Book picks similar to
The Bars Between Us by A.S. Teague


romance
contemporary
contemporary-romance
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Beneath the Scars


Melanie Moreland - 2014
    She wants to leave the rest of the world behind, and find some peace. The offer of a private house on the beach, set in a small town in Maine, is perfect. Time to think—to be by herself. It’s all she wants. It’s the escape she needs. Until she stumbles across the painting that seems to echo her own chaotic mindset. Until she meets the unfriendly artist behind the stormy painting and discovers his secrets.All Zachary Adams wants is to be left alone. His canvases, and the unending scope of the ocean and sand, are his life. They direct him—fill his hours. Bring him focus.Until she enters his life. She dredges up memories of the past—the haunting images he has hidden for years; the fears he has never shared. A story he keeps buried below the surface. Can she make him see what he is missing? Can he trust her enough to believe?Together they embark on a journey where their pasts collide and threaten to tear them apart. Will their fragile bond hold or wash away with the ebbing tide?

Wicked Beautiful


J.T. Geissinger - 2015
    What she doesn’t have—and doesn’t want—is a husband. Fifteen years ago her high school flame broke her heart so badly she swore she’d never love again. Drop-dead sexy restauranteur and infamous playboy Parker Maxwell has only three rules for the women he dates: no questions about his past, no expectations for the future, and no spending the night. When he meets Victoria, however, he’s willing to break his own rules if it means sating the explosive desire she arouses in him. What he doesn’t know is that the alluring Victoria Price used to be the mousy Isabel Diaz, the girl he deflowered and dumped long ago. Presented with a perfect opportunity for revenge, Victoria decides the game is on. But when her connection with Parker proves more than just skin deep, she has to make a choice: continue with her plan for payback, or risk her career, her reputation, and her heart by taking a second chance on love?

Bitch Slap


J. Kenner - 2017
    I love the way they look. The way they smell. The way they feel. Especially the way they feel. And I’ve pretty much made it my mission to give each and every woman who shares my bed the ride of her life.Then I met her. Bitchy as hell and completely uninterested in me. And damned if I didn’t want her. Crave her. I told myself I only wanted to tame her. That it was all about the challenge. I never expected to break through that ice queen exterior and find the softness underneath. Never expected how wild she’d be between the sheets or the way she’d cry my name with such sincere intensity when I totally rocked her world. Most of all, I never expected to fall for her. But I did.And the question is, now that I know I want her, how the hell do I go about keeping her?

Mouth to Mouth


Tessa Bailey - 2018
    Tell that to Rory Prince. He should stay the hell away from Olive Cunningham. There’s one small problem, though. She won’t stop almost getting killed—and with this too-smart, too-sweet girl holding his heart in her hands, Rory is powerless to do anything but keep saving her. Homeschooled from a young age, Olive is now out on her own and discovering the world, one milkshake flavor at a time. Until recently, she has experienced life through books. She’s walked in a million sets of shoes while flipping pages—enough to know that Rory gives her once-in-a-lifetime feelings. If only he would stop trying to protect her…from himself.

Get off on the Pain


Victoria Ashley - 2015
    Memphis is all that and more…I live for the pain; it’s what drives me to keep moving. But there comes a time when one has to push the demons aside in order to survive. I thought I buried them deep. I thought I was ready to finally live. Until… my brother, Alex; he throws me into the fire—right into the place I could never control myself, the one place I never want to be again. When I put my hands on people, they get hurt. Things happen that bring me back to that night. The one that will forever torment me. I’m doing fine, keeping to myself in order to ensure no one gets hurt by me. Then along comes Lyric, and all I want to do is touch her, to put my hands in places that I know will only lead to her being crushed by me. She’s the rush that I crave. The darkest of poison running through my veins, killing me bit by bit; like a drug I can’t get enough of even though I’m almost down to my last breath. And being around her only hurts more, but what she doesn’t understand is that I welcome the pain; I get off on it, which in the end leaves me with the hardest decision of my life—one that might get us all killed…

