Book picks similar to
Defying All Odds by Nevaeh Lee
contemporary-romance
abuse
romance
single-parent
Pure Will
Kristi Pelton - 2014
Will spiraled into a world of darkness following an unbearable hurt…in turn using women and alcohol to dull the pain.Two wounded people…coming together under awkward circumstances…healing each other…until the bad boy from Camden’s past finds her…Does Will have the power to fight for someone worth fighting for?Camden Biggs, the daughter of a professional baseball player…lost her mother at age 9. Eager to be loved, she fell in love with the hottest, bad boy she’d ever met at age 15, Max. Totally off limits and living under the same roof, she succumbed to his manipulations until he was forced out of her life—hanging on to a promise to only give herself to him. Will Denton raised by a trailer trash father and a trust fund mother had a taste of both worlds and all sorts of women—especially when he dove into a world of darkness following a tragedy and loss of his own. Camden, now a senior at the University of Kansas where she tutors the hottest, most talented athletes hides behind her outgoing roommate Kate—who is sexually active enough for both of them; Camden lives vicariously through Kate while still trying to heal her wounds from the past—until Will Denton comes home with Kate one night. Though he slept with Kate, he sets his sights on Cam. Camden finally succumbs to the gorgeous eyes and body of Will Denton. And as Will is finally starting to tear down the walls that Cam has built over the years…Bad Boy Max makes a reappearance to reclaim what was once his.
Fragile Bonds
Sloan Johnson - 2014
When she walked out of the house Xavier Ross bought as their forever home, she thought she was closing that door permanently, but fate had other plans. Xavier Ross tried to keep everyone at a distance until Melanie came into his life. The more he tried to fight his feelings for her, the more he fell in love. One rash decision fractured the trust that was essential to their relationship. Six years later, she is the last person he expects to see walk through his front door. Will Xavier and Mel be able to learn to trust one another again so they can fulfill a dying woman’s wish?
Bittersweet Hope
Ryann Jansen - 2014
Until, that is, her mom is murdered and she and her sisters are put in separate foster homes. That is like, the definition of hell. Then Audrey meets Caleb. She's wary to begin with, but slowly she learns to trust, and to believe in herself. Even though she feels guilty for being so happy after her mother's death, Audrey can't help but be grateful that her life is finally her own, and that she can for once be a normal teenager. There's only one problem. Her youngest sister seems to be following in their mom's footsteps, and Audrey can't let that happen. The question is, can she save her sister while still saving herself?
Chasing Butterflies
Terri E. Laine - 2016
Laine brings a new standalone New Adult Romance novel, Chasing Butterflies, about second chances on and off the field. One night … one kiss … one touch … will change everything. Kelley Moore’s tragic home life should make him a survivor. But when he’s uprooted yet again, his plans for a better future seem impossible. Being a player on and off the football field is all he knows, until Lenora Wells. The beautiful town princess makes him feel and want things he never thought he could have… Lenora will do anything to get out of her town, even if it means dating the wrong guy. There’s one problem: she can’t stop thinking about the gorgeous, complicated boy with the unusual eyes who gives her butterflies and makes her question her choices. When their lives collide, the world shifts and not in their favor. Four years later, the sins of their past can never be taken back and forgiveness won’t come easy. College is a different game, a second chance for something better. She’s not the girl he remembers and he’s the one boy she can never forget. He’s made a name for himself as the star quarterback -- the golden boy who can do no wrong. But he’s only interested in being her hero. Despite everything, she can’t deny he still makes her heart flutter; and she’s got him chasing butterflies. *Warning this new adult romance contains adult content and language and may not be suitable for younger readers.
