Book picks similar to
Shattered and Shaken by Julie Bailes
new-adult
contemporary-romance
romance
love-triangle
Surrendering
Ahren Sanders - 2013
Returning home to complete her MBA and be closer to her family, she has her future all mapped out. That is until her path leads her straight into Declan Collins. The dark haired, tattooed singer with a sinful body is a distraction, one that’s way out of her league. He wasn’t part of her plan. But now that he’s literally knocking on her door, how can she avoid him?Declan Collins lives life to the edge. His only emotional attachments are to his family and his band. He’s your typical bad-boy, lead singer who lives with no regrets. “Hook-up and head-out” is his motto. His ultimate goal is to take his band all the way to the top, or so it was. When he runs into Raven, she stirs up emotions in him that he had never thought possible. From their very first meeting, there’s no denying the chemistry between them. He’s not a relationship guy, but can she change his playboy ways? Jealousy, anger, stalkers, and fame and fortune threaten to tear these two apart. Will surrendering to their love get them through the challenges that await them? Or will it tear them apart?*Due to graphic language and explicit sexual situations, this book is recommended for readers 18+.
Fraternizing
C.C. Brown - 2013
Strong sexual content, violence and vulgarity.Sometimes rules must be broken.Sometimes your beliefs are challenged.Other times... you just have to follow your heart.For Marine Corps Sgt. Alex Cruz, the Corps' rules and regulations have served as a blueprint for how he should live his life. In his mind, the way to maintaining proper conduct and order relied heavily on the ability of the individual to follow orders without question. Alex was that individual.Until...Pfc. Cassie Bennett.She is brand new to the Corps, looking to cement a place in the world for herself after breaking free from the oppressive life she's lived with her mother. Making it in the Corps is her way of showing her mother that she is more than she thinks she is, while also proving to herself she can survive one of life's biggest challenges.Both Alex and Cassie are tested when an intensely strong attraction develops between them. They feel it, they want it, but one thing stands in their way... The Marine Corps order on Fraternizing. Their lust filled thoughts, their strong and aching cravings for one another, and their conflicted minds lead them on a roller coaster of emotions and feelings that neither can ignore, no matter how hard they try.Loyalties will be tested, hearts will be broken, and careers will hang in the balance. Can Alex and Cassie keep their forbidden relationship a secret, or will they lose it all by Fraternizing?
Used
Lynetta Halat - 2014
No worries. I've come to terms with it, and you will too. I’m not one of those girls who thinks she’s too plain, too fat, too skinny, too shy … no, I don’t have that kind of luck. I’m the girl who knows she’s just right for everyone. — Denver A reputation as a manwhore–with–a–heart–of–gold tends to precede me. But, I don’t do girls with issues, that is until this girl. It's this girl I want to fix. This girl I want to protect. And maybe … more. — Ransom Being in love with the same girl your entire life isn't all it's cracked up to be. She uses me in every way imaginable. How does she see me? I am her perpetual one-night stand. No strings, no attachments. Just mind-numbing sex ... for her anyway. — Greer Feeling like the life is being choked out of her in the small town of Anaconda, Montana, Denver Dempsey craves the escape that college offers … even if that means leaving her “best friend with benefits” and looking for a new way to forget. Thinking she's found the perfect hookup in Ransom, Denver's outlook on college is bright. That is, until Greer shows up looking for a second chance, and Ransom's interest turns to hatred. Love. Hate. Triangle. Who's using who?
Intended for mature audiences only. Contains subject matter that may be sensitive to some.
Where I Need to Be
Kimberly Knight - 2013
Book one in her sexy and suspenseful USA Today bestselling Club 24 series.Not everything stays in Las Vegas ...Spencer Marshall was done moping. After catching her boyfriend cheating with his secretary, she decides to have a girl's weekend in Vegas with her best friend, Ryan. Lady Luck must be looking out for Spencer, because the hottie that has caught her eye at her new gym is on the same flight to Vegas.Spencer is old-fashioned in the sense that she feels the guy should make the first move, but this hottie hasn’t approached her … until they have one hot dance in Vegas that leaves her questioning his motives.Will her mystery man finally speak to her, or will he continue playing a game of flirtation that may lead to nowhere? And will situations from their past keep them from taking the next step?Despite what people say, not everything stays in Vegas, especially when you work out every day at the same time and at the same gym.Novel now includes Finding Spencer from Brandon's POVWith a crazy ex-girlfriend who won’t leave him alone, Brandon Montgomery is determined to move on to the brunette hottie who caught his eye at the gym he owns. Things start out slowly with Brandon and Spencer, since neither one can find the courage to speak to one another until they both happen to be in Vegas for a weekend.It’s not true. Things don’t always stay in Vegas, and lucky for Brandon, the girl he wants to be with lives in his town. Now if his crazy ex-girlfriend, Christy, would leave him alone, Brandon could move on to where he needs to be.
