Book picks similar to
Ask Mariah by Barbara Freethy


romance
barbara-freethy
contemporary
contemporary-romance

Saved


Lorhainne Eckhart - 2013
    Then one night I was taken.But I survived, I escaped and I was saved. Eric didn't see me as damaged. He didn't see my baby as a monster. He protected me, he kept me safe ... he saved me.

Hide Your Heart


Tracey Alvarez - 2015
    Distrust will tear them apart…Alexandra Lauren Knight has reinvented herself in the safety of her rural New Zealand hometown to become Lauren Taylor. She’s cut all ties with her past as a former model whose ex-husband turned out to be ruthless in both the boardroom and the bedroom. While Alexandra allowed other’s expectations to propel her into the spotlight, Lauren prefers the safety of anonymity; restoring classic cars with her brother, and snuggling with her four-year-old son. Nate Fraser, a burned-out photojournalist, plans to fix up the property next door to Lauren and sell it as a celebrity retreat. Always on the move, Nate is only comfortable with short-term assignments and even shorter-term relationships. But it’s not just his buyer’s tight deadline or that the restoration is far beyond his expertise which turns a short-term project into an ordeal. Nate’s plan of travelling the globe is in jeopardy — created by the intensity of his growing feelings for Lauren and her little boy.As the sparks of passion ignite between them it reawakens Nate’s long forgotten dream of having a home and family. Lauren must find a way to trust Nate not only with her secrets, but with her heart — before her safe haven is exposed and she can no longer hide in the shadows.

Close to Home


Suzanne Ferrell - 2012
    I’m Lorna Doone. Yep, spelled just like the cookie and I own the Peaches ‘N Cream Café here in Weston. You might think nothing much happens in a small mid-western town, but as my friend Harriett says, things aren’t always what they appear. Take our girl Emma for example…”Emma Lewis has a lot on her plate. The single mother of two precocious twin boys and an aging mother who is having trouble getting through each day, the last thing Emma needs is a man in her life, especially a doctor. So when the town’s doctor goes on vacation and his handsome nephew takes over, Emma is shocked to not only find him standing in her bedroom, but accusing her of being a neglectful parent.Clint Preston came to Westen for the year to fill in as the town doc while his uncle took a long needed vacation. Clint also needed a sense of peace and calm to try to find his passion for medicine burned out by long shifts in an urban hospital’s ER. Angered to find two boys in his clinic with broken wrists and no accompanying parent, he is determined to confront their mother. The feisty redhead he meets quickly dispels his belief that she’s a neglectful mother, but he can see her situation is more critical than she wishes to face and finds himself volunteering to help care for her sons and the remodeling of her home.As Emma and Clint forge a relationship among the slightly off-beat characters that inhabit Weston a menace from Emma’s past threatens her and her sons. Clint and Emma join forces to prevent the loss of either boy and the love they’ve discovered in each other’s’ arms.

Fakers


Meg Collett - 2014
    Her bubbling personality and fresh beauty capture her audience each week, but they don't know the truth-she's just faking it. Beneath the surface of light-hearted smiles is a simmering darkness threatening to pull Kyra under. When Kyra moves to Canaan Island and buys her deceased mother's childhood home, she hopes to confront the lurking shadows haunting her every step. But when she meets her grumpy contractor, even her best-laid plans start to unravel. Hale Cooper is as brutally honest as he is intriguing. He hates fakers, and isn't afraid to call Kyra on her false personality. Yet, she is drawn to him, and the unexpected attraction to a man who challenges her to be her true self lands her in unchartered waters. But if she lowers her guard and allows herself to be honest with Hale, will the darkness creep in too?*This book is recommended for mature readers due to some sexual content and language. Cutting is represented in this book, and scenes may be considered triggering to some.*

Wind Chime Café


Sophie Moss - 2014
    Hearing rumors that a developer is about to build a five-star resort on the sleepy Chesapeake Bay island, she plans to transform the café into a premier upscale bistro. But Annie’s life is about to get a lot more complicated.Back on Heron Island for the first time in ten years, Navy SEAL Will Dozier has no intention of selling his grandparents’ property to a developer. As he works on renovating the house and trying to find another buyer, he’s forced to face a painful reality—that he’s secretly struggling with PTSD. Determined to hide his troubles from the rest of the islanders, Will decides that a fling with the new girl is the perfect way to help him “get his head straight.” The last thing Will expects is to fall in love…with his hometown and with Annie. But Will’s life and career are in San Diego with the SEALs. Can Annie’s love and the healing magic of the island be enough to convince him to stay?

