I focus on new releases in romance the rest of the week, so Throwback Thursdays revisit book recommendations from years past.

This week’s topic is office romance! I’m always up for a good office romance, whether it’s a boss and employee, feuding coworkers, or business rivals – they all make for great dynamics. There’s often a forbidden element, and that just makes everything a little sexier. I posted this list about a year and a half ago, and several of these books remain favorites of mine. I might just need to make a new version soon!

Take a peek at the original list below – they were all great reads for me back in the day.

With a touch of the forbidden and plenty of sexual tension, office romances can make for some great reads. Whether the relationship is boss/assistant, competitors, or just someone trying to do their job, this type of dynamic can stir up a lot of trouble and keep things interesting. I love the depth that comes from these couples spending so much time together and really getting to know each other well.

The 15 romances on this list each have different vibes and storylines, but they all feature couples who spend much of their time working together. Some are light, others are angsty, but they’re all engrossing reads. They’ve each received a 5-star rating from me in the past, so you know that I loved them.

I’ve included a description of the vibe, the blurb, and a link to Amazon for easy addition to your Kindle for each. Happy reading!

Catch by Deborah Bladon

The vibe: low angst and sexy with plenty of banter

What would you do if you discovered your new boss in his office with no pants, a magnum of champagne, and a glitter cannon?
Asking for a friend.

I found something that belongs to Keats Morgan, the notorious bad boy sports agent. So I do the right thing.

I return it.

You’d think the man would be happy to have it back.

He’s not.

Instead, he proceeds to fire his assistant right in front of me.

He looks to me to step in as a replacement, but I want nothing to do with the jerk.

Keats is gorgeous and charming as hell. It’s his arrogant attitude that makes me turn around and almost walk out the door.

The problem? I desperately need a job. Any job.

And Keats is offering me an incredible one.

I agree to his terms before I realize there’s a catch, and it’s a big one.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3nkKluc
My review is one of the first to show there

See Me After Class by Meghan Quinn

The vibe: STEAMY and intense, but still with plenty of humor

“Did you have relations with my brother . . .”

Good question.

I’d like to preface this by saying it was never my intention to ever get involved in a workplace romance, let alone get involved with the most surly, agitating, and pompous man I’ve ever met who just so happens to be my new friend’s brother.

My intentions were to show students how English and reading books could actually be fun and make a new life for myself in the suburbs of Chicago.

But so far, I’ve managed to be called into the principal’s office.

Coerced into participating in the teacher’s badminton league.

And instigated into passionate fights with Arlo Turner over education and decorum while losing my underwear at the same time.

Known as Mr. Turns Me On, he’s the reason I might get fired from my first ever teaching job.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3kynTMi
My review is one of the first to show there

Irresistibly Yours by Lauren Layne

The vibe: light and sexy

Meet the men of Oxford magazine! In the first captivating spin-off of Lauren Layne’s Sex, Love & Stiletto series, a not-so-friendly battle of the sexes turns into a scorching office romance.

Hotshot sports editor Cole Sharpe has been freelancing for Oxford for years, so when he hears about a staff position opening up, he figures he’s got the inside track. Then his boss drops a bombshell: Cole has competition. Female competition, in the form of a fresh-faced tomboy who can hang with the dudes—and write circles around them, too. Cole usually likes his women flirty and curvy, but he takes a special interest in his skinny, sassy rival, if only to keep an eye on her. And soon, he can’t take his eyes off her.

Penelope Pope knows all too well that she comes off as just one of the guys. Since she’s learned that wanting more usually leads to disappointment, Penelope’s resigned to sitting on the sidelines when it comes to love. So why does Cole make her want to get back in the game? The man is as arrogant as he is handsome. He probably sees her as nothing more than a barrier to his dream job. But when an unexpected kiss turns into a night of irresistible passion, Penelope has to figure out whether they’re just fooling around—or starting something real.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3lvs10N

A Very Bossy Christmas by Kayley Loring

The vibe: chemistry that sizzles, great banter, feel good

What’s the actual last thing you’d ever want your executive assistant to see you doing the morning after you had hot, drunk, angry sex with her in a terrible hotel room? Dancing around your terrible hotel room to “Come and Get Your Love” like Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy—naked? Yeah. Me too.

And yet, here we are.

This isn’t even the most unprofessional thing that’s happened between us in the past couple of weeks.