Shattered Promises
Jessica Sorensen - 2013
She knows nothing about her past and has been haunted by the same monsters in her nightmares for the last few months. Unemotional and numb to life, she feels disconnected from everyone. Until the very first day she cries. After that, nothing in her life is the same. Her emotions slowly surface and she starts experiencing love, happiness, and anger, feelings she never knew existed. But they leave her confused and she doesn’t know whether to embrace them or run away from them.Her life only gets more complicated when she meets Alex. Sexy, arrogant, and secretive, Alex can get under Gemma’s skin like no one can. Yet she’s drawn to him by an invisible connection she has no control over. She’s also seen him before. In her nightmares. Every part of Gemma’s mind is screaming at her to stay away from Alex, but every other part of her is begging to get close to him. But the closer she gets, the more she realizes Alex knows more about her than he originally let on.As secrets about her past unravel, Gemma’s life becomes threatened. She needs to figure out what’s going on, before she winds up dead. But the only person she can turn to for answers is the one person she isn’t sure she can trust.
Desolate
Autumn Grey - 2018
I was going to finish high school, attend seminary, and finally answer my calling. Becoming a priest was all I ever wanted. Until her. Grace Miller was always the one who could steal my breath with a single look. She was perfect. Out of my league. I never thought we could become more than friends. But we did. On the path I’ve chosen—the path that chose me—our love is forbidden. Wrong. And that doesn’t seem to matter when she’s in my arms. There’s a crossroads ahead of me and a battle raging in my head. Eventually, I’ll have to choose a side. But how can I choose between Grace (my heart) and what I know in my soul I’m meant to be?Desolate is the first book in the Grace Trilogy. It's a sometimes sexy, angsty, slow burn contemporary coming-of-age romance. Download today and experience first love all over again in this forbidden romance. *This story has some content that may be sensitive for some readers.*
In Too Deep
Mara Jacobs - 2014
Turns out one of the kids was Lucas’s little brother. So, I’d be seeing a lot more of Lucas. And that was just fine with me.I had a lot going on—a freshman at an elite college, first time away from home, and, oh yeah, roommates with a girl I’d been sent to spy on. I wasn’t exactly looking for anything exclusive. Something casual, though, would be great. But there was nothing casual about my feelings for Lucas.He was a townie, hiding a secret, and I knew better than to get involved. I was always the sensible one, the peacekeeper.Before I knew it…I was In Too Deep.
An Unplanned Lesson
Beth Rinyu - 2013
Unable to let go of the guilt that she is harboring from her past, she punishes herself by running from all potential relationships.Her patience is put to the test when Dailan O’Maley the obnoxious but very sexy uncle of one of her students enters her life. She slowly cracks away at Dailan’s crude, crass exterior when they are forced to work together for the sake of his nephew. The two of them learn a lesson in love that neither had planned as they discover that the guilt they are hiding deep inside isn’t the only thing they have in common. Unbeknownst to her, he holds more than just the key to her heart.*Sequel ~ "An Unplanned Life" ~ coming Late 2013/early 2014http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18...
Fix You: Bash and Olivia - Book One
Christine Bell - 2014
Her family is about to lose everything, and she has almost no chance of continuing her college education. She can't even seek solace from her high school sweetheart. He's changed. She doesn't recognize the boy she used to know— his violent behavior is escalating and it scares the hell out of her. Her whole world is crumbling, and she has no one to turn to……Sebastian “Bash” McDaniels is an up and comer in the boxing world working nights at the local college bar until he can land the fight of his dreams that will get him the hell out of Boston and away from his family's tragic past. He’s weeks from his goal when Olivia Beckett comes tumbling into his life in a flash of silky dark hair and haunted eyes. When he saves her from a potentially brutal beating, they begin to grow close, but Olivia's ex isn’t ready to let her go so easily. Bash can't bring himself to walk away, but fixing Olivia just might leave him broken…
Tasting Never
C.M. Stunich - 2012
She doesn't need any complications in her life, especially not when they're attached to a man that could be her emotional twin.Ty McCabe can't stand Never the first time he meets her. He's aware that the feeling's mutual and the two don't think they'll ever see each other again, but when fate takes a hand and puts them both in the wrong place at the wrong time, Ty and Never form a tentative friendship that opens the door on their dark sides and shows them what it's like to live in the light."Sometimes, the only way to go forward, is to take a few, careful steps back."READING LIST#1: Tasting Never#2: Finding Never#3: Keeping NeverOR Books #1-#3 in one volume: "Tasting, Finding, Keeping: The Story of Never"#4: Never Can Tell#5: Never Let Go#6: Never Did SayTASTING NEVER EXCERPT:Ty's hot mouth is on my neck, and I find myself taking short, sharp, little breaths as I press my shaking hands to his chest. If I sleep with him again, I'll be making the biggest mistake of my