Book picks similar to
Taking Charge by Rebecca Barber


romance
contemporary
freebie
rebecca-barber

The Valentine's Arrangement


Kelsie Leverich - 2013
    Ronnie doesn’t do romance. She doesn’t do flowers or dates, and she sure as hell doesn’t do love—not anymore. Love leads to heartbreak, and she’s vowed never to let herself get hurt again. Sergeant First Class Kale Emerson is home on his mid-tour leave from Iraq, but he only has one thing on his mind—returning to his soldiers to finish leading their mission. He’s dedicated to his men and to his country, and he’s not interested in getting wrapped up in a distracting relationship…but casual sex, that’s a different story. From the moment he sees Ronnie, he wants her. And he agrees to her terms—no romance, no fluff—just passion. But as their sexual chemistry ignites, the lines of their arrangement get blurry, and Ronnie starts to push Kale away. And when Kale realizes he’s found his match in this razor-tongued, gorgeous woman who is hell bent against love, winning her heart could be the toughest battle he has ever fought.

Taming Him


Kennedy Fox - 2018
    Working on the ranch helped build his solid eight-pack and smoking body. He's every girl's wet fantasy, and he knows it too. Alex doesn't follow the rules of your typical playboy bachelor. After wining and dining his dates and giving them the best night of their lives, he always sends flowers and calls the next day—even if it's to say, let's just be friends. His mama taught him manners after all, and his Southern blood knows how to be a gentleman. Still, that isn’t enough to tame the wildest of the Bishop brothers. River Lancaster has finally met the man of her dreams. Too bad after six months of romantic bliss, she finds out he's married. With a broken heart and blind rage, she books herself a ticket to Key West, Florida. Tired of cheaters and liars, she’s set on escaping to forget he ever existed. Who needs a man when there's an all-you-can-drink margarita bar, anyway? That's what she tells herself until she bumps into the right guy who can make all those bad memories disappear.Even if it's only temporarily. Two weeks on the beach is what they both need. No strings attached, no expectations, no broken hearts. Too bad the universe has other plans—one that'll change the entire course of their lives in just nine short months.This is book 1 in the Bishop Brothers series. Each book features a different brother and can be read as a complete standalone. HEA guaranteed!**Not suitable for readers under 18 due to adult language and sexual content.**

Preservation


Rachael Wade - 2012
    Constantly battling eviction notices, tuition she can’t afford, and a sick, dependent mother, the last thing she needs is to be distracted with someone else’s complicated baggage. When she stumbles into Ryan Campbell’s creative writing class, he is only “Mr. Campbell” to her, until Ryan finds himself captivated by her writing and she is forced to face their mutual attraction. His cocky know-it-all syndrome is enough to send her running in the other direction, and his posse of female admirers and playboy reputation are enough to squander any odds in her favor. But underneath Ryan’s abrasive facade is something to behold, and she can’t stay away for long. Ryan and Kate must decide who they’re willing to become and fight against their former selves if they want to make things work. That’s if academia, vicious vixens, old skeletons, and their own mastery at self-destruction don’t pummel their efforts first.

Cupid's Quest


Natalie Ann - 2020
    She considers herself a successful realtor now and loves that she is doing her part to put people in their forever home. Commitment issues often remind her she may never find what she always wanted as a little girl even if she secretly dreams of love and romance, happy ever after and prince charming...that forever home of her own. Josh Turner lived through the horrific murder of his parents while he hid in the closet as a young child. He’s an investigator now sworn to protect, but those he loved...he couldn’t bear the thought of life without them. He’d lay his life on the line and make sure they never felt as scared and lonely as he had that one night. When Ruby ends up as his realtor, he realizes that she is the one he never wants to lose, if only she’d let him in.

Enticed


Ginger Voight - 2014
    If she could just start over somewhere else, she could forget about all the ghosts that chased her. When an email landed in her inbox, to tutor a difficult student whose father just happened to be a prominent businessman, the apple was a bit too enticing for Rachel to refuse. She moves to Beverly Hills, where she is tasked with turning around young Jonathan Fullerton’s bad attitude, one that stems directly from his parents’ ugly divorce and even uglier custody battle. That Drew Fullerton is one of the handsomest and most eligible bachelors in the world means nothing to Rachel. Drew’s brother, Alex, however, assumes otherwise. This sets the two immediately at odds, though they both have young Jonathan’s best interest at heart. Unfortunately the more he tries to warn her away from Drew, the closer he ultimately propels her toward her charming boss. Rachel stays solely to protect young Jonathan, trapping her into this sticky web despite her own history of loss and betrayal. How long will she last? More importantly, what will she be required to give to save these Fullerton men who continually tug her in three different directions? Adult content intended for readers 18+.

