Book picks similar to
Tough Love by Max Henry


romance
dnf
second-chance
standalone

Wild Card


Karina Halle - 2017
    Rough, raw & rugged.As the man in charge at Ravenswood Ranch, Shane Nelson has never been afraid to get his hands dirty. His sculpted physique isn't the product of a gym, but of years of hard labor under a relentless sun. His straightforward, alpha tendencies come from a man who knows what he wants and goes after it.And what he wants is Rachel Waters.He's never stopped wanting her.They were childhood best friends, then teenage lovers who evolved into soulmates. But on one fateful night, Shane made a grave mistake, breaking both their hearts in the process.Now, after six years, Rachel is back in the small, wild mountain town of North Ridge, BC.Ready to face her past.Ready to face Shane.Ready to face his dark secret.But is a second-chance at a one true love in the cards? Or will their wild hearts be broken once again?WILD CARD is a complete standalone novel and the first book about the Nelson brothers of North Ridge.

Stay Awhile


Gia Riley
    Not even when the stars align and the pieces fit perfectly into the puzzle. This time, she'll have to fight for love with a vice clamping her heart and a gaping hole swallowing her soul––absence won’t make the heart grow fonder.Lies and deceit.Broken promises and disappointment.Megan Campbell knows them all too well. So far, the pain has won. But the pain doesn’t have to be permanent. Note:Stay Awhile is a Contemporary Romance Standalone.

Come Back for Me


Corinne Michaels - 2020
    I left for the military that day, vowing never to return to Pennsylvania.When my father dies, I’m forced to go home to bury him. At least I'll finally be rid of his farm, which is grown over and tangled with memories I've fought to forget.And that’s when I find her. She’s even more beautiful than I remember and has the most adorable kid I’ve ever seen.Years have passed, but my feelings are the same, and this time I refuse to let her go. They say you can't bury the past, and they're right. Because when long-ago secrets are exposed, rocking us both to the core, I have no choice but to watch her walk away again....

Pulled


Amy Lichtenhan - 2011
    In an attempt to escape the pain of her past, Melanie finds herself trapped in a loveless marriage, while Daniel loses himself in a career that means nothing without Melanie by his side. Now, when their lives intersect, neither can deny the connection they felt so long ago. But will the power that drew them together be enough to heal the wounds from their past, and do they have the courage to overcome the insecurities and fears that threaten to keep them apart? Pulled is a story of attraction and separation, of destiny and duty, of a love so strong it refuses to give up even when all others have.

It Was Always You


Andrea Johnston - 2019
    . . Boy and girl are childhood best friends. Boy moves away and devastates girl. Years later, two strangers meet on the internet and one of them has a secret.Or two. When Ally Honeycutt rushes home to her small town of Pickerton Grove she never expected to find her once best friend working at his family’s business. No longer the small little boy she once chased lightning bugs with, Drew Collins would give any sinful rock star a run for his money. With soulful dark brown eyes and hair that slips easily through her fingers, she’s less worried about what he keeps trying to tell her and more interested in the way his lips feel on hers. Drew Collins has made a lot of mistakes in his life, the last one landing him behind bars. He never dreamed a single dare would find him back in contact with the first girl he ever loved. Ally Honeycutt is everything good in the world, and his mistakes make him the bad boy every fictional girl dreams of. Now if he could only stop falling in love long enough to tell her the secrets that could ruin it all. They say you can’t go home again but what happens when home is in the heart of your best friend?

The Girl Behind the Red Door


Cassie Graham - 2018
    Charming. Virgin. Reed Windsor doesn't do relationships. Though he could charm the pants off any girl he wants, he's not interested. He's always been too captivated by a special someone from his past to get serious with anyone else. Sure, she has no clue he exists, but he's willing to bide his time and convince her he's worth a shot.Sassy. Beautiful. Way out of his league. Charlie Oded is full of baggage - being left at the altar will do that to a woman. Having zero time for distractions, she's not looking for . . . well, anything. She needs time to heal her heart, not another guy to string her along. Which is why when she meets the alluring Reed, she's determined to keep things friendly.But he makes her heart race and she makes him want to settle down.And neither of them wants to walk away.Reed's never wanted a relationship, but Charlie's changed the game, and he's willing to play if she is.

