Book picks similar to
Lightning that Lingers by Sharon Curtis


contemporary-romance
romance
contemporary
loveswept

Adelaide, The Enchantress


Kay Hooper - 1987
    The beguiling jockey, whose voice could tame animals and whose touch could bewitch men, astonished Sane Marston with her beauty and fragility-and her strength. The American horse breeder who was known as the sleekest, sexiest Thoroughbred in racing circles felt he'd go out of his mind if he couldn't run his fingers through her flaming hair, and caress the velvet softness of her skin. Addie reveled in Shane's savage need, and echoed his demands with wild pleasure, but she ached at denying him what he desired most -- her promise to give up the danger of the track. Could he believe that giving his love kept her safe in his heart forever?

Pairing Off


Elizabeth Harmon - 2015
    "The Cutting Edge" with a Russian twist.American pairs figure skater Carrie Parker’s Winter Games dreams were dashed when her philandering partner caused one of the greatest scandals in skating history. Blacklisted from competing in America, her career is over…until she receives a mysterious invitation and is reunited with the most infuriating, talented—and handsome—skater she’s ever met. Russian champion Anton Belikov knows sacrifice. He gave up a normal life and any hope of a meaningful relationship to pursue his dream. And he’s come close—with a silver medal already under his belt, the next stop is the gold. All he needs is a partner. While he’s never forgotten the young American skater he seduced one long-ago night in Amsterdam, he never expected to see her again…never mind skate with her. When what starts as a publicity stunt grows into something real between them, Carrie and Anton’s partnership will test their loyalties to family, country, and each other. With only a few months to train for the competition of a lifetime, can they master technique and their emotions, or will they lose their footing and fall victim to the heartaches of their pasts?Red Hot Russians, Book #1

The Accidental Fiance


Christi Barth - 2021
    But they’re all looking for a fresh start and a second chance, so Alex convinces everyone to move in and repair the building in time for the spring wedding season.Sydney Darrow never planned to return to her hometown. But her family needs her and Sydney can endure anything for 90 days—including making sandwiches and serving coffee with a smile until she returns to her jet-setter career. When her grandma mistakes a handsome customer for the “fiancé” Sydney created when she thought her grandma was on death’s door, well...Sydney will do anything to keep her spirits up during treatment. She can persuade him to keep up the charade for a few months, right?But when Alex agrees to play along, will they both fall for their own fiction?

Not Pretending Anymore


Penelope Ward - 2021
    I was starting to lose hope. Until a knock at my door came and God answered my prayers. Except…uh…wrong prayer, God. I’d definitely requested the big guy find me a drop-dead gorgeous man on more than one occasion...just not as my roommate. Declan Tate talked me into interviewing him anyway. While he was amusing and charismatic, I wouldn’t have been comfortable living with a man, so I regretfully declined. Then cupcakes showed up at my door—freshly baked by Declan and just as sinfully delicious as he was. You could say he was persistent. I eventually folded. It wasn’t like I had another viable candidate anyway. Plus, I was interested in someone else. And Declan was into another woman. So it wasn’t like anything would happen romantically. After he moved in, the two of us became the best of friends. We even started to give each other advice on getting our crushes to notice us. Eventually, Declan concocted an idea: we should pretend to be a couple to make our love interests jealous. I was hesitant, but went along with it anyway. To my utter shock, his crazy plan worked. Now I was dating the supposed man of my dreams, and my best friend had the woman of his. But there was one problem. I couldn’t stop thinking about Declan. Those feelings we were trying to fake? Yeah…I wasn’t pretending anymore.

Escort


Skye Warren - 2018
    There shouldn’t be any surprises, not for one as jaded as me, but when I walk into the penthouse suite of L’Etoile, everything changes.1) For one thing, Bea is heartstoppingly gorgeous. Pale green eyes and endless freckles. Curves I want to spend all night exploring, as if her body was made for me.2) Her innocence makes me want to use my entire inventory of bedroom tricks on her and then invent a few more.3) Except that… she’s a virgin.I can initiate her into the world of desire without letting her get attached, can’t I? A few hours of tutoring, and at the end of the night a small fortune will be deposited into my bank account.But once I realize one night with her won’t be enough, I’m the one who’s screwed.

