Book picks similar to
Make Me Stay by Amarie Avant
romance
dnf
second-chance
interracial-romance
Ditching the Dream
Isabelle Peterson - 2011
A successful husband. Three amazing children. A beautiful home in Napa, California. However, several months after their youngest child heads off to college, Elizabeth, who has been a stay-at-home mother for the past twenty-some years, realizes that she’s not sure who she is or what her passions are. Her husband is more married to his job than ever before. And Elizabeth doesn’t know what she wants to do. But she knows that she needs some space to figure it all out. Some distance from her seemingly perfect life.One impulsive flight later, clear across the country, Elizabeth finds herself in New York City. If she can make it there, she can make it anywhere!At first, her husband was livid. Who will cook him dinner? How is laundry going to get done? Is she having an affair? He decides to give Elizabeth a hall-pass, which only serves to further enrage her. How could he think such a thing after being married for over twenty years?But then she meets Jack Stevens. Sinfully gorgeous. Confident. Successful. And his eye on Elizabeth. There’s also something familiar about him.And then... Kevin Parker. Ruggedly handsome. Witty. A teacher. He makes her feel as young as he is.Both men show Elizabeth different sides of herself. Each gives her a new perspective.Enthralled and enlightened by her sanctioned affairs, she feared her entanglements could be less than temporary…Will the new Elizabeth embrace her scorching future, or will playing with fire leave her heart burned?Ditching the Dream is the first book in the steamy Dream Series of romantic page-turners. If you like sizzling chemistry, complex heroes, and endings that leave you craving more, then you’ll love Isabelle Peterson’s passionate page-turner. And you can keep turning the pages as Ditching the Dream is Book 1 in a 6 Book series.
Tell Me to Stop
Charlotte Byrd - 2019
The kind money can’t repay.
He wants something else: me, for one year. But I don’t even know who he is… 365 days and nights doing everything he wants…except that. “I’m not going to sleep with you,” I say categorically. He laughs. “I’m going to make you a promise,” his eyes challenge mine. “Before our time is up, you’ll beg me for it.”
Fading
E.K. Blair - 2013
About to graduate college and pursue her dreams of becoming a professional ballerina, Candace decides it’s time to let go and have a little fun. But fun is short-lived when a brutal attack leaves her completely shattered. The memories that consume and torment Candace are starting to destroy her when she meets Ryan Campbell, a successful bar owner. He feels instantly connected and tries to show her that hope is worth fighting for. But is Ryan harboring his own demons? As walls slowly begin to chip away, the secrets that are held within start to become painful burdens. At what point do secrets become lies?
(17+) This book contains mature subject matter that is not suitable for those under the age of 17.
The Initiation
Nikki Sloane - 2019
But there are rumors of a sordid rite of initiation. Whispers how one woman and nine men disappear into a boardroom. This time, that woman will be me. The Hale family owns everything—the eighth largest bank in the world, everyone in our town, even the mortgage on my parents’ mansion. And now Royce Hale wants to own me. He is charming. Seductive. Ruthless. But above all, he’s the prince of lies. My body may tighten with white-hot desire under his penetrating gaze, but I refuse to enjoy it. I’ll make a deal with the devil to save my family and sell myself to the Hales. But Royce will never own my heart.
Hero
Lauren Rowe - 2018
Or breathe. Or string two coherent thoughts together. And I don’t mean any of that figuratively. I’m not talking about a guy being floored by the sight of a gorgeous woman—although, of course, Lydia is gorgeous beyond words.No, when I first laid eyes on Lydia Decker—my physical therapist—I was lying flat on my back in the ICU, high as a kite on painkillers, breathing on a ventilator, my bones as broken and splintered as my spirit. When I first laid eyes on Lydia Decker, she was a ray of light in the dark. Hope for the hopeless. A salve for my singed and battered soul.She said she’d been assigned to fix me. That she was there to bring me back to life. She said helping me was her calling. And then she touched me. Physically, emotionally, spiritually. She healed me. And I fell in love. But what I didn’t know . . . what I couldn’t possibly know . . . was that Lydia Decker needed fixing far more than I ever did.NOTE: The Morgan Brothers are a series of five interconnected standalones. Recommended reading order is to start with HERO or CAPTAIN, as book 1, despite series numbering, because both books run on same timeline, alongside each other, and their events happen first in chronology. However, if you do not mind skipping around in time a bit, you can start with any of the Morgan Brothers books, despite series numbering, and fully enjoy it!
