Book picks similar to
Carry My Heart by J.S. Cooper


new-adult
second-chance
college
contemporary-romance

Searching for Beautiful


Nyrae Dawn - 2014
    She had a life. And after…she had none.When Brynn lost the boyfriend who never loved her, the friends who feel she betrayed their trust, and the new life just beginning to grow inside her, she believes her future is as empty as her body. But then Christian, the boy next door, starts coming around. Playing his guitar and pushing her to create art once more. She meets some new friends at the local community center, plus even gets her dad to look her in the eye again…sort of.But can Brynn open up her heart to truly find her life’s own beauty, when living for the after means letting go of the before?

Mr. Popular


Nicole London - 2017
    Popular. Rule #2: Do not talk to Mr. Popular. Rule #3: (Most importantly, and above all) Do not fall for Mr. Popular... Liam 'Mr. Popular' Carter will always be the closest thing to the "walking plague" in my eyes. His cockiness seeps through his every move, and no matter how many state championships he wins with the basketball team, he will forever be a "loss" to me. Because he's my older brother's best friend, I'm forced to tolerate him, and he's forced to tolerate me. In fact, unless my brother is around, we happily ignore each other every chance we get. It wasn't always this way, though...Several summers ago, we both attended the same summer camp. A place we returned to year after year. We became friends--close friends, but right when I thought he could possibly turn into my everything, he made it clear that what we had was nothing. Now that's he's a senior, and I only have to deal with him for one more year, I've vowed to keep repeating the same set of rules to myself. Especially since he seems so hell-bent on wanting to talk to me for some reason, and especially since he seems to be staring at me every time we're in the same room together... Rule #4: Always follow rules #1-3...Rule #5: (OMG what the hell are you doing?) Do not KISS Mr. Popular...

Second


Chantal Fernando - 2016
    The second was in love--with him. It wasn't meant to happen. But he was there for me. A bad boy I had nothing in common with. He was trouble. And he saved me. But as secrets have their way of unravelling, truth came to light. It always does.

Rule Breaker By Accident


Ali Parker - 2019
     One rule. Easy enough, or so I thought. Until this hot surgeon that I’ve been dating off and on becomes a client. It was a casual fling, a fun summer love affair. Until it wasn’t. My heart wasn’t ready to fall so hard for this bad boy in scrubs. The secrets he has hidden in his past stop me dead in my tracks. But he isn’t giving up on us. Not for anything. And I have to decide where I stand. Break the rules or walk away from the best thing I’ve ever had.

The Rocker That Rescues Me


Terri Anne Browning
    

Undressed


Jen Frederick - 2013
    Noah is given the choice of throwing his New Year's MMA fight for a big payoff or accepting that the true meaning of love isn't measured by the thickness of his wallet but the depth of Grace's big heart.Grace and Noah's story begged for a peak inside their Happy Ever After. Originally published in the anthology Snow Kissed, this holiday novella speaks to the great gifts one person can give to another -- unconditional love.

Derailed


Alyssa Rose Ivy - 2012
    Expecting to lay low until she can figure out what else to do with her life, she finds herself in the arms of her high school sweetheart, the boy who represents everything from the past she tried to leave behind.Looking for an escape, she instead finds a way back to the girl she almost forgot existed and a future she never dreamed possible.

See Through Heart


Amie Knight - 2016
     It wasn’t our quiet nights by the creek or stolen kisses surrounded by a sea of cotton that saved me. It was her. She was my comfort when life threw one ugly tragedy after another at me. Until she dealt me the greatest blow. Now, abandonment, betrayal, and death darken every corner of my life. Anger and hurt burn bright where love and trust once lived. But, now, she’s back. Sure, she’s changed, but I see through it—straight to her heart.

What's Left of Us


Michele Tucker - 2015
    Her loss of faith in God, and in herself, has her frozen and stagnant. But time doesn't stop for any one, and no matter how much she fights it, making new friends and leaving her past behind is inevitable.When her college roommate drags her to an event on campus, she doesn't expect to come face to face with the person whose life she almost ruined. Old wounds open up and together they must come to terms with the events that led to three best friends being torn apart. But Calla has been keeping something back, and it could destroy the fragile ties she is slowly building back with the people she loves. Can faith be renewed and can God help her heal?What happened the day everything fell apart?

