Book picks similar to
All Grown Up by K.E. Monteith


romance
tbr
brother-s-best-friend
smut

Master of Salt & Bones


Keri Lake - 2020
    He'd ride up on his white steed and break the curse I've been fated to carry since the day I was born.Funny how things changed over time. How the fairy tale twisted into something far more crooked, darker than I ever imagined.In reality, my knight is scarred and broken, living alone in a castle of bones that overlooks the sea. He isn’t searching for me. He never was.Lucian Blackthorne is as cursed as I am, and equally shunned by the locals, the fishers of men, who believe him to be the devil in the flesh.Perhaps he is, with the way his amber eyes draw me in, ignite me like an infernal blaze. And the sins he whispers in my ear are as wickedly intoxicating as the man himself.Yet, his touch is heaven and his will is my weakness.He calls us forbidden, an unsalvageable tragedy, with no happy end. Maybe we are. But in this story, he’s the one who needs saving.

Alone With You in the Ether


Olivie Blake - 2020
    Prior to their encounter, he is a doctoral student who manages his destructive thoughts with compulsive calculations about time travel; she is a bipolar counterfeit artist undergoing court-ordered psychotherapy. After their meeting, those things do not change. Everything else, however, is slightly different. Both obsessive, eccentric personalities, Aldo Damiani and Charlotte Regan struggle to be without each other from the moment they meet. The truth—that he is a clinically depressed, anti-social theoretician and she is a manipulative liar with a history of self-sabotage—means the deeper they fall in love, the more troubling their reliance on each other becomes. An intimate study of time and space, ALONE WITH YOU IN THE ETHER is a fantasy writer's magicless glimpse into the nature of love, what it means to be unwell, and how to face the fractures of yourself and still love as if you're not broken

To Love Jason Thorn


Ella Maise - 2015
     Oh, how stupidly in love with that boy I was. He was the first boy that made me blush, my first official crush. Sounds beautiful so far, right? That excitement that bubbles up inside you, those famous butterflies you feel for the very first time—he was the reason for them all. But, you only get to live in that fairytale world until they crush your hopes and dreams and then stomp on your heart for good measure. And boy did he crush my little heart into pieces. After the stomping part he became the boy I did my best to stay away from—and let me tell you, it was pretty hard to do when he slept in the room right across from mine. When tragedy struck his family and they moved away, I was ready to forget he ever existed. Now he is a movie star, the one who makes women of all ages go into a screaming frenzy, the one who makes everyone swoon with that dimpled smile of his. Do you think that’s dreamy? I certainly don’t think so. How about me coming face to face with him? Nope still not dreamy. Not when I can’t even manage to look him in the eye. Me? I’m Olive, a new writer. Actually, I’m THE writer of the book that inspired the movie he is about to star in on the big screen. As of late, I am also referred to as the oh-so-very-lucky girl who is about to become the wife of Jason Thorn. Maybe you’re thinking yet again that this is all so dreamy? Nope, nothing dreamy going on here. Not even close. To Love Jason Thorn is a full-length standalone, which also contains some pretty hot and descriptive sex scenes. *winks*

The Ritual


Shantel Tessier - 2021
    You vow. We vow.Barrington University is home of the Lords, a secret society that requires their blood in payment. They are above all—the most powerful men in the world. They devote their lives to violence in exchange for power. And during their senior year, they are offered a chosen one.People think growing up with money is freeing, but I promise you, it’s not. My entire life has been planned out for me. I never got the chance to do what I wanted until Ryat Alexander Archer came along and gave me an option for a better life. He offered me what no one else ever had—freedom.I chose to be his. He made me believe that anyway, but it was just another lie. A way that the Lords manipulate you into doing what they want.After being sucked into the dark, twisted world of the Lords, I embraced my new role and allowed Ryat to parade me around like the trophy I was to him. But like all things, what started out as a game soon became a fight for survival. And the only way out was death.Things to know about The RitualIt is MFTRIGGER WARNINGS (Please see the author's note on the inside)J/P & OTT Hero (jealous/possessive & over the top)This is a 150K word dark romance and may contain triggers for some due to sexual situations, language, and violence.

The Italian Heartthrob


N.J. Adel - 2020
    I was 10. You were 19. You wanted to be a chef. My mom made you a star. I'm 24. You're 33. You hold the record for the Sexiest Man Alive. I'm still the lost, rejected, damaged girl who can't find herself anywhere but in your protective arms. I loved you when I was 10. I love you now. You call me your best friend, and you still see me as a kid. I'm 25 with a man on one knee in front of me. You're watching through the glass. One word from you is all I need. But you hold a secret that can destroy us both. I've known you my whole life. Loved you my whole life. Never thought when I die, it will be because of you. The Italian Heartthrob is a forbidden friends to lovers standalone. The dark themes may set you in tears. Get it now because you have to.

The Psycho


Nikki J. Summers - 2021
    She didn’t agree, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me.She was all I thought about. She was my obsession.So, I watched. I studied.I toyed with her and I played my games. In her I’d found my perfect match, because she met every single one of my challenges with one of her own. She fought back and I loved it. All good things are worth fighting for, right?Trouble was, she thought it was all a game, but I would never give up. I saw something in her that made me crave more. What did she see in me?Cruelty.Savagery.A street soldier with a thirst for vengeance.I was a virus and she was immune. Or was she?Where I come from, they call me The Psycho.And I’m about to show the world exactly why.The Psycho is a Dark, New Adult standalone romance from Nikki J Summers. There are scenes of a violent and sexual nature in this story, therefore it is intended for readers of 18+ years. Please take note of the trigger warnings.

