Books like 'A Certain Appeal'
Readers who enjoyed A Certain Appeal by Vanessa King also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary funny from hate to love new adult slow burn sassy heroine found-family grovel silver-fox
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Dirty Little Midlife (fake) Date by Lilian Monroe
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsBrooding, grumpy Des has a problem. He needs a date to his family's Thanksgiving reunion for reasons he'd...rather not say.Single mother and all-around hot mess Mia has an even bigger issue: She can't afford her rent, and her new landlord Des is a major you-know-what.So, they make a deal. One simple weekend away in exchange for a serious rent reduction... -
The Sleight Before Christmas by Kate Stewart
From the author of The Plight Before Christmas and The Ravenhood trilogy comes a heartwarming, spicy, holiday-themed romantic dramedy with ALL OF THE FEELS.My kids are a**holes.Yeah, I said it. I said the thing no father is supposed to say about their children, and I’ll say it again because I miss my wife...Categorized as:
from hate to love new adult christmas contemporary humor length-medium explicit-open-door -
Dangerous Exes by Rachel Van Dyken
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsIn #1 New York Times bestselling author Rachel van Dyken’s scorching series, revenge is a justified pleasure… Isla made one teeny little mistake. Now she and her PI company, Dirty Exes, are being targeted by one seriously angry and furiously sexy ex-quarterback. Jessie freakin’ Beckett. But there’s no way some NFL superhunk is going to take her business away... -
Serving the CEO by M. S. Parker
If someone had told me three months ago that I would walk down the aisle to marry my boss, Derrick Thomas, the hot as hell but super demanding and arrogant CEO of Broker Publishing, I would have called them a damn lunatic. But here I am, all dressed in white, ready to tie the knot with the man of my dreams. Or so you would think...Categorized as:
new adult grovel contemporary humor super rich hero explicit-open-door length-medium -
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Happy Trail by Jordan Marie, Robin Harper
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSometimes you have to talk to work things out. Luckily that works best without clothes. Petal I’ve loved Luka Fields my entire life. He was my first crush, my first kiss, my first time, and my first heartbreak. Love isn’t like in the movies, or the books you read. It’s hard. Sometimes you give up… And regret it your entire life... -
Almost a Bride by Jo Watson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThat awkward moment you catch your boyfriend in bed with another woman and then mistakenly get arrested #chargesdroppedAnnie knows life isn't always fair. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. Sometimes you get mistaken for a crazed intruder when you come home early and find your boyfriend wearing nipple clamps with a coworker on the night you thought he was going to propose to you...Categorized as:
new adult slow burn sassy heroine humor contemporary vengeance fake relationship cheating -
Matchmaking a Single Dad by Angela Denise
Rated: 4.53 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThey’re all wrong for each other…but sometimes two wrongs do make a right. Cole The only woman I need in my life is my eight-year-old daughter, Jane. As a widowed brewery owner, I don’t have the time or inclination for anything more serious than a one night stand...Categorized as:
from hate to love sassy heroine contemporary humor alpha male single-father length-medium -
Anger Banger by S.M. Shade
The residents of Happy Haven Trailer park have been waiting for this for a long time. The slumlord who abandoned this place and let our homes deteriorate has been court ordered to live here while making repairs. Imagine our surprise when the guy who shows up to move in to the dilapidated trailer across the street isn't the sixty year old man we expected, but his son...Categorized as:
new adult found-family from hate to love grumpy sunshine contemporary humor forced proximity -
Fake Around and Find Out by S.M. Shade
An enemies-to-lovers, fake relationship romantic comedy.The Happy Haven Trailer Park is not where I hoped to be at age twenty-five.Circumstances have left me without a job or a car in a small town where work is scarce. When my insufferable neighbor approached me with a very indecent proposal to co-star in his videos on the Lonely Hands app, I had to resist the impulse to punch him in the mouth...Categorized as:
from hate to love new adult found-family humor contemporary grumpy sunshine dual-pov length-medium -
Reputation by Adriana Locke
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsCoy Mason is a jerk.If there is one truth that Bellamy Davenport knows, it’s that. Hands-down. (Well, that and the fact that she didn’t mean to hurt him. Physically. Coy can’t be hurt emotionally because he doesn’t have a heart.)Coy is not just the small-town, literal boy-next-door... -
Sledgehammer by P. Dangelico
Amber Jones is in a pickle. And when I say pickle, I mean deep do-do. She knew she shouldn’t have gone to her ex’s New Year’s Eve party. And she reeeaally didn’t mean to almost burn his house down. It was the chafing dish’s fault, dang it! Now she needs a good lawyer, stat. But where to find one? All work and no play make Ethan Vaughn a very sad and lonely lawyer. Not to mention horny...Categorized as:
new adult from hate to love slow burn sassy heroine grovel sports humor contemporary -
Worth the Shots by Heather M. Orgeron
