste of hard-earned cash, wasn’t it? But some guys are willing to take a chance. Like my brother, who thinks he’s going to ride off into the sunset with the woman of his dreams in a haze of glitter on unicorns. And the wedding planner—the green-eyed beauty who makes a living convincing suckers to shell out thousands of dollars on centerpieces—is raking it in on this matrimonial monstrosity. The thing is, Charlie Love is not unlike me. We’re both cogs in the wedding-industrial complex. As the best man, I know her game—and I can play it better than her. But after one scorching, unexpected kiss, I’m thinking I might just want to get played.

Tattoos


Denise Mathew - 2013
    Beneath the glamor is our fragile humanness, the need to belong, be understood, and in our darkest moments we are united in our desire to find comfort and love. Tattoos: A Novel is not a story about cancer, it is a story about finding hope and meaning in the devastation that can become your life in the blink of an eye. We have seen it happen to the people we love and many have lived it themselves, life shifting rapidly like ice breaking beneath our feet plunging you into the depths. This is a story and a testament to all those who have survived the unsurvivable, lived the unliveable, pushed through just one more day; this is everyones story, this is about living life... Seventeen-year-old Marilee Mackie has everything going for her, beauty, money and a bright future. But when she’s diagnosed with cancer her world falls apart. Instead of finishing her senior year she begins the fight of her life. Nineteen-year-old Jax, an enigmatic hospital orderly, lives on the Strip, the proverbial other side of the tracks. With his sleeves of tattoos and rocker look, he’s the kind of bad boy that Marilee has always steered clear of. But when Marilee’s illness strips her bare, she searches for meaning in her life. Seeing that Marilee has lost hope, Jax steps in and helps her find purpose, a reason to live another day. From devastation the Peace Project is born. With Marilee’s money and Jax’s knowledge of the Strip, the teenagers embark on an unforgettable journey. Where Marilee learns that happiness is a choice, small acts of kindness can change lives forever, that a little good goes a long way, and that love can grow even in the darkest places of you life. But especially that rainbows can follow storms.

Redemption River


Lindsay Cross - 2015
     Until one mission turns his world upside down. He left Mercy to fight for his country and escape a broken heart. Years later, he is hard. Cold. A man without mercy. Part of an elite Task Force, he tracks a brutal terrorist to his home town. And runs into the woman who betrayed him… Evangeline Videl was destroyed when Hunter left. Determined to move on, she finds another man, but discovers too late the monster hidden beneath his smooth smile. Struggling to find the conviction to live, Evie finds her life spinning out of control. Then Hunter returns… Forced to band together to find the terrorist before its too late, Hunter and Evie must learn to forgive or risk losing the promise of redemption and their lives…

Raspberries and Vinegar


Valerie Comer - 2013
    Tart like Vinegar. Josephine Shaw: complex, yet singleminded. A tiny woman with big ideas and, some would say, a mouth to match. But what does she really know about sustainable living as it relates to the real world? After all, she and her two friends are new to farming. Zachary Nemesek is back only until his dad recovers enough to work his own land again. When Zach discovers three helpless females have taken up residence at the old farm next door, he expects trouble. But a mouse invasion proves Jo has everything under control. Is there anything she can’t handle? And surely there’s something sweet beneath all that tart. Raspberries and Vinegar is the first novel in the Farm Fresh Romance series which sees a group of young women purchase an old farm in northern Idaho together with the purpose of growing their own food and proving to those around them that they can make a difference. It is a story of living sustainably on the land and focusing on real, local food from a Christian point-of-view. It doesn't pad the issues nor preach about them, but allows the characters the freedom to grapple with environmentalism as believers. A contemporary Christian romance novel, Raspberries and Vinegar crosses genres into farm lit. Readers consistently comment on the uniqueness and creativity of the blend. It's an Amazon bestseller in Christian women's fiction. "Valerie Comer's voice has definitely been missing in the Christian fiction market." EXCERPT Jo straightened her back, pasted on a smile, and consulted her clipboard. Ellie, at the desk, had informed her the resident of Room 224 lived in the present, at least some days. She tapped the door lightly and nudged it open. “Hello, Mrs. Humbert?” An old woman, white hair floating around her face like a halo, sat in her wheelchair by a small table. A man swiveled at the intrusion from his seat facing the window. Jo caught her breath. Zach? “Please come in, my dear.” The old lady peered at her through rheumy eyes. “Do I know you?” Jo closed the space. She could block Zach from her thoughts. This was her job. She took the soft white hand in hers. “I’m Josephine Shaw, the facility’s new nutritionist, and I’m here to talk to you about food.” Zach chuckled. “Be careful, Grandma. She’ll toss your stash of candies in the garbage.” Thanks a lot, buster. Jo shot a glare at Zach. Just her luck he felt the need to interfere on his grandmother’s behalf. Jo turned her back on him and tried for a light tone. “Unless you have any fair-trade organic dark chocolate in there. That stuff is hard for me to resist.” Mrs. Humbert’s poufy hair shimmered as she shook her head. “Now that’s something I don’t have, but John can pick some up for us if you like.” She patted Jo’s hand. “Then I can bribe you to be nice to me.” John? Jo shot a questioning look at Zach, but he just lifted a shoulder and shook his head. She squeezed the old lady’s hand. “I don’t need bribing.” Not with anyone who needed help, and the fact that this was Zach’s grandmother clinched the deal. “It’s my job to make sure you’re getting the best possible nutrition, though, so let’s keep those empty calorie snacks at a minimum, shall we?” Zach laughed.

The Last Piece of My Heart


Paige Toon - 2017
    But, after numerous rejections from publishers, she accepts an alternative proposition: Nicole Dupre died leaving behind a bestselling novel and an incomplete sequel, and the family need someone to finish it. Bridget is just thankful to have her foot in the publishing door. But as she gets to know Nicole’s grieving family, and the woman behind the writing, Bridget’s priorities begin to change …