I like light and sweet romances as much as the next girl, but sometimes I’m just in the mood for something a little sexier. I still want there to be all of the character development and swoony feels I would get in a sweeter romance, just with an extra level of heat. The following 15 romances are all STEAMY in their own way – whether they’re sexy from the start, a slow burn to sizzle, or somewhere in between, they’re all quality romances that take the sex appeal up a notch.
If I’ve reviewed a book, there’s a link to that. There are also links to Amazon for easy addition to your collection. Happy reading!
Beautifully Cruel by J.T. Geissinger
Slow burn to sizzle – intense – darkly funny
Alpha (noun):
1) Having the highest rank in a dominance hierarchy
2) The most powerful man in a group
3) Liam Black
He was a stranger to me, a dark and dangerous presence who materialized from the shadows one rainy night to save me from a vicious attack. I didn’t know his name or where he was from. All I knew was that the only place I’d ever felt safe was in his arms.
But safety is an illusion.
And not every savior is a hero.
And—as I’d soon find out—having an alpha save your life comes with a price.
Liam Black wanted something from me in return.
Kindle Edition: https://amzn.to/3cBIhJh
She Loves Me by Melissa Foster
Dirty slow burn – friends to lovers – light with touches of angst
What are two besties willing to risk for something more? The New York Times bestselling author of This Is Love has the answer in this fun, sexy, and emotional romance about friendship, family, and giving love a chance.
Something is off in Piper Dalton’s life, and she has a feeling it might just be her. All her siblings are blissfully settled with their forever loves. But while her sisters were dreaming of white weddings, Piper was left heartbroken and commitment phobic by her first love, her best friend’s younger brother. As a woman dominating the male-driven construction industry, Piper has no interest in turning in her hammer for an apron—even if hot and hilarious Harley thinks otherwise.
Burly bar owner Harley Dutch has a bum ankle and two preteen nieces to take care of, and having his best friend, tough-as-nails and sexy-as-sin Piper Dalton, come to his rescue is just the remedy he needs. Piper is her snarky self, and she kind of sucks at caregiving, but she’s owned his heart for years, she’s got a way with the girls, and Harley would sure like to have his way with her…
As things heat up between Piper and Harley, she warns him not to fall in love with her because she’ll only break his heart. Harley is the right man for that challenge—until he makes the biggest mistake of his life, and they begin to wonder if true love really can conquer all.
Read the review here
Kindle Edition: https://amzn.to/2Vv1qp6
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/3a6wLDH
Audiobook: https://amzn.to/2Vx7n4T
Dirty Hookup by Mira Lyn Kelly
Sexy throughout – quick and easy – light
One look and I know… this chick hates me.
I should walk away, find some puck bunny to gleefully sit on my lap and tell me
what a big, hot, hockey stud I am–totally true, BTW. But there’s just
something about this feisty redhead I can’t let go. She’s got an edge to her
that’s sexy as hell and a smart mouth that’s been tying me up since the night I
met her.
She tells me to forget it, we’re not happening. But this isn’t the kind of
woman a guy ever forgets. Especially when the air starts to sizzle and pop
every time we get within ten feet of each other. She’s in my head and under my
skin, and all I can think about is the way she looked at me that one time. Like
she already knew how it could be between us.
I’m not the kind of guy a girl like her takes home… But maybe I want to be.
Read the review here
Kindle Edition: https://amzn.to/2xDGlAjA
mazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/39sf0hN
My Big Fat Fake Wedding by Lauren Landish
Slow burn to sizzle – fake relationship – light and fun
He needs a wife.
I need a husband.
It’s just temporary… what could go wrong?
I’ve always wanted the fairy tale wedding. Not for the princess perfect dress or big party, but for Papa.
My grandfather. The only father figure I’ve ever known.
It’s his dying wish to walk me down the aisle.
Gee, no pressure.
But I can grant that wish…
I just have to fake being head over heels in love with Ross Andrews, my best friend’s big brother whom I embarrassingly crushed on all through high school.
Handsome. Knockout sexy. Arrogant jerk extraordinaire.
Our childish pranks and tit-for-tat battles were legendary. Then I grew up.
Not that he ever noticed.
I know it’s a terrible idea, and we’re both in over our heads.
It could be the wedding of a lifetime or a total disaster.
How do we make it to the altar without killing each other first?
Or without falling in love for real?
Read the review here
Kindle Edition: https://amzn.to/2Z5IIYw
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/2Z9uKFc
Audiobook: https://amzn.to/2Xey2V5
Always Enough by Kelly Elliott
Sexy throughout – angsty and emotional
The second novel in New York Timesbestselling author Kelly Elliott’s Meet Me in Montana series turns up the emotion with a story about finding true love and healing broken hearts.
