Books like 'Once Upon a Valentine'
Readers who enjoyed Once Upon a Valentine by Allison Leigh also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary romance sad family myths
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Marred: Kyle and Violet by Tess Thompson
Rated: 4.70 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsKyle Hicks started with nothing. Now he's a self-made man. And as luck would have it, his latest project as a real estate developer lands him in Cliffside Bay with his very best friends, The Dogs. At the end of his grueling work days, Kyle's got just enough time left for his buddies and not much else... -
See You by Dawn Lee McKenna
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSometimes the promise of something is so good that it's worth having, even when you know that you can't keep it. See You is not a romance, but it is a love story; one filled with the rawness of and risk and redemption and the dry humor that is the backbone of the South.Emma has loved Jack since she was a little girl... -
The Last Day of Winter by Shari Low
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsOne December wedding. One runaway bride. One winter's day to bring everyone together again. Today is the day Caro and Cammy are due to walk up the aisle. But Caro's too caught up in the trauma of her past to contemplate their happy ever after. Stacey's decision to return from L.A. is fuelled by one thing – telling Cammy how she feels, before it's too late... -
Always You by Belle Brooks, Karen Harper
Rated: 4.75 of 5 stars · 8 ratings“I will breathe for you.” Some people’s bodies are built to run marathons. Others to lift and labour. And some are made so graceful their footsteps are barely heard. My body was built to be a vessel. It was Always You. Maybelline Connors knows stars are not always as faultless as they appear... -
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Blue String by Tess Thompson
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsShe's a single mom happily raising her son with the help of her family. He's a country music star reeling from tragedy. When he shows up on her doorstep asking for a safe place to hide from the world, will she let him into her heart and family?Costume designer Teagan Lanigan only has time to love her work and the young son she’s raising by herself... -
Fireflies & Family Ties by Rachel Hanna
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen Meg shows up at her mother's door, she has no idea how to break the news to her. She's come home from France, pregnant. At just nineteen years old, this wasn't where she saw her life going.Now, trying to hide her growing belly and figure out her next decision, she moves in with her mother, sister and aunt on Seabreeze Island... -
Brie Visits Master's Italy by Red Phoenix
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsBrie’s After Graduation Series #7Brie has many exciting lessons yet to learn. There’s a session on belts, an introduction to Master’s new skill and the unwelcomed challenge of jealousy. Master shares his father’s Italian hometown with his little sub. While exploring the island they discover something that has remained hidden for years, waiting for Master’s return... -
Family: The Club Girl Diaries Book 5 by Addison Jane
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFamily came first—that’s what the Brothers by Blood MC believed in. They fell in love, they battled the odds, and they fought through the danger that threatened to tear them apart, but it wasn’t over yet. Their stories were just the beginning, and now they were determined to continue to build their families and the next generation of the MC... -
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Breathe With Me by Red Phoenix
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhen life gets too rough, breathe with me… Tono Nosaka, the Kinbaku rope master, has known heartache and loss—never defeat. He is determined to claim his soulmate. Miss Autumn is courageous and talented, but she hides a personal secret that binds her heart. Just when the walls start to come down, Tono has a dream about Brie so shocking he would make any sacrifice to ensure it never comes true... -
Seabreeze Book Club by Jan Moran
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA new bookshop on the beach. A sizzling summer ahead. Join a new book club at the Seabreeze Inn.**From a USA Today bestselling author.**When sisters Ivy and Shelly Bay form a book club to help support a local bookshop on the beach, friends and guests of the inn are eager to join. Yet nothing is quite as it seems in the book club.Meanwhile, a discovery in the historic beach house inn causes a stir... -
Suloisimmat hetket by Virginie Grimaldi
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsHurmaava tarina äidinrakkaudesta ja naisista elämän taitekohdissa.Kun kuopus muuttaa pois kotoa, Élise tuntee itsensä merkityksettömäksi. Lapset vastaavat viesteihin viiveellä, ja seurana on vain masentunut koira. Uutta sisältöä elämään löytyy tanssikurssilta ja vapaaehtoistyöstä vauvaperheiden parissa... -
Brie Surrenders her Heart by Red Phoenix
