Book picks similar to
Crossing the Line by Caitlyn Armistead
contemporary
contemporary-romance
romance
abuse-rape
It Will Be Forever
Jennifer Rodewald - 2019
Thought she’d stay gone…Big-hearted Dre Rustin fled her small Nebraska hometown to distance herself from her brother’s troubled past. Texas seemed like a good place to start a new life. Now she’s looking forward to graduating from college, but first she’s got to handle Thanksgiving break. She’ll head home for the first time in years. No way is she going to get sucked back into the drama and charm—namely her brother’s best friend Tommy Kent—of Rock Creek. For moral support, she convinces her best friend to travel with her. Little good that does her.Tom Kent might not have been the rebel Paul Rustin had been, but he’d earned a less-than-honorable reputation with the girls, which ruined the fragile hope he’d had for romance with Dre before she left for college. In the four years since Dre had shut Tom out, he hasn’t been able to let her go. Now she’s coming home, and he’s got this one last chance. What if she could forgive him? What if they could recapture the tender feelings they’d shared years ago? What if they could build new dreams together? It could be good. Really good. Maybe, just maybe, it could be forever.
Troublemaker
Linda Howard - 2016
But when he’s ambushed and almost killed, his supervisor is determined to find out who’s after the members of his elite squad—and why. Due to worries that this unknown enemy will strike again, Morgan is sent to a remote location and told to lay low and stay vigilant. But between a tempting housemate he’s determined to protect and a deadly threat waiting in the shadows, keeping under the radar is proving to be his most dangerous mission yet.The part-time police chief of a small West Virginian mountain town, Isabeau “Bo” Maran finally has her life figured out. She’s got friends, a dog, and a little money in the bank. Then Morgan Yancy shows up on her doorstep. Bo doesn’t need a mysterious man in her life—especially a troublemaker as enticing and secretive as Morgan.The harder they fight the intense heat between them, the closer Morgan and Bo become, even though she knows he’s hiding from something. But discovering the truth could cost Bo more than she’s willing to give. And when Morgan’s cover is blown, it might just cost her life.
The Protector
Jodi Ellen Malpas - 2016
But Camille is determined to have a life free from his strings. Out on her own, she's made mistakes, including one that found her clawing her way back after a stint in rehab and plenty of bad press. Now, after fighting so hard to be independent and happy, she finds her life threatened as a result of her father's ruthless business dealings. Caught between resentment and fear, Camille prepares herself for the measures her father will take to protect her. But nothing could prepare her for the ex-SAS sniper who crashes into her life.Jake Sharp resides in his own personal hell. He was distracted from duty once before, and the consequences were devastating--both personally and professionally. He vowed never to let that happen again. Accepting the job of bodyguard to Camille Logan isn't the kind of distraction from his demons he should take. Women and Jake don't mix well, yet protecting the heiress seems the lesser of two evils. But Jake soon discovers that she isn't the woman she's perceived to be. She's warm, compassionate, her presence settling, and his duty to protect her soon goes deeper than a well-paid job, no matter how hard he fights it. He needs absolution. He comes to need Camille. But he knows he can't have both.
The Spanish House
Cherry Radford
One Spanish summer. One huge family secret.Juliana makes a modest living as an 'ethnic' TV/film extra – even though the only connections with her Spanish heritage are her cacti, Spanish classes, and some confused memories of a Spanish mother she hasn't seen since she was seven.When her beloved Uncle Arturo offers her the chance to discover her roots while housesitting his coastal home in a quiet corner of Andalusia, Juliana can't believe her luck. Especially when he reveals that the house will be hers if she fulfills ten life-enhancing 'Conditions' within 90 days.Redecoration of the house and a visit to the old film studio where her mother used to sew costumes seem ridiculously simple tasks for such a wonderful reward. But little does Juliana realize that there are family secrets and inherited rivalries awaiting her in sunny Spain, and the condition that she has to 'get on with the neighbors' – who include a ruggedly handsome but moody artist – may be harder than she thinks.The perfect escapist read for fans of Rosanna Ley, Jo Thomas, and Sue Moorcroft.
