Book picks similar to
Lies in the Darkness by Amanda J. Clay
new-adult
romance
contemporary
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Groupie
Susan Daugherty - 2016
Sure, she put some mileage between herself and her feuding parents, her miserable dating history, and the memories of a life-altering injury. However, she still feels like a former shadow of herself, hiding behind her diminished confidence and her thorough disbelief in true love. Everything changes when Lexie’s best (and only) friend drags her to a country music concert. Lexie loves country music, but she loathes the top-selling heartthrob who sold out the arena. Jack Morgan became a sensation with a string of degrading, shallow songs that she can’t stand. After suffering through an evening surrounded by the playboy celebrity’s endless sea of admirers, a startling trauma lands Jack in the hospital, and Lexie is the physical therapist assigned to the VIP treatment of the very man she despises. Jack is drawn to the one woman who appears resistant to his charms and who loves to check his ego every chance she gets, yet gives him the honesty he needs. She’s the opposite of his usual groupies. He can only continue his tour if he receives rehab on the road, and Lexie is the lone person Jack trusts for the job. Reluctantly, she agrees to take the journey on his luxury coach, joining the wild cast of characters on his crew. Yes, she was given many incentives to take the assignment, but the reason she wants to ignore is the dangerous one. Jackson Morgan is growing on her. He’s shown her facets of his personality she never fathomed, and maybe she isn’t immune to his handsome charm after all. At every turn, another challenge pushes her away from him. A woman returns from his past, along with new temptations at every concert. Jack’s manager clings to control over his artist and doesn’t like Lexie, or her growing influence. Media attention makes her want to run the other way, but she can’t escape it. Stepping onto the tour bus is the domino that starts a chain reaction in their lives and challenges them both to change. Could they learn to believe in love and happily ever after? NOTE: This is book one of a two-part series**YOUR REVIEWS ARE VERY IMPORTANT AND APPRECIATED! IF YOU ENJOYED THIS BOOK PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW ON AMAZON AND GOODREADS.Hot Reviews for Groupie!Under the Covers Book Lovers Groupie Review – BelAhh, yessssss! This story, these loveable characters, Groupie is everything you could want in a sweet, sexy contemporary romance. I’m so excited to say this is my first FIVE star read in a LONG time and anyone who knows me knows I don’t hand out five star ratings lightly, and rarely do those five stars go to fluffy contemporary romance novels. (They just aren’t my favourite genre.) So lets get to why this country music, doctor/patient themed romance did it for me. Enter Jackson Morgan. Party animal Country superstar. Cocky playboy. At least that’s what Lexie Travis thought about the man before having to treat him in hospital. To the world, Jack Morgan was every bit the young carefree country singer with a somewhat bad boy reputation. He looked the part, played the part, but gosh was he so much more than that. Jackson himself is plenty enough reason to read this book so go, go now and pick this baby up if you love a drop dead sexy, swoon worthy sweet man with the kind of morals and values you know your mama would be proud of. Trust me, you won’t regret letting Jack Morgan into your life. If I’m being honest, the only reason I took a chance on this book was because of the blurb. I haven’t read this author’s work before but I do know Groupie will not be the last time I pick her novels up. I remember thinking “Oh no, not another rockstar book.” (I’m not a massive fan of that sub genre.) And yes I aware, Jack’s a country star, not a rockstar. But you know, samsies. But I kept reading the blurb anyway and for some reason it peaked my interest. So I signed up in the hopes of an arc and added it to my to-read list. Groupie was such a sweet, heart warming surprise that brought constant smiles to my face and had me swooning left, right and centre. I didn’t expect the story and characters to draw me in the way they did. But how I could not fall for them? They were well crafted, easy to love and as the book progressed I couldn’t help but wonder where they would end up. It’s light, sweet, the drama is kept to a minimum, the sexual tension is high. If you’re in the mood for this kind of read, I highly suggest you take a chance on Groupie. It’s FIVE stars from me.Reviewed By Maureen Dangarembizi for Readers’ FavoriteGroupie by Susan Daugherty revolves around a developing romance between Dr Lexie Travis and music sensation Jack Morgan. Lexie doesn't appreciate Jack's brand of country music much and has a low opinion of his lifestyle. When Jack has an accident on stage and hurts his leg, Lexie is brought in as his therapist. Turns out Jack Morgan isn't the uncouth womanizer she believed him to be. Their healing sessions bring them closer and Jack is forced to take a good look at his life since his stardom. For Lexie, travelling with Jack on his tour is a dream come true. Jack may just be the man to make Lexie hope again. Just one problem; she didn't believe in true love and Jack is ready to jump all in.When it comes to exploring a character's emotions, Susan Daugherty hit the nail on the head. I felt the fear, the excitement, and the love between Lexie and Jack. Both characters have been scared by the past and are scared to commit, but as they get to know each other better, their friendship turns into something more meaningful. This book is filled with "awww"-inspiring sweet moments and nail biting suspense (sometimes more than I could take). I especially loved that it still managed to convey the romantic atmosphere without the overblown sex scenes so prevalent in romance books nowadays. The book ends in a cliffhanger, but was totally worth the read. I can't wait to read the conclusion of Lexie and Jack's story in Muse. Fans of Colleen Hoover will definitely enjoy Groupie.
