Book picks similar to
The Story of Us by Tara Sivec


romance
military
contemporary-romance
second-chance

The Space in Between


Brittainy C. Cherry - 2013
    Andrea Evans is traumatized and guilt-ridden by the death of her fiancée. Tired of the gossiping small town, she travels to New York City to pursue her dream of dance.He’s uncertain of his future. Cooper Davidson is a famous photographer and reality television star trying to flee from his own life filled with paparazzi, mental health clinics, and a cheating wife who is pregnant. When Andrea and Cooper’s paths cross, they realize how damaged and in need of escapism they both are. The two create an arrangement to explore the space in between chaos and order with one another. The rules are simple—no emotional connections, no talking about the past, no speaking of the future, and when one finds order, the other walks away. All is well until Cooper accidentally falls in love with Andrea.Warning: The following story contains mature themes, strong language, and sexual situations. It is intended for readers 18+ older.

For Lucy


Jewel E. Ann - 2021
    Ann comes a novel so heartfelt and real it redefines the meaning of love. I’m the wrong guy in the right place the night I steal Tatum Bradshaw from another man. When she mistakes me for her blind date, I decide she deserves a man who shows up on time … like me. Emmett Riley, Mr. Punctual. Once I confess my true identity and convince her I’m not a creep—just a thief—it’s only a matter of time before my sexy smile and quick wit claim her heart, her hand in marriage, and the perfect life. Unfortunately, perfection is an illusion, like the promises of our wedding vows. No one can prepare for the unimaginable—the heartbreaking exception to all the rules in life.When thirty seconds destroys everything, I have to find a new existence and keep my promise to always love our daughter, Lucy, the most. For Lucy, I will keep a secret, and I will watch my wife drift into the arms of another man.Given the chance … can I reclaim my wife and the pieces of our life?

Desperately Seeking Epic


B.N. Toler - 2016
    Hating her would have been easier.She was the past, and he was hell-bent on keeping her there.Or so he thought...Craigslist Ad: DESPERATELY SEEKING EPIC You’re my father.I don’t know much about you. I know your name is Paul James, you’re a thrill seeker, and once upon a time you did stunts and people called you ‘Epic.’I’ve been told you don’t know about me. That it’s complicated. But for me it’s simple.Here’s the thing: I’m twelve years old…and I’m dying.And as much as this could crush my mother, I have to meet you before I go. In time, I’m sure she’ll understand. She’s still in love with you.So, Epic, if you read this, please come back. You don’t have to be my dad. You don’t even have to tell me you love me or you’re sorry. Just come see me. Patiently waiting, but running out of time,Neena

Lost Rider


Harper Sloan - 2017
    After one too many head injuries, he’s off the circuit and in the horse farming business, something he’s never taken much of a shine to, but now that it’s his late father’s legacy, familial duty calls. How will Maverick find his way after the only dream he ever had for himself is over?Enter Leighton Elizabeth James, an ugly duckling turned beauty from Maverick’s childhood—his younger sister’s best friend, to be exact, and someone whose heart he stomped all over when she confessed her crush to him ten years back. Now Leighton is back in Maverick’s life, no longer the insecure, love-stricken teen—and Maverick can’t help but take notice. Sparks fly between them, but will Leighton be able to open her heart to the one man who broke it all those years ago?

The Secret Ex-Boyfriend


Krista Ritchie - 2017
     And then we broke Aerial Ethereal’s biggest rule together. We’ve been paying the price ever since. Corporate won’t let me see her. Or speak to her. And we painfully signed on the dotted line in agreement. Erasing our secret relationship from existence. Now I’m twenty, and I hate Corporate. But I can’t leave. My family makes up one-third of Aerial Ethereal’s cast list. I love them.(And I still love her.) BAYLEE WRIGHT Luka is back. My undeniably hot secret ex-boyfriend was just shifted to the Vegas show Infini. We’re working together again on a show that means too much to me. No distractions. Even if the sexy, rebellious boy with hidden troubles completely stole my teenage heart.Aerial Ethereal demands he remains my tragic secret.This book was previously published with the title Infini.

