Book picks similar to
The Start of Us by Lauren Blakely


romance
new-adult
lauren-blakely
novella

Getting Out of Hand


Erin Nicholas - 2014
    But he’s not sure he can get through his high school class reunion. Then he meets the new girl in town. Adrianne Scott loves Sapphire Falls. The sleepy little town has been the perfect place to escape her fast-paced, high stress lifestyle. Her only plans now include opening her candy shop and living a quiet, drama-free life. Until Mason Riley bids four hundred dollars just to dance with her. Mason sure doesn’t look—or kiss—like a genius scientist geek. In fact, he makes Adrianne’s heart pound like nothing she’s ever experienced. Passion like this with a guy who travels the world and parties at the White House should probably be a red flag for a girl who wants a simple boring life. Good thing no one falls in love in a weekend. WARNING: read only if you don't mind some naughty words, sexy times described in great detail, humor, small town quirkiness, meddling best friends, mud in the kitchen, references to bisexuality, oh and talk about candy... and that's not a euphemism for anything... actual candy.

One Night with You


Marie Force - 2015
    You might want to keep a fan and some ice water handy, because this story is H-O-T

Good Girl


Piper Lawson - 2018
    Instead I fell for a legend...The month I wrote my first piece of code, Jax Jamieson launched his third platinum album.The week I drank my first beer, he spent in jail.The day I got under his skin, I wound up on his tour.And the night he gave me his hoodie…I fell in love forever.Good Girl is book 1 in the hit new adult rockstar-meets-nerd series WICKED! Jax and Haley’s addictive, emotional, slow burn romance continues in Bad Girl and concludes in Wicked Girl.Binge the completed trilogy now!

Picture Perfect


Alessandra Thomas - 2013
    After two years of runway modeling for easy cash, an accident shattered her lower leg bone and her self-esteem in just one swift fall. Ten months of no exercise, prescription steroids, comfort eating and yoga pants meant returning to campus as a size twelve instead of her former size two. When her gorgeous long-time friend with benefits sees her for the first time after her accident and snubs her in front of all her friends, Cat’s self-image hits rock bottom. Her sorority sisters all insist that she looks gorgeous, but all Cat sees is the roll of her stomach when she sits down, or the dimpling at the back of her thighs that wasn't there last year. Cat’s therapist prescribes something radical to stop the downward spiral - nude modeling for a nearby college's human form drawing classes. When Cat faces her fears and bares it all for the class, she realizes that she's posing naked in front the most gorgeous, buffest guy she's ever seen in her life. He asks her out after the class, and after one steamy night together, Cat's absolutely smitten.Nate’s pretty close to perfect – he takes Cat rock climbing when he discovers that it makes her feel strong and becomes a great chef after he learns that the perfect pesto sauce makes her swoon. Cat starts to feel like her old self again - confident and beautiful - as long as Nate's around. Even when he discourages her from entering the Real Woman Project, a design competition for plus-sized apparel, she reasons that he's just trying to prevent old body image wounds from splitting wide open again.But when Cat goes home with Nate for Thanksgiving, she discovers something shocking from his recent past that proves that he hasn’t always been so encouraging of women of all shapes and sizes. Cat has no idea what to think, but she does know one thing - this might destroy their relationship before it's even had a chance to get off the ground. Before Cat can figure out whether the real Nate is the sensitive, adoring guy she fell in love with, or an undercover asshole, she'll have to finally feel comfortable in her own skin - even if it means leaving him forever.(This book contains sex and adult language.)

Temporary Bliss


B.J. Harvey - 2013
    Temporary feelings. Until a late-night encounter creates a permanent longing for bliss of another kind… Makenna Lewis cringes at any mention of the word commitment. Her past experience with the L-word did little more than teach her that anything involving feelings is a dangerous path indeed. She no longer wants or needs a relationship, but she still enjoys men. Even if her attachment to them is only temporary.That is, until a late night encounter with the delicious Daniel Winters turns her preconceived notion of commitment completely on its head. He makes her feel things she vowed to never feel again, and when Daniel pushes for more than she’s willing to give, she falters.What do you do when something that you’ve known to be so wrong in the past feels so damn right in the present?If you’re Mac, you run and hide.Lucky for Mac, Daniel isn’t the type of man who takes no for an answer.

