Book picks similar to
Healing Trace by Debra Kayn


contemporary-romance
romance
read-hist-contemp-romance
cowboys

Waiting for You


Shey Stahl - 2013
    Everything about her life has been organized and lived out to the expectations set of her parents. She is the class valedictorian, has perfect grades, the perfect friends, a perfect boyfriend, basically perfect life...or so everyone thought. That's when she realizes the path planned isn't always the path chosen. On graduation day she makes a decision. One that changes everything she thought she knew about her intended future.On a whim, she runs away with the town rebel, Dylan Wade, in search of the unknown.Dylan Wade isn't looking to run away from anything.He knows what he wants as he's been waiting on it for years.On a journey to find the unknown, they discover a friendship they once knew along the open highway and have not a care in the world. Between the yellow and white lines of the heated summer asphalt, a spark draws them together as Dylan's past and Bailey future try to rip them apart.Could it be that Dylan and his GTO are exactly what her perfectly planned life needs?

This Love of Mine


Amanda Bennett - 2013
    An escape from my momma, a woman who cared more about herself than her own daughter. A woman who couldn't stand the sight of me since my father left. A boyfriend who was nothing but trouble. Trouble that I couldn't say no to.Unfortunately, leaving them both would prove to be either the best decision I could ever make, or the biggest mistake of my life.My plan was to escape to the one place I always felt safe. A place where life is simple and quiet, and a place where I could finish my senior year of high school unscathed. Abernathy, Texas was my second home, and my grandparents were the parents I aways wanted. There was no one around this one horse town to complicate my life any further, or at least that's what I thought. That was, until I met Madison Raine.He held the power to turn my peaceful escape upside down and inside out with just one look. He was beautiful, in every sense of the word and with that beauty, came trouble. There were a million reasons why I should stay away from him, but none of them seemed to matter when I caught sight of those emerald green eyes. It was becoming clear that staying away from Madison would be harder than I had anticipated.A past like mine never fully disappears, until you find yourself faced with the irreparable truth that sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands, consequences be damned.Kayla James (KJ) was everything I never knew I wanted. This was the last summer I would be on the farm before I headed off to college, and meeting her was the last thing I expected. I didn't know what had brought her here, and I honestly didn't care. I had my own things to deal with and a relationship wasn't one of them. Little did I know that this girl, would wind up being exactly what I needed in every way possible.Life hasn't always been easy, and telling my grandparents that I was going to college in another state was going to be the death of me, but it was something I needed to do. I needed a life outside of Texas, one where no one knew who I was or what I had lost. Between baseball and my band, I thought I had it made. All it took was one look into those baby blues and I was a goner. I ended up needing her like I needed air to breathe, and everything inside of me wanted to be with her regardless of the outcome. How do you choose between love and life, and convince the one person who trusts no one, to take a chance on you?(This is book #1 of three in The Raine Series. It contains mature language and situations)

Perfectly Imperfect


Harper Sloan - 2015
    A fairy tale that had girls pretending they were the fairest, the most beautiful, and the most entitled. A fairy tale most couldn’t grow out of turned my haunted childhood memories into a living nightmare. Girls who grew up believing that pile of garbage became the meanest of all ‘mean girls.’And those mean girls were right – it was a line meant for all the beautiful people in the world – and I knew the answer would never be me.The women with long legs, flat stomachs, and perfect chests.The type of women Kane Masters gravitated toward.Well, that’s definitely not Willow Tate.No. That will never be me.Because I’m completely imperfect.And … I hate myself.I have no idea what Kane could possibly see in someone like me when he could have them.

Breaking Kate


D. Kelly - 2014
    In Michaels mind there is absolutely nothing that will ever be able to keep the two of them apart. The night Michael is set to propose to Katherine the evening is interrupted by an unexpected tragedy that tears the two of them apart for good. Three years have passed since that fateful night when Katherine, now known as Kate meets Daniel. After an awkward start sparks fly between them. Daniel and Kate fall hard and fast into the most passionate and intense love affair of their lives. In three years a lot can change, Michael knows he made the biggest mistake of his life when he left Katherine and he will do anything to get her back. Asking his best friend Daniel for help is his first step in righting the wrongs he made so many years ago. Unfortunately, neither of them realizes that Michaels long lost love Katherine is Daniel’s true love Kate. While attending the engagement party of a mutual friend, all of their paths collide. How is Kate supposed to choose between the two men that mean the most to her in the world? Kate has to push past her heartache and put some serious thought into what comes next. One wrong choice and not only could she lose them both but Daniel and Michael may never recover their friendship.This book is newly re-edited as of March 2017. If you have an older version please delete it and download the new version. (This book is free)

