Book picks similar to
UpSpark by Nicole Wells
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romance
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Perfectly Imperfect Mine (Garrison Brothers Book 1)
Amelia Shea - 2018
Bounty hunter Trey Stone is in the small town of Cedar Bluff on a special assignment. The plan is to complete the job and head back home…until he meets Sadie.From the moment Stone comes into the diner where she works, she is obsessed. Their first encounter leaves her fearing for her life. A dead body and her own abduction have Sadie steering clear of Stone.They both try to resist their need and desire for one another, which proves too strong to deny.When Stone stakes his claim, the night is filled with intense passion and fulfilled fantasies. What began as primal lust has culminated into a deeper connection. As Sadie and Stone begin to fall in love, secrets still stand between them. Stone’s refusal to discuss his work has Sadie wondering what he’s hiding. Her curiosity leads her to look into Stone’s business, and the discovery of a side to his life Sadie may not be able to accept. When the truth comes out, she will have to decide.
Always Beautiful
M.K. Oien - 2013
Breaking your nose, blackening your eyes, and making you second guess everything you’ve spent your entire life working toward. Do you ignore that ball and continue in the direction of security and stability? Or do you throw caution to the wind, follow your heart, and potentially become so damaged that you’ll never recover?Lucky Harris is a twenty-one-year-old college graduate embarking on an adventure to Portland, Oregon to continue medical school. She has a passion and drive to follow her dreams in the medical field. Her entire life has been carefully constructed with good grades, cautious behavior, and focusing solely on her future. That’s how it’s always been until Zeppelin Rhoades shows up on her doorstep. Literally. It’s only a matter of time before the once determined Lucky sets her sights on conquering a new goal. Spend as much time as humanly possible with Zeppelin. He’s a few years older, covered in tattoos, and lives his life one day at a time; never forgetting to enjoy the moment and take advantage of every breath he has.Experiencing an intensity she’s never known, passion she’s never felt, and a way to escape the mundane has her changing her once solid foundation. But seasons change and so do people. When she discovers Zeppelin is hiding something from her, those walls she let fall so easily begin to build back up. Zeppelin finally reveals his devastating secret and Lucky is left with two choices. Walk away and forget him entirely or take his hand and follow him into the darkness and sorrow.
The Summer Tour
Mandy Melanson - 2020
It’s impossible to tell one face from the next when I’m up there. The mixture of fog, lights, flashing lasers, my astigmatism, and whatever else they put into the air to keep the crowd happy… It’s all just a mix for a big bunch of blurry fuzzy whatnots. She was not a whatnot. She stood out in her ripped black jeans and that adorable neon yellow thing holding her hair up out of her face. I don’t even know what it’s called, but it was perfect. She was perfect. The bright pink tank top that hugged her in all the right places. Those bright yellow heels that made her back curve in just the right way. Those were definitely factors that caught my eye, but it's not why I can't get her out of my head. Her dark brown eyes and that smile—her smile. That’s it. That smile had me hooked from the second I ran on stage. I even stopped short of my mark and totally threw off the spotlight tracker. Why?Because I was too busy watching her and how she just fell into the rhythm of the music. It’s a good thing Chuck didn’t plan any pyro for tonight, or I might have been screwed.I’m not even entirely sure I sang the right lyrics to the first couple of songs. It was more a series of barely audible grunts, caveman style. Nash probably turned his mic up to help with the background vocals. They’ve all gotten really good at covering my ass over the years. I’m grateful the crowd didn’t seem to notice. All I could think about was trying to figure out a way to find out who she is. I still have nothing. So I’m sitting here like a lost, lonely little puppy just hoping to catch another glimpse. What if she leaves and doesn’t come through the line? I can see both Exit doors from here. I’m watching those two doors like a pitbull watches the gate at a junkyard. Maybe I am a lost, lonely little puppy. No.I am a pitbull puppy. And just like that pitbull, I will jump this table and bulldoze whoever gets in the way if I have to.
Devour
Shelly Crane - 2011
A wrestling star boyfriend, popular friends, all the right school activities...pretty much a perfect life...up until her parents died. Now she lives with the Pastor and his family and though they take good care of her, she feels alone. Then her boyfriend, Tate, starts to show signs of trouble when a new guy, Eli, comes to town. Clara is fascinated with him but hides it until something happens. Eli confesses to her that she gives him something he's never had before...something he needs. Everything is about to change for this normal pretty popular girl in a supernatural way.