Grieving the loss of her fiancé two years ago, Kaylee longs for a fresh start. When she follows her best friend from Atlanta to Hamilton, Montana, Kaylee looks forward to the wild terrain and a new town to help her forget the memories and dreams of a life that will never be hers.
After a tragic car accident, Ty Shaw is told he may never walk again. But Ty doesn’t easily accept defeat, and through grit, determination, and more physical therapy than any man should ever endure, he beats the odds. Even though he’ll never ride again, Ty longs to feel alive—the way he did on the Professional Bull Riders circuit.
When Kaylee meets Ty, she finds him just as captivating as the rugged landscape of Montana. When Ty is with Kaylee, he remembers just how good life can be. But can they move beyond their broken hearts and dreams to find a second chance with each other?
Read the review here
Kindle Edition: https://amzn.to/2UW9leM
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/39H83K1
Audiobook: https://amzn.to/2wTsKoR
Down and Dirty by Kendall Ryan
Sexy slow burn – Vegas wedding – virgin hero
From New York Times bestseller Kendall Ryan comes a delicious new standalone romance featuring an accidental Vegas wedding and a totally perfect alpha hero.
Remember that time you accidentally woke up in Vegas married to your hot younger guy friend?
That’s basically my life right now.
Mistakes were made, okay?
He’s too young for me. Twenty-three to my thirty. And he’s saving himself for the right girl.
Yup. Apparently I’ve married the last alpha-male virgin on the planet. And my stubborn, oddly traditional, new husband doesn’t want a divorce.
He wants me.
Complicated doesn’t even begin to cover it.
Down and Dirty is a sexy romp with a hero you’ll melt for and a relatable, sassy heroine you’ll love. If you’re a fan of steamy romances with laugh out loud moments, grab yourself a copy– you won’t regret it!
Read the review here
Kindle Edition: https://amzn.to/38qYi1W
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/336UqSM
Audiobook: https://amzn.to/330ctK9
Best Fake Fiancé by Roxie Noir
Slow burn to sizzle – friends to lovers/fake relationship – light with touches of angst
I told a judge I was engaged to my best friend.
Now we’re faking it.
How hard can it be?
My life has room for exactly two women: my daughter Rusty and my best friend Charlotte — known to everyone as Charlie.
One is a feisty, tomboyish firecracker. The other is my seven-year-old. I can’t imagine life without either.
So when my ex springs a custody hearing on me, I find myself telling the judge that I’m engaged to Charlie.
The only problem? I’m not.
Time to fake an engagement.
Pretending we’re a couple will be no big deal.
We’ve been friends for years. We used to sneak cigarettes behind the bleachers. We turned cans of hairspray into flamethrowers. We got drunk on stolen malt liquor.
She’s beautiful, vivacious, spontaneous, and she loves my daughter to death. It’s the perfect answer: we fake it for a few months, then go back to our lives.
Until we touch, and sparks fly. Until I can’t take my eyes off her. Until I can’t stop thinking about what she’s got on under her coveralls.
It takes one kiss.
One touch.
One shared secret and suddenly, I’m not pretending anymore. I want her, I need her in ways I didn’t know I could.
But there’s a lifetime of friendship between us, and falling in love with Charlie could mean risking everything.
Best Fake Fiance is a standalone romantic comedy that will make you laugh, cry, and probably fan yourself with your kindle.
Read the review here
Kindle Edition: https://amzn.to/3cEdLhZ
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/2AySyrJ
The Sexy One by Lauren Blakely
Sexy slow burn – nanny and single dad – light and swoony
A hot and sweet forbidden romance from #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Lauren Blakely…
Let me count the ways why falling into forbidden love is not my wisest move…
1. She works with me every single day.
Did I mention she’s gorgeous, sweet, kind and smart?
2. She works in my home.
Playing with my five-year-old daughter. Teaching my little girl. Cooking for my princess. Which means…
3. She’s the nanny.
And that makes her completely off-limits…But it doesn’t stop me from wanting her. All of her.
*****
The other nannies in this city don’t call him The Sexy One for nothing. My boss, the amazingly wonderful single father to the girl I take care of every day is ridiculously hot, like movie star levels with those arms, and those eyes, and that body. Not to mention, the way he dotes on his little girl melts me all over. But what really makes my knees weak are the times when his gaze lingers on me. In secret. When no one else is around.
I can’t risk my job for a chance at something more…can I? But I don’t know how to resist him much longer either…
With all the heat, heart and humor readers have come to expect, this newest Lauren Blakely standalone will make you laugh, swoon and feel like you’re falling in love!
