Life's Second Chances


Anne Stone - 2016
    A last minute interview lands her a new teaching job just days before the school year is about to begin. It turns out to be the best thing that could have happened when she realizes that her best friend from college, Gabriella Alvarez, is also a member of the teaching staff. Gabriella’s brother, Alejandro, relocates to his hometown after having lived away from family and friends since he left for college to become a renowned transplant surgeon. He’s settling into a new job, reacquainting himself with family and friends, and is learning to deal ever-so-slowly with the personal loss that forever changed his life. When Angelina’s sister experiences a health crisis, Alejandro is there to support her and her family. And when Angelina herself experiences a personal tragedy, Alejandro is the only one to guide her through it. As love stares down at them, can Angelina help Alejandro take that second chance on love and marriage?

Forget Me Not


Willow Winters - 2017
     I was only a small girl. Scared and frightened, I was taken from my home and held against my will. His father hurt me, but he protected me and kept me safe as best he could. Until I left him. I ran the first chance I got and even though I knew he wasn’t behind me, I didn’t stop. The branches lashed out at me, punishing me for leaving him in the hands of a monster. I’ve never felt such guilt in my life. Although I survived, the boy was never found. I prayed for him to be safe. I dreamed he’d be alright and come back to me. Even as a young girl I knew I loved him, but I betrayed him. Twenty years later, all my wishes came true. But the boy came back a man. With a grip strong enough to keep me close and a look in his eyes that warned me to never dare leave him again. I was his to keep after all. Twenty years after leaving one hell, I entered another. Our tale was only just getting started. It’s dark and twisted. But that doesn’t make it any less of what it is. A love story. Our love story.

Chasing Justice


Danielle Stewart - 2013
    But her plans of settling into a normal life are derailed when she witnesses a prominent judge in her community committing a violent assault. Running from her own past and fueled by a passion to make the judge answer for his crimes, Piper is forced to decide if she’ll play by the rules or achieve justice in her own way.Complicating things further, Piper finds herself fighting a powerful attraction to rookie cop, Bobby Wright. Although she’s increasingly enamored with Bobby, his staunch belief in the justice system is in stark contrast to her own. She may not share his opinions about the effectiveness of the law, but she certainly can’t deny how safe she feels when she’s in his arms or how every kiss leaves her desperate for more.For Piper, the idea of finally living an ordinary life with a man to love is tempting. However, fate keeps placing the judge, quite literally, in her path. Will she decide the only way to win is to be as wicked as the judge, but with righteous intentions? And more importantly, will Bobby choose to let her go, or follow her as she crosses the line and takes justice into her own hands?

You're The One


Layla Hagen - 2020
    He’s built an impressive real estate business in New York, succeeding against all odds. He shatters every obstacle in his way…until now. He only has one option: asking for help the one woman who is off-limits…his best friend. It all starts as pretend… The first kiss is unplanned, but Josie surrenders to him instantly, driving him crazy. The second one is in front of his tight-knit family. They have to be convincing, but he’s not pretending at all. Her taste is addictive, the scent of her skin is intoxicating. On their first night together, he barely stops his fingers from pushing down the straps of her dress…Their second night is sexy as hell, intense and unforgettable. How can he stop the lines from blurring when all that really matters now is Josie?

Undone


R.E. Hunter - 2014
    Embry’s sole focus is to get through law school—with the help of her best friend, Morgan—and make something of the broken girl she became. Not thinking about falling in love, being in a relationship or even entertaining the idea of romance, Embry is moving forward one day at a time.Luke Brody is charming and sexy, and has a past of his own. He wants nothing more than to put his demons to rest and move on with his life. But, when Embry enters the picture, is he destined to repeat those same mistakes? Blindsided by their instant attraction, neither Luke nor Embry are prepared for the feelings they’re developing. But will it all be for nothing? Will they let their pasts destroy them, or will they risk everything to fight for their relationship when it all comes undone?

