Book picks similar to
Tough Love by Max Henry


romance
dnf
second-chance
standalone

Kane's Hell


Elizabeth Finn - 2015
    Eleven years later their lives are nothing like they once were. Time has changed them … and not for the better.Helene is smart, driven, and accomplished—her education and achievements a smoke screen hiding the frigid and fragile child wounded long ago. Kane is equally obsessed with his coping mechanisms—fighting … drinking … screwing … compulsively destroying himself one vice at a time.When their paths collide again, their past becomes an obstacle no coping mechanism in the world can protect them from. But confronting the past so they can heal in the present is no easy task. Can Kane reach Helene and recapture what used to burn so warmly between them, or will his own self destructive demons pull her into his hell?A woman determined to look forward. A man always looking back. A love desperate to be restored. “You’re the brightest, warmest star in my universe. You’ll never be less than everything to me.”WARNING: This book contains darker subject matter and violent content that may be difficult for some readers.

Beauty and the Running Back


Colleen Masters - 2016
    Not even the coach’s daughter. Hell, I’m about to bring this school an NCAA Championship, the least I’m owed is a piece of that sweet little home-grown ass of hers. For the first time in my life, something about this girl has me reeling. I can’t shake the thought of her innocent smile, the smell of her perfume, or the way her hips sway mockingly back and forth as she walks away from me. I know she wants me, I know she can barely help herself, I know because of the way her body betrays her every time we touch…but the wrath of her father—my coach—stops her dead in her tracks. Every. Time. I’ve lived my entire life one yard at a time, taking what I want, when I want it, and accepting nothing less. There are no consequences when you’re a campus god. There’s nothing that can stop me, on or off the field, from getting this girl. Jessa Cahill Sure, on the surface Dean Carter seems like the stereotypical asshole jock, the sorority-wet-t-shirt-contest-loving frat boy, the womanizing man-slut. But I know that deep down, underneath the football pads and layers of tattooed-muscle, there’s a man worth losing everything for. My father would kill us both if he found out that I let Dean “know me” that way. He’d murder us if he found out my tutoring sessions with Dean involved learning more than just English literature… A guy like Dean can be addictive, dangerous, sexually exquisite…but all actions have consequences. Beauty and the Running Back is a full-length contemporary sports romance novel. This book involves a lot of hot steamy sex, and a little football. 18+, HEA, no cliff. Includes a FREE Copy of “Stepbrother Billionaire” at the end!!!

Forever Innocent


Deanna Roy - 2013
    On what should have been one of the happiest nights of her life, she and her boyfriend Gavin watched a nurse disconnect the ventilator from their seven-day-old baby. During the funeral two days later, Gavin walked out and never returned.Since then, her life has been a spiral of disasters. The only thing that has helped is her ability to black out whenever the pain gets too hard to bear, a habit that has become an addiction.When Gavin shows up in her astronomy class four years later, he is hell-bent on getting her back, insisting she forgive him. Corabelle knows she can’t resist the touch that fills the empty ache that has haunted her since he left. But if he learns what she has done, if he follows the trail back through her past, her secrets will destroy their love completely. And once again, she’ll lose the only person who always believed she was innocent.New Adult Contemporary Romance

Submerged


Lacey Black - 2016
    That’s all it was supposed to be. Blake Thomas’ entire career as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation has led up to this one job: submerging himself in a lifestyle of fast cars and even faster women. He’s deep undercover, building a case to bring down an intricate criminal ring of car thieves in Las Vegas, with no time to think about the one woman he can’t seem to forget. He never imagined his past would become tangled with his present, threatening to be his downfall. Two years ago, Carly Mathewson planned for a one-night stand with a perfect stranger. What she didn't count on was being reminded of him every time she looked into the emerald eyes of the daughter they unexpectedly created. Since that night, she's devoted herself to keeping her life simple. But when her past refuses to stay buried, she's determined to do everything she can to keep it from jeopardizing what she's worked so hard to achieve. Suddenly, everything and everyone Carly has known aren't quite what they seemed. Every present has a past. Before they can secure a future together, Blake and Carly are forced to admit that their lives are linked by so much more than just that one night. Without warning, they’re bound together for life.

