Book picks similar to
Seeking Jake Ryan by M.F. Lorson


romance
young-adult
ku
contemporary-romance

The Cure for Second Lead Syndrome


Amanda Abram - 2021
    Symptoms may include wanting to throw objects at the TV and losing all faith in true love.Bria Copeland is addicted to K-dramas. She loves the romance. She loves the drama. And most importantly, she loves the second leads: the secondary male characters who are secretly in love with the female leads. They’re nice. Sweet. Caring.But they never get the girl.It doesn’t make any sense!So, when Bria realizes her brother’s friend, Caleb Nichols, is a real-life second lead, she just has to intervene. Caleb has been hopelessly in love with his best friend, Paige, for years now. And if he doesn’t act fast, he might lose her to the hot new surfer guy from California.Bria knows this plot well, and she knows exactly how the story will end.Unless she can rewrite it.When she proposes an idea to Caleb—to transform him into a male lead—he thinks she’s crazy. Maybe she is, but Bria is sure the plan will work. All they have to do is recreate some of the most clichéd scenes from K-dramas and Paige will be falling for him in no time!The only problem?If she's not careful, Bria may just end up falling for the second lead herself.

XOXO, Piper


Ginger Li - 2021
    He hates donuts.2. He hates chocolate.3. He hates me.Ash may be East Beach High’s valedictorian and captain of the water polo team, but to me, he’s always been a grade-A jerk.Now, I'm taking on a project to help a local preschool, and guess who shows up to plan the fundraiser?Yup. Him.It doesn't make any sense. Why would Ash help someone he hates so much? And why does my heart race every time he’s near?XOXO, Piper is the first book in the East Beach High Series. Fans of enemies-to-lovers, first love, romantic grand gestures, and donut puns will adore this sweet novel.

Popped


Elizabeth Stevens - 2019
    Or can she? When her friends bet she can’t get a bad boy to fall for her, she agrees to the wager. Enter Bash Baker; Mitcham College's cherry popper. He’s the most egotistical, stereotypical jerk in the whole school. Either Bash’s fragile male ego is popped by the formal, or Paige has to give Mia’s nerdy cousin his first French kiss. Bash is Mitcham College's Cherry Popper; he’s popped more cherries than Casanova in all of Venice*. But there’s one cherry his mates bet he’ll never get. Enter Paige Nicholls; the school’s ‘it’ girl. Never one to shy away from a bet, Bash agrees to his mate’s wager. Either Paige’s cherry is popped by the formal, or Bash gives up his title to the nerdy band geek in the year below them. It’s War of the Romance as Paige and Bash try to seduce the other one without falling for the ruse themselves. Usual tactics don’t seem to be working, so the two of them might need to switch things up. Otherwise they might find they’re the one who’s popped. *possible exaggeration. This rom-com parody is not recommended for younger readers due to mature content. Please be aware that this story is set in Australia and therefore uses Australian syntax and grammar.

Hot by Halloween


Jessica Bucher - 2019
    Which is why her senior year goal is to get revenge.Step one: Join the swim team and get seriously fit.Step two: Find some gorgeous new arm candy to take to ex's big Halloween party and make him crazy with jealousy.Step three: Try not to fall super hard for said arm candy.Gray Turner is a California transplant with goals of his own: get the swim team to regionals, get the scholarship he needs, and get out of this town. Too bad some girl with zero swim skills just joined the team. Private lessons seem like a good idea...until lessons start to feel like something more.Addy and Gray started the season with specific plans, but falling for one another wasn't one of them.

Bailey And The Bad Boy


R. Linda - 2017
    I was too… until my heart was ripped out of my chest. As if getting dumped wasn’t bad enough, I’m forced to endure the humiliation of witnessing my ex-boyfriend flaunt his new girl — who also happens to be my now ex-best friend — all over town. Double whammy. Now I’m the pathetic ex-girlfriend left gutted, heartbroken, and nose deep in a bucket of ice cream. I’m doomed to spend the summer sulking over a guy who thought I was predictable and bad in bed. So, when I get an offer guaranteeing me some well-deserved payback, of course I’m going to take it. Besides, the plan is simple. Pretend like I’m dating Ryder, the town’s popular bad boy, and make my ex wallow in a pit of jealousy and regret. It’s perfect. I mean… what could possibly go wrong?

