Book picks similar to
Exception by Patty Maximini


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contemporary-romance
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The Girl I Was Before


Izzy Bayliss - 2016
    Lily thinks things can't get any worse when she sees photos of her husband and his new lover splashed across the glossy magazine pages, but when she loses her job too, she is at her lowest ebb and turns to baking to soothe her soul. Wounded and broken she has to try and pick herself up again with the help of her best friend Frankie and with her encouragement, Lily decides to turn her hobby into a business and sets up Baked With Love. However whatever Lily does, it seems disaster soon ensues and when handsome stranger Sam comes to her rescue, Lily isn't quite ready to turn her back on her marriage. Can Lily risk opening her heart again or is she destined to allow Marc to shadow her life forever?

The Surprise Wedding


Jean Oram - 2017
    Come fall in love... Sometimes exes come in handy. Devon Mattson’s week couldn’t get much worse. Not only is he fake engaged to the sexy woman who broke his heart (then stomped on it for good measure) a decade ago, but his goal of saving his hometown of Blueberry Springs has become dependent on the two of them playing nicely. Olivia Carrington isn’t happy to have her ex back in her life. She’s spent ten long years regretting how they ended things back in college and she’s worked hard to move on. She should be focusing on saving her family’s company, not on the handsome, helpful, fun-loving Devon who has just offered her a lifeline she can’t resist… Tied together by mutual need, will they ruin each other’s chance of success or will a fake engagement help them overcome their painful past and lead them back to love once again? This is the first book in the Veils and Vows series and it can be read out of series order and as a standalone. The couple, Olivia and Devon, also have a prequel novella, The Promise, which can be read before or after this book for readers who want more about Olivia and Devon’s past. Read the entire Veils and Vows series! The Promise (Devon and Olivia--prequel) The Surprise Wedding (Devon and Olivia) A Pinch of Commitment (Ethan and Lily) The Wedding Plan (Luke and Emma) Accidentally Married (Burke and Jill) The Marriage Pledge (Moe and Amy) Mail Order Soulmate (Zach and Catherine) And a bonus spinoff book in the Indigo Bay Sweet Romance Series: Sweet Matchmaker (Logan and Ginger) All books in this series can be read out of series order so jump in anywhere and fall in love with the unexpected.

Fleeting Moments


Bella Jewel - 2016
    My rock.He was just a strangerJust a selfless stranger with a face I'll never forgetCan't forgetWon't forget And like everything else, he just disappearedAs if he never existedI have to find himI need to find himHe has to know that he saved me He has to know that in that one fleeting moment, he was all I could see

Hooked on You


Lindsey Brookes - 2012
    Frustratingly, he refuses to call the police, determined to handle matters on his own.Private investigator Chase Reynolds has no idea the woman he meets on the beach, the one whose son is determined to ‘catch his mommy a man’, is James Lansing’s daughter. James had assured him that his daughter was safely away in Miami. So when he sees the woman he’d met on the beach talking to James, even hugging him, Chase regretfully moves her to the top of his suspect list.It’s not until James invites them both to join him in his private dining room that they discover each other’s true identities. Lansing convinces Chase to become his daughter’s personal bodyguard until the situation with the threats is taken care of. Being thrown together twenty-four seven is the last thing Chase wants, considering the unexpected feelings he has for Shay. Distraction can make a man careless. But he accepts, determined to protect her and her son with his life.For the first time since her divorce, a man stirs Shay’s passion. More importantly, he makes her son smile. The last thing she expects is to fall for her ‘bodyguard’, a man determined to keep his heart at bay, but she does just that. Can she convince Chase he really is her happily-ever-after? Or will secrets uncovered ruin any chance of a future together?

