Cat's Books: Romance

I marvel at the variety of human life. Right now, in my Southern Californian city, there are men and women who still make their living from the sea and still others setting sail to travel around the world for commerce of pleasure. 

Please enjoy these Contemporary Romances featuring non military sailors, yachtsmen, and mariners of all sorts.

To vote for the best of the best visit the Goodreads list:  Mariner: Sailor, Fisherman, Ship Captain in Contemporary Romance.

My lists are never in any particular order.

1. The Sweetest Thing by Jill Shalvis

Tara has a thousand good reasons not to return to the little coastal town of Lucky Harbor, Washington. Yet with her life doing a major crash-and-burn, anywhere away from her unfulfilled dreams and sexy ex-husband will do. As Tara helps her two sisters get their newly renovated inn up and running, she finally has a chance to get things under control and come up with a new plan for her life.

But a certain tanned, green-eyed sailor has his own ideas, such as keeping Tara hot, bothered . . . and in his bed. And when her ex wants Tara back, three is a crowd she can'tcontrol-especially when her deepest secret reappears out of the blue. Now Tara must confront her past and discover what she really wants. If she's lucky, she might just find that everything her heart desires is right here in Lucky Harbor.

2. A Great Catch by Michelle Jerott

Lucas Hall once made Tessa Jardine feel 200% female-and 100% foolish after he walked out of her life without a word. Now, the tall, heart-catchingly handsome former Coast Guard hero is back. But a painful tragedy stands between them, and no matter how determined Lucas is to regain her trust, Tessa's equally determined to resist him. If only she could forget the passion she'd found in his arms...

Tessa once set Lucas's world on fire, and he's willing to do anything to regain her love. Working tegether has created a tension too powerful to ignore, and reignited the desire that's too powerful to resist. And with each passing day, and each burning kiss, Lucas is determined to make Tessa believe in their future together-and to make her see him again as one great catch.

3. Purrfect Voyage by Ruth J. Hartman

Kitty Carter is used to getting into strange situations when she chases her cat, Arthur. But this latest escapade is just too much! When Arthur chases a mouse at the marina while she's doing research for her book, she follows him down the dock and onto a yacht. Not entirely her plan, since she falls down some stairs and hits her head, and wakes to find herself out to sea. And she and Arthur aren’t the only ones on board!

4. Undertow by Cherry Adair

Teal Williams is content with her career as a ship’s master mechanic—until Zane Cutter, the “Casanova of the Caribbean,” makes her an offer she can’t refuse: to climb on board with him for a real-life treasure hunt. Teal must help him dredge up a shipwrecked vessel containing an abundance of gold, silver, and emeralds—and she’ll claim part of the prize.

Zane needs a mechanic—not a lover—and Teal, who can also dive, is perfect for the job.  So it suits him just fine that Teal is completely immune to his charms…or so he tells himself.  But with a deadly enemy in their midst—one who’s silently edging closer—Zane and Teal sink into troubled waters. Trapped in the middle of a perilous sea, they have no one to turn to but each other as they face down a danger that runs unfathomably deep—and a passion that runs even deeper…

5. Jack & Jilted by Cathy Yardley

When his chef eloped with the masseuse, Captain Jack McCullough knew he'd have to pitch in to keep his four-star yacht afloat. Too bad he didn't know one end of the galley from the other, but he did have the looks, the charm and…the jilted bride?

Dodging caterers' bills instead of confetti, jobless Chloe Winton did what every suddenly-single woman should. She talked herself into taking the week-long honeymoon cruise her former fiancé had paid for. (Yes—for the whole week!) But when she meets the hot, sexy—do-gooding—captain, she's not sure the six days and seven nights will be enough!

6. Melting Into You by Tracey Alvarez

Big, sexy men who don't relate well to kids need not apply...
Kezia Murphy plays her widow card well. When you don't trust people not to let you down, it's easier to not get involved-and getting involved with a man who makes her skin sizzle just by looking at him would be una pazzia-crazy! Four years ago while Kezia's daughter, Zoe, battled leukaemia, a tragic accident stole her husband's life. Starting over in the little town of Oban where she's adopted into the close knit community on Stewart Island, Kezia and her daughter are all the family the other needs. Except Zoe yearns for more.

New Zealand's worst candidate for instant fatherhood...
Ben doesn't do gooey emotional stuff. He doesn't do cosy home and family. And he sure isn't the big teddy-bear Kezia Murphy, the woman he secretly fantasises about, thinks he is. So when Jade, his surprise eight-year-old daughter arrives on his doorstep, he's a D-minus student struggling to pass a crash-course in parenting.

They'll either melt or raze their lives to the ground...
When the sparks of attraction between Kezia and Ben fan into an inferno, Ben doesn't know how much longer the layers of resistance around his heart can resist melting into the gooey mess he fears.

7. It Takes Two  by Joanne Michael

Abby’s come to this small town in northern Quebec to research beluga whales. And her dog, Figgy, is all the company she’s interested in. But then she meets widowed captain Marc Doucette and his brokenhearted daughter. Turns out they may be exactly what she needs.

Too bad Marc’s dead set against everything Abby and her job represent. But can he keep up his stand once he sees how good Abby—and Figgy—are for his daughter? And can he deny that there might be other—more personal—reasons to change his mind?

8.  In Deep Waters by Melissa McClone

Long ago and far away...

...there was a world filled with light and laughter and love. But quakes buried the land deep below the sea. Slowly the people adapted to their new world. But a civil war broke out, forcing the king of Pacifica to send his four children far away, each with a guardian and a piece of the royal seal.

Twenty-five years later, it was time for the siblings to be reunited--and reclaim what was lost. Natural beauty Kayla Waterton had always avoided the sea--she'd sensed its secrets...and its danger. But a chance-of-a-lifetime search expedition for a sunken ship could lead to answers about her mysterious past...and passion in the arms of modern-day pirate Captain Ben Mendoza....

9. Love Overboard by Janet Evanovich

Love Overboard is a romantic tale about a handsome ship'scaptain; a wary wench from Jersey City; a hundred-year-old, two-masted schooner; and an entire town of shoemakers. There's some getting naked, some blueberry pie, more getting naked.

10. The Boy is Back in Town by Nina Harrington

There was a time when the devastatingly sexy Ethan Chandler left Marigold Chance blushing and tongue-tied but thankfully, that's all in the past. Now that the ice-cool international yachtsman has sailed smoothly back into her life, she's determined to show him that the ugly duckling's become a thoroughly modern swan—a beautiful, driven businesswoman with no time for him!

Yet Ethan seems equally determined to ruffle her perfectly groomed feathers and show her what she's been missing out on….