My Temporary Life
Martin Crosbie - 2011
Growing up, he's raised by a promiscuous mother who can't stay out of trouble, his best friend is a thirteen-year-old alcoholic, and the masters at his tough Scottish school are always raising their canes in his direction. When he becomes an adult, he escapes, and chooses the safe route, watching the world from a distance.Everything changes the day he meets the beautiful, alluring, green-eyed Heather, and when he learns of Heather's own abusive childhood and the horrific secret she's been carrying, Malcolm decides to help her. And, this time he's not backing down, whatever the cost.
The Real Deal
Lauren Blakely - 2018
She doesn't even spend that much time online. And even if she did, she would not be looking up personal ads. But going home alone for her family's summer reunion is an invitation for every single relative to butt into her personal life. She simply can't handle another blind date with the butcher, the baker or the candlestick maker from her hometown. So when she finds the Craigslist ad for a boyfriend-for-hire, she's ready to pay to play.
Heading Home and Need a Buffer? I'm the REAL DEAL.
Theo Banks has been running from the past for years. He's this close to finally settling all his debts, and one more job as a boyfriend-for-hire will do the trick. He's no gigolo. Please. He's something of an actor, and he knows how to slip into any role, including pretending to be April's new beau -- the bad boy with the heart of gold.Even if it means sleeping in close quarters in that tiny little bed in her parents' inn. Even if it means spinning tales of a romance that starts to feel all too true. What neither one of them counts on is that amid the egg toss, the arm wrestling, and a fierce game of Lawn Twister that has them tangled up together, they might be feeling the real deal.She only wanted to show her family once and for all that she had no need to settle down.He didn't expect to have the time of his life at her parent's home.They didn't plan on loving every single second of the game.But can a masterful game of pretend result in true love?
Rain Will Come
Thomas Holgate - 2020
Ruthless and riddled with vices, Czarcik always gets his man. And fast. Until now…A double slaying isn’t the open-and-shut case of urban crime he’s used to. Connecting it to a high-profile Texas judge, Czarcik realizes something bigger is going on. It’s the work of a serial killer for whom Chicago is just the beginning. Now he’s inviting Czarcik to play catch-me-if-you-can on a cross-country murder spree.Going rogue, Czarcik accepts the challenge. But as the bodies pile up, he must come to grips with the fact that nothing—not the killer, the victims, or the rules—is what it seems in this bloody game of cat and mouse.
Almost Love
Louise O'Neill - 2018
Perfect for fans of Marian Keyes and Jodi Picoult.When Sarah falls for Matthew, she falls hard.So it doesn't matter that he's twenty years older. That he sees her only in secret. That, slowly but surely, she's sacrificing everything else in her life to be with him.Sarah's friends are worried. Her father can't understand how she could allow herself to be used like this. And she's on the verge of losing her job.But Sarah can't help it. She is addicted to being desired by Matthew.And love is supposed to hurt.Isn't it?
