Book picks similar to
Trying by Heather MacKinnon


second-chance
marriage
emotional-cheating
romance

Just the Way You Are


Barbara Freethy - 2000
    a life about to be tested by the return of the only woman who can break them up—Alli's sister, Tessa.A baby brought them together—and even though Alli has always loved her strong, sexy husband Sam and the life they've built together, she has decided to set him free to follow his youthful dreams. It is no longer enough for her to be wife and lover when she knows she holds so little of his heart.Sam has always dreamed of a life away from the close-knit world of Tucker's Landing, but marriage and fatherhood ended all that. Now Sam is torn between what was and what was meant to be. He must decide if it's time to rekindle the dreams of the past ... or accept Alli, and her love, just the way she is.JUST THE WAY YOU ARE is an emotionallly compelling, heartwarming, beautiful love story about choices, second chances, the crush of a youthful love, the intensity of a love born from marriage and life. "An exceptional novel from #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Barbara Freethy!"

The Divorce


Nicole Strycharz - 2016
    We were college sweethearts and for seven years I've been his wife. Five of those years were bliss; the last two have been a long fall from grace. He’s the love of my life, the sexy and smart man I saw my future with, but now I don’t think he sees it too. I’m tired of not being seen, I’m tired of not being heard, and I’m tired of being in love alone. I was his optimistic hippie girl that he couldn’t get enough of. Now I’m just his annoyance. So I told him, I finally found the backbone and this is our story.... Chris: My wife just told me she wants a divorce. What the hell do I say to that? I thought we were fine-, well fine is a bad word, I thought we were okay. Doesn't matter what I think because she's moving out and I can't really let this happen. Yeah, she annoys me, we’re total opposites, but I knew that when I met her, she hasn’t changed…maybe I have? I was her anchor, her safety, her home. Now I’m that guy that’s wreaked her and there are plenty of men willing to repair the damage I did. So I have a plan. Find out what happened to change my affection for her within the last two years, and win her back before someone else does, because I still love her, and she still loves me....I guess....

The Billion-Dollar Marriage Contract


Alyssa Urbano - 2015
    Nikos isn’t ready to give up his playboy lifestyle, and Cassia is far from the glitzy socialite their elite circle expects. Events force them to live separate lives. Ten years later, Nikos is ready to make it work with his wife, whom he only sees once a year. Cassia is also ready to settle down… just not with Nikos. Will Cassia once again surrender herself to the man who scarred her forever? Or will she give up her inheritance and never look back? Will they still be able to fulfill the terms of their billion-dollar marriage contract, even when death and danger stalk them at every turn?

Written in the Scars


Adriana Locke - 2016
    It was just so damn easy to fall for the dark-haired hometown hero with his charming smile and strong, athletic build.Thousands of sleepy smiles, aimless drives down country roads, and squeaks of the backdoor after a swing shift later, reality hits. And it hits hard. Falling in love was definitely the easy part. Watching it break apart was impossible.Through the tears, the second-guesses, the memories of a life built together, the world keeps spinning. With each turn comes clarity and hope—sometimes in the form of a pair of muddy boots by the back door or from the words of a wise friend.When Ty shows back up with a new found determination to put his family back together, Elin's torn between the fights of the past and the possibility of a new start. This is the man that holds her heart, the man she loves beyond anything else. But this is also the one person in the world that can cause her the most pain.Life’s not always easy. Love’s not for the faint of heart. But with life comes lessons and Ty and Elin have the scars to prove it. But it's their love written in those scars that will hold them together … or break them apart.

The Plan


Ella James - 2017
    Woman feels her biological clock ticking and gets someone to knock her up. Not for love, for baby. Crazy, right? That’s what I thought. Then I found out my fiancé had a vasectomy. The life I thought I had? Nope. Suddenly I’m 33, and I don’t even have a kissing buddy. When my mom’s health takes a turn and I wind up back in my hometown of Fate, Alabama, I tell myself to leave things up to…well, you know. Then I see Gabriel McKellan. He’s Fate’s most famous son, a bestselling author who is beautiful, complicated, and living just below me. In addition to his plus-sized brain, Gabe’s well-endowed in other ways, and great in bed to boot. I would know. He's my ex husband. When I suggest The Plan, I don't imagine that he'll take the bait. It's been ten years, and we don't work. But Fate has other plans for both of us.

The Unwanted Wife


Natasha Anders - 2012
    Eighteen months into their marriage, however, Sandro has turned to ice. Desperate to escape a relationship that has proven to be as stubbornly passionate as it is cold and hateful, Theresa summons up the courage to ask for a divorce. But before he’ll grant her request, Sandro demands something from Theresa: a son.The stalemate sickens her. Never mind that Sandro has yet to introduce Theresa to the large family that means so much to him. Or that Theresa overhears her husband on the phone with a mystery woman. Most damning is that Theresa senses, in Sandro’s treatment of her, the behind-the-scenes machinations of Jackson Noble, her cruel father. From the depths of her anxiety, Theresa must seek an empowering truth about the husband who calls her, with such cold affection, his cara, his beloved.Revised edition: This edition of The Unwanted Wife includes editorial revisions.

My Biggest Mistake


Leddy Harper - 2015
    While my friends wished and wondered, I planned. A husband, children, even the perfect minivan--my future was a family, and I couldn’t wait to step into it. Donovan proposed right after graduation, and everything else fell into place too, right down to the van.I should have done things differently, I know that now. I should have told someone, should have told him about the bottomless depression I fell into post-partum. Instead, I convinced myself I just needed a little time away, a small break to get my head straight. I made my biggest mistake when I gave into my demons and walked away from everything I’d ever wanted.It took me two long years to recover, but now I know exactly what I want again. I want my family back. Donovan says they don’t want me. Don’t need me. He says he’s moved on. But the look in his eyes tells me there’s a chance, even if I have to fight.And I’m not going to lose again.

