Book picks similar to
Marriage In Name Only by Doreen Owens Malek
romance
contemporary-romance
contemporary
second-chance
Rookie Move
Sarina Bowen - 2016
But on the first day he’s called up to the newly franchised Brooklyn Bruisers, Leo gets checked on both sides, first by the team’s coach—who has a long simmering grudge, and then by the Bruisers’ sexy, icy publicist—his former girlfriend Georgia Worthington.Saying goodbye to Leo was one of the hardest things Georgia ever had to do—and saying hello again isn’t much easier. Georgia is determined to keep their relationship strictly professional, but when a press conference microphone catches Leo declaring his feelings for her, things get really personal, really fast....
Pretty Broken Girl
Jeana E. Mann - 2015
Sometimes you have to break the thing you love in order to put the pieces back together again. "Life is all about choices. Do I want pizza or a hamburger for dinner? Should I wear a red skirt or blue slacks to work? Do I take a million dollar check and divorce the love of my life to keep my baby brother out of jail? In case you're wondering, I took the check. Now my ex is back in my life. He's still angry and...he's my new boss." Pretty Broken Girl is the passionate retelling of a marriage gone wrong. From the boardroom to the bedroom, Dakota Atwell and Samuel Seaforth are locked in a battle of wits and desire. One of them will break. One of them will pay. Both of them want to win. Neither of them expects to fall in love…again. This is Book 1 of a five book series. It contains adult language, adult situations, and hot steamy sex with a HFN ending. Although it can be read as a standalone, it will be much more enjoyable when read with the other books in the series.
Up in the Treehouse
K.K. Allen
Then again, she never imagined she would fall in love with him either. When she finally reveals her feelings, rejection shatters her, rendering her vulnerable and sending her straight into the destructive arms of the wrong guy.The Rhodes twins never saw the betrayal coming. Chloe has always been their forbidden fantasy--sweet, beautiful, and tempting. But soon the lines between family, friendship, and love become as tangled as the roots of the treehouse they once shared.Now it's too late . . .Four years after a devastating tragedy, Chloe and Gavin find themselves crashing back into each other's lives. Haunted by the past, they're forced to come to terms with all that has transpired to find the peace they deserve. Except they can't seem to get near each other without combatting an intense emotional connection that brings them right back to where it all started . . . their childhood treehouse.Chloe still holds her secrets close, but this time she isn't the only one with something to hide. Can their deep-rooted connection survive the destruction of innocence?
Before We Were Strangers
Renee Carlino - 2015
I like to think it was more.We lived on nothing but the excitement of finding ourselves through music (you were obsessed with Jeff Buckley), photography (I couldn’t stop taking pictures of you), hanging out in Washington Square Park, and all the weird things we did to make money. I learned more about myself that year than any other.Yet, somehow, it all fell apart. We lost touch the summer after graduation when I went to South America to work for National Geographic. When I came back, you were gone. A part of me still wonders if I pushed you too hard after the wedding…I didn’t see you again until a month ago. It was a Wednesday. You were rocking back on your heels, balancing on that thick yellow line that runs along the subway platform, waiting for the F train. I didn’t know it was you until it was too late, and then you were gone. Again. You said my name; I saw it on your lips. I tried to will the train to stop, just so I could say hello.After seeing you, all of the youthful feelings and memories came flooding back to me, and now I’ve spent the better part of a month wondering what your life is like. I might be totally out of my mind, but would you like to get a drink with me and catch up on the last decade and a half?MFrom the USA TODAY bestselling author of Sweet Thing and Nowhere But Here comes a love story about a Craigslist “missed connection” post that gives two people a second chance at love fifteen years after they were separated in New York City.
