Book picks similar to
Whatever It Takes by Lindsey Pogue


romance
new-adult
contemporary
second-chance

Operation: Marry Me


Emma Nichols - 2018
    A Marine sent to protect her.EnriqueFrom the moment I saw Maddie Weeks, I was smitten.We could've had a great love affair, except for three little things:1. It was my job to protect her.2. She was already married.3. I could never marry.Then her jerk of a husband blew up.Literally.And our low key surveillance was kicked up a notch.We needed an inside man.Naturally, I took one for the team and assigned myself that role.My cover?Obviously, we'll have to be married.Fake married.Too bad I really love her.

Crashing Back Down


Kristen Hope Mazzola - 2013
    Her late husband, Randy, left for the Army right after their wedding. Instead of celebrating his homecoming and living in marital bliss with her soulmate, Mags finds herself living in constant agony. Dealing with the guilt of still living without Randy, are Randy's best friends and parents. Rising from the ashes of this tragedy, Mags starts to learn how to love and trust again, finally being able to find happiness. But sometimes things really are too good to be true and again Mags learns how cruel the world can be as she crashes back down.**18+ for sexual situations, cursing, and adult content.***

Unexpected Love at Silver Ridge


Claire Cain - 2020
    As the local ski resort's manager, he's been struggling to keep the business strong... and it's not working. With her past in the rearview, Wells Bryant restarts her life in the small town as the newest owner of the town's inn. The last thing on her mind is falling for a handsome mountain man. Although he hits all the right notes of sweet and trustworthy, her hard-won independence forces her to resist anything but friendship. Through Liam's scramble to save his family's legacy, and despite the armor around Wells' heart, the pair form an unexpected bond. But when Liam makes a crucial mistake putting him and Wells at odds, will Silverton, the resort, and their bond survive?

One Night to Fall


Kelsey Kingsley - 2017
    He had been stuck to the roof of her mouth, since they were both three years old, when fate seemed to send his family next door to hers. All the way from the coast of Ireland to River Canyon, Connecticut. Over twenty-nine years, fate has been both kind and cruel and many choices have been made. Can things go back to when they were more innocent and magical? Patrick has a plan and just one night to try and take back the reins of his destiny and put the wrong things right with a trip down memory lane. Fall in love again with this novella of firsts and second chances, in a little town where everything meant everything.

Fierce-Devin


Natalie Ann - 2021
    Secretly...of course. Devin Andrews loves his job at Fierce-The Brewery and working for his cousin Mason. What he doesn’t love is that his Aunt Jolene has set her sights on making him the next target of her matchmaking scheme. But he’s onto her and has no plans on falling prey like her unsuspecting children did. Besides, he’s not sure he has what it takes to fall in love since he never has before, even being the oldest of the family. Hope Hall picked up her life and moved to Charlotte for a man. She should have listened to her family when they cautioned her against it, reminding her that she was too spontaneous with everything in life...even men. After being blind, stupid, and naive once again, she doesn’t want to go home and listen to them say they were right. Instead she is trying to make a life for herself—one without a man in it—and prove she can do it on her own.

Redemption River


Lindsay Cross - 2015
     Until one mission turns his world upside down. He left Mercy to fight for his country and escape a broken heart. Years later, he is hard. Cold. A man without mercy. Part of an elite Task Force, he tracks a brutal terrorist to his home town. And runs into the woman who betrayed him… Evangeline Videl was destroyed when Hunter left. Determined to move on, she finds another man, but discovers too late the monster hidden beneath his smooth smile. Struggling to find the conviction to live, Evie finds her life spinning out of control. Then Hunter returns… Forced to band together to find the terrorist before its too late, Hunter and Evie must learn to forgive or risk losing the promise of redemption and their lives…

The Secrets of Life


K.L. Humphreys - 2017
    For Jessica Hughes, this is her reality.At 21, she’s single-handedly supporting her 2 younger brothers and her 4-year-old daughter while paying off her deadbeat mother's gambling debts.Her life may seem like crap to others, but Jess knows it could be worse.Then, Hunter O'Shea walks back into her life and drops a bombshell - a secret that could destroy everything they once had.Once again, Jess finds herself picking up the pieces of her broken heart.Will Hunter find the courage to claim the family he never knew he needed?Or will Jess move on before he gets the chance?

The Accidental Hero


Angel Vane - 2019
    Ex-Navy SEAL Julian Montgomery thinks rescuing the alluring conservator will be simple … until he recognizes the gunman as the missing woman he’s been looking for—Ella Sapphire.Finding Ella could be Julian’s one chance to make up for the mistakes of his past, mistakes that led to the destruction of his SEAL Team. Dodging a blaze of bullets, Julian rescues Mena and Ella’s newborn son as Ella escapes into the night.Days later, Ella’s corpse is found on a secluded beach. Struggling to fight the sizzling attraction brewing between them, Julian and Mena search for answers to the gruesome murder. But a killer lurks, willing to stop at nothing to keep Julian and Mena from discovering the twisted truth.

