Book picks similar to
I am Free by Regina Bartley
new-adult
abuse
romance
young-adult
Measuring Up
Nyrae Dawn - 2012
This summer, she's hiring a personal trainer to help her lose weight. Annabel doesn’t expect her trainer to be a gorgeous guy around her age. Boys like Tegan are jerks. They pretend to like girls like her so they can make an idiot out of them. Been there, done that. Totally not going there again. She kind of hates him on principal. Blond. Muscular. Funny. It doesn’t help that he knows her measurements!Soon, Tegan's so much more than that. He’s the boy who teaches her to box when she has a bad day. Who jogs with her and lets her set the pace. Who kisses her until she melts. He makes her feel beautiful regardless of what the scale says. Unlike her mom, he doesn’t expect perfection, and he doesn't try to shield her from the world like her dad and best friend. Tegan likes her the way she is.But what happens when he’s not there? He can’t always be there… Will Annabel be able to stand on her own and learn that she already measures up? That her worth doesn’t lie in what the world thinks, the scale says, or even what Tegan tells her—but in herself?
Sometimes Never
Cheryl McIntyre - 2012
She’s content with her current no-strings-attached extracurricular activity with the lead singer of her band. She’s never believed in love and commitment.Mason starts his eighth school in five years anticipating nothing more than the usual—boring classes, fighting more than making friends, and girls happily willing to succumb to his easy smile. He’s never put much stock into love at first sight—until he sees her.Regardless of their painful pasts, Hope and Mason discover that sometimes never can become forever.
*This is a mature young adult. Recommended for 17+ due to sensitive subject material, harsh language, and sexual situations.
Every Shattered Thing
Elora Nicole Ramirez - 2012
The voices inside, the ones declaring her worth, deem her broken, used and dirty. She is an object. A toy. Something to be tossed aside when bored. Who will believe her if she whispers the truth about her wrecking ball of a family? Eventually, her secret explodes and the person who means the most to her knows just how shattered she is and why she's so afraid. But rescue is closer than she realizes. Hidden in plain sight, her horror hasn’t been ignored by everyone. Racing against the truth of what she faces, forces are joining together and developing a plan to free her from the hell in her own backyard. And while she’s at her lowest point, she’s hit with the beauty of love at any cost - redemption in the face of ruin. Will it be enough?*Warning: Contains mature content that may not be suitable for younger audiences*
Chasing Wishes
Nadia Simonenko - 2014
I wish I was someone else—someone with a future..."For sixteen-year-old Nina Torres, it feels as if life is nothing but a dead end. Despised by her rich classmates and afraid that she'll become just like her drug-addicted mother, Nina's future seems to get dimmer every day.There is one bright spot in her life though...Sitting beside her one night, the only person in the world who cares about her makes a promise. No matter what happens—no matter how much Isaac's wealthy family disapproves—he and his girlfriend Nina will be together forever.Fate plays a cruel trick on Nina, though, and a visit from Child Protective Services the next morning turns Nina Torres into Irene Hartley, a woman with a future but who will never see her beloved Isaac again.Nine years later, a blind and incredibly handsome young entrepreneur hires Irene to be his personal assistant. Terrence Radcliffe reminds her so much of Isaac that she can hardly believe her eyes, and she's falling for him fast. Irene knows that fairy tales don't come true, but she allows herself one last wish. She wishes that she could finally say goodbye to Isaac and let herself take a chance on Terrence.What she doesn't know is that Terrence is also searching for someone: a shooting star who streaked through his life nine years ago, and he won't give up until he finds her...Chasing Wishes is a powerful contemporary tale of lost love and wishes come true, recommended for ages 17+ due to adult content.