Girl Underwater
Claire Kells - 2015
Growing up in Brookline, Massachusetts, she took swim lessons at her community pool and captained the local team; in high school, she raced across bays and sprawling North American lakes. Now a sophomore on her university’s nationally ranked team, she struggles under the weight of new expectations but life is otherwise pretty good. Perfect, really.That all changes when Avery’s red-eye home for Thanksgiving makes a ditch landing in a mountain lake in the Colorado Rockies. She is one of only five survivors, which includes three little boys and Colin Shea, who happens to be her teammate. Colin is also the only person in Avery’s college life who challenged her to swim her own events, to be her own person—something she refused to do. Instead she’s avoided him since the first day of freshman year. But now, faced with sub-zero temperatures, minimal supplies, and the dangers of a forbidding nowhere, Avery and Colin must rely on each other in ways they never could’ve imagined.In the wilderness, the concept of survival is clear-cut. Simple. In the real world, it’s anything but.
Ruin
Clarissa Wild - 2016
Even though she had all odds stacked against her, she knew what she wanted from life and pursued it, no matter the cost.She was completely my opposite in every way.Perfect, even though she couldn’t see it.Perfect … until me.Because this is the story of how I ruined her.
Based on a true story. Standalone Romance. No cliffhanger.
Huck
Alison Ryan - 2016
Because when you’re debutante Belle Delford (that’s me), all you are to the world is your old Kentucky money. But I’m not going to live a life that was arranged for me before I was even born, a life I have no passion for. So I fled in the dead of night, and didn’t look back. I drove until I couldn’t drive anymore, until I was positive the things that were chasing me could never catch up. I ended up in Whitmer, Montana, and on my very first night I met Huck Calloway. He’s everything a woman could want: tall, brooding, and handsome as all hell. As soon as I see him, I want him, if just for one night. Anything to get my mind off the things I left behind. But Huck isn’t like any man I’ve met before. Nothing is simple when it comes to him, and I can’t read him to save my life—which only makes me want him more. HUCK I grew up in the back woods of Montana, raised never to need anyone or anything—except myself and my brothers. We build things with our hands, we kill what we eat, and we earn every single thing we have in this life. I wouldn’t have changed a damn thing about it, until the night Belle Delford waltzed into our bar and flipped my world upside down. As much as I want her in every way possible, it’s a no-go. She has secrets she doesn’t want to tell me, and I have things I can never tell her. There’s a hard line in the sand, but despite what I tell myself… I’d do anything to be able to cross it. WARNING: This is a sweet, but incredibly steamy story about love breaking through the thickest of emotional walls. Get ready to cry tears of sadness and joy for these two. Huck Calloway is one alpha country bad boy you'll never forget! This is a complete standalone story with an HEA. It's part of a series of standalones featuring brothers that live in the backwoods and mountains of Montana.
Dear Santa
Nancy Naigle - 2018
They’ve weathered over sixty tourist seasons, major hurricanes, and urban sprawl, in their old decommissioned lighthouse. But the national chain that set up shop in their small North Carolina town of Pleasant Sands may be more than Heart of Christmas can survive.Encouraged by her niece to ask Santa for help, Angela gives in and lets the words fly in a way that, if Santa were real, would no doubt land her on the naughty list. What’s the harm when it’s just a computer-generated response?Geoff Paisley has been at his mother’s side running the mega-chain Christmas Galore for the last ten years. When his mother falls ill, Geoff promises to answer the town’s Dear Santa letters in her stead. Soon he realizes the woman he’s been corresponding with on Dear Santa is Angela. How could the woman that grates his every last nerve in person have intrigued him so deeply through those letters?When Geoff reveals that he’s her Dear Santa, will Angela be able to set aside their very public feud to embrace the magic of the holiday and possibly find true love?
Invincible Summer
Alice Adams - 2016
Twenty years. One unexpected journey. Inseparable throughout college, Eva, Benedict, Sylvie, and Lucien graduate in 1997, into an exhilarating world on the brink of a new millennium. Hopelessly in love with playboy Lucien and eager to shrug off the socialist politics of her upbringing, Eva breaks away to work for a big bank. Benedict, a budding scientist who's pined for Eva for years, stays on to complete his PhD in physics, devoting his life to chasing particles as elusive as the object of his affection. Siblings Sylvie and Lucien, never much inclined toward mortgages or monogamy, pursue more bohemian existences-she as an aspiring artist and he as a club promoter and professional partyer. But as their twenties give way to their thirties, the group struggles to navigate their thwarted dreams. Scattered across Europe and no longer convinced they are truly the masters of their fates, the once close-knit friends find themselves filled with longing for their youth- and for one another. Broken hearts and broken careers draw the foursome together again, but in ways they never could have imagined. A dazzling depiction of the highs and lows of adulthood, Invincible Summer is a story about finding the courage to carry on in the wake of disappointment, and a powerful testament to love and friendship as the constants in an ever-changing world.
