Book picks similar to
No Bad Days by J. Sterling


romance
college
new-adult
contemporary

Stone Cold Bad


Tess Oliver - 2015
    A guy like him was the last thing I needed now. A guy like Colt Stone was the last thing I ever needed. -Colt-Emotion, feelings and, hell, even love had been turned off in all of us Stone brothers long ago. Then Jade landed in my life. It was the last thing I ever wanted, to feel this way about someone. Attachments like this were only followed by heartbreak, and I wasn't into heartbreak. I wasn't into f*cking attachments. Bad boy Colt Stone has a notorious reputation for being a tough and dangerous heartbreaker. A brutal childhood hardened him to the idea of any type of emotional attachment to anyone. When he becomes the unwitting accomplice in Jade Morrow's escape from an abusive boyfriend, he soon finds that he'll do anything to keep her safe. Has Colt found the one girl who can break through to his impenetrable heart?When she runs away from her monstrous boyfriend, Jade Morrow has no place to go and no one to turn to. She accidentally lands in the arms of a handsome, tattooed stranger. Colt Stone is as formidable as he is appealing and Jade soon finds that he's equally hard to resist. When her troubled past catches up to her, Jade discovers just how far Colt will go to save her.

Chasing Butterflies


Terri E. Laine - 2016
    Laine brings a new standalone New Adult Romance novel, Chasing Butterflies, about second chances on and off the field. One night … one kiss … one touch … will change everything. Kelley Moore’s tragic home life should make him a survivor. But when he’s uprooted yet again, his plans for a better future seem impossible. Being a player on and off the football field is all he knows, until Lenora Wells. The beautiful town princess makes him feel and want things he never thought he could have… Lenora will do anything to get out of her town, even if it means dating the wrong guy. There’s one problem: she can’t stop thinking about the gorgeous, complicated boy with the unusual eyes who gives her butterflies and makes her question her choices. When their lives collide, the world shifts and not in their favor. Four years later, the sins of their past can never be taken back and forgiveness won’t come easy. College is a different game, a second chance for something better. She’s not the girl he remembers and he’s the one boy she can never forget. He’s made a name for himself as the star quarterback -- the golden boy who can do no wrong. But he’s only interested in being her hero. Despite everything, she can’t deny he still makes her heart flutter; and she’s got him chasing butterflies. *Warning this new adult romance contains adult content and language and may not be suitable for younger readers.

Wicked Beautiful


J.T. Geissinger - 2015
    What she doesn’t have—and doesn’t want—is a husband. Fifteen years ago her high school flame broke her heart so badly she swore she’d never love again. Drop-dead sexy restauranteur and infamous playboy Parker Maxwell has only three rules for the women he dates: no questions about his past, no expectations for the future, and no spending the night. When he meets Victoria, however, he’s willing to break his own rules if it means sating the explosive desire she arouses in him. What he doesn’t know is that the alluring Victoria Price used to be the mousy Isabel Diaz, the girl he deflowered and dumped long ago. Presented with a perfect opportunity for revenge, Victoria decides the game is on. But when her connection with Parker proves more than just skin deep, she has to make a choice: continue with her plan for payback, or risk her career, her reputation, and her heart by taking a second chance on love?

Deep Down


Brenda Rothert - 2015
    My closest companions now are shame and loss. But a sliver of hope lies in the only person I have left in this world – the one who’s growing inside me.Survival becomes living again because of my child, and the town where I begin anew. That’s where I meet the man who starts to melt the ice inside my heart.As we get closer, reminders of my past become sharper. Clearer. To confront the pain, I have to discover what’s deep down inside me. Is there enough left there to become whole again, or am I too wounded to heal? A portion of sales from this book will benefit the Keith Milano Memorial Fund at AFSP

Before You Go


Clare James - 2013
    But she soon realizes the changes are not enough. Tabby must take action to help her heal and move on from the past. And though it sounds crazy, she believes a one-night stand is the best way to take back what’s hers. If she can choose where, when, and most importantly, who … maybe she can regain control.First, she needs a willing participant. She finds more than that when she meets Noah Adler. Unfortunately, she can’t go through with it. And when she tries to forget about the plan—and the guy—it becomes impossible. Noah quickly weaves his way into her new life and her heart. But as he comes dangerously close to discovering her secret, Tabby’s at risk of losing it all.

