Book picks similar to
Risk by Marissa Holan


new-adult
favorites
romance
college

Fresh Ice


Rachelle Vaughn - 2013
    This is one family reunion that could cost Sarah her life.

Urban Love Prophecy


Jessica Ingro - 2014
    This is the story of a man and a woman discovering love is blind to how you grew up, who your friends are, and where you live. Love sees only the heart and soul of whom it belongs to. Someone once said that the best way to predict the future is to invent it.As a boy, Jayson Santiago made a vow to leave behind the projects where he grew up. He planned to conquer the world and find a woman who could not only hold it down, but also hold him up. Now he’s the reigning king of hip-hop, and while he has the professional success he always wanted, he’s missing the personal success he craves. Victoria Watson is the daughter of an oil tycoon who never wanted for anything. Circumstances have forced her out of her protective bubble and into the real world, where she struggles to make ends meet while finding a way to get back the only important thing in her life.Will they be able to make Jayson’s prophecy come true? Or will they be pushed past their breaking point? It isn’t easy to keep focused on the heart and soul of the one you love when you’re always being tested. Then again, the best things in life are always worth fighting for...

Fate's Love


L.A. Cotton - 2014
    you should hold onto them.Olivia Bannon walked away.Twice. When 17-year-old Livy meets Ethan, she can’t deny their inexplicable connection. Lost in his dark, intense eyes and smile-to-die-for, Livy never thought she would feel like this. It almost makes her want to break her childhood vow, but Livy knows happily ever after is just an illusion, and despite her heart wanting Ethan, her head is telling her to stick with the plan. The one that doesn’t include falling in love. Period.Eight years later, Livy finds herself back in her hometown. After the way she left things, the last time they were together, Livy is anxious about seeing Ethan again. It shouldn’t come as a shock to discover he has finally moved on—but it hurts. A lot. Accepting that she will never get the chance to put things right isn’t easy, but it’s not until life comes crashing down around her that Livy realizes what she could’ve had. Left broken, alone, and depressed, only one person can pull her out—the guy she thought she'd pushed away one too many times. Livy has finally realized that you can’t fight fate… Some things are just meant to be. Is this finally her time to get it right, or has Livy missed her last chance with Ethan?

Saving Amy


Nicola Haken - 2013
    She drinks, she sleeps around, she cuts… anything to help her escape the agonising existence growing up between her mother’s drunken wails and her father’s fists. But nothing works. There is no escape. And Amy wants out…Enter Richard Lewis – the doctor responsible for saving Amy’s life after her drink and drug-fuelled suicide attempt. Thanks to his own hidden demons, Richard is drawn to Amy and her situation, and despite the incessant warnings from both his own mind and his jealous ex-lover Joanna, he feels compelled to help her.But how will Amy feel when she discovers Richard’s attachment to her is born out of his own guilt? He was her last resort – her last chance at being saved. Can anybody save Amy, or has she finally reached the end of a very long, torturous road?(Not suitable for under 18's due to language, scenes of self-harm and sexual content)

Crossing Stars


Nicole Williams - 2014
    While the public assumes organized crime is nothing more than a chapter torn out of America’s history, the Costa and Moran families battle for territory and domination.Caught up in the middle of this sinister world is Josette, the only child of Salvatore Costa, the ringleader and notorious godfather of Chicago’s Italian mafia. After the Irish Morans attempted to assassinate her when she was a child, Josette’s parents hid her behind the walls of their sprawling estate and kept her contact with outsiders to a minimum. But now Josette’s eighteen, and she’s questioning if a long life behind walls is worth trading for a potentially short one filled with excitement and adventure and all the things she’s only lived in her dreams.On the night she decides to risk becoming just an anonymous face in the crowd, Josette realizes that death isn’t only a possibility—it’s a certainty. Yet when a young man comes to her rescue, the turbulent waters between life and death are further muddied.

Teach Me


Sloan Johnson - 2014
    He was finally free to live his life without secrets. More confident in himself, he foolishly thought his family would accept him if he came out. Now, he's gone from traveling the world with his family to living on the streets while trying to find a way to pay for college. He'll never again make the mistake of trusting others to help him.David's family struggled to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads when he was a child, but there was one constant in their home: Love. He's worked hard to earn a position as a tenured professor and build a home of his own.Offering a helping hand to the insecure college student, David realizes he's been so focused on his material worth, he's neglected finding someone to share his life with. Can he break through Austin's defenses and show him he's worthy of love?

This Time Around


Ellie Grace - 2013
    Now, four years later, she returns home and is forced to confront the past she left behind and the reckless boy who broke her heart. It’s not long before the pieces of her past begin to blur with the present and she realizes that the feelings she had for her first love never really went away. As old dreams resurface and new truths come to light, she begins to question the future she's always planned on.Jake Harris has spent four years regretting the night he let her get away. When she finally reappears in his life, he is determined to win her back and prove how much he’s changed. She might never forgive him for that night, but if he tells her the truth about what really happened it will shatter the world she thought she knew. If he doesn’t, he might not get a second chance. He’s already lost her once and he won’t lose her again.They come from two different worlds that are threatening to tear them apart…can they make it this time around?