The first was when I agreed to let her have Christmas Day off, but only if she goes with me to three family gatherings as my fake girlfriend.
The second was when she caught me belting out a Christmas song on stage in the awful hotel bar.
The third was the hot, drunk, angry sex that followed, but I do not regret it.

And she hasn’t even found out the real reason I need her by my side this holiday season.

I need to pull it together before I do the dumbest, most unprofessional thing of all—fall head over heels in love with the only assistant who’s lasted more than a month at the job and claims to hate me and my moods more than she hates eggnog.

And I’ve seen how much she hates eggnog.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/38IMVGy
My review is one of the first to show there

We Shouldn’t by Vi Keeland

The vibe: tense and sexy • Jeeves’ Top 19 of 2019 Pick

From #1 New York Times Bestseller Vi Keeland, comes a new, sexy standalone novel.

Bennett Fox walked into my life on one hell of a crappy Monday morning.

I was late for the first day at my new job–a job I’d now have to compete for even though I’d already worked eight years to earn it, because of an unexpected merger.

While I lugged my belongings up to my new office, a meter maid wrote me a parking summons.

She’d ticketed a long line of cars–except for the Audi parked in front of me, which happened to be the same make and model as mine.

Annoyed, I decided to regift my ticket to the car that had evaded a fine. Chances were, the owner would pay it and be none the wiser.

Except, I accidentally broke the windshield wiper while slipping the ticket onto the car’s window.

Seriously, my day couldn’t get any worse.

Things started to perk up when I ran into a gorgeous man in the elevator. We had one of those brief moments that only happened in movies.

You know the deal…your body lights up, fireworks go off, and the air around you crackles with electricity.

His heated stare left me flushed when I stepped off the elevator.

Maybe things here wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Or so I thought.

Until I walked into my new boss’s office and met my competition.

The gorgeous man from the elevator was now my nemesis. His heated stare wasn’t because of any mutual attraction. It was because he’d seen me vandalize his car. And now he couldn’t wait to annihilate his rival.

There’s a fine line between love and hate–and we shouldn’t cross it.

We shouldn’t–but straddling that line could be so much fun.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/35s8eKk

Bachelor Boss by Sara Ney

The vibe: quick, easy, and light with great dialogue

What is The Bachelors Club?

It’s a gentleman’s club—like the dignified men of the past used to have. Except, we’re not gentleman, and we’re not dignified.

We’re ineligible bachelors, bored, jaded and not looking for relationships. Quite the opposite actually. So committed to being single, we’ve created a high stakes bet to see who can remain single the longest…

Four days co-habitating in a shared work space shouldn’t be a big deal. It shouldn’t be distracting. But Spencer Standish saw me puking in a company trash can, and won’t let me live it down. Cheerful, aggravating Spencer, who wants me to fetch her coffee.

As if she’s the boss of me.

And now I’m stuck sharing her office.

Let’s face facts: I can’t be in a relationship; not when there’s a bet to win—not with Spencer, who loves my uncontrollable basset hound, lazy Sundays, and grilled cheese as much as I do. I refuse to fall for her.

I will be the last Bachelor standing.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2JWUmiL
My review is one of the first to show there

Single Dad Meets Juliet by Max Monroe

The vibe: low angst, fun, and sexy

Dear Internet: Am I a horrible person for wanting to sabotage my work assignment—completely wreck a dating contest—because I hate the idea of love?

I know it sounds bad, but just hear me out, okay?

I (33F) work at a local paper, and two months ago, my editor assigned me a huge project—run the upcoming, highly anticipated Bachelor Anonymous contest.

In essence, I’m supposed to help a reader-nominated bachelor find his special someone, and while I should be excited to handle something of this magnitude solo, I can’t help but get queasy over how gross it feels.

Like, how cheesy could this thing get?

Not to mention, I’m the last person who should be involved in this—my dating and relationship history is a cluster. Generally, the person in charge of these things shouldn’t fantasize about lighting the whole three-ring dating circus on fire.

Anyway, men from all over Southern California, vying for the coveted bachelor role, submitted their personal ads to my paper. The readers voted, and Single Dad Seeks Juliet won by a landslide.

Enter Mr. Bachelor Anonymous (40M), the single dad Romeo seeking his Juliet.

Blah, blah, blah, right? Wrong.