We Were Once


S.L. Scott - 2020
    Scott, crafts her signature heartfelt style into a brand new emotional, second chance, standalone romance. I have three goals: graduate from an Ivy League university, get into medical school, and follow in my father’s well-established footsteps. Everything was going exactly as planned until the local bad boy was delivered to my doorstep. Literally.From the moment we meet, my old life becomes unrecognizable, but I have no regrets. I’m utterly captivated by him. His smirk. His heart. His sharp wit. He pushes me to live, to be wild, to pursue the dream I’ve always hidden inside.To the rest of the world, we make no sense.Me, the girl from the gilded New England coast.Joshua, from the small city of New Haven.To us, we’re destiny.Together, we had it all. Desperately. Madly. In love.Until we didn’t. One tragic night changed everything.

Left Drowning


Jessica Park - 2013
    Then a chance meeting sends Blythe crashing into something she doesn’t expect—an undeniable attraction to a dark-haired senior named Chris Shepherd, whose past may be even more complicated than her own. As their relationship deepens, Chris pulls Blythe out of the stupor she’s been in since the night a fire took half her family. She begins to heal, and even, haltingly, to love this guy who helps her find new paths to pleasure and self-discovery. But as Blythe moves into calmer waters, she realizes Chris is the one still strangled by his family’s traumatic history. As dark currents threaten to pull him under, Blythe may be the only person who can keep him from drowning. *This book is intended for mature audiences due to strong language and sexual content.Note: due to mature content recommended for Ages 17+

Fighting Temptation


K.C. Lynn - 2014
    Yet he’s also beautiful, strong and honorable. I unconditionally and irrevocably love every damaged part of him. And for the boy, who didn’t believe in love, he would always and forever have mine. ~Julia SinclairJulia was different from anyone I’d ever met. I never thought someone so good and genuine existed until her. The more I saw of her the more I became addicted to her. Every time I was around her she would destroy some of the darkness that lurked inside of me. She made the bad shit in my life seem not so terrible. Then, before I knew it, I had fallen for a girl from another world. ~Jaxson ReidTwo unlikely friends—the innocent, good girl and the notorious bad boy. One fateful night brought them together, and they formed a bond—one so strong it was unbreakable—until one night they gave into temptation.Fast forward five years and Jaxson is back to fix the mistakes he’s made with the only girl who’s ever mattered to him. Only someone isn’t happy with his return, someone who thinks Julia is theirs and they will stop at nothing to make sure it stays that way—forever.Jaxson will not only fight to protect Julia, but will also battle the new and existing demons that haunt his soul from death, corruption, destruction and war.This is Book One in the Men Of Honor series. It can be read as a standalone and has a HEA. It’s New Adult Romance and is told from both character’s POV. Due to strong sexual content, coarse language and mature subject matter this book is not suitable for anyone under the age of 18.

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.

Crazy Good


Rachel Robinson - 2014
    They put the bad in badass because, well… it’s their job.Navy SEAL Maverick Hart has everything. Women want him. Grown men idolize him. Little boys want to grow up and be like him. The job, the glory — it’s all his. Not because it’s handed to him… because he works hard for it. The second his sights lock on something, he owns it — or destroys it. Unfortunately he does both at the same time. Windsor Forbes only takes calculated risks in her profession and in her personal life. After being left at the altar by the only person she’s ever loved, the very last thing she’s looking for is a relationship — especially the insane brand an arrogant Navy SEAL is offering. Hesitant, yet trusting to a fault, she gives in. She knew she shouldn’t take the chance, especially a second time, but love is irrational and their love is perfect, infallible. Or so she thought…The downfall to having everything is you have that much more to lose. A man like Maverick can’t have it all without something slipping out of grasp. Crazy people perish for love. Good people live for it. Love doesn’t die. No matter how many bullets you put in it. *Due to sexual content and graphic language this book is intended for readers 18+.*

Here with Me


Heidi McLaughlin - 2014
    Ryley knows the risks of being married to the military. But when the unthinkable happens, and her future husband is killed in action, Ryley can barely survive... until Evan's twin brother, Nate, helps her pick up the pieces.After serving on a special mission with the military for six years, Evan Archer returns home to find the unthinkable - the love of his life, Ryley Clarke - engaged to his brother, Nate. With Nate on deployment, Evan needs to figure out what happened in his absence, and more importantly, how to win Ryley back from the man he once considered his best friend, but now thinks of as his rival.

