Books like 'Soft As It Began'
Readers who enjoyed Soft As It Began by rubber_soul02 also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
mystery romance slow-burn wlw magical-realism forced-proximity kind-mc female-mc
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The Wrecked One by Brittney Sahin
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsOne moment. One decision. Will change everything. I’ve spent my life chasing stories and mysteries, as well as running from love. I’ve also come face-to-face with evil before. Felt its breath on my skin and survived.But nothing could prepare me for that one day when my life changed. Impossible choices and unbearable sacrifices were made, and evil still won...Categorized as:
slow-burn forced-proximity romance military suspense contemporary friends-to-lovers writer -
Hitting Xtremes by Em Petrova
Rated: 4.80 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsNo amount of snow and ice can melt this attraction…Special ops captain Penn Sullivan is no stranger to extreme conditions, but chasing an elusive drug trafficker through the Alaskan wilderness proves a challenge...Categorized as:
female-mc forced-proximity action-adventure adult alpha-mc book contemporary fiction -
Bohemian by Kathryn Nolan
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsTwo souls, drawn together beneath a fierce sky… Calvin Ellis’s neat and orderly life is shattered when his grandfather dies, leaving him ownership of a quirky bookstore in Big Sur, California. The Mad Ones: once a place famous for poetry readings and bohemian rebellion, it now teeters on the brink of financial ruin... -
Code Name: Libra by Janie Crouch
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsMy code name is Libra. The stars say I’m charismatic, intelligent, charming.The one with the easy smile.Zodiac Tactical has been the biggest part of my life for the past three years. We guard, protect, rescue...eliminate the threat when nobody else can. And I’ve always been at the front lines—first to help in whatever way was needed.Until I took a bullet to the chest...Categorized as:
female-mc slow-burn action-adventure adult book contemporary fake-relationship fiction -
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The Unknown Beloved by Amy Harmon
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsChicago, 1923: Ten-year-old Dani Flanagan returns home to find police swarming the house, her parents dead. Michael Malone, the young patrolman assigned to the case, discovers there’s more to the situation - and to Dani Flanagan herself - than the authorities care to explore. Malone is told to shut his mouth, and Dani is sent away to live with her spinster aunts in Cleveland... -
One Little Secret by Avery Maxwell
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsAshton WestbrookPlaying house with a secret-keeping heiress was not how I envisioned helping when my brothers called me. My expertise is the dirty work, not glorified babysitting. Now Nova Blaine is here in this tiny town. Invading my home, my thoughts, and turning my carefully controlled existence upside down.I’m tasked with finding her assailant, an assignment that requires me to stay close...Categorized as:
forced-proximity slow-burn female-mc romance suspense contemporary billionaire small-town -
The One Who Eats Monsters by Casey Matthews
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsLong ago, before history broke in half, elder gods exiled the vengeful deity Erynis to a far corner of Earth. When Ryn is found weakened after saving the life of an innocent villager, the U.S. military mistakes the battered immortal for a feral teenager and places her in New Petersburg, a decaying city full of monsters... -
Point Two by Max Ellendale
Rated: 4.75 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe case is reopened..."I can't believe this shit is happening again. Four Point's dead and yet, everyone I care about is unsafe. Again. Brody's gone, Maggie's hurt, and now Ben and I have to fix everything ourselves. This time, I'll be the one watching.. -
Black Velvet by Lynn Raye Harris
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsShe doesn’t believe in heroes anymore. He’ll prove her wrong. Mercenary Dax Freed would rather stride into the desert naked and covered in honey than pretend to be a reclusive romance novelist’s fake boyfriend, but nobody gave him the option. Roberta Sharpe writes about heroes for a living, but she already knows they don’t exist in real life...Categorized as:
female-mc forced-proximity slow-burn action-adventure adult alpha-mc animals bodyguard -
Where the Heart Leads by Ally McGuire
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA stunt car driver, an MI5 agent, a gigolo… Finn Montoya tells everyone she meets she has a different profession. It’s all part of keeping people at a distance while still being a part of the world around her. Really, she’s an accomplished writer who has taken being a mystery to heart. At least that way, she can stay safe. Under no circumstances can her past catch up with her... -
Line of Resistance by Jemma Westbrook, Janice Whiteaker
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsGetting stranded in the snow without cell service wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened to Eloise Rivers.Being saved by the man who’d led her on more than once was...Categorized as:
forced-proximity slow-burn romance suspense military contemporary bodyguard found-family -
Blood Feud by J.D. Nixon
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsBook 3 in the Little Town series.A seemingly inexplicable and shockingly violent crime in the beautiful rural locale of ‘Little Town’ has devastating personal and professional consequences for its two police officers, Senior Constable Tess Fuller and her partner, Sergeant Finn Maguire... -
