21 Romances To Read Right Away For Valentine's Day

Because book boyfriends > IRL boyfriends.

Mack Daddy by Penelope Ward

Penelope Ward Books

They called him Mack Daddy. No, seriously, his name was Mack. Short for Mackenzie. Thus, the nickname. Perfect, right?

So was he: perfect. The perfect physical male specimen.

At the private school where I taught, Mack Morrison was the only man around in a sea of women.

Everyone wanted a piece of the hot single father of the sweet little boy.

I was riddled with jealousy, because they didn’t know that—to me—he was much more.

They didn’t know about our past.

He’d chosen my school for his son on purpose, because Mack and I, we had unfinished business.

As my friend, Lorelai, so eloquently put it: “Unfinished business between two people who are clearly attracted to each other is like an eternal case of blue balls.” And I was suffering in pain from my case.

I was still intensely attracted to Mack. I tried to resist him, immersing myself further into a relationship with another man just to protect my heart.

Not to mention, getting involved with a parent was strictly against school rules. But seeing Mack day in and day out was breaking me down.

And soon I might be breaking all the rules.

Lucian Divine by Renee Carlino

Renee Carlino

From USA Today Bestselling author, Renée Carlino, comes a totally unique and different love story that’s sure to make you question what’s really out there…or who.

“My guardian angel is a drunk.”

Evelyn Casey’s life is at a standstill. She’s in her mid-twenties, struggling with the dating scene in San Francisco. Nothing seems to be working out, and she’s starting to think that she’ll live out her days in her crummy apartment with her overbearing roommate, Brooklyn. It’s absurd, but sometimes Evey longs for a guardian angel to show up and save the day.

And then he does. Seriously. His name is Lucian and he’s a guardian angel, been on the job for two thousand years. His sudden presence in her life is both good—he’s brilliant, witty, and warm—and bad—he’s brilliant, witty, warm, and hot as —-. But as perfect as Lucian seems, he’s got problems of his own. He’s taken up drinking and he’s brazenly inserted himself into Evey’s life, going against the greatest cosmic law ever created.

For Evey, the rules are simple: You are not allowed to hook up with your guardian angel. But sometimes fulfilling your destiny requires a leap of faith, a confrontation with God.

Yes, God as in God.

A Thousand Letters by Staci Hart

Staci Hart

Sometimes your life is split by a single decision.

I’ve spent every day of the last seven years regretting mine: he left, and I didn’t follow. A thousand letters went unanswered, my words like petals in the wind, spinning away into nothing, taking me with them.

But now he’s back.

I barely recognize the man he’s become, but I can still see a glimmer of the boy who asked me to be his forever, the boy I walked away from when I was young and afraid.

Maybe if he’d come home under better circumstances, he could speak to me without anger in his voice. Maybe if I’d said yes all those years ago, he’d look at me without the weight of rejection in his eyes. Maybe if things were different, we would have had a chance.

One regretted decision sent him away. One painful journey brought him back to me. I only wish I could keep him.

*A contemporary romance inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion*

Egomaniac by Vi Keeland

EverAfterRomance

The night I met Drew Jagger, he'd just broken into my new Park Avenue office.

I dialed 9-1-1 before proceeding to attack him with my fancy new Krav Maga skills.

He quickly restrained me, then chuckled, finding my attempted assault amusing.

Of course, my intruder had to be arrogant.

Only, turned out, he wasn't an intruder at all.

Drew was the rightful occupant of my new office. He'd been on vacation while his posh space was renovated.

Which was how a scammer got away with leasing me office space that wasn't really available for rent.

I was swindled out of ten grand.

The next day, after hours at the police station, Drew took pity on me and made me an offer I couldn't refuse. In exchange for answering his phones while his secretary was out, he'd let me stay until I found a new place.

I probably should have acted grateful and kept my mouth shut when I overheard the advice he was spewing to his clients. But I couldn't help giving him a piece of my mind.

I never expected my body to react every time we argued. Especially when that was all we seemed to be able to do.

The two of us were complete opposites. Drew was a bitter, angry, gorgeous-as-all-hell, destroyer of relationships. And my job was to help people save their marriages.

The only thing the two of us had in common was the space we were sharing.

And an attraction that was getting harder to deny by the day.

Defense by Sandi Lynn

Sandi Lynn Romance

Ariana

Betrayal. The pain and rage that consumed me was unbearable. My perfect reality had become my hurtful one. Loss of illusion settled inside me and constricted the air I breathed. I felt as if my entire life was a lie. Fresh out of law school, I needed a new start and to put the pieces of my life back together. When I left Boston and moved to New York, I met Luca Russo, a high powered, sexy attorney who liked control. He took me under his wing and did things for me no other man had ever done. Everything comes with a price, and mine was falling for a man who couldn’t return my affection. Then one night tragedy struck and he needed my help. That was the night I became his defense.

