The Bookalicious Babes Blog (BBB) Team read a ton of books this past month so our list is bigger this time. BBB has picked its top 5-star romance reads for August! It was not an easy choice as there has been so much book awesomeness this Summer where BBB has fallen in love with so many amazing authors’ stories.
BBB’s top picks are all ranked 5 stars and are not listed in any particular order. Click on the books to purchase!
WAIT BY AL JACKSON
It’s been years since I’ve seen him, and now I can’t do anything but stare at the gorgeous, tattooed man playing onstage. I should run. I know I should. But like a fool, I run straight back to him.
Our desire is overpowering.
Our need unrelenting.
She is my hope.
He is my weakness.
We should have known a passion this intense would burn us right into the ground.
NEIGHBOR DEAREST BY PENELOPE WARD
After getting dumped, the last thing I needed was to move next door to someone who reminded me of my ex-boyfriend, Elec.
Damien was a hotter version of my ex.
I thought my heart had been broken by Elec, but it was alive and beating harder than ever for Damien.
I just hoped he wouldn’t shatter it for good.
FURIOUS RUSH BY SC STEPHENS
Mackenzie Cox has a lot to prove. Daughter of a racing legend, she is eager to show the world that she has inherited her father’s talent in the male-dominated sport of professional motorcycle racing. The last thing Kenzie needs is to be antagonized by her rival team’s newest rider, Hayden Hayes.
As Kenzie and Hayden push each other on the track, the electric energy between them off the track shifts into an intense–and strictly forbidden–attraction. The only rule between their two ultra-competitive teams is zero contact.
AN INDECENT PROPOSAL BY KATEE ROBERT
Greed. Ambition. Violence. Those are the “values” Olivia Rashidi learned from her Russian mob family. When she meets Cillian O’Malley, she recognizes the red flag of his family name . . . yet she still can’t stop herself from seeing the smoldering, tortured man.
Plagued by a violent past, Cillian is more vulnerable than anyone realizes. Anyone except Olivia, whose beauty, compassion, and pride have him at “hello,” even if she’s more inclined to say good-bye to an O’Malley. While his proposal of sex with no strings seems simple, what he feels for her isn’t.
RAVAGE BY TILLIE COLE
Taken as a teen, prisoner 194 was stripped of his name and freewill, meticulously honed to be a ruthless machine. Even as he tries to fight his captors hold on him he knows that obedience is the only way to save his sister, who is the one person that keeps him from turning into a monster.
As a young girl Zoya Kostava barely escaped the brutal attack that killed her entire family. Now twenty five she lives in secrecy. Zoya risks her safety and anonymity to find the brother she thought dead and is captured by a beautiful, brutal man. A man who both captivates and scares her, in him she sees a soul as lost as her own.
ANTI-STEPBROTHER BY TIJAN
He told me to settle. 
He asked what was wrong with me.
He called me an easy target.
That was within minutes when I first met Caden Banks.
I labeled him an *sshole, but he was more than that. Arrogant. Smug. Alpha.
He was also to-die-for gorgeous, and my stepbrother’s fraternity brother.
I came to college with daydreams about being with my stepbrother, but what if I fell for the anti-stepbrother instead?
THE ARROGANT ARCHITECT BY LK COLLINS
King is arrogant, cocky, and everything your heart tells you to stay away from.
Ever is sassy and strong willed.
Together these two are explosive…but getting there is a challenge. A challenge King happily accepts no matter how bad Ever fights it.
STRIPPED DOWN BY EMMA HART
Rich. Demanding. Hot. Crazy.
That was Beckett Cruz in a nutshell.
Not to mention wild, determined, dangerous, and forbidden.
He was my boss—and, after a drunken moment of insanity, my new husband.
An annulment was impossible… so was keeping him.
But Beckett Cruz had never taken no for an answer.
And he wasn’t about to take mine.
TURBULENCE BY WHITNEY GRACIA WILLIAMS
Jake Weston and I met under a cloud of cliches: Boy meets girl. Boy charms. Boy screws girl.
He was the sexiest, cockiest man I’d ever encountered, but I had no idea he was a senior pilot when we met. No idea we worked for the same airline and had secrets just like me.
After a passionate night of unforgettable sex, I thought I’d never see him again, but when I did, neither of us could walk away…
We knew we could potentially crash and burn, but what we had was so intoxicating and inescapable that we were both willing to risk it all…
THE SUMMER GAMES: OUT OF BOUNDS BY R.S. GREY
I despise Erik Winter.
