Book picks similar to
Her Defiant Heart by Monica Murphy


new-adult
romance
contemporary
college-romance

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T.R. Graves - 2013
    After a little snooping, she's convinced she's well on her way toward hearing an once-in-a-lifetime proposal and starring in the wedding-of-the-year event. Instead, she's blindsided by a very public breakup and the crushing news that Colt is marrying someone else… someone more befitting him and the role his father expects him to take in his law firm.Baylee may have spent years resenting Ariana, her mother, and her suicide, an intolerable show of weakness in Baylee's opinion, but after Colt leaves her just short of the altar, Baylee sees the world through her mother's eyes. She sympathizes with Ariana's actions and realizes that some things—soul-deep aches—can irreparably damage you and make moving on nearly impossible.At least that's how she feels until she meets Ryker. With his help, Baylee discovers there is life after Colt, and she prepares to move on by pulling herself up by the bootstraps, holding her head high, and standing on her own two feet. Unfortunately, a new jealous and hateful Colt has his own plans for her, and they are plans no one—especially Baylee—ever saw coming.

Shattered Ties


K.A. Robinson - 2013
    Nothing is as perfect as it seems though. After her parents divorce, she’s forced to live with her mother in a private Santa Monica community. Ignoring their parental roles, her mother becomes more focused on climbing the social ladder while her father is off on tour. Growing up in a trailer park with his mother, Jesse is used to people looking down on him. When his mother begs him to submit an application for a scholarship to one of Santa Monica’s top private schools, he never expects to actually get it. When he does, he is forced to attend school with a bunch of rich kids. He ignores their stares as they judge him for having tattoos and a less than impressive car. As long as he has his surfboard and the guys at the tattoo shop, he knows he can make it through. When Jesse shows up on the first day of school, Emma can’t help but be intrigued. Her mother would never approve of Emma talking to someone so poor, but she doesn’t care because something about Jesse draws her to him. Jesse tries to hate Emma, but he discovers that he can’t resist her. Forced to hide their relationship from Emma’s mother and everyone else around them, things start to fall apart. When Jesse’s friend, Ally, decides to interfere, things go from bad to worse. Can they survive their first love? Or will they be left with nothing more than shattered ties?Book 1 of a 2 book series. **18+ for sexual situations, cursing, and adult content.***Book Two: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Waking Up Married


Mira Lyn Kelly - 2012
    Even worse, she's in a stranger's penthouse having woken up with something else as well - a funny, arrogant, sexy...husband!Up until now, finding even a boyfriend had seemed impossible - been there, got the broken heart, sworn off men for good. Then a few martinis with Carter...no, Connor Reed and she's gone from first meet to marriage in one night!Megan wants a lawyer. But Connor's shocking bombshell? "I don't want a divorce."

I Want It That Way


Ann Aguirre - 2014
    But between maintaining her college scholarship and working at the local day care to support herself, she barely has time to think, let alone date. Then she moves into a new apartment and meets the taciturn yet irresistible guy in 1B…. Daniel Tyler has grown up too fast. Becoming a single dad at twenty turned his life upside down—and brought him heartache he can't risk again. Now, as he raises his four-year-old son while balancing a full-time construction management job and night classes, a social life is out of the question. The last thing he wants is for four noisy students to move into the apartment upstairs. But one night, Nadia's and Ty's paths cross, and soon they can't stay away from each other. The timing is all wrong—but love happens when it happens. And you can't know what you truly need until you stand to lose it.

Something Beautiful


Jamie McGuire - 2015
    Unlike his cousins, Shepley is more lover than fighter, but a road trip to her parents' home in Wichita, Kansas could mean the next step, or the end of everything.

Getting Lucky Number Seven


Cindi Madsen - 2015
    While every other college student is out having fun, Lyla is studying. With her cat. Well, she's played it "safe" quite enough, thank you. So she creates a "College Bucket List"―with item #7 being a night of uninhibited, mind-blowing sex...But she needs some help from her man-whore best friend.Hockey player Beck Davenport thought Lyla's transformation would be subtle. Man, was he wrong. With every item she ticks off, Beck finds himself growing seriously hot for his sweet, brainiac best friend. And if he's not careful, he'll end up risking their friendship in order to convince Lyla that he might just be her lucky #7...

Into the Deep


Samantha Young - 2013
    Live hard. Love deep.Charley Redford was just an ordinary girl until Jake Caplin moved to her small town in Indiana and convinced her she was extraordinary. Almost from day one Jake pulled Charley into the deep and promised he was right there with her. But when a tragic incident darkened Jake’s life he waded out into the shallows and left Charley behind.Almost four years later Charley thinks she’s moved on. That is until she takes a study year abroad in Edinburgh and bumps into none other than Jake Caplin at a party with his new girlfriend. The bad-boy-turned-good attempts to convince Charley to forgive him, and as her best friend starts spending time with Jake’s, Charley calls a truce, only to find herself tumbling back into a friendship with him.As they grow closer, the spark between them flares and begins playing havoc with their lives and relationships. When jealousy and longing rear their destructive heads, Charley and Jake struggle to come to grips with what they mean to one another.And even if they work it out, there is no guarantee Charley will ever trust Jake to lead her back into the deep…

The Hunter


L.J. Shen - 2020
    Like Stonehenge, Police Academy 2, and morning glory clouds.It just happened.Now my ball-busting father is sentencing me to six months of celibacy, sobriety, and morbid boredom under the roof of Boston’s nerdiest girl alive, Sailor Brennan.The virginal archer is supposed to babysit my ass while I learn to take my place in Royal Pipelines, my family’s oil company.Little does she know, that’s not the only pipe I’ll be laying…SailorI didn’t want this gig, okay?But the deal was too sweet to walk away from.I needed the public endorsement; Hunter needed a nanny.Besides, what’s six months in the grand scheme of things?It’s not like I’m in danger of falling in love with the appallingly gorgeous, charismatic gazillionaire who happens to be one of Boston’s most eligible bachelors.No. I will remain immune to Hunter Fitzpatrick’s charm.Even at the cost of losing everything I have.Even at the cost of burning down his kingdom.

