Book picks similar to
If at First by Tara Brown


mystery
young-adult
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Blake


Karice Bolton - 2016
    He's a professional athlete, charming, cocky, and his family is part of a notorious criminal underground in Manhattan. I know this because my father's a cop, and I'm a psychiatrist working with the criminally insane. But all it takes is one defining moment to understand who the real Blake Volkov is. That second in time rips away everything I thought I knew about him, revealing someone far more loyal, protective, and charming than I ever expected. With his brooding sexiness and fierce determination to protect me, it's hard not to fall for him. At least a little bit, even if it's only for one night...

Serenade


Heather McKenzie - 2017
    But as she forms an unlikely connection with her abductor, Luke, her adventure takes a strange turn.There is nothing magical about growing up in a mountainside castle, when it’s your prison. Kaya’s ruthless and powerful father keeps her under lock and key, watched every second of the day–and Kaya’s not really sure why. She’s just a normal girl…no one special. She doesn’t understand her father’s obsession with her safety – until she is kidnapped. Dragged through a brutal wilderness, Kaya’s captor shows her the devastating truth, and even though he has dark secrets of his own, she is inexplicably drawn to him–when the stars are in your eyes, sometimes the line between right and wrong is blurred. Passion obliterates common sense. Love... makes you reckless. As Kaya's father’s men and her devoted bodyguard scour the woods to find her, she wonders if staying in the arms of her abductor is the safer place to be. At least, that’s what her heart is saying—her head is saying run… Dangerously passionate and darkly romantic, SERENADE is a page-turning thriller and seductive love story.

Dragonfly


Leigh Talbert Moore - 2013
    Pulling Anna into their extravagant lifestyle on the Gulf Coast, Lucy pushed her outside her comfort zone and Jack showed her feelings she's never experienced... Until he mysteriously withdrew.Anna turned to her internship at the city paper and to her old attraction for Julian, a handsome local artist and rising star, for distraction. But both led to her discovery of a decades-old secret closely guarded by the twins' distant, single father.It's a secret that could cost her the boy she loves and permanently change all their lives.

After Obsession


Carrie Jones - 2011
    The dream rushes back to me. We were falling, clutching at each other, with twisting darkness all around us... The girl looks up at me and I realize I've stopped walking and am staring at her. I see something in her eyes, something like recognition.AIMEEAnd in that second I know, absolutely know, that something in my life has changed irrevocably. This is the guy from my dreams. Right here. And we are going to have to do something, save something, together. I just don't know what.TOGETHERAlan and Aimee have just met, but already they are bound to each other by something they can't quite name. Something that rattles the windows, haunts the waters... and threatens to tear them apart before they get a chance to find out what their connection means.

Wolves


C. Gockel - 2012
    Galaxies away Loki is waking up in a prison cell, strangely without a hangover, and with no idea what he’s done wrong — this time anyway. But he does know Thor is hiding something, Odin is up to something wicked, and there seems to be something he’s forgotten...In this tale that is equal parts “Another Fine Myth,” “American Gods,” and “Once Upon a Time,” a very nice midwestern girl and a jaded, still very mischievous Loki must join forces to outwit gods, elves, magic sniffing cats, and nosy neighbors. If Loki can remember exactly what he’s forgotten and Amy can convince him not to be too distracted by Earthly gadgets, her boobs, or three day benders, they just might pull it off...This first volume of "I Bring the Fire" is for anyone who suspects chaos and mischief makers might have their own redeeming qualities, and anyone who just wants a good fantasy romp through modern Earth, ancient Asgard, and beyond!

In Too Deep


Tracey Alvarez - 2013
    He broke her heart to save his own.As an elite police diver tormented by her father's fatal drowning accident, Piper Harland is forced back to the one place she'd sworn never to return. Her tiny hometown on New Zealand’s isolated Stewart Island hasn’t much changed in the nine years she’s been gone. But she soon comes face to face with everything she ran from — grief, regret, and the scalding pain of a love lost.The one place Ryan "West" Westlake belongs is a hundred feet below Stewart Island’s dangerous waters with one breath of air and only a line to guide him to the surface. Down deep he can forget his mentor’s death. Down deep he can forget the one woman who seared his heart when she left. Only now she’s back, and as it turns out, he hasn’t forgotten a thing.Desire and tempers flare when West and Piper cross paths again. Can they face their past and be together? Two hearts. A second chance. Everything on the line...IN TOO DEEP is the first story in Tracey Alvarez's best-selling Stewart Island books set against the stunning backdrop of Aotearoa, New Zealand. If you like heartwarming, sexy and sweet small town romances with a touch of comedy, you'll love sharing the journey with these authentic men and women struggling to find their special someone.Intended for mature 18+ aged readers who enjoy their feel good romance on the steamier side.