Don't Make Me Beautiful
Elle Casey - 2013
If you liked the movie "Sleeping With the Enemy", then you might like this story too. No one knew a woman lived there or that she even existed. A monster, living in darkness...At twenty-two, Nicole doesn't even look human anymore. The beast made sure of that. So she hides. A monster, consigned to a life of fear and solitude. This is all she deserves, she is quite sure of that. And then one day out of the blue, the autographed baseball caught by Brian Jensen at the latest Marlins game enters her prison and manages to turn her world completely upside down.Temptation comes in the form of pity at first, and then perhaps something more. Does she dare to believe the things she's told, that this is not the life she was meant to live? That being a monster is not her forever-fate? And will she be willing to risk everything, to reach out and accept the helping hands around her and share her deepest, darkest secrets? She knows only too well that hands can hurt. Finding out whether they can also heal is a risky proposition, especially when the beast is still out there. Looking for her.Content warning: Violence, foul language, and adult situations. Not meant for younger readers. A note from Elle about this book: A really long time ago, I read an article in a newspaper or a magazine (I haven’t been able to locate the original) about a woman who was so badly beaten over a long period of time, she couldn’t leave her house. I thought about that woman a lot over the years and about what her thoughts might have been, her fears, her reality … and this book was my attempt to both exorcise those thoughts from my brain and also shed some light on a subject —domestic violence— that I feel should never be left in darkness.
Jax (The Heights Saga, #2)
E.M. Moore - 2021
The all-consuming, toe-curling kind of love.Fate had other plans for the two of us though.Ruled by a world of dangerous men, I did something reprehensible. I did what I needed to survive. I betrayed Jax—the only man who ever truly cared whether I lived or died.Years later, I remain a brokenhearted plaything. A puppet to maneuver around a chess board. Psycho uses my body, my face, my skills to get him exactly what he wants.I’m the predator no one sees coming.And my next job is to come face-to-face with him again. My Jax. Once Psycho gets something in his head, he won’t let up. What he wants next is what Jax has, and he’ll do anything to get it.Including using me in any way he can.Now, I have to make a choice between my safety and my conscience. My life…and my heart.But there’s one thing I know for sure: my second chance is the most treacherous game I’ve played.JAX is a full-length m/f dark romance standalone in the Heights Crew world.
For3ver
M. Piper - 2015
Friends 'till the end. When life got in the way of their plans, one decision changed the course of all of their lives. Five years later, friends are brought back together, secrets are unveiled, and love is found again. Has too much damage been done to erase the past? **18+ due to language and explicit material**
Singe
Aly Martinez - 2017
Every time I closed my eyes, I watched her fall into that inferno. Over and over, I failed to save her.I hadn’t been able to reach her, and the guilt only burned hotter over time. Four years later, I was the unreachable one.Heroes aren’t always saints. Sometimes, we’re nothing more than jaded sinners driven by sleepless nights and hearts full of darkness.And then I met her. She was a dreamer who managed to soothe my scars and heal my wounds.But, as the flames closed in around us, I feared I wasn’t the right man to save her. That is until I realized she was the one woman I’d burn the world down to protect.
A Taylor-Made Life
Kary Rader - 2013
Unfortunately, if the terminally-ill leukemia patient doesn't find a lover or a stem-cell match within months, her fear will become reality. When her cancer mentor is revealed to be a hottie entrepreneur from California, it seems fate might finally be on her side.Tech-geek Gavin Taylor has everything he ever wanted, except someone to grieve for him when he's gone. With his melanoma cancer beyond the help of his riches, he agrees to participate in a cancer patient mentoring program where he's matched with a dying teen from Texas. Despite his immediate attraction, the Silicon Valley whiz intends only to provide friendship and happy memories to the beautiful, young woman who is determined to win his love.When it's discovered that his frozen sperm and her harvested eggs could lead to a cure, Taylor's mother offers to be a surrogate. And Gavin must decide if he can risk the heart he has never given and a child he'll never know to a girl he just met.
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.
Moonshine
Regina Bartley - 2013
One tragic day leaves her questioning her strength and her sanity. She is left fighting an internal battle that she believes can't be won. Her best friend thinks that he loves her enough to save her, but sometimes sweet words just aren't enough. Once he hears her secret, will he still believe that love will heal her or will the truth be too much for him to handle?Sometimes when we are faced with such horrible events we force ourselves to overcome, but at what cost? Will he stay or will he go? Find out if love is enough. Stand Alone Novel Recommended for ages 18+ due to graphic language, sexual content, and mature subject matter.
