Book picks similar to
Grace for Drowning by Maya Cross


romance
fighter
fighters
contemporary-romance

Downfall


Jay Crownover - 2019
    Until a stunning, skittish, single mother forces him to pause and recognize just how empty and hollow his busy life has become. From the start, it’s been ingrained in Solo’s DNA to fight.Fight for what he believes is right.Fight for the people he loves.Fight for the traces of good in a place which tends to be filled with a variety of bad.Fight for survival, so at some point, his life will quiet down and find a normal pace.He wasn’t ready for the impact his secretive, shy, obviously out of place new neighbor was going to have on him. And never in a million years was he prepared to fall head over heels for her and her young daughter.Now, he’s facing the most important, and the hardest fight he’s ever fought… the battle to win Orley’s damaged heart. Orley Vincent’s heart is full of fear, leaving no space for love. Until a big, brash, brawler of a man forces his way in and makes her realize facing her fears is the only way she can ever be free. From the start, Orley was groomed to believe she wasn’t good enough.She wasn’t the perfect daughter. Or student. Or girlfriend.But, she has always been the best mother she could be to her daughter, Noble.Keeping Noble safe has always been the one thing she was determined to do, which ironically, is how she ended up on the wrong side of the tracks, living next door to an unlikely hero. Orley’s a woman on the run. She had no idea her frantic sprint was going to land her in the tattooed arms of a man ready to teach her how to fight for herself… and for love.

Grudge Match


Jessica Gadziala - 2017
    And for the first time, he couldn’t convince himself to walk away, to mind his own business.Even after she was getting the care she needed, he couldn’t seem to make himself stay away. But keeping her close meant he would eventually have to let her in, would have to offer over the horrors of his past, and hope she could accept them.But even if she would embrace his past, could she accept his plan to exact brutal, bloody vengeance against the man who hurt her?

Jax


Kelly Gendron - 2015
    You gotta be careful who you play with…” ~ Jax DeclanI’m a tease, always have been. In my teens, Jax Declan tried to warn me about staying away from the bad boys. The only boy I ever wanted was Jax. But, no matter how much I tried to play with him, he rejected me. I haven’t seen Jax Declan in years. A couple friends and I are going back to the Bayou for the summer. A little older now, and a bit wiser, I’ve decided that I’m going to find my teenage crush and I’m going to break him. This summer Jax Declan will play with me. But the closer I get and the more I learn about the reserved, discreet, and sexy Jax Declan. Well, I’m starting to think that Jax Declan might just be one of those bad boys he tried to warn me about all those years ago.

In Kelly's Corner


Roxie Rivera - 2013
    He’ll do anything to keep her safe, even if means getting up close and personal with the one woman he simply can’t have.Soon, Bee’s stalker isn’t his only problem. His gambling addict father is tangled in a mess of debts to two of Houston’s toughest loan sharks. With the family gym on the line, there’s only one way for Kelly to make everything right. He agrees to fight for the Albanian mob in an underground bare-knuckle fighting tournament.But winning the tournament and saving his family’s legacy comes at a high price—one that just might cost Bee her life.

Beyond The Cage


Alana Sapphire - 2016
    He’s smart, tall, dark, and handsome, with a bad boy twist. The only problem is, this Prince Charming doesn’t talk. That’s right. He acknowledges he can, he just…doesn’t.The night I met him, his beauty turned my brain to mush. Then, he kissed me, and my world tilted on its axis. He was a distraction, something I didn’t need being twenty-two years old and pre-med. Besides, I had no business even thinking about a violent MMA fighter, so I walked away with no intention of seeing him again. Apparently, he had other plans.He tracked me down, and I brushed all my objections aside, diving head first into a relationship because he intrigued me. As I get to know him, I learn he’s not the psychotic killer I thought he was, but the more I’m with him, it seems the less I know. He’s a conundrum – scary fighter and gentle giant; public figure, private man. Mystery surrounds him and no one is more curious than I am. Well, you know the saying – ‘curiosity killed the cat’. Cameron’s world is dangerous, and I’m about to learn firsthand. When it breaks down my door, will he be able to save me?***REVISED AS OF 8/15/2016*** (Instances where Jasmine referred to Cameron as "Daddy" were removed)

Unlikely Hero


Kemmie Michaels - 2013
    Never. Not with her past, and not with her fear. She never dated; she didn't even allow herself friendships. She didn't trust her judge-of-character skills enough to allow anyone close...until Marcus. With him, a deep connection happened in spite of the walls she'd so carefully constructed around herself. His self-confessed rage fueled much of his life, with the exception of her. For Erin, Marcus dares to make the step toward love…one with the potential to heal them both.This is the first book in the Play for Keeps Series by Kemmie Michaels.

