Books like 'Back to the Start'
Readers who enjoyed Back to the Start by Monica McCallan also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary romance small town lgbtq wlw second-chances friends-to-lovers enemies-to-lovers angst
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Southern Roots by Lise Gold
Rated: 4.75 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHannah Hudson has had a rough start to the year. Returning home to London from her magical holiday in Norway, still on a high after meeting the wonderful Kristine, her newfound happiness is dealt a crushing blow when she discovers that her ex has been stealing from her and she is going to lose her business... -
The Last Second Chance by Lucy Score
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhat would it take to get one last chance? Joey Greer is done having her heart broken. Eight years ago, after a horrific car accident, Jackson Pierce—her high school sweetheart—abandoned her. Abandoned his family. Abandoned the town they'd both grown up in, and fled to Hollywood. He never looked back, and she never forgot him. Or forgave him...Categorized as:
angst enemies-to-lovers friends-to-lovers second-chances adult book celebrity contemporary -
Unexpected Bond by Kaylee Ryan
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsJust when you think you’ve got it all figured out, the universe decides to tilt your world on its axis. I had a plan, and I was moving forward until the day my world was flipped upside down. It’s a challenge I wasn’t prepared for, but one I had to face. How do you combine the life you thought you had to the one you’re living? One breath. One second. One minute. One hour... -
The Goodmans by Clare Ashton
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe lovely doctor Abby Hart lives in her dream cottage in the quintessential English border town of Ludbury, home to the Goodmans. Maggie Goodman, all fire and passion, is like another mother to her, amiable Richard a rock and 60s-child Celia is the grandmother she never had. But Abby has a secret. Best friend Jude Goodman is the love of her life, and very, very straight...Categorized as:
angst enemies-to-lovers friends-to-lovers lgbtq second-chances wlw adult bisexuality -
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Say Cheese by T.B. Markinson, Miranda MacLeod
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA spicy age gap romance where one night of passion could lead to a lifetime of love... -
Bayou Dreaming by Lexi Blake
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake’s heartfelt contemporary romance set in Louisiana's Butterfly Bayou. Roxanne King left the big city looking for a simpler life, but after years of proving herself on a SWAT team in New York City, being deputy in a sleepy Louisiana parish is something of an adjustment...Categorized as:
enemies-to-lovers friends-to-lovers second-chances adult animals audiobook book contemporary -
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...Categorized as:
lgbtq friends-to-lovers angst enemies-to-lovers second-chances romance mlm contemporary -
Poppy Jenkins by Clare Ashton
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsTwo old friends, one hot summer, a whole load of confusion. Poppy Jenkins makes everyone smile. She’s the heart of Wells, a beautiful village in mid-Wales, leaving light and laughter in her wake. She has a doting family, an errant dog and a little sister with a nose for mischief... -
All In by Eliza Lentzski
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBook Four and the dénouement of the Winter Jacket Series. Hollywood had been a disaster. Elle Graft—Associate Professor of English and once-budding television screenwriter—could admit that much. Now back in Minnesota and back to her old life, Elle’s determined to get her relationship with Hunter back on track. It all started with a broken classroom heater and a blue winter coat... -
Pinot & Pineapple Lumps by Jay Hogan
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsPenn from Adelaide. That’s all I knew. We shared a single kiss over a year ago, and I can still remember every toe-curling second of it. He thought I was too young for him. I thought he was running scared. But that kiss was the first time I’d felt alive in a long time, and I’ve been chasing the feeling ever since—doing my research, a lot of research, a lot of men... -
Silent Chaos by Nikki Ash
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBraxtonOur senior year, I promised my girl forever. Forever, as it turned out, wasn't enough. She told me so in her actions. When she took a match to my life, burning it to ash. I headed to LA with my band—Raging Chaos—like we always planned, while Kaylee went to college, taking my damaged heart with her. This was where our story was supposed to end. Only six years later, our lives collide again...Categorized as:
angst enemies-to-lovers friends-to-lovers second-chances adult book contemporary family -
The Beautiful Mess by Aimee Nicole Walker
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA heroic, sworn bachelor risks his neck to save lives, but his heart needs a daring rescue.Kerry likes his beer cold, his coffee hot, and sex without strings. Running an emergency response crew takes up most of his time, and he reserves the rest for his family. Besides, he’s experienced enough heartache for two lifetimes and isn’t looking for more misery... -