Fighting for Foster
Bex Dane - 2020
She's forbidden. Unattainable. Out of my league.All these years, I've struggled to deny the relentless desire to make her mine.But not anymore.Her dysfunctional crime family is destroying her and breaking her soul.I can't let that happen.So I'm infiltrating her secret world to save her.But can I earn her trust and convince her to leave before we both get killed?If you like possessive alpha-males and edge-of-your-seat action, you'll love Fighting for Foster.
The Law of Moses
Amy Harmon - 2014
You will know it’s coming, and it will hurt. But you’ll be able to prepare.Someone found him in a laundry basket at the Quick Wash, wrapped in a towel, a few hours old and close to death. They called him Baby Moses when they shared his story on the ten o’clock news – the little baby left in a basket at a dingy Laundromat, born to a crack addict and expected to have all sorts of problems. I imagined the crack baby, Moses, having a giant crack that ran down his body, like he’d been broken at birth. I knew that wasn’t what the term meant, but the image stuck in my mind. Maybe the fact that he was broken drew me to him from the start.It all happened before I was born, and by the time I met Moses and my mom told me all about him, the story was old news and nobody wanted anything to do with him. People love babies, even sick babies. Even crack babies. But babies grow up to be kids, and kids grow up to be teenagers. Nobody wants a messed up teenager.And Moses was messed up. Moses was a law unto himself. But he was also strange and exotic and beautiful. To be with him would change my life in ways I could never have imagined. Maybe I should have stayed away. Maybe I should have listened. My mother warned me. Even Moses warned me. But I didn’t stay away.And so begins a story of pain and promise, of heartache and healing, of life and death. A story of before and after, of new beginnings and never-endings. But most of all...a love story.
Lucky Cove
Serafina Jax - 2020
They also left an inheritance to set me up for life. And more than one person is trying to rip it out from under me.Between the grief of losing them and dealing with a family that certainly don’t act like they give a damn, I’m barely keeping my head above water. The only good things right now are the handsome neighbours who help me see beyond my loss. And they come with hateful wives and bitter exes.My new job has me delving deep into the underbelly of the glittering Gold Coast. It puts me in the crosshairs of some people who would rather see me dead than digging into their affairs. Now I’m racing against the clock-and a tropical cyclone-to find the evidence to stop those who are gunning for me.Will I win and get to live the life I’ve always dreamed of? Or will I become just another victim of the Gold Coast underworld? Lucky Cove is meant to be my fresh start, but could it end up being the beginning of the end?If you’re a fan of super hot sex, snarky females and men who make you drool while ordering you around, don’t miss Lucky Cove. The first book by new author Serafina Jax.**Authors note: Lucky Cove is a medium burn, standalone contemporary why choose romance, where the main character doesn’t have to choose between her love interests. It contains mature and some dark themes that may evoke emotions in some readers. Additionally, sexual themes are suitable for mature audiences 18+**
Rescued
Jill Burrell - 2021
Stranded and desperate, she finds herself at the mercy of a handsome, brooding mechanic. When he offers her help, she accepts, knowing too well the pain that comes from trusting others.Widower and grieving father, Ben Young, fixes cars and avoids people. He can’t stand to see the pity in their eyes. There’s something different in Amy’s eyes, though, and he’s driven to help her—for her little girl’s sake. But helping means caring, and that’s not something he’s capable of. Not anymore.Just when it looks like a relationship might be possible between Ben and Amy, she realizes her breaking down in this small town wasn’t an accident. She holds the key to what happened to Ben’s family. But will her quest for answers cost her everything?
The Counterbalance
Lissa Bolts - 2020
Not that she hasn’t tried.I’m the heir to a modern-day magical dynasty, daughter of the most powerful mage in existence. From day one, Mother made it apparent that she never wanted me—never wanted an heir at all.That’s why she’s forced me into the shadows, where I remain invisible. Nobody even knows what I truly look like. Locked away, I dream of ordinary things. You know. Friends. A boyfriend. A purpose for my existence… But I’ve got secrets too. Things she can’t find out. For years, I’ve watched her scheme to expand her grip on the mage world. Like a snake, she waits for the right moment to strike. If she succeeds, there will be deadly consequences.As my powers grow, I think Mother and I have both come to the same conclusion. I might be the only thing that stands in her way.
