Book picks similar to
Last Light by Claire Kent


romance
age-gap
dystopian
post-apocalyptic

Unseen Messages


Pepper Winters - 2016
    From handwritten to verbal, seen and unseen. Messages exist all around us." But what if you don't see?What if you don't understand?What if, by ignoring the message, your life is never the same again?Estelle Evermore morphed from nobody to somebody overnight.Galloway Oak put his past behind him and endeavoured to make his fortune using his trade. Two strangers.One plane.Multiple unseen messages. From sky to island, they find neither fame nor skills can save them. Stripped from society and left alone to survive the elements, the very task of staying alive outweighs all other needs. Until survival turns to desire.And desire turns to danger.From New York Times Bestseller Pepper Winters comes a timeless love story answering the question of what happens when everything is stripped away.Standalone.

Untouchable


Sam Mariano - 2018
    See, I got a player suspended from the football team for harassing me, and in my small Texas town, you don’t mess with the football players—even if they mess with you first. I didn’t care if it was an unpopular thing to do; I stood up for myself… and in doing so, opened Pandora’s Box. I never dreamed I would attract the attention of locally worshipped star quarterback, Carter Mahoney. Never imagined his coveted attention would turn out to be such a nightmare. Beneath his carefully constructed façade lurks a monster, a predator looking for the perfect prey to play with. Now, since I’m the girl no one likes or believes, I guess I’m the perfect target for his dark games and twisted desires. After surviving my first encounter with his casual depravity, all I really want is for Carter to leave me alone. But all he seems to want is me. Warning: This book is provocative. It is categorized as DARK ROMANCE for a reason. It will not be for everyone. If you are a reader with certain triggers or sensitivities common to the dark romance genre, please heed the author’s note at the beginning of this book.

The Bad Guy


Celia Aaron - 2017
    I’ve decided to lay myself bare. To tell the truth for once in my hollow life, no matter how dark it gets. And I can assure you, it will get so dark that you’ll find yourself feeling around the blackened corners of my mind, seeking a door handle that isn’t there. Don’t mistake this for a confession. I neither seek forgiveness nor would I accept it. My sins are my own. They keep me company. Instead, this is the true tale of how I found her, how I stole her, and how I lost her. She was a damsel, one who already had her white knight. But every fairy tale has a villain, someone waiting in the wings to rip it all down. A scoundrel who will set the world on fire if that means he gets what he wants. That’s me. I’m the bad guy. Author's Note: This is a 90,000-word romance with dark themes and a HEA.

Unteachable


Leah Raeder - 2013
    The summer before senior year, she has plans: get into a great film school, convince her mom to go into rehab, and absolutely do not, under any circumstances, screw up her own future.But life has a way of throwing her plans into free-fall.When Maise meets Evan at a carnival one night, their chemistry is immediate, intense, and short-lived. Which is exactly how she likes it: no strings. But afterward, she can’t get Evan out of her head. He’s taught her that a hookup can be something more. It can be an unexpected connection with someone who truly understands her. Someone who sees beyond her bravado to the scared but strong girl inside.That someone turns out to be her new film class teacher, Mr. Evan Wilke.Maise and Evan resolve to keep their hands off each other, but the attraction is too much to bear. Together, they’re real and genuine; apart, they’re just actors playing their parts for everyone else. And their masks are slipping. People start to notice. Rumors fly. When the truth comes to light in a shocking way, they may learn they were just playing parts for each other, too.Smart, sexy, and provocative, Unteachable is about what happens when a love story goes off-script.

Good Girl


Jana Aston - 2018
    I work hard, I follow the rules, and I always achieve my goals.But sometimes good girls want things that aren’t good for them. Or someone who isn’t good for them. Like their new boss.And sometimes they do very bad things to get his attention. Like sell their virginity in an auction. Who knew he’d be so very, very mad?Maybe this was not my best laid plan…