Dark Mafia Prince
Annika Martin - 2016
So trusting.
Like you think I’m not a monster.
Like I won’t wrap your hair in my fist and bend you to my will.
Like I won’t sacrifice you, piece by piece, to save my brother.I’m the most dangerous enemy you’ll ever have because every time you look at me, you see somebody good. That friend who died.And when you look at me like that, I die again.MiraI spent years making myself invisible.A good girl, apart from the noise.
Then you came back, beautiful and deadly in your Armani suit.
Don’t look at me like you still know me, you say.
But I remember your smile and those sunny days.Before they lowered your small casket into the ground.
Before they told us the prince was dead.
Shocking Heaven
D.H. Sidebottom - 2013
Determined to take control of her life and move on from her turbulent past,Eve strictly orders no drama, no bullshit and definitely no relationships.That was until she met deep and moody Jax Cooper, The vocalist for local band 'Room 103'. Jax is arrogant and egotistical, an alpha male straight through to his core, but so damn hot, and Eve soon finds his relentless pursuit of her, harder and harder to resist.But both hold tortured souls and secrets, secrets that could blow their whole lives apart...literally.Except sometimes it's not secrets or damaged spirits that threaten their relationship...it's life itself.Eve soon finds out that if you're going through hell, then the only way out the other side, is to just keep going.This book contains explicit sex scenes, strong language and lot's of heartache. And of course...one hell of an alpha male.
Break
Vanessa Waltz - 2014
She's still trying to rebuild herself from a sexually abusive past, and a guy - no matter how gorgeous - would only mess up the fragile balance of her life.Almost-billionaire Luke Pardini is gorgeous, that's for sure. He's also desperate. His dying father thinks he's too irresponsible to inherit the family estate, and Luke needs to convince his dad that he's grown up and ready to settle down with a girl. Any girl.With five billion dollars at stake, Luke can't mess this up. But as he pretends to date Jessica, he finds himself drawn to her more than he'd like to admit. He has been hurt too many times to count, but Jessica is the one person who makes him feel safe. It could have been a Cinderella story, but both of them made a promise that their relationship was just for show, and neither of them is going to step over the line.When Jessica's secret past emerges on the front page of the tabloids, his dad threatens to disown him if he doesn't sever ties with her. If their relationship was only a charade, the solution would be easy. But if it's not…
The Ones Who Got Away
Roni Loren - 2018
The man approaching was nothing like the boy she'd known. The bulky football muscles had streamlined into a harder, leaner package and the look in his deep green eyes held no trace of boyish innocence.It's been twelve years since tragedy struck the senior class of Long Acre High School. Only a few students survived that fateful night—a group the media dubbed The Ones Who Got Away.Liv Arias thought she'd never return to Long Acre—until a documentary brings her and the other survivors back home. Suddenly her old flame, Finn Dorsey, is closer than ever, and their attraction is still white-hot. When a searing kiss reignites their passion, Liv realizes this rough-around-the-edges cop might be exactly what she needs...
Treachery's Devotion
Mari Carr - 2017
Tristan Knight has served the Admiral of England since he was a teenager. As a knight he has pledged his life to protect the Masters’ Admiralty, and when he’s assigned to escort an archaeologist on a research trip he knows the menial task is punishment for the failure of his last mission. A woman in a gilded cage. Sophia Starabba is a brilliant scholar and accomplished law enforcement officer, working for Italy’s cultural heritage protection department. But none of that matters to her family or the other members of the territory of Rome. To them she’s the “Principessa”- daughter of the Admiral. The man who holds the key. James Rathmann lives for mysteries. In another life he would have been a detective, but a love for digging in the dirt made him an archaeologist. Now one of the world’s leading experts on coins, and curator at the British Museum, he’s been called to Rome to examine a recent discovery. An old enemy back from the dead. Among the coins they find something alarming—a message from a villain everyone had assumed was long dead. Tristan leads them on the trail to identify and protect the next potential target and possibly discover the identity of the Domino, a killer and anarchist who plagued the Masters’ Admiralty in the past. But the Domino isn’t dead, and together James, Sophia and Tristan will fight to stay alive and one step ahead of a killer who will do anything to destroy the Masters’ Admiralty.