Maid for Love


Marie Force - 2011
    Then she’s knocked off her bike on the way to her housekeeping job at McCarthy’s Resort Hotel by Gansett’s “favorite son,” Mac McCarthy. He’s back in town to help his father with preparations to sell the family resort and has no intention of staying long. When Mac accidentally sends Maddie flying over the handlebars, badly injuring her, he moves in to nurse her back to health and help care for her young son. He soon realizes his plans for a hit-and-run visit to the island are in serious jeopardy, and he just may be “maid” for love.Gansett Island Reading OrderMaid for Love (Mac & Maddie)Fool for Love (Joe & Janey)Ready for Love (Luke & Sydney)Falling for Love (Grant & Stephanie)Hoping for Love (Evan & Grace)Season for Love (Owen & Laura)Longing for Love (Blaine & Tiffany)Waiting for Love (Adam & Abby)Time for Love (Daisy & David)Meant for Love (Jenny & Alex)Chance for Love, A Gansett Island Novella (Jared & Lizzie)Gansett After Dark (Owen & Laura)Kisses After Dark (Shane & Katie)Love After Dark (Paul & Hope)Celebration After Dark (Big Mac & Linda)Desire After Dark (Slim & Erin)Light After Dark (Mallory & Quinn)Victoria & Shannon (Episode 1)Kevin & Chelsea (Episode 2)A Gansett Island Christmas NovellaMine After Dark (Riley & Nikki)Yours After Dark (Finn & Chloe)Trouble After Dark (Deacon & Julia)Rescue After Dark (Mason & Jordan)

Your Love Is Mine


Bella Andre - 2019
    Until his dark past comes crashing back when he learns his long-lost sister has passed away--and he has a six-month-old niece named Ruby. Flynn vows to give the little girl who now means everything to him a better childhood than he or his sister ever had. So when he finds out that Ruby's nanny is trying to sell their story to the press, he takes his niece as far from Hollywood as he can.One of seven siblings in Bar Harbor, Cassie Sullivan has always been grateful for the love and support of her tight-knit family. Because of them, she had the courage to create a successful candy confection business. So when a friend of her cousin needs a place to stay with his baby for a few weeks, she's happy to offer him her cabin in the woods. But from the first moment she meets Flynn and Ruby, her heart is lost to the gorgeous man and his adorable little girl.Flynn has never met anyone as cheerful and open as Cassie. Instantly drawn to her, he finds himself telling her things about his past that he's never spoken of to anyone--things that make him certain he could never be worthy of her. Only, Cassie isn't about to let the pair who have stolen her heart go without a fight--using all the light, love, and laughter she can give them. Will the nightmares from Flynn's past continue to haunt him and and steal away the joy of a future with Cassie? Or will Cassie's love, and the support of her big family, be powerful enough to help him face his long-buried demons and conquer them at last?YOUR LOVE IS MINE is part of Bella Andre's New York Times and USA Today #1 bestselling series about The Sullivans. While it can easily be read as a stand-alone story, you'll likely enjoy reading the other books, too.

The Spy Who Left Me


Gina Robinson - 2011
    Just ask Treflee Miller. If she'd only known that her husband Ty would be here in Hawaii; muscular, sun-bronzed, and infuriatingly gorgeous, she would have brought the divorce papers for him to sign. But life is full of surprises when you're married to a world-class spy.Ty Miller can understand why his wife is tired of playing Mrs. James Bond. He's never home, he's always on a mission, and he's usually surrounded by exotic informants. He has to admit that the perfect spy makes a pretty lousy husband. But for the sake of Ty's security and Treflee's safety, they can't blow his cover. Not here. Not now. Not when his longing is so strong, her lips so tempting, and his enemies so close.

