Book picks similar to
Destiny by Cindy Ray Hale


young-adult
romance
ya
contemporary

Choosing the Cowboy


Liz Isaacson - 2017
    With only girls in her family, and Heidi now married and living at Three Rivers Ranch, she feels a sense of duty and family loyalty. Which is honorable—if it wasn't for her boyfriend, cowboy Chase Carver. Chase is and always will be a cowboy at heart. He breaks up with nineteen-year-old Maggie at the request of her father, but he's miserable. He can only keep himself away for five months before returning to the store and the girl he loves. He believes that if he can prove to Maggie's father that he can provide a stable, secure life, that Chase and Maggie can be together again. So he sets out on a quest to find his own ranch. But with financial trouble and personal issues around every corner, both Maggie and Chase will have to rely on their faith to find their happily-ever-after.

The Waiting Sky


Lara Zielin - 2012
    Seventeen-year-old Jane McAllister can't quite admit her mother's alcoholism is spiraling dangerously out of control until she drives drunk, nearly killing them and Jane's best friend. Jane has only one place to turn: her older brother Ethan, who left the problems at home years ago for college. A summer with him and his tornado-chasing buddies may just provide the time and space Jane needs to figure out her life and whether it still includes her mother. But she struggles with her anger at Ethan for leaving home and feels guilty--is she also abandoning her mom just when she needs Jane most? The carefree trip turned journey of self-discovery quickly becomes more than Jane bargained for, especially when the devilishly handsome Max steps into the picture.

XOXO, Piper


Ginger Li - 2021
    He hates donuts.2. He hates chocolate.3. He hates me.Ash may be East Beach High’s valedictorian and captain of the water polo team, but to me, he’s always been a grade-A jerk.Now, I'm taking on a project to help a local preschool, and guess who shows up to plan the fundraiser?Yup. Him.It doesn't make any sense. Why would Ash help someone he hates so much? And why does my heart race every time he’s near?XOXO, Piper is the first book in the East Beach High Series. Fans of enemies-to-lovers, first love, romantic grand gestures, and donut puns will adore this sweet novel.

Ornamental Graces


Carolyn Astfalk - 2016
    Just when his life seems to be back on track, he meets Emily Kowalski, younger sister of his new best friend.Emily’s the kind of girl he’d always dreamed of—sweet, smart, and sincere. But he’s made a mess of his life and ruined his chances for earning the love and trust of a woman like her.Could Dan be the man Emily’s been waiting for? How could he be when every time they get close he pulls away? And will he ever be free from his shady past and the ex-girlfriend who refuses to stay there?

A Very Large Expanse of Sea


Tahereh Mafi - 2018
    It’s an extremely turbulent time politically, but especially so for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who’s tired of being stereotyped.Shirin is never surprised by how horrible people can be. She’s tired of the rude stares, the degrading comments - even the physical violence - she endures as a result of her race, her religion, and the hijab she wears every day. So she’s built up protective walls and refuses to let anyone close enough to hurt her. Instead, she drowns her frustrations in music and spends her afternoons break-dancing with her brother.But then she meets Ocean James. He’s the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know Shirin. It terrifies her - they seem to come from two irreconcilable worlds - and Shirin has had her guard up for so long that she’s not sure she’ll ever be able to let it down.

The Alpha Series Boxset: (The Alphabet Game, The Alphabet Wedding & The Calendar Game)


Andie M. Long - 2016
     THE ALPHABET GAME Previous Number One Erotic Thriller Stella Mulroney is playing a game. It's taken her two years but she finally has an interview at Gregory & Sons, the top London law firm that looks after her stepfather's interests. She plans to discover what her Multi-millionaire Stepdaddy really invests in and bring him down. Unwittingly, she's caught the attention of Hot Alpha Gabriel 'Gabe' Gregory, son of her Stepfather's top Lawyer. He wants to know why Stella has such a need for revenge and would prefer her to channel that fury into a game of his own, 'The Alphabet Game'. After all, his is much more fun to play. THE ALPHABET WEDDING Overhearing a conversation about my wedding I declare that I’ll organise it. Gabe Gregory, Wedding Planner. What the hell was I thinking? Then Ronnie challenges me to make it an Alphabet Wedding. We do know I’m fond of my Alphabet. I’m sure it’ll be a piece of (wedding) cake. Right? THE CALENDAR GAME Ronnie Huntington-Jones is expecting a proposal from boyfriend Col. Instead she receives a huge shock. With best friend Stella now in New York, Ronnie feels she needs some time for reflection and sets herself The Calendar Game; a different project each month to re-evaluate her life. Finding herself with celebrity status after a memorable Morning TV interview; Ronnie's path crosses again with that of Harry Taylor, ex-footballer and potentially the person who tried to kill her in rehab. With backstabbing, sex, lies and ladygardens, it's going to be quite a year for Ronnie. But at the end of it, will she still have love?

Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have)


Sarah Mlynowski - 2011
    If given the opportunity, what sixteen-year-old wouldn't jump at the chance to move in with a friend and live parent-free? Although maybe "opportunity" isn't the right word, since April had to tell her dad a tiny little untruth to make it happen (see #1: "Lied to Our Parents"). But she and her housemate Vi are totally responsible and able to take care of themselves. How they ended up "Skipping School" (#3), "Throwing a Crazy Party" (#8), "Buying a Hot Tub" (#4), and, um, "Harboring a Fugitive" (#7) at all is kind of a mystery to them. In this hilarious and bittersweet tale, Sarah Mlynowski mines the heart and mind of a girl on her own for the first time. To get through the year, April will have to juggle a love triangle, learn to do her own laundry, and accept that her carefully constructed world just might be falling apart . . . one thing-she-shouldn't-have-done at a time.

Confessions of a Queen B*


Crista McHugh - 2015
    After years of being the subject of ridicule, she revels in her ability to make the in-crowd cower via the exposés on her blog, The Eastline Spy. Now that she's carved out her place in the high school hierarchy, she uses her position to help the unpopular kids walking the hallways. Saving a freshman from bullies? Check. Swapping insults with the head cheerleader? Check. Falling for the star quarterback? So not a part of her plan. But when Brett offers to help her solve the mystery of who’s posting X-rated videos from the girls’ locker room, she’ll have to swallow her pride and learn to see past the high school stereotypes she’s never questioned—until now.

Troy High


Shana Norris - 2009
    After the beautiful Elena–who used to be the captain of the Spartan cheerleaders–transfers to Troy High and falls madly in love with Cassie’s brother Perry, the Spartans vow that the annual homecoming game will never be forgotten.The Trojans and Spartans pull wicked pranks on each other as homecoming approaches. And the Spartans’ wildcard football star, Ackley, promises to take down the Trojans’ offensive line. But the stakes are raised when Cassie is forced to choose between the boy she loves (a Spartan) and loyalty to her family and school. Troy High will seduce readers with its incendiary cast of mythic proportions.

Good Oil


Laura Buzo - 2010
    I am the staff trainer. I will call you grasshopper and you will call me sensei and I will give you the good oil. Right? And just so you know, I'm open to all kinds of bribery.'From the moment 15-year-old Amelia begins work on the checkout at Woolworths she is sunk, gone, lost...head-over-heels in love with Chris. Chris is the funny, charming, man-about-Woolies, but he's 21, and the 6-year difference in their ages may as well be 100. Chris and Amelia talk about everything from Second Wave Feminism to Great Expectations and Alien, but will he ever look at her in the way she wants him to? And if he does, will it be everything she hopes?

Tea with Emma


Diane Moody - 2011
    But an airport mishap with a cranky Englishman gets her off on the wrong foot (quite literally), especially when he moves into the university guest house across the street. Can Maddie find a love for her unapproachable new neighbor, or has she finally met her match?

Miss Match


Erynn Mangum - 2007
    And with the eclectic cast of characters in her world, there's tons of potential to play "connect the friends." Lauren sets out to introduce Nick, her carefree singles' pastor, to Ruby, her neurotic coworker who plans every second of every day. What could possibly go wrong? Just about everything.

The Lonely Girl


Gracie Wilson - 2014
    One argument can leave you reeling. A look can take you to a place you can never return from again. What happens when one day, you wake up and find your world has been turned upside down? The person you love is gone. The life you thought you'd have is no longer one you see being able to get back to. You lost the one person you loved more than anything. They tell you to move on, try. For them. It’s what they would want. But is it really? So I try. This time, will be different. I slowly start to put the shattered pieces of my heart back together, only to have it broken again, by someone I thought I trusted. My heart's barely healed, my world just starting to make sense again, when tragedy and devastation strikes. My circumstances leave me asking one question… Is it worth the risk to love again?

My Dirty Desires


Melissa Devenport - 2017
    Melissa is done with being a doormat. A love affair she wasn’t meant to witness awakes a hunger for revenge on life.It felt like someone had emptied an ice-bucket over her head when she suddenly realized that her marriage had been dead for years. All her efforts had been for nothing.Fortunately she is still young and her curiosity for the unexplored has soon replaced both disappointment and anger. An experienced older man turns out to have the right tool to make her ex-husband appear rather small and insignificant.When you follow your instincts, anything can happen and often does. The journey has begun.*Please note that all books in the ‘Claiming My Freedom’ series are standalone stories that oozes of confidence and hot steam.Librarian's note: See alternate cover edition of ASIN B072PWG54N here.

The Shy Girl and the Football Star


Julia Keanini - 2015
    At least my awesome friends make high school bearable. But when football stardom and the popularity that brings threatens to take away Tuck, the best of my friends? That's when something has to change. A story of friendship, family, tragedy, and most of all romance. * This is a new release of an edition originally published as Skinniness is Next to Goddessness? Lacey's Story of the Skinniness is Next to Goddessness? series. The Shy Girl and the Football Star is a new edition with bonus additional content and a new cover.