Book picks similar to
Strangers by A.L. Parks


new-adult
contemporary-romance
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Fight or Flight


Jamie Canosa - 2013
    The rules of surviving life on the streets. But when Em comes bursting into his life, in all of her disastrous glory, the rules go right out the window.Survive.Flee what’s been left behind.And never look back.Emerson’s plan was simple. Though, it was easier said than done. The city streets are dangerous and unforgiving to a new arrival. Especially, a seventeen-year-old girl who’s never known anything but life in the suburbs. Sometimes, however, what’s lurking behind those white picket fences can be more frightening than any dark alley.Both of them made the same decision when life got overwhelming—to run from their demons. Brought together by fate or circumstance, Em and Jay find the kind of love neither of them ever expected. But, when those demons come back to haunt them and their love is on the line, which instincts will they choose to follow this time . . . Fight or Flight?

Crossing


Stacey Wallace - 2013
    Being a Plain Jane with a mouth on her hasn’t exactly served Dani well in the guy department. In fact, she’s had nothing but one night stands. Still, she lets go of her insecurities and falls for Liam, despite feeling like he’s holding something back.When Dani finally discovers Liam’s secret, she must learn the true meaning of accepting the ones we love for who they are, or risk losing the best thing that’s ever happened to her.

Bouquet Toss


Melissa Brown - 2012
    Be it a blessing or a curse, Daphne (a hopeless romantic and perpetual single girl) catches the bouquet at every single wedding she attends. Daphne’s love life is a mess. Her first love, Mayson, haunts her heart and keeps her from pursuing happiness with any man who comes along. As she struggles to move on from the one who got away, Daphne wonders if she will ever break her curse and find her happily ever after.

My First: Jason & Katie


Melanie Shawn - 2013
    With his easygoing charm, whiskey-colored brown eyes, and sinfully sexy half smile, women just seem to fall all over themselves when he’s around.Well... most women, anyway. Katie Lawson’s the one woman who isn't putty in his hands, and she's the only one he’s ever wanted in his arms.Katie Lawson left Harper's Crossing in the middle of the night ten years ago, immediately after her high school boyfriend Nick's funeral. She left behind all memories of Nick, and she left behind her life-long best friend, Jason Sloan.Now she's on the fast track to junior partner at one of San Francisco's top law firms. She's made a life for herself that's all about maintaining order and sticking to the rules. Rule #1 is keeping herself WAY too busy to think about all that she ran away from. If she can do that, after all, she can keep everything under control.But that rule is about to be broken. She’s headed back home to be the maid of honor in Nick’s little sister’s wedding. It's time to face the truth she's been avoiding all these years, the same one that sent her running ten years ago - that maybe she didn't lose her first love the summer after high school. Maybe her first love has been waiting for her all this time, at home in Harper's Crossing.

After We Break


Katy Regnery - 2014
    It is intended for readers 18+**

Fever


Melissa Pearl - 2014
     Ella Simmons does not want to move across the country. But she is, because her boyfriend has persuaded her to join him at UChicago to finish out her college education. Never able to tell him no, she hops on a plane and makes the trek from LA expecting to adjust to life like she's often forced to, but things are not that simple when she hears a luscious voice singing over her shower wall. His deep, sexy tenor makes her weak in the knees, spreading fire through her limbs and making her question everything about her life and relationship. Can one voice really have that much of an impact? Cole Reynolds is on his way out. In his final year at UChicago, the only thing he wants to do is finish school and get on with his life. But the sweet voice that interrupts his morning shower turns his world upside down. Compelled to find his shower songbird, he begins a search across campus. The only thing to distract him from this goal is his roommate's gorgeous girlfriend who's just arrived from LA - Ella Simmons. Relationships are put to the ultimate test as future dreams are questioned and friendships are thrown on the line for love. ALL THE SONGBIRD NOVELS CAN BE READ AS STAND ALONE BOOKS.

A Moment


Marie Hall - 2013
    Life didn't turn out the way I'd ever hoped it would. I got pregnant at 14. Same year my mom got diagnosed with MS. Dad bailed on us and my life felt like it suddenly started to spiral out of control. I'm 21 now, I go to college, I work hard, trying to make something of myself. I wasn't supposed to be at that burlesque bar Valentine's Day. I wasn't supposed to meet Ryan Cosgrove, but I did. And now nothing will ever be the same. Love born from pain... I'm a retired Marine, an MMA fighter, and when I was younger something terrible happened to me. Life is hard and I'm so tired of pretending its not. I'm in a burlesque bar, drowning my sorrows, trying to shut out the demons breathing down my neck always reminding me I'm not good enough. Then I see Liliana Delgado and something inside of me- something I'd thought long dead- stirs to life. I wonder... can she save me? I hope she can, because I don't think I can save myself. This is our moment...