The Man in the Black Suit


Sylvain Reynard - 2017
    When her superior, Marcel, is attacked in a supposed random mugging, she is tasked with serving one of the hotel’s most mysterious and attractive guests.Nicholas Cassirer checks into the hotel under an assumed name every three months. Usually, he stays in the penthouse suite with a beautiful female companion but on this occasion, he arrives alone and is displeased in having to deal with someone new. A match of wits ensues as he tests Acacia’s expertise with a series of almost impossible demands. Her intelligence and creativity rise to the challenge, earning his respect.They strike a tenuous accord until Acacia discovers a famous stolen painting in his suite, she contacts a former boyfriend who works for the elite BRB, a unit of French law enforcement that deals with art thefts.Nicholas is questioned by police and released when it is revealed the painting is a reproduction. Irked with her behavior, Acacia’s supervisor demotes her threatening dismissal and the cancellation of her work permit.But Acacia has already attracted Nicholas’s attention. Remorseful that she may lose her job on his account, he offers her a choice – she can wait until her supervisor dismisses her, or she can leave the city of lights behind and become his personal assistant.Acacia initially refuses his offer, but Nicholas is persistent. He reveals himself as a man who quietly acquires stolen art in order to restore it to its rightful owners. Faced with mounting familial debts and the possibility of dismissal and deportation, she agrees to work for him.Nicholas opens up a whole new world of beauty and intrigue to Acacia as they travel the globe. Soon the line between employer and assistant is blurred, and the two lonely people embark on a passionate relationship.

The Man I Can't Have


Shanora Williams - 2019
    The owner had no pictures of himself on his website, just a portfolio of nice outdoor sitting areas, pools, and vibrant gardens that I’d always dreamed of having.Of course I hired him.I expected to meet an average guy, but Mr. Marcel Ward is far from your average man. He’s handsome, and well-built, and his smile—though a rare trait—is truly infectious. He’s every woman’s dream—a handsome, older man who doesn’t mind getting down and dirty to create something beautiful all because of his passion for it. Unfortunately, that lucky woman can’t be me. Although Mr. Ward tests my limits, quickens my breath, and makes my heart skip a beat when he’s around, I’ve promised to devote myself to my husband.So why am I falling for a man I know I can’t have?

The Do-Over


M.K. Schiller - 2013
    Attorney Lanie Carmichael’s appearance is no surprise. She is dowdy, awkward, and dressed in so many layers she resembles a wedding cake, but not in an edible way. Her brazen attitude though, astonishes him, especially when she explains she has no interest in gorgeous Kyle. Lanie Carmichael is in love with Brad, and wants Kyle’s assistance in winning his best friend’s heart. Kyle gradually accepts, justifying that the mystery of Lanie has sparked his natural, thirsty curiosity. As an ambitious journalist, he also can’t resist the Pulitzer worthy scoop she offers him. However, as Lanie sheds more layers, both emotionally and physically, Kyle begins to examine his life choices, and his true feelings for this enigmatic girl. With Kyle’s support, Lanie begins to unravel the secrets of her past, and the deep pain that has quietly defined her life. As they each learn more about themselves and each other, both question how a relationship built on fraudulent lies between two broken people could ever survive.

Beyond Shame


Kit Rocha - 2012
    But only ruins lie outside the City, remnants of a society destroyed by solar storms decades earlier.The sectors surrounding Eden house the corrupt, the criminal–men like Jasper McCray, bootlegger and cage fighter. Jas clawed his way up from nothing to stand at the right hand of Sector Four’s ruthless leader, and he’ll defend the O’Kane gang with his life. But no fight ever prepared him for the exiled City girl who falls at his feet.Her innocence is undeniable, but so is their intense sexual attraction, and soon they’re crossing every boundary Noelle barely knew she had. But if she wants to belong to Jas, first she’ll have to open herself to the gang, to a dangerous world of sex, lust and violence. A world where passion is power, and freedom is found in submission.

Grayson


Lisa Eugene - 2014
    After all, she’s never even seen him. He remains sequestered upstairs in a house that looks like it should be the main feature in an episode of Hoarders. She had no idea the house was such a dump when she took the job. But she’s concerned about the safety and health of the old man living under such horrid conditions.What she got was a mystery…Despite warnings not to venture upstairs, she wanders up to the second floor. What she sees is shocking. The man she finds is a gorgeous, sexy, middle-aged man-- and he's stepping out of the shower. But something is definitely not right. Why would this wealthy, handsome man live in a house in such disrepair while his nine-teen year old son resides in a lavish penthouse? Why does he hide away from society? Why does he come to her rescue and then run away?What she discovered was heartbreaking…Angie learns that forty-four year old Grayson Whitmore suffers from schizophrenia. Paranoid, he retreats into his own world.What she ended up with was a treasure…Angie is determined to get through to Grayson. They form a friendship that blazes into an inconceivable love fired with raging passion. Angie must now come to Grayson’s rescue because the wicked that has been perpetrated on him is unconscionable. First, though, she must gain the trust of a man whose mind does not allow for such a thing.

