I meant to talk about this sooner, but on Twitter there was a whole thread stating that new adult was a genre that never was. Being the unapologetic romance reader that I am, I know for a fact that the NA genre is not dead. Yes, it may not quite be recognized by traditional publishers, but it’s very much present in the indie publishing community.
I don’t read new adult as much as I used to since my preferences in what tropes/sub-genres I want to read about in romance changed quite a bit in the past couple of years.
To me, the new adult ranges on books from 18 to late 20s (possibly), those that are essentially college aged embarking on new adventures in their personal life. The bridge from young adult (teenage years) to adulthood … really just the time to figure what you what the heck you want to do with your life.
I’m going to state I personally do not read a whole lot of young adult books and I know my definition will definitely clash with theirs. I can only touch on the romance side of a new adult.
But one of my favorite things to read about in new adult romance was about the characters life experiences, most of the time they really got to me and I was a blubbering mess. And PSA, there’s sex in romance, shouldn’t be a surprise. So of course, new adult will have sex, if you think people that are college aged and not having sex, you’re in for a surprise. Just because you may not have been having sex at that age doesn’t mean everyone else was doing the same thing.
I’ve definitely outgrown the genre, but I do dive in every now and then. I’m 31 and a mother, so I can’t really connect with the books anymore. Plus, college wasn’t really all that amazing for me, however I met the love of my life during then and a few lifetime friends, so there’s that.
With that said and done, here are some of my new adult romance (sorry, they’re all in college) recommendations :
…life wasn’t meant to be perfect. It was messy and sometimes it was a disaster, but there was beauty in the messiness and there could be peace in the disaster.
Some things are worth waiting for.
Traveling thousands of miles from home to enter college is the only way nineteen-year-old Avery Morgansten can escape what happened at the Halloween party five years ago–an event that forever changed her life. All she needs to do is make it to her classes on time, make sure the bracelet on her left wrist stays in place, not draw any attention to herself, and maybe–please God–make a few friends, because surely that would be a nice change of pace. The one thing she didn’t need and never planned on was capturing the attention of the one guy who could shatter the precarious future she’s building for herself.
Some things are worth experiencing.
Cameron Hamilton is six feet and three inches of swoon-worthy hotness, complete with a pair of striking blue eyes and a remarkable ability to make her want things she believed were irrevocably stolen from her. She knows she needs to stay away from him, but Cam is freaking everywhere, with his charm, his witty banter, and that damn dimple that’s just so… so lickable. Getting involved with him is dangerous, but when ignoring the simmering tension that sparks whenever they are around each other becomes impossible, he brings out a side of her she never knew existed.
Some things should never be kept quiet.
But when Avery starts receiving threatening emails and phone calls forcing her to face a past she wants silenced, she’s has no other choice but to acknowledge that someone is refusing to allow her to let go of that night when everything changed. When the devastating truth comes out, will she resurface this time with one less scar? And can Cam be there to help her or will he be dragged down with her?
And some things are worth fighting for.
amazon
I am also aware of the tension between us. It’s destructive, to say the least. It affects my focus because you’re very, very distracting. And I don’t do distractions, sweetheart.
Young. Wealthy. Elite. Attractive. The gentlemen’s secret society at Yale was filled with them.
And Nathaniel Radcliffe, the bane of my existence, was one of them.
As the right hand of the American Gods, he was conceited and arrogant. A dangerously handsome man in a tailored custom suit and shiny black oxford loafers.
The classroom was our battlefield. We made a sport out of arguing and debating, ready to do anything in order to win over the other.
Deadly opponents, deadlier minds.
I’d sworn I’d never give him the upper hand, until…
The secret I’ve been hiding for the last three years?
He just discovered it… and now he has all the power.
Prelude in the American Gods series.
review | amazon
Nerd alert! I just bought a new book, and I’ve been waiting for it to release for nine months – nine! That’s a damn eternity in romance novel years. You’re lucky I dragged myself off the couch.
Nerd alert! I just bought a new book, and I’ve been waiting for it to release for nine months – nine! That’s a damn eternity in romance novel years. You’re lucky I dragged myself off the couch.Scarlett is always the sensible one: The sober driver. The planner. The one holding your hair back while you’re worshiping the porcelain gods.
Week-after-week, she visits Jock Row with her friends — the university’s hottest party scene and breeding ground for student athletes. And if keeping her friends out of trouble, and guys out of their pants, was a sport, she’d be the star athlete.
Being a well known jock-blocker gets her noticed for all the wrong reasons; just like that, she’s banned from Jock Row. NO GUY WANTS A GIRL AROUND WHO KEEPS THEIR JOCK FRIENDS FROM GETTING LAID.
“Rowdy” Wade is the hot shot short-stop for the university’s baseball team — and the unlucky bastard who drew the short straw: keep little Miss Goody Two-Shoes out of the Baseball House.
But week-after-week Scarlett returns, determined to get inside.
review | amazon
You have to tell me what you want. If you don’t want me, tell me. But you have to know, you must know, I only want to make you happy.
Forced to lie to protect her sister . . .From the New York Times Bestselling Author, Penny Reid
One week.Home alone.Girl genius.Unrepentant slacker.Big lie.What’s the worst that could happen?
