Book picks similar to
A Taste of Utopia by L. Duarte


arc
abuse
contemporary-romance
romance

Hate to Love You


Elise Alden - 2014
    But it turns out all those sex-ed teachers aren’t just trying to scare you. The faint positive on a budget pregnancy test sent me spinning, moments before meeting my sister’s snooty new fiancé.Shaking hands with upper-crusty James was like downing a triple shot of vodka. Dizzy with desire, confused by my body’s reaction, and shocked by the possessiveness flashing in his eyes, I deceived him that night and told the world at their wedding reception.The truth?I slept with my sister’s fiancé. Hot and sweaty, all night long in a room so dark he couldn’t tell I wasn’t her.The lie? Said fiancé is the father of my child. The one I signed over my rights to just before he was born.That was seven years ago. It’s time to come clean.95,000 words

Coming Back


Emma South - 2015
    Learning to live and love again is going to be so much harder.After being abducted and vanishing without a trace, she was presumed dead. But Christie isn’t the kind of girl that goes down without a fight. When she crawls out of the forest almost two years later, bruised and bleeding, she is confronted by a world that seems to have moved on and left her behind.Dean Hawking returned to Warfields after a terrible tragedy on the job shook his faith in humanity. The cop’s transfer home wasn't the cure-all he hoped for until the best thing about it, the girl he loved since high school, Christie Jayne, turns up alive.Their worlds are thrust together again for the first time in years. Though still reeling from her ordeal, in Dean she finds a fathomless love that reminds her there are still beautiful things in the world. In Christie, he sees his chance at redemption…Then Dean uncovers some startling information about Christie’s case, revealing that she might be in imminent danger, and their second chance at love will be put to the test when the full story of her escape is revealed. Can there be any coming back from what she’s had to do?

Worth the Wait


Rachael Tonks - 2017
    Charisma. Charm. Success. To the outside world, Josh Larson has it all. With a thriving business and more than enough attention from the ladies, what more could a guy want? Depth. Colliding with Quinn Tate was never part of his plans, but when he meets the sexy as sin stripper, Josh realizes there is more to her than meets the eye. On a mission to fill the void in his life, the mystery surrounding Quinn’s secrets, leaves him craving the truth behind her guarded exterior. When he wants more than she’s willing to give, the decision lies with Josh. Give up on something special, or fight for the only woman who could be worth the wait?

Accidentally Married


R.R. Banks - 2018
    Holly is mine.I'll protect her no matter what.

Dirty Talk


Lauren Landish - 2017
    So right. The moment I heard his velvety voice growl that I’m his ‘Kitty Kat’, I knew I was in trouble. Derrick ‘The Love Whisperer’ King gives out relationship and sex advice on the radio to everyone, but he’s giving me something a bit more personal. Nobody’s ever talked to me the way he does. Daring, Demanding, Sexy… and oh, so Dirty. Maybe we started this whole thing a little backward, sex first and getting to know each other after. But I'm starting to let my guard down, my untrusting heart beginning to think that maybe fairy tales do come true. Even for me. I feel beautiful and hopeful when he worships my body. I feel dirty and naughty when he whispers filthy things in my ear. But is it real? Can something so naughty really be good for me? And more importantly, against all odds, can it last… forever? Dirty Talk is a full-length Romance with a happy ever after, no cheating, and no cliffhanger!

Shameless


Lex Martin - 2016
    Brady… What the hell do I know about raising a baby? Nothing. Not a goddamn thing. Yet here I am, the sole guardian of my niece. I’d be lost if it weren’t for Katherine, the beautiful girl who seems to have all the answers. Katherine, who’s slowly finding her way into my cynical heart. I keep reminding myself that I can’t fall for someone when we don’t have a future. But telling myself this lie and believing it are two different things. Katherine… When Brady shows up on a Harley, looking like an avenging angel—six feet, three inches of chiseled muscle, eyes the color of wild sage, and sun-kissed skin emblazoned with tattoos—I’m not sure if I should fall at his feet or run like hell. Because if I tell him what happened the night his family died, he might hate me. What I don’t count on are the nights we spend together trying to forget the heartache that brought us here. I promise him it won’t mean anything, that I won’t fall in love. I shouldn’t make promises I can’t keep.SHAMELESS is a standalone companion novel in the Texas Nights series. BREATHLESS, Joey and Logan's book, releases Feb. 18, 2020!

