Book picks similar to
Getting Schooled by Ali Parker


romance
contemporary
single-dad
second-chances

Saving Ariel


Ellie Masters - 2021
    His focus is on raising his daughter as a single dad, and keeping his offshore oil rig crew safe. As his crew evacuates in advance of Hurricane Julian, a category five monster barreling down on the gulf, disaster strikes. Two of his crewmen are critically injured. He needs to get them to safety before the hurricane hits. When the aeromedical rescue helicopter pilot turns out to be a woman, he’s surprised. When she falls into his arms, his entire body takes notice. The tough, gorgeous, pilot is everything Aiden thought he’d never have—or want—again. Can Ariel be the one? His second chance at love?Too bad the storm seems to have other plans for them…Ariel Black doesn’t believe in love.With a category five hurricane barreling down on the Gulf, helicopter pilot, Ariel Black, is on a mission to evacuate wounded men from an oil rig. When the massive storm arrives ahead of schedule, it grounds Ariel’s helicopter, trapping them on the oil rig. She and her men, along with Aiden and his wounded, must ride out the storm. It’s the worst possible time to fall in love, but she does. Ariel falls hard…right into the installation manager’s arms. Aiden Cole makes her heart race, her pulse pound, and the butterflies in her stomach soar. Could he be the one?Will the storm of the century destroy Aiden and Ariel’s chance at happily ever after? Or does fate have something else in store?Saving Ariel, a steamy, second chance, contemporary romantic suspense, about love at first sight. It features a protective hero and the smart, feisty heroine who steals his heart.Get your copy today and let the binge-reading begin.(Saving Ariel was previously published as 'Aiden.')

Return to Us


Corinne Michaels - 2021
    One look in his gorgeous blue-green eyes, and it’s like I never left. One kiss, and my world is upside down. One night together, and I know without a doubt, in his arms is where I belong.I’m not the girl I was—intimidated by his wealthy family and desperate to escape our small town. I can imagine a new life for us here.But he’s learned to guard his heart, and trust won’t come easily.How can I convince him to give first love a second chance?

New Year Second Chance


Ashlee Price - 2019
    And Dax was the biggest one of them all. And now he's back. Dropped into my life like the Times Square Ball. There's no way we can get back together. Even if he's hotter today than ever before. That big bank account and his perfect suit has women falling all over him. I've seen him without clothes. I've felt his hard abs over my skin. There's no denying that I miss him. But I can't get past the secrets that tore us apart. And I have one secret left to tell... I'm pregnant. Will he abandon me again when he finds out?

Collecting Secrets


P.E. Kavanagh - 2018
    Too innocent. Too traumatized.Friendship was less than what she wanted, but all she could handle.Ten years later and she’s a different woman. Strong, successful, brave. At exactly the wrong moment, one bold move threatens everything.The safe harbor of Jackson’s family.The unconditional commitment of his friendship.The collection of secrets she never knew existed,Claims and confessions come hard and fast as Jackson and Camille navigate all that has never been said. Each step they take, closer to the truth and each other, demands another layer of secrets must fall.

Angelo


Lisa Carlisle - 2020
    A neuroscientist in danger.And one dance that might give them a second chance... CatherineA stranger has been warning me about my research for the government. My coworkers tell me not to worry, but it bothers me. I can't let it show, though. This is my first time as a project lead. At least, a weekend wedding in Newport promises a much needed escape.But when I come face to face with Angelo DeMarchis, that illusion shatters.He's the one who got away.And he's grown even sexier after all these years.That's when I realize I'm in even more trouble.And once again, the price might be my heart.AngeloI've needed this leave for a long time, but the memories haunt me no matter where I go.Even at a wedding--a happy occasion--where I run into a woman from my past.Catherine has become even hotter since high school. I wouldn't mind spending every minute I'm home with her.There's only one problem.Her research has gotten her into trouble. She downplays the warnings, but I'm not buying it.I have ten days to make sure she's safe.She's mine and I won't let anyone get to her. This time I'm playing for keeps.Meet the DeMarchis family in this series by USA Today bestselling author Lisa Carlisle. Navy SEALs, Marines, and hometown heroes -- each who encounters his most complicated mission yet when he will find a woman from his past challenges his plans for his future.