Wait for Me


Tia Louise - 2019
    Her brother Sawyer would kick my ass if he knew how many times we made out that summer, how close we got.Everything changed when Sawyer and I joined the military.We were honorably discharged, but I didn’t go to her.Instead, I went back to the city… where no amount of money, no amount of pills can heal this wound.Only her whiskey eyes and dark hair, her slim arms and her sweet scent, give me hope. I broke her heart just as surely as I broke mine, but I’m going back to make it right.If she’s still waiting… (WAIT FOR ME is a STAND-ALONE second-chance, military romance with a guaranteed HEA. No cheating. No cliffhangers.)

The Protector


Jodi Ellen Malpas - 2016
    But Camille is determined to have a life free from his strings. Out on her own, she's made mistakes, including one that found her clawing her way back after a stint in rehab and plenty of bad press. Now, after fighting so hard to be independent and happy, she finds her life threatened as a result of her father's ruthless business dealings. Caught between resentment and fear, Camille prepares herself for the measures her father will take to protect her. But nothing could prepare her for the ex-SAS sniper who crashes into her life.Jake Sharp resides in his own personal hell. He was distracted from duty once before, and the consequences were devastating--both personally and professionally. He vowed never to let that happen again. Accepting the job of bodyguard to Camille Logan isn't the kind of distraction from his demons he should take. Women and Jake don't mix well, yet protecting the heiress seems the lesser of two evils. But Jake soon discovers that she isn't the woman she's perceived to be. She's warm, compassionate, her presence settling, and his duty to protect her soon goes deeper than a well-paid job, no matter how hard he fights it. He needs absolution. He comes to need Camille. But he knows he can't have both.

Someone Else's Ocean


Kate Stewart - 2018
    Thomas, I was six years old and we shared a summer beneath the stars.The second time I met Ian Kemp, he was a shell of the boy I once knew. Turbulent and infuriating, he refused my friendship at every turn. Like me, he was a casualty of life’s cruelty, but we were planets apart. We’d both sought refuge on the island, hoping to find our anchor. Instead, we found each other and managed to reclaim our stars...until we both got swept away.

How to Save a Life


Emma Scott - 2016
    A harrowing past haunts her every time she looks in the mirror, and she can’t escape the violence of her everyday life. More and more, her thoughts turn to Evan Salinger, the boy she knew in high school. The boy they called a mental case. A loner. A freak. The boy who seemed to know things no one could know. For a few short weeks, Jo had found perfect solace in Evan’s company, sneaking every night to meet him at the local pool. In the cool of the water and the warmth of Evan’s arms around her, Jo had tasted something close to happiness. Cruel circumstances tore them apart, and four years later, the sweet memory of their time together is dissolving under the punishing reality of Jo’s life now. Evan seems like a fading dream…until he reappears at the moment she needs him most. Guided by Evan’s strange intuition, they flee her small Louisiana town, and Jo begins to suspect there is something more to his sudden return than he admits.Over twelve days across America’s heartland, deep secrets come to light, buried pasts are unearthed, and the line between dreams and reality is blurred as Evan and Jo fight to hold on to their soul-deep love, and discover that there is more than one way to save a life.***How to Save a Life is a complete second-chance STANDALONE novel with shades of the paranormal. It carries the characters from high school through to their early twenties. It is not YA; mature subject matter, and sexual situations. TRIGGER WARNING: domestic violence (on the page) and mention of sexual abuse (off the page) For readers 18 years and up.The Dreamcatcher novels are a series of interconnected STANDALONES, each with shades of the paranormal. It is NOT necessary to read them in order, though some characters appear in other novels.