Make You Mine


Tia Louise - 2018
    I was too old to have them, so I left to join the military.Four years passed. Loss, injury, angry words I can never take back… I’m home, but I’m not the same.Neither is she.Now she’s a woman with flashing blue eyes, long blonde hair, and gorgeous curves.Still, she’s the same sweet smile, the same sassy mouth…I could never say No to her before.I should for her sake. She deserves better than what I’ve become, scarred and damaged. “They told me to stay away from you.I went away to try… God, I tried.Now everything has changed. I’m back, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make you mine…”

I Don't


Ella Fox - 2017
    After all, the sexy and charming Mateo is everything she's ever wanted—and more. But she needs to protect herself—and her heart—before it’s shattered once and for all. Mateo has no choice but to let her go. His woman needs space, and he loves her enough to give it to her—no matter how much he hates it. The only thing keeping him sane is the certainty that their separation will be short-lived.Ava thinks it’s over, but she’s about to find out that Mateo will stop at nothing to turn her “I Don’t” into an “I Do.”

Dirty Work


Chelle Bliss - 2016
     ReaganI hate him. Jude Titan is everything that’s wrong with the male sex: cocky, domineering and loaded with swagger. Oh, and did I mention he’s a Republican? Yeah, the guy’s so conservative he leans to the right when walking. And lucky me, I’m running against him for Senate. But I’ve got plenty of fight in me. A golden boy war hero opponent with a smile that leaves melted panties in its wake? Bring. It. On.JudeDamn, she’s sexy. Reagan Preston intrigues me from the moment I lay eyes on her. And speaking of laying…I want between those thighs. But I want to make her burn for me first. Every debate and stolen moment is foreplay for us. She claims she hates me, but her body tells a different story. I plan to win this election, but I also want to win the sharp, fiery Democrat who captures my attention like no woman ever has. Politics is filthy, just like all the things I want to do to Reagan Preston.

Clam Jam


R.C. Boldt - 2017
    Example: You're chatting with a guy you're interested in and your friend comes along and lays claim to him.MaggieThat's my life except it's worse. My friend who keeps jamming me is my gay roommate, and if that isn't a W.T.F. moment, I'm not sure what is. Fact: He went home with three yes, three of the guys I had been so sure were into me. Fact: He's really pissing me off. I mean, hello? I'm trying to get back in the saddle, but I'll never manage to get a boyfriend before the age of fifty if he keeps this up. Fact: Secretly, I wonder what it would be like if he weren't gay.RyThe day I interviewed for the room to rent, everything changed. I knew I had met the girl, except there was one small problem: she didn't want anything to do with men. I recognized a top-notch force field when I saw one. She'd been burned badly and didn't want to deal with a heterosexual guy as a roommate. I could've turned around and found another place to live, but I wanted to live there with her. So I had to go undercover. Fact: I'm in love with my roommate. Fact: She's going to hate me if I come clean now. Fact: I'm not giving up. Which means I'll just have to continue to run defense until I figure out a way to get Maggie to see the real me. The me that loves her. The me that would never do her wrong. Until then, I'll keep running off every guy who shows any interest. Until then, I'll continue to Clam Jam.

Retreat


Jay Crownover - 2016
    My best friend, sick of watching me drown in misery and melancholy, harassed me until I agreed to go with her on a week-long wilderness retreat.She promised days spent bonding and getting in touch with our inner bad-asses. It was supposed to be all about the two of us roughing it and making do with the bare minimum. She assured me we were going to be pushed to our limits in ways that were unimaginable. Neither one of us could have ever guessed just how right she was.Nowhere in the glossy brochure did it say anything about the fact I was going to have to battle the insufferable but deliciously rugged and sexy trail guide instead of the elements. The brochure also forgot to mention the part that warned when you left civilization behind, there was no place to pack your inhibitions and fears.I was told that I would be facing a week where the only thing I should expect was the unexpected. However, no one mentioned that I was going to have to fight for my life…and my heart as soon as I ventured into the unknown. I was a pro at hiding from my feelings but when it came time to face a real threat, one that could change everything, I learned I was more of a no surrender, no retreat kind of girl.Retreat is a standalone novel, the first in the Getaway series which centers on the hardheaded and brokenhearted Warner brothers and the women that dare to love them.These boys are very good at putting the wild in wilderness.

