Book picks similar to
A Thousand Cuts by Melissa Toppen


brothers-best-friend
melissa-toppen
slow-burn
standalone

Tennessee Truths


Ashley Munoz - 2020
    Faith:Our story was classic.A typical fairytale.Two young kids falling in love under an onyx sky, making vows they didn’t understand.He was my dream …and I naively thought I was his.Until he bartered our love and sold me a lie.Now, I’m returning to the life I once knew…but not as the pathetic mess that left five years ago.I’m a married woman, wed to the richest man in Nashville.But it seems I wasn’t the only one who changed during my time away…Hardened by life, Jace Walker’s glares drip with heat and derision.He has war in his eyes and venom in his veins.I thought I would be safe coming back home, but it seems I only ran from my present to be caught in the crosshairs of my past.Jace:I traded my future for a life.I knew what was on the line when I made the deal, I knew what I could lose, but I also knew that I didn’t really have a choice.I gambled and lost.Now the one person I had dreamed of having a future with was walking back into my life bearing the last name and wearing the ring of another man.Lips painted red, hair that same honey gold and there against her creamy throat was our promise to one another, still dangling, reminding me that I may have lied, but she ran.I was a liar, she was a coward.Now she was home, and she wasn’t mine.Coming April 2020

The Five Stages of Falling in Love


Rachel Higginson - 2015
    Grady's prognosis was grim, even from the start, but Liz never gave up hope he would survive. How could she, when he was everything to her?Six months later, she is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life and get the kids to school on time. Both seem impossible. Everything seems impossible these days.When Ben Tyler moves in next door, she is drowning in sorrow and pain, her children are acting out, and the house is falling apart. She has no time for curious new friends or unwanted help, but Ben gives her both. And he doesn't just want to help her with yard work or cleaning the gutters. Ben wants more from Liz. More than she's capable of ever giving again.As Liz mourns her dead husband and works her way through the five stages of grief, she finds there's more of her heart to give than she thought possible. And as new love takes hold, she peels away the guilt and heartache, and discovers there's more to life than death.

The Words


Ashley Jade - 2022
    Eight weeks. Forty shows.Countless opportunities to make him pay.The world thought he was a God...But I knew the truth.

Imagine Me


Fiona Cole - 2017
    Juliana knows his desire to be the loner and to never settle down.But none of that stops her from showing up at his hotel room late one night.Months later, she imagines every scenario for when she runs into Shane again. However, she never imagined him brushing off their scorching night together. She never imagined him calling her a ‘little girl’ who can’t handle a man.His words ignite a fire in Juliana. If she has to date every single guy in Cincinnati, she’ll prove that she is more than capable of “handling” a man. Except Juliana and Shane can’t stay away from each other, so they set up some rules; only sex, and no telling her brother.It doesn’t take long for the sex to turn into feelings, and Juliana can feel his icy exterior melting. Is he willing to risk his best friend for a chance at love?For Juliana, that might be too good to imagine.

Enamor


Veronica Larsen - 2015
    Here’s mine. My new roommate is a conceited, womanizing jerk. He pushes my buttons and drives me so crazy I want to strangle him daily. There’s a million reasons why I should stay far away from him, the most obvious of which being that I hate him with the fire of a thousand suns. Except that I don’t hate him. It's a reckless game we're playing, treading the edge of an attraction so intense it might as well be a grenade.

Say the Word


Julie Johnson - 2014
    When their paths cross again unexpectedly in New York City, Lux does her best to feign indifference toward her first love. But the harder she tries to hold Sebastian at arm’s length, the more determined he becomes to uncover the secrets she’s been keeping about their past… and the true reason she broke his heart seven years earlier.She’s as much in love with him as ever; he’s just as furious at her for leaving. But beneath the anger, forbidden attraction still simmers… and it’s only a matter of time before it boils over. When the past is finally unearthed, the monsters Lux spent seven years running from will finally catch up to her. And nothing – not even her love for Sebastian – will be enough to save her… **SAY THE WORD is a steamy, suspenseful standalone contemporary romance for fans of action and angst. Due to sexual situations, adult language, violence, and thematic elements, it is intended for readers ages 16 and up.**

Covered in Coal


Silla Webb - 2014
    Just like any little girl would, she assumed her daddy would always be by her side. Unbelievably, he turned his back on her when she needed him most, leaving her with no one in her life to turn to for support. Without options, Carly runs away from the only home she's ever known, leaving behind her heartache and the betrayal of the two men she loved most.Seven years later, Carly reluctantly returns to Kentucky. Her daddy is dying of cancer and Colton is nothing like the boy she once loved and left. After her daddy passes, Carly must uproot her life in South Carolina and take control of Simon Coal Company, where she has no choice but face the pain of her past.Can Carly keep her secrets buried deep beneath the black Kentucky coal and her heart safe from the fiery Colton Weston?

Fragile Longing


Cora Reilly - 2020
    Perfection. Until she wasn’t. Until she ran off to be with the enemy and left her fiancé behind.Now Sofia is given to Danilo in her sister’s stead, knowing she’ll never be more than second best. Yet, she can’t stop longing for the love of the man she’s been crushing on even when he was still her sister’s.Danilo is a man who’s used to getting what he wants.Power.Respect.The sought-after ice princess.Until another man steals his bride-to-be. Danilo knows that for a man in his position losing his woman can lead to a loss of face.Wounded pride.Thirst for revenge.A dangerous combination—one Danilo can’t leave behind, not even when a girl just as precious takes her sister’s place to placate him. Yet, she’s got one flaw: she’s not her sister.Unable to forget what he’s lost, Danilo might lose what he’s been given.