Luca

There wasn’t anyone or anything I couldn’t control. I thrived on it. It made me who I was. Some called me ruthless because I played dirty in the courtroom, and some called me a man-whore because I liked to sleep with women but refused to give them anything more. I was a thirty-year-old man with the world at his fingertips. I had a successful career that I loved, a luxury apartment on Park Avenue, and the company of any beautiful woman I wanted at any time. Then Ariana Williams walked into my firm and left me breathless. The chemistry between us was undeniable. But I had a past and a secret I never wanted her to know, so I had to walk away. Then one tragic night I needed her, and now she holds the fate of my life in her hands.

Crown of Lies by Pepper Winters

EverAfter Romance

THREE YEARS

Since I ran away for the night, danced in New York streets, and almost got killed in an alley by two thieves. Until he showed up and saved me.

THREE DAYS

Since I threw a drink at the man my father expected me to marry, then found myself slammed against a wall with Penn Everett's seductive voice whispering a proposal I couldn't refuse.

THREE HOURS

To fall into hate with the man who reminded me of so many things and hid so much behind his lies. He couldn't be the man who saved me three years ago...but there's something so familiar...

THREE MINUTES

For our relationship to switch from no-strings to marriage. He announced it to my father--he's ecstatic. He told my friends--they're shocked. But he didn't ask me, he commanded me--and I'm livid.

THREE SECONDS

For his lies to slowly steal my heart and make me believe, hope...trust.

THREE BREATHS

For his truth to destroy me.

Love in Lingerie by Alessandra Torre

DCA, Inc

I hired her to fix my company, to bring Marks Lingerie back to life. I didn’t expect her to become my friend. I didn’t expect to fall in love with her.

The first rule of business is to never touch your employees. I think there is another rule about not falling for your best friend—a rule against imagining the curves of her body, or the way her breathing would change if I pulled down her panties and unzipped my pants.

Now, I can’t wait any longer. I’m tossing out the rules.

Damn the company.

Damn our friendship.

Damn my fears.

Big Shot by Carly Phillips and Erika Wilde

CP Publishing

Wes Sinclair is a notorious heart-breaker, a hot as sin bad boy with a panty-dropping smile no woman can resist. Except for his best friend's little sister and business adversary, Natalie Prescott, who seems immune to his flirtatious charms. While she's become a permanent fixture in his dirtiest, most scandalous fantasies, she wants nothing to do with him, or his seductive promises. Challenge accepted. His goal? To bring her to her knees, make her beg, and show her just how good being bad can be.

Anything You Can Do by R.S. Grey

R.S. Grey

Lucas Thatcher has always been my enemy.

It’s been a decade since I’ve seen him, but our years on opposite coasts were less of a lasting peace and more of a temporary cease-fire. Now that we’re both back in our small town, I know Lucas expects the same old war, but I’ve changed since high school—and from the looks of it, so has he.

The arrogant boy who was my teenage rival is now a chiseled doctor armed with intimidating good looks. He is Lucas Thatcher 2.0, the new and improved version I’ll be competing with in the workplace instead of the schoolyard.

I’m not worried; I’m a doctor now too, board-certified and sexy in a white coat. It almost feels like winning will be too easy—until Lucas unveils a tactic neither of us has ever used before: sexual warfare.

The day he pushes me up against the wall and presses his lips to mine, I can’t help but wonder if he’s filling me with passion or poison. Every fleeting touch is perfect torture. With every stolen kiss, my walls crumble a little more. After all this time, Lucas knows exactly how to strip me of my defenses, but I’m in no hurry to surrender.

Knowing thy enemy has never felt so good.

Good Boy by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy

Rennie Road Books

Hosting her brother's wedding for an MVP guest list is the challenge of Jess Canning's life. Already the family screw-up, she can't afford to fail. And nobody (nobody!) can learn of the colossal mistake she made with the best man during a weak moment last spring. It was wrong, and there will not be a repeat. Absolutely not. Even if he is the sexiest thing on two legs.

Blake Riley sees the wedding as fate's gift to him. Jess is the maid of honor and he's the best man? Let the games begin. So what if he's facing a little (fine, a lot) of resistance? He just needs to convince the stubborn blonde that he's really a good boy with a bad rap. Luckily, every professional hockey player knows that you've got to make an effort if you want to score.