American Royals
Katharine McGee - 2019
Two and a half centuries later, the House of Washington still sits on the throne.As Princess Beatrice gets closer to becoming America's first queen regnant, the duty she has embraced her entire life suddenly feels stifling.Nobody cares about the spare except when she's breaking the rules, so Princess Samantha doesn't care much about anything, either . . . except the one boy who is distinctly off-limits to her.And then there's Samantha's twin, Prince Jefferson. If he'd been born a generation earlier, he would have stood first in line for the throne, but the new laws of succession make him third. Most of America adores their devastatingly handsome prince . . . but two very different girls are vying to capture his heart.
The Seat Filler
Sariah Wilson - 2021
That’s the hiccup in a warm and witty romance by the bestselling author of Roommaid.The meet-cute award goes to dog groomer Juliet Nolan. It’s one of Hollywood’s biggest nights when she volunteers as a seat filler and winds up next to movie heartthrob Noah freaking Douglas. Tongue tied and toes curling in her pink Converse, she pretends that she doesn’t have a clue who he is. It’s the only way to keep from swooning.She’s pretty and unpretentious, loves his dog, and is not a worshipping fan. No way Noah’s giving up on her, even if his affectionate pursuit comes with a bump: Juliet has a pathological fear of kissing and the disappointments that follow. What odds does romance have without that momentous, stupendous, once-in-a-lifetime first smooch? Patient, empathetic, and carrying personal burdens of his own, Noah suggests a remedy: they rehearse.The lessons begin. The guards come down. But there’s another hitch they weren’t betting on. As for that cue-the-orchestra-and-roll-credits happy ending? It might take more than practice to make it perfect.
Heart and Seoul
Jen Frederick - 2021
She knows. Every time Hara looks in the mirror, she’s reminded that she doesn’t look like anyone else in her family—not her loving mother, Ellen; not her jerk of a father, Pat; and certainly not like Pat’s new wife and new “real” son.At the age of twenty-five, she thought she had come to terms with it all, but when her father suddenly dies, an offhand comment at his funeral triggers an identity crisis that has her running off to Seoul in search of her roots.What Hara finds there has all the makings of a classic K-drama: a tall, mysterious stranger who greets her at the airport, spontaneous adventures across the city, and a mess of familial ties, along with a red string of destiny that winds its way around her heart and soul. Hara goes to Korea looking for answers, but what she gets instead is love—a forbidden love that will either welcome Hara home…or destroy her chance of finding one.
Hold Me Today
Maria Luis - 2019
The enemy? Nick Stamos, my best friend’s older brother. He’s got a body and face the Greek gods would envy but his personality needs a major overhaul. He’s surly. A rule-follower.Did I mention he’s seen me naked? I may have crushed on him for years, but the only place I want Nick swinging his hammer nowadays is at my salon. Except, he needs something in return... A fake girlfriend. And I’m just reckless enough to say yes.Hold Me Today is the first book in the highly anticipated series, Put A Ring On It.
Drops of Rain
Kathryn Andrews - 2014
I now live in a new town, go to a new school, and I’m supposed to be moving on with my new life. Only, I no longer know who I am. Dancing is all I have left and every day I feel completely alone. Silence has become the theme song to my life. She said to find some joy and light, but I don’t know how. Mostly, I feel surrounded in darkness…that is until I meet him.Drew HaleI have only one goal, in 298 days I’m going to drive away from this small beach town and never return. People are always watching me closely, too close, and I’m tired of wearing a mask. I need to be free. Swimming is my ticket out of here and I remind myself daily to fly under the radar, stick to my routine, and under no circumstances let anything distract me. I’m not as perfect as they think, most days I am drowning in guilt. I’m not sure I will ever be able to escape the feelings of shame, worthlessness, and just being unwanted…that is until I meet her.