Book picks similar to
When I'm Gone by Jessica Grace


love-triangle
standalone
ku
college-young-adult

Deceit


R.C. Stephens - 2017
    Stephens, comes an emotional small-town romance about second chances and the power of true love. Some love stories are picture perfect. That’s the complete opposite of us. I fell in love with Knox when I was just a girl. Our love was the kind of love to last a lifetime, but deceit tore us apart. He left me behind to become a world-renowned rock star. Now he’s back in our small town, and he wants a second chance, but he doesn’t realize how deep the deceit in this town runs. Once, a small town with big lies, was enough to tear us apart. Can it also be what brings us back together?*This book was previously published under a different title and cover in 2016. This is a refreshed cover, title, and storyline.*

Beautifully Broken (Beautiful, #1)


Tara Lee - 2020
    For years, I tried I really did. When I finally broke free of my demons, she planted me firmly in the friend-zone.I'll fight to win her back no matter the cost. With the chemistry we have, I'm not holding back. I'll even play dirty if I have to. My past proves to be more difficult to keep away than I thought. I need to fight the addiction, need to stay focused, because Luna is what matters most.My purpose on this Earth is loving Luna unconditionally and wholeheartedly.My past wasn't full of sunshine and rainbows. It was a living hell. Runaway mother, abusive father, dead brother—yeah my life’s a damn dream. It made me dark and angry. Made me into someone I hated, but Luna made everything better. She made me want to be better. But sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we can't change who we are. My past isn't everything I thought it was. I uncover something which changes everything. Can I make Luna fall in love with me all over again, or is it too late? I may be broken, but together we are beautifully broken.Luna:Ethan Knight, the boy I fell in love with at twelve, is back. His addiction was what tore us apart. He promised he'd change, but he never did. Until now.He somehow got hotter, and even his charms are more dangerous. Putting him in the friend-zone was the right thing to do. I know it won’t last, but a girl needs to try, right?Ethan's life is a mess. Can he really be a different person, be the guy I fell head over heels in love with? Us together was never a good idea, but the spark between us hasn't burned out yet. In fact, it feels stronger, and my heart can only take so much! Daddy always warned me to stay away from Ethan, and it may have been for good reason. Ethan's past is more corrupt than even he thought. Can we really overcome everything? Or will we come crashing down into the beautifully broken mess that awaits us?

Where Good Girls Go To Die


Holly Renee - 2017
    He was my brother's best friend and the definition of unavailable. But I didn't care. I had loved him for as long as I could remember. He was worth the risk. He was worth everything. But then he broke my heart as easily as I fell for him. He watched me fall, spiraling out of control, and as I reached for him, he wasn't there to catch me. So I ran. Four years later, I never expected to see him again. He was still my brother's best friend, and he was more unavailable than ever. He looked every bit the bad boy I knew he was, covered in tattoos and a crooked smile. Guarding my heart from him was top priority because Parker James was where good girls go to die. Unfortunately for him, I wasn't a good girl anymore.

Dr. Delight


Mia Ford - 2018
    Oliver Foxx is living the dream. A successful career, plenty of women, abundant wealth but still far from settling down.  Louise Wilder is an ambitious young medical trainee who has no intention of trading anything in her career even if that's love. Not even when she's assigned to shadow the handsome, Oliver Foxx or the famous DR. Delight. But little did she realize that her training program is going to be far more challenging for reasons she didn't consider. Things soon get complicated when sparks fly between the two and even more when they both try to forget each other.How the hell are they gonna get out of this alive?Will either of them be able to fight it forever? 60,000+ words in this steamy, standalone forbidden romance. HEA guaranteed. Kindle edition includes exclusive bonus content for your reading pleasure (including an exclusive romance - Billionaire Next Door).

The Best Friend Hookup


Kylie King - 2019
    She wants me to do things with her…in the bedroom. The things she wants to do, wouldn’t be a part of our usual hangout, where we play video games, or stuff our mouths with extra cheesy pizza. This is different. She wants me to teach her how to be on top, so she can hook up with a guy she’s always wanted to date. Of course, I’m going to help my adorable, nerdy best friend Julia. I’m the best man for the job, and she trusts me with her life. Not only that, but I’ve been with plenty of women—enough to know how to show her the ropes. Showing her what to do shouldn’t change anything between us…at least that’s what I think, until I realize that once she gets the hang of this, she’ll be on top of another guy.

Control the Burn


A.K. Evans - 2020
    As a labor and delivery nurse, she covets the joy and love she sees every day in expectant couples. When she met the owner of the local race shop, Kendall finally felt that spark. She thought he did, too.But he never called. Logan Townsend is a man whose skills are unparalleled. With so many people vying for the racing guru’s attention, Logan doesn’t have much free time to himself. But he knows he needs to find some. Because he can’t stop thinking about the woman who gave him the best night of his life. Just as Kendall decides to move on, Logan reappears. Try as she might to resist the temptation, Kendall fails. Because with a man like Logan, it’s hard to control the burn.

Insatiable Lover


Krystyna Allyn - 2021
    I get the job.Easy, right?Nope.I didn’t account for the annoyingly gorgeous Easton Roman, strolling late into orientation like he’s God’s gift to women.Puh-lease.Acting as if already crowned champion, the jerk had the nerve to flirt with me!(insert multiple expletives)He may have everyone fooled, but I see him for exactly what he is.Temptation.Easton can do whatever he wants to steer me from my eventual victory, but two can play at that game. If I have to flirt back, I will. If he wants to kiss me, bring it on.At some point in the game, it became real; our connection grew.I thought when the judges selected the winner, it would end us. But what really shattered our relationship was something neither of us saw coming.

