Book picks similar to
Never Say Goodbye by T. Renee Fike
new-adult
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new-adult-college
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Burning Down the House
Allie Gail - 2014
Athletic, intelligent, handsome. Sees a therapist once a week. Because his parents just died in a house fire of questionable origin. And he doesn't seem to care. Maybe he isn't so typical. Sara Marsh had no clue when she returned to live with her divorced father that the bedroom down the hall would be occupied by a stray with a major attitude problem. The last time she saw Rob, he was a brooding goth who could have passed as Marilyn Manson's love child. But at some point during her three years away, Creepy Kensington managed to evolve into a sizzling hot star running back with smoldering hazel eyes. The attraction is undeniable. The temptation is irresistible. And soon they're sharing more than just an address. But with another life lost in a deliberately set blaze, Sara's trust is faltering. Has she lost her heart to a serial arsonist? He's already shown her the allure of playing with fire. And someone's about to get burned. * This book contains strong language and sexual content and is intended for ages 17+ *
The Do Over
A.L. Zaun - 2013
After a painful and sudden break-up with Rick Marin, Dani hides away from reality, retreating to a world of fiction where she prefers book boyfriends over the hassles of a relationship.Almost two years later, Dani’s friends are tired of watching her in a holding pattern, so they stage an intervention, forcing her back into the real world of dating.Unexpectedly, Dani meets Liam Lucas, a down-to-earth firefighter. He might be the person to show her she’s still worth something. Dani’s hesitant to trust her heart with another man, but their instant and electric chemistry is something she can’t deny.As Dani starts to believe that she’s found her real-life book boyfriend, Rick decides that he’ll go to any lengths to get her back. Seeing Rick as a changed man makes Dani question everything. Can Dani trust her patched-up heart with Liam? Or has Rick transformed into the man she’s always wanted? Written from various points of views, The Do Over is a story of second chances and new beginnings.
Miss Me Not
Tiffany King - 2012
Madison Hanson's past demons have given her a shadow of an existence with little hope. With the sudden tragic death of a fellow student, Madison questions her own life choices, and is now forced to evaluate everything she thought she believed in. When fate intervenes and partners her with Dean Jackson, a popular "all around good guy" from school, Madison gets a glimpse of a life that is filled with sunshine that has the power to break through the darkness she has cloaked herself in. With Dean's help, Madison discovers a desire to finally step out of the shadows, and embrace life and all its gifts.
Vital Sign
J.L. Mac - 2014
My little world was bright. I had no complaints. My perfectly simple life made the fall from grace that much more devastating. I plummeted from the heavenly little bubble that I shared with Jake. I fell fast and hard straight into the fiery pits of hell. The knowledge of how things used to be is a bittersweet torture that refuses me even one moment of respite. I live in a painful reverie that I can’t escape. I had it good once.That’s gone now. All of it disappeared like vapor into the ether. I’m a lost woman, wandering through grief and struggling to come to terms with my new title: widow. My family says I need understanding and closure. I say a cigarette and a bottle of wine is a much better option for instant gratification.I’m the awkward, depressed one standing in the corner making everyone around me miserably uncomfortable. I’m the one with vacant eyes that society strives to help but can’t. I’m the one who hands out tight smiles and derisive snorts. I’m the widow adrift in this world with no direction. No meaning. No hope. No vital sign.***Sadie sets out on a journey to healing without knowing that things will get far worse before they get better. Despite her general indifference to organ donation, she finds herself on a journey to seek out the only people who benefited from her husband’s tragic death.Resentment runs rampant as she meets the thriving organ recipients. Anger and jealousy spiral, sending the delicate structure of Sadie’s emotions into a tailspin.Alexander McBride got a second chance—one that he didn’t necessarily want. Alexander is a game changer for Sadie. She hates him for his health but can’t help feeling at home in his presence. He soothes her grief in a way that is intoxicating, addictive even.The heart that once fell in love with her now resides in Alexander McBride’s chest. It’s a circumstance that forces her to wage an internal war fueled by grief, anger, guilt, love, lust, and loyalty.Sadie must discover the things that are vital to going on with her life if she has any hope of finding her way through the all-consuming grief that dominates every waking moment.
