Book picks similar to
Against All Odds by Kels Barnholdt
new-adult
romance
high-school
contemporary
Wicked Beginnings
L.A. Cotton - 2017
A. Cotton, author of the Rixon Raidersseries.Sometimes wrong feels so right...When seventeen-year-old Eloise Stone finds herself halfway across the world, moving into her uncle's pool house, she expects things to be ... awkward. She doesn't expect to come face-to-face with the boy from last summer. The boy that made her feel things she'd never felt before. But a year is a long time, and Lo isn't the girl she was then. Besides, they're family now.It's weird.Maverick Prince acts as if he doesn't remember her, treating Lo like nothing more than an annoying younger sister, and not in a 'he cares' way, just in a 'he's an arsehole' way. One thing's for sure, he isn't just dangerous for her sanity--he's hazardous for her heart.Lo thought moving to Wicked Bay was the worst of her problems, but as life begins to unravel around her, she's going to find out it's only the beginning...~The Wicked Bay Series is recommended for readers aged 17+ due to mature themes, language and content.Reading OrderWicked BeginningsWicked RulesWicked LiesWicked GamesWicked HeartsWicked SurpriseWicked PromiseWicked Forever
Bully
Penelope Douglas - 2013
He doesn't call me that, though. He would never refer to me so informally, if he referred to me at all. No, he'll barely even speak to me.But he still won't leave me alone.We were best friends once. Then he turned on me and made it his mission to ruin my life. I've been humiliated, shut out, and gossiped about all through high school. His pranks and rumors got more sadistic as time wore on, and I made myself sick trying to stay out of his way. I even went to France for a year, just to avoid him.But I'm done hiding from him now, and there's no way in hell I'll allow him to ruin my senior year. He might not have changed, but I have. It's time to fight back. I'm not going to let him bully me anymore.***This novel contains adult/mature young adult situations. It is only suitable for ages 18+ due to language, violence, and sexual situations.
The Peer and the Puppet
B.B. Reid - 2018
Win the race. Collect the cash. It should've been an easy job. Ran out of town with a broken leg and a lawsuit, my mother's latest flame swoops in like a knight in gilded armor. Blackwood Keep is a place I don't belong, and I'm not the only one who knows. To the boy across the hall, my savior's only son, I'm a stray looking for a bone.He's lord of the manor.King of the academy.And number one on my shit list.THE PEERI have no intentions of becoming a happy family with the social climber and her wild daughter. A bottle of Jameson and a cracked skull gets my problem shipped to reform school, but I didn't bank on her returning.Four's out to get even, and she almost had the perfect plan: expose the privileged kid moonlighting as a gangbanger. She's smart, but she'll have to be smarter. Sending her away won't be good enough this time. I'm going to have to tame the little troublemaker. To the girl across the hall, the one without a name, I'm nothing without my silver spoon.She's lady of the trailer park.Queen of the swamps.And my new favorite pastime.The Peer and the Puppet is a standalone romance, however, the series is one story. The plot introduced in Four and Ever's story will continue in the following novels. Content suitable for 18+.
Falling for the Ghost of You
Nicole Christie - 2012
As if that wasn't bad enough, her mother's marrying a man she just met.Things take an awkward turn when Violet meets her rich new stepfather, and his gorgeous son—the hot guy whom she made a fool of herself in front of earlier that day! Zane O' Connor is sexy and charming, and way out of her league. He makes her forget her ex-boyfriend even existed. But there's no way she'd ever have a chance with him...right?Through a strange turn of events, Violet finds herself living with Zane for a month. Somewhere between the fighting and flirting, they become friends. And it isn't long before that friendship blooms into something else...something more powerful than Violet anticipated. But Zane is hiding something from her--something big enough to tear them apart if Violet ever discovered the truth about him. Her suspicions keep her from trusting him completely. She's been burned before—is she willing to take that risk again?As she and Zane spend more time together, Violet realizes it's too late: she's fallen for the beautiful boy with the big secret. Will she get her heart broken twice in one year—or will her love survive the truth?For readers seventeen and older due to sexual situations and language.
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?