Where the Road Takes Me


Jay McLean - 2015
    She’s made a promise to herself: don’t let anyone in, and don’t let anyone love her. She’s learned the hard way what happens if she breaks her rules. So she’s focused on being invisible and waiting until she can set out on the road—her dream of freedom, at least for a little while.Blake Hunter is a basketball star who has it all—everything about him looks perfect to those on the other side of his protective walls. He can’t let anyone see the shattered pieces behind the flawless facade or else all his hopes and dreams will disappear.One dark night throws Chloe and Blake together, changing everything for Blake. For Chloe, nothing changes: she has the road, and she’s focused on it. But when the so-called perfect boy starts to notice the invisible girl, they discover that sometimes with love, no one knows where the road may lead.

Cake


J. Bengtsson - 2016
    Surviving an unspeakable crime as a young teen had shaped him into a guarded workaholic, and he now lived his life trying to forget. If it hadn’t been for music and the redemption he found through it, he might not have survived. Career success came easily for him. Personal connections did not. When outspoken, vivacious college student Casey Caldwell was paired with the famously reserved rockstar for a friend’s wedding, she was prepared for the worst. What could they possibly have in common? She was a bubbly talker; he was a reclusive loner. His life was filled with music; she couldn’t carry a tune. She’d enjoyed a happy childhood; his was a well-publicized nightmare. Yet despite their obvious differences, Jake and Casey found each other, and her light balanced out his darkness. Would their love be strong enough to survive the weight of his tragic past? AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a *full-length* standalone romance. Cake is a love story at heart but does deal with a sensitive topic and may not be for all. Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of eighteen.*This novel was professionally re-edited on June 28th, 2016*

One Night Stand


J.S. Cooper - 2014
    He was hot. And I’d been in a year’s drought. He smiled. We got drunk.We flirted. We hooked up. I left early the next morning without saying goodbye. It was only meant to be a one night stand. I didn’t want the awkward morning after moment. Not at all. Then I went home for the weekend. And he was there. Sitting on the couch chatting to my dad. Turns out he was more than just a stranger. Turns out that my one night stand was about to cause a whole heap of trouble. Turns out that it never just stops with one night. Readers should be 18 and over due to mature situations and language.

Plastic Hearts


Lisa De Jong - 2013
    I like it that way. I grew up in a fake society where plastic hearts rule. If our hearts are made of plastic, they can never be broken. My parents have expectations and I do everything I can to meet them, even if it means giving up on my own dreams. Now, all I want is to be free to make my own choices.Dane Wright is everything I have been warned to stay away from. We met one night while I was with my perfect, parent-approved boyfriend and I haven’t stopped thinking about him. I don’t want to like him. I am doing everything I can to ignore his pull, but my heart seems to want what it cannot have, what it has never had.Can he measure up? He may think I am too good for him, but maybe he is too good for me. Life is a series of choices and I have never been able to make my own. Until one day, when my heart decides to make a choice for me.Recommended for mature readers due to sexual content and language

It Had to Be Him


Tamra Baumann - 2015
    But with another job lost and the gorgeous father of her daughter trying to make contact after disappearing three years ago, a break is definitely in order. Hopefully the little town filled with big, juicy secrets can help.After being off the grid for years, Josh Granger, a man with his own secrets, wants Meg and his daughter back. But first he has to get past townspeople as protective as a pack of rottweilers. He’s not the man Meg thinks he is, but he can’t tell her why…not yet.As Meg slowly warms to Josh, it’s clear the old spark is still there. But when his secret is exposed—along with Meg’s own shocking revelation—will it tear their family apart again, or bind them forever?

