Book picks similar to
Links by Lisa Becker
romance
arc
for-review
second-chance
The Play
J.H. Croix - 2017
Falling in love is complicated.I want her. There’s just one problem. She’s my doctor, and she says it’s a no-no. I’ve never been one to play by the rules.But she’s not falling for me. Olivia is the challenge I have to beat.With her lush curves and her by-the-book attitude, all I want to do is show her exactly what she’s missing. Again and again and again.I’ll bring her to her knees…in more ways than one. I didn’t count on her bringing me to my knees.
*A full-length standalone sports romance.
Playing by Her Rules
Amy Andrews - 2016
The catch? She’s stuck doing a six-part series on her ex. Still, there’s no way she can turn down a promotion… or the chance to dish the dirt on the guy who so callously broke her heart.…could win it all!Tanner Stone wants to be involved in a feature series about as much as he wants to snap an Achilles. But the thought of seeing Tilly again is a bonus — and has him more worked up than he wants to admit. Only he’s not prepared for how different she is — all cool and professional. His Tilly is still in there, though… and he still wants her, now more than ever. All he has to do is charm her into giving him a rematch. And this time, winner takes all!
Wednesday
Kendall Ryan - 2016
He’s filled with turmoil and heartache and regrets, but for two hours every Wednesday all he feels is me. How much I desire him, how desperate he makes me, how much I’d like things to be different between us. Real.He used to be my best friend back before he got married. And now? Now, he’s a young widower. It would be wrong on so many levels to expect something more from him, so I give him what he needs. Dark, delicious fucking.But I know I can’t keep this up. I’ve already given him my body, my soul. I want him to have my heart. It might drive him away forever, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take.Wednesday is an angsty romp told from dual points of view. If you’re in the mood for something quick and dirty, you’ve found it. Proceed at your own risk.
Undeclared
Jen Frederick - 2013
But when his deployment ended, so did the letters. Ever since that day, Grace has been coasting, academically and emotionally. The one thing she’s decided? No way is Noah Jackson — or any man — ever going to break her heart again.Noah has always known exactly what he wants out of life. Success. Stability. Control. That’s why he joined the Marines and that’s why he’s fighting his way — literally — through college. Now that he’s got the rest of his life on track, he has one last conquest: Grace Sullivan. But since he was the one who stopped writing, he knows that winning her back will be his biggest battle yet.
Score
Emma Louise - 2018
The all American couple.Until the big time came calling. Misunderstandings and miscommunications lead to broken hearts and broken trust.But fate throws me a second chance when our paths cross again. Now Poppy has to decide if she’s ready to take another try at forever with me, or if the past is better left behind us.I know this is my final down. My last opportunity to make it right, but Poppy's going to need a little more convincing.Throwing out a Hail Mary, I’ll give it all I’ve got.With a little luck, this time I may just be able to Score.* A sweet, sexy second chance, sports romance with a HEA. *
Taming Mad Max
Theresa Ragan - 2011
Believing his life will be cut short, Max tries to live every moment to its fullest. For this reason, Max shies away from forming close relationships. What would be the point of falling in love and starting a family only to leave them as his father left him and his sisters? When Max discovers he has a thirteen-year old daughter though, it throws all his years of planning and preparation for an early death into a tailspin.Nutrition expert, Kari Murphy, used to think Max Dutton, aka Mad Max, was to die for, but she’s older and wiser now. The last time Kari reacted with her heart instead of her brain, she conceived the thing she loves most in life…her daughter, Molly. As much as she dislikes Max Dutton for taking her declaration of love and throwing it in her face fourteen years earlier, she knows that if it wasn’t for him her life would be meaningless. And that really ticks her off, especially when she’s hired by the NFL franchise to follow Max around for a couple of weeks and give him healthy-eating advice, foolproof facts about carbohydrates and tasteful tips on cooking and shopping smart. Kari doesn’t want to be anywhere near the man, but what choice does she have? Her career is on the line.Taming Mad Max finaled in RWA’s 2008 Golden Heart competition under the title, Better Late Than Never.
Kidnapped Cowboy
Lindsey Brookes - 2013
Retired rodeo star, Dalton Barnes, gets the surprise of his life when he’s abducted by a soft-spoken female with a ‘gun’ and taken to the retreat his family owns. He soon learns she’s kidnapped the wrong cowboy by mistake. She wanted his brother. Things go from bad to worse when a late spring snowstorm strands them together at the cabin. But it’s during their snow-in that Dalton learns why Caitlin has gone to such lengths to save Stoney Brook. Having had issues with his older brother himself and a not so happy past, Dalton promises to do what he can to help her.When confronted Brandon tells Dalton he’ll hold off on his plans for the retreat, but only if Dalton agrees to stick around and help run it. Keeping his promise to Caitlin, Dalton agrees and what starts out as a common goal to turn the troubled teens’ lives around that summer ends up turning theirs around as well. Can a man who has always avoided putting down roots and a woman with a deep-seated fear of abandonment hang on to the happiness they’ve found together? Or will the past return to threaten their newfound love?Love, laughter and a heartwarming read…
Prick Tease
Misti Murphy - 2015
There are a million damn reasons why I shouldn’t touch her. Her brothers are my best friends. We grew up together, under the same roof. I’m supposed to think of her like a little sister. I won’t break my loyalty for a f*ck. Razer Bennington forgot me when he joined the marines. One kiss. Seven years. I can’t get the taste of him out of my mouth. I’m meant to be the good girl. A virgin. A role model. I’m supposed to live up to their expectations. Screw that… I’m going to get what I want. I should be careful what I wish for. *** Claire Hadley was about to check the perfect fiancé off her checklist. Until she found him underneath a hooker. Running home to her brother, she doesn’t expect to be rescued by Razer Bennington. Seven years ago he left her behind. But she hasn’t forgotten their last night together. Or the kiss they shared. Tired of living up to the expectations of others, she throws caution to the wind. This time she’ll get what she wants. Even if getting what she wants could destroy him. Complete stand alone romance.