You guys—and I cannot stress this enough—this guy is the ultimate man in a six-foot-three, chiseled-muscle, freaking Adonis package with aquamarine eyes that would haunt the dreams of an insomniac.

He’s a former Navy SEAL, successful business owner, motocross-riding, charming, supportive, funny-as-heck single dad, and the more time I spend with him, the more I want to bring this contest thing crumbling to the ground for an entirely different reason.

Real talk: I think I’m falling for him.

Me, the woman who despises love, might be falling for the completely off-limits Bachelor who I’m ironically assigned to help find love, while five other women think they’re the only contestants competing for his heart.

So, Internet. Am I scum? Or is all fair in love and war?

Amazon: https://amzn.to/38OxKeC

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

The vibe: quirky, fun, feel good

Debut author Sally Thorne bursts on the scene with a hilarious and sexy workplace comedy all about that thin, fine line between hate and love.

Nemesis (n.) 1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome.

2) A person’s undoing

3) Joshua Templeman

Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other. Not dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. Hate. And they have no problem displaying their feelings through a series of ritualistic passive aggressive maneuvers as they sit across from each other, executive assistants to co-CEOs of a publishing company. Lucy can’t understand Joshua’s joyless, uptight, meticulous approach to his job. Joshua is clearly baffled by Lucy’s overly bright clothes, quirkiness, and Pollyanna attitude.

Now up for the same promotion, their battle of wills has come to a head and Lucy refuses to back down when their latest game could cost her her dream job…But the tension between Lucy and Joshua has also reached its boiling point, and Lucy is discovering that maybe she doesn’t hate Joshua. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/36xwRod

Boss Man Bridegroom by Meghan Quinn

The vibe: hysterical and steamy, opposites attract

“Will you do me the greatest honor of all time and be my bridegroom?” she asks, hope in her eyes . . .

How did I get here? My assistant, bent on one knee, holding my hand, her expectant face waiting for an answer.

Just . . . how?

How did I go from being insulted by Charlee Cox to hiring her to be my assistant? How is it that she’s chaos in color – making me crazy and my life better at the same time?

I never thought I would be staring down at her bright blue eyes begging me to go along with this ridiculous scheme I suggested.

Yes, I suggested. Like the idiot I am, I thought hey, why not start an HR nightmare and have my assistant ask me to marry her?

Confused? Don’t worry, so am I.

But try to follow along, because this is how I became Boss Man Bridegroom.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/38HoCIY
My review is one of the first to show there

Hotshot Doc by R.S. Grey

The vibe: opposites attract, low angst and playful

A full-length STANDALONE romantic comedy from USA TODAY bestselling author R.S. Grey.

Dr. Russell has a bad reputation around our hospital. The scrub techs say he’s cold-blooded, the nurses say he’s too cocky for his own good, and the residents say he’s the best surgeon in the world—really, just a swell guy!—on the off chance he’s within earshot.

I try to avoid him and his temper at all costs. It’s just as easy to admire his sexy, grip-it-while-he’s-ravishing-you hair and chiseled jaw from a healthy distance, preferably from the other end of the hallway…half-hidden behind a plant.

Unfortunately, my plan crumbles when my trusty ol’ boss decides to swap his white coat for a Hawaiian shirt. His retirement leaves me with two terrible options: switch specialties and spend months retraining, or take an open position as Dr. Russell’s surgical assistant.

That means I have to stand near him in the OR for hours on end and anticipate his every need without letting his biting words and bad attitude intimidate me. Oh, and as if that’s not difficult enough, my silly crush on him—the one I’ve tried to stomp on until it disappears—might just be reciprocated.

It’s fine.
I’m fine.

I take my job seriously. There will be no smoldering bedroom eyes across the operating table, no angry almost-kisses in the supply closet. (Well, no more of those.)

What’s the phrase? An apple a day keeps the doctor away?
Maybe I should go for a whole damn bushel.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3nlW4sv

Boss in the Bedsheets by Kate Canterbary

The vibe: quirky and steamy, opposites attract

He’s a beast in the spreadsheets and
a boss in the bedsheets

Mr. Santillian,

Despite the fact I’m currently living out of your guest room and sleeping with you most nights, I am writing to announce my resignation effective two weeks from today.

In other words, I’ll locate someone who is both obscenely overqualified and willing to devote their days to the handful of tasks you are able to wrench from your perfectionist, micromanaging grip. It may be difficult to find a Nobel laureate genius looking for basic filing work on such short notice, but I’ll do my best.

