Book picks similar to
Apples Should Be Red by Penny Watson


romance
contemporary-romance
contemporary
novella

Sweet Little Thing


Renee Carlino - 2014
    They have a puppy, a loft in Brooklyn, and a new music studio on the rise. It seems things couldn’t get any better for this talented couple when life decides to throw them a sweet little curve ball. They quickly learn that things don't always go according to plan. Sometimes happily ever after is one giant leap of faith away.With the help of good music, good friends, and one eccentric old lady, they overcome a few of life’s little bumps to find the sweetest thing of all.Watch this duo grow in more ways than one in SWEET Little THING.

The Mogul and the Muscle


Claire Kingsley - 2019
    I wanted to feel like I didn’t have to be brave for a few hours. I wanted to let him be my courage. My protection. My shield.” Cameron Whitbury—billionaire aerospace mogul—can engineer her way out of any problem. Sure, she’s living with the threat of a potential sex scandal thanks to her lying ex. And that attempted mugging in her parking garage might not have been a random attack. But she’s totally got this. Sacrifice her privacy to an overprotective bodyguard? No thanks. She doesn’t need a six-foot-five, motorcycle-riding, square-jawed, hazel-eyed man-beast shadowing her every move. Jude Ellis—one-man security operation and professional problem solver—is ready to retire from the cloak and dagger stuff to live a normal life. He doesn’t need another client. Not even one with coppery-red hair and mile-long legs who looks hot AF in a sexy pair of heels. To appease her worried friends, Cameron hires Jude as her bodyguard. And despite their feisty banter and their rampant—and totally inappropriate—sex fantasies, they’re both determined to keep it professional. But as the danger to Cameron escalates, the heat simmering between them just might combust. Author’s note: Big wall-of-man hero with a fierce (and growly) protective streak. Confident and snarky heroine. All the banter. Sex in a closet. And a daring rescue with a big, heart squishing HEA. The Bluewater Billionaires are four shared-world hot romantic comedies written by Lucy Score, Claire Kingsley, Kathryn Nolan, and Pippa Grant. They can all be read as stand-alone novels.

Handled


Angela Graham - 2014
    She thinks she can hide behind that sharp tongue and those succulent pink lips, but it only makes her taste all the sweeter. I can't get enough...if only she could say the same.

Tripping on a Halo


Alessandra Torre - 2018
    If I took time to explain, Declan Moss would get hit by a bus.Let me back up. I didn’t ask for this. I was perfectly happy—and perfectly sane—before I was tasked with keeping Declan Moss alive. It was a thankless job until the moment that my panties dropped and his delicious smirk found his way in between my thighs.Hello, toe-curling ecstasy. Goodbye, professional boundaries. And suddenly, there’s a new danger to avoid: the falling of my heart.

Not You It's Me


Julie Johnson - 2015
    Turns out, kissing Chase Croft — Boston’s most eligible bachelor — may be enough to convince even a girl who’s given up on love to let down her guard one last time...NOT YOU IT’S ME is a full-length, comedic contemporary romance about a girl who doesn’t believe in love… and the man who changes her mind. It is the first installment of the internationally bestselling BOSTON LOVE STORY series and can be read as a complete standalone. Due to sexy-times and strong language, it is intended for readers 17 and up.

Darker Water


Lauren Stewart - 2014
    Her lips? Hell yeah. A few other parts of her body? You better f*cking believe it. But her heart? Nope. Not even a little. Until it does…a lot.Forget I said that. I don’t have feelings for anyone. They were all ripped out of me when I was a kid.This thing between Laney and me could be great. But we have to follow certain rules. We have a good time—no dates, no sleepovers, no expectations. When one of us is ready for something new or if she starts getting too attached, we move on with no hard feelings. Win-win, and everybody’s happy.I came into this thinking it would be the same thing as it had always been and that she was like any other woman. It isn’t. She isn’t. But how do I tell her she deserves someone better - someone who can love her, someone who’s not broken - if I can’t seem to let her go? Laney I finally get it. And to think, it only took my heart being pried out of my chest and stomped on five separate times by men who claimed they loved me. That’s got to be a record, right?Let me put it as simply as I can.Fairy tales aren’t real. Love is a lie. And, at least in my experience, sex never comes with a happy ending. Fortunately, I still have a battery-operated boyfriend who’ll never fall out of love with me. I won’t walk in on him in bed with another woman either. Nope. As long as I keep supplying him with fresh batteries, BOB’s only purpose in life is to make me happy. And, damn it, I deserve to be happy. I’m a nice person. I work hard. And, most importantly, I've learned an important lesson: To never, ever let a man near my heart again. Unfortunately, some people never learn.***Be ready for a lot of laughs, a bunch of swoons, and a few tears from this standalone romantic comedy.******DARKER WATER is a standalone contemporary fairytale retelling inspired by The Frog Prince***

Under the Mistletoe with Me


Kristen Proby - 2012
    They have a beautiful new baby girl, Isaac’s construction business is thriving, and Stacy enjoys being a stay at home mom, reviewing sexy romance novels for her blog. With a very large extended family, and the many privileges they enjoy, Stacy will be the first to admit that they are blessed beyond measure. When suspicious phone calls and text messages begin, Stacy questions Isaac’s faithfulness for the first time in their marriage. She knows that a new baby brings changes into a relationship, but has the stress of parenthood sent Isaac into another woman’s arms, threatening to destroy their marriage?