Taming Mad Max


Theresa Ragan - 2011
    Believing his life will be cut short, Max tries to live every moment to its fullest. For this reason, Max shies away from forming close relationships. What would be the point of falling in love and starting a family only to leave them as his father left him and his sisters? When Max discovers he has a thirteen-year old daughter though, it throws all his years of planning and preparation for an early death into a tailspin.Nutrition expert, Kari Murphy, used to think Max Dutton, aka Mad Max, was to die for, but she’s older and wiser now. The last time Kari reacted with her heart instead of her brain, she conceived the thing she loves most in life…her daughter, Molly. As much as she dislikes Max Dutton for taking her declaration of love and throwing it in her face fourteen years earlier, she knows that if it wasn’t for him her life would be meaningless. And that really ticks her off, especially when she’s hired by the NFL franchise to follow Max around for a couple of weeks and give him healthy-eating advice, foolproof facts about carbohydrates and tasteful tips on cooking and shopping smart. Kari doesn’t want to be anywhere near the man, but what choice does she have? Her career is on the line.Taming Mad Max finaled in RWA’s 2008 Golden Heart competition under the title, Better Late Than Never.

Foster


Kristie Leigh - 2020
    I don’t have time for that crap, but here’s my story.I was finally coming clean to my best friend about how this divorced, single mom attempted to get back in the dating game...and wound up with an old flame.Enough stalling, it was time to spill it ... ALLFoster Montgomery was my best friend's hot younger brother. Back in high school, we used to have a thing. And by “thing,” I mean we used to mess around--behind closed doors, because apparently, that was all I was good for. Finally, many years later, I had the chance to get my revenge. If wet dreams, steamy make-out sessions on my couch, and “naked yoga” in my living room counted as revenge, then I nailed it! He was still keeping secrets, but this time, I planned to make it known exactly what he’d done behind those closed doors.

You're Not Broken


Gemma Hart - 2015
    They met by chance. Jason Daniels was on his way out to Iraq. Another deployment. Another tour of danger and darkness. And all he wanted in his last few hours stateside was a moment of connection, of normalcy. In Kat, he finds not only delicate beauty but softness and sweetness. Behind that warm smile, she held a sincere heart that reached out to him. Kat Ryans knew there had been something different about this soldier as soon as she had seated him. She had seen that hidden look of pain on his rugged face. With his hardened physique and powerful presence, it was clear that this man was nobody to be trifled with. But through it all, she still managed to see his wounded heart. A heart that needed a healing hand. Together, they only had the one fleeting night before Jason left. Two years pass.Now Jason has left the Army, hollow and empty with only nightmares to fill his evenings. He fights every day to keep his sanity and to push away the darkness of his heart. He fights against the doubts he has of himself, wondering if he is just a lost cause.Kat, having experienced her own wave of hardships and troubles, is fighting for her family and her town. Putting behind her own dreams of romance and love, she works to keep together the only place she had even been able to call home. Then one fateful night, the soldier and the waitress meet again. Their lives collide completely and they see the wounds they have both gathered over the last two years. But love is bravery. Love is courage. Through love, can they both teach each other that they are not broken?

Trading Yesterday


Kahlen Aymes - 2017
     Chase, I need you. Please come. -Teagan Something inside me snapped as her text screamed from the screen of my phone. My heart started pounding as I was sucked into a vortex of emotions, pulled unwillingly into a past I wanted to forget. Teagan Tessler was the love of my life. At least, I thought so. My professional soccer career was part of the we future planned together, but an offer one year ahead of schedule sent me to London. Just months after I left, she betrayed me with my best friend without explanation and I was completely and utterly destroyed. After six years, I could breathe again and my professional and personal life was in a good place. I’d have to be insane to consider ripping open those wounds, but whatever it was, this had to be huge. The truth of my feelings resonated; my head told me to shut off the phone and forget her forever, but my traitorous heart told me to get on a plane, no questions asked. Trading Yesterday is a roller coaster of emotion; ultimate loss, longing, betrayal, and forgiveness that will restore your faith in unconditional love and leave you gasping for more.

The Lost Groom


Taylor Hart - 2017
    After apologizing for missing her husband’s funeral, she slaps him, and he kisses her -- revealing the sparks he'd long since hidden. Savannah Loveless, matchmaker extraordinaire, ventured back to Park City to visit her family and save enough money to get to California. There was no room in her fresh start to deal with Luke Freestone or the secret she’d kept for ten years. As far as she was concerned, the past could just stay in the past. But Luke wants closure, so she agrees to help him find a wife - -she is a match maker after all and if she can't find a match for someone she loves -- used to love -- then she might as well walk away from the business. However, the more time she spends with Luke the harder it is to tell if the feelings she’s having are from the past… or from right now.As things heat up, they have a choice to make -- stay lost because of the past or let love find them once and for all. This also includes excerpt's of: Love at the Ocean Breeze by Jennifer Youngblood and Sandra Poole and How to Love a Dog's Best Friend by Cami Checketts.