Falling to Pieces


Leddy Harper - 2015
    Bree’s only escape is high school, particularly her history class taught by young, handsome, kind and caring Axel Taylor. Mr. Taylor becomes Bree’s dearest friend, a sympathetic ear and a shoulder to cry on, and soon their shared affection grows into something greater. But by reaching out to protect her—to mend her breaks and soothe her wounds—Axel has crossed a dangerous line, resulting in two shattered lives instead of just one.Six years later, they will meet again: Bree, still battling the demons that continue to possess her, and Axel, reduced to taking work as a substitute teacher wherever he can find it. Once again he will feel compelled to rescue her. But this time it will be different, because now the yearnings of a loving heart won’t be silenced by suspicious minds. And now there’s more than one life that desperately needs saving.*Standalone full length novel

Little Lies


H. Hunting - 2020
    You mean nothing to me. I never loved you. I turned my words into swords.And I cut her down. Shoved the blade in and watched her fall. I said I’d never hurt her, and I did. Years later, I’m faced with all the little lies, the untruths, the false realities, the damage I inflicted, when all I wanted was to indulge my obsession. Lavender Waters is the princess in the tower. Even her name is the thing fairy tales are made of. I used to be the one who saved her. Over and over again. But I don’t want to save her anymore. I just want to pretend the lies are still the truth.A standalone angsty new adult romance. Heroine: Lavender Waters (Alex and Violet Waters’ youngest daughter, PUCKED and FOREVER PUCKED couple origin, Pucked Series )Hero: Kodiak (Kody) Bowman (Rook and Lainey Bowman’s son, A LIE FOR A LIE couple origin, All In Series )

Dare


Caitlin Daire - 2015
     We used to be best friends as kids, but now the sweet, scrawny boy I used to know has grown up into an arrogant, tattooed prick with a foul mouth and a penchant for too many women. We didn’t even recognize each other at first when we ran into each other again, but now I’m back in his sights for all the wrong reasons… His Dad ran off with my Mom and married her in Vegas, so now Drew and I are stuck with each other. I wish he’d go back to his old self, but he insists on making my life miserable with his petulant attitude instead, and my friends aren’t helping. For some reason, they think he and I belong together, and the worst thing is that a tiny part of me can’t help but think they’re right. He’s a tool, but damn, he’s a handsome-as-hell tool…and the heat between us is undeniable. Do I dare cross that line? **Warning: This book contains lots of HOT sex, drama, adult language and some violence. If this is not the kind of stuff you like to read, skip this book. Enjoy!**

In the Fields


Willow Aster - 2013
    Severely neglected by her family and forced to flee Tulma to protect her secrets, Caroline’s young life comes crashing down around her. She finds refuge in a new town, but the past always has a way of stretching around time and stirring up trouble.When a new love comes into her life, she has to decide if she can give her heart to someone else, or if she will always be tied to someone she can’t have.Willow Aster is the author of True Love Story and In the Fields, and many more to come. She loves her crazy life with her husband and kids.

Sweet Cheeks


K. Bromberg - 2016
    To my ex-fiance’s new wedding. I should have ignored it.Thrown it away. Set it afire. But I didn’t. I replied. With a plus one. And then my assistant accidentally mailed it.Enter Hayes Whitley. Mega-movie star. The man who has captured the hearts of millions. But I gave him mine years ago. He was my first love. He was my everything. Right until he up and left to chase his dreams without so much as a simple goodbye.When he showed up out of the blue ten years later, I should have known to steer clear. I should have rejected his offer to take me to my ex’s wedding. I should have never let him kiss me.But I didn’t. And now we’re left wondering if the pieces of the life we once shared still fit together somehow. First loves are hard to forget. The question is, do we want to forget? Or do we risk the chance and see what happens next?

The Bandit


B.B. Reid - 2016
    She thought she could steal from me and get away with it, but I have no intention of letting her get away at all. Mian Ross has a lesson to learn, and I'm going to be the one to teach it to her.HE STOLE MY SONI'll never forget the night I made the second biggest mistake of my life. It was supposed to be a simple job, but it quickly became so much more--one that cost my freedom and cost my son. Angel Knight became my worst nightmare... and now, he'll never let us go.

The Story of Us


Barbara Elsborg - 2018
    One love. Ten summers.Are you okay?The first words Zed says to Caspian, and the first time someone has cared about the answer. On a hot summer’s day, the lives of two boys are changed forever. A rebel and a risk taker, Caspian doesn’t give a damn for the consequences. Studious and obedient, Zed is the good boy who is never good enough.The two couldn’t be more different, but there’s one thing they share, a need to belong to someone who understands them, someone who cares. Their friendship goes deeper than either can possibly imagine. They’re young, in love, and planning their future when an act of betrayal tears them apart.Fate deals its hand. Seasons pass. Zed’s words follow Caspian through pain, fear and into the darkest of places. Friendships can last a lifetime, even when the world conspires to crush them. But this is more than friendship. This is love and they’re not going to let it slip through their fingers.WarningThe Story of Us is a tale of love and survival, and the triumph of good over evil against the odds. It's a new adult contemporary romance that deals with family and social issues. There is violence and cruelty to children but not sexual assault. The story has sexual situations, dark elements and suspense. The events and locations are a mixture of real and fictional. The characters are fictional.