Book picks similar to
Whatever It Takes by L. Maretta


cheating
cheater
cheating-hero
second-chance

No Reverse


Marion Croslydon - 2013
    No need to say: their shotgun wedding was low-key. But when there was no baby anymore, they went their separate ways.Five years later, Josh has breezed through Georgetown and is about to finish his post-grad degree at Oxford University. He is set to join a lobbying group on Capitol Hill, owned by his new fiancée’s father. For Josh, the sky is now the limit… only he must first take care of a tiny legal matter: technically, he’s still married to the girl who broke his heart. Meanwhile, Cassie has been waiting tables in Steep Hill to pay for her sick grandmother’s care. On the day of the old lady’s funeral, Cassie is served with two sets of papers. Josh is asking for a divorce. Her heart squeezes, but, well, he moved on a long time ago. But the second envelope shakes Cassie to the core. So, for the first time, she leaves Kansas and heads to good ol’ England.There, Cassie finds that Josh has not just “moved on,” he’s freakin’ engaged to some blue-blooded heiress. The feelings Cassie had buried deep rush back to her. But no matter if he keeps thrusting the divorce papers under her nose, she needs him to save the only person she loves more than Josh, more than life itself…

Poison


Jade West - 2020
    The monster who left me in pieces over a decade ago.I swore I'd never speak to him again, that I'd never set eyes on him again as long as I lived.But I was wrong.When life gets too much and you need to escape, the poison that might kill you becomes oh so tempting.I craved his perverted ways, his smirk, his laughter as he pushed my body way past its limits.I needed a release from the crazy. Just once.Just one night. That’s what I told myself.No strings, no illusions, no promises. Nothing but the lasting thrill of his flesh on mine.The lasting hit of his poisonous touch.But when poison runs through your veins, the way he runs through mine, it’s toxic and eats you alive.This much passion always comes at a price...**This is a typically edgy Jade West novel. Please proceed with caution.**

About Tomorrow


Abbi Glines - 2020
    I take one very long and deep breath hoping to calm the immediate butterflies that take flight in my stomach and hope to slow down the racing of my heart. The voice was slightly deeper but the timbre was one that was achingly familiar.My actions did little to help, but then who was I kidding? A deep breath wasn't going to fix the effect he had on me and my body's inevitable reaction. Even the memories that would forever haunt me couldn't keep my emotions from triggering at the nearness of him once again.I used to pray that I'd find the strength to move on from him, from the pain that the end carried, from the emptiness in my chest, but ultimately move on from—the loss of Creed Sullivan and the death of his sister, Cora.The Sullivans had been the best part of my summers in New England.Deep down, I knew my ache for all that I had lost was the reason I returned...But I hadn't expected to see him again—especially not like this.

Becoming His Mistress


A.E. Murphy - 2019
    It's how she gets by when she's not in the company of her best friend and Tourette's sufferer, Laurie, or focusing on her busy work schedule as the personal assistant and office manager for the extremely attractive and extremely married, Ezra Conti.Everything has a place and Rose likes it that way. It must be that way.But even her quirks aren't enough to keep her in her lane and away from temptation. No matter how hard she tries to fight a detour in her life's perfect navigation system.She doesn't like-like her boss. Not one bit. He belongs with his wife, and Rose......Rose belongs by his side.

Sweetest Heartbreak


Heather Bentley - 2017
    With a supportive family, a great job out of college, and her best friend, Eli, by her side, she doesn’t take anything this life has to offer for granted. A lesson she learned when she lost her dad to cancer. Another lesson she’s learned? Don’t date your best friend. But she and Eli worked through the awkwardness and are now firmly planted in the friend zone. Until she meets Eli’s other best friend, Heath, and true feelings are exposed.Fresh out of rehab, Heath Braeburn is Leah’s opposite in every way. Spoiled. Reckless. Impetuous. The only thing they have in common is Eli, who has been by Heath’s side through it all, including when his mom up and left years ago. A fact he’s never gotten over. But at twenty-four years old, it’s time to prove that he’s not the man everyone has come to expect him to be. Starting with Leah. She is his clean slate. His game changer. But will he become Leah’s biggest regret?This is a story of what happens when friendships are tested, words go unspoken, and hearts are broken. And how three friends all manage to find their way back to each other.Due to strong sexual content, coarse language and mature subject matter, this book is not suitable for readers under the age of 18.

It's Not Over


Kaylee Ryan - 2019
    I had it all. The house, the job, the husband. Until one day, I didn't. I don't know when exactly things started to change between us, only that it did, and in a big way. So much so, I found myself standing before a judge and signing off on the end of my marriage. To the only man I've ever loved. Now, he's back, fighting, and ready to prove to me that we made a mistake, that our love is worth giving this another chance. I'm not sure if he's right, but I know what my heart wants, and it wants him. My ex-husband.HarrisonWhy is it that you don't know the depths of your mistakes until you've already made them? I knew signing those papers was a bad idea, but I thought that's what she wanted. The minute we stepped foot out of that courtroom, it hit me. She's no longer mine.That's when I also realized that I would do anything to change the past. I have so many regrets. Not her. I could never regret her, but how we ended. We never should have ended. I'm in for the battle of my life to convince her to give us another shot. I have a plan, one that will prove to her that it's not over.

When I Was Yours


Samantha Towle - 2015
    “I love you, Evie. I look into the future, and the only thing I see clearly is you. Marry me.”What’s an eighteen-year-old girl who was madly in love with her nineteen-year-old boyfriend say? Of course, I said yes.Twenty-four hours later, I married Adam Gunner at a Vegas chapel to the sounds of “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi. Not the best omen. I get that now.Then, exactly one week later, I left him. I walked out, leaving behind my wedding ring, annulment papers, and my heart, and he never knew why. I haven’t seen him since. Not in ten long years.Now, he’s here, standing before me. Looking at me with nothing but hurt and hatred in his eyes, he wants answers. Answers I can’t give.