The Moment of Letting Go


J.A. Redmerski - 2015
    And so far her plans have been working. Right after college, she got a prestigious job and gained the stability she'd always craved-until work takes her to the sun-drenched shores of Oahu and places her in the path of sexy surfer Luke Everett. For the first time, she lets her heart take control. Drawn to his carefree charm, she makes a spontaneous and very un-Sienna-like decision to drop everything and stay in Hawaii for two more weeks. Luke lives fast and wild. When he meets Sienna, he's convinced that some no-strings-attached fun is just what she needs. As their nights quickly turn from playful to passionate, Luke can't deny the deep connection he feels. But there's a reason Luke doesn't do long-term. He can't promise Sienna forever, when the enormity of his past has shown him just how fragile the future can be . . .

The Heartbreaker


Claire Contreras - 2021
    Unable to face the consequences of what we’d done, if we were ever in close quarters, I ran in the other direction. If we were coincidentally put in the same class, I dropped it.Avoidance was the name of the game and so far I was winning.That is, until we’re assigned the same apartment.Living with Jagger during my last semester was definitely not in my plans, but I’m determined to make it work. As long as I don’t look at him for too long or let his innuendos get under my skin, I should be fine, right? I have to be.They say hooking up with your roommate can be messy, and losing my heart to Jagger would be disastrous.100% standaloneenemies-to-loverssports romanceroommates

Sharing You


Molly McAdams - 2014
    Months after opening her own bakery and evading attempts of being set up by her new best friend, she meets Brody. Kamryn fights the instant pull between them because there’s a detail she can’t dismiss. Brody’s married.To say that twenty-six year old, Brody Saco has had a rough marriage would be an understatement. After marrying his pregnant girlfriend, he spends the next six years in a relationship filled with hatred, manipulation and guilt involving a tragedy that happened five years earlier. When he keeps running into his sister-in-law’s best friend, Kamryn, he can’t ignore that she makes him feel more with just one look than his wife ever has; and soon he can’t continue fight his feelings for her.When staying apart proves to be too difficult, Brody and Kamryn enter a relationship full of stolen moments and nights that end too soon while they wait for Brody to file for divorce. But the guilt that comes with their relationship may prove to be too much for Kamryn, and Brody might not be strong enough to face the tragedy from his past in order to leave his conniving wife.

All I Ask


Corinne Michaels - 2020
    Over the years, even though Tegan was dating the star of the football team, she couldn't hide her growing feelings for Derek. But just as Teagan is finally ready to confess her feelings for Derek, she finds out she is pregnant, and Derek has moved on.It was only after he married his college sweetheart that Derek realized that he was in love with his best friend Teagan. Determined to do what was best for his family, he cut Teagan out of his life. Thirteen years later, still harboring guilt for his failed marriage and his wife's death in a tragic accident, Derek finds himself back in his hometown with his daughter.When it seems that fate has given them a second chance, Derek and Teagan realize it might finally be their time. Just as Derek and Teagan's happily ever after comes into focus, Teagan is offered the chance of a lifetime-to start a new life with her daughter, something she's wanted for years. But now that Derek is back in her life, it's not so easy to pick up and leave. Just when she finally has something real, can she leave it for her own dreams?RUNNING TIME ➼ 10hrs. and 16mins.©2020 Corinne Michaels (P)2020 Forever

Dangerous Kiss


Crystal Kaswell - 2016
    Instead he threw me away. Now he's just another rock star asshole. He gets everything he wants. But not me. Not again. Ethan Strong was the first man I ever loved. He was the one person who understood me, the one person who made me feel whole, the one person who set my body on fire. We were supposed to be together forever. Then things got hard and Ethan forced me to choose between him and everything I've worked for. Now he's back in my life. He says we'll be friends. It's been a long time. I can forgive, but I can't seem to forget. The taste of his lips, the sound of his groans in my ears, those calloused fingers between my legs-- I'm going out of my mind remembering all the pleasure he brought me. Worse, I keep thinking of how happy he made me. I can't fall back in love with Ethan. It doesn't matter how badly I crave his gorgeous blue eyes, his tattooed arms, and his strong guitarists' hands. It doesn't matter that his smile still lights me up inside. It doesn't matter that I need him like I need oxygen. I'm not giving Ethan another chance to throw me away. Dangerous Kiss is a full-length standalone romance with a HEA and a second chance romance theme.Dangerous Kiss is set in the same universe as the Sinful Serenade series and features appearances from all your favorite Sinful guys. Sing Your Heart Out - Miles Strum Your Heart Out - Drew Rock Your Heart Out - Tom Play Your Heart Out - Pete Sinful Ever After

Here With Me


Tia Louise - 2020
    No cheating. No cliffhangers.)