Book picks similar to
Breaking Free by S.M. Koz


young-adult
romance
contemporary-romance
free

Take a Gamble


Rachael Brownell - 2014
    One chance meeting. One devastating phone call.MacKenna Trist is not happy about spending a month with her family in Myrtle Beach. She would rather be at home, hanging out with her friends, before starting her senior year of high school. That is, until she meets the guy staying in the beach house next door. Roe Gamble is speechless when he first lays eyes on Mac. Normally, pretty girls are his specialty but not this girl. From this girl, he wants more. More of everything. More than she can give him. Most importantly, more time to show her how he feels about her.But time is working against them in more ways than one. How much time do you really need to fall in love? What would you gamble to hold onto it?

Contessa


Lori L. Otto - 2012
    As she grew up, her parents made good decisions for her, raising “Livvy” to be an intelligent and creative young girl. Now sixteen, three people influence many of her choices: her first love, her second father, and a third man who speaks to her through his artwork.Livvy’s father is practical and steadfast; even-tempered and quietly observant. She’s an artist who acts on her emotions and thrives on attention. Unhappy with their differences– and misunderstanding her father’s methods– Livvy chooses to focus on the similarities she shares with an enigmatic painter from her mother’s past. Her overactive imagination leads her down an obsessive path– one that only stands to hurt everyone around her.The distraction of a new boyfriend has the potential to end her search and reunite her family, but his involvement in her life could be just as devastating, taking Livvy away from her father for good.Mature YA for limited sensual content.

Fall from Love


Heather London - 2013
    He terrifies her in more ways than one and invokes feelings in her that she thought were buried forever. Regardless of her fears, she knows she must face him in order for her heart to heal. Everyone tells Carter that what happened on the mountain that night was just a terrible accident, but even then, he can’t help but carry around the guilt and is unable to forgive himself. He’s drawn to Holly and being near her helps ease his conscience and gives him the release he needs.As Holly and Carter’s relationship grows, they begin to realize that the more time they spend with one another, the more their wounds begin to heal—her grief and his guilt. But when Holly learns the details about the night of the accident—what everyone has been keeping from her—it will rip open old wounds and tear apart what they’ve both worked so hard to overcome…

The Hazards of Skinny Dipping


Alyssa Rose Ivy - 2013
    If you want a book like that, I'd be happy to recommend one, but I don't have that kind of story to tell. Instead my story is about rash decisions and finding out that your dream guy is bad in bed. It's the story of when I finally went skinny dipping, and how my life was never the same again. Oh, and it's also the story of my freshman year of college and realizing Mr. Right might have been there all along.

Unwritten


M.C. Decker - 2014
    I thought our story had already been written. College sophomore Brooke Anderson thought she had it all − a loving family, her sexy high school sweetheart, a supportive, quick-witted best friend and dreams of being the next hotshot reporter for the Washington Post. Fate had something else in mind when Brooke collided with the devastatingly handsome upperclassman, Rich Davis. Rich was cocky, conceited and arrogant. He was everything that Brooke didn’t want, but Rich never gave her the option. He had already made the choice to be, at the very least, her friend. Would Brooke accept this egotistical man’s friendship? Would she choose to want more? Would it be too late if she did? Fast forward nearly ten years. Brooke’s life hadn’t played out quite as she had envisioned it. She was suffering from the heartbreaking loss of her mother, her high school sweetheart was long gone, and her dreams of the Washington Post had turned into a career at a small town paper. Brooke decided it was time to follow her dreams. If she couldn’t be happy in love, at least she could be happy in life. Brooke’s dreams brought her to the lobby of the Washington Post where fate intervened once again as she collided with none other than the devastatingly handsome Rich Davis. As her potential employer, Rich now seemed off-limits. Brooke wanted her successful career more than a chance at love. But, was it really her choice to make, or was it beyond her control? Maybe our story is, in fact, Unwritten…

Forever & Always


Jasinda Wilder - 2013
    Even if it’s just random stuff, nothing important, they’re important to me. Gramps is great, and I love working on the ranch.But…I’m lonely.I feel disconnected, like I’m no one, like I don’t belong anywhere. Like I’m just here until something else happens. I don’t even know what I want with my future. But your letters, they make me feel connected to something, to someone. I had a crush on you, when we first met. I thought you were beautiful. So beautiful. It was hard to think of anything else. Then camp ended and we never got together, and now all I have of you is these letters.S**t.I just told you I have a crush on you. HAD. Had a crush. Not sure what is anymore. A letter-crush? A literary love? That’s stupid. Sorry. I just have this rule with myself that I never throw away what I write and I always send it, so hopefully this doesn’t weird you out too much. I had a dream about you too. Same kind of thing. Us, in the darkness, together.Just us.And it was like you said, a memory turned into a dream, but a memory of something that’s never happened, but in the dream it felt so real, and it was more, I don’t even know, more RIGHT than anything I’ve ever felt, in life or in dreams. I wonder what it means that we both had the same dream about each other. Maybe nothing, maybe everything. You tell me.Cade----------------------------------------------------------------Cade,We’re pen pals. Maybe that’s all we’ll ever be. I don’t know. If we met IRL (in real life, in case you’re not familiar with the term) what would happen? And just FYI, the term you used, a literary love? It was beautiful. So beautiful. That term means something, between us now. We are literary loves. Lovers? I do love you, in some strange way. Knowing about you, in these letters, knowing your hurt and your joys, it means something so important to me, that I just can’t describe. I need your art, and your letters, and your literary love.If we never have anything else between us, I need this. I do. Maybe this letter will only complicate things, but like you I have a rule that I never erase or throw away what I’ve written and I always send it, no matter what I write in the letter. Your literary love,Ever

Chosen Heart


Ann Stewart - 2013
    Since then it's been hard to let anyone close, which is why she only has one friend near and dear to her heart. Forsaking all others, she lives a silent, lonely existence. That was until she jumped into the next chapter of her life; Sales Executive at the prestigious Salerno Health, Inc. The moment she met the always calm and collected Alexander James, her life was set on a new path. One moment she's slowly falling in love and the next she's plummeting painfully to the ground with the realization that you don't marry your dirty little secret; you keep her in the closet. That was, until she found out she was not his only kept secret. Will the enigma of Mr. James be more than Elyssa can handle? Or will she choose him, like she promised she always would.

