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


romance
contemporary-romance
arc
second-chance

Wild Love


Melissa Schroeder - 2021
    In fact, I prefer my partners don't get too clingy. Don't get me wrong. I like a good night of loving, but beyond that, I’m happy to see them leave inthe morning, without my number.Then I met him. Quinn is a big bear of a man, with massive hands and amazing...staying power. Like all night long and the next morning kind of staying power. So when he asks me to spend the next day with him, I do. The only reason I give him my number is because he makes me laugh. And, okay, so I might have met up with him once or twice.That doesn't mean I need him. Because I am Everly Freaking Spencer, and I don't need anyone (other than my bestie), and definitely not a man.Only...He shows up by chance at my store, which totally freaks me out. Finding out he's my favorite author doesn't help either.And the surprise that's dropped in our laps later that day?Major. Freak. Out.But, like I said, I don't need anyone.Right?If I keep repeating that, I might just believe it.Author warning: Get ready for a trip into the hippiest little town in Texas. There's gossipy little old ladies (LOLs), an app that every teenager hates, trips to Denver and Cali, a woman who is convinced true love doesn't exist, and  man who aims to prove her wrong by doing things to her that should embarrass the author. And she was. (Not really). Along the way readers get to spend time with the gorgeous Hawthorne brothers and gay ducks. SERIOUSLY. GAY. DUCKS. Just get the book already because you know you want to know about them. Also, there's a happily ever after fit for a woman with commitment issues and man who just doesn't know when to give up.

Dancing by the Moonlight (A Carlisle Bay Novel)


Angie Ellington - 2018
    Dancing was her life. Chasing performance dreams is all she's ever known or planned for. Now, she is starting anew. She didn't expect to be a boutique manager at thirty-one, but it's better than spinning out into the abyss of the unknown. Being in Carlisle has brought solace to her listless soul. Brady Carlisle has recently returned to Carlisle Bay; his hometown. He has spent the last decade in California, designing and patenting surfboards, playing guitar and singing for anyone who cared to listen. Becoming his own man, without relying on the Carlisle name and money is all he's ever wanted. He now owns a bait and tackle store by day and spends his evenings playing guitar on his deck or sailing along the bay or over the crystal blue waters of the Atlantic. They discovered love for the first time thirteen years earlier when Olivia spent the summer before college living with her aunt in Carlisle Bay. Will the pain of the past keep them apart or will moonlit summer evenings lead them back to each others' hearts?

Scattered Pieces


Allie Able - 2016
    Finally able to live her dream of owning a bakery, Summer begins the task of rebuilding her life, making sure there is no room for romance or relationships, because in her experience they only lead to trouble. However, when Grant Hamilton, who has served as a Marine for the last ten years, crosses her path, the chance encounter has them both rethinking their futures, as there is no denying the magnetic pull they feel towards each other. When Summer’s past returns to haunt her, will Grant help Summer pick up the scattered pieces of her life, or will they all fall apart? **This book can be read as a standalone.

Ryan's Kiss


Mel Walker - 2019
    That damn kiss. one kiss that not only destroyed our future but ended my ability to believe, to trust, to love.He was my best friend. We should have known better.Three years kept us apart, yet an invisible rope continues to tug at us.  He’s finally returning home and I know it’ll only be a matter of time before we must face each other again. I’m older, stronger, wiser and no longer the starry-eyed girl who followed his every command.He almost destroyed me last time, I won't give him a second chance. I can't.

Rule Breaker By Accident


Ali Parker - 2019
     One rule. Easy enough, or so I thought. Until this hot surgeon that I’ve been dating off and on becomes a client. It was a casual fling, a fun summer love affair. Until it wasn’t. My heart wasn’t ready to fall so hard for this bad boy in scrubs. The secrets he has hidden in his past stop me dead in my tracks. But he isn’t giving up on us. Not for anything. And I have to decide where I stand. Break the rules or walk away from the best thing I’ve ever had.

Kiss To Conquer


Anna B. Doe - 2020
    Hayden thinks he knows all about Callie’s life before Blairwood and he’s not ready to let go of the past, much less forgive her for what she has done three years ago.One thing’s for sure… it’s going to take more than a kiss to conquer their broken past.Note: Kiss To Conquer is an enemies-to-lovers sports romance and it can be read as a standalone novel.

The Perfect Man


Lynn Dare - 2021
    Yes, definitely his jaw.But I, Ellie Amore, have a problem. It’s big, gigantic, and not in the good way.None of these men are real. And that version of me? More fake than an author calling herself classy while drinking boxed wine in her yoga pants.Me, that author is me.I dream of hot men. Perfect men. Fictional men. These men go into my books, and it’s all I need for my messy cat-lady-living-above-a-bookstore life. Really.I don’t need my brother’s best friend checking up on me. The man who brings me tacos. The one who is decidedly not perfect—as his enemy cat would tell you—but somehow might just be perfect for me.I’m not sure how it all started or when he decided I was more than a favor to his friend.All I know is Cruz is not a man from my dreams. This time, it’s different.This time, he’s real.The Perfect Man is book one in the Perfect Man romantic comedy series. Dive in for plenty of swoons, lots of laughs, and a guaranteed HFN ending.

