Book picks similar to
Barely Breathing by K.G. Reuss
bully
dark
abuse
bully-romance
Raw
Belle Aurora - 2014
This is a story of love gone wrong.***Growing up the way I did, you’d think I’d be more screwed up than what I actually am.Soon as I turned sixteen, I left that bump in the road I called home and took my chances on the street.Best decision I ever made.Now, at the age of twenty six, I’m educated, employed and damn good at my job.My friends have become my family. Like me, they know what it’s like to grow up unloved.But the saying is true.The world makes way for those who know where they are going.That’s me.I know where I’m going and I’ll get there eventually. On my own terms and at my own pace.But then there’s him.I feel his eyes on me. I see him hiding in plain sight. He watches me.He makes me feel.It’s unconventional.But it’s real.I’m sure you’re wondering how a person falls in love with their stalker.So am I.This isn’t a story.This is my life.
Waterfall Effect
K.K. Allen - 2018
Allen comes a new and suspenseful small town mountain romance.Lost in the shadows of a tragedy that stripped Aurora June of everything she once loved, she’s back in the small town of Balsam Grove, North Carolina, ready to face all she’s kept locked away for seven years. Or so she thinks.As one of the victims of a string of mysterious disappearances in the small, picturesque Appalachian Mountain town, darkness has become her home—her safe blanket when the world reveals its true colors. But as the walls of darkness start to move in on her, she knows the only way to free herself from her past is to face it, head-on. She just needs to figure out how.Upon arrival, Aurora isn’t expecting her first collision to be with the boy she left all those years ago. The boy who betrayed her trust with no regrets. The boy who is no longer a boy, but a man with the same stormy eyes that swept her into his current before she ever learned to swim.She’d thought he was safe. He’d thought their path was mapped out. Turns out neither of them was ready for the crash at the bottom of the cascade.
El Diablo
M. Robinson - 2016
ROBINSONI was ruthless. I was feared. I had sacrificed. Myself. Her. Everything... Living in a world where I was worth more dead than alive was a choice. I was a bad man, never claimed to be anything else. I’ve done things I’m not proud of. Seen things that can’t be unseen. I’ve caused pain that I can’t undo. It was all my choice. Every decision. Every order. Right and wrong never mattered. Until her. She was under my protection, until she became my obsession. But who was going to save her... From. Me. The devil himself. Fate brought us together. Destiny destroyed us. STANDALONE: Romance Suspense full-length novel.
Evil Love
Ella Fields - 2020
Ex-girlfriend? Whatever. Point is, the Adonis loved to hate me.It wasn’t my fault he’d followed me. It wasn’t my fault he’d stared too long and stood a little too close, just daring me to accomplish my wildest dreams.And it most certainly wasn’t my fault his ex-girlfriend arrived when he’d decided to kiss me back.Then the cruelty began.I’d thought I could handle it, so long as his lips kept gracing mine and he kept giving me more scorching firsts. Until he took it too far, and all his carefully kept secrets blew open the doors to a brand-new world. A world he was all too familiar with.Obsession became loathing and fear replaced naivety as Jude was forced to hold my hand and help me navigate a secret society rife with sin and debauchery—the crème de la crème of Peridot Island.If I wasn’t careful, I’d do more than lose what remained of my heart. My first love and greatest foe wouldn’t be satisfied until he’d devoured my soul, too.
Accidental Witness
Sam Mariano - 2017
We’d never spoken, but of course I heard the stories about his family. I know they’re dangerous. I know he’s dangerous. Vince never had a reason to notice me, anyway—until I inadvertently witnessed his first mob hit. His family doesn’t believe in leaving witnesses alive, but Vince seems different. He knows the best thing he can do for me is stay away, but something keeps drawing us together. Despite knowing the risks of getting mixed up with him, I can’t resist. Only problem is, Vince is a package deal—you don’t get him without getting swept up in his family’s dark games. Now entangled with a notorious Chicago crime family, will my life ever be mine again?**Obligatory trigger warning: While not wholly dark, this is a mafia romance with elements of DARK ROMANCE. There are no knights in shining armor to be found here.Sensitive content not recommended for those under 18, or those who loathe the dark romance genre. **This is a continuing story series. The story continues and evolves in each book until you get to the end.
Deathless & Divided
Bethany-Kris - 2015
This is how a war starts.A life for a life. That’s the mafia way. Damian Rossi owes his life to a man who is ready to collect. That payment comes in the form of an arranged marriage to the daughter of another leading family in the Chicago Outfit. He’s ready to follow through, even if that means making sure Lily knows she’s his.Lily DeLuca isn’t being given a choice. Forced home to marry a man she doesn’t know and back into a life she’d rather forget, her world is full of half-truths, buried pain, and uncertainty. But Damian is nothing like she expects. His motives aren’t clear. Her beliefs are being tested.When it comes to this world, no man can be trusted. Someone is ready to flip the Chicago Outfit on its side all for the promise of something better. But no one runs a clean game and these men play for keeps. When blood begins to paint Chicago red, four families will be divided by loyalty, hatred, and revenge. There is no hiding. There is no safety.No one is deathless.No one.