Thin White Line


J.A. Templeton - 2013
    Within months, she goes from private school and posh beachside living to public school and a sub-par apartment in rainy Washington. On her first day at her new school, Kenzie is reunited with her cousin Brooke, a rebellious senior who sings in a popular rock band with two of the sexiest men Kenzie has ever met. Kenzie is soon swept into a world of partying, concerts and tattooed bad boy rockers. Just when she starts to feel like she finally belongs, a single night and a fateful decision changes everything. *New Adult Romance--17+ due to adult situations.

Wrecked


Elle Casey - 2012
    When forced to work together, they discover they have more in common than they ever imagined ...

Captive Films: Season 1


Jillian Dodd
    In reality TV form, this series follows the lives and loves of those who work at Captive Films. Hot, successful, playboy Riley Johnson, whose business success far exceeds his success in love. Movie star, Keatyn Douglas, whose epic love story has spawned a series of books and movies. And Dawson Johnson, who joins Captive with a tragic past. Expect lots of drama, sex, and tabloid-worthy events.Released in serial format much like a TV series, the first season contains 6 episodes. If you prefer to read it all at once, all episodes are available as Captive Films: Season One. Season 1 Episode 1This series is meant for readers 18+.

Still Waters


Rebecca Addison - 2015
    It seemed that everything came easily to Hartley Preston. And then there was her boyfriend David, good-looking, charming and on his way to the top just like she was. But no one knew better than Hartley that things aren’t always as they seem.After making a devastating discovery that tears her world apart, Hartley runs away to an isolated coastal town. She’s searching for freedom and independence but what she finds is Crew Sullivan, a man who is running from life even faster than she is. Hartley wants to escape her future. Crew needs to be released from his past. And with the way they feel about each other, it could have been more than perfect. Except for one, small thing.Hartley is keeping a secret. And Crew has more than a few of his own.

Shattered and Shaken


Julie Bailes - 2013
    She's lost her father to cancer, her brother to war, and the love of her life-Wyatt, took her most prized possession and vanished without notice. Wyatt once held Allie's heart in the palm of his hand-he crushed it.Blake, Allie's best friend turned lover is everything she needs; he'd give her the moon if she asked for it, but there's one problem-he wants Allie entirely.How can Allie give herself to Blake when she's not sure there's a her to give away? Allie's heart is like a puzzle that's unfinished and missing pieces-it's impossible to put together.After being MIA the last four years, Wyatt returns home. Allie's forced to make a decision on who she wants or who she believes she needs. No matter who she chooses someone will be devastated.Allie's life begins to fall into place, her heart begins to heal, and happy is no longer a foreign emotion-until she's betrayed by the two people she trusted most.Her heart's left shattered into a million pieces, how much pain can one person tolerate? Is her heart permanently damaged? Hearts are like broken glass; you can put it back together again, but it will never be the same.

After Math


Denise Grover Swank - 2013
    A mathematics major, she goes to her classes, to her job in the tutoring lab, and then hides in the apartment she shares with her friend, Caroline.After junior Tucker Price, Southern University’s star soccer player enters the equation, her carefully plotted life is thrown off its axis. Tucker’s failing his required College Algebra class. With his eligibility is at risk, the university chancellor dangles an expensive piece of computer software for the math department if Scarlett agrees to privately tutor him.Tucker’s bad boy, womanizer reputation makes Scarlett wary of any contact, let alone spending several hours a week in close proximity.But from her first encounter, she realizes Tucker isn’t the person everyone else sees. He carries a mountain of secrets which she suspects hold the reason to his self-destructive behavior. But the deeper she delves into the cause of his pain, the deeper she gets sucked into his chaos. Will Scarlett find the happiness she’s looking for, or will she be caught in Tucker’s aftermath?

The Half Orphan's Handbook


Joan F. Smith - 2021
    Pan, The Half-Orphan's Handbook by Joan F. Smith is a coming-of-age story and an empathetic, authentic exploration of grief with a sharp sense of humor and a big heart.It’s been three months since Lila lost her father to suicide. Since then, she’s learned to protect herself from pain by following two unbreakable rules:1. The only people who can truly hurt you are the ones you love. Therefore, love no one.2. Stay away from liars. Liars are the worst.But when Lila’s mother sends her to a summer-long grief camp, it’s suddenly harder for Lila to follow these rules. Potential new friends and an unexpected crush threaten to drag her back into life for the first time since her dad’s death.On top of everything, there’s more about what happened that Lila doesn’t know, and facing the truth about her family will be the hardest part of learning how a broken heart can love again.

So Many Reasons Why


Missy Johnson - 2013
    Now, with the impending release of her attacker from prison, Emma knows it’s more important than ever for her to regain control of her life. From her unrelenting nightmares, to her strained relationships, to her crippling agoraphobia, Emma feels as though her life is spiraling out of control.When her professor, Simon Anderson enters her life, Emma must deal with feelings she has never experienced before. Though both she and Simon know their relationship is bordering on inappropriate, neither of them are able to ignore the intense chemistry that is quickly developing between them.What was supposed to keep her mind off the attack has left her more confused than ever. When there are so many reasons why you shouldn’t be together, is simply being in love really enough?This is book one in a two book series.