Book picks similar to
If Only... by Beckie Stevenson


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romance
second-chance-romance
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Worth It


S.M. Shade - 2017
    A wedding we shouldn't have been invited to. Two unexpected romances. A scoop of sexy. And a double scoop of chaos. Lydia is a good girl who is above revenge. Good thing she has us. No one cheats on our best friend and rides off into the sunset with his new bride. What was supposed to happen? Unleash hell like two badasses. It was a simple plan, but we failed to anticipate a few things. A rogue prosthetic, an accidental exorcism, and dominatrix strippers willing to take things way too far, just to name a few. What actually happened? As usual, nothing went as planned, especially when two sexy distractions popped into the mix. We were there to avenge our friend, not to get entangled with two cocky, arrogant men, who don’t like to hear the word no. I was sure we could resist. I mean, it was only a week, right? What could happen in a week? Not intrigued enough? There's totally a duck in this story. Ah yeah. Now we have your undivided attention. Enjoy our chaos. #WorthIt

Until I Break


Michelle Leighton - 2013
    Tempted beyond what I’ve ever been before. To know her, to open her up. To break her."In love, sometimes what you fear most is exactly what you need.Laura Drake is an author. She writes bestselling paranormal romances that continue to top the charts. She is sharp. She is confident. She is in control. And she doesn’t exist.Samantha Jansen is the woman behind the wig, the woman most of the world doesn’t know exists. She is shy. She is insecure. She is nothing like her main character or her alter ego. She is scarred—deeply scarred—by a past she can’t let go of and a present she can’t make peace with.Samantha’s dreams are consumed by one man, the broken hero from her books. Mason Strait is both her wildest fantasy and her most terrifying nightmare. When Samantha meets Alec Brand, a corporate consultant, it is as though Mason has come to life. Alec is handsome to a fault, as elegant as he is arrogant, and more intense than any man has a right to be.Samantha is soon sucked into a world that mirrors the fiction she writes. Just like her main character, Daire Kirby, Samantha finds herself unable to resist the forbidden lure of Alec. And just like Daire, she also finds that she is faced with taking a chance on a man who could either set her free or destroy her.The scale tilts toward destruction when Samantha finds out that Alec is as much a work of fiction as Mason. And he has scars of his own, scars that could ruin them both.**This book may be read as a stand-alone, as the story of Alec and Samantha comes to a conclusion in this book**

Ignite


Tessa Teevan - 2013
    One to the Army; the other in a tragic car accident. Two years after the latter, a ghost from the past reappears, igniting feelings in Alexa she’d thought long dormant.Jace McAllister has spent the last ten years in the Army, defusing bomb after bomb, trying to forget the girl who once set his world on fire. For him, she’s always been the one who got away. After a not-so-chance encounter places her back in his line of sight, he’s locked eyes on target, and won’t let her go without a fight.Ten years ago their chemistry smoldered, and now the sparks threaten to light a fuse leading to an explosion between them even Jace can’t control. Not that he wants to. But when love has slipped through your fingertips before, how can you trust it will once again remain?Will Alexa’s fear of love and loss destroy their second chance at a beautiful future before it can even begin?

How We Deal with Gravity


Ginger Scott - 2014
    Her husband left, and her own dreams became a distant fantasy—always second to fighting never-ending battles to make sure Max was given opportunity, love and respect. Finding someone to fight along her side wasn’t even on her list, and she’d come to terms with the fact that she could never be her own priority again. But a familiar face walking into her life in the form of 25-year-old Mason Street had Avery’s heart waging a war within. Mason was a failure. When he left his hometown five years ago, he was never coming back—it was only a matter of time before his records hit the billboard charts. Women, booze and rock-n-roll—that was it for him. But it seemed fate had a different plan in mind, and with a dropped record contract, little money and nowhere to go, Mason turned to the only family that ever made him feel home—the Abbots. Avery loved Mason silently for years—until he broke her heart…completely. But time and life have a funny way of changing people, and sometimes second chances are there for a reason. Could this one save them both?