Ignite
Tessa Teevan - 2013
One to the Army; the other in a tragic car accident. Two years after the latter, a ghost from the past reappears, igniting feelings in Alexa she’d thought long dormant.Jace McAllister has spent the last ten years in the Army, defusing bomb after bomb, trying to forget the girl who once set his world on fire. For him, she’s always been the one who got away. After a not-so-chance encounter places her back in his line of sight, he’s locked eyes on target, and won’t let her go without a fight.Ten years ago their chemistry smoldered, and now the sparks threaten to light a fuse leading to an explosion between them even Jace can’t control. Not that he wants to. But when love has slipped through your fingertips before, how can you trust it will once again remain?Will Alexa’s fear of love and loss destroy their second chance at a beautiful future before it can even begin?
Undeniable
Serena Grey - 2014
She gave him her heart and her love, and ended up alone, heartbroken and with scars that were almost too much for her to bear.Seven years later, they cross paths again. Jackson is everything she remembers, only more irresistible. Underneath his disdain, his desire to possess her lights a response within her, but she has no desire to rekindle their past, or face the pain of all those years ago.However, Jackson has no intention of making it easy for her, this time he’s determined to make her pay for the past, and for the future they should have had, even if it means destroying her in the process.
Something Reckless
Lexi Ryan - 2014
I want more than typed secrets and texted promises. I want something reckless. Heat. Passion. The thrill of being entirely possessed.Because I suspect this anonymous stranger isn’t a stranger at all.*****Lizzy Thompson met riverrat69 online through a service promising to deliver meaningful relationships by forbidding its users to share names or photos until they’ve reached a certain benchmark. She was looking for love. He was researching an investment. They hit it off. Talked and flirted, hid behind screen names and cartoon avatars.Now they’re breaking the rules and meeting in person. But Liz is prepared. She’s picked up hints and followed clues. She’s nearly convinced she’s discovered the identity of her dirty-talking online friend.She wonders if her ex-lover Sam Bradshaw knows her identity too.When she rolls the dice on one reckless night, her chance at something real could crumble.Something Reckless is part one of the Reckless & Real series. Part two, Something Real is available now.
Bittersweet
Noelle Adams - 2013
Widowed at only twenty-six, she’s just trying to get through one lonely day at a time as she grieves her late husband, and finds the energy to take care of her infant son.As Zoe bravely tries to hold herself together, her husband’s cousin and business partner, Adam, offers his support and friendship. Shattered by her loss, Zoe is distant and resentful at first, but Adam gently persists, and Zoe’s reserve soon begins to crumble . . .Adam knows that Zoe needs time to heal but finds himself more and more attracted to her. He knows he must not act on these forbidden feelings, but they just won’t go away . . .Noelle Adams’s Bittersweet is a poignant, fearless exploration of friendship, loss, new beginnings, and the healing power of love.
The Dark Light of Day
T.M. Frazier - 2013
Two broken souls that can't be healed, they can't be saved. Abby and Jake have to decide if they can accept the darkness not only within one another, but within themselves. If they can accept each other for who they really are they might learn that love isn't always found in the light...WARNING: This is NOT your typical romance. The story of Jake & Abby contains disturbing situations, graphic violence, sex, strong language, drug use, and all types of abuse.The Dark Light of Day is a King series prequel.
The Hellion and The Heartbreaker
Jennifer McNare - 2012
However, entering into a scandalous liaison with the sister of his closest friend is not something even he would consider, despite her breathtaking allure and his fierce, overwhelming desire to possess her. Or so he thought…Raised by four doting older brothers, and possessing a reckless streak as bold as her fiery red curls, Scarlett McPhearson has long been accustomed to getting what she wants. After becoming acquainted with Alec Weston, the most sought-after bachelor in England, she discovers something she wants more than anything she has ever wanted before, to capture the heart of the man she has come to adore. Willingly surrendering her innocence to a man who offers her passion beyond her wildest dreams, but no false promises of happily ever after, Scarlett will risk pain, sorrow and devastating heartache to win his everlasting love...
