Books like 'Head Above Water'
Readers who enjoyed Head Above Water by C.E. Ricci also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary romance small town mlm lgbtq enemies-to-lovers angst cheating domestic-drama grief
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Saving 6 by Chloe Walsh
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsHe’s about to meet his match.When teenagers from the same side of the tracks collide.The second born son in a broken marriage, Joey Lynch has spent a lifetime picking up the pieces of a family unraveling. When his older brother Darren skips town on his first day of secondary school, twelve year old Joey finds himself thrown into the role of protector to his younger siblings and mother... -
The Confidence of Wildflowers by Micalea Smeltzer
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMy future is a big ‘what if’ at the moment and I’m fine with that.For the most part. When Thayer Holmes moves in next door, the grumpy landscaper both fascinates and amuses me.When he asks me to nanny his kid, it’s a great way to make some extra money. It’s impossible not to fall in love with Thayer and his adorable son.There’s a big problem though.I’m eighteen. He’s thirty-one... -
The Choice by Ashley Jade
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe Star-crossed Lovers DuetFrom USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Ashley Jade comes a gritty, off-limits standalone romance about mistakes, choices, and love conquering all. He was the mysterious dark knight always swooping in to save me when I needed it most. I was the troubled girl with scars and a bleeding heart. He was the gifted guitarist destined for big things... -
Disgrace by Brittainy C. Cherry
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsEach day I prayed for my husband to love me again. After fifteen years together, he walked away from me, and into the arms of another. I didn’t know how to cope. I didn’t know my worth. I didn’t know how to exist without him by my side. All I wanted was for him to come back to me. Then, Jackson Emery appeared. He was supposed to be a distraction for my mind. A summer fling... -
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Untaken Twin by Samantha Christy
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsA forbidden romance.There’s only one thing worse than your fiancé dying . . .It's having to look into his face every single day.Or should I say - the face of his twin.So I left.I never knew promises were made. Then broken.And I surely never expected those promises to be about me.When I return to my hometown and see his face, the heartache I’ve been running from is front and center...Categorized as:
angst enemies-to-lovers forced-proximity friends-to-lovers slow-burn steamy adult book -
How to Say I Do by Tal Bauer
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsOpposites attract, sure. But when Manhattan glitz collides with Texas grit, will love be enough?Noël:Manhattan is my heart and soul. In the cutthroat world of elite public relations, I’m one of the princes. I manage global superstars, predict the up-and-coming trends, easy. And social media? That’s my specialty. I can make you, hon, and launch you straight to the stratosphere... -
Dear Love, I Hate You: An Enemies-to-Lovers Romance by Eliah Greenwood
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIt all started with an anonymous letter. He wasn’t supposed to find it—no one was. And he definitely wasn’t supposed to answer it. We end up talking through letters and sticky notes in a book. One sticky note. Two sticky notes. Ten sticky notes. All baring our darkest, deepest secrets. It’s all fun and games until I find out who my pen pal is... Xavier Emery...Categorized as:
angst cheating dark domestic-drama enemies-to-lovers friends-to-lovers multi-pov slow-burn -
The Fisherman Series: Special Edition by Jewel E. Ann
Rated: 4.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFEATURED IN THIS EDITION:• Special Edition Cover• A foreward from the author• The Naked Fisherman• The Lost Fisherman• Bonus content: select chapters from Fisher's point of viewUSA Today & Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, Jewel E...Categorized as:
angst cheating domestic-drama forced-proximity friends-to-lovers love-triangle multi-pov steamy -
Wilder Love by Emery Rose
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsI was his weakness. He was my strength. Until I destroyed him. I was infatuated with Shane Wilder since the first time I saw him surfing. But we couldn’t be together. Not yet, anyway. I was too young and screwed up. He was too focused on chasing his dream. So we became friends. We met on the rooftop for late-night confessions under the stars...Categorized as:
angst cheating dark domestic-drama enemies-to-lovers forbidden-love friends-to-lovers multi-pov -
Combust by K. Bromberg
