Book picks similar to
21 Years of Jane by Yolanda Olson


contemporary
new-adult
freebies
romance

The Last Single Girl


Bria Quinlan - 2012
    Last minute. Who doesn't already have plans on the busiest date night of the year.But, so far the best part of the search for a great date has been the cute café I found and the geeky-hot owner who keeps rescuing me from these crazy eLove.com dates. This should be easy-peasy. The internet is the home of all your hopes and needs, right?Spoiler Alert: it isn't.Between the bromance date and the crazed single dad who needs to hire a nanny and housekeeper, not get a date, I'm running out of options. If only a certain cutey didn't have a phone call with "sweetheart" every day.The weirder things get, the more I think just going solo is very I Am Woman, blah blah blah. Forget about the fact that my heart keeps bringing me back to a certain café even when I don't need to be there...I mean, my heart doesn't always get what it wants, does it?

You Were Here


Cory McCarthy - 2016
    Joined by four classmates, each with their own brand of dysfunction, Jaycee discovers a map detailing her brother's exploration and the unfinished dares he left behind.As a tribute to Jake, Jaycee vows to complete the dares, no matter how terrifying or dangerous. What she doesn't bargain on is her eccentric band of friends who challenge her to do the unthinkable: reveal the parts of herself that she buried with her brother.

Summer Unplugged


Amy Sparling - 2013
    After catching her sending a less than lady-like photo to a boy who barely knows her, Bayleigh's mom sends her away to her grandparent's house for the summer--sans cell phone, laptop and Ipod. Bayleigh thinks the summer will be torture without social media...that is until she meets the boy next door.

None of the Regular Rules


Erin Soderberg Downing - 2012
    But this isn’t just any list; it’s a dead girl's bucket list.Sophie's beloved aunt Suzy died as a teenager in a fatal fall, leaving Sophie with an overly cautious family, a few fading photographs, and a bucket of bolts that barely passes for a car. But now, Sophie has Suzy’s list of the things she wanted to do in her last year of high school. Sophie can't help but wonder: What would happen if she tried to fulfill Suzy’s last wishes, to live out the longed-for life of her aunt, her hero?As Sophie and her friends attempt to knock off the things on Suzy's list of dares, love blossoms in unexpected places and Sophie begins to feel that her life is finally coming together...when in fact, everything is slowly unraveling around her. When the truth about a long-held family secret threatens to shatter everything she believed to be true, Sophie is forced to question everything she knew about the life and people she believed in, and ultimately herself.

Her Italian Millionaire


Carol Grace - 2003
    Now, one divorce and one postcard from Giovanni later, Anne Marie follows her heart to Italy, where her former flame has promised to show her the sights. Giovanni is elusive but Marco Moretti, a mysterious, handsome Italian, seems to be everywhere. The persistent, irresistible Marco wants to find Giovanni as badly as she does so they team up to find him. And on the way they find something they didn't expect - love, Italian style.

The Pepper in the Gumbo


Mary Jane Hathaway - 2014
    If only more people would turn off the TV and shut down the computer, the world wouldn't be in the mess it's in. If only she can get the teens she loves to step away from the screens, they might be able to hold on to their Creole culture. The only person who seems to understand her passion for classic literature is the mysterious website owner, Browning Wordsworth Keats.Paul Olivier comes back to his home town determined to show the people of Cane River that he's not the poor, nerdy kid he once was. He's made a fortune designing video games and opening a giant electronics store right in the snooty historic district will be the crowning glory of his career. Unfortunately, one bookish anti-tech fanatic has decided to do everything she can to keep that from happening. Even worse, she doesn't know that in cyber space, they're best friends and kindred spirits. Alice and Paul clash from the start, but nothing is ever quite as it seems. When secrets are revealed, will there be a second chance- for both of them?A romance that brings the humor of You've Got Mail and the deep friendships of 84, Charring Cross Road, this romance will touch the classic literature lover in everyone.

