Book picks similar to
Worth the Fight by Rachael Brownell


contemporary
romance
contemporary-romance
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Get off on the Pain


Victoria Ashley - 2015
    Memphis is all that and more…I live for the pain; it’s what drives me to keep moving. But there comes a time when one has to push the demons aside in order to survive. I thought I buried them deep. I thought I was ready to finally live. Until… my brother, Alex; he throws me into the fire—right into the place I could never control myself, the one place I never want to be again. When I put my hands on people, they get hurt. Things happen that bring me back to that night. The one that will forever torment me. I’m doing fine, keeping to myself in order to ensure no one gets hurt by me. Then along comes Lyric, and all I want to do is touch her, to put my hands in places that I know will only lead to her being crushed by me. She’s the rush that I crave. The darkest of poison running through my veins, killing me bit by bit; like a drug I can’t get enough of even though I’m almost down to my last breath. And being around her only hurts more, but what she doesn’t understand is that I welcome the pain; I get off on it, which in the end leaves me with the hardest decision of my life—one that might get us all killed…

Rock & Regrets


Cassandra Lawson - 2018
    I was a fool! Austin was no Prince Charming. Rather than sweeping me off my feet, he broke my heart.That was fourteen years ago, and I am completely over Austin. He is in my past, and that’s where he’s going to stay. At least, that’s what I thought until he moved back to the San Francisco Bay Area. Now, he’s determined to win me over. It won’t work. I will not think about how good Austin looks playing the drums shirtless, or what an incredible kisser he is. All right, I might think about those things a little, but I’m definitely not going to fall for him again.AustinI’ve never been the guy who rides off into the sunset with the girl and makes all her dreams come true. I’ve always been the rebound guy, the one who helps rebuild a woman’s confidence after a breakup. It hasn’t been a bad gig. I got all the benefits with none of the drama. It was all I wanted until Piper walked back into my life.She’s not ready to forgive me, and I don’t deserve a second chance. I should just leave her alone, but after seeing her smile, I can’t do that. I’m done being the rebound guy. Piper doesn’t know it yet, but I’m going to do everything in my power to make her love me again. This time, I’m not letting her go.

Refuge at Pine Lake (Pine Haven)


Rose Chandler Johnson - 2019
    This sweet, Southern romance doesn’t disappoint.” – Liz Talley Robin Lancaster, a twenty-six-year-old former kindergarten teacher, has her summer and her life all figured out. She’s ready to be on her own, writing and illustrating her children’s stories at her family’s beloved lake house. Once there, she intends to rekindle a romance with Caleb Jackson, the area’s top hunting and fishing guide, and bag him for herself.Complications arise from the start when Robin finds out her mother has rented the lake house to a man they know nothing about. Matthew McLaughlin, forty-year-old widowed university professor and author from California, shows up at Pine Lake in crisis. A sabbatical might be his only hope to save much more than his career. He needs a place of refuge. Sharing the lake house with a lighthearted young woman and her dog is the last thing on his mind. Caleb Jackson has his own plans. He’s used to things going his way, but a man staying in Robin’s house presents unforeseen challenges. When paths unavoidably entangle for these three, hearts are on the line.

His Pledge to Honor


Shanae Johnson - 2021
    But when an injured soldier shows up at her ranch, will she follow his lead down a trail of love? Though she’s the daughter of a general, Scout Silver is used to giving orders, not taking them. That's why horses thrive on the rehabilitation ranch she runs with her half-sisters. Over the years, her absentee father’s many divorces created a patchwork family, held together by their love of the ranch. But his last will is an order that threatens to rip their lives apart. As the leader of an elite group of soldiers run by the brilliant tactician General Abraham Silver, Lincoln Rawlings has set out on his final mission—to fulfill the dying wish of his commander by ensuring that the general's six daughters are taken care of. When Linc arrives on the Silver Star Ranch, he learns that what the Silver sisters need are husbands, else they’ll lose their beloved business. Instead of doing an immediate about-face, Linc's heart stands at attention under the assessing gaze of Scout, the eldest Silver. Unwilling to let her father once again interfere in her life, even from the grave, Scout has no plans to give in to the general’s demands. But when she meets the handsome and accommodating Linc, she has a hard time reigning in her heart. Letting down the general is not an option, but Linc is hiding a secret from Scout. And if she learns of the deep wounds he bears, he might lose everything—the ranch, his honor, and the woman he’s falling for. Find out if love can truly heal all wounds in this light-hearted, sweet romance of convenient arrangements that unfold into lasting love. His Pledge to Honor is the first in a series of marriage of convenience tales featuring Wounded Warriors who are healed with the power of love.