Draykon


Charlotte E. English - 2011
    Demand for the coveted stone escalates fast; when people begin dying for it, Llandry finds that she herself has become a target. Lady Evastany Glostrum has her life in pristine order. Prestigious, powerful and wealthy, she is on the verge of crowning her successes with the perfect marriage. But when her closest friend is murdered for the jewellery she wears, Eva is drawn into the mystery surrounding the curious gem. The emergence of the stone is causing chaos across the Seven. Gates between the worlds are opening at will, pulling hordes of creatures through from the shadowy Lower Realm and the glittering Uppers. As Eva works to discover the culprit behind the spreading disorder, Llandry must learn the truth about her precious istore stone - before she herself becomes a victim.

Alice at Heart


Deborah Smith - 2001
    Publishers Weekly says of the story, "love and dark secrets abound." Acclaimed fantasy author Anne Bishop calls the novel "wonderful," and Library Journal describes Alice At Heart as "a compelling, intricately plotted story of love and acceptance." Alice At Heart is simply this: a rich, whimsical, intelligent and romantic launch for Deborah's WaterLilies series about the lives, loves, and dramas of a secret society of people endowed with supernatural traits in the water and a solemn mythology that insists they're descended from ancient (and notstereotypical) "mermaids." An earlier e-book edition from TimeWarner's iPublish division was published in Spring 2001; however, the BelleBooks collector's edition of Alice At Heart includes extensive new material added by the author, as well as original artwork and a classic 1920's Maxfield Parrish painting as the cover art.With 1.5 million copies of her romantic Southern novels in print, Deborah has been named a top all-time author by Romantic Times. Her past and current titles include A Place To Call Home, On Bear Mountain, and Stone Flower Garden.

Sweetness


Lindsay Paige - 2011
    But after moving to a new town with her dad, a charming boy makes it impossible for her to disappear. Despite her feelings of unworthiness, Emily soon finds herself drawn to the safety of Jake's world. Good looking and the star of the hockey team, Jake has a lot going for him. What most people don't see is the difficult life he has at home. When quiet Emily steals his heart, Jake vows to help her discover she is worthy of love. Just when the two of them realize the sweetness of their relationship, they are put to the test. Only together can they overcome their haunted pasts to fight for a future together

Fledgling


Natasha S. Brown - 2012
    A life threatening heart condition smothers her future and she yearns to feel normal. Her hopes are pinned on a fresh start in a remote town far from her native Colorado. Among the locker filled hallways in Clark Bend High, Ana keeps to the shadows, not wanting to draw attention to her violet tinged lips and wilted silhouette. And she almost succeeds, until she meets Chance Morgan. Struggling to keep up appearances, she soon suspects Chance is hiding something as well. His animal-like senses, miraculous healing ability and peculiar reaction to her Thunderbird necklace compels Ana to question if there’s more to the stories about his Navajo ancestry. Without any other explanation, she fears he is playing tricks on her. But the truth may prove too much for Ana’s delicate heart…

Die Noon


Elise Sax - 2018
    Her insomnia is one more reason to move to the quirky small town of Goodnight, New Mexico, after she inherits a house, a small newspaper, and two old dogs there. But despite the Goodnight name, Matilda still spends hers wide awake, and she has good reason after a reporter is murdered. With a mystery to solve, she begins to investigate the town and uncovers more suspects than she knows what to do with. Meanwhile, the hottie cowboy sheriff is doing his own investigation into Matilda, and the mysterious, handsome stranger, who just happens to live with her, is showing up in all the wrong places. As her investigation continues, danger increases, and it might end up spelling lights out for Matilda.Die Noon is the first installment in the hilarious, romantic Goodnight Mysteries series and a spinoff of the Matchmaker Mysteries.Goodnight… Sometimes sweet dreams end in murder.

Silver


Cheree Alsop - 2011
    He has to come to terms with his new life, new school, and new friends while trying to prevent more killings. Attempting to make peace with the territory’s pack and finding out that the girl next door might be more than she lets on make his situation even more perilous.

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.

My Paper Heart


Magan Vernon - 2012
    Dating one of the hottest guys in the biggest fraternity? Done. Failing out of College? Oops... When Libby Gentry's parents receive the letter that she's failed out of school, Libby is forced to pack her Prada bag and head to work for her great aunt in rural Louisiana. Nothing about tiny Elsbury, Louisiana, entices her until she locks eyes with the southern charmer, Blaine Crabtree. Libby is used to getting what she wants and Blaine is no exception, but as the two grow closer, bigger problems arise. Libby doesn't know how much more pain her already paper-thin heart can take and when new opportunities in Chicago pop up she is presented with a difficult situation: wait for her redneck Romeo, or move on.

What We Found


Kris Bock - 2012
    She’ll have to stand up for herself in order to stand up for the murder victim. It’s a risk, and so is reaching out to the mysterious young man who works with deadly birds of prey. But with danger all around, some risks are worth taking.