Book picks similar to
Tough Love by Max Henry


romance
dnf
second-chance
standalone

When You're Ready


J.L. Berg - 2013
    waiting.As a widow and a single mother, I’d made peace with a quiet life. After all, I lost the love of my life. No one could ever replace him. But then, I met Dr. Logan Matthews and everything changed. He appeared like a white knight, caring for my injured daughter as he slowly mended the pieces of my broken heart. The letter Ethan left me has three words written on the envelope, When You’re Ready.So, I guess the question is...Was I ready... to love again?

Shelter Me


Kathy Coopmans - 2014
    She had the love of her life, her high school sweetheart, and a bright future ahead of her. That is, until one day he just disappeared, leaving a note as his only goodbye. With her heart shattered and broken, Shayne did the only thing she could. She left her small town on the shores of Lake Michigan to start her life over, needing to distance herself from the memories she and Luke had made. At that time, she vowed to herself that she would never return to her hometown again. Seven years later, Shayne realizes that fate is not on her side as she returns home for her aunt’s funeral, bringing back the one secret she swore to protect. Luke Schavone has regretted every day that he had to leave Shayne behind. Though he didn’t have a choice, his heart still bore the scars from the impact. After five years, Luke returned only to find that Shayne was gone. His best friend was the only lifeline he had to finding her, but Adam wasn’t talking. When the one thing Luke has wanted everyday for the past seven years runs right into him one night, he becomes determined to make sure he doesn’t lose her again. At first, Shayne is hesitant. She wouldn’t be able to survive losing him again, but the pull toward him is so fierce, she can’t deny herself the chance. With the decision to start over, Luke and Shayne must admit truths and come to terms with the events that forced them apart in the first place. When secrets are revealed and old threats come to pass, will Luke be able to shelter Shayne from the destruction, or will she become lost to him forever?Shelter Me is a full length novel. You will notice that the story ends at approximately 75%. The remaining 25% you will be able to enjoy the first few chapters from four incredible Authors: Kristin Kitchen, A.M. Madden, Kate Stewart and A.D. Justice.

Almost Innocent


Carina Adams - 2016
    A name synonymous with power and fear. A family of untouchable criminals. As a teenager, Gabriella Forte had no intention of getting to know the town's most dangerous brothers. Once Dustin set his sights on her, she was trapped. There was only one way out of her personal hell. Declan was determined to break away from his family's shadow. Until he fell in love with the one woman he couldn't have. She changed everything. Life isn't always kind. Love can hurt. Sometimes you need to sacrifice yourself to protect the people you care about. It's been twelve years since Declan did the unthinkable and went to prison. He promised to stay away from Gabby and his nephew. That's one vow he can't keep. Things aren't always what they seem. Facts are only as credible as the person stating them. The truth doesn't always set you free.Warning: This is a dark romance. If domestic violence bothers you, if you can't read violence in literature, or you are looking for a light and fluffy read, this book is not for you.

Release


Aly Martinez - 2020
     Growing up, Ramsey Stewart branded my soul in ways time could never heal. At twelve, he asked me to be his girlfriend. At thirteen, he gave me my first kiss. By sixteen, we’d fallen in love, planned a future together, and had our eyes set on the horizon. Love never fails, right? But for Ramsey, it did. Love failed him. I failed him. The entire world failed him. At seventeen, Ramsey was convicted of killing the boy who assaulted me. Move on, he wrote in his first and only letter from prison. Start a new life, he urged. I don’t love you anymore, he lied. There was no such thing as giving up on Ramsey. Love may have been our curse, but he was mine—then, now, and forever. So here I am, twelve long years later, waiting for a man I don't even know to emerge from between the chain link gates.

When We Collide


A.L. Jackson - 2012
    Trapped in a world of false ambitions and feigned affections, William knows he’s reached a breaking point and something’s going to give.Maggie had lived her entire life without hope until one man showed her what it meant to be loved. He’d been her light in a lifetime of darkness. Six years ago, that darkness stole him away. Without him, she’s surrendered herself to an existence she doesn’t know how to escape.When the family William left behind is struck by tragedy, he is called back to the one place he’s sworn to never return to again.In a moment that will change his life forever, William comes face to face with the girl who, with one look, captured his heart. He is unable to ignore the buried desires and the hope for the future they’d once believed they’d have.Now William is ready to fight to take back what had been stolen from him six years before.But he never imagined what that fight might cost him.A.L. Jackson gives you an intimate look into the lives of a family bound by an unseen connection in this romantic thriller with a supernatural twist.

Like a Memory


Abbi Glines - 2017
    One special summer. The one thing Bliss had lost herself in when the fear and sickness were too much, moments never to be damaged by the harsh reality that followed… until now. Bliss York didn’t live a normal teenage life. She didn’t go to Friday night football games, walk the halls with her friends every day, go to her prom or even walk to receive her diploma. It had all been taken from her the fall that she was fifteen years old and she was given the diagnosis no one ever wants to hear. She had leukemia. Seven years after spending a summer with a girl who he knew would always be his first love and the one who got away, Nate Finlay returns to Sea Breeze to help his fiancé open her new boutique clothing store. When the new employee walks in Nate is taken back seven years to the girl he thought he’d love forever. The one who never answered his calls or returned his text. The one who shut him out completely with not even a goodbye and broke his heart. They’ve each become someone different. No longer the young teens with stars in their eyes. But does that matter when your heart still says that’s the one.

