Book picks similar to
Penance and Promises by L.A. Cotton
romance
instafreebie
college
purchased-not-read
Jake Undone
Penelope Ward - 2013
When she moves to Brooklyn for nursing school, that life is turned upside down, as she develops an intense but unwanted attraction to her gorgeous roommate, who’s pierced, tattooed and just happens to be the smartest person she’s ever met.Behind Jake Green’s rough exterior and devilish smile, lies a heart of gold. He makes it his mission to change Nina’s outlook on life. When he agrees to tutor her, they forge a bet and the stakes are high as Jake forces Nina to face her demons. He just wasn’t expecting to fall hard for her in the process.What Nina doesn’t realize, is that Jake has been living his own private hell. Once he drops a bombshell, will their love survive it?Told in two parts from both Nina and Jake’s points of view, Jake Undone is a standalone story and a companion to the novel, Gemini.
A Song for Julia
Charles Sheehan-Miles - 2012
Six years later, he’s still at odds with his father, a Boston cop, and doesn’t ever speak to his mother. The only relationship that really matters is with his younger brother, but watching out for Sean can be a full-time job. The one thing Crank wants in life is to be left the hell alone to write his music and drive his band to success.Julia Thompson left a secret behind in Beijing that exploded into scandal in Washington, DC, threatening her father's career and dominating her family's life. Now, in her senior year at Harvard, she's haunted by a voice from her past and refuses to ever lose control of her emotions again, especially when it comes to a guy. When Julia and Crank meet at an anti-war protest in Washington in the fall of 2002, the connection between them is so powerful it threatens to tear everything apart.
Death & Dust (New York Crime Kings, #7)
Skyla Madi - 2018
He was tall and broad-shouldered, a man full of heat, passion, and unconditional love meant only for me. He was my perfect counterpart, my best friend, and the only spark of light in an otherwise cold, dark hell.But it was never meant to be.Together, we fought hard in a war that sought only to destroy us and the casualties are worse than I ever imagined. Because of Skull...I lost the closest thing I had to family.Because of Skull...I'll never get the chance to atone for my mistakes. Because of Skull...I was no longer Jai's kitten.
Complicate Me
M. Robinson - 2015
That one moment where you could have chosen a path that would lead you down a certain road. A different life. It was easier to pretend that we were still best friends, and that she was my girl and I was her boy. Pretending was better than knowing the truth...I. Ruined. Us.I had her. I lost her. I love her.All I did was complicate us.STANDALONE series. New Adult Contemporary Romance: Strong language and sexual content, not intended for readers under 18.
Lead Me Not
A. Meredith Walters - 2014
She knows what rock bottom looks like, and she is determined to crawl back up to the top after the sudden death of her younger sister. She blames herself for her part in the tragedy, convinced that she could have done something, anything, to help her.In her effort to gain redemption, Aubrey starts fresh at Longwood University and facilitates an addiction support group, hoping she can support someone else in the way she failed her sister. But what she doesn’t count on is an all-consuming fascination with group member Maxx Demelo, a gorgeous, blond, blue-eyed enigma who hides dark secrets behind a carefully constructed mask. He only reveals what he wants others to see. But Aubrey glimpses another Maxx hidden below the surface—a Maxx who is drowning in his own personal hell.As Aubrey and Maxx develop an attraction too intense to ignore, he pulls her into the dark underbelly of the city club scene, where she is torn by her desire to save him and an inexplicable urge to join him in his downward spiral. Worst of all, she is beginning to love everything she should run away from—a man who threatens to ignite in her a fire that could burn her alive…
The Charlotte Chronicles
Jen Frederick - 2014
Nate Jackson always viewed her as a pesky kid…until the day she got sick. The one bright spot during her illness? He realized she was all grown up. But just when she allows herself to believe that dreams can come true, Nate disappears from her life, taking her heart with him.Nate knows he lost more than his best friend when he deserted Charlotte to enlist in the Navy. He thought he was doing the right thing, sparing the girl he loves from the shame and humiliation of his actions. Nine years later, it’s time to right his wrongs. He returns home determined to win back his first love…only to find that Charlotte's moved on without him.But if there's one thing that being a Navy SEAL has taught Nate? Never give up, even when all hope seems lost. And Nate's never going to give up on Charlotte. Ever.
