Book picks similar to
Return to Us by Christy Pastore


contemporary-romance
romance
contemporary
favorites

Crash into Us


Shana Vanterpool - 2017
    He was her Superman.She was his happiness.And then he went pro.And she doubted something that was supposed to be forever.Mistakes were made in exchange for dreams, and hearts were shattered.Their forever crumbled right before their eyes.He went on to play for the Washington Warriors. He ate, breathed, and slept professional hockey. All he had left after her was the ice. He was in magazines, he won a Stanley Cup, and he had a crowd of people screaming his name. He had everything. Didn’t he?It’s hard to move on from an addiction, and she was addicted. Drunk on love too early on, she never truly moved on from her first love. She faded in and out of life, trying to ignore her need. But bad habits have a way of coming back when you least expect them too. For years they went separate ways, until her Superman falls from the sky. He was on a helicopter after a big win when the engine cut out. He knows he’s not making it out alive. Even with the screams of his teammates shouting in the background as they crash toward earth, all he can think of is her. He’ll never get to see her again…Love is unforgiving dragging her back to heartache. She only wants to help him get better from the accident and move on with her life. She never planned on falling back in love with him. She never planned on falling so hard a second time.Lovesick and broken, they crash right back into each other.

Not To Us


Katherine Owen - 2011
    Do you take a different path? "There are all kinds of ways for a relationship to be tested, even broken, irrevocably; it’s the endings that we’re unprepared for. My life has become a roller coaster ride mixed with equal amounts of pure joy and exposed fear; and, sometimes, this unfathomable incredulity. This arrives in spurts, like adrenalin or injected heroin; well, how I imagine injected heroin would feel. That’s when I consider that change—change, its inevitability—is coming. And, I can’t stop it." Ellie ~ Not To Us Ellie's perfect world unravels. A best friend's betrayal ends her marriage. An alarming diagnosis threatens her life. Yet. It all leads to Michael... But, fate soon tests their perfect union. And, begs the question: If you get a second chance, do you take a different path? Not To Us is an insightful look into one woman’s personal journey in discovering the only way to keep her one and only wish is to trust the ones that count, beginning with herself. Author's Note : For some fans, this is their favorite book of mine. For others? No. Just know, this is NOT a nice, light, airy romance. Not To Us deals with some heavy subject matters including: infidelity and loss and starting over. There now. You've been warned. ♥ To learn of Owen's newest novel releases and updates, sign up for her newsletter at her website: www.katherineowen.net or visit www.katherineowenauthor.com

Risky Play


Rachel Van Dyken - 2019
    Fake names. True pleasure. But when she wakes up alone, Mackenzie realizes just how much anger is left in her broken heart.Suffering a tragic personal loss, pro soccer player Slade Rodriguez has his reasons for vanishing without a goodbye. Right or wrong, he’s blaming the beautiful and infuriating stranger he never wants to see again. They’re both in for a shock when Mackenzie shows up as his new personal assistant. And they both have a lot to learn about each other. Because they share more than they could possibly know, including a common enemy who’s playing his own games. And he’s not afraid to get dirty.Now there’s only one way Mackenzie and Slade can win: to trust in each other and to stop hiding from the lies they’ve told, the secrets they’ve kept, the mistakes they’ve made, and the attraction that still burns between them.

Singe


Aly Martinez - 2017
    Every time I closed my eyes, I watched her fall into that inferno. Over and over, I failed to save her.I hadn’t been able to reach her, and the guilt only burned hotter over time. Four years later, I was the unreachable one.Heroes aren’t always saints. Sometimes, we’re nothing more than jaded sinners driven by sleepless nights and hearts full of darkness.And then I met her. She was a dreamer who managed to soothe my scars and heal my wounds.But, as the flames closed in around us, I feared I wasn’t the right man to save her. That is until I realized she was the one woman I’d burn the world down to protect.

Stoned


Mandi Beck - 2016
    For as long as Stone can remember, Willow has been his music – the notes that weave his soul together. His rhythm. Until he threw her away. All he has left is a handful of pills and a few lines of powder to make him forget her. And he tries, over and over. Clean and ready to make things right, he’s faced with the fact that Willow’s moved on. She’s not the same girl he cast aside. Willow’s a woman sure about her purpose in life. Sure about who she’s meant to love. Stone may be lost without his rhythm, but Willow has found so much more.