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBrie’s submissive journey has been marked with self-discovery, humor, and sexual exploration. To her delight, Brie is about to enjoy the best scene ever with Master, carrying her to heights never imagined. Friendships deepen, a challenge is accepted, and her film career is launched. But life is a balance.. -
Seabreeze Shores by Jan Moran
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAs Ivy is adjusting to a new marriage, she must also welcome spa guests and deal with more secrets her old beach house reveals—this time, from the Roaring Twenties.Plus, her sister Shelly is nervous about having her first baby... -
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Red Dirt Christmas by N.R. Walker
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratings**14,500 words, gay romance** Travis had been here at Sutton Station for just over a year. We were technically engaged, not that we’d told anyone. He was happy just knowin’ I’d said yes, and I had some head-clearin’ stuff to work through. Knowing I was good enough for Trav was one thing, but knowing if I was good enough to be a husband and father was somethin’ else entirely... -
Last Chance to Fall by Kelsey Kingsley
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“You look at me like I’m the last woman in the world... -
Sunset by Jessie Cave
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe debut adult novel from Jessie Cave is a spry yet reflective comedy of sisterhood, loneliness and second chances as a rootless young woman starts to piece her life back together again.Sunset is an unconventional love story about putting yourself back together when the sky has fallen in.Ruth and Hannah are sisters. They build each other up, and tear each other down... -
To Trust by Carolyn Brown
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsDee Hooper and Jack Brewer grew up next door to each other in sleepy Buckhorn Corner, Oklahoma. From the time they were less than a year old they'd been best friends, but then Dee eloped with a man from Pennsylvania... -
No Place Like Home by Barbara Samuel
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsTwenty-one years ago, Jewel Sabatino left her childhood behind and never looked back. After a magical taste of fame, she found herself alone with a son to raise and very few options. Now she has left New York for the hills of Colorado, unsure if her family will welcome her back. For Jewel, coming home is falling into a world that smells of Italian restaurants and home-baked pies... -
Seabreeze Summer by Jan Moran
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsTwo sisters. One unforgettable summer.While renovating an old beach house, Ivy and her sister, Shelly, suddenly have full occupancy after fire forces Summer Beach residents from their homes. Even the mayor, Bennett Dylan, who was Ivy's high school crush, moves in. As the summer heats up, attractions simmer and feuds erupt... -
Time Stamps by K.L. Kreig
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsTime stamps. Our life is marked by them. Significant milestones to the seemingly mundane. All of them have a place. A purpose. Moments and chapters stacking on each other, building scars and memories. Creating stories that are only ours to tell. But those stamps are finite, pre-determined. And eventually our allotment runs out. This is our story. Our collection of time stamps... -
Beauford Bend: The Complete Series by Alice Hunter Pace
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMeet the four sexy brothers of Beauford Bend in this enchanting new Southern series by USA Today best-selling author Alicia Hunter Pace! Nearly thirty miles from Nashville sits the boutique town of Beauford, known for its artisan craft shops and colorful personalities - especially the renowned Beauford brothers... -
Maintenance Required: A small town romance by Giulia Lagomarsino
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsEricI live my life by a certain standard. There are right and wrong ways to do things, and I always make sure that I'm on the right side. My brothers call me a wet blanket. They say I'm buttoned-up, boring, and that I don't know how to let loose. There's a reason I'm that way, and she just walked through my door. With one wild night, I've thrown all my moral guidelines out the window... -
Enchant Me by J. Kenner
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFROM NEW YORK TIMES AND #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR J. KENNER comes a seventh full-length novel in the fast-paced saga that began with Release Me, Claim Me, Complete Me, and Anchor Me. It was supposed to be a new beginning for billionaire Damien Stark, his wife Nikki, and their family...I thought I knew everything about my beloved husband, Damien Stark... -
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Sweet Love by Rachel Hanna
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThings aren't always what they seem... sometimes, they're better. Laura Bennett is bored. Divorced and grieving after the death of her mother, she takes the advice of her adventurous best friend and does the craziest thing she's ever done in her life. Sawyer Griffin is a country music superstar who has burned out and gone home to January Cove for a break... -
Letters to Lincoln by Tracie Podger
