Book picks similar to
Riptides by Steph Campbell


new-adult
romance
contemporary-romance
steph-campbell

Lost


Nadia Simonenko - 2013
    Now, in her final semester of college, she still struggles against paralyzing fear just trying to speak up in class, and the terror and helplessness linger on in her nightmares.Across campus, Owen sees his scars in the mirror every morning while he gets ready for class. They remind him of the broken home he left behind, the father he hates and fears, and the little sister he couldn't protect. Now, in his final semester of college, he's scared that he may have to return to the hell he called home after staying away for almost five years.When Owen becomes a teaching assistant for one of Maria's classes, they find themselves irresistibly drawn to each other. As the two learn each other's secrets and grow closer, they realize that although they may be lost, they're not alone anymore.This new adult contemporary romance is recommended for ages 17+ due to heavy subject matter.

Say When


Tara West - 2013
    Not intended for young adult readers.*** He told me to say when, but I can’t. Not with Andrés. It’s so hard to say anything when he’s trailing feather soft kisses down my neck, or when his touch sends hot currents of lust rippling across my skin. Then there’s the way he smiles and offers soft words of encouragement when I’m creating art, almost like he believes I have talent. He’s not like any guy I’ve ever met. Not like my ex-fiancé. Not like my father. He’s got me thinking that maybe we can have something more. More than just lust, degradation, and abuse. And now I’m scared, because that means I’ll have to trust him with more than just my body, but with my heart, too. Christina Duval This is the first book in the Something More Series. Also available are books two, Say Yes, and the third installment, Say Forever. Say Please, book 3.5, is out now.

Naked


Kelly Favor - 2013
    She's broken because of something that was done to her--something she can't even bear to think about. So she does the only thing she can think of...she runs. Away from her Ivy League college, away from her perfect life, and away from the man who hurt her. Only she runs straight into...Elijah. Elijah Daniels is hardened from a life that's seen the worst the world has to offer. But when he meets Caelyn, he knows there’s something different about her. She's been through hell and back, but she hasn't given up.Caelyn can see that Elijah is gorgeous on the outside, but she also knows he's dangerous. And the last man she trusted hurt her so badly, she may be beyond repair. But the harder she tries to resist, the more Elijah’s persistence strips her of her armor and leaves her naked and vulnerable.In the end, neither of them will be able to predict just how far they might have to go to save themselves...and each other.NAKED is the first book in the dark and sexy new adult series by New York Times bestselling author Kelly Favor.

Broken at Love


Lyla Payne - 2013
    A rich kid who’s not used to being disappointed by life, Quinn and his sociopathic half-brother Sebastian create a frat house game intended to treat girls how they see them—as simple game pieces to be manipulated for their pleasure.College sophomore Emilie Swanson knows Quinn’s reputation—after all, he did send one of her sorority sisters into therapy earlier in the semester—but the game and his charm bring them closer together and soon she starts to believe there’s more to Quinn than people think.But what if the more is something darker than a game of toying with emotions and breaking hearts?Quinn and Emilie might be falling for each other, but there are secrets he’s not ready to tell—and lifestyle changes he’s reluctant to make. She willingly stepped on the court, but if Emilie finds out she started out as nothing as a pawn in Quinn and Sebastian’s twisted game, she might never forgive him.To his surprise, Quinn finds that he might finally care about someone more than he cares about himself…even if that means letting Emilie walk away for good.

The Master Undone


Lisa Renee Jones - 2013
    *** I told him goodbye, and I will not call him. I know if I do, it will be my undoing, and I'll once again be caught up in his spell. I will once again be...lost. In her private journals, Rebecca laid bare her soul, revealing her obsession for the one man whose erotic demands captivated her imagination--and enslaved her forever. Now, with Rebecca no longer in his life he is lost, questioning everything he thought he knew about himself and about control he holds in such high regard. One women will reach out to heal him and then turn away, leaving him haunted. She is nothing he thought he wanted and somehow everything he needs. He tells himself to forget her but he cannot escape his desire for her. He has to have more...

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...

Reckless Longing


Gina Robinson - 2013
    Her mother’s wild and wanton behavior has left Ellie with a deep longing. To escape. To belong. To know who her real dad is. To really be loved. Her mother finally crosses a line thatsends Ellie running, escaping to college with one, focused goal–to find and confront her bio dad, who doesn’t even know she exists. Then she meets Logan. Hot, charming, and troubled. He turns her world upside down and puts all her plans in jeopardy.Logan Walker is hiding a shameful and painful secret. One that nearly cost him everything. When he meets the beautiful and mysterious Ellie at a Week of Welcome event, something inside him awakens and he finds himself drawn to her.But the attraction they both feel for each other is as delicate as the web of secrets they each hide behind. And as the truths are revealed, their reckless longing may not survive the fallout.