Fighting Redemption
Kate McCarthy - 2013
He understands pain. He knows the hand of violence and the ache of loss. He knows what it means to fail those who need you. Being broken doesn’t stop him wanting the one thing he can’t have; Finlay Tanner. Her smile is sweet and her future bright. She’s the girl he grew up with, the girl he loves, the girl he protects from the world, and from himself.At nineteen, Ryan leaves to join the Australian Army. After years of training he becomes an elite SAS soldier and deploys to the Afghanistan war. His patrol undertakes the most dangerous missions a soldier can face. But no matter how far he runs, or how hard he fights, his need for Finlay won’t let go.Returning home after six years, one look is all it takes to know he can’t live without her. But sometimes love isn’t enough to heal what hurts. Sometimes people like him can’t be fixed, and sometimes people like Finlay deserve more than what’s left.This is a story about war and the cost of sacrifice. Where bonds are formed, and friendships found. Where those who are strong, fall hard. Where love is let go, heartache is born, and heroes are made. Where one man learns that the hardest fight of all, is the fight to save himself.
Drive
Kate Stewart - 2017
. . the heart’s greatest librarian.The average song is three and a half minutes long; those three and a half minutes could lead to a slow blink, a glimpse of the past, or catapult the soul into heart-shattering nostalgia.At the height of my career, I had the life I wanted, the life I’d always envisioned. I’d found my tempo, my rhythm. Then I received a phone call that left me off key.You see, my favorite songs had a way of playing simultaneously. I was in love with one man’s beats and another’s lyrics. But when it came to the soundtrack of a life, how could anyone choose a favorite song? So, to erase any doubt, I ditched my first-class ticket and decided to take a drive, fixed on the rearview.Two days.One playlist.And the long road home to the man who was waiting for me.
Heartless
Michelle Horst - 2017
He’s part of the screw crew. He’ll just use you and leave you. He’s ruthless and always gets what he wants. Just look for the trail of broken hearts and dreamy sighs and you’ll find him. “Hot as sin, Carter.” I don’t have time to fall head over heels for any guy. Besides, he’d never notice someone like me. I have a three step plan. Get through college. Get a job. Get my sister out of the hell hole I left her in. That’s all I have time for. That’s until I hear of the betting pool the guys started. Whoever screws me first gets the money. The moment Carter looks at me, I know it’s only because of the bet. I tell myself our first kiss is only for show. I hate my heart for falling for his irresistible charm. For one foolish moment, I actually want him to be my first earth-shattering love. All it takes for me to give in is a little attention, a cocky smile, and a fake promise of a happily-ever-after. When I’m surrounded by crumpled sheets and the smell of sex, I realize I let him have me for four hundred dollars. To save what little pride I have left, I pretend it didn’t mean anything, that he’s just one last screw before we all leave college. I’ve spent the last four years lying to myself. When I’m ready to take the final step of my plan, and save my sister, guess who walks through my front door? This is a full-length, stand alone, unrequited love/second chance romance. Note: The book ends at 77% with samples of Predator and Protector.
The Space in Between
Brittainy C. Cherry - 2013
Andrea Evans is traumatized and guilt-ridden by the death of her fiancée. Tired of the gossiping small town, she travels to New York City to pursue her dream of dance.He’s uncertain of his future. Cooper Davidson is a famous photographer and reality television star trying to flee from his own life filled with paparazzi, mental health clinics, and a cheating wife who is pregnant. When Andrea and Cooper’s paths cross, they realize how damaged and in need of escapism they both are. The two create an arrangement to explore the space in between chaos and order with one another. The rules are simple—no emotional connections, no talking about the past, no speaking of the future, and when one finds order, the other walks away. All is well until Cooper accidentally falls in love with Andrea.Warning: The following story contains mature themes, strong language, and sexual situations. It is intended for readers 18+ older.
The Millionaire's Pregnant Wife
Sandra Field
But then Luke accidentally reads Kelsey'ssecret wish list, which includes a vacation anda steamy affair. Her simple dreams give Lukethe chance to indulge his wildest one--he'lltake her on a trip to his private resort in theBahamas and bed her.However, he doesn't realize Kelsey's a virgin....