Book picks similar to
Behind the Gate by Renee Adams


dark
contemporary-romance
suspense-thriller
romance

Be the Girl


K.A. Tucker - 2019
    New postal code, new last name, new rules. But she doesn’t mind, because it means she can leave her painful regrets behind. In the bustling town of Eastmonte, she can become someone else. Someone better.With the Hartford family living next door, it seems she will succeed. Sure, Cassie Hartford may be the epitome of social awkwardness thanks to her autism, but she also offers an innocent and sincere friendship that Aria learns to appreciate. And Cassie’s older brother, Emmett—a popular Junior A hockey player with a bright future—well … Aria wishes that friendship could lead to something more. If he didn’t already have a girlfriend, maybe it would.But Aria soon finds herself in a dicey moral predicament that could derail her attempt at a fresh start. It is her loyalty to Cassie and her growing crush on Emmett that leads her to make a risky move, one that earns her a vindictive enemy who is determined to splinter her happy new world.

Slave


Sherri Hayes - 2011
    After several rebellious teenage years, it gave him the stability and control he had been seeking after his parent's death. As president of a not-for-profit foundation, he knows what his future holds and what he wants out of life. All that changes when a simple lunch with his college friend and mentor, Daren, leads him to buying a slave.Thrust into a situation he never thought he'd be in, Stephan can't walk away. He is compelled to help this girl in the only way he knows how. Brianna knows only one thing: she is a slave. She has nothing. She is nothing. Can Stephan help Brianna realize that she is much more than just a Slave?***This is book 1 of a 4 book series.***

The Lonely


Tara Brown - 2013
    Emalyn Spicer has lived with it for a long time. She thinks it goes back further than her memories do. She knows it goes back further than the OCD.When she arrives at college, her OCD's and the lonely refuse to let her have her wish to be normal. When she meets Sebastian and starts to fall for him, she lets herself believe it's possible to outrun the things chasing her from the past. But how to you get away from the things inside of you? How do you run from yourself?Just as she gives up and succumbs to the lonely, the unthinkable happens. She finds herself once again trapped in the dark, once again held against her will.This time she meets the lonely head on. In the darkest corners of her mind, she discovers there is more to her world than she ever imagined. She discovers that the lonely was there for her, protecting her from herself and her secrets.How far would you go to find yourself?This is a dark and captivating novel, tread lightly

Beast


A. Zavarelli - 2017
    But then he took me. And he taught me that life isn’t a fairytale. He is scarred. Broken. A dark and wild thing. His beauty is violent and his words are cruel. His heart is a shadowed landscape where nothing can grow. He tells me he could never care for me, and he proves it every day. He’s destroyed my life. Tortured me. And worse… He’s trained me to beg for his affection. This prison is a place where sunlight doesn’t reach. He taught me that hate is born in darkness. And then he taught me that sometimes love is too.

Property Of


C.P. Smith - 2015
    Always looking but never finding her own White Knight, she still held out hope that he would one day ride up on his trusty steed. He rode up all right, on a silver Harley with heat in his eyes and a detective's badge on his hip while she and her friends plotted her first contemporary romantic suspense. Of course, life couldn't' imitate art without a killer on the loose, one that had Nicola and her friends in his sights. Detective Dallas Vaughn dedicated his life to catching killers. Then one day he bumped into the girl-next-door, and all that changed. Now he's her White Knight fighting against a Dark Prince—one who would love to see her dead.

Accidentally Married


Victorine E. Lieske - 2014
    Her rent is due and she needs a job. Desperately. After getting a tip about an open position, she rushes to Jameson Technologies and meets CEO Jared Jameson. Unfortunately, due to a misunderstanding, she is put in the awkward position of pretending to be his girlfriend. Not the job she was applying for. And when she finds out Jared lied to her to get what he wanted, she decides to get back at him. In front of his family. Jared is stunned when Madison announces they are getting married. She pushed her revenge too far. How can he tell them it’s all a lie? And when his sick aunt asks them to be married before she dies, Madison comes up with a hair-brained plan to hire an actor and stage a fake wedding. What they both don’t know is Jared’s father has found out about the fake wedding. And he’s got his own hair-brained plan. This is a sweet romance, appropriate for any age.

Lies


C.A. Harms - 2015
    Thrust into a world of drugs and criminal activity, integrating himself into the Russian Mafia turned out to be much more than Josh bargained for. It’s dark and it’s dangerous. The lives they destroy along the way will never be the same. The things he is forced to do will haunt him forever. Even more importantly, he never planned on meeting her… A chance encounter with Real Estate Agent Gabriella Shannon, has Josh questioning his ability to complete his mission. And now the dark world may consume them both. He’s in too deep. Leaving now would only risk the safety of those around him. But when his cover’s blown Josh is forced to make a decision that will reroute his future. One decision. The hardest decision he will ever have to make in his life. And those he meant to protect will be the ones who suffer the most…

His Huge Rock


Sarah J. Brooks - 2017
     I’m the guy they all want to marry, but I won’t get down on one knee for anyone. They’re the ones who need to get on their knees. And they all do. And they stay there, on their knees in front of me, until I let them get back up. Maybe you think I don’t deserve a wife. Maybe you’re right. Two days ago I wouldn’t have cared. But now, all that’s changed. Kristina Masters. She knows how to use her sweet assets. She won’t get on her knees for me. But she will be mine. Whatever it takes. Even if I know she’s not who she says she is… His Huge Rock is a standalone, full-length novel of approximately 150 000 words. No cheating, no cliffhanger, and a guaranteed happily ever after. Includes bonus content! FREE WITH KINDLE UNLIMITED!

