Book picks similar to
Guarded Dreams by L.J. Evans


romance
contemporary-romance
arc
second-chance

Sins or Secrets


Khardine Gray - 2021
    what he didn’t know was I lied because I had to.It was the only way to protect him from my father’s cruel hand.That last goodbye was supposed to be forever.I left town and never expected to see him again.Then Aunt Lily died, and I returned home.Not knowing her will would open Pandora’s box.Her will threw me right back in Logan’s path, and back in his bed.But he’s not the boy I left behind.He’s the irresistible, tempting ex-marine women put on their wish list.And our attraction is incinerating.All consuming.Undeniable.And, unlike the past, there’s no one standing in our way.There’s nothing to stop us.Except me.

The Cowboy's Last Song


Deborah Garland - 2021
    I fell for him seven years ago. I won’t be charmed by him again. Then I met his daughter...Jamie: I chased fame my entire life and it’s been a brutal journey from rising star to damaged goods seven years later. I’ve cleaned up my act since getting custody of my daughter, but balancing being a single dad and music god hasn’t been easy. I’ve lost another contract and have only one more chance in Music City. Now my success rests in the hands of a woman who probably hates me.Harper: I make stars shine and dreams come true. As the Nashville Hitmaker for a small record label, I’m facing my biggest songwriting challenge yet: a hit for Jamie Miller, country music’s bad boy. Blue Rock Records may have overlooked his tattered reputation to boost profits. But all I see is the man who broke my heart seven years ago.I’m determined not to fall under Jamie's spell again. I’m vying to be Blue Rock’s next CEO, that means keeping my relationship with Jamie professional. But when he uses his most irresistible quality to make me melt: his daughter, my resolve crashes harder than his last album.If I give in to some forbidden sexy time with a man I’ve wanted for seven years, will I survive falling for him again when he leaves to go on tour?And will the pain of losing both Jamie and his daughter be the hit I never saw coming?The Cowboy’s Last Song is part of the Wild Texas Heart Cowboy Series but can be read as a standalone. No cheating. No cliffhanger. HEA Guaranteed.

Heartbroken


Gabrielle G. - 2020
    But the universe is funny that way. My life is proof of it—secrets and all.So I’m not surprised when he stands in my classroom before me as the parent of one of my students. Forgiving him when he walked away had always been hard, but not as hard as it is to finally tell him the truth.***Can you forget your first love?I didn’t.Even if I didn’t recognize her right away, the girl with a star-shaped birthmark was always somewhere on my mind. But she isn’t the competitive and driven seventeen-year-old captain of the girls hockey team I loved anymore.I don’t know what happened but she has lost her fire and never made it into the pros like she dreamt of.Now I know why, and it’s my turn to decide if I can forgive her. A second-chance, small-town romance novel you won’t be able to put down.

My Wicked Prince


Molly O'Keefe - 2019
    But my life has never been a bedtime story and no prince with a fancy shoe is turning me into a Cinderella.I had big plans outside of my small but powerful country. But Gunnar, the wicked prince in a gorgeous package, was temptation too strong for me to resist. His sweet lies and sweeter kisses pulled me back into his arms over and over again until his cold cruel heart finally broke mine for good.Now he's going to be King and he wants me back in his country, his palace...and his bed.And we all must bow to the King.

Encore


Emily Robertson - 2021
    And he did…once. Shelby was his everything, his world. Sure they were young, but it didn’t matter. He knew in his gut, he knew it with everything they were meant to be. People told him all the time he was out of his mind, no one married their first girlfriend, but they were wrong– or so he thought.As soon as Austin got the chance of a lifetime, Shelby was gone. Sure he was living it up in the hottest band out there, but all the fame and money meant nothing without her. It felt more like a tragedy.When a tornado rips their hometown apart, Austin runs home to help out. It doesn’t matter that he’s been avoiding the place like the plague. His family needs him. The moment he sees Shelby, all the reasons he’s stayed away suddenly don’t matter. One look in her haunted eyes, and he knows he’s made a big mistake. He thought that by staying gone, he was making her happy, but he had been wrong. He didn’t care how many times she told him they didn’t work, he knew they were perfect for each other. She might be stubborn, but he was determined to win her back. That’s why he wasn’t leaving until they got their encore.

