Book picks similar to
Keeping Score by Shannon Stults


free
contemporary
contemporary-romance
romance

When the Stars Align


Isabel Jolie - 2019
    I can’t stand the place. But when an offer to move to NYC includes a fast track to partner at a well-respected law firm, there’s no way I can decline. My move to the city goes exactly according to plan, everything falling perfectly into place…until the elevator door in my new apartment building opens, and I come face to face with my past. Four years ago we parted ways, neither of us willing to change our future career plans. We were too stubborn, too ambitious, and refused to make sacrifices. To add salt to the wound, she ended the year dating my roommate. But right now, staring at her beautiful face after all this time, I can still feel it. The attraction, the desire—it’s palpable. Four years ago, I wanted forever with Anna. Now, I’m a different man. A relationship isn’t in the cards. She threw that chance away. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun…right?

Sunkissed Days


Samantha Chase - 2019
    Coming back to Magnolia Sound to celebrate her great-grandfather’s birthday provides the perfect opportunity to show Jake that she’s no longer a child. The last thing Jake expected to do at his mentor’s birthday party was to find himself kissing Mallory under the moonlight. Though he’s known her for years, the thought of kissing her never crossed his mind. But the shy tomboy he once knew is gone, and in her place is a woman he can’t resist. They have one summer before they go their separate ways. Insecurity wars with the possibility of a future together, but it could all come to an end before it even has a chance to start.

Trouble


Ann Christopher - 2006
    In his career and his personal life. Until a fascinating—and off-limits—woman named Dara Williams shows up and ignites a scorching passion that threatens Mike’s career and everything in its path. Including Mike’s tenuous relationship with his brother. Who also wants Dara. If you enjoy emotional and sexually charged love stories that end happily ever after, pick up this tale of forbidden love now! Career. Family. Romance. It’s Complicated. What’s an AC CLASSIC? An updated and pumped-up version of one of Ann’s earlier books, with new scenes, a never-before-seen epilogue and author commentary! Even if you read (and hopefully loved!) the original version, you won’t want to miss the AC CLASSIC version…Librarian's note: See alternate cover edition of ASIN B014JPJ9R6 here.

Ryan's Kiss


Mel Walker - 2019
    That damn kiss. one kiss that not only destroyed our future but ended my ability to believe, to trust, to love.He was my best friend. We should have known better.Three years kept us apart, yet an invisible rope continues to tug at us.  He’s finally returning home and I know it’ll only be a matter of time before we must face each other again. I’m older, stronger, wiser and no longer the starry-eyed girl who followed his every command.He almost destroyed me last time, I won't give him a second chance. I can't.

Escape to Starling Bay


Sienna Carr - 2019
    Winter's Kiss2. Maid for Him3. Love LettersWinter's KissShe's the city girl from Boston. He's the gift shop owner from the bay. Their worlds were never meant to collide.Maid for HimHe's from one of the oldest and wealthiest families in the bay.She's a maid.It was never meant to be.Love LettersHe's a ladies man. A charmer and a flirt.The chaser, not the chased. Until the arrival of anonymous love notes upsets the status quo.All the books in this series are sweet romances with a happy-ever-after, and each book can be read as a standalone.

Bluestone Homecoming


M.J. Fredrick - 2012
    Leo doesn’t know how to be a single parent since the death of his wife, and he certainly has no desire to return to Bluestone. But he needs a place for his son, a place where he’ll be with family, while Leo does his job. He’ll stay long enough to get Max settled, then go back to work.School counselor Trinity Madison watches Leo struggle with his son, trying to overcome the mental barricade she’s erected against the man who sent his son away when he’s perfectly capable of caring for the child. The situation brings about her own unsettled feelings about giving her child up for adoption when she was young. But as she observes Leo’s difficulties, his sacrifices, she softens toward the man.While he’s in town, he ends up working with some old friends and Trinity on a committee to revitalize Bluestone. The former resort town is struggling and looking for ways to bring tourists back. Leo finds himself charmed, then smitten with the feisty counselor, but will he still love her when he learns her secret?

