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Love by Design

By Mary Henderson
Level 2 Intimacy
Mild Innuendo
Zero Swearing
Zero Violence
Adult
No LGBTQ Content

Trigger Warnings

Death of Loved One

Book Details

Genre

Christian Romance, Romantic Comedy

Publisher

Self Published

Series

The Elements of Love

Book #

1

Point of View

Dual First Person

Length

Novel
forced proximityfound familysingle dadworkplaceStrangers to loversforbidden romancenever been kissedage gap

Found a trope you love? → Tap it to explore more ❤️

Audiobook Details

Narrators

Narration Type

Synopsis

At twenty-four, curvy designer Vicky Lazzara has big dreams, a lot to prove, and zero romantic experience. In fact, she’s never been kissed!

When she lands her first job working with her mentor redesigning the house of tech innovator Miles Austin, she’s determined to focus on her work, not his ocean-blue eyes or mesmerizing tattoos.

Miles isn’t seeking love. Juggling his role as a single dad to his daughter and managing his health tech company, his heart has remained closed off since his ex-wife left seven years ago, saying she never really loved him.

But Vicky’s faith, the way she treats his daughter like a princess, and how much he laughs when they’re together, draw him in, one quiet conversation at a time.

The only problem is that she’s eight years younger than him and has an overprotective brother back in Rome who has made it clear she’s off-limits.

Just as Vicky and Miles are about to see what could be between them, an opportunity back in Rome is offered to her. Should she leave and not pursue what she thinks is the love of her life? Will he ask her to stay and build a life with him and his daughter, MJ?

Love by Design is a beautiful love story, rich in God’s love, His perfect timing, and healing between a single dad who doesn’t believe he will ever be chosen and a younger woman who struggles with her body image.

Where to Read

Amazon

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Amazon

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Love by Design

By Mary Henderson

Genre

Christian Romance, Romantic Comedy

Publisher

Self Published

Series

The Elements of Love

Book #

1

Point of View

Dual First Person

Length

Novel

Narrator(s)

Narration Type

forced proximityfound familysingle dadworkplaceStrangers to loversforbidden romancenever been kissedage gap

Found a trope you love? → Tap it to explore more ❤️

Content Guide

This guide helps readers understand the content of this book.
Click the ⓘ icons to see how each level is defined.

Level 2 Intimacy
Mild Innuendo
Zero Swearing
Zero Violence
Adult
No LGBTQ Content

Trigger Warnings

Death of Loved One

Synopsis

At twenty-four, curvy designer Vicky Lazzara has big dreams, a lot to prove, and zero romantic experience. In fact, she’s never been kissed!

When she lands her first job working with her mentor redesigning the house of tech innovator Miles Austin, she’s determined to focus on her work, not his ocean-blue eyes or mesmerizing tattoos.

Miles isn’t seeking love. Juggling his role as a single dad to his daughter and managing his health tech company, his heart has remained closed off since his ex-wife left seven years ago, saying she never really loved him.

But Vicky’s faith, the way she treats his daughter like a princess, and how much he laughs when they’re together, draw him in, one quiet conversation at a time.

The only problem is that she’s eight years younger than him and has an overprotective brother back in Rome who has made it clear she’s off-limits.

Just as Vicky and Miles are about to see what could be between them, an opportunity back in Rome is offered to her. Should she leave and not pursue what she thinks is the love of her life? Will he ask her to stay and build a life with him and his daughter, MJ?

Love by Design is a beautiful love story, rich in God’s love, His perfect timing, and healing between a single dad who doesn’t believe he will ever be chosen and a younger woman who struggles with her body image.

Reader Reviews

Have you read this book? Help other readers by leaving a review.

No reader reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Leave a Review

Reviews help other readers know what to expect from a book.
Please avoid spoilers and be respectful in your review.