The Detective by Anna Hackett
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsShe’s a woman on the run and desperate to avoid her hot, nosy detective neighbor.Artist Savannah Cole has secrets. She can never stay anywhere too long or let anyone get too close. An obsessed stalker has her in his sights, and to protect her family, she can never go home, never share her art, and never fall in love... -
Hotel Queens by Lee Winter
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIce meets fire in this opposites-attract lesbian romance, as layered, sassy, and smart as its characters. Over one long night at a bar in Las Vegas, two powerful hotel executives meet, flirt, and challenge each other—having no clue they’re rivals after the same dream deal.Brilliant ice queen Amelia Duxton is a hotel vice president who thrives on control, truth, and efficiency... -
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The Tell Tale by Clare Ashton
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA small town, enduring love, a web of secrets.The Tell Tale has been watching and waiting, because there’s something queer about the village of Foel.Beth Griffiths has returned home to raise her daughter in the Welsh hills. They arrive to the open arms of the community, but not all is what it seems and Beth isn’t home for the reason she pretends either... -
The Mistress Files by Tiffany Reisz
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsKingsley Edge, king of kink himself, wants Mistress Nora to write a training manual to instruct his other professional Dominants how to take better care of their clients. But Mistress Nora can't put pen to paper without churning out a sexy short story and Kingsley's training manual quickly turns into true tales of her adventures with her favorite clients. A female submissive who can't orgasm... -
Changing the Rules by Catherine Bybee
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee comes the steamy first novel in her new adrenaline-fueled Richter series.As an employee of MacBain Security and Solutions, Claire Kelly can certainly hold her own. Armed with an impressive set of covert skills, she’s more than prepared to tackle any job that comes her way…except one involving Cooper Lockman... -
The Mystery of Mr Daventry by Adele Clee
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsHow long can one keep up a charade?A gentleman who hides many secrets.Society thinks it has the measure of Lucius Daventry, illegitimate son of the Duke of Melverley, but they know nothing of the dangerous man who lies beneath the constructed façade. As a member of a secret group known as the Order of Themis, he works to right injustices, to make wicked men pay... -
Need Him Like Oxygen by Jessica Gadziala
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWithin the ruthless hierarchy of the mafia, Dav and Cinna reign as powerful capos within the same crime family.Dav, with his gregarious charm and flirtatious disposition, hides a secret darkness that few ever glimpse. Despite his relentless advances, Cinna, strong-willed and fiercely independent, keeps him at arm's length, determined to prove herself an equal in a male-dominated world... -
Fate of a Royal by Meagan Brandy, Amo Jones
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 11 ratings“You will go to Rathe University, live among the giftless and those of light magic. You, Knight Deveraux, will learn to coexist.” I’ve never heard more wasted words in my life. Then again, the gifted counsel never did have much to say that wasn’t. The only members amongst them who speak a thing worth listening to are my parents, the King and Queen of the Stygian’s, the people of Dark Magic... -
Mixed Up with a Marine by Kait Nolan
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsCan a Marine turned baker and a jaded contractor find their way to a second chance?Braxton Whitmore needs a change. After leaving the Marines, he’s free to build a new life. But is he gonna be a baker? Really? When his buddy inherits a decrepit bar and proposes they partner up to turn it into a bakery, Brax figures why not? Until his ex comes walking in... -
Love me, If you Dare by Alyssa Clarke
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThey are wallflowers, bluestockings, merry widows, and debutantes—members of a secret, exclusive Lady’s Club in Berkeley Square! There ladies indulge in daring wagers, learn to fight, read scandalous books, and learn the art of wooing the gentlemen they will bring to their knees…Sebastian Crawford, Duke of Hartford, cares about his duty, honor, and family...Categorized as:
forced-proximity female-mc slow-burn victorian historical regency industrial-era historical-fiction -
That Day by Karen Deen
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA day, like no other.They happen once in a lifetime, they say.So why am I 'lucky' enough to have more than one? Here I am living life, minding my own business.Until the man I'd been fantasizing over for a year.Ends up in my bed. The sensual words he whispers late at night.His touch on my skin, ignites my inner vixen.Making me want things I've only ever written in words... -
Dreams of Willow House by Susanne O'Leary
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA gorgeous, compelling page-turner about one woman’s journey to the heart of Ireland and the family secret she’s destined to discover… Cordelia Mirafiore has never truly felt at home in South Florida, so when she’s unexpectedly called to the reading of a long-lost relative’s will in Ireland, she’s hopeful that escaping to Willow House to meet her family might help her to figure out who she... -