Hate: A Love Story


Laurel Ulen Curtis - 2014
    Love and Hate wrestled with my life day after day, year after year, and the only way to stop it was to let one of them win.Which one?I fought to love harder. But I loathe my love story.Warning: This standalone novel contains explicit language, sexual content, and potential triggers.

Man of My Dreams


Faith Andrews - 2013
    But the man in her dreams is the one that got away—her high school crush.Mia has the life everyone envies. A white picket fence, two adorable daughters, and a hottie husband who stole her heart in college with the strum of his Gibson and his sexy baritone. But when forever becomes monotonous for this perfect couple, their faith in each other is tested. For Declan, long trips away from home because of his demanding job cause him to find comfort on the road. For Mia, the recurring dreams of her old flame and the shock of her husband's infidelity send her running into Noah's arms at their ten year high school reunion. Will Mia abandon the alluring pull of the past for her picture perfect future or will the man of her dreams be replaced by the man in her dreams? MAN OF MY DREAMS is a full-length, contemporary romance. This is book one in the Dream Series and can be read as a standalone.

The Girl in Seat 24B


Jennifer Peel - 2014
    Her journalist husband and her two adorable children were everything to her. But soon she would find out that her dream life didn't fall in line with her husband's expectations. Left alone to sort out the pieces of her crumbling life, Carly finds strength in her children and her growing relationship with her in-laws. Most importantly, she finds her greatest strength as she builds a friendship with herself. This is a beautiful story of one woman's strength and determination as she finds the will to move forward and be happy while the life she had grown to love crumbles around her. It is a story of a man who has lost his way and may lose it all if he can't find his way back. The Girl in Seat 24B is a story of love and forgiveness.

When Forever Changes


Siobhan Davis - 2018
    Perhaps I did, but I subconsciously chose to ignore them. From the time I was ten, when I first met Dylan, I knew he was my forever guy. Back then, I couldn’t put words to what I was feeling, but, as the years progressed, I came to recognize it for what it was—soul-deep love. The kind only very few people ever get to experience. Dylan was more than just my best friend, my childhood sweetheart, my lover. He was my soul mate. We were carved from the same whole—destined to be together forever. Until he changed. And I believed I was no longer good enough. Until he shattered me so completely, it felt like I ceased to exist. And I’d never experienced such heart-crushing pain. Until he leveled me a second time, and I truly wanted to die. But I had to stay strong because I wasn’t alone in this cruel twist of fate. I look to the sky, pleading with the stars, begging someone to tell me what I should do because I don’t know how to deal with this. I don’t know how to cope when my forever has changed, and I can’t help wondering if I had seen the signs earlier, if I’d pushed him, would it have been enough to save us? Or had fate already decided to alter our forever? Due to mature content and potential triggers this book is only recommended to readers over the age of eighteen.

For Nick


Taylor Dean - 2013
    He knows it won't come his way again. Andie Parker would do anything for the love of her life.Even marry a total stranger. In spite of the unorthodox manner in which Zach and Andie come together, there is no denying that things are unexpectedly good between them, taking them both by surprise. However, when secrets come between them--and trust does not--Andie soon finds herself vowing to never make the same mistake again. But, she'd do it again in a heartbeat and she knows it. She'd marry a hundred strangers if it helped Nick. She'd do anything for Nick . . . anything.

Inhale, Exhale.


C.L. Matthews - 2019
    In sickness and in health. For better or for worse. Til death do us part. And death dragged us apart. We both said those vows. But neither of us kept them. This is not one of those happy stories. Life isn't made of simple choices and happily ever afters. It's a dark place. It's not easy. It's full of mistakes and lessons. It hurts. And in the end, those two words said in love, are the same ones said in hate. "You want a divorce?" "I do."

Unexpected Arrivals


Stephie Walls - 2017
     Any minute now, a van would drive up and Ashton Kutcher would slide the door open, laughing hysterically at my melodramatic performance on the front porch. But nothing happened. The words on the page jumbled into a toxic mess my brain refused to comprehend, much less accept. Please consider this letter as a formal request to arrange a paternity test (DNA). I barely remembered Chelsea Airy. That wasn’t true—we’d gone out once, and we’d been friends for a while after. But I hadn’t heard so much as a peep from her since I’d gotten married. I’d reached out a handful of times, but she’d quit responding and fell off the face of the earth. There hadn’t been a text, an email, a phone call, not even a Facebook message, much less a stork in the last five years. My wife could forgive a lot, but she’d never wanted children—much less another woman’s.

Pure Abandon


Jeannine Colette - 2015
    For me, it was in the soul-searing golden eyes of a magnanimous CEO. It all started when I decided to go back to work. After putting my career on hold, I told my husband I wanted to reclaim the woman I once was. My intentions were pure, and my heart belonged to my husband. Then, I met him. Alexander Asher is arrogant. Rude and dismissive, he got under my skin. I absolutely hated working for the Manhattan playboy and heir to his family’s fortune. Then, a misunderstanding led to friendship, the friendship became fierce, and soon I found myself questioning Asher’s motives … and my own.I shouldn’t feel this way. I fought the temptation until a dark secret had me rethinking everything, especially what I once thought was perfect. Two men are devastatingly broken by my actions—and I can only fix one. When I make my choice, will he even want me after all that’s happened? ******Pure Abandon is a STANDALONE novel in the Abandon Collection and a USA Today Smashwords Hitlist Bestseller!The Abandon Collection is a series of standalone novels featuring dynamic heroines who have to abandon their reality in order to discover themselves . . . and love along the way. Each book features a new couple, an exciting city, and a rose of a different color.