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?

Where the Road Takes Me


Jay McLean - 2015
    She’s made a promise to herself: don’t let anyone in, and don’t let anyone love her. She’s learned the hard way what happens if she breaks her rules. So she’s focused on being invisible and waiting until she can set out on the road—her dream of freedom, at least for a little while.Blake Hunter is a basketball star who has it all—everything about him looks perfect to those on the other side of his protective walls. He can’t let anyone see the shattered pieces behind the flawless facade or else all his hopes and dreams will disappear.One dark night throws Chloe and Blake together, changing everything for Blake. For Chloe, nothing changes: she has the road, and she’s focused on it. But when the so-called perfect boy starts to notice the invisible girl, they discover that sometimes with love, no one knows where the road may lead.

Love Beyond Words


Emma Scott - 2014
    A passionate reader, she uses the writing of the world-famous and reclusive novelist Rafael Melendez Mendón to assuage her grief. His words are her refuge, his characters better company than anyone she could meet in real life… until Julian Kovač walks into the café one summer evening. He is a handsome, quiet young man and Natalie feels an instant connection. But Julian has a secret that is both the most wonderful revelation Natalie could possibly imagine…and the very thing that could tear them apart.

Undertow


Elizabeth O'Roark - 2013
    It almost seems like enough until Nate Sullivan comes home. Nate – her childhood best friend, her first love. The boy who left without a trace one night and broke her heart. When their attraction threatens the future she and her parents have so carefully crafted, loyalties will be tested and secrets will be uncovered. Giving in may cost her everything. But how do you resist the only thing you’ve ever really wanted?

Baby Girl


C.M. Stunich - 2018
    I was only seventeen; we were going to be together forever. On his way to pick me up for prom, he swerved. I'll never know what made him do it, what killed the boy I'd loved my whole life. With roses clutched in his hand, he bled out in icy wetness all alone. His best friend is here though, and I'm pretty sure he loves me. But after the accident, I left for a year and didn't look back. Now I'm back in town and my heart is like shattered glass. Do I pick up the pieces and risk getting cut? And do I let another boy call me baby girl? WARNING: Don't open unless you're prepared to ugly cry, but also ready to read a story of hope and new love, a love that was there all along but patient enough to wait. This is a book about grief, about loss, but also about fresh starts and new beginnings. The ride is sad, a tumultuous twist of feelings that gets ugly at times ... but the ending is a happy one. BABY GIRL is a full-length 300+ page new adult/contemporary romance novel. It's a stand-alone meaning this volume contains a complete story; there are no sequels and no cliff-hanger. This novel includes cursing, tears, loss, graphic sex scenes, and new hope.

What are the Chances


Brittany Taylor - 2019
    I thought I’d leave the red-headed stranger with dark green eyes behind and good freaking riddance. Except he’s not even close to being gone. Mason McConnell is everywhere, drawing me in, like an invisible thread. I just hope that string doesn't snap and break my heart. Mason: Two weeks was all I needed to go home, spread my cat’s ashes, and visit my brother. But one foolish decision at the airport managed to throw all my plans off track. Somehow, I had unknowingly cast the line, and Charlotte Kelley took the bait. The chatty, prying American somehow had a way of bringing me back to life. I didn’t want her under my skin, and I certainly wasn’t expecting her to make her way into my heart, yet once she did, I didn’t want her to leave. But with one secret wedged between us, I'm not sure I have the right to ask her to stay.