Complementary Colors


Adrienne Wilder - 2014
    Her greed made me a slave and circumstance left me with no way to escape.Trapped, the only way I could silence the nightmares driving me to insanity was to wrap them in color, hold them with shadow, and stitch them to negative space with line.But no matter how bright the pigments, no one could see my confession.Except for Roy Callahan.I thought he was just another nameless one-night stand in a long line of many. But I was wrong. Roy could see past the façade of my life and through the veil color over the canvas. He could see what the world couldn’t.And with him I’d find the courage to tell the truth about the boy.The boy who kissed me.The boy who loved me.The boy whose name I couldn’t remember.

Wasted Words


Staci Hart - 2016
    Spaghetti and meatballs are best friends forever. And guys like Tyler Knight don’t go for girls like Cam Emerson.She knew from the second she met him that he didn’t belong on her bookshelf, the six-foot-six ex-tight end with a face so all-American, it could have sold apple pie. So she shelved him next to the supermodels and rock stars and took her place on her own shelf — the one with the flannel-clad, pasty-faced comic book nerds. Most of her boyfriends have existed between the pages of books, but rather than worrying over her own lacking love life, she puts all her energy into playing Cupid, using her job at the book bar, Wasted Words, as her stomping ground.Tyler Knight always looks on the bright side. His career-ending injury turned into a job as a sports agent. A horrible breakup led him to Cam, his quirky, smart roommate who is far more beautiful than she realizes. She’s made it perfectly clear she’s not interested in him — not like that at least — but if she ever changes her mind, he won’t hesitate. Because he doesn’t see the lines she’s drawn between them, as much as she insists that they’re there. Deep down he knows that despite their differences, they’re a match well made.*A romantic comedy inspired by Jane Austen’s Emma.*

The Maze


Jennifer Lowery - 2014
    That mission led to her imprisonment, torture, and ultimate retirement, along with her loss of faith in the man she’d trusted with her life.Brings his vengeance…Former Navy SEAL, Noah Kincaid, bears the responsibility of Attie’s imprisonment and blames himself for not protecting her from drug lord Carlos Santiago. This time he won’t fail her.In a deadly game of survival.Santiago has resurfaced and set up an elaborate plan to exact his revenge on Attie by taking her brother hostage. The only way to save him is by revisiting the darkness of her past and relying on a man she can’t trust. In a battle of life or death, Noah and Attie are put to the test. They must face challenges to overcome the past and accept their feelings for each other before the danger that tore them apart separates them forever.Content Warning: Sexual content

Tied up in Heartstrings


Felicia Lynn - 2013
    My daughter and I were stuck in a fog of self-preservation, afraid to believe that there wasn’t more pain waiting for us in the ‘real world’. Just the thought of allowing myself to embrace happiness and take a risk in order to feel that all-consuming love again is terrifying. And I’m not sure I would be able to survive if it all went away again. But… what choice do I have when I’m tied up in these heartstrings? I could cut the ties and run. Or I could take a chance on someone that my heart once yearned for and hope that he knows how to untangle the fear that holds my heart hostage.

Enemies and Playmates


Darcia Helle - 2009
    Lauren Covington's family maintains a grand facade that belies the life they live behind closed doors. Alex Covington, Lauren's father, keeps a tight rein on his family through dominance, abuse, and obsessive control. Consequently, Lauren doesn't believe she could ever trust a man, much less fall in love with one. When Lauren meets Jesse Ryder, her carefully constructed protective wall shatters. She falls hopelessly and completely in love. It's only fitting that Jesse is a private detective who had once worked for her father, had defied him, and was now the subject of Alex Covington's wrath. Amidst devastating loss, betrayal, and her father's destructive pursuit of Jesse, Lauren finds the trust and love she had always longed for.

Don't Look


Jessa Kane - 2018
     I’ve been watching the big, brooding stranger from across the canyon with my paintbrush in hand. Does he feel me? Sometimes I swear he looks right through my tinted windows. A risky escape and one rash decision land me right where I need to be. In his strong, protective arms, his primal hunger consuming me. But he’s not the Hollywood Hills millionaire I believed him to be. He’s an enemy to my father. And we’re…always…being watched.

Castle of Kings


Betty Shreffler - 2017
    He consumes my very breath and melts my delicate little panties. From the moment he set eyes on me, he decided I was his. No one – not even my brother, Nix – was going to tell him otherwise. It doesn’t matter that Nix is President of the Kings MC Club. Jake wants what he wants, and he’ll set out to get it, whatever the cost.Jake may be an arrogant asshole, but there’s no denying the hold he has over me. His fierce, carnal need to make me his, and his alone, is a snare I can’t escape. And truth be told, I don’t want to. But when my life becomes threatened, Jake Castle is the only man my brother trusts to protect me. He knows Jake will do anything to keep me safe.Anything.