Book picks similar to
Waking Up by Renee Dyer


new-adult
romance
contemporary-romance
contemporary

When Stars Collide


Tammy Robinson - 2013
    It’s fortunate she does, because this leads to the most magical night of her life, and it’s not long before the simple love between them and Walt’s lovesick smile infects the whole town. After the happiest and most wondrous weeks of Ivy’s life, tragedy strikes without warning and in one brief moment Ivy’s life as she knows it is ripped apart. Grief stricken and unable to cope with the haunting reminders everywhere she turns, she pushes Walt away and flees her hometown without even a goodbye, desperate for answers from a world she no longer understands.Eventually though the moment she has been avoiding comes and she must return home to her grandfather and his ailing health. Will she come home to find the same place, and the same sweet guy, that she left behind? When Stars Collide is a story about love, and the journey of one woman to rediscover what is important to her following the loss of her life as she knows it.

Eden I


Georgia Le Carre - 2015
    At thirty Jake Eden has everything: looks to die for, money, power and a never-ending line of twisted, fucked-up women willing to do anything to get with him. Love? Love was for pussies…until a woman with the stage name of ‘Jewel’ arrives on the scene. She alone is different from all the others.Oozing pure, unadulterated sex, strong, intelligent and independent, she is everything he should stay away from, but she makes him itch to tame her and keep her for himself. Her lure is addictive and undeniable and soon he is hooked. But when the line between betrayal and loyalty is put to test…Will love be stronger than revenge? Book 1 of a new trilogy.

Finding Solace


Barbara Speak - 2013
    The confidence she wears on the outside is only to cover the scars that are imbedded on her soul. Coming out of an abusive relationship where she was stripped of her security and confidence, she chooses to bury it under every man she gives her body to.After one intoxicated night that she will never remember in its entirety, everything begins to change. Being seen more for her positive attributes and less for her faults, Sadie arises from the dark and into a place she feels safe. But with that comes a chain of events that blur the lines of everything she thought she needed and everything she's beginning to want.Will fear keep her from the one thing she believes she desires most or will fate take a turn unexpectedly and change everything?

Heartbreaker


Kat Bastion - 2016
    Simple.Only instead of Darren Cole becoming her one-night stand, he taunts her with a challenge. Then while she’s trying to best him at his own game, he turns out to be the last thing she’s prepared for: someone she wants to keep.Which means all he can ever be…is a friend.Darren Cole never allows a girl to get close—not close enough to matter.Then storms in Kiki Michaelson, a beautiful, fearless temptation that rocks his world off-balance. But he fights their attraction, unwilling to gamble something physical with their close ties. Until the passionate sculptor exposes her heart and breaks his wide open.In that moment it becomes clear: she could never be just a friend.Sometimes what you run from…is exactly what you need.***HEARTBREAKER is a standalone, full-length new adult romance told in dual POV. Due to mature themes and adult language, this book is for those 18 and older.***

Rae of Sunshine


Micalea Smeltzer - 2014
    Then with one stupid decision everything fell apart and nothing was ever the same.Rae Wilder wants nothing but a do over—but life doesn’t work that way. She’s stuck living out the consequences of her actions. At times the burden feels unbearable. College is supposed to be her second chance. New place.New people.New life.No one to know what she did.Despite that, she has still vowed to avoid everyone and everything at all costs. Unfortunately for her, an accidental run-in with the campus heartthrob, Cade Montgomery, derails that plan. He’s determined to thaw the ice around her heart and expose the girl she used to be. He wants to show her that life is worth living for and that she really is a Rae of Sunshine.

Wanting You


Cassandra P. Lewis - 2012
    Romance is Rosie's job, but despite the passion in her books, her life is falling flat.Her groom didn't show up to their wedding and now she's left humiliated, and uninspired. The words won't come, and the deadlines are looming; Rosie needs a break. When she sets off on a girls’ trip to seek out some sun, sea, and inspiration, she's not prepared when she finds so much more.Proudly promiscuous travel writer Jackson is sexy, cocky, and has absolutely no intention of ever settling down. When he finds himself captivated by green eyes and flame red hair, Jackson sets his sights on giving Rosie a night or two to rememberUnfortunately for Jackson, Rosie Alvez turns out to be addictive, and he is hooked before he realises it's happened. Will Jackson give in to feelings that terrify him?Will Rosie find the romance she craves?

A Hollywood Deal


Nadia Lee - 2016
    Nothing can shock her--not the countless "humped and dumped" women or the wreckage in the wake of his wild ways--until he asks her to marry him for a year. Billionaire actor Ryder needs to marry for a year to claim his beloved grandfather's painting. Who better to help out than his big and beautiful assistant Paige? The rules are simple: give everyone a good show while keeping it strictly professional. But what happens when he can't keep his hands off his sassy, luscious "wife"? Note:This book contains a cliffhanger.

