Book picks similar to
The Secrets of Life by K.L. Humphreys


romance
single-parent
second-chance
contemporary

Fluffy


Julia Kent - 2019
    Of course it did. I’m a professional fluffer. It’s NOT what you think. I stage homes for a living. Real estate agents love me, and my work stands on its own merits. Sigh. Get your mind out of the gutter. Go ahead. Laugh. I’ll wait. See? That’s the problem. My career has used the term “fluffer” for decades. I didn’t even know there was a more… lascivious definition of the term. Until it was too late. The ad for a “professional fluffer” on Craigslist seemed like divine intervention. My last unemployment check was in the bank. I was desperate. Rent was due. The ad said cash paid at the end of the day. The perfect job! Staging homes means showing your best angle. The same principle applies in making a certain kind of movie. Turns out a “fluffer” doesn’t arrange decorative pillows on a couch. They arrange other soft, round-ish objects. The job isn’t hard. Er, I mean, it is — it’s about being hard. Or, well… helping other people to be hard. Oh, man… And that’s the other problem. A man. No, not one of the stars on the movie set. Will Lotham – my high school crush. The owner of the house where we’re filming. Illegally. In a vacation rental. By the time the cops show up, what I thought was just a great house staging gig turned into a nightmare involving pictures of me with an undressed star, Will rescuing me from an arrest, and a humiliating lesson in my own naivete. My job turned out to be so much harder than I expected. But you know what’s easier than I ever imagined? Having all my dreams come true.

Pretty Broken Girl


Jeana E. Mann - 2015
    Sometimes you have to break the thing you love in order to put the pieces back together again. "Life is all about choices. Do I want pizza or a hamburger for dinner? Should I wear a red skirt or blue slacks to work? Do I take a million dollar check and divorce the love of my life to keep my baby brother out of jail? In case you're wondering, I took the check. Now my ex is back in my life. He's still angry and...he's my new boss." Pretty Broken Girl is the passionate retelling of a marriage gone wrong. From the boardroom to the bedroom, Dakota Atwell and Samuel Seaforth are locked in a battle of wits and desire. One of them will break. One of them will pay. Both of them want to win. Neither of them expects to fall in love…again. This is Book 1 of a five book series. It contains adult language, adult situations, and hot steamy sex with a HFN ending. Although it can be read as a standalone, it will be much more enjoyable when read with the other books in the series.

Where We Belong


K.L. Grayson - 2014
    . . she's a snarky little bitch.I’ve tried several times to regret the events that took place on June 5, 2008, but for the life of me, I can’t. I'd never regret the pain, the suffering, or the heartache because it ultimately led me to the place I am now. And I can’t regret the place I am now. What I still can't figure out is this: how is it possible that the single worst day of my life inadvertently became the very best day?Five years ago my life was irrevocably changed.Seventeen minutes was all it took—to lose my best friend…to lose the love of my life…Seventeen minutes was all it took for the seeds of hope—the seeds of my future—to be planted in the worst possible way.My name is Harley Thompson, and this is my story.

Rescuing Rayne


Susan Stoker - 2016
    One evening is all the enigmatic man can give her, and Rayne greedily takes it, despite suspecting it will never be enough.Heading home after another extreme mission, Keane "Ghost" Bryson hadn't planned to seduce someone during his layover, but Rayne is too sweet to resist. Being a Delta Force member means lying to protect his identity, which is unfortunate, considering Rayne seems made for Ghost, right down to the tattoo on her back. For the first time in his life, regret fills him as he slips away the following morning.Both are shocked when, months later, they meet again—under the worst possible circumstances. Seems fate has given them a second chance…if they can survive the terrorist situation they're in. If Rayne can forgive Ghost his lies. And if Ghost can trust Rayne to be strong enough to endure the secrets and uncertainty that come with loving a Delta Force soldier.** Rescuing Rayne is the 1st book in the Delta Force Heroes Series. Each book is a stand-alone, with no cliffhanger endings.

The Weight of Life


Whitney Barbetti - 2017
    The words I would soon say again, in a moment that didn’t involve bridges, but something much more fragile: my heart.He held onto me for three weeks, in a time when I needed to be held. Needed to connect to someone who understood how loss tunneled unrepentantly through the fabric of your soul.Although he said he'd stay, we both knew he wouldn't. I had already survived one loss—I didn't know if I'd survive another.-Ames-She spun into my life like a tornado of smiles and chatter and everything else I'd long avoided, with a persistence that I admired, albeit begrudgingly. She broke down each neat wall I’d constructed without even trying. Her presence alone caused me to remember what it felt like to smile, to look forward to what the day would bring.But it was only supposed to last three weeks.“Don’t let go,” she’d pleaded.I’d promised her I wouldn’t—but I would. I didn't have a choice.

Free Me


Grahame Claire - 2020
    . .Who knew helping her out of that one little slip of paper would turn my world upside down?I don’t do commitment.Yet I can’t seem to stay away from her.And that’s a problem.Because when there's feelings involved, somebody always gets hurt.She’s hiding something. I know it.But when the truth comes out, will it set us free?Or will it send everything up in flames?