Wrong (A Stepbrother Romance)


Stella Rhys - 2016
    Cocky smile. Sculpted hipbones that scream filthy sex. Liam Cage is walking torture for any girl in New York, but especially me. He’s my stepbrother and on top of that, I’m living under his roof. I’m following his rules. I’m nothing but his good little girl and so I can’t want him. I can’t tempt him.I can’t bait him into touching my half-naked body while I lay "asleep" on his couch.… About that.It was every kind of wrong but I couldn’t help myself. I stripped down for my stepbrother. Tortured him. Forced him take out years of pent-up lust on my body in one sticky, sweaty shot. Long story short, I made the hottest mistake of my life, and I know there’ll be consequences, especially with a past like mine. But now that I’ve opened up Pandora’s box, there’s no going back. Basically, I’m screwed.But when it’s with a man as painfully sexy as Liam, screwed has kind of never felt so good.**Wrong is a raunchy, angsty standalone novel with a HEA.**

A Place Without You


Jewel E. Ann - 2018
    Then let time pick up the pieces. Everything feels temporary when you’ve experienced tragedy—until Henna Lane meets Bodhi at a music festival. Young and spontaneous, they have a lust for seizing the moment, falling hard and fast. When Bodhi is forced to leave without a goodbye, Henna thinks she’ll never get over him. But then she meets Mr. Malone, her sexy, new guidance counselor. They are reckless. They are forbidden. When their secret is discovered, Henna has to choose between finishing school—banned from seeing Mr. Malone—or dropping out to follow her nomad dreams. Henna chooses her dreams. Over time, she learns that life is not a destination or a journey, some things are more than temporary, and the forbidden can never be ignored. But if she returns for him, will he still be hers? A Place Without You is an emotional story of young love, shattered dreams, and impossible decisions.

Nowhere but Here


Renee Carlino - 2014
    From the outside, her life seems charmed. She has a handsome, long-term boyfriend and a budding journalism career at a popular Chicago newspaper. But in reality, her relationship is going nowhere, and she’s quickly losing motivation for what she once believed was her dream job. When her boyfriend dumps her unceremoniously, Kate loses all hope of finding love.With no living family and few friends, Kate confides in her boss. Trusting that the hungry, ace reporter is buried somewhere deep inside, he gives Kate the opportunity to jumpstart her career. The assignment: to interview the famously reclusive R.J. Lawson, a wealthy tech genius who disappeared years ago but recently reemerged as a Napa Valley vintner. The week takes an unexpected turn, however, when Lawson refuses to divulge any information. Desperate for a lead, Kate turns to Jamie, a vineyard hand who shows her the romance of wine country—and stirs her aching heart. But his connection to Lawson is ambiguous, and when Jamie disappears before the end of the week, Kate is left to investigate another story: the truth behind the man who stole her heart.USA TODAY bestselling author Renée Carlino explored love and heartbreak in her beautifully written debut Sweet Thing, and her newest novel does not disappoint. For fans of Colleen Hoover, K.A. Tucker, and Katja Millay, Nowhere But Here is a stirring and satisfying romance that you won’t want to put down.

Playing in the Rain


Jane Harvey-Berrick - 2014
    It’s supposed to be an exciting time in her life: fresh out of college, living in a new state, with a new job, and away from her family at last. But when she’s forced to quit her job, everything falls apart quickly. Suddenly, she’s alone in a crowd, with no one to turn to. At her lowest point, a stranger gives her a message that brings her hope. Now is the time to live life her own way. Now is the time to choose to be happy. And maybe it’s time to let a beautiful stranger be part of her life.