The Escort


Ramona Gray - 2014
    There’s only one problem – she’s a thirty year old virgin and embarrassed as hell about it. When her best friend suggests hiring an escort to not only help rid her of her pesky virginity but teach her some moves in bed, Julie swallows her pride and calls an escort agency. She books a date with the sexy and gorgeous Cal. Court Thomas has been saving his identical twin brother’s butt for years. When Cal calls, begging him to take his place with his latest ‘date’, Court reluctantly agrees. Unprepared for his immediate attraction to the beautiful but fragile woman, he’s rocked by Julie’s request for him to take her virginity. Determined to change her mind, he continues to impersonate his brother. But when Julie’s warm kisses trigger a desire he’s never experienced before, will he convince her to wait for ‘Mr. Right’ or take the sweet gift she’s offering? Author’s note: This is a novella of 35,000 words. It contains explicit and steamy sex scenes that may not be your cup of tea. It is intended for mature readers only.

If He Had Been with Me


Laura Nowlin - 2013
    But I should've been. It was raining, of course. And he and Sylvie were arguing as he drove down the slick road. No one ever says what they were arguing about. Other people think it's not important. They do not know there is another story. The story that lurks between the facts. What they do not know—the cause of the argument—is crucial.So let me tell you...

Men of Steel


M.J. Fields - 2013
    Sexy tattooed and pierced bad boy, Jase Steel lives on the Jersey shore. Jase his mother, and brothers, Cyrus, Zandor, and Xavier own a tattoo shop. Jase sees Carly his best friends cousin from California who is there to visit her father before going back to Californa for her Sophmore year in college. Jase is immediately drawn to her quirky, funny,Nerdy, and seemingly shy ways. She is equally as attracted to him. Jase and Carly are from two different world, when these two worlds collide will it be a heavenly explosion or just another summer fling.

No More Wasted Time


Beverly Preston - 2012
      Life isn’t about tomorrow ~ Life is about todayAfter losing her husband to a sudden heart attack, Tess Mathews escapes to Bora Bora to lay her husband and sorrow to rest. What she doesn’t expect is a new beginning.Tom Clemmins is an A-list actor whose life revolves around work and an onslaught of women. He travels to Bora Bora for a much-needed break. Tom has a few ideas of how he’ll enjoy his vacation, but love isn’t one of them. Until he sees Tess.Reserving a private shark-feeding excursion to scatter her husband’s ashes into the lagoon, Tess is furious when Mr. Hollywood bribes his way onto the boat, leaving her no other choice but to share the boat ride.Tess is torn between tremendous guilt and zealous lust when their boat ride turns into a week full of romance and desire neither thought imaginable. Utterly smitten with a woman for the first time in his life, Tom casts his commitment phobia aside and whisks Tess off to Malibu where he introduces her as his “girlfriend” on the red carpet. As the paparazzi besiege, can Tess survive the media blitz that ensues in order to find her second chance at love?

Unfamiliar


Erica Cope - 2014
    From the way she wears her hair, to dating her childhood friend-turned high school sweetheart--she sticks with what she knows, and she’s convinced herself that this is what makes her happy. Chase Lancaster doesn’t play by the rules. He’s a classically trained pianist who rocks out in a punk rock band every weekend, and isn’t afraid of taking chances.When they are assigned to co-write a song for their college music class, Hailey can’t imagine anyone she has anything less in common with than Chase. She is a sweater-wearing, neat freak, and he is disheveled and rough around the edges. As they spend time together, they both find a place in each other’s lives—a place where they challenge each other to be different and to embrace the unfamiliar. Hailey never planned for a Chase Lancaster in her life, and she is about to find out that this walking contradiction will change her forever.