A Place Without You


Jewel E. Ann - 2018
    Then let time pick up the pieces. Everything feels temporary when you’ve experienced tragedy—until Henna Lane meets Bodhi at a music festival. Young and spontaneous, they have a lust for seizing the moment, falling hard and fast. When Bodhi is forced to leave without a goodbye, Henna thinks she’ll never get over him. But then she meets Mr. Malone, her sexy, new guidance counselor. They are reckless. They are forbidden. When their secret is discovered, Henna has to choose between finishing school—banned from seeing Mr. Malone—or dropping out to follow her nomad dreams. Henna chooses her dreams. Over time, she learns that life is not a destination or a journey, some things are more than temporary, and the forbidden can never be ignored. But if she returns for him, will he still be hers? A Place Without You is an emotional story of young love, shattered dreams, and impossible decisions.

Feels like Summertime


Tammy Falkner - 2016
    We spent one summer together at Lake Fisher when we were sixteen and then I never saw her again. My life is shit, my job is gone, and my dad had a stroke, so I find myself back at Lake Fisher once again. And so does Katie. Her last name isn't Higgins anymore, because Katie is married with three kids and one more on the way, but when she shows up at Lake Fisher with her kids, danger trails her all the way there. I could do a lot of things. I could leave and go home. I could stay and deal with it. But what I want most of all is just to take care of Katie. If I concentrate on her, maybe I won't have to face my own problems. Yeah, that's it. Fix Katie. Katie: I haven't seen Jake in eighteen years, but the moment I lay eyes on him, I feel safer than I have in a very long time. Memories swamp me every time I look out over the clear, cool water. A first kiss. A first boyfriend. A first love. That old spark is still there. I just can't act on it, and neither can Jake. Our story started eighteen years ago, and then we both made lives with other people. Jake is willing to tell me about his, but I can't share mine with him. Ever. We can be friends and spend another summer together, right? Sure, we can.

Butterfly Weeds


Laura Miller - 2012
    But she should have known better. Her past haunted her every chance it got these days, and tonight it came in the form of lyrics she never expected to hear again—not after a decade, not in the arms of another man and definitely not in the form of a confession. Now, Julia must discover for herself if the song—and more importantly, the man behind it—is enough to leave her new life for her small-town, Missouri roots and a second chance at love.

Until Harry


L.A. Casey - 2016
    Hard because Harry, her beloved uncle, has died suddenly, but also because of him. Kale.Kale Hunt has been her best friend since childhood. But it was never that simple. He was Lane’s reason for leaving home and moving to New York. Seeing him with someone else, in love with someone else, shouldn’t have hurt. But it did. It really, really did. So she upped sticks and left, started a new life and cut herself off from her past.But now she’s back, and all the feelings are right there. As if she had never left.Emotions are running high for everyone, and tragedy has a funny way of bringing people together. But is Lane reading the signs right? Are they still just friends, or is there something more?

The Charlotte Chronicles


Jen Frederick - 2014
    Nate Jackson always viewed her as a pesky kid…until the day she got sick. The one bright spot during her illness? He realized she was all grown up. But just when she allows herself to believe that dreams can come true, Nate disappears from her life, taking her heart with him.Nate knows he lost more than his best friend when he deserted Charlotte to enlist in the Navy. He thought he was doing the right thing, sparing the girl he loves from the shame and humiliation of his actions. Nine years later, it’s time to right his wrongs. He returns home determined to win back his first love…only to find that Charlotte's moved on without him.But if there's one thing that being a Navy SEAL has taught Nate? Never give up, even when all hope seems lost. And Nate's never going to give up on Charlotte. Ever.

