Book picks similar to
Old Enough to Love... by Kristi Pelton
romance
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Teach Me
Amy Lynn Steele - 2012
Nearly ten years later she is focused on her last year of high school and which colleges to apply to, not the attractive surfer who keeps showing up at the little corner of beach where she reads. She has no interest in a romantic relationship, especially one that starts in the summer and would be long distance. Ali tries to ignore him, but finds the boy on the beach much more distracting than the words in her books. Cooper Perez has never surfed the same beach this many days in a row. He just can’t seem to change spots until he has the courage to talk to the girl who is always reading her books in the shade. When he finally approaches her he is overwhelmed with the instant attraction he feels for this beautiful and intelligent girl, even though she is three years younger. Cooper and Allison spend the rest of the summer together discovering their love of many things, including each other. Summer eventually comes to an end, but their love does not. Allison heads home to start her senior year, but an opportunity brings Cooper closer to Allison than either of them would have expected. Mr. Perez is the new English teacher at Allison’s high school.
Carter
R.J. Lewis - 2015
This is a story about a rising rock star and a love-struck girl. Leah: I was a fool in love. From the moment I saw him, Carter Matheson had always been it for me. I just wished he felt the same way. We grew up together in poverty, seeking solace in one another through our love for music. His voice swept me off my feet. He sang like an angel, making me forget for a little while that my unrequited love would destroy me. I thought I’d go to the ends of the earth for him. I thought my future along his side was engrained in stone. But when faced with a decision that would forever change our lives, I need to choose whose dreams to follow. Mine or his. BOOK 1 OF 2
Confess
Colleen Hoover - 2015
But when she walks into a Dallas art studio in search of a job, she doesn’t expect to become deeply attracted to the studio’s enigmatic artist, Owen Gentry.For once, Auburn takes a chance and puts her heart in control, only to discover that Owen is hiding a huge secret. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything Auburn loves most, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it—but can she do it?
Becoming Us
Amy Daws - 2015
The last place Finley ever want to be with college basketball God, Jake LaShae. She is losing her mind trying to figure out what this guy wants from her. Between their late night phone calls, cuddle sessions and him showing up at parties, causing a scene, his mixed signals are giving her whip lash. When a mind-blowing betrayal knocks the wind out of Finley and she thinks she can’t feel any lower, Brody stumbles into her path—barefoot and charmingly sexy. This boy next door is a breath of fresh air. And he’s not shooting her any mixed signals. But even he has a past. A past that makes him anything but perfect. When Finley begins to think she’s found the one in Brody, will Jake try to make one final play and ruin the game for everyone?~The college prequel to the London Lovers Series~
Double Clutch
Liz Reinhardt - 2011
twice... in one day?Brenna Blixen spent her freshman year homeschooling in Denmark; now that she’s back in the States, she’s determined to make her sophomore year unforgettable. And by unforgettable, she imagined awesome classes, fun friendships, and maybe a little romance. What she got was a whole lot of romance, and all at once.The same day that dark, brooding Saxon Maclean charmed her with his killer good looks and whip-smart wit, Jake Kelly stole her breath away with his heart-wrenching smile and intelligent, thoughtful focus.But Saxon is a proud player who makes it clear that he doesn’t know why he can’t get Brenna off of his mind and out of his system, and Jake’s sweet and humble attitude hides a secret past life that might be more darker and more complex than Brenna’s willing to handle.Complicating the matter is the fact that Saxon and Jake were once best friends and are now arch-enemies... and the more Brenna finds out about their connection to each other, the more intrigued and worried she becomes.Between keeping the peace with her lovingly over-protective parents, designing t-shirts for her high school’s rising punk band, keeping up her grades in both academic and technical high school, and running the track like a maniac, Brenna has enough to worry about with out juggling two guys who make her heart thud and drive her crazy all at once.She has to make a choice. But how can she when giving her heart to one of them might mean breaking the other’s?(Cover Design: Steven Peterson)Recommended Age: Older YA
Untouchable
Lindsay Delagair - 2011
Both guys are gorgeous, and both are trying to win her over. The only problem is that one of them has a million dollar contract to put a bullet in her.When her pure and innocent heart is offered to him, will this cold and empty hitman fall, or will he remain untouchable?This book is the beginning of a wild ride in a trilogy that will make you wonder if the power of love can truly conquer all.Book one builds the tension for the passion and erotic connection that blooms in book two (Unforgivable), and book three (Untraceable) brings you to the astonishing conclusion of the star-crossed lovers.
