Cover of Axe Backwards

Affiliate links — we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Learn more

Axe Backwards

Daphne Elliot · Maine Lumberjacks #4

472 pagescontemporary romance
(7k)Steamy

A tattooed single-dad firefighter and a small-town do-gooder fall for each other — one cute baby at a time.

Content Warnings
grief

Description

Once in a while, after life gets you down, the universe throws you a bone. And if you’re really lucky, it comes in the form of a tattooed baby-wearing firefighter with piercing blue eyes and a heart of gold.When Noah Hebert swung his axe and rescued me from a coffee shop bathroom, I had only a vague sense of who the tattooed lumberjack was. Turns out he’s more than broad shoulders and a thick beard. He’s a devoted single dad and my new neighbor.Soon after, we find ourselves falling into an easy friendship. I help him with his fussy baby, and he helps me survive my ex-husband and little sister’s wedding. Despite my vow never to risk my heart again, my defenses quickly crumble. The sight of him rocking his sweet baby in those muscular, inked arms only makes matters worse. And when he defends me to my toxic family, the sparks of attraction between us catch fire.I moved back here with a mission. Grow the food pantry and make our little town a better place. I can’t get mixed up with the grieving single dad, even if he likes to braid my hair and slow dance in the kitchen.He moved across the country to escape the flames of his past and protect the little girl he now calls his own. But our town is sitting on a bed of secrets ready to ignite.And when the heat causes my world to go up in smoke, I’m not sure it’s possible to sift through the rubble and find our happily ever after.Author’s Note: Axe Backwards is a standalone small-town romance featuring a bleeding-heart heroine, a lumberjack firefighter, and a cute baby. If you enjoy single dads, fake dating, small-town shenanigans, lumberjack competitions, and baby sign language, you will not be disappointed. Come for the wood chopping, stay for the moose!

Maine Lumberjacks series

Books like this

Cover of Things We Never Got Over

Things We Never Got Over

Lucy Score · Knockemout #1

572 pagescontemporary romance
(1.1M)Steamy

A grumpy barber reluctantly helps a stranded runaway bride — and the surprise niece she's now raising.

10 tropes in common

Cover of Happy Place

Happy Place

Emily Henry

388 pagescontemporary romance
(1.5M)Steamy

Broken up for five months but still pretending to be together — for one last week at the cottage they both love.

9 tropes in common

Cover of Funny Story

Funny Story

Emily Henry

416 pagescontemporary romance
(1.3M)Steamy

Dumped by the same couple, two exes become roommates — then accidentally fall for each other.

7 tropes in common

Cover of Book Lovers

Book Lovers

Emily Henry

338 pagescontemporary romance
(1.6M)Steamy

A cutthroat literary agent escapes to a small town — only to keep running into the brooding editor she can't stand.

6 tropes in common

Cover of Reminders of Him

Reminders of Him

Colleen Hoover

336 pagescontemporary romance
(1.7M)Steamy

Fresh out of prison, a mother risks everything when she falls for the one man standing between her and her daughter.

5 tropes in common

Cover of People We Meet on Vacation

People We Meet on Vacation

Emily Henry

382 pagescontemporary romance
(1.8M)Warm

Ten summers, two best friends, and one truth that ruined everything — can one last trip fix them?

6 tropes in common

Cover of The House in the Cerulean Sea

The House in the Cerulean Sea

T.J. Klune · Cerulean Chronicles #1

400 pagescontemporary romance
(1.0M)Mild

A rule-following caseworker investigates a magical orphanage — and falls for the man devoted to protecting it.

5 tropes in common

Cover of Sap & Secrets

Sap & Secrets

Daphne Elliot · Maplewood #1

351 pagescontemporary romance
(10k)Steamy

She had no idea she was pregnant — until her one-night firefighter found her at the festival, in labor.

8 tropes in common

Cover of Red, White & Royal Blue

Red, White & Royal Blue

Casey McQuiston

448 pagescontemporary romance
(1.2M)Steamy

The US President's son falls for the British prince they've been faking a friendship with — secretly, scandalously.

3 tropes in common

Cover of It Ends with Us (It Ends with Us, #1)

It Ends with Us (It Ends with Us, #1)

Colleen Hoover · It Ends with Us #1

352 pagescontemporary romance
(4.7M)Steamy

Lily falls for a brilliant surgeon who hides a dangerous side — and her first love just walked back in.

4 tropes in common

Cover of Me Before You (Me Before You, #1)

Me Before You (Me Before You, #1)

Jojo Moyes · Me Before You #1

385 pagescontemporary romance
(1.8M)Warm

A quirky, warm-hearted carer takes a job with a bitter former adventurer — and changes both their lives forever.

4 tropes in common

Cover of All Rhodes Lead Here

All Rhodes Lead Here

Mariana Zapata

334 pagescontemporary romance
(169k)Warm

A heartbroken woman hides in a mountain town — and slowly melts her grumpy landlord's walls.

10 tropes in common

Cover of The Last Letter

The Last Letter

Rebecca Yarros

426 pagescontemporary romance
(551k)Steamy

A soldier fulfils his fallen best friend's dying wish — but falling for the sister was never part of the plan.

7 tropes in common

Cover of Off the Hook

Off the Hook

Julie Olivia · Never Harbor #1

411 pagescontemporary romance
(11k)Warm

A reclusive single dad hires his brother's ex-fiancée as a nanny — and she fits into his life a little too perfectly.

12 tropes in common

Cover of Twisted Love

Twisted Love

Ana Huang · Twisted #1

343 pagescontemporary romance
(1.7M)Scorching

Her brother's best friend is cold, ruthless, and hiding dangerous secrets — and completely obsessed with her.

6 tropes in common

Cover of Beach Read

Beach Read

Emily Henry

400 pagescontemporary romance
(1.7M)Steamy

A romance writer and a literary snob swap genres for the summer — and accidentally swap hearts too.

4 tropes in common

Cover of Sterling Heat

Sterling Heat

L.B. Dunbar · Sterling Falls #1

335 pagescontemporary romance
(3k)Steamy

A grumpy tattooed baker delivers a stranger's baby — then pretends to be the father.

11 tropes in common

Cover of Every Summer After

Every Summer After

Carley Fortune · Barry’s Bay #1

320 pagescontemporary romance
(883k)Steamy

After a decade of running, Percy returns to the lake — and the man she never got over.

6 tropes in common

Cover of Your Last First Kiss

Your Last First Kiss

Avery Maxwell

418 pagescontemporary romance
(5k)Warm

A exhausted single mom swore off men — until her Wednesday coffee guy shows up in her hometown ready to win her heart.

10 tropes in common

Cover of Facing West

Facing West

Lucy Lennox · Forever Wilde #1

286 pagescontemporary romance
(10k)Steamy

A tattooed runaway returns to his Texas hometown to claim his niece — and collides with the town doctor who despises him

10 tropes in common

A work in progress, built for my wife with love. Suggestions welcome