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsHE’S COUNTRY MUSIC’S BAD BOY… COULD SHE BE THE GIRL TO FINALLY TAME HIM?Born into a life of wealth and privilege, Veronica Vanderbilt has never wanted for anything. Aside from a man, that is…Thanks to her overprotective father, Ronnie’s lovelife is non-existent. Attending a prestigious music school in Nashville seems like the perfect solution... -
For Better or Worse by Lauren Layne
Will a budding wedding planner and her bad boy neighbor stop banging heads and start hearing wedding bells in the sexy second novel in USA TODAY bestselling author Lauren Layne’s irresistible new series that marries Sex and the City with The Wedding Planner ? When small-town girl Heather Fowler finally gets promoted from assistant to actual wedding planner, she’s determined to make it... -
Deal Takers by Laura Lee
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMY DICK CAN BE A REAL BASTARD SOMETIMES. When he takes charge, I’ve been known to do a lot of stupid shit, despite the fact that I have a genius IQ. Case in point: How I met the woman of my dreams. Now, I’m going to let you in on a little secret: I don’t regret that moment of idiocy one bit...Categorized as:
new adult from hate to love slow burn contemporary humor friends to lovers age difference cheating -
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Flat Whites & Chocolate Fish: Southern Lights #3 by Jay Hogan
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsADRIAN POWELL has a secret, a secret he’s guarded for 17 years. But it’s come at a cost—few friends, fewer lovers and a lifetime of loneliness. If he’s a bit grumpy and a tad pessimistic, who can blame him? So, exactly how he’s ended up with a bunch of nosy friends, a beautiful lakeside cottage and a successful business, is beyond him...Categorized as:
from hate to love found-family silver-fox m-m age difference contemporary suspense abuse -
One Hundred Desires by Kelly Collins
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsShe’s all work.He’s all play.Can they meet in the middle for love?Vivian Armstrong has taken control of Vortex, her family's security business, and she’s determined to prove her worth. She may be the youngest of seven and the only woman bodyguard on the team, but she’s every bit as tough as her older brothers...Categorized as:
sassy heroine from hate to love contemporary suspense forced proximity humor length-short -
Rival Desires by M. S. Parker
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWelcome to Rival Desires, where the rivalry is fiery, but the romance? It's downright scorching.Meet Cory charming, socially awkward, and co-owner of the established Palo Alto finance firm Gracen & McCrae. Enter Rylee Palmer, the brilliant, enigmatic head of the new game-changer in town, Palmer Money Management... -
A Vicious Proposal by Kristy Marie
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBestselling Author Kristy Marie brings you a brand new standalone with a morally gray hero who sentences his past love to six years of marriage to serve as punishment for her betrayal. I knew him only as Van Gogh. A tortured artist who owned the night as he moved through the shadows, cloaked in hate and madness... -
50 Ways to Win Back Your Lover by Kelly Siskind
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFrom Kelly Siskind comes a slow-burn romantic comedy about one man’s creative attempt to win back his high school sweetheart after a change in fortune gives them a second chance at love.Growing up, I had it all—my art, close friends, a gorgeous girlfriend who owned my heart—but then my life exploded.Turns out my father was laundering money, and my whole family got shoved into witness protection... -
Banging the Enemy by Lili Valente
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsPop Quiz: You just banged a rock star you vowed to loathe until the end of time. What’s next? Hint: You don’t agree to be his fake girlfriend. And you certainly don’t fall in love… Once upon a time, Cutter Comstock was the hot older boy who tormented me in high school... -
Marriage by Law by N.K. Pockett
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsWhat happens when an unsuspecting girl and guy are thrown into a marriage they don’t want? That’s exactly the case of Ivory and Darius, born into different families whose marriage serves to prevent competition between their businesses... -
Nailed by Cora Brent
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA scorching ‘enemies to lovers’ office romance proves hazardous in this new stand-alone from NYT and USA Today bestselling author Cora Brent. The good news: Audrey Gordon has just received a dream assignment managing one of the city’s largest construction projects. The bad news: She’ll be teamed up with cocky office rival and former lover Jason Roma... -
Make Me Crazy by Kennedy Fox
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsNever trust a man who gets paid to take off his clothes for a living and then uses it as a pick-up line to get girls in bed with him.Being an author’s assistant comes with its perks but when Maverick Kingston barges into my life and becomes my responsibility, he’s more than I can handle... -
The Trouble With Gravity (Gravity Series) by K.K. Allen
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsKai's life is a series of choreographed steps, each one shielding her from the tragic memories of her past. Audition, dance, paycheck, repeat. It's a broken record, but it's what keeps her world spinning... -
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Through the Lens by K.K. Allen
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 16 ratings"He thought I was his muse. Turned out, he was mine too."Maggie Stevens is done feeling objectified.After spending her entire life in the spotlight and climbing the high fashion ranks as a model in LA, she’s willing to leave it all behind for a fresh start. Moving to Seattle seems like the perfect solution.A clean slate.New adventures.Endless opportunities.All is going according to plan... -
