Book picks similar to
The Medici Mistress by Clare Connelly


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Just the Way You Are


Barbara Freethy - 2000
    a life about to be tested by the return of the only woman who can break them up—Alli's sister, Tessa.A baby brought them together—and even though Alli has always loved her strong, sexy husband Sam and the life they've built together, she has decided to set him free to follow his youthful dreams. It is no longer enough for her to be wife and lover when she knows she holds so little of his heart.Sam has always dreamed of a life away from the close-knit world of Tucker's Landing, but marriage and fatherhood ended all that. Now Sam is torn between what was and what was meant to be. He must decide if it's time to rekindle the dreams of the past ... or accept Alli, and her love, just the way she is.JUST THE WAY YOU ARE is an emotionallly compelling, heartwarming, beautiful love story about choices, second chances, the crush of a youthful love, the intensity of a love born from marriage and life. "An exceptional novel from #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Barbara Freethy!"

Virtue & Vanity


Astrid Jane Ray - 2016
    On the surface, her rich and beautiful husband is the embodiment of every girl’s dream, but Isabelle will learn just how deceiving looks can be. By the time she discovers there is real danger hidden behind those captivating green eyes and thick layers of sophisticated appearance, it is too late to escape Sebastian’s cruelty. Without a thread of compassion, he shows her the true meaning of hell, making it abundantly clear her fragile feelings mean nothing to him. But life has strange ways of playing with one’s fate. In an intriguing turn of events, the same man who had once shattered her to pieces, suddenly starts treating her with extreme care and swears there will be no more pain. Isabelle has been tricked too many times to believe him, but the devil she bargained with refuses to give up on his mission to earn her forgiveness as well as her heart. While Sebastian unfolds from a monster into Prince Charming right before her eyes, Isabelle finds herself falling under his spell and getting closer to making a choice that might be fatal for both of them.

Downfall


Willow Aster - 2019
    Besides hating nearly every word that came out of his mouth, I also drowned with lust every time I looked at him. At times I thought he might feel the same.But nothing prepared me for what his family would make me become.*There will be four books in the Kingdoms of Sin series. Each book can be read as a standalone though there are interconnecting characters.*Book 1: Downfall is LIVE! (Luka and Eden)Book 2: Exposed January 9, 2020 (Mara and Elias)Book 3: Ruin March 5, 2020 (Ava)Book 4: May 7, 2020 (Jadon)

The Substitute Wife


Dallas Schulze - 2003
    Leggy, flame haired and wise beyond her years, she decided that he should marry her instead.But even though Luke needed a wife by his thirty-sixth birthday or he would lose his inheritance, he had to say "No!" Well, that was what he tried to say, but somehow Cat left with a ring on her finger and a wedding date on her calendar. And Luke could only curse his grandfather's positively medieval blackmailing scheme...and count the seconds till the wedding night.Cat, of course, knows her own mind -- and her own heart -- and she wants Luke. Meanwhile, Luke is wondering how long this will play out, and hoping that it might be a little longer with each passing day. The problem is, he's quite capable of doing something very stupid -- like falling for Cat.Because sometimes love just doesn't take no for an answer.

Whatever It Takes


L. Maretta - 2013
    His wife, Emma, was always able to brag to her friends about how caring, loving, helpful, and successful he was. Having been married five years, they have just put the finishing touches on their dream home and are ready to start a family. Everything seems ideal until one day Gavin confesses to Emma that he was unfaithful, turning their entire relationship from perfect to a total disaster. Suddenly Emma's carefully controlled world is chaotic and her future uncertain as she struggles to determine if she is able to forgive Gavin or have the strength to move on.

The Greek's Innocent Virgin


Lucy Monroe - 2005
    Rachel has come to Sebastian's island to claim her inheritance -- but although the bitterness between them is ripe, neither is expecting their searing sexual chemistry. Sebastian takes Rachel to his bed, but it appears she's not the virgin she claims to be. Perhaps now is the time to take her as his mistress, and discard her when he sees fit… Only Rachel is telling the truth -- she's an innocent and a virgin…

Becoming His


Albany Walker - 2018
    On her own since her parents died at age fourteen, Sophia isn't used to being around other shifters. In fact, the one time she did run into a pack, she met her mate - and he rebuffed her. Sophia's fended for herself all these years, and now, in Michigan, she's desperate to create a new life for herself. The only problem? It seems her mate has found her, and this time, he isn't letting her go.Mason Black is the Alpha wolf of the Northern Territories. As an Alpha, he's accustomed to getting everything he wants - until Sophia. Walking away from his mate when she was just a teenager nearly destroyed him. Now that she's back, he'll do everything in his power to possess her. To own her. To make her his Luna.The one thing Mason doesn't count on - Sophia is an Alpha in her own right. A unique species all her own, she's never bowed down to anyone - and doesn't intend on starting. Not when Mason left her heartbroken. Not when he doesn't quite know how to treat her as his mate, and not one of his pack. And especially not when he refuses to see the truth behind the conniving, lint-licking, wanna-be Luna, Roxanne.Can Sophia and Mason work through their issues, or will they be the first mates on record to give up on each other?

Inhale, Exhale.


