Are There Books Like 'The Half Of It'?

One scholarship. Two hearts. A love that never got its chance. Maya came to university with nothing but ambition and a way out of poverty. She didn’t expect Ethan—the boy who challenged her, understood her… and slowly became everything to her. But love doesn’t survive where lies live. When Maya is forced to leave, the distance becomes a weapon. Betrayed by the people they trusted most, everything between them shatters. And by the time she fights her way back, Ethan has already moved on. Now he belongs to someone else. And Maya isn’t the same girl he left behind. Caught between the past that still burns and the present that refuses to wait, they must face the truth: Some love stories don’t end. They just become the ones we almost had.

What do you do when you’re in love with your childhood best friend, but the words to tell him stay locked inside? For Elle, confessing her feelings to Jack, the boy who’s also her brother’s closest friend feels like risking everything. So she stays silent, wrestling with her heart while navigating the chaos of young adulthood. But as time slips away, new faces enter their lives, and growth pulls them in different directions, Elle learns the hard way that waiting might cost her the chance to ever speak her truth. Her soul ached for him, her one true love, even if confessing meant risking her heart to break she was going to do it. She just doesn’t know it yet, but Jack has been keeping a lot of secrets of his own.

The blonde loner of Ridgewood high, falls for the sassy, rude, eccentric cigarette addict, a supposed bad boy of the same senior year as he: Adrian McCleron, and eventually forces out his friendly side. Meanwhile, Adrian doesn't see blondie in too much light, and finds himself admiring the coolest play boy, and most popular basketball captain around. A party determined so much, and so was a game of free shots through the rim. Hearts were broken, hopes were shattered, but upon realization of what true love is, Adrian had already lost more than he thought: His Gray Half.

Layla Reyes wasn’t looking to be noticed. New to Maple Hill High, she only wanted to keep her head down, finish senior year, and forget the mess she left behind in Chicago. But then she meets Jayden Carter—a quiet artist with soulful eyes and a sketchpad full of secrets. What starts as a simple school project soon becomes something deeper, richer, and more complicated than either of them expected. Just as they begin to open up, Layla’s past crashes into her present, threatening to undo everything she and Jayden were building. Can two people still healing learn to trust each other with more than just paint and poetry? Or will they stay stuck in the space between what almost was… and what could be?

Holly thought she had it all—a decade-long marriage to the love of her life, Michael, a cozy home, and a sense of stability. But when Michael starts pulling away and forming a suspiciously close bond with a charming coworker, Holly feels the familiar pangs of being invisible in her own love story. Determined not to jump to conclusions, she supports Michael through his stress, even as her own insecurities and loneliness deepen. But everything changes during his work trip. Faced with the slow unraveling of her marriage, Holly chooses herself for the first time in years. She throws herself into therapy, fitness, and healing—reconnecting with parts of herself she had long buried. By chance, she meets Finn, a magnetic bartender with a guarded past and a knack for listening. Their late-night conversations turn into something more… something safe, yet electric. Now caught between the ashes of a long-term love and the flicker of something new, Holly must answer the hardest question of all: Can love survive betrayal—or is it time to let go of what once was, to make room for what could be?

In the quiet, watchful town of Willow Creek, nineteen-year-old Rihanna has learned that loving too loudly is dangerous. Once betrayed by her first love and turned into a subject of gossip, she has spent a year and a half building walls around her heart. She is vibrant, outspoken, and endlessly warm—but in a town that mistakes kindness for weakness, she is labeled as someone unworthy of being chosen. When a pandemic lockdown brings an unexpected message from Dennis, the wealthy boy she has admired from afar her entire life, Rihanna allows herself to hope again. What begins as playful late-night conversations and secret meetings soon grows into something far more fragile and intense. Dennis sees her in ways no one ever has—but he is also bound by fear, reputation, and a need for control that clashes with Rihanna’s free-spirited nature. As their connection deepens, Rihanna is forced into her own survival game: choosing between shrinking herself to fit someone else’s expectations or standing fully in who she is, even if it means losing love. When Dennis offers her only something casual, she must confront the truth about what she deserves—and whether she is willing to risk her heart again. *Almost Yours* is a story about emotional survival, self-worth, and the courage it takes to grow beyond heartbreak. In a world that demands women make themselves smaller to be loved, Rihanna’s journey asks a powerful question: when love returns, will she choose it—or herself?