Book picks similar to
Holding On by Meg Jolie


new-adult
romance
freebie
contemporary

In a Heartbeat


Hilary Storm - 2013
    She has high hopes of completing college and starting a new life as she moves away from her hometown with her best friend, Ivy Adams. Her last boyfriend ruined any chance of her trusting ever again.Talon Walker is the dark and intriguing drummer for the up and coming band ‘Rebel Walking’. A tragedy in his past has left him empty with no desire for a relationship. That is until he meets Eaven. One minute your heart is filled with love, the next your entire life comes crashing down. Everything can change in a heartbeat. Can Eaven and Talon overcome the obstacles in their way and find love?

Connected by the Sea


E.L. Todd - 2014
    Her best friend, Henry, has an invested interest in her, but Sydney never seems to notice. While Henry is the perfect man, she only dates the wrong guys. Her ex-boyfriend cheated on her, broke her heart, and now she’s too shattered to give anyone a chance. Until Coen… A sexy bad boy with a tattoo, he elicits dark desires Sydney hasn’t felt in so long. His intense eyes, the color of the sea, capture her sight, making it impossible to look away. She tries to avoid him, knowing he’s no good for her, but Coen, who always gets what he wants, doesn’t take no for an answer. Will Sydney regret this decision? Or will she find what’s been missing her entire life? The family she lost, the loves she misses, and the trust she never thought she could have for someone else?

Beautiful Illusions


Annie Jocoby - 2013
    VERY contemporary.Beautiful Illusions is a Cinderella Romance With a Twist - and what a twist it is!Attorney Iris Snowe drinks too much, eats too much, and spends too much. Her sex life has been as spectacularly unsuccessful as her law practice, so she spends her evenings in her tiny apartment watching bad TV, talking to her cat, and rescuing pit bulls.And her name might be Iris, but it should be Jade. As in jaded, which is how she feels about romance and men in general. So, when a gorgeous and sexy stranger appears in her law office on Monday morning, after a one-night stand the previous Saturday, she doesn't think that he is coming to see her because he is interested. She just figures that she left something behind in the room and he is enough of a gentleman to deliver it to her.How wrong she is. As it turns out, Ryan Gallagher not only looks like a Ralph Lauren model come to life, but is also fabulously wealthy, as he is the son of a prominent billionaire.In other words, light years out of Iris' league. And completely into her, in more ways than one.And so begins the erotic Cinderella romance of her life, with a man who truly loves her. And oh, if it could just be that simple. But, of course, it's not -the fairy tale is fractured, as it is marred by obsession, jealousy, and dark secrets that Ryan has desperately sought to conceal and repress. It turns out that, behind those magnificent green eyes, lies the memories of a past that nobody should ever have to experience. Nobody. But when his past becomes his present, his secrets come to light.And one of those secrets just might be deadly...This is a full-length novel, approximately 100,000 words. Story continues in Deeper Illusions.Don't miss the exciting conclusion to the trilogy! Estimated publication date is September 23!

Because You're Mine


K. Langston - 2013
    She’s already working for one of the most prestigious law firms in Boston as a research assistant, and in a few short months, she will finally graduate from Harvard and collect her law degree. Everything she’s worked so hard to accomplish is well within her reach. But when Madison has to take an unexpected trip back home, she's blindsided by the one thing she never anticipated. A man who not only tests her patience but tempts her heart. Madison doesn’t have time for love and a love as consuming as his will only derail her perfectly laid plans. Desperate to escape his wicked past, Holden Brooks moved to Madison's hometown five years ago, hell-bent on overcoming the demons that nearly destroyed him back in Texas. He’s in a good place in his life. Love is the last thing on his mind until he tastes her honeysuckle skin and looks into those deep blue eyes. Desire ignites as their two paths collide and they soon find out, fate has a plan of its own.

