Book picks similar to
Tragic by Cole Lepley


romance
dnf
new-adult
contemporary-romance

Into the Light


L.B. Simmons - 2014
    Trust me when I say, it's a breathtaking sight to see. You burn as bright as the sun."When Aubrey Miller begins her education at Titan University, she is no longer the beautiful, blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl of her youth. In fact, she's no longer even Aubrey Miller. Overcome with guilt and unable to cope with the loss of her beloved family, she has long since buried eight-year old Aubrey along with them and transformed herself into Raven Miller. Now with jet-black hair, multiple sets of eccentric contact lenses, and several facial piercings, she's veiled herself in complete darkness as a form of protection for herself, as well as others. As she enters her first year of college, her goal is simple: Earn a degree with the least amount of social interaction as possible. What she never anticipates is the formation of very unlikely relationships with two people who will change her life in ways she never believed possible: Quinn Matthews, the overtly cheerful pageant queen, and Kaeleb McMadden, a childhood friend who never really let her go. Over the years, as their connections intertwine and strengthen, a seemingly indestructible bond is formed between the three. And eventually, the ties of friendship and discovery of first love begin to coax her from her darkened path as they slowly bring Aubrey back to life. But when faced with the possibility of yet another death, one from which she may never recover, Aubrey finds herself lost again, burying herself deeper than ever before beneath the familiar abyss of her fears. Spanning the course of four years, this is the story of a young woman's plight to finally reemerge, finding strength within unbreakable bonds as she delivers herself from her own manufactured darkness and safely back . . . Into the Light. ****WARNING - Due to the graphic nature of some scenes, this book is not recommended for those who are particularly sensitive to the death of a child and/or suicide and is intended for mature audiences only. Contains adult language and themes.****

The Fall Up


Aly Martinez - 2015
    He made me fall.As a celebrity, I lived in the public eye, but somewhere along the way, I’d lost myself in the spotlight.Until he found me.Sam Rivers was a gorgeous, tattooed stranger who saved my life with nothing more than a simple conversation.But we were both standing on that bridge for a reason the night we met. The secrets of our pasts brought us together—and then tore us apart.Could we find a reason to hold on as life constantly pulled us down?Or maybe there’s only one direction to go when two people fall in love at rock bottom—up.

Whiskey Prince


Toni Aleo - 2014
    Having been caretaker to her for most of her teenage years, Amberlyn is inexperienced in many aspects of life. She hasn’t had time to live, have fun, or enjoy even the little things. It’s only when a letter from her mother, asking her to fulfill three things, sends her off to Ireland to live a life she never thought possible that she begins to heal.Declan O’Callaghan was born and raised in Ireland and has his family’s legendary whiskey in his veins. He’s shy and not a fan of the pressure and spotlight that comes with his family name, or the title he was given at birth—the Whiskey Prince. Declan knows just what he wants and that is to take over the family dynasty, but when his father gives him an ultimatum, everything he’s worked for could come undone in the blink of an eye.With six months to get married, the reclusive Declan spots Amberlyn across a lake and instantly feels the need to know her. Soon, the two find themselves traveling down a path neither expected. However, like any road, there are bumps and side streets to derail them. Can Declan help find the pieces that will make Amberlyn whole again? And will Amberlyn stay or run when she learns of Declan’s deadline of marriage?

My First: Jason & Katie


Melanie Shawn - 2013
    With his easygoing charm, whiskey-colored brown eyes, and sinfully sexy half smile, women just seem to fall all over themselves when he’s around.Well... most women, anyway. Katie Lawson’s the one woman who isn't putty in his hands, and she's the only one he’s ever wanted in his arms.Katie Lawson left Harper's Crossing in the middle of the night ten years ago, immediately after her high school boyfriend Nick's funeral. She left behind all memories of Nick, and she left behind her life-long best friend, Jason Sloan.Now she's on the fast track to junior partner at one of San Francisco's top law firms. She's made a life for herself that's all about maintaining order and sticking to the rules. Rule #1 is keeping herself WAY too busy to think about all that she ran away from. If she can do that, after all, she can keep everything under control.But that rule is about to be broken. She’s headed back home to be the maid of honor in Nick’s little sister’s wedding. It's time to face the truth she's been avoiding all these years, the same one that sent her running ten years ago - that maybe she didn't lose her first love the summer after high school. Maybe her first love has been waiting for her all this time, at home in Harper's Crossing.