Alone Time


Lauren Dane - 2012
    Visits to Petal, Part 1 It’s date night in Petal, Georgia, and Nathan, Matt and Shane have some long-awaited alone time with their women and they’re not about to let that opportunity go.Product WarningsThis free story is bonus material for readers of the Chase brothers and Petal, Georgia, series and is not intended to be standalone.

Undeclared


Jen Frederick - 2013
    But when his deployment ended, so did the letters. Ever since that day, Grace has been coasting, academically and emotionally. The one thing she’s decided? No way is Noah Jackson — or any man — ever going to break her heart again.Noah has always known exactly what he wants out of life. Success. Stability. Control. That’s why he joined the Marines and that’s why he’s fighting his way — literally — through college. Now that he’s got the rest of his life on track, he has one last conquest: Grace Sullivan. But since he was the one who stopped writing, he knows that winning her back will be his biggest battle yet.

A Little Combustible Chemistry


Violet Duke - 2014
    Though she'd doused it quickly, a sizzling, ultra-feminine awareness had flared in her eyes in that brief moment they'd met his, along with a sweet blush she'd fought with adorably, stubborn defiance. Damn, she was cute. And intriguing. With that quiet, kitten gaze of hers still mulishly refusing to look his way again, she was drawing him in, hook, line, and sinker.Holy Hefeweizen...It was bad enough that the faint scent of one of her dark ales was lingering on his lips in that sexier-than-sin sort of way, but candying it atop steamy eyes and a gentlemanly sweet center to boot was just plain unfair. He was cowboy-in-the-city sexy with a laughing smile and all sorts of promised temptations radiating from him. And he always smelled like chocolate. With his scorching hot gaze, he was completely lethal to everything that kept her tame.The night Luke and Dani met, they really should have gotten each other's last names. More importantly? Each other's occupations.See how the chocolate vs. beer throwdown between chocolatier Luke Bradford and beer brewing beauty Dani Dobson gets started in this prequel novella to LOVE, CHOCOLATE, AND BEER.*****NOTE FROM AUTHOR: THIS PREQUEL IS NOW TOGETHER WITH BOOK #1: LOVE, CHOCOLATE, AND BEER AS A NON-SEPARATE FREE PREQUEL (meaning when you download Book 1, the free prequel will be at the start of it). IT HAS NOT BEEN AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD SEPARATELY SINCE DEC 2014. IT DOES *NOT* NEED TO BE DOWNLOADED SEPARATELY.*****

Valentine


Samantha Young - 2015
    Ellie & Adam. Jo & Cam. Olivia & Nate. Hannah & Marco. Shanon & Cole. And one Valentine’s Day they’ll never forget.It’s Valentine’s Day! How do Joss & Braden, Ellie & Adam, Jo & Cam, Olivia & Nate, Hannah & Marco and Shannon & Cole keep the fire burning in their relationships while trying to juggle busy careers and the joyful chaos of parenthood? Find out in Valentine, six sexy and emotional short stories, one for each couple in the On Dublin Street series so far, making up a short novella about one very special day.Valentine is a special gift to fans of the series in thanks for supporting Hero, her first standalone contemporary romance.The digital edition is free.Also part of the paperback edition, On Dublin Street: The Novellas.