Star Crossed


C.D. Reiss - 2020
    Not for one minute.Since that day I’ve measured all women against her and every one of them has come up short.We're in the same town, on the same block, in the same building, and the gulf between us is just too wide to cross.Until I stop running from trouble long enough to throw her camera off a balcony.She’s a career-killer. A PR disaster.Loving her again is career suicide, and I don’t care.This time, I’m running toward her, even if it ruins me.Star Crossed is a new and improved version of previously published title, Shuttergirl, with a brand new epilogue and previously unpublished, totally swoon-worthy and emotional new scenes.

Detour


A. Marie - 2020
    Angela Head down, eyes peeled for any opportunity to get off the dead-end course my mother carelessly paved for me years ago.My plan takes a sharp turn landing me directly across the hall from Creekwood’s resident bad boys. The three streetbike riding misfits are as stubborn as they are sexy. And they. Are. Sexy. Especially the one with the mocha swirl eyes watching my every move.But even the six-foot hallway separating us can’t keep the overbearing trio from constantly getting in my way.When my past threatens to catch up with me, I quickly learn not every detour promises an easier route, no matter how tempting my new neighbors might make it look. Coty Head up, eyes locked on anything threatening to throw me off the carefully constructed path I have mapped out.I live my life the same way I ride my bike, never once regretting the roads I’ve chosen.Lately though, after years of the same scenery, everything’s starting to blur together. It’s only when our elusive neighbor girl comes out of nowhere that I realize what’s been missing.And now that I have, I don’t think I can let her pass by so quickly. At least not without proving the lengths I’ll go for her first.

A Fighting Chance


Kat Savage - 2021
    Since then, she's been avoiding certain things at all costs—like small-town setbacks, her family’s farm, and suffocating under too many expectations. Oh, and love, of course—but that's one thing eluding her. Aside from that, things are wonderful for her in Boston—the big city she chose to run to. That is, until her heartbroken little sister beckons her back to the very place she ran from: Whitney Farms. Lyla braces herself to be there again—but only temporarily. Only through her sister's impending divorce. What she doesn't expect is the newest—and hottest—resident at the farm. Newly single and free to do as he pleases, Gentry Bodine meets Lyla and at once, she rises to the very top of that list. His craving for her is demanding, undeniable. With an attraction so palpable, even the inexperienced and gun-shy Lyla can't resist—especially when lured with poetic, seductive notes from the unexpected southern charmer.But when they fall into temptation—of what appears as fleeting summer fun—both must decide: Will they give love a fighting chance?

Mending His Past


Kristen Iten - 2020
    Now, he’s rebuilding the storm-damaged Wounded Warrior Rescue in the seaside town of Liberty Cove. But he’s counting the days until he can put the small-town life behind and get lost in the big city.While in town, a German shepherd from the rescue begins to break through his defenses. But nothing can prepare him for the moment he comes face-to-face with the woman he left behind ten years ago. He wants to love her like she deserves, but fears he’s forgotten how.Olivia Malone once had big-city dreams of her own, but becoming a single mom changed her priorities in a hurry. Now, she has no desire to take her young daughter away from the idyllic town she grew up in, even though work is hard to come by.Her love for her daughter demands that she take any honest job she can find, even if it means treading dangerously close to a ghost from her past — a tall, dark, and handsome ghost. Their chemistry is just as red hot as ever, but she must consider more than her own desires these days.Olivia's been down the road of rejection more than once and has her walls firmly in place! Her daughter is her world, and she can’t risk breaking either of their hearts by inviting a man into their lives whose main goal seems to be leaving her behind… again.War taught him it’s better not to feel. Failed relationships taught her it’s better not to trust. Things heat up at the Wounded Warrior Rescue when Trent and Olivia must decide if taking a second chance at love is worth the risk.

