Book picks similar to
Counting Stars by Alannah Carbonneau


romance
contemporary-romance
1st-in-series
contemporary

After Tuesday


Renee Ericson - 2013
    For the last two years, high school senior Ruby has been her own rock and solace. She has learned to depend only on herself and hides her family's issues by keeping herself somewhat unnoticeable. Despite her isolation, Ruby has intrigued the affections of someone unexpected. Finding herself loving life once again as his persistence sparks a romance awakening a well-protected heart. While Ruby’s relationship with her father is constantly teetering, her new-found affection continues to blossom into something more than she ever thought possible. Soon, Ruby comes to realize that opening up your heart means being susceptible to love and disappointment.YA-M: This book contains mature content including profanity, drug/alcohol use, and sexual situations/language.

Closing the Gap


Colleen Charles - 2014
    When she finds out a date with her longtime crush is one of the items up for bid at a charity auction, she once again takes an interest in the two-legged species as well. The betrayal and public humiliation retired NHL player Josh Adams suffered at the hands of his ex-wife scarred him deeply. Now he’s only interested in superficial flings…until he connects with Lake at the charity event. She has depth of character and values he holds dear but getting involved with her could cost him everything. Can two scarred people, perfect for each other, overcome their broken hearts and find the love and happiness they deserve? Or will Lake’s past, and a madman bent on revenge, put an end to their promising future?

Stubborn


Jeanne Arnold - 2014
    When a hazel-eyed boy with a sultry Texan accent comes to her defense, Avery has no clue that his actions will lead her into a passion-charged summer, full of temptation and loss. Relegated to work at her aunt’s boarding house, Avery discovers a connection between her aunt and the striking boy. He and his siblings are seeking revenge for the wrongful death of their brother, and Avery becomes entangled in their battle over oil rights, loyalty, and love. Avery falls for the brooding, younger brother, Gabriel Halden, against her aunt’s forewarnings and creates more tribulations than any of them could anticipate.This young adult romance series is meant to be read in order.

Never Say Goodbye


Bethan Cooper - 2014
    She is lost in the distance to most and cares about nothing in her life. The only needs she craves is her best friend Jade and her trusty sky blue Ford Mustang. After losing someone who meant more to her than herself, her whole life changed for the worse.Fighting something on your own, can change your life. Especially when that something, causes you pain everyday. When Luke James lean, beautiful and rich finds a small girl riddled with torment in his arms he can't help but want to put out that dark light inside of her. His past haunts them both, causing unnecessary heartbreak. But when he leaves his high school girlfriend Jenna, for her, trouble chases them both and the escape tries to break them apart.On this emotional tormented roller-coaster, we find two people who should of never been introduced, but they are and the inevitable happens, for them both.

Young Annabelle


Sarah Tork - 2013
    Someone should have told me sooner…that falling for a guy like that…was not a good idea. At all. Just past the halfway mark on her summer from hell weightloss journey, seventeen year old Annabelle Simms has lost a grand total of nine pounds. Which should have been great, but not where her mother was concerned. According to her, nine pounds wasn’t good enough and ridiculously slow considering she counted every calorie Annabelle ate and burned. Already a star on the Royal Heights High School Baseball team, James Lawson wasn’t your average transfer student. Even with his ‘new guy’ status, he quickly becomes one of the ‘Kings of the Hallway’ and that alone should have been the red flag Annabelle needed to stay away from him. He’s arrogant, intense, rude and worst of all he seems like the kind of guy that usually gets what he wants. But the more time they spend together, it becomes difficult to stray away from those beautiful green eyes, especially with all the stress her mother is causing her. Will Annabelle wake up and see James for what her ‘common sense’ declares him to be or will she ignore everything and open her heart, allowing James to capture her…care for her…..body, mind and soul? Warning Contains Mature Scenes Recommend for ages 17+ This is not a standalone novel. Book 1 in Y.A Series

Finding Home


Becca Taylor - 2016
    With her grandmother’s words in her mind, she begins seeking out new experiences by creating a list of adventures she’d like to complete. First on the list, a night out with friends. Which leads to the second item on her list, a one night stand. That single night with Caleb is one she can’t get out of her head. However, just when she thinks her life is moving forward, her past comes back. Making her doubt herself, her adventure list and her dreams of finding home. Caleb Caleb isn’t the settling down type. His life is exactly what he wants, an uncomplicated routine. He has his boys, his business, his bass and his bike. Caleb’s life motto is work hard, ride his motorcycle harder and play music the hardest. Until the night he met Katerina. Suddenly, everything he thought he wanted wasn't enough. For the first time in his life, he was thinking about his future. His future with her.

