Book picks similar to
Then, Again by Karen Stivali


romance
contemporary
contemporary-romance
new-adult

Beside Your Heart


Mary Whitney - 2013
    Back in his native England, Adam Kincaid is successful and dating a woman from an aristocratic family like his own. With a career in politics, Nicki’s no slouch, but she knows Adam is living a world away from her life.Yet there was a time he was no farther than the next locker. Nicki will never forget their year together in high school—the year of her sister’s death, the year her mother checked out. Adam helped Nicki through suffocating grief, and she led him through a coming of age. Was it just high school, or was it something more?***The sequel, Disclosure of the Heart, is due out on November 5.***

Another Shot at Love


Niecey Roy - 2013
    a What's Love??? novel Imogen Gorecki needs a date to her sister’s engagement party—especially since her cheating ex-boyfriend is on the guest list. But finding Mr. Perfect in a time crunch is proving impossible. Just when she’s about to give up, she face-plants into the crotch of the sexiest guy she’s ever met. Matt Sesnick is everything Imogen wants in a man, but he’s not looking for a relationship so soon after his recent divorce. Will Gen’s pregnant and hormonal older sister, her bridezilla twin, and all of her past Mr. Wrongs get in the way of their happily-ever-after, or can she convince Matt to take another shot at love?

Stupid and Contagious


Caprice Crane - 2006
    In this hilarious, romantic comedy, two twenty-something neighbors embark on a zany mission to meet the founder of Starbucks, and in doing so, find each other.

The Secret Bridesmaid


Katy Birchall - 2021
    So brilliant, in fact, that she’s made it her full-time job.As a professional bridesmaid, Sophie is hired by London brides to be their right-hand woman, posing as a friend but working behind the scenes to help plan the perfect wedding and ensure their big day goes off without a hitch. When she’s hired by Lady Victoria Swann––a former model and “It Girl" of 1970’s London; now the Marchioness of Meade––for the society wedding of the year, it should be a chance for Sophie to prove just how talented she is. Of course, it’s not ideal that the bride, Lady Victoria’s daughter, Cordelia, is an absolute diva and determined to make Sophie’s life a nightmare. It’s also a bit inconvenient that Sophie finds herself drawn to Cordelia’s posh older brother, who is absolutely off limits. But when a rival society wedding is announced for the very same day, things start to get…well, complicated.Can Sophie pull off the biggest challenge of her career––execute a high-profile gala for four hundred and fifty guests in record time, win over a reluctant bride, and catch the eye of handsome Lord Swann––all while keeping her true identity a secret, and her dignity intact? Heartwarming and hilarious, The Secret Bridesmaid celebrates the joys (and foibles) of weddings, the nuances of female friendship, and the redeeming power of love in its many unexpected forms.

Head Above Water


Amber Garza - 2014
     Sometimes all you need is someone to hold you up. Harper Elliott knows what it feels like to drown. To be unable to breath, to feel the crushing weight of your lungs collapsing while waves crash over your head and the surface is just out of reach. The ocean has stolen way too much from her and her family. Even though she lives just miles from the beach she rarely ever steps foot on it, and never goes in the water. Until she meets Tag Williams, the sexy lifeguard with the funny name, kind smile, genuine eyes and smoking hot body. He makes Harper want to do more than just stick her toes in to test the waters. He makes her want to jump in with both feet. But if she does, can she trust Tag to keep her head above water? (Head Above Water is a non-explict, new adult romance.)

Hard Glamour


Maggie Marr - 2014
    Honoring her mother's last wish, Lane Channing vows to follow her dreams. She takes the 'big risk' and leaves her small Kansas town behind and heads to LA, the city of dreams. She's got a stellar job lined up, an old jeep, and 20 bucks to last her to her first paycheck. Her hopes shatter when she arrives to find her job's been given to someone else. Now she's broke and if she doesn't do something fast will soon be living on the streets. Welcome to cutthroat -- Lane is most certainly not in Kansas anymore. On the cusp of success... Dillon MacAvoy has one goal -- to become a star -- whatever it takes. Even if it means honing his bad-boy can't-be-tamed-and-forever-single image. Besides the image isn't far from the truth. Dillon cares only about his younger brother and his career. He's on the brink of superstardom if he can just decide on the next right script. But for that, he needs a script reader he can trust. In a strange twist of fate... Lane Channing is Dillon's last chance. If Lane lasts the summer without becoming MacAvoy's latest conquest, she's guaranteed a job in entertainment. No problem, as long as she can ignore the heat that pulses through her every time Dillon is in the room. After all, love and commitment with a sweet, hometown girl would only ruin the Dillon MacAvoy brand.

Run to You


Charlotte Stein - 2013
    But when she meets businessman Janos Kovacs, and is introduced to his kinky lifestyle, Alissa's entire world changes…She uncovers a hidden world of secret assignations and kinky meetings between like-minded high fliers at an exclusive hotel. But the businessman Alissa spies on seems far too handsome, sexy and worldly for someone like her, and he's into the kind of things she's not sure she can do.Janos Kovacs has spent so long indulging in emotion-less dalliances that he's forgotten what real passion is. But the more time he spends with Alissa, the less control he has over himself. By the time he's finished teaching how deliciously naughty sex can be, he might be the one learning the lessons …

My Soon-To-Be Sex Life


Judith Tewes - 2014
    Total. Last. Resort. Despite a thoroughly comprehensive list of potential cherry poppers, er…suitors, and careful plotting, Charlie is three weeks into her devirginization campaign, still untouched, and getting desperate. In the movie of her life, this aspiring screenwriter is giving herself a PG, for please, get some. Her project goes into freeze frame when her mom checks herself into rehab and packs Charlie off to live with her estranged, or just plain strange, grandfather, Monty. How is she supposed to get a date when she has to go pick up his Depends? Enter Eric, a hot rehab grad on the road to redemption, and the only one who can make Charlie rethink her strategy. The more she gets to know him, the more convinced she becomes that is the one, and not just another to add to the list of people who will abandon her. In this hilarious and heartbreaking story of one girl’s detoured road to womanhood, Charlie’s list develops a life of its own – right when she realizes there’s so much more to lose.

