Book picks similar to
The Return by A.L. Parks


contemporary-romance
freebie
romance
holiday

Pierced Love


T.H. Snyder - 2013
    Dressing to the trendiest Goth fashion, Zar wears nothing but black from head to toe. Not that this warrants unwanted attention, but she is also top in her class and is looking at a full academic scholarship to Iowa State in the fall. Loudon Clarke is an all star athlete. He plays three varsity sports and has the world in his hands. Except for one thing; Loudon is failing majority of his subjects. He is about to be suspended from the basketball team risking his athletic scholarship. Zar and Loudon would normally never cross paths, until these two are brought together when Zar’s brother proposes to Loudon’s sister. With an upcoming wedding and a lot of planning Zar and Loudon are stuck with one another regardless of their differences. Zar has hidden behind the pain she deals with on a daily basis for years. Loudon has never had to feel pain nor the ignorance of his peers. Can opposites really bring these two together or will they be pulled even further apart. Only one thing is for sure, it is impossible to fight the connection of pierced love when one is willing to change for happiness.

I Like You, I Love Her


J.R. Rogue - 2018
    Before he kissed me in front of the entire school. As he danced with her the night of our senior prom.After his younger brother, Ben, made me smile through my tears.“It’ll never work with him. He will never leave her…”It’s been more than ten years since I let myself fall for the boy whose heart wasn’t mine. And the Prom King’s lips are finally mine to kiss.“When I came back here I wasn’t expecting to see you, and when I did, I felt this tumble…”But he’s still keeping me in the shadows.As his younger brother breaks me open in the day.BenYou shouldn’t covet whom your brother desires.Our pastor father would say he taught me better than that.But I knew over ten years ago my brother didn’t deserve her.And nothing’s changed since she came back into both our lives.“You think what you felt for my brother back then was love, but what I felt can’t be the same?”I’m still the one who makes her laugh—the one who challenges her.And he’s still the one treating her like a dirty little secret.“You really are a watercolor, Severin Thompson. I can read you…”You shouldn’t covet whom your brother desires.This summer, I’ll remind him of that.

Rebound Biker


Bijou Hunter - 2015
    The sex might be hot, yet he has bigger plans than a wham bam thank you ma´am reunion.

Holiday Hoax


Jennifer Probst - 2012
    Dubbed “The Pasta King” and named most eligible bachelor in New York City, he escapes to his cabin upstate to figure out what he wants. He hopes to meet a woman who will love him for who he is…but he never counted on a certain schoolteacher to throw his world into chaos.Isabella Summers is shocked at the sexual attraction she feels for the rude worker on the Christmas tree farm. But when he shows up at a friend’s party and seeks her out, she finds she no longer wants to fight their attraction…but she never counted on love with a stranger carrying a secret.Can love and truth triumph?

Just Human


Kerry Heavens - 2013
    She knows she loves him more than he loves her, so she lets him go without a fight when his parents make him move back to America. She knows she will never love anyone like she loved him, but she has to move on.Danny loves Liv. He knows he loves her more than she loves him, because she does nothing to get him to stay, so he goes quietly when his parents leave the UK. He knows he will never love anyone like he loved her, but he has to move on.Twelve years on, they have made a good job of pretending, they may have almost forgotten. But when they get in touch via Facebook, it seems that it is all still there. They quickly find that they are intensely compatible in ways they hadn’t even begun to explore before they were forced apart. Can they put aside their fears and give it a go? Or will deep rooted doubts and insecurities tear them apart?

