Book picks similar to
Naked Hearts by Valentina


romance
contemporary
single-parent
futuros-sb

Crossed by the Stars


L.J. Evans - 2021
    A life full of love will always be worth it.” Dax Armaud has spent the last decade haunted by feelings for the one woman he can never be with. Family secrets mean just being seen with a Mori is a dangerous dance let alone dating one. But a desperate call sends him spinning back into Jada’s life, and now he can’t walk away without leaving half his soul behind.For years, Jada Mori fought the ties to her father’s world while healing a broken heart. She thought she’d finally escaped both until a shadow creeps out of her past seeking retribution. When Dax shows up trying to protect her, she’s determined to send him away before her mistakes destroy them. Forced into hiding, the tantalizing desire hovering between them refuses to be ignored, and in the end, they’ll have to decide what matters most―family allegiances or a chance at a forever after. Inspired by Imelda May’s “Falling in Love with You Again,” comes an emotional, second-chance romance with deep, relatable characters and a story you might never forget.

Just Ten Seconds


Jeannine Colette - 2019
    It wasn’t until I happened upon a bereavement group when I finally found a place I felt understood. I told them my husband was dead when, really, I was the one who had died inside. It was also where I saw the smoldering gaze of Dean Delgado, the single father whom I’d helped just days before.Just Ten SecondsThat’s all he wishes he had with his late wife.Despite Dean’s widowed status, he has a robust thirst for life. He’s a protector and a giver. A man who fixes things with his hands, is devoted to his child, and wants to spend his days with me. I try to avoid him, knowing a woman with my past has no business being in this man’s life. With every run-in, he makes me laugh. With every touch, he ignites me. And with every second, he makes me feel like myself again.Just Ten SecondsThat’s all it took for me to fall in love with Dean Delgado.I'm in too deep and my secrets are about to be exposed. I only hope he can forgive me for the lies I never meant to tell.

The Thorns Remain


Jennifer Hartmann - 2021
    The beast had emerged from its lair with a burning need to destroy the man who tore my marriage apart.And now?Now, it was my lifeline.My dark lover.My. Whole. Purpose.REVENGE.They say it’s sweet in the end, and I believed them. I could almost taste that honey on my tongue, like a balm I needed to quell the bitterness.But it was all a lie.I was blindsided.And not once did I think about who I might hurt along the way. I never considered the casualties that may fall across my path of destruction.No…Revenge is not sweet. Retaliation does not end in reward.Vengeance is not justice.The promises whispered by that beast within?They’re all hollow.All it ever wanted was to be set free.In the end, I never expected things to be worse than when it all began.I never expected the wreckage left in my wake.Ineverexpectedher.*** "The Thorns Remain" is a contemporary romance standalone, previously titled "What We Deserve." ***

City of Thieves


Cora Kenborn - 2021
     He’s a mafia prince… Heir to the Marchesi throne. A man consumed by his demons.Beautiful.Ruthless. I don’t belong in his world, and he doesn’t belong in mine. Still, I’m not the spoiled politician’s daughter he thinks I am… This is the City of Thieves, where lies are hard currency and deception is the real art. Trust no one. Love no one.Too bad I don’t follow my own rules. They say black arrows make for bleeding hearts.Now, I’m planning the ultimate heist for a man who never misses.City of Thieves is an enemies to lovers mafia romance with no cliffhanger and a guaranteed HEA. For mature readers only.

Singe


Aly Martinez - 2017
    Every time I closed my eyes, I watched her fall into that inferno. Over and over, I failed to save her.I hadn’t been able to reach her, and the guilt only burned hotter over time. Four years later, I was the unreachable one.Heroes aren’t always saints. Sometimes, we’re nothing more than jaded sinners driven by sleepless nights and hearts full of darkness.And then I met her. She was a dreamer who managed to soothe my scars and heal my wounds.But, as the flames closed in around us, I feared I wasn’t the right man to save her. That is until I realized she was the one woman I’d burn the world down to protect.

