Book picks similar to
Summer Girl by Linda Watkins
romance
literary-fiction
abuse
coming-of-age
Where Eagles Dare Not Perch
Peter Bridgford - 2018
While home on his unit’s month-long furlough, he murders the man he believes has stolen his beloved. In doing so, he sets into motion three intensely dark journeys—his own as a soldier returning to a brutal and hopeless war; his sweetheart’s as she seeks absolution; and the brother of the murdered man, whose quest for revenge propels him into the most violent of worlds. When the three find each other amid the chaos and brutality of the Battle of the Wilderness, they’re faced with figuring out if they are tempered enough from their own redemptive ordeals to face whatever uncertain future awaits them after the bloody fighting is over.
Love at Coco Bay
Kirsty McManus - 2021
With a recent promotion from receptionist to co-assistant manager—not to mention the ongoing opportunity to live and work with her best friends—everything is perfect.Well, except for one tiny thing. Sasha has never had much luck in the boyfriend department, and the only guy she’s ever been interested in is event planner Dash, a Channing Tatum lookalike who is oblivious to her affections.But when a resort guest insists that Sasha work with Dash on an upcoming wedding, they are suddenly thrust into a three-month-long high-pressure environment. Sasha can no longer hide from Dash, and Dash has no option but to get to know Sasha.As expected, things get off to a rocky start, and when a mystery investor arrives at the island, the situation only gets worse. Sudden changes in the corporate hierarchy and bizarre managerial decisions mean that not only the wedding, but the entire resort’s future is in jeopardy.Can Sasha survive the chaos, make the wedding a success, and end up with her dream guy?She’s going to try.
Where Dreams Are Born
M.L. Buchman - 2011
Twelve lighthouses. Two hearts.Cassidy Knowles stands on the wind-torn bluff and clutches the calendar of lighthouses. The last gift from her father, with a dozen letters for a final year-long journey "together." From vineyard roots, Cassidy has climbed up the food-and-wine critic ladder, leaving her rural roots far behind.Russell Morgan, #28 on the latest "most eligible" list, the last guy on the planet Cassidy wants. Fine with him. He has no desire for the driven, urban-fashionista, never-touch-nature Cassidy Knowles. He sets his dream by a calendar of lighthouses. The genesis of a sailing journey. A journey that keeps leading him to the last woman he'd ever want.Where can two hearts chart the same course? In the warmth around Angelo's Hearth.
The Brides of Purple Heart Ranch: Books 1-3
Shanae Johnson - 2018
The Brides of Purple Heart Ranch series features Wounded Warriors, the women they fall for, and the loyalest pack of dogs you’ll ever meet! ON HIS BENDED KNEE Sgt. Dylan Banks lost more than just his leg in the war. His fiancée and family turned their backs on him as well. Now, he’s determined to create a safe place where wounded warriors like himself can heal. But a hidden zoning law requires all residents of the Purple Heart Ranch to be married. To save his dream, Dylan and his men will have to tie the knot—but can a man with such deep scars inside and out believe in love again? Maggie Shaw lost both her job as a veterinary technician and her apartment on the same day. Who knew her unreasonable landlord would kick her out for being four dogs over the one pet limit? Now, she and her gang of special-needs dogs are in trouble. Fate puts her in Dylan’s path with a proposal that seems too good to be true—but can her heart bear a loveless marriage of convenience? Dylan yearns to reach out for Maggie’s healing touch, but he keeps his distance, convinced his wounds are too deep for her embrace. Maggie sees past Dylan’s injuries, but if she fails to capture his heart they both could lose it all: her beloved animals, his ranch, and each other. HAND OVER HIS HEART Francisco DeMonti has always been a man with a plan. Though his last plan led to his entire squad being wounded on a mission in Afghanistan. Now he’s seeking redemption by getting all the men in his unit hitched so they can stay together and heal. But his own heart is under lock and key due to the shrapnel around it that could kill him at any moment. After years of scraping and saving, Eva Lopez finally steps foot onto a college campus only to be yanked away by the mean streets she came from. A local gang threatens her family’s safety until a wounded veteran offers a reprieve: marry a soldier in exchange for protection and the freedom to attend school. Fran has every intention of directing Eva towards one of his brothers in arms, men who aren’t in danger of a sudden death, but he can’t resist the brainy brunette and proposes to her himself. He’ll protect her for as long as he breathes, but falling in love is futile for a man with a ticking time bomb in his chest. Eva can’t help falling for the man who is making her dreams come true, but when he keeps her at arm’s length, can she convince him to make this marriage more than a convenience no matter how much or how little time they have left? OFFERING HIS ARM Reed Cannon may be a numbers guy but being minus one arm due to enemy fire hasn’t slowed him down. Now he’s faced with a new challenge—find a bride so he can stay on the rehabilitation ranch that has given him and his squad back their lives. Reed turns to a dating app to narrow down the selection of potential brides. The woman who matches him nearly 100% is accessible online, but out of reach in reality. Sarai Austin has done the impossible, she’s found a great guy online. The problem is now he wants to meet in person, and Sarai's not ready for IRL. Her profile picture was taken three years and thirty pounds ago. To hide her weight issues, she tells Reed she’s out of town on business.
