Book picks similar to
Ruse by Siobhan Davis


romance
dark-romance
high-school
dark

Bad Boy Blues


Saffron A. Kent - 2019
    In middle school, he spread false rumors about her. And in high school, he ruined her prom. She hates that his smirks are unfairly sexy. And she definitely loathes that his dark eyes seem to follow her everywhere. Sometimes, even in her dreams. It doesn’t matter that he’s rich and popular or that he lives in a freaking mansion full of butlers and maids. He’s rude and arrogant, and she wants to stay as far away from him as possible. But unfortunately for Cleo, she lives in the same freaking mansion as Zach. Only he’s the prince and she’s the lowly maid who serves him. #EnemiesToLovers #ZachAndCleo #AssholeAlpha #Angst #NewAdult

Hated You Then


M. Robinson - 2019
    Robinson. A coming of age, enemies to lovers, contemporary romance filled with angst and all the feels. I couldn’t remember a time before her... Harley Jameson. Before she owned me.Hated Me.Needed me.Before I hated her…Things were simple. We had an understanding. Bully. Fight. Hate. It’s what we did.Mind. Body. Soul. It’s how we loved.I thought nothing would ever change that, until everything did. She was mine. Always had been. Always would be. Nothing altered that.Not how much I hated her.Not how much she hated me. Especially, not how much I hated… That I LOVED her.

Twisted Elite


Kristin Buoni - 2020
    Find out what wicked games the filthy rich students of Royal Falls Academy play behind closed doors…Royal Falls is the richest town in the country, and its ruthless residents thrive on power and control. After working just one party at one of the biggest mansions in the place, I’m starting to realize they all have dirty secrets too.Secrets they’ll do anything to hide.I had no intentions of staying in their gilded world, but I’m pretty sure I saw something I wasn’t supposed to that night at the mansion, and now the town is drawing me back in.It might be a wicked, back-stabbing place, but their prep school is the best in the world. A full-ride scholarship from there could make or break my future… and I might be in the running for one.There’s a major problem, though.I’ve already managed to attract the wrong sort of attention from the richest, hottest boy at RFA, and now it looks like I might be in trouble before our senior year even begins…Twisted Elite is the free short (novella-length) prequel to the Royal Falls Elite series. The story continues in the full-length Savage Prince.Royal Falls Elite is a dark bully romance series with content that some readers may find disturbing or offensive.

Cold and Broken


Nichole Greene - 2020
    No one befriends her. Otherwise they risk the wrath of the Titans.”Moving her senior year of high school was not Lilith’s idea of a great plan. She would have much rather stayed with her best friend Zion for their final year of school. Her dad had different plans though; this new job was too good to pass up, and she knew she needed to go with him. Being thrown into a school of snobby rich kids, where she would even have to wear a uniform, seemed like an even worse idea. The icing on the cake, though, is Connor Volkov. He wants her gone and thinks siccing his friends Griffin, Levi, and Margaux on her will scare her off. But, if he wants her out of his life so badly, why does he keep butting into hers?When he first saw Lilith, Connor realized two things: one, he wanted her, and two, he wanted her gone. Making her life at school hell should be enough to make her and her dad get out of his house. The more time he spends with her though, the more his desire for Lilith and her company grows. Realizing he doesn’t want to be the bad guy anymore, Connor has to convince Lilith he’s worth taking a chance on. But, can he show her he’s a lot more than cold comments and hot, stolen kisses? Recommended for readers 18+ due to bullying elements, triggers, and sexual content.

Rival


Ketley Allison - 2020
    Recommended for readers 17 and over. It is NOT a standalone and ends on a cliffhanger with a happy-for-now (but a happily ever after will happen … in the end.)

Half Truths


Claire Contreras - 2019
    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 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.

Skin


B.B. Easton - 2017
    . . perhaps on the entire planet. He hated everyone, except for BB Easton—the perky, quirky punk chick he couldn’t avoid.BB, on the other hand, liked everybody . . . except for Knight. She was scared to death of him, actually. All she wanted was to marry Little Mermaid’s Prince Eric-lookalike and king of the local punk scene Lance Hightower.But Knight was patient. Persistent. Unexpected. And once he got under BB’s skin, her life would never be the same.A  forbidden love story overflowing with '90s nostalgia, dark humor, and heart-wrenching angst, and based on a true story.

Don't Try Me


Kai Juniper - 2020
    Nobody stands up to this guy.They call him The Destroyer, and it’s not because of his destruction on the football field.It’s because he destroys hearts. If a girl even tries to get close to him, he’ll break her heart. Stomp on it. Destroy it.He doesn’t scare me. And he can’t destroy me. I’d have to give him my heart for him to hurt it, and there’s no way that’s happening, so what’s there to be afraid of?He thinks he can bully me into submisssion? Good luck.DEANI told her my rules. She didn't follow them.I told her to leave me alone. She didn’t.She’s new so I gave her a pass. But three strikes, she’s out.She knows my reputation but keeps coming back for more.She tests me. Pushes me to my limit, and doesn’t stop.I warned her. I told her to stay away. She wouldn't listen.She wants to try me? Let her. She’s not going to like what she gets.

Savage Rose


Leila James - 2021
    All the guys wish they could be him.He’s a savage.He plays with my heart, but I can’t tear myself away.I’ve made a mistake in coming here.He holds the key to everything.And I’m afraid of the truth he hides.Welcome to Rosehaven Academy.This is a mature new adult high school series and contains situations that some readers might find offensive.This Book 1 of a duet and ends on a CLIFFHANGER. Book 2, Tainted Rose releases Feb 2021.

