Book picks similar to
The Scars of You by Rachael Tonks


contemporary
romance
abuse
contemporary-romance

Heart of Marley


T.K. Leigh - 2014
    Having trouble coping with the loss of her soul mate, their mother tries to find comfort in drugs and alcohol… And an abusive man with a penchant for underage girls.No longer able to stand listening to his sister’s screams and cries every night for nearly three years, Cam takes matters into his own hands and they’re finally able to escape the nightmare.They’re finally able to start over…But the nightmare still haunts Marley. The years go on and she is forced to put on a smile, making everyone think that she is the perfect, well-adjusted teenager that she is supposed to be… Until she is faced with a painful reminder of her past during her senior year of high school and she’s no longer able to keep on the mask that she has been compelled to wear.Heart Of Marley is a prequel novel to T.K. Leigh’s Heart of Light.

What Happens After


Portia Moore - 2015
     'We' never should have happened. Him and me... Our constantly crossing paths changed the unthinkable to the inevitable. It was magical, exhilarating, and life defining... despicable, and it ruined everything. It destroyed me. It destroyed us. He and I are what happened before. And everything else is what happened after… ~If you are turned off from themes dealing with infidelity this book is not for you. This book features flawed people that make imperfect decisions.~ ~This is a Stand Alone full-length novel that does not contain a cliffhanger.~

Cards of Love: The Emperor


Fawn Bailey - 2018
    But can they work together to bring down a villain? And will their love survive it all... or break into a thousand pieces? GINGER I've always been a pawn. That stops now. I'm ready to play. I'm ready to win. My past is catching up with me. I left everything behind twice - first, when my sister killed her twin and our parents, and then again when I walked away from the love of my life, my soulmate, Ryker Marino. Now, both of my worlds are colliding. My sister is coming for me, but not if I find her first. Astor is crazy. Evil. She won't stop until she's killed our entire family. I follow her to the other side of the world - Venice, Italy. Here, a game of cat and mouse draws me further into her trap. Here, one of us will end the other. But what Astor doesn't know... is that I'm ready for a fight. RYKER I'm The Emperor. L'Imperatore. And I'm going to win my girl back. Ginger disappeared without a trace seven years ago. I uprooted my life because of her. I moved to a different continent. I became obsessed with a cursed diamond that has shaped my family's lives for centuries. But what if the stone isn't to blame for our misfortune? What if everything, including losing Ginger all those years ago, is my fault? I have to face my fears. I have to find Ginger. I have to bring her back. But there is a third player involved in this game of chess... And she's about to beat us both. Fawn Bailey is the pen name of USA Today bestselling author Isabella Starling. Ryker & Ginger first appear in Fawn's series Gilded Cage.

A Class Act


January James - 2021
    Hiding behind a false identity to distance herself from a troubled background, Lottie becomes embroiled in an affair with her brilliant and charismatic but famously attached CEO Marcus Armstrong. But, as their relationship intensifies, their colleagues become suspicious and before long, the secrets are out. All of them.With everything broken – her heart, her reputation, her spirit – will Lottie ever find the strength to start again?A Class Act is part of the Square Mile interlinked series of books, perfect for fans of Louise Bagshawe, Tasmina Perry, LJ Shen and Anna Todd.The Square Mile series follows some of the sexiest and most privileged alpha men in London's famous banking quarter in the City, along with the bright, beautiful and ambitious women who torture them. The books are filled to the brim with brains, money, desire, obsession and rivalry. Not forgetting the all-important happy ending.Square Mile book #2, He Turned, is due out 31 August 2020.

This


C.G. Blaine - 2019
    No white dress or happily ever after. She doesn’t want soul-crushing love or promises she’s too broken to keep. Most of all, she doesn’t want anyone to ask her to stay.Dane Masters might not have a list, but he does have a house and a steady job, and he knows exactly what he wants—Bennett.When life keeps dragging her back to him, he’s there to give her a reason not to leave again. Each time, she has more trouble walking away, and he falls a little harder when she goes.Unless Dane can find a way to prove he’s what she’s been searching for, Bennett will always have an excuse to push him away.And then he’ll risk becoming another broken piece she leaves behind.