Every Wrong Reason


Rachel Higginson - 2015
    She thought she had her happily ever after. But seven years into Kate’s marriage, she realizes that her husband Nick is not what she wanted. He’s selfish, he’s oblivious and he doesn’t love her anymore.Maybe she doesn’t love him anymore either.Divorce is the only option if either of them wants to find happiness.Kate and Nick thought they knew what they wanted, but neither is prepared for the heartache that separating will bring them. The journey they embark on is not the freedom they wished for, but a painful look at the people they’ve become.At the end of it, Kate has to decide if this is really the life she wants or if maybe there’s a way to salvage her broken heart.

Dirty Talk


Lauren Landish - 2017
    So right. The moment I heard his velvety voice growl that I’m his ‘Kitty Kat’, I knew I was in trouble. Derrick ‘The Love Whisperer’ King gives out relationship and sex advice on the radio to everyone, but he’s giving me something a bit more personal. Nobody’s ever talked to me the way he does. Daring, Demanding, Sexy… and oh, so Dirty. Maybe we started this whole thing a little backward, sex first and getting to know each other after. But I'm starting to let my guard down, my untrusting heart beginning to think that maybe fairy tales do come true. Even for me. I feel beautiful and hopeful when he worships my body. I feel dirty and naughty when he whispers filthy things in my ear. But is it real? Can something so naughty really be good for me? And more importantly, against all odds, can it last… forever? Dirty Talk is a full-length Romance with a happy ever after, no cheating, and no cliffhanger!

Ripple


L.D. Cedergreen - 2013
    He stirs up old emotions that send Kendall spiraling back in time, remembering all the moments that led them to her ultimate deception.Will revealing the truth of what transpired all those years ago provide her the self-forgiveness that she desperately craves or will her devastating secret destroy the only man she has ever truly loved, shattering her heart in its wake?

What Mattered Most


Linda Winfree - 2007
    Houston homicide detective, John OReilly, is torn between two women. One is the woman he's loved without hope for years. The other carries his unborn child. Now, a man bent on revenge wants OReilly to choose, and any choice he makes could cost him everything.Gutsy sheriffs deputy, Lanie Falconetti, is determined not to repeat her mother's mistakes in love. Her no-strings-attached affair with John OReilly leads to an unexpected but joyfully welcomed pregnancy. However, the shadow from John's past threatens not only her chance at happiness but her life and that of her unborn baby as well.Warning, this title contains the following: explicit sex, violence.

My One Regret


Claudia Y. Burgoa - 2018
    But now she might be gone for good. Kaden Hades couldn’t handle touring with his rock band and a relationship— until he discovered Sadie, the love of his life. But when tragedy struck with his teenage daughter, Kaden broke off the engagement, swearing to put his kids first. Then he gets the phone call. Sadie’s been in a car accident. By the time he reaches her side, she is critical. With Sadie in a coma, memories flood Kaden’s mind. Her kisses. And all the wonderful experiences they shared. The day it all went wrong…and Kaden made the biggest mistake of his life. Now, as her last line of defense against those who've given up hope, he'll move heaven and earth to protect her. Because she’s always had his heart—but if he loses her, his world will come apart.

Tap Left


A. Zavarelli - 2017
     She’s soft in too many ways. A people pleaser who goes the extra mile. Some might call her an easy target. In short, she has all of the qualities that I despise. But when it comes to me, she doesn’t hesitate to fling her poison arrows my way. She has every right to her feelings. Over the years, I’ve given her plenty of ammo. Yeah, I hate Lola. But it doesn’t stop me from wanting her too. When she makes me a proposition I can’t refuse, there’s just one problem. She tastes so f*cking sweet. So f*cking good. So f*cking mine. This is a full length standalone.