Don’t worry about your sister’s wedding this weekend. I still plan to attend as your date, assuming you’ve finished hating me by then.

Thank you in advance for your understanding.

Zelda

Ms. Besh,

Resignation not accepted.

I’ll see you at home.

Ash

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3f02WZO

Mr. Fixer Upper by Lucy Score

The vibe: tense and steamy

He started to work the laces of his boots loose. Toeing them off, he tugged his t-shirt over his head.

“Oh my God. What are you doing?” Paige’s voice barely rose above the spray from the showerhead.

“I’m washing your damn hair.”

It’s a constant battle on set between sexy home renovation reality star grumpy Gannon and his no-nonsense field producer. Paige has zero time for temperamental talent, especially one who acts like being in front of the camera is the last thing he wants.

Mr. Sex in a Toolbelt has made it his mission in life to get a rise out of her, but Paige is a master at locking down her temper. They’re on the road together working long hours fixing houses and changing lives. When cracks in her legendary coolness start to show and sparks fly, Gannon is infatuated and the cameras are there to capture it.

But he’s fallen for pretty packages before and Paige won’t be taken seriously if she’s caught sleeping with the star of her show. She also can’t seem to resist those big, rough hands. Those smoldery hazel eyes. The dimples. The toolbelt. That fiercely protective vibe.

Too bad it’s all about to fall apart.
She never should have trusted him.
He never should have let her go.

Author’s Note: A protective grumpy hero, a not easily impressed heroine, the worst human being on TV ever, a grand gesture so big you’ll need a box of tissues, and THAT SHOWER SCENE.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/35uGV24

The Proposal by Maya Hughes

The vibe: light with tension

When I envisioned Zara Logan dropping to her knees in front of me, this wasn’t what I had in mind…

I was expecting a lot less glaring and a lot more moaning.

Instead, she’s proposing an enticing deal that I can’t bear to walk away from.

To land one of the city’s biggest clients, she wants us to put our differences aside and play fake fiancés for the next thirty days.

So, I slip the diamond ring onto her finger and agree to play the perfect fiancé. How hard can this be?

A hell of a lot harder than I thought…

She’s infuriatingly stubborn and she thinks I’m a cocky jerk with an enormous ego. (She’s right, but I can definitely back it up…)

As our long days stretch into even later nights, it’s getting harder to remember we’re only playing pretend, which means one thing.

She won’t be faking it for long…

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2GYPnNp

The Truce by Becca Steele

The vibe: tense but light, sexy

A steamy, standalone, enemies to lovers romance.

Olivia

Being hired by Barrett London should have been a dream. Nice job in the city, amazing boss…but then I met Luke. Cocky. Self-assured. Sexy. And the most frustrating man I’ve ever laid eyes on.When we’re forced to work together, sparks fly. But is the attraction enough to risk losing everything? Or should this truce be in name only?

Luke

The moment Olivia walked through the door, I wanted her. That is, until she opened her mouth and ruined it with her ‘I can do it better’ attitude.When we’re coerced into working together, I start to see Olivia in a different light. She’s smart, vibrant, and gorgeous. Is that enough to let go of the past or will my demons turn our truce into a lie?

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2UpI0BZ

The Stopover by TL Swan

The vibe: SUPER steamy, tense, and angsty • Jeeves’ Top 19 of 2019 Pick

A memorable night of passion refuses to stay just a memory in this sizzling and scandalous romance from bestselling author T L Swan.

I was upgraded to first class on a flight from London to New York.

The food, champagne, and service were impeccable.

The blue-eyed man sitting next to me, even better.

He was suave and intelligent.

We talked and laughed, and something clicked.

Fate took over and the plane was grounded, and we had an unexpected stopover for the night.

With no plans, we made our own.

We danced and laughed our way around Boston and had a night of crazy passion that no woman would ever forget.

That was twelve months ago, and I haven’t heard from him—until today.

I started a new job and met the CEO. You can imagine my surprise to see those naughty blue eyes dance with delight when he saw me across the mahogany desk.

But I’m not that carefree girl anymore. My life has changed, I have responsibilities.

I just got an email.

He wants to see me in his office for a private meeting at 8:00 a.m.

Naughty blue eyes have no place in the workplace.

What kind of private meeting does he have in mind?

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3pubiO4