With Every Heartbeat


Melody Grace - 2013
    The city of young lovers, dark secrets, and intoxicating new desire… I thought I knew what I wanted in life. I thought my destiny was set. Then I met him, and everything changed. Raphael is bold, passionate, and seductive. He sees something in me I never dreamed possible, and now he's determined to show me a world beyond rules -- a dance without limits. I want to trust him, but I'm scared. Because I know once I fall, there'll be no going back. An innocent dancer. A mysterious stranger. As Annalise is drawn deeper into the sensual delights of Rome, she'll question everything she believed about her future. But with opening night looming, can she find the strength to risk it all? And will she be forced to choose between her one true love, ballet, and the new passion in her heart?** This book contains adult content. 17+ **

His Reverie


Monica Murphy - 2014
    The only girl I could ever want.The only girl I could ever love.She is light.I am darkness.She is innocent.I’ve done too much.She is good.I am bad.She is my every dream.I should be her every nightmare.We come from different worlds. She’s…perfect. And I’m…Not.Somehow she wants me anyway. So we’ll grasp at what we can. We’re going to make this summer count. She’s my secret. And I’m hers.The problem with secrets is they never last for long. And when others discover we’re together, they’ll do whatever it takes to keep us apart. All I know is: I won’t let them.Because Reverie Hale? She’s mine.

Needing You


T. Renee Fike - 2013
    She does what she needs to get by and doesn't have time for friends let alone a boyfriend. She’s determined to push people away, but there’s one person who’s eager to get to know her. Tuck is a sexy bad boy who doesn't do relationships and makes no apologies for his own actions. He sets his eyes on the strong, independent Harper and will not take no for an answer. Will Tuck be able to change his bad boy ways to show Harper who he really is? Does he want to or does he only want her as another notch on his bedpost? Both Harper and Tuck have secrets that they’d rather hide and forget but secrets always have a way of coming out. Will Tuck and Harper be able to deal with their personal demons or will it rip them further apart? Will everything Harper worked so hard for crumble to the ground or will she realize that needing you is all she has ever really needed?

Crossing the Lines


S.J. Hooks - 2017
    Thorne, both in and out of the bedroom. Their relationship is meant to be strictly business but as lines are crossed and secrets revealed, Abigail finds herself struggling not to fall head over heels in love with her reclusive Sir, thus putting their arrangement in jeopardy.

Not Enough


Leigh Ann Lunsford - 2013
    After years of not being enough for her parents, or the dreams she once had, how did one man Colby James show her she was actually more than enough?Raised by her grandparents with her three siblings, Brielle was loved, no doubt. However, her grandparents were taken too soon, and she was left with her older sibling to try to raise her younger ones. She couldn’t help but let the doubts take over her life. Would she ever be enough? Then Colby walked in and changed everything, and just when she was facing her fears and falling in love for the first time, Colby ripped her heart out. Will they be able to get past their mistakes to live the life they both want? Did Colby finally break Brielle when all he wanted to do was protect and love her? You can rebound from some mistakes, but some you just have to learn from and walk away. The love they have is true and pure, but will they finally be enough for each other?

Fall with Me


Julie Particka - 2014
    But when he offers her a chance to get some revenge on her ex, she can hardly say no--even if spending more time with Sutton puts her heart in jeopardy all over again.Someone's going to get hurt…Sutton Bell has had a thing for Jenna since they were in high school, but after one screwed-up night, she didn’t want anything to do with him. Now, with just the summer before he leaves to begin his new career, Sutton’s determined to convince Jenna he’s not the player he used to be. But saving his sister from making an awful mistake may mean losing Jenna for good.

Inhale, Exhale


Sarah M. Ross - 2013
    When her mom insists she needs a summer job, and her boyfriend spends more time with his band than with her, Jillian’s plans go down the drain. Grant had a plan: finish his Masters, get a great job at Google, and get the hell out of Georgia. He might be giving up some of the fun of his youth, but he knows his all work and no play method would be worth it when his dreams came true. But things never go according to plan. When temptation brings them together and tragedy tears them apart, Jillian and Grant will be forced to choose: fight for their dreams, or fight for each other.

Distraction


Angela McPherson - 2014
    The longing for him to love her back is something she keeps well hidden, even from herself. No matter how many miles apart they are, regular phone calls and texts keep them close…until the day everything changes.Wide Receiver Tristan Daniels has a good thing going. Much to his, and every single woman’s surprise, he’s in a committed relationship. The possibility of going pro looks more than promising…until his spur of the moment transfer to a rival college is approved. Now, Tristan will be forced to be in the presence of the woman he’s secretly loved for as long as he can remember. Elle.Being away from one another was enough to keep Tristan and Elle distracted, but angst, confusion, and troubled secrets launches them into a breathless, heart pumping story you won’t want to miss!Recommended for ages 18+