life. He's the first real friend I've ever had, and I don't want to cheapen the feelings that are simmering between us. We made that mistake once before, and we survived. We've been through a lot since then, and I know that if I lose him now, I will never be whole again. Ty is my other half, lover or no, and just being around him is enough for me. “Ty,” I say, trying my best to sound stern. Instead, my voice comes out like a butterfly, flutters against Ty's hair and swirls it gently against my lips. I moan and find that my fingers are now curled in the fabric of his T-shirt. “Never,” he says back to me, the word like fire against my skin. In those two syllables, I hear how he feels about me. He thinks he's in love. Ty McCabe thinks he's in love with me. He doesn't say it aloud, but I can tell. Sex isn't the best way for me to show my feelings; I've abused it for far too long that it has somehow lost some of its meaning. I try to tell Ty this, but I can't speak with his lips on my throat and his hand sliding across the nape of my neck. I run my own hands down his chest and put them beneath his shirt, on the hard plane of his belly. His muscles contract as I press my fingers into them, touching, feeling, absorbing the man, the complication, that is Ty McCabe. All the while, my mind is racing in circles trying to talk me out of this.“Kiss me,” Ty says and it's not a question, it's a request, albeit a gentle one. His voice is softer than I've ever heard it. His words are naked, stripped of all the bullshit that's happened to him, all of the horrible things that mirror my own life. Ty and I are like twins, like two halves of the same whole. They say that opposites attract, but Ty and I are very much the same and the attraction between us burns brighter than the sun. “Kiss me,” he says again and I do.
Weak for Him
Lyra Parish - 2014
Bright lights. Sex.Jennifer is made an offer: sell her virginity to the highest bidder and transform into one of Finnley's girls. But she finds herself weak for him, and doesn't fully realize what she's agreed to until it's too late.Will she rise to the challenge and play by the rules in a land where money is king and love is prohibited? Or will she lose herself and values in the attempt?Weak for Him has unlady-like language, adult subject matter, and s-e-x-ual situations. There is resolution at the end but the story does continue on to Weak Without Him.
Ignite
Tessa Teevan - 2013
One to the Army; the other in a tragic car accident. Two years after the latter, a ghost from the past reappears, igniting feelings in Alexa she’d thought long dormant.Jace McAllister has spent the last ten years in the Army, defusing bomb after bomb, trying to forget the girl who once set his world on fire. For him, she’s always been the one who got away. After a not-so-chance encounter places her back in his line of sight, he’s locked eyes on target, and won’t let her go without a fight.Ten years ago their chemistry smoldered, and now the sparks threaten to light a fuse leading to an explosion between them even Jace can’t control. Not that he wants to. But when love has slipped through your fingertips before, how can you trust it will once again remain?Will Alexa’s fear of love and loss destroy their second chance at a beautiful future before it can even begin?
Love Hurts
Mandi Beck - 2015
I’m at home, in my element, inflicting pain onto men trained to hurt me just as badly. Making them submit, knocking them out, maiming them, because it’s them or me. And I choose them. Outside the Octagon, my only weakness is a five-foot-two, classy as fuck woman that I’ve loved for most of my life. She’s the one that brings me to my knees, fills my arms, my heart, and one day soon, my bed. She makes me reckless. Volatile. I drink too much and try too hard to fuck my way out of feeling—all because of her.Frankie De Rosa is my girl, my best friend. I haven’t earned her yet, but I won’t stand by and let anyone take her from me. She will be the greatest fight of my life, but she’s worth the battle. Love hurts, but anything worth having does, right?
I’m Deacon “The Hitman” Love — Welcome to the Cage.
Spiral
Mila Ferrera - 2013
Despite the urging of her mother and her academic advisor to get a life and have some fun, “all work and no play” sums up her plan to survive her grueling internship year at a children's hospital. She doesn't want to end up like her father, whose constant ups and downs broke her family, and avoiding unnecessary emotional entanglements is a must.Then she (literally) runs into Dr. Aron Lindstrom in the middle of her disastrous first day on the job. The attraction is instant—and terrifying. Nessa knows she should stay away—especially when she finds out he has a reputation for being a player—but Aron is brilliant, intense, and as sexy as they come. When he challenges her to take a chance on him, her plans to stay focused on work start to crumble.But what begins as passion takes on a dangerous edge, becoming an emotional roller coaster that’s frighteningly familiar. As things spiral out of control, Nessa must decide whether she should hold on for the ride or run … even if it means leaving her heart behind.
If I Break
Portia Moore - 2014
And for the first time in my life, a little trouble was just what I needed.No. What I wanted.It wasn’t like I’d ever marry the guy.Until I did.What I thought would be my happily ever after, was only the beginning. Cal has a secret. One that makes loving him come with a price, and being his wife cost more than I bargained for.