Book picks similar to
Secrets I Keep by Kelley Harvey
abuse
romance
contemporary
emotional
Among the Echoes
Aly Martinez - 2014
Including sexual abuse, graphic language, and adult situations. Intended for readers 18+.*My name was Dr. Erica Hill. I was a victim, then a witness, and then I ceased to exist altogether.I may still be breathing, but stripped of my identity, I have long since stopped living. I am invisible, and my life depends on my ability to stay in the shadows.But he sees me.Slate Andrews is the embodiment of everything I have been taught to avoid. He’s rich and famous, and one image of him with a woman would earn millions for any paparazzi lucky enough to snap it. He has vowed to protect me with his life, yet he exposes me with his every breath. I should be stronger and walk away. I should disappear. But I’m terrified he would come after me.I’m on the run, determined not to take him down with me but absolutely unable to let him go.My name is Riley Peterson… at least for today.
Hunter's Baby
Alexis Abbott - 2018
I can’t forget the youthful squeals of pleasure as she panted out my name. I can’t forget how she made me feel like a hero instead of dangerous man.My sweet, innocent Blossom.Then she was taken from me.Anger fuelled me, and I became even more deadly.Years have passed, and I’ve moved on with my work.Keeping the world safer by killing those who seek to harm the innocent.A vigilante.But instead of finding her, she’s found me.And with her comes a child with my blood pumping through her veins.Just one more deadly game. Then she’ll be mine.Then we’ll be a family.This novel is a full length romantic suspense novel with no cliffhangers. Explicit language. Safe from cheating.
Travesty
Carrie Thomas - 2016
How can she not know who she is? How has she ended up chained in a basement? Trying to work through her fear, she sets her sights on escaping. When an opportunity arises, she puts her trust in a boy she doesn’t know, praying he will save her life.At age four, Abram Scott learned life owes him nothing, while fourteen taught him how to throw a punch—and take one. Seventeen though… seventeen provides him with the best and worst year of his life. Before he is old enough to fight for his country, he will escape his own personal hell, save a life, live a lie, break the law, fall in love, betray that love… then lose it.Letting Sophia go while not knowing if she will return, turns into the scariest decision Abram will ever make. But that’s the problem with living a lie; at some point, you have to decide which one is your truth.
The Bet
J.L. Beck - 2019
“Yeah, so was I but you seem to have forgotten that part of your life.” The bet was simple. You draw a name from the hat. That’s the girl you have to seduce. The girl you have to make fall head over heels in love with you. It wasn’t hard for me to do, in fact, it was something I did all the time. I was known for breaking hearts. Sex was just that, sex. And it didn’t take me very long to get a woman on her back. And then I drew her name: Jules Peterson. My former best friend. My first kiss. My first love. She shattered my heart into a million pieces three years ago. She left me right when I needed her most. And as fate who have it, she had entered my life once again, at almost the perfect time. She was a transfer, fresh meat, and she had just put a target on her back. It was my turn to make her pay. It was my turn to break her heart. Holding onto that hate, that anger, that f*cking heartbreak. It does something to you. It breaks you, and it broke me, it tainted me, just like I would do to Jules. She used to be my everything, but now she was nothing but The Bet. **The Bet is book one in the North Woods University series. It is a full length, standalone, novel. It contains adult themes, and content not suitable for all readers. It is NOT a young adult novel.**Dear Reader, We're so happy that you are thinking about reading our newest book The Bet. We hope you enjoy it to your fullest and we cannot wait to read your reviews on it. However, we wanted to leave a little note to warn readers with sensitivity to dubious content, sexual themes, and verbal abuse. For those readers, this book may not be a good read for them. We also would like to say that while the book is entirely fiction we know that abuse, sexual, physical, and verbal is a very real thing in our world and that we do NOT condone any behavior of that nature nor do we think that it's okay to treat someone that way. Just like the makers of gory horror movies dont actually want people to be brutally murdered, we do not want anyone to be bullied or abused in any way.Again, this is fiction and while we don't always agree with the things our fictional characters do, sometimes it works for a story line. As writers, it is our job to draw out real emotions. Sometimes we will make you fall in love with a character and other times we might have you yelling at the book. With love, J.L. Beck & C. Hallman
Here's to Falling
Christine Zolendz - 2015
Intended for mature readers only.***TRIGGER WARNING!
