Book picks similar to
The Better Choice by Kiersten Modglin


love-triangle
contemporary
new-adult
hidden-gems

Tug of War


K. Larsen - 2013
    Irresponsible, SURE. Necessary, PROBABLY. Going to end badly, most likely. Does any of that matter to me, no. I decided that I can't please everyone so this week my only goal is to please me. I’m a selfish cow but I can’t seem to help it. I’m Clara Lord. I own Bloodline’s Tattoo Parlor, have a filthy mouth, no filter and a really strong objection to bossy idiots, pet names and wealthy men.You will hate me, love me or love to hate me but either way it doesn’t matter. Everything I touch turns to crap and it’s all my fault. See, I lived through hell. Then I escaped hell and carefully spent the next eight years crafting a perfect little life until Domini Napoli screwed it all up. Now nothings right. Everything’s wrong and all my secrets are coming out.

Friends with Benefits


R.L. Kenderson - 2017
    Luke was a player back then, and Elise had always prided herself on not being another notch on his bedpost.Luke is still gorgeous though, and he knows it. And he checks all her boxes—intelligent and sexy with muscles and a hard body.Following a night of beer and shots, her resistance runs out, and he finally does check her box. And Elise knows that it can never happen again.Luke had always thought of Elise as the pretty girl that was friends with his roommate’s girlfriend, but now she’s all grown up. When their night of passion rocks Luke’s world he realizes he must have her again.The two enter a friends-with-benefits relationship with the agreement that they’re just going to have fun. But all that changes when Luke steps in to help Elise, and now the player she avoided is the person she doesn’t want to live without.

Honeysuckle Love


S. Walden - 2012
    She’s just sixteen. She should be focused on school, hanging out with friends, falling in love. Instead, she’s working to pay off the mound of bills her mother left behind when she vanished at the start of the school year. Left alone with her ten-year-old sister, Beatrice, Clara discovers that she is now the parent, the provider, and the responsibilities grow to be more than she can handle.Complicating matters is senior Evan Morningstar who starts pursuing Clara at the beginning of her junior year. She’s confused by this. Evan is a popular, likeable guy. She describes herself as a nobody—a quiet, intensely shy girl who suffers from social anxiety. She wants love like any teenage girl, but she’s terrified to let Evan get close, to discover her secrets. His gentle persistence wins out, however, and she has no option but to open her heart to him. When Clara’s responsibilities prove too great, she begins a slow descent into depression, making dangerous choices that threaten her relationships. She can stay trapped in her despair or discover redemption—how to forgive the past and love again. (This is a Mature YA novel that contains explicit language and sexual situations.)

Claimed (Armstrong Lovers, #1)


Chelsea McDonald - 2019
    It was my time to serve our country, just like my father and my grandfather before me. The pain that throbbed in my chest every night I was away was the stone cold fact that I’d left her behind, not ever having told her how I felt. After twelve years and only a few short visits in-between, I’m finally back for good. I’ve waited long enough and I’m ready to take back the girl I let get away all those years ago.Finding out he was back in town isn’t too shocking, but finding out he’s back permanently - that’s a whole different story. He’s been my unicorn for as long as I can remember and the more I think about seeing him, the more I want to run and hide. Twelve years is a long time to live without someone in your life, we’ve both grown up and I doubt he’ll remember the little girl his brother dumped in middle school. Now that he’s back how do I hide the feelings of desire and heartbreak that he left me with all those years ago.

For Lila, Forever


Winter Renshaw - 2019
    But it didn’t matter what it said. I didn’t have the heart to open it. We couldn’t be together. Not after everything ... Leaving Rose Crossing, Maine was one of the most painful moments of my life—or at least it was until the day I came face-to-face with Thayer Ainsworth again. After a decade of searching, he’s found me, and he wants to know why I quit my housemaid job and left his family’s island estate without so much as a goodbye. But I’m bound by a devastating secret much bigger than the two of us, and telling him the truth has consequences. Looking into the eyes of the only man I’ve ever loved, I tell him the only thing I’m allowed to: never contact me again. And when he’s gone, I sit down and finally open his letter. Only it isn’t a letter at all. And it changes everything.

Hammered


M.J. Fields - 2017
    Divide. Gage Falcon's life is turned upside down. When backed against a wall, he does what men with 'Steel' convictions do...take control. Fight. Strength. Phoenix Star knows it's going to take everything inside her to be who she is destined to be. Fresh out of college and knowing she can't go home and get where she wants to get, she takes the path less traveled. Redefining life sends them both down a long dirt road to...become. What happens when two people starting over in life and needing to find some control come face to face? They get...HAMMERED!

