Book picks similar to
EVOL by Cynthia A. Rodriguez


romance
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3-star

Love Me Like You Won't Let Go


Melissa Toppen - 2019
    It’s something I’ve heard countless times. Like someone has to point out that your pain will never go away. That your shattered heart will never mend. Because that’s exactly what my heart did the day I watched Asher Evans board that train- it shattered, splintering into a million tiny fragments that I didn’t think I’d ever be able to piece back together. He was the boy I had loved since I understood what loving someone meant. The one who knew me inside and out. The one who swore he’d never let me go. It’s been six years since that day and even now the memory haunts me like it was yesterday. I’ve done my best to move on, to rebuild, and for the most part I’ve done pretty well. But all of that comes crashing down when Asher strolls back into town like he never left. I don’t want to want him. I certainly don’t want to need him. But that doesn’t stop me from doing it anyway. Only things are different now. I’m different. I’m not the girl he left behind all those years ago. I may have been foolish enough to give him my heart once but I won’t make that mistake a second time. Or at least that’s what I tell myself until I’m standing face to face with the one man who has the power to break me all over again. Love Me Like You Won’t Let Go is a STANDALONE second chance romance.

Mercy


Andrea Johnston - 2017
    Determined to put small town life behind her, Mercy had dreams - big cities and bright lights were her destiny. Four years later, Mercy finds herself drawn to the small town of Mason, Texas. With strangers who embrace her like family and a local cowboy with dimples offering her happiness, it’s hard to resist what the town has to offer.Will her dreams of living life under the bright lights of a big city overshadow the small-town life under the stars she’s drawn to? Only Mercy has the answer. **Mercy is a novella and part of the Wanted Kindle World**

I Found You


Erica Marselas
    Four years later, Violet has recently finished college and Cooper is now a huge pop star. While both are letting loose in Las Vegas they find each other in a crowded bar. With their connection still burning red hot, they decide to make their union official and forever. But the thing standing in their way aren't the tabloids, it's their meddling mothers willing to do almost anything to break them apart again. Will their history and their love, along with their one special treasured bond be enough to win this time?

Just Love


Prescott Lane - 2019
    The how you fell in love, and the how you fell apart.This is ours.The cardinal rule of friendship is you don’t mess with your friend’s sister.That goes double when she’s his little sister.It was just supposed to be fun.She wasn’t supposed to end up being the love of my life.And I definitely wasn’t supposed to break her heart.Ainsley is a wedding dress designer. That should’ve been a warning that she’s a hopeless romantic. That should’ve clued me in that she believes love conquers all.But there are some things that love can’t fix. I’m one of them.She thinks love is the answer.But love is the reason I let her go.

Someday, Someday


Emma Scott - 2019
    From addiction and living on the streets, to recovery and putting himself through nursing school, he’s spent the last ten years rebuilding his shattered sense of self. Now he’s taken a job as a private caretaker to Edward Marsh III, the president and CEO of one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Max soon learns Marsh’s multi-billion-dollar empire is a gold and diamond-encrusted web of secrets and lies.The longer Max works and lives with the Marsh family, the tighter the secrets tangle around him. And his heart—that he’s worked so hard to protect—falls straight into the hands of the distant, cold, and beautiful son of a dynasty…Silas Marsh is set to inherit the family fortune, but his father is determined his heir be the “perfect” son. Before Silas can take over the company and end its shady business practices, he must prove himself worthy…and deny his true nature.Silas must choose: stand up to his father by being true to himself and his undeniable feelings for Max. Or pretend to be someone he is not in order to inherit everything. Even if it means sacrificing his first chance at love.Content warning: contains scenes of conversion therapy, homophobia, and parental verbal abuse of a neurodivergent character. Readers are advised to proceed with caution.

When It Rains... He Pours


Leah Holt
    I told them no.But after someone breaks into my gallery, destroying everything I own, and threatening me; I start to question how I'll ever come back from this.Until a stranger comes to my rescue, risking his own safety for mine.He saved me.Bold and charming, his muscles were hard as rock and his strength was fierce; he made everything right.Life began to fall back into place, and for a brief moment, I was able to forget about everything else. I wish that moment could have lasted a little bit longer.Because everything I thought I knew about my hero was a lie. He wasn't my savior, he was my enemy.I heard that bad things happen in threes.The break in, the lies... I didn't know what was next.I guess it's true, when it rains—he pours.And this man laid it on thick in all the right places.So how do I let him go?

