Book picks similar to
Elusion by C.G. Blaine


new-adult
drama
contemporary-romance
college

Dearest Clementine


Lex Martin - 2014
    It's safe, and after being burned by her high school sweetheart and stalked by a professor her freshman year of college, safe sounds pretty damn good.Her number one rule for survival? No dating. That is until she accidentally signs up for a romance writing class and needs material for her latest assignment. Sexy RA Gavin Murphy is more than happy to play the part of book boyfriend to help Clem find some inspiration, even if that means making out … in the name of research, of course.As Gavin and Clem grow closer, they get entangled in the mystery surrounding a missing Boston University student, and Clem unwittingly becomes a possible target. Gavin tries to show Clem she can handle falling in love again, but she knows she has to be careful because her heart’s at stake … and maybe even her life.DEAREST CLEMENTINE is a stand-alone novel with two companion novels. This New Adult romance is recommended for readers 18+ due to mature content.

Weightless


Kandi Steiner - 2016
     I remember I wanted to photograph them, the way the red and blue splashed across his cold, emotionless face. But I knew even if my feet could move from the place where they had cemented themselves to the ground and I could run for my camera, I wouldn’t be able to capture that moment. I had trusted him, I had loved him, and even though my body had changed that summer, he’d made sure to help me hold on to who I was inside, regardless of how the exterior altered. But then everything changed. He stole my innocence. He scarred my heart. He took everything I thought I knew about my life and fast-pitched it out the window, shattering the glass that held my world together in the process. I remember the lights. The passionate, desperate, hot strikes of red. The harsh, cruel, icy bolts of blue. They symbolized everything I endured that summer. And everything I would never face again.

Like Gravity


Julie Johnson - 2015
    After witnessing her mother’s brutal murder at age six, Brooklyn is guarded, damaged, and – by all accounts – a bitch. And that’s just the way she likes it, if it means keeping everyone at arm’s length. When she stumbles, quite literally, into Finn Chambers – campus ladies’ man and the lead singer of a local band —she’s unprepared for his persistence in befriending her, and for the dangerous attraction she begins to feel for him. Because with Finn, she knows it would be more than just sex. More than just friendship. And maybe even more than just love. When a sinister presence from her past reemerges, Brooklyn will be pushed to her breaking point. For the first time in fifteen years, she will confront both her grief and her memories, as she plays a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with an unforeseen enemy. Because sometimes, the demons we must confront aren’t only on the inside.... *** LIKE GRAVITY is a new full-length standalone romantic suspense novel, intended for audiences ages 17+ ***

Right in Front of You


Lacey Silks
    Life was perfect… until piece by piece, it all fell apart, and I lost my will to live. Molly Fowler, my best friend from grade school, has saved my life countless times. She helped me heal and move on. She guided me to be a better man, while she herself held pain I failed to see. I was too blind to see her deep scars. I was too blind to see that we needed each other. I was too blind to see what was right in front of me. Molly Fowler I left Hope Bay the moment I could, but a force by the name of Carter Clark kept pulling me back home. I fought and resisted, but I was too blind to see what was right in front of me. I was too weak to trust our friendship. Above all, I was too blind to see the danger ahead — a man I’d never thought I’d see again, waiting for my return in disguise. Read about Carter and Molly’s nail biting romance in Right in Front of You. Note: Right in Front of You is a standalone novel. It follows Carter and Molly’s story from Yours and Mine. Contains spoilers to Yours and Mine. Intended for mature audience only.

Lust


Ker Dukey - 2019
    I had a clear path to success. Until fate dealt me a cruel blow, leaving me empty and in need of purpose. My only focus now is to become part of The Elite—a secret society in one of the most prestigious colleges in the world.But everything comes at a price, and with The Elite, you have to earn your place. Lucky for me, being sinful is in my DNA. The only obstacle to full initiation is my task: seduce the un-seducible, the forbidden, and lure her with the sins of the flesh. Easy for a man like me…in theory. She started as my task, but what happens when the lines between lust and love blur, and the need for power rages war with the need for her?Accept your sin wisely, for the tasks given to earn your place are not for the weak—they’re for The Elite.This is my life, my chance, my legacy.I am Rhett Masters.I am Lust.

