Book picks similar to
Nobody Said It'd Be Easy by Patty Blount


romance
netgalley
contemporary
contemporary-romance

Hot Commodity


Linda Kage - 2010
    But Olivia’s finished being Little Miss Yes-mother-whatever-you-say-mother. So, she sneaks away, intending to rebel and marry the very antithesis of Cameron Banks. Who she finds is a drunk hottie that takes her to new heights of pleasure and shows her a side of herself she never knew existed before. But after her amazing night in her new husband’s arms, she awakens the next morning only to discover she married and slept with the very Cameron Banks she’d been trying to avoid. Is Cam the devil she feared, or will he end up being her one true hero? (2nd Edition)

Color Blind


Leigh Lennon - 2018
    A connection. Our difference in color didn’t matter; we were made for each other. A love so strong nothing could come between us—until someone did. Faced with an ultimatum, I made the only decision I could but it was never about skin color, for me. Saying good-bye to him left me in pieces, never to be the same without him.Now, many years later, I am face to face with the man no one could ever compare to. The feelings I’ve pushed aside for him threaten to boil over. I must fight them. I can’t go back. I need to protect my family, myself.IsraelHere I am, face to face with the one that got away, the one that abandoned me, the one no other woman could measure up to. I still need to know why she left. Did she leave me for her family money? Was it my skin color? She left by choice, leaving me broken. I’ve never been the same without her.But now that she’s in front of me, I can’t let her get away again. My slightest touch leaves her covered in goose bumps. Liz is using everything she has not to give in. I hope she will. I need her to be mine, to once again be my Buttercup.Triggers: This book depicts an interracial couple. This book has areas of ignorance and racism and violence associated with it.

Do Over


Serena Bell - 2018
    And I’m determined not to screw it up.I’m a tough guy. I’m a whiz with power tools, earned my hard hat and work boots the legit way, and can throw a football spiral that makes pro quarterbacks weep. But when Maddie, the mother of my son, shows up on my doorstep in tears, I have zero defenses. I can’t say no to my kid. Or his mom. Never have been able to.That’s how I make two big impulsive decisions: giving Maddie a bed to sleep in… and climbing in with her. Now I’ve got my kid and his mom living under my too-small roof, and I can’t put the attraction genie back in the bottle. I always knew I wasn’t the guy anyone wanted as a dad or a husband, and nothing’s changed in that department. But I can’t deny that this time, something’s different. I just hope that thing is me.

The Nanny's Secret


Elizabeth Lane - 2014
    Facing custody of his teenage daughter and her newborn son, he hires a nanny to handle them both. His attraction to Leigh Foster is an unexpected perk. He's confident the feeling is mutual. But Leigh knows she's on shaky ground. Falling for her new boss could prove devastating—especially if Wyatt finds out her true connection to baby Mikey. But when the billionaire's arms beckon, will she be powerless to refuse?

The Story of Us


Tara Sivec - 2017
    That's how long I survived in that hellhole. They tried to break me, but I resisted. And I owe it all to the memory of warm summer nights, the scent of peaches, and the one woman who loved me more than I ever deserved to be loved. Now, I'll do anything to get back to her. Only Shelby Eubanks isn't the girl I left behind all those years ago. She's someone else, a stranger. My Shelby-my little green-eyed firecracker-would never give up her dreams, would never disappear into her mother's ambitions. But I won't give up on her. On us. I may be broken, and scarred, and not the man I used to be, but I will do whatever it takes to remind her of the story of us.

Wed Under Western Skies: Abandoned \ Almost a Bride \ His Brother's Bride


Carolyn Davidson - 2006
    Cameron Montgomery comes to her rescue and takes special care of her. But how can she desire him when she is a woman with no past?Book 2 -Jenna Kernan: “His Brother's Bride”Only a desperate woman would marry a man she'd never met, even if it was her dying husband's last request. But with a young daughter to protect, Clara Justice is desperate, so she accepts the proposal from Nate, the black sheep of the family.Book 3 -Cheryl St. John: “Almost a Bride”The only unmarried woman in town, Charmaine Renlow has been waiting years for her beau to propose, and she's had enough. Maybe it's time to move on to greener pastures... like single father Jack Easton's homestead!

His Fantasy Girl


Nina Croft - 2015
    And that's exactly what nightclub owner Logan McCabe decides to do, starting with looking up the girl he spent one wild night with eleven years ago, right before his life turned to crap. He spent a year fantasizing about her. Now he's ready to see how reality matches up.Abigail Parker is a perfectionist. She's only strayed from the straight and narrow once in her life, on her eighteenth birthday. It was supposed to be one wild night with a totally unsuitable man before she settled into her sensible future. Instead it changed her life forever.Logan might still be the sexiest man Abagail has ever seen, but a dirty-talking, tattooed, ex-con is the last thing she needs in her perfect life. He claims she's his fantasy girl, but what he doesn't know is she's also the mother of his ten-year old daughter...