Love at First Fight


Carrie Aarons - 2020
    Since the moment Smith Redfield laid eyes on me, he’s hated my guts. I’m serious, I think the raven-haired restaurateur gets physically sick just being in my presence. And he’s never been shy about hiding that fact. There was the time he cackled when I landed face first in a pile of Manhattan trash bags. Or the night I tried to throw my ex-boyfriend a surprise party, and Smith had strippers crash the bash. Or maybe it was New Year's Eve, when he got in my face and called me a sheltered goody two-shoes who wouldn’t know passion if it smacked me in the lips. He’s rooming right next door for the summer months, and I don’t think more animosity could exist than in the hallway of our vacation rental. As if I wasn’t already sporting a bruised ego and broken heart from the way his best friend left me. But the more midnight run-ins we have, the more I can’t help but think about the way his mouth would feel against mine. With each heavy-eyed glance over the dinner table, I’m starting to wonder if the damaged alpha male doesn’t harbor more than just loathing towards me. After all, they say hate is the closest emotion to love. And with the way we’re skating that thin line, it’s bound to burn this whole house down.

The Truth About Secrets


L.P. Dover - 2021
    Dover brings you a sexy, contemporary romance mixed with laugh-out-loud comedy about two past lovers who want nothing more than to seek revenge on the other. However, they end up getting way more than they bargained for. Clara and Zac thought they were headed for their happily ever after, until a break-up slathered in betrayal left them both jaded and vindictive. Twelve years have passed since they left Wyoming, and during that time Clara found her calling at a prestigious PR firm in California while Zac moved to New Orleans to join his Broussard cousins at River Enterprises. They thought they could forget each other and move on... until a local charity auction in their hometown of Snowy Creek sets Zac up for the ultimate revenge. If he wins, Clara will be at his mercy, forced to work for him for one full week. Tantalized by the sweet taste of revenge, he eagerly ups the ante to claim his prize. But what starts out as a week of filthy manual labor and bitter rivalry leads to a shocking revelation. Someone has been plotting for over a decade to keep Clara and Zac apart. Can the pair band together to uncover who? Or will their rift from the past continue to ruin their chance at a blissful future?

Immoral Confessions


R. Holmes - 2021
    Augustine’s very own fallen angel had me in his hold and he wasn’t giving up until I was ruined.I was a snitch. A liar. A pawn.He was cruel. Merciless. The King.Together, we were fated for destruction.And where there are secrets and untruths… there are demons lurking beyond the shadows.

Always You


Stephanie Rose - 2015
     All we had was friendship and my silly hope for more. When he left and took all of that with him, I moved on. Settled. I figured that happiness wasn't in the cards for me. Until, one night of drinks with an old "friend" gives me a hope I never expected, but don't know what to do with. This time, I have the chance I always dreamed about—but I'm not free to take it. *** Ten years ago, Samantha was only a friend, a sweet girl I never wanted to hurt. Now, she's everything I want and nothing I can have. She belongs with me, even if she's not really mine, and I can’t settle for anything less than all of her. Now that I’ve got a second chance, I'm grabbing it with both hands. Why did it take so long to realize that it was Always You?

Things I Wanted To Say (But Never Did)


Monica Murphy - 2021
    Dark and thunderous, furious and fierce. Cold, heartless and devastatingly beautiful, like the statues in our prep school gardens. The school with his family name on the sign. He can do no wrong here. This is his domain. He’s a menace on campus. Adored and feared. Hated and respected. His taunting words carve into my skin, shredding me to ribbons. Yet his intense gaze scorches my blood, fills me with a longing I don’t understand. When I stumble upon him one night alone, I find him broken. Bleeding. My instincts scream to leave and let him suffer, but I can’t. I sneak him into my room. Clean him up. Fall for his lies. Let him possess every single part of me until I’m the one left a gasping, broken mess. When he leaves me alone in the dead of night, he takes my journal with him. Now he knows all my secrets. My hate. My truth. And he promises to use my words against me. I’ll be ruined if my darkest secret gets out. That’s when I strike a bargain with the devil. I’ll let Whit Lancaster ruin me behind closed doors instead.

Disorder


Katie Lowrie - 2021
    It would get me away from a Mother who didn’t love me, an alcoholic Step-Father I despised, and a life filled with no meaning. At the Academy, I could make something of myself. Become the person I’ve always wanted to be; the person I was destined to be. But I could never have imagined that things could be worse there. That The Sect and The Set ruled the school. Literally. They had a list of five rules that all must obey or face the dire consequences. Then there’s Him. He is the forbidden fruit. The Beast I’m warned away from. The boy I feel a connection to, yet knew that I shouldn’t.Hawthorn Academy isn’t anything like I expected. It's clear that I’m in danger. That somebody is out to harm me. I just needed to survive the next two years there. How hard could that be? Disorder is book one in the Hawthorn Academy Series. It is a dark high school bully new adult romance and contains themes that some readers might find uncomfortable. This book is part of a trilogy and is NOT a standalone.

The Truth about Heartbreak


B. Celeste - 2019
    The guy I could never touch.Then one night changed everything for us. But there was one huge problem.He belonged to her.

Kiss and Break Up


Ella Fields - 2019
     Dashiell Thane wasn’t a nice guy. He was an abrasive, demanding, conniving, intolerable brat. Yet somehow, we’d been best friends our whole lives. Until our senior year when I finally decided to dip my toes into the dating pool. All it took was one kiss for jealousy, lies, and betrayal to sweep in and propel us heart first into dizzying, hostile depths. You’re not supposed to kiss your best friend. You’re definitely not supposed to kiss your best friend while you’re dating someone else. And the absolute worst thing you could do is fall for your best friend. Unless, of course, you want to ruin everything.