Book picks similar to
Self Destruct by K.D. Carrillo


romance
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contemporary

Flowers for Mama (Lakeside #1)


Serafina Lyndon - 2015
    Working for low pay as an aide in a special needs classroom, she is flattered when the handsome guardian of a student asks her out on a date. The chemistry between them is intense. But she can’t be fully honest with Chalton, scared that he’ll back off fast once he knows how out of control her brother is becoming. And what she doesn’t know is that Chalton isn’t being fully honest with her either . . . and the truth is worse than anything she could imagine.

Eraser


Megan Keith - 2013
    Mysterious. Dangerous. Brooding. Sexy. Once a week he frequents the bar where Mackenzie works. He orders the same drink, scotch on the rocks, and he sits back on the same lounge chair, quietly watching… waiting… He has money - that much is obvious. He wears his tailored suits well. He smells divine, of expensive cologne, and orders his scotch from the top shelf. He drinks alone, but he never leaves that way. With a snap of his fingers, a flick of his eyes, a glimmer of a smile, he gets the attention of the most attractive women in the bar. This time his focus is on Mackenzie. Instead of feeling nervous Mackenzie is enthralled, intrigued… and aroused.Please Note: This was originally written as a stand alone short story but after numerous requests for more, it has recently been turned into a series. This novella contains explicit sex scenes (including BDSM) and is for mature 18+ readers only.

A Risk Worth Taking


Heather Hildenbrand - 2013
    Everything she thought she knew—heck, everything she thought she wanted for her own life—feels like a lie. The truth is love is a risk. And the true kind, the kind that lasts, might even be a fairy tale. Reeling from the divorce, Summer derails her own future by breaking up with her parent-approved boyfriend and giving up her lifelong plans for a big-city career. She moves back home, business degree in hand. Dad needs her to fill the gaps her mother left behind; Summer needs to find who she is outside of the cookie-cutter life that failed so miserably for her parents.Ford O’Neal’s future involves one person: himself. He doesn’t have a permanent address and he definitely doesn’t commit. To a place or a person. Raised by hippies, he plans just far enough ahead to secure his next stop, this one landing him at a work-study program at Heritage Plantation where he can grow his own herbal and medicinal creations. Summer is gorgeous and smart and fun to be with, the perfect way to pass five months. It won’t be love—Ford’s got too many things to accomplish, too many places to go, before he settles down. Yet Summer pulls him in, challenging him to rethink his own philosophy. When Ford’s five months are up, each of them must decide if love is really worth the risk.

Slow Burn


V.J. Chambers - 2013
    She’d rather snort lines than think about that. She’d rather do shots of marshmallow-flavored vodka until she can’t remember.When Griffin Fawkes arrives with the news that her father’s dead, she isn’t sure if she cares. He wasn’t much of a father anyway. The only silver lining here is that Griffin’s jaw-droppingly gorgeous, and Leigh wants him bad.Griffin owes his life to Leigh's father. The man begged him to keep his daughter safe. But Griffin didn't expect a cocaine-fueled party girl who barely seems to care about her own safety. It seems like she'd rather destroy herself than anything else.Even worse, he didn't expect he'd care about her. He knows he's too damaged to ever really be with a woman. The best he can do is to make sure she’s safe from whoever could hurt her. Including herself. Including himself.Of course, fighting off men with guns is starting to seem easier than keeping his hands off Leigh.

Falling for Jack


Joanne Hill - 2013
    Set in New Zealand.Jack Fletcher has survived his rough upbringing to become a mega success, but with his personal life down the toilet, discovering he has a son sends his life even further into turmoil.Robyn Taylor was the brainy girl destined for great things who now waits tables for a living to support her twins. Life is a struggle, but when Jack convinces her he needs her to look after his son, the conditions are too good to turn down. Robyn has always had a bit of a crush on Jack, but being this close means the crush is rapidly turning into something else altogether, and when Jack gets shocking news, it draws the two of them even closer together.But how can Jack ever believe he can be a father to his son, and a husband to a woman who must learn not only how to trust him - but to have faith in herself as well.

