Book picks similar to
Escape by C. Shell


new-adult
college
romance
edit-no-contractions

The Arrangement: The Ferro Family


H.M. Ward - 2013
    Just when she doesn't think things could get any worse, they do. When her car stalls out at a busy intersection and she gets out to check under the hood, a guy steals her car. Armed with a dress and a pair of Chucks, Avery runs after the thief. When a hot stranger offers to help, she can't say no. That's how Avery meets Sean Ferro, the totally sexy, totally damaged guy with more secrets than she has time for.Avery doesn't have time for anything anymore. Her is life falling apart and it's not just the car. It's everything, and it doesn't matter how tightly she tries to hold on, there's nothing left to hold on to. With the sudden death of her parents, it's only a matter of months until Avery's shot at college is gone, and she's living in a cardboard box. Other students have their families to rely on when things get bad. Avery has no one. But there's one option, one incredibly sexy, morally devoid, option. If Avery takes a job as a call girl, one guy could save her. One client. One time. She just has to say yes.

Burned


Tara Sivec - 2014
    Ignite Series, # 1: Collin & Finnley Seventeen years old when he broke my heart.Seventeen days later when another picked up the pieces.Seventeen years together.Seventeen thousand problems.Seventeen days of reliving my past and finding a new future.Seventeen minutes until it all went up in flames.Seventeen breaths until I took my last.This is my story...and it’s going to burn.

Something Beautiful


Jamie McGuire - 2015
    Unlike his cousins, Shepley is more lover than fighter, but a road trip to her parents' home in Wichita, Kansas could mean the next step, or the end of everything.

Bender


Stacy Borel - 2014
    Instead, she got Camden Brooks. Camden, with his sinful body, sharp tongue, and the inability to stay out of Keegan’s personal space, couldn’t seem to curb his interest in the new girl who wouldn’t put up with his domineering ways. Feelings were running rampant, sexual tension was thick, and both were struggling to let go of control. To some people, getting a roommate simply meant living with another person. But to both Camden and Keegan it was a curveball that neither was prepared to swing at. **Strong sexual content** Can be read as a stand alone. Each brother will have their own book. (A 96,000 word novel)

Frigid


J. Lynn - 2013
    They'd been best friends ever since he pushed her down on the playground and she made him eat a mud pie. Somewhere over the years, she fell for him and fell hard. The big problem with that? Kyler puts the 'man' in man-whore. He's never stayed with a girl longer than a few nights, and with it being their last year in college, Syd doesn't want to risk their friendship by declaring her love. Kyler has always put Syd on a pedestal that was too high for him to reach. To him, she's perfect and she's everything. But the feelings he has for her, he's always hidden away or focused on any other female. After all, Kyler will always be the poor boy from the wrong side of tracks, and Syd will always be the one girl he can never have. But when they're stranded together at a posh ski resort due to a massive Nor'easter, there's nothing stopping their red-hot feelings for each other from coming to the surface. Can their friendship survive the attraction? Better yet, can they survive at all? Because as the snow falls, someone is stalking them, and this ski trip may be a life-changer in more ways than one.

Chasing Beautiful


Pamela Ann - 2012
    Life was starting to look up when out of nowhere, her boyfriend Kyle decided to end things. She vowed never to love again. But what she didn't see coming was the revelation of feelings her friend Blake had in store for her. Blake a handsome British mogul-in-training and a good friend who’s been lusting after her since they met or Kyle—childhood best friend, high school sweetheart, and her first love—but broke her heart. This is Sienna’s journey in finding herself and learning about forgiveness, heartaches and most of all, love. *****INTENDED FOR ADULTS 18 AND ABOVE*****

Charade


Nyrae Dawn - 2012
    Walking in on her boyfriend with another woman her freshman year in college threatens that picture of perfection. Twenty-one-year-old Colt never wanted college and never expected to amount to anything, but when his mom's dying wish is for him to get his degree, he has no choice but to pretend it's what he wants too. Cheyenne needs a fake boyfriend to get back at her ex and Colt needs cash to take care of his mom, so they strike a deal that helps them both. But what if Cheyenne’s past isn’t what she thought? Soon they’re trading one charade for another—losing themselves in each other to forget about their pain. The more they play their game, the more it becomes the only thing they have that feels real.Both Cheyenne and Colt know life is never easy, but neither of them expect the tragedy that threatens to end their charade and rip them apart forever.