He’s arrogant and cruel—a man I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy—and by some twisted turn of fate, he’s my new Olympic gymnastics coach.
If he pushes me, I’ll push back harder. If he wants to test me, to play with my head, I’ll show him just how many boundaries I’m willing to cross. Because I know it’s not a choice between winning or warring—not if you can have them both. At the end of it all, I plan on leaving Rio with gold around my neck and his icy heart in the palm of my hand.
BAD JUDGMENT BY MEGHAN MARCH
He’s arrogant.
She’s self-righteous.
I hate him.
I want her.
I’ve been turning him down for two years straight.
Every shut-down makes me work harder.
I’m not a one-night stand kind of girl.
She doesn’t realize I won’t settle for only one night.
WRANGLER BY DANI WYATT
After five lonely years out west, Chad Butler spots a curvy beauty in the crowd at his hometown honky-tonk and knows he has to have her. He’s going to lasso this little filly straight into his bed – and into his life.
Rachel Sweeting enjoys the peace she’s found in the middle of miles of cornfields with her Aunt Jessie. Her new life keeps her safely tucked away from the pain and embarrassment of her past. But, when her truck breaks down in the middle of the night and a hunky cowboy rides to the rescue, she’s knocked straight out of her boots.
THE FIRST TASTE BY JESSICA HAWKINS
Andrew Beckwith has already devoted his life to one girl—and as far as he’s concerned, she’s all he needs. The rough-around-the-edges bad boy left his reckless ways behind six years ago when his daughter Bell was born. To the female population’s dismay, he’s unapologetically single.
Amelia Van Ecken isn’t just another woman. She’s an independent, smart, and savvy businesswoman who doesn’t have time for sex, much less love. In the midst of a drawn-out, bitter divorce, all she wants is to bury herself in work. But when sharp-tongued Amelia and stubborn Andrew cross paths, sparks fly—and burn.
UNDISPUTED BY A.S. TEAGUE
As the undisputed MMA light heavyweight champ, I’ve faced the world’s toughest men. But, with a single glance, I knew that the five-foot-five redhead with a smart mouth and innocent eyes would be my hardest opponent yet.
Sidney O’Neil isn’t my type. While I spend my nights out drinking at the trendiest clubs in town, she spends hers taking care of her sick nephew. She is nothing I thought I wanted, yet she’s somehow become the one thing I need.
But what happens when the world is tipped on end and I’m no longer who she needs?
IN DEEP BY CALLIE HARPER
Chase is an Olympic swimmer going for gold. Focused, driven, intense.
Emma is a blogger going for the scoop, and she has the perfect in. She’s gotten herself hired as his physical therapist.
With all that intimate time together, the secrets from his past don’t stand a chance.
And neither does she.
THIS ISN’T ME BY T.A. MCKAY
Nathan Cooper thought he had everything in life worked out; his own company, a great best friend, and all the women he could want.
That is until one night his whole outlook changed.
One misunderstanding, a man instead of a woman, and just like that he was looking at guys like he never had before.
REFRESH BY S. MOOSE
Perfection slipped through Caroline Spencer’s fingers. One moment she had it all, and then it was gone. All she has left are her memories, her pain, and her close friends.
And Mason Ryan was not part of her plan–wasn’t even on her radar. After all, he was her husband’s best friend. But now that her husband is gone, he’s the only person who understands her, feels what she feels, and knows her inside and out.
Together, they try to rearrange the shattered pieces of their pain.
THE SAPPHIRE HEIST BY LAUREN BLAKELY
Keep your lover close and your enemy closer…
After giving in to a fiery night of passion, island adventurer Steph Anderson and bounty hunter Jake Harlowe are back to square one. With millions in stolen jewels at stake, it’s hard for Steph not to question her new partner’s true motives—no matter how sexy he might be. Jake is hungry for more of Steph, but he can sense her growing mistrust, which only fuels his own doubts. Worse, there’s undeniable evidence that someone else is now after the jewels—and that they are both in real danger.
Fighting against their magnetic attraction is a distraction these two can’t afford.
EL DIABLO BY M. ROBINSON
I was a bad man, never claimed to be anything else. I’ve done things I’m not proud of. Seen things that can’t be unseen. I’ve caused pain that I can’t undo.
It was all my choice. Every decision. Every order.