No One's Angel


Kelly Walker - 2013
    No One's Angel's angel is a New Adult (NA) Contemporary Romance about a girl learning to fight back and a boy learning to let go. Tess used to spend more hours than she'd care to admit playing her favorite computer game, using the nickname Angel. She could pretend her life was different, and she could pretend Arion was just a friend. But a girl needs more to keep her warm at night than pixels, and she traded her virtual heaven for a real-life hell. Now she's on the run from a past she won't talk about, and the only place she has to go is the doorstep of the friend she's never actually met.When Angel disappeared from their nightly games, it nearly destroyed Arion. He threw himself into work and women, but he can't help knowing the one-night stands will never compare to the angel who haunts his dreams. At first, when she shows up soaking wet and scared-shitless on his doorstep, he thinks his prayers have been answered.But the more Arion tries to keep Angel close, the more her fear drives her away. If they are ever going to have a chance for a future, they'll first have to deal with the past that hasn't forgotten her any more than she's forgotten it--and Arion will have to learn how to let her go.

Before You Go


Clare James - 2013
    But she soon realizes the changes are not enough. Tabby must take action to help her heal and move on from the past. And though it sounds crazy, she believes a one-night stand is the best way to take back what’s hers. If she can choose where, when, and most importantly, who … maybe she can regain control.First, she needs a willing participant. She finds more than that when she meets Noah Adler. Unfortunately, she can’t go through with it. And when she tries to forget about the plan—and the guy—it becomes impossible. Noah quickly weaves his way into her new life and her heart. But as he comes dangerously close to discovering her secret, Tabby’s at risk of losing it all.

Dissident


Cecilia London - 2015
    After losing her husband, she is raising two small children alone while trying to navigate the tricky and sometimes shallow halls on Capitol Hill. A string of nasty speeches has her scrambling to apologize to any number of candidates, including newly elected Republican Jack McIntyre. Falling in love again is the last thing on her mind.Jack McIntyre might have a reputation as a playboy, but he has his sights set solely on his new colleague. Can he break through Caroline’s grief and capture her heart? Told mostly in flashback and set against a chilling fascist backdrop, Dissident is a rollercoaster ride of political intrigue, passionate contemporary romance, and undying love. For readers 18+. Ends in a cliffhanger. The first part in a six book saga.

Standing Toe to Toe


Weston Parker - 2020
    In those ten years I’ve seen her for what she is: a cut-throat, take no prisoners, have no mercy business woman whose goal is to take what is rightfully mine. We’re both vying to make Partner at our agency but only one of us will come out on top.After being forced to work together on an ad campaign, I’m appalled to learn that Kathryn doesn’t do Christmas, whatever that means. She’s never partaken in any of the holiday festivities the beautiful city of Vancouver has to offer. So I strike up a plan. If I can give her a bit of holiday spirit I might just be able to soften her edge and make her a less threatening adversary.All is fair in love and war... and business. Right?I never expected that she would be the reason my Christmas season felt so special this year. The mistletoe, snow, and Christmas carols pull us together while logic and common sense keep us apart—until it doesn’t.The catch is we’re still competitors, and we still want the same job regardless of how we feel about each other. Do I be nice and give her the win and bow out? Or, do I be naughty, dig in my heels, and fight to the bitter end no matter the cost?If there are such a thing as Christmas miracles now would be the time to pull one out of my hat.

Take a Chance on Me


Jaqueline Snowe - 2017
    Their relationship had always been easy. Both of them loyal to a fault, they had been there for each other through everything: heartbreaks, hangovers, and tragedy. So when Kate needs a place to stay for three months, Brody doesn’t think twice about agreeing. After all, they had known each other forever. What could go wrong living with his closest and oldest friend? Apparently, everything. Three months in a small apartment becomes more than complicated. Brody shouldn’t be attracted to his dorky best friend…he most definitely shouldn’t. That would be absurd. She’s a relationship girl and he’s more a one-night-sans-clothes kind of guy. One drunken dare of strip poker changes everything. Suddenly, two people with too much to lose play a dangerous game. The unapologetic playboy and the girl-next-door have a choice to make, if only their pasts didn’t keep getting in the way of their future.