Fanning the Flames


Victoria Dahl - 2014
    Close friends of your ex-husband, for instance. Or firefighters who work in the same building as you. Yet despite her best judgment, librarian Lauren Foster can't help noticing fire captain Jake Davis whenever he jogs by…shirtless. They've always been friends, but all it takes is one not-so-chance meeting at a local bar and one not-quite-innocent walk home to ignite a fierce, uncontrollable desire between them.Widower Jake Davis has tried to ignore the spark he feels whenever Lauren's around, but once he sees her curves in a little black dress, there's no turning back. No matter how often she says she's all wrong for him, the sexy, outspoken divorcée is driving him wild in the best possible way. Maybe she's just blowing off steam. Or maybe he can convince her to fan these flames into something deeper, hotter and truer than they ever expected….

3 Dates


Lily Morton - 2019
    He’s funny, feisty, and loving. He’s also the only person I’ve ever trusted and the only one who has never let me down. So why, after finding my current boyfriend cheating, am I taking my best friend out on a series of Valentine’s Day dates all over London?Even more importantly, why am I noticing things about him that I’ve never seen in the ten years of our friendship? Like the fullness of his lips, how gorgeous his eyes are, and – maybe most importantly – the way he’s looking back at me? Because Archibald Henry Zhang can never be anything other than my best friend. Can he?From bestselling author Lily Morton comes a romantic comedy about how one wild day and night on the town can change two best friends’ lives forever.

The Opposite of You


Rachel Higginson - 2017
    All men. Famous last words, right? You’re expecting some epic tale of reluctant love and my dramatic change of heart? Well, you’re not going to get it. I’m stubborn. And headstrong. And I’ve just survived the worst three years of my life. After escaping an abusive boyfriend to live in hostels and cheap hotels while I worked my way across Europe, I’ve come to two conclusions. The first? Now that I’m back home, I’m going to squander my expensive culinary degree on a food truck that caters to the late night drunk crowd. The second? I’m going to prove to the bastard across the plaza that my street food is better than his fussy five course monstrosities.Killian Quinn might be Food and Wine’s Chef to Watch Out For. He might have a Michelin Star. He might have every food critic in the city wrapped around his too-large fingers. But he’s also pretentious and unbearably arrogant and the very opposite of me. So he can keep his unsolicited advice and his late night visits and his cocky smiles. I want none of it. Or him. I want the opposite.

The Sweetest Tattoo


Cameron Dane - 2008
    She had been butting heads with straight-laced John McBride since they were kids.John McBride only takes one week of vacation a year, and there isn’t any way he’s driving down a mountain back to Raleigh just because Kelsie Cole is already standing on the porch staking her claim when he arrives.The cabin has two rooms, and they are adults. They can share a space for seven days. It’s not like they’re attracted to each other or anything, right? Kelsie grits her teeth, but assures herself she can handle it.

The Fix


Sylvie Stewart - 2016
    Getting my son to wear pants is one; dealing with my snoozefest of a job is another. Then there’s the Beast, my freeloading brother who’s worn a permanent dent in the couch at my new place. And no fairytale would be complete without a smoking hot prince, of course. Too bad he’s a complete ass. Everything in me screams to steer clear of Nate Murphy. Because, if life has taught me anything, there is no such thing as happily ever after.Nate:I may not be a superhero, but I do my best to come to the rescue when I’m needed. And, hey, I just moved halfway across the country after a single phone call from my mom. But being back home and taking on the responsibilities involved makes me a bit cranky at times. Unfortunately, the one time I completely lose my cool is in front of the hottest girl I’ve ever met. I’ve got my work cut out for me if I’m going to fix this. But I will fix this. I’ll be anything Laney Monroe needs me to be … a superhero, a prince, or just a guy she might take a chance on.PLEASE NOTE: This product is a republication of the 2016 version of THE FIX. It contains special content and bonus scenes for an enhanced reader experience.

The Party


Katie Ashley - 2013
    But after standing up as godfather for his great-nephew, Mason, that’s just what he gets at the Christening Party. Escaping the wrath of his father and sisters, he wants nothing more than to get to the company Christmas party. There he knows he can knock back a few stiff drinks and find some new no-strings-attached girl to take home for the night.The last thing Emma Harrison wants is to attend another party—least of all one at work. After throwing the annual life celebration (for the anniversary of her fiancée’s death) with close friends, she’s finally gotten the courage to take matters into her own hands and become a mother. Convincing her slightly inebriated best-friend, Connor, to be her sperm donor was a lot easier than she thought, and all that’s left now is to start the process. But at her best friend and work colleague, Casey’s, insistence, she decides to make an appearance at the company Christmas party for her new boss’s sake.Neither Aidan nor Emma could imagine what fate had in store for them at the party.

The Kiss


Sotia Lazu - 2012
    Eliza is out on a first date, when the lights go out and someone other than the man she's out with takes advantage of the dark to kiss her more passionately than she’s ever been kissed before.Since the mystery kisser has to be one of the men sitting nearest to her, Eliza is now determined to kiss as many frogs as she needs to until she finds her prince.

Dane


Liliana Hart - 2011
    It's been ten years since he left the woman he loved behind to make a name for himself, and now he's bound and determined to claim her once and for all.But Charlotte Munroe has no desire to welcome home the Prodigal Son with a fatted calf. The bitterness of Dane's betrayal runs deep, and she has no plans of letting him back into her life.Especially since she's trying to protect the son Dane isn't aware exists from heartbreak, since she's sure he's only going to walk out of their lives again.