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 friends-to-lovers lgbtq second-chances action-adventure adult audiobook -
Second Wind by Aimee Nicole Walker
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSecond wind: a new strength or energy to continue something that is an effort. After an amicable divorce, Lincoln Huxley is ready to embrace the sexuality he repressed for more than two decades. Rush Holden is no longer willing to settle for closeted men or those who don’t share his dreams of marriage and fatherhood. A chance encounter on a lakeside pier is the second wind they both need... -
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Sunsets and Shades by Erica Lee
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsKinsley Scott is a lesbian romance author who doesn’t actually believe in love. While her alter ego, Laurel Lake, loves happy endings and epic love stories, Kinsley has a more cynical view of the world. Grace Harper is a hopeless romantic hanging on every word of the lesbian romance novels she reads... -
Strawberry Summer by Melissa Brayden
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsJust because you’re through with your past, doesn’t mean it’s through with you. Margaret Beringer didn’t have an easy adolescence. She hated her name, was less than popular in school, and was always cast aside as a “farm kid.” However, with the arrival of Courtney Carrington, Margaret’s youth sparked into color. Courtney was smart, beautiful, and put together—everything Margaret wasn’t... -
Back in Your Arms by Monica McCallan
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsSeventeen years ago, Quinn McKinley left her small town of Kingsford for a shot at a happier life. Now a successful real estate agent in New York City, she’s brought back on behalf of a client, begrudgingly accepting her return home in order to close the deal of a lifetime... -
Bourbon & Bonfires by Andrea Johnston
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLandon Montgomery has suddenly found himself the lone bachelor in his group of friends. With a new career handed to him and a string of unsuccessful blind dates behind him, Landon is ready to search for love. A chance meeting and immediate attraction have him wondering if things are about to turn around or if he’s stuck in the single life forever... -
Girls Who Pray by Evelyn Dar
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author Claire Roberts is being sued by the Amish. Yep, those Amish. Claire’s latest release, a tell-all memoir about growing up Amish, reveals startling truths and intimate details about a passionate, secret love affair between herself and another woman... -
To Be With You by T.J. O'Shea
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLeah Vasquez and Victoria Lockwood should not fall in love.They’re smart enough to know a star-crossed lovers’ situation never works out. Leah’s a loner from the poor side of town, working two jobs, and aching to leave their sleepy hometown in her rear view forever... -
Beguiled By Her by Chelsea M. Cameron
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThere were only two things I had to look forward finally moving into my own place without an awful roommate, and my Saturday nights at the only lesbian bar in the state of Maine—Sapph. I make it a rule to never kiss the same person twice, but one night I lock lips (and do a little more) with a platinum-blonde, tattooed stunner and I can’t resist having a second taste...Categorized as:
friends-to-lovers lgbtq wlw romance lesbian-mc small-town forced-proximity audiobook -
Covenant by Ann McMan
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsPresent Day: Jericho, Virginia.Covenant continues the beloved saga of the residents of Jericho, a sleepy town in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, where life and love have as many twists and turns as a winding mountain road.Six weeks have passed since the fateful unfolding of events at the town’s Fourth of July celebration... -
Side by Side by Nicole Pyland
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSports Series Book #6. This series is related by a sports theme, not by characters.As teenagers, Belle Elrod and Chandler Wolfe had been chosen to be part of Team USA figure skating’s elite training program. But when something happened, and Belle left the program, they were both left wondering what might have been... -
Wright that Got Away by K.A. Linde
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA sexy second chance rockstar romance set in the world of the Wrights about Campbell & Blaire from USA Today bestselling author K.A. Linde…Campbell Abbey is the lead singer of the biggest band in the universe right now.He’s also the boy I fell in love with in high school when no one knew my name... -
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Someday, Maybe by Addison Clarke
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWalker Forsyth is two years sober and back in her hometown of Moonflower Cove after two years away. She’s made her amends with her sisters and friends and is ready to start a new chapter in her life. More than anything though, she’s hoping to have a second chance with the love of her life.Maddie Carlson has spent two years wondering what it would be like when Walker came back to the Cove... -
In the Long Run by Haley Cass