Life's A Cappella


Yessi Smith - 2013
    How I lived without regrets. With constant laughter. Without any tears. I want to tell you how I lived each moment to the fullest. How each breath I took was fresh and full of life. With eagerness. Without any fear.I want to tell you all of that, but then my story would be masked with lies and not worth telling.My life didn’t start until I left my past. And I left everything. My mother, my friends, my name.My new name, the name everyone knows me by is Erin Lewis.Four years after finding the courage to leave her hometown in Alabama, Erin is finally happy with where her life has led her. Not only is she secure in her environment, but the relationships she has formed center her, making her forget how damaged she once was. Before she can fully settle into her new life, her past crashes into her present, unraveling a set of events that destroy the very foundation she has built her new life on.

Fever Pitch


Ann Marie Frohoff - 2014
    Forever? Maybe. When Jake and Alyssa's virtual affair peaks while his band tours Europe, Alyssa decides it's Jake that she wants for her 18th birthday. She surprises everyone, including Jake, with a planned trip to London. After three years apart and with their devastating breakup behind them, will their reunion be everything they've both dreamed of? Alyssa is soon thrown into Jake’s stardom, delicate family matters and a side of him she's never seen before.

Whisky State of Mind


Karlene Blakemore-Mowle - 2013
    She didn’t know his name—she didn’t care, all she knew was that those precious few moments each day she spent fantasizing about having his babies was the highlight of her pathetically, mundane life.Then he walked back into her life. Sawyer Riley; six feet of broody denim and leather with a demand that would turn her life upside down.Suddenly mundane was beginning to look pretty darn good. Holding onto her newly found freedom was proving difficult when everyone seemed hell bent on taking it away. How was she supposed to have a future when her past kept getting in the way?

The Only Exception


Magan Vernon - 2013
    But escape becomes almost impossible when she attracts the attention of her new and undeniably sexy neighbor: Trey Chapman, the governor’s son.Despite his vivid green eyes, adorable freckles, and athletic body, Trey is everything that Monica despises - haughty, conservative, bossy. And able to get under her skin in a way no other man ever could. A class project forces the unlikely pair together, their chemistry building with each heated debate. But when the ghosts of Monica’s past come back to haunt her, both their beliefs will be tested, and both will be forced to see the world in a new light. Their differences threaten to tear them apart, unless they can make one another their only exception.Due to sexual content and heavy subject matter, this book is recommended for ages 16+.

Blood & Rust


Skyla Madi - 2015
    I met him in the shadows first. He was tall and broad-shouldered, a man walking a dangerous path of rage and revenge, barreling toward certain death. The more time we spent together, the more he showed me who he was. Captivating… Charming… Ferocious in his own way… I had no right following Jai into the abandoned industrial site, but I did, and that stupid mistake was all it took to rip me from my world of semi-normalcy and thrust me headfirst into the gritty criminal underground with Stone as my only ally. Above ground, I'm a student nurse painfully dragging herself through an unfulfilling life, but down here, where men wear tattoos on their faces and kill without remorse, I'm a fraud living on borrowed time... ...and not much of it.

Christina


Leanne Davis - 2015
    My mother often disappears into her bedroom for days at a time because her life becomes too much to deal with. I never understood it. I know there are family secrets. I hear the whispers and innuendos. But no one wants me to know the truth. The thing is: I’m not a little girl anymore. I’m tired of not being told. I must seek the answers and discoveries that will change my life and the relationship I have with my family, possibly forever. I soon discover that there is another daughter. The betrayal I feel from having to learn that on my own sends me running off to find her, no matter how much my parents, and Max, discourage me. I’m tired of all the lies. I can’t do it anymore, and I won’t. My best friend since my early teens is Max Salazar. He’s my cousin by adoption, and best friend in the world, even if lately, he has been acting like anything but family. He is often in trouble so I’m always trying to bail him out. But this time, I get in way too far over my head and there’s only Max to turn to. Max, however, refuses to accept my comfort. How can I think about caring for someone who can’t even stand my touch?

Breaking Elle


Antoinette Candela - 2013
    She discovers that certain people come into your life who make you question everything that you've ever believed about love and life. Will she risk everything for something exciting and dangerous or will she choose what is familiar and secure? Reed Austin isn't looking for love when he moves to Boston. The distance was supposed to help him escape the trouble he left behind. Once he meets, Elle, everything changes. Reed can't figure out why he's drawn to Elle, but one thing is certain - he needs her.Passion. Betrayal. Solace. Confusion. Desperation. Love and life are not simple and emotions and relationships are tested. Will attraction be enough or will their secrets and past keep them apart?

The Road to Price


JE - 2013
    Mia Dechino is running from her traumatic past and the death of a loved one. Heartbroken and numb, she packs a bag and is ready to escape the small town in Georgia where she grew up. Heading off to Miami to start over, she meets Sebastian Price on an interview from hell. Sebastian is cocky, arrogant, and a womanizer, but he might be what Mia is searching for. Mia tries to keep her distance from Sebastian but the connection between them is unavoidable. Their attraction slowly builds as the line between employee and employer blurs. At twenty-three years old, Mia has gone through more than most people have in a lifetime. Can Mia move past the pain she has in her heart and finally begin to be happy? Or will the guilt of a loved one’s death destroy her. . *Recommended for 17+ due to subject matter and sexual content.