Cruel and Beautiful


A.M. Hargrove - 2015
    (Rated R) Cate Forbes , a dedicated college student with a carefully plotted future, doesn’t know the first thing about love. When she accepts a blind date with a rumored tasty piece of eye candy, she thinks she can get by with a night of fun. Cate’s plans quickly unravel when she gets one look at the sexy… Drew McKnight. The relentless hockey-playing medical resident knows what he wants— a career in Oncology and Cate. Although he’s heard the gorgeous brunette is a little relationship skittish, a single night out isn’t what he has in mind. Determined to have her — in every way possible— he shows her just what a future with him would hold. Only life has other plans. The unthinkable happens and everything begins to shatter. Both in too deep, they will have to fight the cruel and hang onto the beautiful.

Fearsome


S.A. Wolfe - 2013
    She has worked hard fulfilling her role as a child prodigy and graduating college years before her peers. She’s the good girl, the brilliant girl.Unfortunately, she’s also the dateless young woman.That all changes with one phone call. Jess’s rigid, predictable life upends when she must visit a small, obscure town to deal with a relative’s death. This isn’t just any little speck of a town, though. Long lost memories come crashing down on Jess’s world when two men, the Blackard brothers, seem to lure her in. Dylan is cover model handsome, and pursues Jess the minute she comes to town. Then there is tall, dark and gorgeous Carson, who hides his own secrets behind his hardened reserve. For someone who has been governed by her own obsessive behaviors and fears, Jess lets her guard down and jumps at the opportunity to have an affair with a man she actually finds attractive for a change.There’s just one problem. Jess discovers that she can’t have a simple romantic fling because true passion does indeed come with some very big strings attached to it. She will have to own up to her own truths about love and face the two extraordinary men; both troubled in their own ways and both determined to have her.This novel contains graphic sexual content and strong language. It is intended for mature readers.

Unethical


Jennifer Blackwood - 2014
    The second she graduated, Payton left everything behind―her high school sweetheart, her family, and the controversy surrounding her mother's death—and hid within the anonymity of college. But Payton’s ex, Blake Hiller, hasn't forgiven her for leaving, and when he enrolls in the same medical ethics class, she panics. She can’t run the risk of him telling everyone who she really is. As if being at the same university isn’t enough, both Blake and Payton land the same internship. Forced together, their passion for each other reignites, but when Payton is asked to testify in her father’s high-profile trial, she must choose between risking her acceptance into medical school to help her father, and losing every connection to her past—including the only guy she’s ever loved.

Alice And The Hatter


K.B. Winters - 2018
    Just ask anyone. I’m also a world class designer. Until critics start to say I'm washed up. Now the company wants to bring in someone else. But I don’t like to share. Just ask my ex—the woman who’s out to destroy me. Or as I call her, the queen of smashing hearts. My charmed life becomes more like a curse, Taking a turn down a dark rabbit hole. Until Alice walks in. She’s everything that’s good and innocent. And I want her so bad. It’d never work. But I’d give it all up for just one chance. Alice And The Hatter is a full-length dirty modern fairytale! If you love loads of heat, guaranteed HEA and absolutely no cliffhangers, one-click Alice And The Hatter today! xoxoxo

Sweet Sinful Nights


Lauren Blakely - 2015
    It’s his greatest regret, especially since she’s all but disappeared. But when the gorgeous and captivating woman walks into his life unexpectedly, he’s determined to win her back. Whatever it takes, he won’t make the same mistake twice. Easier said than done… Shannon Paige has hardened her heart to the man she was once engaged to be married to. After the way he left, and after the hell she’s been through with her checkered family, there’s no way she’s letting him into her life again. The problem is, the second she sees him, he’s more handsome and charming than before. And she’s torn between wanting to fight with him and wanting to sleep with him -- Maybe both. Soon they fall into each other’s arms, consumed with a desire that burns through the years. But if these two fiery lovers are going to have a real second chance at this kind of intense, passionate, bone-deep love, he’ll have to give her his whole heart, and she’ll have to give up all the secrets from her messy past. And that messy past is about to spill over into her carefully constructed present… SWEET SINFUL NIGHTS is book one in SINFUL NIGHTS, a four-book series. Each book will follow a new couple.