Little Liar


Willow Winters - 2018
    That’s how stories like these get started. But every lie I told, he saw through it. I think in his heart he knew I was broken; he felt my pain as if it was his. And that’s what changed everything. He’s the reason it all fell apart.Sometimes it’s a single moment that alters everything in existence.Sometimes it’s the fall of dominoes, lined up in a pretty little row and designed so that each one will cause more and more pain.In a single day, it’s all changed, and there’s no way to take it back.I didn't know what would happen. But secrets and lies ruin everything.“I was captivated from the very beginning, and I couldn't let go until the very end. Winters wove an outstanding tale, which has an even better message within its pages.” - Kendra @ Reads and Treats** It's Our Secret was previously titled Little Liar **

Mayhem


Becca Steele - 2021
    Takes place approximately one year before the events of The Lies We Tell.I thought I was finally done with Elijah Ripley. My former tormentor, the boy with the dark hair, the cruel mouth, and the black soul, had left Alstone behind for good. Or so I thought. I was wrong. Now he’s back, and I know that he’ll never be done with me. It’s Halloween. A night when everything will change. A night of mayhem.Available for free from Becca Steele's website.

The Sky Between Us


Mia Kun - 2021
    Some mistakes leave a mark on us and we have to carry their consequences forever.”HazelSix years ago, my life fell apart and ever since I was living within those broken pieces.Until I met him.The moment I walked into the Starbucks on my first day of work and laid eyes on him, everything changed.He saw me.For the first time in three years, I wasn’t invisible. I’ve grown used to staying on the sidelines and living in the shadows until I met him.Aiden Hitchings was my father’s favorite player. Our university’s soccer star. The one who lived in the spotlight.I knew I shouldn’t have tempted fate, but falling for him wasn’t a choice. History was about to repeat itself, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.AidenLast year of college was going to be epic. Juggling our NCAA Championship, coursework and my part-time job at Starbucks wasn’t easy, but it was all going to pay off once I signed my professional contract. That was before she walked in.The hazel-eyed girl with a sharp tongue, the one who always blended into the background, was staring right back at me. The Coach’s daughter, one I should have avoided at any cost but kept being drawn to. She shattered my carefully built-up world and inked herself deep into my soul.But she carried a secret with her that stood between us, slowly breaking us.And for the first time in my life, I lost control and I felt helpless.

Foxes


Suki Fleet - 2016
    But Danny finds interaction difficult and must keep his world small in order to survive. By day he lives in an abandoned swimming pool and fixes electrical devices to trade for supplies, but by night, alone, he hunts sharks a reckless search for dangerous men who prey on the vulnerable.A chance meeting with an American boy selling himself on the streets throws this lonely existence into disarray. Micky is troubled, fragile, and Danny feels a desperate need to protect him from what, he doesn't know. As Danny discovers more about Micky, he realizes that what Micky needs saving from is the one thing Danny can't help him fight against.To save Micky, Danny must risk expanding his world and face something that scares him more than any shark ever could: trusting he will be accepted for who he is. If a freezing winter on the streets, a sadistic doctor, and three thousand miles don't tear them apart first, that is.

Bad Rep


A. Meredith Walters - 2012
    Maysie Ardin is soaking up the summer before her junior year of college, shopping, hanging by the pool and shopping some more. But when her black belt in spending lands her in trouble with her parents, she is forced to take a second job at a local bar to dig herself out of a deep financial pit.She thought she’d be miserable. But then Maysie didn’t count on Jordan Levitt, the hot, pierced and tattooed, drum playing bartender who also happens to be very interested in her. And the feelings are totally mutual.It had the makings of the perfect romantic set up. Boy meets girl. Boy likes girl. Boy has girlfriend? Okay, maybe not.But attraction is a hard thing to ignore and soon Jordan and Maysie find themselves in the middle of a gossip induced firestorm. Maysie has to learn whether she can set aside her fear of public disapproval in order to be with the one she wants. Or will she let the opinions of others dictate her life and her heart?