Running on Empty


L.B. Simmons - 2013
     Beautiful and loving husband.Three gorgeous little girls. Successful career. The only thing missing was the white picket fence. I really wanted that fence. Three years ago, I lost that life. I lost my husband. And I lost myself. But, eventually, I found my way through the darkness. I’ve made peace with my new life. I have my girls, and that’s all that matters. They are my world. I have no illusions of ever falling in love again or getting whisked away on a white horse. But then he came back into my life. On a freakin’ motorcycle.There’s no way I’ll let him turn my life completely upside down. Absolutely no way. The question is…How long can I keep pretending that I’m happy with my life being right-side up?

Finding Kate Huntley


Theresa Ragan - 2011
    scientist, is murdered before her eyes. For the next ten years Kate grows up alone in Haiti, one of the most dangerous and poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. Not a day goes by that she doesn't think of her father. Kate pushes herself to become stronger, mentally and physically. Every day is a struggle for survival. And yet she lives for only one reason...revenge.While looking for a drug lord via satellite in Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital, Jack Coffey, rookie FBI agent, spots Kate Huntley. Jack is sent by the agency to find Ms. Huntley and bring her back to the States. They have many unanswered questions about her father's death. A professional and responsible man, Jack is confused by Kate's lack of cooperation. He wants to help her return to the States where he believes she'll be safe, but she treats him like the enemy and refuses to go. Everything about her is a contradiction. She looks fragile and innocent, but every time he turns around she's putting another thug in his place. In the beginning Jack wonders if Kate's distrust of his superiors is warranted or just simple paranoia. In the end, Jack realizes nothing is as it seems.

Fall Out


Zoe York - 2014
    Until Annie Martin shows up on his doorstep, scared out of her mind, and all of a sudden, keeping her safe becomes the most important mission of his life.And this time, he’s on his own.Fall Out is a 30,000 word novella, first published as part of the SEALs of Summer boxed set, now available on its own.

Life, Unscheduled


Kristin Rockaway - 2021
    As a user experience designer at Virtuality, an artificial intelligence company in Los Angeles, Nicole is at her desk from sunrise to sunset. She doesn’t have time for a social life (or a love life), but that’s perfectly fine with her. Until her best friend, Parisa Shahin, announces her engagement and asks Nicole to be her maid of honor.That’s when Nicole decides to meticulously schedule out the next six months of her life—from her project due dates to her dress-fitting appointments to how many hours she plans to sleep each night. If she can stick to her schedule, she’ll balance everything fine. Of course, that’s a really big if. And after she crosses paths with emerging restaurateur Brandon Phelps, Nicole is feeling feelings she hasn’t felt in…well, ever. But scheduling time to fall in love might push even the most meticulous plans into pure chaos.

Cupcakes & Chardonnay


Julia Gabriel - 2013
    and intoxicating temptationThree years ago, Suzanne Austin dumped wealthy playboy and wine heir Daryle Catterton— and hasn't regretted it once. Now the owner of the hottest cupcake shop in San Francisco, her only relationship is with her business and she likes it that way ... until Daryle shows up with a business proposal she can't afford to refuse.She knows Daryle will hold up his end of the deal, but can she hold up hers without losing her head when their old chemistry gets uncorked?INCLUDES extended excerpts (chapters 1-5) of Next to You, Drawing Lessons and Falling for the Prodigal Son.

More, Please


Kate Aster - 2015
    And it has nothing to do with the hot Navy SEAL I picked up in a bar.Really... it doesn't.Even though the pressure of his lips on mine fires me like a hot kiln, and the feel of his ripped chest beneath my hungry fingertips...Wait... I'm digressing. Focus, Allie.Since graduating from college, I've been juggling two jobs while fostering abandoned dogs, with my sights set on opening a rescue kennel. I'll do whatever it takes to succeed, even if it means fighting back my cravings for the man who's been fueling my fantasies since I got my first taste of him in a hotel elevator.This guy is too full of secrets. Dark ones, hidden behind his ice blue eyes. Secrets of his Special Ops past and of a billionaire family that employs half our town. He won't let me into his world, and it's for the best.Logan Sheridan is more than I can handle. But when he slips his way into my life, searing the memory of his rock-hard body pressed against mine into my consciousness, all I can do is remember that night in the elevator......and ask for more, please.*More, Please is a stand-alone romance with no cliffhangers.*

