Book picks similar to
The Better Choice by Kiersten Modglin


love-triangle
contemporary
new-adult
hidden-gems

Ten Rules for Faking It


Sophie Sullivan - 2020
    But catching your boyfriend cheating on you with his assistant?Even clichés sting.But this is Everly’s year! She won’t let her anxiety hold her back. She’ll pitch her podcast idea to her boss.There’s just one problem.Her boss, Chris, is very cute. (Of course). Also, he's extremely distant (which means he hates her, right? Or is that the anxiety talking)?And, Stacey the DJ didn’t mute the mic during Everly’s rant about Simon the Snake (syn: Cheating Ex).That’s three problems.Suddenly, people are lining up to date her, Bachelorette-style, fans are voting (Reminder: never leave house again), and her interest in Chris might be a two-way street. It’s a lot for a woman who could gold medal in people-avoidance. She’s going to have to fake it ‘till she makes it to get through all of this.Perhaps she’ll make a list: The Ten Rules for Faking It. Because sometimes making the rules can find you happiness when you least expect it.

Chase the Butterflies


Monica James - 2018
    I had it all until one fateful evening transformed my life in ways I never imagined.Nine months later, I move to a sleepy little town, hoping to escape the demons of my past. As I attempt to claim back my life, Jude Montgomery enters my world, and things begin to change.I thought running would appease the nightmares, but I soon discover my past won’t let go. Things are not what they seem, and I begin to question the world as I know it. Jude may hold the answers, but will my love for him blind me to the truth?Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas? In my case, yes, it does.Will the truth set me free? Or will it imprison us both?My name is Victoria Armstrong, and this is my story…I think.

Mists of the Serengeti


Leylah Attar - 2017
    It fluttered around me like a newborn butterfly and settled in a corner of my heart. I held my breath, afraid to exhale for fear it would slip out, never to be found again.”When a bomb explodes in a mall in East Africa, its aftershocks send two strangers on a collision course that neither one sees coming.Jack Warden, a divorced coffee farmer in Tanzania, loses his only daughter. An ocean away, in the English countryside, Rodel Emerson loses her only sibling.Two ordinary people, bound by a tragic afternoon, set out to achieve the extraordinary, as they make three stops to rescue three children across the vast plains of the Serengeti—children who are worth more dead than alive.But even if they beat the odds, another challenge looms at the end of the line. Can they survive yet another loss—this time of a love that’s bound to slip through their fingers, like the mists that dissipate in the light of the sun?“Sometimes you come across a rainbow story—one that spans your heart. You might not be able to grasp it or hold on to it, but you can never be sorry for the color and magic it brought.”A blend of romance and women’s fiction, Mists of The Serengeti is inspired by true events and contains emotional triggers, including the death of a child. Not recommended for sensitive readers. Standalone, contemporary fiction.

Peaked


Jamie Bennett - 2018
    She breezed through college and moved to New York, ready for the world to fall at her feet. It didn’t. Now, six jobs later, Sylvie is living back at home in Michigan. She’s consumed with helping her sister plan an over-the-top wedding that is driving them both to the brink, and by the way, who is this guy her parents keep inviting over for dinner? Is he really such a jerk, and if so, why couldn’t he be less attractive?? Between vicious swans, unfortunate teeth veneers, bad dates and mean girls, bridesmaid dresses from hell, and sisters with problems of their own, how is Sylvie going to make all this work? Can she get herself back on track and also get the guy she never wanted, but now seems to need—and maybe love?

If


Randi Cooley Wilson - 2018
    The ifs that linger between the pages of this novel will break your heart and stay with you long after the final chapter. Emerson Shaw thought she’d left her old life behind her, but when she returns home for her best friend’s wedding, she has no idea her past is waiting to reclaim her. Dark and broken, Lincoln Daniels never wanted to find love. But when he met straight-laced Emerson, he fell. Hard. The only thing they seemed to have in common was an undeniable mutual attraction, but from the moment he laid eyes on her, there was something about her that called to him. Until he lost her. Consumed by their pasts, it took years to slowly glue together the shattered pieces of their what ifs. Just when Emerson is finally ready to let go and stop existing in a past full of pain and regret, Lincoln returns, turning her life upside down. What begins as a tentative friendship quickly escalates, and the two soon realize that all the ifs lingering between them no longer matter. What happens when two broken people meet, fall in love, and realize they can never be? What happens when all the what ifs no longer make sense? If you knew your heart would break, would you still fall? This book is intended for mature audiences.

