Book picks similar to
Stealing Promises by Brina Courtney
new-adult
romance
contemporary
stand-alone
The Unloved
Jennifer Snyder - 2012
Julie Porter learned the hard way that trust is something which must be earned and not something to be given out lightly, those who say they love you are those who hold the power to hurt you most, and best friends can help you survive anything—until they move away.Nick Owen knows a thing or two about a hard life. At a young age Nick learned how to take a hit and to make lemonade out of the lemons life tossed his way. Returning home after nearly two years of being away, all Nick cares about now is protecting his mom from the abusive hands of his father and catching up with his best friend—the girl who lived across the street, the girl he can’t seem to stop thinking about.Finally reunited after two years apart, Nick and Julie are about to learn that age does nothing to protect you from life’s trials and tribulations, heartache and loss, but maybe together they’ll find a way to survive. (Mature Young Adult, contains violence, language, and sexual situations.)
When We Met
A.L. Jackson - 2014
When four girls decide to live off campus together as juniors at a college in Michigan, they expect it to be their best year yet. Little do they know, it’s a year that will change the rest of their lives.
BEHIND HER EYES by A.L. Jackson
Unable to live down her ex-boyfriend’s deception, Misha is determined to avoid betrayal. When, the new guy next door, Darryn starts to get under her skin, her defenses start to crumble. But trusting Darryn seems impossible, especially if he’s not sure he can trust himself.
SAVING ME by Molly McAdams
On the outside, Indy is always ready for a party—but inside she’s breaking. Kier makes a weekly routine of saving the girl next door from herself on Saturday nights… but when will she be ready to remember him on Sunday morning?
FOULING OUT by Tiffany King
Working at a sports bar, Courtney has become a pro at sidestepping propositions from arrogant jocks—which makes her a more elusive catch for campus basketball star Dalton than he expected. But when he falls for the saucy waitress, Dalton will have to rethink his game plan to prove he’s not the jerk Courtney expects.
BENEATH YOUR LAYERS by Christina Lee
In order to ace her fashion internship, Chloe must team up with local college dropout and set builder, Blake—much to her chagrin. But after some "hands-on" experience, Chloe will have to ask herself if Blake factors into her carefully laid plans…
Something like Normal
Monica James - 2014
An irrevocable decision has left Mia Lee a fugitive and on the run—a circumstance that should leave her weak and scared, yet Mia has never felt so alive. Under the pseudonym of Paige Cassidy, Mia is ready to live the life she’s never had, and she’s determined not to allow her tainted past dictate her promising future. Paige is on a Greyhound bus heading from L.A. to South Boston, Virginia, to start a new life. A life that includes finding her mother, who abandoned her at age three. But what she finds, is four people, who will change her life forever. Yet no one can outrun their past… Especially one filled with bitter memories, which refuse to remain hidden.
Hope Breaks
Alice Bello - 2013
She has until the end of the week to come up with a breathtaking shot or she’ll be replaced. And there’s a sudden model shortage; they’re out of season.The old, depressing problem: she hasn’t had a date, sex or a relationship in over two years.She also has one hell of a headache.Hope finds the cures for her two problems during a search through Wal-Mart for a painkiller to kill her headache.Turns out the aisles of the retail giant are rampant with hot young model worthy specimens. And when her trusty Ford Taurus breaks down in the parking lot, a hunky mechanic in the Tire and Lube Express department fixes more than just her car.Seemingly her troubles are good as gone…but then her new, fabulous cover is rejected, and in a desperate moment she has to choose between keeping her job and keeping the man she’s just starting to fall in love with.
Watch over Me
Tara Sivec - 2013
She has a family that loves her, friends that make her laugh, and she's wrapped up in the excitement of graduating high school and going off to college to pursue her dream of becoming an author. When her mother, who also happens to be Addison's best friend, dies unexpectedly, her world comes to a crashing halt. Death changes everyone... To make the pain go away, Addison and her father travel down separate, dark paths. She chooses to end her grief forever, while he drowns his sorrows in the bottom of a bottle. How do you learn to live again when the most important person in your life is gone? Addison struggles to pick up the pieces of her life. Instead of getting back to being the carefree teenager she once was, she's stuck handling all of the responsibilities that should have been her father's. She has no time to grieve, no time for emotions, and no time for happiness...until Zander Reinhardt walks in. All it takes is one little handwritten note on a napkin to kick-start her back to life and help her realize that maybe there's more to that life than pain. But can it really be that simple? Can she really trust this man who makes her feel alive again for the first time in a year?