The Prince


Jillian Dodd - 2016
    Fans of The Selection and The Hunger Games will discover a heart-pounding thrill ride of espionage and suspense set in glittering high society.An eighteen-year-old covert agent is pulled out of training before graduation by Black X, a espionage group so secret even the President of the United States doesn't know it exists.For her first mission, she must go undercover as the long-lost daughter of a recently deceased billionaire, infiltrate high society, and protect the Prince of Montrovia from assassination. But Prince Lorenzo is known as the Playboy Prince for a reason and his sensuality and charisma add a whole other level of complication to her mission. She knows that her every move is being watched, but what she doesn’t know is that the Prince is just a chess piece in a bigger game that will have world-wide ramifications. And that Blackwood Academy, the place she has called home for the past six years has secrets of its own.

Heir Untamed


Danielle Bourdon - 2012
    Encountering the Royals for the first time, Chey experiences an instant attraction to Mattias, second in line to the throne. He's charming, confident—and taken.During a horseback ride to clear her head, Chey finds herself in a scuffle with Sander Fisk, head of security. Rugged, determined and sharp tongued, Sander is infuriating as well as intriguing.Faced with conflicting emotions and a mystery unfolding in the castle, Chey must decide between men: a Prince of Latvala, or an arrogant rogue.She discovers the hard way that this particular fairy tale was more than she ever bargained for.

The Lovely Reckless


Kami Garcia - 2016
    Haunted by the memory of her boyfriend’s death, she lives her life by one dangerous rule: Nothing matters. At least, that’s what Frankie tells herself after a reckless mistake forces her to leave her privileged life in the Heights to move in with her dad—an undercover cop. She transfers to a public high school in the Downs, where fistfights don’t faze anyone and illegal street racing is more popular than football.Marco Leone is the fastest street racer in the Downs. Tough, sexy, and hypnotic, he makes it impossible for Frankie to ignore him—and how he makes her feel. But the risks Marco takes for his family could have devastating consequences for them both. When Frankie discovers his secret, she has to make a choice. Will she let the pain of the past determine her future? Or will she risk what little she has left to follow her heart?

Made of Stars


Kelley York - 2013
    And it is—at first. But Chance, the charismatic and adventurous boy who made their summers epic, is harboring deep secrets. Secrets that are quickly spiraling into something else entirely.The reason they've never met Chance’s parents or seen his home is becoming clearer. And what the siblings used to think of as Chance's quirks—the outrageous stories, his clinginess, his dangerous impulsiveness—are now warning signs that something is seriously off. Then Chance's mom turns up with a bullet to the head, and all eyes shift to Chance and his dad. Hunter and Ashlin know Chance is innocent...they just have to prove it. But how can they protect the boy they both love when they can’t trust a word Chance says?

Chasing The Dragon


T.K. Leigh - 2015
    She's the target. Can he resist falling for her?Mackenzie Delano craves control in every aspect of her life. From her business life. To her social life.To her love life…Until she crosses paths with a mysterious man who seems to break down the walls she spent the past several years erecting.Tyler Burnham has lived the past few years with one rule in mind...Never fall in love.But when he must form an intimate relationship with a sharp-tongued woman in order to obtain the location of a man deemed an enemy of the State, he finds himself straying from that rule.Will Tyler be able push his feelings aside and recover the information he needs?Or will he risk his mission and their lives in order to follow his heart?Chasing the Dragon is the first book of the Deception Duet, a part of the Beautiful Mess series. Pick up this gripping story of secrets, intrigue, and betrayal today.Beautiful Mess Series Recommended Reading Order:1. A Beautiful Mess (Beautiful Mess Trilogy #1)2. A Tragic Wreck (Beautiful Mess Trilogy #2)3. Gorgeous Chaos (Beautiful Mess Trilogy #3)4. Chasing the Dragon (Deception Duet #1)5. Slaying the Dragon (Deception Duet #2)6. Vanished (A Beautiful Mess Series Standalone)7. Heart of Light (A Beautiful Mess Series Standalone)***Author's Note: While it is not necessary to read the Beautiful Mess Trilogy prior to reading the Deception Duet or the Beautiful Mess Series standalones, the above is the recommended reading order for the best reading experience.

