Book picks similar to
Harbour by Penelope Louleas
new-adult
contemporary-romance
romance
contemporary
Playing Patience
Tabatha Vargo - 2013
Being a punching bag for his alcoholic father has turned him into stone. Not even the dodgy trailer park he lives in can scare him. Fighting is his release and sex, drugs, and his guitar bring him peace, but deep down Zeke isn't quite as hard as he makes himself out to be. When he meets Patience, she finds all his broken pieces and puts him back together. She's a ray of light in his shadowed life and the last thing he wants to do is bring her into his dark world. Playing careless is easy, playing the bad guy can be fun, but playing Patience is impossible, especially when she can see right through him. Zeke isn't the only one who's broken, and for the first time in a long time, Patience feels alive. Her black and white world gets a shot of color when she meets Zeke. With his tattoos, piercings, and blunt honesty, he's unlike anyone she's ever met. She wants nothing more than to let go and ride the wild side with him, but some wounds never heal and the broken pieces of Patience aren't so easy to find.
Garden of Goodbyes
Faith Andrews - 2017
I was appalled when she called for my help, but she swore I was the one person who could save him—the only man I’ve ever loved. The man she stole from me. She’s to blame for the mess of a man he’s become, but I’m to blame for walking away. Anything good has been long forgotten. In its place is destruction, devastation and enough regret to last a lifetime. I came in hopes of making things right. But I never expected this. A broken man, a hopeless future, the beginning of the end. Maybe between the two of us, we can save the man who owns our hearts. Loss, betrayal, addiction. Mix them together and the concoction will ruin you.
From Ashes
Molly McAdams - 2012
So of course she follows him to Texas when he leaves for college. She just didn't expect to be so drawn to their new roommate, Gage, a gorgeous guy with a husky Southern drawl. The only problem? He's Tyler's cousin.Gage Carson was excited to share an apartment off campus with his cousin. He didn't mind that Tyler was bringing the mysterious friend he'd heard about since they were kids ... until the most beautiful girl he's ever seen jumps out of his cousin's Jeep. There's something about Cassi that makes Gage want to give her everything. Too bad Tyler has warned him that she's strictly off-limits.Despite everything keeping them apart, Cassi and Gage dance dangerously close to the touch they're both been craving. But when disaster sends her running into Tyler's arms, Cassi will have to decide whether to face the demons of her past ... or to burn her chance at a future with Gage.
Love Show
Audrey Bell - 2014
Jack Diamond is a laid back student whose good looks have made things even easier than they need to be. She’s the girl who came out of nowhere and kissed him in the rain. He’s the boy who made her do something crazy.When the stakes seem too high, they have to decide if they’ll let their love show or if they’ll walk away for good.
Concealed
Victoria Michaels - 2013
Desperate for a new start, she leaves home but, during her travels, witnesses something that will forever alter the path of her life. On the run for the last six years, Sydney finds herself living the life of a nomad until she one day stumbles into a small town and hopes she’s finally found a place to put down roots. With a good job in a local diner and, for the first time ever, friends who feel like family, things start looking up for Sydney. The biggest shock of all is catching the eye of the town’s most eligible bachelor, the sexy sheriff, Wade Jenkins.Sparks fly between them, and it’s not long before Sydney believes Elton, Missouri could be the home she’s always wished for. But Sydney’s past and her secrets have a way of catching up with her. When a brutal murder shakes the small town, Sydney is terrified that the countdown has begun on her time in Elton.Have the shadows from her past found her again? The people who mean the most want her to stay, but that would put everyone, including her daughter, at risk. Can Sydney put her faith in Wade or will she keep running from a danger that even she doesn’t fully understand?
Maybe
Amber L. Johnson - 2015
Admitting you need each other is harder.Emily Portman loves her job. A writer for Breakout! Magazine, she shadows and showcases up-and-coming bands. When her next assignment takes her to Austin, Texas, she can’t wait to add the city to her map of places she’s visited. Places she’s left without looking back. Her plan is to keep moving on, and the last thing she needs is a man holding her back. She’s not going down that road again.Tyler Macy is stuck in a rut. Despite his exceptional talent as a musician, he has chosen to take a back seat with his music and let others grab the limelight. Wounded and mistrustful, he doesn’t appreciate his friends’ efforts to bring him back to center stage. Emily comes onto the scene and sees his full potential, but he fights to stay in the shadows, shutting her out before she can add to the scars another woman gave him.For Tyler to find his music again, he needs to accept the help that Emily and their friends offer. When he discovers that his muse lies underneath Emily’s skin, it is still not enough to keep her from walking away. Neither will admit what they really want until it is too late.Emily is once again thrown in Tyler’s path when she is assigned to join them on tour. Despite the pain in his past, Tyler sees that she is worth it, even if she’s stolen both his heart and peace of mind. In order for them to be together, they both must discover whether the music and their passion are enough to overcome the obstacles that separate them.Maybe finding love is worth the risk.
Noah and Me
Beckie Stevenson - 2014
“Seems a little ironic.”Noah Carter is one of the best cardiothoracic doctors in the country. He’s incredibly intelligent, funny, kind and he’s a beast in the bedroom. He has scars that drizzle down his chest and painful memories of an unforgettable night that plague his every waking hour.Seven years ago, Noah stumbled upon me at the side of a grave and saved me in one of the most compassionate ways another human being can save another. I will always love him for that. Always.He loved me in a way that no man has ever loved me since, and I gave him everything. I gave it all to him until my secrets and lies tore us apart, forcing me to shatter his heart into a thousand little pieces.Seven years ago, he loved me…but now he hates me. And I hate that he hates me. Leaving Noah is my biggest regret in life - and I have a lot of things that I regret. A lot. I’m Ariel Miller, and this is the story of Noah and Me.This book may not be suitable for younger readers due to the adult nature of some scenes.