Where the Road Takes Me
Jay McLean - 2015
She’s made a promise to herself: don’t let anyone in, and don’t let anyone love her. She’s learned the hard way what happens if she breaks her rules. So she’s focused on being invisible and waiting until she can set out on the road—her dream of freedom, at least for a little while.Blake Hunter is a basketball star who has it all—everything about him looks perfect to those on the other side of his protective walls. He can’t let anyone see the shattered pieces behind the flawless facade or else all his hopes and dreams will disappear.One dark night throws Chloe and Blake together, changing everything for Blake. For Chloe, nothing changes: she has the road, and she’s focused on it. But when the so-called perfect boy starts to notice the invisible girl, they discover that sometimes with love, no one knows where the road may lead.
Below the Surface
Elizabeth Lee - 2016
They used to be a team. An inseparable force to be reckoned with. But, when tragedy struck, their relationship sank faster than the ships they used to scour the ocean floor for. Now all that's left are scattered remains of what used to be. Dylan, no longer seeking the mysteries on the ocean floor, now goes for the sure things and the guaranteed paychecks. When a longtime friend suggests he has hard proof that one of those legends that used to keep Dylan up at night could be real, he's torn between going after the gold and maintaining the life he'd built since leaving The Florida Keys. Daniella was always a dreamer. She's always been chasing what would most deem unattainable—professionally and personally. Everything she'd ever wanted seemed to slip through her fingers the day he left, which is exactly why his return has her seeing red.Can the two of them put their past aside long enough to figure out a mystery that has plagued them both for years? Can they work together to see what lies below the surface?
Business or Pleasure?
Raquel Belle - 2019
I’m about to get really pissed off. Maybe I should just go (in hindsight…even based on what happened next, I’d probably do it all the same!) As is, I hate blind dates! I usually create this “picture perfect” guy in my head and then reality generally walks in! Ohhh god, and reality can be REALLLLLY cruel at times (MOST of the time!!!).Anyway…I’ve just moved back to Seattle to work with my dad at his law firm. We haven’t always had the best relationship…I’m really hoping that this is him reaching out to me. Honestly, blind-dates are the last thing I need right now in my life!I’m about to give up on this night and leave when the most delicious looking specimen of a man comes up to me. I honestly thought I was hallucinating! This guy is ravishing…the type of “stop and stare” guy. Mr. I LITERALLY felt I wanted to get pregnant just by looking at him, says...“Please, tell me I’m the one you’ve been waiting for!” with a naughty smirk on his face.“Are you David Blake?” I ask.“No, but I can be anyone you want me to be.” He smiles, and my head…ohhh god…my head is filled with strong dose of naughty thoughts (a “bit” of an understatement actually!). It’s not my blind-date…and I think to myself (well, I’M TRYING to think!!!) What the hell should I do?I don’t know what the heck happened to me but I stare right into his eyes and say “Tell you what, I’m staying upstairs.” I pause. I could feel his eyes penetrating me. And then I drop the bomb… “Let’s skip the drinks and the preamble, you follow me to my room, and let's have one hell of a one-night stand. You don’t even have to tell me your name.”I couldn’t believe I just said that!He’s shocked. I’m shocked. I don’t normally do this kind of thing. But we do it. Oh, boy…do we do it. We have the most amazing, earth shattering night that I could ever dream of. And THAT was the gift…now comes the SLAP…When the weekend is over and I go in to work on Monday morning. The secretary shows me in to my dad’s office. What the heck is he doing in here? Mr. I LITERALLY felt I wanted to get pregnant just by looking at him turns and smiles.Guess what? My one-night stand is my dad’s billionaire best friend, Jared Hawthorne. He’s my new client. Things are about to get really complicated!Business or Pleasure? is a stand alone romance book with an amazing HEA!
Trouble in Hell
Alex Grayson - 2018
Welcome to Malus. Trouble and his brothers escaped from Malus, Texas as kids. In the dead of night, they left behind a hell so hideous, it made national news. Years later, they returned to make the place that was once their living nightmare, a safe place for those who have suffered just as they have. When Remi comes to town, heavily pregnant and in desperate need of help, as the town's only doctor, Trouble reluctantly offers his services. Little did he know the strong attraction he would feel for the woman. He fights it, tries to push it to the side, but it only grows stronger, nearly consuming him. Love is not something Trouble can afford to feel. Not when he still has vengeance in his blood and the need to punish those of his past. Not when he knows Remi would never be able to see past the merciless actions he must carry out. Remi has no time for love either, no matter how much her heart yearns for Trouble. Not when danger is knocking on her door, demanding something she'll never be able to give. Will the darkness in their pasts devour them, or will they find the beauty that's just out of reach? In a town like Malus, anything is possible.... DISCLAIMER: Intended for readers 18 years and older due to mature content, abusive situations, and harsh language. May contain triggers for some readers. Please read with caution.