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Tortured Soul by Emma Creed
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratings'Bound not by blood but by loyaltyWe live, we ride, and we dieby our own laws'The club is my outlet.A playground where I can set my demons free without judgment.I never expected to be anyone's savior.But when an instinct I thought had died inside me takes overI’m left with no choice... -
Out of the Red: The Braxton Hunte Story by Arell Rivers
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOne impassioned argument. One dominating kiss. One unexpected moment that turns everything upside down. And that’s only the opening act. Rockstar Braxton Hunte is the type of chaos that makes your soul burn… Brax has been on tour for a decade, and some may say he swallows obstacles for fun... -
Cold Fury by Toni Anderson
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSeven years ago, Hope Harper was a star defense attorney with a great life and a beautiful family—until she got the wrong defendant released, and he turned around and viciously slaughtered her husband and child. Since then, the only thing Hope cares about is locking bad guys behind bars where they can’t hurt anyone else... -
The Beautiful Years V by Annie Rose Welch
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHistory books are written about why men go to war. Religion. Land. Oil. And the most dangerous reason of all—a woman, the kind worth risking your heart for. My wife, Scarlett Fausti, was that woman. She sparked a war amongst the world’s most dangerous men. Enemies had attacked us from the inside, from the outside, thirsty for blood and ready to spill more for power... -
An Echo in Time by Boo Walker
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA woman delves into a centuries-old murder to find the truth behind her self-destructive behavior in a powerful novel about love, loss, and healing by the bestselling author of An Unfinished Story and The Stars Don’t Lie.Unable to catch a break in life or love as she approaches thirty, Charli Thurman sees red lights at every crossroads...Categorized as:
magical-realism female-mc romance historical-fiction fiction mystery historical audiobook -
Your Scarred Heart by Adele Clee
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAn enquiry agent hiding from her past.When Miss Honora Wild meets her first client, she fears there has been a dreadful mistake. Having escaped from a domineering father, she shouldn’t have to work for a man suspected of murder, one whose mood matches his frightening facial scar. She shouldn’t have to venture to his clifftop castle to prove the devil is innocent of the crime... -
Storm Surge - Book One by Melissa Good
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIt's fall. Dar and Kerry are traveling - Dar overseas to clinch a deal with their new ship owner partners in England, and Kerry on a reluctant visit home for her high school reunion. In the midst of corporate deals and personal conflict, their world goes unexpectedly out of control when an early morning spurt of unusual alarms turns out to be the beginning of a shocking nightmare neither expected... -
Settling Scores by Danielle Stewart
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWillow has been saved from a painfully dark past and handed a bright future. By all accounts, she should be happy. But no one seems to understand that escaping evil hasn’t left her feeling free of it. The more people try to hold her close, the harder she fights to get away. Even the unconditional support from Edenville isn’t enough to help her keep her head above water... -
Save Me If You Can by Christina C. Jones
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDeception and betrayal always carry a price, and sooner or later, someone has to pay.For a long time, Terry King and Damien Wolfe have dodged those debts while the people around them paid – in loneliness, grief, constant fear, and the loss of innocent lives.But no more... -
Grimoires and Where to Find Them by Honor Raconteur
Rated: 4.53 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsHow do you catch an elusive thief?There is nothing more delightful than a bookfaire with his lady love. At least, until Henri learns that a grimoire belonging to the dangerous Reaper’s Set has been stolen without its protective box. When Henri and Jamie go looking for answers, they are horrified to discover more than one volume has been stolen without its protective box... -
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More than a Masquerade by Adele Clee
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAn enquiry agent seeking her first case.After spending weeks eagerly awaiting an assignment, Rachel Gambit is instructed to meet her potential new client at a Vauxhall masquerade. She’s been given a list of instructions: to wear red, to find the mysterious gentleman amongst the crowd, with no clue to his identity... -
Mine at Midnight by Adele Clee
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen Miss Eliza Dutton discovers her first case for the Order involves helping a lord who has a gambling habit, her instinct is to refuse. The fact her father lost his fortune and his life at a gaming hell is the reason she despises Lord Roxburgh. But Eliza is given an ultimatum: help the handsome rogue or find work elsewhere... -
Smiling Irish by Katy Regnery
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratings"Burr indeed. One long brrr down my spine happened while reading Katy Regnery’s latest installment of her series... -