C.L. Matthews - 2019
    In sickness and in health. For better or for worse. Til death do us part. And death dragged us apart. We both said those vows. But neither of us kept them. This is not one of those happy stories. Life isn't made of simple choices and happily ever afters. It's a dark place. It's not easy. It's full of mistakes and lessons. It hurts. And in the end, those two words said in love, are the same ones said in hate. "You want a divorce?" "I do."

Flip My Life


Jennifer Foor - 2017
    People change. Life goes on. For Elias Hargrove it’s been a time of reflection and growing up. He’d like to think he’s not the same person that walked away from everything, leaving the people closest to him without an explanation. Nonetheless, some reactions are impossible to predict.Clarke Mayville hasn’t had an easy life. Raised by her elderly grandparents, she fell in love and got pregnant while still in high school. As much as she yearned to get out of town and be something more, life continued to interfere, leaving her desperate, a single mother, and broken inside. Finally engaged to a man who could give her everything she needs, a ghost from her past comes walking through the door.Seeing Elias again isn’t easy. He wasn’t just the guy who broke her heart. He was the beginning of the end. Everything she’s had to fight to keep in her life is a direct result of being involved with him.As much as Clarke wants to move on, she knows he’s not leaving until he gets what he wants, and her only fear is that she’ll actually allow it to happen.Flip my Life is a Standalone Romance.

The Woman He Married (A Magic City Duo, # 1)


Julie N. Ford - 2011
     Once an aspiring young attorney, Josie looked forward to taking on the injustices of the world—one case at a time. Eleven years later, she’s a stay-at-home mom and battling demons that don’t require a law degree. Only keeping up pretenses proves more than she can bear when a bracelet that should have been hers shows up on the wrist of another woman. Her marriage slowly begins to unravel as an ex-lover comes back into her life. When he offers her the dreams she thought she’d lost, Josie must chose between the man she married and the one she let get away. John has always known exactly what he wanted. A career as a high-powered attorney, followed by the perfect family of six, and then elected public service. So it was no surprise that the first time he laid his eyes on Josie, he knew she was the one he’d share his dreams with. More than a decade, and one tragic miscalculation later, all he has worked for is slipping through his fingers. Powerless to stem the flow, the one thing he remains certain of: he can’t lose the woman he married.

Temporary Wife


Roberta Leigh - 1974
    Nor had she suspected that the secret behind the business reasons was the fact that Luke was in love with Gina, his boss's wife . . .

The Unwanted Wife


Natasha Anders - 2012
    Eighteen months into their marriage, however, Sandro has turned to ice. Desperate to escape a relationship that has proven to be as stubbornly passionate as it is cold and hateful, Theresa summons up the courage to ask for a divorce. But before he’ll grant her request, Sandro demands something from Theresa: a son.The stalemate sickens her. Never mind that Sandro has yet to introduce Theresa to the large family that means so much to him. Or that Theresa overhears her husband on the phone with a mystery woman. Most damning is that Theresa senses, in Sandro’s treatment of her, the behind-the-scenes machinations of Jackson Noble, her cruel father. From the depths of her anxiety, Theresa must seek an empowering truth about the husband who calls her, with such cold affection, his cara, his beloved.Revised edition: This edition of The Unwanted Wife includes editorial revisions.

Evil Love


Ella Fields - 2020
    Ex-girlfriend? Whatever. Point is, the Adonis loved to hate me.It wasn’t my fault he’d followed me. It wasn’t my fault he’d stared too long and stood a little too close, just daring me to accomplish my wildest dreams.And it most certainly wasn’t my fault his ex-girlfriend arrived when he’d decided to kiss me back.Then the cruelty began.I’d thought I could handle it, so long as his lips kept gracing mine and he kept giving me more scorching firsts. Until he took it too far, and all his carefully kept secrets blew open the doors to a brand-new world. A world he was all too familiar with.Obsession became loathing and fear replaced naivety as Jude was forced to hold my hand and help me navigate a secret society rife with sin and debauchery—the crème de la crème of Peridot Island.If I wasn’t careful, I’d do more than lose what remained of my heart. My first love and greatest foe wouldn’t be satisfied until he’d devoured my soul, too.

His Dirty Little Secret


Terri Anne Browning - 2017
    So, I kept quiet. Blinded by love and bound by my own desires, I allowed it all.I didn’t tell a single soul about my time with Sawyer, not my brother, not my closest friends.Not then, and especially not now.How can I? My best friend is his ex-wife.The past is the past.I’m over him.I refuse to still love him.He will never own me again.I repeat the lies over and over again to myself every single day.Only, deep down, no matter how hard I try to deny it, I’ve always been his.I want more between us than a dirty little secret.**Standalone***

Except My Love


Mary Burchell - 1937
    She knew that for Oliver Leyne it was merely one of convenience,that he would never have considered her had he not lost the woman he really loved. All the same, Erica did love him, and she couldn't help hoping that with time and patience her marriage might turn into something deeper and more satisfying than a business arrangement. But Erica had managed to conceal from Oliver the fact that just before the wedding his old love had come back and tried to get in touch with him. Would he ever forgive her if he discovered how she had deceived him?