Books like 'Ugly Secrets: Bad guy and Single Mom Romance'
Readers who enjoyed Ugly Secrets: Bad guy and Single Mom Romance by Ariana Cane also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary small town single-mother
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Summer Nights at the Starfish Café by Jessica Redland
Welcome back to The Starfish Café for a glorious summer, but with a few dark clouds on the horizon...A new beginning...As her summer wedding to Jake approaches, Hollie is excited for their new beginning as a family. But when some unexpected news threatens the future she and Jake had hoped for, Hollie will need to find the strength to overcome heartache once more.A fragile heart.. -
Healing Hearts at Bumblebee Barn by Jessica Redland
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsWelcome to Bumblebee Barn, home to wonderful animals, stunning views and spectacular sunsets - and resident young farmer, Barney.While Barney loves his life at Bumblebee Barn - a farm that has been in his family for generations - he's struggling to find someone to share it with... -
Maximus by Riley Edwards, Operation Alpha
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhat happens when a woman who’s done the unthinkable needs protection—can a man who’s lost his belief in humanity keep her safe? Max Brown doesn’t trust anyone but his team. The former SEAL learned early in life that people let you down—they lie, they steal, and they lie some more. Love is a word that is used to manipulate. Family is meaningless. Max is an island and he prefers it that way... -
Mistletoe and Magic for the Midwife by Jo Bartlett
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe brand new instalment in the top 10 bestselling Midwives series!It’s the most wonderful time of the year…But for single mum and busy midwife Nadia, it’s quickly turning into her worst Christmas ever.Her marriage is over, and whilst her husband has moved on, Nadia finds herself back home, squashed into her mum’s spare room with her two small children... -
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Final Vow by Kathleen Brooks
Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsAs the ultimate bodyguard, Ahmed’s focus has been protecting the lives of everyone he cares about. When the darkest part of his past resurfaces, Ahmed knows he must go on the offensive to protect his future . . . a future with the one woman that can match his toughness and return the love that was once robbed from him... -
New Beginnings on Railway Lane by Alison Sherlock
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 22 ratingsWhen high flying, workaholic Katy Smith is suddenly made redundant, she needs to find a job fast!After mistakenly answering an advert online, she quickly realises that the rundown railway station in sleepy Cranfield isn’t the 5-star London hotels she’s used to working in!But a job’s a job. Right?Chef Ryan Connelly is having a crisis of confidence after his Italian dream turns sour... -
Take Me Home by Beth Moran
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsSophie Potter’s job is helping people deal with the worst, because Sophie Potter knows what the worst feels like. An expert at keeping moving, with her trusty motorhome and faithful dog Muffin, Sophie has built her life around keeping her loves and loyalties as few as possible. Fabulous fifty-something Hattie Langford has kept her heart and past safely stored away too... -
A New Dawn at Owl's Lodge by Jessica Redland
Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsCould one chance meeting change your life forever?Zara is at a crossroads in life. While she adores her job as a producer's assistant working on hit TV shows, travelling around the country means she doesn't truly feel that she has a home. With a fractured relationship with her family and unrequited love weighing heavily on her heart, she is torn about what her next step in life should be.. -
The Girls from Sandycove by Siân O'Gorman
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsA mother and daughter adrift, a friend in need, and a village to really call home… When Kate O’Hare discovers she’s about to become a mother, she packs up her life in France to return home to regroup and put down some roots... -
I Wish I Could Be The One by Monica Walters
Rated: 4.76 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsJenahra Henderson Monroe knows what it means to be pretentious but strong. While her religious behaviors come off as condescending and judgmental of others, it’s deeply rooted in pain, drama, and abuse. Not wanting to get members of her family in trouble, she chooses to keep secrets for over twenty years, drowning herself in God’s anointing. When the truth finally emerges, it comes with a cost... -
The Starfish Sisters by Barbara O'Neal
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsFrom the USA Today bestselling author of When We Believed in Mermaids comes an emotional novel about two women facing the betrayals, heartbreaks, and refuge of true friendship.Phoebe and Suze used to be closer than sisters. Growing up in a quiet and wildly beautiful coastal town in Oregon, they shared everything... -
The View from Prince Street by Mary Ellen Taylor