Some Boys
Patty Blount - 2014
Some boys will break your heart. But one boy can make you whole.When Grace meets Ian she's afraid. Afraid he'll reject her like the rest of the school, like her own family. After she accuses the town golden boy of rape, everyone turns against Grace. They call her a slut and a liar. But...Ian doesn't. He's funny and kind with secrets of his own.But how do you trust the best friend of the boy who raped you? How do you believe in love?A gut-wrenching, powerful love story told from alternating points of view by the acclaimed author of Send.
Dream Maker
Kristen Ashley - 2020
Evie is a bonafide nerd and a hyper-intelligent chick who has worked her whole life to get what she wants. Growing up, she had no support from her family and has only ever been able to rely on herself. So when Evie decides she wants to earn her engineering degree, she realizes she needs to take an alternative path to get there. She takes a job dancing at Smithie's club thinking this would be a quick side gig, where she can make the money she needs. But with her lack of dancing skills and an alpha bad boy who becomes overly protective, Evie realizes this might not be as easy as she thought.Daniel "Mag" Magnusson knows a thing or two about pain, but the mask he wears is excellent. No one can tell that this good-looking, quick-witted, and roguish guy has deep-seated issues. Mag puts on a funny-guy routine so he can hide his broken heart and PTSD. But when Evie dances her way into Mag's life, he realizes that he needs to come face-to-face with the demons of his past if he wants a future with her.
Outside the Lines
Lisa Desrochers - 2016
With his mother dead and his father in prison, he’s taking charge of his family’s safety—putting himself and his siblings in witness protection to hide out in a backwater Florida town. Fourth grade teacher Adri Wilson is worried about the new boy in her class. Sherm is quiet and evasive, especially when he’s around his even cagier older brother. Adri can’t help her attraction to Rob, or the urge to help them both in whatever way she can. But the Delgados have enemies on two sides of the mob—their father’s former crew and the rival family he helped take down. It’s only a matter of time before someone finds them. And if Rob isn’t careful, Adri could end up in the crossfire...
Messy Love
Stephanie Witter - 2018
MARISSAThe first time I laid eyes on Wyatt Burton was outside of my biological mother's house. Abandoning me twenty years ago, I never knew that meeting her would change my life so completely. In fact, there were many things that I never expected that day, but there were a few things I knew for sure. Nothing would ever be the same--not even me. And it was all about to get very MESSY. WYATTMarissa Thornton deserved so much. She was beautiful beyond reason and never took my shit. She drew me in, while driving out the worst in me. But when she let me in, trusted me completely, I thought I could finally let down my guard and find true happiness. I was wrong. Dead wrong, about myself, about her, and most importantly about the binds of LOVE.
Ache for Me
Aja Cole - 2017
Harlan’s got me all twisted up and he’s not what I want at all…
He’s high-handed, your typical arrogant athlete, too damn good looking... And I go up in flames whenever he so much as looks at me.
HARLAN I’d put her out of my mind, or tried to at least. One impulsive encounter. One taste, and I’ve got it bad. Something about Kaija makes me think about everything I never thought I wanted. Fast and free has always been the name of my game, but this woman… She comes with her own playbook. A hockey player and a head-strong woman walk into a bar... Who comes out on top? Ache For Me is a 45,000 word standalone romance with an HFN, explicit sexual situations, and no cliffhangers.
Making Pretty
Corey Ann Haydu - 2015
But Montana is a New York City girl through and through, and as the city heats up, she’s stepping into the most intense summer of her life.With Arizona wrapped up in her college world and their father distracted by yet another divorce, Montana’s been immersing herself in an intoxicating new friendship with a girl from her acting class. Karissa is bold, imperfectly beautiful, and unafraid of being vulnerable. She’s everything Montana would like to become. But the friendship with Karissa is driving a wedge between Montana and her sister, and the more of her own secrets Karissa reveals, the more Montana has to wonder if Karissa’s someone she can really trust.In the midst of her uncertainty, Montana finds a heady distraction in Bernardo. He’s serious and spontaneous, and he looks at Montana in the way she wants to be seen. For the first time, Montana understands how you can become both lost and found in somebody else. But when that love becomes everything, where does it leave the rest of her imperfect life?