The Year I Became Isabella Anders


Jessica Sorensen - 2015
    Most days she feels invisible, especially when she’s around her older sister, Hannah, who catches the eye of everyone, including Kai and Kyler, the boys who live next door. Isabella has had a crush on Kyler for years, but knows he’ll never see her as anything more than Hannah’s little sister, unless she finds a way to standout. When Isabella gets an offer from her grandmother to travel overseas for the summer, she seizes the opportunity, hoping she’ll discover more about herself. And she does, but not in the way that she expected. Three months later, Isabella returns home an entirely new person. The change is enough to catch both Kyler and Kai’s attention. But Isabella is still struggling with what she discovered over the summer and until she deals with the truth, she’ll never truly be herself.

The Crush Dilemma


Susan Hatler - 2016
    Peterson, the newspaper head, to write an online advice column for the school. She’s found the perfect name for her alter ego: Aubrey. It means someone who rules with “magical wisdom.” She’ll be in control of her online experiment, online identity, and divvy her wisdom to the masses while tracking the results for her mini-thesis.Now, protected by a secret identity, she’s got the popular crowd clambering to know what she thinks about fashion, homework, and eek . . . even sex! And the best part is, her parents and best friends don’t know anything about it. Finally, she can let loose a wild side and speak her mind—right or wrong, without having to meet anyone’s expectations.Soon, however, dishing out advice leads to more than Poppy can handle on her own and she must make a choice. Hide behind her alter ego or take the chance that everyone, including the new boy at school, will like her for everything she is.

More Than His Best Friend


Sally Henson - 2018
    Could her best friend be the one exception? Regan can't wait to leave her crummy small town in the dust. She spends her days taking dual-enrollment classes and her nights dreaming about her future out-of-state dorm room. She's certain that romance would only ruin her plans and feed her small town’s ruthless rumor mill.But when Regan's best friend confesses he wants to be something more, she’s torn between following her dreams or following her heart.With time running out before he leaves for college, Regan needs to make up her mind. Can Lane convince Regan to move past her rules or will he cross the line and destroy their friendship in the process?More Than His Best Friend is a heartwarming YA contemporary romance. If you like sweet tales of first love, small Midwestern towns, and spunky dreamers, then you’ll love Sally Henson’s coming-of-age romance.Buy More Than His Best Friend to fall head over heels for a sweet high school romance today!

Chasing Skye


Kelsie Stelting - 2018
    And there’s only one thing that can get me out.Volleyball. But Shelby’s out to take everything I’ve worked for away from me over a stupid grudge.She won’t stop at sabotaging my volleyball position. No, she’s out for blood. That means she’ll attack me everywhere it counts. Volleyball, weightlifting, my friendships, and Kellum.I’ve done everything, given everything, sacrificed everything I can to create a future for myself. Will it be enough?For a book that will grip your heart from page one, start reading Chasing Skye today. Fans of the Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky will fall for this first book in the Texas High Series!

An Unwanted Love Story


Ellie Hall - 2021
    It’s easy enough to overlook his sky blue eyes, the beard that gives him both a distinguished yet wild look, and his buff bod. Vroom. Vroom.What? It’s summer and hard not to notice things like that. Why do I hate him? Sheesh. So many questions.For one, it’s Doug’s fault our lake is in trouble. For two, the guy despises ice cream. Who turns down free ice cream? A monster. That’s who. But he’s the monster who can stop the pollution from ruining our water and livelihoods.Too bad I’m the head of the lake committee and have to work with him. The problem is, I’m afraid he’s melting my heart like ice cream in the sun.This is the first book in the Falling Into Happily Ever After series. It is novella length, giving you a sweet taste of what’s to come in the subsequent books which are all full length. It was also previously published in the USA Today bestselling collection Love, Laughter & Happily Ever After but has been expanded with extra scenes and details for your reading pleasure.

