Book picks similar to
Should've Been Us by Jess Bryant


romance
contemporary
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unrequited-loved-you-forever

Up to Snow Good


Kelly Collins - 2020
    Lauren must ask for help. Unfortunately, the only person who might be able to save her is a childhood sweetheart. How can she trust the man on the wrong side of the blood feud to secure her family’s legacy, when she couldn't trust him with her heart?Torn between Lauren and his father, Max walked away from an impossible choice. Misunderstandings and duplicity have kept him away. The safest thing for Lauren was to leave her alone. But with his father out to crush the last remaining Matthews and a centuries-old feud about to boil over, Max will move heaven and earth to help her, even if it means choosing love over family. With all the harm Max’s family has caused, can Lauren box up and bury the past to have a dream Christmas with Max? Or, will she need a Christmas miracle? Up to Snow Good is not your typical small-town, holiday romance. Angst and treachery hide in every corner. It’s a holiday Romeo and Juliet with a happy ending.

Finding Home


K.L. Humphreys - 2019
    It's easier than letting people in and telling them about that night.I live my life in the shadows because happiness is something that I can't have.I keep my pain where it belongs, in the past. I keep my secrets buried deep down.Now my past is colliding with my future, and I'm not sure how I'm going to survive.But in the midst of the darkness is a shining light: Trent.Sometimes you find home in the place you least expect it.

The Ninth Inning


J. Sterling - 2020
    If he doesn’t get drafted this year, he’ll be forced to hang up his cleats for good. It's not something he’s ready to do. To prove he’s serious about his final season, he’s given up girls. No more casual hookups, dates or one-night stands. But there's one girl who has always refused to give up on him. One girl who has been there since the start of Freshman year. One girl he stupidly assumed would always be waiting for him when he got off the field, no matter how long it took. Christina's had enough of Cole pushing her aside for baseball. She’s grown tired of waiting for him to see what she’s known since they were freshmen… that they are good together. She’s finally moved on- for good this time. Cole has other ideas, but she refuses to cave. It’s not her problem if he wants her now. Too little too late. There comes a point in your life when you have to stop the incessant merry-go-round and just get off the ride, right? Try telling that to Cole.

Encore


Selena Laurence - 2020
    Life has been nothing but sex, drugs, and rock and roll for twenty years, and he's not sure he can stomach one more minute of the party. When an invitation to his twenty-fifth high school reunion shows up, Ross decides he has nothing to lose--after all, he already lost his daughter's love and a fair amount of self-respect. So he catches a flight back to his hometown, but when he walks in the door of the high school gym, his gaze lands on someone he never expected to see again. Carly Ellis is busy, getting by, and most days pretty happy. Life hasn't always been easy, but she has her teenage son, a good job in real estate, and an ex who doesn't cause too much trouble. Granted, she'd rather skip her high school reunion, but when your best friend is on the organizing committee, there's no getting out of it. Then she walks through the door of the high school gym and her gaze lands on someone she never expected to see again. Once upon a time, Carly was Ross's high school prom date. One very sweet night that both of them knew didn't mean a thing. Now they have a chance to do it again. Same conditions. Same game. But after a night in Carly's arms, Ross isn't sure he wants it to end. Could she be the answer to everything he's been missing? A key to the future he secretly wants? With life offering him a second act, will Ross be able to pull off his most important encore ever? Encore is an uplifting rockstar, second-chance, single parent, high school reunion romance with a hero who needs a little reboot, a heroine who's strong enough to give it to him, two sassy teens, a perfect HEA, and an iguana named Chuck--just because.