King's Captive


Amber A. Bardan - 2017
     Because I'm not here as a guest. Not even close. I'm a prisoner. I'm his. Julius King. Powerful. Wealthy. Dangerous. There are parts of me he wants that I can't give him. When he looks at me, there are times I swear he sees someone else. And the scary part is that sometimes, when he touches me, I think he may be someone else, too. Though my body might be tempted, and he might control everything else, I can't let him have any piece of my heart. I won't. But every day, the fight gets harder, and Julius manages to slip past my defenses in the most unexpected ways.  I have to find out the truth about Julius King. Even if it destroys me.   This book is approximately 81,000 words  One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you're looking for with an HEA/HFN. It's a promise! Find out more at CarinaPress.com/RomancePromise

Rock Star, Interrupted


S.M. Shade - 2019
    The answer is simple. If it hurts, I pour music on it. After years of hard work, it's finally happening. Tragic has a number one album and we've gone from being discussed as one hit wonders to hearing words like meteoric mentioned alongside our name. With two tours planned and another album on its way, we have a lot to look forward to. Playing in a different city every night, the shimmer and roar of the crowd, after parties and endless women. My lifelong dream is in the palm of my hand until one phone call leaves everything hanging in the balance.

The Long Way Home


Jasinda Wilder - 2017
    For you. For touch. For a kiss. For the scrape of your hand down my stomach. For the slide of your lips across my hipbone. The sweep of your thigh against mine in the dulcet, drowning darkness. For the warm huff of your breath on my skin and the wet suck of your mouth around me and the building pressure of need reaching release...I am mad with need.Wild with it.I cannot have you. I have lost you, as I have lost myself. And so I go in search. Of myself, and thus the man who might return to you, and take you in his arms.I loathe each of the thousands of miles between us, but I cannot wish them away, for I hope at the end of my journey I shall find you. Or rather, find myself, and thus…you. Myself, and thus us. I am taking the long way home, Ava. ***Christian,I’m losing my mind, and I don’t know how to stop it. I shouldn’t be writing to you, but I am. I’m friendless, loveless, and lifeless. You’re out there somewhere, and still you’re all I really have. I hate my reliance and dependence on you, emotionally and otherwise, and that reliance is something I’m coming to recognize. I hate that I can’t hate you as much as I want to. I hate that I still love you so much. I hate that there’s no clear solution to our conundrum. Even if we could forgive each other, what then? I hate you, Christian. I really do.But most of all, I don’t. It’s complicated. Complicatedly (still) yours,AvaTHE LONG WAY HOME is the story of a married couple, Christian and Ava, both writers, as they cope with the loss of their son and the damage that loss causes to their marriage. This moving story, alternately heartbreaking and heartwarming, is the first in a brand-new contemporary romance series by bestselling author Jasinda Wilder.

What Doesn't Destroy Us


M.N. Forgy - 2014
    Against all warnings, she falls for bad boy biker, Shadow. He is beast and beauty sealed in a leather cut with a gun holster. Can Dani learn to live within the Club rules? Is she more like her father than she could imagine?Shadow has grown up among drug addicts, whores and murderers. The only family he's ever trusted has been the Devil's Dust motorcycle club. He will do anything for a brother; even kill. In fact, killing is so easy, he's made a career of it. His one regret is not being able to kill his own worthless mother. When Dani shows up with her provocative temper and innocent charm, Shadow begins to question his violent lifestyle. But can he trust her with his demons?Sex.Blood.Betrayal.Will Dani and Shadow let family ties destroy them?

