Book picks similar to
Toxic Secrets by Jill Patten


new-adult
romance
freebies
young-adult

Sweetness


Lindsay Paige - 2011
    But after moving to a new town with her dad, a charming boy makes it impossible for her to disappear. Despite her feelings of unworthiness, Emily soon finds herself drawn to the safety of Jake's world. Good looking and the star of the hockey team, Jake has a lot going for him. What most people don't see is the difficult life he has at home. When quiet Emily steals his heart, Jake vows to help her discover she is worthy of love. Just when the two of them realize the sweetness of their relationship, they are put to the test. Only together can they overcome their haunted pasts to fight for a future together

Slow Burn


V.J. Chambers - 2013
    She’d rather snort lines than think about that. She’d rather do shots of marshmallow-flavored vodka until she can’t remember.When Griffin Fawkes arrives with the news that her father’s dead, she isn’t sure if she cares. He wasn’t much of a father anyway. The only silver lining here is that Griffin’s jaw-droppingly gorgeous, and Leigh wants him bad.Griffin owes his life to Leigh's father. The man begged him to keep his daughter safe. But Griffin didn't expect a cocaine-fueled party girl who barely seems to care about her own safety. It seems like she'd rather destroy herself than anything else.Even worse, he didn't expect he'd care about her. He knows he's too damaged to ever really be with a woman. The best he can do is to make sure she’s safe from whoever could hurt her. Including herself. Including himself.Of course, fighting off men with guns is starting to seem easier than keeping his hands off Leigh.

Crossing


Stacey Wallace - 2013
    Being a Plain Jane with a mouth on her hasn’t exactly served Dani well in the guy department. In fact, she’s had nothing but one night stands. Still, she lets go of her insecurities and falls for Liam, despite feeling like he’s holding something back.When Dani finally discovers Liam’s secret, she must learn the true meaning of accepting the ones we love for who they are, or risk losing the best thing that’s ever happened to her.

Tab Bennett and the Inbetween


Jes Young - 2012
    Her job as a bank teller is safe and secure, her grandfather finally let her move out of the house (at least to the cottage at the end of the driveway), and her fiance fiercely guards her chastity, whether she wants him to or not. It's something of a shock, then, when Tab learns that she is the elvish queen of the fabled kingdom of the Inbetween. Also shocking is the appearance of the staggeringly confident and gorgeous elvish warrior who claims to be Tab's true betrothed. Even amidst a steamy love triangle, Tab must tell friend from foe in an unknown world of danger, deceit, magic, and sex.The first in the Underneath and Inbetween trilogy, The Uncovering sparkles with wit and unadulterated fun.

The Institute


Kayla Howarth - 2015
    Always looking over your shoulder. The source of your fear? The Institute.Allira Daniels will do anything to keep her Defective brother safe from the Institute. They claim to protect Defectives, but it’s human nature to fear the unknown. Defectives are dangerous, they possess abilities that no human should be able to. To Allira and the rest of her family, the Institute seems more like a prison than the safe-haven they promote themselves to be. Protecting Shilah from that fate is their number one priority.When Allira stumbles across a car crash involving two of her school classmates, she ignores all of her father’s warnings of laying low and not drawing attention to herself. By doing so, she may have just caught the eye of the Institute. She’s not Defective, but what seventeen-year-old girl has the ability to pull two teenage boys away from a fiery rubble and walk away without a scratch? It would definitely be seen as suspicious.Allira and her family need to make decisions. Do they stay, or do they flee again? Will they be coming for her? Will her whole family come under investigation? Will they discover Shilah and his ability to predict the future?Are you Defective? The Institute is coming for you.

Before


Nicola Marsh - 2013
    Unless Mom’s the town joke and I’ve spent my entire life shying away from her flamboyance. College in Las Vegas should be so much cooler. But it’s not. Bad things happen. Real bad.So when my brother Reid offers me an all-expenses paid vacation to Australia for a month, I am so there. Discounting the deadly snakes on the outback cattle station, I should be safe. Until I meet Jack.Jack defines bad boy and then some. He’s big, buffed, bronzed, and hotter than any guy I’ve ever met. His sexy Aussie accent makes me melt. And the guy can cook.But he’s my brother’s new bestie and he lives on the other side of the world. There’s no future for us.Is there?