More Books to Explore

Love by Accident

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Bigger Than Versace

Find Your Next Closed Door Romance

Stop guessing — find books that actually match your preferences
Filter by intimacy level, tropes, and more in seconds

Find books you'll love

2700+ books • Filter by exact content levels • Built for closed door readers

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Physical Intimacy Levels

Level 1

  • Holding hands or affectionate touching
  • Compliments or confessing love
  • Low-description kissing
  • Tender embraces or cuddling
  • Blushing and sighing
  • Non-descriptive discussions of sex
  • Established relationships
  • Fade to black if married
  • Any sexual encounters are only referred to from the past, not described or shown on page
 

Level 2

  • Touch that signals attraction
  • No touching in the underwear zone
  • Long kisses, lightly descriptive
  • Deeper kisses, tongue implied but not described
  • Feeling warm or flushed
  • Gasping, deep sighs, light growls or groans
  • Thinking or speaking about desire in a non-descriptive way
  • Fade to black for established relationships after a scene that matches this level, though this may be unpopular if they are not married
 

Level 3

 

  • Hands moving, still not in the underwear zone
  • French kissing with tongue described
  • Make-out sessions that still follow these guidelines
  • Feeling hot or sweaty
  • Heavier gasping, groaning, deep growls, or panting
  • More frantic moments and some loss of control
  • Male shirt may come off, but nothing else
  • Leg may straddle waist, but no mention of arousal
  • If characters lie down together, there should be little description of contact or movement
  • May happen in a bedroom or on a bed, but should be interrupted or end with a fade to black scene
  • Focus stays on the emotion
  • Fade to black should still happen between married couples or at the end of the book between engaged or committed couples

Innuendo Levels

Level 0 — None

  • No sexual innuendo
  • No suggestive humor
  • No crude or sexual jokes

Level 1 — Minimal

  • Minimal innuendo or double meanings
  • Light teasing
  • Mild crude or dad humor
  • Not frequent or strong

Level 2 — Moderate

  • Moderate suggestive humor
  • Double meanings
  • Sexual tension
  • May include crude or sexual jokes

Level 3 — Heavy

  • Heavy innuendo
  • Strong suggestive dialogue
  • Frequent crude or sexual humor

Swearing Levels

Zero

  • No swearing

Mild

  • Up to 10 uses of “hel*” or “dam*”

Moderate

  • 10+ uses of “hel*” or “dam*”
  • And/or use of bodily swear words like “shi*,” “as*,” etc.

Severe

  • 30+ swear words
  • And/or any use of the F-word one or more times

Violence Levels

Zero

  • No on-page violence

Mild

  • Violence is present without detail or only referenced vaguely
  • May briefly mention blood or injuries
  • Comparable to a G-rated movie

Moderate

  • Violence is more frequent and/or more detailed
  • Can be more intense
  • Injuries may be lightly described
  • Comparable to a PG-rated movie

Severe

  • Violence is more detailed and frequent
  • Blood may be mentioned and injuries may be described in detail
  • Comparable to a PG-13-rated movie

Intimacy Levels

Level 1

  • Holding hands/Affectionate touching
  • Compliments/confessing love
  • Low-description kissing
  • Tender embraces/cuddling
  • Blushing and sighing
  • Non-descriptive discussions of sex
  • Established relationships
  • Fade to black if married
  • Any sexual encounters from past only referred to, not described or on-screen

Level 2

  • Touch that signals attraction
  • No touching in underwear zone
  • Long kisses, lightly descriptive
  • Deeper kisses, tongue implied not described
  • Feel warm/flushed
  • Gasping, deep sighs, light growls and groans
  • Thinking/speaking about desire non-descriptive
  • Fade to black for established relationships after a scene that matches this level – but may be unpopular if not married

Level 3

  • Hands moving, still not in underwear zone
  • French kiss with tongue described
  • Make-out sessions still follow guidelines
  • Feel hot, sweating
  • Heavier gasping, groaning, deep growls, panting
  • More frantic and lose some control
  • Male shirt may come off, but nothing else
  • Leg may straddle waist, but no mention of arousal
  • If they lay down together anywhere, use little description of contact/moving
  • May happen in a bedroom or on a bed, but should be interrupted or end with fade to black scene. Keep focus on the emotion.
  • Fade to black should still happen between married couples or at the end of the book between engaged/committed couples.