Deny Me


Fiona Cole - 2015
    He was traditional, carrying the weight of his whole family on his broad shoulders, and I had been taught to never fall in love, focusing on my career instead of a future with anyone.He tried to deny me, tried to deny the passion simmering between us, bubbling under the surface of every game we played.But all that changed during one week in Jamaica. Falling into bed with Jameson was easy, but falling in love was out of the question.

Falcon's Prey


C. Lymari - 2020
    Diamond princess. Prey. Since I can remember, I’ve been a pawn in someone’s game.Danger was looming but never enough to harm me. Until now. Then he came along. My new bodyguard. The only person who saw past my edges. Meanwhile, I was rooted deep in a web of deception, trying to save myself.He was supposed to protect me and keep me from harm's way. Just like everyone else, he wanted to break me. Now we’ve both been thrown into a game neither one of us wanted to play. I was taught to be unbreakable like a diamond. I was a diamond, and diamonds don't break.

The Fine Print


Lauren Asher - 2021
    Production companies. Five-star hotels.Everything could be all mine if I renovated Dreamland. My initial idea of hiring Zahra was good in theory, but then I kissed her. Things spiraled out of control once I texted her using an alias. By the time I realized where I went wrong, it was too late. People like me don’t get happy endings. Not when we’re destined to ruin them.ZahraAfter submitting a drunk proposal criticizing Dreamland’s most expensive ride, I should have been fired. Instead, Rowan Kane offered me a dream job. The catch? I had to work for the most difficult boss I’d ever met. Rowan was rude and completely off-limits, but my heart didn’t care. At least not until I discovered his secret. It was time to teach the billionaire that money couldn’t fix everything. Especially not us.Dreamland Billionaires is the first book in a series of interconnected standalones following three billionaire brothers.

Restore me


J.L. Seegars - 2022
    He's arrogant, dismissive, and up until recently has only ever used those dark eyes of his to look right through me. For the last ten years, he's taken a sick pleasure in making me feel paper thin, like my entire existence is of no consequence to him at all.But now, things are different.After one drunken night, and a surprisingly sexy act of heroism, he's started to be...nice. Treating me like something other than the physical embodiment of his annoyance, which would be nice if it didn't make me feel all the things I swore to never feel for another man after my husband died.DominicSloane Kent is going to be my undoing.What's worse: I think I'm going to enjoy being unravelled by the gold flecks in her hazel eyes and the adorable little way she scrunches her nose up when we're arguing, which we've done a lot of over the past decade. She thinks it's because I hate her, and I've always let her think that because the alternative is...untenable.But something is changing between us, and I don't know how to stop myself from breaking every promise I've ever made to myself regarding my best friend's wife. Promises that include never telling her that there's a long list of things I feel about her, but hate isn't one of them.___________________________________Restore Me is an enemies to lovers romance about forbidden romance and love after loss. It is the first book in the New Haven Series—an interconnected, series of stand-alone novels.

Heat Haven


Sarah Blue - 2021
    Emily: My heat is getting closer. With heat suppressants off the table and no pack to call my own in sight, Heat Haven seems to be my only option. Can I be vulnerable enough for Alphas I don’t know to help me in my time of need?Griffin: I want a pack and an Omega to cherish. The problem? I don’t like most people and I work too much. Where better to meet someone than a place where you contractually participate in a heat with strangers?Omega and Alpha pheromones ignite in this spicy novella. With a chance encounter and an upcoming heat, can Emily and Griffin find what they’re looking for in each other?*The Heat Haven Omegaverse will be a series of standalone novellas and novels. Book two will not be the same pack as book one.

The Doctor


Nikki Sloane - 2018
    I watched him rush to the hospital countless times, his beautiful surgeon hands racing to save lives.After all this time, I can’t escape the truth. I want Dr. Lowe. Lust chokes each moment we’re together. He promises to fulfill my fantasies—every dirty, naughty desire we can dream up.Only, I can’t have him.He’s confident. Experienced. Seductive.And he’s my ex-boyfriend’s father.

Sweet Dandelion


Micalea Smeltzer - 2020
    She’s survived a trauma he’s not sure he can save her from, but he knows he has to try.The more time they spend together, the more they learn about what it really means to live. Some things are forbidden.Some things are necessary for survival.Their love is both.

Set on You


Amy LeaAmy Lea
     Curvy fitness influencer Crystal Chen built her career shattering gym stereotypes and mostly ignoring the trolls. After her recent breakup, she has little stamina left for men, instead finding solace in the gym - her place of power and positivity.Enter firefighter Scott Ritchie, the smug new gym patron who routinely steals her favorite squat rack. Sparks fly as these ultra-competitive foes battle for gym domination. But after a series of escalating jabs, the last thing they expect is to run into each other at their grandparents' engagement party.In the lead up to their grandparents' wedding, Crystal discovers there's a soft heart under Scott's muscled exterior. Bonding over family, fitness, and cheesy pick-up lines, she just might have found her swolemate. But when a photo of them goes viral, savage internet trolls put their budding relationship to the ultimate test of strength.

Ruthless Saint


S. Massery - 2021
    His gaze steals my breath.Even if my heart thinks this could work, my brain knows better.We say “I do” with his brother’s blood on our clothes,and the bars of my gilded cage slam closed.Our wedding vows are forever – ’til death do us part.But with enemies closing in from all sides, death might be closer than we think.Please note: this book contains dark content that some readers may find distressing.