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhat do you do when your husband dies unexpectedly? You write him a letter, of course. What do you do when someone answers that letter? Dani was mid-thirties when she found herself alone and without her soulmate. Coming to terms with her loss took all her strength and her voice. If Dani thought she’d experienced the worst life could throw at her, she was wrong... -
A Summer of Secrets by Kay Correll
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA woman with a secret. A man who will never forgive her. Cece Stuart hadn’t planned on ever finding love and she’s made her peace with that. Really, she has… Zach is over women and their secrets. Really, he is… But fate laughed at them, as it often does, and threw them together finishing up a new wedding venue at Sweet River Lodge... -
The Nicholas Sparks Holiday Collection by Nicholas Sparks
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThree of Nicholas Sparks's beloved bestselling novels are now available as a boxed set. TRUE BELIEVER: A skeptical science journalist travels to a small town to investigate ghostly apparitions. When he hopelessly falls in love with a local woman, he must take a giant leap of faith... -
White Locks by Rose B. Mashal
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen love knocked on Marie's door, she had a hard time denying her heart what it wanted. Especially after she'd found her black keys. Now Marie finally realizes that home is not where she was born, or where she'd lived all of her life. Home is where her Love is. It's time for her to follow her heart... -
Differently Normal by Tammy Robinson
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsEvery family has its issues. For Maddy, life is all about routine. It has to be, to keep her autistic sister happy and healthy. With just Maddy and her mother as Bee’s full time carers, there’s no time in Maddy’s life for complications like friends, let alone a boyfriend... -
Claiming What Is Mine by Abby Brooks, Will Wright
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMeredith Still was the love of my life. My dream girl.Gabe Wilde was my protector. My knight in shining armor.We had our future planned out-together-down to the names of our unborn children. Everything was going according to plan, until it wasn't.Sometimes life happens that way.When I left for college, I never thought I'd be back home for anything longer than a visit... -
Hearts on Fire by Julia Gabriel
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"Julia Gabriel does an amazing job with this devastatingly, heartbreaking love story." — RT Book Reviews, 4.5 stars, Top PickReturn to the shores of the Chesapeake Bay in Julia Gabriel’s new series about love, family, and second chances ... The 300-year-old town of St. Caroline, Maryland, is part fishing village and part summer playground for the wealthy and powerful... -
Finding Me by Judith Keim
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSheena Sullivan Morelli and her sisters, Darcy and Regan, receive the unexpected news that their Uncle Gavin Sullivan, the black sheep of the family, has left them a hotel on the Gulf coast of Florida. The gift comes with a twist. They must live together for one year at the hotel and prepare the hotel to receive guests within a year... -
The Beauty of Rain by Jamie Beck
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTwo devoted sisters at a tragic breaking point discover the beautiful and painful truths of being alive in a powerful novel by Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author Jamie Beck.Winning the lottery changed Amy Walsh’s life, but the cost was greater than she could bear. In the aftermath, she struggles to find joy and purpose... -
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Our Song by Dani Atkins, Dawn Murphy
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe stunning new emotional drama from ebook phenomenon Dani Atkins, author of Fractured - perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes and Dorothy Koomson.This is the story of Ally and Charlotte, whose paths have intersected over the years though they've never really been close friends. Charlotte married Ally's ex and first true love, David... -
The Sight of You by Holly Miller
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe Light We Lost meets How to Walk Away in this romantic and page-turning American debut that poses a heartbreaking question: Would you choose love, if you knew how it would end?Joel has sworn off falling in love. But when he meets Callie, he can't help being drawn to her. In Callie, he sees a second chance at life. And in Joel, Callie discovers the kind of love she'd always hoped was real... -
Reality of Life by Shandi Boyes
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsBook 2 in the 'Perception' Series.The reality of life is sometimes bad things happen to good people, especially when they least expect it. How will Noah overcome his latest tragic event?Continue to follow Noah on his next journey and see which path his life chooses to take.You will laugh and you will cry, but the story of Noah Taylor will stay with you forever... -
Heartwood by L.G. Pace III, Michelle Pace