Caged in Winter


Brighton Walsh - 2014
    She's only seventy-six days away from college graduation--and the future she's dreamed of for so long. She just has to stick to her rules: Don't lose focus. Trust no one. Hookups only--she doesn't want or need a man ruining her plans.But then Cade Maxwell, aspiring chef and Prince Charming in-training, comes swooping in to her life. All brash exterior and marshmallow center, Cade strips away her walls as easily as he strips away her clothes. One of the best in his class, he's on the fast-track to his dream job--as long as he keeps his eye on the prize.This close to graduation, neither of them can afford a distraction. Despite their explosive chemistry, nothing serious can develop between them. Thankfully, Winter's rules are keeping them safe.Except Cade's not playing by her rules anymore.

Best Man


Katy Evans - 2019
    When the wedding of your dreams is just around the corner, everything needs to go as planned. Only problem is, the groom didn’t get the memo.Aaron forgot the rings, and Lia is determined to make the long drive home to get them in time for their “I do’s.”But there’s a catch. There always is with Aaron, isn’t there?Aaron is too hungover to come, and sends a replacement.The best man.Miles Foster. The cocky, arrogant, sexy best man…and the last person Lia wants to be trapped in a car with for hours.But Aaron insists, and Lia wonders if there’s another reason Aaron wants Miles tagging along—aside from sticking her with a hot, surly babysitter.Yet how bad can it be? It’ll be over before she knows it, and she’ll never see him again. Just like in college.But when secrets are revealed, and Lia’s whole world is turned upside down, she realizes she’s been living a lie—and so has her groom.Miles is supposed to be the best man at her wedding.But what if he is simply the best man she has ever known? The best man for her?

Stripped from You


Marissa Carmel - 2014
    And he's come to accept that, until, Alana Remington. Alana is the girl who struck the match that lit his world on fire. She's the girl who opened his eyes to more. Who made him believe that just because you have nothing, doesn't mean you are nothing. And he loves her fiercely for it. But, just because you come together, doesn’t mean you stay together. One fateful decision rips Ryan and Alana apart and neither of them are ever the same again. For five years he's regretted that decision, but the deep seeded anger, shame and resentment has kept him from reaching out. And over those five years, a series of moments have spun Ryan's world in a direction he never saw coming. A world ruled by endless nights, infinite women and the name Jack the Stripper. A world, unbeknownst to him, that may just let two severed hearts collide.

My One and Only


Weston Parker - 2018
     For one night. And then she left to LA to become a rockstar. My Clark Kent appeal wasn’t enough to keep her around, but she missed out. After graduating law school and becoming the alpha male jack-ass type that she always loved, I returned the favor. One more night of passion, but it was my turn to break her heart. Every whisper against my skin, every moan from her lips haunted me for years and years. What the hell had I done? Was it so fucking important to be right? To repay heartbreak with heartbreak? All these years later and her band is in bankruptcy, and I’m on the wrong side of the courtroom. Winning is everything to me, but I already played the game and lost against her. I can’t do it again, especially not when I find out she’s a single mom with a pretty little girl. A little girl that looks – Just. Like. Me. No way she’s been keeping our baby a secret from me all these years. If so, the final joke has always been on me. She was, is, and will always be - My One and Only. Every good girl deserves a bad boy. ~ Weston

Rule Breaker By Accident


Ali Parker - 2019
     One rule. Easy enough, or so I thought. Until this hot surgeon that I’ve been dating off and on becomes a client. It was a casual fling, a fun summer love affair. Until it wasn’t. My heart wasn’t ready to fall so hard for this bad boy in scrubs. The secrets he has hidden in his past stop me dead in my tracks. But he isn’t giving up on us. Not for anything. And I have to decide where I stand. Break the rules or walk away from the best thing I’ve ever had.

