Book picks similar to
Straddling the Line by Sarah M. Anderson


romance
contemporary
harlequin
contemporary-romance

Bittersweet Rain


Erin St. Claire - 1984
    Caroline Dawson survived the town gossips who whispered behind her back. She survived the slow death of her husband, Roscoe Lancaster, the richest man in the county and her senior by three decades. But she feared she might not survive Rink Lancaster, her husband's son. Years before she married, when she and Rink were teens, he introduced Caroline to her first tremulous taste of love -- and then broke her heart. Now he's back. Rink says he wants to settle his father's estate, but his storm of emotions is undeniable and more dangerous than ever -- and what he really wants is to settle the score with Caroline.

Twelve Days


Teresa Hill - 2000
    But there's a catch: Rachel's family is falling apart. Rachel and her husband, Sam, have dreamed of a house filled with children -- a dream that has led them to repeated heartbreak. Sam McRae has finally decided the only thing left to do is leave his wife. Reluctantly, Rachel and Sam take the children in, but just until after Christmas. They will do their best not to fall in love with them, not to get their hopes up that this time a miracle will happen. That these children will stay, and that their marriage can still be saved. AWARDS: RITA Finalist

The Second Home


Christina Clancy - 2020
    If only she’d stayed in Wisconsin, she might never have met Anthony Shaw, and she would have held onto the future she’d so carefully planned for herself. Instead, Ann ends up harboring a devastating secret that strains her relationship with her parents, sends her sister Poppy to every corner of the world chasing waves (and her next fling), and leaves her adopted brother Michael estranged from the family. Now, fifteen years later, her parents have died, and Ann and Poppy are left to decide the fate of the beach house that’s been in the Gordon family for generations. For Ann, the once-beloved house is forever tainted with bad memories. And while Poppy loves the old saltbox on Drummer Cove, owning a house means settling, and she’s not sure she’s ready to stay in one place.Just when the sisters decide to sell, Michael re-enters their lives with a legitimate claim to a third of the estate. He wants the house. But more than that, he wants to set the record straight about what happened that long-ago summer that changed all of their lives forever. As the siblings reunite after years apart, their old secrets and lies, longings and losses, are pulled to the surface. Is the house the one thing that can still bring them together––or will it tear them apart, once and for all?Told through the shifting perspectives of Ann, Poppy, and Michael, this assured and affecting debut captures the ache of nostalgia for summers past and the powerful draw of the places we return to again and again. It is about second homes, second families, and second chances. Tender and compassionate, incisive and heartbreaking, Christina Clancy's The Second Home is the story of a family you'll quickly fall in love with, and won't soon forget.

Playing with Fire


Amy Knupp - 2010
    Running his uncle’s beachside bar on a south Texas island gives him the chance to heal, find peace, and avoid entanglements. That is, until Macey, his childhood friend, tracks him down.After two years abroad in a developing country, Macey Locke is ready to dive in to her Peace Corps-inspired foundation. But when she learns Derek is suffering, she can’t turn her back. Six weeks on a tropical island to help the guy she’s loved for years? No-brainer.Derek can’t help but notice she’s not the same girl he used to know. She’s more. More self-assured, more determined, more irresistible. But is she enough for him to let go of his newfound fragile peace and give in to the passion sparking between them?Playing with Fire is a stand-alone novel with a heartwarming and satisfying HEA in the Island Fire series.

The Forever Summer


Jamie Brenner - 2017
    But one moment of weakness leaves Marin unemployed and alone, all in a single day. Then a woman claiming to be Marin's half-sister shows up, and it's all Marin can do not to break down completely. Seeking escape, Marin agrees to a road trip to meet the grandmother she never knew she had. As the summer unfolds at her grandmother's quaint beachside B&B, it becomes clear that the truth of her half-sister is just the beginning of revelations that will change Marin's life forever. THE FOREVER SUMMER is a delicious page-turner and a provocative exploration of what happens when our notions of love, truth, and family are put to the ultimate test.

Before and Again


Barbara Delinsky - 2018
    Now she lives in Vermont under the name Maggie Reid, in a small house with her cats and dog. She’s thankful for the new friends she’s made―though she can’t risk telling them too much. And she takes satisfaction in working as a makeup artist at the luxurious local spa, helping clients hide the visible outward signs of their weariness, illnesses, and injuries. Covering up scars is a skill she has mastered.Her only goal is to stay under the radar and make it through her remaining probation. But she isn’t the only one in this peaceful town with secrets. When a friend’s teenage son is thrust into the national spotlight, accused of hacking a powerful man’s Twitter account, Maggie is torn between pulling away and protecting herself―or stepping into the glare to be at their side. As the stunning truth behind their case is slowly revealed, Maggie’s own carefully constructed story begins to unravel as well. She knows all too well that what we need from each other in this difficult world is comfort. But to provide it, sometimes we need to travel far outside our comfort zones.

Reservations for Two


Jennifer Lohmann - 2013
    She's opened her own Chicago restaurant, the way she'd always dreamed, and it's this close to being a success. Even better, she's met Dan Meier—a gorgeous man who loves food as much as she does. He isn't put off by her demanding job, which only makes her want to spend more time with him.But a scathing review by an anonymous local critic puts everything in jeopardy. Worse, her steamy new man turns out to be the one who wrote it! Tilly doesn't see how she can ever forgive Dan, but she can't stop thinking about him either. In print he's her enemy. In person? He's as tempting as a perfectly prepared meal…and Tilly's appetite just might get the best of her.