Reckless Longing


Gina Robinson - 2013
    Her mother’s wild and wanton behavior has left Ellie with a deep longing. To escape. To belong. To know who her real dad is. To really be loved. Her mother finally crosses a line thatsends Ellie running, escaping to college with one, focused goal–to find and confront her bio dad, who doesn’t even know she exists. Then she meets Logan. Hot, charming, and troubled. He turns her world upside down and puts all her plans in jeopardy.Logan Walker is hiding a shameful and painful secret. One that nearly cost him everything. When he meets the beautiful and mysterious Ellie at a Week of Welcome event, something inside him awakens and he finds himself drawn to her.But the attraction they both feel for each other is as delicate as the web of secrets they each hide behind. And as the truths are revealed, their reckless longing may not survive the fallout.

The Way Back To Me


Anne Mercier - 2019
    The book DOES end on a cliffhanger. My life was charmed. I had the best friends ever. We were known as the Fab Five and our futures were planned out.In a flash, everything was taken from me. I don’t know how to live without them. I don’t want to.I’m broken.When I get to college, I see him.Cameron Stone. Mr. Football. Mr. Popular. He’s definitely hot, but on the inside he’s vile. He made my childhood a living nightmare. I don’t know why he hates me or why he’s suddenly being so nice to me. All the sweet talk in the world won’t work. I know better.So, why am I listening?

Never Say Goodbye


Bethan Cooper - 2014
    She is lost in the distance to most and cares about nothing in her life. The only needs she craves is her best friend Jade and her trusty sky blue Ford Mustang. After losing someone who meant more to her than herself, her whole life changed for the worse.Fighting something on your own, can change your life. Especially when that something, causes you pain everyday. When Luke James lean, beautiful and rich finds a small girl riddled with torment in his arms he can't help but want to put out that dark light inside of her. His past haunts them both, causing unnecessary heartbreak. But when he leaves his high school girlfriend Jenna, for her, trouble chases them both and the escape tries to break them apart.On this emotional tormented roller-coaster, we find two people who should of never been introduced, but they are and the inevitable happens, for them both.

First Semester


Sarah Fischer - 2017
    Everything is as it should be, until one night out she crosses paths with a mysterious, sinfully attractive man. Not only does he manage to ignite a burning desire deep inside her, he also happens to be her new, off-limits college professor. Professor David Berneli is only visiting Elton Hall, but a lot can happen in a year… Everyone knows any personal relationship between professor and student is strictly prohibited. But somewhere in between lectures and after school events, Violet manages to dazzle him. She not only challenges David at every turn, but also tempts his every desire. No matter how hard they try to ignore the crackle of sexual tension between them, a few furtive glances quickly turn into clandestine meetings in his office. By giving in to temptation, Violet and David fall deeper down the rabbit hole… As the semester ticks on, Violet begins to question not only the whirlwind affair that threatens to consume them both, but David’s desires as well. If he’s not willing to risk everything for her, she’ll have no choice but to leave the comfort of his arms without looking back. Before any decision can be made, a looming threat comes out of the shadows, putting her and the passionate relationship she has with her professor in danger. Now Violet must fight for her own life, and for the one she wants to spend it with...

Mountain Angel


Suzie O'Connell - 2012
    When a call from her stalker makes it clear he wasn’t deterred, Aelissm asks her overprotective uncle for advice. His decision to send Patrick O’Neil to keep her safe might become an even bigger problem. Pat is a haunted man with a kind smile and sad eyes. Aelissm knows he will leave, but there is something irresistible about him. He could be the best thing to ever happen to her… if she can convince him to stay.