Shutter


Laurie Faria Stolarz - 2016
    But photographs never tell the whole story. After Day crosses paths with Julian, the world she observes and the truths she believes—neatly captured in black and white—begin to blur.Julian does not look like a murderer, but his story is full of holes, and his alibis don’t quite add up, either. This time, Day is determined to see the entire picture…whatever it reveals.Did he kill his parents? Or didn’t he?While Julian remains on the run, Day digs deeper into his case. But the more facts she uncovers, the longer her list of questions becomes. It’s also getting harder to deny the chemistry she feels with Julian.Is it real? Or is she being manipulated?Day is close to finding the crack in the case that will prove Julian’s innocence. She just needs time to focus before the shutter snaps shut.

Begin with Me


Claudia Y. Burgoa - 2018
     Loving family, wealthy lifestyle, education at a prestigious university. The truth? She’s barely managing to survive. Few know the nightmare she lived before she was adopted. And no one knows the secret agony that still haunts her nightmares. With a degree from Berkeley, she could have gone anywhere, but she’s back in Colorado. Not for a fresh start—fresh starts are only an illusion—but for Wes Ahern. Her protector, who throws around words like “therapy” and “talk to me.” Her brother in every way but blood. The one man she wishes could be so much more. Maybe, just this once, she can stop running from her demons. But does she dare let Wes see inside the darkest closets of her pain…or will love be the biggest mistake of her life? An inspirational and emotional contemporary romance Begin with You is a heartbreaking tale of fresh starts and old wounds. This jarring and dark novel will leave readers at the edge of their seats. This is part one of a duet, thus containing a cliffhanger that leads into the next installment. It contains references to childhood trauma, rape, kidnapping, and PTSD.

Lost in Between


K.L. Kreig - 2017
    A price. That magic number that will get us to agree to do anything, be anything. Don’t sit on your gold-plated high horse and say you don’t because you do. Everyone does. Each of us has something we covet enough that we’d sell ourselves to have it.What’s my tipping point, you ask? Apparently a cool quarter mil will do the trick.What does one do for 250 large, you wonder? Anything the infamous, gorgeous playboy of Seattle wants. For the next four months I’ll be Shaw Mercer’s arm candy, his beck and call girl, his faux girlfriend. I’ll be his to command, mold, push and pull in any direction he sees fit. I’ll fight falling into bed with him. I’ll fight falling in love with him even harder. I’ll fail at both. And when my past and present collide in the most unexpected of ways, I’ll learn that while one man’s love for me has never died, the only man’s love I really want will never be mine.*If dirty-talking, dominant alphas are not your thing, move along. Mature, 18+ only. Book 1 in a 2-part duet.

The Illusion of Annabella


Jessica Sorensen - 2015
    She had dreams of going to college and becoming a dancer. But the summer before her senior year, the life she knew is ripped away from her, and she’s left wondering if it ever really existed in the first place.Six months later, Annabella is living an entirely different life. The loving family she had no longer exists, and the girl who dreamed of being a dancer can barely walk. She spends most of her time getting into trouble and living in denial over what happened. One night she takes things one step too far and is left dealing with the consequences.Put under house arrest, Annabella can no longer run away from her problems. With the help of her cute, sweet neighbor, Luca Benton, she rediscovers the girl she used to be, and finally learns the truth about what really happened that horrible day that changed her life forever.

