These are some of the most heartbreaking, agonizing and tears-inducing books I had a chance to read in 2020. Each one of them is special to me and highly recommended.
(Click the cover for Goodreads link)
Midnight Valentine by G.T. Geissinger
The thing that breaks you is the only thing that can put you back together.
Megan Dunn arrives in Seaside, Oregon a broken woman with a dream: open a B-and-B like she planned to do with her husband, Cass, whose life was tragically cut short five years ago. But the old Victorian she bought needs extensive renovations and the one man who can help her—Theo Valentine—takes an immediate and intense dislike to her.
Left scarred and mute after a terrible accident, the reclusive Theo is a brilliant contractor whose plans to renovate the building Megan bought are eerily similar to her own. As their paths cross again and again and Megan begins to see the man beneath the mystery, a part of her that she thought was lost forever slowly starts to reawaken.
But when she discovers unsettling similarities between Theo and her late husband and strange coincidences begin to mount, Megan is forced to confront everything she believed about her past…and decide how far she’ll go to get the truth.
The Leading Edge of Now by Marci Lynn Curtis
Just when Grace is beginning to get used to being an orphan, her estranged uncle suddenly comes forward to claim her. That might have been okay if he'd spoken to her even once since her father died. Or if moving in with Uncle Rusty didn't mean returning to New Harbor.
Grace once spent the best summers of her life in New Harbor. Now the place just reminds her of all she's lost: her best friend, her boyfriend and any memory of the night that changed her forever.
People say the truth will set you free, but Grace isn't sure about that. Once she starts looking for it, the truth about that night is hard to find --- and what happens when her healing hurts the people she cares about the most?
Grace once spent the best summers of her life in New Harbor. Now the place just reminds her of all she's lost: her best friend, her boyfriend and any memory of the night that changed her forever.
People say the truth will set you free, but Grace isn't sure about that. Once she starts looking for it, the truth about that night is hard to find --- and what happens when her healing hurts the people she cares about the most?
The Birthday List by Devney Perry
Poppy Maysen carries a journal in her purse. Its pages were filled long ago by a man who craved adventure, lived life to the fullest and never failed to make her laugh. The journal is his birthday list—one she vows to complete.
She’ll do the things he wanted to do most. Because maybe, just maybe, if she can finish his list, she can start to live again.
Poppy expects going through the birthday list will be hard. She expects it to hurt. But what she doesn’t expect is Cole. Could the man who watched her heart shatter be the one to put it back together again?
Moth to a Flame by Cambria Hebert
The only thing drawn to her more than danger is him…
Danger isn’t Zoey’s middle name. But it is something she can’t forget, something she’s reminded of every time she looks in the mirror. For those reasons, Zoey has become an expert at creating the perfect illusion. Her ability to fool the eye, to create truth where there was previously none makes her the best in the business.
Working as a makeup and special effects artist for Hollywood combines her two life must-haves: her passion for makeup and hiding in plain sight.
It also doesn’t hurt that she’s safe within the heavily secured and secret studio sets, away from the public eye.
Then her perfect job becomes her perfect nightmare.
Not only does her illusion slip with the blast of icy water, but it does so in front of the country’s biggest action hero and the gossipiest of celebrity TV shows.
At first, Zoey thinks danger hasn’t caught up to her and the worst thing about her mishap is the world’s most perfect man sees her in all her not-so-perfect glory.
Until a series of unexplained “accidents” begins on set.
That’s when Zoey knows.
Danger has caught up to her… and this time she fears death has, too.
Surviving Amber Springs by Siobhan Davis
Let him who is without sin cast the first stone…
I’m the second-most hated person in Amber Springs.
First place honors go to my twin, Ethan; however, hate isn’t a strong enough word to convey how people feel about him.
Not that I blame anyone—some days, I hate him too. Mostly, I’m just lost and afraid, drowning in a sea of betrayal and guilt, wondering how this happened right under my nose.
There’s no choice but to leave. To move clear across the country in a last-ditch attempt to start over.
Transferring to a new school midway through senior year is hellish for most people. For me, it’s a welcome relief—until someone discovers our secret and now everyone knows.
The pointing, whispering, and scathing looks follow me around again, and I’m back to square one. Except, this time, I’m not alone.
Axel, Skeet, and Heath took me under their wing from the minute I arrived here. I’ve no idea why three of the hottest guys in town took any interest in me or why they continue to have my back, but I’m so grateful to have them in my corner.
Because, right now, they’re the only reason I’m not following my brother into an early grave.
Sing it, Sam by Jennifer Ryder
Jane Rhynehart has a cosy shack in the pumpkin-obsessed town of Willow Creek, and a new job—if only she was able to write like the other women in the local writers’ group. But how can Jane write the perfect romance when she’s never experienced love?
After a lengthy stay in hospital, budding singer and songwriter Sam Marshall ends up as a resident in Willow Creek Nursing Home. Jane soon becomes his guiding light. But how can he be a man for her when he relies on so many others day-to-day?
Will Sam turn out to be the perfect muse to help Jane write her epic romance? Will Jane be the one to teach Sam how to truly live? Does love truly know no barriers?
It happened in stages.
My father left.
My twin sister died of an incurable autoimmune disease.
My mother started breaking down.
Then I was diagnosed with the very thing that took my other half from me.
That was when I realized Mama’s eyes turned gold when she cried.
So I moved in with my father and his new family—new wife, new son, new stepbrother.
Kaiden Monroe made me feel normal.
Hated. Cared for. Loathed. And … loved.
Somewhere along the way, I’d found solace in the boy with brooding eyes.
But everything happens in stages.