The Education of Sebastian


Jane Harvey-Berrick - 2012
    When her husband finally wins a long sought-after promotion, Caroline feels she has little choice but to follow him to a new home in San Diego. There she meets Sebastian, a young man of 17. For an all too brief summer, their happiness blooms. But external pressures begin to bear down, not least from the overbearing David, and Sebastian’s parents begin to suspect that their son has a secret. Even Caroline’s new friend, Donna, realises that dark passions exist below the serene surface.

Cheat Codes


Emily Goodwin - 2018
    Since the moment he saw her, he’s been denying his feelings for her, ignoring the void in his heart he knows only she can fill. Everything about them was wrong, the kind of wrong that felt so right. But none of it mattered. Not the terrible timing. And definitely not the mess it would create if Archer made a move on his best friend’s baby sister.It was supposed to be one night, but one night is all it takes to make everything more complicated, and they only have nine short months to sort it all out.No, none of it mattered. Until it did.

Irresistible


Melanie Harlow - 2019
    I don’t have time to fall in love—I’m too busy trying to run a business, keep the red socks out of the white laundry, and get the damn pillowcases on without owing a dollar to the swear jar. Sure, Frannie Sawyer is beautiful and sweet, but she’s twenty-seven, the boss’s daughter, and my new part-time nanny—which means she’s completely off-limits. It’s bad enough I can’t stop fantasizing about her, what kind of jerk would I be if I acted on the impulse to kiss her? (Exactly the kind of jerk you’re thinking.) Actually, I’m worse than that—because I didn’t stop with a kiss, and now I can’t stay away.  She makes me feel like myself again. She reminds me what it’s like to want something just for me. She’s everything I ever needed, but nothing I ever imagined. I’m a former Marine. I should have had the strength to resist her from the start. But I didn’t. And now I have to choose between the life I want and the life she deserves. Even if it means giving her up.

When the Stars Align


Isabel Jolie - 2019
    I can’t stand the place. But when an offer to move to NYC includes a fast track to partner at a well-respected law firm, there’s no way I can decline. My move to the city goes exactly according to plan, everything falling perfectly into place…until the elevator door in my new apartment building opens, and I come face to face with my past. Four years ago we parted ways, neither of us willing to change our future career plans. We were too stubborn, too ambitious, and refused to make sacrifices. To add salt to the wound, she ended the year dating my roommate. But right now, staring at her beautiful face after all this time, I can still feel it. The attraction, the desire—it’s palpable. Four years ago, I wanted forever with Anna. Now, I’m a different man. A relationship isn’t in the cards. She threw that chance away. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun…right?

Finding Home: Livie and Jake


Allie Juliette Mousseau - 2014
    True North" The North brothers were hell on wheels-adrenaline-junky bad boys. You’d think they had a death wish – every one of them – but they didn’t really, they just got off on the thrill of pushing every limit, that gravity or any other force told them they couldn’t conquer. What they weren't prepared for were the women that would steal their hearts. Book 1 True North Finding Home Livie and Jake Livie Morrisey is dreading seeing Jake after his heroic homecoming from Afghanistan. She's been in love with Jake North since she was a little girl, but he was three-and-a-half years older than her and her big brother’s best friend. She was always nothing but the off-limits little sister – until the night before Jake left for the Army, when he'd given her her first kiss. They'd kept in touch for a year, but once Jake was deployed to Afghanistan, he'd cut off contact suddenly and she'd never heard from him again. For the past three years Livie has kept herself distracted with homework and her university studies, but now Jake's going to be up close and personal. And Livie can’t decide if tonight's finally the night to prove to Jake she’s all grown up or the night she should let him go forever.

The Boots My Mother Gave Me


Brooklyn James - 2010
    Made to feel a burden to her father simply by her gender, Harley is determined to prove her worth and independence, leaving the small town she grew up in and the one boy who gave her a soft place to fall, Jeremiah Johnson. Torn between saving herself and abandoning her mother and younger sister, Harley chooses her own life in hopes they will choose theirs, too.A mature, candid read for everyone. A must for women. The Boots My Mother Gave Me explores the dynamics of abuse and dysfunction, the courage to overcome, the strength in sisterhood, and the ongoing conflict and unconditional love between mothers and daughters.Climb into Charlene the Chevelle for a fast-paced story about a girl who is tough enough to survive and tender enough to learn to trust in love.Signed Paperback & Original Music Soundtrack to The Boots My Mother Gave Me can be found at www.brooklyn-james.com