Book picks similar to
Midnight Ballerina by Cori Williams


new-adult
romance
college
contemporary-romance

A Perfect Moment


Becca Lee - 2014
    Humiliated, heart broken and absolutely determined not to allow her heart be destroyed for a second time, she builds an ice wall around her heart.Preston has known that he was in love his big sister's best friend since the age of fifteen. Over ten years on, and an opportunity to be her knight in shining armour is too good to miss. Putting his heart on the line, he's on a mission to show Ella that the perfect moment is possible.Ella's instinct is to run when she realises her feelings for her bestie's little brother may just run a little bit deeper than just friends. But if she can't run, she'll try every trick in the book to shake off his affection and realign his feelings.She already had her perfect moment, and there is no chance she'll let her heart thaw for Preston. No matter how good he looks in the firefighter's Christmas calendar. *** Contains steamy-hot moments, romance, friendship and a bulk load of swearing - non explicit sex scenes. ***

Nate: Prequel to Beautiful Ruin


Alison Foster - 2014
    They just appear. They are drawn to the severe cold in my eyes and the extreme heat in my pants. I don’t want to disappoint them. I always aim to please. They want a hardcore stallion and sadly I am little else.I’ve had them all: tall, petite, thin, heavy, skinny, curvy, blondes, brunettes, gingers. Their loneliness reminds me of my own. I want to pay attention to them, make them feel special. Let them do the same for me. But when it’s done, I don’t want to linger there within the mutual denial.But then Grace comes along and all bets are off. Her touch feels so damn good I get the urge to wrap my arms around her, but I worry that I might hurt this sweet girl like a clumsy Frankenstein. If I can do one thing for her, it would be staying far, far away.This novelette is a short prequel to BEAUTIFUL RUIN and it can be read before or after. It includes an excerpt of the first chapter of BEAUTIFUL RUIN (a standalone novel.)

Every Little Piece


Kate Ashton - 2013
    A story of love, hope and healing.** Needing the truth… I wanted to spend the night before graduation making out with Seth, but one of my best friends had the whole night planned. Lucky for me, we ran into him and his friends playing pool where we made some silly bet over a game, and the losers had to run through town in nothing but their underwear. A year later, I wish more than ever we’d just made out at Raker’s Bluff instead, because maybe the night would’ve turned out differently. Now Seth’s back, the guy who broke my heart, the guy I’m still in love with…I just hope he doesn’t break me all over again. Desperate for redemption… No one wants to fess up to having a screwed-up family. When my parents dropped the big divorce bomb on me, I decided to keep it a secret. Just the thought of the pity-stares and pats-on-the-back made me feel sick. I’d tell Haley and my friends another time. Except, I never got the chance. Stuff happened. Stuff that totally sucked and changed our lives forever. Instead of telling my truth, I took the coward’s way out, and I’ve regretted it ever since. But I’m back, determined to tell Haley everything, down to the last gritty detail, if she’ll give me the chance…even if it means losing her forever.

Play


Piper Lawson - 2016
    Just another twenty-something girl, living the dream. That’s what I tell myself every morning. That I’m successful, self-aware, and well-balanced. It's just a tiny fib. I would be all of those things, if I had friends who didn’t work with me at the bank. And if I made it to pilates more than once a quarter. And if watermelon slushies weren't the main source of nutrients in my diet. It wouldn’t hurt if I’d had sex in the last year, either. (My best friend insists Jorge the Nightstand Boyfriend doesn’t count.)But when you know where you're going, you don’t need to enjoy the ride. Right?Even if some teeny part of me did want to fool around, Max Donovan would be the last guy I’d call. Sure, he made the indie video game that broke the internet. And yeah, his eyebrow piercing’s sexy, in a ‘what-are-you-in-a-band?’ kind of way. And fighting with him gets me going faster than Jorge on bezerker mode…He’s still colder than a cactus and twice as prickly. And I’m not talking about his face, because the guy’s barely old enough to shave. It’d really be best if we just ignored each other. Which is a problem, because Max Donovan is my new biggest client.So what happens when the girl who lives to work meets the guy who was born to play?Game on.

Coming Back to You


Devon Youngblood - 2013
    Slowly over the years things were being ripped from her little by little. Her boyfriend left right out of high school to join the Marines. Her parents died a while later, leaving her on her own. She only had her best friend Ruby to rely on and keep her afloat while she dealt with her losses. Ruby has been the one constant and still remains her best friend after meeting in high school.Finally Maura’s life was seemingly better, as she graduated college and opened up her own catering business, she was her own boss and life was normal again. But like always in life, once you get comfortable a ball drops. That’s when Pierson comes back to their hometown and back into Maura’s life, turning her world on it’s axis. Pierson has demons of his own after serving in the military for five years. Tormented from his past and present, he has to come to terms with everything that has happened. He hopes to make amends with his first love. Can Maura forgive Pierson for leaving all those years ago? Can they love each other like they used to? Things can never be what they used to be, but love was worth the fight. Wasn’t it

Running on Empty


L.B. Simmons - 2013
     Beautiful and loving husband.Three gorgeous little girls. Successful career. The only thing missing was the white picket fence. I really wanted that fence. Three years ago, I lost that life. I lost my husband. And I lost myself. But, eventually, I found my way through the darkness. I’ve made peace with my new life. I have my girls, and that’s all that matters. They are my world. I have no illusions of ever falling in love again or getting whisked away on a white horse. But then he came back into my life. On a freakin’ motorcycle.There’s no way I’ll let him turn my life completely upside down. Absolutely no way. The question is…How long can I keep pretending that I’m happy with my life being right-side up?