Do You Dare?


Lylah James - 2019
    Reckless bad boy. Infamous playboy. My nemesis. And now my best friend.I know he’ll never leave me hanging. He knows I'll never refuse a dare. Everywhere we go we turn heads, but it’s not like that.Until it is.For one of us, anyway.I've always known he would be my downfall. But I trusted him to catch me.He proved me wrong.Maddox has gone too far, and I don’t know if I want to rein him in or push us further into dangerous territory.He tells me those three little words that I crave. Three little words I want from no one else.𝑰 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖Except this time, it's no simple dare. This could burn us to the ground."𝑰 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒉𝒊𝒎."

Still Life with Strings


L.H. Cosway - 2014
    A man in a suit always catches my eye, but it was the way he looked at me that was different. Like he knew me or something. He didn’t know me, especially not in my costume. My sobriety rests on staying away from men, but there was something about him that made me throw caution to the wind.After all, I was never going to see him again, right?Wrong.Standing still isn’t the only way I make my money. I also bartend at a concert hall. Never in my wildest dreams did I think Shane was going to show up there. Not only that, but he’s the most recent addition to the orchestra. So now on a daily basis I have to resist one of the most beautiful men I’ve ever met and he plays the violin. For me that’s one hell of a deadly cocktail.He wants me to teach him how to live. I’m not sure how much a twenty-six year old recovering alcoholic who works in a bar and moonlights as a living statue can teach a world class concert violinist, but I’m sure going to try.Still Life with Strings is a story of music, art, sex, magical realism, and romance that you will never forget.** Not suitable for readers under 18 years. Contains strong language and sex scenes. **

Barely Breathing


K.G. Reuss - 2021
    She’s been my tormentor for as long as I can remember. If it’s not her long legs and wicked smile getting me hot and bothered, it’s her bullying and cruel intentions.When we’re paired on a class project, I swear it’s going to be my worst nightmare.I’m not wrong.The Asha Blake I thought I knew is nothing compared to the girl sitting on my bed, divulging secrets so painful and sick, that I find myself fighting for her instead of against her.But when it comes to the Queen of Mean, once you’re in her inner circle there’s no way out. I’m in too deep. Graveyard deep. And she’s about to bury me.Barely Breathing is a dark high school bully romance. Due to mature content, reader discretion is advised.

Jersey Six


Jewel E. Ann - 2019
    Eight years later, a burn victim with amnesia wanders into Jersey’s barely-existent life. She resists his efforts to form a friendship until he reveals knowledge of the person responsible for derailing her future. Through their unusual friendship, she discovers a way to avenge the deaths of her foster parents. All she has to do is destroy the world’s biggest rock star. In the ultimate game of sex, lies, and manipulation, can Jersey discover the truth? Or will she be blinded by attraction, deceived by love, and destroyed by her past?

Black Rainbow


J.J. McAvoy - 2015
    McAvoy… After an erotic one-week fling with a musician she meets in a bar, Thea Cunning never expects to see Levi Black again. Then Monday morning comes around, and she discovers that her former lover is not only her professor, but he’s also one of the top criminal lawyers in the state of Massachusetts. With everyone in class vying to be one of the twelve disciples—a group of twelve students that Professor Black takes under his wing—tensions run high. Thea considers dropping his class, given their passionate week together and their undeniable chemistry. After all, there are other (less infuriatingly sexy) law professors on campus. But to accomplish her goal and get her father out of prison, Thea knows she needs to learn under the best of the best—and that’s Levi Black. But can she learn under the best, without being under the best?