Book picks similar to
Bent Not Broken by Julia Goda


romance
contemporary
contemporary-romance
abuse

Doing It Over


Catherine Bybee - 2016
    The down-on-her-luck single mom wants a complete do-over—is that too much to ask? With her family long gone from River Bend, strong, independent Mel is as surprised as anyone to end up in the quaint small town she once called home. But with her friends, Jo and Zoe, by her side, and a comfortable room at Miss Gina’s quirky bed-and-breakfast, she just might have turned the corner on a new life.Wyatt Gibson never liked the big city. River Bend suits the ruggedly handsome builder just fine. Wyatt knows he’s home, even if that means being charmed by the appearance of Melanie and her spunky, adorable daughter. Is Wyatt’s calm devotion—even amid a coming storm—enough to convince Mel she may have found a home to call her own, a family that never leaves, and a true love to last a lifetime?

No One's Angel


Kelly Walker - 2013
    No One's Angel's angel is a New Adult (NA) Contemporary Romance about a girl learning to fight back and a boy learning to let go. Tess used to spend more hours than she'd care to admit playing her favorite computer game, using the nickname Angel. She could pretend her life was different, and she could pretend Arion was just a friend. But a girl needs more to keep her warm at night than pixels, and she traded her virtual heaven for a real-life hell. Now she's on the run from a past she won't talk about, and the only place she has to go is the doorstep of the friend she's never actually met.When Angel disappeared from their nightly games, it nearly destroyed Arion. He threw himself into work and women, but he can't help knowing the one-night stands will never compare to the angel who haunts his dreams. At first, when she shows up soaking wet and scared-shitless on his doorstep, he thinks his prayers have been answered.But the more Arion tries to keep Angel close, the more her fear drives her away. If they are ever going to have a chance for a future, they'll first have to deal with the past that hasn't forgotten her any more than she's forgotten it--and Arion will have to learn how to let her go.

Blyss


J.C. Cliff - 2014
    Two sexy, ruthless men...one innocent female caught in the middle. Prepared to spend the summer back at home, Julianna Oakley's plans take an unexpected turn for the worse. She's become Nick Palcini's ultimate obsession, and he will stop at nothing to have her.Dangerous and controlling, Nick has been setting the stage for a long time, and sparks fly when their separate worlds collide. But Nick didn't bank on one thing: Julianna's fiery, independent streak. She'll fight him at any cost. When Travis Jackson, Nick's right-hand man, lays his eyes on the prize, all Hell breaks loose. He should know Nick is playing for keeps, and while Julianna is fighting for her freedom, a lifetime full of secrets and twisted perceptions slowly unwind as Julianna gets caught in the fray.

Running on Empty


L.B. Simmons - 2013
     Beautiful and loving husband.Three gorgeous little girls. Successful career. The only thing missing was the white picket fence. I really wanted that fence. Three years ago, I lost that life. I lost my husband. And I lost myself. But, eventually, I found my way through the darkness. I’ve made peace with my new life. I have my girls, and that’s all that matters. They are my world. I have no illusions of ever falling in love again or getting whisked away on a white horse. But then he came back into my life. On a freakin’ motorcycle.There’s no way I’ll let him turn my life completely upside down. Absolutely no way. The question is…How long can I keep pretending that I’m happy with my life being right-side up?

You Make Me Weak


Juliana Stone - 2016
    He doesn’t believe in much, other than his brothers, his God, and his country. He likes his life simple and hates complications. So running into the-girl-he-let- get-away is one complication he can do without. Yet the flames of desire still burn hot and it’s not so easy to break ties a second time around. Makes a guy wonder… Can a man who only wants to leave find a reason to stay? Rebecca Draper is hoping second chance at life will get her back on track. With a failed marriage behind her and a young son to support, this former beauty queen has no time for Hudson Blackwell—yet running into him stirs up things. Hot things. Wild things. The man broke her heart once so getting involved with him would be crazy. Yet he awakens a desire and a need so intense she can’t deny it. It begs the question… Can a woman who wants love be brave enough to take a chance on a man who could destroy her?

It's In His Heart


Shelly Alexander - 2015
    He has a scandal. And they both have an attraction they can’t deny. Ella Dennings is furious. Soaking wet, muddy, and furious. All she wants is to enjoy a quiet summer retreat in her Red River Valley cabin. Maybe she can finish healing after the death of her husband, Bradley. Maybe she can even finish writing that third book in her anonymously written bestselling series. But when she arrives at the cabin in a raging rainstorm, who does she find holed up there but Cooper Wells, Bradley’s sexy best friend—a man capable of seducing women within seconds—and a man Ella has never liked.Coop’s got his own baggage. He’s engulfed in a nasty legal battle, and after selling his home to cover his legal fees, he’s got nowhere to go but the cabin. He and Ella will just have to coexist under one roof...but is their heated animosity boiling over into attraction? And when Ella’s racy new book rocks the sleepy town, will her secret identity spell scandal for both of them?

A Night of Southern Comfort


Robin Covington - 2012
    He's spent years living in the shadows, but Dr. Michaela Roarke awakened a passion inside him he'd buried years ago.He never expected the woman would turn out to be the governor's daughter...and his next assignment. The governor blackmails Jackson to secretly watch over Michaela and protect her from a stalker, or kiss his dream job at the FBI good-bye. Swearing to keep things strictly professional, Jackson moves in with Michaela. Too bad his heart can't keep the same promise.But when the stalker's attacks quickly escalate beyond mere photographs to bodily harm, Jackson must race to save Michaela's life. And he'll have to figure out how to keep her once she discovers his lie.

