Book picks similar to
Never Let Go by Anne Carol


new-adult
romance
young-adult
freebie

Off the Ice


Julie Cross - 2017
    One semester off, that’s what she promised herself. Just long enough to take care of her father and keep the family business—a hockey bar beside the ice rink—afloat. After that, she’s getting the hell out. Again.Enter Tate Tanley. What happened between them the night before she left town resurfaces the second they lay eyes on each other. But the guy she remembers has been replaced by a total hottie. When Tate is unexpectedly called in to take over for the hockey team’s star goalie, suddenly he’s in the spotlight and on his way to becoming just another egotistical varsity hockey player. And Claire’s sworn off Juniper Falls hockey players for good.It’s the absolute worst time to fall in love.For Tate and Claire, hockey isn’t just a game. And they both might not survive a body check to the heart.

Crazy Love


Emma Keene - 2013
    She is planning to attend State in the fall, with her boyfriend Mitch, and has her life all planned out. The only problem is that life has an entirely different plan for her. Excerpt: Dragging my feet as I walk, I leave my room and head downstairs to face the firing squad. I step into the kitchen and my parents stop mid sentence and look at me. It’s a weird feeling, almost like I’m a toy that is being inspected for faults. They are trying to decide if I pass and get to move on with my existence or I fail and get tossed to the bottom of a trash bin. Dad motions for me to take a seat across the table from him. My mom gets up and stands at the sink, looking out the window. I can already tell this isn’t going to be good. I hang my head and wait for it to begin. “Where were you?” I swallow and turn to my dad. He looks disappointed, but compared to the look on my mother’s face, he looks calm and collected. I shouldn’t be surprised, he’s always been the one who steadies the ship when the waves start. “I… I went to Mitch’s house.” My mom starts to cry. I instantly feel bad, even though I’m not sure why my sneaking out would cause her to be upset emotionally. I get that she’s mad, however, this is not the response I was expecting. Why would me going to Mitch’s house make her cry? It really makes no sense. My dad lets out a deep sigh and drums his fingers on the table. “What were you doing there?” I wrestle with telling them the truth. They are going to be pissed either way. Maybe I should just tell them about State. I take a deep breath and ready myself, emotionally, to deal with the slew of questions and judgment that is sure to follow.

My Hero Next Door


Melody Sweet - 2020
    He’s following the beat of his heart. Will a moment of impromptu harmony cue a romantic duet?Ella:Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m not the most self-confident person on the planet. In fact, I’m pretty sure I have, well… none.That’s why I followed David all the way to UChicago. He’s my boyfriend. The one with the meticulous plans for our future. If I just cling tight enough to his hand, I can survive anything.Or maybe not.Because the thing that usually calms my nerves—singing to myself in the dorm shower—has just been blown apart by an impromptu duet with a guy over the wall, and it’s making my heart pound like nothing ever has before.How can one duet send my life into a spiral of confusion?Cole:I’m in my last year at UChicago and I can’t wait to graduate and get on with my big dreams, but whoever sang with me over the shower wall… Oh man, I have to find this girl. Something about her voice spoke to me like nothing ever has before.But she’s shy. Timid. She won’t accept my invitations to meet up in the hallway. And that’s not my only problem.My roommate’s new girlfriend, Ella, has just moved here and she’s sparking things inside of me I never thought I could feel.I don’t get it.I thought I was set. Happy. But now I’m locked in a battle between pining for Ella and desperately hunting for a shower songbird that I swear could change my life for the better. My Hero Next Door is the first standalone book in the Lyrics of Love sweet contemporary romance series. If you like offbeat meet-cutes, soulful men to swoon over, and love’s beautiful ballads, then you’ll adore Melody Sweet’s tale of destiny.PLEASE NOTE:This book was previously published as Fever by Melissa Pearl. It has been rewritten and re-edited to this sweet romance edition. Enjoy!

Rescued


Jill Burrell - 2021
    Stranded and desperate, she finds herself at the mercy of a handsome, brooding mechanic. When he offers her help, she accepts, knowing too well the pain that comes from trusting others.Widower and grieving father, Ben Young, fixes cars and avoids people. He can’t stand to see the pity in their eyes. There’s something different in Amy’s eyes, though, and he’s driven to help her—for her little girl’s sake. But helping means caring, and that’s not something he’s capable of. Not anymore.Just when it looks like a relationship might be possible between Ben and Amy, she realizes her breaking down in this small town wasn’t an accident. She holds the key to what happened to Ben’s family. But will her quest for answers cost her everything?