Men of Inked, Volume 1


Chelle Bliss - 2016
    This box set contains three full-length novels — Throttle Me, Hook Me, and Resist Me -- plus a bonus novella -- Throttled Book 1: Throttle MeSuzy's a control freak and has her life mapped out — work hard, find a man with a stable job, and live happily ever after. She's content with the status quo, but her plan comes to a screeching halt when he enters her life and turns it upside down.City gave up on love when his heart was crushed in college, preferring to be the typical bachelor. He spends his nights hopping from one bed to another and his days working at his family tattoo shop, Inked. A chance encounter on a dark road makes him question what he had sworn off forever — a relationship.A night of passion and lust causes them to question everything. Is City the knight in shining armor to the damsel in distress? Can their relationship survive when a fantasy falls apart and a secret comes out that changes everything?Book 2: Hook MeMichael Gallo found his calling in life — he wants to kick ass. He works at Inked as a piercer, but spends his mornings training and dreaming of winning an UFC championship. Michael is the road to achieving his goal when a chance encounter alters his world forever. The title is no longer enough — he must capture the woman of his dreams.Dr. Mia Greco is dedicated to saving lives and helping those less fortunate. She doesn't have time to meet Mr. Right with her busy schedule. She buries herself in her work and helping humanity. Fate steps in and sweeps the carpet out from under her. She tries to deny the pull to him, a man that uses his fists for gain, but the universe won't let her walk away so easy and Michael isn't one to take no for an answer.He has a secret that may rip them apart. There are forces bigger than them at work; drawing them in and making their worlds collide — not letting either one of them walk away.Book 2.25: ThrottledShe’s about to become his – Mrs. Joseph Gallo. All she wants is to be his, but his possessiveness days before the wedding has her questioning the reality of a happily ever after. He’s not easy. He’s territorial and doesn’t share well with others. City’s staking his claim, making Suzy his forever. Their future teeters precariously on the cliff of matrimonial bliss. Will their love survive his alpha nature or will it all unravel before she can say ‘I do’?Book 3: Resist MeIzzy Gallo has never been described as a member of the weaker sex. She's awoman who doesn't take sh*t from anyone. Growing up with four olderoverprotective brothers has hardened her, making her a force to be reckoned with.Against the wishes of her two brothers, Joe and Mike, Izzy takes a weekend trip to Bike Week in Daytona, turning her world upside down.Over her head, in a world she doesn't understand, there's only one man who can save her.James Caldo has dedicated his life to protect and serve as a member of the DEA. He's cocky, overbearing, and doesn't take no for an answer — theGallo men have nothing on him.When their paths cross, James makes Izzy question everything she believes about completely surrendering to the opposite sex.Does James have what it takes to overpower the headstrong Izzy, capturing her heart forever?

Fire Over Frost


J.A. DeRouen
    With a freak ice storm, close quarters, and a tiny surprise wearing pigtails, he may be getting more for Christmas than he bargained for.*Fire Over Frost is a 15,000 word, Over Series short story, previously released in the Hot for the Holidays Anthology. It can be read as a standalone. ALSO INCLUDED: a sneak peak at the third novel in The Over Series, Storms Over Secrets.

Just Fall


Annica Rossi - 2013
    John a fair hand, yet she considered herself lucky to be living on the majestic shores of Lake Michigan running the business her parents worked their whole lives to create... Until now.Facing the possibility of losing The Grandview Inn and her relationship with Jake Kennedy, the man she vowed to marry, “Lo” is desperate to hold on.In the middle of her anguish, the unexpected arrival of longtimeguests, Tom and Mary Blackwell, seems like a welcome relief, but just when she thinks things couldn’t get any worse, she discovers they’ve brought along an unwelcome ghost from her past.Enter the dangerously seductive Parker Blackwell, renowned poker player and notorious bad boy, with a propensity for kinky sex.Seven summers ago, the gauntlet was thrown down from the moment Lo and Parker laid eyes on each other. Too young to realize the gravity of their connection, their friendship grew until a series of tragic events began to unfold, and Parker mysteriously disappeared, leaving Lo heartbroken and unwilling to forgive.Grown up now, and suddenly forced to confront their unresolved feelings and undeniably explosive sexual attraction, the situation intensifies into an enticing and comical game of “it’s your move”. But when Parker raises the stakes too high will Lo put herself on the line to save everything she’s ever known?

Toxic


C.A. Harms - 2013
     Lexi Warren was lost in a world of darkness. A spiraling whirlwind of hate and destruction. When she made a huge mistake. All because of one moment in time, and one bad decision…nothing would ever be the same. Until he reappeared… Kole Hartman was a piece of her past that she had always treasured. A time before everything went dark. Before everything no longer made sense. He was also a reminder of the things she needed to forget, and holding on to those memories was toxic. Only he refused to let her walk away.

Before That Night


Violet Duke - 2016
    Each of the couples have two books (duets) that take place years apart. This is Caine & Addison's Book 1; Book 2 reunites them seven years later, and concludes their story.The UNFINISHED LOVE SeriesFour Spencer brothers.Each fighting for their second first chance at love.Years be damned.A heartfelt new series from NYT bestselling author Violet Duke.(Caine & Addison) - Summer 2016-- Book 1: Before That Night-- Book 2: Every Night Without You(Gabe & Hannah) - Fall 2016-- Book 3: Before That Kiss-- Book 4: Every Kiss Goodbye(Drew & Skylar) - Winter 2016-- Book 5: Before That Promise-- Book 6: Every Promise Unspoken(Max & Kennedy) - Spring 2017-- Book 7: Before That Chance-- Book 8: Every Chance We Lost