Bad Romance
Heather Demetrios - 2017
Out of her house, where her stepfather wields fear like a weapon and her mother makes her scrub imaginary dirt off the floors. Out of her California town, too small to contain her big city dreams. Out of her life, and into the role of Parisian artist, New York director—anything but scared and alone.Enter Gavin: charming, talented, adored. Controlling. Dangerous. When Grace and Gavin fall in love, Grace is sure it's too good to be true. She has no idea their relationship will become a prison she's unable to escape. Deeply affecting and unflinchingly honest, this is a story about spiraling into darkness—and emerging into the light again.
Giving it to the Bad Boy
Jenika Snow - 2013
He was rough around the edges, tattooed and pierced, and fiercer than any guy she had ever met. He knew too much about sex, got drunk, and started far too many fights. He was a bad boy, but Kiera still wanted him in the worst kind of way.Reese's life is lonely, despite always being surrounded by people. He's only wanted one thing, and that is Kiera Sheppard, the girl he has watched from afar for four years. As they grow closer, Reese wants to give her everything and show her he is worthy of her love. But his sordid past tears their bond and he doesn't know if he can redeem himself and show her she is the most important thing in his broken life.
Dangerous to Know & Love
Jane Harvey-Berrick - 2013
Moody, with an explosive temper, closed off and sullen, he’s also beautiful, tatted in delicious ways, with a pierced eyebrow and spiky black hair. It’s rumoured he has piercings in other places, too. Is he really mad, bad and dangerous to know?Daniel lives with his older brother, Zef, and their home is party central. You want drugs, a good time, liquor, no questions asked? Colton’s is the place to go.When Daniel and good girl Lisanne Maclaine have to work together on an assignment, Lisanne finds there’s a lot more to the college’s bad boy than his reputation. He’s intelligent and funny and good company. And then she discovers his secret, why he’s so closed off to everyone, and determined to keep people at arms’ length. But being his secret-keeper is harder than she ever dreamed.Recommended for readers 18+ due to sexual references and sex scenes, some coarse language, drug references and drug use.Word Count: 154,726
Present Perfect
Alison G. Bailey - 2013
♥Standing tall with his dark handsome features, he was as beautiful on the inside as he was on the outside. Noah was perfect in every sense of the word. He wanted us to be together, and we should have been together. Except I wasn’t good enough.I knew if I dared to cross that line with him, I’d do something to screw things up and lose him forever. I couldn’t take that chance. I wouldn’t take that chance. A life without Noah was not a life I wanted to live. So, I kept my feelings in check and didn’t allow them to ruin us.But sometimes life slaps you in the face, forcing you to pay attention, and stop wasting what time you have left.♥The only thing in life that’s perfect is the present, because it’s our only guarantee. ♥***ALL THE BOOKS IN THE PERFECT SERIES CAN BE READ AS STANDALONES.
Let it be Me
Barbara Speak - 2015
Once a Prada shoe wearing, Michael Kors bag carrying, on top of the world seventeen-year-old girl, Arianna knew that her life would never be the same when she got out of the car in middle-of-nowhere Montana. Canyon Michaels is the keeper of his own dark secrets. Plagued by his family name, he's forced to prove the town wrong and make it on his own. The last thing Arianna needs is a reason to stay, but with every passing day the decision to leave becomes harder. Once their paths cross nothing can tear them apart, other than the secrets that start to surface and the nightmares that soon become their reality.
Ace of Hearts
Ella Goode - 2019
High marks in all her classes are the path to being a cardiothoracic surgeon like her beloved stepdad. She has no plans on falling for anyone, especially not the hot jock who keeps staring at her. The athletes at FU High have the worst reputation and she refuses to let one climb into her jeans—no matter how nice Owen “Fast” McCoy seems. It only takes one look for Owen to know that Alice “Ace” Alister is the girl for him. He’s eighteen but he knows what he wants—a successful football season and the new transfer. He’ll do whatever it takes to achieve those goals from extra practices to joining the sewing club. He won’t give up until he becomes the ace of her heart.
The Distance Between Us
Kasie West - 2013
Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she's beginning to enjoy his company.She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.
