Book picks similar to
These Battered Hands by Laurel Ulen Curtis


romance
arc
sports-romance
contemporary-romance

Bossed


Sloane Howell - 2017
    But she’s ready to take charge.In this provocative and sexy* office romance, a cheeky new hire tempts a hotshot sports agent to mix business with pleasure.Jenny: Job interviews are a bitch under the best of circumstances, but when your potential boss is the world’s biggest prick, that’s when you should simply walk away. It’s just that I need this job so badly—and I’m mesmerized by Ethan Mason’s piercing gaze. Men like him aren’t supposed to exist in real life. But under the tailored suits and GQ looks, Ethan simmers with barely restrained ambition. And no matter how hard I work to fight the attraction, I’m going to get burned.Ethan: You don’t become a top agent without learning how to close a deal. I always get what—or who—I want, by staying cool and in command. Then Jenny Jackson walks into my office with her lush curves and “screw you” attitude and blows away my intentions of keeping things professional. All I can think about is exploring the perfect body hidden beneath those conservative clothes or shutting her saucy mouth with one hot kiss. Jenny’s worth breaking the rules over—if I can convince her to break the rules for me.*By sexy, we mean sexy. Like, 18+ sexy.

Always You


Missy Johnson - 2013
    At twenty-three, this would be my first ‘real’ teaching assignment. Working at the elite boarding school, home to the daughters of some of the wealthiest people in the world, was a great opportunity that I would’ve been stupid to pass up.One week into my new job, and I suddenly had no idea why I chose high school…I was a seventeen year old boy once, I knew how teenage girls behaved. You can’t even imagine the hell of trying to teach thirty, hormonal driven seventeen year olds who have been cooped up, away from any male contact. I could handle the whispers every time I entered the room. I could even handle the obvious attempts at gaining my attention. What I couldn’t handle was her…Rich bitches and way too many rules. Was it any wonder that I hated school? Add to that the lack of male contact, and I was going insane. Like literally. I wasn’t used to this. A year ago I was normal. I had a boyfriend, friends and a loving family. There is nothing normal about me anymore, and nobody here lets me forget that.My name is Wrenn, and I’m only here because my aunt took me in after what happened, but my aunt also happens to be the headmistress of this academy…Can you see my problem? I’m hated for my lack of money, and I’m hated for who my Aunt is.Then he arrived. Dalton Reed. My new history teacher.Slowly, he helped me see that even in the worst situations, there is always hope.

UnWritten


Chelsea M. Cameron - 2014
    Romance novelist by night.British single father.Someone else is writing this love story...Blair Walton isn't your average curvaceous tattooed children's librarian. She's also one half of bestselling romance author, Scarlet Rose. Along with her BFF Raine, she spends her nights writing books so steamy, she's afraid they would shock her Southern conservative grandmother to death . . . if she knew about them. That's why she and Raine write in secret.On deadline for their latest book and out of ideas, Raine suggests (demands) that Blair find a guy and "do some research". Declan Bennet has all the qualifications: He's British, looks fabulous in a suit, has glorious blue eyes and gets bonus points for being an amazing single dad to his adorable son, Drake. But what starts out as a research project quickly turns into something much more. And Blair's not the only one with secrets.

Penalty


Jacob Chance - 2017
    As the son of a former NFL player, he’s showered with attention and praise twenty-four-seven. One flash of his smile and all the girls fall at his feet - or should I say to their knees? And then there’s me. Brady Lincoln is the last person I want attention from. He’s the kind of guy my father warned me about. His play on the field is legendary and his play with the ladies, even more so. I’ve managed to stay off his radar until recently. What happens when the cocky quarterback breaks all the rules to win my heart?

Jane's Melody


Ryan Winfield - 2013
    A sexy but touching love story that will leave you both tantalized and in tears, Jane's Melody follows a forty-year-old woman on a romantic journey of rediscovery after years of struggling alone.Sometimes our greatest gifts come from our greatest pain. And now Jane must decide if it's too late for her to start over, or if true love really knows no limits.

Breakaway


Heather M. Orgeron - 2017
    Sounds like a cheesy line from a country song, right? Too bad it's the story of my life. I thought that I’d moved on, swore he was the one. But that facade began to fade in the flash of a half-carat diamond ring. Now years later, here I am, running back to the boy who broke my adolescent heart, hoping that just maybe, he’ll be the one to piece it back together. .... I fell in love with my best friend while she fell in love with him. Ironically, it was my own damn fault. I practically served her up on a silver platter. So I turned to my second love, basketball, moving across the country to escape. For years, I’ve been sitting on the sidelines watching, waiting. Now it's time to make my move. No more fouling out. This time, I'm going to score.

Coach Long


K. Webster - 2017
    Together, they heat up the track with longing and desire. Everything about their chemistry is wrong.So why does it feel so right?She’s a hurdle in his way and, dear God does he want to jump her.Will she be worth the risk or will he fall flat on his face?***The characters in this book are of legal age.***

Secret for a Song


S.K. Falls - 2013
    Literally.She ate her first needle when she was seven. Now, at nineteen, she’s been kicked out of college for poisoning herself with laxatives. The shrinks call it Munchausen Syndrome. All Saylor knows is that when she’s ill, her normally distant mother pays attention and the doctors and nurses make her feel special.Then she meets Drew Dean, the leader of a local support group for those with terminal diseases. When he mistakes her for a new member, Saylor knows she should correct him. But she can’t bring herself to, not after she’s welcomed into a new circle of friends. Friends who, like Drew, all have illnesses ready to claim their independence or their lives. For the first time, Saylor finds out what it feels like to be in love, to have friends who genuinely care about her. But secrets have a way of revealing themselves. What will happen when Saylor’s is out?