Trust Me


Melanie Walker - 2013
    Pain, Anger, Terror…she also knew Trust. Of all the things her father taught her and her brother, it was her brother Noah who taught her to trust.At fourteen and awakened in the middle of the night by her eighteen year old brother Noah, they run and escape a fate that is worse than death. Years of abuse so severe has left them both strong, wounded and careful. They know to trust one another above all things and promise then and there they will never look back.The summer before her final year at UW Carrie agrees to a date with her long time crush who happens to be her brother Noah’s best friend Chad Blake. The tattooed and sexy as sin front-man for rock band Thick as Thieves and the crowned King of Gig Harbor’s bad boys, Chad is a known for a good time, great music, killer tats and a sweet goodbye the morning after as long as the girl knows the score. Everything he is, is everything Noah wants her safe from. Chad has wanted his best friends sister since she was eighteen but stayed away after Noah warned him that Carrie was off limits. Having been burned in the past, Chad focused on his day job as a tattoo artist and his dream of making it big with his band Thick as Thieves; keeping his bed warm until he had the chance to get Carrie Beckett there and never let her leave. Noah sheltered Carrie as best he could, keeping her as far from his personal life and Chad Blake as he could. He wanted nothing but happiness and freedom for the sister he watched suffer day in and day out.But Carrie is innocent and smart, strong willed with a sassy mouth, all the things Chad loves about her and refuses to deny himself of anymore.Risking it all on a whim, he shows up and asks Carrie to go “All In” and betray her brother for a chance to be together.Carrie is brought into the world of parties, concerts, fangirls and sex - that forces her to face the memories of her past in order to move on with Chad as her future.Knowing that love is a reward, trust, a gift, Carrie and Chad fall with a passion so strong, it threatens to break them both. They will battle back all the bad things in life for just a second of good and all the insecurities will come to an explosive head that may just destroy them both.

Therapy


Kathryn Perez - 2014
    I’m needy. I’m broken. Cutting breaks through my numbness, but only opens more wounds. Depression, self-harm, bullying....that's my reality. Sex and guys....that's my escape. The space between the truth and lies is blurred leaving me torn, lost and confused. And while the monsters that live in my head try to beat me-- the two men that I love try to save me. This is my story of friendship, heartache, and the grueling journey that is mental-illness.Warning: Due to possible triggering subject matter and some sexual situations this book is not recommended for anyone under the age of 17 years old.

Unstable


S.E. Hall - 2016
     After eight years, Henley Calvert is headed home. Back to the family farm and small town she left behind, never to be thought of again. Too much regret and shame to bear. But she’s the only one left to see to her family’s legacy, so she must return to Ashfall and face all the ghosts that haunt her. **** Gatlin Holt, the family farmhand, awaits her arrival, and lends a hand—in more ways than one. He reacquaints Henley with the lay of the land while helping her heal her soul with a new outlook on life. Yet every time she thinks some peace may be within reach, Henley hits another roadblock. The biggest of which is Keaton Cash—her childhood nemesis who owns the farm next door. **** And no, it’s not a love triangle. That’s impossible when Henley’s heart is closed, incapable of love.

His Wicked Games


Ember Casey - 2013
    Can she beat him at his own game?Lily Frazer would do anything to save the Frazer Center for the Arts--even take on the infamous billionaire Calder Cunningham. When Lily breaks onto the Cunningham estate, she only wants to find and reason with Calder. (All right, all right, she wants to punch him in the face, too, but that's Plan B.) As it turns out, the arrogant billionaire is willing to give her the money he promised, but there's a catch: she must win it from him.Lily isn't about to give up the money without a fight (or let some haughty bastard seduce her), but she quickly discovers that there might be more to the brooding Calder than she initially perceived. As their games of cat and mouse become increasingly intense, she suddenly finds herself confused by her own emotions. Can she deny her attraction long enough to win the money she needs?

Random Acts of Crazy


Julia Kent - 2013
    A guitar. Really. I don't collect guys like that (don't ask what kind of guys I do collect), but when you spot a blonde, tanned, sculpted man with a gorgeous smile and his thumb poking up and practically begging you to stop – you stop.And I definitely never thought I'd be staring into the bright blue eyes of Trevor Connor, the lead singer for Random Acts of Crazy, an indie rock star I followed like the slobbering fileshare fangirl I am. How he came to be nude and lost six hundred miles from home is quite the tale, but how we fell in love is even more unreal.Because someone like Trevor Connor, headed to Harvard Law next year, isn't supposed to want someone like me, a rural Ohio chick majoring in Boredom at Convenience Store University who is all curves and frizzy blonde hair and manners so unpolished they have sharp edges that make you bleed.But he did.When his best friend, Joe Ross, the bass player for Random Acts of Crazy and a man who makes Calvin Klein models look like Shrek, drove eleven hours through the night to rescue him, though, it got real complicated. It's one thing to like two different guys and be torn.What do you do, though, when maybe – just maybe – you don't have to choose?As my Aunt Josie says sometimes, "It's always complicated."* * * * * *Random Acts of Crazy is a standalone, full-length novel (300+ pages, 85,000 words) featuring Darla Jo(sephine) Jennings, the 22-year-old niece of Josie Mendham from the Her Two Billionaires series. It has, like many New Adult novels, an exploration of sexuality for the three main characters, doesn't shy away from mature content, and Darla has a sailor's mouth.

