Book picks similar to
A Painted Summer by Amy Matayo


novella
romance
contemporary
new-adult

A Summer Remade


Nicole Deese - 2015
    Joss Sanders needs an escape. Or maybe she just needs a reminder of a sweeter, simpler, and steadier time. But her family's vacation cabin isn't exactly how she remembered it as a child, and neither is the charming young man who lives next door.Change is everywhere, and if Joss doesn't learn to embrace it, she just might lose the second chance she needs the most.*A Summer Remade was previously published as part of the Just One Summer novella collection.*

Taking a Chance on the Heartbreaker


Liwen Y. Ho - 2014
    He’s a charming negotiator with a colorful past. Insecurities threaten their relationship when she decides to take a chance on the heartbreaker.Ashlynn Peters is ever the optimist when it comes to love, but even she's surprised to cross paths with a real-life Prince Charming. Her childhood crush is back in town, and he's more handsome than she remembers and also more intriguing than any man she’s ever dated. Ashlynn finds herself falling hard for Jeremy, only to discover he's not the perfect guy she thought he was. Will she choose to look past Jeremy's tarnished armor or give up on finding her happily-ever-after? Inspired by the author's own love story, this romantic novella will have you laughing, dreaming, and wondering if fairy tales really do come true.*Taking a Chance on the Heartbreaker was formerly titled Straight to You. This story was edited and rereleased with a new cover for your reading pleasure.

Love on Parade


Carol Moncado - 2019
    He's a wealthy man from the big city. Can the holidays bring them together? Teachers of Trumanville Book 1 Brittany Acevedo is only in the big city for one reason: to watch her daughter march in the country's largest Thanksgiving Day parade. Then she'll gladly go back to a place where traffic jams are caused by tractors. Cole Holmes is comfortable with his life in Manhattan, even coming to the rescue of a woman from middle America when Times Square proves to be a bit overwhelming. After the parade, they'll never see each other again. So they deny the attraction between them. But when Cole is sent to Trumanville to run Winterfest - the same Winterfest Brittany has been put in charge of - will they have more than a clash of cultures? Or can they find a way to work together and put love on parade? An unofficial prequel to Small Town Girls Don't Marry Hollywood Hunks!

It All Started with a Lima Bean


Kimi Flores - 2013
    It must be gifted freely.Abby Sullivan cherishes the life she is creating for herself in her hometown of Santa Barbara, California. She adores her best friend and supportive family. Her job as a kindergarten teacher offers her life hope and purpose. She is very talented at many things, especially hiding the pain of her past. That is until her world collides with Caleb Hunter’s, giving them both a lesson in forgiveness and love.A life changing love is cruelly snatched by sickness and death. A person must be willing to give love, the greatest gift of all, to receive love.A successful writer, Caleb is living life day-to-day. Giving refuge to his sad and lonely heart since his wife's sudden death from cervical cancer, his primary focus becomes honoring her memory by rearing their five-year-old daughter, Madison. Yet, when Madison Hunter walks into Miss Abby’s kindergarten class, everything changes for all three of them.With a little nudge from a loving mother-in-law who has everyone’s best interest at heart, anything is possible, especially when forgiveness and love gift even more blessings than ever imaginable.**This is book 1 in the Intertwined Hearts series. Each book in the series follows a different couple and they can each be read as stand alones**

Stupid Cupid


Lisa J. Crane - 2013
    Their reason for doing so is building a class booth for a Valentine's Day festival, but Casey finds herself wondering if Blake doesn't want more than just her friendship. Just about the time she allows herself to think there might be a chance for something between them, Blake's sexy ex-fiancee shows up! Has Cupid missed the mark this Valentine's Day?

Any Given Moment


T.I. Lowe - 2015
    Life can change at any given moment. Good or bad, one must make the most of it. Samantha Shaw thought she was giving each moment of her life a fair shot until former pro-football quarterback Wiley Black saunters into her world and shows the sassy tomboy exactly what she’s been missing. A sweet sports romance for fans of happily-ever-afters.

It's in His Kiss


Bria Quinlan - 2011
    But, when she needs to do some research of this kissing kind, things may get a little more heated than she expected.Research has never been so fun.WARNING: This 11k short has no vampires, shape shifter or scorching sex, but it might make you snort your diet Coke out your nose.

Love at First Date


Susan Hatler - 2012
    . .Ellen’s figured out that finding the right guy is all about compatibility. That’s why she signs up for Detailed Dating—the local online dating scene in Sacramento. They ask men the hard questions, compare their answers with hers, then she filters through the profiles of each provided “match.” After numerous email exchanges, she narrows it down to two promising candidates she’s excited to meet in person. When Ellen’s best friend asks her for a favor, dog-sitting leads to disaster and Ellen ends up at the local vet where she meets a man she can’t get out of her mind. Henry isn’t a logical choice, but she finds herself paying for dog obedience class to spend more time with him. Ellen knows that in order to have a lasting relationship, she should take the safe route and go for one of the pre-screened guys. But, how can she think with her head when her heart keeps begging her to give Henry a chance?