All I Want


Tamara Lush - 2019
    Land of sugar sand, shirtless men, and endless sunshine. Strange and wonderful things often happen here. And island life is even hotter after dark...Social media influencer Lauren Spencer is determined to find out why her best friend is getting married on a whim. When she travels to Paradise Beach to stop the wedding, she's the one who comes to a screeching halt when greeted with the sight of a gorgeous naked guy in her hotel room.He just happens to be the groom's adorably uptight brother -- and the best man in the wedding. Oops. Too bad she's sworn off relationships.As a successful real estate broker in New York City, Max Hastings has taken his workaholic ways back to his hometown of Paradise Beach, trying to ready his family's resort for sale and attend his youngest brother's shotgun wedding. Complicating matters: the maid of honor is the sexiest woman he's seen in years, and he wants her in his bed.After some hot and heavy flirtation, Lauren and Max come to an agreement: a weekend wedding fling is just the thing both of them need.But when Lauren suffers an accident and can't leave the island, Max finds himself more than willing to take care of her for more than a weekend. Will Lauren set aside her doubts about relationships to explore something real with Max?ALL I WANT is Book One in Tamara Lush's Paradise Beach Series. They are all standalone romantic comedies and can be read in any order. If you adore beach romances, irresistible alpha men, and hilarious wedding hookups, this is the book for you!Content warning: parent with addiction. ALL I KNOW: June 2019 ALL I WANT: July 2019ALL I ASK: September 2019ALL I DESIRE: November 2019

Well Met


Jen DeLuca - 2019
    Yet on the faire grounds he becomes a different person, flirting freely with Emily when she's in her revealing wench's costume. But is this attraction real, or just part of the characters they're portraying?This summer was only ever supposed to be a pit stop on the way to somewhere else for Emily, but soon she can't seem to shake the fantasy of establishing something more with Simon, or a permanent home of her own in Willow Creek.

Just Friends


Elizabeth Grey - 2017
    Following the intertwined lives of a group of kickass career women, the series is a heartwarming mix of angsty romance and laugh-out-loud humour. Why did her heart have to choose him?Violet Archer has her dream job at one of London’s top advertising agencies, and the fact she gets to work with Ethan Fraser every day makes it even better. He’s the best friend a girl could have. And she’s never even noticed how hot he is. Nope. Definitely not.When a big night out deteriorates into a great big mess, Violet’s world starts to wobble like a drunk giraffe on stilts. She’s caught in a web of secrets, none of which are hers. And maybe she is starting to notice how hot Ethan is, after all. And sweet and kind and… oh dear.Has Violet fallen for her best friend? Can their friendship survive yet another secret? And, the question Violet is most scared to ask, could Ethan have feelings for her too?FRIENDLY NOTE: All of Elizabeth’s books feature realistic characters who do things real people do (like have sex) and say things real people say (like drop f-bombs).

Lost and Found


Elle Casey - 2014
    Sometimes engagement rings can get lost and then found. Sometimes people can too. All it takes is a heavy-duty dose of karma and the magic of Manhattan to make it all come together.Leah is a financially destitute new age hippy. James is a wealthy surgeon with a trust fund. She's awkward, he's poised. She's completely crazy, he's way too sane. People might say they have nothing in common, but they'd be wrong. They both live in Manhattan, they both have no idea how to change a baby diaper, and they're both lost … until they find one another. LOVE IN NEW YORK SERIES READING ORDER Love in New York: Book 1 (Lost and Found)Love in New York: Book 2 (Cabin Fever)Love in New York: Book 3 (Mister Fixit)About this series: I’d never been to New York City before, but I knew I would love it and wanted to write a story that was set in the most exciting city in the world. So I hopped on a plane with my friend Susan and spent 5 whirlwind days there, soaking up the culture, seeing the sights and nailing down the scenes that would eventually end up in this series. Those of you familiar with New York City know what I’m talking about when I say you just can’t beat Russ and Daughters’ bagels, Central Park, Times Square, Brooklyn, and Yonnah Schimmels’ knishes.