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom New York Times Bestselling author, K. Bromberg, comes the second standalone book in the Everyday Heroes series. Just how hot will firefighter Grady Malone turn up the heat? Songwriter Dylan McCoy has been burned. By her boyfriend she found in her bed . . . with someone else. By the contract she signed that obligates her to work with him until the songs for his new album are complete...Categorized as:
angst cheating domestic-drama forbidden-love forced-proximity friends-to-lovers grief love-triangle -
Tragic by Devney Perry
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsKaine Reynolds wants nothing more than solitude. After an unthinkable tragedy destroys his family, he’s cut off all ties to his former life so he can battle his grief the only way he knows how. Alone. So when Piper Campbell knocks on his door, rambling on about being his new neighbor, he slams the door in her face. But Kaine’s gruff demeanor doesn’t scare her...Categorized as:
angst cheating dark domestic-drama enemies-to-lovers forced-proximity friends-to-lovers grief -
If There's a Way by Jessie Walker
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsHe was all I ever needed. Desperate. Shattered. Lost.I was a shell of who I once was.Until him...I was a fool to come back to Shiloh.An even bigger fool to stay.But when it comes to Waylon McAllister, I never stood a chance.He's damaged. Reckless. Toxic.A walking, talking grenade to my heart.But no matter how hard I try, I can't shake him... -
My Kinda Song by Lacey Black
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAbby Summer has been in love with one man most of her life, but he doesn’t know she exists. For years, Abby has watched him go home with woman after woman, not even noticing the one who stands loyally beside him. That’s why a dating site is the perfect solution to Abby’s problems: get over Levi and move on to someone else... -
The Art of Husbandry by Jay Hogan
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen life drowns you in lemons, to hell with making lemonade. I wanted to burn the whole world. But eighteen months from the day my life was torn apart, I’m tired of the anger. Tired of the nightmares. Tired of putting one foot in front of the other just trying to survive. Three months on a high country sheep station in the middle of nowhere is exactly the reboot I need. A chance to break free... -
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Romeo Falling by Jesse H. Reign
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhat happens when he’s your Romeo…but you’re no Juliet? Romeo and I were friends long before we were lovers. Best friends. Ride or die. What started as an innocent kiss slowly unraveled and shattered, giving way to years of tears and total obsession.Now I’m back in the small town I call home, staring straight into the face of the only man I’ve ever loved…or hated... -
The Fire by May Archer
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsJAMIE Parker Hoffstraeder is gorgeous, cocky, and totally irrational. He also broke my heart when he left town eleven years, four months, and twenty-eight days ago. Not that I’m counting. I don’t mind admitting it: I was young. I got burned. I learned my lesson... -
June First by Jennifer Hartmann
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsWant to know what happens to a man who barely claws his way out of a tragedy, only to fall right into the arms of the one girl in the world he can never have?Another tragedy, that’s what.When I was six years old, my father made a choice that altered the course of my entire life. Because of what he did, the only girl I ever loved became the only girl I couldn’t have... -
Arrows Through Archer by Nash Summers
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAfter the loss of his parents, Archer Hart is consumed by grief. Each day, he struggles his way through classes, parties, and trying to put on a good front for the sake of his best friend. But at night, he falls asleep to the sound of gunshots ringing in his ears.Mallory is a man fighting a war of emotions all his own... -
Galaxies and Oceans by N.R. Walker
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsSeizing his one chance to escape, Ethan Hosking leaves his violent ex-boyfriend, leaves his entire life, and walks into the path of a raging bushfire. Desperate to start over, a new man named Aubrey Hobbs walks out of the fire-ravaged forest, alive and alone. With no ID and no money, nothing but his grandfather’s telescope, he goes where the Southern Cross leads him... -
Shattered Dreams by Natasha Madison
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMontgavin Township will never be the same when one night changes the lives of six people. The course of their lives and the trajectory of the town sets them on a collision course for disaster.CharlieIt was supposed to be a regular day out.Three couples celebrating the last days of summer.When tragedy struck.I thought I was going to marry her.Instead, I was burying her...Categorized as:
enemies-to-lovers angst grief friends-to-lovers multi-pov forced-proximity slow-burn steamy -
Simply Mine by Laura Pavlov
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsShe’s looking for Mr. Right. I can offer her Mr. Right Now.That’s my specialty.He’s my best friend’s older brother.He was also my teenage crush and completely out of reach.But we had our secrets—moments that nobody knew about.I’d tucked them away in a safe place, and that’s where I’d planned to keep them.He’d moved to the city, and I’d moved on... -
Torn by Carian Cole, קריאן קול
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsWhen I was five years old, I told Toren Grace I was going to marry him when I grew up. When I turned eighteen, I made it clear I still felt the same. The problem? He's fifteen years older than me, and he's my father's best friend.Toren Grace. My pseudo-uncle. He's always been my rock--the one I should never, ever want. But I do want him, and I love him. I always have.Tor's one of the good guys... -
Somebody to Love by Wendy Vella
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsHe was the bad boy no one trustedBailey’s burned out and not sure what leads her back to Ryker Falls, but has a feeling it’s got something to do with closure. Bad boy Joe Trainer was once her soulmate, but she isn’t sure she has a soul anymore. Finding he’s made something of his life is a shock, as he’d been on a one-way trip to hell when she left...Categorized as:
friends-to-lovers steamy multi-pov enemies-to-lovers romance contemporary small-town fiction -
She Was Mine First by M. Robinson
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsHe’s a determined billionaire used to getting what he wants, and she’s prepared to marry the wrong man to prove to them she’s moved on. But neither of them is ready to let go of the past…A small-town, friends to lovers, second chance romance from Wall Street Journal & USA Bestselling Author M...Categorized as:
friends-to-lovers angst steamy slow-burn cheating domestic-drama love-triangle multi-pov -
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Dreams of You by Carina Adams
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsDean Cullen.Boy next door. My best friend’s big brother. I’d known the arrogant, bossy, domineering jackass my entire life.Falling in love with him would be such a cliché.Not to mention, the town’s golden boy (insert eye roll here) had big plans to get the hell out of Dodge and they didn’t include me. Which was fine. I had my own life mapped out, far from his...Categorized as:
friends-to-lovers angst cheating domestic-drama forbidden-love slow-burn multi-pov romance -
Tide Over by Eve Holmes
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe storm will always pass…Desperate to escape his pain, Liam Fraser returns to his home province of Nova Scotia—but not to the place he once called home. Instead, he finds himself in Torrin Cove, a tiny, remote fishing village that seems like the perfect place to hide from the painful memories he can’t outrun... -
Off Key (Whispering Key) by May Archer
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsI’m about to sing you the saddest song in the universe, and it’s called “The Man of My Dreams Married My Sister.” It’s kinda my theme song. And trust me when I tell you, it’s heavy on the violins.Because the man in question? He’s not just any guy, he’s Rafe freakin’ Goodman. My former best friend. The boy who made my summers on Whispering Key magical...Categorized as:
angst enemies-to-lovers forced-proximity friends-to-lovers lgbtq mlm slow-burn steamy -
Until August by Emery Rose
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsI fell in love with two men. But fate would decide which one I could keep.When I met Cruz Vega, it was love at first sight. He was my forever and always, my port in the storm, my one true love.Everything was so perfect.Until a cruel twist of fate robbed us of a future.Now, I was navigating uncharted territory. Merely surviving without really living.Until August Harper...Categorized as:
angst cheating domestic-drama forbidden-love forced-proximity friends-to-lovers grief love-triangle -
Pedal to the Metal by Eden Connor
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsMy love life? It’s complicated. I walked away from my stepbrothers again, this time to make my mother happy. To make my best friend Caroline happy. And what did those bad boys do? They put Caroline in the car and came after me... -
Where There's a Will by Jessie Walker
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsHe was everything I never wanted.Impulsive. Careless. Self-Destructive.I'm the cliché they all warn you about.The head case with a pretty face.If I'm not chasing the bottom of a bottle,I'm snorting a line off a girl's ass.That guy you know who plays Russian Roulette at parties?That's me.But that all changes when he comes barreling back into my life.Will Foster.The boy from my childhood... -
Lot 62 by Nordika Night
