Book picks similar to
The Forbidden Man by Elle Wright


romance
contemporary
h-loves-om-and-h
om-is-heros-brother

Drowning in Love


Beth Rinyu - 2013
    She had it all. Until the day her past, present and future were taken away, leaving her to face the world scared and alone. Trying to pick up the pieces of her broken life, while mourning the devastating loss of her fiancé she just goes through the motions as an empty shell.Enter Travis Montgomery, Olympic swimmer and totally gorgeous. He has several medals under his belt and just as many women. Mia is well aware of his womanizing reputation and refuses to be his next conquest, but finds herself coming alive again whenever she’s around him. They agree to be “just friends,” quickly finding that they are unable to fight the attraction between them. Mia’s life becomes complete once again with Travis in it; but nothing good lasts forever, at least not in Mia’s world. Torn apart by an ugly secret, Mia’s heart is broken once again. When the unthinkable happens and Travis needs Mia the most, she must reach deep inside to find forgiveness for the one man who will always hold the key to her shattered heart. But will doing so only break it further; this time beyond repair?

Even the Moon Has Scars


Steph Campbell - 2014
    Two broken hearts. One night to set each other free. Almost dying from an undiagnosed heart condition means every second of your life is a precious gift to be guarded. Lena Pettitt was born a miracle. And her parents never let her forget it. Even if that daily reminder kept her from experiencing the one thing they were trying to protect most--her life. Gabriel Martinez’s heart has been ripped out. His pride has been stomped on. Oh, and he now has an arrest record that’s caused an even bigger rift between him and his DA mother. All for a love that wasn’t really true. Now he’s exiled to his grandmother’s, working on his late grandpa’s old Corvair, when a shivering girl knocks on the garage door. Lena, left alone for the first time ever, has locked herself out of her house. Gabe knows he could help this girl get back inside her house--but that may mean missing the next train to Boston to pick up the part he’s spent eight weeks tracking down. She can wait for him at his grandmother’s or… A few hours, an aluminum valve cover, and some strong coffee later, neither Gabe nor Lena can feign disappointment when they race to the station and arrive just as the last train home from Boston is pulling out. As jaded as he is, Gabe can’t deny the fact that he’s excited to spend the night exploring a city he knows nearly every corner of, with a girl who sees magic in the simplest things. Lena has been waiting for her tiny world to crack open her entire life. Now that it’s finally happened, she finds the only thing she can focus on is the unexpected tour guide who opens her eyes to possibilities she never imagined. All they have is this one night, together, under the bright moon in a city full of hidden beauty. It’s one night that will change how they see the world and the paths their hearts will take forever.

The Marriage Bureau for Rich People


Farahad Zama - 2008
    Ali sees his new business flourish as the indomitable Mrs. Ali and his careful assistant, Aruna, look on with vigilant eyes. There's the man who wants a tall son-in-law because his daughter is short; the divorced woman who ends up back with her ex-husband; a salesman who can't seem to sell himself; and a wealthy, young doctor for whom no match is ever perfect. But although his clients go away happy, little does Mr. Ali know that his esteemed Aruna hides a tragedy in her past-a misfortune that the bureau, as luck would have it, serendipitously undoes. Bursting with the color and allure of India, and with a cast of endearing characters, The Marriage Bureau for Rich People has shades of Jane Austen and Alexander McCall Smith but with a resonance and originality entirely its own. Farahad's effortless style reveals a country still grappling with the politics of caste, religion, and civil unrest, all the while delivering a shamefully delightful read.

Unmistakable


Lauren Abrams - 2013
    I hate his stupid, laughing eyes, and his stupid, magnificent body, and the stupid way he looks at me and takes away all of the not-completely-insane parts of myself. The few I have left.I hate everything about him, but I can’t ignore the truth lurking underneath the haze of my anger, beating its unmistakable rhythm: I want to stand in his fire. I want to be consumed.After a tragic crime leaves her physically and emotionally damaged, eighteen-year-old Stella Granger struggles to come to terms with the collapse of her idyllic life. Desperate for anonymity, she escapes to Greenview College, exchanging charity balls and pastel cardigans for frat parties and black leather boots. Three years later, she’s finally managed to put the pieces of herself back together. Holden Evans, her absurdly handsome psychology professor, might be the most annoying person she’s ever met, but he’s a welcome distraction. In fact, Stella can almost forget that Luke Dixon, her brother’s best friend and the man who saved her life, ever existed. Luke, the rebellious son of a British billionaire, hasn’t forgotten about her. When a chance meeting threatens to unearth long-suppressed secrets and desires, the battle lines are drawn. The universe may have conspired to bring them together, but Stella’s gotten pretty sick of near-death experiences and she doesn’t want to play Luke’s treacherous games.However, she may have underestimated one tiny truth—need beats want. Every single time.

