Book picks similar to
Light My Way by Marley Valentine


romance
contemporary-romance
standalone
contemporary

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.

Dear Life


Meghan Quinn - 2017
    Four stories. Four sets of letters. Four brave souls in need of guidance while facing life's greatest challenges. The anonymously published Dear Life program is designed to help them step outside of their comfort zones, face their obstacles, and relinquish their demons...and prove their existence. With their lives teetering between wanting more and losing it all, all four souls dive into the program as a New Year’s resolution, sending them on a crazy, life-altering journey. Dear Life, Please be kind. Yours truly, Hollyn, Jace, Daisy, and Carter.

Black Number Four


Kandi Steiner - 2015
    Her sole focus for spring semester is to perfect her game and get tournament ready – and have some fun with her sorority sisters, of course. Meeting a care-free pledge with incredible arms adds a whole new element of fun to her semester, but when a shocking discovery about his past surfaces, Skyler finds herself stuck in a game she wasn’t prepared to play. Kip Jackson is on a mission from his father. His plan was to get in, have a little fun, and then get out – on to bigger and better things. A feisty girl with bright blue eyes wasn’t on his list of things to do, but she quickly moves her way up to the very top. When he realizes completing his dad’s mission means crushing her in the process, he must decide if his dreams are worth the risk – or if he even has the same dreams, at all.Two secrets. Two hearts. Two hands being played in one twisted game of deceit. When the cards are on the table, will anyone be left standing?The perfect poker face can only hide them for so long.

Dear Agony


Georgia Cates - 2017
    You cleverly disguised yourself as some form of pain or suffering as I grew into a young woman. We were unwavering companions … until I severed our ties.I traded homelessness on the streets of New Orleans for a luxurious bed covered by the finest linens. I traded dumpster diving for dinner in the finest restaurants. I traded myself to a stranger—Bastien Pascal.I have a good life within my platonic and mutually beneficial companionship with Bash.He’s my friend. My mentor. My roommate.Until everything changes.I’m not supposed to get goosebumps when his hand brushes my skin.I’m not supposed to be eager for his soothing touch following one of my nightmares.I’m not supposed to think about what might happen if I reached out to him in the darkness.Falling in love with him? Preposterous . . . unavoidable. Agony, why are you back with a vengeance to rob me of this life I’ve come to love so dearly?I’m finally happy. Don’t ruin this for me.Always yours,RoseIn this epic love story, Dear Agony forges a connection between an unlikely pair—a beautiful rose entwined in barbed wire and a shipwreck sinking into the darkest depths of the ocean. This agonizing romantic novel poses some gut-wrenching questions: What does a woman do when the man she loves is planning his own demise? And how far will she go to give him something to live for?

Kasey


Jennifer Hanks - 2019
    Welcome to the Family… One. Defining. Moment. Kasey Moore is happy to be home. Moving to New Hope as a teenager hadn’t been easy, but once she settled in, she couldn’t imagine herself living anywhere else. After four years in College, she’s finally back to living in the town she loves and working her dream job as a teacher at the Elementary School. For Kasey, her life couldn’t be more perfect. Until a school assembly, an arrogant man, and a hot encounter in a closet shakes up everything Kasey thinks she wants. Ten years as a Navy SEAL and Jackson Dimarco is coming home. Ten years of rigid schedules, almost unreachable expectations, and being a part of something bigger than himself has changed him. Coming home, trying to find himself, the last thing Jax wants to do is talk to an auditorium full of school kids about his time in the military, but when his brother signs him up that’s exactly what he ends up doing. And he meets someone who challenges him in a way nobody has in a very long time. He meets someone who inspires him to become more than who he’s settled for. He meets someone who makes him feel alive again. It’s just a shame she doesn’t feel the same way. But Jackson Dimarco has always loved a challenge and Kasey Moore is the biggest incentive he’s ever had to win. This is a novella in The Dimarco Series. Can be read as a standalone and at any point in the series. However, if new to the series, I'd recommend reading this novella before the first book in the series.

