Book picks similar to
Common Ground by Wendy Smith


romance
contemporary
second-chance
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Property Lines


Claire Wilder - 2020
    The rules? No phone, no laptop, and stay far away from his next-door neighbor Jake, who he's suing over a land dispute. Then I catch Jake skinny-dipping. And he catches me watching.But the more I get to know Jake, the more I'm sure my boss is wrong about him—and that the feud between them runs deeper than property lines.I love my job. But I just might love my boss's enemy, too. And unless I can force these two warring sides to find the truth, I could lose both.Note: this book was previously published as Her Property and has been newly expanded and updated to first person point of view.

Country Gold


Heatherly Bell - 2018
    But Lexi Wilder is okay with that, thanks for asking. She's been on the road since roughly forever, so she’s going to enjoy the break. After all, there's nothing quite like the beautiful sandy beaches of Monterey Bay to soothe a woman's soul. Luke Wyatt never wanted to trade fame and fortune for the only woman he's ever loved. Now that he's finished a punishing year-long national tour he’s headed back to his hometown of Whistle Cove for the quiet, the beaches, the inspiration, and the girl. Not necessarily in that order. Nashville wants more country gold like the #1 song he co-wrote with Lexi. Luke is looking for peace and Lexi. But Lexi hasn’t forgiven him for choosing fame over her…

Perfect Stranger


Lexy Timms - 2021
    For Olivia, it's the perfect solution: money, a place to stay, and safety from the man she's sure is searching for her. What's not to love?They both believe they can get through the week without taking anything too seriously.They're both wrong.A job is a job, until you're the bosses pretty woman…

The Sweet Taste of Sin


Ember Casey - 2015
    Run her bakery. Heal her broken heart. She's had three years to try and forget Dante Fontaine. To the rest of the world, Dante is Hollywood royalty, the ridiculously attractive oldest son of the notorious Fontaine family. To Ashlyn? He’s the guy who took her virginity and made her swear off men forever.But when an accidental--and humiliating--encounter brings him back into her life, Ashlyn realizes that no matter how hard she’s tried to forget about him, Dante definitely hasn’t forgotten about her. …and this time, he's not going to let her go.

Love You Still


Kat Bammer - 2021
    Life tore them apart. Returning home may be their second chance.Leaving Moon Lake and serving as a Navy SEAL couldn’t erase the pain of Peter’s past. When he returns home as the new deputy Sheriff, it’s with hope for a fresh start in the place with old roots. But it also means exposing deep wounds—his own and the one he inflicted on Lisa. What he did to her is his biggest regret, and seeing her again brings up feelings he thought long-buried. Lisa may have moved on, but she never got over her first love. Not the way Peter seemed to forget about her the minute he left her bedroom and ultimately town. She hadn’t planned to return to Moon Lake, but her father’s accident forces her back to face her past…and come toe-to-toe with Peter.Despite her best efforts to remain unaffected by the man, her stupid heart still beats faster around him. And when she stumbles upon a body and learns there may be a serial killer in their sleepy town, it’s Peter’s arms that offer her the comfort and safety she desperately needs.But with a psycho on the loose, can they overcome the scars of their pasts before a killer ends any chance for their future?

Darling Bay Beginnings Box Set: The Darling Songbirds / Blaze / On the Market


Rachael Herron - 2021
    The boards creaked under Adele Darling’s feet as if they hadn’t been stepped on since women wore hoop skirts. Cobwebs on the porch slung themselves from top beams to bottom ones, and an old wagon wheel leaned against a hitching post in front. It was as if the sidewalk had been poured right around the post, and her Toyota hybrid looked completely wrong parked next to it. It should have been a horse.The building is a ruin, the business is broke and customers are scarce. Add into the mix Nate Houston - the handsome, guitar-playing bartender who had always believed he would be the next owner - and Adele has one potent cocktail on her hands. Blaze: (The Firefighters of Darling Bay #1) Grace is doing just fine—she doesn't need help, especially from a man whose very nickname is unhealthy. Tox Ellis is the hazmat expert at the Darling Bay Fire Department, and he knows what compounds to keep apart to prevent explosions. Why, then, can't he seem to stay away from Grace, the woman who seems to think he needs fixing? Is Darling Bay ready for the chemical reaction Grace and Tox generate whenever they're in the same place at the same time? And who will be standing by to put out the flames? On the Market (The Ballard Brothers of Darling Bay #1): Liam Ballard is good at buying houses, fixing them up with his brothers, and flipping them for a profit. When Felicia from the network shows up to offer them a reality show (the brothers renovate a house while one of them dates the buyer), the pay is too good to turn down. With it, they'll finally be able to open the after-school program for at-risk youth to honor the man who raised them. But when the very LA-like Felicia decides she'll be the buyer of the property (and his date), Liam wonders for the first time what set of keys he'll want to pass over to her, and will one of them unlock his heart?