The French Escape


Suzie Tullett - 2018
    Loved it." Sarah Hardy - By The Letter Book Reviews"Charming and thoroughly enjoyable" Rachel Gilbey - Reviewer  It’s fair to say that Flick has had a terrible year. Her beloved father died, she had the wedding of her dreams and only hours after the ceremony her husband ran out on her.  Brenda, fed up with her daughter living like a hermit, decides to drag Flick off to France to stay in a chateau. What could be better than an idyllic escape?But when they arrive Flick discovers the chateau is all but abandoned.The only upside of her French escape is the handsome and mysterious neighbour, Nate.Nate loves his life living in the cottage on the grounds of the abandoned chateau but that is about to be put in jeopardy… Can Nate and Flick ever learn to come to terms with the past and find love again? What everyone is saying about The French Escape: "I loved this book! The characters were delightful, the setting was dreamy and the story perfectly paced, with some surprises."  Kaye Barley - reviewer "a feel good, easy and satisfying read."  Joan Hill - Reviewer  "a really lovely book, full of happily ever afters, family, friendship, love, happiness, funny moments and idyllic French countryside"  Karen Whittard  - reviewer "The story has all the right ingredients in the right proportions to make you go all warm and fuzzy."  Shree Janani - reviewer   Suze Tullett is the author of Little White Lies and Butterflies and The Trouble With Words. The French Escape is an uplifting and laugh-out-loud Romantic comedy which will appeal to fans of authors like Sue Roberts, Marian Keyes and Sarah Morgan.

The SEAL's Accidental Pregnancy


Leslie North - 2020
    So when he receives threatening notes, he brushes it off. But when his former squad leader is murdered and Diana Addison, his best friend’s little sister—and the girl Demetri spent an amazing night with four months ago—is threatened, things become personal. Demetri immediately rushes to Diana’s house to save her and gets even more shocking news. Diana is pregnant. With his baby. Now, keeping Diana safe has taken on a new and monumental meaning. After losing his parents as a child, Demetri has tried to never care too much for anyone, which is why he’s terrified of his growing feelings for Diana.All Diana ever really wanted was a normal family and a happy home—picket fence and all. Being single and pregnant was never in the plans, but Diana is willing to do what it takes to give her child a good life. Hopping from hotel to hotel, trying to lose whoever is after them, is terrifying—but it’d be far more difficult without someone like Demetri by her side. He’s kind, strong, sexy, and his kisses are decidedly swoon-worthy. When they finally settle in at Demetri’s childhood home to use it as a safe house, it's impossible not to picture them becoming a family. But with the threats on her life intensifying, Diana is stunned by a decision Demetri makes—one that will tear them apart forever. She knows she can trust Demetri with her life, but can she ever trust him with her heart?

Love in Due Time


L.B. Dunbar - 2019
    Naomi Winters will be forty—soon-ish—and she's only been with one man. One night. One time. Long ago. She believes everything happens for a reason, and the universe spoke about him. But when her past stands before her looking sexier than ever with silver scruff and a smirky dimple, she's giving her inner goddess a second listen.Nathan Ryder isn't the same man who hightailed his bike out of Green Valley eighteen years ago. Coming home goes against everything he should do. However, he's always been a rule taker, and women are one area he acts a fool. Case in point—the local librarian. When he encounters her between the stacks, it doesn't matter that he can't get a read on her, he just knows he's not willing to risk losing her. Again.Despite little in common, the stars align in mysterious ways and the due date on their love might not be expired after all.+ + +Love in Due Time the first of The Winters Sisters, romantic tales of silver foxes and feisty vixens in the Green Valley Public Library series, an imprint of Penny Reid's Smartypants Romance.

Absolution


Missy Johnson - 2017
    He was sweet. Charming. Caring. Until he wasn’t. Fourteen years ago, his actions tore apart my family. He ruined my sister’s life and nothing was ever the same again. But now, more than a decade later, he’s back. When he walks into my office, asking for my help, I’m shocked, but nothing prepares me for what I’m about to learn. I see how far he’s gone to redeem himself and I know that he’s changed. I also know that, as a priest, he’s more off limits than ever. If I help him, my family will never forgive me. If I fall in love with him, I will never forgive myself.

Eleanor & Grey


Brittainy C. Cherry - 2019
     As the young girl who first fell for him, I didn’t know much about life. I did know about his smiles, though, and his laughs, and the strange way my stomach flipped when he was near. Life was perfect…until it wasn’t, and when we were forced to go our separate ways, I held on to our memories, let go of my first crush, and wished for the day I’d find him again. When my wish came true, it was nothing like I imagined. I couldn’t have known when I took the nanny position that it would be his children I looked after, that my new boss would be that boy I used to know, that boy who was now a man—a cold, lonely, detached man. The smile and laugh I had loved so much were gone, now distant memories. Every part of him was covered in a fresh pain. When he realized who I was, he made me promise to do my job and my job only. He made me promise not to try to get to know him, not to recall the memories I’d treasured all this time. But, sometimes, I saw the boy I’d once known in his stormy eyes. I saw the Greyson who smiled and laughed, who had stolen a young girl’s heart, and there was no doubt in my mind that this boy was worth fighting for. I was given a second chance with the one who’d left his mark on me. All I hoped was that somehow I’d leave a mark on his soul, too.

