Book picks similar to
Justified Misfortune by Lori Matthews


romance
military-romances
romance-suspense
second-chance-on-romance

Guarding Lauren


Barb Han - 2020
    He quickly realizes that things aren’t always as they seem when his assignment, Lauren James, cleans out her bank account and heads to a known drop spot in the Caribbean. Is she in deep with the criminal brother she supposedly barely knows?

Protecting Freedom


Jen Talty - 2020
    However, she’d paid her debt to society and all she wanted to do was ease back into the community, get a job, and live a quiet life without drawing any attention to herself.
She’d managed to turn her life around and even found herself a boyfriend. A good man. A man she could love.

Only, it seemed fate had other ideas for her and now she has to choose between the past and the future.

Parker “Baby” Roman is tired of playing the field. He might be young, but he’s ready to settle down and have a family and he has his sights set on the sexy, but aloof hostess of his favorite local water hole.

But Baby is ill-prepared to find out the woman of his dreams is a convicted felon and being with her could ruin his career. However, he’ll have to set all that aside when Katina’s life is on the line. He’ll do what it takes, but then he’ll have to let her go.

Or will he do what is in his heart?

SEALed with a Vow


Rachel McNeely - 2020
    Sonja Bradley is a determined woman who has spent her career caring for others, even if it means joining a compassionate mission to provide medical care to villagers in a war-torn area of the Middle East. While she accepted the risk, she never believed she and her companions would be captured by insurgents. 
Navy SEAL Nate Wheatley and his team are on a covert operation when they get orders to rescue a trio of American health workers. Though he is annoyed the women would so blithely put their safety at risk, he can’t help but admire the delectable doctor’s courage.Growing up, Sonja saw firsthand the toll her SEAL father’s job took on her mother and swore she would one day marry someone safe and sedate. There’s no room in her life for a domineering, arrogant warrior, even if there is a touching protective streak in him that’s a mile wide. Even if she can’t resist the vulnerability she senses in the gorgeous man.Nate once vowed to never give his heart to a woman while his country needed him. His job is too dangerous for divided loyalties—or so he’s always told himself. What’s a strong man to do when loving a strong woman is the only option left?

Sultry Seattle Nights


Paige Yancey - 2019
    Siobhan Monahan is back in Seattle raising the daughter they conceived that night. When she accidentally overhears her emergency room patients speaking about a planned attack on her city, she’s on alert and scared for herself, her daughter and the people of the city. Her first instinct is to get her daughter to safety and then call and old friend she’d met on active duty, Hank Patterson who owns a security firm, Brotherhood Protectors. He sends some of his men to keep her safe and to help thwart the attack before people are killed. One of his men just happens to be her one-night-stand from six years. Boy is he surprised. J.B. Wayne, aka Atlas, has been with the brotherhood for five years after an injury sidelined him from the Navy SEALs. When his boss sends him to protect a woman and her family in Seattle, he’s surprised to find the woman he could never forget and she has a daughter with blue eyes, just like his. Temporarily setting aside his anger that Siobhan didn’t tell him he had a daughter, Atlas joins forces with Siobhan to discover the source and target of the pending attack, racing against time to stop the mercenaries before someone gets hurt. Working together rekindles their attraction and gives Atlas a chance to know his daughter. When the job is done, he’s determined to remain a part of their lives.

Bryson's Treasure


Linzi Baxter - 2019
    He barely got out alive with the help of a young Afghan girl he refused to leave behind. His boots barely touch Montana soil before he and his brother Noah rescue an unconscious woman trapped in a wrecked truck. A truck whose brakes were clearly tampered with. Though still wounded himself, his instincts scream to keep her safe until they find out who wants her dead. A heart she dares not trust…her own. All Lynn remembers from the accident is a pair of crystal-blue eyes she never thought to see again. Until those eyes show up a few days later, attached to a tall, sandy-haired cowboy who takes all of five minutes to get under her skin. He wants her to stay put? She just got away from a dangerous cult. No one tells her what to do or where she can and can’t go. Especially not a sexy ex-Marine with a rescue complex. But when more near-misses leave her shaken, she has no choice but to surrender to Bryce’s protection…and try like hell not to surrender her heart.