The Big Bad Wolf's Ex


Tonya Brooks - 2017
     He had everything a wolf shifter could want. He even had the perfect mate. Jolie was the only woman he’d ever trusted. The only woman he’d ever loved. She had been his everything. Until the day she had betrayed his trust and eviscerated his soul. Reece had cut her out of his life with a ruthlessness that shocked even him. He had encased his broken heart in ice so thick and glacial that nothing could ever penetrate it again. And he’d been wrong. His mate had not betrayed him. He had betrayed her and destroyed them both in the process. Now he'll stop at nothing to get her and their cub back. But his ex-wife is not the same woman that he remembered. His sunshine girl had been a creature of sweetness and light, not this hissing, vitriol filled she-cat who wanted to claw his eyes out. Reece might be an unstoppable force, but Jolie had become an unmovable object. Is the big bad wolf strong enough to reclaim her heart?

Hate to Love You


Elise Alden - 2014
    But it turns out all those sex-ed teachers aren’t just trying to scare you. The faint positive on a budget pregnancy test sent me spinning, moments before meeting my sister’s snooty new fiancé.Shaking hands with upper-crusty James was like downing a triple shot of vodka. Dizzy with desire, confused by my body’s reaction, and shocked by the possessiveness flashing in his eyes, I deceived him that night and told the world at their wedding reception.The truth?I slept with my sister’s fiancé. Hot and sweaty, all night long in a room so dark he couldn’t tell I wasn’t her.The lie? Said fiancé is the father of my child. The one I signed over my rights to just before he was born.That was seven years ago. It’s time to come clean.95,000 words

Pieces of Us


G - 2011
    Devastated and trying to put the past behind her, Charlotte sought a new life in a new town. Now, five years later, her fiancé has convinced her it's time to return home and face her past. But will the truth she learns and the people she reconnects with destroy her carefully crafted happiness? Hannah Downing has created an emotional roller coaster about lost love and the way one indiscretion can change the course of your life. Charlotte questions every decision she's ever made, but she may discover that when you lose everything, you can truly find yourself.

The Devil Wears Black


L.J. Shen - 2021
    J. Shen comes a second-chance romance about love, loss, finding yourself, and getting lost in the right person.Maddie Goldbloom stitched up a plan to ensure everything in her life was perfect—from a career in fashion to a chic NYC apartment to a pediatrician boyfriend.When her ex, Chase Black, storms back into her life with an outrageous request, her immediate reaction is to refuse him. But he only wants to fulfill his father’s last wish. So even though he’s the man who broke her heart, playing his fiancée shouldn’t be hard, especially if it means she gets to watch the arrogant devil squirm a bit.What ensues is a chain of events that detonates Maddie’s life—and when Chase’s walls come down, they both are forced to face reality.They say keep your enemies close. But what if your enemy is also the man you love?

The Greek's Forgotten Wife


Elizabeth Lennox - 2015
    She had tried desperately to turn herself into the perfect wife for his infrequent visits, but no more! She was through trying to become someone she wasn’t. And she was finished reading about his mistresses in the tabloids. She’d had enough! So why did her heart race when he walked through the door? And how did she end up in his bed? Damon Galanos had been forced to marry Sasha to retain ownership of his ancestral home, but he never intending to stay married to the innocent girl. However, after destroying her grandfather for his blackmail, Damon found that he couldn’t get Sasha out of his mind. So he returned to his “wife”, realizing she had become a beautiful woman – one he planned to explore further. Imagine his surprise when his docile wife demanded a divorce!

Complicate Me


M. Robinson - 2015
    That one moment where you could have chosen a path that would lead you down a certain road. A different life. It was easier to pretend that we were still best friends, and that she was my girl and I was her boy. Pretending was better than knowing the truth...I. Ruined. Us.I had her. I lost her. I love her.All I did was complicate us.STANDALONE series. New Adult Contemporary Romance: Strong language and sexual content, not intended for readers under 18.

Hold You Close


Melanie Harlow - 2018
    Every time I see him climbing out of his pool, practically naked and unreasonably sexy, my blood boils.I’ve always loved to loathe him. I never planned to need him.*** London Parish is my little sister’s best friend, not that it stopped me from falling for her.Our history is complicated. The only thing we have in common is being godparents to my sister’s three adorable kids—until our lives are changed in one tragic moment. Now we’re trying to raise the children we love, mourn an unthinkable loss, and fight an undeniable attraction.My life is already upside-down, and the last thing I need is for old feelings to resurface. Because I’ll never be able to keep her, no matter how hard I try to hold her close.

What Price Paradise


Katherine Allred - 2005
    Until the night he gets drunk and sleeps with a woman he barely knows.Now, six weeks later, she's pregnant, alone, and broke. Once again, Tate must take responsibility for his actions, and makes plans to marry his child's mother. There's only one problem...he has to tell his fiancée.Abby Grayson hasn't had an easy life. As the daughter of the town whore, people either avoid her or think she's like her mother. For Abby, it's a struggle just to fill her belly and keep a roof over her head.Loneliness and a secret yearning for this man she thought she'd never have led her to spend the night with Tate. But the last thing she needs is a baby when she can barely take care of herself. Desperate, but too proud to ask for help, she finally agrees to accept a job from Tate - the job of being his wife. Now she has almost everything she's ever dreamed of.Unfortunately, only one thing will gain her Tate's love - his realization that the night he spent with her was no drunken accident. It was a last-ditch attempt to win the woman he really wanted.