Book picks similar to
A Thousand Cuts by Melissa Toppen
brothers-best-friend
arc
melissa-toppen
slow-burn
The Fable of Us
Nicole Williams - 2016
At least that’s what Clara Abbot finds herself hoping when she runs into Boone Cavanaugh less than an hour after returning to Charleston.As kids, Clara and Boone had been each other’s firsts, and no one or nothing could stand in the way of their forever. But all kids have to grow up sometime. The troubled son of the town drunk winding up with the firstborn daughter of the local royalty was a happy ending even the most imaginative of fairy tales couldn’t make believable.Their fable came to an end as most do: tragically. Boone might have done the leaving, but it was Clara who got away and made a new life for herself in California. But after seven years of dodging her hometown, she’s only back in Charleston for seven days to celebrate her sister’s wedding. She won’t let her overbearing family or her run-in with Boone rattle her—though rattling her is obviously Boone’s primary objective.Boone is her past and her past is behind her, a mere speck in the rearview. So why does she feel it coming back every time she looks at him? Why does she see it every time he looks back?Just when Clara’s life can’t possibly get more complicated, the ground shifts, and she discovers just how far her family was willing to go to keep the wrong boy out of her life. Was it really Boone who left her? Or was it Clara who left him?The truth will be hard to face. Especially when she discovers most of her life has been built on lies.
Wilder Love
Emery Rose - 2019
He was my strength. Until I destroyed him.I was infatuated with Shane Wilder since the first time I saw him surfing. But we couldn’t be together. Not yet, anyway. I was too young and screwed up. He was too focused on chasing his dream.So we became friends. We met on the rooftop for late-night confessions under the stars. Cruised along the Pacific Coast Highway with the wind in our hair and the sun on our faces.I took photos of all the beautiful and ugly and interesting things, while he traveled the world in search of the perfect waves.I told him I would wait for him. I never meant to lie.I never meant to ruin his life.I. Destroyed. Him. As his star faded, mine burned bright. But as everyone knows, all that glitters is not gold. Now I’m back after seven long years, hoping for a chance to right my wrongs and fix what I’ve broken. This time I can only hope that loving Shane Wilder will be enough to save him.
The Paper Swan
Leylah Attar - 2015
But on Day 22, she would have given anything for the sweet slumber of death. Because on Day 22, she realizes that her only way out means certain death for one of the two men she loves.A haunting tale of passion, loss, and redemption, The Paper Swan is a darkly intense yet heartwarming love story, textured with grit, intrigue, and suspense. Please note: This is NOT a love triangle.A full-length, standalone novel, intended for mature audiences due to violence, sex and language. Subject matter may be disturbing for some readers.
Give Me a Reason
A.L. Jackson - 2021
Jackson comes a single-dad, enemies-to-lovers stand-alone romance about a jaded club owner and his son’s teacher…
Eden Murphy came into my club looking to make some extra cash.A girl like her didn't belong in a place like this. She'd get ripped to shreds.Most likely by me.There's nothing but sweetness dripping from her sexy little body, and I'm the monster who's salivating to get a taste. Trent Lawson is the last man I should want.Dark.Dangerous.So wickedly gorgeous he makes my knees weak. He's also an arrogant jerk who happens to be my new boss. When I discover his adorable son is also in my kindergarten class, I know I have to keep my distance. But neither of us can ignore the attraction that flames.One glance, and our hearts race. One touch, and we’re aching for what we can’t have. One night, and we’re falling fast.Dragging her into my sordid world is wrong.It doesn’t matter. Eden Murphy is mine.
Preacher
Christopher Harlan - 2020
The 1st in a #newseries of interconnected standalones, “Preacher” will give you ALL the feels. SYNOPSIS:My preacher absolved no sins, because he was the sinner.Lyric:They say that you should give your heart away to the right guy, but mine was taken from me ten years ago, the moment Preacher moved into town and sent a blast wave through my life. He was my walking contradiction—gentle eyes set in a hardened face, an angel and an uncaged beast, mesmerizing good looks and terrifying ferocity, my savior and my destroyer.When he disappeared senior year he broke me like so much fragile glass. I thought I’d moved on from what happened between us, but now he’s reappeared out of nowhere, upending my life and reminding me that I can never break his hold over me.Preacher:I was trouble with a capital T—the guy your mom warned you to stay away from because he’d ruin you. She was right. I had no business being with a girl like Lyric—it was against all the rules—but when the hell have I ever followed other people’s rules?Never.She was beautiful, delicate, and oh so breakable. I was forceful, aggressive, and cocky as hell. Ten years ago fate split us apart. But now I’m back, here in New York, to remind Lyric of what she knows deep down but has always tried to deny.That she’s mine, and she always will be.
Trouble
Tia Louise - 2021
But his naughty eyes flashed, his full lips curled into a knowing smile, and I should have run.I didn’t. I kissed him instead.Then he gave me a job when I needed it the most.I never get involved with clients, but Spencer Carrollton is wickedly handsome in a bespoke suit. He’s devastatingly sexy out of it. He’s possessive, demanding, and the best sex I’ve ever had. He’s an arrogant billionaire, who thinks I’ll fall at his feet, but I’m not going down that road again.Until he pulls me out of danger and insists I move in with him to be safe.As the nights pass and we grow closer, I know I’m losing this fight.Spencer Carrollton always gets what he wants.The trouble is, he wants me.(TROUBLE is a STAND-ALONE, enemies-to-lovers, billionaire-boss romance. No cheating. No cliffhanger.)
No One But Us
Elizabeth O'Roark - 2018
And exactly who I should NOT be spending a summer with...
