Book picks similar to
Pretend by Sharlay


romance
young-adult
wattpad
new-adult

Trying Not to Love You


Megan Smith - 2013
    Having a boyfriend was practically impossible until she met a guy that wasn't afraid to stand up to them - Dominic. He was sweet, thoughtful, and everything MacKenzie ever wanted in a man. But when they go away to college at Old Dominion University, MacKenzie sees a whole new side of Dominic and begins to wonder if he really is different from every other guy. Her world is turned upside down after a party, and her brothers' best friend Hunter is the one there to offer her a shoulder to cry on. The chemistry between them is electric, and feelings for each other that have been hidden for years are finally voiced. Is Hunter willing to be disloyal to his best friends in order to be with the one girl he's always secretly wanted?New Adult Contemporary Romance: Due to strong language, and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.

Sophie & Carter


Chelsea Fine - 2011
    Carter is overwhelmed by issues at home as he struggles to support his mother. Meanwhile, next door neighbor Sophie is left to care for her three younger siblings in place of their absent and troubled mother. All that holds these two best friends together is each other, and knowing that each night they'll sit together on Sophie's front porch swing and escape from reality, if just for awhile. But as their relationship reaches a turning point and high school graduation nears, will their friendship become something more?

Babe in Boyland


Jody Gehrman - 2011
    Aphrodite, as she calls herself when writing the relationship column for her school paper-is accused of knowing nothing about guys and giving girls bad relationship advice, she decides to investigate what guys really think and want. But the guys in her class won't give her straight or serious answers. The only solution? Disguising herself as a guy and spending a week at Underwood Academy, the private all-boy boarding school in town. There she learns a lot about guys and girls in ways she never expected-especially when she falls for her dreamy roommate, Emilio. How can she show him she likes him without blowing her cover?

Shark Bait


Jenn Cooksey - 2012
    However, what will her fate be when she endeavors to flag down the only lifeguard on duty, the enormously popular and ridiculously beautiful Tristan Daniels? The most sought after and virtually most unattainable guy in school who not only makes Camie’s heart flatline on a recurring basis, he’s also the one guy who seemingly doesn’t know she exists.Feeling like an inept piece of chum that could ultimately be swallowed by Jaws, can Camie get Tristan to rescue her from floundering in the treacherous deep, or is she destined to be Shark Bait?Author's Note: While the tales themselves are fictional, some of the events and characters are very loosely based in reality and on my experiences—but don’t worry, the names of the characters, most of their unfortunate fashion sense and/or questionable taste in music has been changed to protect the not-so innocent. Due to language and some adult content, this book may not be suitable for readers under the age of 16.

Significance


Shelly Crane - 2011
    She was smart and on track, but her mom left, her dad is depressed, she's graduating, barely, and her boyfriend of almost three years dumped her for a college football scholarship. Lately she thinks life is all about hanging on by a thread and is gripping tight with everything she has. Then she meets Caleb. She saves his life and instantly knows there's something about him that's intriguing, but she's supposed to be on her way to a date with his cousin. Things change when they touch, sparks ignite. Literally. They imprint with each other and she sees their future life together flash before her eyes. She learns that not only is she his soul mate, and can feel his heartbeat in her chest, but there is a whole other world of people with gifts and abilities that she never knew existed. She herself is experiencing supernatural changes unlike anything she's ever felt before and she needs the touch of his skin to survive. Now, not only has her dad come out of his depression to be a father again, and a pain as well, but Caleb's enemies know he's imprinted and are after Maggie to stop them both from gaining their abilities and take her from him. Can Caleb save her or will they be forced to live without each other after just finding one another?

Play With Me


Piper Shelly - 2012
    And tonight she’s going to be there.Lisa Matthews anticipates the return of her best friend and only love since kindergarten from soccer camp. But when Tony finally shows up, his mind is more focused on another girl. And worse, she’s a soccer player. Fighting for the attention Lisa craves, she’s just a hairbreadth away from making a very stupid decision. But when extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, she’s prepared to play ball to get her man.The tryouts are hell, the first match ends bloody, and the morning after the selection party she wakes up in the worst place possible—in the arms of the captain of the soccer team. The hottest guy in school… Ryan Hunter.

The Revenge Playbook


Rachael Allen - 2015
    One plan. And the night that changes everything.Liv is the girl everyone gossips about. But when the rumors threaten to crack her relationship with her longtime boyfriend, she’s desperate to prove that not everything you hear is true.Peyton is the girl no one knows. But flying under the radar doesn’t mean she’s willing to let people walk all over her.Melanie Jane is the girl everyone wants to be or be with. Beautiful, sassy, and untouchable, she breaks hearts before hers gets broken. Most of the time.Ana is the girl no one talks to. Not after what happened at the party that ended her friendship with Melanie Jane.They have nothing in common…except for revenge.In the small town of Ranburne, high school football rules and the players are treated like kings. How they treat the girls they go to school with? That's a completely different story. Liv, Peyton, Melanie Jane, and Ana each have their own reason for wanting to teach the team a lesson—but it’s only when circumstances bring them together that they come up with the plan to steal the one thing the boys hold sacred.All they have to do is beat them at their own game.