Risking Trust


Casey Diam - 2018
    . . PAIGEShattered, cold, and numb.That’s all I’ve felt since my family was murdered. Still, five years later, it’s hard to breathe, to focus, and to trust anyone. Until I meet him, Caleb Conner. With him, life feels more alive, less scary—despite how strong, lethal, and extremely sexy he is. He’s everything I shouldn’t want, let alone trust. But it’s now or never, and it’s been a long time coming.It’s time for me to welcome danger. I’m finally ready—and willing. After all, Caleb is all that I crave. CALEBAn opportunity. A target. On my father’s radar.I should avoid her at all cost. But Paige Sawyer draws me in, and pushes my boundaries.With her, I am teetering between darkness and light. The truth is, I’m connected to the one person who wants her dead.I’m determined to protect her—save her from them. But is she ready to risk everything, and trust a trained assassin who has never been in love?Book ONE of THREE in the Danger and Attraction Trilogy. Previously Titled, Trust in the THINGS THAT MATTER SERIES now named the DANGER AND ATTRACTION SERIES! If you like broken heroes, and a sexy, suspenseful romance filled with twists and turns, then you will love Casey Diam’s exhilarating trilogy, Danger & Attraction.

Definitely, Maybe in Love


Ophelia London - 2013
    Both seem hopelessly unobtainable until her college professor suggests that with a new angle, her paper could be published. Spring swears she’ll do whatever it takes to ensure that happens.“Whatever it takes,” however, means forming a partnership with the very hot, very privileged, very conceited Henry Knightly.Henry is Spring's only hope at publication, but he's also the über-rich son of a land developer and cash-strapped Spring’s polar opposite. Too bad she can't help being attracted to the way he pushes her buttons, both politically and physically. As they work on her thesis, Spring finds there's more to Henry than his old money and argyle sweaters…but can she drop the loud-and-proud act long enough to let him in? Suddenly, choosing between what she wants and what she needs puts Spring at odds with everything she believes in.Definitely, Maybe in Love is a modern take on Pride and Prejudice that proves true love is worth risking a little pride.

Drumline


Stacy Kestwick - 2017
    Especially in the South. College football. Rivalries. Tailgating. Halftime shows. Some things just don’t change. Until Reese Holland shows up with her long legs and no-bullsh*t attitude to audition for the prestigious all-male Rodner University snare line. It doesn’t matter how much hazing she has to endure from Laird Bronson, with his narrowed green eyes and arrogant smirk. She wants that damn spot, and she’s more than good enough to earn it. She expects there to be tension. Even friction. But not sparks hot enough to burn the entire campus down. ***Drumline is a standalone college romance.

Nothing But Trouble


Ashley Bostock - 2018
    There was a time when he was a naive fool in love. Crazy enough, getting left at the altar will change that.He doesn’t have time to hand-pick his dates. Luckily, his secretary gets the job done—thank you, grandma—ahem, Regina. All women want is money and sex anyway, so getting paired up with the next flavor du jour isn’t ever a problem. Not with his looks. Not with the size of his back account. Not with the size of his...yeah. No complaints in that department.It has never been a problem, until it is.When grandma doesn’t come through, he needs to find a date. One night. Having no other choice, Michael puts his matchmaking company to the ultimate test. He creates his own profile to find a match.He wasn’t expecting to walk away with a fake fiancé.Let alone one a secret that could ruin his reputation.Ah, cake, anyone?

Childstar 1


J.J. McAvoy - 2015
    Noah Sloan is America's bad boy. Both are former child stars and once were lovers. When they are cast as the leads in the upcoming erotic suspense blockbuster—Sinners Like Us—they are forced to come to terms with the issues that tore them apart to begin with. As the whole world watches, can they keep their secrets hidden? After all, everybody is a sinner…

Then Came Alexandra


E.L. Todd - 2014
    More than everything." Alexandra…After a horrific accident working as a nurse in the emergency room, Alexandra becomes reclusive to the world around her. Unable to be speak or function, she pushes away her boyfriend, Paul, of two years. Her distance causes him to spend time with someone else…the betrayal causes her to pack her bags and leave everything behind. She doesn’t know what comfort she’ll find in Savannah, Georgia, but she flees anyway.Blaise…After inheriting the most lucrative cotton field in the south, Blaise has to become a man early in life. He spends his nights with different girls, knowing they are after his money and his special abilities in the bedroom, but he makes a serious mistake with Danielle. Now she lives with him and he guards a secret that he promises to keep…even though that secret is destroying his life. When Alexandra comes into town, her smile and compassion evident, Blaise wants her, and not just in a physical way. Unable to keep his distance, he falls for her, not knowing how long he can keep his secret…

Hopeful


Louise Bay - 2014
    . . and I can’t give up hope that it might have been true. How long does it take to get over your first love?Eight years should be long enough. My mind knows that, but there’s no convincing my heart.Guys like Joel weren't supposed to fall for girls like me. He had his pick of women at University, but somehow the laws of nature were defied and we fell crazy in love.After graduation, Joel left to pursue his career in New York. He wanted me to go with him but my life was in London. We broke up and my heart split in two.I haven’t seen or spoken to him since he left.If only I’d known that I’d love him this long, this painfully, this desperately. I might have said yes all those years ago. He might have been mine all this time in between.Now, he’s moving back to London and I need to get over him before he gets over here.But how do I forget someone who gave me so much to remember?