To Have It All


B.N. Toler - 2017
    Liam had set up shop there. After an accident left him injured and unable to work, it wasn’t long before he ended up on the street with his dreams in the gutter. This was it. This was his life. Until the day he met Max Porter—a man who appeared to have it all. They didn’t meet so much as made eye contact as Max sneered at Liam, the bum occupying precious space on the sullied New York City street.When Max stepped into oncoming traffic, a lesser man might’ve let him. But Liam risked his life to save Max only to be left to die without a second thought. When Liam woke up days later, he wasn’t himself…at least he wasn’t in his body. He was in Max’s.And with Liam’s body on life support, there was only one logical conclusion: Max was trapped in Liam’s comatose body. Somehow the twisted hands of fate had given Liam a second chance; a chance to have it all. But with all the perks of Max’s life also came his problems. Finding balance in his new identity was challenged more so once Liam fell for Waverly, Max’s beautiful ex. Could Liam live out his life as another man or would he pull the plug and let fate decide? Would he lose his chance at true love?Would he lose the chance to have it all?

Most of All You


Mia Sheridan - 2017
    . .Crystal learned long ago that love brings only pain. Feeling nothing at all is far better than being hurt again. She guards her wounded heart behind a hard exterior and carries within her a deep mistrust of men, who, in her experience, have only ever used and taken.A man in need of help . . .Then Gabriel Dalton walks into her life. Despite the terrible darkness of his past, there's an undeniable goodness in him. And even though she knows the cost, Crystal finds herself drawn to Gabriel. His quiet strength is wearing down her defenses and his gentle patience is causing her to question everything she thought she knew.Only love can mend a shattered heart . . .Crystal and Gabriel never imagined that the world, which had stolen everything from them, would bring them a deep love like this. Except fate will only take them so far, and now the choice is theirs: Harden their hearts once again or find the courage to shed their painful pasts.

The Billionaire's Fake Engagement (Durand Billionaire Brothers Book 1)


Leslie North - 2022
    

Junk Mail


Kendall Ryan - 2019
    Oops. Not my finest moment — but I have nothing to be ashamed of.She thought I was no better, and I quote, than the knuckle-dragging douche-bags she was never dating again.It was a stupid dare from a girl I’d met online, but since she’d given me a fake number, I didn’t feel bad that my interests were suddenly focused elsewhere — on the fiery and sharp-tongued, Peyton that I found myself sparring with over text for the rest of the evening.The following day, my case of mistaken identity came back to bite me in the banana.When I strolled into the office, I was introduced to Peyton as the new client I needed to win over. The Peyton, in case you're not tracking.And let’s just say she had my full attention.Brains? Check. Beauty? Oh yeah. And the best part? She hated me on sight. Dear God, do I love a challenge. Let the games begin.

Keeping Her


Angela Snyder - 2017
    What I need.And what I need is the perfect woman. Perfect and pure in every way possible. And I'm willing to obtain that perfection...no matter the cost.So when I make my newest purchase, I expect Adeline's fate to be like all the others before her --- taking what I want and then never seeing her again.But she's different.Her beauty is disarming.And even though I promised to let her go after I took what I wanted...I slowly come to the realization that I can't.I have to break my promise to her, because she's mine now.And I'm keeping her.**Keeping Her is book one of the two-book dark romance Keep Me Series and ends with a cliffhanger. It contains adult content for mature readers.**

Sacrifice


Adriana Locke - 2015
    I was left with a shattered heart, a heap of bills, and our daughter, EVERLEIGH. I don’t want to rely on anyone, least of all CREW GENTRY. He’s my first love and the man who almost destroyed me, the man who has let me down every time I’ve needed him. But when tragedy strikes a second time, Crew just might be my only hope. My life changed forever the night my brother died.I was left with a guilty conscience, a pile of mistakes, and little else. I take care of JULIA GENTRY, my brother’s widow and the love of my life, and their daughter. I know she doesn’t want my help, but she gets it anyway. I owe her that.When another disaster hits, I’m given the opportunity to make things right. I’m taking it. I'm willing to sacrifice it all.