Into the Light


L.B. Simmons - 2014
    Trust me when I say, it's a breathtaking sight to see. You burn as bright as the sun."When Aubrey Miller begins her education at Titan University, she is no longer the beautiful, blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl of her youth. In fact, she's no longer even Aubrey Miller. Overcome with guilt and unable to cope with the loss of her beloved family, she has long since buried eight-year old Aubrey along with them and transformed herself into Raven Miller. Now with jet-black hair, multiple sets of eccentric contact lenses, and several facial piercings, she's veiled herself in complete darkness as a form of protection for herself, as well as others. As she enters her first year of college, her goal is simple: Earn a degree with the least amount of social interaction as possible. What she never anticipates is the formation of very unlikely relationships with two people who will change her life in ways she never believed possible: Quinn Matthews, the overtly cheerful pageant queen, and Kaeleb McMadden, a childhood friend who never really let her go. Over the years, as their connections intertwine and strengthen, a seemingly indestructible bond is formed between the three. And eventually, the ties of friendship and discovery of first love begin to coax her from her darkened path as they slowly bring Aubrey back to life. But when faced with the possibility of yet another death, one from which she may never recover, Aubrey finds herself lost again, burying herself deeper than ever before beneath the familiar abyss of her fears. Spanning the course of four years, this is the story of a young woman's plight to finally reemerge, finding strength within unbreakable bonds as she delivers herself from her own manufactured darkness and safely back . . . Into the Light. ****WARNING - Due to the graphic nature of some scenes, this book is not recommended for those who are particularly sensitive to the death of a child and/or suicide and is intended for mature audiences only. Contains adult language and themes.****

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.

Love Walks In


Nina Lindsey - 2019
    He won't give up.Shaking off her past mistakes and fickle reputation, Aria Prescott is determined to start a new life with her latest venture, the "Meow and Then Cat Café." Though the café is in the town's most rundown neighborhood, Aria will let nothing stop her from success.Then property developer Hunter Armstrong shocks the Mariposa Street shop owners with a buyout offer that threatens to destroy the old district. Aria refuses to let the ruthless businessman intimidate her into selling her beloved café, even if Hunter's dark, glowering hotness secretly makes her want to purr.Aria and Hunter are soon locked in a fiery, tense war over the fate of Mariposa Street. But when Hunter starts falling for this adorable town sweetheart, he discovers that winning the battle might mean losing his heart.Fans of Susan Mallery, Jill Shalvis, small-town Hallmark movies, and the charm of Gilmore Girls will love this heartwarming, enemies-to-lovers romance.The Bliss Cove novels are sweet, spicy contemporary romances that can be read as standalones or enjoyed as part of the series. Reading order:Bliss Cove Series- We Found Love (Kate & Trevor) — FREE series starter!- Love Walks In (Aria & Hunter)- And I Love Her (Callie & Jake)- Love Me Tender (Rory & Grant)- Words of Love (Brook & Sam)- Book of Love (Grace & Lincoln)

Sway


Adriana Locke - 2016
    Power, prestige, and plenty of women, the dapper politician’s life is pretty phenomenal. But in the midst of the biggest campaign of his life, he needs to focus. The last thing he can afford is a distraction.ALISON BAKER is a work-in-progress.As a single mother to HUXLEY, she’s rebuilding life on her terms. She’s focused on family, faith, and a future for her son that can’t be taken away. Putting her child first means not being careless, no matter what. A chance encounter forces Barrett and Alison to redefine what they really want out of life. But everything comes at a cost ... and sometimes, even for love, it’s a price too steep to pay.

The Birthday List


Devney Perry - 2018
    A journal with a list.Take a karate class. Go skydiving. Learn to play the ukulele. Say yes to everything for an entire day. The list goes on, line by line, of youthful dreams.For too long that list has haunted me. But starting today, I’m going to cross one item off. Today, I’m opening my new restaurant in Bozeman, Montana. The Maysen Jar.It should have marked the first day of a new life. A fresh start. But then Cole Goodman waltzed through the door and brought with him the past. A man who shattered my heart. A man I tried to forget.Maybe it’s a good thing he insists on sticking around. Because the only way I’ll finish the list is with Cole’s help. And then I can finally say goodbye.