But Jess has more pressing issues to deal with than sexy-times with a giant man-child. Such as: Will the ceremony start on time, even though someone got grandma drunk? Does glitter ever belong at a wedding? And is it wrong to murder the best man?

Caution: May cause accidental aspiration of tea or coffee. Do not read in a public place where loud laughter is inappropriate. Contains hot but hilarious hockey players, puppy cuddling and a snarky pair of underwear.

Full Package by Lauren Blakely

Lauren Blakely

I've been told I have quite a gift.

Hey, I don't just mean in my pants. I've got a big brain too, and a huge heart of gold. And I like to use all my gifts to the fullest, the package included. Life is smooth sailing....

Until I find myself stuck between a rock and a sexy roommate, which makes for one very hard...place.

Because scoring an apartment in this city is harder than finding true love. So even if I have to shack up with my buddy's smoking hot and incredibly amazing little sister, a man's got to do what a man's got to do.

I can resist Josie. I'm disciplined, I'm focused, and I keep my hands to myself, even in the mere five-hundred square feet we share. Until the one night she insists on sliding under the covers with me. It'll help her sleep after what happened that day, she says.

Spoiler--neither one of us sleeps.

Did I mention she's also one of my best friends? That she's brilliant, beautiful and a total firecracker? Guess that makes her the full package too.

What's a man stuck in a hard place to do?

Commander in Chief by Katy Evans

Katy Evans

The second installment of the White House Series, from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Katy Evans.

We fell in love during the campaign.

The stakes were high.

Reputations could have been ruined.

Scandal hovered over us like a cloud.

Now the man I love is the President of the United States of America.

And its not my vote he is after.

He wants it all.

My heart. My body. My soul.

He wants me by his side.

In the White House.

Normalcy will be gone from my life, privacy forgotten.

I am only twenty three. I just wanted to play a part in history. But it seems like history wasn't done with me. The part where I lost my heart to Matthew Hamilton? It was only the beginning...

The List by Tawna Fenske

Entangled Publishing

As the millionaire owner of a chain of computer shops, Simon Traxel isn’t normally hands-on with mundane repairs. But when a fretful brunette shows up with her fried laptop and killer green eyes, he makes an exception. And as it turns out, she needs more hands-on help than Simon imagined.

Brainy soil scientist Cassie Michaels has spent her whole life feeling like a grungy tree trunk beside her delicate flower sisters. To make herself more interesting, Cassie invented stories about her wild sex life—stories she’s expected to retell in vivid detail at a bachelorette party. Cassie’s attempt to catalog her biggest whoppers goes awry when she spills wine on her laptop and lands in Simon’s shop with her sexy list frozen on the screen.

But Simon’s interest is piqued, and the two strike a deal to make Cassie’s make-believe sexploits a reality. From steamy public romps gone hilariously awry, to sexy antics with kitchen utensils, their quest to conquer The List is equal parts scorching hot and adorably awkward.

As they near the end of The List though, Cassie and Simon second guess their pledge to shake hands and say goodbye when they cross off the last item. But will Simon’s big secret make that the one fantasy that can never come true?

Buttons and Hate by Penelope Sky

Penelope Sky

I'm working off my buttons.

But I'm also giving them away.

The more I fall for Crow, the more I want him to do the things that I want. Dinners, dates, and evenings at the beach.

Everything comes at a price, and quickly the hoard of buttons I worked hard to earn are depleted.

Will this go back and forth forever? Or will someone run out of their buttons first?

Separation Games by CD Reiss

Flip City Media

There are a few unbreakable rules in the game.

Stay collected. Compartmentalize. Think your next move through.

Never let your heart dictate your tactics.

The heart is impulsive.

The heart makes bad decisions.

The heart doesn’t see the long game.

The heart may have decided to get Adam back, but when the endgame comes, the heart’s going to be the one to break.

Stay by A.L. Jackson

A.L. Jackson Books Inc

From NYT & USA Today Bestselling Author A.L. Jackson comes the next sexy, gripping Bleeding Stars Stand-Alone Novel...

I'm Ash Evans.

The life of the party.

Hot. Rich. Charismatic.

A tattooed rock star with the world at my feet.

I burn through women faster than the strike of a match.

I've embraced my lifestyle and live it to the fullest.

Until the day my lifestyle caught up to me.

Willow Langston found me at my lowest.

Literally.

Facedown in a puddle of my own blood.

I owe her my life and I have three months to repay that debt.

What I never should have done was touch her. Kiss her. Take her to my bed.

Love wasn't supposed to be a part of the equation.

I gave up that nasty complication a long damned time ago.

Now I want her more than my next breath.

But she doesn't know what I know.