The Opportunist
Tarryn Fisher - 2011
With an already lousy reputation for taking advantage of situations, Olivia must decide how far she is willing to go to get Caleb back. Wrestling to keep her true identity and their sordid past under wraps, Olivia’s greatest obstacle is Caleb’s wicked, new girlfriend; Leah Smith. It is a race to the finish as these two vipers engage in a vicious tug of war to possess a man who no longer remembers them. But, soon enough Olivia must face the consequences of her lies, and in the process discover that sometimes love falls short of redemption.
Plastic Hearts
Lisa De Jong - 2013
I like it that way. I grew up in a fake society where plastic hearts rule. If our hearts are made of plastic, they can never be broken. My parents have expectations and I do everything I can to meet them, even if it means giving up on my own dreams. Now, all I want is to be free to make my own choices.Dane Wright is everything I have been warned to stay away from. We met one night while I was with my perfect, parent-approved boyfriend and I haven’t stopped thinking about him. I don’t want to like him. I am doing everything I can to ignore his pull, but my heart seems to want what it cannot have, what it has never had.Can he measure up? He may think I am too good for him, but maybe he is too good for me. Life is a series of choices and I have never been able to make my own. Until one day, when my heart decides to make a choice for me.Recommended for mature readers due to sexual content and language
Something in the Way
Jessica Hawkins - 2017
Under the sweat and dirt, Manning Sutter was as handsome as the sun was bright. He was older, darker, experienced. I wore a smiley-face t-shirt and had never even been kissed. Yet we saw something in each other that would link us in ways that couldn’t be broken...no matter how hard we tried.I loved Manning before I knew the meaning of the word. I was too young, he said. I would wait. Through all the carefully-chosen words hiding what we knew to be true, through his struggle to keep me innocent, and through infinitely-starry nights—I would wait. But I’d learn that life isn’t always fair. That no matter how much you achieve, none of it matters if you suffer the heartbreak that comes with falling for someone you can never have. Because even though I saw Manning first, that didn’t matter. My older sister saw him next.
This Much is True
Katherine Owen - 2013
A ballerina who lies. A baseball player who believes her. Well, the truth changes everything. Tally Landon just wants to escape her tragic story if just for one night. She doesn't count on meeting Lincoln Presley, Stanford's baseball wonder, but plans to add him to her long list of one-night stands. That's the plan. Lying to him about her age and her name is just a part of her don't-get-emotionally-attached style. She doesn't count on being found out, nor on ever seeing Linc again or falling in love. Lincoln Presley's life is all mapped out. There is only baseball. With the major leagues circling their favorite prospect with a lucrative offer, he cannot afford to mess up. And, he doesn't; until he meets up with the girl he saved from the burning wreckage on the 101 on Valentine's Day months before. By the time he learns her real name and of all the lies she's told, he's in far too deep to ever really let her go. When fame and lies tear them apart, one truth remains; and fate, most definitely, has a different set of plans. This much is true.Author's Note: A coming of age story? Could be. A powerful love story? Most definitely. An unforgettable read? Most likely. Intended for mature audiences, ages 17+? Absolutely. This best selling new adult contemporary romance novel will take you on an emotional roller coaster ride and is the first book (which should really be two books) in the Truth In Lies series, but it can be read as a standalone. It is 432 pages long in 12-point type so carve out some time.
