Book picks similar to
Brush Strokes by Janelle Stalder


new-adult
romance
young-adult
high-school

This Much is True


Katherine Owen - 2013
    A ballerina who lies. A baseball player who believes her. Well, the truth changes everything. Tally Landon just wants to escape her tragic story if just for one night. She doesn't count on meeting Lincoln Presley, Stanford's baseball wonder, but plans to add him to her long list of one-night stands. That's the plan. Lying to him about her age and her name is just a part of her don't-get-emotionally-attached style. She doesn't count on being found out, nor on ever seeing Linc again or falling in love. Lincoln Presley's life is all mapped out. There is only baseball. With the major leagues circling their favorite prospect with a lucrative offer, he cannot afford to mess up. And, he doesn't; until he meets up with the girl he saved from the burning wreckage on the 101 on Valentine's Day months before. By the time he learns her real name and of all the lies she's told, he's in far too deep to ever really let her go. When fame and lies tear them apart, one truth remains; and fate, most definitely, has a different set of plans. This much is true.Author's Note: A coming of age story? Could be. A powerful love story? Most definitely. An unforgettable read? Most likely. Intended for mature audiences, ages 17+? Absolutely. This best selling new adult contemporary romance novel will take you on an emotional roller coaster ride and is the first book (which should really be two books) in the Truth In Lies series, but it can be read as a standalone. It is 432 pages long in 12-point type so carve out some time.

Serial Hottie


Kelly Oram - 2012
    So when the hottest boy she's ever seen moves in across the street and starts treating her like she's the center of his universe, naturally she's going to be a little skeptical. But everything starts to make sense when girls who look just like Ellie start dying all around the city. Obviously the new guy is the killer, and of course he only likes her because he wants to slice her into tiny pieces. Right? The more Ellie gets to know Seth the more she's convinced he's a psychopathic killer. Problem is, he's the sweetest psychopathic killer she's ever met. Not to mention he's brutally hot. No matter how hard she tries, she can't help but fall for him. Will Ellie find true love, or will her summer of firsts turn out to be a summer of lasts?

Lucky Number Four


Amanda Jason - 2014
    Okay, so her best friends being newlyweds isn't really abnormal, but living with them in a cramped two-bedroom apartment definitely is. Sex, sex, sex is totally on their minds. Actually it's not only on their minds, but it's on the kitchen table, couch, on top of the washer...well, you get the picture.Being a celibate (not by choice, mind you) full-time college student, and an almost full-time barista, Pandora can't afford to lose anymore sleep. So, she seeks out a new place to lay her head. Enter three "drool worthy" male models that are looking for a fourth roommate and they want her...and won't take no for an answer.Hilarity ensues as Pandora's life turns completely upside down, and she begins to wonder if it will ever be the same again!

Sneaking Candy


Lisa Burstein - 2013
    Of course, secretly I already have made a name for myself: as Candy Sloane, self-published erotic romance writer. Though thrilled that my books are selling and I have actual fans, if anyone at UM found out, I could lose my scholarship…and the respect of my faculty advisor, grade-A-asshole Professor Dylan.Enter James Walker, super-hot local barista and—surprise!—my student. Even though I know a relationship is totally off-limits, I can’t stop myself from sneaking around with James, taking a few cues from my own erotic writing…if you catch my drift. Candy’s showing her stripes for the first time in my real life, and I’ve never had so much fun. But when the sugar high fades, can my secrets stay under wraps?

Alarm


Shay Savage - 2014
    Meeting a tall, dark stranger covered in tattoos is not in her plans. Bad boys just aren’t her type, even if they gorgeous and built like a brick wall. The alarms in her head warn that Aiden Hunter is definitely on the list of men her mother told her to avoid, but she doesn’t listen.Still, she finds herself drawn to Aiden and the excitement she is missing in her own life. He fills her days with thrills and danger, and her nights with passion she’s never experienced before. Even though she knows he’s hiding something from her, Chloe pushes away her concerns and dives into this new way of living.Near the beach in Miami, Aiden teaches her to live life to the fullest as Chloe battles the internal warning bells that tell her to be wary. By the time she realizes her fears may be justified, it’s too late.Aiden’s past is catching up to him, but is he the hunter or the hunted?

Summer's Temptation


Ashley Lynn Willis - 2014
    Women will always try to change a man. Men will always say anything to get a girl in bed. Tyler Mason will always have a long line of girls trying to domesticate him, and none will succeed. If one of these ceases to be true, the world will cease to exist.These are the rules as college student Cassie Faye knows them, so when she gives up on dating in favor of a man who can satisfy her without tempting her heart, her next-door neighbor Tyler tops the list. Tyler isn’t the type of boy Cassie would fall for, but he’s the perfect guy to teach her how to claim her sexual independence without losing her heart in the process. Too late, Cassie finds out that under his womanizing exterior is an attentive, considerate lover who brings out passions in her that she'd barely glimpsed before. What if she’s wrong about the third truth? What if the world as she knows it is about to cease to exist?

Loving the White Liar


Kate Stewart - 2015
    He was handsome, charming, witty, and irresistible. Jayden Monroe came along when I was struggling with indecision and made things simple, turned monochrome into vivid color, and forever altered my perspective on life. I was not naive enough to believe in happily ever after, but with Jayden, it seemed possible . . . until I realized something wasn’t quite right. You see, I met a man who would be anyone I needed him to be, and after I found out that fact, I knew it would be impossible to walk away. His disorder, however, would change everything I ever thought about love and what it truly meant to accept someone for who they are. This is not my sob story; this is his success story. This is an ADHD love story and is for mature audiences only. This book contains explicit sex and strong language.

