Book picks similar to
Restored Dreams by L.B. Dunbar
romance
cheating
second-chance
contemporary-romance
Code Name: Genesis
Sawyer Bennett - 2019
She was an up-and-coming superstar and I was the security professional hired to keep her safe. We fell hard and fast, no matter how much we tried to resist one another. But not everyone around us was happy about our relationship, and a string of lies and deceit destroyed what we once had. I moved on from her and didn’t look back.Now I’ve taken the helm of a nationally renowned protective services company, and I’m looking to rebrand my career. The newly crowned Jameson Force Security is moving from the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas to the mountainous steel town of Pittsburgh, and the last thing I have time for is to deal with my past.More than a decade has passed since our split, but even a bruised and battered heart remembers its first love. So when Joslyn Meyers comes to me for help, I reluctantly agree to keep her safe from a terrifying stalker who keeps threatening her life.As the danger continues to intensify, it becomes clear that I’ll stop at nothing to protect the woman who turned her back on me all those years ago. Because one thing is certain—no matter how hard I try to convince myself otherwise, Joslyn still has my heart.
Dirty Little Midlife Crisis
Lilian Monroe - 2021
Dirty Little Midlife Crisis is the book you didn’t know you needed.Forty-five, recently divorced, and a certified hot mess.The last thing Fiona needs to start her vacation is a flooded hotel room and a broken-down car…Alas, that’s what she gets.She’s ready to pack it all in and go home—wherever that is—when her knight in a wet T-shirt strides in to save the day. Jaw-dropping, panty-melting Grant Greene takes the “mess” out of “certified hot mess” when he walks up to Fiona and offers her a room to stay. No strings attached.Great, right?It would be, apart from the sparks that immediately start to fly. Sparks are bad. Sparks are dangerous. Sparks can cause a fire. And for a divorcee trying to start over, a fire is Really Bad News.But bad decisions can be fun...right? Just as long as you don’t get burned…Intrepid heroine gets more than she bargained for. Hot hunk bares it all (literally). Skinny dipping. Shirtlessness. Meddling townsfolk. Vicious feuds. Hilarious banter. Twists, turns, and shocking developments. And heat, so much heat. More steam than a sauna. Well-earned HEA guaranteed.
Suddenly Forbidden
Ella Fields - 2018
We were never meant to let go, but it happened anyway. Too bad I didn’t know someone was waiting to take my place, or I would've held on a lot tighter. Two years later, we were exactly where we'd always planned to be. I'd kept my promise. He'd forgotten all about his. Not only had he moved on, but the person he'd moved on with was my best friend, leaving me to begin college with a broken heart. I guess this is the part where I’m supposed to tell you some other guy stepped in, repaired my shattered pieces, and made me smile again. This isn't that kind of story. My heart might have been broken, but it refused to fall out of love. WARNING: this book contains cheating.Each book in the Gray Springs world can be read as a standalone.
Where We Belong
K.L. Grayson - 2014
. . she's a snarky little bitch.I’ve tried several times to regret the events that took place on June 5, 2008, but for the life of me, I can’t. I'd never regret the pain, the suffering, or the heartache because it ultimately led me to the place I am now. And I can’t regret the place I am now. What I still can't figure out is this: how is it possible that the single worst day of my life inadvertently became the very best day?Five years ago my life was irrevocably changed.Seventeen minutes was all it took—to lose my best friend…to lose the love of my life…Seventeen minutes was all it took for the seeds of hope—the seeds of my future—to be planted in the worst possible way.My name is Harley Thompson, and this is my story.
Undertow
Elizabeth O'Roark - 2013
It almost seems like enough until Nate Sullivan comes home. Nate – her childhood best friend, her first love. The boy who left without a trace one night and broke her heart. When their attraction threatens the future she and her parents have so carefully crafted, loyalties will be tested and secrets will be uncovered. Giving in may cost her everything. But how do you resist the only thing you’ve ever really wanted?
When the Stars Fall
Emery Rose - 2020
My best friend. Fiercest ally. The most annoying boy in the world.At eighteen, the boy I loved to hate became the man I couldn’t live without.We were young. Madly in love. Invincible. Strong enough to weather any storm.Cocky enough to believe that no amount of time or distance could destroy us.When Jude finally returned home from overseas, it should have been cause for celebration. But the man I’d fallen in love with was gone, and in his place was someone I no longer recognized.𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛’𝑡 𝑑𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑. 𝐼’𝑚 𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑦.Now, after six long years he’s back. Only my heart ... it doesn’t beat just for him anymore.
Dear Jane
Kendall Ryan - 2018
It doesn’t matter that the rest of the country loves me, that I’m a starting quarterback with a multimillion-dollar contract. Because when I look in the mirror, all I see is a failure who was too young—and too afraid—to fight for what I wanted.But I’m not that guy anymore, and all I need is one shot to convince her.***He has no idea what happened after he left. And now I’m supposed to work alongside him like we don’t have this huge, messy history?But I’m older now, wiser, and I won’t let anything stand in my way of doing a good job for this league. Not even one overpaid, arrogant player who thinks we’re going to kiss and make up.News flash, buddy: I am over you.