Nowhere Left to Fall


Kat Mizera - 2019
     She's a rockstar. Literally. I'm in line for the throne. Sort of. We're in love and it's everything. Life should be perfect, but being a royal isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. My cousin is pushing our kingdom to the brink of civil war, and I’m the only man who can stop him. How do I choose between the woman I love and the people depending on me? I need to make Casey mine. I have to save my kingdom. I am so royally screwed.

Welcome Home, Abby (Those Hawthorne Men, #1)


Jan Gallagher Dunn - 2019
    He has a bad track record with romance. Abby fell in love with Jackson when she was 19, not realizing he was from the wealthy Hawthorne family. His father sent her away to protect the family money. She returns five years later, escaping a nasty fiancé – determined not to fall in love anytime soon. She needs protection and Jackson needs a mother for his daughter. Abby agrees to a one-year deal, touched by the idea of a motherless child. Jackson admits Abby is the only woman he’s ever loved, but he married the wrong woman after she left. His deceased wife’s family is trying to stake a claim to his daughter. He proposed a platonic marriage. He can handle the fact she’s more beautiful. Too late he discovers she smells just as sweet as he remembered. Abby is wonderful with his daughter. He’s a man who can run any business, why can’t he keep her arm’s length? What happens when both of them want a more permanent relationship, but both are afraid to admit it? Trigger Warning: Heroine discusses past miscarriage

The All I Want Series (Books 1-2): A Small Town Romance Box Set


Lea Coll - 2021
    The only problem is...we work on opposite sides of the law and he's running for sheriff. When the election heats up, will he choose me?Be with Me: When Jack comes back to save his father's business, I noticed he's filled out since high school. When he stops by my bakery each morning with a boyish smile and wink, I don't want to be friends anymore. It's time to show him, I'm all grown up. All I want is for him to be with me.

Come October


Patricia Kay - 2005
    They believed their love could withstand anything. But life can change in an instant and Claire is forced to make the ultimate sacrifice and disappear. For years afterward Tucker mourns her loss. Can these two star-crossed lovers ever find each other again? Patricia Kay delivers the kind of complex, emotional, deeply satisfying story she is known for in this heartbreaking tale of love and loss. PRAISE FOR THE NOVELS OF USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR PATRICIA KAY: "A stunning book from a master storyteller. Patricia Kay writes from the heart about matters that touch us all." -- Susan Wiggs, NY Times bestselling author "A beautifully written compelling story you won't be able to put down." --- Georgia Bockoven, USA Today bestselling author "If you love LaVyrle Spencer, you'll love Patricia Kay." --- Deborah Smith "Wonderful . . . (a) sparkling romance." --- Eileen Goudge "Kay's writing is solid, and her narrative swiftly reaches a satisfying finish." -- Publisher's Weekly "Patricia Kay writes from the heart about people we come to love." --- Christina Dodd, NY Times bestselling author "Heartrending and touching . . . Ms. Kay never fails to deliver this kind of story." -- Amanda Kilgore, Huntress Reviews "This marvelous story is full to bursting with winning characters, special moments, and most of all, hope, faith, and the rejuvenating power of love." --- Romantic Times Magazine "An intriguing story of love at first sight." --- Houston Tempo Magazine "There are deep questions about relationships and serious character growth evident in this story, which is also warm, sensuous, and excellent entertainment." --- Rendezvous magazine "A warm, tender, beautifully written love story with an emotional punch that only Patricia Kay can deliver." --- Amanda Stevens, USA Today bestselling author PATRICIA KAY is a USA Today bestselling author of more than 50 novels of romance and women's fiction. Her 2000 novel THE WRONG CHILD was nominated for a Rita, the most prestigious award given to authors of romance and women's fiction by the Romance Writers of America. She and her two cats make their home in Houston, Texas. To learn more about her and her books, visit her website at www.patriciakay.com.