Love on the Cape
M.K. Meredith - 2017
But when Van Buren Enterprises announces plans to develop historic Cape Van Buren into a gold-plated playground for the wealthy, Larkin refuses to watch one more beautiful thing in her life be destroyed, so she sets out to preserve the historic cape—and with it, the memory of her son. Only it isn’t the company she needs to fear, it’s the dangerously irresistible CEO who has the power to derail her plans. Annoyingly arrogant one minute and beautifully wounded the next, he awakens something in her heart that had died with her son even as his actions promise to break it once again.Ryker Van Buren needs closure from his dark childhood and the best way to do that is to level his family home. As the rightful owner of the estate, he plans on developing it into a master community—what better way to secure his future than by selling off his past? Until he locks eyes with the passionate conservationist who fights him at every turn for the rights to his legacy. He can’t keep his hands off her, but worse, he can’t get her off his land or out of his dreams.Attraction sparks and two broken souls recognize each other through the pain. Against all odds, love blooms on the cape. But when their pasts collide, will they choose love in the moment, or will they lose their chance at forever?
One Taste
K.A. Berg - 2018
Berg and T.E. Black comes a story of the forbidden desire—a story so delicious you'll need more than One Taste. I live the good life. I'm wealthy, the CEO of the advertising firm my father built from the ground up. I've been deemed a god in the sheets by the female population of New York City and have the equipment to match. Life is great. Until my social life messes with my professional life. I've become a frequent flyer on the gossip pages. A detriment to business. Just as my perfect life is starting to crash down around me, I meet her. All I wanted was one taste. Now, I’m addicted. One taste doesn't seem to be enough. I need more of her. Too bad, too, because things are about to get real complicated. ***This is part 1 in a 6 book novella serial***
Stubborn Love
Wendy Owens - 2013
She had given him her youth, and all he gave in return was misery and pain. She was ready for a new beginning, but Ashton wasn’t about to let her go so easily, even if it meant destroying both their lives in the process.Three years later Emmie convinces herself she is ready to leave all of that heartbreak in the past and find a little piece of normal for herself. She heads to New York City to pick up where she left off, determined to finish art school. Emmie is determined to focus on school and not let anything distract her, but life has a way of throwing curveballs.Paige, Emmie’s new roommate, brings Colin Bennett into her life. His smoldering eyes and lean muscular body are difficult for any girl to ignore. Only thing is, Emmie isn’t any girl. Her past makes her resistant to his charms. Colin isn’t one to give up easily, and just when he thinks he may have found a way to her stubborn heart, her tragic history may have found a way to tear them apart.
Something Old
Liz Lovelock - 2021
My name is Scarlett and my life is a mess.I’m two divorces down and don’t have any intention of going for a third.Then Lachlan—big time football superstar, one night stand turned husband in a shotgun-Vegas-style wedding, then ex-husband within twenty-four hours—stumbles back into my life.How can I keep him at bay and my heart from breaking again?
