Book picks similar to
Hot Summer School Night by Michelle Mankin


romance
contemporary-romance
bully
contemporary

Gods & Monsters


Saffron A. Kent - 2018
    She was his muse.To everyone in town, Abel Adams was the devil's spawn, a boy who never should have been born. A monster.To twelve year-old Evie Hart, he was just a boy with golden hair, soft t-shirts and a camera. A boy who loved taking her picture and sneaking her chocolates before dinner. A boy who made her feel special.Despite her family's warnings, she loved him in secret for six years. They met in empty classrooms and kissed in darkened church closets. Until they couldn't.Until the time came to choose between love and family, and Evie chose Abel.Because their love was worth the risk. Their love was the stuff of legend.But the thing about legends is that they are cautionary tales. They are made of choices and mistakes. And for Abel and Evie, the artist and the muse, those mistakes come in the form of lights, camera, sex.NOTE: This is NOT a paranormal or a priest romance.

Crashing Back Down


Kristen Hope Mazzola - 2013
    Her late husband, Randy, left for the Army right after their wedding. Instead of celebrating his homecoming and living in marital bliss with her soulmate, Mags finds herself living in constant agony. Dealing with the guilt of still living without Randy, are Randy's best friends and parents. Rising from the ashes of this tragedy, Mags starts to learn how to love and trust again, finally being able to find happiness. But sometimes things really are too good to be true and again Mags learns how cruel the world can be as she crashes back down.**18+ for sexual situations, cursing, and adult content.***

Hero (The VII Knights MC)


M.N. Forgy - 2021
    I’ve taken on every unlawful labor with brawn and a side of madness, earning me the president patch on my cut.I am unstoppable.A force no one reckons with. Until my uncle from a rival club discovers a weakness I didn’t even know I had.Monet. With beautiful honey eyes that remind me of my gold plated Magnum and resilience that has my focus only on her, betrayal erupts around us. Lost in a façade of love and lust, enemies slip into my circle. No one can be trusted. I’ll dig until every traitor is taken down.Bury them all in the wake of my destruction. I’ve always been the hero. A god.Now, the villain rises.

A Song for Julia


Charles Sheehan-Miles - 2012
    Six years later, he’s still at odds with his father, a Boston cop, and doesn’t ever speak to his mother. The only relationship that really matters is with his younger brother, but watching out for Sean can be a full-time job. The one thing Crank wants in life is to be left the hell alone to write his music and drive his band to success.Julia Thompson left a secret behind in Beijing that exploded into scandal in Washington, DC, threatening her father's career and dominating her family's life. Now, in her senior year at Harvard, she's haunted by a voice from her past and refuses to ever lose control of her emotions again, especially when it comes to a guy. When Julia and Crank meet at an anti-war protest in Washington in the fall of 2002, the connection between them is so powerful it threatens to tear everything apart.

Neighbors


Stylo Fantome - 2016
    Give you a cup of sugar 2. Let you borrow his lawnmower 3. Water your plants while you're on vacation 4. Make your eyes roll back in your head with his tongue Katya Tocci has never paid much attention to who lives next door - her career always kept her too busy. She's a good girl, working her way to becoming the most sought after cake designer in all of San Francisco. But even a good girl's gotta cut loose once in a while, right? So one fake dating profile later, and she's ready to tarnish her squeaky clean image. Little does she know, her fun time is closer to home than she ever imagined. Throw in a neighbor who wants to corrupt her, and another who just wants to own her, and her entire world is flipped upside down. Who knew neighbors could be so helpful? This story contains scenes of a graphic sexual nature, multiple uses of coarse language, and one scene of violent cake destruction. Reader discretion is advised

Desolate


Autumn Grey - 2018
    I was going to finish high school, attend seminary, and finally answer my calling. Becoming a priest was all I ever wanted. Until her. Grace Miller was always the one who could steal my breath with a single look. She was perfect. Out of my league. I never thought we could become more than friends. But we did. On the path I’ve chosen—the path that chose me—our love is forbidden. Wrong. And that doesn’t seem to matter when she’s in my arms. There’s a crossroads ahead of me and a battle raging in my head. Eventually, I’ll have to choose a side. But how can I choose between Grace (my heart) and what I know in my soul I’m meant to be?Desolate is the first book in the Grace Trilogy. It's a sometimes sexy, angsty, slow burn contemporary coming-of-age romance. Download today and experience first love all over again in this forbidden romance. *This story has some content that may be sensitive for some readers.*

Fierce-Devin


Natalie Ann - 2021
    Secretly...of course. Devin Andrews loves his job at Fierce-The Brewery and working for his cousin Mason. What he doesn’t love is that his Aunt Jolene has set her sights on making him the next target of her matchmaking scheme. But he’s onto her and has no plans on falling prey like her unsuspecting children did. Besides, he’s not sure he has what it takes to fall in love since he never has before, even being the oldest of the family. Hope Hall picked up her life and moved to Charlotte for a man. She should have listened to her family when they cautioned her against it, reminding her that she was too spontaneous with everything in life...even men. After being blind, stupid, and naive once again, she doesn’t want to go home and listen to them say they were right. Instead she is trying to make a life for herself—one without a man in it—and prove she can do it on her own.