The Way Back Home


C. Lymari - 2019
    -On the day you got the keys to your dream shop, you came across the most gorgeous man. The only problem? He’s with the town's mean princess.-That gorgeous guy hit on you, so you insulted him.-A few days passed, and you bumped into that gorgeous guy again. This time, he was persistent.-You continued to insult him, only for him to inform you that the mean girl was not his girlfriend, but his cousin.-So you apologized, and he kept trying to take you on a date. The problem now? He's not in town for long.-Still, you gave in and got all dressed up to go on a date…except he never showed, and everyone knows he stood you up.Now, two years later, he comes back, and he’s changed. But one thing is clear: he still wants you. And worst of all, he acts as if nothing ever happened…

Back to Shore


Taylor Danae Colbert - 2020
    So I turned him away and never looked back. I haven’t forgotten. And I certainly haven’t forgiven.Now, I’m sort of a hot mess. I’m in between jobs, essentially homeless, and newly divorced.But as I try to put the pieces of my life back together, I know that Ryder’s the one that’s missing. I have to find him, and I have to forgive him.And when I do, I learn that he’s not exactly living the easiest life. He needs someone. He needs me.Despite everything, I know I should be there for him. But doing that means I’ll have to put our past behind us.And I’ll have to try my hardest not to fall back in love with the man who broke my heart beyond repair.

Set Up


T.C. Matson - 2020
     There’s nothing wrong with being single. I’m not a woman scorned. There’s no heartbreak I’m recovering from. I just enjoy not having to answer to anyone and doing what I want when I want. Unfortunately, my two wonderful best friends think the opposite and decide to meddle. Just because they’re both happily taken, they believe I should be too. Their “wonderful” plan? Speed dating… A bunch of men and women tossed into a room for a night of awkward dates. Sounds horrific, right? But because my signature was forged on the contract, there’s no canceling. Three men catch my attention. One steals my heart. Another steals my time. And the last one steals my patience. It doesn’t take long for my heart to betray me and I fall for a wealthy man who shatters me. Now I’m left picking up the pieces and he won’t leave me alone. Great…Just frickin’ great.

Mister Uno: A Short Story Series


Belle Brooks - 2019
    The job she loves is on the line when she’s faced with writer’s block and given a deadline she knows she can’t meet—that’s until her best friend, Pip, comes up with the perfect idea.Anthea never says no to a dare, and this one is so perfect it will solve all of her problems.Twelve men. Twelve months. Twelve articles. But there’s a catch: Anthea can’t know the real names of the men she dates, and she must only refer to them by a Spanish number. Mister Uno is unsuspecting victim number one. He’s domineering, alluring, wealthy, and a surprise packet Anthea never imagined. Will Anthea be able to hide her identity from each gentleman suitor?Will she complete the dare and keep her job? And will she do it without falling in love?

We Own Tonight


Corinne Michaels - 2017
    I’m not a one-night stand kind of woman. I’m especially not the woman who has a few drinks at a concert and ends up in bed with my childhood celebrity crush, Eli Walsh. However, that’s exactly where I find myself. What’s a girl to do after a drunken mistake? Run. I grab my clothes and get away from the powerful, irresistible, and best-sex-of-my-life superstar as fast as I can. His gorgeous green eyes, rock-hard body, and cocky smile have no place in my world. My life is complicated enough.Someone forgot to tell him that. Eli is relentless. Pushing his way into my heart, wearing me down, proving he’s nothing like I assumed, and everything I need. But when my world shatters to pieces, he holds the broken bits together. Unwillingly, I fall desperately in love with him. He made me think we’d have forever . . . I should’ve listened when he said we could only own tonight.

Love Hurts


Leah Sharelle - 2019
     It was time to do something drastic. Most of my life had been spent in the shadow of my twin brother, Deck. I was tired of being the ‘great’ Deck Johnston’s quiet underachieving twin. I needed to break out and forge my own path in life. I had aspirations just like Deck, I may not have wanted to be a soldier like him, but joining the police force was my perfect choice. The next thing on my to-do list was love; find my perfect partner and be part of something special. I found ‘The One’ then lost her minutes later … but lucky for me, I found her again years later. There was just one problem. She used to be Deck’s. They were just friends now, but that didn’t stop the memories of our turbulent years of fighting and arguing to cloud my brain. So what happens when two brothers reconnect and you throw a beautiful woman into the mix? All hell breaks loose.