Bad Boy Next Door: Downey Brothers Series
Mara Leigh - 2018
Jade I can’t be pissed at my dad. His neglect made me strong. I might be young, but I can take care of myself, take care of my sister—take care of anything. But now Dad’s doing someone else’s time, and in exchange he gets protection, my sister gets college, and I get a low-rent apartment—a freaking miracle in San Francisco. All I have to do is keep the man who arranged dad's deal happy—some guy named Nick. What I didn’t expect was for Nick to be the biggest, sexiest man I’ve ever met. And I certainly didn’t expect I’d ever consider letting someone else take care of me for a change. Nick When the new girl moved in, I felt like the luckiest guy alive. She wants to keep things casual, but there’s nothing remotely casual about the intense fire between us. Or how her anger’s gonna burn when she finds out that I’m not the Nick she thinks I am. **Book 1 in the Downey Brothers series. Expect an extremely hot read and a happily ever after. NO CLIFFHANGER.**
Vivian's List
Haleigh Lovell - 2013
A list. A love story.After ending a horrible, scarring relationship, Vivian embraces her freedom by making a sexual bucket list. When her brother's best friend, Liam, finds it, sparks fly and hearts open.Can Vivian heal one steamy encounter at a time?** This is book 1 in a two-part series
Small Town Hero
Kim Koby - 2018
Rebecca is saving herself for marriage. After a crushing betrayal, she spins out of control when she catches her fiancé and best friend in bed together. Grief-stricken and desperate, she finds herself stranded in Tennessee and forced to rely on the kindness of a stranger.Ryan knows heartache. The only woman he loved walked away the day he proposed to her. He knew in that instant he'd never trust his heart to another. At least he has his dog to keep him company and a good job as a local firefighter.When Rebecca ends up in Ryan’s path, they blend like oil and water. While he’s content with what life gives him, she escapes by seeking her identity in expensive things. Can two broken souls find salvation with their complete opposite?
An Earl for the Broken-Hearted Duchess
Lucinda Nelson - 2019
Lady Margaret Baxter lost her husband, the Duke of Lowe. He was found dead at the hands of his mistress and now Margaret wants to bury her head in the sand. She decides to escape with her six-year-old son Ezra, away from the scandal. The country residence in Comptonshire seems the only choice. Lord Nathaniel Sterling recently returned from the Navy to take over his position as an Earl since his older brother died, a position he despises as much as the peerage in general. He was heartbroken once and he has no intention to marry soon. His only goal is to build a school for the poor, until he saved a little boy from an accident and sought help from a stranger, Lady Margaret Baxter, and he immediately fell in love with her. But he is an Earl and she is a Duchess, and most importantly, she is a widow in mourning. Both of them cannot resist their burning desire to connect. As much as they want to keep distance in order to avoid scandal again, she is drawn to him like a moth to a flame. As they navigate these obstacles and more, among friends and foes, another force comes into play and threatens to tear them apart forever. As they try to overcome their past heartbreaks and their fear of love, they are left with one question: Will rank, reputation and deception win out? Or can love truly conquer all? If you like thrilling characters, steamy and unexpected twists, and lots of romance, then you’ll love “An Earl for the Broken-Hearted Duchess!” Get “An Earl for the Broken-Hearted Duchess” and let the breathtaking story of Margaret and Nathaniel unravel today!
Can't Love You More
Sabrina Quinn - 2014
The two of them had a special bond that only grew deeper the older they became. The love that was once considered one of a kind was shattered graduation night, resulting in Braelyn leaving her small hometown for the big city. She now has a secret of her own to shield. A year in Chicago altered her life more than she ever thought imaginable. Braelyn moves back to Indiana in desperation to find the happy, free-spirited girl she left behind, but she isn't sure that is possible. Braelyn’s new downstairs neighbor, Gabe, is quickly becoming her new best friend. Though jaded from his own past back in Georgia, he is on a mission to help her out of the deep depression that has consumed her over the past year. Can Gabe help Braelyn find herself? Will Aiden's confession change the past, or will it ruin her forever?
Precious Bones
Irina Shapiro - 2011
She seems to know who the young woman was, but not how she knows, or how she came to be there. Cassandra becomes inexplicably drawn to the house and the mystery of the "Bones of Blackfriars." As she begins to learn the truth about the Thorne siblings who occupied the house during the reign of Elizabeth I, her own life takes an unexpected turn, and she finds out that her fate is linked to the Thornes in ways she never imagined.Extensively re-edited 11/2015
Never Say Never
Taylor Holloway - 2018
Never hesitate. Never get emotionally involved.Words I've lived by. Until her.I'm a fixer.I fix bad, embarrassing, illegal problems, for the right price.My clients are rich, famous, powerful, and very dangerous.Now I’ve got a problem of my very own: Eva Martin. She just happens to be both my best friend’s little sister, and at the center of the most explosive problem I’ve ever faced. As the body count rises around us, I’m falling for the one woman that’s totally out of bounds. Her wide innocent eyes, perfect curves, and sexy, smoky voice—she’s a liability and a weakness, but I'm unable to resist.Eva’s a risky distraction for a man like me. I'm going to make her mine, and I'll use everything in my arsenal to keep her safe.Even if it means everyone else—including me—becomes collateral damage.