And nothing good ever lasts.
My father left.
My twin sister died of an incurable autoimmune disease.
My mother started breaking down.
Then I was diagnosed with the very thing that took my other half from me.
That was when I realized Mama’s eyes turned gold when she cried.
So I moved in with my father and his new family—new wife, new son, new stepbrother.
Kaiden Monroe made me feel normal.
Hated. Cared for. Loathed. And … loved.
Somewhere along the way, I’d found solace in the boy with brooding eyes.
But everything happens in stages.
And nothing good ever lasts.
Vivid by Jessica Wilde
Merrick Thatcher went through a hell that no one could possibly imagine. He fought to protect his country, his family, and the men standing at his side, but it wasn't just being a soldier overseas that changed him. He watched his friends die in front of him, felt indescribable pain, and lost his sight in the very same moment.
Badly injured, blind, and angry, he's done with war, but now he’s fighting his own battle. So, he’s waiting for it to end, spending his days and nights in a thick darkness no light can penetrate. Until Grace walks into his life and his broken eyes open to a woman that changes everything for him.
A story about two flawed souls finding love amidst the grief. A love that shines vividly, even in the dark, and discovering that sometimes being broken is how the light gets in.
Hello Stranger by Jade West
Hello, stranger…
When your eyes land on a complete stranger on the train, and the world around you stops.
When the stranger says hello, and your heart stops, too.
When the universe answers your prayers and he’s there, next day, on the train. A man so powerful - brooding with darkness and secrets.
I knew there was going to be more. I wanted more.
When the stranger is reading one of your favourite novels, and you’re reading one of his.
When you’re in such a flutter that you drop your treasured bookmark, and the stranger returns it next day.
When you think the universe can’t be any kinder, but it truly delivers the jackpot of all jackpots and two opposite worlds collide, as though it was meant to be.
Only it could never be so easy, could it?
Goodbye stranger…
Hello, Dr Hall.
When fate turns to love,
And love turns to pain,
Hope is the saviour,
To live through the rain.
When your eyes land on a complete stranger on the train, and the world around you stops.
When the stranger says hello, and your heart stops, too.
When the universe answers your prayers and he’s there, next day, on the train. A man so powerful - brooding with darkness and secrets.
I knew there was going to be more. I wanted more.
When the stranger is reading one of your favourite novels, and you’re reading one of his.
When you’re in such a flutter that you drop your treasured bookmark, and the stranger returns it next day.
When you think the universe can’t be any kinder, but it truly delivers the jackpot of all jackpots and two opposite worlds collide, as though it was meant to be.
Only it could never be so easy, could it?
Goodbye stranger…
Hello, Dr Hall.
When fate turns to love,
And love turns to pain,
Hope is the saviour,
To live through the rain.
Someday, Someday by Emma Scott
How long would you wait for love?
Max Kaufman was kicked out of his home as a teen and his life has been an uphill battle ever since. From addiction and living on the streets, to recovery and putting himself through nursing school, he’s spent the last ten years rebuilding his shattered sense of self. Now he’s taken a job as a private caretaker to Edward Marsh III, the president and CEO of one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Max soon learns Marsh’s multi-billion-dollar empire is a gold and diamond-encrusted web of secrets and lies.
The longer Max works and lives with the Marsh family, the tighter the secrets tangle around him. And his heart—that he’s worked so hard to protect—falls straight into the hands of the distant, cold, and beautiful son of a dynasty…
Silas Marsh is set to inherit the family fortune, but his father is determined his heir be the “perfect” son. Before Silas can take over the company and end its shady business practices, he must prove himself worthy…and deny his true nature.
Silas must choose: stand up to his father by being true to himself and his undeniable feelings for Max. Or pretend to be someone he is not in order to inherit everything. Even if it means sacrificing his first chance at love.
Master of Salt & Bones by Keri Lake
When I was a little girl, I dreamed a handsome knight would come and rescue me from my wretched mother. He'd ride up on his white steed and break the curse I've been fated to carry since the day I was born. Funny how things changed over time. How the fairy tale twisted into something far more crooked, darker than I ever imagined.
In reality, my knight is scarred and broken, living alone in a castle of bones that overlooks the sea. He isn’t searching for me. He never was.
Lucian Blackthorne is as cursed as I am, and equally shunned by the locals, the fishers of men, who believe him to be the devil in the flesh. Perhaps he is, with the way his amber eyes draw me in, ignite me like an infernal blaze. And the sins he whispers in my ear are as wickedly intoxicating as the man himself.
Yet, his touch is heaven and his will is my weakness. He calls us forbidden, an unsalvageable tragedy, with no happy end. Maybe we are. But in this story, he’s the one who needs saving.
Once upon a time, in an alleyway in the slums of the City of Lockes, a young and somewhat lonely boy named Sam Haversford turns a group of teenage douchebags into stone completely by accident.
Of course, this catches the attention of a higher power, and Sam's pulled from the only world he knows to become an apprentice to the King's Wizard, Morgan of Shadows.
When Sam is fourteen, he enters the Dark Woods and returns with Gary, the hornless gay unicorn, and a half-giant named Tiggy, earning the moniker Sam of Wilds.
At fifteen, Sam learns what love truly is when a new knight arrives at the castle. Sir Ryan Foxheart, the dreamiest dream to have ever been dreamed.
Naturally, it all goes to hell through the years when Ryan dates the reprehensible Prince Justin, Sam can't control his magic, a sexually aggressive dragon kidnaps the prince, and the King sends them on an epic quest to save Ryan's boyfriend, all while Sam falls more in love with someone he can never have.
Or so he thinks.
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