Obsessed


R.J. Lewis - 2016
    He became my addiction the moment I met him at 10 years old. He was my best friend from childhood. He protected me and guided me. I loved him fiercely long before I really understood what love was. We were inseparable. He knew how I felt, and sometimes he would stare at me in ways that made me breathless. But there were boundaries. Lines that couldn't be crossed. Looks that shouldn't be exchanged. Lips that shouldn't be kissed. We weren't supposed to love each other. Not in **that** way. Because, you see, Aston was also my adopted brother... Aston Elise was off-limits, a temptation that cursed my existence with this visceral hunger to have her, possess her, and taste her like she was made for me. I was tormented and on the brink of falling. If I stepped over that boundary, if I gave into my want, I wasn’t sure I could survive the disappointment of my adopted parents. We would all be affected. Our lives wouldn’t be the way it was. That change was irreversible, and the damage would be permanent. It was a scary thought, destroying a foundation and rebuilding it without knowing what it might end up looking like. But my want for her…it sat in the core of me, growing and growing. And want is a dangerous fucking thing. It clouds your judgment, it makes you weak, and I knew…I knew without a doubt, it was only a matter of time before I cracked. Obsession was devotion. Obsession was mania and need. It was a compulsive urge to self-gratify by wanting, and wanting, and wanting ‘til it hurt, ‘til you could feel it there in your bones, gnawing its way deeper within you. Obsession was my craze for Elise. She was my impulse. My…pulse itself. It wasn’t healthy. I knew that. I didn’t fucking care either.

The Other Side


Kim Holden - 2019
    Denver, Colorado1987There are two sides to every story.The surface reality that’s presented to the world.And then there’s the other side.The real one.The one that matters.Seventeen-year-old, self-proclaimed asshole, Toby Page, is alone.No friends.No family.He trades maintenance work in exchange for room and board.Every day he fights demons no one else can see.Every day he wants to give up.But he can’t.Not yet.When Alice Eliot moves in downstairs, she offers Toby some light in his dark world.At a crossroads and barely hanging on, it’s hard to have perspective.It’s difficult to see your own worth when you’re the villain in your story.Luckily for Toby, Alice brings things out in him that no one else ever has.As the two sides of Toby’s story are revealed, and the full reality comes into view, truth is gained.Improbable alliances prove that kindness is fundamentally human.Unlikely heroes emerge.The question is, Will it all be enough to save him?

Sacked


Jen Frederick - 2015
    Warrior. Champion. And...virgin. Knox knows what he wants--and he gets it. All American Football player? Check. NFL pros scouting him? Check. Now, he's set his sight on two things. The national title. And Ellie Campbell. Sure, she's the sister of his fellow teammate, but that's not going to stop him. Especially not when he’s convinced Ellie is the one. ...but he's never met her before. But Ellie isn't as sure. She's trying to start a new life and she's not interested in a relationship...with anyone. Beside it's not just her cardinal rule of never dating her brother's teammates that keeps her away, but Ellie has a dark secret that would jeopardize everything Knox is pursuing. Knox has no intention of losing. Ellie has no intention of giving in.

Price of a Kiss


Linda Kage - 2013
    I mean, just because my last boyfriend tried to kill me and left a bit of a scar on my neck, then forced me to move across the country and legally change my name to Reese Randall to escape him, does not mean— Oh, who am I kidding? For a freshman in college, I have to have the worst dating track record ever. It’s no wonder love is the last thing on my mind when Mason Lowe enters my life. But the chemistry between us is like bam! Our connection defies logic. And he’s just so freaking hot. Being around him makes me feel more alive than I’ve ever felt before. I even like bickering with him. He could be my soul mate...except for one teeny tiny glitch.He's a gigolo.Boy, do I know how to pick them.

Collared


Nicole Williams - 2016
    . .Brings her home. Jade Childs spent ten years in captivity, but now that she’s back, the real battle for survival begins. The media shadows her. Flashbacks haunt her. Her old life evades her. Her so-called new life rejects her. She spent too many years in the dark to recognize the light. She spent too long repressing her feelings to remember how to express them. She spent a decade abandoning hope and cannot dare letting it back into her life. Jade’s not just defined by what happened to her—she’s collared to it.When the twenty-seven-year-old woman is found,A community wants to know the story,Parents want to forget the story,Friends want to be a part of the story,And the man who still loves her faces the greatest challenge yet: letting her go.