Book picks similar to
An Unexpected Love Story by Ellie Hall


romance
contemporary
dnf
contemporary-romance

Before I Knew


Jamie Beck - 2017
    In this first Cabot novel, a legacy of secrets tests old friends seeking a second chance at life and love. On the second anniversary of her husband’s suicide, Colby Cabot-Baxter is ready to let go of her grief and the mistakes made during her turbulent marriage. Her fresh start comes in the form of A CertainTea, the restaurant she’s set to open along Lake Sandy, Oregon, with help from her family. But when her executive chef quits just weeks before the grand opening, Colby is pressured to hire old family friend Alec Morgan. His award-winning reputation could generate buzz, but their friendship has withered since her husband’s reckless dare cost Alec’s brother his life.Distracted by guilty secrets concerning the tragedy that changed his and Colby’s lives, Alec self-destructed and lost his famed restaurant. With his career in tatters, he’s determined to use this opportunity to redeem his reputation and to help the woman he’s loved from afar find happiness again.But secrets have a way of coming out. When Alec’s do, they might destroy the new life he and Colby have rebuilt together.

If It's Perfect


Summer Dowell - 2020
    (especially with anyone in a tux)Success-driven Hope Fletcher has some lofty goals for her life. But is it really too much to want a thriving cake design business by age 29? Marry a perfect (emphasis on the perfect) man by age 30? Then have the kids, dog, and house in suburbia by age 34? If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.Dean. Wonderful, dreamy Dean who loves kids (and will eventually grow to love dogs) steps into Hope's world. He's the exact type of man she's been looking for and she starts falling. Hard. But will Hope's perfect image of Dean crumble when she finds out about his past?A clean, loud-out-loud romantic comedy that's full of sarcasm and swoons!

Pretty Broken Girl


Jeana E. Mann - 2015
    Sometimes you have to break the thing you love in order to put the pieces back together again. "Life is all about choices. Do I want pizza or a hamburger for dinner? Should I wear a red skirt or blue slacks to work? Do I take a million dollar check and divorce the love of my life to keep my baby brother out of jail? In case you're wondering, I took the check. Now my ex is back in my life. He's still angry and...he's my new boss." Pretty Broken Girl is the passionate retelling of a marriage gone wrong. From the boardroom to the bedroom, Dakota Atwell and Samuel Seaforth are locked in a battle of wits and desire. One of them will break. One of them will pay. Both of them want to win. Neither of them expects to fall in love…again. This is Book 1 of a five book series. It contains adult language, adult situations, and hot steamy sex with a HFN ending. Although it can be read as a standalone, it will be much more enjoyable when read with the other books in the series.

Queen of Klutz


Samantha Garman - 2015
    I ended my day with a bottle of tequila. I'll let you connect the dots.Somehow, I wound up working as a waitress at an Italian restaurant. I have no idea what I'm doing. And I'm not just talkin' about life.This should be interesting.Previously published as Tales of a New York Waitress

Nothing Personal


Karina Halle - 2018
    Her latest relationship ended while on her much-needed vacation, then upon her first day back at work, she learns that her beloved boss has quit – and despite having worked so hard for it, she’s not being considered for his position. Who is being considered for the position is none other than Kessler Rocha. Her ex-coworker and ex-lover, Kessler’s the man who broke her heart five years earlier and the reason she moved thousands of miles away, switched jobs, and created numerous voodoo dolls in Kessler’s (very burly, very handsome) liking. Yup. Worst week ever. New in town and on her turf, Kessler promises he’s not the same man he was – and considering he’s now a single father to a precocious toddler, he’s telling the truth. But he’s still an arrogant and devilishly charming man who’s taking over the position Nova feels she deserves. The fact that he’s gotten even more sexy over the years doesn’t help either. Now Nova and Kessler have the choice to let bygones be bygones, or fight with each other every chance they get, with unresolved sexual tension only adding fuel to the flames, creating a fire that might just burn down the whole office. In the corporate world they say it’s just business, nothing personal. Nova and Kessler are about to show just how personal things can get.