Maverick


Anna Cruise - 2013
    And he made it, rising to the top of the ranks, traveling the world and riding every break he’s ever dreamed of. His good looks and reputation for living on the edge—both in and out of the water—have made him an international superstar. But when his best friend dies in a tragic accident, Kellen wipes out big time, spiraling so badly that everything he’s worked for starts to disintegrate.Tour officials scramble to do damage control and demand he work with a public relations company to clean up his bad boy image. It doesn't help that the person assigned to him, Gina Bellori, has her own demons associated with the surfing world. Against her better judgement Gina accepts the job and concentrates on repairing Kellen's tattered reputation, despite his protests and despite the pain it causes her. With her past colliding with her present—and Kellen in the thick of it—she begins to realize that some secrets can't stay hidden. And suddenly, Kellen Handler is no longer worried about losing his career.He's more worried about losing his heart.

Puck Me Secretly


Odette Stone - 2018
    I’ve never had an orgasm, but I’ve faked plenty. I want to experience love.  Real, passionate love. I don’t want to die. It’s funny what blurts out of your mouth when the plane you’re on is going down, and I didn’t hold back with my seat mate when my plane decided to crash. My hysterical confessions didn’t faze the muscular stranger that sat beside me.  In fact, he promised if we survived, he’d give me my first orgasm.   We survived. I came. And then he left without telling me who he was. On the first day of my job, I stood in front of the Vancouver Wolves hockey team and called out a number.  #33. Imagine my shock when he skated forward. Max is an incredible hockey player, whose wild, out-of-control antics have almost derailed his career.  So many secrets shroud his past and continue to threaten his future.   Now he’s my secret.  And that secret could ruin everything.   Puck Me SECRETLY.  Some secrets are too big to keep. Intended for adult audiences only.

Hate to Love You


Tijan - 2017
    I get it. It kind of is, but college was supposed to be my sanctuary. It was my place to start over. The rumors, the whispers, and the jealousy I endured through high school would all be gone.No one would know me at college.Rule #2: No drama.I’d major in pre-law. I’d make a few loyal friends. Everything would be easy breezy. No one was going to use me or hurt me. I wouldn’t let them. Rule #3: New year. New place. New me.Right?Wrong.And all because of Shay Coleman.Football captain and quarterback, he was the big guy on campus. The cocky guy in my political science class with a smirk. I hated him on sight . . .. . . and he was about to break all my rules.

A Million Miles Away


Lara Avery - 2015
    The only person who doesn't know about the tragedy is Michelle's boyfriend, Peter, recently deployed to Afghanistan. But when Kelsey finally connects with Peter online, she can't bear to tell him the truth. Active duty has taken its toll, and Peter, thinking that Kelsey is Michelle, says that seeing her is the one thing keeping him alive. Caught up in the moment, Kelsey has no choice: She lets Peter believe that she is her sister.As Kelsey keeps up the act, she crosses the line from pretend to real. Soon, Kelsey can't deny that she's falling, hard, for the one boy she shouldn't want.

Looking to Score


Carrie Gray - 2020
    Oakley Davis is the star running back at our University, and the reason I’ve broken my vow to avoid the college party scene. Thanks to a mixup with my advisor, I’m now serving my Public Relations internship as a glorified babysitter to the party-hard football players.Specifically, Oakley.He’s impossible to manage. His Instagram is full of half-naked, drunk photos and he’d rather attend parties than practice. His brand needs some serious work, and when he’s not driving me insane, he’s sleeping his way through the entire female population. But I’m determined. I have plans to graduate a semester early and nothing or no one will get in my way. I’m a Virgo, after all. Oakley Davis might be a privileged, cocky, football star, but I’m Amanda Matthews; and I’ll do whatever it takes to get my A. I have to make sure I don’t end up falling in love with the idiot, first.

The Line Between


Tamsyn Bester - 2015
    She was an easy target.Kennedy Monroe.The girl I’d picked on all our lives.And the woman I barely tolerated.Until the line between love and hate was no longer visible… *New Adult Contemporary Romance* *Due to mature content this book is not suitable for readers younger than 18*

Until Harry


L.A. Casey - 2016
    Hard because Harry, her beloved uncle, has died suddenly, but also because of him. Kale.Kale Hunt has been her best friend since childhood. But it was never that simple. He was Lane’s reason for leaving home and moving to New York. Seeing him with someone else, in love with someone else, shouldn’t have hurt. But it did. It really, really did. So she upped sticks and left, started a new life and cut herself off from her past.But now she’s back, and all the feelings are right there. As if she had never left.Emotions are running high for everyone, and tragedy has a funny way of bringing people together. But is Lane reading the signs right? Are they still just friends, or is there something more?