Made of Steel


Ivy Smoak - 2020
    The only thing she knew for sure was that she was going to marry him. Just as soon as she could convince him that she didn't have cooties. But tragedy tore her away from him before they ever got a chance at their happily ever after. And the worst part? He forgot all about her.Ten years after Summer lost everything, she's given a fresh start in the witness protection program. The only rule: don't speak to anyone from her past. A rule that's hard to follow when she finds out that the boy next door is living right down the hall. Unlike him, she never forgot. But she knows that the future she once dreamed of is no longer an option. And if she reveals her identity, she could get them both killed.Miles fell in love with the girl next door when he was eight-years-old. When she disappeared in the foster care system, it felt like a piece of him was missing. So when she shows up in his life again with a different color hair and a new name? It doesn’t fool him. And this time he'll do whatever it takes to keep her.

Father Found


Judith Arnold - 1997
    Never did he expect to find the unplanned result of that fling - a healthy, wailing baby named Samantha - strapped into a car seat on his back porch, along with a suitcase full of diapers and infant apparel and a note informing Jamie that he’s her father.Maybe he is and maybe he isn’t. But first things first. He’s never fed a baby or changed a diaper in his life. He doesn’t own a crib or a stroller. In a panic, he phones the nearest hospital, where neonatal nurse Allison Winslow takes his call and tells him about a class she teaches called the Daddy School.Classes on how to be a dad are exactly what Jamie needs. But when he attends his first class and sees the tall, earnest, amazingly beautiful and even more amazingly competent Allison, he realizes that he might just need more from her than her lectures on how to hold a baby.Jamie’s efforts to be a father to this precious baby touch Allison. His sense of humor amuses her. His striking good looks turn her on. But how can she trust the sort of guy who’d sleep with a stranger on vacation, without giving a thought to the consequences? How can she give her heart to such a reckless man?

Going Down Hard


Jordan Marie - 2017
    Gavin O’Leary. He made my high school days a nightmare. Not because he loved me. Not because he hated me. But because he had no idea who I was. He was the popular guy with the chiseled abs, dark tan and perfect hair. You know the type. The type that only dated the perfect-ten, cheerleader. I was the loner. The nerd who hated high school and couldn’t wait to say goodbye. And I did — to Freemont High and to Gavin. The last thing I expected was to see him again twelve years later. Yet here he is. Only this time — he notices me. This time — he kisses me. This time saying goodbye to Gavin O’Leary might destroy me. Novella introducing a brand new series. Instant lust that took twelve years to explore. Safe read with an Alpha who knows what he wants and goes after it — HARD.

Keeping Her


Alexis Noelle - 2015
    I loved her and would have done anything for her. But the night she walked out of my life, after deciding I wasn't good enough for her, I got out of town as fast as I could.After six years, I'm coming home.Now I am going to make it my mission to rub everything she gave up in her face. No matter how much I still love her, I need to bury it deep inside me because she chose him. Brian Evans broke my heart—shattered every piece of my soul when he left. He decided that I wasn't worth the wait.Now he's back in town.He is a constant reminder of the pain that I endured at his hands. I won’t let him break me again. A lot can happen in six years. People move on, fall in love again, and forget about the pain from the past. Seeing his face, hearing his voice, brings me back to a time when things were simple and love was enough for us.I can't let him know that a part of me still loves him. Now that they are brought face to face again, will they destroy each once more or will they discover that things aren't always what they seem? Are some bonds unbreakable? Are some people worth losing everything you have?

Give Him the Slip


Geralyn Dawson - 2006
    She never dreamed that helping a gentle old man would force her to run for her life, right into the arms of the infamous Luke "Sin" Callahan. He has just settled into a fishing vacation, and the last thing he needs on his line is a long-legged redhead stowaway with secrets in her heart and killers on her trail. Lucky for her, he's deadlier than the guys who are chasing her. Unfortunately for him, she's gorgeous, smart and determined to make it on her own. When the secrets start spilling and the nights heat up, Luke realizes he faces a new sort of danger-losing the woman he loves. Can he win the battle for her heart? Or will she give him the slip?

The Pawn


Skye Warren - 2016
    He tore down my father with cold retribution, leaving him penniless in a hospital bed. I quit my private all-girl's college to take care of the only family I have left.There's one way to save our house, one thing I have left of value.My virginity.A forbidden auction...Gabriel appears at every turn. He seems to take pleasure in watching me fall. Other times he's the only kindness in a brutal underworld.Except he's playing a deeper game than I know. Every move brings us together, every secret rips us apart. And when the final piece is played, only one of us can be left standing.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *THE PAWN is a full-length contemporary novel from New York Times bestselling author Skye Warren about revenge and seduction in the game of love. It's the first book in the brand new ENDGAME series.

Kincaid


Marie James - 2016
    I'm the whole package.I'm not conceited; I'm convinced, and Emmalyn Mikaelson doesn't have a clue what she's gotten herself into by jumping on the back of my bike. Special Forces.

Return to You


Melanie Shawn - 2018
    For Allison Walsh, that line was a tightrope hanging a hundred feet in the air, with no safety net to catch her if--or when--she fell. Ali was barely treading water after losing her big brother, who was her hero and best friend. His sudden death left her to raise her twin nephews when the man that was supposed to share the responsibility with her went MIA after the funeral. Kade's MMA training made him a champion, but it never equipped him to fight off the one force beyond his control: his feelings for his best friend's little sister. He's sure his demons mean he's not good enough for her, but he's going to do everything in his power to conquer them. When the sexy, tattooed fighter shows up on Ali's doorstep out of the blue with a bag hanging over his shoulder and a smile that would make a nun blush, he seems different. But after all he's put her through, Ali's not in a forgive-and-forget kinda mood. Will Kade prove that he's the man worthy of Ali's heart and trust, or will his past sins determine their future?