Fragile Bonds


Sloan Johnson - 2014
    When she walked out of the house Xavier Ross bought as their forever home, she thought she was closing that door permanently, but fate had other plans. Xavier Ross tried to keep everyone at a distance until Melanie came into his life. The more he tried to fight his feelings for her, the more he fell in love. One rash decision fractured the trust that was essential to their relationship. Six years later, she is the last person he expects to see walk through his front door. Will Xavier and Mel be able to learn to trust one another again so they can fulfill a dying woman’s wish?

Vision of Love


S. Moose - 2014
    The fancy house, top of the line car, lots of friends and more money than anyone could ever imagine. On the outside, we were the perfect family. No one knew about my abusive father and my mother who drank herself into oblivion every night. My name is Karly and I have scars, deep scars that no one knows about, and when my parents died I was left alone and on my own, to fight through life with no help.When it came to life and happiness, I had it all until my world was turned upside down. My name is Nicholas and my wife, the love of my life, left me and our new baby girl without as much as an explanation. I didn’t want to accept it, but after our divorce was final and four long years passed, I started to lose hope that she’d ever come back. Emma was growing so fast and I needed help. My sister recommended that I hire her friend, Karly, as Emma’s nanny. I took a chance on bringing another woman into my little girl’s life. Did I do the right thing? As many days and nights are spent together, feelings can no longer be denied and a relationship is formed.Life is about taking chances and learning how to fall, but when the past comes back, will they be strong enough to fight through and trust each other? Or will all they worked for fall apart?**Editorial Reviews** “This is a different style of book than the author has written before.” Stephanie from Stephanie’s Book Reports“This is the second book of S.Moose’s that I’ve had the pleasure of reading and in true S.Moose fashion, I was left ugly crying.” Ange from Cover to Cover Book Blog“It truly is a beautiful love story with two very broken individuals who deserve so much happiness, you can't help but cheer for them the entire book. “ Beatriz from Cover to Cover Book Blog“Break out the cold drinks and fan because Nicholas and Karly are all over the sweet sentiments and sexy scenes. This 1st book in the Infinity Series will have your emotions all over the place, loving every minute of it, and begging for more!” Megan from There’s This Book Blog“I don’t know what to do with myself S.Moose! I will always love your books! Such amazing writing! I have to say…I loved your Never Letting Go series, but Vision of Love! WOW!” Christina from Miscellaneous Thoughts of a Bookaholic“Pain, heartache, happiness. Vision of Love takes you on an emotional roller coaster with some twists and turns leaving you content and rooting for a happy ending between two amazingly broken people. S.Moose writes with beauty and turns heartache and pain into love and passion. This book had me from page one and kept me intrigued and wanting more page after page!! Loved Vision of Love!!” Raquel from For the Love of Books Blog

The Fable of Us


Nicole Williams - 2016
    At least that’s what Clara Abbot finds herself hoping when she runs into Boone Cavanaugh less than an hour after returning to Charleston.As kids, Clara and Boone had been each other’s firsts, and no one or nothing could stand in the way of their forever. But all kids have to grow up sometime. The troubled son of the town drunk winding up with the firstborn daughter of the local royalty was a happy ending even the most imaginative of fairy tales couldn’t make believable.Their fable came to an end as most do: tragically. Boone might have done the leaving, but it was Clara who got away and made a new life for herself in California. But after seven years of dodging her hometown, she’s only back in Charleston for seven days to celebrate her sister’s wedding. She won’t let her overbearing family or her run-in with Boone rattle her—though rattling her is obviously Boone’s primary objective.Boone is her past and her past is behind her, a mere speck in the rearview. So why does she feel it coming back every time she looks at him? Why does she see it every time he looks back?Just when Clara’s life can’t possibly get more complicated, the ground shifts, and she discovers just how far her family was willing to go to keep the wrong boy out of her life. Was it really Boone who left her? Or was it Clara who left him?The truth will be hard to face. Especially when she discovers most of her life has been built on lies.

Take Me Again


Carly Phillips - 2019
    but she’s going to make him work for it.Sebastian Knight is a closer. Be it a real estate deal or the woman of his choice, everything he wants is his for the taking.Sexy and irresistible, a wink, a smile, or a handshake always seals the deal. Until everything unravels around him.After Ashley Easton’s social climbing mother married into the Knight family, Ashley knew better than to get involved with sexy, trouble making Sebastian Knight but their attraction is undeniable, their chemistry intense, and in a moment of weakness, she turns to him, a mistake that cost her her home and her family. After she was sent away, she swore she’d never come back.Sebastian never expected to see Ashley, the one woman he’s never been able to get over, again.When she walks back into his life at the worst possible time, more beautiful than ever, he’s ready for a second chance. She’s sassy and sexy everything he’s ever desired. And she’s back for good. Except Ashley wants nothing to do with the playboy who broke her heart. Too bad his sex appeal makes it harder and harder to keep him at arm’s length.Sebastian Knight might have a talent for sealing the deal but this is one game he’s going to have to work to win.