Glass Tidings


Amy Jo Cousins - 2016
    The only time he broke that rule, things went south fast. Now he’s on the road again, with barely enough cash in his pocket to hop a bus south after his (sort-of-stolen) car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, Midwest, USA.He’s fine. He’ll manage. Until he watches that girl get hit by a car and left to die.Local shop owner Grayson Croft isn’t in the habit of doing people any favors. But even a recluse can’t avoid everyone in a town as small as Clear Lake. And when the cop who played Juliet to your Romeo in the high school play asks you to put up her key witness for the night, you say yes.Now Gray’s got a grouchy glass artist stomping around his big, empty house, and it turns out that he . . . maybe . . . kind of . . . likes the company.But Eddie Rodrigues never sticks around.Unless a Christmas shop owner who hates the season can show an orphan what it means to have family for the holidays.

The Greek's Duty-Bound Royal Bride (Harlequin Presents)


Julia James - 2020
    It’s the only way to save her exiled family from bankruptcy. For duty, she’ll accept brooding Greek Leon’s bargain: her royal status in exchange for his financial support. And she’ll bury her dreams of a real relationship…Ellie’s wholly unprepared for the all-consuming chemistry that ignites between them! But although his touch is addictive, falling for Leon’s masculine appeal is deeply dangerous. He’s always been clear: his heart is under lock and key. Unless Ellie can change his mind…

Getting His Game Back


Gia de Cadenet - 2022
    I loved it!"--Chantel Guertin, author of InstamomKhalil Sarda went through a rough patch last year, but now he's nearly back to his old self. All he has to do is keep his "stuff" in the past. Real men don't have depression and go to therapy--or, at least they don't admit it. He's ready to focus on his growing chain of barbershops, take care of his beloved Detroit community, and get back to being the ladies' man his family and friends tease him for being. It'll be easy . . . until Vanessa throws him completely off his game.Vanessa Noble is too busy building a multimillion-dollar tech career as a Black woman before age thirty to be distracted by a relationship. Not to mention, she's been burned before, still dealing with the lingering hurt of a past breakup. Besides, as her friends often remind her, she'll never find a man who checks all the boxes on her famous List. Yet when she desperately needs a shape-up and happens upon one of Khalil's barbershops, the Fade, he makes her reconsider everything. Khalil is charming, intelligent, sexy, and definitely seems like he'd treat a woman right . . . but he's not Black.Vanessa may be willing to take a chance on Khalil, but a part of him is frustratingly closed off, just out of her reach. Will old patterns emerge to keep them apart? Or have they both finally found a connection worth throwing away the playbook for?

Dating Games


T.K. Leigh - 2019
    No kissing. No fooling around. No falling in love. What can possibly go wrong? Note to self: When your boyfriend dumps you on your thirtieth birthday, it's probably not the smartest idea to drink so much that you wake up in the same bed as the mysterious hottie wearing the gorgeous suit who you noticed sitting across the bar.The only silver lining in my obvious lack of judgment is the promise of never seeing Mr. Suit again, not in a city the size of New York.Or so I thought, until a story I'm working on about the country's most sought-after and elusive escort lands me in the same café as Mr. Suit. So I do what any self-respecting woman of my age would do in my shoes... Try to ignore him. But he won't let me. Instead he makes a proposition that leaves me questioning whether I need to have my ears checked. Be his fake girlfriend for a summer of wealth and excess in the Hamptons. In return, he'll help me win back my boyfriend's heart.Juvenile? You bet.Effective? Could be.Bad idea? Most likely.But what do I have to lose?Apparently, a lot more than I originally bargained for. Let the games begin... Dating Games is a standalone modern retelling of Cinderella meeting her billionaire Prince Charming. If you like a sassy heroine, a sinful hero, and a whole lot of laughs, then you'll love this fake relationship romance.

Donut Fall in Love


Jackie Lau - 2021
    After the sudden death of his mother and years of constant work, Ryan is taking some much-needed time off. But as he tries to be supportive to his family, he struggles with his loss and doesn't know how to talk to his dad—who now trolls him on Twitter instead of meeting him for dim sum. Innovative baker Lindsay McLeod meets Ryan when he knocks over two dozen specialty donuts at her bakery. Their relationship is off to a messy start, but there’s no denying their immediate attraction. When Ryan signs up for a celebrity episode of Baking Fail, he asks Lindsay to teach him how to bake and she agrees.As Lindsay and Ryan spend time together, bonding over grief and bubble tea, it starts to feel like they’re cooking up something sweeter than cupcakes in the kitchen.