Touch Me Again


C. Morgan - 2021
    But that was years ago. And we’re both all grown up now. He’s hotter than sin and has a smile that leaves me and my friends panting for his attention. It’s spring break and I need time with the girls on the beach. Florida should do the trick. Never in a million years did I expect Hudson Philips to be there. Memories of him bullying and teasing me mercilessly roll through me in waves, but we’re not kids anymore, and those aren’t the only waves he’s making. He’s damned determined to get back into my good graces, and he’s working every angle possible to make sure it happens. As hard as I try to deny him, he quickly becomes the only thing I can think about. But the minute I let down my guard, he puts his up again. He’s not looking for a long-term love affair. I wish he were, but for now, I simply want him to touch me again.

Entangled Past: Family Ties


Palmer Jones - 2021
    Two years of being on her own means two years of avoiding any further disappointment from her failed marriage.Two years of only relying on herself.The reading of her estranged husband's Will is the final closure she needs to move on.Until the day finally arrives.Coming home to find her house burglarized and trashed was terrible enough. Suddenly having her husband's former bodyguard show up on her doorstep makes it worse.The bossy Englishman either doesn't understand her desire to be alone...or doesn't care. Even with muscles galore and an accent that definitely ramps her attraction up another notch, admiring him from a distance is where it ends.It's not that she doesn't want help. She just doesn't want his help.Until the bad guys return...or her.The first of Family Ties Series, Entangled Past is a romantic suspense story full of sarcastic humor and, of course, romance.

Ryan's Kiss


Mel Walker - 2019
    That damn kiss. one kiss that not only destroyed our future but ended my ability to believe, to trust, to love.He was my best friend. We should have known better.Three years kept us apart, yet an invisible rope continues to tug at us.  He’s finally returning home and I know it’ll only be a matter of time before we must face each other again. I’m older, stronger, wiser and no longer the starry-eyed girl who followed his every command.He almost destroyed me last time, I won't give him a second chance. I can't.

Some Lucky Woman: Jana's Story


Carmen DeSousa - 2016
    Some lucky women focus on a career and make their own happily ever after. And then some women wake up after fifteen years of marriage and discover that their luck just ran out ... right into the arms of another woman.Jana Embers isn't one to sit back, though. The first thing Jana realizes she needs to do is empty the joint bank account, then she's thinking she might take a tire iron to her soon-to-be-ex-husband's truck. After that, she's not sure what she'll do ... Maybe she'll adopt a cat.After her divorce and a few too many crummy dates, Jana decides she doesn't need a man. A perfectly sized and shaped device and writing about the perfect hero will more than suffice. Determined to share her philosophy, she pens You Don't Need a Man, encouraging women everywhere to go out and experience life instead of waiting for a man to complete them.Three years later, Jana has a New York Times bestseller and a contract for a movie adaptation, but she also has a shoulder injury, which has put a crimp in her new carefree lifestyle. Worse yet, she can't write. Her only hope is Dr. Adrian Kijek, a renowned physical therapist who hates her simply because she wrote a book about not needing a man, or so she thinks ...WARNING: Although there are many adult situations in Some Lucky Woman, if say ... something crazy happened and a famous producer adapted this contemporary women's fiction into a movie, it would have a PG-13 rating. There are no erotic scenes, no graphic violence, and while there are a few allowed-on-TV curse words, there aren't a plethora of gratuitous foul words. Oh, and if you were looking for a cliffhanger, you won't find that here either. Please proceed at your own risk.

A Love Story


Jean C. Joachim - 2010
    Barely eking out an existence working part-time, she meets Mac Caldwell, the handsome dean. As she and Mac draw closer, a deadly campus drug ring sets their sights on her with heart-breaking results. The blend of tears, laughter, and unexpected twists grips you all the way to the astonishing conclusion. A unique mix of contemporary romance and suspense, this first book in the Caldwell Saga keeps you guessing. No cookie-cutter tale, the riveting story of Callie and Mac will melt your heart.

When Tomorrow Starts Without Me


Stacy Claflin - 2018
    She's at the end of the line. A chance meeting will change everything. Kenna Mitchell grew up despised and mistreated by those who should've loved and protected her. Now homeless and alone, with pain too heavy to bear, she's ready to end it all. Enter Rogan Scott, an up-and-coming rock star with one focus—his band. Out in the woods, looking for song inspiration, he comes across a beautiful girl seconds from ending her life. Rogan saves Kenna, only to face her anger. Intrigued by her reactions and motivations, he devotes himself to getting to know the real Kenna Mitchell. Turns out, she doesn't even know herself. Soon their tenuous friendship blossoms into love, and Rogan pulls her into his world of rock and roll. But his social circle proves as cruel as the one she left behind. As everything spirals out of control, Kenna discovers a shocking secret about her past. With each new lie uncovered, she's gutted worse than before. She rallies every time—until she learns a painful detail she's certain she'll never recover from. Can Rogan show Kenna that life is worth living, or will the merciless truths of her life convince her to finally end it all? (This book contains sensitive subject matter.)

Game of Love


Melissa Foster - 2014
    In the twenty-five years she’s been alive, Dex Remington has been the only person who has always believed in her and been there for her. But four years earlier she came to Dex seeking comfort, and then disappeared like a thief in the night, leaving him a broken man. Dex Remington is one of the top PC game developers in the U.S. He’s handsome, smart, and numb. So damn numb that he’s not sure he’ll ever find a reason to feel again. A chance encounter sparks intense desires in Ellie and Dex. Desires that make her want to run—and make him want to feel. A combination of lust and fear leads these young lovers down a dangerous path. Is it possible to cross a burned bridge or are they destined to be apart forever?