Book picks similar to
When the Heart Lies by Christina North
romance
freebies
freebie
suspense
He Found Me
Whitney Barbetti - 2014
I walked out the door of my apartment with a backpack and never looked back. I left the life of Cora Mitchell behind, seeking freedom from my real-life nightmare. But my freedom came with a cost. I lived a fictitious life for the next six years, never letting anyone close enough to see underneath the facade that was Andra Walker. I was content with my simple little life. Until I met Julian. And the moment I started allowing myself to open up, allowing someone to see through the superficial, was the very same moment the Monster from my past would return to find me.
Smart Blondes
Sonia Koso - 2014
Stunned, Carrie drives all night to her quirky hometown and collapses in a near-catatonic state. A crew of ladies spanning three generations realize it’s up to them to help Carrie get her life out of the ditch. Known as the “Presbyterian Mafia,” these are not sweet old gals. They have a book club that never reads, a garden club that doesn’t garden, and a bible study class that gossips about the Methodists. They’re known around town for antics including catfights, car chases and Voodoo rituals. The women enlist Carrie’s former childhood best friend Portia (now a lawyer) and her flamboyant cousin Eric (recently returned from New York) in their effort. While dealing with the after-effects of her imprudent gunplay and managing a hair color disaster, Carrie meets Rhett Richards. He’s an attractive oil field worker who can make women think un-Christian thoughts by the mere act of wearing a pair of tight wranglers. Carrie soon learns that hometowns can be the perfect places to bury old scandals and create new ones.
Anything for Love
Lola St. Vil - 2017
I can love you; let me... Winter Bennett is on the worst date of her life, so she decides to bail and go home to her true loves: take out and Netflix. On her way out of the door, she spots her ex-boyfriend with his hot, new girl. Horrified at the thought of being seen, Winter does what any sane woman would do; she bolts into the bathroom and out the back window. Falling smack-dab in the middle of a sting operation wasn't part of the plan, but that’s exactly what happened. And now, bullets are flying overhead. Thankfully, a sexy NYPD homicide detective by the name of Wyatt Hunter saves her. He is furious with her for ruining his operation but he's even more upset when he can’t get her off his mind. Soon he falls for her — hard. Unfortunately, Winter's heart has been broken and she's too afraid to let anyone in. Does Wyatt have what it takes to get Winter to give love one more try? This steamy romance is a roller coaster ride that will make you hot, make you laugh, and even shed a few tears. It's a full-length standalone novel. NO cheating, NO cliffhangers, and a guaranteed Happily-ever-after! This book has adult content for ages 18 and over.
Promise Cove
Vickie McKeehan - 2011
Alone and desperate in backwater Pelican Pointe, she faces an uphill battle against a judgmental and hostile town as she tries to rebuild her life. But when a mysterious and handsome stranger with a tragic secret appears, her fragile new world threatens to come crashing down around her. A heartbreaking story of love and romance, Promise Cove will hold you breathless until the very last page.
Unsafe Haven
Char Chaffin - 2012
On the run from an abusive relationship, she leaves everything familiar behind and begins a new life as owner of a small souvenir and sportsman trading post in picturesque Staamat.Denn Nulo knows everyone in town: he’s the Chief of Police in Staamat. He’s lived there all his life, except for his college years, spent in Anchorage. Originally planning on practicing criminal law and living in Anchorage permanently, Denn is forced to change his plans when he receives word that his widowed mother has passed away, leaving his young sister, Luna, alone. Denn comes back to Staamat to care for Luna.When Kendall meets Denn, she begins to believe there are truly good men in the world. Denn is everything she wants: strong, loving, dedicated to family, protective. . .and patient. There is instant attraction between them, but Kendall is leery of men, and Denn craves a serious relationship that includes marriage and children. Their courtship is a conflicting mix of hesitancy and passion, with Luna, desperately needing a mother figure in her life, cheering them on. As Kendall learns how to trust again and her romance with Denn grows more intense, a local woman who’s had her eye on Denn for years releases a torrent of damaging jealousy. . .and the nightmare from Kendall’s past discovers where she’s hidden herself.
Cold Comfort
Ellis Vidler - 2011
Instead, she plots her solo course and settles for a quiet life as an independent Williamsburg shop owner. So how does she become a killer's target?Sometime security consultant Riley, burned out, stung by his ex-wife, and haunted by a young girl he couldn't save, vows never to work with women again. But when a thug tries to kill Claire and she winds up in Riley's arms, his plans go all to hell. Knowing she's in danger, he can't walk away.Old letters in a hidden trunk reveal long-buried secrets, leading Claire and Riley to political connections with organized crime and Mob hitmen. While dodging a speeding car, ducking bullets, and escaping through murky swamp waters, conventional Claire and freewheeling Riley struggle against their powerful chemistry—if she's picket fences, he's barbed wire. Opposites do attract.August 7, 2015: Epilogue added this date. The first edition of this book was published by Echelon Press. Same basic book (without epilogue), new cover.