Not Meant to Be Broken


Cora Reilly - 2014
    I was one of those things. Whatever had been shattered in the incident would never be whole again.Amber struggles with the memories of a cruel attack that destroyed her life years ago. Realizing that she’s close to ending it all – something she promised her family to never try again – she moves in with her brother Brian and his friend Zachary to start a new life, and maybe even college. But how can she possibly live a normal life, when even a hug from her brother sends her into a panic attack? While Brian pulls back, Zach seems determined to make her feel relaxed in his presence, and soon her longing to be near him is stronger than her fear. But how can someone like Zach, someone who can have any girl, want someone like her? Someone broken.When Zach spots Amber for the very first time, he can’t believe she is the same girl his friend Brian described as broken. Suddenly, Zach wants to give up his womanizing ways and help Amber live again – show her that closeness can be something wonderful. But her brother Brian isn’t the only one who’s worried about the bond that’s growing between Amber and Zach. Even Zach knows that there’s more at stake than the fury of a scorned woman. Amber isn’t like all the girls Zach discarded after a night together – if he messes up, that could break her for good. But Zach can’t stay away from Amber. Can Zach help her heal? Or will he be the one to push her over the edge?

Talania: A Trip down Memory Lane


Crystal Spears - 2013
    She lost five years of her life because of brain cancer. Now she is a 20 years old survivor and enrolled in college, determined to reclaim her life. There she meets Tristan Monroe, but it isn't the first time they’ve met. In fact, Tristan and Evelyn were once in love. It was a love so strong that it shattered him when, after the three years they had spent together, she never came back to Laguna.Evelyn wants nothing more than to have her memories back. With the help of Tristan and his brother Drake, they take Evelyn on an emotional journey filled with videos, photos, and memorabilia...a walk down memory lane. While they stroll down memory lane, Evelyn must learn to deal with Tristan's rock star fame and the ever-present groupies. She struggles to find herself and to learn to love again.Is their love strong enough to overcome the memory loss? Is it strong enough to survive whatever comes their way? Will all the proof Tristan shares with her be enough to show her how deeply they loved each other? Will love find Evelyn once again?

Out From Under


Selene Chardou - 2013
    Freedom from the control of her parents, freedom from the motorcycle gangs she has had to put up with her whole life and freedom from a relationship that will trap her into the very life she has no wish to ever live.The day before she’s supposed to leave for Stanford University to pursue her dreams, her world is shattered. After a tragedy that tears her family apart, Trey, her cousin, Talia, invites her to L.A. Her life is all the sudden Hollywood stars and sunshine, late nights and wild parties.And then she meets him.Linx Carter isn’t looking for a relationship. He survived a dysfunctional marriage with his childhood sweetheart, which produced two sons, an inability to trust women and a multitude of lies. He merely wants to recuperate from a rough, six month tour Winter’s Regret just completed with superstar band, Scarlet Fever, and enjoy a little peace and quiet.Until he sees her.Trista and Linx fight their attraction for one another like war on a battlefield.She has a closetful of secrets and he would rather be single and pathetic than date a teenage girl who seems older than her years. However the passion between them is too much to resist and they realize in order to heal one another, they must destroy the walls they have constructed so tightly around their hearts.

Not Perfect


Elizabeth LaBan - 2018
    She’d confess her situation to her friends—if it wasn’t for those dreadful words of warning in his goodbye note: “I’ll tell them what you did.”Instead, she does her best to keep up appearances, even as months pass and she can barely put food on the table—much less replace a light bulb. While she looks for a job, she lives in fear that someone will see her stuffing toilet paper into her handbag or pinching basil from a neighbor’s window box.Soon, blindsided by catastrophe, surprised by romance, and stunned by the kindness of a stranger, Tabitha realizes she can’t keep her secrets forever. Sooner or later, someone is bound to figure out that her life is far from perfect.