Beautiful Chances


Alicia Rae - 2013
    As she solely focuses on her work, she refuses to form any emotional attachments in fear of struggling through another unbearable loss. …until Kyle enters her life with his possessive and overbearing personality. Instead of running, Lily finds herself drawn to him. Helping her on a path to healing, Kyle stands by her side and lends her his strength. A bond is formed, but it is tested when the unthinkable happens. Can taking a chance on love conquer all? Book contains mature content. Full length novel of approximately 97k words.

This Love's Not for Sale


Ella Dominguez - 2013
    You obey. Always. Am I clear? Tucker wants Lilliana’s land and her panties in his trophy case, and more to the point – her submission. She wants nothing to do with his BS, but it's his domination that she can't resist... When the brutally honest and arrogant real estate mogul who is used to getting his way in all things meets the thirty-something year old opinionated and guarded dental hygienist, their chemistry and physical attraction to one another is undeniable. Realizing that Lilliana has inherited a large tract of land and is sitting on a real estate goldmine, Tucker sets his sights on trying to obtain her acreage at any cost - even if it means deceiving and buying his way into her heart. But Lilliana has no interest in falling in love or being pursued by a certain attractive yet overly-confident alpha male interested in her property and she can't be bought.Lilliana’s quick wit and no BS attitude throw the domineering Tucker into a tailspin. But she has a way of bringing out his humor and his hidden soft side. Tucker on the other hand knows just how to bring out her submissiveness. Just when things are heating up and he starts to fall for her, she discovers where his true motivations lie, tearing her heart in two and forcing her to seek sweet revenge the only way she knows how - by giving in to his deepest fantasy and toying with his emotions.

Not Over You


Amanda Torrey - 2014
    Can he catch her and help her heal? Savannah Grace left her hometown after the traumatic death of her young brother ten years ago. Fresh out of high school, she trudged through life under a shroud of guilt and shame. She couldn’t face her family after what she did, and she knew she didn’t deserve happiness. Quentin Elliott became a paramedic so he could save people. He hadn’t been able to help his high school girlfriend’s brother, but he vowed to prevent as many tragedies as possible. He managed to build a life without Savannah, but he never moved past her. When Savannah returns to town in hopes of donating bone marrow to her estranged mother, Quentin knows he will only have a short time to help Savannah realize she should stay in Healing Springs. Where she belongs. With him. Savannah prefers to lace up her running shoes, but Quentin is determined to create a treatment plan to help her settle in for the long haul. Can a decade of pain be healed with a healthy dose of love? Or will Healing Springs fail to live up to its legendary name?

Make Me Forget


Anna Brooks - 2014
    She knows she’ll see him when she moves back to Wisconsin. She’s planning on it, the connection she still feels to him after all these years is undeniable. But one lie tore them apart years ago, and she’s afraid some mistakes can’t be forgiven.Travis Parker doesn’t like liars. When he was younger, lies burned him in a bad way. It only took one summer with Charlotte’s innocence to know that she was it for him. When he thought he finally had something to look forward to, one misguided lie shattered everything he believed.Now, Char’s back, but she’s not the same girl he once knew.Make Me Forget is the first book in a series of second chance romances featuring the most loyal men as they battle their past in order to secure a future with their one true love. Defeat is not an option when their hearts are on the line. Each emotional and angsty story can be read as a standalone.

Surrender to Fate


Jacelyn Rye - 2013
    The story of young love and the intimate moments were fresh and full of hope." ~Literati Literature Lovers "Surrender To Fate made me speechless. How is it possible for someone to write a love story and make a reader actually feel the love the characters shared? I loved this story. My emotions were hanging by a thin thread!" ~Chasing Pages Book Blog How do you fight against fate? You don't. You can't. You can only surrender to fate in Jacelyn Rye's new release!   Some say fate holds the cards. But what if love deals the hand? No love goes untested. Ever. Indeed, true love is left to prove itself. And that is exactly where fate steps in to play the game.   For William and Sarah, that game begins with growing up, in the unspoiled mountains of Colorado. In a time and space as clear as the Rocky Mountain skies above, these young souls together learn about life, what matters most, what endures, what doesn’t, and about love. Innocent young love moves ever so surely toward lives they both can picture, lives spent loving each other in a place they know so well and cherish.   Will and Sarah are ecstatically swept away in the swells of new love. And it is in their rarefied bliss that they make the fragile promise of first love, a promise that fate will soon rock and pound into doubt, guilt, and epiphany.   Unexpected and unprepared, these young lovers are suddenly torn apart, first by distance, and then by the far greater pressures of temptation that test the very fidelity of their heart-held promise. No longer able to console each other, hold each other, touch each other, they face the inevitable decision: move on to other loves, or cling to the faith that they will someday be together, again.   Will and Sarah stare down an unknown path, sensing destiny will not wait long before it comes to take them. Wracked with doubt, they wonder if their love was real. Caged by guilt, they both feel tempted by others intent on stealing their hearts. Fate plays hardest when love is tested. And Will and Sarah are no exception, letting go of their happy past to embrace hope for an uncharted future. Love plays hardest when fate tests. And so it is, even through their trials of the heart, Will and Sarah never really stop loving each other. Theirs is a love so real and pure that each just wants the other to find happiness, even if it's with another.   But fate does not surrender so easily. Dealing blow upon blow, both Will and Sarah are each struck by jolting events that take them to the very edge of life, itself. Sarah and Will hold tightly to their past, but steadfast promises begin to wane. Life continues, filled with romance, drama, and two souls yearning to understand the challenges brought with coming of age, and learning that fate is ultimately in control. What happens to love when life is on the line? Can they both relinquish control when love is on the line? Will fate even allow them to find out? This is book one of the New Adult Romance Series: Fate's Path. The books are not stand alone. For your reading enjoyment, please read the books in order.