Breakaway


Sophia Henry - 2017
      Brianna Collins needs to break away from her overbearing family. Her parents expect her to “fix” her brother after a series of concussions derailed his hockey career. Unfortunately, no doctor will give him clearance to play, and she’s finished with being the person they rely on to perform a miracle that will never happen. For Bree, a six-month nursing assignment at a hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina, is the perfect escape.   Luke Daniels, former forward for the NHL’s Charlotte Aviators, has spent close to a year rehabbing a career-threatening injury—and distracting himself however he can. Worlds collide when Luke realizes that the girl from his latest one-night-stand happens to be the new nurse at the hospital where he volunteers in the pediatric unit. What’s more, Bree’s the only person who makes him excited about life again.   Despite her initial reservations, Luke can’t help pursuing sweet, beautiful Bree. Then he realizes it was her brother whose career he ended with an accidental hit, and he falls back on the thing that’s always helped suppress his demons: alcohol. But if Luke doesn’t kick his old habits, he just may lose the one thing he loves more than hockey.   Don’t miss any of Sophia Henry’s exhilarating Pilots Hockey novels: DELAYED PENALTY | POWER PLAY | INTERFERENCE | UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT | BREAKAWAYPraise for Sophia Henry “Sophia Henry’s hockey novels are fun and flirty, warm and sweet, with relatable heroines and swoon-worthy hockey heroes. They’ll bring a smile to your face and warmth to your heart.”—USA Today bestselling author Kelly Jamieson

Worth the Wait


Claudia Connor - 2017
    When he finds out just how badly, it will break his too. Nick Walker found the love of his life when he was just nineteen.Found her.Loved her.Lost her.It's been ten years since Nick watched the only woman he ever loved walk out of his life. Now this FBI Special Agent will do anything to win her back.But it won’t be easy…Mia’s heart was shattered by Nick. They'll have to face their painful past if they want a future, including Mia's own secret about that day it all fell apart. Do you believe in second chances?

The Beginning of After


Jennifer Castle - 2011
    What I’m talking about here is the ka-pow, shake-you-to-your-core-and-turn-your-bones-to-plastic kind of crappy.Sixteen-year-old Laurel’s world changes instantly when her parents and brother are killed in a terrible car accident. Behind the wheel is the father of her bad-boy neighbor, David Kaufman, whose mother is also killed. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Laurel navigates a new reality in which she and her best friend grow apart, boys may or may not be approaching her out of pity, overpowering memories lurk everywhere, and Mr. Kaufman is comatose but still very much alive. Through it all there is David, who swoops in and out of Laurel’s life and to whom she finds herself attracted against her better judgment. She will forever be connected to him by their mutual loss—a connection that will change them both in unexpected ways.Jennifer Castle’s debut novel is a heart-wrenching, surprisingly witty testament to how drastically life can change in the span of a single moment.

Tumble


Adriana Locke - 2019
    Her plan? Relax, reset, and head back up the corporate ladder. There’s just one unexpected step. Neely’s back in Dogwood Lane for barely a day when she sees the man she ran from nine years ago: the bad boy next door who was her first kiss, her first love, and her first heartbreak.Devoted single dad Dane Madden knows he hurt Neely in the worst way. He’s got a lot to make up for. And as passionate as their reconnection is, it’s a lot to hope for. Having her back in his arms feels so right. But falling in love all over again with a woman who wants to live a world away is bound to go so wrong.What’s it going to take for Neely to give him—and Dogwood Lane—just one more chance?

All of me


Shelley Michaels - 2014
    When Matthew Ritchie appears unexpectedly into Emily's organised life she feels things she has never experienced before not to mention the sex! The timing couldn't be worse however as she has just agreed to become a surrogate for her sister and husband to give them the one thing they cannot have. Things do not go to plan when her brother in law calls a halt to the procedure to allow Emily to continue her affair with Matt. Emily refuses to accept this and breaks things off with Matt regardless as she concentrates on this one last thing that she needs to do for her sister before embarking on her own life aspirations. However, It appears fate has its own idea for Emily’s future.

Someone Else's Ocean


Kate Stewart - 2018
    Thomas, I was six years old and we shared a summer beneath the stars.The second time I met Ian Kemp, he was a shell of the boy I once knew. Turbulent and infuriating, he refused my friendship at every turn. Like me, he was a casualty of life’s cruelty, but we were planets apart. We’d both sought refuge on the island, hoping to find our anchor. Instead, we found each other and managed to reclaim our stars...until we both got swept away.

Circle Jerk


K.B. Cinder - 2020
    Obviously, I’m winning at this parenting thing.Anyway, Knox always creeps up at the worst times and leaves a bad taste in my mouth.Until one day, he didn’t. He put his tongue there instead.With that kiss came an offer I couldn't refuse. One that took "faking it" to a new level.Let's hope this fake relationship doesn't lead to any real feelings.

The Way We Fall


Cassia Leo - 2015
    Maybe we shouldn’t have fallen so fast and so willingly.Maybe we shouldn’t have moved in together before we went on our first date.Maybe we should have given our wounds time to heal before we tore each other to shreds.Maybe we should have never been together.Houston has kept a devastating secret from Rory since the day he took her into his home. But the tragic circumstances that brought them together left wounds too deep to heal.Five years after the breakup, Houston and Rory are thrust together by forces beyond their control. And all the resentments and passion return with more intensity than ever.Once again, Houston is left with a choice between the truth and the only girl he’s ever loved.The Way We Fall is the first book in The Story of Us series, which follows the tumultuous love story of Rory and Houston. The sequel, The Way We Break, will be released Spring 2015.