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsFrom the author of The Brighter the Light comes the story of two women connected by the grief they never got over and the journey they embark on to finally move forward.It’s been fifteen years since her sister died, and Rae McDonald still hasn’t recovered from the accident―or the ways she tried to cope with it. Not even a PhD in psychology has helped her deal with her feelings... -
A Vintage Vacation by Maddie Please
Clover Harrington might be sixty-one, but she’s still bossing it in the corporate world and can still run rings around her younger colleagues. And then she is made redundant…... -
The Lucky Shamrock by Carolyn Brown
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author Carolyn Brown’s bighearted novel about family, secrets, small-town Texas romance, and―with a little bit of luck―starting over. Family doesn’t mean everyone has to like each other. That’s the case when cousins Taryn, Anna Rose, and Jorja return to Shamrock, Texas, to help manage their grandmother’s flower shop, the Lucky Shamrock... -
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Dirty Little Midlife (fake) Date by Lilian Monroe
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsBrooding, grumpy Des has a problem. He needs a date to his family's Thanksgiving reunion for reasons he'd...rather not say.Single mother and all-around hot mess Mia has an even bigger issue: She can't afford her rent, and her new landlord Des is a major you-know-what.So, they make a deal. One simple weekend away in exchange for a serious rent reduction... -
Trick of Light by Katie Winters
Rated: 4.66 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsA Sutton daughter flees Savannah, a monstrous husband, and his sexist family. But when she returns to Nantucket, she learns that the past is not done with her yet -- and that a long-lost love may not have forgotten about her, either.Bethany Sutton is one of the most sought-after surgeons across the east coast. Her expertise has brought hundreds of patients back to good health... -
When We Were Young by Michele Brouder
Rated: 4.66 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsThe orderly, sterile life of Martha Hahn Cotter is disrupted by the unexpected arrival of the teenage granddaughter she’s never met. Quick to send the girl back home, she reaches out to her estranged daughter. Days later, her daughter arrives, resulting in an inevitable showdown as old wounds and past secrets surface... -
We Are Family by Beth Moran
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsFrom No. 1 bestselling author Beth Moran comes a story about family, friends and facing your fears. Thirty-three-year-old Ruth Henderson and her daughter Maggie have some hard choices to make. Following the tragic death of Maggie's father, they are left with a mountain of debt and broken hearts... -
What Next? by Shari Low
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsVal Murray and her best friend, Josie had been planning a ‘Thelma and Louise’ bucket list style holiday. Now Josie is gone, and Val needs to make the trip before it’s too late. But Val doesn’t want to do it alone, so she enlists the help of her nieces, Carly and Carole, and their best pal, Jess, who jump at the chance to join Val on a trip of a lifetime... -
Seabreeze Reunion by Jan Moran
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhat could possibly go wrong at a family reunion? At the Seabreeze Inn, you just never know...Ivy and Shelly are looking forward to hosting a long-awaited family reunion at the Seabreeze Inn... -
A Greek Island Escape by Kate Frost
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsCan a Greek escape be the start of something special?Xanthe Fox has it all: a famous, drop-dead gorgeous boyfriend, a dream career and bright future – until heartbreak sends her life into a tailspin... -
Heading Home to Lavender Cottage by Alison Sherlock
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWith nowhere else to go, Harriet Colgan has returned to the sleepy village of Cranfield to sell her beloved aunt and uncle’s cottage, the only place she ever called home.When she arrives at Lavender Cottage, Harriet discovers plans to replace the beautiful lavender fields, her uncle’s pride and joy, with an industrial warehouse... -
One Last Thing Before I Go by Michele Brouder
Rated: 4.66 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe retired librarian from Hideaway Bay, Carol Rimmer, has been handed a terminal diagnosis. As she looks over the course of her life, she decides she must do one more thing before she goes. But she’s going to need help and who better to ask than Thelma Schumacher. Despite their history, she puts aside any dislike she has for the woman and asks for help in her last task... -
The Next Best Day by Sharon Sala
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsBeloved and bestselling author Sharon Sala brings you a brand-new contemporary romance filled with second chances, new beginnings, and a Southern small town you won't want to leave... -
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Fresh Water for Flowers by Valérie Perrin
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 44 ratingsA POIGNANT RUNAWAY BESTSELLER full of French charm and memorable characters, Fresh Water for Flowers is Valérie Perrin's English debut.Violette Toussaint is the caretaker at a cemetery in a small town in Bourgogne... -
A Leap of Faith For The Cornish Midwife by Jo Bartlett