Fall for Me


Heather Slade - 2017
    When his plane was shot down months later, right before the birth of their daughter, Liv’s world shattered. She returned to her parents’ isolated ranch in Colorado to raise her daughter alone. One year led into the next, and before she knew it, her daughter was grown and gone—leaving Liv bored and cranky. She finds herself spending too much time on social media feeds, cyber-stalking the hot guitar player she met at a concert over the summer.Ben Rice recognized her as soon as he saw her sitting at the bar. Liv, that was her name, and fate kept bringing them together. The first time he saw her, after his band CB Rice opened at Red Rocks, he watched her. She loved music—and she felt it. Not everyone did. She danced, she laughed, she smiled, she lived. That was why he remembered her name when he introduced himself at the end of the show. “I’m Liv,” she’d said. And he was ready to. He’d endured too many struggles in the last few years. He’d worked hard to keep the band going, and he wasn’t going to give up. With a new record about to be released, this was their year—he could feel it. Used to getting what he wants, Ben pursued the reluctant Liv. But knowing he wanted more from her than she was willing to give, she told him following a man around the globe wasn’t in the stars for her. Been there, done that, retired the t-shirt. She had her own stars to chase this time.When those stars fall around her feet, and Ben refuses to let her sweep them up alone, how could a girl not love him? And when she does, how can she let him go? A better question is how can she ask him to stay when she sees how bright his future could be without her?This is book can be read as a standalone with no cliffhanger.

Dreaming of You


Cora Reed - 2018
    She likes her routine running the Morning Jolt cafe. The last risk she took was asking her dreamy friend Calvin out — and that failed miserably. But as her thirtieth birthday gets closer, that routine starts to feel like stagnation. After his marriage went up in flames, Calvin Monroe knew love wasn’t for him. Since then, every relationship he’s had has been no-strings-attached. But Calvin’s not nearly as commitment-phobic as Josie thinks he is; he just can’t find anyone that measures up to her. Josie is vibrant, funny, smart — and Calvin’s wanted her since they first met. But he knows he’s not her type. Josie goes for wholesome guys, not divorcees with bad reputations. An overheard conversation changes everything. Calvin realizes Josie is — was — into him, but he was too dumb to see it. If he can convince her to take another risk on him, he’ll win her heart. So, he makes her an offer she can’t turn down: Two weeks to try out anything she wants in bed. Josie knows Calvin doesn’t do forever, but she says yes to his proposition, anyway — it might be just what she needs to get him out of her system and her life out of its rut. What Josie doesn’t expect is their exhilarating chemistry setting the sheets aflame and entangling her wary heart. But when her cafe is threatened, she has to decide what she’s willing to risk for a love beyond her wildest dreams.

Stark Revenge


Andi Rhodes - 2020
    I’ve spent years craving it, and now that I’m finally in a position to make it happen, nothing can stop me. Enter one stripper that doesn’t fit in and everything changes. I still need revenge and to ease the ache of failure, but she makes me want something else, something I never thought possible. Now, I want a life. Katelyn…I never dreamed I’d be taking my clothes off for money, but here I am, working at The White Lily, trying to satisfy my deal with the devil. For months, I’ve done what I had to in order to protect the people I love, but when I’m given to my boss’s head of security as a reward, I wish I were more selfish. I need to finish what I started, but I also can’t turn my back on the beautifully broken man who is not at all who I thought he was. Revenge is his past and present, but can I be his future? Stark Revenge contains subject matter that some may find disturbing. Reader discretion is advised.

Married to My Boss


Annie J. Rose - 2020
    I just imagined it.San Francisco is a big city. I’ll never see him again… Right?Until I walk into the most important interview of my life.And come face-to-face with my new boss.But this can be a win-win situation.I need him to help me score my dream job.And asking him to pretend to be my husband is my only option.But what happens when faking it makes me want the real thing?And if he discovers more of what has happened while I’ve been gone…Can he handle being a fake husband and a real father?

Some Sort of Happy


Melanie Harlow - 2015
    She’s even more beautiful than I remember. Ten years ago she was an impossible dream, and now she’s right here in front of me, offering everything I ever wanted. But happiness never lasts, not for someone like me. I have to protect us both.****Sebastian Pryce. He’s the most complicated, frustrating, beautiful man I’ve ever met, and my body craves his with a hunger I’ve never known. My heart is his completely.Why won’t he let me in? ** SOME SORT OF HAPPY is a full-length standalone romance. **

Flipped!


