Book picks similar to
Risk by Marissa Holan


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new-adult
college
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Escape


C. Shell - 2013
    It has gone through an extensive re-write, plot, cover, and title change. It will be re-published 4-20-19 as Dirty Love & Filthy Lies

Park and Violet


Marian Tee - 2013
    Once, she loved being the Queen of Flirts, loved playing hard-to-get and, eventually, getting caught. Now, she can’t get enough distance between her and all the boys in the world. Well,all the boys except for Park Jin. Park is like no guy she’s ever met. He’s a 20-year-old Nordic god with a strange accent, or at least that’s one of Violet’s better descriptions of him. Most times, when they’re, literally, fighting like cats and dogs, she prefers to think of him as the blond gorilla, he’s a foul-mouthed jerk who calls her a banshee, a midget, and every other ugly nickname that comes to his nasty mind, goes out of his way to be rude to Violet, and, best of all, he hates girls. Both Park and Violet carry scars in their hearts, scars that they’re desperate to hide. In each other, they find the unlikeliest allies, a way to keep themselves apart from everyone else and, more importantly, from ever falling in love again. Yet when they’re not on each other’s throats Park and Violet can’t help succumbing to the intense chemistry between them. As kisses outnumber hisses, there’s a question that’s getting harder and harder for the two to ignore. Is it time to risk their hearts again?

Indelible


Bethany Lopez - 2013
    Things are going great until a one-night stand leaves her pregnant and alone. Raising a child while going to school isn’t easy, but Sam is determined to be strong for her daughter. She doesn’t have time for guys or relationships, but the pull she feels toward Judd is more than she can ignore.Judd doesn’t fit the mold of a college ballplayer. His motorcycle and tattoos may fit the life he’s created for himself, but baseball is the one thing he takes seriously. When he meets Sam, he’s immediately drawn to her curves and refusal to put up with his crap. When Judd learns the truth, can he handle the responsibility that comes with loving a single mother? Sam yearns for the fire Judd fuels in her, but her child’s needs have to come first. Can two people at different stages in their life find a way to make a life together?*Want more? Read Karrie's story in Frat House Confessions: Ridge

Confetti, Cake & Confessions


K.C. Wells - 2014
    When Tony’s mother Marie and Marc’s father Dennis decide to tie the knot at last, it should be an occasion of great joy for everyone. Except all Marc can think about is having to spend the next two weeks with the young man he’s been in love with since he was sixteen. Tony feels so torn about Marc coming home from college. He keeps telling himself that it’s wrong to feel this way about him. After all, in two weeks’ time they’ll be related. So when the two young men are thrown together to prepare for the wedding, tensions rise and discoveries are made.It’s going to be a very long two weeks, and a wedding that no one will ever forget.

When Our Worlds Ignite


Lindsey Iler - 2016
    Dan Forrester and Violet Jones are the perfect couple. His devotion to the charismatic, beautiful firecracker has been the envy of their friends since high school. Until the day she throws his love in his face and walks away from them. Watching her change into someone she’s not is the most challenging thing he’s ever done. Loving Dan is impossible until Violet learns who she is. Violet’s concept of true love is shattered when her parents announce their divorce. Doubt taints everything she thought to be true. Fear becomes the reason for every decision she makes. Determined to find out who she really is, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery. Loving someone often means giving her the time and space she needs. As Dan and Violet smolder in a failed relationship, life takes them in opposite directions. But will love ignite the ashes and bring them back to where they belong?

Finding Our Way


Ahren Sanders - 2015
    Schoolgirl Crush. Complete Adoration. All of these words describe the way I’ve felt about Bryce Randolph since the day he walked through my door. I was twelve and he was my brother’s best friend, but he never treated me as the pesky little sister. As the years went on, my feelings grew stronger. The day I turned eighteen was supposed to be the best day of my life, instead it became the worst. Heartbreak, Devastation, Anguish. With the right amount of time and distance, the ache lessens. My new life has no room for the endless tears I cried for months. Emotionally, Bryce betrayed me and caused a deep heartache I never thought I’d overcome. Now, I’m stronger, more focused, and extremely guarded. Moving on helped me find clarity and build a new path for my future. Just as things seem to fall into place, Bryce finds me. He’s a man on a mission and I’m the mission. His determination and persistence becomes hard to ignore. Is it possible we may just have the future I always dreamed about? Due to graphic language and sexual situations, this novella is recommended to readers 18+