Lock & Key


Cat Porter - 2014
    His mentor’s widow.When her biker husband was murdered sixteen years ago, Grace Quillen took off from her small hometown forever. But when tragedy strikes again, forty-two year old Grace must return to care for her sister and little nephew. One night she indulges in explosive heat with Lock, an attractive stranger she meets at a bar, but the morning after, she's shaken by her fateful mistake.Why?He’s no stranger.Not only is he an officer in her husband's bike club, but the two men had once been close friends, although Grace had never had a chance to meet him. Fate is a twisted bitch with a bitter sense of humor.Lock had heard all about Grace from her husband years ago, from his brothers, seen her in photographs. Hell, she'd become his ultimate dream woman. A fantasy.Now that once-in-a-lifetime fantasy is his reality, and he’s craving more. A hell of a lot more.But the club has other plans. For the two of them.A brutal firestorm is ignited by a traitor in the MC, and suddenly Grace is in the thick of the dangerous life she’d once left behind. Yet she and Lock are on opposite sides of the mayhem. With her nephew’s safety at risk and so many volatile secrets on the line, she must summon all her determination and grit, while Lock is driven to find the fight in himself once more and do whatever it takes to protect Grace, whether she or his president wants him to or not.Suspicions simmer, loyalties strain, hearts ache.The truth hurts.Once Grace and Lock had nothing.Now, they both have so damn much to lose."I love this series! Cat Porter is a massively gifted writer! I highly recommend.” - bestselling author Kennedy Ryan“Cat Porter NAILED it. This was a great, great book. So well written" - Lorelei James, New York Times & USA Today best-selling authorTotallyBooked Blog: Lock & Key - one of their “Favourite Standalones for 2014″EDGy Reviews: Lock & Key - one of their “Top Ten Favorites of 2014″Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews: Lock & Key - an Overall Favorite Book, a Favorite Motorcycle Romance, a Favorite Debut Romance, a Favorite Kick-Ass Heroine / Cat Porter - a Favorite Author and a Break-Through Author.Sassy Lit Chic Reviews LOCK & KEY - one of their “Top 20 Reads of 2014″The Lock & Key series is a TotallyBooked Blog Biker Romances Recommended Read & The Rock Stars of Romance Recommended Biker Book Series #EpicLove #MUSTread**Please note this book has been re-edited since its release in June 2014**The Lock & Key Series1 - Lock & Key2 - Random & Rare3 - Iron & Bone4 - Blood & Rust4.5 - Lock & Key Christmas*Series Origin Story novel - The Dust and the Roar*Standalone Spinoff novel - FuryThe Lock & Key series is a motorcycle club romance saga. These romantic suspense / romantic adventure / small town romance / biker romance / coming of age / women's fiction novels contain anti-heroes, organized crime, adult language, graphic sex, violence and are intended for mature audiences

Up in the Treehouse


K.K. Allen
    Then again, she never imagined she would fall in love with him either. When she finally reveals her feelings, rejection shatters her, rendering her vulnerable and sending her straight into the destructive arms of the wrong guy.The Rhodes twins never saw the betrayal coming. Chloe has always been their forbidden fantasy--sweet, beautiful, and tempting. But soon the lines between family, friendship, and love become as tangled as the roots of the treehouse they once shared.Now it's too late . . .Four years after a devastating tragedy, Chloe and Gavin find themselves crashing back into each other's lives. Haunted by the past, they're forced to come to terms with all that has transpired to find the peace they deserve. Except they can't seem to get near each other without combatting an intense emotional connection that brings them right back to where it all started . . . their childhood treehouse.Chloe still holds her secrets close, but this time she isn't the only one with something to hide. Can their deep-rooted connection survive the destruction of innocence?

Ignite


Tessa Teevan - 2013
    One to the Army; the other in a tragic car accident. Two years after the latter, a ghost from the past reappears, igniting feelings in Alexa she’d thought long dormant.Jace McAllister has spent the last ten years in the Army, defusing bomb after bomb, trying to forget the girl who once set his world on fire. For him, she’s always been the one who got away. After a not-so-chance encounter places her back in his line of sight, he’s locked eyes on target, and won’t let her go without a fight.Ten years ago their chemistry smoldered, and now the sparks threaten to light a fuse leading to an explosion between them even Jace can’t control. Not that he wants to. But when love has slipped through your fingertips before, how can you trust it will once again remain?Will Alexa’s fear of love and loss destroy their second chance at a beautiful future before it can even begin?

Inseparable


Siobhan Davis - 2018
    An unbreakable bond. One tragic event that shatters everything. It all started with the boys next door… Devin and Ayden were my best friends. We were practically joined at the hip since age two. When we were kids, we thought we were invincible, inseparable, that nothing or no one could come between us. But we were wrong. Everything turned to crap our senior year of high school. Devin was turning into a clone of his deadbeat lowlife father—fighting, getting wasted, and screwing his way through every girl in town. I’d been hiding a secret crush on him for years. Afraid to tell him how I felt in case I ruined everything. So, I kept quiet and slowly watched him self-destruct with a constant ache in my heart. Where Devin was all brooding darkness, Ayden was the shining light. Our star quarterback with the bright future whom everyone loved. But something wasn’t right. He was so guarded, and he wouldn’t let me in. When Devin publicly shamed me, Ayden took my side, and our awesome-threesome bond was severed. The split was devastating. The heartbreak inevitable. Ayden and I moved on with our lives, but the pain never lessened, and Devin was never far from our thoughts. Until it all came to a head in college, and one eventful night changed everything. Now, I’ve lost the two people who matter more to me than life itself. Nothing will ever be the same again. A standalone new adult contemporary romance with a happy ending. Only suitable for readers aged eighteen and older due to mature content and possible triggers.