Trouble


Samantha Towle - 2013
    Running from a person she doesn’t ever want to find her. Running from a past she doesn’t ever want anyone to know. Desperate to find a future, that yesterday, she could only dream of having. Jordan Matthews likes easy. Easy women. Easy life. Then he meets Mia. She’s damaged, troubled and has more baggage than any person can carry. But the more Jordan gets to know Mia-for the first time in his life-he finds himself wanting to try hard for something … for someone … for her.And then life isn’t so easy anymore. Jordan is everything Mia shouldn’t want. A whole bunch of dirty hotness, tattooed, cocky bad boy, who made his money at poker tables and picked his women up in bars. Yet, Mia finds herself falling for him. Then the past Mia was running from, quickly starts to catch up with her. Because that’s the problem with running … you have to stop sometime. And when you stop, you get caught.Full length New Adult Contemporary Romance.Recommended Reading Age 18+

The Final Piece


Maggi Myers - 2012
    From the moment a trusted family friend steals her innocence until the moment another rescues her, she struggles to just survive.Surrounded by the comfort and protection of her extended family, Beth embarks on a journey of healing far from the horrors of her home. In her darkest moments, she meets a boy named Ryan. For one incredible summer, Ryan shows Beth what it’s like to act her own age.To feel free and let go.If only for a while.Years later, another tragedy threatens to shatter the life Beth has carefully crafted. When faced, yet again, with more pieces to pick up, Beth begins to question what her choices have cost her.Leaving her old life behind, she sets forth on a pilgrimage that will bring her back to the boy she could never forget. He wants to help her pick up the pieces of her life, but is she willing to do what it takes to become whole again?Can she trust him with a piece of herself?

Two Thousand Miles


Jennifer Davis - 2013
    But Kat fears she may lose them all when the secret she's been keeping is revealed and she's suddenly summoned back to Malibu to settle unfinished business.

The Summer I Became a Nerd


Leah Rae Miller - 2013
    But inside, Maddie spends more time agonizing over what will happen in the next issue of her favorite comic book than planning pep rallies with her squad. That she’s a nerd hiding in a popular girl's body isn’t just unknown, it's anti-known. And she needs to keep it that way. Summer is the only time Maddie lets her real self out to play, but when she slips up and the adorkable guy behind the local comic shop’s counter uncovers her secret, she’s busted. Before she can shake a pom-pom, Maddie’s whisked into Logan’s world of comic conventions, live-action role-playing, and first-person-shooter video games. And she loves it. But the more she denies who she really is, the deeper her lies become…and the more she risks losing Logan forever.

Textrovert


Lindsey Summers - 2017
    😞 Just her luck that it belongs to Talon, a totally arrogant jock 🏈 who’s just left for football camp—with her phone. Keeley doesn’t know him, but they’ll need to rely on each other to forward their messages for an entire week.Talon is so full of himself, but Keeley quickly discovers he’s funny, too—at least his texts are. 😅 And he listens to Keeley—which is more than anyone else does. Texting Talon, she can be more than just the quiet twin sister of a popular boy. Texting Talon, she can be the outgoing person she’s always wanted to be. Soon the two are falling for each other, hard.But when true identities are revealed and secrets are exposed, will Keeley’s feelings stay the same?

Hate Me


Ashley Jade - 2021
    The bully you can't run away from. I'm the tormentor who makes your life a living hell. The villain you love to hate.I'm the vicious stepbrother sleeping in the next room.The one who knows all your secrets. And I'll stop at nothing to make you pay.WARNING: This book is recommended for mature readers due to graphic language, sexual content, and dark elements.

The Promise of Amazing


Robin Constantine - 2013
    Ranked in the middle of her class at Sacred Heart, she’s not popular, but not a social misfit. Wren is the quiet, “good” girl who's always done what she's supposed to—only now in her junior year, this passive strategy is backfiring. She wants to change, but doesn’t know how.Grayson Barrett was the king of St. Gabe’s. Star of the lacrosse team, top of his class, on a fast track to a brilliant future—until he was expelled for being a “term paper pimp.” Now Gray is in a downward spiral and needs to change, but doesn’t know how. One fateful night their paths cross when Wren, working at her family’s Arthurian-themed catering hall, performs the Heimlich on Gray as he chokes on a cocktail weenie, saving his life literally and figuratively. What follows is the complicated, awkward, hilarious, and tender tale of two teens shedding their pasts, figuring out who they are—and falling in love.

Before You Go


Clare James - 2013
    But she soon realizes the changes are not enough. Tabby must take action to help her heal and move on from the past. And though it sounds crazy, she believes a one-night stand is the best way to take back what’s hers. If she can choose where, when, and most importantly, who … maybe she can regain control.First, she needs a willing participant. She finds more than that when she meets Noah Adler. Unfortunately, she can’t go through with it. And when she tries to forget about the plan—and the guy—it becomes impossible. Noah quickly weaves his way into her new life and her heart. But as he comes dangerously close to discovering her secret, Tabby’s at risk of losing it all.