Across the Creek


Jeremy Asher - 2012
    An unlikely childhood romance between a poor boy and a wealthy girl began the day Jesse decided to do the impossible and cross the creek. A love was born, one that would become their shelter, protecting them from the storms of their lives, until the day Jesse witnessed his mother’s murder, forcing him to leave his childhood home…and first love. Ten years later, life has finally gotten better for Jesse. He has a loving family, a charming pet shop to run, and one semester left before graduating with a degree in architecture. Everything is great, until the day fate intervenes and his long-lost love walks into his shop and back into his life.Sarah, engaged to a budding attorney, is struggling to keep everything together. Her father, diagnosed with terminal cancer, is running out of time. Sarah races to build their dream business while planning her wedding in time for her father to walk her down the aisle.Their brief encounter starts a series of events that neither Jesse nor Sarah expects. After a decade of running, Jesse is now forced to face the demons from his past, while Sarah has to choose between her handsome attorney and her first love. Just when they think love has given them a second chance, Jesse is faced with an impossible decision, one that will change their lives forever.Across the Creek is the first in a 2-book series. Beneath the Willow is the second.

Runaway Road


Devney Perry - 2020
    She ran away from home at sixteen, escaping parents more interested in drugs than their daughter. She doesn’t have loving siblings or an adorable pet. Her only family is the five other runaway kids who shared her junkyard home. Life pulled them all in separate directions, taking her to Boston. For a short time, she thought she’d found something permanent. But after a devastating divorce, she’s running away again, this time to find a lost friend. She’s driving across the country in her convertible. As a teenager, the rusty car was her shelter. As an adult, it’s her ride to freedom. Except one flat tire derails her trip. Her life collides with Brooks Cohen. They walked away from the first crash. The second might destroy them both.

The Courage To Love


Christina Tetreault - 2014
    That is until she meets Sean O’Brien, the co-owner of the bed and breakfast. From the moment she checks in, Mia is drawn to Sean, a reserved man who sees past her celebrity status. Eighteen years ago Sean became the man of the house when his father walked out on the family. Without a second thought, he put his own hopes and dreams on the back burner and took care of his mom and younger sister. Now the co-owner of a successful bed and breakfast, Sean has accepted his position in life—until the day Mia Troy checks in. Despite his better judgment, Sean can’t ignore his physical attraction to Mia. Soon he gives into his desire, telling himself all she wants is a quick fling to pass the time. As they spend time together, his feelings grow. But can love between a small town guy and an A-list celebrity ever last?

Miss Me Not


Tiffany King - 2012
    Madison Hanson's past demons have given her a shadow of an existence with little hope. With the sudden tragic death of a fellow student, Madison questions her own life choices, and is now forced to evaluate everything she thought she believed in. When fate intervenes and partners her with Dean Jackson, a popular "all around good guy" from school, Madison gets a glimpse of a life that is filled with sunshine that has the power to break through the darkness she has cloaked herself in. With Dean's help, Madison discovers a desire to finally step out of the shadows, and embrace life and all its gifts.

Always


Carol Rose - 1998
    But the beautiful old house is a near-ruin and she can't afford to restore it. Elinor hopes to find a buyer who will cherish the home as she does. But she has one rule - she won't sell to handsome, self-made millionaire Cole Whittier.Cole has the locals upset over his plans to build a factory nearby and Elinor's leading the opposition. He's got a fight on his hands to convince the stubborn beauty of the merits of his plans - and of everything else he discovers he wants to offer her.It's up to Cole to persuade Elinor to see things from his perspective. The sexy industrialist is convinced that Elinor is well worth winning over.