Moonlight Sins


Jennifer L. Armentrout - 2018
    Armentrout delivers the unforgettable story of a woman whose new life has just begun—but may end in murder...  Julia Hughes has always played it safe until she learned a very painful lesson. Now Julia’s starting over with a job in the Louisiana bayou—and a scorching encounter with a stranger, only to discover he’s Lucian de Vincent... her new employer. The de Vincent brothers share a massive fortune and a dark reputation. Julia cares for their troubled sister, but a menacing presence in the mansion—and the ever-present temptation of Lucian—prove dangerously distracting.Lucian’s grandmother claimed de Vincent men fall in love once—and hard. Apparently, it’s Lucian’s turn. Julia’s compassionate care of his twin makes Lucian want to lay himself bare. But some secrets are better for Julia not to know.The recent “suicide” of Lucian’s father is the latest in a string of deaths on the estate. Someone is eliminating the de Vincents. And the best way to get to Lucian may be through Julia...

This Is Not A Love Letter


Kim Purcell - 2018
    That's all Jessie said. A one-week break to get some perspective before graduation, before she and her boyfriend, Chris, would have to make all the big, scary decisions about their future--decisions they had been fighting about for weeks.Then, Chris vanishes. The police think he's run away, but Jessie doesn't believe it. Chris is popular and good-looking, about to head off to college on a full-ride baseball scholarship. And he disappeared while going for a run along the river--the same place where some boys from the rival high school beat him up just three weeks ago. Chris is one of the only black kids in a depressed paper mill town, and Jessie is terrified of what might have happened.As the police are spurred to reluctant action, Jessie speaks up about the harassment Chris kept quiet about and the danger he could be in. But there are people in Jessie's town who don't like the story she tells, who are infuriated by the idea that a boy like Chris would be a target of violence. They smear Chris’s character and Jessie begins receiving frightening threats.Every Friday since they started dating, Chris has written Jessie a love letter. Now Jessie is writing Chris a letter of her own to tell him everything that’s happening while he’s gone. As Jessie searches for answers, she must face her fears, her guilt, and a past more complicated than she would like to admit.

Conflicted


M.M. Koenig - 2013
    Her life was everything she wanted it to be; until one fateful night changed everything – leaving her broken and without direction. Nearly a year later, she still has little faith in anyone or anything. Desperate to reclaim her life’s ambition, she takes an unexpected offer that promises to solve all her problems. But as Mia moves forward, she’s faced with obstacles she couldn’t have foreseen. The biggest of them lies within the mystery of Ethan Fitzgerald; a man who affects her like no other, but who she should avoid pursuing, at all costs. On a mission himself, Ethan Fitzgerald didn’t care who he pissed off on his road to fulfill his mother’s dying wish. He relied on himself, and was closed off to the world around him – until Mia Ryan walked through his door. Normally one to avoid messy emotions, Ethan’s world is turned upside down by Mia, and he can’t seem to get enough of her. There are lines you can cross that will change the course of your life forever …

Bound by Lies


Hanna Peach - 2014
    He contacts me only through notes − unpredictable and untraceable. When we meet, he can touch me, but I’m not allowed to touch him. When we make love, it’s only after I have been bound and blindfolded. It’s the only time I truly feel alive. Which is why I play along with it. For now.Caden Thaine is the most sinfully beautiful man I have ever seen. But more than that, his touch sets me on fire. And dear God, do I ache for him. I don’t know where he lives or even what he does. But this doesn’t scare me. My only fear is that one day his messages will stop. I know he’s hiding something. But that’s okay. I am hiding things too. Like my real name and... who I really am. But the deeper I fall for him, the stronger my curiosity becomes. I could never have imagined just how much our lives are bound. And that pulling at his tangled web of secrets would cause my own dark past to come back to try and reclaim me. Will we survive? Will our love?Adult romantic suspense. +18 years.

Deep Down


Brenda Rothert - 2015
    My closest companions now are shame and loss. But a sliver of hope lies in the only person I have left in this world – the one who’s growing inside me.Survival becomes living again because of my child, and the town where I begin anew. That’s where I meet the man who starts to melt the ice inside my heart.As we get closer, reminders of my past become sharper. Clearer. To confront the pain, I have to discover what’s deep down inside me. Is there enough left there to become whole again, or am I too wounded to heal? A portion of sales from this book will benefit the Keith Milano Memorial Fund at AFSP