Cruel and Beautiful


A.M. Hargrove - 2015
    (Rated R) Cate Forbes , a dedicated college student with a carefully plotted future, doesn’t know the first thing about love. When she accepts a blind date with a rumored tasty piece of eye candy, she thinks she can get by with a night of fun. Cate’s plans quickly unravel when she gets one look at the sexy… Drew McKnight. The relentless hockey-playing medical resident knows what he wants— a career in Oncology and Cate. Although he’s heard the gorgeous brunette is a little relationship skittish, a single night out isn’t what he has in mind. Determined to have her — in every way possible— he shows her just what a future with him would hold. Only life has other plans. The unthinkable happens and everything begins to shatter. Both in too deep, they will have to fight the cruel and hang onto the beautiful.

Mouth to Mouth


Tessa Bailey - 2018
    Tell that to Rory Prince. He should stay the hell away from Olive Cunningham. There’s one small problem, though. She won’t stop almost getting killed—and with this too-smart, too-sweet girl holding his heart in her hands, Rory is powerless to do anything but keep saving her. Homeschooled from a young age, Olive is now out on her own and discovering the world, one milkshake flavor at a time. Until recently, she has experienced life through books. She’s walked in a million sets of shoes while flipping pages—enough to know that Rory gives her once-in-a-lifetime feelings. If only he would stop trying to protect her…from himself.

This is Falling


Ginger Scott - 2014
    Then, I had to learn how to survive. Two years, three months and sixteen days had passed since I was the Rowe Stanton from before, since tragedy stole my youth and my heart went along with it. When I left for college, I put a thousand miles between my future and my past. I’d made a choice—I was going to cross back to the other side, to live with the living. I just didn’t know how. And then I met Nate Preeter. An All-American baseball player, Nate wasn’t supposed to notice a ghost-of-a-girl like me. But he did. He shouldn’t want to know my name. But he did. And when he learned my secret and saw the scars it left behind, he was supposed to run. But he didn’t. My heart was dead, and I was never supposed to belong to anyone. But Nate Preeter had me feeling, and he made me want to be his. He showed me everything I was missing. And then he showed me how to fall. *This is a standalone in a three-part series that will focus on different characters. Each book can be read on its own.

This Is Not How It Ends


Rochelle B. Weinstein - 2020
    Weinstein comes a moving novel of hearts lost and found, and of one woman torn between two love stories. When Charlotte and Philip meet, the pair form a deep and instant connection. Soon they’re settled in the Florida Keys with plans to marry. But just as they should be getting closer, Charlotte feels Philip slipping away.Second-guessing their love is something Charlotte never imagined, but with Philip’s excessive absences, she finds herself yearning for more. When she meets Ben, she ignores the pull, but the supportive single dad is there for her in ways she never knew she desired. Soon Charlotte finds herself torn between the love she thought she wanted and the one she knows she needs.As a hurricane passes through Islamorada, stunning revelations challenge Charlotte’s loyalties and upend her life. Forced to reexamine the choices she’s made, and has yet to make, Charlotte embarks on an emotional journey of friendship, love, and sacrifice—knowing that forgiveness is a gift, and the best-laid plans can change in a heartbeat.This Is Not How It Ends is a tender, moving story of heartbreak and healing that asks the question: Which takes more courage—holding on or letting go?

Be My December


Rachel Brookes - 2014
    December 16th, a cold winter’s night, four years ago. The night my innocence was stolen, the night I made the mistake of saying no—a mistake I’d never make again. The dream of a ‘happily ever after' was now a locked away myth. I promised myself that I’d never return to the place of my worst nightmare, that I’d never let anyone get close, but then again, I never thought I’d meet someone like him. The intense, confident and beautiful Ky Crawford.I had no plans to become someone’s Prince Charming. I couldn’t be. I refused to be. My plan was simple—do whatever it takes to correct my biggest mistake, my one regret that now controlled my life. I was on track. I had plans, but then everything changed when I saw her—the girl in the red jacket, the girl who I was told couldn’t say no. The reserved yet stunning Eden Rivers.A girl who can’t say no.A guy who craves redemption.A chance encounter? It all comes down to this.One question.One month.Be My December?