Hurt
Tabitha Suzuma - 2013
He is a champion diver and a hot prospect for the upcoming Olympics. He is a heartthrob, a straight A student and lives in one of the wealthiest areas of London. He has great friends and is the envy of many around him. And most importantly of all, he is deeply in love with his girlfriend, Lola. He has always been a stable, well-adjusted guy . . .Until one weekend. A weekend he cannot seem to remember. All he knows is that he has come back a changed person. One who no longer knows how to have fun, no longer wants to spend time with his friends, no longer enjoys diving. Something terrible happened that weekend – something violent and bloody and twisted. He no longer knows who he is. He no longer trusts himself around people: he only wants to hurt, wound and destroy. Slowly, he begins to piece back the buried, fragmented memories, and finds himself staring at the reflection of a monster.Tormented, Mathéo suddenly finds himself faced with the most devastating choice of his life. Keep his secret, and put those closest to him in terrible danger. Or confess, and lose Lola forever . . .
738 Days
Stacey Kade - 2016
738 days later, she escaped. Her 20/20 interview is what everyone remembers—Amanda describing the room where she was kept, the torn poster of TV heartthrob Chase Henry on the wall. It reminded her of home and gave her the strength to keep fighting.Now, years later, Amanda is struggling to live normally. Her friends have gone on to college, while she battles PTSD. She’s not getting any better, and she fears that if something doesn’t change soon she never will.Six years ago, Chase Henry defied astronomical odds, won a coveted role on a new TV show, and was elevated to super-stardom. With it, came drugs, alcohol, arrests, and crazy spending sprees. Now he's sober and a Hollywood pariah, washed up at twenty-four.To revamp his image, Chase’s publicist comes up with a plan: surprise Amanda Grace with the chance to meet her hero, followed by a visit to the set of Chase’s new movie. The meeting is a disaster, but out of mutual desperation, Amanda and Chase strike a deal. What starts as a simple arrangement, though, rapidly becomes more complicated when they realize they need each other in more ways than one. But when the past resurfaces in a new threat, will they stand together or fall apart?
Family of Blue (The Weight of the Badge #1)
Kaylee Rose - 2021
For Kellie Bryant it came in the form of her niece Rory. Kellie knew raising a three-year-old came with big responsibilities, but she never thought she’d lose herself in parenthood. The only fairy tales she sees in her future now lie between the pages of the picture books she reads to Rory at night. However, Deputy Lance Malloy, the officer who helped in the change of guardianship with Rory made mental notes that fateful day. His ex-girlfriend couldn’t handle life with an officer, but something about Kellie made an impression that officer Malloy can’t shake. Could Kellie be the answer to his dream—a partner who understands the weight of the badge?FAMILY OF BLUE IS BOOK 1 OF 3 IN THE WEIGHT OF THE BADGE SERIES. THESE BOOKS MUST BE READ IN ORDER.
Brash
Eva Leon - 2018
No one comes here, and no one knows where I am. When Ezra turns up on my doorstep, I suspect he’s a reporter, who doesn’t know when to let a story die. It’s soon obvious he doesn’t remember me as my Hollywood persona, and the fear in his eyes tells me he’s running from demons, the same as me. The difference is, mine are dead, and his are very much alive, and in pursuit. It’s been a long time since I cared about anyone or anything, but Ezra could change that if I let him. Ezra I was sure I was too smart not to recognize an abusive jerk when I met one—so how did I end up the virtual prisoner of my Alpha boyfriend, who turned out to be a drug dealer with a shady past and violent present, who wants to control my future? When I saw him kill someone, I ran, but he’s after me. I don’t know if he wants me back, or if he wants to silence me, but I’ll die before I go back to him. I have nothing left until I stumble across Levi’s cabin where I find hope for survival, and maybe a second chance at happiness with the curmudgeonly man living in terrain as rugged as he is. Brash is a standalone Mpreg romance with a salty Alpha, sweet but scared Omega, and the happily ever after you’re craving.