After the Storm


M. Stratton - 2013
    She enjoys the simple things in her beach cottage. Life is finally complete.Noah Matthews is Rock & Roll’s hottest star and on top of the world. After years without a break he finds the solitude he craves at his beach house. Enjoying his early morning coffee, Noah is surprised to see his neighbor sneak into his garden and crawl around.They never saw that fateful morning coming. Someone was watching them. Someone who thought Lexi belonged to him and would stop at nothing to have her.Lives are changed forever when they meet amongst the blooms in his garden. Even when things seem darkest, there is always light After the Storm."A suspenseful, page turning twist on the typical boy meets girl" - Carey Heywood - Author"The perfect combination of funny, creepy and hot. A unique story that will have you begging for more." - Evelyne Stone - AuthorBook Two - Eye of the Storm - Available NowBook Three - Caught in the Storm - Available Friday June 13th 2014

Fighting to Breathe


Aurora Rose Reynolds - 2015
    They never imagined the future could hold anything other than together-forever. When Lea's father dies in a tragic fishing accident, she's crushed under the weight of her grief and catches a glimpse of another type of future, one she knows she's not strong enough to face. Austin is angry. For the past fifteen years, he's believed the woman he loved with every ounce of his soul left him without so much as a backwards glance. When Lea unexpectedly returns to their hometown, all the years of heartache inside Austin bubbles to the surface and presents itself as blinding rage. Faced with the truth about the past, a newly discovered secret, these former lovers will learn that if they want to have any chance at the future they'd given up on all those years ago, they will have to rescue one another from drowning in pain so debilitating it will leave them both fighting to breathe. Contains mature themes.

Southern Chance


Natasha Madison - 2020
     Kallie I fell in love with him when I was seven. I scraped my knee, and he helped carry me inside. Our love story was the talk of the town until a woman told everyone she was pregnant with his baby. The only rational solution was to high tail it out of town and never come back. My best friend needed a place to hide, and you can’t get much more covert than my family farm, so I came back. For her. It was supposed to be temporary, and I wasn’t supposed to see him, but that’s what happens when you live in a small town where everyone knows each other. Jacob Being the sheriff in a small town was never my dream. My father died and my older brother took off, so I had to be the one to look after my mother. I stayed. I fulfilled my duties as a son and I protected my hometown. My life wasn’t perfect, but I was content. Until I locked eyes with a ghost from my past, Kallie. I thought it was my imagination, it couldn’t be. I loved her most of my life, but now I hated her. The town gossip mill was going into overdrive. I kept my head down and my mind off of the woman who shattered my heart when she ran away. She didn’t give me a chance to explain, it didn’t matter to her then. I didn’t matter. A second chance is never promised, but now that mine is right under my nose, I’m not sure I can take it.

The Right Kind of Love


Kennedy Kelly - 2014
    After a tragic event that has rocked her to the core, she is determined not to let it taint her future. Her entire world is turned on its axis when her new roommate isn’t the person she thought they would be. Making the best of the situation, like she always does, she trudges forward and learns that, although life may not seem perfect all the time, it can end up being pretty damn good. Damien Blue, a tattoo artist by day and a musician by night, is a man-whore. With a revolving bedroom door, he knows no limits when it comes to women. Then he meets his game-changer. Everything he knew before is completely and utterly turned upside-down when he can’t keep the one woman he thinks is too good for him from his mind or his heart. When fate rears its ugly head again, will they be able to come together as one, surviving their hot and cold relationship? Will Sydney be able to let go of her past and fight for their future? Together, will they be able to find The Right Kind of Love? (17+) This book contains mature subject matter that is not suitable for those under the age of 17

Tattered


Devney Perry - 2018
    It’s somewhere just above the trash can her mother dumped her in as a newborn but below the class where much comes easy. With her tattered shoes and bargain-bin clothes, her life has never been full of glamour. So when a rich and charismatic man takes interest, she doesn’t fool herself into thinking their encounter is anything more than a one-night stand. Months later, she’s kicking herself for not getting his phone number. Or his last name. She’s given up hope of seeing him ever again.Until one day, years later, Logan Kendrick waltzes into her life once more and turns everything she’s built upside down. This time around, she won’t make the same mistake. She’s going to fight to keep him in her life—not for herself.But for their daughter.

Under the Orange Moon


Adrienne Frances - 2013
    However, with her four protective older brothers, they never stood a chance.Except for one.Dylan knew she loved Ben McKenna from the first time she laid eyes on him. When he started sneaking in her room, she thought he felt the same way. But just as their passion ignited, he left for college and never came back.Until now.Returning home after 5 years, Ben realizes Dylan has always been the one for him. Can he win back her heart and finally find love under the orange moon?