Under His Ink


Maya Hughes - 2018
    Now, I’m back because she’s the only person I can trust. And I couldn’t stay away for another day.Being near me means danger for the both of us because no one leaves the mob unscathed. She’s inking over my past one day at a time and it's strictly business for her, but the flames licking at our heels aren’t just from the heat between us.But the only thing harder than leaving the mob is leaving her. I’ll show her that what we have is forever as long as I’m still breathing…Under His Ink is a 55,000 word second chance mob romance.

Filthy Little Pretties


Trilina Pucci - 2020
    Liam Brooks is a charmer with puppy dog eyes you can’t say “no” to.They’re the kind of guys that make time stand still when they walk by. And when their childhood best friend, Donovan Kennedy, comes back to New York, friendships get tested. Choices are made they can’t take back. And one boy gets a taste of what it’s like to want someone so bad that you’d burn down the city to have her. “Trilina delivers an addictive high school romance high on angst and drama and a book that is total sexy perfection. Prepare to be twisted into delicious knots! I loved it!”--Siobhan Davis, USA Today bestselling authorDonovan Kennedy is the girl dreams are made of. Five years ago, she was our best friend. Our moral compass. The girl that held our hands everywhere we went. We were young. Innocent. Nothing could touch us — not even heartache. That was then. Now she’s back. All grown up. With red lips and long legs — a challenge waiting to be accepted. A prize that’ll turn our world upside down. Brothers turned to enemies. Friendships decimated. Lies told.Hearts torn apart. Prep school’s never been so scandalous.USA Today Bestselling author, Trilina Pucci, brings you an addictive, sexy friends-to-lovers high school romance packed with off-the-chart chemistry, competition, and raw emotional angst.

Nowhere but Here


Renee Carlino - 2014
    From the outside, her life seems charmed. She has a handsome, long-term boyfriend and a budding journalism career at a popular Chicago newspaper. But in reality, her relationship is going nowhere, and she’s quickly losing motivation for what she once believed was her dream job. When her boyfriend dumps her unceremoniously, Kate loses all hope of finding love.With no living family and few friends, Kate confides in her boss. Trusting that the hungry, ace reporter is buried somewhere deep inside, he gives Kate the opportunity to jumpstart her career. The assignment: to interview the famously reclusive R.J. Lawson, a wealthy tech genius who disappeared years ago but recently reemerged as a Napa Valley vintner. The week takes an unexpected turn, however, when Lawson refuses to divulge any information. Desperate for a lead, Kate turns to Jamie, a vineyard hand who shows her the romance of wine country—and stirs her aching heart. But his connection to Lawson is ambiguous, and when Jamie disappears before the end of the week, Kate is left to investigate another story: the truth behind the man who stole her heart.USA TODAY bestselling author Renée Carlino explored love and heartbreak in her beautifully written debut Sweet Thing, and her newest novel does not disappoint. For fans of Colleen Hoover, K.A. Tucker, and Katja Millay, Nowhere But Here is a stirring and satisfying romance that you won’t want to put down.

Kasey


Jennifer Hanks - 2019
    Welcome to the Family… One. Defining. Moment. Kasey Moore is happy to be home. Moving to New Hope as a teenager hadn’t been easy, but once she settled in, she couldn’t imagine herself living anywhere else. After four years in College, she’s finally back to living in the town she loves and working her dream job as a teacher at the Elementary School. For Kasey, her life couldn’t be more perfect. Until a school assembly, an arrogant man, and a hot encounter in a closet shakes up everything Kasey thinks she wants. Ten years as a Navy SEAL and Jackson Dimarco is coming home. Ten years of rigid schedules, almost unreachable expectations, and being a part of something bigger than himself has changed him. Coming home, trying to find himself, the last thing Jax wants to do is talk to an auditorium full of school kids about his time in the military, but when his brother signs him up that’s exactly what he ends up doing. And he meets someone who challenges him in a way nobody has in a very long time. He meets someone who inspires him to become more than who he’s settled for. He meets someone who makes him feel alive again. It’s just a shame she doesn’t feel the same way. But Jackson Dimarco has always loved a challenge and Kasey Moore is the biggest incentive he’s ever had to win. This is a novella in The Dimarco Series. Can be read as a standalone and at any point in the series. However, if new to the series, I'd recommend reading this novella before the first book in the series.