The Blow-In


Susanne O'Leary - 2016
    Even in the depths of the Irish countryside. Political reporter Finola McGee is not the romantic type. She leads with her chin, shoots from the hip and takes no prisoners. When living on the edge loses its appeal, she escapes Dublin to run the local newspaper in a small Tipperary town. An easy job, friendly neighbours, lovely countryside, and fresh air—what’s not to like? But the rural bliss doesn’t last longer than a weekend. Finola soon finds herself mixed up in a hornet’s nest of conspiracies. And when Hollywood rides into town, a certain heartthrob adds a further twist to an already complicated romance… This is the first book in a three-part series. But every book will be a stand-alone and enjoyable on its own.

Entangled


Barbara Ellen Brink - 2010
    One summer of her childhood is a mystery she intends to solve. But digging up her past also lays bare the skeletons of others, including her mother’s. Entangled between what she once believed and a new reality, will she be able to live with the consequences of full disclosure?

Finding Alexei


Kendall Ryan - 2018
    He’s also a pro athlete who needs to focus on winning games and staying out of the headlines.I’m fiercely independent and need a man like I need a second period each month.So when our worlds collide, I never expected him to be the one to jump in and save me. Especially not when my roommate disappears, leaving me with her baby.I’m clueless about babies—and it shows. Good thing Alexei isn’t. With six nieces and nephews and an apparent hero complex, the dude is both sexy and more than capable. It’s a combination that makes it easy to forget we’re just playing house.

Long Time Coming


Edie Claire - 2003
    But back at home, the past is ready and waiting to haunt her...Eighteen years have passed since Joy's childhood best friend, Jenny, met her death in a tragic car accident just a few days after their senior prom. A broken Joy left their small Kentucky hometown shortly after - determined never to come back. But when her father's illness forces her to return, she realizes that neither time nor distance have truly healed her troubled soul.Plagued with nightmares of the accident and crippled by a vague fear whose source she can't identify, Joy realizes that in order to move on she must face the truth behind several disturbing gaps in her memory of that fateful spring. But the only person who can help her is a man she despises - Jenny's erstwhile boyfriend Jeff, now a respected doctor, whose carelessness as a teenager was the cause of Jenny's horrendous death - and Joy's own emotional destruction. Can she ever forgive? She may have no choice but to try. Because both the danger she sensed - and the childhood friendship she treasured - now suddenly seem very much alive...

Second Chances


Bria Marche - 2015
    Thomas for Abby Melrose Bellavance, or so she thinks. That is, until her husband Remy steals her trust fund and disappears for parts unknown. Now, with five million reasons to write off men for good, she returns to Charleston, broke and groveling at her mother’s feet.Living again in the opulent mansion on South Battery, Abby is thrown another curve ball. Her mother passes away, leaving Abby with an enormous home but no money to support it.Turning the mansion into a boardinghouse has its advantage—immediate cash—and disadvantage—two of the hottest men in Charleston are now Abby’s tenants.Abby wants love again, especially with hunky Erik, the handyman, and sexy Brandon, the prominent attorney, living in the mansion with her. They are so different, yet they’re similar in one way she needs to avoid—they are men, and she should keep her distance.As the southern summer blazes on, Abby’s life becomes even more complicated. Personal secrets are revealed, and fate deals her one final blow. She wonders if she will ever be given a second chance at falling in love.

Divorced, Desperate and Delicious


Christie Craig - 2007
    But all that changes when the reindeer-antlered Fabio drags in a very desperate, on-the-run detective who decides to take refuge in her house.

Three Girls and a Baby


Rachel Schurig - 2011
    Finished with college, she should have been planning her wedding. After all, Ginny and Josh were made for each other—everyone said so. Except the love of her life didn't agree. Now Ginny is back in her hometown, unwillingly single, and stuck in a dead-end job. When she discovers she's pregnant, Ginny is convinced her life is ending. Instead of planning a future with Josh, she's learning the truth about morning sickness, juggling bills, and seeing just how far designer jeans can stretch.Her life-plan never included dating again (not even with her too-hot new boss), or being a single mother at 23. Now, with the help of her best friends, Annie and Jen, Ginny must try to re-imagine—and rebuild—a life she never wanted.