Bouquet Toss


Melissa Brown - 2012
    Be it a blessing or a curse, Daphne (a hopeless romantic and perpetual single girl) catches the bouquet at every single wedding she attends. Daphne’s love life is a mess. Her first love, Mayson, haunts her heart and keeps her from pursuing happiness with any man who comes along. As she struggles to move on from the one who got away, Daphne wonders if she will ever break her curse and find her happily ever after.

Bluestone Homecoming


M.J. Fredrick - 2012
    Leo doesn’t know how to be a single parent since the death of his wife, and he certainly has no desire to return to Bluestone. But he needs a place for his son, a place where he’ll be with family, while Leo does his job. He’ll stay long enough to get Max settled, then go back to work.School counselor Trinity Madison watches Leo struggle with his son, trying to overcome the mental barricade she’s erected against the man who sent his son away when he’s perfectly capable of caring for the child. The situation brings about her own unsettled feelings about giving her child up for adoption when she was young. But as she observes Leo’s difficulties, his sacrifices, she softens toward the man.While he’s in town, he ends up working with some old friends and Trinity on a committee to revitalize Bluestone. The former resort town is struggling and looking for ways to bring tourists back. Leo finds himself charmed, then smitten with the feisty counselor, but will he still love her when he learns her secret?

Remedial Rocket Science


Susannah Nix - 2017
    Not only does the hunky blast from her past work at the same aerospace company where she's just started in the IT department, he's the CEO's son.Jeremy's got a girlfriend and a reputation as a bad boy, so Melody resolves to keep her distance and focus on building a new life for herself in Los Angeles. But despite her good intentions, she can't seem to stay away from the heavenly-smelling paragon of hotness.As the two begin to forge an unlikely friendship, Melody's attraction to Jeremy grows deeper than she's ready to admit. Can the woman who always plays it safe take a risk on the man who's all wrong for her in all the right ways?

Writing Mr. Right


T.K. Leigh - 2019
    At the age of twenty-nine-plus-one, I am at the top of my game...professionally.My personal life is a completely different story, one best left untold. Success has its sacrifices and I've been more than happy to put my search for Prince Charming on the back burner while I create fictitious tales of the naïve virgin, the broken girl with a torrid past, and the strong-willed student finding their own Mr. Right...Until one hell of a case of writer's block and a tight deadline set by my publisher forces me to go in search of inspiration.Armed with an account on every dating website out there, I devise a plan. Meet some nice, professional men. Go on a few dates. Hope one of them has the spark I need to finish my book. Then walk away.But plans are meant to be broken.My name is Molly Brinks, and this is my story about Writing Mr. Right.

Happy Trail


Daisy Prescott - 2019
    Never quite fitting in with either side of his family, he prefers the company of birds and trees to people.Yeah, he’d most definitely prefer a bird—any bird, any bird at all, take a vulture for instance—to the human-tornado hybrid that just blew onto his peaceful stretch of the Appalachian Trail.The path of true love never has run smooth for Olive Perry. After getting dumped and promptly abandoned in the middle of her multi-month hike, Olive swears off men. Determined to finish the long trek by herself, she doesn’t need a prince—or broody and taciturn ranger—to save her.Yet, when an early snowstorm threatens the mountains, and Ranger Daniels is charged with getting hikers to safety, that includes hot-tempered Olive Perry. Snowed in and forced to share an abandoned cabin, can Olive’s heated intensity melt Jay’s cool reserve?And if so, will this happy trail lead to true love? Or will their time together be just another bump in the road?‘Happy Trail’ is a full-length contemporary romantic comedy, can be read as a standalone, and is book #1 in the Park Ranger series, Green Valley World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

Prom King


Penny Wylder - 2018
    I was the nerdy girl with a fantasy crush. All of my childhood, I was invisible to Adam Carlisle. That was fine, because I was too shy, and too smart, to think I had a chance with the most popular guy in school. Until someone crowned him prom king... And me queen. But it was only a cruel joke that ruined my self-esteem and broke my heart. Ten years later and my friend begs me to attend our school reunion with her. I'm older, wiser, but still a nerd. This event is setting off my anxiety. I want it to be over. Then... I see him. My prom king. Adam is hotter than ever. But what really gets my attention? He's staring right at me. I'm not invisible anymore. What happens when my fantasy crush becomes reality? This full-length novel is all about second chances, true love, and a crazy hot alpha realizing that the nerdy girl is his modern day Cinderella. NO cheating, lots of kindle-melting action, and always a happily ever after!

