Book picks similar to
Flawed and Damaged by Emily Krat
romance
contemporary-romance
new-adult
arc
Kane's Hell
Elizabeth Finn - 2015
Eleven years later their lives are nothing like they once were. Time has changed them … and not for the better.Helene is smart, driven, and accomplished—her education and achievements a smoke screen hiding the frigid and fragile child wounded long ago. Kane is equally obsessed with his coping mechanisms—fighting … drinking … screwing … compulsively destroying himself one vice at a time.When their paths collide again, their past becomes an obstacle no coping mechanism in the world can protect them from. But confronting the past so they can heal in the present is no easy task. Can Kane reach Helene and recapture what used to burn so warmly between them, or will his own self destructive demons pull her into his hell?A woman determined to look forward. A man always looking back. A love desperate to be restored. “You’re the brightest, warmest star in my universe. You’ll never be less than everything to me.”WARNING: This book contains darker subject matter and violent content that may be difficult for some readers.
Austin
Jeannine Colette - 2018
He’s arrogant, entitled and a total ass. That’s why I didn’t bother giving him my name last night. We’ll never see each other again. Or so I thought.Imagine my surprise when I start my new job only to come face-to-face with the blue eyes I just declared all wrong for me. No, he’s not my boss, but being my boss’ brother seems almost worse. No matter how hard I try to push him away, his secrets draw me in. When it comes to a Sexton that could be lethal...for my heart. I have his secrets and I won’t tell a soul. Now I just have to not fall for him completely.
Leaving Me Behind
Sigal Ehrlich - 2015
As she settles into her cozy beach house, the exotic coastal town proves to be just what she’s looking for.When a younger and impossibly attractive stranger starts pursuing her, Liv decides that adding a little heat to her new adventure isn’t a bad idea as long as there aren’t any expectations. Liv lets herself be swept into one memorable night…and then another.Slipping effortlessly into her new life, Liv spends her days exploring the charming village, starts cooking classes, and enjoying lively conversations with her new group of friends. Her nights are spent giving in, just “one last time,” to her Spanish lover.It's exciting, it's passionate, and most importantly- it’s temporary. At least, that’s whatshe thinks.He has something different in mind.Great friendships, luscious food, and a swoon-worthy, passionate romance, Leaving Me Behind is a story of finding yourself and living life to the fullest.
King of Code
C.D. Reiss - 2017
Step by step, and for every step she'll unlock a piece of his system.Kissing unlocks a partition.Touching unlocks another.Using your mouth to…How far is this crazy woman going to go?They hate each other. They can't keep away from each other. They're decoding each other with every step, until all Harper's secrets are revealed, and Taylor risks losing his heart as well as his company.
Sapphire Universe
Devon Herrera - 2012
Rule #2 Pay attention.Rule #3 The less they know about you, the harder it is for them to hurt you.Rule #4 Comfort is dangerous. It can be taken away.Rule #5 Need is a handicap. It can cripple you.Rule #6 He isn’t what he seems. Don’t trust him.Simple rules made for a simple purpose. Nina Ryan learned early on in life that if you want to avoid being hurt, you need to be proactive. If you pay attention the Universe will always steer you in the right direction. It will help keep you safe. So, she follows the rules, and she is safe. Until Connor Wright barges his way through all her carefully laid defenses and threatens to destroy the comfortable life she has created. Faithfully following her #1 rule, Nina tries to accept that the Universe has pushed Connor and her lives together for a purpose. Determined to make Nina his, Connor chips away at the walls Nina has placed around her heart and her secrets. Is Nina following the signs that will lead her down the right path, or does Connor hold secrets of his own that will ruin Nina for good? Only the Universe knows.Recommended for 18+ only due to sexual content and mature situations.