Weekend Wife


Erin McCarthy - 2020
    Easy. Wear designer clothing and sip champagne? Don’t mind if I do. Flirting with Grant? It’s so delicious I should be paying him. Nothing can go wrong as long as I can keep my hands off of him. But that’s the hard part. And I do mean hard. Because Grant is sexy. And bossy. And surprisingly sweet, a real rarity in his pretentious family. Oops. I’m not as good at faking it as I thought. Or maybe they call this method acting. Because it’s getting harder to figure out where my character ends and I begin… It just might be the role of a lifetime. Weekend Wife is a standalone romantic comedy with a sexy billionaire, a sassy heroine, and a Happily Ever After.

The Substitute


Mickey Miller - 2019
     When the NFL goes on strike, Super Bowl champion Peyton O’Rourke ends up back in his hometown as a substitute teacher and high school football coach. The one thing he didn’t count on? Maddy Cooper being newly single. She’s the hot girl next door type. Literally. She’s literally the cute girl next door and his best friend’s (now ex) girl. And even though he knows he should be with anyone other than Maddy Cooper — Well you know the drill. Things are going to get hot. Heavy. Does Facebook still have an ‘It’s complicated’ button? Because it’s about to go down.

Dirty Neighbor


Cassie-Ann L. Miller - 2016
    Growing up, he was the boy next door, my older brother’s best friend, the guy who asked me to the prom...and then stood me up. He just vanished into thin air. Now that he’s back in town, he wants to come over to play. And I’m not talking hopscotch. But he’s hurt me once, so I’m sticking to my side of the fence no matter how good he looks pushing that lawnmower in all his tanned, toned shirtless glory. Samantha Trotten... I should have been her first kiss. I should have been her "first time". Instead, I ended up being the first a**hole to break her heart. But a lot of things were outside of my control back then. I've been to hell and back over the past few years. She doesn't even know the half of it. But now, I'm back in town. And though I know I should keep my distance, all I want is a do-over...And I won't quit till I get it. Dirty Neighbor is book one in the Dirty Suburbs, a series of full-length, stand-alone romantic comedies set in small town Illinois.Note: Dirty Neighbor is a full-length story. No cheating. No cliffhangers. HEA guaranteed.

The Dare


Lauren Landish - 2020
    I know it sounds crazy, and daredevil tendencies aside, I definitely went too far to get his attention. But you haven’t seen him.Colton Wolfe. My boss.Tall, dark, and handsome, with the sexiest British accent I’ve ever heard. His only flaw? That he’s completely oblivious to what’s been right in front of him all along.Me.Well, he was until a few minutes ago.Remember those good old days? Before I got caught making "nice" with the copy machine, and before I was totally getting fired?But wait. Maybe I’m not.If I can take on the biggest dare of all. Making Colton Wolfe fall in love with me. The Dare is a full-length romance with a HEA and no cliffhanger.

Trigger


L.P. Dover - 2017
    . . that’s what I am. It’s what I do. It’s what I live for. I’m no longer the Preston Hale everyone knew. I left that life and the people in it a long time ago the second I made my first kill. I wasn’t going to give in, but when I heard the screams there was no going back. It triggered the pain, the need. I knew what I had to do, and I did it well. But I never expected for Emma Turner – the only link to my past – to come back into my life. She triggers a different emotion inside me, something I hadn’t ever felt. It’s not a want to kill . . . but a need to CLAIM.