Dazed
Maria Macdonald - 2017
Those people are fools. I’m a practiced hand at hiding from the world. The scars I bear are invisible to all but me, and I use them to sustain the walls I’ve built around myself. He knocked my simple life into disarray and infiltrated my carefully constructed defenses. The tight control I maintain is at breaking point, and ever since our eyes connected across a lunch hall, my world has been off balance. I can’t have him, and he can’t have me. I know it. He knows it. I’m just not sure that Tarrant Reigns has ever followed anyone’s rules. Everything and everyone is against us.Even his brother. Caden brought us together, but now he’s standing in our way.
Kamila Knows Best
Farah Heron - 2022
She lives a life of comfort, filled with her elaborate Bollywood movie parties, a dog with more Instagram followers than most reality stars, a job she loves, and an endless array of friends who clearly need her help finding love. In fact, Kamila is so busy with her friends’ love lives, she’s hardly given any thought to her own . . .Fortunately, Kamila has Rohan Nasser. A longtime friend of the family, he’s hugely successful, with the deliciously lean, firm body of a rock climber. Only lately, Kamila’s “harmless flirting” with Rohan is making her insides do a little bhangra dance.But between planning the local shelter’s puppy prom, throwing a huge work event, and proving to everyone that she’s got it all figured out, Kamila isn’t letting herself get distracted—until her secret nemesis returns to town with an eye for Rohan. Suddenly, it seems like the more Kamila tries to plan, the more things are starting to unravel—and her perfectly ordered life is about to be turned upside down.
Best Man...with Benefits
Nancy Warren - 2015
Lauren Sanger is practically the perfect maid of honor, except for one tiny flaw. She hates the best man. Jackson Monaghan is beyond hot -- his body is the stuff of sexy lady dreams -- but he's just such a jerk. So when a prank lands them in the same bed, Lauren should have flipped out, instead of having the best sex of her life with the best man! Jackson can't figure out how two people with anti-chemistry during the day can have such a wickedly hot sexual chemistry at night. Worse still, he wants more. Enough to dare Lauren into doing the last thing she should be doing...him. But friends with benefits is one thing...enemies with benefits is quite another.
The Man Who Can't Be Moved
Tilly Tennant - 2014
So when reports come in of a man camped on the corner of a local street, refusing to move until the girl who has jilted him takes him back, Ellie is on a mission to get the scoop. She arrives to meet Ben Kelly, a man she is instantly attracted to. But she has a job to do and an incredible story to write and has soon pledged to help him win back the girl of his dreams. With Ellie’s help, Ben’s plight captures the hearts and imaginations of the public. And when a TV film crew appears to make a feature on the most romantic gesture the town of Millrise has ever seen, Ellie’s mission gets its happy ending...But while Ellie has been busy fixing the lives of her wayward parents, providing shoulders for heartbroken friends to cry on, and worrying about her terminally-ill aunt, she hasn’t noticed that she has also been falling quietly in love – with the very man she has now ensured is hopelessly out of her reach.Ellie must choose between doing the right thing, and the thing that feels right. And whatever choice she makes, someone will get their heart broken.
Flirting with Fire
Kate Meader - 2015
That is, until she moved from San Francisco to Chicago to be with her fiancé who thought she wasn’t taking her “job” of supporting him in his high-powered career seriously enough—and promptly dumped her for a more supportive and “feminine” nurse. Now, as the new assistant press secretary to Chicago’s dynamic mayor, she’s determined to keep her eye on the prize: no time to feel inferior because she’s a strong, kick-ass woman, and certainly no time for men.But that all changes when she meets Luke Almeida, a firefighter as searingly sexy as he is quick-tempered. He’s also the second oldest of the Firefightin’ Dempseys, a family of foster siblings who have committed their lives to the service—if Luke’s antics don’t get him fired first. When Luke goes one step too far and gets into a bar brawl with the Chicago Police Department, Kinsey marches into Luke’s firehouse and lays down the law on orders from the mayor. But at Engine Co. 6, Luke Almeida is the law. And he’s not about to let Kinsey make the rules.