Do I leave to protect her? Or can I face my demons and ask her to Stay?

The Neighborhood by Stylo Fantome

Stylo Fantome

Things a bad neighbor can do to you:

1. Have loud parties late at night

2. Refuse to mow his lawn

3. Steal your newspapers

4. Rip your heart out and walk all over it

Katya Tocci is willing to admit that she may have bitten off more than she could chew.

Liam Edenhoff showed her a side of life she'd been missing out on - sex and friendship and tacos. But then he betrayed her.

Wulfric Stone taught her that big surprises can come from unexpected places - like from a surly, aggressive, withdrawn bastard. But then he broke her heart.

Now one of them wants forgiveness, and the other wants forever. And Katya? She just wants to forget.

Who knew neighbors could be so difficult?

Fidelity by Aleatha Romig

Romig Works

She thought she could save those she loved.

He thought he could save her.

They'll both learn the truth.

FIDELITY, the dramatic conclusion to the epic five novel series INFIDELITY, following Lennox "Nox" Demetri, Alexandria "Charli" Collins, the Montagues, Demetris, Fitzgeralds, and Spencers is finally here.

When the vows are complete and the dust settles, who will be left standing?

No one is safe, and no alliance is above suspicion in the much-anticipated finale to this hot romantic-suspense saga. Our heroine has survived betrayal, cunning, deception, and entrapment…what will happen when she’s faced with fidelity?

Infidelity, it isn't what you think.

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Aleatha Romig comes a sexy, new dominant hero who knows what he wants and a strong-willed heroine who has plans of her own. With classic twists, turns, deceptions, and devotions, this new, epic romantic suspense will have readers swooning one minute and screaming the next.

Have you been Aleatha'd?

Any Time, Any Place by Jennifer Probst

Gallery Books

HGTV’s Property Brothers meets The Marriage Bargain in this second volume in the Billionaire Builders series, an all-new heart-wrenching and sexy contemporary romance from New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Probst.

When she was a teen, Raven Bella Stratton’s father was killed in a horrible car crash. The bigger shock was the discovery of a woman with him—Diana Pierce—and their two fully packed suitcases with airline tickets to Paris. Devastated by her father’s betrayal, Raven went to live with her aunt, never truly overcoming the traumatic event. When she discovers that the mysterious woman had a family with a husband and three boys, Raven vows to leave the memory of her father behind.

Until Dalton Pierce visits one night and suddenly her past challenges her future...

Leaving his life in California behind to run Pierce Construction with his two older brothers, Dalton Pierce has enjoyed returning home and studying his passion of woodworking. But when he visits the local bar with his brothers one evening, he’s immediately drawn to the smart-mouthed, badass, sexy bartender who sets his body on fire. Unfortunately, she doesn’t seem as intrigued by him, and his multiple advances are met with rejection. When he offers to restore the bar back to its original glory, he begins to work with her on a daily basis, and falls harder. His plan of seduction slowly weaves a web around them both, until they are caught up in the spell. But Dalton doesn’t know the secret that can either destroy them both...or finally mend two broken hearts.

Entice Me by J. Kenner

Martini & Olive

From New York Times bestselling author J. Kenner comes a sensually seductive novella starring fan favorites Damien Stark and his wife, Nikki Fairchild.

Includes a special preview of Anchor Me, the highly anticipated fourth full-length novel featuring Nikki & Damien as they begin the next chapter in their life together.

I didn’t understand passion until I met Damien, the man who turned my world upside down and swept me off my feet.

And though our life together feels perfect, we can’t escape our secrets--and the danger that continually threatens to surface.

But for one night, I seek a respite. A birthday wish for my husband, my lover, my friend—one absolutely perfect night.

It is my most ardent wish.

And I only hope that it will come true…

Fake Fiancée by Ilsa Madden-Mills

Ilsa Madden-Mills

Fake engaged to the hottest quarterback in the country? SCORE.

They say nothing compares to your first kiss,

But our first kiss was orchestrated for an audience.

Our second kiss . . . that one was REAL.

He cradled my face like he was terrified he’d f*ck it up.

He stared into my eyes until the air buzzed.

Soft and slow, full of sighs and little laughs,

He inhaled me like I was the finest Belgian chocolate,

And he’d never get another piece.

A nip of his teeth, his hand at my waist . . .

And I was lost.

I forgot he was paying me to be his fake fiancée.

I forgot we weren’t REAL.

Our kiss was pure magic, and before you laugh and say those kinds of kisses don’t exist,

Then you’ve never touched lips with Max Kent, the hottest quarterback in college history.

Three months. Two hearts. One fake engagement.