Electrified


Rachel Blaufeld - 2014
    Her curves and long lashes tease and taunt from her very own billboard where the desert meets the Las Vegas Strip. She’s the hottest stripper in town, known for her sultry and indecent moves coupled with her virginal eyes. She’s a heady and unique combination, and a mystery to all who come to see her. Sienna captivates crowds nightly at the Electric Tunnel, leaving them wanting to know more about the sensual enigma. But no one ever sees beyond the heavily guarded stripper onstage. She is Sienna Flower 24/7. No one other than her closest friend and boss, Asher Peterson, who helped turn a young and frightened girl into who Sienna is today. Together they created the sexual illusion known as Sienna Flower. They will go to any lengths to protect her image, which is why Sienna is convinced she must remain unattached and alone. Like everyone else in Vegas, Sienna is hiding something and playing a role. A good girl in her former life, she was raised to be obedient and accepting of her fate, but there are some circumstances no one should be expected to accept. She escaped to a world light years away from the one she was subjected to…the Electric Tunnel. Now she can never be anything other than Sienna Flower. Not only would she be hurt, but everyone around her would suffer the consequences. That is, until she meets private detective Carson Graham, the dark and mysterious ex-FBI agent who watches her dance every weekend. With his dark hair and chocolate-brown eyes, Carson begins to heat Sienna’s heart and body, melting away the layers and secrets. Sienna doesn’t want to get attached to Carson, but when another man surfaces and starts hunting her down, bringing out the scars of her old life, she can’t help but seek comfort in Carson’s protection. With everyone trading on the secrets of her past, Sienna finds herself caught in an awful web of lies. Her ultimate fear is hurting her friends at the Tunnel, but she doesn’t know who to trust. Namely, Carson. Is he good? Or bad? Does she have the luxury of finding out?

Never Forget


Emma Hart - 2013
    That is, until she reconnects with her childhood friend, Jen, and meets Alec Johnson.Alec is the kind of guy Lexy knows she needs to stay away from. He's the village flirt, ridiculously hot and very dangerous to her self control. But there's a problem – she can't seem to keep him out, even though she knows he'll break her heart.As Alec slowly strips away Lexy's defences and the two embark on a summer romance she never wanted, their feelings grow to more than either expected. But nothing lasts forever, and reality intrudes.As her world is shaken to it's core, Lexy's self made prediction comes true when she discovers she's spent six weeks surrounded by secrets. Kept out by her family and the only guy she's ever trusted, she falls apart.And when Grammy tells her that 'you might not end up where you wanted to be, but you'll always end up where you're meant to be,' she has to figure out if her meant to be is back home in London, or if it's been in Devon the whole time.

Shattered and Shaken


Julie Bailes - 2013
    She's lost her father to cancer, her brother to war, and the love of her life-Wyatt, took her most prized possession and vanished without notice. Wyatt once held Allie's heart in the palm of his hand-he crushed it.Blake, Allie's best friend turned lover is everything she needs; he'd give her the moon if she asked for it, but there's one problem-he wants Allie entirely.How can Allie give herself to Blake when she's not sure there's a her to give away? Allie's heart is like a puzzle that's unfinished and missing pieces-it's impossible to put together.After being MIA the last four years, Wyatt returns home. Allie's forced to make a decision on who she wants or who she believes she needs. No matter who she chooses someone will be devastated.Allie's life begins to fall into place, her heart begins to heal, and happy is no longer a foreign emotion-until she's betrayed by the two people she trusted most.Her heart's left shattered into a million pieces, how much pain can one person tolerate? Is her heart permanently damaged? Hearts are like broken glass; you can put it back together again, but it will never be the same.

Dissident


Cecilia London - 2015
    After losing her husband, she is raising two small children alone while trying to navigate the tricky and sometimes shallow halls on Capitol Hill. A string of nasty speeches has her scrambling to apologize to any number of candidates, including newly elected Republican Jack McIntyre. Falling in love again is the last thing on her mind.Jack McIntyre might have a reputation as a playboy, but he has his sights set solely on his new colleague. Can he break through Caroline’s grief and capture her heart? Told mostly in flashback and set against a chilling fascist backdrop, Dissident is a rollercoaster ride of political intrigue, passionate contemporary romance, and undying love. For readers 18+. Ends in a cliffhanger. The first part in a six book saga.

Noah


Elizabeth Reyes - 2012
    After disconnecting with the world two years ago to be at the side of her dying mother, she’s left alone, unemployed, overweight, and feeling a decade older than her twenty-eight years. When her best friend coaxes her into joining the local gym to ditch her depression and rejuvenate her life, she meets Noah. Assigned to help Veronica lose weight, Noah is everything she expected a young trainer to be—perfectly chiseled, supportive and motivating. Add to that, he’s incredibly sexy. He’s everything she’s ever looked for in a man. What she least expected was for him to fall for her, but he has. There's just one glaring problem: Noah is eight years younger.Noah Quintanilla has his eye on a boxing title—someday. Down for a few months with an injury, his maintenance-boy pay at 5th Street Gym won't cut it. He’s finally given the opportunity to train. The catch? His trainee is an out-of-shape woman with a free week pass. Taking on the challenge, Noah stumbles into one of the closest friendships he’s ever known, and before he knows it, he’s in love. But Veronica’s not having it—the age difference is too much. Their platonic relationship means having to watch her date other men—something that would make him crazy. Believing he's the man for her, Noah sets out to prove that age is but an illusion, and there's more to him than just a number.