Made for Me


Kathryn R. Biel - 2016
    While her meddling family questions how she can end up in this predicament, at the age of 29, and single to boot, Michele doesn't want to admit the truth. All she wants to do is sew. Faced with the prospect of moving back into her parents' house, Michele throws a Hail Mary pass and applies for a TV design contest, Made for Me. In order to win the contest, Michele will have to compete with nine other contestants to design the new wardrobe for Duchess Maryn Medrovovich, who's about to marry Prince Stephan of the United Republic of Montabago. While in the seclusion of the show, Michele starts to realize where her focus in life should be, and what's truly important to her. However, a dashing competitor might just cause her to lose her focus once and for all. Can Michele keep her eye on the prize while being true to herself?

With This Click, I Thee Wed


Bonnie R. Paulson - 2017
     Stuck in a town where everyone knows her and her ex-husband, Rachel is distinctly aware of who chose his side – everyone – and who chose her side – no one. Even her hairstylist won’t schedule her. But when she finds herself alone with a bottle of chianti and the internet, Rachel stumbles upon Clickandwed.com. The survey is easy and clicking “I Do” seems to be the magic button she’s been searching for. Before she can snap out of her decision, she finds herself packed and flying across the country to meet her new husband. Would her new life be better or worse than the hell she left behind?

Hard Crush


Mira Lyn Kelly - 2018
    And I’m not talking about my ever-ailing phone or the temperamental Smart Board in my classroom. I’m talking about the internationally hailed “Tech Genius” formerly known as the boy I used to love. It was bad enough seeing that cocky smile staring back at me from my newsfeeds, the gossip sites, and—fine—the scorchingly hot men’s fitness magazine I bought in a moment of weakness. But now he’s back home, teasing me with the memories I’ve tried to leave behind, crowding into my space and taunting me with the kiss I can’t resist. I know it’s only a matter of time before I lose him again. He’s already told me he isn’t staying, warned me he’s changed. I know better than to let him get too close, so why can’t I push him away?HANKThey call me a visionary. An innovator. Hell, last week a headline touted me as the billion-dollar geek keeping Silicon Valley’s panties wet. Try living that down. Strip away the media BS, and I’m just a tech-minded guy with my eyes on the future and no time for a past I can't change. So what am I doing following the sweet sound of its laugh back to the woman who passed on our chance at forever?I tell myself all I want is to say hello. To see her smile. Just a few minutes to pretend we’re still the “us” I thought would never end. But once I've had a taste of the too tempting woman she's become, a few minutes isn’t enough. The man I am today is used to getting what he wants, and I want her.The problem? She wants the guy I used to be.Ten years later, all that’s changed is… everything.

Twice in a Blue Moon


Christina Lauren - 2019
    Her first everything. Including her first heartbreak. During a whirlwind two-week vacation abroad, Sam and Tate fell for each other in only the way that first loves do: sharing all of their hopes, dreams, and deepest secrets along the way. Sam was the first, and only, person that Tate—the long-lost daughter of one of the world’s biggest film stars—ever revealed her identity to. So when it became clear her trust was misplaced, her world shattered for good. Fourteen years later, Tate, now an up-and-coming actress, only thinks about her first love every once in a blue moon. When she steps onto the set of her first big break, he’s the last person she expects to see. Yet here Sam is, the same charming, confident man she knew, but even more alluring than she remembered. Forced to confront the man who betrayed her, Tate must ask herself if it’s possible to do the wrong thing for the right reason… and whether “once in a lifetime” can come around twice. With Christina Lauren’s signature “beautifully written and remarkably compelling” (Sarah J. Maas, New York Times bestselling author) prose and perfect for fans of Emily Giffin and Jennifer Weiner, Twice in a Blue Moon is an unforgettable and moving novel of young love and second chances.From the New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners and the “delectable, moving” (Entertainment Weekly) My Favorite Half-Night Stand comes a modern love story about what happens when your first love reenters your life when you least expect it…