Books like 'I Could Never'
Readers who enjoyed I Could Never by Penelope Ward also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary romance small town humor family drama enemies-to-lovers friends-to-lovers forced-proximity forbidden-love
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Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 45 ratingsA troubled young mother yearns for a shot at redemption in this heartbreaking yet hopeful story from #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover.After serving five years in prison for a tragic mistake, Kenna Rowan returns to the town where it all went wrong, hoping to reunite with her four-year-old daughter. But the bridges Kenna burned are proving impossible to rebuild...Categorized as:
angst drama enemies-to-lovers family forbidden-love forced-proximity friends-to-lovers grief -
Gin Fling by Lucy Score, Claire Kingsley
Rated: 4.61 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA slow grin spread across his face and I had to turn away from the wattage. It was like staring at the sun. The handsome sun that was making my core temperature rise and causing a hormone dump in my brain. — Shelby Thompson Personal trainer Jonah Bodine discovers more than he bargained for with the half-siblings he didn’t know he had in small-town West Virginia...Categorized as:
drama enemies-to-lovers family forced-proximity friends-to-lovers humor multi-pov slow-burn -
Rewriting the Stars by Claire Kingsley
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsFirefighter Levi Bailey is used to being alone. Not that he’s lonely. How could he be, with a band of unruly brothers, and their wives and growing families. Maybe he’s the odd man out. The one brother who isn’t destined to be with his soulmate.Besides, he has her.She’s his Juliet, the only woman in the world he can’t ever have. To an outsider, it probably seems crazy...Categorized as:
angst enemies-to-lovers family forbidden-love friends-to-lovers humor slow-burn steamy -
Taming a Maverick by C.M. Owens
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSALEM Just some fun. Just one night of reckless, harmless, wild fun. That's what I told myself the night I hooked up with quite possibly the sexiest guy I've ever known. Only, I didn't want to KNOW him. Life is a series of temporary situations, or so it's always been for me...Categorized as:
angst enemies-to-lovers family forbidden-love friends-to-lovers humor multi-pov steamy -
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The Son & His Hope by Pepper Winters
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA Sweeping, Heart-wrenching Standalone from New York Times Bestseller Pepper Winters. "Things you should know about me from the very beginning:I was born to true love, witnessed the destruction it causes, and vowed never to let such agony happen to me. I am not a story-teller like my father. I am not a writer like my mother. I am just a son--their son.I am happy being alone...Categorized as:
angst drama enemies-to-lovers family forbidden-love friends-to-lovers grief multi-pov -
Perfectly Toxic by C.M. Owens
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsBELLA New life. New job. New home. New goals... I vowed to make drastic changes and to never fall back into old habits. But then Ethan Noles showed up and blew all my good intentions to hell. I should have stayed away. I shouldn't have played his game. But I did. Now I just hope I don't regret it. ETHAN Bella is the type of girl you can't help but chase, because she doesn't want to be caught... -
Moonshine Kiss by Lucy Score, Claire Kingsley
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAll those years of adolescent fantasies and this was how Bowie Bodine first touched my boobs. And he apologized. Real life was stupid and unfair. Small town deputy Cassidy Tucker’s dating life is a train wreck on repeat. All she ever wanted was a solid partner. A man to share pajamas with. The handsome, big-hearted Bowie Bodine. Wait. Scratch that. Mr...Categorized as:
angst drama family forced-proximity friends-to-lovers humor multi-pov second-chances -
Letting Go at 40 by L.B. Dunbar, Stella Hunter
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA bereaved widow finds herself with a chance at love after loss with the most unlikely of people: her late husband’s best friend.Anna Kulis has lost her husband. Their love was a perfect kind of love; a once in a lifetime experience. She never intended to find love again. Never expected to have this attraction stirring inside her... -
Not Part of the Plan by Lucy Score
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom the Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon bestselling author comes a new installment to the Blue Moon small town romance series. A womanizing bad boy with a motorcycle and sexy-as-sin smile is not part of Emma’s life plan. She moved cross-country to be close to family and finally settle down in hippie, trippy, nosey Blue Moon Bend... -
Cowboy Seeking a Second Chance by Janice Whiteaker
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTen years ago Boone Pace made a mistake out of selfishness and immaturity.He’s regretted it ever since.Competing as a professional rodeo cowboy was everything he wanted. All that mattered. An opportunity he wouldn’t pass by.But it meant leaving his high-school sweetheart behind.Mae Wells was sweet, and innocent, and quiet... -
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 family forced-proximity friends-to-lovers slow-burn steamy adult -
A Redo by C.M. Owens
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAllie Thrash Wren Prize is the asshole who got me pregnant seven years ago. And gave me a false name. And walked out of the hotel without a backward glance. Sure, I know I wanted to have sex just as much as he did, but I didn't want to be tossed aside like garbage the second it was done. I also wasn't planning to get pregnant...Categorized as:
angst enemies-to-lovers family friends-to-lovers humor multi-pov second-chances slow-burn -
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 humor multi-pov second-chances steamy adult -
The Plight Before Christmas by Kate Stewart
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsClark Griswold was onto something, at least with his annual holiday meltdown. And since the last three weeks of my life have been riddled with humbug—another breakup, a broken toe, an office promotion I deserved and didn’t get—I’m not at all in the mood to celebrate nor have the happ, happ, happiest Christmas EVER...Categorized as:
angst drama enemies-to-lovers family forced-proximity humor multi-pov second-chances -
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Always Someone's Monster by Lani Lynn Vale
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA few years ago, when his sister went missing, Haggard Crow turned into something he never wanted to be. A killer.Even after his sister is rescued a year after she was kidnapped and sold, Haggard ‘Thief’ Crow doesn’t have any plans on changing. He sort of likes the zero fucks given guy that he is now...Categorized as:
family forbidden-love friends-to-lovers humor multi-pov second-chances slow-burn steamy -
The Worst Wedding Date by Pippa Grant
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsHe’s a tattooed shirtless bad boy. My best friend’s brother. And the jerk on the other side of my bed.I didn’t know bridesmaid was code for babysitter for the bride’s brother , but if that’s what my best friend needs of me for her dream wedding to go off without a hitch, that’s what I’ll do.Even if Theo Monroe has been a pain in my rear since third grade... -
Final Offer by Lauren Asher
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsCallahan I'm the Kane brother everyone gossips about behind closed doors.Trust fund brat. Washed-up athlete. High-functioning alcoholic.No one knows the real me but her.Lana Castillo—my childhood best friend and the only woman I ever loved.When I broke her heart six years ago, I promised to never return to Lake Wisteria.I kept my word until my grandfather's will changed everything...Categorized as:
angst enemies-to-lovers family forced-proximity friends-to-lovers humor multi-pov second-chances -
What the Heart Learns by Jessica Gadziala
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsLiam has always preferred spending his life inside books, only looking up to occasionally growl at customers in his shop. Until the day someone new comes to town. A woman who could keep up with him, someone who sees beyond his guards, who makes him want something decidedly non -fiction for a change. The only problem is, Riley has a secret. One that just might tear them apart... -
Stay for Me by Corinne Michaels
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom New York Times Bestselling author Corinne Michaels comes the final poignant love story in the Arrowood Brothers Series.Hollywood taught me everything I know about relationships—except how to be in one. As an actor, I became an expert at faking it. Faking that I wasn't affected by my childhood. Faking that I was okay. Faking that I knew how to save the day, the girl, the whole damn world... -
Keep This Promise by Corinne Michaels
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsI am about to lose everything.My home. My name. My future.My husband was involved in something that could cost us our lives, and on his deathbed, he demands my daughter and I flee Britain. I had no idea he found her biological father, Holden James, in Rose Canyon, and that’s where we’d start over.The moment we see each other, feelings I’d long forgotten rush over me...Categorized as:
forced-proximity second-chances friends-to-lovers steamy slow-burn angst family drama -
Say You Want Me by Corinne Michaels
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThere’s no way I’ll fall for Wyatt Hennington. He can keep his Southern drawl, irresistible smile, and those pick-up lines all to himself. I made the mistake of sleeping with him not once, but twice. I’m not stupid enough to give him round three, especially after he left me in the middle of the night so I could see myself out. I vow to return to Philadelphia and forget him... -
The Fine Art of Faking It by Lucy Score
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDavis Gates. Naked. Tossing her a handful of orgasms like he was on a lust-themed parade float. A fifty-year feud. One failed smoke bomb matchmaking scheme. Two enemies turned fake lovers. For the past fifteen years, Eden has worked her ass off to overcome high school. She’s cornered the tourism market in Blue Moon offering visitors a place to stay in her hippie, dippy hometown...Categorized as:
enemies-to-lovers family forbidden-love forced-proximity friends-to-lovers humor steamy adult -
Crazy by Adriana Locke
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsUSA Today Bestselling author Adriana Locke brings laughter and love in this friends-to-lovers, small town romance. Love is crazy.Peck Ward, the sweet, small-town mechanic, isn't sure it's for everyone. Least of all him. His life is chaotic enough without adding the pressure of a relationship. Besides, unrequited love is a real thing and he's kind of over it... -
Boomerangers by Heather M. Orgeron
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsBoomerangers [boo-muh-rang-ers] noun, informal: an adult that moves back home to live with a parent after a period of independence. Spencer I love sex. I love the power, the intimacy, the euphoria it brings. Too bad I’m not having any . . . You’d think as New Orleans’ most renowned sex therapist that I’d be swimming in single men. In a way, I am . . -
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Neat by Kandi Steiner
