How I Fell for New Adult

All this week, New Leaf Literary is celebrating all things New Adult with a series of author interviews, podcasts, literary agents Q&A’s and a huge giveaway. I’m a big supporter of NA, so I’m participating by sharing my favorite NA recs, posting reviews, and talking about New Adult in general.

To join in on the discussion be sure to follow all the Addicted to New Adult posts by clicking the banner below or following #naaddict on Twitter.

Addicted to New Adult

I was an easy sell of New Adult. I love YA, and once you read a lot about 17 year olds in that category it’s a natural progression to want to follow them to college and see their next steps. NA has characters that are a little older who are in college, in their first serious relationships, and figuring out what to do with their life. They are living away from home and experiencing the trials and tribulations of the real world. My favorite NA books have a lot of emotion, heart, and story. I know there’s a mixed bag in NA, and some are more erotic in nature and copycats of other books, but there are a lot of great stories out there, and more to tell.Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park

Probably the first official NA book I read was Flat Out Love by Jessica Park in 2011, back when it was self-published. That book made me want to seek out other NA books, and the author that made me really want to dive into the category is Colleen Hoover. I read Slammed and Point of Retreat back to back just over a year ago, and I laminated my NA addict card and never looked back.

Slammed by Colleen HooverSlammed is about loss and love, and healing, and it has great characters and a creative tie-in with slam poetry. Hoover wrote something that really resonated with me that I didn’t even know I was looking for.  So, I finished Slammed and was thinking what’s next??? Where are more awesome NA books like this? These books were self-published back then, so that is where my search took me.

I read Beautiful Disaster, Thoughtless, and probably my favorite NA book, Easy by Tammara Easy by Tammara WebberWebber. I’ve read (and re-read) and listened to Easy, and I’m so glad Webber is currently writing Lucas’ story. I’m craving new content after all those re-reads! There is a root-worthy romance between Lucas and Jacqueline in Easy, but the book also tackles important issues like rape, self-defense, love, loss, and healing, friendship, and finding your own path to greatness. If you haven’t tried a NA book before, I recommend you start there.

Losing It by Cora CarmackWhat keeps me coming back to NA is finding gems like Cora Carmack’s books Losing It and Faking It. Losing It is so witty and fun, and has some Bridget Jones Diary type comedy in it. Yes, it’s about a college senior who wants to lose her virginity once and for all, but there’s a lot more to it than that. This series tackles money problems, identity, parental relationships, careers and finding love, and Carmack has a fresh voice in NA.

I keep reading NA because the stories are so addicting and emotional. Most of the NA books out there are contemporary romance and that’s my preferred genre at the moment, but I’m interested to read more paranormal or dystopian NA. Some of the books have more sex than plot, and I’m not averse to sexuality in books, though I prefer more meat to the story, and I know the category has just scratched the surface of where it could be.  I’m glad that New Adult is a “thing” now, and I’m excited to see where the category goes.

That’s how I fell for New Adult, and here’s my NA starter kit of book recommendations:

Easy by Tammara Webber

Slammed, Point of Retreat and This Girl by Colleen Hoover

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

Losing It and Faking It by Cora Carmack

Just One Day by Gayle Forman

First Comes Love and Second Chance by Katie Kacvinsky

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park

Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker

Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win some New Adult books! Follow New Leaf Literary on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook and join the NA conversation.

Have you fallen for New Adult? What are your favorite NA books?

Ornament

15 thoughts on “How I Fell for New Adult

  1. Nicole says:

    Thanks for the list, Lucy. I look forward to checking out these books and learning more about NA. From what I’ve been reading, my debut book for boys fits in this category (22-year-old male protagonist) although publishers have slotted it into YA. Seeing as it’s a book for boys (although girls interested in motorcycle racing are welcome to read it too), I’m not sure what kind of receiption it’ll get in the NA world as it seem to be mainly romance-centred stories for women readers. Do you know of any NA books for men? Cheers, Nicole

    1. Lucy says:

      Hi Nicole- yes I’d agree that a 22 year old protag would fit in with NA. And I haven’t read any NA specifically targeted to guys, but I’ll keep my eyes peeled. I don’t see why guys wouldn’t like Colleen Hoover’s books – she has great guy characters.

  2. This post is so timely! I’ll be meeting Tammara Webber, Cora Carmack, Colleen Hoover, Jamie McGuire, K.A. Tucker and sooo many other NA authors this Saturday in Orlando! This post gets me even more excited to meet them!!! I am right there with you. I am becoming so addicted to “NA” titles. 🙂

    1. Lucy says:

      Ooh you’re going to Book Bash! Have a great time, Jenna! I can’t wait to hear all about it. Cora Carmack is a sweetheart. I met her and Colleen Hoover (who is great too) at a NA signing in LA.
      Glad you’re addicted to NA too 🙂 Those books are like candy!

  3. fishgirl182 says:

    thanks for the recs, lucy. na is still a genre that i need to try. but i have a whole arsenal of books already on my kindle for when the time comes. i love discovering a new author or genre. it’s so fun and exciting to find something new that you love to read.

  4. quix689 says:

    Thanks for the great list! I haven’t read as much NA as I’d like, but it’s definitely a category I want to read more about. I planned on reading at least 10 NA books this year, and I’ve read 5 so far. I just finished Losing It a few days ago, and that has definitely been my favorite so far!

    1. Lucy says:

      Glad you liked Losing It! I think Faking It is just as good, if not better! Have fun exploring NA 🙂

  5. BermudaOnion says:

    I haven’t tried NA but the genre interests me because that’s such a great time in life. Thanks for the list!

  6. vmcarswell says:

    I haven’t read any NA books yet, though I really want to. Easy is one I have heard some really great stuff about, so that may be my first one I’ll choose to read. I’m glad that this is becoming so big.

    Vyki @ On The Shelf

  7. Tracey says:

    The more NA I read, the more I fall in love! Thanks for sharing! I’ve written down the books you listed that I’m yet to read so I can check them out 🙂

  8. Ooh! Interesting list! I think I will check out a few of the books here. Thank you!

  9. Teresa says:

    This is an awesome post! The Slammed series is a series I hold near and dear to my heart. I also adore Easy and Ten Tiny Breaths. You are so right that NA is about heart!

    Teresa @ Readers Live A Thousand Lives

  10. Carol says:

    I commented on your newer post before this one. Thanks for the intro to New Adult. I’ll have to check out a couple on your list.

  11. bookgoonie says:

    I need to laminate my NA Addict Card too. I need to read Flat Out Love. You mentioned all the ones that sucked me into this category too. And what’s great is that Hoover & Carmack have proven they can give us greatness over and over again. Keep giving us more!

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