Career Soldier: Fort Lee Tour of Duty Box Set One


Tawdra Kandle - 2020
    They fight with honor, they defend their nation and their brothers fiercely, and when they love, they do it with single-minded passion.Maximum ForceMax Remington has never been anything but a soldier. The oldest son in a family that served our nation for generations, he’d never considered any other path. The army is his life, his home and his one true love.
 Until he meets Samantha Crewe.Temporary DutyKade Braggs grew up wild and free, surfing on a California beach without much ambition, until an impulsive decision led him into joining the Army. What started out as a joke turned into a career, and now he’s a company commander, leading several platoons of soldiers. Still, Kade does it all on his own terms; he plays as hard as he works, and having a good time is non-negotiable.
 Until he meets Leah Samson.Hitting the SilkOnce upon a time, Delia Rollins was an Army wife, until the unthinkable happened. Now as a young widow and school teacher, she’s vigilant about protecting her heart. Her number one rule for the future? No more military men in her life. She can’t handle the risk. Until she meets Shaw Kincaid.

Sweet-Talking Cowboy


Vicki Lewis Thompson - 2020
    Six years ago she gave him her heart. He sent her away. He was wrong for her then. He’s wrong for her now. But the years have fanned the flames... Saddle up for the first book in the all new Buckskin Brotherhood series! Steamy western romances from the NYT bestselling author who brought you The McGavin Brothers of Eagles Nest, Montana. If you like sexy cowboys, charming small towns, and laugh-out-loud adventures, you’ll love The Buckskin Brotherhood. Pick up your copy today! The Buckskin Brotherhood SWEET-TALKING COWBOY (Book 1)

Bad Night Stand


Elise Faber - 2018
    He’d been hot, hard, and possessed a butt that I wanted to bite like the last chocolate chip cookie in my stash. He’d also skipped out of town faster than a villain in a B movie, leaving me woefully unsatisfied. I’d chalked the whole incident up to a bad night stand and moved on with my life. That was before the news of a failed IUD. Before the plus sign. Before Jordan showed back up determined to make that night up to me. I didn’t want a baby or a payday or a sexy, stubborn man in my life. I wanted to go back in time and pretend none of it had happened. Unfortunately, my life had become all about that plus sign . . . and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.

A Son for the Texas Cowboy


Sinclair Jayne - 2019
    Seven years ago when he was at the top of his career, he gave it all up to return home to Last Stand, Texas, to raise his youngest brother and take over the reins of their massive cattle ranch. But his career wasn’t the only thing he left behind. A chance meeting with the woman he never stopped loving, Cruz, blows apart his work-only life, and he starts to want more than just his ranch. Axel’s never backed down from a challenge, but this is one risk, the cowboy’s not sure he can take. Former barrel racer and now single mom Cruz Lopez excels at staring down obstacles and winning. A newly certified physician’s assistant, she’s determined to build her career and create a new life for herself and her son in Texas just as long as it’s far from one sexier than sin Last Stand cowboy, who once nearly derailed her dreams and goals. Only it’s not. Luckily it’s temporary, and Cruz is confident she can avoid Axel for a month except a horrific accident throws them together when they both stop to help. Axel was her first and only love, and now she’s struggling to remember all the reasons he’s wrong when he feels so right. He told her once he never wanted a family. So why is he inviting them both on picnics and teaching her son to ride and rope? Axel is her past, but she’s starting to hope for a future with him. Can she trust him when it’s not just her heart at risk this time?

Second Chance Charmer


Brighton Walsh - 2018
    She’s small town royalty. Their love was doomed from the start.Finn spent his childhood living so far on the wrong side of the tracks, he couldn’t even see them through his trailer window. When he moves back to his small, southern hometown to open the first bar in a formerly dry county, he’s no longer the boy who left—he’s a man with something to prove. As long as he doesn’t allow himself to get sidetracked by the only girl he’s ever loved.Willow learned a long time ago to protect her heart at all costs, so her walls are firmly in place when her ex comes strolling back into town, all cockiness and charm. When they're thrown together on the job, she knows better than to give in to the tug of attraction that still simmers between them. She might be drawn to him, but she certainly doesn't trust him. It's time for her to prove she's not the brokenhearted girl he left behind.There’s no room for second chances in Havenbrook. And Willow’s daddy—the mayor—will do anything to keep it that way.

