Book picks similar to
Almost Never by Melissa Toppen
love-triangle
angst
romance
arc
Always You
Stephanie Rose - 2015
All we had was friendship and my silly hope for more. When he left and took all of that with him, I moved on. Settled. I figured that happiness wasn't in the cards for me. Until, one night of drinks with an old "friend" gives me a hope I never expected, but don't know what to do with. This time, I have the chance I always dreamed about—but I'm not free to take it. *** Ten years ago, Samantha was only a friend, a sweet girl I never wanted to hurt. Now, she's everything I want and nothing I can have. She belongs with me, even if she's not really mine, and I can’t settle for anything less than all of her. Now that I’ve got a second chance, I'm grabbing it with both hands. Why did it take so long to realize that it was Always You?
Suddenly Forbidden
Ella Fields - 2018
We were never meant to let go, but it happened anyway. Too bad I didn’t know someone was waiting to take my place, or I would've held on a lot tighter. Two years later, we were exactly where we'd always planned to be. I'd kept my promise. He'd forgotten all about his. Not only had he moved on, but the person he'd moved on with was my best friend, leaving me to begin college with a broken heart. I guess this is the part where I’m supposed to tell you some other guy stepped in, repaired my shattered pieces, and made me smile again. This isn't that kind of story. My heart might have been broken, but it refused to fall out of love. WARNING: this book contains cheating.Each book in the Gray Springs world can be read as a standalone.
Complicate Me
M. Robinson - 2015
That one moment where you could have chosen a path that would lead you down a certain road. A different life. It was easier to pretend that we were still best friends, and that she was my girl and I was her boy. Pretending was better than knowing the truth...I. Ruined. Us.I had her. I lost her. I love her.All I did was complicate us.STANDALONE series. New Adult Contemporary Romance: Strong language and sexual content, not intended for readers under 18.
Birthday Suit
Lauren Blakely - 2019
Yeah. So there’s that. Look, it’s not like I didn’t know I screwed up by falling for her. Also, for the record, unrequited love sucks big time.And, I might have cut myself some slack by now, given everything that went down in the last few years, but Lulu just walked back into my life in a big way.***There are three things I've never been able to resist—my friends, my family, and chocolate.Leo Hennessy? He was nowhere on that list. He's been a true friend—a friend who walked through hell and back with me.Now, I'm stepping into my new future. I didn't expect it to include a riddle-filled, race-against-the-clock scavenger hunt across New York City.With Leo.Suddenly, I'm looking at this man with new eyes...But my life spun out because of a man once before, and I can’t risk my fresh start, no matter what the temptation. And Leo is most definitely a temptation of the sexiest, sweetest, and most dangerous variety. More irresistibly delicious than chocolate...
Drowning Erin
Elizabeth O'Roark - 2017
She and Brendan have waged a war of mutual disdain for years, but when Brendan picks up the pieces after her world unravels, they’ll be forced to admit that beneath their dislike is something else entirely—something they’re not supposed to feel. Because Brendan isn’t just her nemesis…He’s also her fiance’s best friend.
Before Hadley
J. Nathan - 2016
He may have looks, charm, and the attention of every other girl in town, but he's also got heartbreak written all over his pretty face.But what Hadley doesn’t know—what no one knows—is that with Caynan, things aren't at all what they seem. His secrets have secrets and everything out of his mouth straddles the line between truth and fiction. Caynan knows better than to get involved with anyone, especially with his time limited in the new town, but he just can't seem to get Hadley out of his mind. She's the one girl who doesn't want him. The one girl who's turned off by his charm. The one girl who challenges him like no other. And, though she couldn't possibly know the truth about him, she seems to be the one girl who really sees him. Too bad for Caynan, secrets never remain secrets for long. And this one has the power to destroy more than just his life.*New Adult/Mature YA Romance spanning the course of over three years.
Blind Kiss
Renee Carlino - 2018
Fourteen years ago, this shop was her childhood dance studio... Now she’s a suburban housewife, dreading the moment her son departs for MIT, leaving her with an impeccably decorated McMansion and a failing marriage. She had her chance at wild, stars-in-her-eyes happiness, but that was a lifetime ago. After The Kiss. Before The Decision.The Kiss was soulful. Magical. Earth-shattering, And it was all for a free gift card. Asked to participate in a psych study that posed the question, “Can you have sexual chemistry without knowing what the other person looks like?” Penny agreed to be blindfolded, make polite conversation with a total stranger, and kiss him. She never expected The Kiss to change her life forever and introduce her to Gavin: tattooed, gorgeous, and spontaneous enough to ask her out seconds after the blindfolds came off.For a year, they danced between friendship and romance—until Penny made The Decision that forced them to settle for friendship. Now, fourteen years later, both of their lives are about to radically change—and it’s his turn to decide what will become of their once-in-a-lifetime connection."
