Book picks similar to
Scars of the Soul by Darlene Tallman


romance
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Wild Card


Karina Halle - 2017
    Rough, raw & rugged.As the man in charge at Ravenswood Ranch, Shane Nelson has never been afraid to get his hands dirty. His sculpted physique isn't the product of a gym, but of years of hard labor under a relentless sun. His straightforward, alpha tendencies come from a man who knows what he wants and goes after it.And what he wants is Rachel Waters.He's never stopped wanting her.They were childhood best friends, then teenage lovers who evolved into soulmates. But on one fateful night, Shane made a grave mistake, breaking both their hearts in the process.Now, after six years, Rachel is back in the small, wild mountain town of North Ridge, BC.Ready to face her past.Ready to face Shane.Ready to face his dark secret.But is a second-chance at a one true love in the cards? Or will their wild hearts be broken once again?WILD CARD is a complete standalone novel and the first book about the Nelson brothers of North Ridge.

Hunter


Kate Tilney - 2020
    But now that I’m home to take the helm, I find out my parents have gone and hired some corporate wannabe with a fancy degree to help. I’m determined to send her packing until I get a good look at her.Though she represents everything I hate, I find myself drawn to her. She’s a temptation that’s hard to resist.OliveHelping the family-run apple orchard reach the next level seems like a good stepping stone for bigger and better things. It would go a whole lot better if the owners’ son didn’t question my every decision.And it would be a whole lot easier if he wasn’t so good looking.I’m here to do a job, but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to mix a little pleasure with business.Instalove Fall Festival is a series of standalone short, sweet, and steamy romances filled with the best parts of Autumn and happily ever afters. Read this series if you love strong, protective heroes and confident, curvy heroines who find true love, and maybe some hot apple cider along the way. No cliffhangers! No cheating!

Rush


Daphne Loveling - 2016
    He’s big and bad, dripping with menace, and covered in tattoos. He has the kind of dominant swagger that should make me want to run away…Instead, it makes me fantasize about him. Even though I know he’s a thug, even though men like Greyson caused the violence that ended my father’s life…One rough, demanding night with Greyson, and I don’t know how to walk away. Even when life depends on it…GreysonAs the president of the Stone Kings, I have a few rules. Ride or die. Death before dishonor. And the club always, always comes before any woman.Simple. Easy. At least, it is until I see her.Big green eyes, killer curves, and that mouth… F*ck, the things I want to do to her. The second I saw her, I knew I wanted to make her mine. Ruin her for all other men.I also knew that can’t ever happen, because I’m keeping a secret… and if anyone finds out, I’m not the only one who will get hurt.One night with Seton in my bed, and suddenly I’m wondering... aren’t some rules meant to be broken?

Glitter and Gloss


Vibha Batra - 2016
    The only hitch in this perfect romance is her prospective sister-in-law who thinks Misha is everything a Bahu shouldn’t be: garrulous, geeky, gawky, gainfully employed (especially the last bit). The questions is will Misha win Didi (and the Kha-Pee Panchayat) over with her Stepford Wife Act? Will she continue to be the poster child for the inherent evils of the Bahu Brigade? Or will she learn to ‘lau’ herself before the whole world and its wife can do the same?

How to Seduce a Bad Boy


Traci Douglass - 2019
    Sure, she's the epitome of the stereotype for a librarian. Loves order. Loves rules and deadlines. Loves books. But what she doesn't love is still being a virgin at twenty-four. Unfortunately, the only guy she's ever been interested in turned her down flat. And then left town. Eight. Years. Ago. Ugh.Now her birthday is fast approaching and she just can't take it any longer. She's finding a guy before her birthday in five weeks or she's adopting two more cats and fully embracing becoming "the crazy cat lady." But when her latest date ends in epic failure--everyone thinks of her as the "proper librarian," she realizes what she needs is to ruin her reputation. And she knows the perfect guy to help her: the baddest bad boy in town. This Army vet won't know what hit him...