Right and wrong never mattered.
Until her.
She was under my protection, until she became my obsession.
But who was going to save her…
From. Me. The devil himself.
HARD RULES BY LISA RENEE JONES
The only man within the Brandon empire with a moral compass, Shane Brandon is ready to take his family’s business dealings legitimate. His reckless and ruthless brother, Derek, wants to keep Brandon Enterprises cemented in lies, deceit, and corruption. But the harder Shane fights to pull the company back into the light, the darker he has to become. Then he meets Emily Stevens, a woman who not only stirs a voracious sexual need in him, but becomes the only thing anchoring him between good and evil.
Emily is consumed by Shane, pushed sexually in ways she never dreamed of, falling deeper into the all-encompassing passion that is this man. She trusts him. He trusts her, but therein lies the danger. Emily has a secret, the very thing that brought her to him in the first place, and that secret that could that destroy them both.
KADEN BY BRIT LAUREN
My name is Kaden Ryan and I’m a male escort. I never intended to become an escort, but an opportunity fell into my lap and I took it. It was simple: get paid for sex, an orgasm, a night of pleasure. It’s certainly an easy way to work my way through medical school.
But not everyone’s fantasy is as simple as an orgasm. Some women like the game, and one in particular wants to push me to places I never thought I would go, paid or otherwise. She’s going to be the one to give me a real education.
DISCLAIM BY PAM GODWIN
Camila was seventeen when Van Quiso kidnapped her. Ten years after her escape, the shackles refuse to release her. Not while there are still slave traders preying on her city.
She will stop at nothing to end them.
Even if that means becoming a slave again.
Returning to chains is her worst fear—and only option. They won’t know who she is or what she intends to do. She’s prepared for every complication.
Except him.
The one who decimated her sixteen-year-old heart.
PRISONED BY MARNI MANN
When I opened my eyes, I was in a cell, my body covered in bruises.
Not a jail.
I’d been kidnapped and imprisoned.
I wasn’t alone. I shared the cell with Garin Woods, the man I’d loved since I was a kid.
The man I couldn’t be with because of the secret. A man who would kill me if he found out what that secret was.
WORKING FOR THE BILLIONAIRES CLUB BY SKY CORGAN
Now enlisting volunteers! Looking for ten super-rich men willing to please some lucky ladies for a good cause.
Requirements: You must make at least a billion dollars annually. You must be hot as hell. You must be a stud in the bedroom.
Job duties: Treat our clients like the queens they are. Fulfill their every fantasy while they enjoy their stay at our state of the art resort. You’ll have access to all of our amenities and fantasy rooms so that you can create the best experience for our clients.
PRETTY PERFECT TOY BY ANGEL PAYNE
With their attraction too explosive to ignore, Cassian Court has whisked Mishella Santelle from her tiny island kingdom to the empire he rules: New York City. Here, they have succumbed to the magic of Temptation Manor, surrendering to their lust—and a love that won’t be denied.
But happiness is nearly ripped away, when an act of heroism turns Cassian into a target of violence…from which physical recovery is only the beginning of healing. Cassian must find a way to expose his emotional scars too—meaning he must visit a past refusing to release him from its haunting grip.
LUCKY STAR BY REBECCA NORINNE CAUDILL
What happens when best friends who are secretly in love with each other hook up after one too many shots of tequila? For Sarah and Cameron, their friendship is overshadowed by the uncertainty that comes with crossing the line from friends to lovers.
Their problems escalate when Cameron is cast as the lead in a major Hollywood blockbuster. Now he must decide what’s more important: sticking by the woman he’s loved for years or the bright lights and temptation of superstardom.
WIDE SPACES BY AURORA ROSE REYNOLDS
That moment your life changes.
That moment that changes your life.
That moment you love someone more than you love yourself.
That was the moment we gave our son up for adoption and the moment
I was left bare. A wide-open space that would forever be empty.
There are moments that define you as a person, moments that prove just how strong you are, moments you push yourself to keep going forward when all you really want to do is give up. It was in one of those moments when I reached out and found him waiting for me.
AN ACT OF OBSESSION BY KC LYNN
She’s beautiful yet scarred beyond repair.
He’s powerful and lethal, in and out of the ring.
One act of kindness brought Sophie Parish far more danger than she could have ever imagined. Now she’s on the run, leaving behind her family and the only dream she’s ever had.