Indelible
Bethany Lopez - 2013
Things are going great until a one-night stand leaves her pregnant and alone. Raising a child while going to school isn’t easy, but Sam is determined to be strong for her daughter. She doesn’t have time for guys or relationships, but the pull she feels toward Judd is more than she can ignore.Judd doesn’t fit the mold of a college ballplayer. His motorcycle and tattoos may fit the life he’s created for himself, but baseball is the one thing he takes seriously. When he meets Sam, he’s immediately drawn to her curves and refusal to put up with his crap. When Judd learns the truth, can he handle the responsibility that comes with loving a single mother? Sam yearns for the fire Judd fuels in her, but her child’s needs have to come first. Can two people at different stages in their life find a way to make a life together?*Want more? Read Karrie's story in Frat House Confessions: Ridge
The Time Until
Casey Ford - 2013
They have a special relationship that has grown far beyond mere friendship.Inseparable, Al and Sam have spent their lives with one another—from childhood secrets, through awkward teenage years, to finding themselves as adults—it’s always been the two of them together.When unexpected tragedy hits, and Sam is left fighting for her life, Alan can only watch and wait. Left alone without his best friend, Alan spends his time reliving his past, ensnared in the memories of the chaotic relationship with the girl that stole his heart.How would you spend the time until?
The Light Through the Leaves
Glendy Vanderah - 2021
But when she returns, Viola is gone. A breaking point in an already fractured marriage, Viola’s abduction causes Ellis to disappear as well—into grief, guilt, and addiction. Convinced she can only do more harm to her family, Ellis leaves her husband and young sons, burying her desperate ache for her children deeper with every step into the mountain wildernesses she treks alone.In a remote area of Washington, a young girl named Raven keeps secrets inside, too. She must never speak to outsiders about how her mother makes miracles spring from the earth, or about her father, whose mysterious presence sometimes frightens her. Raven spends her days learning how to use her rare gifts—and more important, how to hide them. With each lesson comes a warning of what dangers lie in the world beyond her isolated haven. But despite her mother’s cautions, Raven finds herself longing for something more.As Ellis and Raven each confront their powerful longings, their journeys will converge in unexpected and hopeful ways, pulled together by the forces of nature, love, and family.
In Spades
K. Pinson - 2013
With an alcoholic father, a void of a mother and a town full of gossip, she struggles to find her place in the world.The only thing that saved her on her path of self destruction is her beautiful little sister, her miracle. Desperately trying to save Abby from a life that Avalynn has been trying so hard to escape from, she plots to take Abby away.The plan going dangerously astray, leaving Avalynn beaten and broken in what once was the hallway mirror in her childhood home. Avalynn finally comes to in the hospital after nearly being beaten to death. Father-Dead, Mother-Missing, Abby-In foster care--Everything changing in the blink of an eye.Avalynn immediately sets to work to get her life in order , receive custody of precious Abby and focusing every ounce of attention, giving Abby the the life she deserves. Avalynn, now a 22 year old Elementary School Teacher and New Mommy, struggling to raise a beautiful and feisty five year old whom was just diagnosed with Mild Autism Disorder. Lots of challenges for her to face in the midst. Avalynn is ready to go at them all head on if it means Abby is raised in a happy and healthy home. Abby is the only thing she cares about...not even caring about herself or her life...that is...until she meets him. The man that can shatter her entire world with one glance. Their relationship a roller coaster ride from start to finish. One that Avalynn never wants to get off of..but she may not have a choice. Her happily ever after coming to a screeching halt yet again. Heartbreak, love, loss and hope--This story has it all, In Spades.
Only You (Shepherd Family Saga, #1)
Kaleigh James - 2014
The night of her 18th birthday party, she finally gets the nerve to confess her true feelings to him, only to be completely rejected. Heartbroken, she runs away from home, leaving no forwarding address and breaking contact with her family. Three years later, Camden arrives at her family's annual camping weekend, with a new guy in tow. Her family is shocked to see her, but they welcome her and her new guy with open arms. Because they are so excited to see her, they don't ask the questions that have been plaguing them - like where she has been or why she has decided to come back - but those questions are much more important than they realize. Shane Hunt has had three years to miss Camden and to regret pushing her away. The moment he sees her at the campground, he knows that he isn't letting this opportunity go to waste. Shane wants Camden back, and he's not letting a new guy stand in his way. But Camden has a major secret that could change everything and could potentially tear her family apart. The thing is, she's not the only one hiding a secret. Shane's got a big one up his sleeve as well.