Breathe the Sky


Michelle Hazen - 2020
    Still haunted by her past, she takes the most remote jobs in the Mojave Desert to avoid people and hide from her ex. It’s a simple, quiet life filled with sweet animals and solar-powered baking until she ends up assigned to Jack Wyatt’s crew.Construction foreman Jack Wyatt’s loud, foul-mouthed temper keeps even the most rugged of men on his crew in line. No mistake is overlooked, because out in the desert it could mean life or death. In his opinion, the job site is no place for sensitive biologists, especially one as shy as Mari. But instead of wilting from the heat and hard work, Mari wins over Jack and his crew one homemade brownie at a time.Jack and Mari find a comfortable rhythm, building a friendship that’s rare for both of them. After Jack’s rocky childhood, they have more in common than they’d imagined. But even the Mojave sun can’t chase away the shadows when the past is determined to track them down…

Wrecked


Jeannine Colette - 2017
    Add a badass cop. A splash of sweet, that's me. One sour, that's him... and serve over ice. That’s how you’ll get to my current situation. You know the girl - the one who commands the scene, bottle of liquor in hand, pouring liquid fire into the willing throats of patrons as they let loose at the local bar? That's me. I may be known as the town party girl, but in reality I'm this close to my dream of opening my own bar - McConaugheys. Yes, it will be named after the acclaimed actor. What can I say? I’m a sucker for that sexy Texan. Everything was going as planned until the night I had a few drinks and accepted a ride home from a friend. A misunderstanding leads to an arrest, and now I'm at the mercy of the one man I can’t stand, and trust me, the feeling is definitely mutual. Adam Reingold is six-feet-tall and built like a stallion -- the man is the epitome of male. He also happens to be the town narc and hates my guts. There’s a story to our past and it's not a pretty one. So, now, here I am, chained to him for the summer like a hardened criminal, doing whatever he tells me to do. Problem is, I can’t help but look at him when he’s not watching and wonder what our future could be like if things were different. There are so many reasons why he’s all wrong for me. Even more reasons why I need to stay away from him. It’s a cocktail of trouble. Best served shaken, not stirred.

Nothing But Trouble


P. Dangelico - 2019
    And frankly, I kind of wish I still didn’t because then I wouldn’t have a sprained ankle to show for it. And my leg wouldn’t resemble a boa constrictor that’s swallowed a feral pig. Yeah, it’s that bad.I’ve spent years saving every penny I’ve ever earned to be able to transfer to Malibu University. And now my entire future––including my scholarship––is in jeopardy. So I either accept the help he insists on giving me, or lose everything I’ve sacrificed for. In the meantime, I’m going to ignore the fact that we’re becoming friends.And I’m definitely going to pretend he’s not turning into the object of my…umm, dirty fantasies. That’s not happening. Not even a little.Because the minute I clapped eyes on him I knew he was nothing but trouble.

Much Ado About You


Samantha Young - 2021
    And when she's passed over for promotion at work, Evie realizes she needs to make a change. Some time away to regain perspective might be just the thing. In a burst of impulsivity, she plans a holiday in a quaint English village. The holiday package comes with a temporary position at Much Ado About Books, the bookstore located beneath her rental apartment. There's no better dream vacation for the bookish Evie, a life-long Shakespeare lover.Not only is Evie swept up in running the delightful store as soon as she arrives, she's drawn into the lives, loves and drama of the friendly villagers. Including Roane Robson, the charismatic and sexy farmer who tempts Evie every day with his friendly flirtations. Evie is determined to keep him at bay because a holiday romance can only end in heartbreak, right? But Evie can't deny their connection and longs to trust in her handsome farmer that their whirlwind romance could turn in to the forever kind of love.

Most of All You


Mia Sheridan - 2017
    . .Crystal learned long ago that love brings only pain. Feeling nothing at all is far better than being hurt again. She guards her wounded heart behind a hard exterior and carries within her a deep mistrust of men, who, in her experience, have only ever used and taken.A man in need of help . . .Then Gabriel Dalton walks into her life. Despite the terrible darkness of his past, there's an undeniable goodness in him. And even though she knows the cost, Crystal finds herself drawn to Gabriel. His quiet strength is wearing down her defenses and his gentle patience is causing her to question everything she thought she knew.Only love can mend a shattered heart . . .Crystal and Gabriel never imagined that the world, which had stolen everything from them, would bring them a deep love like this. Except fate will only take them so far, and now the choice is theirs: Harden their hearts once again or find the courage to shed their painful pasts.