Bait
K.C. Blake - 2012
One comes with a threat and the other with a warning. They know she's on her way to being the newest student at Van Helsing's school, where she will learn to be a great hunter like her father. Before she can reach her goal she will face wraiths, an angry boy with a dark prophecy hanging over his head, and her worst nightmare: werewolves. She's determined nothing will stop her, not even a pair of jungle green eyes. Her roommate is killed. Her mentor doesn't want to mentor her. A border monster tries to kill her. Nothing is the way she imagined it would be. Students whisper behind her back, saying she's cursed. They want her to go home, but Bay-Lee isn't going anywhere, not when she's this close to getting everything she's ever wanted. At Orientation, she learns she's been given the rank of Bait. Why? Because that is all new students are good for, to be used as bait to draw out monsters so the 'real' hunters can kill them. She realizes no one is going to take her seriously until she moves up to Hunter. With that in mind and a few friends at her side, Bay-Lee is going to tackle a dangerous mystery. Why are hunters dying on their birthdays? If she solves it, she will move up in rank. If she doesn't... her birthday is just around the corner.
Max Abaddon and The Will
Justin Leslie - 2019
Leslie. An unambitious, unemployed bachelor with a penchant for drinking, Max Abaddon inherits an extraordinary gift from his recently deceased grandfather. Now a young hero with new magical powers, Max must embrace his calling and help this hidden world in its war with a murderous darkness. Suddenly in a position where he’s learning about magical and mythical beings, Max’s third decade of life is starting off in a direction he never would have imagined. Max is discovering a magical new world while it slowly overtakes his old one. Meanwhile, dark players emerge from the shadows with a plot to disrupt the delicate balance between the natural and the supernatural. To help his new friends, Max must accept his responsibility, get a grip on his new powers, and be careful of who he trusts in this gripping murder mystery set in Florida.
Never Forget
Emma Hart - 2013
That is, until she reconnects with her childhood friend, Jen, and meets Alec Johnson.Alec is the kind of guy Lexy knows she needs to stay away from. He's the village flirt, ridiculously hot and very dangerous to her self control. But there's a problem – she can't seem to keep him out, even though she knows he'll break her heart.As Alec slowly strips away Lexy's defences and the two embark on a summer romance she never wanted, their feelings grow to more than either expected. But nothing lasts forever, and reality intrudes.As her world is shaken to it's core, Lexy's self made prediction comes true when she discovers she's spent six weeks surrounded by secrets. Kept out by her family and the only guy she's ever trusted, she falls apart.And when Grammy tells her that 'you might not end up where you wanted to be, but you'll always end up where you're meant to be,' she has to figure out if her meant to be is back home in London, or if it's been in Devon the whole time.
Escaping Me
Elizabeth Lee - 2013
Forget the memory of walking in on her boyfriend in the middle of, well, another girl. Forget how she had her entire life planned out. And, forget about being perfect all the time. Unfortunately, she was Whitney Vandaveer and despite the fact that she moved to the middle of nowhere – she couldn't. He always knew he would never be more than nothing. No job, no money, no future. Cole Pritchett had accepted the fact that he would always be the screw up and he was okay with it. Until he met her. Here's the thing they quickly found out – sometimes we all need a little help escaping who we think we are.
Vampire Shift
Tim O'Rourke - 2011
Investigating a series of horrific murders, grave desecrations, and missing persons, Kiera uses her unique ability of seeing, and soon realizes her own life is in danger. When Kiera falls for police officer Luke Bishop, not only are her mind and heart opened to a terrifyingly new world, she comes to suspect that Luke might be involved in the killings. In a race against time to unearth the truth, Kiera must discover the identity of who - or what - is behind the gruesome deaths on her Vampire Shift. "Vampire Shift" is Book One of The Kiera Hudson Series One.
The Legacy: James (The Legacy Series Book 1)
Tricia Wentworth - 2020
Qualify for the Culling. Find a woman. Win the presidency.It was a carefully cultivated plan that dictated all his life’s decisions . . . until two women upend everything.Twenty-one years after his parents won the presidency, a Culling is called. James has waited his entire life for this moment, a chance to carry on his parents’ legacy. Meanwhile, whispers in Denver of an “Heir’s Curse” make a Reed winning the presidency seem impossible. A presidential heir has never won a Culling before, but there has also never been a Culling where three heirs could qualify. James and his siblings are determined to break the so-called curse and prove them all wrong.But when forced to choose between the easy love that could secure the presidency and a difficult one, what will James do?*This is book 1 of 4 in the spinoff for The Culling series.