Lost in Between
K.L. Kreig - 2017
A price. That magic number that will get us to agree to do anything, be anything. Don’t sit on your gold-plated high horse and say you don’t because you do. Everyone does. Each of us has something we covet enough that we’d sell ourselves to have it.What’s my tipping point, you ask? Apparently a cool quarter mil will do the trick.What does one do for 250 large, you wonder? Anything the infamous, gorgeous playboy of Seattle wants. For the next four months I’ll be Shaw Mercer’s arm candy, his beck and call girl, his faux girlfriend. I’ll be his to command, mold, push and pull in any direction he sees fit. I’ll fight falling into bed with him. I’ll fight falling in love with him even harder. I’ll fail at both. And when my past and present collide in the most unexpected of ways, I’ll learn that while one man’s love for me has never died, the only man’s love I really want will never be mine.*If dirty-talking, dominant alphas are not your thing, move along. Mature, 18+ only. Book 1 in a 2-part duet.
Provocative
Lisa Renee Jones - 2017
They change us, mold us, maybe even save us. But some are darker, dangerous. If we allow them to, they control us. Seduce us. Quite possibly even destroy us. The moment I walked into Sonoma’s Reid Winter Winery and Vineyard and made eye contact with Faith Winter for the first time was one of those moments. Provocative because I know at least one of her secrets, of which, I suspect she has many. Provocative because she believes I was a stranger to her when we met, but I am not. Provocative because I sought her out, with no intention of touching her. But now I have. Now I want her. Now I have to have her. But that changes nothing. It doesn’t change why I came for her.
Off the Air
L.H. Cosway - 2019
From enemies to lovers and back to enemies, they’ve been on again/off again for years. Things come to a head when Callum gets into an altercation with a rival for Leanne’s affections. Their management decide enough is enough and give them both an ultimatum: sign the contract or leave the show.Unwilling to give up their livelihoods, Callum and Leanne sign on the dotted line. However, like always, they can’t resist making a bet. Callum thinks it’s only a matter of time before they break the agreement, while Leanne is determined to see it through.Can she resist him for an entire month without losing her sanity? And what if this is the one bet that finally breaks them both?Off the Air is a contemporary romance and Book One in L.H. Cosway’s brand new “Running on Air” Series. Each book focuses on a different couple and can be read as a standalone.
All the Lies We Tell
Megan Hart - 2017
They’d grown up on a remote stretch of Quarry Street, where there were two houses, two sets of siblings, and eventually, a tangled mess of betrayal, longing, and loss. Tragedy catapulted Allie and Ilya together, but divorce—even as neighbors—has been relatively uncomplicated.Then Ilya’s brother, Nikolai, comes home for their grandmother’s last days. He’s the guy who teased and fought with Allie, infuriated her, then fled town without a good-bye. Now Niko makes her feel something else entirely—a rush of connection and pure desire that she’s been trying to quench since one secret kiss years ago. Niko’s not sticking around. She’s not going to leave. And after all that’s happened between their families, this can’t be anything more than brief pleasure and a bad idea.But the lies we tell ourselves can’t compete with the truths our hearts refuse to let go…
His Hollow Heart
Rachel Leigh - 2021
Two orphans who vowed to never part. I was selfish. For once, I had to be. The last time I saw Callum he was standing at the dormer window as I sat in the back seat of the car. His dark eyes foreign to me. The hatred that radiated from his glare shot through me with more force than a silver bullet. In a matter of minutes he had become a stranger. No longer my best friend. He was now a boy with a hollow heart who was headed down a dark path. A path I knew I’d never cross again. Or, so I thought. CallumWe had a deal—always stay together. The day Bella left, I vowed I would find her. And when I did, she would feel what I felt as I watched her pull away into a new life, with a new family. Leaving me behind to endure a life that was wrapped inside the hands of a monster.It’s been twelve years, but I’ve finally found her. Now it’s time for her to bask in the darkness she’s created inside of me.