The Butterfly Project


Emma Scott - 2017
    She channels her pain into her art: a dystopian graphic novel where vigilantes travel back in time to stop heinous crimes—like child abduction—before they happen. Zelda pitches her graphic novel to several big-time comic book publishers in New York City, only to have her hopes crash and burn. Circumstances leave her stranded in an unfamiliar city, and in an embarrassing moment of weakness, she meets a guarded young man with a past he’d do anything to change...Beckett Copeland spent two years in prison for armed robbery, and is now struggling to keep his head above water. A bike messenger by day, he speeds around New York City, riding fast and hard but going nowhere, his criminal record holding him back almost as much as the guilt of his crime. Zelda and Beckett form a grudging alliance of survival, and in between their stubborn clash of wills, they slowly begin to provide each other with the warmth of forgiveness, healing, and maybe even love. But when Zelda and Beckett come face to face with their pasts, they must choose to hold on to the guilt and regret that bind them, or let go and open their hearts for a shot at happiness. The Butterfly Project is a novel that reveals the power of forgiveness, and how even the smallest decisions of the heart can—like the flutter of a butterfly’s wings—create currents that strengthen into gale winds, altering the course of a life forever. #standalone #triggerwarning for sibling loss/child loss

Over the Fence


Melanie Moreland - 2015
    But is that the only thing they share?Nathan Fraser lives a solitary life, never letting anyone get too close. It’s safer that way.Kourtney Whyte hides from the world and behind her work, too afraid to really live her life to the fullest. Rejection is what she knows best. But one night, the sound of her soft voice and the tantalizing aroma of her evening meal, prove too enticing for Nathan to ignore. So begins their unconventional relationship—talking, learning, texting, and gradually opening up to one another, all over the fence. That is, until the day Nathan braves the high fence to protect Kourtney from her past, and changes everything forever. Can they move forward together, without the buffer of the fence?Or will their pasts prove to be too much of a barrier?

What's Your Price?


Sam Crescent - 2021
    Unlike any other woman, she’s not intimidated by his power. His wealth doesn’t delight her. Only when he fires her does he get her attention.The harshness of life has taught Laura she can only rely on herself. This crime lord monster won’t make her beg. If he wants her, he can have her, but she’ll never fall in love with him.For the first time in his life, he’s the one doing the chasing. Laura won’t let him into her heart, only allowing sex. He’ll possess her body, but what he really wants is to own her heart, where he sees the pain she tries to hide.He’s fifteen years her senior, but she's the woman he’s been waiting for, and there’s no way he can let her go—even if it means putting her life in danger to be with him.

Wild Child


Molly O'Keefe - 2013
    Monica Appleby is a woman with a reputation. Once she was America’s teenage “Wild Child,” with her own reality TV show. Now she’s a successful author coming home to Bishop, Arkansas, to pen the juicy follow-up to her tell-all autobiography. Problem is, the hottest man in town wants her gone. Mayor Jackson Davies is trying to convince a cookie giant to move its headquarters to his crumbling community, and Monica’s presence is just too . . . unwholesome for business. But the desire in his eyes sends a very different message: Stay, at least for a while. Jackson needs this cookie deal to go through. His town is dying and this may be its last shot. Monica is a distraction proving too sweet, too inviting—and completely beyond his control. With every kiss he can taste her loneliness, her regrets, and her longing. Soon their uncontrollable attraction is causing all kinds of drama. But when two lost hearts take a surprise detour onto the bumpy road of unexpected love, it can only lead someplace wonderful.

Split


J.B. Salsbury - 2016
    Her unforgettable new novel is a story of romance and suspense, with a twist no one will see coming . . .What do you do when you wake up with no memory of what you did last night?Lucas spent the first half of his life protecting himself from others, but now his own mind is his biggest enemy. He doesn't know what happens when the blackouts overtake him, but he can recall the feelings--the rage, the confusion, the fear. Thankfully the quiet life he's found in Payson, Arizona has kept the darkness at bay. Until his boss's estranged daughter shows up in town, asking questions she shouldn't and sparking a desire Lucas can't control. Getting close to Shyann is the best thing that's ever happened to him, but when his blackouts return, unleashing the truth he's battled so long to hide, he may just lose her forever . . .