Present Perfect


Alison G. Bailey - 2013
    ♥Standing tall with his dark handsome features, he was as beautiful on the inside as he was on the outside. Noah was perfect in every sense of the word. He wanted us to be together, and we should have been together. Except I wasn’t good enough.I knew if I dared to cross that line with him, I’d do something to screw things up and lose him forever. I couldn’t take that chance. I wouldn’t take that chance. A life without Noah was not a life I wanted to live. So, I kept my feelings in check and didn’t allow them to ruin us.But sometimes life slaps you in the face, forcing you to pay attention, and stop wasting what time you have left.♥The only thing in life that’s perfect is the present, because it’s our only guarantee. ♥***ALL THE BOOKS IN THE PERFECT SERIES CAN BE READ AS STANDALONES.

Surrender Your Love


J.C. Reed - 2013
    Dangerous. Better left untouched. And better forgotten. But lightning always strikes twice.Brooke Stewart, a realtor in New York, doesn’t do relationships. When she’s sent to a remote estate to finalize a real estate deal, she discovers her new boss is no other than the guy she left naked in bed.Sexy, dangerously handsome, and arrogant Jett Mayfield attracts trouble, and women, like a lightning rod. But the night he meets Brooke he gets more than he bargained for. The green-eyed millionaire playboy isn’t used to taking no for an answer, and he isn’t about to start now.When he proposes two months of no strings sex, Brooke is intrigued and accepts his proposal. Little does she know Jett’s determined to claim the one woman he can’t have, pulling her deeper into his dangerous world.A man who doesn't take 'no' for an answer.A woman afraid to surrender to love.Two lives that are about to cross...and secrets laid bare.

Within These Walls


J.L. Berg - 2014
    I am not strong. I am just a survivor of circumstance.Isn’t that what we all do? Survive?Each of us has our own set of circumstances to muddle through. Mine are just more…complicated. Born with a severe heart defect, I’ve seen the inside of a hospital room more than my own bedroom. I was drowning, a prisoner to the illness that owned me, until he appeared. He thinks he’s blocked out the world with his tattoos and hard exterior, but I see the real Jude, the one he so desperately wants to forget. But is he the answer to my prayers or will he break my already damaged heart forever?My name is Lailah Buchanan, and this is our story of hope, redemption and sacrificing it all for the one you love.

The Ivy Lessons


J. Lerman - 2015
    James), The Siren (Tiffany Reisz), or Bared to You (Sylvia Day) you'll love The Ivy Lessons ...Teacher, plus student, equals a passion forbiddenWhen Sophia wins a post-graduate place at Ivy Drama College, she can't believe her luck. The college is owned by one of the most well-respected young actors in London, Marc Blackwell – who not only founded the college, but teaches the students.Known for his strict classes and belief in discipline, Marc has a reputation for being arrogant and aloof, yet Sophia soon finds herself drawn to this cold, fascinating young man. Soon, Sophia is embarking on a journey of sexual discovery that promises to explore all that is forbidden between teacher and student.

Because You're Mine


K. Langston - 2013
    She’s already working for one of the most prestigious law firms in Boston as a research assistant, and in a few short months, she will finally graduate from Harvard and collect her law degree. Everything she’s worked so hard to accomplish is well within her reach. But when Madison has to take an unexpected trip back home, she's blindsided by the one thing she never anticipated. A man who not only tests her patience but tempts her heart. Madison doesn’t have time for love and a love as consuming as his will only derail her perfectly laid plans. Desperate to escape his wicked past, Holden Brooks moved to Madison's hometown five years ago, hell-bent on overcoming the demons that nearly destroyed him back in Texas. He’s in a good place in his life. Love is the last thing on his mind until he tastes her honeysuckle skin and looks into those deep blue eyes. Desire ignites as their two paths collide and they soon find out, fate has a plan of its own.

Fear of Falling


S.L. Jennings - 2013
    Security seemed more like a luxury to me, reserved for those who were fortunate enough to have picture perfect childhoods. For those who didn’t bear the ugly scars that keep me bound in constant, debilitating fear. I’ve run from that fear my entire life. But when I met him, for once, I couldn’t run anymore.He scared the hell out of me in a way that excited every fiber of my being. It wasn’t the tattoos or the piercings. It wasn’t the warmth that seemed to radiate from his frame and blanket me whenever he was near. It was just…him. The scary beautiful man that threatened to alter 23 years of routine and rituals, and make me face my crippling fear.My name is Kami and I am constantly afraid. And the thing that scares me the most is the very thing I want.“Don’t worry,” he smiled, pulling me into the hard warmth of his chest. “I’ve got you. I’ll always catch you when you fall.”And just like that, Blaine had staked his claim on the untouched part of me that no living soul had ever moved. He had captured every fear, every reservation, and crushed them in the palm of his inked hand.Author Disclaimer: Abuse is real- verbal, emotional, physical and sexual. It takes place all around us; it doesn’t discriminate against race or gender, wealth or poverty. It affects us all- those of us who’ve had to live through it, or watch it happen, even those of us who’ve only heard about it. We are all affected. We are all forever changed. This is not a story for the faint of heart; this is the story of one woman’s very real struggle through a world against her, the people who hurt her, her real life demons and the people who showed her that every gray sky, no matter how dark, has a sun waiting to break through.***Inspired by true events***