Divided


Livia Jamerlan - 2013
    A great job, amazing friends, and a loving fiancé. Traveling to Las Vegas for her bachelorette party, she never expects to come across someone who rocks her world the way Ryan Kraft does. Though they only share a few hours together, the connection she feels with him is undeniable. Thinking that her feelings for him may be cold feet she brushes it off and attempts to focus on her fiancé and their impending nuptials. Heartbroken by her fiancé only days before their wedding, she finds herself needing to escape, needing to hide from reality. Though Alani knows that Ryan lives in Grand Forks, North Dakota, she never thought their paths would cross again while she is there.Their friendship changes to something more with a good night kiss. Needing to be with Ryan, she leaves her old life in New Jersey behind and moves halfway across the country. As they journey together in a new relationship Alani has to adapt to life in a new city, new job, as well as dealing with Ryan's ex-girlfriend Stephanie, who is waiting for the perfect moment to get Ryan back. But will her fiancé let Alani walk away from him without a fight? Will Alani's love for Ryan be enough for her to stay with him through turmoil? Or will Stephanie’s secret tear them apart?

Loving the Senator


Mia Villano
    He’s gorgeous, rich, and has just been elected to the United States Senate by the state of Virginia. But for the past few years, something has plagued Alex. Something has been missing from his life of privilege and opportunity. Something he has never allowed himself to acknowledge, until the night of his election. Prudence Romaine is seventeen years Alex’s junior. The daughter of a friend whose life had taken a wrong turn, Prudence came into Alex’s life when she was just sixteen. Despite the passage of time and evidence to the contrary, Alex still thinks of Prudence as the little girl he once tried to rescue. On election night, the sexual tension between Prudence and the senator reaches a tipping point. Prudence has been in love with Alex for some time, and now that she is in a position to do something about it, she has her aim set on Senator Conrad with no plans of giving up. But Alex is already committed and a scandal is the last thing the newly-elected politician needs. As Alex pushes Prudence away, convinced their relationship can only end badly for them both, Prudence becomes even more determined to have Alex Conrad in her bed as well as her heart. And Alex? He can only hold out for so long. And once he gives in, the passion they've held back for years threatens to undo them. But loving the senator is not all it's cracked up to be. Prudence must learn to handle the pressure that comes with being with a high-profile politician, Alex's jealous ex-girlfriend, and the demands of the people, if she wants to make this work. Loving the Senatoris an erotic romance aimed at mature audiences and is part of the Capitol Affairs series of novels.

Forever Altered


D.J. Pierson - 2013
    The two of them were best friends for as long as she could remember. He had always been her rock and now he was the cause of her pain. They were supposed to finish college, get married, and live happily ever after. Her hopes and dreams were destroyed, along with her faith in the opposite sex. That is until Rocco Matthews walks into her life. Rocco is devastatingly handsome, smart, charming as hell, a play-the-field kind of guy. Unfortunately, he has his own issues that need to be dealt with. When Alyssa attempts to keep her distance from him, he tries even harder to get closer to her. What happens after that will leave them both…Forever Altered.

Unmistakable


Lauren Abrams - 2013
    I hate his stupid, laughing eyes, and his stupid, magnificent body, and the stupid way he looks at me and takes away all of the not-completely-insane parts of myself. The few I have left.I hate everything about him, but I can’t ignore the truth lurking underneath the haze of my anger, beating its unmistakable rhythm: I want to stand in his fire. I want to be consumed.After a tragic crime leaves her physically and emotionally damaged, eighteen-year-old Stella Granger struggles to come to terms with the collapse of her idyllic life. Desperate for anonymity, she escapes to Greenview College, exchanging charity balls and pastel cardigans for frat parties and black leather boots. Three years later, she’s finally managed to put the pieces of herself back together. Holden Evans, her absurdly handsome psychology professor, might be the most annoying person she’s ever met, but he’s a welcome distraction. In fact, Stella can almost forget that Luke Dixon, her brother’s best friend and the man who saved her life, ever existed. Luke, the rebellious son of a British billionaire, hasn’t forgotten about her. When a chance meeting threatens to unearth long-suppressed secrets and desires, the battle lines are drawn. The universe may have conspired to bring them together, but Stella’s gotten pretty sick of near-death experiences and she doesn’t want to play Luke’s treacherous games.However, she may have underestimated one tiny truth—need beats want. Every single time.

