Book picks similar to
5 Stages of Riley Winters by R.D. Berg


freebie
contemporary-romance
romance
amazon

Forgiving Reed


C.A. Harms - 2014
    She had no choice but to move forward and give her son the best life she could. Which meant moving back home. Except there was one problem.Home was where Reed would be...The man who once held her heart, then shattered it into a million pieces. Grieving the loss of Rhetts dad, and learning to forgive those who have betrayed her, Kori was battling it all.But will she ever have the strength to forgive Reed?

The Hitman's Last Job


Selena Black - 2016
     Carl's an ex-marine turned contract killer, and Anna is the daughter of an abusive drug addict who takes out his every sick desire on his timid daughter. Carl tries to tell himself that his new line of work is justified, since he's only killing criminals - after all, he's no stranger to putting bullets in men who deserve it - so when he gets an order to kill a rival who got on the wrong side of the mob, he doesn't think twice. That is, until it's time to kill the witness. Knowing that any failure to finish the job could be a death sentence, he tries to tell himself to squeeze the trigger. But against his own judgement, he puts down the gun and picks up Anna, dragging her to the getaway vehicle - and to their new lives as fugitives on the run. This book contains explicit sex scenes involving bad boys who aren't scared to take what they want, when they want it.

Pulled


Amy Lichtenhan - 2011
    In an attempt to escape the pain of her past, Melanie finds herself trapped in a loveless marriage, while Daniel loses himself in a career that means nothing without Melanie by his side. Now, when their lives intersect, neither can deny the connection they felt so long ago. But will the power that drew them together be enough to heal the wounds from their past, and do they have the courage to overcome the insecurities and fears that threaten to keep them apart? Pulled is a story of attraction and separation, of destiny and duty, of a love so strong it refuses to give up even when all others have.

Finding Home: Livie and Jake


Allie Juliette Mousseau - 2014
    True North" The North brothers were hell on wheels-adrenaline-junky bad boys. You’d think they had a death wish – every one of them – but they didn’t really, they just got off on the thrill of pushing every limit, that gravity or any other force told them they couldn’t conquer. What they weren't prepared for were the women that would steal their hearts. Book 1 True North Finding Home Livie and Jake Livie Morrisey is dreading seeing Jake after his heroic homecoming from Afghanistan. She's been in love with Jake North since she was a little girl, but he was three-and-a-half years older than her and her big brother’s best friend. She was always nothing but the off-limits little sister – until the night before Jake left for the Army, when he'd given her her first kiss. They'd kept in touch for a year, but once Jake was deployed to Afghanistan, he'd cut off contact suddenly and she'd never heard from him again. For the past three years Livie has kept herself distracted with homework and her university studies, but now Jake's going to be up close and personal. And Livie can’t decide if tonight's finally the night to prove to Jake she’s all grown up or the night she should let him go forever.

Asher


Kylie Walker - 2016
    Their love was unbreakable - undeniable until a ripple of events tore his world apart - Mia's world apart - their family's worlds apart. Who knew he could cause so much damage in the course of one night. Tear two families apart indefinitely. Now, seventeen years later, his father has passed. He must return to the town that holds so many emotions and confront all of the painful memories he has tried so hard to tuck away in the back of his subconscious. Now both are forced to confront the past that has haunted them. Asher and Mia will find out if what they once had so long ago is really true love.

Royal


Winter Renshaw - 2016
    He’s not even a prince - though you could say I loved him once upon a time.He was my older brother’s best friend.Growing up, he sat at our dinner table every Sunday, teased me mercilessly, and pretended I annoyed him.When I was old enough, he took me on my first date.Royal taught me how to drive. Escorted me to my junior prom. Gave me my first kiss…amongst other things. He was my first taste of toe-curling, all-consuming, can’t-sleep love.We had our whole lives ahead of us. There was never anyone else for me but him.And then he disappeared. No letter. No explanation. Not even a goodbye.My sisters and brother never forgave him, and my parents forbade me from speaking his name in our house ever again. For all intents and purposes, we were to pretend Royal Lockhart never existed.I’ve spent the last seven years trying in vain to forget my first love, but just when I think I’ve finally moved on, guess who’s back in town?

Outlaw's Kiss


Nicole Snow - 2014
    MISSY The dirty little secret dad left in the basement was supposed to be our salvation. Guess nobody told him you don't take cash from killers without savage consequences. Now, the Grizzlies Motorcycle Club owns my sister and I. We're only alive because the rugged hulk with the piercing eyes who won't stop ordering me around says so. He saved us, but he's also an enigma I don't understand. Why does he keep calling me his old lady? Is he really the light to our darkness? And why the hell can't I stop thinking nasty, shameful things about ending up underneath his wicked tattoos and crude lips? BRASS I claimed her on impulse, and all my brothers laughed. Didn't know I'd end up with a smoking hot spitfire who looks at me like I'm the devil himself. I expected my reputation to crack, but my damned mind's going with it. She's got me questioning my own club and asking myself every single day how long I can keep my hands off her. It was only pretend, a way to keep her safe. But I can't ignore the very real brutality, corruption, and danger stalking us. Just like I can't forget the storm in my blood that won't stop howling 'til she's wearing my brand and bracing for my kiss. Play time's over. Missy's gonna be my old lady - no more faking it - and nothing's standing in my way...

