Book picks similar to
Refuge by A.J. Alexander


contemporary
single-parent
romance
single-parents

For the Fight


Leah Ashton - 2018
    He’s a SWAT team operator who broke her heart.The gunman holding them hostage? He’s got no idea who he’s dealing with...Luella Brayshaw doesn’t think when she sees Nate Rivers, twelve years since he walked away. She just feels – all the hurt, and all the heat – and she runs. But by the time her brain clicks into gear she’s on a random train, with Nate – and that’s when it all goes very, very wrong.Driven and dedicated, Elite SWAT tactical operator Nate Rivers knows he made the right decision all those years ago. Although it’s hard to remember why with Lou right in front of him, all strong, gorgeous and justifiably furious with him.But then a gunman takes their carriage hostage… and suddenly the past doesn’t matter. Now it’s up to Nate and Lou – unarmed - to save everyone on that train.When their past and present collide, passion ignites – as hot and as powerful as a decade before. But can the mistakes of the past be forgiven? Or will they destroy any chance of a future together?** For the Fight is the first book in the Elite SWAT series. Each book is a stand-alone, with no cliff-hanger endings. For the Fight was previously published as Undaunted (WASP Team #1).

Star Crossed


C.D. Reiss - 2020
    Not for one minute.Since that day I’ve measured all women against her and every one of them has come up short.We're in the same town, on the same block, in the same building, and the gulf between us is just too wide to cross.Until I stop running from trouble long enough to throw her camera off a balcony.She’s a career-killer. A PR disaster.Loving her again is career suicide, and I don’t care.This time, I’m running toward her, even if it ruins me.Star Crossed is a new and improved version of previously published title, Shuttergirl, with a brand new epilogue and previously unpublished, totally swoon-worthy and emotional new scenes.

Under the Thistle-toe (Twelve Days of Kissmas, 11)


Mindy McKinley - 2021
    Mostly. Her B&B, the Thistle Do keeps her busy in the small Scottish-American tourist town of Aberdeen, Illinois. With a dating pool she can count on one hand, though, she's come to terms with the fact that she'll have to learn to love being alone. That is until a six-foot-five, bagpiping hottie shows up on her front step and dares to make her feel again.As leader of the pipe band Aon Dueg, Finn MacGowan is growing tired of his life of travel. Aberdeen is just the latest stop in a whirlwind life that keeps him moving constantly. In town to work with the high school pipe band for the Christmas parade, the last thing Finn expects is to find is a woman that turns him upside down and a new calling that could change everything. All he has left to do is convince Mia that he's worth taking a second chance at love.

Chasing Luck


Brinda Berry - 2014
    Especially when you’re a sole survivor...At the age of seven, Malerie walked away from a bombing that left hundreds dead—including her mother. When a crazed gunman kills her guardian on her eighteenth birthday, Malerie suspects there may be more to her survival than luck. A mysterious code holds the key to her future, and a reluctant white knight holds the key to her heart.A loner wearing emotional armor…Ace is a twenty-year-old entrepreneur focusing on two things in life: financial security and a life without ties. A life that doesn't risk losing the ones who matter. When Ace is hired to secretly act as a bodyguard for Malerie, he faces an unwanted attraction that threatens to sabotage his heart. Can Ace find the courage to love a girl with a death wish? 9780991632039 - alternate cover edition

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.

Juked


M.E. Carter - 2016
    /jook-t/A slang soccer term meaning: faked out, deceived, confused your opponentSee examples Daniel Zavaro and Quincy Watson:As the rising star in Houston, Daniel has found fame as Captain of his Pro soccer team and the city’s most eligible bachelor. Daniel has everything – except someone special – and that suits him just fine. He doesn’t want, or need, complications.Quincy has baggage, and lots of it. After a tragic accident spins her world on its axis, she finds herself as a single mother, raising a newborn nephew she never knew she had. Between parenthood, her full-time job, and dealing with the suffocating grief of losing her sister, every day is a struggle. When they begin to cross paths unexpectedly and often, an unlikely friendship starts to evolve. Feelings change. Lines get crossed. What happens next surprises them both...Before they know it-- they’ve been Juked.

Teasing the Hitman


Alice May Ball - 2021
    You’d know how much they deserve what’s coming to them. Next on my list is the politician. A prime example.But the bouncy intern throws a wrench in my plans.I don’t intend to fall, but if I do, all bets are off.She comes first. Protecting her is all that matters, but things get complicated when feelings run hot.

Operation: My Fake Girlfriend


Emily James - 2020
    Very. Wrong. Grace:That awkward moment when you figure out the hot piece of ass in bed beside you, AKA—your drunken hook up—is your boss’ boss, billionaire hottie Sebastian Stone.Even more awkward? The knowledge that there is no way I can retrieve my knickers from the chandelier above his bed without waking him.Now he wants me to be his fake girlfriend, and he has an offer I cannot refuse.Sebastian:I’ve fought my whole life to prove I have what it takes to run the family empire. Unfortunately, these days my Gramps cares more about family values than stock values. And he’s not handing over the company unless I find love. Grace Harper is the no-strings hook up I haven’t been able to forget.Finding out she’s my employee and a hot little rule breaker—Who brings their geriatric cat to work?—I figure she’s perfect for Operation: My Fake Girlfriend.Will a phony relationship unleash Grace and Sebastian’s deepest desires? Or will faking it make them come undone?