Beautiful Pain


Joanna Mazurkiewicz - 2013
    I needed to get away from London, I wanted to start from scratch in Belfast, escape from the life that I didn’t want. Working for Probation Service for the whole summer was going to give me the experience that I needed. I always felt much better when I could help people whose lives were shattered.My parents told me that I wasn't ready and I wouldn't make it through but I was determined to show them that the past was behind me. I had three months to forget about my bad memories, about the pain and my scars. Then I run straight into him, throwing it all to the wind, falling into a trap of love and lust. Harry O’Donaghue was a local offender. At our first meeting he gave me the impression that he didn’t care about what I had to say and didn’t want to be evaluated by a stupid young girl like me. Harry wasn’t an easy subject, either when it came to straight forward conversation about his future or about the crimes that he had committed.Harry had a secret and everything suddenly became complicated. He was bad to be around, bad for me in every respect, but I still allowed him take me to paradise… Contemporary Romance novel - contains adult situations, high sexuality, violence, suited for ages 18 and up. This book is the first in a series but can be read as a stand alone.*

Blindsight


Adriane Leigh - 2015
    Leigh's newest mysterious hero will have you anxiously flipping pages well into the night trying to uncover his secrets." - Jay Crownover, Marked MenSometimes a single touch is all it takes to spark a wildfire. Erin Warner learned that the day she bumped into the dashing, tattooed stranger on a busy Chicago street corner. She's captivated from the moment Hunter Ellis' mystifying green eyes find hers, but there is more to him than meets the eye, including the intricately etched tattoos decorating his body that disguise horrific scars from a past he refuses to revisit. As she peels away the layers, Erin realizes that what she thought was true, never really was at all, for both of them. Now she can only hope that blind adoration for the dashing stranger didn't sign her death warrant.

Speak From The Heart


L.B. Dunbar - 2013
    Back at her grandmother’s summer home, she’s only in Elk Lake City for a visit which can’t end soon enough. Especially when she can’t seem to get away from one grumpy repairman who shows up everywhere. Fortunately for him, his daughter is sweet even if she refuses to speak.Jess Carter is a hometown favorite and a hot single father. Sworn off love for several reasons, foremost is the silence of his daughter. His little one has a secret and he doesn’t know the why behind it. Unfortunately for him, his six-year-old has taken a liking to the beautiful new woman in town visiting her nana. And everywhere he goes, there she is, invading his space and his heart.While silence might be golden, the voice in lonely hearts refuses to remain quiet.** PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED in 2014 as Sound Advice, Sensations Collection 1.

Waiting to Breathe


Alyson Reynolds - 2017
    All she wants is to start over without any complications or anyone figuring out her secrets. When her twin brother Finn convinces her to move back home and finish her degree at his school, it's just the push she needs to start over.Nathaniel Ford is the golden boy of SCU. He seems like he has it all, perfect family, awesome friends and fraternity brothers, and a few buildings on campus with his last name on them. But things aren't always what they seem. From the first time Nate and Olivia bump into each other, literally, he wants more of her feisty attitude, but Olivia throws more walls up with each step he takes closer, and he isn't sure he can break them down fast enough.

Falling Fast


Julia Jarrett - 2021
    Marcus is nothing like me. He’s confident, bold, sexy, and oh, did I mention he’s a millionaire? And for some reason, he’s apparently crazy about me. Even though most of my friends are from the books that I read and I can’t use a real swear word without sweating. But the island is my home, and he’s a big city billionaire. What happens when his visit is over?MARCUSI did not want to come to this island. I definitely did not want to enjoy small-town life. I absolutely did not want to fall for a woman who puts Disney princesses to shame with her beauty and heart. But that’s exactly what happened the second I met Ella. She’s the calm to my storm and she’s making me re-evaluate what’s really important in life. It turns out, the answer to that isn’t money or success. It’s love. How do I prove to her that our lives may be very different, but I’ll do whatever it takes to be with her?

All the Days After


Carrie Thorne - 2019
    Don’t sleep with my brother.”No problem, right? Accountant extraordinaire, Sophie Jones has spent the last decade trying to find a sense of normal. Life is looking deliciously peaceful, as she follows her best friend home to the small town of Foothills, Washington. Back from the Navy, former SEAL Asher Sutherland is not the guy he used to be… although, he doesn’t have a clue who he is now. The one thing Asher knows for sure is that he wants Sophie.Big problem. Asher has recklessly broken the hearts of his sister’s friends on too many occasions. Neither is willing to hurt Pippa. But, resisting the attraction may prove to be more challenging that either can withstand.Settle in with a soothing cup of coffee and watch the sunrise in this tempting, steamy romance set in the Cascade Foothills in the heart of the Pacific Northwest.

The Silver Swan


Amo Jones - 2017
    When she begins Riverside Preparatory Academy, the private school her father has swept her into in The Hamptons, she hopes for a fresh start. What she wasn't hoping for was the pack of bad boys who run the school; ten, to be exact. When Madison gains the attention of their leader, Bishop Vincent Hayes, a whole new world that she didn't think existed is exposed to her. A whole world that starts and ends with The Elite Kings Club and these boys, are about to flip her world upside down. Secrets are overflowing and family lies are about to be exposed. Is there more to Madison Montgomery than even she knows?

Wanderlove


Rachel Blaufeld - 2019
    On her own for the first time, she heads to the only place her mom ever lived—New York City—desperate to find the woman who dropped her off on her dad’s doorstep. Content to spend the rest of his life in Small Town, Pennsylvania, Price Barnes is plucked out of his idyllic life by his estranged father. Missing his mom and stepfather, he’s dropped in New York City to attend college and live an all-expenses paid lifestyle. Cushy, right? But not the life he wanted.She’s looking to fill a hole in her heart, and he’s looking to forget the man who disrupted his life. Together, they’re both wandering, looking for acceptance and hoping to forget the rejection