The Hook Up
Kristen Callihan - 2014
Falling for star quarterback Drew Baylor is certainly not on her to do list. Confident and charming, he lives in the limelight and is way too gorgeous for his own good. If only she could ignore his heated stares and stop thinking about doing hot and dirty things with him. Easy, right?Too bad he’s committed to making her break every rule…Football has been good to Drew. It’s given him recognition, two National Championships, and the Heisman. But what he really craves is sexy yet prickly Anna Jones. Her cutting humor and blatant disregard for his fame turns him on like nothing else. But there’s one problem: she's shut him down. Completely.That is until a chance encounter leads to the hottest sex of their lives, along with the possibility of something great. Unfortunately, Anna wants it to remain a hook up. Now it’s up to Drew to tempt her with more: more sex, more satisfaction, more time with him. Until she’s truly hooked. It's a good thing Drew knows all about winning.All’s fair in love and football…Game on
Back to You
Priscilla Glenn - 2012
But Lauren saw something in him that caused her to question his bad-boy persona, and against her better judgment, she took a chance. She had no way of knowing that the unlikely friendship they formed would become so important to her.Or that it would end so painfully.Eight years later, when Lauren begins her new job at Learn and Grow Day Care, Michael is the last person she expects to see. Refusing to revisit the hurt and confusion of their past, Lauren vows to keep her distance from him. But staying away from Michael proves to be more difficult than she thought, despite her lingering grief and her instincts for self-preservation.As Lauren and Michael recall the friendship that changed them forever and the events that tore them apart, will they finally be able to heal? Or will the ghosts of Michael’s past prove to be too much to overcome?
Fear of Falling
S.L. Jennings - 2013
Security seemed more like a luxury to me, reserved for those who were fortunate enough to have picture perfect childhoods. For those who didn’t bear the ugly scars that keep me bound in constant, debilitating fear. I’ve run from that fear my entire life. But when I met him, for once, I couldn’t run anymore.He scared the hell out of me in a way that excited every fiber of my being. It wasn’t the tattoos or the piercings. It wasn’t the warmth that seemed to radiate from his frame and blanket me whenever he was near. It was just…him. The scary beautiful man that threatened to alter 23 years of routine and rituals, and make me face my crippling fear.My name is Kami and I am constantly afraid. And the thing that scares me the most is the very thing I want.“Don’t worry,” he smiled, pulling me into the hard warmth of his chest. “I’ve got you. I’ll always catch you when you fall.”And just like that, Blaine had staked his claim on the untouched part of me that no living soul had ever moved. He had captured every fear, every reservation, and crushed them in the palm of his inked hand.Author Disclaimer: Abuse is real- verbal, emotional, physical and sexual. It takes place all around us; it doesn’t discriminate against race or gender, wealth or poverty. It affects us all- those of us who’ve had to live through it, or watch it happen, even those of us who’ve only heard about it. We are all affected. We are all forever changed. This is not a story for the faint of heart; this is the story of one woman’s very real struggle through a world against her, the people who hurt her, her real life demons and the people who showed her that every gray sky, no matter how dark, has a sun waiting to break through.***Inspired by true events***
Smash Into You
Shelly Crane - 2013
From what, he wasn't quite sure. His mother tried to keep him safe; a low profile, a constant move on the horizon, a week's pay always stashed away. She tried to instill in him that he was special somehow, though would never elaborate. He never felt different. He was so completely normal and vanilla that he wondered if it had all been in her head. But then she was murdered and all he saw was a running silhouette of a man as his mother said three final words to him. Three words that changed his whole being. Never stop running…Now he's semi-settled into a big town. The college is huge and easy to blend into. It's been three months since he had to move because 'Biloxi', as he calls the man who killed his mother, found him once more. Then Marley, an eighteen year old girl who is as infuriating as she is blissfully ignorant of her gorgeousness, smashes into his car with hers. Then smashes into his life as he realizes that whatever it is he has that Biloxi wants, she has it, too. And now, they're after them both.