Book picks similar to
Chasing the Stars by J.D. Rivera


romance
new-adult
arc
contemporary-romance

Safe


Ryan Michele - 2013
    An escape—from him.After being brutally abused for years, Sadie seeks sanctuary and safety. But can she ever be safe when evil has his eyes on her from afar.Landon doesn’t want a relationship. He’s been burned too badly to want anything more from a woman than the physical, but one look at Sadie and he’s rethinking everything. Can trust be formed when it’s been so beaten down? Can love conquer fears? What happens when evil doesn’t give up? Can Sadie ever really be safe? **Please note. This book contains the very difficult subject of physical abuse and has a non-consensual sexual scene. It also has a very strong woman who learns to heal from these acts and finds the kind of love we all dream of having.

Lost and Found


K.F. Breene - 2013
    She gets her life back on track in San Francisco with a job that has limitless potential.Unfortunately, to achieve her dreams, she must brave the star of the company; a charming and handsome salesman that isn’t used to the word no. Krista tries to run from him at every turn, but his pull continually sucks her back in; her hesitancy to trust the only thing saving her from being another notch on a bedpost.Sean never has to try with women. He's the type of guy to jump in with both feet, get bored, and sprint right back out. But when a geeky new hire stumbles through the company, befuddling him with a keen intellect he doesn’t expect, he starts to lose his way. Before he knows it, all his efforts are concentrated around trying to capture the interest of the only woman to run when he tries to deliver a line. As she opens up, so does he, landing him in a terrain as disconcerting as it is invigorating.word count: 99,000

Then There Was You


Claire Contreras - 2018
    Love is about walking to the edge of the cliff and taking the leap together.Timing was never on our side.My first mistake was hooking up with my best friend.My second came years later, when we met again, and I fell for her. My third was letting her go, because I had to. Because a love like this wasn't built to withstand the winds coming in our direction.Love and timing.I didn't believe in either. Then there was you . . .

Escort


Skye Warren - 2018
    There shouldn’t be any surprises, not for one as jaded as me, but when I walk into the penthouse suite of L’Etoile, everything changes.1) For one thing, Bea is heartstoppingly gorgeous. Pale green eyes and endless freckles. Curves I want to spend all night exploring, as if her body was made for me.2) Her innocence makes me want to use my entire inventory of bedroom tricks on her and then invent a few more.3) Except that… she’s a virgin.I can initiate her into the world of desire without letting her get attached, can’t I? A few hours of tutoring, and at the end of the night a small fortune will be deposited into my bank account.But once I realize one night with her won’t be enough, I’m the one who’s screwed.

Cruiser


Dee J. Stone - 2013
    But his twin brother got to her first. I’ve got a million voices telling me why I shouldn’t kiss her. She’s Rey’s girl and off limits. He’s been good to her. I know he will continue to be good to her. Look out for her, protect her. Lex’s been good to him, too. Only a jerk would try to break them up, and I’m no jerk. But dammit, I want her.

Nothing Left to Lose


Kirsty Moseley - 2013
    Three years after the tragic events of Anna’s sixteenth birthday which saw her boyfriend killed and her kidnapped by his sadistic murderer, she’s no longer the happy-go-lucky girl that everyone used to know and love; she’s now cold, hard and suffers from night terrors. Carter is currently serving time for the murder of Jack–a conviction that Anna helped secure–but his retrial is coming up because some key evidence appears to have been tampered with. Needing to ensure his daughter’s safety, presidential candidate, Senator Spencer, tasks in Ashton Taylor, a newly qualified SWAT agent, to guard the broken girl and keep her safe until the end of the trial. For three years Anna has refused to feel emotion or pain. Can Ashton help her rebuild her life and finally deal with the grief of losing her childhood sweetheart? Will he be the one to make her see that life is, in fact, worth living and that not all men will hurt her? Author's note: This edition contains Part 1 (Guarding the Broken) and Part 2 (Blurring the Lines) and combines them into one novel of epic proportion! Librarian's note: This is an alternate cover edition for ASIN: B00GGMQLFO.

The Light in the Wound


Christine Brae - 2013
    When Jesse Cain enters her life, she falls hopelessly in love with him, and every sadness she’s ever felt is washed away by his intensity and passion. But people change as they grow up. Things can never stay the same forever.Jesse and Isabel fight to stay together, determined to hold on to what they once had. Isabel wonders if a second love can ever be enough to make her forget her first.*Kindle version also available

Forever Innocent


Deanna Roy - 2013
    On what should have been one of the happiest nights of her life, she and her boyfriend Gavin watched a nurse disconnect the ventilator from their seven-day-old baby. During the funeral two days later, Gavin walked out and never returned.Since then, her life has been a spiral of disasters. The only thing that has helped is her ability to black out whenever the pain gets too hard to bear, a habit that has become an addiction.When Gavin shows up in her astronomy class four years later, he is hell-bent on getting her back, insisting she forgive him. Corabelle knows she can’t resist the touch that fills the empty ache that has haunted her since he left. But if he learns what she has done, if he follows the trail back through her past, her secrets will destroy their love completely. And once again, she’ll lose the only person who always believed she was innocent.New Adult Contemporary Romance

Covered in Coal


Silla Webb - 2014
    Just like any little girl would, she assumed her daddy would always be by her side. Unbelievably, he turned his back on her when she needed him most, leaving her with no one in her life to turn to for support. Without options, Carly runs away from the only home she's ever known, leaving behind her heartache and the betrayal of the two men she loved most.Seven years later, Carly reluctantly returns to Kentucky. Her daddy is dying of cancer and Colton is nothing like the boy she once loved and left. After her daddy passes, Carly must uproot her life in South Carolina and take control of Simon Coal Company, where she has no choice but face the pain of her past.Can Carly keep her secrets buried deep beneath the black Kentucky coal and her heart safe from the fiery Colton Weston?

