Book picks similar to
Naked Hearts by Valentina


contemporary
romance
single-parent
futuros-sb

Scars


Jaimie Roberts - 2016
    At least, that’s what I thought. But you changed all that. You are always there ... Always watching ... Always waiting in the shadows. You send me flowers and messages. You stalk me, trace my every movement... Until that one day, in a silly game of Seven Minutes in Heaven, when I finally get to feel you—have a taste of you ... It left me wanting more. One catastrophic day, my wish is granted. Just past my eighteenth birthday, tragedy strikes and I watch my family die before my eyes. You are there. You rescue me. You choose my life over my older sister’s, and I hate you for that. I hate you for taking me and imprisoning me. You say it’s for my sake, but I know it’s for your own. You make me see that my life could be much worse without you in it... You make me see true darkness. It is in that darkness you make me desperate for your presence, your touch, your caress. You make me need you... You make it impossible for me to live without you… And then, eventually… You make me fall in love with you. Secrets will always wound the ones twisted within their web of lies... But the ones I’m tangled in ... are deadly. WARNING: Although this book (overall) is not a dark read, one chapter is an exception, and contains the following triggers: childhood sexual/emotional abuse with some intensity in one particular scene.

Bossy Bastard


J.L. Perry - 2020
    B. for Bossy, is fast becoming the bane of my existence.After running into him, literally, he’s now popping up everywhere, and somehow managing to weave his way into my life.He's egotistical, smug, and so ridiculously good-looking it should be illegal—he's way too hot to handle. I don't do hot, those type of guys are more trouble than they’re worth.Although, I'd secretly love to do him.We’ve kissed once—it was smokin’, and led to me dry humping his leg in front of the entire club like a shameless hussy. Oh, and did I mention I deep throated his thumb within seconds of meeting him … I didn’t even know his name.Apparently I have issues, big ones.He makes me do things I never imagined myself doing.He makes me feel things I'm not comfortable feeling.It just wouldn’t work, even if I wanted it to. Between us we have more baggage than a carousel at LAX airport.He's everything I want, but can never have.Or so I thought.

A Place in the Sun


R.S. Grey - 2016
    that is until she wakes up in a bed that belongs to the most romantic-looking man she’s ever seen.Gianluca.After going out of his way to rescue her, the former London financier turned mysterious recluse makes it clear that despite acting as her white knight, he has no plans to co-star in her fairytale.But Georgie isn’t asking for his heart—she’s merely intrigued. After all, Gianluca isn’t just gorgeous—tall and tan from days spent in the sun—his touch sets her world on fire. With him, Georgie experiences the most intoxicating passion she’s ever known, and it only takes a few steamy nights for her to realize that sometimes running away from trouble is the best way to find it.

Roots and Wings


M. Mabie - 2016
    Yet, all could think about was Mutt, or at least that’s what they called her.To me, she was gorgeous and witty ... and perfect. She knew more duty than desire, more perseverance than passion, and more acquaintance than affection, but here was no way I’d ever want to change her. In fact, I was dying to show her the life she'd been missing, but first she'd have to trust me enough to tell me her real name.I wanted to plant roots, but I refused to clip her wings. Not when she was everything I’d been looking for and all the home I’d ever need.Roots and Wings is a standalone contemporary romance. If you're looking for a good time, then you've come to the right place. Welcome to Wynne.

The Lottery


Karpov Kinrade - 2022
    Keep everyone alive.I don’t have time to be distracted by the brilliant Azalea Clark.Even if she does make me ache with insatiable need.I can’t have her.I can’t break the rules.Or I’ve doomed us all.The Lottery is a complete stand-alone contemporary romance with an HEA ending.From USA Today Bestselling Author Karpov Kinrade comes a steamy and sizzling romance that proves even at the edges of humanity, love conquers all.

Love, Lists, and Fancy Ships


Sarah Grunder Ruiz - 2021
    Jo has almost everything she's ever wanted, including a condo on the beach (though she's the youngest resident by thirty years) and an exciting job (albeit below deck) that lets her travel the world.Jo is on track until a family tragedy turns her life upside down, and the list falls by the wayside. But when her two nieces show up unannounced with plans to stay the summer, they discover her list and insist on helping Jo finish it. Though the remaining eight items (which include running a marathon, visiting ten countries, and sleeping in a castle) seem impossible to complete in twelve weeks, Jo takes on the challenge.When she summons the courage to complete item number five--kiss a stranger--and meets Alex Hayes, all bets are off. As her feelings for Alex intensify and Jo's inability to confront difficult emotions about her family complicates her relationships, she must learn to quit playing it safe with her heart before she loses what matters most.

When Ashes Fall


Marni Mann - 2019
    You can’t split your heart, soul, and body in half. But I’m here to tell you, you can.Dylan Cole is like ice, sharp and unpredictable, the thunder inside a tumultuous storm. Smith Reid is warmth, soft and gentle, perfect like a sunny day.Both are mine. But I can have only one. There are two sides to this tale. I'm here to tell you mine. If you think this story is about a cheater, you couldn’t be more wrong.

Broken Beast


Crystal Kaswell - 2021
    Until I offer her a lifeline: A million dollars to play my wife.Danielle Bellamy is mine.For the next year, the curvy photographer is staying in my secluded mansion, wearing my ring.A ruse, to exact revenge against the man who destroyed me.Only every time I gaze into her dark eyes, I forget we're pretending.Her kiss is intoxicating.Her touch is addicting.And when we finally fall into bed--It's not enough.I need more than her body.I need her everything.