The Syrian Virgin
Zack Love - 2014
In 2012, Islamists in Homs terrorize a Syrian-Christian community and destroy everything that a young woman holds dear. Narrowly escaping death, Anissa restarts her devastated life as a college student in NY. She is bewildered and lost -- a virgin in every sense. But despite her inexperience with men and life in the United States, Anissa is quickly drawn to two powerful individuals: Michael Kassab, the Syrian-American leader working to found the first Mideast Christian state, and Julien Morales, her Columbia University professor who runs a $20 billion hedge fund.Complicating matters, Michael is still attached to his ex-girlfriend and Julien is the most sought after bachelor in Manhattan (and has hidden demons even his therapist can't extract). Anissa's heart and her communal ties pull her in different directions, as she seeks hope and renewal in a dark world.
We Are Us
Tara Leigh - 2020
Survivor. Daughter. Sister. Wife.Now I am called something else.Murderer.Believe it or not, this is our love story.
Relatively Famous
Jessica Park - 2010
Now meet Mark Ocean: A self-serving actor with a floundering career who sees that a daughter is just what he needs to reinvent himself as a family man and get back on track. When the two decide to spend the summer together, they must not only wrangle their own love lives, but try to figure out who they really are to themselves and to each other.Now armed with credit cards, club memberships, and a new wardrobe, Dani learns that what Mark has in wealth, he sorely lacks in parenting skills. Trying to show Mark that parenting is about more than loading her up with Prada bags and taking her to movie premieres is challenging enough, but she's also got her hands full with her new friends. Oh, and the boys... Dani meets Jason, a gorgeous young personal trainer who is easy on the eyes and wildly flirtatious. But is this smug hottie the one for her? Or will she ignore her friends eye-rolling and go for the goofy but sweet surfer?While juggling her own complicated love life, Dani tries to set her father up with someone less likely to appear on a VH1 reality show, and someone more... well, normal. And age-appropriate. And dressed in anything but a thong bikini. But whether Mark is able to heal old wounds and move forward with anything more than a meaningless fling remains to be seen.Can Dani fit in with this new, fast-moving California crowd without losing herself? With the world at her fingertips and hot boys now after her, staying grounded gets tough. And can Mark drop his egocentric approach to life and learn to appreciate how truly wonderful his daughter is? As driven as he is to get that A-list acting role, he's willing to do whatever it takes to get there, even if it means using his daughter. Or is he...? Mark and Dani's relationship hits a few highs, but the question becomes whether the lows are too much.
Three Years Later
Casey McMillin - 2013
The first thing she did when she got there, however, was run headlong into her happily ever after. Unfortunately for her, the guy was way out of her league.Collin Blake, along with the rest of his college swim team, was just visiting Los Angeles for a few days. It was something the U Cal swimmers did every year. Falling in love definitely wasn't on his list things to do while he was there.Is love at first sight even possible?Collin and Rachel thought so. They had an instant connection... right up to the point when Rachel disappeared.Can they pick up where they left off even though it’s... Three Years Later
More Than a Memory
Amber Nation - 2015
Being a morning radio show host, she’s got a lot going for her except finding someone to share her life with. In that aspect, no one seemed to compare to the one. Having absolutely no desire to step foot back in her hometown of Cottage Grove, her decision was swayed with an invitation to her high school reunion and solidified after receiving a letter from her first and only love from her past.Living his life the best way he knows how, Baylor Jenkins spends his time running the family plumbing business, after giving up his dream to be an Architect, and raising his almost teenage daughter solely without the help of his ex-wife. In the back of his mind he knows something was missing from his otherwise enjoyable life. But that something was actually a someone who disappeared after graduation; a former best friend turned lover.Locking eyes after fifteen long years raises deep emotions and unanswered questions:What happened to make Eden run?Could their love for each other still exist?Or will their past time together be nothing more than a memory?
