Book picks similar to
Courtside Crush by Kayla Tirrell
young-adult
contemporary
sports
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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?
The Exchange
Jillian Dodd - 2020
I love New York. My school. My friends. And I didn’t want to leave. But after some not-so-subtle insistence about experiencing a new culture, gaining worldly knowledge, and the fact that it was only three weeks, I knew I wasn’t getting out of it. So, I decided that if I had to go, I might as well have some fun. Which was how I met Harry at a pub. His blue eyes, adorable accent, and charm instantly won me over—right after his lips did. And I started to think that London might not be so bad. But then I met Noah. He’s tall, dark, intense, and spends way too much time in the shower. I know this because I have to live with him. And did I mention that he hates me?My first day at school is more eventful than I anticipated. A boy named Mohammad takes me under his wing, declares himself my guide to the “hostile and hormonal battlefield that is Kensington School,” and lays three facts on me: He, Harry, and Noah are best mates. I’m the new girl and bound to cause drama. And I’ve already got his boys all twisted up. I’m in way over my head, and it’s only my first day!
Right Text Wrong Number
Natalie Decker - 2017
She thinks he’s the biggest jerk in school and he thinks she's too high on her horse to even be worth a second glance. When the two of them are near one another, sparks fly in all the wrong directions. They can hardly endure speaking, let alone dating. But when Layla unknowingly sends Tyler a smack-down text meant for the girl sending naked photos to her then-boyfriend, Adam, Tyler has no idea it’s Layla and decides to play along. After all, Tyler cannot resist messing with the pissed off girl firing off texts about junk pictures, cheating, and girl code. As the fallout from Adam’s scandalous texts plays out in front of the entire school, Tyler and Layla secretly continue to text each other using fake names. But as days and weeks pass, things take a turn for the serious between them, and suddenly, their texts mean more. Maybe it's time to come clean about who they are and risk taking the relationship from texts to dates, then kissing, and maybe more. They say there's a thin line between love and hate. Can reality live up to the fantasy, or will Layla and Tyler be forever offsides?
Kissing Max Holden
Katy Upperman - 2017
As his long-time friend, Jillian Eldridge only wants to help him, but she doesn't know how. When Max climbs through her window one night, Jill knows that she shouldn't let him kiss her. But she can't resist, and when they're caught in the act by her dad, Jill swears it'll never happen again. Because kissing Max Holden is a terrible idea.With a new baby sibling on the way, her parents fighting all the time, and her dream of culinary school up in the air, Jill starts spending more and more time with Max. And even though her father disapproves and Max still has a girlfriend, not kissing Max is easier said than done. Will Jill follow her heart and allow their friendship to blossom into something more, or will she listen to her head and stop kissing Max Holden once and for all?
Fighting for His Life
Nola Marie - 2020
He was my best friend. At fourteen I fell in love with him. Maybe I always was. Then graduation night he kissed me. Told me he loved me too. That day made me think everything would be perfect.Until the unthinkable happened, and nothing was perfect. I've lost myself and I've pushed him away. That day left me so broken and damaged, and I don't know if I can find my way back.JaxI've loved Zoey for so long I can't remember not loving her. Until that fateful phone call made it seem like the end.I have to find a way to help the girl I love heal because living without her isn't an option. She is everything to me. She is my life.
Detour
A. Marie - 2020
Angela Head down, eyes peeled for any opportunity to get off the dead-end course my mother carelessly paved for me years ago.My plan takes a sharp turn landing me directly across the hall from Creekwood’s resident bad boys. The three streetbike riding misfits are as stubborn as they are sexy. And they. Are. Sexy. Especially the one with the mocha swirl eyes watching my every move.But even the six-foot hallway separating us can’t keep the overbearing trio from constantly getting in my way.When my past threatens to catch up with me, I quickly learn not every detour promises an easier route, no matter how tempting my new neighbors might make it look. Coty Head up, eyes locked on anything threatening to throw me off the carefully constructed path I have mapped out.I live my life the same way I ride my bike, never once regretting the roads I’ve chosen.Lately though, after years of the same scenery, everything’s starting to blur together. It’s only when our elusive neighbor girl comes out of nowhere that I realize what’s been missing.And now that I have, I don’t think I can let her pass by so quickly. At least not without proving the lengths I’ll go for her first.
Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between
Jennifer E. Smith - 2015
Over the course of twelve hours, they retrace the steps of their relationship, trying to find something in their past that might help them decide what their future should be. The night leads them to family and friends, familiar landmarks and unexpected places, hard truths and surprising revelations. But as the clock winds down and morning approaches, so does their inevitable goodbye. The question is, will it be goodbye for now or goodbye forever?Charming, bittersweet, and full of wisdom and heart, this irresistible novel from Jennifer E. Smith, author of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, explores the difficult choices that arise when life and love lead in different directions.
Rules We're Meant to Break
Natalie Williamson - 2019
Kevin’s daughter, Cammie, keeps acting like Amber’s friend, even though she’s definitely not. And Jordan—star basketball player, hottest boy in school, and Cammie's best friend—keeps showing up at the most inconvenient moments.Amber has reasons for every one of her rules, and following them is the only way to protect her heart when her mom inevitably moves on. But as she spends more time with Kevin, his daughter, and especially Jordan, she starts to wonder if the rules might be worth breaking this time.Chosen by readers like you for Macmillan's young adult imprint Swoon Reads, Rules We're Meant to Break is a charming, heartachingly real story of family and young love by debut author Natalie Williamson.Praise for Rules We're Meant to Break:“The last time I devoured a book like this—I can't even remember. … It was so openhearted and raw.” —Clarissa, reader on SwoonReads.com"It is such a true true story about a girl finding herself within her first love. I loved it!" —Forever Bookish, reader on SwoonReads.com
The Seven Torments of Amy and Craig
Don Zolidis - 2018
Amy and Craig never should've gotten together. Craig is an awkward, Dungeons & Dragons-playing geek, and Amy is the beautiful, fiercely intelligent student-body president of their high school.Yet somehow they did. Until Amy dumped him. Then got back together with him. Then dumped him again. Then got back together with him again. Over and over and over.Unfolding during their senior year, Amy and Craig's exhilarating, tumultuous relationship is a kaleidoscope of joy, pain, and laughter as an uncertain future-and adult responsibility-loom on the horizon.Craig fights for his dream of escaping Janesville and finding his place at a quirky college, while Amy's quest to uncover her true self sometimes involves being Craig's girlfriend?and sometimes doesn't.Seven heartbreaks. Seven joys.Told nonsequentially, acclaimed playwright Don Zolidis's debut novel is a brutally funny, bittersweet taste of the utterly unique and utterly universal experience of first love.
Enemies to Prom Dates
S. Doyle - 2021
He’s also my mortal enemy.We don’t agree on anything except that he hates me as much as I hate him.Until we realize our younger sisters are the target of a super creepy Freshman Bait List. With no choice but to team up, we have to put aside our mutual loathing only to find out…maybe we don’t hate each other as much as we thought we did? I know it for sure when the kissing starts.