Fumbled Hearts


Meagan Brandy - 2017
    I'm the impassive new girl with nothing left to give. Things are about to get complicated...After months of refusing, I finally agreed to make the move to Alrick Falls. My family thought it was best - that a new scene would be good for me—and I was sick of having the same conversation. So here I am, and the plan is simple. Smile through each day and avoid her at all costs. It's perfect. Until the cocksure quarterback comes into play. The last thing I want is his crooked grin and dark brown eyes focused on me. Yet here he is, constantly in my space, pushing me, daring me to care. Telling me what I think and feel, as if he knows. He doesn't know anything. And  I plan to keep it that way.

Promise Me Darkness


Paige Weaver - 2013
    We couldn't exist without each other."For me, life was simple. I went to school and studied. I spent time with my friends and stayed out of trouble. I didn't drink or swear and I only dated gentlemen. I was the typical good girl with a bright future. My world seemed perfect. But that was about to change.Ryder Delaney was the one imperfection in my life. He was the bad boy, the black sheep, the one your mother always warned you about. He had only one hard-and-fast rule - Don't fall in love. But some rules were meant to be broken.We were best friends, inseparable since childhood despite our differences. I knew the real man hiding behind the tattoos and bad attitude. He knew all my secrets and dreams. But he didn't know there was one thing I wanted and couldn't have...him.But sometimes Fate has a way of intervening. Soon our world collapsed. War erupted. Darkness prevailed. Alone and on the run, our only goal was to survive and to ignore the feelings we had for each other. But love is powerful...and so is the darkness.word count: 100,285

Theirs to Protect


Stasia Black - 2018
    It’s the law.Welcome to the apocalypse.Nix never put his name in the marriage raffle for a reason. He doesn’t need a woman. There aren’t that many to go around anyway after a genetically engineered virus wiped out 90% of the female population. He has his job as head of the Security Squadron and it’s all he need. He looks out for the township. He protects the few women there are left.But when his name is called to be one of the five husbands to the woman rescued from the badlands, he doesn’t speak up to correct the error.Because Audrey’s like no one he’s ever met before. Feisty. That’s the name for her. Not like so many of the women they’ve brought back before. She’s not broken. She might be just the woman to handle a rough, brutal man like him.Sharing her with four other men is a small price to pay. In fact, the closer they all grow, the more Nix realizes he might finally have again what he lost so long ago—a real family.But when outside forces threaten everything he holds dear, Nix will be forced to face his deepest, darkest fear. When Audrey’s life is endangered, will he be able to save the woman he’s just learned how to love?Please note that this book contains some dark elements and covers sensitive topics. Any reader that feels they shouldn't venture into this apocalyptic world of sometimes harsh realities should please consider before reading.

Contagion


Amanda Milo - 2019
    One human woman. Both are abducted and held captive in a very unsterile environment. What more could go wrong? ~ Simmi: I’ve broken free and I’ve also freed the human who was held captive with me. But I don’t know where we are, and I don’t know where my home is. The local wildlife may be smaller than I am, and maybe they don't have fangs near as large as mine, but I’m still terrified. My issues with germs--and my uncompromising avoidance of all the things that I’m afraid of coming into contact with--is going to get me killed in this wilderness. Thankfully, Aurora lets me follow her. Thankfully, she seems to know the way out of this endless and inhospitable woodland and desert biome. But by the end of our journey, she’ll suspect she’s harboring a contagion. I have no way to know it, but she’s afraid to tell me. Afraid of how I’ll react once I find out what she’s carrying. ***Note: This 40K, Standalone story is intended for readers 18+ due to romantic elements and adult themes. There is no cheating. There is one really germphobic alien. Thankfully, there's also a really understanding woman who is starting to fall for him. Spoiler: They're totally gonna have a Happily Ever After... just as soon as they can get off this planet that’s trying to kill them.

Shortcake


Lucy Watson - 2019
    Not even close.Now they have to live together for the next thirty days while renovating the family home. Or the estate will transfer to the one person Ben hates more than Emelia, and she'll have to move back to the one place she wants to forget more than Ben.Did I mention Ben look likes man-candy and smells like testosterone? Not that Emelia notices. She spends a lot of time not noticing things about Ben.