Million Dollar Marriage


Maggie Shayne - 1999
    Lucinda Brightwater is beginning to feel as though time is her enemy. Besides the clinic, she desperately wants a child, but how likely is that for a single thirty-four-year-old who works long hours-with no man on the horizon?So when a man who's hard to resist makes her an offer that's hard to refuse, Lucinda agrees to marry Holden Fortune for one million dollars. The notorious bachelor needs a "respectable" wife in order to claim his inheritance. Lucinda needs her clinic. The terms? One year. In name only. No strings.No strings, maybe, but there's a lot of heat, making it hard for cooler heads to prevail, especially since it appears Lucinda's other dream is now on its way....

The Best Kind of Trouble


Lauren Dane - 2014
    After a turbulent childhood and her once-wild ways, life is now under control. But trouble has a way of turning up unexpectedly—especially in the tall, charismatically sexy form of Paddy Hurley…. And Paddy is the kind of trouble that Natalie has a taste for. Even after years of the rock and roll lifestyle, Paddy never forgot the two wickedly hot weeks he once shared with Natalie. Now he wants more… even if it means tempting Natalie and her iron-grip control. But there's a fine line between well-behaved and misbehaved—and the only compromise is between the sheets!

Enticed by His Forgotten Lover


Maya Banks - 2007
    Even when she's very pregnant and facing down the father of her unborn child. She fell for wealthy hotelier Rafael de Luca when he courted her for her beachfront real estate. Then he disappeared. Now, she's in New York for answers--and she won't accept a brush-off.But selective amnesia after a crash has Rafael puzzled. How could he ever forget a combustible beauty like Bryony? Solution: return to the island where they met, and relive the unforgettable nights in question--until he remembers everything...

The Stuff That Never Happened


Maddie Dawson - 2010
    She’s been in a stable marriage that’s lasted almost three decades and has provided her with two wonderful children, thousands of family dinners around a sturdy oak table, and a husband so devoted that he schedules lovemaking into his calendar every Wednesday morning. Other wives envy the fact that Grant is not the type of man who would ever cheat on her or leave her for a younger woman. The trouble is Annabelle isn’t sure she wants to be married to Grant anymore. The trouble is she’s still in love with someone else. In the early tumultuous years of her marriage, Annabelle carried on a clandestine affair with the one person whose betrayal would hurt her husband the most. When it ended, she and Grant found their way back together and made a pact that they would never speak of that time again. But now years later, with her children grown and gone, and an ominous distance opening between them, she can’t help but remember those glorious, passionate days and wonder if she chose the right man. Then, when called to New York City to help care for her pregnant daughter, Annabelle bumps into her old lover. Offered a second chance at an unforgettable love, she must decide between the man who possesses her heart and the husband who has stood squarely by her side. A journey into the what-ifs that haunt us all, The Stuff That Never Happened is an intricate, heartfelt examination of modern marriage that brims with truths about the nature of romantic love.

Thought I Knew You


Kate Moretti - 2012
    Her best friend Drew helps her look for answers, but all she finds are troubling questions.With every clue, she discovers that Greg may not be the man she thought she married.While battling her growing feelings for Drew and raising her two young children, Claire must learn to live with the knowledge that the truth behind Greg’s disappearance may never be revealed.

Scrumptious


Amanda Usen - 2012
    But several suspicious accidents at the restaurant convince Marlene and Joe to work together to uncover the saboteur. Maybe a little intrigue and high-stakes poker will be the perfect ingredients for these commitment-phobic foodies to whip up a happily ever after.

The Precious One


Marisa de los Santos - 2015
    In all that time, Taisy’s family has seen Wilson, Caroline, and their daughter Willow only once. Why then, is Wilson calling Taisy now, inviting her for an extended visit, encouraging her to meet her pretty sister — a teenager who views her with jealousy, mistrust, and grudging admiration? Why, now, does Wilson want Taisy to help him write his memoir?Told in alternating voices — Taisy’s strong, unsparing observations and Willow’s naive, heartbreakingly earnest yearnings — The Precious One is an unforgettable novel of family secrets, lost love, and dangerous obsession, a captivating tale with the deep characterization, piercing emotional resonance, and heartfelt insight that are the hallmarks of Marisa de los Santos’s beloved works.

Caught on Camera


Kim Law - 2012
    But then she made the mistake of a lifetime. Former model Vega Zaragoza knows what scandal feels like, and she’s resolved to avoid it. Now making her living behind the camera instead of in front of it, she’s content. Life is good. But when a shot at her dream job comes along, one that puts her back in the public eye, Vega has a choice to make: continue to play it safe . . . or gamble everything to go toe-to-toe—and heart-to-heart—with the city’s most eligible bachelor.JP Davenport isn’t merely Atlanta’s most eligible bachelor, he’s the golden boy of one of America’s most prominent families. With endless charisma and movie-star good looks, JP is used to getting whatever he wants, whenever he wants it. And sometimes, things even get handed to him that he doesn’t want. But what can he do? He’s a Davenport. Everyone in the family has their role to play.When JP sets his sights on Vega, he has no idea the secrets she hides. Secrets that, if exposed, could upend both their lives. But though neither is willing to back away from the attraction they feel, they each start to wonder if a relationship is truly a mistake. Or will being together lead them both down the path to the freedom they each so desperately seek? “Kim Law pens a sexy, fast-paced romance.” —New York Times bestselling author Lori Wilde “The chemistry between Vega and JP is explosive and will have you rooting for the couple’s success.” —RT Book Reviews One-click now to get started reading and get drawn into the scandals that surround the Davenports! Don’t miss the other Davenport novels! Caught on Camera (The Davenports #1) Caught in the Act (The Davenports #2) Caught off Guard (The Davenports #3) Author’s note: This book was previously published in 2012 under the same title but with a different cover. The story remains the same as the original.