Whiskey & Honey


Andrea Johnston - 2016
    Rule #1: You don't date your sister’s best friend.Bentley Sullivan hasn't found the one. He's always been the good guy - the gentleman. With one quick, and possibly irrational, decision everything changes. After a case of mistaken identity and a drunken kiss, Ben is convinced that the one is finally right in front of him. Only, she's untouchable. Girls have rules. Rule #1: You don't date your best friend’s brother.Piper Lawrence has not been successful in love. Almost as quickly as she swears off men, he comes into her life. Her childhood crush and the man who has set the standards for every man she’s ever dated, he is also the one man she can’t have. A single kiss changes it all.

Reading Between the Lines (Between the Sheets Book 4)


Serenity Woods - 2021
    Darcy, life is never going to be simple… Tess Barker is having a rough time. She enjoys giving tours of the Northland of New Zealand, but her endometriosis makes the long days a challenge, and now she’s gone and insulted one of her best friends by mistake. She’s secretly liked Finn Brennan – the gorgeous Mr. Darcy lookalike – for years, but he’s never made a move on her, and now not only has she hurt his feelings, but they’re both interviewing for the same job – #awkward. Finn likes his position in the Education Department at Waitangi, but recent events have made him restless, and he’s ready for a change. The move to Exhibitions Director at a museum in Christchurch might be just what he’s looking for, but he’s up against the younger, dynamic, beautiful Tess. When she apologizes for upsetting him, a kiss is a natural way to prove there’s no hard feelings. They agree to work together on their presentations for the interview and to let the best man – or woman – win. Time spent together soon reveals a sizzling attraction that turns into deep passion. Things come to a head on their return to the bay, when Finn realizes he can’t escape his past troubles if he stays. But it’s only when Tess falls ill that he has to make the ultimate decision to fight or fly.

Take Me There


M.C. Decker
    How could I so easily help them when I didn’t know how to help myself? Honestly, I was a fraud. A fake. A phony. Let’s call it what it was –I was a thirty-five-year-old woman who’d never experienced the Big O. Don’t kid yourself, I’m not innocent. I’m definitely not a virgin. It’s just, no guy has ever taken me there –you know the place, where your toes curl and the universe explodes around you.I’d pretty much given up hope, until he barreled into my life –turning my entire world upside down.CarsonI’m Doctor Carson Foster, renowned sex therapist. I’d made a career out of bringing women to orgasm. Always holding to high professional standards, I was careful to do things completely by the book. I’d never considered breaking my personal code of ethics with any of my patients –that is, until I met her. And to complicate things, Ashlynn Sommers was my colleague, but I wouldn’t let that stop me. When I learned of her “little problem” in the bedroom, I was determined to be the one to take her there.

Getaway Girl


Tessa Bailey - 2018
    And what better place to make her villainous return than her estranged cousin’s wedding? Only, the nuptials hit a snag when the bride doesn’t show, leaving Addison to play getaway driver for the jilted groom. A groom whose heartbreaking smile and deep, southern drawl she should not be noticing… Elijah Montgomery Du Pont is the future mayor of Charleston. From his military career to city hall, every detail of his life has been meticulously planned. Until now. His only respite from life’s sudden upheaval is Addison, his new, improbable best friend. She makes him happy. Grounds him. And public disapproval be damned, he’s not willing to give her up. But with an election on the line and public pressure rising, Addison—and the cruel hand of fate—might not give him a choice.

