Hello! I hope you don't mind making a recommendation. I was looking for a contemporary romance novel that does NOT involve a millionaire or a rekindled love/childhood friend. I would also prefer the male lead isn't overly rake-ish. Because nothing makes me stop reading a summary faster then when the word 'jerk' pops up. Thanks for your consideration.
Oh! You need to read Victoria Dahl. She writes the most non-jerky heroes Iâve ever read. She has two whole contemporary series where none of the male characters are rich or rake-ish or jerks: Jackson and Jackson: Girls Night Out. The books in order are:
Close Enough to Touch
Strong Enough to Love
Too Hot to Handle
Looking for Trouble
Flirting with Disaster
Taking the Heat
Jennifer Crusieâs books are also good on this score. Bet Me is the most popular recommendation, but my personal favorite is Welcome to Temptation. Also great non-jerk heroes. In fact, the villains in Crusieâs books are the stereotypical alphas youâd find as heroes in some other romance novels. So definitely check her out.
Iâve been creeping through the FBI/U.S. Attorney series by Julie James. I love it: itâs like romantic-suspense-adjacent competence porn. The first one is Something About You.Â
I havenât started it yet, but Kate Meader has a series about firefighters called Hot in Chicago that was recommended enough that I own the first two books: Flirting with Fire and Playing with Fire.
Another contemporary author thatâs been making the âI love her!â rounds is Penny Reid. As far as I can tell, her Winston Brothers series might work for your non-rich, non-jerk needs.