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsEvery fairytale had a villain, and this way of life was ours. Coming from nothing and gaining something is a lot to handle. Can they hang on to it? A year after moving in together on Lot 62, Devon and Maddox have a whole new dynamic to adjust to—cohabitation. Merging their personalities and energies into one tiny trailer is a lot to handle, but so is their relationship... -
Landon & Shay - Part Two: by Brittainy C. Cherry
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsOnce upon a time, I fell in love with a boy.A beautiful, broken boy who had his own world of struggles. People warned me against our love, but I didn't listen.We looked weak. Young, foolish. Dangerously in love. We didn't care.In order to keep our hearts protected from the opinions of others, we became each other’s secret. We shared stolen moments. Tender touches. Secretive embraces...Categorized as:
angst cheating dark domestic-drama enemies-to-lovers friends-to-lovers multi-pov sad -
In Too Deep by Rebecca Sharp
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFrom bestselling author, Dr. Rebecca Sharp, comes a heart-wrenching and sexy standalone in the Winter Games series...Life has thrown Tammy Lucas one curveball after another, disrupting her perfectly-ordered plans...Categorized as:
enemies-to-lovers friends-to-lovers cheating domestic-drama multi-pov steamy dark contemporary -
Bad Taste In Men by Erin Nicholas
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“You’ve been moping around long enough. Let me show you how these guys should be treating you.” Bailey Davis does not have bad taste in men. She’s just had some relationships that haven’t worked out. That’s totally normal. And she now has one broken engagement. Big deal. And an ex-fiancé who cheated on her. Okay maybe she has bad taste in men. At least the ones she plans to marry...Categorized as:
friends-to-lovers steamy multi-pov forced-proximity contemporary small-town fiction book -
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All Autumn by Sandra Owens
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAutumn Stratton has it all. Or so she thinks until she catches her two-timing husband with his pants around his ankles. There is much Autumn can forgive but infidelity isn’t one of them. Since she obviously can’t trust her judgment in men, she decides they are only good for one thing… Connor Hunter has been friends with Autumn since the first grade, and she’s like a sister to him...Categorized as:
friends-to-lovers cheating slow-burn steamy angst domestic-drama romance contemporary -
Life after Love by J.J. Harper
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAll he wanted was a new life, not a new love.MerrickMerrick has the perfect life: a husband, a baby, and a great future ahead of him. Until all that is ripped away, and he’s left alone with his daughter. After two years, he knows it’s time to move on. To find a new life for him and Willow. It comes in the shape of a derelict mill house nestled in the hills above a Devon seaside town... -
Relief Pitcher by Lee Blair
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsI thought I was helping him get his groove back. Turns out he’s helping me fall in love.TylerI have one rule when it comes to matters of my one and done. Consensually, of course. Fun with no complicated romantic feelings. Not that I’m built to experience those, anyway.After my car breaks down on a remote road, I follow a lumbersnack back to his creepy cabin for the cell service... -
Somebody Else by Jaxson Kidman
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom the author of bestselling novels 5 YEARS LATER & LET YOU GO comes the heart wrenching, bestselling story about a couple who lost the unthinkable... and then lost each other. With a chance encounter, the spark they once lost is still there... but what if it's too late for them? He was the one I loved.I was the one who walked away.We both know why.I was never supposed to see him again... -
Levi's Love by K.C. Wells
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsUnrequited love hurts like hell Levi Brown has loved Noah White since he was a teenager, but Noah isn’t looking for a relationship. Every time Levi sees him, his heart aches for what it cannot have. Because dear Lord, he wants Noah, in his life, in his bed.Especially in his bed. The only reason Levi is still a virgin is because he was waiting for Noah. Except Noah doesn’t want him... -
Only Rivals by Charity Ferrell
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe first boy I ever hated was Jax Bridges.The first man I loved was his best friend.My plan was to meet a boy, fall in love, and live happily ever after.That ended when my boyfriend died and left me half of his business.Now, his best friend and I are business partners.There’s just one problem: We hate each other.Jax and I have been rivals since childhood...Categorized as:
angst enemies-to-lovers forced-proximity love-triangle slow-burn steamy adult audiobook -
Black by Quin, Perin.