Second Chance at Love


Tara Paradise - 2013
    But Brooke has already found the man of her dreams ~ tall, dark and ruggedly handsome cowboy Logan. Once young and in love, they never imagined that a devastating betrayal would lead them down different paths. Now, when tragedy strikes, Brooke must return to her hometown of Angel Ridge, Montana. Once there, she is forced to deal with old hurts when Logan tries to make her remember the past she has chosen to forget.Logan MacKenna can have any woman he wants, but his heart has been reserved for Brooke since they shared their very first kiss. Time and distance have done nothing to change that. When chance random encounters abound, it's as if fate is pushing them together, and Brooke decides that she doesn't want to fight the undeniable sexual attraction that exists between them. When it's played its course, she will simply go back to her life. But Logan has no intention of letting her walk away from him a second time.Will Brooke be able to put her fears aside and trust in Logan enough to give him back her heart? And if they succeed in rekindling their love, can their new relationship withstand the force of Brooke's longkept secret, one that could tear them apart for good this time?

Everything We Keep


Kerry Lonsdale - 2016
    But when her fiancé, James Donato, vanishes in a boating accident, her well-baked future is swept out to sea. Instead of walking down the aisle on their wedding day, Aimee is at James’s funeral—a funeral that leaves her more unsettled than at peace.As Aimee struggles to reconstruct her life, she delves deeper into James’s disappearance. What she uncovers is an ocean of secrets that make her question everything about the life they built together. And just below the surface is a truth that may set Aimee free…or shatter her forever.

When Never Comes


Barbara Davis - 2018
    For a while, she found a safe haven in her marriage to bestselling crime novelist Stephen Ludlow—until his car skidded into Echo Bay. But Stephen’s wasn’t the only body pulled from the icy waters that night. When details about a mysterious violet-eyed blonde become public, a media circus ensues, and Christy-Lynn runs again.Desperate for answers, she’s shattered to learn that Stephen and his mistress had a child—a little girl named Iris, who now lives in poverty with her ailing great-grandmother. The thought of Iris abandoned to the foster care system—as Christy-Lynn once was—is unbearable. But she’s spent her whole life running—determined never to be hurt again. Will she finally stand still long enough to open herself up to forgiveness and love?

Disgrace


Brittainy C. Cherry - 2018
    I didn’t know my worth. I didn’t know how to exist without him by my side.All I wanted was for him to come back to me.Then, Jackson Emery appeared.He was supposed to be a distraction for my mind. A summer fling. A confidence boost to my bruised heart.We were perfect for one another, because we both knew we wouldn’t last. Jackson didn’t believe in commitment, and I no longer believed in love. He was too closed-off for me, and I was too damaged for him.Everything was fine, until one night my heart skipped a beat.I didn’t expect him to make me laugh. To make me think. To make my sadness somewhat disappear.When our time was up, my heart didn’t know how to walk away.Each day I prayed for my husband to love me again, yet slowly my prayers began to shift toward the man who wasn’t right for me. I prayed for one more smile, one more kiss, one more laugh, one more touch… I prayed for him to be mine.Even though I knew his heart wasn’t destined to love.*This book was previously known as Between the Notes.*

Bohemian Law


Misty Walker - 2019
    Completely opposite of me.Repetition, consistency, and control have left my life without meaning.But then there was Theodora. Keeping me on my toes and forcing me to have new experiences.The only problem with capturing a wild creature is they were always meant to live free.I saw him for the first time sitting on a rock, spying on me like a creeper.With a perpetual scowl that didn’t even break when I took my clothes off,I thought I’d never seen a man more serious.Completely opposite of me.In my world, chaos is a certainty and laws are bendable, if not breakable.But then there was Lawrence.The only problem with trying to shake up his world isI don’t always know when to quit.

A New Year's Surprise


Violette Dubrinsky - 2013
    Pissed? Yes. Heartbroken? Absolutely. Looking for answers? Most definitely. With her two best friends at her side, and a whole lot of righteous anger, Catherine “Kat” Rochester confronts her husband and his mistress on New Year’s Eve.

All for You


Marquita Valentine - 2013
    Tormentor. Lover.West Diaz has been all of these things to me. After being gone for two years, he's back, begging for my forgiveness. And not just my forgiveness... He wants more.He wants... Me.