Book picks similar to
Between the Pain by Gia Riley


romance
new-adult
contemporary
contemporary-romance

The Last Single Girl


Bria Quinlan - 2012
    Last minute. Who doesn't already have plans on the busiest date night of the year.But, so far the best part of the search for a great date has been the cute café I found and the geeky-hot owner who keeps rescuing me from these crazy eLove.com dates. This should be easy-peasy. The internet is the home of all your hopes and needs, right?Spoiler Alert: it isn't.Between the bromance date and the crazed single dad who needs to hire a nanny and housekeeper, not get a date, I'm running out of options. If only a certain cutey didn't have a phone call with "sweetheart" every day.The weirder things get, the more I think just going solo is very I Am Woman, blah blah blah. Forget about the fact that my heart keeps bringing me back to a certain café even when I don't need to be there...I mean, my heart doesn't always get what it wants, does it?

Fool for You


Megan Noelle - 2013
    Danielle promised herself she would never return, but now - she has no choice. The family Inn her Grandparents put their lives into is going under and Danielle is the last hope they have to save it. When she temporarily returns to her home town, she’s even less prepared than expected to run into her first love, Oliver Garrison. After their encounter leaves her on edge she decides what is really needed is a distraction. What she doesn’t expect is the way she feels when she meets Corey Preston with the bad boy edge, a gentle heart and smoking body. Oliver is everything she thought she ever wanted while Corey is everything she never thought she needed. Dani promised herself when she left Serenity Cove at 18 that never again, would this be her home. However, her heart didn’t get the memo and for the first time in her life, she feels at home. But will her demons from the past let her have the love she deserves? Or will she return to her life in New York - once again leaving her heart behind in the one place she fears to be?

Good Karma


Donya Lynne - 2014
    Bullied as a child, she hides behind an unremarkable wardrobe and relegates herself to the shadows. But when her best friend convinces her to attend a charity benefit in Chicago wearing a stunning red dress that catches the eye of every man in the room, she discovers a surprising side to her personality. One that adores the spotlight but has no idea how to handle the attention.Mark Strong, a wealthy Chicago businessman, is brimming with confidence. He’s in total control. Nothing—and no one—escapes his notice. However, Mark carries a heavy, painful burden. After finding his fiancée with another man six years ago, he’s erected a fortress around his heart, unwilling to let himself fall in love again. But when enchanting Karma snares his gaze from across the room, he has no idea she will shatter his carefully ordered life.What starts out as a casual flirtation takes a series of surprising turns as Mark and Karma embark on a sensual journey destined by fate. Mark is driven to know Karma, understand her…educate her, and Karma is his willing student, eager to experience the pleasure he promises. But when the student becomes the teacher, Mark has to make a choice between taking another chance on love or a future alone.

Unethical


Jennifer Blackwood - 2014
    The second she graduated, Payton left everything behind―her high school sweetheart, her family, and the controversy surrounding her mother's death—and hid within the anonymity of college. But Payton’s ex, Blake Hiller, hasn't forgiven her for leaving, and when he enrolls in the same medical ethics class, she panics. She can’t run the risk of him telling everyone who she really is. As if being at the same university isn’t enough, both Blake and Payton land the same internship. Forced together, their passion for each other reignites, but when Payton is asked to testify in her father’s high-profile trial, she must choose between risking her acceptance into medical school to help her father, and losing every connection to her past—including the only guy she’s ever loved.

Schooled


Piper Lawson - 2015
    Hot.I know the rules.The rules say Dylan Cameron is off-limits. That includes his messy dark hair and wickedly knowing eyes. The hard body he built playing rugby. Definitely his reputation for doing very bad things.But when the most gorgeous, mysterious, brooding boy I never let myself want shows up on my birthday with a confession that sends me reeling... I can’t ignore him.But I refuse to screw up everything over a guy. Especially that guy.Because Dylan is my best friend’s brother.Her younger brother.Schooled is a deliciously smart, steamy forbidden college romance from USA Today bestselling author Piper Lawson. This full-length story can be enjoyed as a standalone.

Being Brooke


Emma Hart - 2016
    I’m a college drop-out working a dead-end job, my best friend Carly’s dog gets more action than I do, and I have more bad dates in my diary than there are movie remakes. Not to mention I'm completely and utterly in love with Cain Elliott.The problem? He’s in a relationship. With a girl who’s so plastic she makes Barbie cry herself to sleep with jealousy. The second problem? He's my best friend.My shut-up-and-put-on-Harry-Potter, yes-this-is-your-shirt, help-I-have-no-power, crap-I’m-out-of-tampons, kinda best friend. And that’s all he can be, right?Right.(Being Brooke is a standalone romantic comedy. Hilarious, super-sexy, and possibly highly inappropriate at times, this is the perfect feel-good read!)

Love in All the Wrong Places


Audrey Harte - 2013
    After a series of failed relationships, she's beginning to feel like she will never meet Mr. Right. But seeing one of her longtime BFFs find love on the internet, she decides to give online dating a try. After finally finding an amazing guy who sweeps her off her feet, will he prove to be everything she could have wished for and more or is he too good to be true?

Resisting the Bad Boy


Violet Duke - 2013
    His brother's best friend. And the valium for his soul he had no business wanting.To be fair, she did ask him for advice--on what she could do to stop being 'the nice girl' for a little bit. All he did was answer truthfully:"Try something new that excites you."...Preferably him.NOTE TO READERS: This is Book #1 in a three-part 600-pg SERIAL (also available as a bundled box set). Each book in the trilogy has a separate story arc in the greater love triangle, and need to be read in order. Book #4 (the other brother's happily ever after) is a standalone novel that can be read on its own.