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMy life is over. I swore I would never work at the whiskey distillery with my last name on it, that I would never be a part of my father’s legacy. But when I graduated with my art degree and realized there were no jobs, the devil appeared, and I sold my soul, agreeing to work in the family business if he’d give me the art studio I’d always dreamed of. It can’t be that bad, I thought...Categorized as:
angst enemies-to-lovers family forbidden-love friends-to-lovers humor multi-pov second-chances -
Late Nights & Love Lines by Avery Maxwell
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe job was simple. Answer the phone, solve the single dad’s dilemma, and move on.I’m the temporary solution.The fill-in.The short-term Single Dad Hotline Helper until a more suitable one can be found.I don’t get attached, I don’t stick around, and I certainly don’t fall for the single dad.Until the job said, “Hold my beer,” and tipped my world upside down...Categorized as:
friends-to-lovers multi-pov enemies-to-lovers drama humor romance contemporary small-town -
Running Wild: A Novel by K.A. Tucker
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsFrom the internationally bestselling author of The Simple Wild comes the story of a woman at a crossroads in her life, struggling between the safe route and the one that will only lead to more heartbreak.Veterinarian Marie Lehr knows unrequited love all too well after pining for her best friend, only to watch him marry another woman...Categorized as:
angst enemies-to-lovers family friends-to-lovers grief second-chances slow-burn steamy -
My Brother's Forbidden Friend by Piper Rayne
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsI’ve gone from crushing on my brother’s best friend to wanting to crush him. Cameron Baker and I have a few things in common. The first being that we were both born and raised in our small Alaskan town. Second, is that we hide our feelings and keep our hearts closed off from anyone who could break them.But hiding my feelings is harder to do with Cam than most...Categorized as:
enemies-to-lovers family forced-proximity friends-to-lovers humor multi-pov slow-burn adult -
My Twist of Fortune (The Greene Family) by Piper Rayne
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTwo aching hearts. A meddling small town. A second chance.It’s not a new story. Wife finds out husband’s been cheating on her and she packs up her four kids and heads back to her hometown, Sunrise Bay, Alaska.Yeah, not a fresh start, but thousands of miles away from my ex will do just fine. I’m prepared for the cold weather, the early snowfalls, and dark days and nights... -
Perfect Wreckage (The Wrecked Series) by Catherine Cowles
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsMy past taught me to play it safe.To stay far away from handsome men who promised it all.My life was good without them. Stable, secure, predictable. But one kiss showed me that I’d been playing it safe for far too long.One night, and all I wanted was more of his wildfire.One challenge and my carefully constructed walls tumbled down... -
The Secret by May Archer
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsMicah Constantine Ross is a cocky, provoking little... yeah. And I swear, I'd think that even if his family's business wasn't my biggest competition. It's time someone taught the man a lesson or two about life. At least that's what I tell myself when I offer him a job. Call it my good deed for the year... maybe the century. But now he's in my shop. In my space. In my every damn thought... -
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...Categorized as:
drama enemies-to-lovers family forced-proximity friends-to-lovers grief humor multi-pov -
Seeing Red by Bailey Hannah
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAll Cassidy Bowman wants is one night of recklessness… and to get back at her ex.Cassidy has strict rules: she doesn’t date locals, she doesn’t sleep with men she isn’t dating, and she doesn’t do anything that might jeopardize her good girl reputation. But after a run-in with her ex-boyfriend—and a few too many drinks—she’s ready to buck those rules and get revenge...Categorized as:
friends-to-lovers enemies-to-lovers steamy multi-pov forced-proximity humor romance western -
The Apple Tree by Jewel E. Ann
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsHe's a single dad starting over in a new town. She's a relentless flirt with a penchant for trouble, ten years younger than him, and the babysitter. What could go wrong?Eve has just graduated from high school, but she doesn’t know what’s next aside from working at the local motel, spying on Kyle, her neighbor, and stealing apples from his orchard...Categorized as:
humor friends-to-lovers family angst forbidden-love slow-burn multi-pov forced-proximity -
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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...Categorized as:
angst drama family forbidden-love forced-proximity friends-to-lovers grief multi-pov -
Beard Necessities by Penny Reid
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsBilly Winston’s family is going to see him happy and in love if it’s the last thing they do.No one deserves a happily-ever-after quite as much as the second oldest Winston brother and his lady love, Claire McClure (aka Scarlet St. Claire). Cruelty and circumstance tore them apart almost twenty years ago. Secrecy and bitterness kept them separated... -
Love You More by Julia Kent
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsColleen Luview's love life is cursed. No—really. The small-town nurse is notorious in her touristy mountain community. After every third date she's ever had, the guy ends up in her emergency room.She's untouchable now, and it's not her fault... -