Speak From The Heart: a small town romance by L.B. Dunbar
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsWhen a small town, single father becomes enemies with the new girl in town, it’s either keep fighting her or give in to what his heart wants most.Emily Post isn’t staying. Back at her grandmother’s summer home, she’s only in Elk Lake City for a visit which can’t end soon enough. Especially when she can’t seem to get away from one grumpy repairman who shows up everywhere...Categorized as:
new adult from hate to love contemporary humor single-father small town length-short -
Misadventures at City Hall by Victoria Blue
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsGo-getter Skye Delaney’s sights are set on the office of LA City Manager, but when her path is blocked by a cloud of corruption at the Mayor’s office, she is forced to reevaluate her ambitious goals. A seat on the City Council is the next logical step, but as they say, politics makes for strange bedfellows. Fellows like Kyle Armstrong... -
Love Inn Books by Erin Branscom
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHe doesn’t believe in love.She’s a romantic at heart.He’s her sworn enemy…and her new boss.Preston Steele is a buttoned up, Ivy League lawyer from an affluent prominent Boston family.He ditches the city life and moves to small town Freedom Valley to start over where he finally feels like he belongs.His new friends think he could use some fun and love in his life... -
12 Days of Mistletoe: An Enemies to Lovers, Fake Dating, Holiday RomCom by Jen Atkinson
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHow to end up in Christmas kissing lessons with your downstairs enemy… Break apartment rules? Guilty.Send holiday cards to the downstairs neighbor's grandma? Done. Accidentally become said neighbor's fake girlfriend for a family Christmas photo? Wait, what?I, Bonnie Miller, am no troublemaker. I’m just an anxious girl trying to keep my emotional support pup in a no-pets apartment building... -
NSFW by Piper Lawson
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsBeing bad never felt so good... The office is full of rules. Everything is off-limits. Making a charity calendar of the sexy guys on your floor? Not allowed. Shrinking your boss' underwear when he sends it for dry-cleaning? Can't do that either. But those things keep the natural balance. See, Avery Banks, our resident rising star, is a shark...Categorized as:
new adult from hate to love slow burn sassy heroine humor contemporary office friends to lovers -
The Suit by Lulu Moore
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHave you ever met someone who makes your blood boil simply by existing? Or turn your notorious, ice-cool demeanor volcanic in a nanosecond? Perhaps smother your usual air of indifference with a lightning-charged thundercloud, threatening to strike at any moment?Because that’s what she does.It’s been seven peaceful years since I last saw Beulah Holmes... -
Bossy Rockstar by Roxy Reid
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTen years ago he took my v-card,Now he's my billionaire rockstar boss.A decade after dumping me without warning or explanation,He's back in my life.Annoyingly, he's grown up to be extra hot,With muscular arms I want to be wrapped up in,And a cocky grin that really could stop the world from turning.For the first time in my life,I understand the urge to throw my underwear at a rockstar... -
Lover by Ketley Allison
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAgreeing to be his no-strings-attached, fake fiancée for a weekend is totally doable.Until I have to share a bed with this hot, bearded recluse.It was a necessary deal, considering my boss was blackmailing me and Wyn was nearing bankruptcy as a washed-up rock star. We had to do it to fix our quickly imploding lives... -
Hating the Best Man by Jenny Fyfe, Natalie Murray
“Packed with swoon, this story reminded me why I love romcoms.” – romance author Tarah DeWittFlynn:My best friend’s about to get married, and I’m in love with his future wife. Believe me, I’d do anything to change it, but Ruby Quinn has been my dream girl since high school, and my stubborn heart refuses to let go.It gets worse. I’m pretty sure Ruby hates me, and I don’t blame her... -
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Never Fall for the Bride's Father by Julia Kent
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsPower outages. Runaway brides. Collapsed wedding cakes. Tainted caviar. Handsy grooms. And the always jealous MILs who wear white.No wedding catastrophe can faze Katie Gallagher, because when you plan for the worst, you deliver the best.The best wedding ever.Her company, Wedding Protectors, Inc., promises happily ever afters. Guaranteed. Whatever it takes... -
The Ones We Hate by Katie Golightly
Piper Hartrick has only ever openly despised one person. For every smile she conjures up, he balances the energy with a frown. With every careful step she makes into ownership of her family’s design business, he makes his own moves by bulldozing his way into a room...Categorized as:
from hate to love new adult found-family forced proximity college contemporary suspense humor -
Dream a Little Dream by Sue Moorcroft
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsMake a wish . . .Reflexologist Liza Reece has a dream.After a catastrophic break-up, she’s determined to rebuild her life from the wreckage. So when the opportunity arises to take over the troubled holistic centre where she works, Liza jumps at the chance.The only problem is she doesn’t have a penny. And Liza needs funds, and fast, because she’s not the only one interested... -