Guarding Cherish


Rose Smith - 2020
     

When super sexy ex-Navy SEAL Riley “Bulldog” Rousseau flirts with Cherish Reynolds on the train to Paris, the one thing he does instantly… is turn her off. 
On her way to marry her dream man in the most romantic city in the world, some stereotypical French Casanova flirting with her is just an annoyance.
 Cherish can’t wait for her happily ever after to begin. She just knows that after all she’s been through the last couple of years, life is finally smiling down on her.
 But soon Cherish becomes embroiled in danger along with the nice American couple she meets on the train.
 The last thing she needs now is for her world to be turned upside down by imminent danger. But, as Cherish Reynolds full well knows, life doesn’t always give you what you want.

Protecting Arizona


Desiree Holt - 2020
    Now she has to put it out of her mind as the DEA task force she’s on prepares to take down dangerous drug kingpin Luca Vasquez, coincidentally her brother-in-law. When her sister is murdered and her niece disappears, she leaves the task force to find her. He couldn’t get the memories of the woman out of his mind… Being a SEAL was the only thing Clint “Razor” DaCosta had known for twenty years, until a disastrous mission ended his career. Now dreams of the raw sex with the passionate redhead are the only things that keep the nightmares of that mission at bay. He’s still trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life when a phone call from a friend brings him to a shocking meeting. Passion…danger…murder…a lethal combination No one is more shocked than Razor and Arizona when he answers her call for help. The heat is still there and it’s hard to put aside the memories of their scorching sex. But first they must find her niece and avenge her sister’s murder. And hope they both don’t get killed in the takedown.

Protecting Ava


Jillian Anselmi - 2018
     Ava Giordano never stood a chance. After a big break-up, she finally got her life together, but the past still looms in her not so distant future. Master Chief Special Warfare Officer Cody Dalton of SEAL team Alpha has always been the ultimate fan of one-night stands. But one glimpse of Ava has him rethinking everything. It's love at first sight, but now their feelings will be put to the test. One train. One meeting by chance. One hour to get it right. When danger surrounds them, does Dalton have what it takes to protect Ava?

The Last Days of Christmas


Stacey Wilk - 2019
    Her parents were murdered on Christmas day, and she’s been running from the killers ever since. Now they’ve found her living next door to a sexy man in love with Christmas who has her thinking about naughty and nice. Zane Cutler never loses. That includes winning the prize for the best decorated street in the Christmas Light Competition. His new, pretty neighbor refuses to participate and jeopardizes the win, which he can’t allow. But when he learns her life is in jeopardy with no one else to help her, he does what he’s trained to do. Protect her. Amidst the backdrop of the holidays, Faith and Zane must learn to trust each other in order to stop the killers or this will be their last days of Christmas.

Blind Trust


Debra Parmley - 2019
    All she wants is to stay on the ranch, a place where she can find her way around in her perpetual darkness. She has no intention of dating again, especially not Marine Force Recon veteran, Brian “Barbie” Ken, even if his voice is so sexy it makes her knees weak. Assigned to protect the patrons and workers at the ranch, Brian is fascinated by everything about Cecelia and has made it his life’s mission to take her out on a date. She might be the biggest challenge of his life. Convincing her to leave the ranch will take more than smooth talking after an ill-fated date robbed her of her eyesight. It will take Blind Trust on her part to go out again. When her cousin ends up in the hospital in San Diego, Cecelia is desperate to visit. Brian offers to drive her. Cecelia agrees to go, taking a leap of faith to leave her familiar surroundings. When a sex trafficker kidnaps Cecelia from the hospital, Brian crosses the border into Mexico to rescue her and bring her home.

The Mechanic


Reina Torres - 2019
    Joining the military had given him a chance to work on all kinds of vehicles, but after twelve years he’d left to help his sister take care of her daughter. Hank Patterson had offered him a job with the Brotherhood Protectors, but he was just fine with his life the way it was. Or so he thought. Blake Lennox wasn’t Hollywood’s ‘it’ girl. She was the ‘chubby bestie’ who was always good for a laugh. Until the day she saw something that was as damning as it was criminal. When they realized she wasn’t going to keep quiet, they were going to do it for her. She barely made it to Eagle Rock, Montana and that’s when she met a man who did the one thing no one else seemed to do. See her the way she saw him... desirable. Hiding only works so long, but Adam wasn’t going to let her face them alone. Not then. Not ever. He was going to take care of her and fix things... because he’s the Mechanic.