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratings"When we were kids, my cousins planned for their weddings like they were coronations. Sleepovers revolved around notebooks stuffed with clippings from bridal magazines and elaborate plans scrawled in purple ink. Horse drawn carriages, twenty tiered cakes, groomsmen in tails, and scads of bridesmaids, none of whom were nearly as pretty as the bride... -
Brick: Motorcycle Club Romance by M.L. Nystrom
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn the beginning, there was one determined man and one strong woman. In their struggles, they created a dynasty. Brick had one mission since he was a boy: become a Dragon Runner. The motorcycle club meant everything to him. Blood and bone from his brothers paid the Dragon’s dues time and time again. And watching it split apart was more than he could handle. Then he met Betsey... -
One More Thing: by Lilliana Anderson
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsI didn't ask to slip on a piece of gum then fall in love with a man who would die before the ink was dry on our marriage certificate. But that's what fate had in store and it broke me. I vowed I would never fall in love again. Five years later, fate has one more thing in store for me. It wants to play around in my life again. Its tool? Another blasted stick of gum... -
An Amish Surprise (2) (Berlin Bookmobile Series, The) by Shelley Shepard Gray
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn the second installment of the “enjoyable and charming” ( USA TODAY ) Shelley Shepard Gray’s delightful Berlin Bookmobile series, librarian Sarah Anne Miller returns to Berlin to help a childless Amish couple form the family they’ve always prayed for.Miriam and Calvin Gingerich have been trying for a baby for several years, but the Lord hasn’t seen fit to bless them... -
Finding Forever by J.L. Perry
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNobody said it would be easy, nothing worth having ever is.LOGANAt first glance, she stole all the air from my lungs, and a year later, nothing has changed. There’s no doubt in my mind Brooke’s the one I’ve been longing for. She’s awoken something inside me … something that’s been lying dormant for ten long years... -
Stalemate: Murdoch Mafia Novella by Samantha Barrett
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAre you ready to meet the next generation of Murdoch's and hear from the OG's... -
The Greatest Gift by Felice Stevens
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAfter five years, Alex Stern and Rafe Hazelton have what seems to be the perfect marriage. Alex is entering his last years of residency and Rafe’s veterinary business is busier than ever. For Rafe, all that is missing is a child, but Alex, afraid of ending up to be a man like his father, isn’t as sure. He doesn't want to make any mistakes... -
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All I Need by Rachel Hanna
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratings* January Cove is a series about the Parker family living in a coastal Georgia town. This is book 5 of the series. If you love small town romance with a little comedy thrown in, you'll love this series! * Brad Parker is the funny one in his family, but there's nothing funny about his current situation... -
Holding On by Jill Sanders
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsTrey McGowan is no stranger to the inside of a jail cell, but this time it really wasn’t his fault. Well… maybe a little. What’s worse is the gorgeous hottie he was defending didn’t even notice. But make no mistake, the jerk she was with, really had it coming... -
Savage Rebel: Savage Angels MC Novella by Kathleen Kelly
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA Casino. A Rival MC. A Mob Family. Dane, President of the Savage Angels MC Tourmaline Chapter sends Rebel to Las Vegas to negotiate their purchase of a casino. When the local Mob Family in Vegas feels threatened by their presence, a rival MC, The Dark Warriors step in to protect what they consider their territory... -
Tilly's Tuscan Teashop: A gorgeously uplifting summer read by Daisy James
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWelcome to Tilly's Tuscan Teashop, the first book in a brand new series from the author of the Hummingbird Hotel and the Cornish Confetti Agency series.When photographer Natalie Nicholson’s beach hut studio – and everything she’s spent the last two years working on – is destroyed in a fire, she doesn’t think things can get any worse... -
Brie's Denver Desires by Red Phoenix
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSubmissive in Love #2 (The Brie series continues!)Brie Bennett is not prepared for the surprises and delights that await her in Denver. An unexpected encounter uncovers Master Anderson's past, while a sweet reunion with Baron complements the provocative scene she must film with Ms. Clark. She also discovers that Lea has a mysterious new friend - a person Brie was fated to meet... -
Lost & Found by Bernadette Marie
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsDarcy McCary came to Nashville with some big expectations--to find her birth parents. She had no plans of making a life in Tennessee. But when her sources lead her to Eduardo Keller, her heart took over, and plans changed. Eduardo Keller is a man who goes after what he wants and he doesn't have time for playing games...
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