Our Stop


Laura Jane Williams - 2019
    Well, except if she oversleeps or wakes up at her friend Emma’s after too much wine.Daniel really does get the 7.30 train every morning, which is easy because he hasn’t been able to sleep properly since his dad died.One morning, Nadia’s eye catches sight of a post in the daily paper: To the cute girl with the coffee stains on her dress. I’m the guy who’s always standing near the doors… Drink sometime? So begins a not-quite-romance of near-misses, true love, and the power of the written word.

Anyone But Rich


Penelope Bloom - 2019
    Even if they grew up to become megafamous, gorgeous, heart-stopping billionaires. Even if they crawled on their knees and begged for forgiveness.But guess who just flew back into our lives in a private jet? And guess who just showed up to my job on my first day? Richard. King. Fortunately, it takes two seconds for Richard to reveal he hasn’t changed. Conceited. Cocky. Rude. Unfortunately, he’s also the kind of gorgeous that’s borderline offensive—with a jawline to make statues self-conscious and a grin that short-circuits my brain.He’s spent years taking what he wants. I doubt he’s hungry for anything else—except me, apparently. There’s no way I’ll let him maneuver his way back into my life. My friends would never forgive me. I would never forgive me. But did I mention his jawline?

His Wicked Games


Ember Casey - 2013
    Can she beat him at his own game?Lily Frazer would do anything to save the Frazer Center for the Arts--even take on the infamous billionaire Calder Cunningham. When Lily breaks onto the Cunningham estate, she only wants to find and reason with Calder. (All right, all right, she wants to punch him in the face, too, but that's Plan B.) As it turns out, the arrogant billionaire is willing to give her the money he promised, but there's a catch: she must win it from him.Lily isn't about to give up the money without a fight (or let some haughty bastard seduce her), but she quickly discovers that there might be more to the brooding Calder than she initially perceived. As their games of cat and mouse become increasingly intense, she suddenly finds herself confused by her own emotions. Can she deny her attraction long enough to win the money she needs?

Not Quite Dating


Catherine Bybee - 2012
    Even if she had time to date, which she doesn’t, she’d be determined to provide her son with a more secure upbringing than the one she had—and that would mean a husband with big bucks. When Jack Morrison—a sexy-as-sin, seemingly broke customer with a cowboy hat and a seductive grin—tries to flirt with her, she shoots him down. She doubts a carefree dreamer like Jack can provide the financial stability she needs. Yet with Christmas just weeks away, and Jessie not wanting to spend it alone, the charming Texan is proving hard to resist.As the heir to the Morrison luxury hotel empire, Jack is used to being fawned over. But Jack needs someone who will fall in love with him—not his wealth. He’s set his sights on Jessie, though her hardened heart just might get in the way…To be sure, he conceals his true identity and offers to help Jessie find the rich husband she seeks. But Jack’s daring charade may rob him of the holiday wish he wants most of all…

Every Time I Think of You


Tracey Garvis Graves - 2014
    But when Daisy’s grandmother is killed in a seemingly random act of violence, Daisy must take steps to protect herself and her child. Despite a thriving career in San Francisco, thirty-six-year-old Brooks McClain has returned home to spend what little time his mother has left before she succumbs to the deadly disease that is ravaging her. The seasoned investigative reporter has taken a position with the local newspaper and been on the job less than twenty-four hours when he’s summoned to cover the death of Pauline Thorpe. Brooks is all business, but the more time he spends with Daisy DiStefano, the more invested he becomes; there’s something about a single mother, a defenseless child, and an unsolved crime that has stirred Brooks’s protective instincts like nothing ever has before. And when the unthinkable happens, Brooks will do whatever it takes to clear the name of the woman he’s fallen for and the child he’ll protect at any cost. Romantic and suspenseful, Every Time I Think of You shows how far two people will go to fight for the ones they love, and the life they’ve always imagined.

Indecent Experiment


Megan Hart - 2011
    Though they're hardly each other's ideal partner, the series of increasingly intimate scenarios sparks an attraction neither predicted. With each scorching kiss and sensual touch, the tension grows. Soon, Melissa and Matt can't wait for the experiment to end--in bed....

Some Girls Do


Clodagh Murphy - 2014
    Little do her fans know that shy, bookish Claire isn't quite as experienced in the bedroom as her sassy online persona. But everyone makes stuff up on the internet, right?Except that NiceGirl attracts the attention of London publisher Mark Bell. Handsome, charming and successful, Mark is offering Claire the life she's always dreamed of - a steady relationship, the literary world of London and a hot book deal.But when Claire enlists the help of brooding artist Luca to brush up on her sex skills before she's discovered for a fraud, things begin to get complicated...Great sex, friendship AND love - can't a girl have it all?