Searching For Moore


Julie A. Richman - 2013
     I lost the love of my life when she disappeared without even a goodbye. It was the 80’s – there was no internet, no Google, no cell phones. If you wanted to disappear, you could. And she did. She crushed my soul. A friend just told me he saw her on Facebook. And now I’m a keystroke away from asking her the question that’s haunted me for two decades. “Why did you leave me?” Two decades after she broke his heart, sexy entrepreneur Schooner Moore uncovers the truth and betrayal his life has been built on when he Facebook friend requests college love, Mia Silver. Determined to win Mia’s love once again, Schooner embarks on a life-altering journey that could cost him everything. This is the first book of the Needing Moore Series trilogy and is not meant to be read as a stand-alone. Book 2 - Moore to Lose and Book 3 - Moore than Forever are currently available.Julie A. Richman's latest stand-alone novel, Bad Son Rising, releases September 12, 2014.

Stubborn Love


Wendy Owens - 2013
    She had given him her youth, and all he gave in return was misery and pain. She was ready for a new beginning, but Ashton wasn’t about to let her go so easily, even if it meant destroying both their lives in the process.Three years later Emmie convinces herself she is ready to leave all of that heartbreak in the past and find a little piece of normal for herself. She heads to New York City to pick up where she left off, determined to finish art school. Emmie is determined to focus on school and not let anything distract her, but life has a way of throwing curveballs.Paige, Emmie’s new roommate, brings Colin Bennett into her life. His smoldering eyes and lean muscular body are difficult for any girl to ignore. Only thing is, Emmie isn’t any girl. Her past makes her resistant to his charms. Colin isn’t one to give up easily, and just when he thinks he may have found a way to her stubborn heart, her tragic history may have found a way to tear them apart.

Edge of Disaster


A.M. Hargrove - 2012
    A life of partying, alcohol, drugs and men has brought her near the edge of disaster. That is until one night while at work as a waitress in an upscale restaurant, she falls under the spell of one of her customers, Pearce Middleton. Once she gazes into his smoky gray eyes, her life takes on new meaning. But can she put her past behind her and allow herself to fall for the exciting and gorgeous Pearce, or will her lewd behavior come back to haunt her and ruin her chances of happiness forever?

Vivian's List


Haleigh Lovell - 2013
    A list. A love story.After ending a horrible, scarring relationship, Vivian embraces her freedom by making a sexual bucket list. When her brother's best friend, Liam, finds it, sparks fly and hearts open.Can Vivian heal one steamy encounter at a time?** This is book 1 in a two-part series

The Invitation


Roxy Sloane - 2014
    Now, two years later, he’s going out of his mind with wanting her -- but she’s still off-limits. Now school is over, and his control is wearing thin. They've got one last night together, and he’s determined to make it an experience she’ll never forget.The one girl he swore off is going to have the night of her life. And with a sexy game of dare on the table, it won’t take long...