The Non-Disclosure Agreement


Kelsey McKnight - 2017
    When I moved to New York City for a fresh start, I didn’t know I would be made a sinful offer I couldn’t refuse… My billionaire businessman boss has decided that being the most powerful man on the East Coast isn’t enough. He needs political power too. But who would vote for a womanizing playboy with a different model on his arm every week? If he wants to win, he needs a respectable wife…he needs me. I have the looks, the small-town charm—I’m already his employee, and I’ve already signed a non-disclosure agreement, making me the perfect choice. But am I willing to pretend to be even more? And will there come a point when pretending isn’t enough?

Velvet Fire


K.B. Winters - 2020
    Kill or be killed. I was born into this grim reality. MaisieI never thought I’d fall in love with a cold blooded killer.But with those dreamy eyes and that smile that won’t quit.I find I’m thinking of Virgil more and more.So what if he’s a criminal.My brothers are too. I’ve been around bad boys all of my life.And I’m not sure,Is he really that bad?Even after he saves my life?VirgilI’m not a knight in shining armor,Or even one of the good guys,But I really screw up when I kidnap the wrong girl.Maisie from Texas, with curves in all the right places.She thinks I’m her salvation—her rescuer.Not the guy who drugged her...But they say everything happens for a reason,And she’s my reason.For everything.I’ll rise up for her. Protect her.Crush those who are out to hurt her,And prove not all Prince Charmings ride a white stallion.Some wear a gun.And I’ll do it for her.For us.And when she’s safe, I’ll make her mine.

Tobias


Megyn Ward - 2018
    I have my brothers. I don’t need anyone else. Argenta was an anomaly. A moment of weakness. In the space of one night, she slipped past every one of my defenses. For one brief, terrifying moment, she had me believing she was different. That we could be different. But in the cold light of day, I saw the truth. She was just like the rest. Cold. Calculating. I sent her away and tried to move on. But five years later, here she is. Only her name’s not Argenta, it’s Silver. Her father is my newest business partner and she is not the person I thought she was. She pretends not to know me, but I can see it her eyes. She knows exactly who I am. And she hates my guts. That’s too bad because I’ve decided to keep her. She’s mine. This time, she’s not going anywhere. ***Tobias is a full-length stand-alone contemporary romance (and a low-key secret-baby romance. shhh...) with plenty of heat, no cliffhanger and a heart-melting HEA***

Raising Grace


Mia Pride - 2018
    She was my high school sweetheart and my twin sister’s best friend. But one night, a practical joke went bad, and the joke was on me. I lost Crystal that day, and along with her, all I ever wanted. Soon, I had a daughter to raise, but when Grace was diagnosed with autism, her mother took off. I was all alone… until the day Crystal walked into a conference room with the key to my daughter’s success, and the key to my heart. However, convincing her I’m worth a second chance is proving much harder than I ever imagined, and asking her to meet Grace and face the ghosts from our past may be more than either of us are ready for. Crystal Brent Stevenson broke my heart in college. I never knew why he did what he did, but it took years for me to bury the pain — with bad dates, one-night stands, and my passion for working with kids with autism. Just when all my hard work was about to pay off, I discovered the man who ripped my heart out years ago was now the financial investor of my biggest project. Now, I have to convince him to fund my life’s work, and he isn’t going to make it easy. After being assigned to work with his daughter, in his home, I find myself facing some hard truths. The circumstances that drove us apart aren’t what they seem, I’m still in love with Brent, and… I’m falling in love with his daughter, Grace. The baby that once drove us apart, is now the little girl bringing us together. Raising Grace is a full-length steamy, romantic comedy that will tug at your heartstrings and prove that love knows no boundaries, nor does autism.

Fighting For a Second Chance


Nikki Ash - 2016
    I’m starting college and can’t be distracted. Besides, he has his own life to get back to.  CooperThe moment I saw her I knew she was the one, but what my heart wants it doesn’t get. I know how life works. I’ve been fighting most of my life. My dad was a fighter, and so was his dad. I watched my mom cheat on him, and in return, he destroyed her. I will never do that to a woman. I get thirty hours with Liz and then we’re both walking away. At the end of the day, all we’ll have are the memories we have created here in Miami. ***Five years later, Liz runs into Cooper, only he has no idea that memories weren’t the only thing they created in Miami. He broke her heart once the day he left and now she’s guarded. Will he succeed in winning her heart over a second time? The only thing he knows for sure is that he’s fighting for a second chance, and this time, he won’t let her go that easily.