Rescued


Phoebe Rose - 2016
    He has no time for dating and even less time to deal with the litter of stray kittens who've claimed his patio as their new home. Falling for the pretty and passionate animal rescue volunteer who shows up to help with his feline problem is not on his agenda.A born nurturer, Tessa Cantalupe is used to caring for everyone but herself. She has a history of giving too much and getting too little, and she has no doubt a sexy, ambitious businessman like Thomas has nothing more to offer her than one more dead-end relationship. But can a guy who loves kittens be all bad? Maybe it's time she let someone rescue her and give her lonely heart a forever home.A New Adult romantic comedy with a few steamy pages and lots of witty banter. And kittens.

Wake Me Up


Michelle Horst - 2013
    Wanting to escape her demons with the help of her crazy friend Chloe, she travels halfway across the world. Alone, Emma must make a fresh start in the small town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She doesn't let anyone near her, until Aiden. Aiden gives her a glimpse of what love really is like, but then their little world is shattered when their lives collide and Emma gets caught in the middle. Will Aiden cross an ocean for Emma? (This is a stand-alone novel told from dual POV's (both Emma (British) and Aiden (American) in The Tainted Ink Series)This novel is intended for mature audiences over the age of 18 only. It contains graphic scenes of sex, violence and strong language.

Toxic


Raquel Valldeperas - 2013
    That's just the way it was. But the drugs were supposed to be my constant, my escape, my refuge. They weren't supposed to pull me under and hold me down, bring me to the brink of death and keep me in that in-between state. They weren't supposed to turn on me, just like everyone else.My name is Logan May Reynolds, and this is my story.*Contains mature content. Recommended for readers 17+.

The Darkest Secret


Jessica Pine - 2013
    Not since it happened. Not since I locked myself away in my room, unable even to open my bedroom door without having a panic attack. Nobody looks at me... except Jimmy. I've never seen a man look at me like he does. From the moment he started working for my father, I could tell he had already put me up on a pedestal: Famous Hollywood Daughter. And to tell you the truth, I liked it. But after all this craziness, I want to scream at him, to tell him to stop. There are things about me that no man should have to deal with. It's true, what they say: I'm a train wreck. Damaged goods. Nothing good can come of us being together. I tried to love a man, once. I thought I loved him. I thought I could handle him. It turned out... I couldn't. And the last thing I want now is for Jimmy to find out the truth about how things ended long ago. Even after I dare him to search for me on the Internet, he refuses, telling me that I have to tell him my secrets. But I can't. There are secrets that I've never shared, not with anyone. And as long as I don't tell him those secrets, we can pretend to be happy together. I want to pretend. I want to pretend that everything's okay. I want to pretend that I can come back from this. Because if those secrets remain kept, I'm everything Jimmy thinks I am. But if not...

Fair Game


Monica Murphy - 2015
    Talk about the perfect excuse for Jade to make him her ex-boyfriend. She wasn’t quick enough, though. Before she knows it, a frat boy wins the hand--and her.Shep Prescott is extremely handsome and richer than sin, but he doesn’t own her. It was just a game, after all.No matter how disinterested she acts, no matter how rudely she rejects his advances, he keeps coming back. Maybe even more than before.He could have anything he wants, but she’s the only prize he’s after.When she finds herself starting to fall for him, Jade’s confused. There’s more to Shep than the carefree player he shows the world.So is he ready to win her for real, or will she call his bluff?

Blue


H.J. Bellus - 2015
    Blending in is something Blue has longed for her entire life. Living in a dorm with a set of new friends is just what she needed to escape her stale life back home. For the first time, she’s seen for her talent and not her name or looks.Cheer is her number one priority, considering a full-ride scholarship landed her at a prestigious university, and she intends to take advantage of it. A true beauty inside and out, Blue’s heart has always pumped competitive blood. Until one night changes her forever…the beauty is gone, and all she has left are nasty, ugly memories. The man who saved her has a story of his own, with ninety percent of his body scarred. What happens when the Beauty falls for the Beast?

Afterglow (Four Corners Book 1)


Artemis Anders - 2018
    But when a friend's party means facing her ex and the woman he left her for, Teagan skips town and heads to the scorching heat of Arizona.She never expects to meet Aaron, an Army Major who's smoking hot... and also coming off a divorce. He's so not her type, but he gives her two days and one sizzling night to remember.When Teagan returns to Colorado and her man-free existence, Aaron keeps finding excuses to see her and inch his way into her heart. But when Aaron's past finds them, it threatens to shatter their connection... and break Teagan's heart for good.If you love steamy romance with heart-stopping twists and an HEA, you'll love Afterglow.Afterglow is a standalone novel in the Four Corners series.

Landon


S.M. Shade - 2016
    I’m not interested in his blue-green ocean colored eyes, his lean muscular body, or that crooked smile that can be so infuriating. I have more important things to worry about, like how to keep myself in college and my sixteen year old brother fed and sheltered. We all know life is hard, some of us just learn that lesson younger than others, but that doesn’t mean I’ll give up. I intend to succeed and make sure my brother has the opportunities he deserves, and no privileged jerk is going to distract me. Landon I don’t date. Don’t get me wrong, I’m far from celibate, but my condition makes carrying on any kind of normal relationship impossible. My life revolves around In Safe Hands or ISH, the underground hacker group I work with to track down and take care of predators and sex offenders who beat the system. I’m satisfied with my life until the day I meet the smart mouthed, compassionate, determined woman who opens my eyes to possibilities I never thought existed. This is book one in a series of standalone novels.

The Future of Our Past


Kahlen Aymes - 2012
    Each of them fight an internal battle unwilling to risk their incredible friendship but unable to quell their deep longing for the other. On the verge of his departure to medical school and to her new job on the opposite coast, Ryan and Julia are forced to face the undeniable truth of their deeper feelings.*For readers 17+ due to explicit language and sexual situations.*