Rated: 4.69 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsPre-order the brand new instalment in the top 10 bestselling Cornish Midwife series!Midwife Izzy is devastated to learn that her beloved grandmother is dying. Abandoned as a baby by her own mother, her grandparents have been the only family Izzy has ever known and she wants to spend every last precious moment with them... -
Blood & Bones: Shade by Jeanne St. James
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsA past that defined a future... Shade has a secret.One he’s hidden most of his life.Secrets created in his past.Of a broken family. A little boy lost.Of broken dreams. With only nightmares left in their wake.As a prospect, his MC nicknamed him Shady because he’s quiet and keeps to himself.As a patched member of the Blood Fury, he changed it to Shade, because that’s what he prefers.. -
A Forever Home at Honey Bee Croft: Cosy up with a BRAND NEW gorgeously romantic read from the million-copy sensation Jessica Redland for 2025 by Jessica Redland
Rated: 4.70 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA BRAND NEW feel-good novel from MILLION-COPY BESTSELLER Jessica Redland, guaranteed to leave a smile on your face! New friends, new life, new love…Single dad, Joel Grainger, is devoted to his little girl, Imogen, doing all he can to be a key part of her life. But with Imogen’s mum being ever more difficult and Joel’s job suddenly in doubt, he’s worried that everything is about to change... -
Mine After Dark by Marie Force
Rated: 4.65 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsIt’s the dead of winter on Gansett Island, and Riley McCarthy’s mood matches the lousy weather as he and his family work to bring their new business, McCarthy’s Wayfarer, back to life. He can’t deny that he’s been in a funk since Nikki Stokes and her twin sister, Jordan, left the island last fall without saying goodbye... -
The Sawmill Book Club by Carolyn Brown
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsA restless woman discovers the comforts of small-town Texas—and more—in a bighearted novel about the next chapters in life by New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Brown.Unsure of the future but ready for risks, Libby O’Dell trades big-city life for whatever the back roads hold... -
Next Time I Fall by Barbara Freethy
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsWhat happens when Mr. Wrong turns into Mr. Right?After three years of being a single mom, café owner Chloe Morgan is finally ready to take another chance on love. She's found the perfect man in Joel Bradshaw. He checks all her boxes when it comes to stability, commitment, and accountability... -
It Had to Be You by Beth Moran
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsPreorder the BRAND NEW novel from Number 1 Bestselling author Beth Moran! ‘Another gorgeous tale from the queen of comfort reads’ Growing up, sisters Libby and Nicky never knew who they’d find at breakfast.Their parents fostered children of all ages, and although the girls loved playing their part in providing a safe haven, it meant that life was rarely peaceful... -
Finding Family at Seabreeze Farm by Jo Bartlett
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsPre-order the next instalment in Jo Bartlett's wonderful Seabreeze Farm series!Another wonderful new series from the top 10 bestselling author of The Cornish Midwife, Jo Bartlett. Welcome to Seabreeze Farm.Freya Halliwell is looking forward to marrying the man of her dreams and starting their new life together... -
Finding Happiness at Heritage View by Helen J. Rolfe
Rated: 4.53 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWelcome back to Heritage Cove, the little village by the sea brimming with character, community and friendship. The perfect place to fall in love…Running Heritage View Stables is everything Hazel ever dreamed of. She loves working with the horses and managing the business with her brother... -
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Bad Seed by Sharon Sala
Rated: 4.62 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsCan she have the man of her dreams and the life she's always wanted?It's love at first sight when head pastry chef Brendan Pope meets private investigator Harley Banks at Serenity Inn for her latest investigation. But unknown to them both, Harley has a hitman after her, courtesy of the wrong-doer she put behind bars on her last case... -
New Beginnings at Wildflower Lock by Hannah M. Lynn
The start of a BRAND NEW series from Hannah Lynn, bestselling author of the Holly Berry Sweet Shop series! New starts and hopeful hearts...At 25, Daisy May’s life is not living up to expectations. Her childhood dreams of being an artist feel as unachievable as a committed relationship or managing to save enough money for a deposit on a house. But a surprise inheritance could change all that... -
The Potter's House by Hannah Ellis
Rated: 4.66 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSometimes facing up to the past is the only way to create a better future…Since the tragic death of his father, Lowen Treneary has kept to himself in his pottery studio on the remote island of Bryher.His quiet life is just the way he likes it.Until Pippa comes along.The local café owner plunges his peaceful existence into chaos and brightens his days while she’s at it... -
Hold on to My Heart by Bella Andre
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsAshley Sullivan’s whole world changed when she got pregnant at seventeen. After the father of her child ditched her and their son, she bypassed college, shelved her plans to see the world, and went straight to managing the family café in Bar Harbor, Maine. For the next eleven years, she poured her entire heart into raising her amazing son, Kevin... -
