Book picks similar to
Hold on Tight by Deborah Smith


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In the Midnight Rain


Barbara Samuel - 2000
    Her latest project, though, promises to be her most challenging--and personal. Not only is she researching the life of a blues singer who disappeared mysteriously forty years ago, but Ellie is also trying to find the truth about the parents she never knew. The love child of a restless woman who died young and an anonymous father, Ellie has little to go on but a faded postcard her mother sent from a small East Texas town--the hometown of her latest subject.Could Mean Finding Her FutureIt is there that Ellie meets Blue Reynard, a man with deep roots and wide connections who may help her find answers. With a piercing gaze and cool grin, Blue is as sultry and seductive as the Southern night air. Beneath his charming surface, however, lies a soul damaged by loss. Despite her better judgment, Ellie finds herself irresistibly drawn to Blue's passion--and his pain. But Ellie's been lured by sweet talk and hot kisses before. How can she possibly stay with blue when every instinct tells her to run?

Lip Service


M.J. Rose - 1999
    Crackling with eroticism and suspense, Lip Service probes the secret world of phone sex and one woman who becomes empowered by what she discovers there. Not since Erica Jong's Fear of Flying has a novel so masterfully examined the relationship between sexuality and identity. On the surface, Julia Sterling's life seems blessed. Married to a renowned psychiatrist, living on Manhattan's tony Upper East Side, Julia deeply loves her stepson, and is forging a career as a journalist. When a writing job exposes her to the world of phone sex, Julia glimpses a world that stirs her erotic fantasies but threatens her carefully constructed reality. As she explores her emotional and sexual connections to the men she knows and several she will never meet, she confronts evil, perversity, and her own passions. Tracing the currents of desire, illusion, and psychological manipulation,Lip Service is an astonishingly vivid glimpse into one woman's inner life. At the same time, this electrifying thriller grips the reader as it builds toward a battering climax.

She's the One


Sandra Kitt - 2001
    After receiving guardianship of Stacy, the biracial daughter of an old friend, Deanna comes to terms with her own goals and identity as an African-American woman as she and Patterson Temple join forces to protect the frightened child.

Give Me a Texas Ranger


Jodi Thomas - 2010
    For the sweet beauty's words awaken his every protective instinct and he knows he's found a woman worth fighting for ... When Stoney Burke finds Texanna Wilder in need of rescue, he's caught between his hardened heart and his duty to his best friend's lovely widow. Marriage is merely a solution to keep Texanna safe, but Stoney is suddenly aching for the wedding night ... Forced to take feisty Ella Stevenson into custody. Hayden McGraw has his hands full. But when he discovers the spitfire is on his side of the law, they're soon working as a team --- up close and very personal ...Thomas Longbow only plans to use Laney O'Grady as his cover on his latest assignment. But the passion that explodes between them threatens to expose his plot --- and his heart ...

Baby by Design


Elley Arden - 2013
    She needs a baby. With recent relationships falling short of her expectations, she’s single by choice. With a thriving interior design company, she’s got successful covered. It’s the satisfied part that eludes her, and that’s her mother’s fault—not her adopted mother, but the mother who gave her away, sentencing her to a privileged life with two good people who don’t share with her a single drop of DNA. Tony Corcarelli has spent his adult life as the black sheep of his large Italian-American family ever since he turned his back on running the family carpentry business so he could live a more laidback life, forcing his sister to take the reins. Now, Tony’s grandmother has cancer, and he’s expected to join the family in making her wishes come true. Unfortunately, the two things Nonna wants most for Tony are two things he can’t fathom: a wife and kids or the priesthood. There has to be another way.When Trish asks her best friend’s brother, Tony, to escort her to a wedding, a night of fun and flirtation turns serious, with Trish confessing she wants a baby. Could a calculated conception be the answer they’ve both been looking for?

Marriage by the Book (Born in the USA: Florida #9)


Joan Johnston - 1989
    So when her children gave her the book You Don't Have to Stay Single, she threw it away. Then she met sexy Tom Steele, and hurried back to the trash can.One heated look from pretty Megan and Tom realized something was missing from his life. But what did a rugged bachelor know about wooing a wife? Or becoming a daddy?

A Safe Place to Land


Dee Ernst - 2018
    Sure, their marriage hadn’t worked out, but that was mostly because of their twenty-plus age difference. But after Sam’s death, Jenna finds out that Sam had a secret that he never shared—a son, who is on his way to claim his inheritance, which includes the house that she and Sam had bought years ago. The same house that Jenna has always called home, and has no intention of sharing it with anyone, especially some snot-nosed kid from the big city. But Craig Ferris isn’t some kid. He is a grown man, the product of Sam’s youthful affair. Craig arrives with his three daughters after hastily leaving Chicago behind. Craig has no intention of staying in the small town of Cape Edwards. He needs to find a job and place to start a new life for himself and his girls after the death of his wife the year before. Jenna grudgingly makes room in her home—and her life— for Sam and his girls, while fighting a growing physical attraction to the man who reminds her so much of her lost love. But the more time she spends with Craig, the more she realizes he is nothing at all like his father. And lust is slowly turning to something else as she begins to know and understand the man who told her, from the very beginning, that he has no intention of staying in Cape Edwards. Will the small-town magic of the Eastern Shore convince Craig that this is the best place for his new family? And can he believe that Jenna loves him for himself, rather than as a substitute for the larger-than-life Sam? A Safe Place to Land is about two cautious people slowly trying to find room for each other in the most treacherous landscape of all, the human heart.