Happy Truth About Love


Karice Bolton - 2017
    Instead of overthinking what’s right in front of her, she embraces the freedom of the unknown and the thrill of leaving everything behind and moves to the small mountain town of Silver Ridge. It isn’t until she arrives at her late uncle’s Bed and Breakfast that she begins to doubt her newfound ability to throw caution to the wind. From the moment she opens the barely hanging front door and steps inside to see peeling wallpaper and a broken banister, she realizes this inheritance might not have been a gift at all. Her uncle had to be using the term Bed and Breakfast loosely in his will because it was more of a deathtrap than anything. But she does love her new town. And the overly helpful Joel North, who is exactly everything she’s told herself to stay away from. He’s gorgeous, somewhat mysterious, and he’s sprinkled with the power to make Autumn blush off just one look, which is completely unacceptable in the real world, but she just can’t help herself. What Autumn doesn’t expect to uncover are secrets that change everything she’s known about her family and the life she’s led. It doesn’t help that Joel seems to hold the answers to some of her darkest questions and there’s one he just won’t answer. As she rebuilds the old mansion, she realizes her uncle’s real gift wasn’t the B&B, but the truth that rested behind its walls.

Trick or Snowstorm (Tiaras & Treats, #14)


Megan Wade - 2020
    Something that would only be possible on Halloween, but could also lead to romance when the handsome, Mason steps in to help her out.As always, this Megan Wade book comes with her ‘Sugar Promise’. High heat, low drama, guaranteed.

A Suds and Sam Christmas


Stella Marie Alden - 2019
    Sal-mon suds. Fish? Detergent? Not good.""Samantha and Suds? Sam and Sebastian?""Not the same ring. Admit it, Suds and Sam is perfect.""Yeah, I suppose we are."Sam's crazy Italian family is back and Suds takes them on with his usual southern charm as he navigates through the holiday season.Will they find the nativiy infant in time for Christmas?Warning: Heated scenes and loads of laughs as this detective duo makes the season bright.

The Sweetest Match


Abby Tyler - 2020
    Abby Tyler welcomes you to the witty, well-meaning busybodies of Applebottom, Missouri, where the community takes its pies -- and its matchmaking -- very seriously. When Sandy Miller emerges from her shack on the edge of town after eighteen years, she finds a job making tea cakes for a little shop on Town Square.But then everyone starts spotting secret words of love and longing on her cakes.Andrew McCallister is the first to admit that he never got over Sandy Miller when she dropped out of high school and disappeared. But now she’s back.He just has to get the guts to talk to her.When the town summons the pair to a meeting to plan the school’s centennial bash, Andrew and Sandy discover they are the only two members of the committee. As they attempt to rekindle the long-lost flame, they realize the community must come together for more than an anniversary party. For their new relationship to flourish, the old guard must learn to support their most vulnerable members even when times get hard.

Manic Monday


Piper Rayne - 2018
    Great, right? Too bad he was the best man at my wedding.I didn't swear off all men after my divorce, but I sure as hell swore off anyone remotely like my ex. On the top of that list? Attorneys. Everyone knows they can't be trusted.Been there.Done that.Burned the T-shirt.Now that I've moved back into my childhood home in Chicago, my focus is my daughter, my mom and me. I haven't given up on finding my happily-ever-after; it's just on hold-indefinitely. Yup, life is in a real upswing.Then I see Reed Warner again, and I'm reminded of all my past mistakes. I push him away, but somehow, he weasels his way into every part of my life, not willing to take no for an answer.In spite of my better judgment I can't stop thinking about the way his designer suits fit his muscular frame, or the way his blue eyes seem to eat me up with every glance. Reed is like the equivalent of a chocolate éclair and my willpower is fading fast. I never was good at depriving myself of life's guilty pleasures.

Trainer


Jenna Rose - 2020
    She’s working her way through college as a tennis trainer, but her whole life changes when her new client turns out to be Chase Benton, billionaire CEO and New York City’s most eligible bachelor. Chase has no shortage of women lining up to be the future Mrs. Benton, but he’s learned to keep his heart shielded to those who are only after him for money or fame. He’s not looking for Mrs. Right Now, he’s looking for Mrs. Right, and when he sets eyes on Cady, he realizes he’s found the one girl he’d let into his world and into his heart. But Cady’s scared. She’s shielded her heart too, and a man like Chase couldn’t possibly be interested in her…right? But what Cady doesn’t know, is that Chase got to where he is today by listening to his heart, and what his heart is telling her now, is that she’s the one for him.

Bossman's List


Ashlee Price - 2017
    Not Your Typical S#xy Billionaire Christmas Office Romance She was there to pick me up,Show me around,And make sure I had a good time.After all, that's what assistants are for, right?But Sheryl was different,Beautiful, smart and hot as...f#ck. All I want is to touch her,Hear her scream my nameAnd make her mine.No guy has ever satisfied her.Now, I'm here from down underTo make sure she gets her first "O" with my big "D".And maybe a happy ending of my own.***Bossman's List is a steamy, suspense-filled, stand-alone billionaire office Christmas romance with a HEA.***