Billionaires on the Beach: The Anderson Brothers
Elizabeth Lennox - 2017
falling in love isn't easy for five sexy, billionaire brothers.Enjoy hot days and hotter nights on Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina with the billionaire Anderson brothers in this series of five steamy, original novellas from USA Today bestselling authors Elizabeth Lennox and Noelle Adams, as well as Leslie North, Lizabeth Scott, and Gloria Silk.All profits from Billionaires on the Beach will be donated to Breast Cancer Awareness.The Billionaire's Mistake by Elizabeth Lennox - Marie didn't have time for a romance, but when Sloan Anderson walked into her coffee shop, all of her friends decided that it was time for her to fall in love. Even her dog was in on the matchmaking! Unfortunately, no one bothered to tell her heart that Sloan Anderson was a lying, horrible, son of a...No way was she going to fall for a man who was going to foreclose on her store!Her Reluctant Billionaire by Noelle Adams - Katie has been friends with Logan Anderson for four years. He might be a smart, funny, adorable billionaire, but after her work as a divorce attorney, she's just not interested in romance. But when she pretends to be his girlfriend for one weekend at the beach, she starts to see him as far more than a friend.The Billionaire's Babysitter by Leslie North - After BASE jumping from a NYC skyscraper, billionaire Wyatt Anderson been sentenced to four weeks' house arrest in his family's beach house, but he won't be there alone. To get her dream job as a nanny for the wealthy, Laine Maguire will have to complete one last role: babysit a billionaire for a month. Shouldn't be too hard, right?Chasing the Billionaire by Lizabeth Scott - Grey couldn't believe that the gorgeous woman with the adorable...ponytail, was none other than the girl from high school - the one none of the guys noticed because she was too timid. No longer! Gemma was smokin' hot, owned a gym and...was one of the toughest women he'd ever charmed. But this time, there was more. Maybe too much more? Gemma intrigued him in ways that he wasn't sure he wanted to be intrigued.From Geek to Greek Billionaire by Gloria Silk - Olivia Moore has landed her dream job--to renovate a very special beach house. The last thing she needs is to bump into her teen crush, the geeky yet sexy Alexander Anderson. He needs her to help him with a makeover and an infusion of confidence with women, but getting closer to him means risking he finds out her secret past, which might tear them apart once again.
If You Stay
Courtney Cole - 1999
Seriously. He’s a tattooed, rock-hard bad-boy with a bad attitude to match. But he’s got his reasons. His mother died when Pax was seven, leaving a hole in his heart filled with guilt although he doesn’t understand why. What he does know is that he and his dad are left alone and with more issues than they can count. As Pax grew up, he tried to be the kid his father always wanted; the perfect golden boy, but it didn’t work. His dad couldn’t overcome his grief long enough to notice and Pax couldn’t keep up the impossible perfect façade. So he slipped far, far from it. Now, he uses drugs and women to cope with the ugliness, the black void that he doesn’t want to deal with. If he pretends that the emptiness isn’t there, then it isn’t, right? Wrong. And it’s never more apparent than when he meets Mila. Sweet, beautiful Mila Hill is the fresh air to his hardened frown, the beauty to his ugly heart. He doesn’t know how to not hurt her, but he quickly realizes that he’s got to figure it out because he needs her to breathe.When memories of his mother’s death resurface from where he’s repressed them for so long, Mila is there to catch him when the guilt starts making sense. Mila is the one…the one who can save him from his broken troubled heart; from his issues, from the emptiness. But only if he can stop being an asshole long enough to allow it. He knows that. And he’s working on it. But is that enough to make her stay?
Hunter's Baby
Alexis Abbott - 2018
I can’t forget the youthful squeals of pleasure as she panted out my name. I can’t forget how she made me feel like a hero instead of dangerous man.My sweet, innocent Blossom.Then she was taken from me.Anger fuelled me, and I became even more deadly.Years have passed, and I’ve moved on with my work.Keeping the world safer by killing those who seek to harm the innocent.A vigilante.But instead of finding her, she’s found me.And with her comes a child with my blood pumping through her veins.Just one more deadly game. Then she’ll be mine.Then we’ll be a family.This novel is a full length romantic suspense novel with no cliffhangers. Explicit language. Safe from cheating.
Breaking Nova
Jessica Sorensen - 2013
But all of that was taken away in an instant. Now she's getting by as best she can, though sometimes that means doing things the old Nova would never do. Things that are slowly eating away at her spirit. Every day blends into the next . . . until she meets Quinton Carter. His intense, honey brown eyes instantly draw her in, and he looks just about as broken as she feels inside.Quinton once got a second chance at life-but he doesn't want it. The tattoos on his chest are a constant reminder of what he's done, what he's lost. He's sworn to never allow happiness into his life . . . but then beautiful, sweet Nova makes him smile. He knows he's too damaged to get close to her, yet she's the only one who can make him feel alive again. Quinton will have to decide: does he deserve to start over? Or should he pay for his past forever?