For the Love of Gracie


Amy K. McClung - 2013
    She's reached a point where it's easier to forget about romance and focus on what's important: college, clubbing, and her friends. But the best-laid plans don't always pan out as hoped.Caught up in a web of relationships that threaten nothing but pain, Gracie has to decide who she can trust and who can help keep her safe. What lengths will the man of her dreams go to… for the Love of Gracie?

Forget the Stars


Kelsey Kingsley - 2019
    At thirty, he never thought he'd still be unmarried and living with his parents. And with the added stress of his poor health, he's convinced the only thing within his control is the success he's found as a rock star.After reconnecting with his childhood best friend, Chad sets into motion a new plan to regain control over his happiness, and things start looking up. But when he finds himself diagnosed with a potentially debilitating chronic illness, he begins to wonder...Is this as good as it's going to get? Or is it at all possible for a guy like him to get everything he's ever wished for?

Unpredictable


C.A. Harms - 2015
    With an absent father and a mother who drowns herself daily in a bottle of Rum, there was no other option. Jett Jameson was the distraction Quinn needed, even if it was just for one night. A void filler, and a chance for a moment to allow herself to feel something other than emptiness. He wasn’t what she expected. Gentle. Her life didn’t have room for a man like Jett. Unpredictable. But now it was too late, there was no turning back. Desire. Nothing would ever be the same…

Make Me Lose


Ember Leigh - 2019
    We’re enemies. Born minutes apart on the same day in the same hospital, our parents thought this meant we were somehow destined to be together. We knew were we just destined to beat each other. Competition boiled over until junior year, when the cold war turned into an unexpected peace offering. Maybe my hormones allowed me to notice his broad shoulders, stormy gray-blue eyes, and soccer star’s chiseled frame. But after I fell for him…he stomped all over my heart. Ten years later, I’m at the top of the realty game in Bayshore and Grayson is just a distant memory. Until he shows up from NYC, his ego bigger than a skyscraper, and asks me to sell the house he recently inherited.It’s easy to say no. Even though I want to climb him like the jungle gyms we used to dangle from in strong arm battles.But I forgot that Gray doesn’t take no for an answer. And that he isn’t content unless he’s defeating me. He butts into my evenings on the boat. Ropes me into water skiing battles. Even shows up at the bar and creates a scene when I’m scouting a date to the upcoming Bicentennial Ball.It’s almost like he’s gunning to win me. But if he wins, that means I lose.And I’m not ready to cede victory just yet.

That Unforgettable Kiss


Tamara Ferguson - 2014
    So men have always been merely a distraction for Kate; she just doesn’t have time for love.Until fate steps in by way of a prophecy foretold, years ago, by a friend who’d been blessed with a remarkable gift. Kate has been warned that, one day, she’ll be kissed by fate. And love will happen with that unforgettable kiss.Michael Murphy already has his life mapped out. After graduating with his degree in Architecture, he’ll be working at a prestigious firm in Chicago. When he arrives in the town of Crystal Rock to serve as an intern at Callahan Construction, the last thing he expects is his instant attraction to lovely crew boss, Kate Callahan.Kate’s immediately drawn to Murphy, too. And sparks fly when they unite in an attempt to discover the identity of the thief who’s been stealing construction materials from her family’s company.But how could a long-term relationship between them ever survive? They’re both young, with different dreams and goals. So even after their unforgettable kiss, Kate lets Murphy go.Six years later, Kate’s finally admitted her mistake; she’s just never been able to forget that kiss. Devastated when she learns that Michael Murphy’s become engaged, Kate comes up with a plan to try to win him back. But will she be too late?

Promise Me Nothing


Jillian Liota - 2019
     I didn’t pick up my life and move to this urban beach city to spend my days swooning over a rich bad boy who rides a motorcycle and seems to know every girl in town. I’m here to get to know the brother I’ve never met. To try and create a family when I’ve gone so long without one. Maybe find a place where I belong. So why can’t I seem to get him off my mind? Hannah Morrison isn’t a good idea. I’m back in town just for the summer, and my priorities are to spend time with my little sister, check in with my family, and make sure things aren’t really as bad as they seem. But somehow, the new girl becomes my focus. She’s got a heaping ton of baggage, and she doesn’t understand why she’s really here. But I’ll do anything to make her feel like she belongs. Even give her promises I’m not sure I can keep. Welcome to Hermosa Beach.

Shatterproof


Jo Chambliss - 2021
    She never thought she'd be called upon to do it though. But when Willa and Ariel are taken, she has to do just that.She never expected to be saved or that the man that rescued and captured her daughters heart to also capture hers.When Fish and Willa realize that the monster has two faces, it'll take a miracle for Fish to keep both his girls alive.

Look After You


Elena Matthews - 2014
    Well, that’s what twenty-eight-year-old Ava Jacobson thought. Instead, she has to sit back and watch her daughter fight for her life, while her fiancé is fighting a messy war in Afghanistan. As her vulnerability hits an all-time low, she finds comfort in an unexpected pair of intense, green eyes. Eyes that belong to her daughter's doctor, Dr. Ashton Bailey. Although she tries to fight against her new-found feelings for Ashton, the pull between the two is so strong it proves impossible for her to stay away. When Ava is convinced things can’t get any worse, a single call changes everything, with news that will irreversibly shake her world forever.Warning: Recommended for ages 18+ due to heavy subject matters of rape and suicide. Also includes violence, explicit language and sexual situations.