Start a Fire


Julia Wolf - 2021
    I’ve done the popularity thing at Savage River High, but after two years away, I have no interest in reclaiming my crown.The last time I put myself in the spotlight, I was left in shambles.Unfortunately, my carefully laid plans go to hell when I grab the attention of dark, forbidding, and brutally hot Sebastian Vega. He looks at me like he wants to kill my puppy or eat me alive. Quite possibly both.Sebastian is everywhere I go, and he’s decided I’m the twisted game he wants to play, whether I’m a willing participant or not.The question is...what will I have to lose in order to win?Authors Note: This is a DARK high school bully romance with mature themes and dubious situations that some readers may find offensive. If you’re looking for a nice guy, prince of a hero, this story isn’t for you.

Wrong Crowd


Lisa Helen Gray - 2019
    I feared what my life would become when an aunt I never knew about came swooping in and threw me into the unknown. She was rich. I couldn’t even afford a pack of gum. We were complete opposites, yet I wanted a fresh start in life, and she was promising to give me that. I just had to live with her for a year, until I graduated college. However, from the very first day it became clear that I was completely out of my depth. It was a deal I couldn’t pass up, not if I wanted to stay off the streets until I could find a job to support myself. Everyone at Kingsley Academy was in a league of their own. The girls were high-class, yet as fake as Barbie dolls, and the boys were handsome with that appealing bad boy edge. Especially Kaiden Kingsley. He was charismatic, athletic, and sexy as hell. He also hated me so much he was willing to do anything to send me back to where I came from. And I didn’t even know why. He was cold, cruel and twisted in a way I could never compete with, yet I found myself gravitating towards him. Secrets, lies and deceit. Everyone reeked of it. I wanted answers—needed them. Before my mum died, I thought I knew everything about her. It turns out, I didn’t know her at all. There’s a reason she left all this behind; a reason why Kaiden and his elite group are on a mission to punish me. And I’m going to find out. WARNING: Strong content that may be a trigger to some readers.

Revival of a King


G.N. Wright - 2020
    I was taken from my home, my family, my friends. I came back to Black Hallows for one reason and one reason only, Revenge.I just have to remember that everytime I lock eyes with Marcus Riviera. My name is Elle King and it's time the Elite of this town paid for their crimes and make no mistake they will pay in blood.MarcusThree years ago I lost everything, my home, my father, my best friend.I went from a North Side Prince to a South Side King.I changed my world to get revenge for my father but then the girl I hate walks back into this town like she never left.Elle King is the reason my father is dead. But there's a fine line between hate and love and I don’t remember which side I fall on anymore.We can’t be the Elle and Marcus we once were, everythings changed.The town of Black Hallows is painted in blood and tainted in secrets.The North Side and South Side are about to be at war and it’s time to pick a side.

Bully Me


Selena . - 2020
    When we move to a small town in the south, we’ll own it, my brothers said. After all, my family is rich as sin and used to getting whatever they want. How hard could it be? Except when we arrive in Faulkner, someone already owns this town. The Darling family. They’re every bit as wealthy as we are, and they’re not happy with our new money moving in. The three Darling cousins, each one more cruel and gorgeous than the last, rule the halls of Willow Heights the way my brothers ruled our prep school in Manhattan. None is worse than Devlin Darling, who makes it his personal mission to ruin his new rivals. The Darlings see my brothers as a threat. They want them gone. It doesn’t take them long to find my brothers’ one weakness. Me. *Bully Me is a high school dark romance suitable for readers 18+*

Unspeakable


Michelle K. Pickett - 2015
    No one will break me. I’m strong. Breathe. Just breathe.”On the outside, Willow appears to have it all. She’s beautiful, smart, from an influential family, and she dates the most popular guy in school—Jaden. But she would walk away from it all in a second. Willow is tormented by lies and suffocating guilt, not the hearts and flowers people believe her life is full of. She carries a dark secret. Plagued by nightmares and pain, the secret dominates her life. If she hadn’t walked away. If she had just…but she didn’t. And now she has to live with her choice. But when someone uncovers her family’s past, they use it against her, crushing her spirit little by little. She tells herself she just has to make it to graduation. Then she can leave Middleton, and her secret, far behind.When Brody transfers to Cassidy High, he turns Willow’s life upside down. He shows her what it feels like to live again, really live. And suddenly, she isn’t satisfied with just surviving until graduation. She wants a normal life—with Brody—and he wants her. But the closer they become, the more it threatens to unravel the secret she’s worked so hard to hide.Willow finds true love with Brody. Will she let his love save her, or walk away from him to keep her secret safe?

Abuse


Nikki Sex - 2015
    It has been my joy and my great honor to help those who have lost their way. Not long after I began my journey, I met two such wounded souls. Renata Koreman, my little mouse. She came to me as a child—shy, mute, injured… broken. It took oh-so many years to start to bring her back to herself! Yet, I could not fully heal her. Years later, Grant Wilkinson, he too fell into my hands. The ex-Army Ranger was badly disfigured and saw himself as a monster. Isolated by secrets, solitary and self-contained, his colleagues affectionately named him ‘Frosty.’ Yet, how should one behave when besieged by a lifetime of confusion and guilt? The moment I saw him, I thought of her and I wondered. The eyes, they cannot always see clearly. And the heart? Ah, the heart can only guess at the truth. So it was that I remained uncertain. Could the mouse and the monster heal each other?