Back to Shore


Taylor Danae Colbert - 2020
    So I turned him away and never looked back. I haven’t forgotten. And I certainly haven’t forgiven.Now, I’m sort of a hot mess. I’m in between jobs, essentially homeless, and newly divorced.But as I try to put the pieces of my life back together, I know that Ryder’s the one that’s missing. I have to find him, and I have to forgive him.And when I do, I learn that he’s not exactly living the easiest life. He needs someone. He needs me.Despite everything, I know I should be there for him. But doing that means I’ll have to put our past behind us.And I’ll have to try my hardest not to fall back in love with the man who broke my heart beyond repair.

Second Chance Baby


Natasha L. Black - 2020
    Let these Anderson brothers show you what a real HEA looks like. This is book one of the series. It can be read in any order.

The Girl on the Half Shell


Susan Ward - 2014
    One girl afraid to love. A beautiful, raw and intense romance series that will leave you begging for more.People think Chrissie Parker has a picture-perfect life. She leads an opulent lifestyle in Santa Barbara, her father, Jack, is a beloved music icon from the sixties, and she possesses a wealth of musical talent that will certainly lead to a promising future. But behind the façade, everything is far from perfect.When Chrissie journeys from Santa Barbara to New York City for an audition at Juilliard, romance is the last thing on her mind. She never anticipated encountering British Superstar Alan Manzone, a musician fresh out of Rehab, tormented by his own weakness and troubled past. Alan's life is everything Chrissie's is not; exciting, glitzy, and an all-out train wreck.Chrissie is soon consumed by Alan's shocking pursuit of her, his dark secrets, and his sexual desires. Will their stormy affair destroy them? Or will their love keep them together for a lifetime?

One Hundred Reasons


Kelly Collins - 2018
    She traveled to Aspen Cove intent to sell so she could hurry back to her life in Denver. Little did she know, she was about to find everything she ever needed in the tiny mountain town with a big heart. Sage found herself in a place where caring for your neighbor was a way of life. In her case, that happened to be surly Cannon Bishop, the man of her dreams. Cannon Bishop was a man who learned long ago that hope was a dangerous thing. Closed off from the world after a family tragedy, Cannon lived a lonely life as the owner of Aspen Cove’s only bar and son to the town drunk. When Sage Nichols breezed into town, she offered the possibility of more if he’d only open his heart. Cannon's protective walls tumble and suddenly a brighter future of healing, hope, and peace was possible… if only Sage would stay.

Reclaimed Love


Alina Lane - 2021
    I can’t help but ask myself…Are you going to break my heart again?Or the even bigger question...Am I going to let you?Sincerely,KateReclaimed Love is the first book in Alina Lane's debut contemporary romance series. If you like hunky hero's headstrong heroines and happily every after's then you'll love the first installment in the Heartfelt Series.Grab Reclaimed Love and fall head over heels for Kate, Arik and Felt Idaho.

Saving Ariel


Ellie Masters - 2021
    His focus is on raising his daughter as a single dad, and keeping his offshore oil rig crew safe. As his crew evacuates in advance of Hurricane Julian, a category five monster barreling down on the gulf, disaster strikes. Two of his crewmen are critically injured. He needs to get them to safety before the hurricane hits. When the aeromedical rescue helicopter pilot turns out to be a woman, he’s surprised. When she falls into his arms, his entire body takes notice. The tough, gorgeous, pilot is everything Aiden thought he’d never have—or want—again. Can Ariel be the one? His second chance at love?Too bad the storm seems to have other plans for them…Ariel Black doesn’t believe in love.With a category five hurricane barreling down on the Gulf, helicopter pilot, Ariel Black, is on a mission to evacuate wounded men from an oil rig. When the massive storm arrives ahead of schedule, it grounds Ariel’s helicopter, trapping them on the oil rig. She and her men, along with Aiden and his wounded, must ride out the storm. It’s the worst possible time to fall in love, but she does. Ariel falls hard…right into the installation manager’s arms. Aiden Cole makes her heart race, her pulse pound, and the butterflies in her stomach soar. Could he be the one?Will the storm of the century destroy Aiden and Ariel’s chance at happily ever after? Or does fate have something else in store?Saving Ariel, a steamy, second chance, contemporary romantic suspense, about love at first sight. It features a protective hero and the smart, feisty heroine who steals his heart.Get your copy today and let the binge-reading begin.(Saving Ariel was previously published as 'Aiden.')