Always You


Stephanie Rose - 2015
     All we had was friendship and my silly hope for more. When he left and took all of that with him, I moved on. Settled. I figured that happiness wasn't in the cards for me. Until, one night of drinks with an old "friend" gives me a hope I never expected, but don't know what to do with. This time, I have the chance I always dreamed about—but I'm not free to take it. *** Ten years ago, Samantha was only a friend, a sweet girl I never wanted to hurt. Now, she's everything I want and nothing I can have. She belongs with me, even if she's not really mine, and I can’t settle for anything less than all of her. Now that I’ve got a second chance, I'm grabbing it with both hands. Why did it take so long to realize that it was Always You?

The Hook-Up Experiment


Emma Hart - 2018
    Connect two people for a no-strings, no-expectations hook-up. The plus for my clients is that I’m the one who gets to sift through the d*ck pics—except this time, they're required.My problem? My brother, co-owner of Pick-A-D*ck’s sister dating site, doesn’t believe it’s possible to hook up with someone three times and not fall in love. I disagree. I know it’s possible.And my disagreement is exactly how I end up reconnected with my high school nemesis, Elliott Sloane. The guy who asked me to junior prom and then stood me up. Who egged my car when I rejected him, and convinced my senior homecoming date to ghost me. It should be easy to hate-screw him. If only he was still that person, instead of a hot-as-hell single dad, working as a builder to make ends’ meet, fighting for custody of his daughter. Three hook-ups.One outcome.Right?(The Hook-Up Experiment is book one of the Experiment duet. If you've read The Upside to Being Single, this is Peyton's story.)

Ravel


Shari J. Ryan - 2015
    The outcome could be life or death.Trent hit me once, and I cried. Then he hit me again. And again. After a while, I got used to it, as I slept on the floor beside his bed, night after night.Everyone told me to leave him, but I can't. He won't let me. The moment I wanted to give up on myself and any form of hope, Kemper—a tall, sexy Marine just home from Afghanistan walked into my bar. With one look in his eyes, I saw pain that mirrored my own.At first, I thought maybe he would be my prince charming, riding in to save me, but all it took was one tragedy for me to remember…fairy tales don’t exist in real life.
*The content in this book discusses domestic violence and is suitable for readers over 18.*

Beautifully Insightful


K.C. Lynn - 2015
    I see the world differently than everyone else, I feel everything differently and I reflect on life differently. And being different in my world is not a good thing.I live in a place that’s divided between the rich and the poor, the beautiful and the unbeautiful, the prestigious and the mediocre. I have always belonged in the first category, because my father was the Governor of Georgia. Growing up around people I could never relate with, my life had always been lonely, that was until my senior year when I met the one boy who would change my life forever. A boy who my parents would never approve of because he didn’t come from money or the same social class. He rode a motorcycle, had tattoos and was considered to be from the wrong side of the tracks. Yet he was still envied by many.Ryder Jameson was someone who every guy feared, and one who every girl wanted to be touched by. He didn’t do attachments, or have friends… until me. And for the first time in my life I finally felt like I belonged. When I was with him, my different didn’t feel wrong or ugly. He made me feel beautiful- insightfully beautiful. Then one day my world came crashing down on me, and it would be six years before I'd once again see the boy I fell in love with.RYDER JAMESON ~ After working my ass off I am given the opportunity of a lifetime, and if I pull it off I will be the youngest FBI agent to run one of the biggest undercover operations in history. Only the case that gets thrown in front of me leads me back to the one place I swore I would never return to, and to the only girl who’s ever mattered to me. Except Emily Michaels is not the same girl I left behind. She still looks the same, she’s still beautiful inside and out, but there’s one thing that’s very different about her, one very big thing, and it’s something I didn’t think was possible.Ryder and I come from a world where politics separates us and wealth defines us, but even after all this time we will not let it divide us. Here is our story.

