Book picks similar to
Thief by Chantal Fernando
romance
new-adult
contemporary-romance
second-chance
Waiting for Clark
Annabeth Albert - 2015
Yup, we’re going to go as members of the Justice League. I’m going as Batman, but I can’t figure out who’s going as a Superman. My friends are being a little cagey. What’s going on? How did I go from not knowing who Superman is to making out with the guy?Photo Description: In a cartoon drawing, Batman and Superman are locked in an embrace, kissing. Superman is taller and clutching Batman to him. Batman has more muscles and has visible tattoos on his arms. Superman has broader shoulders and dark hair. Batman is stretching up to meet him and has one foot kicked behind him. Behind them is a graffiti-covered wall, and Superman’s rainbow-lined cape swirls around them. The prompter specified that the picture is two men in cosplay costumes at a Comic Con convention.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is an Open Road" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story. This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.
The Pool Boy
Penny Wylder - 2016
I didn't expect to find myself face to face with a sweet set of curves named Vera. Then she started strutting around in her bikini. I guess her goal is to piss her rich dad off. I'm clearly not the kind of guy he wants her near. But if she thinks I'll let her toy with me and not follow through... I've got a surprise for her. A huge surprise that wants to rip through my pants. I'll screw her in the pool shed, the garden, and right in her room while her parents sleep down the hall. I don't care if her dad finds out or not—this girl is MINE. This is a standalone novella with a HEA and NO cheating! Penny Wylder writes just that-- wild romances. Happily Ever Afters are always better when they're a little dirty, so if you're looking for a page turner that will make you feel naughty in all the right places, jump right in and leave your panties at the door!
The Last Text
Alice Winters - 2019
I was told not to send you another text, but I never was any good at listening. I love and miss you. I always will.When I lost my partner of eight years, I felt like my world was crashing down around me. In order to feel some relief from the overwhelming emptiness, I’ve found myself sending him texts every year on his birthday, even though I know he will never answer. It makes me feel like there’s a piece of him still alive, at least in my heart.I’m sorry, you must have the wrong number. I apologize for not responding sooner, but I was at work.That is, until someone responds to my text. Jace is charming, sweet, and everything I could ever want. But how can I accept someone new in my life when Daniel’s only been gone two years? Even so, Jace starts to consume my world. It feels like I can finally breathe as he helps me understand that my life doesn’t have to revolve around my grief.Soon, I find myself laughing again as he pulls me away from the hopeless cycle I’ve been caught in, and I love spending time with him, whether it’s playing video games together or discussing our comic book alter egos. But I still need to let go of this guilt and allow Jace to show me that I can love another without replacing what I’ve lost. Jace rewrites my entire world with every word and smile he gives me, and it’s becoming harder to not give in and hand him my heart. Maybe Daniel did respond after all.The Last Text is a 37k word novella about overcoming loss, finding hope, and friendship that leads to new love.
Hooked on the Game
C.M. Owens - 2014
a bulldozer. Sterling Shore was supposed to be a new start for eighteen-year-old Raya Capperton. Everything was working out perfectly until her two roommates were expelled for a prank, leaving Raya with the house she couldn't afford on her own. Fate intervenes before she has the chance to find a new home, but she struggles to decide if it's divine luck or the devil's cruel sense of humour. Twenty-one-year-old Kade Colton has his life planned out, and everything he does is an elaborate game to aid him with his future endeavors. Coming from money has made Kade's life easy, but he wants to build his own name - his own future. The thing he doesn't realize... when you only put forth superficial effort, you only acquire superficial friends. Raya is torn between being amused or disturbed by Kade and his philosophy, but the drive behind his determination isn't what Raya expected. Little by little, her hatred fades and is replaced by emotions she never would have believed she could have for the rich jerk she desperately doesn't want to care about. Too bad you can't force yourself not to care. The problem is... Kade's shiny name can't be tarnished, and Raya has a jaded tie she can't cut loose. Nothing about them can work, nothing about them makes sense, but nothing can seem to stop them from trying.
Knotted
Pam Godwin - 2018
It’s impossible. Growing up together, Conor and I shared all our firsts. First love, first kiss, first… Not all our firsts. We were sixteen the night she was violently assaulted while I helplessly watched. I’ll never forget the sounds of her suffering. Or my inconsolable agony when she left Oklahoma. Years later, she returns to honor our teenage pact. Except the boy she loved is gone, replaced by a ruthless cattle rancher knotted with secrets. She doesn’t know my dark cravings or the trails of sin that lead to her. I don’t deserve her, but one truth remains. She’s mine. TRAILS OF SIN series (HEAs with no cliffhangers - must be read in order): Knotted #1 Buckled #2 Booted #3
Monday: Teaser
E.L. Todd - 2016
I have my brother, someone I can barely tolerate most of the time, and I have my best friend, Marie. And I have myself.But when Hawke walks into my life, there’s an immediate connection. Our eyes lock and an unspoken conversation is exchanged. For the first time in my life, I actually feel something.But he doesn’t.He keeps me at arm’s length and pretends there’s nothing between us when there clearly is. I’m not the kind of girl to wait around for any guy, so I don’t. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t in the back of my mind. Our paths cross again in a way neither one of us expect and it changes everything. Was it destiny that made it happen? Was it fate?Or was something else?
Can't Shake You
Molly McLain - 2014
Cue the small town drama.One thing Carissa Brandt knows: spontaneity always gets her in trouble. But she’s gone and jumped head first into an impulsive summer renovation project anyway.When her contractor turns out to be a cheat, her only lifeline is the proffered hand of Josh Hudson—the sexy Marine who left her aching for more than their single night together three years ago.Josh has two hard and fast rules: never mix business with pleasure and never look twice at women his friends have dated, much less loved. It makes life in a small town simple. Or rather it would...If he weren’t keeping a secret that could ruin his good name and the reputation of the woman he can’t get out of his head…The woman who now needs his help.*Can't Shake You can be read as a standalone!
