Book picks similar to
Flawed Melodies by Symone West


multicultural-interracial
musicians-do-it-better
bwwm-romance
college-age-romances

Found by You


Victoria H. Smith - 2014
    I swear to God I’ve already seen him in a Nike ad, and he’s one of the top picks when he goes pro following our spring graduation.His life is on display for the world. Both his accomplishments and demons there for judgment.I’m a girl who likes to play roller derby from, of all places, Wisconsin. My own demons better concealed. And one day…He notices me.Found by You is a new adult contemporary romance.

Rebel


Elle Casey - 2013
    Overnight, her life of privilege becomes one of survival, and no matter where she turns, it seems like the world is out to get her. She's not going to fall apart, though. She's a rebel and she's strong … determined to live life on her own terms … and nothing's going to stop her from getting things done and making things right. But when a twist of fate brings her to the doorstep of a different kind of Rebel, she's forced to figure out when something's worth fighting for and when something's worth letting go.Content Warning: Contains sexy adult situations, creative foul language, and some mild violence. May not be appropriate for younger readers.Rebel Wheels Series Reading OrderRebel (Rebel Wheels Book 1)Hellion (Rebel Wheels Book 2)Trouble (Rebel Wheels Book 3)

Take Me for Granted


K.A. Linde - 2014
    Adrenaline junkie. Lead singer of ContraBand. What you see is what you get. I make no apologies for my actions, and by now no one expects any from me. I live my life the way I want and as long as it pushes the demons back, then I'm solid. I've never needed a chick for more than a good lay. Why would I need just one when I can have a different one every night?Until she walks into my world.AribelMouthy. Perfectionist. Princeton student. Chemistry major. Yes, that pretty much describes me. Oh, and virgin. But I'm only nineteen, and have more important things to concern myself with. What really matters is finishing my degree and getting a good job. I’ve worked hard for what I want, and do what’s expected of me. I don’t need anyone to get in my way.Until he opens up my world.But if I give you my world, whatever you do…don’t TAKE ME for granted.

The Pain in Loving You


Kandi Steiner - 2021
    A forbidden touch in the dark. A love that hurts… in the best way.From bestselling author Kandi Steiner comes an angsty collection of three gut-wrenching, heart-stopping romances that will have you on the edge of your seat from the first hitched breath until the very last kiss.For those who like a little pain with their hearts and flowers…Included in the collection:WeightlessYoung Natalie finds self-love and romance with her personal trainer, along with a slew of secrets that tie them together in ways she never thought possible.A Love Letter to WhiskeyAn achingly poignant rollercoaster romance between two lovers fighting the curse of bad timing.Make Me Hate YouJasmine has been avoiding her best friend’s brother for years. But when they’re forced to be in the same house for a wedding, she remembers just how thin the line is between love and hate.

Sustain


Tijan - 2015
    I worked two jobs, made ends meet, and hung out with my mom and twin brother. The other part of my life was about avoiding him, but when SWAT raided my boyfriend’s home, that was the last straw. The boyfriend got tossed and to help me keep busy, my brother talked me into joining their old band again, but I had to be honest. It wasn’t a hard sell. Playing drums was in my blood. I used to be addicted and that craving hadn’t been satisfied in three long years. The only problem was their lead singer. It was him. The drums might not have been the only thing I was addicted to. I think I was still addicted to him too.

Ryker


Joanne Schwehm - 2014
    My life hadn't been easy, but who cares? We play the cards we were dealt, and my hand sucked. There was one thing that I was good at. One thing I was proud of... my drums.When I joined the band, I finally felt as though I belonged. I'd been able to push my anger and guilt to the back of my mind and get lost inthe music. Then she came along. Faith. Even her damn name haunted me.Where she was sweet, I wasn't. Where she was naïve to the cruelness of the world, I wasn't. She was a teenager when we met, and for years I promised myself to stay away from her. Then one night, our lives shifted. In a moment of weakness, I let her in. I told her part of my secret... of what I had done. She then gave me a piece of herself that I could never give back.I wasn't good enough for her. I knew it. My bandmates knew it. I'm sure deep down she knew it. Yet, she wouldn't let me go. It was up to me to do the dirty work.So that's what I did. I broke her heart.Too bad I fell in love with her.**Due to adult content - 18+ please**

Lessons Learned: A sequel to Teach Me


Amy Lynn Steele - 2014
    Two years later all of Allison's dreams seemed to be coming true. She had survived major heart surgery, gotten married to the man of her dreams, and was accepted to one of the top literary schools in Southern California. It wasn't until her best friend, Christina Harper, revealed she was pregnant that Ali began to feel a void in her life. As desire for a family grows, so does the realization that with her heart condition having a child could mean losing her life.

Loud is How I Love You


Mercy Brown - 2016
    Twenty-one-year-old front girl Emmylou knows that getting her band noticed in the ‘90s indie rock scene will be no easy task. She definitely knows better than to break the number one rule of the band: Don't sleep with your bandmates! But after she ends up having the best sex of her life with her guitarist, Travis, she finds following that rule is a lot harder than it sounds. When the band gets the gig of their dreams, making it big seems just within reach. But Emmy’s inability to keep her hands off Travis threatens everything they’ve worked for. Can Emmy find a way to break the rules and not blow the chance of a lifetime?