Summer Breeze


Jesse Jacobson - 2018
    When Rose arrives she discovers her grandfather was deep in debt. Representatives from a coal mining corporation offer to buy the ranch, and the offer is tempting, that is, until she discovers that if the company begins to mine the property the coal ash will pollute the fresh waters flowing into the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. When Rose refuses to sell, she quickly discovers that the mining company is unwilling to take no for an answer. They then begin strong-arm tactics and Rose discovers that her grandfather's death may not have been caused by a heart attack after all. She suspects the company had him murdered because he wouldn't sell. Fortunately, Rose has made a local friend, a young, former Navy SEAL named Red Feather, whose attraction to Rose is as strong as his distaste for the coal mining company. Sparks fly between Rose and Red Feather and the fireworks over the future of Summer Breeze Ranch begins in earnest. When the going gets really tough, Red Feather calls his former SEAL Team brother, Matthew "Wolf" Steele, for help. Summer Breeze is action packed with hot romance.

Ranger Loyalty


Layla Chase - 2018
    Remembering the intense man who prepared to help during the robbery often calms her fears. Previously outgoing, she became reclusive and fearful of being in the company of strangers. After a month of therapy sessions, she still has panic attacks over the painful incident. On her therapist’s recommendation, she investigates getting a therapy dog and is thrilled at the identity of the dog trainer. To keep others safe during the same bank robbery, experienced dog handler Tag Redmond laid low--a difficult task for an ex-Army Ranger. A month later, he struggles with how he failed to stop the pretty blonde from being abducted. Running into her following a line-up of possible suspects gives him the chance to introduce himself, only to discover someone is following Malin. This time, Tag vows he’ll be there to help and convinces Hank Patterson that Malin should be his first assignment for Brotherhood Protectors. Learning how to handle her new therapy dog means Malin spends days near this mountain of a man with a soft heart for canines. Just when she’s emerging from her shell, she discovers her cabin has been broken into, throwing her life into chaos. Determined not to let Malin pull away, Tag enlists her help on a rescue mission of his own. In close proximity on a road trip, they give in to their fierce attraction. When the remaining suspects attempt to silence Malin for good, will Tag thwart the abduction and save the woman who has stolen his heart?

A Killer Talent


Mary Winter - 2019
    All she wants is her quiet life back. But the sexy agent they send make her want things she’s long buried and may force her to reveal a tragedy from her past. Daniel “Gonzo” Vondorn expects his job in Branson to be yet another gig. Protect the star. Get the bad guy. Go home. It doesn’t hurt that his good friend and fellow agent, Luis, is in the area. However Charity quickly gets under his skin, and when he rescues a stray cat, he starts wondering if perhaps he is ready to settle down. But first, he’s got to stop an ex-boyfriend bent on revenge… or worse.

Elite Protector


Donna Michaels - 2017
     Lured to the mountains of Montana, under the assumption her uncle and her godfather recommended her as a bodyguard for Brotherhood Protectors—an agency started by one of their former SEALs—Kat Crawford, former NIO, discovers too late, she’s really there as a client. Former DEVGRU SEAL, Brogan “Sonic” O’Neal, dropped his packet to return to Montana to take over his grandfather’s wood shop and care for the dying man. A deathbed promise to “not” return to the teams sentences him to life without the adrenaline rush he craves, until an old SEAL buddy hires him as a part time bodyguard for Brotherhood Protectors. A request to protect the niece of a former CO lands Brogan his first assignment, but it could be his last. Keeping objective is impossible. He’s watched the woman grow up through pictures in the commander’s office. Now she’s at Brogan’s cabin. Their chemistry is off the charts. And giving into their attraction is as inevitable as a Montana sunrise. But when Kat suggests the Brotherhood uses her as bait to end the threats once and for all, Brogan realizes his feelings for the woman run deep. Can he resist the alpha need to protect her? If he does, will she survive? If he doesn’t, will their relationship?