The One You Want
Gena Showalter - 2014
The supposed bad girl is determined to walk the straight and narrow, a seemingly impossible task when Tall, Dark and Sexy shows up…Rich and powerful, Dane Michaelson is every woman's dream. When he returns to Strawberry Valley after a sixteen-year absence, he is unprepared for the redheaded girl he's never been able to forget. She's all woman now—and he's never wanted anyone more. But to have her, he'll have to break through her defenses… and surrender his own.* First published in the 2014 anthology, All For You.
Juked
M.E. Carter - 2016
/jook-t/A slang soccer term meaning: faked out, deceived, confused your opponentSee examples Daniel Zavaro and Quincy Watson:As the rising star in Houston, Daniel has found fame as Captain of his Pro soccer team and the city’s most eligible bachelor. Daniel has everything – except someone special – and that suits him just fine. He doesn’t want, or need, complications.Quincy has baggage, and lots of it. After a tragic accident spins her world on its axis, she finds herself as a single mother, raising a newborn nephew she never knew she had. Between parenthood, her full-time job, and dealing with the suffocating grief of losing her sister, every day is a struggle. When they begin to cross paths unexpectedly and often, an unlikely friendship starts to evolve. Feelings change. Lines get crossed. What happens next surprises them both...Before they know it-- they’ve been Juked.
Watch and See
Jiffy Kate - 2018
But when her mother is admitted to a long-term rehab facility a few hours away, Harper sees her chance for a fresh start. A shoebox apartment above a Chinese restaurant isn't exactly the escape she dreamed of, but she makes it work. With limited funds and social life, she views her new city through a dusty old pair of binoculars. There's no harm in looking. Just a peek and I'll stop. Harper finds her new pastime quickly turning into a full-fledged obsession. She begins falling for a man she doesn't know--has never met--as she watches him have sex through the window of his apartment. Daydreaming about what it would be like if she were one of his conquests. We all reach a point when watching isn't enough--when we can no longer just be a spectator in our own life. That's when it's supposed to get good, right? When we take control and go after what we want. But what happens when it all blows up in our face and we're left with less than nothing? What then?
Trust Me
Lacey Black - 2014
Though Rivers Edge holds the pain of her past, it also holds the one person she wants but can’t have – her brother’s best friend, Maddox Jackson. When she learns the attraction might not be one-sided, will Avery be able to trust Maddox with the one thing she’s held onto tightly for the past few years? Police officer Maddox Jackson is a ladies’ man with one foot out the door. Never planning to settle down, Maddox fights the attraction he feels for his best friend’s little sister, Avery. But can he continue to fight it when his body and his heart are leading him to the one woman he shouldn’t want? When secrets are finally exposed, can Avery and Maddox trust each other enough to overcome the past, handle the present, and preserve their future? Can Avery trust Maddox with her heart? Will Maddox be able to convince Avery to take the chance?
Loving the White Liar
Kate Stewart - 2015
He was handsome, charming, witty, and irresistible. Jayden Monroe came along when I was struggling with indecision and made things simple, turned monochrome into vivid color, and forever altered my perspective on life. I was not naive enough to believe in happily ever after, but with Jayden, it seemed possible . . . until I realized something wasn’t quite right. You see, I met a man who would be anyone I needed him to be, and after I found out that fact, I knew it would be impossible to walk away. His disorder, however, would change everything I ever thought about love and what it truly meant to accept someone for who they are. This is not my sob story; this is his success story. This is an ADHD love story and is for mature audiences only. This book contains explicit sex and strong language.
Fighting Envy
Jennifer Miller - 2015
Other people, like me, are branded by something - actions or words. "No one will ever love you, Rowan, you're not worthy." Those are the words that created my blemish, my scar, my mark upon my soul. They were words whispered by the woman who should have loved me most. But in the darkest moment of my life, one where I stood abandoned and alone, one man proved to me that she was wrong. When I desperately needed someone, MMA fighter Jackson Stone crashed into my life. He wasn't the one who should have been there, but he was exactly the person I needed He believed that only fools live in the past. He showed me that a real relationship is full of dreams, faith, trust and passion. He taught me that love is worth fighting for - even when it's unexpected and more of a collision of hearts and souls. He proved that the wrong man at the right moment can heal everything.
Breaking the Bully
Jessa Kane - 2021
Heart and soul. After years of pining for her in the halls of our high school, I finally touch her one night in an open field beneath a storm, receiving a miracle I never expected—she needs me in return. Or so I think. As soon as she finds out I’m a handyman, she cuts me off. But I’m not letting the richest girl in school break my heart without consequences. She will pay…But I’ll pay a far worse price when I find out why she really left me hanging without a word. And after unfairly bullying my sweet girl, I’ll sell my soul to win her back.
Fireman Daddy
Taryn Quinn - 2020
Someone else. Hello, this isn’t a Lifetime movie.So, I left New York City and went home to small town Crescent Cove. I’d inherited a bar that was apparently the watering hole for local firemen. Super hot firemen, namely one in particular.Okay, so maybe this is a Lifetime movie.Especially since the fire code chief—and my ex’s high school friend—keeps hassling me about getting the bar up to code, when all I want to do is get the place fixed up so I can go back to the city.Don’t I?But Jake is making me remember why I love my hometown. And it turns out he isn’t only good at preventing fires, he’s even better at starting them.And the one between us may just burn forever…Author’s note: Jake isn’t a daddy yet, but if he has his way, he’ll be knocking up Erica faster than you can say five-alarm blaze. Fireman Daddy is a 18K novella with no cliffhanger and a happily-ever-after.