Inés Saint - 2015
    Now the Amador brothers are determined to restore the neglected community to its former glory. But it takes more than a hammer and nails to make a house a home…  Perfumer Holly Bell has a nose for scents and a head for dreams. A former military brat who longs to put down roots in Spinning Hills, she’s been saving for years to buy a certain ramshackle Craftsman for herself and her young daughter. For once in her life, everything’s going according to plan—until a real estate flipper steals the house out from under her! She can’t afford to outbid him—but she can’t seem to stop thinking about him either...   Dan Amador isn’t back in Spinning Hills to stay. Checking on his brothers and renovating one house in the family tradition will be plenty until it’s time to move on. Yet what seemed easy turns out to be anything but, especially when it comes to the gorgeous single mom who lives next door. Before he knows it, Dan seems to be creating the house of her dreams. He doesn’t believe in the kind of fairy tale ending Holly longs for—but he can’t deny that her stubborn optimism has found its way into his heart…

Five Years From Now


Paige Toon - 2018
    . .  I went from feeling warm and fuzzy to shock, delight before, finally, well – you'll just have to read it!'GIOVANNA FLETCHERWhat if you met the right person at the wrong time?   Nell and Van meet as children when their parents fall in love, but soon they are forced worlds apart. Five years later, they find each other.  Their bond is rekindled and new feelings take hold, but once again they must separate.   For the next two decades, fate brings Nell and Van together every five years, as life and circumstance continue to divide them. Will they ever find true happiness? And will it be together?  ‘One day, maybe five years from now, you’ll look back and understand why this happened…’  'Filled with warmth and poignancy, Five Years From Now is a page-turner and a delight' JANE COSTELLO 'Simply gorgeous'SUN** PRAISE FOR PAIGE TOON ** 'You'll love it, cry buckets and be uplifted' MARIAN KEYES 'Paige really ratchets up the tension. You'll be in a reading frenzy by the end'LISA JEWELL ‘Gave me all the feels . . . I loved it’LINDSEY KELK ‘Poignant and lovely, warm and wise’MILLY JOHNSON ‘A gorgeous, warm novel’ADELE PARKS ‘Paige’s writing is brilliant!’MHAIRI McFARLANE ‘Wonderfully heartfelt… her best book yet’ heat, five star review 'For smart, romantic fiction, look no further than the new book from bestselling Paige Toon' RED 'Witty, fun and impossible to put down!' CLOSER

Not Fake for Long


Weston Parker - 2021
    Not that I have time for her crap.I’m a stockbroker in training and the last thing I need is to cater to my high-maintenance sibling’s every desire.And her first request? To learn to ride horses. So she can enter the wedding on one.You’ve got to be kidding me. We’ve never even touched a horse before.With lots of peer pressure and guilt tripping, we head to a breathtaking ranch, and lucky for me, the horses aren’t the only beautiful things to look at.The riding instructor is honestly the hottest guy I’ve ever seen. Everything about him sends me in a tizzy.Best of all, he’s nothing like my sister’s rich jerk of a fiancé.Wealthy guys are the worst. I work for them, with them, and avoid them at all cost.This hottie and I hit it off, and he offers to be my plus-one to the wedding, with a fake romance attached to it.I couldn’t be more thrilled until things start to not feel so fake anymore.I’m falling for his charm, his way with words, his scorching body.He’s perfect, until he’s not.Turns out, he’s a billionaire in disguise. And here I thought things wouldn’t be fake for long.Guess I was wrong.

Enough Isn't Everything


K.L. Shandwick - 2013
    She’s smart, beautiful, and musically gifted.When Lily secures a slot to study music in Miami, she believes she's realizing her dream to go to the US, focus on her music, and share an apartment with her childhood American girlfriend. The only thing she never factored into her plans was her world colliding with that of Alfie Black's. Alfie Black is a brilliant rocker trying to make it big. This musician's magnetic charm, hot-as-sin looks, and smooth talking ways have a hypnotic effect on women. Within one day of arriving in Miami, Lily's life plan of paradise and her morals are turned on its head. The journey that follows takes Lily on the wildest roller coaster of emotions, dilemmas, heartache, and passion she never imagined possible.Lily has changed everything in pursuit of her goal: her friends, her home, her country. The only constants are two things: her music; and the fact that Alfie won't commit to more, telling Lily what they have is enough. As much as she wants to be Alfie’s girl, Lily knows enough isn’t everything.

The Story of You and Me


Pamela DuMond - 2013
    I planned on college, keggers, and cute frat guys—not MS. I told a few people, but they started treating me differently, so now I keep it secret. I probably have many more years to live with this disease, but my grandmother does not. So I traveled thousands of miles to L.A. to look for healing: stem cell studies, acupuncture, shamanic vision quests. Some therapies were dangerous, but I’d try anything. I’d risk it all because I was fighting for our lives—but I didn’t have the luxury of dating, let alone falling in love. My first night in L.A. I landed in the middle of a campus bar fight. The most beautiful man I’d ever met, Alejandro, a complete stranger, rescued me. He took me to the ER, drove me to my new home, and even washed my beer-drenched hair. On my second day I got lost in a dicey part of town and was attacked by gang-bangers. I escaped—this time. So I hired Alejandro to drive me to my appointments; be my bodyguard. He made me laugh again. He sheltered me. My heart started cracking open… I wish I had told him my secret. When I discovered—he hadn't yet told me his...