Almost
Anne Eliot - 2012
Very nearly. Not quite. Three years later, Jess has managed to make everyone believe she's better. Over it. Because she is....Almost. Very nearly. Not quite.Unfortunately, until Jess proves she's back to normal activities, her parents won't discuss college. So, she lands a summer internship and strikes a deal with hockey jock, Gray Porter: He gets $8,000. She gets a fake boyfriend and a social life. Jess has no idea Gray signed on for reasons other than money. She also never expects to fall in love. But Gray’s amazingly hot, holds her hand all the time, and makes her forget that he’s simply doing his job. It’s like having a real boyfriend....Almost. Very nearly. Not quite.Gray Porter is hiding secrets of his own. About Jess Jordan. About why he’s driven to protect her, why he won't cash her checks, or deny her anything she asks.
Crow's Row
Julie Hockley - 2011
Just completing her freshman year at Callister University, Emily faces a quiet summer in the city slums, supporting herself by working at the campus library. During one of her jogs through the nearby cemetery while visiting her brother Bill's grave, Emily witnesses a brutal killing-and then she blacks out. When Emily regains consciousness, she realizes she's been kidnapped by a young crime boss and his gang. She is hurled into a secret underworld, wondering why she is still alive and for how long.Held captive in rural Vermont, she tries to make sense of her situation and what it means. While uncovering secrets about her brother and his untimely death, Emily falls in love with her very rich and very dangerous captor, twenty-six year-old Cameron. She understands it's a forbidden love and one that won't allow her to return to her previous life. But love may not be enough to save Emily when no one even knows she is missing.
The Impact of You
Kendall Ryan - 2013
Keeping a low profile was the plan, falling for the intense frat boy, Jase wasn't. Yet she can't deny how alive she feels when he's near. Even as common sense implores her to stay away, her body begs her to get closer.Jase, numb from his own family drama, has grown bored with weekends fueled by nameless girls and countless bottles when he meets Avery. Helping her cope with her past is better than dealing with the bullshit his own life's served up. Determined to drive away the painful secret she's guarding, he appoints himself her life coach, and challenges her to new experiences. Getting close to her and being the one to make her smile are simply perks of the job.But when Avery's past boldly saunters in, refusing to be forgotten, can Jase live with the truth about the girl he's fallen for?Recommended for 17+ due to mature themes and sexual content.
Next to Me
Allie Everhart - 2016
A year later, and struggling to move on, she keeps to herself and wants to be left alone. So she’s not too happy when her new neighbor keeps knocking on her door.Nash Wheeler, a 25-year-old construction worker from Chicago, inherited the house next to Callie’s and is living there while he renovates it. Outgoing, confident, and never one to back down from a challenge, Nash sets out to get to know his new neighbor, inviting her over for dinner and offering to fix things around her house.As much as his persistence annoys her, Callie finds herself attracted to the tall, muscular guy next door. And the more time she spends with him, the more she realizes how much they have in common. Like Callie, Nash has experienced loss, but when he opens up to her about it, she’s not willing to do the same. It’s too personal. Nash is just her neighbor. Just some guy living there for the summer. But is that really all he is? Or is he the one person who can finally help her move on?
Falling for the Bad Boy
Emma Tharp - 2020
Cam, the newest bad boy, lifeguard on the Cape, seems to fit the bill. Too bad his goal is very different than hers. He’s looking for revenge. Jenna Hutchins’ life has been easy breezy. Except, going to an all girls’ high school has prevented her from meeting a guy she’d like to lose her virginity to. And who wants to go to college a virgin? Certainly not her. That’s why Jenna’s mission this summer is to have sex. And not just with any guy. No. She wants a bad boy.Cam Larsen’s family used to have money and affluence. When his father died suddenly, his business partner, Jason Hutchins, screwed his family over. They lost everything. Now Cam’s only goal is to make Jason pay. When Jenna, Jason’s daughter, shows interest in Cam, he doesn’t want to get close. He doesn’t want to hurt her because her father is a greedy, malicious bastard, but he will if he has to. Not only are the days heating up, but so are things between Jenna and Cam. Will they both get what they want this summer, or will the price of revenge be so high that they both will have to pay? The cost, their hearts.