Path To Restoration by TheFeveredBookaholic
Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsNate Hunter; aspiring boxer, brother to five younger sisters, and...stripper. Yeah, you read that right. After his twin sister went through an abusive relationship, Nate fought to restore her honor by starting a chain of nightclubs that hire and help victimized women get back on their feet... -
No Place Like Home: A Novel by Barbara O'Neal
Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAn enriching and deeply moving novel about love and loss, the bonds of family and friends, and coming home by the USA Today bestselling author of When We Believed in Mermaids.Life didn’t turn out the way Jewel Sabatino planned. However long she’s been gone, home is waiting.At seventeen, Jewel fled Colorado for New York City and didn’t look back... -
Coral Weddings by Jan Moran
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsThree weddings and a food truck... It's wedding season in Summer Beach, and you're invited!From a USA Today bestselling author.At the Coral Cottage, this summer is as busy as ever. Marina's sister Kai moved up her wedding, but she won't say why, and her new theater production is a guarded secret. Still, Marina is determined to expand her Coral Cafe with a new food truck and staff... -
The Perfectly Imperfect Woman by Milly Johnson
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe brand new, feel-good bestseller from the wonderful Milly Johnson... -
The Mother of All Christmases by Milly Johnson
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsTHE MOST PERFECT CHRISTMAS FEEL-GOOD READ!'Every time you discover a new Milly book, it’s like finding a pot of gold' Heat Eve Glace - co-owner of the theme park Winterworld - is having a baby and her due date is a perfectly timed 25th December. And she’s decided that she and her husband Jacques should renew their wedding vows with all the pomp that was missing the first time... -
Birds of a Feather by Katie Winters
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsAn abandoned mansion. A mysterious death. And one woman's quest to discover the truth about her ex-husband.This is Rose's story.Rose came to Nantucket thirty-one years ago to work as a nanny for the wealthy Walden Family. Rose had no money and no prospects. But she dreamt of a life beyond her Mississippi hometown -- and she got more than she bargained for... -
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Forgotten on Sunday by Valérie Perrin
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsAn unforgettable story about an unlikely friendship and about healing the wounds of a broken past from the million-copy bestselling author of Fresh Water for Flowers.Justine is 21 years old and has lived with her grandparents and her cousin Jules since the death of her parents. As a nursing assistant at a retirement home, she spends much of her days listening to her residents’ stories... -
The Summer Getaway by Susan Mallery
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 24 ratings"The perfect escape for readers wanting to get away."—Booklist One woman takes the vacation of a lifetime in this poignant and heartwarming story about the threads that hold a family together from #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery.Single mom Robyn Caldwell needs a new plan for her future. She has always put her family first. Now, with her kids grown, she yearns for a change... -
The Bluebonnet Battle by Carolyn Brown
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsIn Bonnet, Texas, Liddy Latham, the queen of funeral dinners, keeps a southern comfort-food tradition alive—until fancy-schmancy Matilda Monroe moves back to town. She wants room at the table for her own style of consolation and closure: healthy, modern, and vegan. But this is about more than fried chicken versus tofu turkey. Matilda’s return is also stirring up their volatile, unresolved history... -
For the Love of Summer by Susan Mallery
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsFrom #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery comes an unforgettable tale about finding friendship with the unlikeliest person… As the owner of Twisted, Seattle’s best salons, Erica knows that the sharpest cuts come from the people we love. She’s terrified that she’s losing her teen daughter, Summer, to her “other” family, especially to her stepmom, Allison... -
Good as Gold by Katie Winters
Rated: 4.65 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsCome and join the bubbly cast of characters coming this summer. An unfolding family drama of heartache, longing, friendship, and secrets on the island of Nantucket.Good as Gold is book four of the Salt Sisters series, a heart-wrenching yet hopeful family drama that unfolds between the glittering shores of Nantucket Island... -
Coral Weddings by Jan Moran
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsWhile Marina and Jack contemplate their future, her sister Kai and her new fiance Axe are planning their wedding. When disagreements threaten to derail the wedding, the sisters' grandmother, the indomitable Ginger Delavie, doles out unusual advice. Soon, an unforgettable event unfolds...
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