Chasing Serenity


Eden Butler - 2013
    She's been abandoned and betrayed and she lost her beloved mother in a tragic car accident five months ago. That loss damaged her body and fractured her spirit but she's learning to recover, until her ex-boyfriend returns to town, intent on making her life miserable. Declan Fraser hates her ex as much as Autumn does, but the last thing she needs is to put her trust in the hands of another man, especially one like Declan: his hard body and lulling Irish accent makes more than a few girls weak-kneed. The talented rugby player is rude and sarcastic, with tattooed, muscular arms and a cocky attitude, but he's the only one who can help Autumn win an ill-advised bet that, if lost, could cost her more than she's willing to pay. The reluctant alliance between Declan and Autumn stirs up cravings she doesn't want to admit, but Declan is a hard man to resist. Just when Autumn starts letting down her carefully constructed walls to the sexy bad boy, he betrays her when she needs him most. Autumn suspects Declan has secrets, and she is determined to uncover what drove him away from her, even if that means fraternizing with the enemy. But will the truth return Declan to her arms or add to the scars on her heart?

Finding Kyler


Siobhan Davis - 2017
    After her parent’s tragic death, she’s whisked away from her home in Ireland when an unknown uncle surfaces as her new guardian.Dropped smack-dab into the All-American dream, Faye should feel grateful. Except living with her wealthy uncle, his fashion-empire-owning wife, and their seven screwed-up sons is quickly turning into a nightmare—especially when certain inappropriate feelings arise.Kyler Kennedy makes her head hurt and her heart race, but he’s her cousin.He’s off limits.And he’s not exactly welcoming—Kyler is ignorant, moody, and downright cruel at times—but Faye sees behind the mask he wears, recognizing a kindred spirit.Kyler has sworn off girls, yet Faye gets under his skin. The more he pushes her away, the more he’s drawn to her, but acting on those feelings risks a crap-ton of prejudice, and any whiff of scandal could damage the precious Kennedy brand.Concealing their feelings seems like the only choice.But when everyone has something to hide, a secret is a very dangerous thing.Will I enjoy this book?Full of scandal, dysfunctional families, teen soap-opera-style angst and drama, secrets and lies, mean girls and catfights, lust and love, book one in the unputdownable Kennedy Boys series will have you flipping the pages’ way beyond bedtime! Only suitable for readers aged seventeen and older due to mature content and language. Please note this book contains a forbidden love theme featuring first cousins and a cliff hanger. It is not a standalone read.Books in this SeriesFinding KylerLosing KylerKeeping KylerThe Irish Getaway - optional short novelKENNEDY BOYS STANDALONE NOVELSLoving Kalvin- friends-to-lovers second chance romanceSaving Brad - enemies-to-lovers romanceSeducing Kaden - second chance/forbidden romanceForgiving Keven - second chance romanceThe three Kyler books must be read together. Thereafter, every book in the series will focus on a single Kennedy boy and his love interest, and they will be standalone titles with an HEA and no cliff hanger.

The Crush


C.A. Williams - 2012
    But Grier is taken by the Queen Bee of the school, Lexie Brockett, who already has their wedding all planned out after graduation to become the wife of the star quarterback and her claws instantly come out when Wynn shows up. But Wynns not looking for a fight with the mess she just escaped from, boys are the last thing on her mind.The Crush is a new adult book with some mature themes that are more suitable for 17+.

All Grown Up


Sadie Grubor - 2013
    The day the Mackey’s moved into the house next door. The day that changed my life, as much as it was, forever. A tiny, blonde girl standing on my doorstep would be the beginning of the craziness which became my life. This girl became my best friend, my confidant and side kick. She also introduced me to the love of my life." Chloe, a computer and gaming nerd, hides behind the scenes in school and keeps to herself. Mina enters her world like a hurricane, helping her find herself and introduces her to Leo, Mina’s gorgeous older brother. Chloe instantly developed a crush, but knows he only sees her as Mina’s best friend. Or does he?Leo, graduating high school and trying to figure out what to do with his life, becomes immediately mesmerized by a gorgeous, tall brunette, dancing like she hadn’t a care in the world and laughing without restraint. Dumbfounded to find out this amazingly beautiful girl is Chloe, Mina’s best friend. He fights against his desire, determined he and Chloe cannot be together. But how long can you fight against true love?All Grown Up is a laugh out loud, heartwarming and heart breaking tale following the lives of Chloe and Leo and all of their misfit friends. Through long distance and separate paths of life, can true love prevail once you’re all grown up?