Don't You Wanna Stay by Kait Nolan
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Money Pit meets Fixer Upper in the next installment of the Men of the Misfit Inn series. After a lifetime spent trying to prove he's not a screw-up, contractor Wyatt Sullivan is ready to take his YouTube channel, DIWyatt, to the big time. But he needs more than the one-man flips that built his reputation...Categorized as:
friends-to-lovers forced-proximity multi-pov drama steamy humor contemporary small-town -
The Worst Wedding Date by Pippa Grant
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsI didn’t know bridesmaid was code for babysitter for the bride’s brother, but if that’s what my best friend needs of me for her dream wedding to go off without a hitch, that’s what I’ll do.Even if Theo Monroe has been a pain in my rear since third grade.Even if he should be responsible enough to not wreak havoc at his sister’s destination wedding...Categorized as:
family enemies-to-lovers forced-proximity steamy slow-burn humor romance contemporary -
Trouble by Adriana Locke
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsShe wants something real. He wants something now. Together they’re trouble in USA Today bestselling author Adriana Locke’s sexy and funny twice-in-a-lifetime love story. With his shameless grin and let’s-play swagger, carpenter Penn Etling leaves women wanting in Dogwood Lane. What do they get? Avery Perry knows: a one-night stand. She’s been there... -
Don't Go Away Mad by Lacey Black
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsJasperThe kitchen: it’s my domain, where I create the best burgers in the Midwest. I’m the man behind the grill at Burgers and Brew, the restaurant and bar I co-own with my best friends. Every night, we’re packed, the demand has never been this high. It’s the only way I want it, thriving and pushing myself to be the very best.Then she started her new business across the street from mine...Categorized as:
drama enemies-to-lovers family forced-proximity friends-to-lovers multi-pov slow-burn adult -
Worth the Risk by K. Bromberg
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom New York Times bestselling author K. Bromberg comes a new, sexy standalone about taking chances and finding love when it’s least expected. Or wanted.This whole contest was supposed to be easy. I know, I know. Famous last words.It’s a long story, but I messed up at work. Big time. To earn back the trust of my boss, I promised to save one of our magazines. Yep...Categorized as:
angst drama enemies-to-lovers family forbidden-love friends-to-lovers multi-pov second-chances -
Flirting with the Single Dad by Whitley Cox
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhen first impressions happen twice. Welcome to Seattle, the Emerald City and home to The Single Dads of Seattle. Ten sexy single fathers who play poker every Saturday night, have each other's backs, love their children without quarter, and hope to one day find love again. This is Atlas’s story … Single Dad of Seattle, Atlas Stark is in over his head... -
Taming Teddy by Lucy Lennox
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsalternate cover edition of ASIN B01N2T0IRWTeddy: If there’s one thing I don’t do, it’s commitment. You don’t become an award-winning photographer by staying in one place. I’m always on the road, looking for the next shot, the next award, the next hot body. Which is how I end up on Dr. James Marian’s front porch in the middle-of-nowhere Alaska...Categorized as:
angst drama enemies-to-lovers family forced-proximity friends-to-lovers humor multi-pov -
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Someone to Love by Kelly Elliott
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Seaside ChroniclesJanuary 3, 2023On the HookSeasiders,News on the beach is Braxton Bradley has caught the eye of Seaside’s very own darling, Harlee Tilson. Now, this might come as a shock to many of you, since the eldest Bradley sibling has been rumored to have made a vow to never marry. After all, his fishing charter has always been his number one love... -
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 family forced-proximity friends-to-lovers second-chances steamy adult -
Fluke by Adriana Locke
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSEEKING AN EX-HUSBAND I need a fake ex-husband. Let me explain … I may have let it slip to my new co-workers that I have an ex-husband. Now they’re fascinated with the details, specifically with him. Why wouldn’t they be? He’s gorgeous, has exceptional skills in the bedroom, and is determined to win me back. But there’s a problem. He doesn’t exist...Categorized as:
humor friends-to-lovers forced-proximity multi-pov family romance contemporary fake-relationship -
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 -
Kissing the Rival by Kaylee Ryan
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCharlotteI’m not just kissing the rival… I’m falling for him.Spencer Pennington has always been a shameless flirt, but when it came to being the best in our MBA program, all bets were off, and the competition was on.Fast-forward a few years, and all it takes is a bar at a failed wedding and my silly kiss-rating system to lock lips with the enemy... -
That First Flight by Jenn McMahon
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSomething tells me, nothing I do can stop myself from feeling things for my roommate.I’ve always wanted to be a chef.But the same day two pink lines showed up on the test, was the day I gave up chasing my own dreams to put my daughter first.I didn’t expect that to lead to a life of being scrutinized by my parents for every single move I made.After years of it, I was done...Categorized as:
forced-proximity friends-to-lovers slow-burn multi-pov steamy humor romance contemporary
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