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Heart of Duty by Natalie Debrabandere
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsDONE WITH THIS THING CALLED LOVE?Once a rising star journalist, Lia Kennedy built a reputation for excellence on the frontlines of the Middle East. Even so, three years on the sidelines caring for her ailing father have left her exhausted, single, without a career. Eager for a fresh start, Lia takes on a job as a Police reporter on the West Coast... -
The Last One You Loved by L.J. Evans
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsMaddoxBetween my badge, my daughter, and my hometown, I’ve got a busy life. It’s a mostly happy one. But late at night, when the house is quiet, I still see her face. McKenna may have left me and this town behind a decade ago, but a century wouldn’t be long enough to get over her.There’s only one thing worse than never seeing her again... -
Dovetail by Karen McQuestion
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of Hello Love comes a spellbinding new novel of enduring love, family secrets, and mysterious death.Joe Arneson’s ordinary life is upended by troubling dreams of himself as a different man in another place and time. It isn’t until he visits his estranged grandmother, Pearl, in her Wisconsin hometown that a startling connection emerges... -
Diverted by Lori Matthews
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"I couldn't put it down. I read the whole book in one setting." From the bestselling author of the Callahan Security Series. A steamy enemies to lovers, military, second chance, protector romance... -
Vanilla Bean Vengeance by Agatha Frost
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe FIRST BOOK in a BRAND NEW cozy mystery series!Claire Harris loves nothing more than crafting homemade candles. She has always dreamed of one day opening a quaint candle shop in her home village of Northash, but at thirty-five, she still can't afford to take the risk. Stuck in a dead-end job at the local candle factory, and back living with her parents, Claire knows her life needs a shakeup... -
The Hunger Pains by Chelsea Field
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIsobel Avery is on her second assignment as an undercover poison taster for Los Angeles's rich and famous. And she’s actually enjoying herself. Until her sweet, agoraphobic client mysteriously leaves the safety of his apartment and winds up dead. When crucial evidence goes missing, investigator Connor Stiles will need Izzy's inside knowledge to help track down the killer... -
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Hot Louisiana Knight by Em Petrova
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsKnown as the brainiac of the Knight Ops team, Dylan Knight is okay with the guys making fun of his nerdier tendencies because he can still split a hair with open sights at twenty paces. When the special ops force is dispatched during Mardi Gras to a formalwear boutique suspected of harboring a terrorist cell, Dylan gets the nod to take point on the operation... -
Mine to Love by Kennedy L. Mitchell
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen a decade-old one-night stand converges with a current high-profile case, can the three of them work through their differences to stop her from being the serial killer’s next victim?Running from a secret past and now a deranged killer, Remington Dotson and her nine-year-old son need protection to survive...Categorized as:
female-mc forced-proximity action-adventure adult audiobook bodyguard book contemporary -
Deadly Conflicts by Lily Harper Hart
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAlly Hardy and Jake Harrison are happy and in love. They’re living together, improving their house, and Jake is planning a big surprise. A man from Ally’s past shows up out of the blue and changes all of that. Vince Dawkins shared a torrid two-month affair with Ally five years ago, but he walked out without a backward glance and his return isn’t cause for celebration in the Hardy household... -
Sun Catcher: Book Two by Giselle Fox
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLove can find you … even when you’re hiding Taylor is on the run from Stinger James, her drug-crazed criminal of a husband. Along with her mother and her baby boy, she hides out in a small town where she hopes they’ll all be safe. One of her new neighbors, a woman named Jericho, soon enchants Taylor with her kindness and charm... -
Opal by Freya Barker
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsGEM: A PRIVATELY-FUNDED ORGANIZATION OPERATING INDEPENDENTLY IN THE SEARCH FOR—AND THE RESCUE AND RECOVERY OF—MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN. ALTHOUGH, AT TIMES WORKING IN CONJUNCTION WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT, GEM AIMS TO ENSURE THE VICTIMS RECEIVE JUSTICE…BY WHATEVER MEANS NECESSARY. ____GEM Operator Opal; multifaceted, versatile, a chameleon.She hides in plain sight, adapts, and infiltrates...Categorized as:
forced-proximity female-mc romance suspense contemporary dark law-enforcement steamy -
Magdalene Nox by Milena McKay
Rated: 4.64 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsMagdalene Nox doesn't cast wishes upon stars... She simply makes them happen. But for this particular wish, she had waited for thirty years. Her retribution against those who discarded her three decades ago should be swift and simple.Except a chance encounter and an unforgettable night turn her entire life upside down. Torn between vengeance and lust, Magdalene is forced to re-evaluate everything...
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