Stuffed: A Thanksgiving Romance
Jessica Gadziala - 2016
A couple days before I leave to head home, I am informed that my brother's best friend, and also my huge, obnoxious adolescent crush, will be there as well.So among a shaky work situation, a newfound potato chip addiction, and the usual stress of heading home for the holidays, I have a sudden urge to prove that I was no longer the mumbling, bumbling girl in Hogwarts robes and her nose in a book.Not that anything was going to happen between us. Those hopes had died around the time I headed off to college.But maybe....** This is a quick romance full of sweet moments and enough steam to keep you turning the pages.
Avalanche
Cambria Hebert - 2018
Through a bullet hole in a wall, I watch a man bleed to death. Those responsible think their crime died with the victim, until I identify them. What’s a girl to do when she’s being hunted by murderers witness protection can’t even stop? Run. My only refuge is a place I vowed to never go again. When it’s do or die, an eight-year-old heartache suddenly seems trivial. Besides, he won’t be there anyway. But he is. Turns out my old pain feels brand new the second his eyes meet mine. I can’t leave. I can’t stay. This snowy town that’s supposed to be my shelter suddenly exposes me more than before. With no one else to lean on, Liam becomes my lifeline. Now we’re both running for our lives, trying not to get swept away.
Jax
Lane Hart - 2015
Known for his viciousness in the cage, and his playboy ways out of it, Jax is arrested and charged with a brutal rape. The thought of spending decades in prison is one of the few things that actually scares the shit out of this cocky fighter. Newly admitted attorney Page Davenport is willing to do anything it takes to get out from under her father's thumb and finally prove herself in his law firm. Anything except represent the infamous miscreant, Jackson "The Mauler" Malone. Despite her protests, Page is powerless to avoid becoming the sacrificial lamb, the token female, who will be the face of the violent, angry Neanderthal's defense team. Jax is a bad boy with a temper, doing whatever the hell he wants in life while flipping the bird at all his haters. Page is the prim and proper rich debutante her parents want her to be. They've been pulling her strings, telling her what to do, where to go to school, what to wear, and even who she should marry. Page and Jax struggle to work together, engaging in a knockdown drag-out fight for dominance. When they finally stop taking swings at each other, they're both surprised to realize that sometimes first impressions are completely wrong. In fact, opposites really do seem to attract. However, there are lines that attorneys and their clients can never cross, if Page wants to keep her license to practice law. Will Page risk it all and submit to the cocky fighter? Or will Jax's temper and jealousy prove too much for her to take on outside of the courtroom? Either way, one thing is for sure - neither Page nor Jax are going down without a fight. In the end, the secret for them to find heaven may be to battle their way through hell first. This 72K word book has a HEA with no cliffhanger.
Heartbreaker
Kat Bastion - 2016
Simple.Only instead of Darren Cole becoming her one-night stand, he taunts her with a challenge. Then while she’s trying to best him at his own game, he turns out to be the last thing she’s prepared for: someone she wants to keep.Which means all he can ever be…is a friend.Darren Cole never allows a girl to get close—not close enough to matter.Then storms in Kiki Michaelson, a beautiful, fearless temptation that rocks his world off-balance. But he fights their attraction, unwilling to gamble something physical with their close ties. Until the passionate sculptor exposes her heart and breaks his wide open.In that moment it becomes clear: she could never be just a friend.Sometimes what you run from…is exactly what you need.***HEARTBREAKER is a standalone, full-length new adult romance told in dual POV. Due to mature themes and adult language, this book is for those 18 and older.***
Brave
Natalie Gayle - 2015
Beauty, pain and tragedy.Xander “Pretty Boy” Todd was a demon in the ring. A professional MMA fighter with a career that had the world a buzz—but now it’s gone. Or is it?Eden Sommers had her dreams of an international modelling career within her grasp—and lost it. Gone within a few seconds, leaving nothing but pain.How do you go on, when the one thing that defines you is suddenly ripped away—only to leave scars and a hollow shell in its place? Has the beauty gone forever? Or has it just retreated—to now be hidden, and dormant; guarded by the inner demons?Can these two wounded souls find the inner strength to fight back the demons together and find the beauty in their lives once again?To do this, they must first accept—The hardest demons to defeat are the ones inside. They’ll have to be BRAVE.
Love at First Date
Susan Hatler - 2012
. .Ellen’s figured out that finding the right guy is all about compatibility. That’s why she signs up for Detailed Dating—the local online dating scene in Sacramento. They ask men the hard questions, compare their answers with hers, then she filters through the profiles of each provided “match.” After numerous email exchanges, she narrows it down to two promising candidates she’s excited to meet in person. When Ellen’s best friend asks her for a favor, dog-sitting leads to disaster and Ellen ends up at the local vet where she meets a man she can’t get out of her mind. Henry isn’t a logical choice, but she finds herself paying for dog obedience class to spend more time with him. Ellen knows that in order to have a lasting relationship, she should take the safe route and go for one of the pre-screened guys. But, how can she think with her head when her heart keeps begging her to give Henry a chance?
Single Dad's Waitress
Amelia Wilde - 2017
Valentine is serving up the exact opposite at the Short Stack Café.She’s a disaster waiting to happen—a gorgeous, irresistible disaster.Ryder can’t risk his newfound stability on a whirlwind like Valentine. He definitely can’t risk his heart. But one taste of her has him willing to pick up the tab, no matter the price.(Previously titled Over Easy.)