Something like Normal


Trish Doller - 2012
    It’s not until Travis runs into Harper, a girl he’s had a rocky relationship with since middle school, that life actually starts looking up. And as he and Harper see more of each other, he begins to pick his way through the minefield of family problems and post-traumatic stress to the possibility of a life that might resemble normal again. Travis’s dry sense of humor, and incredible sense of honor, make him an irresistible and eminently lovable hero.

Thunderstruck


Bijou Hunter - 2015
    I thought running would keep me safe. Instead, the monster hunts me, certain I will be his again.Shattered and waiting for death...Nine months in hell has left my mind ruined. My heart claims I'm no more than a burden. My soul only wants to embrace the darkness.A retired assassin...Troy brings the security skills of a former killer. I am his first legit job. He has no reason to make this assignment personal, but our connection can't be denied.Thunderstruck...Troy awakens the part of me that still feels... hopes... loves.Thunderstruck contains graphic sexual content, violent situations, and harsh language. The book is only appropriate for adult readers age 18+.

Bittersweet Catastrophe


Maureen Mayer - 2014
    But what if forever wasn’t truly in the stars for them?What should be one of the happiest times in their lives as newlyweds quickly turns into a race against time. Liberty must choose between accepting her fate and protecting her family, and taking a risk that could ultimately end in more heartache.Liberty’s decision will test the strength of their trust, but is it enough to keep Shayne from breaking down altogether and losing the woman he loves?

Legacy


Nora Roberts - 2021
    That was the day he nearly killed her—before her mother, Lina, stepped in.Soon after, Adrian was dropped off at her grandparents’ house in Maryland, where she spent a long summer drinking lemonade, playing with dogs, making a new best friend—and developing the stirrings of a crush on her friend’s ten-year-old brother. Lina, meanwhile, traveled the country promoting her fitness brand and turning it into a billion-dollar business. There was no point in dwelling on the past.A decade later, Adrian has created her own line of yoga and workout videos, following in Lina’s footsteps but intent on maintaining creative control. And she’s just as cool-headed and ambitious as her mother. They aren’t close, but they’re cordial—as long as neither crosses the other.But while Lina dismisses the death threats that Adrian starts getting as a routine part of her daughter’s growing celebrity, Adrian can’t help but find the vicious rhymes unsettling. Year after year, they keep arriving—the postmarks changing, but the menacing tone the same. They continue after she returns to Maryland and becomes reacquainted with Raylan, her childhood crush, all grown up and as gorgeously green-eyed as ever. Sometimes it even seems like the terrifying messages are indeed routine, like nothing will come of them. Until the murders start, and the escalation begins…

Where We Belong


K.L. Grayson - 2014
    . . she's a snarky little bitch.I’ve tried several times to regret the events that took place on June 5, 2008, but for the life of me, I can’t. I'd never regret the pain, the suffering, or the heartache because it ultimately led me to the place I am now. And I can’t regret the place I am now. What I still can't figure out is this: how is it possible that the single worst day of my life inadvertently became the very best day?Five years ago my life was irrevocably changed.Seventeen minutes was all it took—to lose my best friend…to lose the love of my life…Seventeen minutes was all it took for the seeds of hope—the seeds of my future—to be planted in the worst possible way.My name is Harley Thompson, and this is my story.

Before Dawn


Suzanne Halliday - 2019
    Right. That all changes when he meets his neighbor, a beautiful single mom who doesn't have time for romance. Divorced, abandoned emotionally, and financially adrift, Dawn Foster is just trying to keep her head above water. She's doing whatever it takes to survive in an expensive city, better her career prospects, and keep her family afloat. It isn't easy, but she does it all for the two little people who depend on her to make nothing but right moves. Love isn't on her radar until she meets King. But is the sexy, single alpha who makes her heart race the right choice? King is rusty in the romance department, but he knows Dawn and her kids are meant to be his. He's ready to prove to her that he's in it for the long haul, stepdad duties and all.

Worth the Wait


Claudia Connor - 2017
    When he finds out just how badly, it will break his too. Nick Walker found the love of his life when he was just nineteen.Found her.Loved her.Lost her.It's been ten years since Nick watched the only woman he ever loved walk out of his life. Now this FBI Special Agent will do anything to win her back.But it won’t be easy…Mia’s heart was shattered by Nick. They'll have to face their painful past if they want a future, including Mia's own secret about that day it all fell apart. Do you believe in second chances?

Redemption Lane


Rachel Blaufeld - 2015
    But rather than stay and help the needy college coed, Lane decides to teach his brother a long overdue lesson––a decision that later comes back to haunt him and only adds fury to the transgressions of his past he is already fleeing from. Years later, Bess and Lane meet again. She doesn’t know him, and he doesn’t share that he knows what happened on that ill-fated night when she almost died. After all, he has a web of complicated lies from his own youth to protect.Both are seeking salvation in the arms of others and ignoring the truth—that the only road to redemption lies in confronting your past.When the past and present collide, is there any chance at redemption?