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFree-spirited and easygoing Taylor Vandenberg left her hometown of Faircombe, Tennessee as soon as she could, and in the twenty-five years since, she has rarely looked back. She wouldn’t change anything about how her life has turned out – having traveled to nearly every country, never staying anywhere long enough to feel stifled... -
What a Tangled Web by Melissa Brayden
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAs winemaker at Tangle Valley Vineyard, Madison LeGrange relies on science and logic to make the best vintage possible. It’s also how she manages her life. But with her career in its prime, her accountant thinks it’s time she diversifies her income. Not a problem because her favorite café, the Bacon and Biscuit, is up for sale... -
Wright with Benefits by K.A. Linde
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA feisty stand alone friends with benefits romance from USA Today bestselling author K.A. Linde. With new characters set in the bestselling world of the Wrights, this is a perfect jumping on point for new readers! I shouldn’t have hooked up with my one night stand... again. To be fair, I was having the worst day of my life. I was sure that nothing else could go wrong. Then in walks Jordan Wright...Categorized as:
angst enemies-to-lovers friends-to-lovers adult audiobook billionaire book contemporary -
Grinding by Sean Ashcroft
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTwo childhood best friends. One accidental fake engagement. One Labrador puppy. One week to fall in love.When Harvey runs into his childhood best friend—literally—on the way into Otter Bay for his cousin's wedding, he doesn't plan to end up playing the part of the guy's fiancé...Categorized as:
lgbtq friends-to-lovers second-chances romance mlm contemporary small-town fake-relationship -
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... -
Perfect Day by Sally Malcolm
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsFirst love conquers all in Perfect Day, a captivating contemporary male/male retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion. Love doesn’t burn out just because the timing’s wrong. It grows. It never leaves. When Joshua Newton, prodigal son of one of New Milton’s elite, fell in love with ambitious young actor Finn Callaghan, his world finally made sense...Categorized as:
angst enemies-to-lovers friends-to-lovers lgbtq second-chances adult bisexuality book -
Not the Marrying Kind by Jae
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSmall-town florist Ashley Gaines loves her little flower shop and putting together the perfect bouquets for weddings and other happy occasions. Her own love life, however, is far from blossoming. Ash has decided that staying in the closet is safer than risking her heart again.Local bakery owner Sasha Peterson hasn’t had much luck mixing it up with romance either... -
One Golden Summer by Clare Lydon, T.B. Markinson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSaffron Oliver is the golden girl. Golden hair. Golden skin. Golden movie career.Only one problem: she hates it.She flees to her sister’s seaside town – where she meets the confident & charming Kirsty McBride.Kirsty is everything Saffron wants to be. Perhaps also, everything she wants.But Saffron can’t have it all... -
Drawn to You by Jaclyn Quinn
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLeaving his enormous family behind, native New Yorker, Elijah, decides to move to Brighton Pier for a fresh start. Being part of a large LGBTQ community and landing his dream job at Inkubus, a local tattoo shop, is too big of a draw for him to turn down... -
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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... -
Atramentum by M.J. Duncan
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsJoss Perrault left Sky, Colorado after high school with no intention of ever returning, but all that changes when she inherits Atramentum... -
Turkeys by Lucy Lennox, May Archer
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsHunter Jackson’s Sage Advice for a Happy Thanksgiving:When your turkey-thieving, town-abandoning, former childhood friend reappears in Licking Thicket after fifteen long years, looking like a snack and smelling like all your favorite treats put together, it might be tempting to, well, dig in. Don’t... -
The Consequence of Rejection by Rachel Van Dyken
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA standalone second chance romance by #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Rachel Van Dyken. You know the universe is trying to tell you something when you get struck by lightning, but only after getting hit on by the elderly, almost getting run over by a semi, and running into the one who got away...Categorized as:
angst enemies-to-lovers friends-to-lovers second-chances adult audiobook book comedy -
At Seventeen by Gerri Hill
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsMadison Lansford and Shannon Fletcher met when they were ten years old. Madison—daughter of wealthy parents and Shannon, daughter of their live-in maid and cook—became fast friends, yet both knew their place in life.There was never a doubt that they would become lovers . . . there was also never a doubt that Madison would marry and maintain her social standing in the community... -
Always Mine by Sloane Kennedy