Captive in the Dark


C.J. Roberts - 2011
    Kidnapped as a young boy and sold into slavery by a power-hungry mobster, he has thought of nothing but vengeance. For twelve years he has immersed himself in the world of pleasure slaves searching for the one man he holds ultimately responsible. Finally, the architect of his suffering has emerged with a new identity, but not a new nature. If Caleb is to get close enough to strike, he must become the very thing he abhors and kidnap a beautiful girl to train her to be all that he once was.Eighteen-year-old Olivia Ruiz has just woken up in a strange place. Blindfolded and bound, there is only a calm male voice to welcome her. His name is Caleb, though he demands to be called Master. Olivia is young, beautiful, naïve and willful to a fault. She has a dark sensuality that cannot be hidden or denied, though she tries to accomplish both. Although she is frightened by the strong, sadistic, and arrogant man who holds her prisoner, what keeps Olivia awake in the dark is her unwelcome attraction to him.WARNING: This book contains very disturbing situations, dubious consent, strong language, and graphic violence.

Choosing Us


M. Robinson - 2019
    Forever. To have and to hold. Until you hear the words, “I just don’t love you anymore.”Putting an end to me. To you. To us. Contemporary Romance Duet: Book 1

Caged


Clarissa Wild - 2017
    An untamed beast. I was born in the cage. Born to fight. Born to carry its name. Locked away, I’ve spent years waiting for my mate. I'm pent up with need. Brimming with desire. All I want is her... That beautiful girl from the picture on my prison wall. Now she’s finally here, sharing a cell. So close. So hard to resist. But one thing’s for sure… Even if she doesn’t know it yet, she’s already mine. This book contains both CAGED and UNCAGED, originally meant as a duet. Note: This STANDALONE novel contains disturbing content that may be offensive to some readers. Complete at 120000 words. NO Cliffhanger. Book 1 in the Savage Men Series.

Forever Innocent


Deanna Roy - 2013
    On what should have been one of the happiest nights of her life, she and her boyfriend Gavin watched a nurse disconnect the ventilator from their seven-day-old baby. During the funeral two days later, Gavin walked out and never returned.Since then, her life has been a spiral of disasters. The only thing that has helped is her ability to black out whenever the pain gets too hard to bear, a habit that has become an addiction.When Gavin shows up in her astronomy class four years later, he is hell-bent on getting her back, insisting she forgive him. Corabelle knows she can’t resist the touch that fills the empty ache that has haunted her since he left. But if he learns what she has done, if he follows the trail back through her past, her secrets will destroy their love completely. And once again, she’ll lose the only person who always believed she was innocent.New Adult Contemporary Romance

Deal with the Devil


Meghan March - 2019
    He was a predator, and he had set his sights on me.I knew better than to bet more than I could afford to lose that night. I knew better than to bet myself. But desperation leads to bad decisions, and I thought there was no way I could lose.I was wrong. Now I have no choice but to make a deal with the devil.

One Hundred & Thirty-Six Scars


Amo Jones - 2016
    I fought through life with my scarred soul, wrangled through the dark empty nights where I’d pray I didn’t wake up the next morning. I would shut my eyes and mentally take myself to my happy place.Red rosesThe sound of waves crashing on the sand under my feet. The final time the cold blade pushed up against my thigh, and I waited for my blood to trickle over the other One hundred and thirty-six scars that covered my skin— never came. Who was this man who just saved me? He had no idea how close I came to ending myself that day. I was ready to blow my brains all over the bedroom walls and I had a nine sitting under my pillow to prove it.BeastSome people have families, I had engineered human killing machines surrounding me my whole life. I’d been a part of this unit since I was a baby, raised in a community that was shut off from the real world. A community where we were nothing but empty vessels, until Hella (my best friend) and I escaped. Hella took us to a girl who was in foster care with him before he was summoned into The Army. After finding out yet another complication in my life, I needed space. I booked in to a run down apartment, ready to clear my head. Only my head didn’t clear, because I was haunted every night from the screams that would vibrate through my walls.This is not a story of a perfect man coming in to save the day. This is a story of what happens when fate interferes and two completely broken souls collide.