Always


Ellery Rhodes - 2013
    She transfers to a new school, determined to leave the past behind. But when she's paired up with Lucas McNamara, the 'boy next door' all deliciously grown up, she knows she's in trouble. Back then she didn't understand why her mother, who used to work for Lucas' family, told her not to get attached. But they were inseparable -until her mother was fired because the McNamaras don't mix with the help.He never thought he'd see her again...Lucas McNamara knew there was something familiar about his biology partner and is floored when it hits him. She's 'Julie'--the barefoot beauty who was unlike any girl he'd ever met then or since. While years have passed and he's far from the carefree kid that Juliet once knew, one thing remains the same. He wants her. He's always wanted her--but he's the heir to the McNamara multi-million dollar empire and his family is hell bent on keeping them apart.

Hope's Chance


Jennifer Foor - 2012
    A Hope and a Chance is based on the story formally known as Hope's Chance with changes/updates to some character names and information.When Hope's parents divorced two years ago, her life was turned upside down. To pass the time and avoid family issues, she took extra classes and graduated six months before turning eighteen. After being estranged for more than a year, her father moves back to their hometown. Hope is reluctant to visit him for the first time, but her mother insists. The visit to his new mansion is not what she expected until she meets the secret guy living in the pool house.A year ago, Chance Avery was on his way to a law degree courtesy of Penn State University, but something terrible happened. Chance has lost everyone in his life, except for his sister. When she moves to Virginia, he has no choice but to come along. With an agreement to renovate the Mansion, he gets to live in the pool house on the property. His life is boring and meaningless, until one day someone comes barging in his door.When Hope and Chance run into each other again, they end up spending the night together, thinking they never have to see each other again. Then Hope finds out she has to move in with her father, who has already warned Chance that he is not allowed to touch his daughter.Staying apart is a lot harder than either of them expected, and soon their feelings intensify to a breaking point, leaving them helplessly in love with one another. Will they be able to hide their relationship until Hope turns eighteen?

The Bride Series Box Set: The Bride, The Wife, The Lover


S. Doyle - 2018
    I’m sixteen and I’m getting married. Super weird, I know. It was just my me and my dad. We lived on a cattle ranch in Montana. He died suddenly, leaving me an orphan (which is still a thing). I’m sixteen months away from being a legal adult, so I have two choices. A foster home or marry Jake Talley. My Dad’s foreman and really, my best friend. It’s legal. It solves all my problems. Except now I’m living with Riverbend’s hottest cowboy - my husband in name only - and I’m still in high school. Where no one wants to date Weird Married Ellie. Still all we have to do is wait until I'm eighteen to get a divorce. Then Jake and I can go back to being normal. We’ve got this. Right? Jake I never saw this coming. Married. To a kid I’ve known her whole life. But there was no way in hell I was going to let her live at a foster home. The ranch is where she belongs. Sure we’re married but it’s not real. Just a piece of paper. My girlfriend is furious. But I know I’m doing the right thing. For sixteen months, it’s me and Ellie against the world. No big deal. Or is it?

The Question


Zena Wynn - 2009
    Complicating the decision is Gail's recent loss of her husband and toddler son in a fatal car accident, two years earlier.

Saving Toby


Suzanne McKenna Link - 2013
    The Faye name is infamous in Claudia’s sleepy Long Island bayside town. She remembered Toby Faye only as the tough, moody kid in school who couldn't make eye contact with her. She might have forgotten him if it weren't for the horrific drama surrounding his family.When a job opportunity drops Claudia back into Toby's life, she discovers the once skinny, troubled boy is now a charismatic and playful package of muscle and swagger. Despite her attempt to ignore Toby, his loving relationship with his ailing mother gets Claudia's attention and wins her heart. A good girl mixing it up with the town bad-boy is a huge risk, but Toby’s blue-grey eyes expose a need Claudia cannot ignore. Does Claudia have the grit to love Toby through his inevitable downfall?Saving Toby is the first standalone novel in the stirring Save Me new adult romance series.