Season of Mercy: Modern marriage of convenience romance
Alexa Verde - 2018
Never mind that he's her one-time teenage crush and a longtime friend. But when her son, Stevie, needs an expensive surgery, risking her heart is a small price to pay for her little boy's happiness. Ethan Echeverría leaves women before they have a chance to leave him the way his mother once abandoned him. Then his dad gives him an ultimatum: get married and become the owner of the family auto shop chain or stay single and lose it. Considering Ethan has always cared for Mercy, getting married might result in more than ownership of the shops and a loving father for Stevie. It could be the second chance they need. Their feelings toward each other grow, but so does Mercy's jealousy. When Ethan's past crashes into his future, will she end up heartbroken and alone again? This book is also available free of charge if you sign up for my newsletter.
The Year We Turned Forty
Liz Fenton - 2016
This time around, she’s determined to bury the secret of Lucas’ paternity, and to repair the fissures that sent her wandering the first time. Gabriela regrets that she wasted her most fertile years in hot pursuit of a publishing career. Yes, she’s one of the biggest authors in the world, but maybe what she really wanted to create was a family. With a chance to do it again, she’s focused on convincing her husband, Colin, to give her the baby she desires. Claire is the only one who has made peace with her past: her twenty-two year old daughter, Emily, is finally on track after the turmoil of adolescence, and she's recently gotten engaged, with the two carat diamond on her finger to prove it. But if she’s being honest, Claire still fantasizes about her own missed opportunities: a chance to bond with her mother before it was too late, and the possibility of preventing her daughter from years of anguish. Plus, there’s the man who got away—the man who may have been her one true love. But it doesn’t take long for all three women to learn that re-living a life and making different decisions only leads to new problems and consequences—and that the mistakes they made may, in fact, have been the best choices of all…
Sinful Intent
Chelle Bliss - 2015
That had always been my rule. But that was before Race True.The moment I saw her, I wanted her. But there was a problem. She wasn’t just another pretty face—no, she was my first client at ALFA PI. My take-what-I-want attitude shouldn't include her, but how the hell can I be expected to keep my hands off?The danger that followed her had my protective instincts in overdrive. And as the clock ticked down, the choice was laid out before me: save her career or risk everything and have her in my bed. Could I put aside my wants for her needs? Or would my selfishness destroy everything in the process?Warning: If you can't handle a dirty-mouthed bad boy or a tough woman with an attitude, this might not be the book for you.
The Boy Next Door
Annabelle Costa - 2012
Since the day he moved in next door, he’s gone from the weird kid in a wheelchair to Tasha’s most trusted friend. But lives change and the friends are going in different directions. When Jason and Tasha rekindle their friendship, sparks fly. After years of being a wild soul, now the ex-lead of a band turned music teacher is just looking for a relationship to last.When none other than Jason introduces her to a man who can give her what she wants, Tasha is on the verge of throwing passion and love away just so she can forget her troubled past and settle down. But Jason isn’t ready to give her up just yet.
Sweet Girl
Cristin Harber - 2014
Nicola Hart grew up under the heels of her older brother and his sexy best friend, Cash Garrison. Years of ignoring her spark with Cash has transformed their friendship into a slow burning sizzle. One night with him could ruin everything. Or it could be more than she ever dreamed. They play. They flirt. But they haven't crossed the line because too much is at stake. Family. Friendship. And the deepest kind of love that she'd have to be crazy to walk away from. She's his best friend's little sister. The definition of hands off. Cash has tried to ignore her for years. Those innocent eyes and her smile that screams kiss-me-if-you-dare... Instead, he's looked at every pretty little thing who's crossed his path, all to ignore the girl he seems destined to want. But when his hard partying ways get old and everyone at school is interested in Nicola, it's time to stake a claim. To make Nicola his girl, no matter the risks, and hold the hand of the one he really loves.