Gift Wrapped


Karla Doyle - 2014
    So when she looks into the eyes of a last-minute shopper after closing on Christmas Eve, she’s sarcastic rather than sympathetic. But Brinn is ever the good girl and her conscience wins out. She offers the handsome stranger ten minutes to select a gift and ends up with a present of her own—a date. On Christmas Eve. Davis hates Christmas. Especially this year, since a neighborhood heist liberated him of his hard-earned belongings and the few gifts he’d purchased. But the robbery led him to a cute store manager with a sense of humor, smokin’ body and no plans for the evening. Mistletoe might be in order after all. Their Christmas Eve date is like gift-wrapped, sexy satisfaction. But the best gifts keep on giving, and one naughty night may not be enough—for either of them.

Worth the Weight


Mara Jacobs - 2012
    A new life. An old flame?Lizzie Hampton is literally a shadow of her former self. Having lost half her body weight, she's headed to her small hometown to test out her new body on an old flame. Just a harmless fling to get her self-confidence back before she returns to the city and the new man in her life.But Lizzie's plan has a few bumps in the road.Finn Robbins can't believe Liz is back in town. Desperate to be the holder of her innocence eighteen years ago, he never got the chance. Now she's back and he can finally check her off his to do list. But her friends, his son, and the mysterious Annie may have something to say about that.

My Paper Heart


Magan Vernon - 2012
    Dating one of the hottest guys in the biggest fraternity? Done. Failing out of College? Oops... When Libby Gentry's parents receive the letter that she's failed out of school, Libby is forced to pack her Prada bag and head to work for her great aunt in rural Louisiana. Nothing about tiny Elsbury, Louisiana, entices her until she locks eyes with the southern charmer, Blaine Crabtree. Libby is used to getting what she wants and Blaine is no exception, but as the two grow closer, bigger problems arise. Libby doesn't know how much more pain her already paper-thin heart can take and when new opportunities in Chicago pop up she is presented with a difficult situation: wait for her redneck Romeo, or move on.

Let It Go


Brooklyn James - 2013
    Savannah Bondurant, a marriage and relationship columnist for the Savannah Sun Times, just signed her divorce papers. Brody McAlister, the elusive and smoking hot gym boy, has finally recovered from his divorce three years ago. Be it spurred by loneliness or sheer attraction, the two slip into the sheets for a memorable one-night stand. Savannah's pesky ex-husband continues to try and worm his way back into her life, insisting they remain friends, even though he is living with his jealous new girlfriend. An up-and-coming woodworker artist, Brody has every socialite cougar in town promising him success and riches, for a price, of course. With two advice-giving older sisters, one fiercely single and one seemingly happily married, Savannah learns her parents' long and successful relationship does not come without its own secrets. Why should she believe in happily ever after? Her constant overanalyzing and skepticism bodes well in her profession as a journalist, but proves counterproductive in her personal life. Divorce, guilt, suspicion, holding on to the past—can Savannah trust in Brody to help her Let It Go...

Hale Maree


Misty Provencher - 2012
    Hale Simmons dreams of climbing out of her impoverished life, going to college, and getting herself a titanium crash helmet, so she can eventually bust through the Plexiglas ceiling of her crappy life. But for now, she’s just a 18-year-old girl with a flimsy hope, barely getting by with her alcoholic father, Jerry.But for Hale, ‘crappy’ suddenly takes a nosedive, when Jerry becomes the sole witness to a horrible accident. It is an event which means to effect everyone, especially Hale, who wasn’t even involved. While the depth of the accident has just begun to unfold, Otto Maree, a prominent business man and old family friend, stands to lose everything because of it. Otto is desperate for Hale’s father to stay quiet about what occurred the night the two men met for a drink. Out of mutual moments of desperation, the two fathers forge a deal. Jerry is desperate to gain financial stability for both himself and Hale, and Otto Maree is more than willing to pay to keep his secret just that. But deals like this need to be made of the strongest vows and bound with the most faithful of loyalties. Otto proposes a marriage between Hale and his playboy-son, Oscar, in order to assure that the secret remains ‘in the family’. The mystery surrounding the accident continues to grow and Hale struggles against her own mysterious feelings that begin to develop for Oscar, who turns out to less of a playboy, but just as fiercely loyal and dedicated as his father. As the pressure around her continues to escalate, Hale realizes that she’s got to decide if this arranged marriage is really just a big mistake or an amazing twist of fate that has been waiting around for this particular accident to happen.