Three Years Later


Casey McMillin - 2013
    The first thing she did when she got there, however, was run headlong into her happily ever after. Unfortunately for her, the guy was way out of her league.Collin Blake, along with the rest of his college swim team, was just visiting Los Angeles for a few days. It was something the U Cal swimmers did every year. Falling in love definitely wasn't on his list things to do while he was there.Is love at first sight even possible?Collin and Rachel thought so. They had an instant connection... right up to the point when Rachel disappeared.Can they pick up where they left off even though it’s... Three Years Later

My After-School Tutor


Randi Rigby - 2020
    It wasn't enough that I had to put up with having Jasmine--a walking, talking, breathing Barbie doll--for a sister."Let's make Milla short, so she'll ALWAYS have to look up to her as well."Fine. I'd never wanted anything of hers anyway.Until a certain blue-eyed boy crossed my path, that is.And he fell head over heels.For my sister.Of course he did.How can I help Zayn with his studies and still escape with my heart intact?ZaynGetting a scholarship to play college football had been my dream since I first learned to throw a spiral as a kid. And I had the talent. Just not the grades. College programs expected their quarterbacks to not only pass their classes, but to do so by a comfortable margin. That was a skill set I needed to work on.Maybe I needed more help than I thought.I had an online tutor who wouldn't tell me who she was.An ex-girlfriend I couldn't shake.And the new girl, Milla, really didn't like me--everybody liked me. I'm a likable guy.Whatever. I could take a hit. I'd just rather be run over by a charging defensive lineman than get on the wrong side of Milla Kent. Which I somehow managed to do. Girls.Forget math. I needed a tutor for the opposite sex.

Unbreakable


Rebecca Shea - 2013
    She’s a good daughter, makes excellent grades, and always strays on the safe side of life. The last thing she thought would ever happen was falling in love with her best friend’s brother. But sometimes fate just has a way of bringing two people together. Wide receiver for the University of Arizona, Gabe Garcia, seems to have it all. When his feelings for Jessica come to surface, Gabe will give up everything to be with her. But what happens when a tragedy abruptly changes the course of your life? For Jessica and Gabe, everything they thought they knew about each other will be questioned. Sometimes, there are scars in life that are cut too deep to completely heal. Will their love prove to be unbreakable, or will it shatter and prove fate is just another lie?*This book contains mature subject matter and is not intended for those under 17 years of age.*

Fall Guy


Liz Reinhardt - 2012
    She's living with her grandparents after her parents bailed on her, she got kicked out of her posh private school, her ex-boyfriend proved to be the biggest sleaze imaginable, her former best friend is a back-stabber, and her current best friend is stuck in backwoods NJ. To top it all off, one teeny, tiny fire she lit to burn some memories of her ex goes a little out of control and winds up igniting a good piece of a very powerful family's pecan orchard.Evan lands her pampered behind in court and gets sentenced to community service. Which she knows she deserves. But the hard labor and humiliation may be her undoing.Until she meets Winchester Youngblood on the site. Everything about him is tricky, confusing, not at all what it seems, and so sexy, Evan can't resist pulling closer. But every step she takes to get to know him gives her more of a reason to back up and put him as far out of life as she possibly can. Because Winch is one hundred percent complicated, and Evan isn't looking for that. At all. She needs to meet a nice, responsible guy, not share searing kisses with the charming hustler she met after they both got sentenced in court.But Winch is so much more than what he seems, and Evan finds out that she's falling hard for the guy everyone underestimates and writes off. And Winch realizes that Evan is the one person who's ever challenged him to ask for more out of his life, and her courage inspires him to try to be the person she sees when she looks at him. With every single odd stacked against them, Evan and Winch need to find out whether they have what it takes to fall for each other.

Be the Girl


K.A. Tucker - 2019
    New postal code, new last name, new rules. But she doesn’t mind, because it means she can leave her painful regrets behind. In the bustling town of Eastmonte, she can become someone else. Someone better.With the Hartford family living next door, it seems she will succeed. Sure, Cassie Hartford may be the epitome of social awkwardness thanks to her autism, but she also offers an innocent and sincere friendship that Aria learns to appreciate. And Cassie’s older brother, Emmett—a popular Junior A hockey player with a bright future—well … Aria wishes that friendship could lead to something more. If he didn’t already have a girlfriend, maybe it would.But Aria soon finds herself in a dicey moral predicament that could derail her attempt at a fresh start. It is her loyalty to Cassie and her growing crush on Emmett that leads her to make a risky move, one that earns her a vindictive enemy who is determined to splinter her happy new world.