The Start of Us


Jill Lynn - 2017
    So when he asks her to help him find out if another woman is interested in him, she agrees, deciding it's the best and fastest way to permanently remove him from her heart. But the more time they spend together, the more her crush grows. Can she really let Jack go once and for all?

Accidentally Yours


Samantha Bayarr - 2017
     Mia Fletcher is a mousy, nerdy, school teacher who is once again dateless for Valentine's Day. At the prompting from her co-worker, she agrees to ditch her cliché life, put on a party dress, and head for the Valentine Blind-Date Ball at the country club. What she didn't agree to when she signed on was meeting the very infuriating Chad Belmont. Willing to do anything to get out of a family obligation, Chad tells his friend he plans to marry the next woman he meets, and his friend takes him up on that dare until a simply party-game glitch gives them both more than they bargained for.

It Will Be Forever


Jennifer Rodewald - 2019
    Thought she’d stay gone…Big-hearted Dre Rustin fled her small Nebraska hometown to distance herself from her brother’s troubled past. Texas seemed like a good place to start a new life. Now she’s looking forward to graduating from college, but first she’s got to handle Thanksgiving break. She’ll head home for the first time in years. No way is she going to get sucked back into the drama and charm—namely her brother’s best friend Tommy Kent—of Rock Creek. For moral support, she convinces her best friend to travel with her. Little good that does her.Tom Kent might not have been the rebel Paul Rustin had been, but he’d earned a less-than-honorable reputation with the girls, which ruined the fragile hope he’d had for romance with Dre before she left for college. In the four years since Dre had shut Tom out, he hasn’t been able to let her go. Now she’s coming home, and he’s got this one last chance. What if she could forgive him? What if they could recapture the tender feelings they’d shared years ago? What if they could build new dreams together? It could be good. Really good. Maybe, just maybe, it could be forever.

Running Barefoot


Amy Harmon - 2012
    Josie teaches Samuel about words, music and friendship, and along the way finds a kindred spirit. Upon graduation, Samuel abandons the sleepy, small town in search of a future and a life, leaving his young friend behind. Many years go by and Samuel returns, finding Josie in need of the very things she offered him years before. Their roles reversed, Samuel teaches Josie about life, love, and letting go. Deeply romantic and poignant, Running Barefoot is the story of a small town girl and a Native American boy, the ties that bind them to their homes and families, and the love that gives them wings.

The Love Notes


Jennifer Griffith - 2020
    A successful business, a pile of confidence, and a whole new look—she’s shattered any expectations her classmates once held. Why is she so nervous to attend the reunion she’s been organizing?Oh, yeah. Bridger Carrigan will be there.And he’s single.And she’s been carrying both a torch and the secret notes he wrote her ever since high school—notes he didn’t know at the time he was exchanging with the class geek with braces, frizzy hair, and a perpetual chocolate milk mustache.Seeing him again could go well, considering. Or it could be round two of her crash and burn crush on the star-athlete with the secret wound her encouraging notes were meant to salve. Especially since his ex-girlfriend is newly single and anxious to get her claws back into him.A novel told through letters from the past and a sweetly growing reunion romance in the present day, The Love Notes is Book 1 in the Forever Home Romances by award-winning clean romance author Jennifer Griffith. All books in this series have a sweet "reunion" theme, sweet and satisfying kisses, and a guaranteed HEA.Books in the Forever Home Romance Series:The Love NotesSearch AngelBreach of Promise

More Than a Tiara


Valerie Comer - 2016
    Her family farm is now part of a CSA program teaching gardening and cooking to single moms, but when the coordinator begs her to represent the program in the Miss Snowflake Pageant, Marisa balks.Jase Mackie has long regretted the hot accusations he'd flung at Marisa over two years before. God has forgiven him but hasn't answered his prayer to bring Marisa back into his life… until Jase finds himself out West as the official photographer for a beauty pageant, face to face with the woman he's never forgotten.Can Jase make amends for past mistakes and offer Marisa not only a tiara, but a partner in her crusade to help needy children and families?More Than a Tiara was available as part of Snowflake Tiara in 2014 and Home For Christmas multi-author box set in 2015. This is its first solo release.

Kissed by a Cowboy


Lacy Williams - 2014
    She thinks she’s ready for this homecoming. She’s spent years escaping her perpetual shyness and being Katie Michaels’ tag-along friend, but being back in her hometown brings back a lot of old memories, especially when she is faced with the cowboy she never forgot — Katie’s older brother, Maddox. Twelve years ago, Maddox Michaels was supposed to be somebody. He had everything. A football scholarship. A Division I team scouting him. Maybe even a chance at the pros. Now, he’s a burned-out cowboy working day and night to stay ahead of his brother’s medical bills and keep their family farm from going bankrupt. And trying to be a father-figure for his niece, Olivia. When Haley and Olivia start spending time together, Maddox can’t help remembering those dreams that died alongside his sister. Will being with Haley open his heart to new dreams?