#5OnMyTBR: Contemporary

#5OnMyTBR is a bookish meme hosted by E. @ Local Bee Hunter’s Nook  and you can learn more about it here. It occurs every Monday when we post about 5 books on our TBR.

The one is pretty straightforward, and I know there are a lot of contemporary books on my TBR – the hardest part for this is narrowing it down!

#5OnMyTBR: Contemporary

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

Format: Paperback
Genre: Romance

Chloe Brown is a chronically ill computer geek with a goal, a plan, and a list. After almost—but not quite—dying, she’s come up with six directives to help her “Get a Life”, and she’s already completed the first: finally moving out of her glamourous family’s mansion. The next items?

• Enjoy a drunken night out.
• Ride a motorcycle.
• Go camping.
• Have meaningless but thoroughly enjoyable sex.
• Travel the world with nothing but hand luggage.
• And… do something bad.

But it’s not easy being bad, even when you’ve written step-by-step guidelines on how to do it correctly. What Chloe needs is a teacher, and she knows just the man for the job.

Redford ‘Red’ Morgan is a handyman with tattoos, a motorcycle, and more sex appeal than ten-thousand Hollywood heartthrobs. He’s also an artist who paints at night and hides his work in the light of day, which Chloe knows because she spies on him occasionally. Just the teeniest, tiniest bit.

But when she enlists Red in her mission to rebel, she learns things about him that no spy session could teach her. Like why he clearly resents Chloe’s wealthy background. And why he never shows his art to anyone. And what really lies beneath his rough exterior…

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Royal Catch by Kylie Gilmore

Format: ebook
Genre: Romance

A gruff prince in need of a wife
A commoner impersonating a princess
And a bridal competition gone terribly awry…

Gabriel
I am the crown prince of Villroy, heir to a kingdom, bound by duty to marry and produce an heir.
I expected a quiet arrangement through royal channels, instead I got a palace full of women vying for my hand. And how do they “win” this barbaric game set up by my crafty mother? By figuring out how to save the kingdom’s faltering economy through a series of challenges. This undignified circus is beneath a man of my stature! Proof being that a saucy, ill-mannered woman wearing body-hugging clothes is in the lead. I could never love someone like that, let alone marry her.

Anna
The plan sounded simple.
I pose as my friend, pick up her inheritance, and return with the cash to keep her out of jail. (Apparently, being a princess in hiding is no excuse for identity theft.) So, yeah, I’m not exactly royal. I’m an orphan, a self-made woman, and proud of it. Suddenly I’m in a battle royale with a bunch of crazy competitive women for “riches beyond our dreams.” I’m in a time crunch, which means I need to win this competition fast. Only, that means winning over the judge; the smoldering hot grim-faced Gabriel. And now I find myself wanting to compete for more than just the money. But could a royal prince ever fall for a commoner like me?

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Before You Were Mine by Ida Brady

Format: ebook
Genre: Romance

Ally McVeigh has landed her dream job at Woodbury High. But when single dad, Owen Davies walks into her office with a tragic past and anxious daughter in tow, he threatens more than just her career plans.

Struggling to distance herself from the rugged father’s promise of romance, Ally’s fear of commitment turns to hope; maybe she can have her cake and eat it.

Especially when Owen craves more than one bite.

He wants Ally in his life, in his bed and as the mother of his child. But in pursuing a relationship with the Food Tech teacher, old wounds and even deeper secrets begin to surface.

When his daughter becomes a pawn in a vicious custody battle, he stands to lose not only his child, but the one woman who could make his family complete.

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Mammy Banter: The Secret Life of an Uncool Mum by Serena Terry

Format: Paperback
Genre: Women’s Fiction

From the creator of viral Tiktok sensation, Mammy Banter, comes a hilarious warts-and-all novel about modern motherhood – and how having it all sometimes isn’t what you think it might be.

She used to want it all.

Now she just wants a nap.

Tara Gallagher is knackered. She used to dream of being Beyoncé but suddenly she’s thirty-six – with three kids, a loving husband, a very boring job – and instead of headlining Coachella, she’s in her pyjamas on a Friday night, watching cheesy TV.

It’s time for a mommy makeover. She’s going to show her teenage daughter she’s still cool. She’s going to show her husband she’s still an absolute ride. She’s going to show her colleagues she’s still a Boss Bish.

But most of all, she’s going to prove to herself that she can still be a mom, still work full time, and still be Beyoncé…

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The Goddess Effect by Sheila Yasmin Marikar

Format: ebook
Genre: Mystery

All she wants is to be her best self. Is she ready? Absolutely. Does she know what to expect? Absolutely not.

Anita is over her life in New York: her dead-end job, tiny studio apartment, self-obsessed friends, and overbearing mom. So she moves west to Los Angeles in search of a new career, enlightenment, and that nebulous target…wellness.

She discovers an elite workout class called the Goddess Effect, run by a lifestyle guru named Venus who’s the very definition of #goals. One look at her Lululemon-clad acolytes sweating out their demons while dripping with confidence and Anita’s all in. When one of the class regulars takes Anita under her wing, Anita’s sure she’s found her people.

But Anita’s not so smitten that she doesn’t wonder about a few things: an inexplicable invitation to a Goddess Effect retreat, a strange tradition of secret sharing, and whispers about “enhancements” that only Venus can provide. Anita is awakening to a terrifying epiphany: the Goddess Effect isn’t quite what it seems, and it may turn her world—and that of everyone around her—upside down.

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As usual, if you’ve read any of these I’d love to hear your thoughts, and read your reviews if you have them!