Written with Regret
Aly Martinez - 2019
The one where the white knight rushes in to save her from the clutches of evil. They fall in love, have babies, and live happily ever after. By that definition, my life should have been a fairytale too. When I was eight years old, Caven Hunt saved me from the worst kind of evil to walk the Earth. It didn’t matter that I was a kid. I fell in love with him all the same. But that was where my fairytale ended. Years later, a one-night stand during the darkest time imaginable gave us a little girl. It was nothing compared to the pitch black that consumed me when I was forced to leave her with Caven for good. At the end of every fairytale, the happily-ever-after is the one thing that remains consistent. It wasn’t going to be mine, but there hadn’t been a night that passed where I hadn’t prayed that it would be hers. I owed Caven my life. However, I owed that innocent child more. And that included ripping the heart from my chest and facing her father again.
Ghosted
J.M. Darhower - 2017
Through scandal after scandal, addiction on top of addiction, a flurry of paparazzi hunt him as he fights to conquer his demons.She's a single mother, assistant manager at a grocery store, existing in monotony with her five-year-old daughter. Every day when she goes to work, lurid tabloids surround her, the face of a notorious bad boy haunting her from their covers.A man and a woman, living vastly different lives, but that wasn't always the case. Once, they were just a boy and a girl who bonded over comic books and fell in love unexpectedly.When Kennedy Garfield met Jonathan Cunningham back in high school, she knew he had all the makings of a tragic hero. With stars in his eyes, and her heart on her sleeve, the pair ran away together to follow their dreams.But dreams, sometimes, turn into nightmares.Now, years later, the only thing they share is a daughter—one who has no idea her father plays her favorite superhero. But Jonathan is desperate to make amends, and at the top of his list is the woman who gave up everything for him and the little girl he hasn't yet met.
Then There Was You
Claire Contreras - 2018
Love is about walking to the edge of the cliff and taking the leap together.Timing was never on our side.My first mistake was hooking up with my best friend.My second came years later, when we met again, and I fell for her. My third was letting her go, because I had to. Because a love like this wasn't built to withstand the winds coming in our direction.Love and timing.I didn't believe in either. Then there was you . . .
Tempt Me Tonight
Toni Blake - 2007
Then he betrayed her and broke her heart. Now her revenge will be oh-so-sweet . . . and hot!Trish Henderson has returned home to Eden to take care of some family business . . . and some personal business, as well. Though she's achieved remarkable success as a high-powered Chicago attorney, Trish has never forgotten her small-town high school sweetheart, Joe Ramsey, or the devastation of heartbreak.Now she's come face-to-face with the gorgeous sex god Joe has grown into, and she's determined to get him out of her system once and for all—and maybe take a little revenge, too. And this time, she has all the power. After all, where is it written that only men can explore and enjoy a physical relationship without commitment? Her plan: seduce him for just one night, then walk away . . .But there's just one problem. Trish is about to find out that one night with Joe may never be enough . . .
Current
Abby McCarthy - 2016
One moment was all it took for the river’s current to take everything from them. June would have done anything for Jake. The two were inseparable. He was going to run away to be with her. Then, his abusive father destroyed their happiness. Years later, June sits down to write a review for the band Silent Tides and is floored when she comes face to face with Lucas the keyboardist. Lucas looks so familiar; the resemblance to Jake is uncanny.June falls fast and hard for Lucas, but she continuously questions her feelings for him, unsure if they are because he reminds her of Jake or because of who he is. Just when June thinks she’s found happiness with Lucas, she loses him too. Their new love is torn apart, clouded in a veil of deceit and lies, shattering June. Six years pass and June feels like she finally has found peace in her life. Once again, it’s ripped wide open when she comes face to face with a love from her past.Now it’s June who has a secret.
Fighting to Breathe
Aurora Rose Reynolds - 2015
They never imagined the future could hold anything other than together-forever. When Lea's father dies in a tragic fishing accident, she's crushed under the weight of her grief and catches a glimpse of another type of future, one she knows she's not strong enough to face. Austin is angry. For the past fifteen years, he's believed the woman he loved with every ounce of his soul left him without so much as a backwards glance. When Lea unexpectedly returns to their hometown, all the years of heartache inside Austin bubbles to the surface and presents itself as blinding rage. Faced with the truth about the past, a newly discovered secret, these former lovers will learn that if they want to have any chance at the future they'd given up on all those years ago, they will have to rescue one another from drowning in pain so debilitating it will leave them both fighting to breathe. Contains mature themes.
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...
Tattered
Devney Perry - 2018
It’s somewhere just above the trash can her mother dumped her in as a newborn but below the class where much comes easy. With her tattered shoes and bargain-bin clothes, her life has never been full of glamour. So when a rich and charismatic man takes interest, she doesn’t fool herself into thinking their encounter is anything more than a one-night stand. Months later, she’s kicking herself for not getting his phone number. Or his last name. She’s given up hope of seeing him ever again.Until one day, years later, Logan Kendrick waltzes into her life once more and turns everything she’s built upside down. This time around, she won’t make the same mistake. She’s going to fight to keep him in her life—not for herself.But for their daughter.