Renegade


Laramie Briscoe - 2017
    I make up my mind and stay in my lane, never veering off the course I set for myself. Going into the military? Did it. Serving overseas? Did it. Youngest member of the Moonshine Task Force? That’s me. Get my best friend’s older sister in bed? It was my pleasure. Convince the older sister to give me a chance? Working on it. Age means nothing to me. I’ve seen and done things men half my age never will. What I want more than anything is someone to share my life with. The work I do is dangerous and knowing I have someone at home might keep me under control. Everybody says I need a woman, and I know I do, but I also know which one I want. That woman, whether she admits it or not, is Whitney Trumbolt. Whitney Trumbolt Ryan is ten years my junior, but damn, being a cougar never felt as good as it did the night we spent together. Now all I want to do is go back to how things were before. But Ryan is my younger brother’s best friend, and where Trevor goes, Ryan goes. Instead I put my head in the sand and do my best to go about my life. Build up my confidence from a horrible divorce? Working on it. Make my wedding planning company the best in the south? Did it. Ignore the way my body trembles when I see Ryan? Epic fail. Freak out when I see a positive pregnancy test staring back at me? Complete with mascara running down my face and clutching my pearls. Looks like things aren’t gonna go back to the way they were. There’s a man in my life that won’t take no for an answer. Gone is sweet Ryan, and in his place is the one who makes my blood run hot, my cheeks turn red, and my heart beat heavily within my chest. The one I’m up against is the one I can’t say no to. Not when he becomes Renegade.

The Light We See


J. Lynn Bailey - 2019
    From Carpinteria, California, we left.In Arizona, we barely spoke.In New Mexico, I gave him a promise that I knew I couldn’t keep.In Texas, we slept under the stars.In Oklahoma, he told me a story I wouldn’t soon forget.In Louisiana, he gave my soul a voice.Between Arkansas and Mississippi, we took full advantage of an opportunity.In Tennessee, I studied his face.In Kentucky, he introduced me to his parents.In Ohio, he found my heart.In West Virginia, we drank whiskey and told ourselves that truths are better left untold.In Maryland, we felt the weight of the night.In Pennsylvania, his wife called.And in New York, I asked myself one question:Would he be able to let me go when it was time?

Every Little Piece of Me


Lexi Ryan - 2020
    . . and the wedding invitation that changes it all. The first time I saw Brinley Knox, she was crying and heartbroken at her own sweet sixteen party. The daughter of the wealthiest family in Orchid Valley, she was off limits to someone like me—the teenage charity case, the hired help.But that didn’t stop me from kissing her. Or from promising if she were ever mine, I’d never let her go.The last time I saw Brinley Knox, I made good on that promise. Forget that it was the first time we’d seen each other in ten years, or that we were drunk in Vegas when we said I do. I meant every word, every touch, every promise.The problem? When I came back to the hotel, she was gone—the ring I slipped on her finger and the note she left behind the only reminders she had been there. Well, those and the hole she left in my chest in place of my heart.We haven’t spoken in the six months since, and I’m not the kind of guy who’d file for a divorce he doesn’t want.But when I get the invitation to her wedding to another man, it’s time to return to Orchid Valley and remind the bride-to-be that I’m a man who keeps his promises.Every Little Piece of Me is a sexy, standalone second-chance romance in Lexi Ryan’s all-new Orchid Valley series.

Stolen Moments


Emily Bowie - 2019
    That's all it took to change everything. The sweet girl next door, Shay Steele, knows better than to set eyes on Three Rivers’ bad boy, Luke Rogers. With three alpha brothers determined to keep her from ever dating, it’s not like she would even have a chance with their best friend and local football hero. But when Luke starts paying attention to her, she thinks she may finally have her dreams come true.Luke knows Shay is off limits, but he just can’t seem to stay away from the feisty brunette. Besides, a little secret—and a lot of kissing—never hurt anyone. Right? Lies and secrets, however, never seem to stay hidden for long. When their newfound romance is discovered, not everyone is happy to hear about it and worse yet, they’re not afraid to pull the trigger.