Hero


Lauren Rowe - 2018
    Or breathe. Or string two coherent thoughts together. And I don’t mean any of that figuratively. I’m not talking about a guy being floored by the sight of a gorgeous woman—although, of course, Lydia is gorgeous beyond words.No, when I first laid eyes on Lydia Decker—my physical therapist—I was lying flat on my back in the ICU, high as a kite on painkillers, breathing on a ventilator, my bones as broken and splintered as my spirit. When I first laid eyes on Lydia Decker, she was a ray of light in the dark. Hope for the hopeless. A salve for my singed and battered soul.She said she’d been assigned to fix me. That she was there to bring me back to life. She said helping me was her calling. And then she touched me. Physically, emotionally, spiritually. She healed me. And I fell in love. But what I didn’t know . . . what I couldn’t possibly know . . . was that Lydia Decker needed fixing far more than I ever did.​​​​​​​NOTE: The Morgan Brothers are a series of five interconnected standalones. Recommended reading order is to start with HERO or CAPTAIN, as book 1, despite series numbering, because both books run on same timeline, alongside each other, and their events happen first in chronology. However, if you do not mind skipping around in time a bit, you can start with any of the Morgan Brothers books, despite series numbering, and fully enjoy it!

Toxic


Kim Karr - 2015
    Phoebe St. Claire, a put together, in control socialite-turned-CEO has been drifting through life searching for something she thought she'd never find again—the right man to share her future. Our passion was boundless. Our lust untamed. And our desire endless. He was the only man who ever made me feel alive. Then, I betrayed him. When he reappeared, I didn’t question it. Trust rarely survives the wrecking ball, so when he let me in back in—I didn’t hesitate. Maybe I should have. What began as a bid to save my family business, turned into a second chance at love. It felt so romantic. Working together, side by side, with the man I loved. My dream come true. Nothing is as good as it seems. We had our issues, but then again, every couple does. It wasn’t jealousy, or our too-hot sex life that I should have been worried about. It was his darkside. I never saw the end coming, until it slammed me in the face. The question is—did he? Was revenge his plan all along?****Sometimes you have to wonder if your life is too good to be true.Is it real or just an illusion?Does the man lying beside you really love you like he says he does?If the answer is yes, you’re meant to live happily ever after.If the answer is no, you’re living my life, and nothing will ever be the same.What you do about it—that’s up to you.Me, I’m in too deep and there’s no getting out.I’ll take whatever I can get for as long as I can because I know when it’s over…I’ll never find another man like him.Ever!

A Cut so Deep


Dani René - 2020
    But he saw me. He looked right into my eyes and picked out all those shattered pieces.I have nowhere else to go.And as much as I want to deny it, Damien gives me the one thing I need, the one thing I’d been searching for—solace.Three Thornes.One Rose.And a town filled with secrets.Handsome. Confident. Wealthy.These are the men of Thorne Haven.And I’m their new stepsister.

Love Your Moves


Weston Parker - 2021
    This girl’s going down with a fight.The drunk video that was made with me calling him out for being the villain he is went viral. I’m both impressed and appalled.He’s far too smooth for his own good, and way too hot for mine.All is fair in love and war until one night we both lay down our weapons and concede.For one night. Besides, one night of passion has never hurt anyone, right?From enemy to lover.But it’s all a little too fishy. Maybe I’m being juked too?An extravagant date? Check.Steaming-hot guy who might not be the jerk I thought he was? Check.Gorgeous ex-wife with a shiny new rock from him on her finger? Check and check.And all of that on Valentine’s Day.Like cupid got drunk and stumbled around laughing himself into a tizzy while he jacked up lives.Like mine. But it’s my fault. I never should have dropped the enemy defense.Unfortunately, I gave my heart to a guy who happens to be missing his.