Feels like Home


Evelyn Adams - 2014
    But when her carefully constructed life crumbles around her, Autumn's forced to return to the small southern town that never let her forget she came from the wrong side of the tracks. Jude Southerland, the town doctor, is used to taking care of people and with a pedigree that has the Ladies Auxiliary reaching for their fans, he’s easily the town’s most eligible bachelor – a status he has no intention of changing. That is until he almost runs down the Maddox girl he never noticed in school and suddenly finds her lush curves, dark curls and blue eyes consuming his thoughts, day and night. Autumn would like nothing more than to live happily ever after with Jude. But with every local matron in the valley trying to marry him off to their own daughters, she knows they won’t let her forget that she's not good enough and never will be. With the chance to finally find happiness, can she overcome her family history and find the confidence she needs to believe in herself or will she let love pass her by?

The Perfect Distraction


Melissa Rolka - 2013
    She pushes away the ghosts of her past, determined to start her college life single, carefree and distracted. Throughout high school Kate was reserved and shy, with little experience. Now, on her own, with little holding her back, Kate is ready to branch out. She bonds with a tight knit group of friends and even starts casually dating. What starts out as innocent flirting on the tennis courts slowly turns into a friendship and eventually something more complex. Reed comes into her life giving her the distraction she craves more than anything; but is she ready to give her heart away so easily?Things get complicated when Kate’s ex-boyfriend and first love continues to pursue her. Kyle deeply regrets breaking her heart when he left for college the year before and is now on a mission to reclaim her. Kyle’s persistence and relentlessness is nothing short of obsessive. He will stop at nothing to win her back and prove his love.Kate finds herself torn between her past and the unknown of the future. Her determination to stay distracted may just be her downfall or the beginning of something new and wonderful. ***For Mature Readers 18+***

Invisible


Cecily Anne Paterson - 2013
    She doesn't make choices. She doesn't make friends. Jazmine Crawford only wants one thing: to be invisible. For Jazmine, it's a lot easier to take out her hearing aid and drift along pretending that nothing's wrong than it is to admit that she's heartbroken. She starts to come out of her shell when she's forced to be in the school play and even makes friends with bouncy Gabby and chocolate-loving Liam. But can she stand up to the school bully, and is she strong enough to face the truth about what really happened to her dad?

Right There with You


R.J. Sable - 2013
    Having finally moved out to start her new life as a university student she tries to faithfully follow the strictly ordered life they've lain out for her. These rules haven't been an issue for her before because she knows she owes them everything. More than any sibling can ever owe. She dutifully follows these rules until she meets Jason Reed and the biggest one becomes a problem. No boyfriends. Torn between her loyalty to her brothers and the sizzling attraction to the intriguing ladies' man, Jamie-Lea finds herself on dangerous standings with her overbearing and somewhat aggressive brothers. Jason Reed isn't intimidated by the Carters. He knows what he wants the moment he sees it and nothing is going to come between him and the girl he never expected to fall for.With the odds stacked against them, where will this forbidden romance take them?

Sincerely, Arizona


Whitney G. - 2015
    We’re no longer just best friends…

Caught Up in Us


Lauren Blakely - 2013
    It was a mad, crazy love full of kisses all through the night—but he broke her heart and she had to move on. Five years later, Kat is finishing her graduate degree and building her business as a jewelry designer, when Bryan, head of his own successful company, walks back into her life. Bryan has been assigned to Kat as her new business mentor and the rules are clear. No hanky panky permitted. Kat can handle that because she's totally over him... right? Except, he still makes her laugh, and he remembers all the things she likes. Not to mention that he's even more handsome now than he was then. Then there's the spark between them—the simply undeniable chemistry, and the tender ways he shows he still cares for her. Can they resist each other the second time around or will first love trump all?