Delayed Penalty


Shey Stahl - 2013
    As long as the non-offending team maintains possession, the referee allows play to continue and signals a delayed penalty by raising his arm.I’m Evan Mason, an NHL hockey player for the Chicago Blackhawks. I spend my nights roughing up two hundred pound defensemen and, at times, spend more time in the penalty box than I do on the ice.That’s my job. One night changed everything I thought I once knew about my life on, and off, the ice. A girl. A brutally beaten girl left to die in an alley.I don’t know why or how but something made me stay that night after taking her to the hospital. I didn’t know her, nor did I have an obligation to stay but something inside of me rooted me there telling me I should stay. Saving a life is worth something. At least I thought so. And I wouldn’t have been me if I just simply left her there. Any man who put his heart and soul into a game of hockey couldn’t just walk away when someone needed them. She had no one else right now. The same guy who saw determination where there was desire, now saw hope where there was once despair.I couldn’t leave. That wouldn’t be me. No, not a man that put all he had into something some called just a game. I couldn’t walk away from her holding onto life, weak and powerless to something she had no control over.So I stayed. In a room full of family members praying for their loved ones to pull through, I prayed for a girl I didn’t know and had never met before, to have a beating heart. While others’ sorrows turned to grieving pain, I sat waiting on the words of the unknown.No bond is stronger than the ones you’ll bleed for.

Take Care


Ash Johnson - 2014
    A week later, when he arrives unconscious at the hospital where I work, I have a feeling it's a sign.Jay-Ada Michaelson's unique eyes have been haunting my every thought since I had her beneath me a week ago. I can't think during my training. I can't focus in the cage. When I wake up in the hospital to the gaze of those one in a million eyes, I know I can't let her get away again.Things are perfect now that Jay is in my life, but someone else has made it very clear that they don't like it.Threats have been made.I'm looking over my shoulder at every turn.Everyone is a suspect.I'm ready for Jay and I to have our happily ever after, if I can just make it through this alive.

Finding Home


Emilia Finn - 2017
    Her pain was my pain. I felt her swoon. I felt everything and then some. Finding Home isn't about just love, it's about family, it's about finding your own and surviving life.” “I loved every single minute finding new nuances of each character. Every single soul in the book left their foot print in my heart. Thank you, Emilia Finn for writing this beautiful story. I am your fan forever.” ********************* Kit Reilly is just an average woman; strong, hardworking and fiercely independent, but when her best friend dies young and Kit inherits a belligerent teenage dependent, she just wants life to be a little less dramatic. She lives day to day, doing her best to keep her head above water, and she tries to encourage her new house mate to be a decent human being. Bobby Kincaid is a local gym owner and professional UFC fighter. He is a family man, through and through, but he’s not looking to settle down. He has a big fight this year, and no time or desire for distractions. Will he win the title? Will he make room in his life for a few extras? It's a life or death race to the end. Will Kit be able to find home again, before it's too late? ********************* This is a full length novel with no cliffhanger.

Fight or Fall


Anne Leigh - 2014
    A tortured soul. A man betrayed. This is NOT your typical fighter story. In this arena where fame and glory are at stake. One man seeks to find the humanity he once possessed. He fights not for honor but for redemption. He lives by these rules. Break. Bleed. Fight. Live. For love.

Toward the Sound of Chaos


Carmen Jenner - 2016
    At twenty-two, he went in to the Marine Corps a naïve, troubled youth. Nine years and four tours later, Jake finds himself back on US soil, though his mind remains firmly planted in the sands of Afghanistan with the men he left behind.Wounded, chewed up and spat out by war, Jake has only his dog, Nuke, PTSD, and survivor’s guilt to keep him company. He’s lived every day for nine years wondering when it will be his last, but there’s little comfort in the fact that he’s still standing when his platoon isn’t.Ellie Mason doesn’t have time for broken. She’s too busy trying to put food on the table. And keeping up with the demands of her autistic son, Spencer, is sometimes like fighting behind enemy lines. As if navigating the minefields of single parenthood isn’t enough, Ellie finds herself drawn to the quiet Marine who’s just as lonely as she is. But she’s loved damaged men before, and it left her wounded.Set against the picturesque backdrop of Fairhope, Alabama, Ellie and Jake find themselves running toward the sound of chaos.Love is war.Only the strong survive, and surrender is inevitable.

