Book picks similar to
Take Me in the Night by R.L. Kenderson


second-chance
second-chance-romance
contemporary
arc

Tumble


Adriana Locke - 2019
    Her plan? Relax, reset, and head back up the corporate ladder. There’s just one unexpected step. Neely’s back in Dogwood Lane for barely a day when she sees the man she ran from nine years ago: the bad boy next door who was her first kiss, her first love, and her first heartbreak.Devoted single dad Dane Madden knows he hurt Neely in the worst way. He’s got a lot to make up for. And as passionate as their reconnection is, it’s a lot to hope for. Having her back in his arms feels so right. But falling in love all over again with a woman who wants to live a world away is bound to go so wrong.What’s it going to take for Neely to give him—and Dogwood Lane—just one more chance?

Covered in Coal


Silla Webb - 2014
    Just like any little girl would, she assumed her daddy would always be by her side. Unbelievably, he turned his back on her when she needed him most, leaving her with no one in her life to turn to for support. Without options, Carly runs away from the only home she's ever known, leaving behind her heartache and the betrayal of the two men she loved most.Seven years later, Carly reluctantly returns to Kentucky. Her daddy is dying of cancer and Colton is nothing like the boy she once loved and left. After her daddy passes, Carly must uproot her life in South Carolina and take control of Simon Coal Company, where she has no choice but face the pain of her past.Can Carly keep her secrets buried deep beneath the black Kentucky coal and her heart safe from the fiery Colton Weston?

The Naked Truth


Vi Keeland - 2018
    Or so I thought…Until I walked into the conference room and collided with the man I was supposed to pitch.My coffee spilled, my files tumbled to the ground, and I almost lost my balance.And that was the good part of my day.Because the gorgeous man crouched down and looking at me like he wanted to eat me alive, was none other than my ex, Gray Westbrook.A man who I’d only just begun to move on from.A man who my heart despised—yet my body obviously still had other ideas about.A man who was as charismatic and confident as he was sexy.Somehow, I managed to make it through my presentation ignoring his intense stare. Although it was impossible to ignore all the dirty things he whispered into my ear right after I was done.But there was no way I was giving him another chance, especially now that he was a client…was there?

The Grump Who Stole Summer


Ella Fields - 2022
    The truth is, I just... panicked.My soul died when I was fourteen, and there was no reviving it. But when the one person who’d tried made headlines, got dumped by her Ivy League college, and was forced to work in my bookstore, I began to wonder if I needed it when my heart beat faster at just the sight of her.I began to wonder if I’d been wrong to push her away three years ago, and if she was as I’d hoped and feared—different. If maybe, she could truly accept a guy like me.All of me. Every vile, cruel, tattered piece.First, I had to find out a few things.Would she still smile and laugh when I said something acidic?Would she still melt beneath the pads of my inexperienced fingers?Did she still want me as much as I wanted her?And finally, could she ever forgive an undeserving prick like me?Something told me I’d regret not finding out.Told in dual POV, The Grump Who Stole Summer is a full-length standalone, enemies to lovers second chance romance. It contains some sensitive subject matter.

Sweet Cheeks


K. Bromberg - 2016
    To my ex-fiance’s new wedding. I should have ignored it.Thrown it away. Set it afire. But I didn’t. I replied. With a plus one. And then my assistant accidentally mailed it.Enter Hayes Whitley. Mega-movie star. The man who has captured the hearts of millions. But I gave him mine years ago. He was my first love. He was my everything. Right until he up and left to chase his dreams without so much as a simple goodbye.When he showed up out of the blue ten years later, I should have known to steer clear. I should have rejected his offer to take me to my ex’s wedding. I should have never let him kiss me.But I didn’t. And now we’re left wondering if the pieces of the life we once shared still fit together somehow. First loves are hard to forget. The question is, do we want to forget? Or do we risk the chance and see what happens next?

A Merry Vested Wedding


Melanie Moreland - 2020
    Love and peace reign.Right?A waylaid maid of honor, a mischievous family member, and a father having trouble letting go are all typical blips in an otherwise ordinary wedding.And one Christmas secret even Santa didn’t see coming.Add in a snowstorm over the holidays, and one thing becomes clear.Christmas may never be the same again.A glimpse into the next generation of BAM.ABC Corp.

Big Deck


Remy Rose - 2017
    I’ll let you guess how I may have inherited that nickname. Spoiler alert: it’s not just because I’m 6’5″. I take care of my female clients in many ways. I’ve got tools, and I’ve got rules: three seconds, tops, for hugs. No going on dates. No staying overnight. And absolutely no letting anyone mess with my heart. I’m yours for the duration of the project. And then, it’s over. Most women find it difficult to say goodbye, and sometimes it’s hard for me, too—literally. See what I just did there? But that’s the way it has to be, and I’ve always been able to handle it. Until Madeline Callaway. ****I was only looking to get a big bathroom, not a big man, since I’ve sworn off relationships after being cheated on. But when Jack Decker showed up at my door with his jaw-dropping sex appeal and huge…um, workboots, I found myself wanting his hands on more than just my bathroom fixtures. I wasn’t prepared for how he’d make me laugh, blush, swoon…ache. Will I be able to follow our agreement of insanely hot, no-strings sex, keep my emotions in check and let Jack go once he’s done the renovation? Or will I need him to return and repair the hole in my heart?