Love Handles
Gretchen Galway - 2011
She hates the gym, is nice to everybody, and shops at Ross Dress for Less. When she's not teaching preschool, she's wearing yoga pants... to nap in. So when she inherits her estranged grandfather's fitnesswear company in San Francisco, nobody expects her to keep it. Fite Fitness needs a heartless suit to save it from bankruptcy, not a thirty-year-old woman who cries when her students leave for kindergarten.Someone like Liam Johnson. A former Olympic swimmer, Liam is Fite's executive vice president. Unlike Bev, he's devoted his life to Fite's success. Managing one little preschool teacher — and his attraction to her — shouldn't be an issue. Right?But Bev's tired of being underpaid and underrated, and refuses to step aside as an obedient figurehead. To everyone's shock and horror, she moves up to San Francisco, sets up an office, and dives into the business. Nothing — not mockery, not exercise, not sabotage, not a disastrously hot night with her aggravating VP — is going to scare her away.As Liam realizes she's tougher than she looks, he discovers that losing Fite might not be nearly as bad as losing her...A story about the pursuit of love, happiness, and the perfect yoga pants, Love Handles will speak to anyone who's ever had to face the thing that scares her most.Warning: contains at least two loves scenes and a happy ending.
Meant for Her
Amy Gamet - 2012
Ordered to the scene of a fiery homicide, Navy officer Hank Jared wants nothing more than to wrap it up and get to his sister's wedding. His sense of duty won't let him walk away from a case, even if he can't figure out why his boss insisted he handle this one personally.When the key to a safe deposit box is found among the ashes, Hank finds himself staring at two pieces of paper--on one is a coded message, on the other, a name that will change the course of his entire life.Julie Trueblood wouldn't trust a Navy man if he handed her a life jacket on board a sinking ship. Her father was a cryptologist for the Navy, who went into hiding a decade earlier to avoid charges of treason. In his absence, Julie was harassed and interrogated by Naval officers who believed she was a traitor, just like her father.Hank tracks Julie down and confronts her with the cipher. She can't stand what he represents and sends him away, insisting she knows nothing about the message. But when she realizes someone is after her, Hank is the only person she can ask for help. He finds the perfect place to hide Julie, right by his side, pretending to be his girlfriend at his sister's wedding. Now he just needs to remember their relationship is all an act.The coded message brings Hank and Julie together, but its secrets hold the power to tear them apart. Guided by her generous and quirky Aunt Gwen, Julie will gather the courage to unravel the cipher that was meant for her to decode, as she learns to trust the man she was meant to love.
Nothing But Trouble
Lisa Mondello - 1999
So she strikes a deal. She has to spend a full month in the Wyoming wilderness and show her father she can handle being in a remote area while managing her Type 1 diabetes before he'll agree to fund the expedition to Africa and allow her to go. But her daddy isn't the only one convinced she'll fail... But she's not about to let any man underestimate what she can do. Especially not the sexy rodeo cowboy she's hired to help get her through the month in the wilderness.Yes, he knows what he's doing. But so does she! Yes, he's ruggedly handsome...well, he can't help that, can he? But no sexy cowboy is going to keep her down!Stoney Buxton needs to raise cash fast to save the family ranch after a barn fire injured his father and left the family finances in ruin. Re-entering the rodeo circuit seems like the best way to get the money he needs. That is until Melanie Summers shows up at his ranch flashing easy money. To everyone else, Melanie's offer seems like the answer to all his prayers. But one look at her long legs and pouting lips and Stoney knows this high society gal is going to be nothing but trouble...for his cowboy heart.Excerpt:His jaw tightened. Yes, there was something definitely wrong here. And money had nothing to do with it. It had everything to do with this beauty standing in front of him, who was clueless about what she was getting her pretty little hide into. "No," he replied tersely."Mr. Buxton, I need your help.""Tourist season is in full swing. I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding someone else." He turned his back to her and began walking along the fence toward the barn, almost forgetting... Abruptly, he glanced up and saw the charred remains of the barn. The place where all his troubles had started just one year ago. It hadn't taken but a second for him to hear her boots digging into the dusty gravel behind him, jarring him from his thoughts."Then I'll do it myself," she said to his back.His whole body stiffened. He angled back to read her face, to see if she was just being a spoiled rotten rich kid, trying to get her way, or if she was actually serious. Seeing her head held high and her arms crossed in front of her, he realized she was dead serious. And dead she'd be if she stepped one boot into those mountains alone."You'll do no such thing." Frustration flaring, he lifted his dusty hat and forced his fingers through the thick crop of black hair before returning the hat to his head. "You just don't get it, do you? You're not asking me to take you on a theme park ride where you'll get to see the wonders of the world at a nice safe distance. This is God's country. The creatures that live up there don't know civilization, and you are no better than them. You could--probably will--get killed if you go out there alone." His lips twitched, taking a good long appraising look at the woman in front of him. "You might even chip a nail on that pretty hand of yours."