Keep You from Harm
Debra Doxer - 2013
I’ve kept a secret all my life. It’s my mother’s secret, too. I inherited it from her along with a unique ability that only we possess. She’s gone now, another victim of addiction. If her death isn’t enough to bring me to my knees, her betrayal flays me to the bone. Because the secret my mother and I have been keeping is just one of many she’d kept. She never told me I have an older brother. And now he’s here, eager to be my guardian.There is no one else. So I move across the country to live with this stranger, my brother. But experience has taught me that most situations are temporary and forming attachments only leads to hurt in the end. That’s why I’m determined to keep to myself in this new place, struggling to seem aloof while I’m quietly breaking apart. Then I meet Lucas…His magnetism is hard to resist, and most girls at school aren’t resisting. I don’t fall so easily though, especially not for guys who use their good looks as a weapon. From the start, our interactions are tense and volatile. I know it’s because I’m denying the unwelcome desire that grips me when he’s near. I think he feels it, too. He looks at me with an intensity that threatens to unhinge my resolve. Soon he’s trying to break through the walls that past hurts have built. But I’m not what I appear to be, and it wouldn’t be fair to get involved with him. At least that’s what I tell myself. Until a terrible act of violence reveals that Lucas has a secret, too. It’s a secret that links us together and ties us to an evil history I could never have imagined.
Cross My Heart
Katie Klein - 2011
This is Jaden pretending not to notice. . . .Jaden McEntyre and Parker Whalen are a wrong fit from the start. Jaden is driven and focused, Harvard Med School within reach. Parker has a past-a reputation-and the rumors about his mysterious habits abound. So there's no reason why, when they're assigned to work together on a project in English, they should discover they have anything in common, or even like each other, and they definitely shouldn't be falling in love.As they bond over Edith Wharton's tragic novella, Ethan Frome, the "bad boy" vibe Parker plays begins to dissipate. Soon, Jaden finds herself shedding her own "good girl" image: sneaking around to be with him, confiding in him, and ultimately falling hard for this leather-wearing, motorcycle-driving loner who plays into the rebel stereotype.Still, Jaden can't shake the feeling that there's more to Parker than he's letting on. He's hiding something from her, and discovering the truth means reconciling the Parker she's grown to love with the person he really is. Because it's possible that his life inside the classroom-everything Jaden knows-is one massive lie.
Find You in the Dark
A. Meredith Walters - 2012
Normal friends, normal parents, normal grades.. normal life. Until him. Clayton Reed was running from his past and an army of personal demons that threatened to take him down. He never thought he had a chance at happiness. Until her. Maggie thought their love could overcome anything. Clay thought she was all he needed to fix his messy life. That together, they could face the world. But the darkness is always waiting. Sometimes the greatest obstacle to true love is within yourself.
Chasing Nikki
Lacey Weatherford - 2012
Caught up in a world of drugs and alcohol, he doesn't notice time slipping away until he's arrested for underage drinking one night.Fed up with watching her son destroy his life, Chase's mom relocates him to live in a small ranching community with his ex-military grandfather. Chase is far from happy about the situation until he meets, Nikki, the cute cheerleader who won't give football players like him the time of day.Chase enjoys a good challenge though and sets out to claim Nikki for his own. He soon discovers she's more than a pretty face--she's a balm to his troubled spirit also. But when tragedy strikes Nikki's life too, suddenly Chase finds himself put to the ultimate test. Can he trust Nikki, and all that she's taught him? Will it be enough?
Did I Mention I Love You?
Estelle Maskame - 2015
Eden's parents are divorced and have gone their separate ways, and now her father has a brand new family. For Eden, this means she's about to meet three new step-brothers. The eldest of the three is Tyler Bruce, a troubled teenager with a short temper and a huge ego. Complete polar opposites, Eden quickly finds herself thrust into a world full of new experiences as Tyler's group of friends take her under their wing. But the one thing she just can't understand is Tyler, and the more she presses to figure out the truth about him, the more she finds herself falling for the one person she shouldn't – her step-brother.Throw in Tyler's clingy girlfriend and a guy who has his eyes set on Eden, and there's secrets, lies and a whole lot of drama. But how can Eden keep her feelings under control? And can she ever work out the truth about Tyler? Did I Mention I Love You is the first book in the phenomenal DIMILY trilogy, following the lives of Eden Munro and Tyler Bruce as they try to find their way in an increasingly confusing world.