Risky Business by Lauren Landish
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsSecrets are my life.Perception is everything, and I'm extraordinarily good at helping my clients hide their dirt—until him.Bad press about your latest movie flop? I can twist it.Need to repair your image after an embarrassing walk of shame? I got you.Reputation refresh? That’s me too.But my latest client challenges me in ways I never anticipated.Carson Steen... -
Ending in Marriage by Debbie Macomber
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsRediscover an exciting and heartfelt, opposites attract romance from New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber.Duke Porter is the best pilot of Midnight Sons, a bush-plane charter service located in the small town of Hard Luck, Alaska. He is a rugged, no-nonsense traditionalist set in his ways... -
Puppy Love by Misha Bell, Erin Mallon
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsLillyAn opportunity to tell off the billionaire whose bank took my childhood home? Yes, please! The greedy, arrogant jerk thinks I’m here to interview for the job of his dog trainer (a.k.a. nanny), but he’s got a big storm coming... -
Neanderthal Seeks Yarns by Penny Reid, Jennifer Grace
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsFrom the New York Times Bestselling Author Penny Reid A comprehensive collection of all short stories, deleted scenes, and special features from the Knitting in the City series... -
Our Star-Crossed Kiss by Piper Rayne
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsShe’s got two strikes against her.Her name is Erickson and her parents own The Bagel Place.It wasn’t always that way. When we were nine, we were best friends. But then a feud between our dads ripped their successful business apart—and my best friend was ripped away too.Our paths were bound to cross again. Now, both our families are vying for the same spot on a Food Channel’s reality show... -
Falling for the Playboy by Kennedy Fox
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsNever trust a man who gets paid to take off his clothes for a living and then uses it as a pick-up line to get girls in bed with him. That should’ve been enough for me to call in sick that day... -
For Butter or for Worse by Dana LeCheminant
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsIn the quaint coastal town of Willow Cove, Georgie Carpenter returns to take over a bakery, only to discover that the sweet deal comes with an unexpected twist—a husband.Royal “King” Kingston, overwhelmed with balancing surf lessons and the responsibility of his late uncle’s struggling bakery, is shocked by Georgie’s return from the big city to his little town...Categorized as:
from hate to love found-family contemporary marriage of convenience m-f humor length-short -
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Making It by Laura Kay
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsFrom the author of Wild Things comes a heartwarming and relatable queer rom-com about an isolated young woman whose artistic celebration of her pet chinchilla suddenly launches her into the professional art world, reality TV fame, and first love.Isobel's life is just her, her mum, and her pet chinchilla, Abigail, in their council flat on the Kentish coast... -
The Billionaire's Mistress 3: A Billionaire Romance by M. S. Parker
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMy whole life, I never fit anywhere, with anyone, and then when I finally find someone who makes me feel special, he's engaged to my half-sister. I knew I should be able to get over him, move past it all, but somehow, I don't think it'll be that easy. When Allie Dodd receives an invitation to a charity event, the last thing she wants to do is risk seeing Jal Lindstrom again... -
Double or Nothing by Marie Carnay
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsTwo billionaire brothers, one curvy jewelry designer, and a week in sin city. This time, two of a kind is the winning hand. Hank and Trenton might be heirs to the biggest casino empire in Las Vegas, but they’ve never been lucky in love. On the verge of giving up their fantasy of finding one woman to satisfy both their desires, a curvy beauty catches their eye... -
Work In Progress by Olivia Lucas
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDear God, Can I please return her?I know I asked for a hot, amazing woman to shake things up, but this is not what I had in mind. Not even close.Sure, she has mesmerizing eyes that hypnotize me, killer legs, wild hair –Ugh.Anyway, Reagan and I are polar opposites.First of all – she is New York, I am small-town Harmon Valley.She is also bossy, career-obsessed, and oh, a royal pain in my ass... -
Resisting the Bosshole: A friends to lovers RomCom by Kristin MacQueen
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhat's more embarrassing than asking a man whore for help getting a boyfriend?Falling in love with said whore and knowing your feelings will never be returned.I'm a disaster when it comes to men. I don't know how to flirt and I've never been kissed. All I want is for Prince Charming to come into my life... -
Chasing Romeo by Sarah Ready
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsA laugh out loud, soul mate chasing rom com romp, Sarah Ready’s Chasing Romeo is a perfect feel-good novel about finding love where you least expect it.Chloe Daniels is a starry-eyed romantic who believes in true love, soul mates and happily ever afters. So when a psychic predicts the identity of her soul mate Chloe will do anything to find him.But there’s a tiny problem...
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