Chasing McCree


J.C. Isabella - 2012
    The right clothes, the right friends, the right car. Being popular was all that mattered. Her parents were rich and treated like royalty throughout the community. She thought her senior year of high school was going perfectly, until the night her drink was spiked at a party by one of her so called friends. That was the night she met Chase McCree. Chase wanted to go back to Montana. To the ranch and the wild, wide blue sky that went on forever. He wanted nothing to do with flashy cars or spoiled rich kids. But he found himself head over boots for the quirky cheerleader who turned her back on her social status. She befriended him when no one else would. Shunned and hurt by the people who were once her friends, Briar flees with Chase to his family ranch in Montana. There she discovers another world, and apart of herself she never knew. The cowboy wasn’t like anyone she’d ever met. The cheerleader wasn’t like anyone he’d ever met. Apart their lives didn’t seem to make sense, but together, they were chasing forever.

Fighting for Foster


Bex Dane - 2020
    She's forbidden. Unattainable. Out of my league.All these years, I've struggled to deny the relentless desire to make her mine.But not anymore.Her dysfunctional crime family is destroying her and breaking her soul.I can't let that happen.So I'm infiltrating her secret world to save her.But can I earn her trust and convince her to leave before we both get killed?If you like possessive alpha-males and edge-of-your-seat action, you'll love Fighting for Foster.

The Gull Motel (A Barefoot Book)


Amie Denman - 2014
    Finally finished with college, she heads to her favorite shabby motel on Florida’s Gulf Coast where her aunt and uncle always save her room twenty-four. She quickly finds out, though, that The Gull Motel is not just her home away from home. It’s hers to manage while her aunt and uncle take an extended trip. Skip McComber, The Gull’s former maintenance man, has been working on Savvy’s nuts and bolts for years. Now the new owner of the bar next door, his mission is to renovate a pirate bar while being a walking temptation for the girl he can’t get off his mind.For Savvy, keeping her cool running a motel in Florida heat is one thing, but navigating the steamy waters of a former fling takes a whole other kind of savvy. In addition to the motel and the man next door, Savvy stumbles on a plot to swindle land from the residents of Barefoot Key. Devalued properties tumble like dominoes until Savvy musters her colorful crew from The Gull Motel to make the pillagers walk the plank.

Silence


Natasha Preston - 2012
    At the age of five, she stopped talking, and no one seems to know why. Refusing to communicate beyond a few physical actions, Oakley remains in her own little world. Bullied at school, she has just one friend, Cole Benson. Cole stands by her, refusing to believe that she is not perfect the way she is. Over the years, they have developed their own version of a normal friendship. However, will it still work as they start to grow even closer? When Oakley is forced to face someone from her past, can she hold her secret in any longer?

A Song for Josh


Susan Rodgers - 2013
    Discovered while busking on the streets of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, Jessie Wheeler -- once a teen runaway from Prince Edward Island - is now a popular singer-songwriter and actor. On the day her boyfriend Charlie proposes, he kicks an estranged friend - actor Josh Sawyer - out of his Club. Jessie sees something of herself reflected in Josh's sorrowful chocolate brown eyes -- a deep loneliness and angst. When a part on Josh's new television series Drifters becomes available, Jessie can't resist the temptation, despite the fact that taking the part threatens her engagement to Charlie. When a past nemesis, Deuce McCall, makes a tragic appearance in the city, Jessie's turbulent past catches up with her, threatening any chance she has at a true and sustainable love. A Song For Josh is a simple sweet story about hope and love, and the power of music to heal. Through Josh and Jessie's story we learn that all of us damaged souls are indeed lovable, even when we are quite certain we are not.

Storm Warning


E. Lee - 2013
    Look for approaching storms.Severe Storm Warning Tip #2:If you see approaching storms or any of the danger signs, be prepared to take shelter immediately.Severe Storm Warning Tip #3:They may strike quickly, with little or no warning.Situated just outside of Oklahoma City, Calumet County is divided into two drastically different communities: Hope’s Grove and Summit Bluffs. One is the small backward town where dirt roads lead the way to field parties and railroad tracks. And the other, a sprawling suburb where paved drives lead to the landscaped lawns of the wealthy and over privileged.For five teenagers smack in the middle of Tornado Alley, summer is heating up fast. The winds of change are blurring the invisible line that divides the rich and the rural.One has a secret. One has a crush.One has been lying. One will get caught.And one might not make it out alive.They’re from two different worlds…but one summer is about to change everything.