Kindle Edition: https://amzn.to/2LtMKC5
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/2X3JLWj
Audiobook: https://amzn.to/2Z8TyNi
The Two of Us by Kennedy Fox
Sexy throughout – great banter – quarantine-inspired
What do you do when the entire nation is on lockdown?
If you’re an heiress to a billion-dollar fashion company, then you quarantine in a glamorous cabin and finish your final semester of NYU online. The best way to focus on her upcoming valedictorian honor is away from her family, classmates, and the paparazzi. Cameron St. James is ready to get out of the big city and head Upstate for seclusion, despite her parent’s pleas to stay home.
What do you do when a pandemic is sweeping the world?
If you’re barely making ends meet, then you isolate yourself in your best friend’s mountain cabin with breathtaking views and no neighbors for miles. It’s the perfect safe place away from three roommates who don’t take the life-threatening epidemic seriously. Elijah Ross is ready to work remotely and focus on his next big promotion, assuming he’ll still have a job after this.
What happens when things don’t go as planned, and you’re stuck with the one person you dislike the most?
You improvise and do whatever it takes to avoid each other, though it proves to be impossible. The cold evenings alone turn into movie and popcorn nights together by the fireplace. Days turn into weeks, and eventually, more than just a friendship blossoms. As the unknown haunts them, they lean on one another for comfort—until someone pops their safety bubble and threatens everything.
The Two of Us is an enemies to lovers, brother’s best friend standalone romance set in the current affairs of history in the making. Though the character’s storyline is fiction, the virus is very real, and we’ve made sure to be sensitive on this topic.
Read the review here
Kindle Edition: https://amzn.to/2zSF1Lg
So, That Got Weird by Amelia Kingston
Dirty slow burn – all-time favorite – light yet angsty – emotional
A painfully awkward love story.
Incomprehensibly awkward Elizabeth Wilde is desperate for love. Connection. Intimacy. After a lifetime of romantic failures, the twenty-one-year-old gamer realizes she needs help. Professional help. She needs…
A sex tutor.
The devastatingly hot jock Austin Jacobs is just the man for the job. As the reigning campus sex god, he has the playboy act down pat. But underneath those six-pack abs beats a broken heart. He doesn’t trust people and he sure as hell doesn’t believe in love.
The odd couple strike a deal. Four weeks of ‘tutoring’ for five thousand dollars.
When Austin coaxes Elizabeth out from behind her computer screen, the attraction they feel is undeniable. They’re both a little broken, but somehow their jagged edges fit. And when their world comes tumbling down on top of them, they each have to decide if this weird thing called love is worth fighting for.
Reader advisory: This book includes references to inadequate parenting, parental death, a parent with addiction. There are also scenes including the use of performance drugs.
Read the review here
Kindle Edition: https://amzn.to/3fPhk7b
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/3fSQL0U
Lovewrecked by Karina Halle
Slow burn to sizzle – enemies to lovers – mostly light
From New York Times bestselling author Karina Halle comes a sexy new standalone romantic comedy about getting stuck on a deserted island with a man you hate to love and love to hate.
Daisy Lewis is experiencing a relentless string of bad luck.
Fortunately, Daisy has her sister’s destination wedding coming up. A week of sand, sea, and sun in the South Pacific as the maid-of-honor is exactly what Daisy needs to forget her upturned life and focus on the positive.
That is until Daisy meets the best man.
If you take tall, dark, and handsome, and add a dash of rugged, a pinch of brooding, and a whole lot of sexy, you’ve got Tai Wakefield. Unfortunately he’s also a major grump, total alpha, and seemingly out to antagonize Daisy at every turn.
As if being part of the wedding party with Tai wasn’t bad enough, Daisy’s bad luck soon resurfaces when she ends up on a cramped sailboat with Tai and the newlyweds.
Which then shipwrecks on a deserted island near Fiji.
Okay, so they aren’t completely alone. There’s an oddball research scientist who has been isolated for far too long, they have rundown bungalows as shelter, stores of water and canned food, plus a feral goat named Wilson. It’s Lost…without the smoke monster.
But with rescue weeks away, Tai and Daisy realize the only way they’re going to get through this mess is to stop fighting and start working together.
And with their guards down, they get closer.
A lot closer.
Soon, Daisy realizes that the only thing worse than being stuck on a deserted island, is being stuck on a deserted island with a man she hates to love and loves to hate.
A man that can break her heart.
Read the review here
Kindle Edition: https://amzn.to/2S6SuVO
Only You by Melanie Harlow
Slow burn to sizzle – friends to lovers – light but angsty
Nate Pearson is ridiculously handsome and wears the hell out of a suit and tie, but I’ve seen the parade of beautiful women leaving his apartment across the hall—a different one every time—and I want no part of it. When it comes to romance, I’m looking for something real, something that will last: the happily ever after.
