Book picks similar to
Your Exception by Bria Starr


new-adult
romance
contemporary
contemporary-romance

Ditching the Dream


Isabelle Peterson - 2011
    A successful husband. Three amazing children. A beautiful home in Napa, California. However, several months after their youngest child heads off to college, Elizabeth, who has been a stay-at-home mother for the past twenty-some years, realizes that she’s not sure who she is or what her passions are. Her husband is more married to his job than ever before. And Elizabeth doesn’t know what she wants to do. But she knows that she needs some space to figure it all out. Some distance from her seemingly perfect life.One impulsive flight later, clear across the country, Elizabeth finds herself in New York City. If she can make it there, she can make it anywhere!At first, her husband was livid. Who will cook him dinner? How is laundry going to get done? Is she having an affair? He decides to give Elizabeth a hall-pass, which only serves to further enrage her. How could he think such a thing after being married for over twenty years?But then she meets Jack Stevens. Sinfully gorgeous. Confident. Successful. And his eye on Elizabeth. There’s also something familiar about him.And then... Kevin Parker. Ruggedly handsome. Witty. A teacher. He makes her feel as young as he is.Both men show Elizabeth different sides of herself. Each gives her a new perspective.Enthralled and enlightened by her sanctioned affairs, she feared her entanglements could be less than temporary…Will the new Elizabeth embrace her scorching future, or will playing with fire leave her heart burned?Ditching the Dream is the first book in the steamy Dream Series of romantic page-turners. If you like sizzling chemistry, complex heroes, and endings that leave you craving more, then you’ll love Isabelle Peterson’s passionate page-turner. And you can keep turning the pages as Ditching the Dream is Book 1 in a 6 Book series.

Seven Perfect Things


Catherine Ryan Hyde - 2021
    One day Abby witnesses a man dump a litter of puppies into the nearby river. Diving in to rescue all seven, she knows she won’t be able to bring them home. Afraid for their fate at the pound, she takes them to an abandoned cabin, where all she can offer is a promise that she’ll be back the next day.To grieving widower Elliot Colvin, life has lost meaning. Looking for solace, he retreats to the hunting cabin he last visited years ago, before his wife’s illness. What he discovers is not at all what he expected: seven puppies and one determined girl with an indomitable heart.As Abby and Elliot’s friendship deepens, Abby imagines how much better her life—and the puppies’ lives—would be if her mother were married to Elliot instead of her father. But when Abby’s father moves the family hundreds of miles away, Abby and her mother must decide how long they’re willing to defer happiness.Seven Perfect Things is a story about joy, where to find it, how to know it when you see it, and the courage it takes to hang on to it once you have it.

Imperfect Truth


Ava Harrison - 2015
    He’s a writer.He was my weakness. I was his muse. Once upon a time my marriage was built on love...Until it wasn’t. Where had we gone wrong?I had given up hope…But then he messaged me,And his words intoxicated me.Made me believe in love again.Made me believe in truth.My imperfect truth…

Breaking Alexandria


K.A. Robinson - 2014
    She would do anything for him, including helping him sell drugs in order to fit perfectly into his world. After catching Alexandria dealing for Joel, instead of turning her into the cops, Alexandria’s mother forces her to move to her grandparents’ farm in West Virginia. Spending the summer in the country, away from Joel, is the last thing Alexandria wants to do. But lucky for her, the sexy farmhand, Landon, who helps out around her grandparents’ place, is a very nice distraction. She tries her best to ignore her attraction to him, especially since she still loves Joel. When Joel does the unforgivable, Alexandria turns to her new friend, Landon, for comfort, and it ignites an undeniable spark of attraction between them. Soon, she finds herself caught between two very different men, and the struggles within her heart just might end up breaking Alexandria.

Lies Unspoken


Lisa De Jong - 2014
    My new roommate, Blake, is a jerk—an unemployed artist with a chip on his shoulder. I can’t stand him unless his hands are on me. He makes me desperate for him, and everything he makes me feel. And then there’s my new boss, Pierce--successful, charming, and extremely good-looking. He goes after what he wants, but what does he see in me? I try to stay away, but I end up in the arms of exactly who I was hiding from. And when I find out what’s being hidden from me, my heart twists in ways it never should.I thought I knew him.I didn't. The way he kissed me.The way his hands traveled every inch of my skin.I thought it meant something, but as it turns out, it was all lies unspoken.