Throttled


Elizabeth Lee - 2015
    Becoming Motocross royalty was always the plan, and he was willing to make sacrifices along the way to reach his goal. Sacrifices he thought he could live with until he returned to the small town where he grew up and learned to ride, and, more importantly, where he fell in love.When fate sends Nora Bennett back into his life, he takes one look at her and realizes that he made a huge mistake breaking up with her seven years ago. Now, he'll do whatever it takes to win her back. As Reid sets out to earn her forgiveness and convince her that the guy she's dating is not the one for her, Nora finds herself torn between what her head is telling her and what her heart wants. It's a race he never expected to be in, for a girl he can't stand to lose again.

Bad Neighbor


Molly O'Keefe - 2016
    He's dangerous... He's right next door. I gave up everything to save my sister from a monster, and now I’m lying low in this rundown apartment so I can stay out of danger. Hiding from everyone.Except for the guy in apartment 1A.He’s rude. Silent. Muscled, mysterious, and hot as hell. I don’t know if he likes me or hates me, but the more time I spend with him, the less it matters.I want him.And for the first time in my life I'm going to go after what I want.She doesn’t belong in my world.From the second 1B moves in, I know she’s keeping secrets. She doesn’t belong here, much less with a street fighter like me.But that doesn’t stop me from craving her. Her softness and sweetness. She’s a drug, and suddenly I’m addicted.I know someone is going to try and hurt her and I can’t let that happen. But unless I push her away and get her out of my world, that someone could be me…

The Fighter's Block


Hadley Quinn - 2012
    For ages 18+)The entire fourth floor of Donovan Kemp's apartment complex houses only MMA fighters, dubbing it "The Fighter's Block." Growing up in an abusive home put Van on the fast track to nowhere, but a caring fight club owner took him under his wing as a teen and shaped him into a fighter with integrity. Now in his mid-twenties, his life changes dramatically when he steps in to help a beautiful girl in a scary situation with her boyfriend. Surprising to Van, she ends up going home with him. He's now on the fast track to something else: falling in love. He feels that Danielle is the type of girl men only dream about, but the two quickly fall hard for each other in equal measure.When the ex boyfriend proves to be nothing but trouble, Van has a tough time deciding between protecting Dani with legal measures or just bashing the guy's face in himself. The harassment escalates, eventually pulling Dani and Van apart, and Van finds himself feeling desperate enough to do something drastic.If being thrown in jail isn't bad enough for Van, an undercover investigator seems to be getting a little too close to Dani, the fight club he grew up in could be turned upside down with scandal, and the friends that he trusts with his life might not be who they say they are.So much for finally discovering the little morsel of happiness he'd been deprived of his entire life...

Letting Lox In


S.M. Donaldson - 2015
    An honor student in high school, she had big plans for herself, and then college happened. She thought she’d met the man of her dreams in hometown football star Lucas Smith. Then she had the earth shattering realization that dreams were just that…dreams. She found herself pregnant, right about the time he got drafted for the NFL and dropped her like a bad habit. Now a struggling 25 year old single mom, she works as a massage therapist and is determined to take care of her son, Sage, on her own, without a dime from him. No matter how many times he tries to pay her to ensure her silence.Loxley Storm was raised by his mom, his dad was a dead beat he never knew. Growing up, he had anger issues and got into a lot of trouble for fighting. Thankfully, a man named Marco took him under his wing and helped him learn to control his anger by fighting…in the ring. Now 26, he is an MMA fighter working to become pro, helping run Marco’s gym along with his best friends, Sly and Huck. To the trio, getting tied down with women is something they don’t need. To blow off steam, they have the “hit it and quit it” motto. Until an injury in a fight lands Lox on Sloan’s massage table, where sparks fly and neither can deny the attraction. The more pieces of Sloan Lox finds out, the more he respects her and her accomplishments as a single mom. Sloan is hesitant to trust another man, and she sure doesn’t want to risk her son getting hurt, but how long can she keep Lox at arm’s length? Will she let Lox in? Or will she let her past ruin her chances of finding love again?This book is part of a series but can be read as standalone.