Book picks similar to
From the Embers by Aly Martinez


romance
favorites
single-parent
contemporary-romance

Left Drowning


Jessica Park - 2013
    Then a chance meeting sends Blythe crashing into something she doesn’t expect—an undeniable attraction to a dark-haired senior named Chris Shepherd, whose past may be even more complicated than her own. As their relationship deepens, Chris pulls Blythe out of the stupor she’s been in since the night a fire took half her family. She begins to heal, and even, haltingly, to love this guy who helps her find new paths to pleasure and self-discovery. But as Blythe moves into calmer waters, she realizes Chris is the one still strangled by his family’s traumatic history. As dark currents threaten to pull him under, Blythe may be the only person who can keep him from drowning. *This book is intended for mature audiences due to strong language and sexual content.Note: due to mature content recommended for Ages 17+

Black Swan Affair


K.L. Kreig - 2016
    He wears scruff like he invented it and ambles with a swagger that makes panties drop. Killian Shepard. Shep. We grew up together. We played Ghost in the Graveyard. Had our own rock band. It didn’t matter that he was five years older than me. It didn’t matter that he looked at me as a kid sister even as I grew into woman. It didn’t even matter when he left me behind to go to college and start his adult life. He’d be back. He was always meant to be mine.He came back, all right. But instead of smelling of promises, he stunk of betrayal. And he destroyed me—us—the day he married my sister instead of me.So I did the only thing a girl like me in my position could do. I got my revenge. I married his brother, Kael. Now we’re one big happy f*cking family.***mature content appropriate for 18+

Slip of the Tongue


Jessica Hawkins - 2016
    Nathan Hunt has her coffee waiting every morning. He holds her hand until the last second. He worships the Manhattan sidewalk she walks on. Until one day, he just…stops. And Sadie finds herself in the last place she ever expected to be. Lonely in her marriage.When rugged and sexy Finn Cohen moves into the apartment across the hall, he and Sadie share an immediate spark. Finn reveals dreams for a different life. Sadie wants to save her marriage. Their secrets should keep them apart, not ignite a blistering affair. But while Sadie’s marriage runs colder by the day, she and Finn burn hotter.Her husband doesn’t want her anymore.The man next door would give up everything to have her.Slip of the Tongue is a standalone contemporary romance. The second book in the series, The First Taste, is a standalone about a different couple.

Cake


J. Bengtsson - 2016
    Surviving an unspeakable crime as a young teen had shaped him into a guarded workaholic, and he now lived his life trying to forget. If it hadn’t been for music and the redemption he found through it, he might not have survived. Career success came easily for him. Personal connections did not. When outspoken, vivacious college student Casey Caldwell was paired with the famously reserved rockstar for a friend’s wedding, she was prepared for the worst. What could they possibly have in common? She was a bubbly talker; he was a reclusive loner. His life was filled with music; she couldn’t carry a tune. She’d enjoyed a happy childhood; his was a well-publicized nightmare. Yet despite their obvious differences, Jake and Casey found each other, and her light balanced out his darkness. Would their love be strong enough to survive the weight of his tragic past? AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a *full-length* standalone romance. Cake is a love story at heart but does deal with a sensitive topic and may not be for all. Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of eighteen.*This novel was professionally re-edited on June 28th, 2016*

A Wish for Us


Tillie Cole - 2018
    A story of healing. A story of love conquering all.Nineteen-year-old Cromwell Dean is the rising star of electronic dance music. Thousands of people adore him. But no one knows him. No one sees the color of his heart.Until the girl in the purple dress. She sees through the walls he has built to the empty darkness within.When Cromwell leaves behind the gray skies of England to study music in the South Carolina heat, the last thing he expects is to see her again. And he certainly doesn’t expect that she’ll stay in his head like a song on repeat.Bonnie Farraday lives for music. She lets every note into her heart, and she doesn’t understand how someone as talented as Cromwell can avoid doing the same. He’s hiding from his past, and she knows it. She tries to stay away from him, but something keeps calling her back.Bonnie is the burst of color in Cromwell’s darkness. He’s the beat that makes her heart skip.But when a shadow falls over Bonnie, it’s up to Cromwell to be her light, in the only way he knows how. He must help her find the lost song in her fragile heart. He must keep her strong with a symphony only he can compose.A symphony of hope.A symphony of love.A symphony of them.

The Best Thing


Mariana Zapata - 2019
    Other things… not so much. Lenny DeMaio made herself a promise: she was done. Done thinking about him. Done worrying about him. Done reaching out to a man who clearly didn’t want to be found. Too bad no one gave Jonah Collins the memo.

Justified


Jay Crownover - 2019
    So as the sheriff of Loveless, Texas, he's determined to do everything by the book--until he's called to Aspen Barlow's office after a so-called break-in. The last thing he wants to do is help the woman who cost him custody of his son. But Aspen isn't the heartless lawyer Case remembers, and he starts to question his long-held grudge...Aspen is scared for her life, and Case is her last hope for protection. But to get him on her side, she'll have to reveal the painful truth from all those years ago. Now, as they work together to track down a dangerous criminal, Case and Aspen learn to trust each other. And as the threats escalate, it becomes clear there's a thin line between love and hate... because there's nothing Case wouldn't do to keep her safe.Includes It's All About That Cowboy, a bonus novella by Carly Bloom!