Left Drowning
Jessica Park - 2013
Then a chance meeting sends Blythe crashing into something she doesn’t expect—an undeniable attraction to a dark-haired senior named Chris Shepherd, whose past may be even more complicated than her own. As their relationship deepens, Chris pulls Blythe out of the stupor she’s been in since the night a fire took half her family. She begins to heal, and even, haltingly, to love this guy who helps her find new paths to pleasure and self-discovery. But as Blythe moves into calmer waters, she realizes Chris is the one still strangled by his family’s traumatic history. As dark currents threaten to pull him under, Blythe may be the only person who can keep him from drowning.
*This book is intended for mature audiences due to strong language and sexual content.Note: due to mature content recommended for Ages 17+
Forever Innocent
Deanna Roy - 2013
On what should have been one of the happiest nights of her life, she and her boyfriend Gavin watched a nurse disconnect the ventilator from their seven-day-old baby. During the funeral two days later, Gavin walked out and never returned.Since then, her life has been a spiral of disasters. The only thing that has helped is her ability to black out whenever the pain gets too hard to bear, a habit that has become an addiction.When Gavin shows up in her astronomy class four years later, he is hell-bent on getting her back, insisting she forgive him. Corabelle knows she can’t resist the touch that fills the empty ache that has haunted her since he left. But if he learns what she has done, if he follows the trail back through her past, her secrets will destroy their love completely. And once again, she’ll lose the only person who always believed she was innocent.New Adult Contemporary Romance
Fragile
Michelle Leighton - 2012
His love, as strong as steel. Can either survive life and death? Hardy Bradford is an eighteen year old football phenomenon who has the girl, the school, the town and the future in the palm of his hand. His life is all mapped out for him, right down to who he’ll marry and how he’ll become a professional football player. It doesn't seem to matter that Hardy would’ve chosen a much different life if it was up to him. But it's not. At least not until his Miracle comes along. The first time Hardy laid eyes on Miracle St. James, he didn’t know who she was, but he knew she was something different and that he’d never get her out of his head. And he didn’t. Now, months later, Hardy’s world is turned upside down when Miracle shows up in his class, stealing his heart and forever changing the course of his life. Miracle’s sick. Very sick. And Hardy might be losing the only thing in his life that has ever mattered. How much is too much to sacrifice for the one you love? For just a little more time? For just one more chance? Can Hardy be the hero Miracle needs? Or is it Hardy that needs saving?
Fighting Envy
Jennifer Miller - 2015
Other people, like me, are branded by something - actions or words. "No one will ever love you, Rowan, you're not worthy." Those are the words that created my blemish, my scar, my mark upon my soul. They were words whispered by the woman who should have loved me most. But in the darkest moment of my life, one where I stood abandoned and alone, one man proved to me that she was wrong. When I desperately needed someone, MMA fighter Jackson Stone crashed into my life. He wasn't the one who should have been there, but he was exactly the person I needed He believed that only fools live in the past. He showed me that a real relationship is full of dreams, faith, trust and passion. He taught me that love is worth fighting for - even when it's unexpected and more of a collision of hearts and souls. He proved that the wrong man at the right moment can heal everything.
Learning to Live
R.D. Cole - 2013
Between growing up in foster care and her abusive boyfriend she has no idea what life can be. At 19 she goes through something no one should ever experience and is left alone once again. Six months later she moves to Mobile, Alabama where she meets someone whose eyes bring back memories of the one person she misses everyday. Too late she finds herself caught in a storm of emotions that are unwanted, but she's determined to fight them off.Jaxon Coleman has a good life, and for him to attend one of the finest Med schools in the country and follow in his dad's foot steps is a dream come true. However, dreams can change in life and when he meets Trudy he knows his will never be the same. Jax knows she has secrets she is unwilling to share, but he's never given up on something he wants and he wants Tru.Can Trudy stop resisting her feelings and welcome the chance to live a different life than she pictured or will her defiance and haunted past eventually take her out of Jax's reach?After tragedy living is not easy, but with the right person it can be learned.
Revue
K.M. Golland - 2015
He thrives on the limelight and the attention of women who throw themselves at him. Josh is a jerk who lives for his next one-night-stand, and his latest target is Corinne Lee, Wild Nights' new professional photographer.Except Corinne isn't interested in Josh or his antics. She's there to take his picture, nothing more, nothing less.Or so she thinks.
Inky
J.B. Hartnett - 2013
While working as a bartender to pay her bills, she meets Cole, a sexy divorcee. She denies their mutual attraction and tries to put him out of her mind.When an abusive person from her childhood makes an unexpected visit, Inky’s world is turned upside down. Secrets are revealed and truths are exposed leaving Inky devastated and questioning what she thought was love. As she picks up the pieces and tries to move on, she finds her path crosses with Cole once again and this time, she cannot deny the passion between them.Once she opens her heart again, will she be able to move forward or will her past find a way to stop her?
F*ck Marriage
Tarryn Fisher - 2019
Shamed and divorced, Billie retreated to her family home in Port Townsend, far from her old life in New York. After a near-death encounter, Billie decides to return to the city that took everything from her. But sometimes in the midst of heartache, hope suffocates the pain. Satcher Gable has carried a torch for Billie for ten years. When she suddenly returns to New York a single woman, he can't believe his good fortune. But convincing her to walk away from her heartache is proving more difficult than Satcher anticipated. A changed woman, Billie's only goal is revenge.