Beautiful Broken Rules


Kimberly Lauren - 2013
    That’s why this hard-partying college student plays by her own code of bedroom conduct, refusing to stay with the same guy for too long. She gets all the pleasure of having a good time without the messiness of a relationship.. So what if frat house–hopping has earned her a certain reputation around campus? At least no one gets hurt this way—especially her.When ridiculously gorgeous Jaxon Riley moves in next door, Emerson’s not sure how long her vow against emotional intimacy can last. Jaxon’s tattoo, muscles, and sexy voice make him tempting, but he also seems to really understand her…until his jealous ex-girlfriend and Emerson’s life-changing discovery about her parents get thrown into the mix. After everything she’s been through, can Emerson handle a real relationship? Or will breaking her rules just lead to a broken heart? Revised edition: This edition of Beautiful Broken Rules includes editorial revisions.

Fast Lane


Kristen Ashley - 2019
    Forming in a garage in a small town in Indiana. Taking their licks on the road. Going balls to the wall until they made their big break.And then Preacher McCade and the Roadmasters redefined rock and roll.Guided by their tortured lead singer and songwriter, the Roadmasters changed the face of music in the 80s and 90s. And on their journey to becoming one of the most enduring bands in history—dogged by rumors and myth and fueled by drugs and booze—the Roadmasters had one touchstone.Lyla.Preacher’s muse, the love of his life, and the band’s moral compass, from the beginning, Lyla is along for the ride. But with fame and acclaim in their grasp, they’ve entered the fast lane.And they didn’t know it, but they were headed for a crash.

A Wish for Us


Tillie Cole - 2018
    A story of healing. A story of love conquering all.Nineteen-year-old Cromwell Dean is the rising star of electronic dance music. Thousands of people adore him. But no one knows him. No one sees the color of his heart.Until the girl in the purple dress. She sees through the walls he has built to the empty darkness within.When Cromwell leaves behind the gray skies of England to study music in the South Carolina heat, the last thing he expects is to see her again. And he certainly doesn’t expect that she’ll stay in his head like a song on repeat.Bonnie Farraday lives for music. She lets every note into her heart, and she doesn’t understand how someone as talented as Cromwell can avoid doing the same. He’s hiding from his past, and she knows it. She tries to stay away from him, but something keeps calling her back.Bonnie is the burst of color in Cromwell’s darkness. He’s the beat that makes her heart skip.But when a shadow falls over Bonnie, it’s up to Cromwell to be her light, in the only way he knows how. He must help her find the lost song in her fragile heart. He must keep her strong with a symphony only he can compose.A symphony of hope.A symphony of love.A symphony of them.

Everybody Falls


J.A. Hornbuckle - 2013
    At least until his older brother, founding member and vocalist, died in a fiery car crash. Jobless, clueless and deemed unfit to handle his own affairs, Jax must sober up, man up and adjust to living as a 'normal person' in the 'real world'.At 24, Lacey Emerson found hers.Shuffled between her bi-polar mom and her former hippie grandmother, Lacey had no choice but to become responsible at a young age. Her chaotic childhood, though, gave her the skills and determination to succeed when she inherited her grandmother's bakery. Her life was finally normal, real but very, very boring.All it took was a five-point face plant to turn both their lives upside down.From the author of Pole Dance, Human Hieroglyphix I & II and Tap Dance, comes the new novel, "Everybody Falls", Book One of Wynter's Vicious Series. Set in the beautiful town of Auburn, California and filled with a cast of quirky characters, it’s a story about learning to live, learning to love and learning to hold on when your brand of 'normal' comes undone.Sometimes you have to fall from grace before you can fall in love.

My Favorite Mistake


Chelsea M. Cameron - 2012
    One bet. Who will break first?Taylor Caldwell can't decide if she wants to kiss her new college roommate or punch him.On the one hand, Hunter Zaccadelli is a handsome blue-eyed bundle of charm. On the other, he's a tattooed, guitar-playing bad boy. Maybe that's why Taylor's afraid of falling in love with him, or anyone else. She doesn't want to get burned, so she needs him gone before it's too late.Hunter himself has been burned before, but Taylor's sexy laugh and refusal to let him get away with anything make her irresistible. Determined not to be kicked out of her life without a fight, Hunter proposes a bet: if she can convince him she either truly loves or hates him, he'll leave the apartment;and leave her alone.But when the man behind Taylor's fear of giving up her heart resurfaces, she has to decide: trust Hunter with her greatest secret, or do everything in her power to win that bet and drive him away forever.

Catch Me


Claire Contreras - 2013
    I've experienced a lot of things in my twenty-five years, everything except the one thing I want. It's the one thing that can’t be bought. It can't even be taken, it has to be given. And nobody has ever given it to me, not really anyway. Not until him.Music is the center of both our lives, but as he found his place in it, I lost my way. He soared, while I spiraled down a destructive path.I lost myself in more ways than I can count.The ironic thing is that I didn’t realize how lost I was until he found me. And now that he has, I have to wonder if he'll stay around long enough to catch me.

Beatless


Amber L. Johnson - 2014
    Divorce, sickness, educational aspirations being shattered, and her Aunt Sam moving into her home, have made Mal's life nearly unrecognizable to her.When Tucker Scott re-enters her life along with his band, will they offer what she needs to once again find her voice and self confidence or will it strip her of it even more?Told through the dual voices of Mallory as she navigates her new world, and Aunt Sam's letters to her niece, Beatless tells the story of two women at very different points in their life, fighting the same battles; proving that no matter what age a person is, there are always lessons to be learned.