Confess


A. Zavarelli - 2018
    Two signatures. A marriage of inconvenience. Lucian West is one of the most hated men in America. He’s a ruthless attorney who gets what he wants in the courtroom, and outside of it. Now, he wants me. For reasons I can’t fathom, he’s determined to make me his wife. He makes it clear he’s not above blackmailing me to put a ring on my finger. But he should know I can’t be domesticated. I don’t know how to love men. I only know how to leave them… with everything I want. ***I don't do love. I don't even do relationships. But all of that changes when I stumble upon the tragic, beautiful woman confessing her sins in the dark of night. She’s a thief. A con. The essence of everything I loathe. And yet she lures me in with her lying eyes.I want to protect her. I want to bring her to heel. I want to teach her a lesson she’ll never forget. She belongs to me, she just doesn’t know it yet. I've already made her mine in name. Now it’s time to claim the rest of her.

Penalty Kiss


Annie Dyer - 2021
    Problems that could score her an own goal.She’s meant to be my penalty, but will she let me be her kiss instead?Penalty Kiss is the first standalone in the Manchester Athletic series. Meet the team in this grumpy/sunshine, enemies-to-lovers, bad boy athlete romance.

Encore


Selena Laurence - 2020
    Life has been nothing but sex, drugs, and rock and roll for twenty years, and he's not sure he can stomach one more minute of the party. When an invitation to his twenty-fifth high school reunion shows up, Ross decides he has nothing to lose--after all, he already lost his daughter's love and a fair amount of self-respect. So he catches a flight back to his hometown, but when he walks in the door of the high school gym, his gaze lands on someone he never expected to see again. Carly Ellis is busy, getting by, and most days pretty happy. Life hasn't always been easy, but she has her teenage son, a good job in real estate, and an ex who doesn't cause too much trouble. Granted, she'd rather skip her high school reunion, but when your best friend is on the organizing committee, there's no getting out of it. Then she walks through the door of the high school gym and her gaze lands on someone she never expected to see again. Once upon a time, Carly was Ross's high school prom date. One very sweet night that both of them knew didn't mean a thing. Now they have a chance to do it again. Same conditions. Same game. But after a night in Carly's arms, Ross isn't sure he wants it to end. Could she be the answer to everything he's been missing? A key to the future he secretly wants? With life offering him a second act, will Ross be able to pull off his most important encore ever? Encore is an uplifting rockstar, second-chance, single parent, high school reunion romance with a hero who needs a little reboot, a heroine who's strong enough to give it to him, two sassy teens, a perfect HEA, and an iguana named Chuck--just because.

The Boy Next Door


Ella James - 2017
    That’s what he was. Dash Frasier—my hero from the day we met, when I was six and he was nine. His sister was my best friend, the three of us one happy crew. Then one sweaty summer night changed everything. No one understood me like Dash. No one made me feel so loved. That’s why, when he skipped town, it wrecked me.Now I’m older. Wiser. I’ve just snagged my dream job, writing at a film studio. The lead animator on my project? You guessed it.He’s not the boy next door. Not anymore.I’m guarding my heart this time. But Dash has secrets that could break us both.

The Smallest Part


Amy Harmon - 2018
    The biggest lie she’d ever told. It reverberated through her head as she said it, ringing eerily, and the girl behind her eyes—the girl who knew the truth—screamed, and her scream echoed along with the lie. “Are you in love with Noah, Mercedes?” Cora asked. “I mean . . . I know you love him. You’ve been friends forever. We all have. But are you in love with him?” If it had been anyone else—anyone—Mercedes would have stuck out her chest, folded her skinny arms, and let her feelings be known. She would have claimed him. But it was Cora. Brave, beautiful, broken Cora, and Cora loved Noah too. So Mercedes lied. And with that lie, she lost him. With that lie, she sealed her fate.She was the best friend, the bridesmaid, the godmother, the glue. She was there for the good times and the bad, the ups and the downs, the biggest moments and the smallest parts. And she was there when it all came crashing down. This is the tale of the girl who didn’t get the guy.

The Words


Ashley Jade - 2022
    Eight weeks. Forty shows.Countless opportunities to make him pay.The world thought he was a God...But I knew the truth.

Unimaginable


Sophia Kenzie - 2015
     Try to picture the cutest, tallest, cockiest guy you’ve ever met, with the bluest eyes and the darkest hair... He’s that times ten. Evan knows that I can’t control how my body reacts to him, and he never misses a chance to tease me in class for being so smart, or give me hell in the hallways for being so uptight. He also happens to be my Resident Advisor at The Valley School. His room is down the hall from mine and he’s the one I’m supposed to go to whenever I’m feeling homesick…lonely…vulnerable… But I don’t come from a wealthy family like the other kids at this school, I’ll never be on the same level as Evan Covington...he’s out of my reach. When his uncle—who’s a teacher at our school—decides to “put me in my place”, Evan does the unthinkable to defend my honor... But I never imagined that I would end up being framed, convicted, and sent to prison for a murder I didn’t commit. Fifteen years later I finally learn the truth…that I was right to hate Evan Covington from the very beginning. Unimaginable is a full length contemporary new adult romance novel. Content is suitable for adults only, contains graphic sexual content, harsh language, and mature themes.