Wicked Devil
Daniela Romero - 2020
It deals with sensitive subjects some may find triggering and is recommended for mature readers 17+
The Five
Lily White - 2019
Having lived a life of sex, drugs and manipulation, she is a temptation with far too many secrets.When psychologist, Justin Redding, is assigned to Rainey's case, he has no way of knowing the tale of debauchery he will encounter.On a twisted path of love, loss and murder, Rainey leads Justin through the events of her life.Death follows Rainey...Justin fights to discover her secrets...But will he discover the secret of THE FIVE in time to resist Rainey's ultimate seduction?***DISCLAIMER: This book deals with sensitive subject matters that may be upsetting for some readers.
Rewrite the Stars
Charleigh Rose - 2018
Beautiful and popular, if not a little jaded. A chance encounter with a green-eyed stuntman sets off a chain of events that turns her perfect, little world upside down. Short on options and desperate for adventure, she joins the traveling carnival for the summer. Thrust into a world full of drama, deception, and secrecy, Evangeline tries to find herself and protect her heart in the process. Sebastian McAllister is cursed. He knows better than to think otherwise. He’s content to live out the rest of his life traveling the country as one of the four Sons of Eastlake, seeking thrills the only way he knows how. The one thing he doesn’t see coming is the spoiled blond with stars in her eyes. The only problem is, the more time he spends with her, the more hope starts to stir in his dormant heart. Too bad hope is a dangerous thing when you’re a McAllister
Crew
Tijan - 2018
You pretend everything is normal.Or you can be crew.You insult us? We hurt you.You hurt us? We really hurt you.And if you screw with us, we will end you.My name is Bren.I'm the only female in the Wolf Crew--the best, fiercest, and most dangerous crew there is--and we have a rule: There's no falling in love.Well... too late.*This book contains mature young adult situations.*Full-length novel. First book in a series.*Book ends at 95%. Two bonus chapters are at the end.
Seek
Mia Sheridan - 2018
She's even more heartbroken and confused when a hired private investigator tracks him half a world away, to a seaside town in Colombia. But the country has recently been ravaged by a massive earthquake and deadly tsunami, shutting down outside communication and making travel all but impossible. Still, Olivia is determined to make it to Colombia to find the answers she so desperately seeks. What she needs is a guide—a mercenary.The man named Thomas arrives in shadows, an unmistakable air of danger about him, promising to help lead her through the ruined, crime-infested country. But when Thomas and Olivia find themselves fighting an undeniable attraction, danger takes on a whole new meaning. Then again, in the lush jungles of South America, all the rules are different and Thomas and Olivia are about to discover that sometimes the thing you seek, isn't necessarily the thing you find.Seek is a STANDALONE novel with a small, fun connection to the Sign of Love Collection
Ruthless Love
Penelope Bloom - 2020
That is, until I move next door to Parker High’s most eligible bastard, Tristan Blackwood. He’s gorgeous. Eyes as cold as moonlight. Lips made for cruel kisses. The entire town knows it, too. Apparently being able to throw a football elevates you to god status around here. He could have anything he wanted. Anyone. But somehow, all he wanted was to torment me. Me, trapped in my mom’s protective bubble: homeschooled and invisible, stuck in a wheelchair and saddled with more medical issues than I could count. Normal? I might as well wish to be a fairytale princess. There aren’t any princesses or knights in my fairytale. Just the dark prince who lives next door. Parker High royalty in the flesh. My very own devil in a letterman jacket. His life should be a dream, but the only thing he cares about is becoming my nightmare. And when my pride isn’t enough for him, he decides he wants my body. He wants my heart. He wants every last inch of me to himself.
A Vow Of Hate
Lylah James - 2021
We were poison together and there was no antidote.Our story began like any other fairy tale ended.With a beautiful wedding.One kiss.Two rings.Three vows.Killian Spencer became my lawfully wedded husband and I, his dutiful wife.But he was no Prince Charming. He didn’t come to save me… and he vowed there would be no happily ever after.And me?Just like the legends I'd read as a little girl, I always thought I’d be the princess in my fairy tale.Well, I was the villain of our love story.“Till death do us part…”
The Sky Between Us
Mia Kun - 2021
Some mistakes leave a mark on us and we have to carry their consequences forever.”HazelSix years ago, my life fell apart and ever since I was living within those broken pieces.Until I met him.The moment I walked into the Starbucks on my first day of work and laid eyes on him, everything changed.He saw me.For the first time in three years, I wasn’t invisible. I’ve grown used to staying on the sidelines and living in the shadows until I met him.Aiden Hitchings was my father’s favorite player. Our university’s soccer star. The one who lived in the spotlight.I knew I shouldn’t have tempted fate, but falling for him wasn’t a choice. History was about to repeat itself, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.AidenLast year of college was going to be epic. Juggling our NCAA Championship, coursework and my part-time job at Starbucks wasn’t easy, but it was all going to pay off once I signed my professional contract. That was before she walked in.The hazel-eyed girl with a sharp tongue, the one who always blended into the background, was staring right back at me. The Coach’s daughter, one I should have avoided at any cost but kept being drawn to. She shattered my carefully built-up world and inked herself deep into my soul.But she carried a secret with her that stood between us, slowly breaking us.And for the first time in my life, I lost control and I felt helpless.