Family Tree
Susan Wiggs - 2016
A single cell, joining with another. And then dividing. And just like that, the world changes. Annie Harlow knows how lucky she is. The producer of a popular television cooking show, she loves her handsome husband and the beautiful Los Angeles home they share. And now, she’s pregnant with their first child. But in an instant, her life is shattered. And when Annie awakes from a yearlong coma, she discovers that time isn’t the only thing she’s lost.Grieving and wounded, Annie retreats to her old family home in Switchback, Vermont, a maple farm generations old. There, surrounded by her free-spirited brother, their divorced mother, and four young nieces and nephews, Annie slowly emerges into a world she left behind years ago: the town where she grew up, the people she knew before, the high-school boyfriend turned judge. And with the discovery of a cookbook her grandmother wrote in the distant past, Annie unearths an age-old mystery that might prove the salvation of the family farm.Family Tree is the story of one woman’s triumph over betrayal, and how she eventually comes to terms with her past. It is the story of joys unrealized and opportunities regained. Complex, clear-eyed and big-hearted, funny, sad, and wise, it is a novel to cherish and to remember.
The Prelude
KaSonndra Leigh - 2013
Burying the grief, silencing her demons, and living a life without any real attachments has worked well for her so far. But when Erin secures her first real job as a budding clothing designer, her controlled world is shaken to its core by the mysteriously sexy director of the local symphony.Alek Dostov is a man who knows what he wants and how to get it. He’s successful, hot, the son of a millionaire, and women all over the world flock to see one of his performances. For Alek, Erin represents the ultimate challenge: sexy, smart, and unaffected by his charms…or so she thinks. Just like Erin, Alek avoids attachments that leave him emotionally vulnerable. But unlike Erin, his pursuit of all things pleasurable is ruthless. Knowing how wary they both are concerning any kind of committed relationship, Alek finds a way to pursue Erin, satisfying the intense attraction between them without sacrificing the freedom they both enjoy. Sometimes the deepest passion brings out the darkest emotions. And Erin finds herself completely unprepared for the forbidden world of the young maestro and his truths and even his secrets, as she struggles to deal with her own.Music, passion, betrayal and forbidden love spun together in one of the most romantic cities in the world.
The Man Test
Amanda Aksel - 2014
He’s too good to be true. Will she prove her point or be swept off her feet?Couples therapist Marin Johns is in love with love until she catches her fiancé in the act. Heartbroken and convinced her life is a lie, she’s determined to show that all men are double-dealing pigs. So when the handsome and sweet James Young asks her on a date, she sees the perfect chance to prove her theory to the world.From snooping in his apartment to hiring a fidelity inspector, Marin sets trap after trap to expose James as just another cheating male. But the therapist didn't realize that the harmless experiment would put her friends at risk. And she certainly didn't expect her unsuspecting subject to make her heart beat three times as fast…Head over heels and deeply confused, will Marin double down on her theory or take one last chance on love?The Man Test is the laugh-out-loud first book in The Marin Test chick-lit series. If you like witty banter, comic hijinks, and the search for the perfect guy, you’ll love Amanda Aksel’s charming tale. Buy The Man Test to get an A+ in love today!
My Paper Heart
Magan Vernon - 2012
Dating one of the hottest guys in the biggest fraternity? Done. Failing out of College? Oops... When Libby Gentry's parents receive the letter that she's failed out of school, Libby is forced to pack her Prada bag and head to work for her great aunt in rural Louisiana. Nothing about tiny Elsbury, Louisiana, entices her until she locks eyes with the southern charmer, Blaine Crabtree. Libby is used to getting what she wants and Blaine is no exception, but as the two grow closer, bigger problems arise. Libby doesn't know how much more pain her already paper-thin heart can take and when new opportunities in Chicago pop up she is presented with a difficult situation: wait for her redneck Romeo, or move on.
In Too Deep
Tracey Alvarez - 2013
He broke her heart to save his own.As an elite police diver tormented by her father's fatal drowning accident, Piper Harland is forced back to the one place she'd sworn never to return. Her tiny hometown on New Zealand’s isolated Stewart Island hasn’t much changed in the nine years she’s been gone. But she soon comes face to face with everything she ran from — grief, regret, and the scalding pain of a love lost.The one place Ryan "West" Westlake belongs is a hundred feet below Stewart Island’s dangerous waters with one breath of air and only a line to guide him to the surface. Down deep he can forget his mentor’s death. Down deep he can forget the one woman who seared his heart when she left. Only now she’s back, and as it turns out, he hasn’t forgotten a thing.Desire and tempers flare when West and Piper cross paths again. Can they face their past and be together? Two hearts. A second chance. Everything on the line...IN TOO DEEP is the first story in Tracey Alvarez's best-selling Stewart Island books set against the stunning backdrop of Aotearoa, New Zealand. If you like heartwarming, sexy and sweet small town romances with a touch of comedy, you'll love sharing the journey with these authentic men and women struggling to find their special someone.Intended for mature 18+ aged readers who enjoy their feel good romance on the steamier side.