Perilous Trust


Barbara Freethy - 2017
    They were two tortured souls, looking for escape, and they weren't supposed to see each other ever again…Four years later, Sophie's FBI father, who is also Damon's mentor, is killed in a suspicious car crash after leaving Sophie a cryptic message to trust no one from the agency. When Damon shows up looking for her, she isn't sure if he's friend or enemy, but she knows he could easily rip apart what is left of her heart.The last thing Damon wants is to get involved with Sophie again. It was hard enough to walk away the first time. But she's in trouble, her father's reputation is under attack, and the lives of his fellow agents are at stake if there's a traitor in their midst. When someone starts shooting at them, they have no choice but to go on the run and off the grid. Everyone in their world becomes a suspect. They want to uncover the truth, but will it turn out to be the last thing they expect? Proving her father's innocence might just cost them their hearts…and their lives…

Tell Me No Lies (Vegas Bad Boys)


C. Morgan - 2020
    But it never works out that way, does it?Love has a backseat, and I intended to keep it that way. My main focus in life is my little girl. With her mom in jail and my life in shambles more often than not, it’s about all I’ve got time for. So a vacation with the guys was in order. Parties, girls, and fun. Oh my!And then the most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid eyes on shows up, and she’s out for the same thing I am—a good time.Seems there is someone else in the world who’s forgotten to live.As much as I shouldn’t, I’m all in for making this woman mine—every part of her. Both of us are waking up to a truth that isn’t so fun to hear, but it’s better than living a lie. Love is all that matters.

When You're Ready


J.L. Berg - 2013
    waiting.As a widow and a single mother, I’d made peace with a quiet life. After all, I lost the love of my life. No one could ever replace him. But then, I met Dr. Logan Matthews and everything changed. He appeared like a white knight, caring for my injured daughter as he slowly mended the pieces of my broken heart. The letter Ethan left me has three words written on the envelope, When You’re Ready.So, I guess the question is...Was I ready... to love again?

Resisting Roots


Audrey Carlan - 2016
    She makes the most out of raising her two siblings in the wake of their parents’ tragic accident. At twenty-four, she doesn’t have time to devote to a man…especially not the devastatingly handsome. Trent Fox, who’s known for being a “player” on and off the baseball field. Trent has the best hitting average in the league. Recently, he suffered a torn hamstring that takes him to the Lotus House Yoga Center for recuperation. There he meets the curvy, petite blonde with soulful black eyes and candy-coated glossy lips he’d like to do more to than kiss. He secures the flexible hottie for daily private lessons that ultimately show him how sensual the art of yoga can be. Can love grow between a woman who’s rooted in her life and a man who resists any notion of staying in one place?

Recklessly Mine


Emily Bowie - 2017
    It holds far too many painful memories of the life he had. But when Chase has to take an unexpected trip back to the small town, he is forced to deal with parts of his past he thought he had buried forever. Pulled into the buzz around town about the boy who ran away all those years ago, Katheryn’s heart skips a beat when she is literally knocked off her feet by Chase. He’s scruffy, sexy, and covered in tattoos that scream bad boy, with an attitude to match. Although he appeared to have forgotten about their brief encounter, she never could. For when he left all those years ago, he left with a piece of her heart. As they fall in love, Katheryn is slowly sucked into his world of corruption, family secrets, and lies. Forcing Chase to choose between Katheryn and the life he fought so hard to achieve. After all, isn’t everything fair in love and war?

Our Forever


Elena Matthews - 2016
     Jo Donovan was a true believer of happily ever afters—until her best friend, Christopher, was killed in Afghanistan, destroying her belief that fairy-tale endings existed. Destroying her. Destroying her world. Five years later… Jo finds herself still stuck in the past, unable to find closure with Christopher’s death. When she moves to Austin, Texas, with her son, Junior, she’s finally given the fresh start she’s been desperately seeking. What she doesn’t know is that the fresh start comes in the form of her sexy neighbor, Drew Greyson. Their friendship starts off rocky, but eventually, a spark between them ignites. It isn’t long before that spark turns explosive, and she finds herself falling for him. Drew wants to be her everything, her forever, but will Jo’s pain from losing Christopher stop her from following her heart? Warning: Recommended for ages 18+ due to explicit language and sexual situations. **A stand-alone spin-off from the Look After You series**

Hosed


Pippa Grant - 2019
    Too bad both are written in my stars.Yeah, I’m the world’s oldest virgin code-writing nerd.And he’s the world’s hottest firefighter.And even though he intimidates the heck out of me, I can’t seem to control my libido when he’s around.Where is my dignity? My self-respect? My panties?Seriously…. Have you seen them? Anyone?Maybe they’re hiding in his bedroom. With my heart.Yeah, I know. I’m hosed.So hosed.Hosed is a steamy, fun romantic comedy between a firefighter and the virgin nerd next door, complete with a pet raccoon, scandalous gossip, and dildo football. (No, really.) This romance has no cheating or cliffhangers, and ends with a banging hot happily ever after.

Coming Home to You


Claire Raye - 2014
    Not even when he left her ten years ago to become the now hardened Boston detective.But life has come full circle because he finds himself back in his hometown, bound and determined to protect her.Kelsey Walters never imagined she’d get a second chance with the love of her life, but he reappears when she needs him most.Stalked and tormented by an ex-boyfriend, she just longs to feel safe again and knows Beck is willing to risk his life to give her that.As their sexual tension builds, they both realize it may not be enough to rekindle what was once lost.Coming Home with You is the first book in the Rockport Beach series. While each book can be read as a standalone, it offers so much more if read as a series. HEA guaranteed with each book!

A Heart of Time


Shari J. Ryan - 2016
    My wife. My best friend...and the mother to our newborn baby girl. You promised me we would be together forever, I wanted to tell her. She gave me her forever, I told myself. Her forever just ended at twenty-five.“You need to say your goodbyes...” the doctor said.How do I say goodbye to the one person in my life I could never say goodbye to? My body is numb, and my heart hurts. Hurts like someone just ripped it out of my chest. Which is ironic ...“We are going to remove her heart now, Hunter. It was her wish to donate,” the doctor said.She never told me this. She never told me another woman would carry on with her beating heart. She never told me this woman knew me but wouldn’t let me know her. She never told me if I should follow her heart, or if I should follow mine.She knew. She could have told me...