Very Wicked Beginnings


Ilsa Madden-Mills - 2014
    Meet Cuba Hudson, the heartbreaker of Briarwood Academy:I'm the tattooed bad boy girls think they can change.I have it all: a football career, a stellar GPA, and a family that owns half of Dallas, Texas. Everyone wants to be me, but all I want is to forget...Then she shows up.Dovey Beckham arrives at Briarwood Academy and looks right through me, unconcerned that I rule the school. I wasn't part of her precious plan, and it drove me insane...so I made it my mission to claim her, to put her notch on my bedpost.She would be mine and her heart would be broken.I didn't plan on falling for her, and I sure as hell didn't plan on losing her...Welcome to Briarwood Academy...where sometimes, the best things in life are Very Wicked Beginnings.

What If


Rebecca Donovan - 2014
    After all, no one has seen or heard from her since they graduated over a year ago.Except this girl isn't Nicole.She looks exactly like Cal's shy childhood crush, but her name is Nyelle Preston and she has no idea who he is. This girl is impulsive and daring, her passion for life infectious. The complete opposite of Nicole. Cal finds himself utterly fascinated-and falling hard. But Nyelle is also extremely secretive. And the closer he comes to finding out what she's hiding, the less he wants to know.When the secrets from the past and present collide, one thing becomes clear: Nothing is what it seems.

First Ink


Laura Wright - 2013
    Then she walks back into it again. With her mismatched eyes, perfect pink mouth and a laugh that still haunts him, she gave him nothing but marvelous misery. Now she wants his hands on her again. Not for pleasure, but for pain. For Ink. A bleeding heart to match the one she left him with five years ago. AddisonShe can’t forget him. No matter how hard she’s tried. The pain she caused him in the past eats at her daily, and she can’t move on with her life. But she has a plan, a hope for redemption – a way for him to take his revenge out on her flesh. But it’ll only work if he lets her inside his exclusive world, under his famous artist’s needle and into his bed—and heart-once again.*First Ink can also be found in the Wicked Firsts Anthology releasing on August 19, 2013.*

Stronger


Lexie Ray - 2013
    Cast away by the same people I thought were family, I was ready to take my own life. Until I met Nate. He didn't run away when I said I was sick. But I wonder why a handsome, funny, Mr. Right like him would love someone like me?My name is Nate and I have a secret.I met Jasmine at a crossroads in my life. She was beautiful, desperate, and inspired me in ways I didn't know were possible. She makes me better in everything and I want to help her get better, too. But I have a secret, one she doesn't have to know - until the time is right.

Chasing Beautiful


Pamela Ann - 2012
    Life was starting to look up when out of nowhere, her boyfriend Kyle decided to end things. She vowed never to love again. But what she didn't see coming was the revelation of feelings her friend Blake had in store for her. Blake a handsome British mogul-in-training and a good friend who’s been lusting after her since they met or Kyle—childhood best friend, high school sweetheart, and her first love—but broke her heart. This is Sienna’s journey in finding herself and learning about forgiveness, heartaches and most of all, love. *****INTENDED FOR ADULTS 18 AND ABOVE*****

Stolen Wishes


Lexi Ryan - 2013
    Intended for mature readers.**Cally…A sexy smile. Intense blue eyes. A goodness that makes him want to save me from these rumors when no one else would care. I didn't ask for a hero. William Bailey was never supposed to be anything more than a wish, a dream, an unrequited crush. Not for a girl like me--a girl whose fractured family has stolen her chance at a decent life.William…Since the death of my parents, I've always done what’s expected of me, what's "best" for me. Until Cally. The moment her haunted eyes meet mine, the fractured pieces of my heart feel whole again. I don’t just want to save her. I need her to save me.Stolen chances. Unbroken wishes. Two lonely souls grasping for hope in the darkness.**This novella takes place seven years before the events in WISH I MAY and shows William and Cally falling in love for the first time. It can be read before or after WISH I MAY or on its own.**

For Real


Chelsea M. Cameron - 2013
    One fake relationship. What could go wrong?When virgin Shannon Travers gets fed up with her friends demanding that she find a boyfriend, she enlists the help of tattooed, mohawk-rocking graphic design student Jett. He’s more than happy to play along with their Fake Relationship, including the Ten Rules of Fake Dating that control-freak Shannon comes up with. Even if he likes to violate them. Repeatedly.But what happens when Fake Dating starts to feel… not fake anymore? Will Shannon be willing to let go and embrace the first thing in her life that’s ever felt REAL?New Adult Contemporary Romance *17 & up

Love Me Always


Michelle Lynn - 2015
    Now, after most of their friends have married, it’s finally their turn to say I do.Sadie and her bridezilla nature have made the Miller/Carson wedding the event of the year. The cake, the caterer, and the flowers are all crossed off her list. But she soon realizes she can’t hide the guilt from her actions years before behind the façade of a big wedding. And if she wants her groom waiting at the end of the aisle, she needs to be honest with him.Brady has always been the patient one. He’s the father figure and sensible one of the group. But the fears of failing at marriage still run deep within him. A week before the girl he lives for takes his name, a surprise shows up on his doorstep, and his neatly organized life is thrown off-kilter.Once again, Sadie and Brady are tested by the ghosts of their pasts. However, this time they must come together if they plan on living happily ever after.