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratings“Meow!”There it was.The sound that made my knees buckle.He purred, neck stretched, eyes half-lidded.With those cat ears, in his hair.And the tail, that he flicked.A ray of sun in the drizzling rain. I’d been a traveler, floating adrift, while he’d stayed in one place. How was I supposed to know he’d become my anchor? My light. My everything... -
Healing the Twin by Nora Phoenix
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsEveryone thinks they know me. Hell, I don’t even know who I am anymore.We were at the top. Tomás and Tiago Banner, the most famous twins in the world. The sexiest men alive. My whole identity was rooted in being the older brother, in taking care of my twin, in being a model.Until Tiago fell in love and left me on my own. Now I’m lost, drifting without an anchor. Hurting... -
Grumpy Bear by Slade James
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsHooking up with an employee is not on my to-do list.Making sure other men have a good time is my business, even if it means suppressing my own desires. It’s opening weekend at my clothing-optional campground, guests are starting to arrive, and I’ve got a pool party and a few hundred peoples’ vacations to save while battling Mother Nature’s tantrums... -
Dirty Trick by K.M. Neuhold
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsCan you be friends with benefits with a guy who hates you? What about enemies with benefits instead?My plan to lick every cupcake Boston wants until he realizes I’m his only option might actually work out…Was pretending to sleep with tons of men to keep my crush from hooking up with them a Dirty Trick? Sure. Do I regret it? Not one bit... -
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Expect Me by Lacey Black
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTravis Stevens struggles to move on and forget about the one amazing night he spent tangled up in the sheets with a beautiful woman who disappeared just before dawn. Now she’s just a memory that he can’t ignore... -
Meet Me in the Blue by A.M. Johnson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsMeet me… in the place where the sun kisses the horizon and sinks into blue shades of you and me.Meet me there… where everything was always perfect. You and me and the damp grass at dawn and the gray dirt in the late evening rain.Meet me where we were ourselves and not these two people who can’t even say I love you... -
Chaser by Charity Ferrell
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThings I never thought would happen:Meeting my boyfriend’s secret wife.Finding out I’m pregnant with his baby.Pretending my best friend is the father.In public, we fake a relationship.In private, we try not to fall in love.The more we pretend, the more we forget it’s only temporary.If only we had known it would change everything...Categorized as:
cheating domestic-drama forced-proximity friends-to-lovers multi-pov slow-burn steamy adult -
Griff's Place by Riley Hart
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsGRIFFINI always felt I wasn’t wired like my peers, but when my brother, Kellan, gave me three terms—ace, aromantic, and demi—I had possible names for it. Those three words have been on my mind ever since, as has my brother’s best friend, Josh Westbrook. It’s been cool getting to know him and spending time together, just us. He makes me feel something I never thought I’d be able to feel... -
Wreck My World by Victoria Ashley
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratings“The feeling I have in this very moment, after not seeing her for so long, will haunt me forever, reminding me why I left to begin with.” For as long as I can remember, Easton Crews has been off-limits. As much as it kills me, that’s never going to change. After his little disappearing act three years ago, then suddenly showing up out of nowhere, I shouldn't want anything to do with him...Categorized as:
angst dark enemies-to-lovers forbidden-love friends-to-lovers love-triangle multi-pov steamy -
Game On by Riley Hart, Devon McCormack
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsCARTER Relationships--who needs 'em? As a personal-assistant-extraordinaire to one of the top PR firms in Los Angeles, I've dedicated most of my life to errand-running and people-pleasing. But when it comes to men, as much as I love to please them in the bedroom, I'm way too busy to give more than that. Fortunately, as far as my options go..
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