Up in the Treehouse


K.K. Allen
    Then again, she never imagined she would fall in love with him either. When she finally reveals her feelings, rejection shatters her, rendering her vulnerable and sending her straight into the destructive arms of the wrong guy.The Rhodes twins never saw the betrayal coming. Chloe has always been their forbidden fantasy--sweet, beautiful, and tempting. But soon the lines between family, friendship, and love become as tangled as the roots of the treehouse they once shared.Now it's too late . . .Four years after a devastating tragedy, Chloe and Gavin find themselves crashing back into each other's lives. Haunted by the past, they're forced to come to terms with all that has transpired to find the peace they deserve. Except they can't seem to get near each other without combatting an intense emotional connection that brings them right back to where it all started . . . their childhood treehouse.Chloe still holds her secrets close, but this time she isn't the only one with something to hide. Can their deep-rooted connection survive the destruction of innocence?

Good Girl Gone Plaid


Shelli Stevens - 2013
    In high school Sarah fell for her best friend’s older brother—one of the sexy, Scottish McLaughlin boys. But a painful betrayal showed her she’d been a fool to give her heart to a bad boy. At least it made it easier to leave him and move halfway around the world when her Navy dad got stationed in Japan. Eleven years later, the death of her grandmother has forced Sarah back to Whidbey Island for a month. It’s the length of time she must stay in her inherited house before she’s allowed to sell it, take the money and run. But when she sees Ian, bad as ever and still looking like sin on a stick, she can’t keep her mouth from watering. One look at Sarah stirs up the regret lingering in Ian’s heart—and never-forgotten desire lingering in his body. He should walk away, especially since divorced single mothers aren’t his style. But when she starts showing up at his family’s pub, he can’t resist a little casual seduction for old time’s sake. One thing quickly becomes clear, though. The heat between them is causing an avalanche of secrets and betrayal and nothing will ever be the same.Product Warnings: A bad-boy hero who’s good with his hands, a heroine who’s trying to be good. Contains liberal consumption of Scotch whisky, a Highland Games competition, men in kilts wielding large poles, and a potential Sarah McLaughlin of the non-musical kind.

Wilde Nights in Paradise


Tonya Burrows - 2013
    Although she makes it clear she wants nothing to do with Jude, they’re forced to fake a relationship for her safety. He can’t ignore the heat still simmering between them, and when her stalker’s threats escalate to attempted murder, he’s left with no choice but to whisk her away to a friend’s safe house in Key West, FL. Cooped up in paradise together, Jude begins to chip away at Libby’s resolve to hate him. But even as she gives in to his proximity and her body’s demands for his, she refuses to fall for his charms again. Maybe a torrid affair in the sun is exactly what she needs to get him out of her system. But when her stalker tracks them down, can they escape the steamy Key West night without anyone getting hurt?

The Wreck


Marie Force - 2011
    The young couple plans to marry before they head to college, and their future seems bright with promise. Everything changes one spring night when their six closest friends, including Brian's younger brother, are killed in a fiery car accident that Carly and Brian witness. The trauma leaves Carly unable to speak, and Brian is forced to make unimaginable decisions about a future that once seemed so certain. With Carly incapable of going forward with their plans, Brian leaves home—and Carly—for good. Fifteen years later, disturbing new clues indicate the accident that wrecked so many lives wasn't an accident at all, bringing Brian home to face a past——and a love——he's never forgotten.

Don't Make Me Beautiful


Elle Casey - 2013
    If you liked the movie "Sleeping With the Enemy", then you might like this story too. No one knew a woman lived there or that she even existed. A monster, living in darkness...At twenty-two, Nicole doesn't even look human anymore. The beast made sure of that. So she hides. A monster, consigned to a life of fear and solitude. This is all she deserves, she is quite sure of that.  And then one day out of the blue, the autographed baseball caught by Brian Jensen at the latest Marlins game enters her prison and manages to turn her world completely upside down.Temptation comes in the form of pity at first, and then perhaps something more. Does she dare to believe the things she's told, that this is not the life she was meant to live? That being a monster is not her forever-fate? And will she be willing to risk everything, to reach out and accept the helping hands around her and share her deepest, darkest secrets? She knows only too well that hands can hurt. Finding out whether they can also heal is a risky proposition, especially when the beast is still out there. Looking for her.Content warning: Violence, foul language, and adult situations. Not meant for younger readers. A note from Elle about this book: A really long time ago, I read an article in a newspaper or a magazine (I haven’t been able to locate the original) about a woman who was so badly beaten over a long period of time, she couldn’t leave her house. I thought about that woman a lot over the years and about what her thoughts might have been, her fears, her reality … and this book was my attempt to both exorcise those thoughts from my brain and also shed some light on a subject —domestic violence— that I feel should never be left in darkness.