Saved by Love (Bachelor Billionaire Kids #1)


Sharon Cummin - 2017
    He had a huge decision weighing heavy on him. What was he going to do with his future? His father had been convinced since the day he was born that he was going to take over the family business. Both of his parents were software developers, and their company was doing very well. There was only one problem. Gavin couldn't stand software development and wanted no part of the company. He wanted to join the service to help people and keep his family and the rest of the country safe. The only thing he had to do was find a way to tell his parents. Gavin stood up and looked down the table at all of the people he loved. There were five families, and between them, they owned seven houses on one stretch of a Hawaiian beach. It was their last night there, and Gavin knew he needed the support of everyone around him when he told his parents what he'd chosen to do with his life. He instantly saw concern cross his mom's face, but he had to do it. There was no going back. "I'm joining the service," he said. It didn't take long for his father to get to his feet and all of the chatter to fill the empty space between them. "I'm joining too," Gavin's best friend Jack announced. By the time everyone calmed down and both of their families accepted their decisions, Gavin was beginning to feel a little better about things. There was only one person that wasn't going to let it go that easily. That person was Gracie. Gavin was taking her brother, and that was not okay. When Jack told Gracie he wanted her to write to Gavin each time she wrote to him, she was not happy. Gracie was going to write him, but she wasn't going to make it easy. Little did Gracie and Gavin know that those letters were going to change their lives forever.

Fierce-Devin


Natalie Ann - 2021
    Secretly...of course. Devin Andrews loves his job at Fierce-The Brewery and working for his cousin Mason. What he doesn’t love is that his Aunt Jolene has set her sights on making him the next target of her matchmaking scheme. But he’s onto her and has no plans on falling prey like her unsuspecting children did. Besides, he’s not sure he has what it takes to fall in love since he never has before, even being the oldest of the family. Hope Hall picked up her life and moved to Charlotte for a man. She should have listened to her family when they cautioned her against it, reminding her that she was too spontaneous with everything in life...even men. After being blind, stupid, and naive once again, she doesn’t want to go home and listen to them say they were right. Instead she is trying to make a life for herself—one without a man in it—and prove she can do it on her own.

Winter Whimsy: Escape this Christmas to the Boardwalk by the Sea


Georgina Troy - 2020
    

An I.O.U. from a Billionaire


Olivia B. Dannon - 2017
    The last thing she needs to slow her down is an arrogant billionaire having a bad day of his own. Liam Wainwright is a man of power and status. Joan is not intimidated in the least and is, in fact, a huge, beautiful, pain in the ass. Somehow, she has managed to get under his skin and earned an I.O.U. that Liam is determined to make good on.

The Other Half (Door Peninsula Passions, #1)


Katherine Hastings - 2019
    With nothing but a hundred dollars, her tiny dog, and a car that should’ve died in the eighties, she heads to the family cabin to prove she’s more than just a pretty face with a trust fund. Local fisherman Jake Alton doesn’t know much about the woman who showed up at the rundown shack next door, other than the fact she’s putting a damper on his solitary and secluded lifestyle. Even though he tries to avoid this intruder to his sanctuary, the beautiful woman proves impossible to ignore. As Cassandra struggles to adapt to her new rustic lifestyle, Jake struggles to keep his wounded heart out of her hands. But even though they try to resist each other, these two opposites do more than attract… they collide. The Other Half is the first romantic comedy in the Door Peninsula Passions series. While each book can be read as a standalone, they will be most enjoyable read in order. Enjoy these light-hearted romances throughout the Door County Peninsula that are filled with laughter, romance, and passion!

The Summer of Falling in Love


Liz Davies - 2020
    It’s not that he doesn’t like dogs – he does – but the idea has simply never occurred to him.It has occurred to his mother, though. When she decides to buy him a puppy because she thinks it will “liven him up a bit”, his life is turned completely upside down, and not for the better as far as he’s concerned. But when he discovers that having a cute dog on the end of a lead attracts a great deal of female attention, he soon changes his mind. All kinds of women stop to pet the pup and while they coo over Poppy, they talk to him. A lot. And for Theo, it looks like his love life is taking a very welcome turn for the better.But what about Josie Wilde, his dog sitter?Forced to employ someone to walk his dog when he’s in work, he finds himself increasingly attracted to her, but unfortunately Josie’s interest in him appears to be purely professional. As the summer unfolds and he falls head over heels in love with the sweet and vulnerable pup, he finds himself falling for Josie, too.For Theo, it’s not so much ‘love me, love my dog’, but more like ‘love my dog, love me, too’. Please…