Every Soul
L.K. Collins - 2014
Destiny . Fate series. More to come....When you lose the one person who grounds your existence, your whole world changes.In life, it is said that everything happens for a reason. If that’s true, how can you explain death? Especially when it happens to someone so young, so beautiful, and so innocent? My name is Bain Adams, and I struggle with these thoughts every day. I’ve been through hell and back, somehow surviving the unimaginable. My sister took her life six months ago, and now, what’s left is a shell of the man I once was, a shadow of the person I used to be. Do I miss that life? Absolutely. But I miss her more, every day. I pray time will ease the pain and help my suffering while I search for the answers…but so far, nothing.Happiness is something I knew so long ago, and now it’s nothing but a faint, distant recollection of the life I once had. My name is Arion LaSalle, and seven months ago my life was shredded to pieces when my fiancé disappeared while deployed. He never came home, burning a hindrance of pain and agony within my soul. For so long, I lived my life believing everything happens for a reason, until now. ‘Cause none of it makes any sense. Why Nate? Why only him? Since getting through each breath is a struggle, I put on a fake persona, pretending I’m someone I’m not, living my life recklessly. Because for me, it was all taken far too soon.
Everything I Want
Natalie Barnes - 2014
Static fills my ears and all I hear is the muffled sound of the chanting and screaming of the crowd. I can hear my own heart beating in my ears. I don’t know whether to laugh, yell, cry, scream, or even puke. I’m completely frozen. Everything plays out around me and I know it’s time. The panic inside me slowly fades away and adrenaline starts pumping heated blood through my veins. Instead of feeling weak, I begin to feel strong. Looking over my shoulder, I notice him. Tristan. He’s watching me intently. Tristan is the misery I crave. He’s probably waiting for me to fuck up. Yes, I’m nervous as hell, but I won’t let him see it, or feed off of it. No . . . this time I will starve him, and show everyone here what I can do. The shadow of my smile releases the last of the fear. I glance back at him one more time. He’s still standing there, like a statue. Stepping to edge, I know now what can break him. Tonight, I’ll risk everything …
The Morning After
Adriane Leigh - 2013
It's the only coping mechanism she's found to overcome the horror that colors her past. Until one pleasure-seeking playboy turns her world on its axis. Georgia tries to ignore the tornado of emotion that sweeps through her system whenever Tristan is near, but just like an addiction, one look, one taste, one touch is never enough. And then there's Kyle, the doting boyfriend she's left at home for the summer, the one she gave her heart to when she was twelve, the one that holds her fragile love in his strong and steady hands. What was once comfortable turns unbearable, and soon Georgia finds herself fantasizing about the forbidden. The chemistry between Tristan and Georgia is scorching and it isn't long before the slow burn ignites into a full-blown wildfire that threatens to consume anything in its path. Denial is comfortable. Love is anything but. For mature audiences.
The Mister
E.L. James - 2019
Life has been easy for Maxim Trevelyan. With his good looks, aristocratic connections, and money, he’s never had to work and he’s rarely slept alone. But all that changes when tragedy strikes and Maxim inherits his family’s noble title, wealth, and estates, and all the responsibility that entails. It’s a role he’s not prepared for and one that he struggles to face. But his biggest challenge is fighting his desire for an unexpected, enigmatic young woman who’s recently arrived in England, possessing little more than a dangerous and troublesome past. Reticent, beautiful, and musically gifted, she’s an alluring mystery, and Maxim’s longing for her deepens into a passion that he’s never experienced and dares not name. Just who is Alessia Demachi? Can Maxim protect her from the malevolence that threatens her? And what will she do when she learns that he’s been hiding secrets of his own? From the heart of London through wild, rural Cornwall to the bleak, forbidding beauty of the Balkans, The Mister is a roller-coaster ride of danger and desire that leaves the reader breathless to the very last page.
When You Are Mine
Kennedy Ryan - 2014
. .Kerris Moreton knows how to make things work. Bounced from foster home to foster home as a kid, she adapted; when opportunity arose, she thrived. Now, about to open her own business and accept a marriage proposal, Kerris is ready to build the life she's always wanted. The only thing missing? A passionate connection with her would-be fiancé, Cam. Kerris wants to believe that sparks are overrated-until Walsh Bennett lights her up like the Fourth of July.. . . but what about love?As one of the East Coast's most eligible bachelors, Walsh enjoys financial independence, fulfilling work with his family's nonprofit, and plenty of female attention. But lately he's been distracted by the one woman he can't have. Lovely to look at and even sweeter to know, Kerris is the soul mate Walsh never thought he would find. The problem is, his best friend found her first . . .Approx: 50K words.