Double Dare
Saskia Walker - 2006
He's mysterious and sexy--just right for Abby's walk on the wild side--but very soon she finds that she wants more, and his mysterious, evasive nature makes her curious. Is there more to this sexy, entrepreneurial club owner than meets the eye? And why does she suddenly feel as if her every move is being watched?Zac Bordino is perplexed when he realizes that the woman managing his business investments is the same woman he's having an affair with. She's pretending to be a little nobody out for a good time, and because she's a red hot number he plays along, cautiously observing her to get to the truth. From high-powered offices in London to pulse-pounding nightclubs in Paris, they find an insatiably perfect match in business and in pleasure. But when Zac begins to fall for Abby, he has to decide whether to reveal the secret link between them, or try to win her heart first.
The Suicide Princess
Anthony Bryan - 2013
She has a near perfect husband, the perfect life, and she has it all in the palm of her hand. When her marriage falls into a romantic rut, Stephanie is skillfully swooned by a charming and intriguing stranger who looks to be the answer to all of her fantasies. A whirlwind and erotic affair quickly spirals out of control, and before long, Stephanie learns that things aren’t always as they appear, and people are rarely who they seem. One poor decision becomes the catalyst that rips her life apart, and Stephanie is left with nothing but the thirst for revenge against the man who viciously stole everything from her. The Suicide Princess is a sexually charged roller coaster ride where nothing is as it seems and everything is at stake!
Selling Scarlett
Ella James - 2013
Dragged out of seclusion by her best friend Suri, Elizabeth is merely playing dress-up, rubbing elbows with a crowd that banished her troubled family years ago.Hunter West is tired. Tired of parties, tired of pretending, and tired of trying to right a wrong that haunts him every day. Bourbon heir and professional poker player by day, by night Hunter is gambling with his life in a high-stakes game of crime and blackmail. When Elizabeth stumbles into Hunter's den of vices, she's a light in the darkness, a flame in the void. And, just like everything he touches, Hunter mars her in a record time. To rectify the damage done, Elizabeth needs money she doesn't have, and she's come up with a foolproof way to get it.Follow Elizabeth - code-named Scarlett - to the lush Nevada brothel where she'll auction her virginity and risk the only thing that's not for sale: her heart. The highest bidder is a familiar face, with wicked hands and the devil's mouth. And a secret so dark that it could cost her life.
Forged
Becky Banks - 2012
He went from nothing to running his own high-end Euro auto shop and being part owner in more than one club in town living the playboy lifestyle, yet Nathaniel Vellanova forgets it all when his ex-girl walks back into his life—the the only woman he'd ever let himself love. It's the same day his biological father, the man who murdered his mother, is released from prison reminding him how much he has needed her. Nate's ex-girl, Eva, is back from her stint at a high-glamour life in Manhattan to help her father who's battling cancer. Yet, as luck would have it, the car she relies on everyday for her magazine gig in downtown Portland, Oregon goes on the fritz pushing her back into the capable hands of her mechanic ex-boyfriend Nate.Thrown together once more, Nate and Eva have to sort out their fetishes for fast cars and adrenaline addiction with nothing but their bare hands—and maybe a little bit of duct tape. As the language—and the sparks—fly, their demons return, haunting and hunting them down until nothing but love can pull them from the edge.
Angels & Whiskey
Kimberly Knight - 2015
Serving his country was his destiny. Until he fell in love…When Gabe’s love affair is cut short, he turns to whiskey for comfort and swears he will never fall in love again.Until he bumps into an unexpected angel…By all appearances, Autumn Jones has the perfect life. Her husband, Richard, is a loving man who wants to be a father to her unborn children. But Autumn knows the truth. Richard has a controlling, dark side that leaves nothing to chance, especially Autumn. He’ll stop at nothing to make her the trophy wife he wants her to be.When Autumn bumps into Gabe, he consumes her every thought, but she can’t act on her feelings. She’s married to a dark man she can never leave. When he learns who Autumn’s husband really is, Gabe knows he will stop at nothing to protect her. Or is it too late for him to save his angel?
Edge of Disaster
A.M. Hargrove - 2012
A life of partying, alcohol, drugs and men has brought her near the edge of disaster. That is until one night while at work as a waitress in an upscale restaurant, she falls under the spell of one of her customers, Pearce Middleton. Once she gazes into his smoky gray eyes, her life takes on new meaning. But can she put her past behind her and allow herself to fall for the exciting and gorgeous Pearce, or will her lewd behavior come back to haunt her and ruin her chances of happiness forever?