Lost and Found


Lori L. Otto - 2010
    I was so taken by Nate and Emi’s love for each other. It’s the kind of love that few have and many desire but never get to experience.” - Megan, Reading Books Like a Boss Independent and sensitive, idealistic and hopeful, Emi Hennigan lives her life with optimism and an open mind. Between sharing a tiny Manhattan apartment with her fun-loving roommate and spending most of her free time with her heart-breaker friend, Emi’s seen enough failed relationships to know what to avoid in her quest to find her true love. Not only that, but a single moment from her past lingers in her mind, setting high expectations for every man she dates. Emi’s best friend, artist and hopeless romantic Nate Wilson, has been her closest companion all of their adult lives. After swearing off love with Emi in a silly high school pact, Nate has been seeing other women in hopes of finding one that evokes stronger feelings than the ones he’s been harboring for Emi since he was a teen. Over the span of a year, boundaries are crossed, feelings are confessed, and their unique friendship begins to blossom into something more. Through Nate’s eyes, an atypical romance unfolds, disrupting the comfortable safe haven their friendship has provided. With a promising future ahead of them both, fate intervenes to bring two soul mates together. Photography and cover design by Christi Allen Curtis, assisted by Katrina Boone

No Turning Back


Casey Peeler - 2013
    Her best friend, Cash Montgomery is the only one who truly knows what happened that night and is a constant source of strength. After a summer of questioning who she wants to be, Charley decides to put the past behind and leave the small town of Grassy Pond to stand on her own two feet again. While Charley is living her life to the fullest at college she meets Joe Olsen and falls head over heels. But one letter is about to change everything and this time Cash isn’t there to help her. Will she be able to escape her past and on her own? Will she run home to Cash? Or will she find comfort in the arms of Joe?

Love Love


Beth Michele - 2013
    She's funny. And oh yes, she's a bit klutzy. When Gabrielle left sunny California bound for the energy of Manhattan, she was willingly leaving the life she had known for the new life she would create. But was she really leaving something behind or was she running away?On the outside, Gabrielle Willis had it all under control. A new life in Manhattan, a great roommate, and a good job. But she was haunted. Haunted by a memory she'd tried to forget and by a family who'd abandoned her. Enter Dane Rhodes. He was gorgeous, smart, and sexy as hell. Just what Gabby wanted, or so she thought. But when she met Brad Dixon, the sweet guy with the crooked smile, he began to make her see that the very thing she was trying to run from, was the very thing that just might push her to see the light.**This Contemporary Romance contains mature language and sexual content and is only recommended for readers 17 and older.**

Within These Walls


J.L. Berg - 2014
    I am not strong. I am just a survivor of circumstance.Isn’t that what we all do? Survive?Each of us has our own set of circumstances to muddle through. Mine are just more…complicated. Born with a severe heart defect, I’ve seen the inside of a hospital room more than my own bedroom. I was drowning, a prisoner to the illness that owned me, until he appeared. He thinks he’s blocked out the world with his tattoos and hard exterior, but I see the real Jude, the one he so desperately wants to forget. But is he the answer to my prayers or will he break my already damaged heart forever?My name is Lailah Buchanan, and this is our story of hope, redemption and sacrificing it all for the one you love.

The Write Stuff


Tiffany King - 2014
     Twenty-two-year-old historical romance writer Nicole Blake, or N.S. Blake to her readers, hasn't taken an official poll, mind you, but she is convinced she may be the only romance author on the planet who is still a card-carrying member of the virgin club.Not that she hasn't tried to end her membership. Life just keeps finding pesky ways to interfere. With no prospects on the horizon, Nicole begins to feel like the closest she will ever get to experiencing a man is within her own stories.Opportunity presents itself in the form of hot-as-sin-on-a-lollipop-stick bartender/premed student Alec Petropoulos, who agrees to be the cover model for her upcoming book. Sparks fly instantly between them, and Nicole begins to entertain the possibility that she's finally found the right guy to hand over her tattered V-card. Alec has all the makings for a perfect one-night-stand candidate except, much to Nicole's surprise, he seems to be the only man in existence not interested in bagging a virgin.Stuck between a rock and a stubborn male, what's a virgin to do? Seduce him, of course. How hard could it be? If it works for the characters in her stories, why wouldn't it work for her? After all, what happens under the cover…stays under the cover.