Backing You Up


Weston Parker - 2020
    Maybe they’re right.Graduating college should have given me some relief, but not when my father was waiting in the wings to hand over his railroad company. The world thought he’d gone mad. A tycoon handing off a man’s man type of business to his daughter!To a GIRL! Especially when he has a son.But my brother isn’t interested in anything that doesn’t have surf and sun involved. Though I’m not ready for that kind of responsibility, I have no choice. Luckily enough, my dad’s righthand man, Rogan, is there to back me up. My brother’s best friend. Go figure. I need his help more than ever now, though. My father passed away unexpectedly, leaving me to fend off the wolves alone. Though my handsome new sidekick is less than thrilled to have a younger woman running the show, we make an incredible team. And then he asserts himself. As much as I hate to admit it, the man is hotter than sin and has my full attention. Unfortunately, our passion gets in the way and the board forces my man to leave. It’s time for me to grow up. To fully step into my father’s shoes. That’s all fine and dandy, but I don’t wear flats.I’m a high-heel kinda gal, and I get to choose who stands beside me and behind me. The only man I want at my back is the one I want in my bed.

Changing Course


Aly Martinez - 2014
    I was lucky enough to keep her for seven years before a tragic accident stole her from me. She didn’t die, but sometimes I think it would have been easier if she had.I lived in a haze for those four years after the accident. Catering to her every need, even though she hated the very sight of my face. I tried to hold on to her and the future that we were supposed to build together. But you can’t hold on to someone who doesn’t exist anymore.It wasn’t until I met Jesse Addison, a barista at the local coffee shop, that I realized I didn’t just lose Sarah that tragic night, I lost myself as well. Jesse taught me how to let go of the past and learn to love again. But what happens when your past haunts your present, and the woman you used to love refuses to accept the woman you can’t live without?*Intended for readers 18+. Each book in this series can be read as a standalone.*

The Boy Next Door


Ella James - 2017
    That’s what he was. Dash Frasier—my hero from the day we met, when I was six and he was nine. His sister was my best friend, the three of us one happy crew. Then one sweaty summer night changed everything. No one understood me like Dash. No one made me feel so loved. That’s why, when he skipped town, it wrecked me.Now I’m older. Wiser. I’ve just snagged my dream job, writing at a film studio. The lead animator on my project? You guessed it.He’s not the boy next door. Not anymore.I’m guarding my heart this time. But Dash has secrets that could break us both.

Lunatic


K.L. Savage - 2021
    Control doesn’t exist if someone is fighting their mind. We have to break in order to mend.Constantly.Hence, The Asylum.A sanctuary for lost causes.Where crazy can roam free, and compulsions can be let loose.My nephew says as long as it stays at The Asylum, we won’t have problems.What fun would it be if problems didn’t exist?And my problem is in the shape of a dancer, twirling on the front lawn in the middle of the night.Her laughter is music.Her beauty is timeless.And my mania has kicked in overdrive.When I’m obsessed with something, it’s more than what the normal person feels.If I can’t have her, no one can.If I can’t have her, I’ll die.And I’ll make sure she’ll die too.I’m a lunatic who has found the living breathing version of his mania.

Within These Walls


J.L. Berg - 2014
    I am not strong. I am just a survivor of circumstance.Isn’t that what we all do? Survive?Each of us has our own set of circumstances to muddle through. Mine are just more…complicated. Born with a severe heart defect, I’ve seen the inside of a hospital room more than my own bedroom. I was drowning, a prisoner to the illness that owned me, until he appeared. He thinks he’s blocked out the world with his tattoos and hard exterior, but I see the real Jude, the one he so desperately wants to forget. But is he the answer to my prayers or will he break my already damaged heart forever?My name is Lailah Buchanan, and this is our story of hope, redemption and sacrificing it all for the one you love.

Booty Camp Dating Service


Debra Anastasia - 2016
    The twist? Well, Wolf Saber --who inherited his gift-- is NEVER wrong when he matches people. It’s a gift passed down from his grandmother to his mother to him.He’s sexy but stays behind the scenes, letting his buddy Chance do all the talking while he matches the clients at parties and events. Booty Camp Dating Service travels the country, and nine months after they leave the city there’s always a flurry of weddings and an accompanying baby boom. Booty Camp claims that clients will be 110% satisfied and they deliver on that promise every single time.Except Wolf refuses to deliver on that guarantee for himself. He doesn’t find love until Hazel Lavender’s best friend pushes her through his front door. Now all he wants to do is make sure Hazel is 110% satisfied…in his bed. Which, ironically, would break the very rules Wolf demands of his employees--no dating clients, ever.So instead, Wolf and Hazel fight. And kiss. And fight some more.Will Wolf’s own rules make him the very first Booty Camp Happily Never After?Line up readers, your Booty Camp date is waiting…Booty Camp Dating Service is a STANDALONE!