Forget Me Not


Sarah Daltry - 2013
    If dirty talk, bedroom toys, and threesomes offend you... this is not your book. There are also no billionaires, strippers, or virgins. This is just the story of typical college kids trying to connect to each other. "No one tells you when you start school just how homesick you will be, or how hard it will be to start life over with no direction and no friends or family. No one says that becoming your own person is terrifying."Lily had a crush on her brother's best friend, Derek, for years - which led to their steamy night ten months ago in her bedroom. Now, she's off to college and she and Derek are still going strong. However, when school starts, Lily realizes it's hard to maintain a relationship, while also trying to live her own life. She and Derek find themselves falling apart and she has no idea where to turn.Enter Jack. Everything about him is wrong for Lily and she knows it, but she can't stop herself from being attracted to him. When things implode with Derek, it's Jack who's there to pick up the pieces - and to show Lily an entirely new set of experiences she didn't know she was missing. Of course, Jack has his own problems and once Lily gets to know him better, she starts to wonder if she can handle all of Jack. When Derek reappears on the scene, Lily is forced to decide between two guys and herself. Can she find herself without losing the people who matter in the process?

Choices


Sydney Lane - 2014
    But being perfect is tiring. So. Very. Tiring. Wanting desperately to step out of her sister's shadow, Quincy jumps at the opportunity to attend college with her best friend. The quiet bookworm with family secrets comes out of her shell. But when Quincy meets not one, but two perfect guys, she has to make a choice. In doing so, she might forfeit the relationship she secretly longed to find. Declan. Sweet, handsome, and perfect. He makes her feel cherished for the first time in her life.Brody. Sexy, hot, and irresistible. He could tear down her carefully built walls.Before she can become the woman she wants to be, Quincy will make mistakes. And suffer one unimaginable loss.Choices is a new adult contemporary romance intended for audiences 18+. Although Choices is included in a series, each book can stand alone.

Tasting Never


C.M. Stunich - 2012
    She doesn't need any complications in her life, especially not when they're attached to a man that could be her emotional twin.Ty McCabe can't stand Never the first time he meets her. He's aware that the feeling's mutual and the two don't think they'll ever see each other again, but when fate takes a hand and puts them both in the wrong place at the wrong time, Ty and Never form a tentative friendship that opens the door on their dark sides and shows them what it's like to live in the light."Sometimes, the only way to go forward, is to take a few, careful steps back."READING LIST#1: Tasting Never#2: Finding Never#3: Keeping NeverOR Books #1-#3 in one volume: "Tasting, Finding, Keeping: The Story of Never"#4: Never Can Tell#5: Never Let Go#6: Never Did SayTASTING NEVER EXCERPT:Ty's hot mouth is on my neck, and I find myself taking short, sharp, little breaths as I press my shaking hands to his chest. If I sleep with him again, I'll be making the biggest mistake of my life. He's the first real friend I've ever had, and I don't want to cheapen the feelings that are simmering between us. We made that mistake once before, and we survived. We've been through a lot since then, and I know that if I lose him now, I will never be whole again. Ty is my other half, lover or no, and just being around him is enough for me. “Ty,” I say, trying my best to sound stern. Instead, my voice comes out like a butterfly, flutters against Ty's hair and swirls it gently against my lips. I moan and find that my fingers are now curled in the fabric of his T-shirt. “Never,” he says back to me, the word like fire against my skin. In those two syllables, I hear how he feels about me. He thinks he's in love. Ty McCabe thinks he's in love with me. He doesn't say it aloud, but I can tell. Sex isn't the best way for me to show my feelings; I've abused it for far too long that it has somehow lost some of its meaning. I try to tell Ty this, but I can't speak with his lips on my throat and his hand sliding across the nape of my neck. I run my own hands down his chest and put them beneath his shirt, on the hard plane of his belly. His muscles contract as I press my fingers into them, touching, feeling, absorbing the man, the complication, that is Ty McCabe. All the while, my mind is racing in circles trying to talk me out of this.“Kiss me,” Ty says and it's not a question, it's a request, albeit a gentle one. His voice is softer than I've ever heard it. His words are naked, stripped of all the bullshit that's happened to him, all of the horrible things that mirror my own life. Ty and I are like twins, like two halves of the same whole. They say that opposites attract, but Ty and I are very much the same and the attraction between us burns brighter than the sun. “Kiss me,” he says again and I do.