Healthy Scratch


Robyn M. Ryan - 2021
    The only kind she’s willing to consider are friends-with-benefits and even a red-hot and sexy hockey player like Dave Martin isn’t going to change that. Right?When those chocolate brown eyes threaten to melt her defenses she has to remind herself that demons from her past could rise up at any moment. Which is going to be pretty hard to do, since she loses herself every time they touch.Dave used to love the benefits that came easily to professional athletes; especially when they were in the form of puck bunnies who only wanted one night. But when he meets the pint-sized girl with bewitching green eyes and sun-streaked auburn hair his outlook suddenly changes. He wants forever with Lauren. Now he just has to convince her.Can Lauren risk everything for the man she’s secretly been falling for? Or will her past stop her from taking a chance on love?Healthy Scratch—book #1 of the Tampa Suns Hockey Series—is a standalone romance whose main characters’ lives are intertwined with those introduced in The Clearing the Ice Trilogy. You don’t need to read the trilogy to enjoy Healthy Scratch. The book stands on its own, promises HEA, and no cliffhangers! To heighten your enjoyment of the Tampa Suns Hockey Series, you may wish to read The Clearing the Ice Trilogy.

Breaking the Plan


Jessica Calla - 2019
    But when his girlfriend, Violet, dumps him, Oliver’s strategy for the future slips away. Desperate to win her back, he begs Taryn, his archenemy and Violet’s beauty queen roommate, for help. Taryn’s gorgeous, thinks he’s a nerd, and wouldn’t know a plan from a prom dress, but Oliver soon finds himself tangled in her web of sexy. Suddenly, Ollie’s falling for Taryn and losing track of everything he thought he wanted. Taryn Markos knows that agreeing to help Ollie win back her best friend is a dumb idea. Not only because he’s all wrong for Violet but because the more time she spends with him, the more confused she gets. Who knew Nerdilicious himself could challenge her with a single look, even from underneath those unruly eyebrows in dire need of a tweeze? How could she have known that he would accept her and defend her when she needed it the most? Taryn’s hated Oliver for three years. Why does the sight of him now make her come alive? As things heat up between the frenemies, sparks begin to fly. But Ollie and Taryn know their love-hate flirtationship has to stop—before someone ends up with a broken heart.

Holler and Howl


Susanna Rogers - 2018
     Nick Steel is used to getting what he wants. Fronting a huge, international rock band? No problem. Buying his favorite dive bar? Sure thing. Getting back together with his first love? Hmmm… He broke her heart once before, and Lily Novak is not going to let Nick do it again. One thing has kept them in touch, but she won’t let him touch her heart. No way. A story about coming back home, and realizing you can’t always get what you want.

Bayou Cottage


Suzanne Jenkins - 2020
    It’s the perfect place to run away to after her heart was broken.The first night while she’s down at the road to lock the gate, a hunky guy on horseback steps out of the woods, but Maggie doesn’t recognize him. Turns out they were childhood playmates long ago during winter visits to her grandparents’ cottage. Justin Chastain, local vet and wild horse advocate, heard through the grapevine that Maggie had returned to Cypress Cove and wanted to see her for himself. But he didn’t know that she was hiding from a failed marriage, leaving her with a big chip on her shoulder. It remains to be seen if she can ever trust again. The chemistry Maggie senses fluctuates between lukewarm and molten, but for Justin, it’s constant and he’s falling in love, hard. Then he unintentionally commits a blunder that Maggie will struggle to forgive, and they have to start all over again. Is there another chance at love for Maggie Angel?

Making the Play


Robin Bielman - 2019
    She’s just as career-focused as he is and has resolved to never succumb to the notorious charmer no matter how handsome or quickly they click. But then Chloe lets her guard down one drunken night and confesses she’s cursed. All her boyfriends meet their true soul mate when they date her, so she’s given up dating for good.Star baseball player Finn Auprince isn’t looking for romance, especially with his smart and sexy new media manager. She’s a distraction he can’t afford, but when Chloe confesses her secret, Finn’s competitive side emerges, and he can’t resist the challenge…or Chloe. One date is all he needs to prove that he and Chloe can have a good time without his soul mate popping out from around the next corner.It’s game on…but can they play the game of love and both come out on top? First Published as Heartthrob