The Girl in the Love Song
Emma Scott - 2020
But most of us knew them as the Lost Boys...Miller Stratton is a survivor. After a harrowing childhood of poverty, he will do anything it takes to find security for himself and his mom. He’s putting all his hopes and dreams in the fragile frame of his guitar and the beauty he creates with its strings and his soulful voice. Until Violet. No one expects to meet the love of their life at age thirteen. But the spunky rich girl steals Miller’s heart and refuses to give it back. Violet McNamara’s life hasn’t been as simple as it looks. Her picture-perfect family is not so perfect after all. Her best friend Miller is her one constant and she is determined not to ruin their friendship with romantic complications. But the heart wants what it wants. As Miller’s star begins to rise to stratospheric heights, what will it take for Violet to realize that she’s the girl in all of his love songs?Lost Boys is a new series of interconnected, coming-of-age standalones from USA Today bestselling author Emma Scott, coming in 2020
Kyland
Mia Sheridan - 2015
Hillbilly. Backwoods hick. Mountain folk.
Tenleigh Falyn struggles each day to survive in a small, poverty-stricken, coal mining town where she lives with her sister and mentally ill mother. Her dream of winning the college scholarship given to one student by the local coal company and escaping the harshness of her life, keeps her going.Kyland Barrett lives in the hills, too, and has worked tirelessly—through near starvation, through deep loneliness, against all odds—to win the Tyton Coal Scholarship and leave the town that is full of so much pain.They're both determined not to form any attachments, but one moment changes everything. What happens when only one person gets to win? When only one person gets to leave? And what happens to the one left behind?Kyland is a story of desperation and hope, loss and sacrifice, pain and forgiveness, but ultimately, a story of deep and unending love.THIS IS A STANDALONE SIGN OF LOVE NOVEL, INSPIRED BY TAURUS. New Adult Contemporary Romance: Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.
Hotshot
Ahren Sanders - 2016
I don’t remember a time I didn’t love Crenshaw Bennett.I tried to deny it, but my feelings grew deeper.I thought he could never love me the way I love him.I was wrong—outrageously, deliriously, and beautifully wrong.One innocent kiss changes my life forever.Suddenly, Shaw is mine.Loyal, devoted, and the most loving man on this Earth.Together, we create an explosion of fiery passion, devotion, and chemistry I never knew was possible.All of my dreams are within reach, but I should have known it was too good to be true.The past always catches up to you, and I’m left staring at my worst nightmare.Faced with the unthinkable, I am forced to choose between the man I love and a past I cannot change.Shaw’s fighting like hell to prove we can have it all, but can I find the strength to be the woman he needs?
Lucas
Jay McLean - 2016
He also has an older sister, five younger brothers and a father who relies on him to make sure those brothers don’t kill each other. His saving grace? Lois “Laney” Sanders, a girl he started to fall in like with when he was just eleven. A girl who became his best friend, his confidant, his courage. It took only sixteen clicks and eight seconds for Lucas to realize that his like for Laney had turned into love. Eight life-changing seconds. It’s also the exact length of time it took to lose her.
Royal
Winter Renshaw - 2016
He’s not even a prince - though you could say I loved him once upon a time.He was my older brother’s best friend.Growing up, he sat at our dinner table every Sunday, teased me mercilessly, and pretended I annoyed him.When I was old enough, he took me on my first date.Royal taught me how to drive. Escorted me to my junior prom. Gave me my first kiss…amongst other things. He was my first taste of toe-curling, all-consuming, can’t-sleep love.We had our whole lives ahead of us. There was never anyone else for me but him.And then he disappeared. No letter. No explanation. Not even a goodbye.My sisters and brother never forgave him, and my parents forbade me from speaking his name in our house ever again. For all intents and purposes, we were to pretend Royal Lockhart never existed.I’ve spent the last seven years trying in vain to forget my first love, but just when I think I’ve finally moved on, guess who’s back in town?
Blurred Lines
Lauren Layne - 2015
Six years later, they’re still best friends, sharing an apartment in Portland’s trendy Northwest District as they happily settle into adult life. But when Parker’s boyfriend dumps her out of the blue, she starts to wonder about Ben’s no-strings-attached approach to dating. The trouble is, even with Ben as her wingman, Parker can’t seem to get the hang of casual sex—until she tries it with him. The arrangement works perfectly . . . at first. The sex is mind-blowing, and their friendship remains as solid as ever, without any of the usual messy romantic entanglements. But when Parker’s ex decides he wants her back, Ben is shocked by a fierce stab of possessiveness. And when Ben starts seeing a girl from work, Parker finds herself plagued by unfamiliar jealousy. With their friendship on the rocks for the first time, Parker and Ben face an alarming truth: Maybe they can’t go back. And maybe, deep down, they never want to.
Dare You to Hate Me
B. Celeste - 2021
Lindon U’s star tight end.Still as attractive. Still as dedicated.With rumors of him being drafted to the NFL coming to fruition, I know it’s only a matter of time before we have to say goodbye again.But he can’t seem to let me go no matter what I say, and I don’t think I want him to.
Regrets
Nicole Dykes - 2020
Doing it when you’re haunted by past betrayal and so many things left unsaid?Feels nearly hopeless. Is it impossible to come back from so much anguish and all the regrets? Can you ever truly mend your heart and move on?Or are Penelope and Linc destined for a life of punishment and pain?They're about to find out whether the line between love and hate is clear. And if moving on after loss and the sting of deception is even possible.