Retired EFC fighter Kolan Slade’s life has been one endless battle after another. He has a dark past with an even darker desire—the only one he’s ever known.
Until he meets Sophie.
RUSHING IN BY LEXI RYAN
The favor seemed simple: Keep my new stepsister out of trouble for one summer.
I’ve never met Grace Lee, but Mom tells me she’s a quiet and artsy college student with a troubled past. When I agreed to let her stay with me, I thought it was no big deal. I expected to share my apartment with a sullen girl who’d spend hours locked in her room.
I didn’t expect a walking fantasy determined to make me lose my cool.
I didn’t expect a woman with secrets so dark, so deep, I’d throw away everything if it would save her from the past.
ALWAYS THE ONE BY CC MONROE
Friendships are defined as a bond between two people, a building of a strong connection and like for one another. Usually excluding romantic or sexual feelings. Now what occurs when the typical doesn’t happen and friendship turns to love?
Trey Adams spends his days working with music and pining over his longtime best friend, Shayla Donovan. The only thing holding him back is his past, a past where love only hurts and leaves you. To love Shayla the way he desires may be a long, arduous road.
Shayla Donovan has lived thirteen years of her life with a secret she is ready to confess. Pushing her fear aside may be the only way she can move forward in helping Trey learn the meaning of true love.
DIVINE CONSPIRACY BY ROSE HUDSON
Two hearts lost to their pasts…
Brought together by chance..
Torn apart by destiny.
I guess I’ll never know if my life is driven by fate or just a series of coincidence. But what I do know is the first time I looked at Erin, I didn’t care which of the two it was that brought her to me. Because being with her is the one right thing I’ve done—until my past proved me wrong and came back for us both.
THIS ISN’T OVER BABY BY K. WEBSTER
They’d won the battle and I held up the white flag of defeat…
But the war wasn’t OVER.
I suffered the aching loss of what they had stolen from me.
OVER and OVER again, my heart broke.
The white Queen and the black King had taken OVER the game
and ruled for what seemed like eternity.
Until one day, eternity was finally OVER.
JONQUILS FOR JAX BY KATE REGNERY
Jacqueline “Jax” Rousseau is vivacious, rich, smart and beautiful. She’s on a self-imposed hiatus from love when she has an unpleasant run-in with her neighbor’s gorgeous new landscaper, Gardener Thibodeaux.
Jax is not accustomed to gruff, ill-mannered men that can’t be charmed, but when he saves her skin, she realizes that something about Gard intrigues her…and if she can find her way through the armor that surrounds his heart, she might finally find a love that won’t let her down.
SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN BY ELLA FOX
Rock star, Tyson Allen, is the hilarious, in-your-face bass player for one of the world’s most popular bands. Behind his funny-guy exterior hides a tragic past full of unbearable horror. He found a way to move forward and live life—a way he was comfortable with. All was going according to plan until he met the new assistant for his band.
Daisy Hammond has a slew of her own tragedies. And the last thing she needs is a crush on one of America’s rock legends. Working with the band isn’t easy as Tyson doesn’t want anything to do with her. Despite his standoffish and rude demeanor, Daisy can’t deny the pull she has for him. Will she find a way to break down Ty’s walls before it’s too late?
RUSH BY C.A. HARMS
I was running from my husband, a man I thought I’d known.
Running from the hell he had put me through.
He’d nearly destroyed the woman I had once been and
I would do whatever it took to regain my freedom.
I would lie, and cheat.
I would steal if it meant that I never had to go back there.
I’d run and keep running…
But there was one problem. I hadn’t planned for Ashton Montgomery.
He was a distraction I couldn’t allow. Not if I wanted to stay safe. I had to remain distant, but he was relentless and had other ideas.
SACRED SERENITY BY AUDREY CARLAN
Twenty-two-year-old Amber St. James’s focus is on her education. Her plan is clear―finish the elite San Francisco/Berkeley Medical School program early and become a pediatrician. She hasn’t given much thought to dating or to men in general, until she enrolls in the required human sexuality course…a subject foreign to her for religious and personal reasons.
Tantric yoga practitioner Dash Alexander is Lotus House Yoga’s most sought after sensual teacher. Women flock to him for his unique teaching style, calm nature, and wicked hot body. When he hears of Amber’s plight, he offers to help. The condition? Amber must assist in his couples’ Tantra yoga class as his partner. The sizzling attraction between the two of them is beyond anything Dash has ever experienced…spiritually or otherwise.
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