Damaged But Not Broken


W.H. Vega - 2013
    She's only 15 but she looks like a woman, and for the group of sociopathic rapists that's good enough. The disgusting men hold her down, and one by one they destroy her innocence that night. Paige is forced to flee from her father and vows never to return, never to forgive him for allowing that night to happen. She leaves behind everything, her friends, her hope, her happiness, her life in Nashville, forever. She leaves behind Blake, her first love...her true love. The wounds of that heartbreak never fully heal, she never forgets about the only guy she ever really trusted. Thirteen years later Paige returns to her father's promise of sobriety, a record deal, and a blossoming career in country music.Everything changes when she sees Blake again, playing with his new band in a local Nashville club, the intense feelings she had buried deep inside rise up and refuse to go away. It's as if they never broke apart. Blake is no longer the 15 year old boy she once knew. Now he's a tall muscular front-man of the band Rust who seethes sex appeal and slays hearts. But as they reconnect, Blake's hardened shell begins to fall away as he teaches Paige to love again, to trust, and to give herself away completely.Paige finds a glimmer of hope and happiness again with Blake but is it all too good to be true? Can Paige overcome the hate, anger, resentment and learn to forgive - or will her father betray her? Her heart has been damaged but it's not broken...can she learn to love again?

Repeat


Kylie Scott - 2019
    Now she has to figure out who she was and why she made the choices she did - which includes leaving the supposed love of her life, tattoo artist Ed Larsen, only a month before. Ed can hardly believe it when his ex shows up at his tattoo parlor with no memory of their past, asking about the breakup that nearly destroyed him. The last thing he needs is more heartache, but he can't seem to let her go again. Should they walk away for good, or does their love deserve a repeat performance?Listening Length: 6 hours and 47 minutes

Secret Maneuvers


Jessie Lane - 2013
    One ‘Dear John’ letter haunted Bobby Baker’s every living moment. It was the letter he’d stupidly written to his high school sweetheart, Belle, right after he had left to join the Army. The letter in which he’d told her that he wasn’t so sure they were ready for forever yet. Before he could let her know that the letter, and his second thoughts, were nothing more than a mistake, she disappeared from the small Georgia town they had both been raised in. Fifteen years after the letter, Belle unknowingly walked back into Bobby’s life when her job as an ATF Agent forced her to work with a group of men secretly headed by the CIA to help her track down whoever was involved in funneling black market weapons to a drug cartel in Mexico. Bobby planned to use this mission to try to soothe Belle’s hurt feelings while proving to her that their love was meant to be forever. He would use every dirty trick he’d learned since he had joined the Army to maneuver her back into his life for the long haul. Belle was not making it easy, though, as she continued to keep him at arm’s length in the hopes that mistakes of her own would never come to light. Warning: Mature themes and a secret baby! <- You've been warned.

The End Game


Kate McCarthy - 2015
    They are heroes in the eyes of boys and girls and are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that positively represents their community.”The public loves a good scandal. Seeing someone fall from the pinnacle of success makes a great headline. No one knows that better than I do. What started out as a promising career in college football, spiraled into scandal and shame. But being a hero is easier said then done. Especially when there are those who expected to see the great Brody Madden fail. I craved nothing except being the best—willing to do anything to prove them wrong. But I went too far, and I tried too hard, and it broke me.“At the time of going to print, Jordan Elliott was unavailable for comment.” I met Brody Madden in my senior year of college. An Australian native on an international scholarship, I was the female soccer sensation with stars in her eyes and no room for a hotshot wide receiver with a chip on his shoulder.But a heart bursting with ambition and a driving fire to succeed isn’t made of stone. I became his strength, his obsession, and the greatest love of his life. Only I wasn’t there when he needed me most.This is a story about love and a game that takes everything. Where the path to glory is paved with sacrifice. Where pressure makes you, or breaks you, and triumph is born in the ashes of failure. Where two people’s end game will change everything.

Only for You


Genna Rulon - 2013
    It also feels an awful lot like a kick to the stomach when you try to fight it!” All Everleigh Carsen wanted to do was complete her final semester at Hensley University and begin the life she carefully planned. When a wave of violent crime seizes campus, Everleigh is persuaded to attend a school sponsored self-defense seminar by her best friend, where she meets volunteer instructor, Hunter Charles. After Everleigh’s biting sarcasm induces Hunter to eject her from class, a tempestuous relationship is born. Everleigh is determined to forget the striking man, but fate—that fickle shrew—continuously intervenes. Unable to escape him, she declares Hunter an enemy combatant. The only complication…Hunter is resolutely pursuing vindication…by any means necessary. Verbal warfare ensues, and despite Everleigh’s ingenious efforts, in Hunter, she has finally found her equal.Only For You is a compelling tale of friendship, desire, and redemption—brimming with intelligent characters, witty dialogue, unexpected twists, profound sorrow, unfettered hope, and love’s unassailable perseverance.• This story is appropriate for readers 18+• Only For You is the first book in the For You series by Genna Rulon. Each book in the series can be read as a stand alone novel.