Cruel Beloved


T.L. Smith - 2020
    In signing this document, I agree that I shall not, by any means, try to break this contract. I understand that if I do, the envelope held in escrow will be released to the parties identified within the contract, and I shall forfeit my right to the privacy currently afforded to me by the aforementioned Mr. Corton Whiskey.Aubrey BatemanLawyer acting on behalf of Mr. Whiskey I received this contract, hand-delivered, and I’m now staring at it in disbelief. Me, the daughter of a senator, is being bribed by a one-night stand.If he thinks he can blackmail me with his perversions, he can damn well think again.

Flip Trick


Amo Jones - 2018
     I had a one-night stand. Then in true me fashion, I left my phone at his house during my desperate venture to escape. I tried hard to ignore the texts sent to my best friend’s phone... Amethyst: Sup, these selfies are cute as shit, but your lips looked better wrapped around my… I did NOT text him back. I DID vow to never speak of him, or that night again... I’m Amethyst Lily Tatum, and up until this point, I’d managed to maintain a fairly low-key life. I’m what you would call a socially unacceptable hot mess. Instead of partying, I’m skating, flipping ollie’s over guys who loved to underestimate me. Then I started college, met a wild girl who I would soon call my best-friend, had my first drunk one-night stand, left my phone at his house, and then, when I finally managed to meet my mom’s new boyfriend, I found out that my one-night stand, was now my new stepbrother. *this is a standalone novel*

Kane's Hell


Elizabeth Finn - 2015
    Eleven years later their lives are nothing like they once were. Time has changed them … and not for the better.Helene is smart, driven, and accomplished—her education and achievements a smoke screen hiding the frigid and fragile child wounded long ago. Kane is equally obsessed with his coping mechanisms—fighting … drinking … screwing … compulsively destroying himself one vice at a time.When their paths collide again, their past becomes an obstacle no coping mechanism in the world can protect them from. But confronting the past so they can heal in the present is no easy task. Can Kane reach Helene and recapture what used to burn so warmly between them, or will his own self destructive demons pull her into his hell?A woman determined to look forward. A man always looking back. A love desperate to be restored. “You’re the brightest, warmest star in my universe. You’ll never be less than everything to me.”WARNING: This book contains darker subject matter and violent content that may be difficult for some readers.

Cross Check


Colleen Masters - 2016
     We grew up together, me the bookish nerd, him the rich popular jock. To make matters worse, my parents worked for his, they were the groundskeeper and housekeeper of the King estate my entire life. But now that Jamison’s parents are gone, he needs me to run his father’s company—his father’s dying wish was that we get married to align our interests… I have a feeling we’ll be aligning much more than that if Jamison gets his way. And he always does. Includes BONUS BOOK Stepbrother Billionaire!!!! This novel is a full-length contemporary sports romance novel. Contains harsh language and graphic sexual content. Readers 18++ No Cliff.

The Fall


Kate Stewart - 2015
    . . and the end of it.I was only fifteen years old when he claimed it and twenty when he took it with him.They say what is meant to be will find a way. But when you have changed to the point of no return, how can anything ever be the same?Seven years later, Dean Martin waltzed back into my life in hopes of resuming what I had fought so hard to forget, but he was in for a wake-up call.I was no longer the naïve woman he had left . . . and I was no longer his.I met the love of my life and my soul mate when I was fifteen. I knew that; he knew that. He wanted that girl back. I wanted to forget she ever existed.DeanWhat I thought was my pre-destined path was very much an illusion. Living seven years with regret, I realized too late that I was broken, and that I only had myself to blame.I thought love could wait . . . but it didn’t. We’d had it all those years ago, and then I foolishly left it behind.She was all that mattered. She was all there ever was.There was no life without Dallas, no reason . . . except her.No matter how hard she tried to convince me, I knew I had to once again make her mine, to make her remember . . . the fall.Explicit sex, strong language.

Retrieval


Aly Martinez - 2016
    Two couples.I proposed on our first date. She laughed and told me I was insane. Less than a day later, she said yes.It was a whirlwind, but we were happy… Until we got greedy and wanted a family.It was a life I couldn’t give her, not for lack of trying. Fertility just wasn’t on our side. We sought out doctors and treatments. Spent money we didn’t have. Lied to our families. Smiled for our friends. Put on a brave face for a world that didn’t understand.Finally, we were successful…Until we were forced to bury our son.We were left broken, battered, and destroyed.They say love is in the details, but it was the details that ruined us.This is the story of how I took back what had always been mine.The retrieval of my wife and our family.

Wilder Love


Emery Rose - 2019
    He was my strength. Until I destroyed him.I was infatuated with Shane Wilder since the first time I saw him surfing. But we couldn’t be together. Not yet, anyway. I was too young and screwed up. He was too focused on chasing his dream.So we became friends. We met on the rooftop for late-night confessions under the stars. Cruised along the Pacific Coast Highway with the wind in our hair and the sun on our faces.I took photos of all the beautiful and ugly and interesting things, while he traveled the world in search of the perfect waves.I told him I would wait for him. I never meant to lie.I never meant to ruin his life.I. Destroyed. Him. As his star faded, mine burned bright. But as everyone knows, all that glitters is not gold. Now I’m back after seven long years, hoping for a chance to right my wrongs and fix what I’ve broken. This time I can only hope that loving Shane Wilder will be enough to save him.

Tormented


Esme Devlin - 2020