Passion and Surrender


Cali MacKay - 2015
     From New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author, Cali MacKay... Marshall should be riding high as the CEO of his own successful company. Instead, he’s in the middle of a nasty divorce as he tries to rid himself of his cheating and lying wife, while trying to track down a mole in his company. What he needs is a distraction, so when Harper Jones walks into his office with improvements she’d like to make to one of their products, Marshall knows that the brilliant and gorgeous engineer is exactly what he needs to take his mind off his problems. Harper's heard the gossip about her boss, and the last thing she wants is to get sucked into the middle of a nasty divorce—especially when rumor has it that Marshall’s ex may be carrying his baby. When Marshall sets her in his sights, Harper finds him far too difficult to resist, with his charming good looks and sexy smarts, but with her heart and career on the line, and a mole pointing the finger in her direction, will she risk it all to find happiness or simply walk away? *** This novel contains a Happily Ever After ending. Due to the adult language and explicit sex scenes, this book is for adults only.***

Small Town Perfect: Pulling Home / A Family Affair: The Promise


Mary Campisi - 2019
    See author's note, below Pulling Home (That Second Chance #1) It's taken nine years and a cross-country move, but Audra Valentine Wheyton has kept her secrets safe. She's created the perfect life: a husband who loves her, a daughter she adores, and a position as head writer for an award-winning daytime soap. When her husband dies suddenly, Audra returns to her hometown for the funeral and faces a community that has not forgotten her meager beginnings and the man who has never forgiven her for marrying his brother. Jack Wheyton is a successful pediatric neurosurgeon who is about to become engaged when Audra walks back into his life with her daughter. He forgave his brother long ago for taking something that had been his, something he hadn't even realized he wanted until it was gone. But forgiving Audra is another story...and forgetting her? Near impossible. When a shattering illness strikes Audra's daughter, she turns to Jack to save her child and risks exposing a secret that will change their lives forever. A Family Affair: The Promise (Truth in Lies #7) Grant Richot sprinted through life, a boy wonder with talent, intelligence, confidence, and charm. He never doubted the world awaited him, just as he never doubted the right woman would come into his life—but only when he was ready for her. Anyone before that was simply preparation for the one. How wrong he was. Years and a tragedy later, Grant arrives in Maggie Finnegan’s hometown of Magdalena, New York—broken, uncertain, and searching for that second chance with the woman he cast aside. But Maggie’s no longer naïve and impressionable; she’s a confident, competent widow with a child, who has more at risk than another broken heart… Note from Mary: I love secondary characters: writing them, reading about them, even watching them on the big screen. Secondary characters support the “stars”; make them more vibrant and compelling. But when the story ends, I’m often left wondering what they’d do if they were in the “spotlight”. That’s why I’ve created special boxed sets that were part of That Second Chance series and the Truth in Lies series. These boxed sets let the reader follow the before and after of select characters as they first appear in That Second Chance series and later in the fictional town of my bestselling Truth in Lies series. Boxed Set One contains Pulling Home and A Family Affair: The Promise. I invite you to follow their journey!

The Worth Series: Books 1-3


Mara Jacobs - 2013
    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.Book 2:Worth The DriveAll Katie ever wanted was a baby. Be careful what you wish for.Katie Lipton is the town beauty, but that never got her what she wanted most—a baby. And, oh yeah, a faithful husband would have been nice, too.Reeling from her husband’s cheating and desertion, Katie embarks on a one-night fling with professional golfer Darío Luna. Never could she have imagined that one night with Darío would give her something fifteen years of marriage couldn’t—morning sickness.Darío was raised without a father, and he has no intention of the same fate befalling his child. He’s still not sure about Katie, though. Did she trick him? Lie to him? But his feelings for her, and this crazy attraction he feels, soon has him putting his doubts aside to spend more time with her. He tells himself it’s for the sake of the baby. Yeah. Right.Agreeing to try to work out some sort of relationship before the baby is due, Katie travels with Darío to his golf tournaments, walking the course with him by day...and giving in to their attraction by night. But will it be enough?Book 3:Worth The FallAlison is way too smart to be this dumb about a guy.Alison Jukuri is the smart one. But it hasn't seemed to help her much in her relationships with men. And now she's on the verge of making one, big stupid move.Again.Petey Ryan has spent his life hitting and being hit as a defenseman in the NHL. But now he's about to go up against his biggest foe of all ... tiny Alison Jukuri.A woman with whom he shares a long-held secret. * * * * * * * * * * These books each contain 2-3 fairly graphic love scenes and the F-bomb is detonated somewhat frequently. If they were movies, they would be rated R.The Worth Series thus far:1. Worth the Weight (Lizzie and Finn)2. Worth the Drive (Katie and Dario3. Worth the Fall (Alison and Petey)4. Worth the Effort (Deni and Sawyer)4.5 Totally Worth Christmas - novella (Phoebe and Charlie)5. Worth The Price (Liv and Twain)6. Worth The Lies (Kelsey and Huck)

Twice Shy


Mona Ingram - 2007
    As the truth about Mitch’s disappearance is revealed, will they come to terms about what tore them apart?