Butterfly Weeds
Laura Miller - 2012
But she should have known better. Her past haunted her every chance it got these days, and tonight it came in the form of lyrics she never expected to hear again—not after a decade, not in the arms of another man and definitely not in the form of a confession. Now, Julia must discover for herself if the song—and more importantly, the man behind it—is enough to leave her new life for her small-town, Missouri roots and a second chance at love.
The Lucky Dress
Aimee Brown - 2017
an irresistibly hilarious rom-com: perfect for fans of Anna Bell, Jo Watson and Sophie Kinsella.
Emi Harrison hasn't been feeling particularly lucky lately. Ever since her ex-fiancée, Jack Cabot, successfully shattered her heart into a million pieces. She's managed to avoid him for a whole year, but all that's about to change at her brother Evan's wedding... She will have to face Jack, Jack's sister, Jack's parents, and Jack's new girlfriend: a mean girl that just won't quit. What could possibly go wrong? But with her lucky dress on, she might just find new love, life, and maybe even happiness at last!
The Edge of Us
Veronica Larsen - 2017
My heart's been at a standstill ever since, the anger keeping me from moving on. Keeping me from seeing the man who's been right in front of me all this time... Andrew's been the friend I needed, the one constant through the hardest times of my life. But one night, the lines blur and we're tipped into something more. Just when I'm ready to explore what we could be... My ex comes back.Cole says he didn't come to get me back, but I should know better. The answers he dangles overhead are the ones I need to finally let go.Except there's no such thing as closure, only a past that wants to pull you backward.
Absolutely Unforgivable
Tracy Tegan - 2013
She discovered that, beneath the handsome façade that had all the other girls chasing him, he was caring and generous. She'd never want to hurt such a kind man. When his job sends him back to Texas, she leaves her native Tulsa to move with him.If only she hadn't met Billy Snow, Jeromy's childhood friend. Her attraction to him feels like water flowing to meet water, a destiny buried deep in her cells. But is it real and lasting? Should she stifle her desire for Billy to save her relationship with Jeromy, the man she thought was perfect for her? While she's deciding, what does fate have in store for her? She hadn't known love would hurt so much."Absolutely Unforgivable is a love story that makes you question what you know and what you yearn to learn more about,” says one Amazon reviewer. “Absolutely Unforgivable has everything you could want in a good novel - strong, likeable characters, an engaging plot and some crisp, skillful writing,” another reviewer notes.
The Summer I Fell
Sonya Loveday - 2014
Growing up alongside of six guys is never easy. Especially in high school. Falling in love with one of the Six? Even harder when Ace has a hold of her heart, and he doesn’t even know it.Jake (Ace) Aceton has loved Riley for a long time, but has kept the secret oath of the Six. Riley was off limits. At least until after graduation.When her college plan falls through, and her future is left to the hands of fate, Riley finds herself scrambling to keep up with all the changes. But that's not the hardest part. The hardest part is saying good-bye, especially to Ace. Will Riley and Ace’s love be strong enough to hold them together when life tries to tear them apart?
Toxic Secrets
Jill Patten - 2013
All that changes when she finds out the boy who stole her heart three years ago resorts to cheating. Ending that relationship will be harder than she could imagine, but she is determined to move on, agreeing to go on a blind date with the older and cryptic Jaxon.Jaxon Vaughn blazes into town for a short visit, taking steps down a new path in life. After facing unexpected tragedies at a young age and turning to self-destruction, he aches to redeem himself by opening a bar in his grandmother’s hometown. It is there he meets the pure and soulful Courtney, whom awakens the guilt that dejectedly haunts him.Distance and circumstances may separate them, but they are unable to ignore the chemistry that draws them together. Can their relationship survive, or will it be shattered by clingy exes, mysterious phantoms from the past and unforeseen misfortunes?