Mona is a smart girl and figured everything out a long time ago. She had to. She didn’t have a choice. When your parents are uber-celebrities and you graduate from high school at fifteen, finish college at eighteen, and start your PhD program at nineteen, you don’t have time for distractions outside of your foci. Even fun is scheduled. Which is why Abram, her brother’s best friend, is such an irritant.
Abram is a talented guy, a supremely gifted musician, and has absolutely nothing figured out, nor does he seem to care. He does what he feels, when he feels, and—in Mona’s opinion—he makes her feel entirely too much.
Laws of Physics is the second trilogy in the Hypothesis series; Laws of Physics parts 1 (MOTION) & 2 (SPACE) end with a cliffhanger.
REVIEW | AMAZON
stop thinking about her
stop wanting her.
One week.
Private cabin.
Famous physicist.
Still an unrepentant slacker.
What’s the worst that could happen?
Mona’s meticulously planned allotment of relaxation is thrown into chaos by the unscheduled appearance of her older brother’s band of friends, including the one person she’d hoped to never face again. Abram still makes her feel entirely too much, which is one of the reasons she disappeared after their one week together. But now, trapped on a mountain of snow and things unspoken, Mona will have to find a way to coexist with Abram, chaos and all.
Laws of Physics parts 1 (MOTION) & 2 (SPACE) end with a cliffhanger.
REVIEW | amazon
A (brokenhearted) physicist.
Now an infamous (who is LITERALLY EVERYWHERE!! UGH!) musician.
The worst has already happened.
Mona has learned that she has nothing figured out and plans are meaningless. After leaving her in Aspen, Abram is now breaking sales-records, rising to rock star fame almost overnight. Mona can’t seem to escape him. He is literally everywhere, or at least images of him are.
Just when she thinks things can’t get any more confusing, Abram returns . . . What happens next? Only TIME will tell.
review | amazon
She’s about to make a deal with the college bad boy…
Hannah Wells has finally found someone who turns her on. But while she might be confident in every other area of her life, she’s carting around a full set of baggage when it comes to sex and seduction. If she wants to get her crush’s attention, she’ll have to step out of her comfort zone and make him take notice… even if it means tutoring the annoying, childish, cocky captain of the hockey team in exchange for a pretend date.
…and it’s going to be oh so good.
All Garrett Graham has ever wanted is to play professional hockey after graduation, but his plummeting GPA is threatening everything he’s worked so hard for. If helping a sarcastic brunette make another guy jealous will help him secure his position on the team, he’s all for it. But when one unexpected kiss leads to the wildest sex of both their lives, it doesn’t take long for Garrett to realize that pretend isn’t going to cut it. Now he just has to convince Hannah that the man she wants looks a lot like him.
review | amazon
You’ve heard of these groups – the secretive ones that only the crème de la crème are invited into, the ones outsiders speculate about for centuries – I’m the second in my family invited to attend, but to them, I’m fresh meat. New blood. New money, too. They think they’ll elbow past me, that I’m here for their amusement, for them to walk all over, they’ll find out soon enough that I’m not.
I may look like one of them, with my designer bags and clothes straight from the Parisian runways, but I’m not. I’m here for answers, to take revenge for blood spilled on their centuries-old Persian rugs. I transferred here in search for answers about what happened to my older brother, who hightailed out of here, and my friend who seemingly disappeared into thin air. I certainly wasn’t here for the attention of the star hockey player, regardless of how much he willed my eyes his way. I wasn’t here for his scrutiny or his judgment or to read into his mysterious aura. I was here for the society, because only they held the answers I needed. That was, until I found out that in order to get those answers, I needed to go through him. He’s saying if I want in, I have to play by their rules, follow their lead. It’s a game I’m willing to play.
I may be the second person I know of to be invited into their society, but I’ll be the first to make it out intact.
review | amazon
I’m crazy about you, B and E, and you’re not like anyone I’ve ever met before.Dear Jerk Across the Street, sorry for accidentally walking in on you and catching an eyeful of your—equipment. And hard pass on the open invitation to join you in the shower “anytime”, A-hole.
That’s the note I should’ve written. Instead I sent a pleasant and apologetic version.
Had I known Phoenix “Nix” Russo would’ve been the neighbor from hell, I’d have told him right where he could shove my words.
Nix is the big man on campus with everyone lined up at his games to make sure he knows it. Sure, he’s got piercing blue eyes, abs that don’t quit and a smile that could set fire to a set of panties from a hundred yards away, but he’s also the biggest pain in my ass.
Dear Pink-Haired Menace, learn how to take a joke and stop being such a kill-joy…
Elle Masterson called the cops on one of my parties—again. My sweet talking usually gets me out of trouble, but this time it got me into a nice pair of silver handcuffs. Now I’m on a reputation rehab tour with a stop at a spring break community service project.
Guess who’s my new boss?
Now we’re shoulder to shoulder, sweaty, tired and…she’s not anything like I expected. There might just be a heart under that hardass exterior. She’s invading my dreams and I can’t shake the feeling she’s the key to unlocking a piece of me that I’ve hidden away.
It’s only a matter of time until she finds out why I’m really here.
Maybe I can break through her walls and into her heart before that happens…one screw at a time.
review | amazon
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