Damaged But Not Broken


W.H. Vega - 2013
    She's only 15 but she looks like a woman, and for the group of sociopathic rapists that's good enough. The disgusting men hold her down, and one by one they destroy her innocence that night. Paige is forced to flee from her father and vows never to return, never to forgive him for allowing that night to happen. She leaves behind everything, her friends, her hope, her happiness, her life in Nashville, forever. She leaves behind Blake, her first love...her true love. The wounds of that heartbreak never fully heal, she never forgets about the only guy she ever really trusted. Thirteen years later Paige returns to her father's promise of sobriety, a record deal, and a blossoming career in country music.Everything changes when she sees Blake again, playing with his new band in a local Nashville club, the intense feelings she had buried deep inside rise up and refuse to go away. It's as if they never broke apart. Blake is no longer the 15 year old boy she once knew. Now he's a tall muscular front-man of the band Rust who seethes sex appeal and slays hearts. But as they reconnect, Blake's hardened shell begins to fall away as he teaches Paige to love again, to trust, and to give herself away completely.Paige finds a glimmer of hope and happiness again with Blake but is it all too good to be true? Can Paige overcome the hate, anger, resentment and learn to forgive - or will her father betray her? Her heart has been damaged but it's not broken...can she learn to love again?

This Much is True


Katherine Owen - 2013
    A ballerina who lies. A baseball player who believes her. Well, the truth changes everything. Tally Landon just wants to escape her tragic story if just for one night. She doesn't count on meeting Lincoln Presley, Stanford's baseball wonder, but plans to add him to her long list of one-night stands. That's the plan. Lying to him about her age and her name is just a part of her don't-get-emotionally-attached style. She doesn't count on being found out, nor on ever seeing Linc again or falling in love. Lincoln Presley's life is all mapped out. There is only baseball. With the major leagues circling their favorite prospect with a lucrative offer, he cannot afford to mess up. And, he doesn't; until he meets up with the girl he saved from the burning wreckage on the 101 on Valentine's Day months before. By the time he learns her real name and of all the lies she's told, he's in far too deep to ever really let her go. When fame and lies tear them apart, one truth remains; and fate, most definitely, has a different set of plans. This much is true.Author's Note: A coming of age story? Could be. A powerful love story? Most definitely. An unforgettable read? Most likely. Intended for mature audiences, ages 17+? Absolutely. This best selling new adult contemporary romance novel will take you on an emotional roller coaster ride and is the first book (which should really be two books) in the Truth In Lies series, but it can be read as a standalone. It is 432 pages long in 12-point type so carve out some time.

Sweet Sinful Nights


Lauren Blakely - 2015
    It’s his greatest regret, especially since she’s all but disappeared. But when the gorgeous and captivating woman walks into his life unexpectedly, he’s determined to win her back. Whatever it takes, he won’t make the same mistake twice. Easier said than done… Shannon Paige has hardened her heart to the man she was once engaged to be married to. After the way he left, and after the hell she’s been through with her checkered family, there’s no way she’s letting him into her life again. The problem is, the second she sees him, he’s more handsome and charming than before. And she’s torn between wanting to fight with him and wanting to sleep with him -- Maybe both. Soon they fall into each other’s arms, consumed with a desire that burns through the years. But if these two fiery lovers are going to have a real second chance at this kind of intense, passionate, bone-deep love, he’ll have to give her his whole heart, and she’ll have to give up all the secrets from her messy past. And that messy past is about to spill over into her carefully constructed present… SWEET SINFUL NIGHTS is book one in SINFUL NIGHTS, a four-book series. Each book will follow a new couple.