The Truth About Faking
Leigh Talbert Moore - 2012
Harley just wants a date with Trent. Trent's still getting over Stephanie.When Harley and Jason decide to fake date, they uncover a school of deceptions. Trent's got a secret, but so does Jason. And the more time Harley spends secretly kissing her fake boyfriend, the further she gets from her dreams with Trent. Worst of all, Harley's mom is getting cozy with her hot massage therapy student, and even Harley's Reverend Dad can't fake not being bothered by it. But when the masks finally come off, can everyone handle the real truth?
Measuring Up
Nyrae Dawn - 2012
This summer, she's hiring a personal trainer to help her lose weight. Annabel doesn’t expect her trainer to be a gorgeous guy around her age. Boys like Tegan are jerks. They pretend to like girls like her so they can make an idiot out of them. Been there, done that. Totally not going there again. She kind of hates him on principal. Blond. Muscular. Funny. It doesn’t help that he knows her measurements!Soon, Tegan's so much more than that. He’s the boy who teaches her to box when she has a bad day. Who jogs with her and lets her set the pace. Who kisses her until she melts. He makes her feel beautiful regardless of what the scale says. Unlike her mom, he doesn’t expect perfection, and he doesn't try to shield her from the world like her dad and best friend. Tegan likes her the way she is.But what happens when he’s not there? He can’t always be there… Will Annabel be able to stand on her own and learn that she already measures up? That her worth doesn’t lie in what the world thinks, the scale says, or even what Tegan tells her—but in herself?
The Traveling Man
Jane Harvey-Berrick - 2015
Nice. He was extraordinary. And he wasn’t always nice.Moody and difficult, brilliant and beautiful, Kes scared me and he protected me. He could be incredibly hurtful and incredibly thoughtful. He wasn’t perfect, but he was perfect for me. He challenged me, he took me out of my safe little box and showed me the world could be magnificent. He was everything I wasn’t. Aimee Anderson is ten when the traveling carnival first comes to her nice little town. She doesn’t expect her world to change so completely. But meeting Kestrel Donohue puts her life on a different path.Even though she only sees him for the two weeks of the year when he passes through her home town, his friendship is the most important of her life. As a child’s friendship grows to adult love, the choices become harder, and both Kes and Aimee realize that two weeks a year will never be enough.
Tear
Rachel Van Dyken - 2012
But for Natalee Murray, things have just gotten way more difficult. Bored with life, she can't wait to graduate high school and get out of town, especially considering the famous band members from AD2 suddenly start attending her school, making her once boring life, absolutely insane.It starts with a pen. A single brush of fingers, and she is captivated.But Alec and Demetri have a dark secret, one that could shatter their reputations and Natalee's heart. What do you do when one guy paints your life with color while the other infuses your soul with passion? How do you choose when your heart is divided?*This is a New Adult/Mature YA. Minor swearing and drug usage.
Fragile
Michelle Leighton - 2012
His love, as strong as steel. Can either survive life and death? Hardy Bradford is an eighteen year old football phenomenon who has the girl, the school, the town and the future in the palm of his hand. His life is all mapped out for him, right down to who he’ll marry and how he’ll become a professional football player. It doesn't seem to matter that Hardy would’ve chosen a much different life if it was up to him. But it's not. At least not until his Miracle comes along. The first time Hardy laid eyes on Miracle St. James, he didn’t know who she was, but he knew she was something different and that he’d never get her out of his head. And he didn’t. Now, months later, Hardy’s world is turned upside down when Miracle shows up in his class, stealing his heart and forever changing the course of his life. Miracle’s sick. Very sick. And Hardy might be losing the only thing in his life that has ever mattered. How much is too much to sacrifice for the one you love? For just a little more time? For just one more chance? Can Hardy be the hero Miracle needs? Or is it Hardy that needs saving?