Can't Love You More


Sabrina Quinn - 2014
    The two of them had a special bond that only grew deeper the older they became. The love that was once considered one of a kind was shattered graduation night, resulting in Braelyn leaving her small hometown for the big city. She now has a secret of her own to shield. A year in Chicago altered her life more than she ever thought imaginable. Braelyn moves back to Indiana in desperation to find the happy, free-spirited girl she left behind, but she isn't sure that is possible. Braelyn’s new downstairs neighbor, Gabe, is quickly becoming her new best friend. Though jaded from his own past back in Georgia, he is on a mission to help her out of the deep depression that has consumed her over the past year. Can Gabe help Braelyn find herself? Will Aiden's confession change the past, or will it ruin her forever?

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

Courted


Jennifer Chance - 2015
    But now I’ve got no choice.By the end of the week, I must give up my treasured military commission and take the throne. Given what my family’s already endured, I'll do it, too. There's no escape for me.Then, out on the edge of my beloved Aegean Sea, a dreamy-eyed American girl falls into my arms...and life as I know it will never be the same.Looks like we’ve got a brand new kind of fairy tale on our hands.

Fractured


Holleigh James - 2013
    Mandy never knew how unhappy she really was. Until she met Rob, the hot “deli-god” from the supermarket… The minute she locks gaze with his dreamy, blue eyes, she realizes that she’s been missing out on life. Even more shocking, he seems to like her too. He seems perfect in everyway, and it’s beginning to look like things might be different for once. But it’s getting harder to hide her fractured life from him, and he’s bound to find out how messed up her life really is. As more pieces of her life begin to fall apart, will Rob be willing to stick around? Or will her fractured life prove to be too much for him?

Crossroads Serenade: A Novel


Laurie Adair Grove - 2012
    But no matter how much time passes, she can’t forget Pete, the only man she’s ever loved. Meredith wonders how she can move on, when just looking at her little boy so painfully reminds her of everything that's happened.Her son is five when Meredith returns to Crossroads to claim The Serenade—a popular hotel, bar and restaurant—which she inherits from a dear friend who treated her like family when her own family did not. A single mother from a rough background, Meredith knows life is not all roses, and that she will have to work even harder than ever with her new responsibilities. But she has no idea of the obstacles that she must overcome, now that she has moved back home to claim her inheritance and hopefully reunite with Pete.

After the Sky Fell Down


Megan Nugen Isbell - 2012
    But when tragedy strikes, she is left to pick up the pieces of her now shattered life. As she tries to make sense of her new reality, life takes another startling turn, leading her down a path she never imagined. Through it all she finds comfort in a surprising companion who becomes her best friend and rock as she tries to rebuild her life. But when she unexpectedly meets someone, whose kindness and understanding offers her a chance at a fresh start, she struggles to move forward, afraid to leave her past behind. Will she be able to move on and find peace with her past in order to discover her future or will she let her past condemn her to a life of loneliness, unable to let go of a life that can never be?

Within These Walls


J.L. Berg - 2014
    I am not strong. I am just a survivor of circumstance.Isn’t that what we all do? Survive?Each of us has our own set of circumstances to muddle through. Mine are just more…complicated. Born with a severe heart defect, I’ve seen the inside of a hospital room more than my own bedroom. I was drowning, a prisoner to the illness that owned me, until he appeared. He thinks he’s blocked out the world with his tattoos and hard exterior, but I see the real Jude, the one he so desperately wants to forget. But is he the answer to my prayers or will he break my already damaged heart forever?My name is Lailah Buchanan, and this is our story of hope, redemption and sacrificing it all for the one you love.

Misfortune: Christmas with Scrooge


Peggy Ann Craig - 2014
    Or is rescued by one. Dexter O’Reilly, a cold and ruthless businessman, meets Laura Witherow, a loving and compassionate individual on Christmas Eve. Recently orphaned, Laura faces her first Christmas alone. After taking a wrong turn down a deserted snowy road, she finds herself stranded deep in the Pennsylvania backroads. Then, as miracles would have it, she is sent someone to share the holiday with that cold fateful Christmas Eve. True, he might not be old Saint Nick, but he was her very own Scrooge. After their brief and unusual encounter, Dexter hopes never to lay eyes on the woman again. However, eight months later she unexpectedly shows up on his business doorstep seeking financial aid for a homeless shelter she operates after a series of unfortunate events leads her to financial ruin. Dexter scoffs at any charitable organization, as well as his growing attraction toward the obstinate woman who refused to give up. Laura is determined to conquer the past, the present and even the future to show Dexter that there was more to life than money and that she was the way to true happiness.

Always in My Heart


Rachael Brownell - 2015
    For years she tried to move on, but no one compared to Luke. No kiss, no man, even came close.The heart wants what it wants, and Reagan’s heart is willing to wait for Luke. For as long as it takes.