The last time I saw Elle, she was a child. A Harry Potter-obsessed 13-year-old with a penchant for fan fiction and following me around. Six years later she’s on my doorstep. The braces are gone. The “Team Gryffindor” t-shirt’s been replaced with a bikini the size of my index finger. And I can’t get her out of my head, no matter how hard I try. Except she’s still the girl I’m not allowed to have, the center of a secret I hope she never learns. Resisting what I feel for Elle Grayson is the only way to protect my family. But am I willing to break both our hearts in the process?
Moonshot
Alessandra Torre - 2016
The daughter of a legend, the Yankees were my family, their stadium my home, their dugout my workplace. My focus was on the game. Chase... he started out as a distraction. A distraction with sex appeal poured into every inch of his six foot frame. A distraction who played like a god and partied like a devil. I tried to stay away. I couldn’t. Then, the team started losing. Women started dying. And everything in my world broke apart.
Breaker
Harloe Rae - 2019
Cloaked by the black sky under a blanket of stars, it was easy to get lost. He didn’t have any good memories of his own and needed to borrow mine. I would willingly give him anything. Being infatuated with that boy was a beautiful curse. What could have been special didn’t get the chance to bloom. He’d never see me as more than his best friend’s kid sister. That was a hard lesson to learn, but not the most difficult. Grady had always been struggling against the odds. Eventually he quit fighting and let his family’s reputation own him. Try as I might, those influences were beyond my reach. He didn’t mean to break my heart. Or maybe he did. I shouldn’t have made it so easy for him. Either way, our wrongs against each other carved new lines between us. I went four years without seeing Grady—each one more painful than the last. That distance did nothing to dull my feelings toward him. But things are different now. Most noticeably is Grady. I barely recognize this man he’s become. And that’s the way he intends to keep it. Not that it really matters. Grady Bowen stopped being my happy something long ago.
Well Played
Vi Keeland - 2021
The other half now belonged to Levi Miller, the famous quarterback who had other ideas about what we should do with the property.We won’t mention that I accidentally injured him during our first meeting, causing him to get eight stitches.You could say we got off on the wrong foot. We bickered a lot as we both moved into the property while we figured things out. He wanted to unload the rundown place which, admittedly, needed a lot of work. I wanted to restore The Palm Inn to its original beauty and re-open it as a bed and breakfast. We couldn’t agree on anything. So Levi made me a proposal. One he thought I would surely lose. If I could sell out the place by the time he had to leave for training at the end of summer, he would back off and let me run it.But in the weeks that followed, we got more than we bargained for while we were living under the same roof.Levi and I got closer, and before I knew it, my nightly fantasies about the brawny Adonis became a reality. Not to mention, he was so great with my son.We were in over our heads in more ways than one. Because not only was he the last man on Earth I should be falling for because of our deal, but Levi was also my ex’s older brother.And now the inn was the least of my problems.
Veiled Innocence
Ella Frank - 2014
Tick, tick, tock.Time.That’s all I have now.A small room, a photograph, and time.They want me to trust them and confess my sins.They told me they wouldn't judge me—they lied.I thought we could convince the world that this wasn't a crime.We were wrong.Time doesn't stand still.The clock keeps ticking, the world is unconvinced, and now…Now he is gone.
Savage Prince
Kristin Buoni - 2020
Liars and sinners lurk around every corner… and I’ve just stumbled onto the worst one yet.Her name is Laney Collins.She’s a maid’s daughter with a scholarship to Royal Falls Academy, and she’s got a hell of a dark secret. Everyone else might be fooled by her sweet, innocent act, but I know the truth.I know what she did last year.Now that our senior year has started, she’s going to pay for her sins, and she’s going to learn her proper place at RFA. I own the school and everyone in it, and soon, I’ll own her too.Welcome to my kingdom, Laney. You really should’ve stayed away…***LANEY
Welcome to Royal Falls Academy…
Those five words were supposed to change my life. I thought I finally had friends, opportunities, and a ticket to freedom… but the privileged boys who rule RFA have other ideas. Especially their leader, Hunter Connery.He’s rich, arrogant, and looks like a god. He also knows my darkest secret.Now he’s marked me. Added me to the school’s infamous Blacklist to turn everyone against me.I’m supposed to flee or beg for forgiveness before he drives me away with his ruthless cruelty, but that’s not going to happen, no matter how close I get to my breaking point. I’ll never fall on my knees for him, and he’ll never destroy me.I might come from nothing, but that doesn’t mean I’m worthless… so bring it on, Hunter.Savage Prince is a dark high school bully romance with content that some readers may find disturbing or offensive. The story follows on from the events of Twisted Elite and continues in Shattered Kingdom.
Kaleidoscope Hearts
Claire Contreras - 2015
And all those feelings I’d turned into anger are brewing into something else, something that terrifies me. He broke my heart last time. This time he'll obliterate it.This is a standalone.
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…”
Take Me in the Night
R.L. Kenderson - 2018
It started in high school. I was his girlfriend…he was the love of my life. We had plans for after graduation. We were going to escape—he from his family’s reputation and me from my father’s control. But all that changed the summer before college. Charged with a crime he hadn’t committed, he was whisked away from life, never to be heard from again. Then, he takes my body. Twelve years later, he’s back. He’s bigger, he’s tougher, and he’s harder around the edges. He’s no longer the boy I fell in love with. But I’m no longer the girl who gave him her heart. Everything’s changed between us. Anger, resentment, and bitterness have replaced happiness, love, and trust. Except for when darkness falls. That’s when he comes to me at night, taking what is still his. Now, he’s going to take my soul. When the lines between our old love and our new hate begin to blur, I know that, this time, I might not survive if he leaves.