The Boyfriend Agreement
Seven Steps - 2017
TRUST ME.Bella French is a high school junior with sky-high grades and a non-existent social calendar. So, when Jake Winstead, the most gorgeous, wealthy, and popular guy in school asks her to be his fake girlfriend, she makes a bold choice. She says, yes.Now this wallflower is going from invisible to trending.There's just one problem. Jake's very real twin brother, and Bella's arch nemesis, Cole Winstead.After two years of being at each other's throats, Bella and Cole are paired up on a school project. Bella is determined to stay focused on completing the assignment but it's hard when sparks are flying, and a boy she's grown to hate starts to change his ways.Stuck between two brothers, what will Bella do? Stay with Jake and ride the wave of popularity or give a beastly boy a second chance? The Boyfriend Agreement is funny, emotional, and wonderfully romantic. Inspired by Beauty and the Beast, it’s a tale of one girl's journey to help her friends and find love, all while discovering herself. Grab your copy of this unforgettable young adult contemporary romance today. St. Mary's Academy is a young adult contemporary romance series that brings classic fairytale characters to life in a modern day, high school setting. It's filled with angsty heroines, hot heroes, and drama galore. Be prepared. You've never seen fairytales quite like this. Book 0 - The Beginning of ForeverBook 1 - The Boyfriend AgreementBook 2 - Chasing MermaidsBook 3 - The Golden BoyBook 4 - Stealing HeartsBook 5 - The Secret Lives of PrincessesBuy them now.
Undefeated
Stuart Reardon - 2017
Nick Renshaw is the golden boy of British rugby. When a serious injury threatens his career, he starts to spiral downwards, a broken man.Abandoned and betrayed by those closest to him, he fights to restart his life. Maybe there’s someone out there who can help him. Maybe he can find his way back toward the light. Maybe … not.Dr. Anna Scott might be the one person who can help Nick, but she has her own secrets. And when Nick’s past comes back to haunt them both, the enigmatic doctor is more vulnerable than she seems.Broken and betrayed, the struggle to survive seems intolerable. Who will give in, and who will rise, undefeated?
Until Friday Night
Abbi Glines - 2015
But while West may be Big Man on Campus on the outside, on the inside he’s battling the grief that comes with watching his father slowly die of cancer.Two years ago, Maggie Carleton’s life fell apart when her father murdered her mother. And after she told the police what happened, she stopped speaking and hasn’t spoken since. Even the move to Lawton, Alabama, couldn’t draw Maggie back out. So she stayed quiet, keeping her sorrow and her fractured heart hidden away.As West’s pain becomes too much to handle, he knows he needs to talk to someone about his father—so in the dark shadows of a post-game party, he opens up to the one girl who he knows won’t tell anyone else.West expected that talking about his dad would bring some relief, or at least a flood of emotions he couldn’t control. But he never expected the quiet new girl to reply, to reveal a pain even deeper than his own—or for them to form a connection so strong that he couldn’t ever let her go…
The Rebound
Winter Renshaw - 2018
I told him I’d wait for him. He promised to do the same. But life happened. I broke my promise long before he ever broke his—and not because I wanted to. We never saw each other again … Until ten years later when Nevada unexpectedly returned to our hometown after an abrupt retirement from his professional basketball career. Suddenly he was everywhere, always staring through me with that brooding gaze, never returning my smiles or “hellos.” Over the years, I’d heard that he’d changed. And that despite his multi-million dollar contracts and rampant success, life hadn’t been so kind to him. He was a widower. And a single father. And rumor had it, he’d spent his last ten years trying to forget me, refusing to so much as breathe my name … hating me. But just like a rebound, he’s back. And I have to believe everything happens for a reason. AUTHOR'S NOTE: For a limited time, this book contains one bonus book, which means THE REBOUND ends around 50% on your Kindle. Rest assured that it is still a full-length novel. :-)
Full Court Press
J. Akridge - 2021
To her, it’s a painful reminder of her past relationship mistakes. But after losing a bet to her sister, she finds herself at an Atlanta Hawks game, hating life. There, she meets basketball star Landon Prince and treats herself to one steamy night with him. Landon sees Kelsi as the kind of girl he could fall for, but it takes a bit of convincing for her to give them a chance. When she finally relents, Landon fully believes he can protect her from the trappings of his fame. He was wrong. One reporter was all it took to catch a picture of them in a compromising position, that could cost Kelsi her teaching job. But when Kelsi’s ex sees the picture, he formulates a plan to exploit the situation in a vicious custody battle. Can Landon and Kelsi work together to pick up the pieces of her shattered life and begin a full court press to their happily ever after? Or will the price of his fame tear them apart?