Stepbrother Dearest
Penelope Ward - 2014
When my stepbrother, Elec, came to live with us my senior year, I wasn’t prepared for how much of a jerk he’d be. I hated that he took it out on me because he didn’t want to be here. I hated that he brought girls from our high school back to his room. But what I hated the most was the unwanted way my body reacted to him. At first, I thought all he had going for him were his rock-hard tattooed abs and chiseled face. Then, things started changing between us, and it all came to a head one night. Just as quickly as he’d come into my life, he was gone back to California. It had been years since I’d seen Elec. When tragedy struck our family, I’d have to face him again. And holy hell, the teenager who made me crazy was now a man that drove me insane.I had a feeling my heart was about to get broken again.Stepbrother Dearest is a standalone novel. **Contains graphic sexual content and harsh language. It is only appropriate for adult readers age 18+
What a Boy Wants
Nyrae Dawn - 2012
He has what he considers a PHD in hooking up. When he needs extra cash for a car, Sebastian starts up an online venture as The Hook-up Doctor, to anonymously help girls land the guy of their dreams. Of course, his services don’t offer a happily-ever-after guarantee. He’s seen firsthand getting together never means staying together. And then he falls in love… With the last girl he would expect… Totally not in his game plan. Suddenly, Sebastian finds himself muddled in the game he’s always prided himself on. He can’t even pick up girls at parties anymore! Why would anyone want to be in love when it turns you into a stuttering, screwed-up, mess with really lame stalker tendencies? Stalking? Totally not his gig. But the Hook-up Doctor won’t let himself go down easily. He’s always known how to give a girl what she wants and now it’s time to figure out what a boy wants… and he definitely plans on getting it.
Serial Hottie
Kelly Oram - 2012
So when the hottest boy she's ever seen moves in across the street and starts treating her like she's the center of his universe, naturally she's going to be a little skeptical. But everything starts to make sense when girls who look just like Ellie start dying all around the city. Obviously the new guy is the killer, and of course he only likes her because he wants to slice her into tiny pieces. Right? The more Ellie gets to know Seth the more she's convinced he's a psychopathic killer. Problem is, he's the sweetest psychopathic killer she's ever met. Not to mention he's brutally hot. No matter how hard she tries, she can't help but fall for him. Will Ellie find true love, or will her summer of firsts turn out to be a summer of lasts?
Collide
H.M. Ward - 2012
He's pining over some girl that doesn't know he's alive. The confident swagger and endless stream of girls is a facade. It conceals his loneliness and hides how messed up he's really become trying to flee from a life that's battered him to his core.Trystan tries to figure out how to make it clear how much he loves Mari, but every insincere kiss and every broken promise haunts him, because she knows them all. Now, Trystan has to prove to the one girl he's actually fallen in love with that she's not just another conquest. Mari has no idea who Trystan loves, but she can tell that whoever it is has captured his heart entirely. Soon Mari sees the man behind the mask, the guy that Trystan tries so hard to hide. Everything about him is appealing, and too hard to resist. In a moment of desperation, Trystan uploads a love song he wrote for Mari, but before he can show it to her, the video goes viral. Everyone wants to know who he is, and the only thing shielding him is an anonymous account name and some thick shadows hiding his face. Tyrstan realizes that the consequences of revealing his identity will be disastrous. Everything he's tried so hard to hide will be exposed. It's a secret that is impossible to keep and the only girl who he wanted to hear it will never believe him.The Secret Life of Trystan Scott is an addicting romance with lots of tension and steamy kisses. The story is told in 20,000 word segments. Each book is another episode, building on the previous. The books in the TRYSTAN SCOTT series will get hotter as it progresses and cross from YA into New Adult by the end of the series.
The Love Game
Emma Hart - 2013
Arrogant, egotistical, and the playboy of the University of California, Berkeley, he's everything her brother Pearce has taught her to despise. So why, when the girls challenge her to play the player, why doesn't she say no? She doesn't know either.Braden wanted fiery little Maddie the second he laid eyes on her - and he'd do anything to have her, hence why he's agreed to make her fall in love with him. After all, it's the only way he'll get what he wants. Sex.But, as Braden discovers, there's more to the girl from Brooklyn than he ever imagined - and he can't help but care about the broken girl behind those pretty green eyes.Maddie finds Braden isn't just a walking erection - he actually has feelings. He can be sweet, funny and his good looks don't exactly hurt. That means trouble - but when her brother Pearce turns up in Berkeley begging for her help, she realises Braden and Pearce aren't so alike anymore.And maybe, just maybe, they're exactly what each other needs.