When You Come To Me


Jade Alyse - 2011
    Sure it seems simple in the grand scheme of things. After all, she's got her family supporting her, and family is all that matters. She is ostracized in her dorm for being just a little bit quiet and a little bit conservative. But that doesn't bother her…initially. Her roommate is loud and wild and white, drinks beer and has sex with her boyfriend. They are polar opposites in every sense of the word. But when Natalie decides to accompany her roommate to a house party off-campus in a cozy house of blue siding, her world is turned upside down the moment that she's knocked unconscious with a flying beer bottle. Yes, you read that correctly. When she comes to (in more ways than one) she is face to face with Brandon Greene, a preppy, oatmeal-skinned New Yorker, with a loud mouth, a grand smile and an open heart. Brandon makes his intentions clear from the beginning: he is hopelessly in love with his girlfriend, Sophia, but does not want to marry her. He does, however, want to be friends with Natalie.Neither Brandon nor her curiosity about him make sense to her at all, and her sense of complacency begins to tumble as she and Brandon grow closer. She's thrust into a love triangle that she wants no part of and suddenly, a streamlined future to success in the medical field is the last thing on her mind — all she sees now is a shade of gray. Brandon and Natalie have a powerful dynamic; but can it stand the weight that time, spatial disparity and color have placed on them? "When You Come to Me" is a sometimes humorous, sometimes dramatic take on the loss of innocence in its most colorful form.

Our Little Secret


Ashelyn Drake - 2015
    The only problem is Toby is her best friend’s twin, and Tori has a very firm “no dating the brother” policy. But Becca’s grade has hit rock bottom and she needs a tutor. It just so happens that Toby is a math genius and more than happy to help—lucky her! Working so closely with the handsome, popular Toby, Becca can’t hide her attraction, and it soon becomes obvious he feels the same way. Becca doesn’t want to lose her best friend, but she isn’t willing to give up Toby either. At first, sneaking around is fun, stealing kisses right under Tori’s nose. But things take an ugly turn when Toby’s ex-girlfriend Meredith catches them together. Meredith demands Toby take her back and restore her reputation, or she’ll tell Tori their secret. Do they dare tell Tori the truth? Or would that just make things worse? Surrounded by secrets and knee-deep in deception, something has to give… How far is Meredith willing to go to keep Toby and Becca apart? And how much is Becca willing to risk to keep… Our Little Secret?

More than Music


Elizabeth Briggs - 2014
    That is, until tattooed singer Jared Cross catches her playing guitar and invites her to join his band on The Sound, a reality TV show competition.Once on the show, Maddie discovers there's more to Jared than his flirty smile and bad boy reputation. With each performance their attraction becomes impossible to ignore, but when the show pressures them to stay single, they're forced to keep their relationship secret.As the competition heats up, Jared will do whatever it takes for his band to win, and Maddie must decide if following her dream is worth losing her heart.

Let Me Be the One


Lily Foster - 2014
    Her boyfriend? The guy who came off as sweet and devoted, the life of the party? Try obsessed, out of control and hell-bent on ruining her life.One year later, a new and improved Darcy Donovan is back on campus and she’s got a plan. That plan doesn’t include Tom Farrell, or any other guy for that matter. He’s surfer-boy hot and he talks a good game, but don’t they all?Hell to the yes…She’s back.Going after his friend’s girl is wrong, but Tom is too hung up on Darcy to care. Screw principles, screw ethics, screw the bro code. An hour in her presence would lead the best of men to veer off the high road.And he has his work cut out for him. She still thinks he’s a joke, nothing more than a walking, talking one-night stand. What she doesn’t know is that Tom has spent the past year changing his ways. He’s not all talk, and he’ll do whatever it takes to prove it.But when a menace from Darcy’s past resurfaces and Tom’s past comes back to bite him hard, their one shot at happily ever after may be shot to hell.What you don’t know? Turns out that it can hurt you.Let Me Be the One is the first book in Lily Foster's Let Me series. Gripping and emotional, these stand-alone romances are intended for the 18 and older crowd due to mature language and sexual content.

Hot by Halloween


Jessica Bucher - 2019
    Which is why her senior year goal is to get revenge.Step one: Join the swim team and get seriously fit.Step two: Find some gorgeous new arm candy to take to ex's big Halloween party and make him crazy with jealousy.Step three: Try not to fall super hard for said arm candy.Gray Turner is a California transplant with goals of his own: get the swim team to regionals, get the scholarship he needs, and get out of this town. Too bad some girl with zero swim skills just joined the team. Private lessons seem like a good idea...until lessons start to feel like something more.Addy and Gray started the season with specific plans, but falling for one another wasn't one of them.