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsI had one reason for never going back to the small town I once called home, but I never guessed it would be the same one that made me want to stay… Brooks I grew up in the small town of Eden, Wyoming, but never really felt like I fit in. Until I met the one boy who changed all that. When we were kids, Xavier Price understood horses, but somehow, he got me too...Categorized as:
angst enemies-to-lovers friends-to-lovers lgbtq second-chances abuse adult audiobook -
How Sweet It Is by Melissa Brayden
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSome things are better than chocolate... Molly O’Brien is a sweetheart. Her friends and neighbors all think so. While she enjoys her quiet life running the town bakeshop in Applewood, Illinois, she wonders if there could be more. After losing the love of her life four years prior in a plane crash, Molly thinks she’s ready to navigate the dicey dating waters once again... -
Accepting My Desire: Sulfur Springs Book 8 by Taylor Rylan, Jay Aheer
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsJase Keller took life one day at a time. As a deputy sheriff, his schedule fluctuated weekly and he never knew when he’d be home. But when his grandmother needed his help, he didn’t hesitate in stepping up. After all, she had done that very thing when his own mother had abandoned him as an infant... -
The I Do Over by Samantha Chase
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFor 48 hours, they were married. But that was a long time ago.Seventeen years ago, Maddie Christopher told one little white lie, and it has been wreaking havoc on her life ever since. At the time, the lie was worth it—it meant she got to marry the man she loved, however brief a marriage it was—but now she’s ready to finally move on...Categorized as:
enemies-to-lovers friends-to-lovers second-chances adult audiobook book contemporary fiction -
Blooming by Sean Ashcroft
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsInstagram crush. Instant fling.The last thing amateur food photographer Milo expects to find in the sleepy town of Otter Bay is the cute boy he’s been crushing on from Instagram. He’s in town to help his pregnant sister, not to look for a fling, but his best friend is right—it’s been so long since he got laid that they’ll be reissuing his v-card any day now... -
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Redemption by Laura Lee
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsUSA Today Bestselling author, Laura Lee, brings you a standalone story about love, loss, and second chances, set in Corinne Michaels' Salvation Society world. I fell in love with Beckett Armstrong before either one of us knew what that meant. He was my first kiss. My first love. My entire world. We promised each other forever, and we meant it wholeheartedly...Categorized as:
angst friends-to-lovers second-chances action-adventure adult alpha-mc book contemporary -
How to Lose a Girl in 10 Texts by Delancey Stewart, Marika Ray
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSophia Whittington is the girl next door. And Dillon Cunningham hates hers with the fire of a thousand suns... Only, it's not hate as much as... something else. The things that happened between them in high school, coupled with the loss of his dad, are a big part of what drove Dillon to decide that his future would be far, far away from Solano Creek, his family, and especially, Sophia... -
Faking by Sean Ashcroft
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA leaked sex tape. A fake relationship. A return home.Ryder swore he was never going back to Otter Bay after leaving at seventeen, but when his life is set on fire in LA, he finds himself ducking into a cozy café on Main Street with his tail between his legs.Unfortunately, he also finds that his best friend, the first boy he ever had a crush on, grew up hot...Categorized as:
friends-to-lovers lgbtq second-chances adult book contemporary fake-relationship fiction -
Rebel Without A Claus by Bryce Oakley
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsI’ve finally gotten a handle on my life. Sure, it’s taken into my 30s to get here, but I’ve finally got all my candy canes in a row. A job I love, a house I adore, and a town that still takes my breath away every holiday season.Let’s just forget all of the things that had to go wrong for me to get here. In fact, that’s just what I’m doing when Joy Martin waltzes back into town for the holidays... -
Work In Progress by Olivia Lucas
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsDear God, Can I please return her?I know I asked for a hot, amazing woman to shake things up, but this is not what I had in mind. Not even close.Sure, she has mesmerizing eyes that hypnotize me, killer legs, wild hair –Ugh.Anyway, Reagan and I are polar opposites.First of all – she is New York, I am small-town Harmon Valley.She is also bossy, career-obsessed, and oh, a royal pain in my ass... -
Just One Wedding by Chelsea M. Cameron
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCharli Sweet is happy to be living in Castleton, Maine with her roommate Natalie and working at her aunt’s bakery doing their social media management. She is, promise. So what if she can’t stop thinking about her ex who dumped her in dramatic fashion a year ago by changing the locks on their apartment? It takes a long time to get over a breakup...
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