The Pink Magnolia Club


Geralyn Dawson - 2002
    MEET THE PINK MAGNOLIA CLUBHolly Weeks, whose boyfriend has lured her to the sale under false pretenses, wants to walk barefoot on a Tahitian beach and read a thousand books for pleasure. There are many other goals on her "Life List," but getting married isn't one of them. Never mind that she's in love. Now if she could only figure out what's holding her back. Maggie Prescott is lonely in her empty nest. When her husband forgets their twenty-fifth anniversary, she wonders whether she even wants to share a nest with him anymore. Donating her wedding gown seems like the right thing to do. Grace Hardeman, who's volunteering at the sale, wishes for health, happiness, and a party with loved ones to mark fifty years of marriage. But soon she's facing the fight of her life. Together, these three women at turning points in their lives learn there's nothing like friendship to strengthen a heart that's in danger of breaking.

Star-Spangled Bride


Iris Johansen - 1993
    But photojournalist Ronnie Dalton stops at nothing to save the man who'd saved her from death ten years ago--the one man she's always adored.

Manhunting In Mississippi


Stephanie Bond - 1998
    But how will she find a man in the very small Mudville, Mississippi? This novel contains a brand-new original short story, Wrapped and Ready, by Kenner. Reissue.

Wild Love


Lauren Accardo - 2021
    Sydney Walsh might be falling head over heels for the romance novels she's stocking up to rebuild The Loving Page, but she has no delusions about actually starring in one. That chapter has closed.Beneath Sam Kirkland's gruff mountain-man exterior lies a gentle heart and a burning desire for the woman he knows he can't have. He's made promises that anchor him to the past, making romance off-limits. And he accepted that--until Sydney came crashing into his life.Sam can't do a relationship right now. Sydney doesn't have the wherewithal to believe in one. But when you meet the right person, the wrong circumstances don't matter. Even when the world seems to be doing its best to keep them apart, their real, one-of-a-kind love is worth fighting for.

Texas Wanderer: Lone Star Lovers Book 6


Jean Brashear - 2012
     Hotshot adventure photographer Dane Sullivan's career is grounded after a near-death fall, and he's no longer sure he wants the life of death-defying risk that energized him for so long. While he's recovering and assessing his options, his kid sister Jilly volunteers him to help her friend Vanessa with handyman skills he and his brothers learned from their dad. The irascible, too-handsome photographer turned handyman won't be around long, which suits Vanessa just fine—until the sparks between them turn from aggravation to smoldering attraction. Though her life has been filled with loss, can she survive losing this man who's come to mean so much to her? As Dane begins to contemplate sinking roots, the once-in-a-lifetime trip to a forbidden land suddenly is his for the taking, and he will have to choose between a life he never imagined and the dream that would restore the career that was once all he ever wanted.

Stand Close Bundle: Part 1-3


Sabrina Lacey - 2014
    Rue Calliwell is woken up the day after her 21st birthday by a knock at the door. Jack Stone of the famous Stone brothers is standing on her porch, which is weird because they've never met. When he growls, "You'll be hearing from my lawyer," a jolt ricochets into a whole new life for Rue, one where she inherits fifty millions dollars, along with three obnoxious rich boys she doesn't know what to do with. She doesn't want the money, but she does want Alec... Alec Gabriel is the womanizing frontman for the band Locked Tight. He's also the best friend of the famous Stone brothers, Jack and Sean. Their bond goes back to childhood, so when vengeful Jack asks Alec to make his newfound 'secret sister' Rue Calliwell Alec's next target for heartbreak, the rockstar signs on out of curiosity; is she really as good a person as she purports to be? But you know what happened with curiosity...'

Mountain Laurel


Donna Clayton - 1990
    And before she could change her mind, sexy forest ranger Michael Walker agreed to play the part of her ardent admirer!Laurel never expected Michael's acting abilities to be quite so convincing. Whenever her sister was watching, Laurel found herself wrapped in a heady embrace with a passionate kiss on the way. Her captivating cohort promised a performance that would win her the wager, but when the curtain closed, would she lose the only man she would ever love?This is the first of Donna Clayton's backlist titles to be made available. Look for more Donna Clayton romances soon!

Unforgettable Heroes - Unforgettable Passion (The Unforgettables Book 2)


Donna Fasano - 2017
    Fall in love with our Unforgettable Heroes and fantasize about them for months. They don’t come along very often, but when they do, they can turn your world upside down and rip the heart out of every woman who dares to love them. The variety of stories we’ve chosen to add to this collection are meant to entertain you. We present the Unforgettable Heroes... Eight romances by eight award-winning authors with heroes who will live in your heart forever. Donna Fasano guides you on how to 'Take Love in Stride,' Patrice Wilton cooks up a 'Catered Affair,' Mona Risk shares what a wonder it is to get 'Babies in the Bargain,' Mimi Barbour asks you to help her 'Find Me a Home,' Traci Hall gives a lesson on love in 'Dancing By the Sea,' Susan Jean Ricci tempts everyone with 'Dinosaurs and Cherry Stems,' Nikki Lynn Barrett crowns the 'Queen of My Heart,' and Leanne Banks instructs readers how to become ‘The Five-Minute Bride’.