Birthday Girl


Penelope Douglas - 2018
    He doesn’t use me, hurt me, or forget about me. He listens to me, protects me, and sees me. I can feel his eyes on me over the breakfast table, and my heart pumps so hard when I hear him pull in the driveway after work. I have to stop this. It can’t happen. My sister once told me there are no good men, and if you find one, he’s probably unavailable. Only Pike Lawson isn’t the unavailable one. I am. PIKEI took her in, because I thought I was helping. As the days go by, though, it’s becoming anything but easy. I have to stop my mind from drifting to her and stop holding my breath every time I bump into her in the house. I can’t touch her, and I shouldn’t want to. But we’re not free to give into this. She’s nineteen, and I’m thirty-eight. And her boyfriend’s father. Unfortunately, they both just moved into my house.

Spark


S.L. Scott - 2018
    Scott, comes a new book that will introduce you to rock stars with heart and soul as well as revisit with some favorites from The Resistance. One break is all The Crow Brothers need and we’re about to get it. Johnny Outlaw, rock legend and lead singer of The Resistance, is here to watch us play. But he’s not the only familiar face in the crowd—killer little body, heart-shaped face, and drop-dead gorgeous. Hannah Nichols sitting at the bar makes it hard to concentrate, sparks already reigniting. The beauty was never a groupie and tonight she’s not here to catch our show. She came to drop a bomb. “You have a son.” She underestimated me. I’ll prove to my son, and her, that I can be the dad he needs. What is it about musicians? Why are they so damn sexy? My heart was Jet Crow’s the moment he opened his sexy mouth and sang that first song. One stolen night with that man would never be enough, but I’m not here to fall into his bed. Again. I’m here to fight for custody of a son he’s never known. There’s just one problem. Those sparks between us have become flames. If we’re not careful we’re both going to get burned.

Maybe Someday


Colleen Hoover - 2014
    She lives with her best friend, has a great boyfriend, and the music coming from the balcony opposite hers is fast becoming the soundtrack to her life. But when Sydney finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her, the bubble bursts. The mysterious and attractive man behind the music, Ridge, gives Sydney hope that she can move on and they begin to write songs together. But moving on is harder than she expects, Sydney can only hope…. Maybe someday… Colleen Hoover draws you in to this passionate tale of music, love and betrayal…

Unbreak My Heart


Nicole Jacquelyn - 2016
    The fact that Shane's in the military and away for long periods helps—but when tragedy strikes, everything changes.After Rachel, pregnant with her fourth child, dies in a car accident and the baby miraculously survives, Kate upends her entire life to share parenting duties. Then on the first anniversary of Rachel's death, Kate and Shane take comfort in each other in a night that they both soon regret.Shane's been angry for a year, and now he feels guilty too—for sleeping with his wife's best friend and liking it... liking her. Kate's ability to read him like a book may have once sent Shane running, but their lives are forever entwined and they are growing closer.Now with Shane deployed for seven months, Kate is on her own and struggling with being a single parent. Shane is loving and supportive from thousands of miles away, but his homecoming brings a betrayal Kate never saw coming. So Kate's only choice is to fight for the future she deserves—with or without Shane...

How We Deal with Gravity


Ginger Scott - 2014
    Her husband left, and her own dreams became a distant fantasy—always second to fighting never-ending battles to make sure Max was given opportunity, love and respect. Finding someone to fight along her side wasn’t even on her list, and she’d come to terms with the fact that she could never be her own priority again. But a familiar face walking into her life in the form of 25-year-old Mason Street had Avery’s heart waging a war within. Mason was a failure. When he left his hometown five years ago, he was never coming back—it was only a matter of time before his records hit the billboard charts. Women, booze and rock-n-roll—that was it for him. But it seemed fate had a different plan in mind, and with a dropped record contract, little money and nowhere to go, Mason turned to the only family that ever made him feel home—the Abbots. Avery loved Mason silently for years—until he broke her heart…completely. But time and life have a funny way of changing people, and sometimes second chances are there for a reason. Could this one save them both?

The Last Letter


Rebecca Yarros - 2019
    You made it. I didn’t. Get off the guilt train, because I know if there was any chance you could have saved me, you would have.I need one thing from you: get out of the army and get to Telluride.My little sister Ella’s raising the twins alone. She’s too independent and won’t accept help easily, but she has lost our grandmother, our parents, and now me. It’s too much for anyone to endure. It’s not fair.And here’s the kicker: there’s something else you don’t know that’s tearing her family apart. She’s going to need help.So if I’m gone, that means I can’t be there for Ella. I can’t help them through this. But you can. So I’m begging you, as my best friend, go take care of my sister, my family.Please don’t make her go through it alone.Ryan

Richer Than Sin


Meghan March - 2018
    Our family feud is the stuff of legends.Ten years ago, Whitney Gable caught me off guard with her long legs and grab-you-by-the-balls blue eyes.I didn’t know or care what her name was.Like any Riscoff worth the family name, I went after what I wanted. We burned like a flash fire until she married another man.She hates me, and she should.I objected on her wedding day.Now she’s home, with those same long legs and man-eater stare, but there’s no ring on her finger.They say a Riscoff and a Gable can never live happily ever after . . . but I’m not done with Whitney Gable.I’ll never be done with her.

Unseen Messages


Pepper Winters - 2016
    From handwritten to verbal, seen and unseen. Messages exist all around us." But what if you don't see?What if you don't understand?What if, by ignoring the message, your life is never the same again?Estelle Evermore morphed from nobody to somebody overnight.Galloway Oak put his past behind him and endeavoured to make his fortune using his trade. Two strangers.One plane.Multiple unseen messages. From sky to island, they find neither fame nor skills can save them. Stripped from society and left alone to survive the elements, the very task of staying alive outweighs all other needs. Until survival turns to desire.And desire turns to danger.From New York Times Bestseller Pepper Winters comes a timeless love story answering the question of what happens when everything is stripped away.Standalone.