A Little Too Far


Lisa Desrochers - 2013
    She just had mind-blowing sex with her stepbrother. In her defense, she was on the rebound, and it’s more of a my-dad-happened-to-marry-a-woman-with-a-super-hot-son situation. But still, he’s been her best friend and confidant for the better part of the last few years … and is so off limits. It’s a good thing she’s leaving in two days for a year abroad in Rome.But even thousands of miles away, Lexie can’t seem to escape trouble. Raised Catholic, she goes to confession in hopes of alleviating some of her guilt … and maybe not burning in hell. Instead, she stumbles out of the confessional and right into Alessandro Moretti, a young and very easy-on-the-eyes deacon … only eight months away from becoming a priest. Lexie and Alessandro grow closer, and when Alessandro’s signals start changing despite his vow of celibacy, she doesn’t know what to think. She’s torn between falling in love with the man she shouldn’t want and the man she can’t have. And she isn’t sure how she can live with herself either way.

Nothing Like You


Lauren Strasnick - 2009
    After all, Paul is too popular to even be speaking to Holly ... and he happens to have a long-term girlfriend, Saskia. But ever since Holly's mom died six months ago, Holly has been numb to the world, and she's getting desperate to feel something, anything—so when Paul keeps pursuing her, Holly relents. Paul's kisses are a welcome diversion ... and it's nice to feel like the kind of girl that a guy like Paul would choose.But things aren't so simple with Saskia around. Paul's real girlfriend is willowy and perfect ... and nothing like Holly. To make matters worse, she and Holly are becoming friends. Suddenly the consequences of Holly's choices are all too real, and Holly stands to lose more than she ever realized she had.Nothing Like You is candid and quick-paced, with characters you can't help but want the best for. Deb Caletti, National Book Award finalist for Honey, Baby, Sweetheart

Sweet Southern Sorrow


Tessa Teevan - 2014
    Two very lonely people found solace in one another and in the end, fell in love. Unfortunately their plans for the fall took them in entirely different directions. Despite their best efforts, family issues and life’s circumstances got in the way, breaking both of their hearts in the process. Almost six years later they find themselves face-to-face, and old feelings resurface. When the past collides with the present, will they be able resist the temptation, or will they finally realize that they’re where they’re meant to be?A 65k word novel of broken pasts, first loves, and ultimate sacrifice. New edition includes 15k words in bonus scenes.

Never Stop Falling


Ashley Drew - 2016
    Whether she's skydiving out of an airplane, or setting off on the road to anywhere, she's ready to dive into the next adventure. That is, if best friend and always-by-the-book Nicholas Kelley doesn't put his foot down on her wild stunts first.When Corinne gives in to her growing feelings for Nicholas the summer before their freshman year of college, she takes the ultimate risk, making this one adventure he has longed to explore with her.But the moment they take that irrevocable leap, a shocking revelation blindsides Corinne, exposing her vulnerabilities, baring her fears, and shattering her beliefs about love. With their future—and most importantly, their friendship—now clouded in doubt, she must decide if love is really worth the risk. Because when it comes to love, you never stop falling.

Little Conversations


Sibylla Matilde - 2013
    Fresh out of high school and on her own for the first time in her life, she’s reeling from rejection of a relationship gone very, very bad. Emotionally battered and tormented by the pull of her narcissistic first love, she wants to make a clean break in a small mountain town where he is everywhere... with his new girlfriend. Ronin Andrews is still battling his own cataclysmic ghosts. He recoils from anything heartfelt, choosing instead to work hard and live wild. Outside of his job, parties and causal hooks-ups are his life until Devin walks in. With her short skirt and her sad green eyes, he can’t help but want her… badly. His protective streak wants to provide her with a haven, to shelter and sustain her. Through a flash of torrid intensity, they struggle to be friends... just friends. She relies on him to nourish her shattered soul and shield her heart from the clawing, gnawing loss that has consumed her. Before long, the attraction proves too tenacious, and the passion between them becomes undeniable. But will the shadows of the past prove too much to overcome?

Reasons Not To Fall In Love


Kirsty Moseley - 2014
    Enter Harrison Baxter.Harrison is confident, flirty and breathtakingly handsome – and everything Bronwyn’s husband is not! What’s worse is that she knows every sexy thought about him is forbidden, which makes him all the more tempting.The only woman that ladies’ man Harrison has ever wanted is one he can never have. Bronwyn has left her mark on him, and he can’t get her out of his mind no matter how hard he tries! Bronwyn and Harrison have every reason not to fall in love, but are they brave enough to break all the rules? For fans of The Boy Who Sneaks in my Bedroom Window , this short story is unputdownable!

Finding My Way


Megan Keith - 2013
    Who knew that just opening up to the possibility of a new relationship would be all that it took? Things start looking up when her hot new co-worker Seth notices her. He had been the subject of her fantasies, but she never thought she stood a chance. Then there’s Nick, the sexy and self-assured guy she met at the train station that she cannot get out of her head.When even more prospects begin to show it seems that life is finally looking up. Top it off with a new career opportunity and Emma finally believes she can 'find her way' to a whole new life.Warning: Mature content 18+ readers.