Untouchable


Ivy SmoakIvy Smoak - 2020
    Everyone knows Matthew Caldwell.Charming.Gorgeous.Wealthy.And way out of my league.So when he invites me into the lifestyle of the rich and famous?I agree in a heartbeat.But behind all the glitz and glam?Secrets.Lies.Betrayal.All hidden behind a perfect smile and a tailored jacket.I should have known better than to pretend to belong in his world...

Because of Lucy


Lisa Swallow - 2013
    A revised and expanded 2016 edition is now available***Recommended 17+ due to strong language and sexual content* Ness's parents are shocked when she turns down her place at Leeds University and takes on a full-time job in a call center. Determined to begin her adult life the way she wants, Ness moves to Leeds to live with her best friend Abby.One night she meets Evan, who is everything she hates about guys. He may be hot but he's also drunken, arrogant, and on top of that, he apparently has sex with girls and forgets about it. But Evan isn't what he seems and Ness soon discovers they have more in common than she thought.Evan is struggling to escape from his past too, and when Lucy appears she threatens his new relationship with Ness. Unsure if she can deal with the effect Lucy has on Evan, Ness makes a decision about her future which pulls them apart.When their new lives don't go as planned, Ness and Evan are both faced with difficult choices. All because of Lucy...

Heat


Lis Lucassen - 2015
    She meets Dan, a young man with strangely erratic behavior and smoldering brown eyes, who is on an involuntary vacation with his parents. In him, she sees her own struggle reflected every time she is starting to get too close. Dan doesn’t like being touched. But when he sets out to uncover Lynn’s secret, it means he’ll have to tell her some secrets of his own.‘Heat’ is Lis Lucassen’s New Adult debut novel. This book puts her on the map in the Netherlands as the first-ever NA author from her own country.

Be Here Now


Andrea Wolfe - 2013
    Attacked her. Raped her. Left her for dead. She lost her whole life in New Orleans and fled to Seattle, hoping to find sanctuary from her dark past. Simone LeClair isn't sure if she'll ever love anyone again—or if she even wants to.That is, until she meets the beautiful Aiden Meyers, a man with a myriad problems of his own, a man that wears different masks to keep his conflicting worlds separate from each other. For some strange reason, as soon as Simone lays her eyes on him, she can't look away. He's unlike any man she's ever met, and that makes him all the more unbelievable.When she's with him, all her pain becomes a distant memory, pain that she believed she'd never escape. But as Aiden's walls start to crumble, and the worlds he juggles start to collide, Simone realizes he's dangerous in a whole new way - she's fallen hard for him, even though he's on a downward spiral that threatens to take her down with him.Will Simone sink with him?Or will she pull herself out before it's too late?Full length (93,000 word) New Adult Contemporary RomanceMature Content Warning: Contains adult language and content.HEA ending.

Falling For Him 1


Jessica Gray - 2014
     "How far are you willing to go to fight for the love of your life?" - Books and Beyond Fifty Shades Rachel Baker has just finished a stressful and demanding semester. When the camping trip with her roommate's buddy turns out a nightmare, she meets Peter Shaw. He's a breathtakingly handsome guy and Rachel is immediately drawn towards him, but can she trust him? Peter Shaw is recovering from a painful breakup with his cheating ex. The last thing he needs it to babysit an irresponsible college student, even when she's as beautiful and sweet as Rachel is. He's fighting his attraction for her with all his power. But everything changes, when they're both trapped together in a small cabin in the middle of the wilderness. Neither of them can deny the fire they're feeling for each other. Back in the city, more challenges wait for them. Can they finally admit their love for each other? Can Peter's crazy ex-girlfriend ruin everything? +++ Q & A with the Author Q-This is a sexy romance set in California. The couple meets on a camping and climbing trip to Yosemite National Park. Why Yosemite? Why climbing? Isn’t that a rather unusual setting? A-I wanted the setting to be something unusual, to convey adventure and freedom. For me being in the nature is just that. Romantic. Pure. Down-to-Earth. But I wanted it to also show adventure and something unusual. That’s when a friend posted photos of his last climbing trip and I was hooked. The sheer beauty of the Yosemite National Park, the Half Dome, sunsets, thermal springs got to me. The breathtaking landscapes and the exercise of climbing (and the lean, muscular, good-looking, handsome guys) would make the perfect setting for Rachel and Peter to meet. Q- What challenges doe your characters have to overcome? A_ Well, Rachel is a new adult, just coming of age. She’s the typical college student. Studying , working and trying to find her place in the world. Throughout the series she grows into an empowered and independent young woman. Ready to tackle the world. While rich and wealthy Peter has to cope with a disastrous breakup, and too much work. He needs to trust in love again. Q-What writers have influenced you? A-Of course, Nora Roberts was one of the first ones I read. She’s the queen of romance. Then there are two independent New York Times Bestseller authors I truly admire. Bella Andre and Melissa Foster. I love how they write steamy, romantic novels full of love. True love. Their heroes are alpha males – the good ones. No bad boys, but the kind every mother would want to have as son-in-law. The women are empowered, independent and sexy. The books are great examples of women's fiction and continuing series. Family sagas at their finest.

Figure 8


Elle McKenzie - 2015
    The death of her mother when she was 8 years old created a deep and dark depression, from which she has constantly struggled to climb out of.Now she has reached the lowest point she has ever been. She sees no other way out.Suddenly she finds hope.She meets Damon Harmon.Wanting desperately to help Isabelle, Damon tries to drag her out of the darkness and breathe life back into her.But why is he so determined to help her?What is the dark secret which haunts him and threatens their future?Will their love be enough to withstand betrayal?When love leaves you breathless, how do you learn to breathe on your own?