One Night of Sin


Elle Kennedy - 2014
    She doesn’t do one-night-stands, but one look at sinfully sexy Gage Holt and she’s willing to reconsider. He makes her want to be bad for once in her life, and she’s prepared to take what she wants.Danger follows former MMA fighter Gage Holt like a shadow. Despite his successes as part owner of Sin, an exclusive nightclub in Boston, Gage can’t risk getting involved with a woman, especially one as sweet as Skyler. Still, he can’t resist a taste—and it’s so damn good he has to see her again. As addicted as he is to her, Gage knows there’s no future for him and Skyler—not with his past lurking in the dark corners of an MMA cage. But Skylar’s tougher than she looks, and she’s ready to fight for her man.

Vivian's List


Haleigh Lovell - 2013
    A list. A love story.After ending a horrible, scarring relationship, Vivian embraces her freedom by making a sexual bucket list. When her brother's best friend, Liam, finds it, sparks fly and hearts open.Can Vivian heal one steamy encounter at a time?** This is book 1 in a two-part series

Country Heaven


Ava Miles - 2014
    He’s a bad boy who indulges himself in all things, women included. But while she couldn’t care less about country music or arrogant men, Rye makes her an offer she can’t refuse when he asks her to be his private chef on his multi-city concert tour. The job is the answer to all her prayers: it will clear out her debt and finance the fresh start she desperately needs.Rye is certain his sassy new cook is the last woman who’d ever tempt him, but spending time with the wholesome girl next door will do wonders for his damaged public image, whether she likes being forced into the spotlight or not. Her food also happens to be the best he’s ever eaten, both comforting and seductive. But spending time with Tory on the road shows him a new side to her—one that’s as impossible to resist as her food. And when an emergency in his family whisks him home, he does the one thing he’s never risked: he lets a woman into his heart…Soon the emotions Rye faked for the tabloids become all too real, but will the country heaven he’s found in Tory’s arms survive in the real world?

Dating a Cougar


Donna McDonald - 2011
    It’s shocking at fifty to find herself wanting a sex life again, and even more shocking to be an older woman attracted to a younger man.Thirty-eight-year-old, medically retired Marine, Casey Carter, is incredibly sexy, but a relationship with the man is totally out of the question. Casey is related to her daughter’s boyfriend. The last thing Alexa needs is another talk-show worthy drama in her already complicated life, no matter how well Casey kisses.ABOUT THE NEVER TOO LATE SERIES:Tired of younger heroines and heroes getting all the action? How about something different? The Never Too Late series is a collection of six sexy, romantic comedies about finding love and romance after turning 40 and 50.These contemporary romances are intentionally heavy on humor and light on tears. The heroines are successful in life, but not successful in love, as their friends are quick to point out. The heroes are drool-worthy, confident, and know what it takes to make a woman feel loved and wanted.

Unbreakable


Abby Reynolds - 2014
     This is a stand alone novel. It is not a cliffhanger. And it is the first novel in the Forehead Kisses Series. Can there be too many pieces to piece back together? This is a question Keira faces every day. It’s impossible for her to go anywhere unaccompanied by her cousin, the only person who knows what happened on that horrific night a year ago. The guilt and pain weigh her down every day. Unwilling to open up to anyone and give someone a chance, she lives in solitude. For her, that’s the only way to live. Liam struggles with his own demons. After losing someone who means the world to him, he combats his anger and pain on a daily basis. He dives into violence and sex, losing himself more and more. But as soon as he meets Keira, he recognizes the same pain he suffers every day. And he pursues her, wanting to connect to someone who understands. Keira can’t put herself back together, and neither can Liam. But can they do it together?

Not Today, But Someday


Lori L. Otto - 2012
    Forced to transfer schools mid-year, she wasn't trying to make new friends. In that same month, sophomore Nate Wilson's girlfriend broke up with him. Searching for someone to fill the void left by his first love, he meets Emi in his art class. Nate knows he wants Emi from the moment he sees her. Emi knows she needs Nate after one night together. A life-long friendship is born, and a pact is made to ensure that nothing will come between them. This novella is the prequel to the Emi Lost & Found series. After the 3-volume series was published, readers wanted more. This is for them – the story of how Nate and Emi met – and although it’s a prequel, it can be enjoyed before or after the series.