Shutout
Jami Davenport - 2020
Another man has my forever, and I have hockey. I thought making the big bucks and playing against the best in the world would feel better than this. Instead I’m empty and hollow, like a big piece of my heart was hacked off. There's something missing. Something big. Something I can never get back. Caroline: I loved him, but he wasn’t the love of my life. My husband died too young, too suddenly, too tragically. I was unprepared with no education, no job skills, and no future plans. When a DNA test reveals my twins' true parentage, I have no choice but to do the right thing. I turn to the one man who’d turned his back on me all those years ago. I'd been shutout from his life, and I'd shut him out from mine. Can two strangers make a family? Do we have what it takes to forgive and move on?
Dirty Work
Chelle Bliss - 2016
ReaganI hate him. Jude Titan is everything that’s wrong with the male sex: cocky, domineering and loaded with swagger. Oh, and did I mention he’s a Republican? Yeah, the guy’s so conservative he leans to the right when walking. And lucky me, I’m running against him for Senate. But I’ve got plenty of fight in me. A golden boy war hero opponent with a smile that leaves melted panties in its wake? Bring. It. On.JudeDamn, she’s sexy. Reagan Preston intrigues me from the moment I lay eyes on her. And speaking of laying…I want between those thighs. But I want to make her burn for me first. Every debate and stolen moment is foreplay for us. She claims she hates me, but her body tells a different story. I plan to win this election, but I also want to win the sharp, fiery Democrat who captures my attention like no woman ever has. Politics is filthy, just like all the things I want to do to Reagan Preston.
Love's Rhythm
Lexxie Couper - 2012
Lured by the promise of fame, Nick Blackthorne turned his back on the possibility of a regular life and love to focus on his career. But years down the line, still unable to erase Lauren from his heart, Nick realizes he needs to find her, even if all she’ll accept from him is an apology for walking out all those years ago.No one would ever guess kindergarten teacher Lauren Robbins was once involved with the lead singer of a rock band. Their romance was the stuff of love songs, and it took her fifteen years to get over him.When Nick turns up at her door, the heartbreak and years fall away, but not everything can be erased with apologies and soul-shattering passion.Each book in the The Heart of Fame series is a standalone story that can be enjoyed out of order.Series Order:Book #1 Love’s RhythmBook #2 Muscle for HireBook #3 Guarded DesiresBook #4 Steady BeatBook #5 Lead Me OnBook #6 Blame it on the BassBook #7 BlackthorneBook #8 Getting Played
Memories of the Heart
Felice Stevens - 2015
All words used to describe Dr. Micah Steinberg by the hospital staff for their next head of surgery. When a letter arrives from his grandmother’s friend at the assisted living facility, his orderly world tilts dangerously out of control. Josh Rosen had everything until it was revealed much of his world was a lie. Forced to re-evaluate his life, Josh gives up his career and returns home to New York City to care for his beloved grandmother. What Josh didn’t figure on was an attraction to a man who on the surface, appears to be exactly like the life Josh chose to leave behind.As Micah struggles with the reality of his grandmother’s illness, the bond these two share deepens, as Josh helps Micah heal, then open his heart. Micah discovers there is more to life than work, control and success. Josh is in deep but has yet to tell Micah who he really is.When the fight for the hospital’s head of surgery turns ugly, Josh’s past and present collide. Micah must let go of the past and accept who he is, if his life is going to move forward.Life is full of surprises, and as both Micah and Josh learn, love can happen whether you plan for it or not.
Sweet Addiction
J. Daniels - 2014
Get in. Get laid. Get out. There's no expectation of a relationship. It is what it is.Dylan Sparks knows the rules. She’s familiar with the protocol. And she engages in the best sex of her life with a complete stranger at her ex-boyfriend’s wedding.Reese Carroll doesn’t care about the rules. He wants more than just one night with Dylan.And Dylan finds him too addicting to pass up.Sweet Addiction is the story of one woman’s struggle to keep things casual, and one man’s desire to never let her go.Warning: This book contains adult themes. 18+ only.