Rule #1: You Can't Date the Coach's Daughter


Anne-Marie Meyer - 2018
    Unfortunately for me, I’m the latter. Even though I’m around hot football players every afternoon, they are not allowed to date me. If they even come close to flirting, my dad, Coach “The Boss” Davis, makes them run laps around the field until they puke. Nothing scares off a boy more than the threat of physical pain. Not only has he forbidden me to date anyone at all, he’s even made me the football team’s water girl so that he can keep tabs on me. Apparently, over protective dad is a fabulous guy deterrent. Outdoor shops should find a way to bottle it and sell it. They’d make a killing. What Dad doesn’t know is that I spend every last second of those two blissful hours of practice in the scorching California heat, staring at Tyson Blake. He is the epitome of perfection in a six-foot-two, incredibly toned, smells-good-even-when-he-sweats, senior body. And when he smiles, angels sing. Literally. And Dad hates him. It feels a bit cliche to say I fell for the one guy that would send Dad’s already high blood pressure over the the top. But it’s true. There’s something about Tyson. Something he’s trying to hide. But I can see through his cocky persona and I know there’s something more.

Geek Girl


Cindy C. Bennett - 2010
    Instead, the goth girl finds herself sucked into his world of sci-fi movies, charity work, and even -ugh!- bowling. To truly belong with him -and with her new foster family- she must first come to terms with her violent past.

Starry Eyes


Jenn Bennett - 2018
    It doesn’t hurt that their families are the modern-day Californian version of the Montagues and Capulets.But when a group camping trip goes south, Zorie and Lennon find themselves stranded in the wilderness. Alone. Together.What could go wrong?With no one but each other for company, Zorie and Lennon have no choice but to hash out their issues via witty jabs and insults as they try to make their way to safety. But fighting each other while also fighting off the forces of nature makes getting out of the woods in one piece less and less likely.And as the two travel deeper into Northern California’s rugged backcountry, secrets and hidden feelings surface. But can Zorie and Lennon’s rekindled connection survive out in the real world? Or was it just a result of the fresh forest air and the magic of the twinkling stars?

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.

Amplified


Tara Kelly - 2011
    Jasmine finds the ideal room in an oceanfront house, but she needs to convince the three guys living there that she's the perfect roommate and lead guitarist for their band, C-Side. Too bad she has major stage fright and the cute bassist doesn't think a spoiled girl from over the hill can hack it. . . In this fresh new novel by critically acclaimed author Tara Kelly, Jasmine finds out what happens when her life gets Amplified.

Keep Me Still


Caisey Quinn - 2013
    When she runs into Landen at freshmen orientation, she has a choice to make. Reinforce those steel walls she's built up around herself or give the only boy who can keep her still a second chance.Landen’s more than ready to tear down those walls, but this time when they come crashing down, they might bury her* This special edition of Keep Me Still includes the novella, Let You Leave:Layla Flaherty had the perfect life, or close to it. Until a stranger gunned her parents down right in front of her, leaving her with seizure inducing PTSD. After years of trying to pass as normal and failing miserably, she resigns herself to being invisible. But new to town Landen O’Brien sees her, and he likes what he sees. Much to Layla’s surprise, he doesn’t freak out when she has a seizure in front of him. He does the exact opposite, calming her until the tremors subside. But Landen has secrets of his own. Secrets that will either bind them together or tear them apart.

After Math


Denise Grover Swank - 2013
    A mathematics major, she goes to her classes, to her job in the tutoring lab, and then hides in the apartment she shares with her friend, Caroline.After junior Tucker Price, Southern University’s star soccer player enters the equation, her carefully plotted life is thrown off its axis. Tucker’s failing his required College Algebra class. With his eligibility is at risk, the university chancellor dangles an expensive piece of computer software for the math department if Scarlett agrees to privately tutor him.Tucker’s bad boy, womanizer reputation makes Scarlett wary of any contact, let alone spending several hours a week in close proximity.But from her first encounter, she realizes Tucker isn’t the person everyone else sees. He carries a mountain of secrets which she suspects hold the reason to his self-destructive behavior. But the deeper she delves into the cause of his pain, the deeper she gets sucked into his chaos. Will Scarlett find the happiness she’s looking for, or will she be caught in Tucker’s aftermath?

Tripping Me Up


Amber Garza - 2013
    No one in my high school seems to notice me at all. When they finally do it's because the popular Tripp Bauer accidently smacks me in the face with a wad of paper. Talk about humiliating.Only now he keeps talking to me.At first it was to apologize, and I figured once I forgave him he'd go away. But he doesn't, and now my feelings for him are starting to grow. And that scares me. Guys like Tripp Bauer don't fall for girls like me. Or do they?