Hold You Close


Melanie Harlow - 2018
    Every time I see him climbing out of his pool, practically naked and unreasonably sexy, my blood boils.I’ve always loved to loathe him. I never planned to need him.*** London Parish is my little sister’s best friend, not that it stopped me from falling for her.Our history is complicated. The only thing we have in common is being godparents to my sister’s three adorable kids—until our lives are changed in one tragic moment. Now we’re trying to raise the children we love, mourn an unthinkable loss, and fight an undeniable attraction.My life is already upside-down, and the last thing I need is for old feelings to resurface. Because I’ll never be able to keep her, no matter how hard I try to hold her close.

Where Good Girls Go To Die


Holly Renee - 2017
    He was my brother's best friend and the definition of unavailable. But I didn't care. I had loved him for as long as I could remember. He was worth the risk. He was worth everything. But then he broke my heart as easily as I fell for him. He watched me fall, spiraling out of control, and as I reached for him, he wasn't there to catch me. So I ran. Four years later, I never expected to see him again. He was still my brother's best friend, and he was more unavailable than ever. He looked every bit the bad boy I knew he was, covered in tattoos and a crooked smile. Guarding my heart from him was top priority because Parker James was where good girls go to die. Unfortunately for him, I wasn't a good girl anymore.

A Thousand Boy Kisses


Tillie Cole - 2016
    But a thousand kisses can last a lifetime. One boy. One girl. A bond that is forged in an instant and cherished for a decade. A bond that neither time nor distance can break. A bond that will last forever. Or so they believe. When seventeen-year-old Rune Kristiansen returns from his native Norway to the sleepy town of Blossom Grove, Georgia, where he befriended Poppy Litchfield as a child, he has just one thing on his mind. Why did the girl who was one half of his soul, who promised to wait faithfully for his return, cut him off without a word of explanation? Rune's heart was broken two years ago when Poppy fell silent. When he discovers the truth, he finds that the greatest heartache is yet to come. A stand-alone young adult tearjerker romance, recommended for ages fourteen and up.

Who Needs Air


Cassie Graham - 2017
    He wrote a book about it at twenty. She watched him walk away at twenty-three. And he made the New York Times Best Sellers list at twenty-four. Campbell ‘Cam’ Potter stood idly by as August Wyatt took over the world one word at a time. Chapter by chapter, people fell in love with the story he created – the events she lived. And now the book was being made into a movie, it was only a matter of time before August was back in their small hometown in Georgia. The problem was, when August left five years ago, Cam made a promise to herself. The ending in his book would be the conclusion to their story. There was no sequel, no second chance, no possibility of ever seeing him again. He obliterated her heart and she was determined to never let it happen again. That is, until Cam gets a late night text from the heartbreaker himself. New chapters are written, fresh storylines are explored and Cam and August find a familiarity in one another. Sometimes THE END doesn’t mean it’s over.

Bleed Like Me


Christa Desir - 2014
    To her parents, to her teachers-even her best friend, who is more interested in bumming cigarettes than bonding. Some days the only way Gannon knows she is real is by carving bloody lines into the flesh of her stomach.Then she meets Michael Brooks, and for the first time, she feels like she is being seen to the core of her being. Obnoxious, controlling, damaged, and addictive, he inserts himself into her life until all her scars are exposed. Each moment together is a passionate, painful relief.But as the relationship deepens, Gannon starts to feel as if she's standing at the foot of a dam about to burst. She's given up everything and everyone in her life for him, but somehow nothing is enough for Brooks-until he poses the ultimate test.Bleed Like Me is a piercing, intimate portrayal of the danger of a love so obsessive it becomes its own biggest threat.

Say You'll Stay


Corinne Michaels - 2016
    Instead, he got on that bus and took my heart with him.That was seventeen years ago.I moved on. Marriage. Kids. White picket fence. Everything I ever wanted, but my husband betrayed me and I was left once again.Alone, penniless, and with two boys, I had no choice but to return to Tennessee. He wasn’t supposed to be there. I should’ve been safe. However, fate has a way of stepping in.This time around, the tables are turned. It’s my decision. Second chances do exist, but I don’t know if we can repair what’s already been broken . . .