The Sweetest Fix


Tessa Bailey - 2021
    With her window of opportunity shrinking fast, a miracle happens. She wins an audition with Bernard Bexley, Broadway’s most respected dance choreographer. When disaster strikes and Reese misses the audition, she has to find another way in front of Bernard, otherwise face the disappointment back home. Following the sage advice of a Times Square Pikachu—Reese seeks out Bernard’s son, prepared to beg for his aid, never expecting mega sparks to fly between her and the gentle giant baker. With Reese’s heart now involved, she refuses to use Leo to her advantage and tries to walk away before her ulterior motives are exposed, but gravity continues to draw them back together…until it’s impossible to stay apart. But Reese’s lie of omission can only stay buried for so long. When Leo finds out how their relationship started, will Reese keep her ultimate role as Leo’s leading lady? Or will the curtain fall on their real-life fairytale?

The Path to Us


Jennifer Van Wyk - 2020
    She thought I was her hero, but I was just Beau Aikin, small town boy.Eventually we became more than classmates. We were best friends. When tragedy strikes, I don’t think twice about stepping in to help. To once again be Addy’s hero.Not just hers, her five-year-old daughter’s, too.Only now, I want her. More than anything.Friendship isn’t enough anymore. But she's off limits for so many reasons.Love.Lust. Guilt. It all haunts me and it feels like everything is against us.But I’ll do anything to make her mine.This is our story of the path to us.

The View Was Exhausting


Mikaella Clements - 2021
    . .The world can see that international A-list actress Whitman ("Win") Tagore and jet-setting playboy Leo Milanowski are made for each other. Their kisses start Twitter trends and their fights break the internet. From red carpet appearances to Met Gala mishaps, their on-again, off-again romance has titillated the public and the press for almost a decade. But it's all a lie.As a woman of color, Win knows the Hollywood deck is stacked against her, so she's perfected the art of controlling her public persona. Whenever she nears scandal, she calls in Leo, with his endearingly reckless attitude, for a staged date. Each public display of affection shifts the headlines back in Win's favor, and Leo uses the good press to draw attention away from his dysfunctional family. Pretending to be in a passionate romance is one thing, but Win knows that a real relationship would lead to nothing but trouble. So instead they settle for friendship, with a side of sky-rocketing chemistry. Except this time, on the French Riviera, something is off. A shocking secret in Leo's past sets Win's personal and professional lives on a catastrophic collision course. Behind the scenes of their yacht-trips and PDA, the world's favorite couple is at each other's throats. Now they must finally confront the many truths and lies of their relationship, and Win is forced to consider what is more important: a rising career, or a risky shot at real love?The View Was Exhausting is a funny, wickedly observant modern love story set against the backdrop of exotic locales and the realities of being a woman of color in a world run by men.

A Brush with Love


Mazey Eddings - 2022
    Harper would rather endure a Novocaine-free root canal than face any distractions, even one this adorable. A first-year dental student with a family legacy to contend with, Dan doesn’t have the same passion for pulling teeth that Harper does. Though he finds himself falling for her, he is willing to play by Harper’s rules.So with the greatest of intentions and the poorest of follow-throughs, the two set out to be “just friends.” But as they get to know each other better, Harper fears that trading fillings for feelings may make her lose control and can't risk her carefully ordered life coming undone, no matter how drool-worthy Dan is.Blood, gore, and extra-long roots? No problem. The idea of falling in love? Torture.

The Tribulations of August Barton


Jennifer LeBlanc - 2016
    Augie just wants to hole up in his dorm room with his Star Wars collectables and textbooks, but Gertie is not about to let that happen. What ensues is a crazy ride including naked trespassing, befriending a local biker gang, and maybe-just maybe-with Augie defeating his anxiety and actually getting the girl.

Only Love Can Break Your Heart


Katherine Webber - 2018
    An unexpected boy. A perfect love story . . . until it isn't perfect at all.Sometimes a broken heart is all you need to set you free...Reiko loves the endless sky and electric colors of the Californian desert. It is a refuge from an increasingly claustrophobic life of family pressures and her own secrets. Then she meets Seth, a boy who shares a love of the desert and her yearning for a different kind of life. But Reiko and Seth both want something the other can't give them. As summer ends, things begin to fall apart. But the end of love can sometimes be the beginning of you...