As a divorce attorney, he loves to tell me there’s no such thing.
As a wedding planner, I choose to disagree.
We disagree on almost everything, in fact. Everything except James Bond. The only time we really get along is when we’re watching 007 flicks together, and I’ll admit—he has rescued me from a disaster or five. So when one of the baton twirlers from his parade leaves a baby girl at his door with a note that says “I’ll come back for her” and he begs me for help, I can’t turn him down.
But it’s a mistake.
Because watching him with his daughter, I start to see another side of Nate, a side that has my breath coming faster, my body craving his, my heart longing for him to change his mind about love and tell me there’s a chance for us.
I don’t want to be just another girl leaving his apartment in the morning.
I want to be the one he asks to stay.
Kindle Edition: https://amzn.to/3dOVGOj
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/3bBT9Wm
Audiobook: https://amzn.to/2WzLKlX
The Wild One by Ruth Cardello
Sexy throughout – fling turned more – light and quick
She wants to go wild. A billionaire decides to go with her. For two Americans in Paris, love wasn’t in the plans in New York Times bestselling author Ruth Cardello’s sexy high-stakes romance.
After years of choosing safe over satisfying, a weeklong Paris fling sounds perfect to Wren Heath. And who better to have it with than Mauricio Romano, a billionaire with a reputation as a first-class heartbreaker. A few days. Fun, then done. What happens on vacation stays on vacation, right?
Paris was Mauricio’s playground, and love was never part of the game. Lust? Toujours. Then he meets a sweet woman who wants to be a sex kitten. He knows how to give her the wildest five days and nights of her life. No commitments. No strings. But the hotter it gets, the harder it is to remember his own rules.
What do you do when what happens in Paris stays in your heart and then shows up at home?
Are these two destined to clash or destined for love?
Read the review here
Kindle Edition: https://amzn.to/38wlCez
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/38yJpKZ
Audiobook: https://amzn.to/2TwcWkh
Never Kiss a Stranger by Logan Chance
Slow burn to sizzle – light and fun – quick and playful
Kiki
Ellis Atwood is the devil. Ok, maybe that’s too harsh. Ellis Atwood is ruining my life.
First, he demolishes a perfectly good wedding trellis.
Second, he destroys a gorgeous doggie wedding that I spent ages planning. (I kid you not.)
Third, he makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, and that is not ok. I prefer the cold and harsh way my fiancé makes me feel so much better. (wait, that didn’t come out right.)
Fourth, and there is a fourth, he gets me all wound up and flustered.
And last, when he unexpectedly kissed me it made me forget my own name, or the fact that I’m getting married…in a month.
Please someone help me out. I’m a mess.
Worst part is, Ellis isn’t the bad guy I first thought he was.
And being forced to spend time with him is making me realize that he needs my help more than anything.
So what’s a girl like me to do?
Ellis
I’m only in town long enough to figure out a plan with my brother on how to save our brewery from the awfulness that is my father. Oh and be in a wedding.
Where I may or may not be crushing a little too hard on the bride-to-be. (spoiler alert, I’m crushing hard.)
She’s really cute. Like seriously.
And she has the cutest job, she’s a dog wedding planner. (I kid you not.)
I can see why Henry loves her.
I can see why everyone loves her.
I can see why I’m falling for her.
I’m usually not a relationship-type guy. Call it picky or whatnot, but usually I get bored easily. So, my plan is simple. Spend as much time with Kiki (soon to be Faniki, I know) and hopefully get bored with her adorkable smile and sexy legs that go on for miles.
Then, I can save the brewery, be the best man of the wedding, and get my butt back to Chicago and away from the happy couple.
Read the review here
Kindle Edition: https://amzn.to/3bQA2bw
Doughn’t Let Me Go by Teagan Hunter
Sexy throughout – single dad and nanny – light with touches of angst
It was just supposed to be one night.No kissing. No feelings. A wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am tangle in the sheets and we go our own ways.
Only it’s a small town, and I was bound to run into the irresistible Porter Jones again. I just didn’t expect it to be at my job interview…which he’s conducting.
Now the live-in nanny to his adorable seven-year-old daughter, I’m doing my best to avoid falling for his charms.
Except it’s much harder than either of us anticipated.
What’s a few romps between friends?
No kissing. No feelings. Just fun. Sounds simple, right?
Right…
Read the review here
Kindle Edition: https://amzn.to/2PTKXZy
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/3cDxyhV
Want even more steamy recommendations?
Check out my list of 15 Scorching Hot Romances With 5-Star Storylines here.
Jeeves Reads Romance 