Wrapped in Ink


Carrie Ann Ryan - 2019
    But when an accident lands him in the ER, Liam meets someone that might just be the distraction he needs.Arden Brady has spent her life in and out of hospitals. But according to the world, she doesn’t look sick. She’s lost jobs and friends because they don’t see beneath the surface, but she’s learned to rely on her family and herself to keep going. And then she meets Liam.With two sets of overprotective siblings and a puppy that can't help but get into everything, Liam and Arden might just fall harder than either one ever expected.

The Escort


Ramona Gray - 2014
    There’s only one problem – she’s a thirty year old virgin and embarrassed as hell about it. When her best friend suggests hiring an escort to not only help rid her of her pesky virginity but teach her some moves in bed, Julie swallows her pride and calls an escort agency. She books a date with the sexy and gorgeous Cal. Court Thomas has been saving his identical twin brother’s butt for years. When Cal calls, begging him to take his place with his latest ‘date’, Court reluctantly agrees. Unprepared for his immediate attraction to the beautiful but fragile woman, he’s rocked by Julie’s request for him to take her virginity. Determined to change her mind, he continues to impersonate his brother. But when Julie’s warm kisses trigger a desire he’s never experienced before, will he convince her to wait for ‘Mr. Right’ or take the sweet gift she’s offering? Author’s note: This is a novella of 35,000 words. It contains explicit and steamy sex scenes that may not be your cup of tea. It is intended for mature readers only.

Speak From The Heart


L.B. Dunbar - 2013
    Back at her grandmother’s summer home, she’s only in Elk Lake City for a visit which can’t end soon enough. Especially when she can’t seem to get away from one grumpy repairman who shows up everywhere. Fortunately for him, his daughter is sweet even if she refuses to speak.Jess Carter is a hometown favorite and a hot single father. Sworn off love for several reasons, foremost is the silence of his daughter. His little one has a secret and he doesn’t know the why behind it. Unfortunately for him, his six-year-old has taken a liking to the beautiful new woman in town visiting her nana. And everywhere he goes, there she is, invading his space and his heart.While silence might be golden, the voice in lonely hearts refuses to remain quiet.** PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED in 2014 as Sound Advice, Sensations Collection 1.

Drive Me Crazy


Marquita Valentine - 2013
    Only three things stand in her way: juggling all of her odd jobs, keeping her daddy from gambling away all of their money and getting Carter to see her as a woman. NASCAR racer, Carter Ambrose, has finally decided to take his doctor’s advice and find a new occupation before another wreck on the track kills him. Only his doctor hadn’t counted on his little sister’s best friend, Melanie Ann Smith, crashing his weeks of solitude with her short skirts and platform heels. And that’s not the least of his problems. His mother has decided that she wants grandchildren and the only woman that's good enough for the job-his ex-fiance. Soon Melanie and Carter agree to a temporary relationship. One with benefits that is mutually satisfying in every way, or so each believes. And just when they are ready admit their feelings, family secrets are exposed, threatening Melanie and Carter's fragile relationship. Will Carter risk it all for love, or will Melanie be left holding the trophy for second place?

The Token


Marata Eros - 2013
    They're so final Faren decides she has nothing to lose by seizing every remaining moment of what life has to offer.Until Faren collides with a motorcycle ridden by billionaire Jared “Mick” McKenna.Even the dark secret of her past and catharsis as a physical therapist can't save Faren from the sexual spiral that waits for her in the arms of a man who commits to no one. When circumstances force her to get a second job as an exotic dancer, Faren never imagines how close that choice will bring her to the brink of a new reality she is unequipped to handle.This is volume one in a 6-part novella serial. Each volume is app. 20-25,000 words.Genre: New Adult Dark Romance Disclaimer: This story contains sexual themes, situations, profanity and violence. Ages 17+.

Wasted


Suzannah Daniels - 2014
    It was part of his job after all, and he needed the tips—badly. When Lexi Swafford plopped her pretty little tail down on the bar stool, Mason offered her a drink. He had no idea that he would soon be working with her or that he’d be letting her room with him until her new apartment was ready.In fact, once Lexi Swafford landed in Creekview, Tennessee, life as Mason Cambridge knew it would cease to exist…because after a night of drinking away the agony of his loneliness, one touch from her would change everything.WASTED is a new adult contemporary romance recommended for adult readers due to mature content.It is the first book in the WHISKEY NIGHTS series. Since each book in this series will focus on a different couple, they can be read as stand-alones. Many readers may prefer to read them in order for maximum enjoyment.WHISKEY NIGHTS series order:Wasted #1Ignited #2Deceived #3Betrayed #4Seduced #5 (Release date to be announced.)

Bad Boy Rock Star


Candy J. Starr - 2013
    She’s a princess and the toughest obstacle she's had in life is finding shoes to match her outfit.Then her father disappears leaves her with only the money in her purse and a management contract for hot, indie band, STORM. She plans to sell the contract, one way or another, then pack up her designer wardrobe and head back to law school.But lead singer, Jack Colt, has other ideas. She's never met a man like him before. His raw sexuality is messing with her head and her heart... and a lot of other body parts.With the help of crazy rock chick, Angie, Hannah sets the band on their first steps to the big time and learns to survive on her own.But this isn’t some game - soon the threat that Hannah fears most becomes reality.Jack Colt - he’s arrogant and infuriating but he’s the one that’s there for Hannah when her world comes crashing down. With secrets of his own, will Jack Colt save Hannah or destroy her?Bad Boy Rock Star is the first book in a series of three. Rock Star vs Millionaire, the second book, is due for release in early 2014.