100 books like Pretend You're Mine

I am an avid romance reader. I love all different tropes and I constantly have a book in my hand. Reckless Miles is my favorite of all the books I’ve read and out of all the characters, Cooper Miles is my favorite character. The entire Miles series, about a family vineyard, is worth checking out because not only are they fantastic stories that will leave your sides hurting from laughter, and swooning from the happily ever after, but there is also a mystery woven in. 

Cooper Miles is unique. He’s very comfortable in his skin. Whatever he thinks comes straight out of his mouth and it is drop-dead hilarious. He takes life as it comes and doesn’t stress, something I wish I could learn to do. When he latches onto someone, he loves them deeply, whether it’s a family member, best friend, or a girl who is dropped into his… show more.

This is a story about the Westbrook family. The family is wealthy, they love each other, but they have horrible communication skills. Each one has a secret or a lie or something that doesn’t need to be shared with the family, all with the thought of protecting them. Unfortunately, the secrets could have devastating consequences. Halton Westbrook has a problem with people. They scare him to death. The lie he has carried since childhood has taken the only person he feels comfortable with away from him, until now. Though Avery Maxwell’s books sometimes cover dark subjects, she mixes in just the right amount of humor and romance to keep you turning the pages when you should be sleeping. I loved this story because I identified so much with the anxiety that Halton experienced. I found myself crying for him and his debilitating fear. It was so raw and so spot… show more.

There is so much I loved about this book and this entire series. The series Bootleg Springs, about the Bodine family, was co-written by Claire Kingsley and Lucy Score. Whiskey Chaser has a sassy heroine named Scarlet, who I absolutely adore. She doesn’t take crap from anyone. When she meets a big city visitor at her lakeside retreat her quick wit and take no prisoners attitude proves she can do anything a man can do…and more. Whiskey Chaser is the first book in the series that mixes romance, humor, and a great mystery.

For me, a strong character that tugs at my emotions will keep me reading every time. Brittney Sahin is a master of character development and one of my favorite books of all time is The Real Deal. Sebastian is a bad guy…or is he. There are so many layers to this huge character that I was torn about falling in love with him. He was a bad guy, but he had a good reason and though he tried to steer Holly away from his life, she saw through his rough exterior.

We have serious love for those brother’s best friend romances and this one doesn’t disappoint. Grady is the perfect broody male lead with all his flaws and wants so much more for Sutton than he feels he can offer her. But omg, when his moody and broody nature finally disappears, he is the perfect mix of vulnerability and love when it comes to Sutton. The push and pull and all the angst had our hearts breaking, but then swooning with happiness by the end.  

As an ex-competitive athlete, I’m a sucker for sports romances, and this one was an absolute winner for me.

The characters are all enjoyable, not just the two main characters but the entire supporting cast. I wanted to be a part of the team Tommaso played for and I wanted to join Carter in decorating homes.

For me, this was such a comfort read, and one I’ll go back to when I need something familiar that I can just melt into and enjoy the world these two lovebirds live in. 

If all the other books I’ve recommended are like going on a good spiritual retreat, I Heard God Laugh is like hanging out at a backyard barbecue with your favorite neighbor. That’s not to say that Matthew Kelly isn’t a spiritual master (he is), but he writes in a colloquial, friendly style, preferring personal anecdotes and homey little parables over explicit callbacks to Scripture and other Christian mystics. That’s not to say his approach isn’t solidly rooted in the Christian tradition; it is, but here his aim is to encourage the reluctant pray-er by stripping away anything that might get in the way and offering lots of encouragement. Kelly’s approach is most similar to my own; we both have a heart for helping people to begin their conversation with God. As he says, “Once the conversation has begun, it can lead anywhere.”

If you are curious about the ins and outs of why we laugh, this is the book to read. Among other things, it will answer such questions as to why we laugh, is laughter contagious, and has anyone ever died laughing. Written by the world’s leading scientific expert on laughter.

The first part of this book provides a theoretical framework for understanding laughter and why it is cathartic. The second part contains 25 ways to help you laugh or relearn to laugh in order to maximize healing. As the subtitle states, it will show you How to Laugh About Everything in Your Life That Isn't Really Funny.

What I love about Happy Here is the positivity of the stories contained in the anthology. Although the stories are written by 10 different Black British authors in their own way, the stories all center around Black children learning something about themselves, growing in confidence, and overcoming the challenges they face. The range of writers from Alexandra Sheppard to Patrice Lawrence allows the reader to experience different styles of Black British storytelling. Happy Here is really worth checking out.