Justified


Jay Crownover - 2019
    So as the sheriff of Loveless, Texas, he's determined to do everything by the book--until he's called to Aspen Barlow's office after a so-called break-in. The last thing he wants to do is help the woman who cost him custody of his son. But Aspen isn't the heartless lawyer Case remembers, and he starts to question his long-held grudge...Aspen is scared for her life, and Case is her last hope for protection. But to get him on her side, she'll have to reveal the painful truth from all those years ago. Now, as they work together to track down a dangerous criminal, Case and Aspen learn to trust each other. And as the threats escalate, it becomes clear there's a thin line between love and hate... because there's nothing Case wouldn't do to keep her safe.Includes It's All About That Cowboy, a bonus novella by Carly Bloom!

Worth the Wait


Claudia Connor - 2017
    When he finds out just how badly, it will break his too. Nick Walker found the love of his life when he was just nineteen.Found her.Loved her.Lost her.It's been ten years since Nick watched the only woman he ever loved walk out of his life. Now this FBI Special Agent will do anything to win her back.But it won’t be easy…Mia’s heart was shattered by Nick. They'll have to face their painful past if they want a future, including Mia's own secret about that day it all fell apart. Do you believe in second chances?

Twisted Truth


Maria Macdonald - 2017
    Lesson learnt. Where there’s love, there’s lies. I used to believe I wasn’t what she needed. Until I let her love in. I’ve changed for her. I want her to believe in me like I need to believe in myself. Isaac James stayed out of my life for five years. He wasn't to blame, after all, protecting me imprisoned him.Now he’s back. The chemistry is still there, the tension is still there, the love is still there… the pain is still there. Isaac James was my rock, my first love… my family.Olivia McKenna has always been my weakness. I’d do anything to protect her, which I proved, despite it taking me to prison.I’ve stayed away, trying to do the right thing. I thought I was still protecting her. But, I’m lost without her… even if I’m not sure I can be what she needs. Olivia McKenna was my forever… for always.** This book is set in the UK. First cousin relationships are tackled within this book; please be aware those relationships are legal within the UK.**

Bluebird


Stella James - 2017
    With a ferocity that was well beyond my seventeen years. He held my heart carefully in his hands...until he let go. LoganShe was everything when I had nothing. She gave me her heart and I gave her mine. We belonged to each other. We belonged together...until I ruined everything. I had to set her free.Prairie Bennett and Logan Mackenzie fell hard and fast. Their future looked bright with possibility until one night when everything changed.Five years apart. Five years since she told him she loved him. Five years since she felt his arms wrapped around her. Fate brings Logan and Prairie together again, giving them a second chance they never thought possible. Scars run deep, the past can cloud the present...Can your first love really be your last love? 18+ due to content.WARNING - this novel contains elements that may trigger emotional distress for some as well as violence and strong language. Discretion is advised.

Indiscretions of a God


Sunniva Dee - 2018
    That’s not why I left the mafia.I left because I’m god, because I need no one, and fail at nothing. I’m Isaias Di Nascimbeni, owner of Lucid, the biggest adult entertainment studio in L.A. Son of Il Lince and second generation Italian in the U.S, I’m dirty rich and adored by highlife as well as lowlife. Whatever I focus on turns to gold.On the Richter’s scale of eye candy, I’m a twenty.I’m a hunter who tests limits.A warrior who goes shady when the law becomes dreary. While conducting business at the St. Tatiana,the most stunning woman I’ve ever seen enters my radar.Isn’t it interesting that her name is Tatiana?Isn’t it bizarre that she’s a nun?Isn’t it wild that she’s unimpressed by me? Isn't it fucking insane that I can’t get her out of my head? She doesn’t acknowledge me when I return to her church.It’s unprecedented. Unheard of. Not happening.But the hunt is my fetish.Novice or not, she’s only postponing the inevitable.Beautiful Tatiana asked for this.By the time I'm done, she’ll worship me, because nowit's game on.