Dance with Me


Staci Stallings - 2017
     For three years, Kaci has steadfastly guarded her heart to keep it from thinking she will ever dance again, somehow pushing what she really wants under what she needs to do to be successful in life. Then a chance walk down a side street ignites the fire to dance once again. Can Kaci keep her passion reined in, especially when the studio owner's son seems determined to drag it out of her no matter what she tries to keep it under wraps? Josh Garrison hates to dance. He has ever since he was made fun of for it ten years ago. But Josh is in dire straits financially, and if he has to dance to make life work, maybe he has no real choice. Unfortunately, his partner in this venture is a headstrong, obstinate former prima ballerina who loves to dance but absolutely refuses to let herself love it. She want to focus on steps and technique when his spirit has always wanted only to soar on the dance floor. Can two polar opposites in life find common ground when they hit the dance floor together? Find out in USA Today Best Selling Christian Author, Staci Stallings, contemporary Christian Romance, “Dance with Me.” *~* “Dance with Me” is a contemporary Christian romance novel filled to the brim and overflowing with real romance. The dance sequences create a poetry all their own, and the relationship between Kaci and Josh is both magical and challenging. Both have their way of dancing and living, and they are determined to prove their way is the only way. However, as the masks come off and their true realities begin to be unveiled, what appeared to be differences just might not turn out to be so different after all. Inspirational, hopeful, and heartbreakingly romantic, “Dance with Me” will surely find its way into reader’s hearts and onto their to-be-read-again-and-again shelves.

Bet in the Dark


Rachel Higginson - 2013
    And to add insult to injury, her overprotective family is suddenly clinging to her again, fighting to control every part of her life.Bad luck follows her hasty decision and when her roommate steals her identity and leaves town, Ellie is left to clean up a gigantic mess.Fin Hunter insists Ellie owes him seven thousand dollars from an online poker game and he won't stop until he collects it. Determined to keep her family out of her life, Ellie agrees to work for Fin in his illegal online poker operation. He's given her six weeks to pay off the debt.Soon sparks are flying between them and the only thing keeping her from falling for him is the debt she still owes and the money she doesn't have.At the end of those six weeks, Ellie will have to pay the mistaken debt or bet that her feelings for Fin will be worth more than the money. This book was previously titled Bet in the Dark.

The Boat Builder's Bed


Kris Pearson - 2012
    Sophie Calhoun can't imagine how she'll pay for the damage to the luxurious car.Already cash-strapped, she's struggling to launch her new interior design studio and make a home for her daughter. She's only days away from disaster.Out of the sleek black Jaguar storms super-yacht tycoon Rafe Severino. Steaming mad. Totally gorgeous. And desperately in need of a top-line decorator for his spectacular new harbor-side mansion.Sophie fears her dream contract comes with strings that tie her to the boat-builder's bed. No matter how she tries to escape, he's always there - implacable and irresistible.She knows he doesn't want a preoccupied single mother, but concealing her daughter's existence from the man she's falling in love with is getting harder and harder. If he discovers her lies, she'll instantly lose everything.Warning: contains one determined golden-skinned man who knows his way around boats, bodies and bed-sheets.

Trying Sophie


Rebecca Norinne - 2016
    When we were kids, he tormented me mercilessly ... but that little boy is all man now, and there are some very adult things I’d like to do with him. But it’s not just his hot body or his wicked mouth that I’m falling for. Underneath all that cockiness he’s kind and generous too—the exact opposite of who I expected him to be. And now I have to decide if I’m ready to put down roots in Ireland or go back to America, which would mean walking away from the reformed bad boy who just might be the love of my life. DeclanRugby was the only thing I cared about until Sophie Newport walked back into my life. When we were kids, I treated her like garbage, but we’re both adults now, and I want to make it up to her. Especially since she still makes me feel things no one else ever has—or likely ever will. I want her, and I never give up without a fight. Even if it means showing her who I really am … introducing her to the things I need. Even if it means laying my heart on the line and asking her to stay. But first I have to win her trust, and then I’m going to win her heart. And this time, I want forever.