Book picks similar to
The Boy by Rayne Havok
horror
dark
short
standalone
Doll House
John Hunt - 2017
She will be on her own, in a new place hopeful to meet new friends. On the night she moves in, she is taken off the street by two masked men. She is placed in a room which is little more than a cell. A pink cell. A room made for a doll. She is now part of their collection.
First Semester
Q.B. Tyler - 2018
He definitely wasn’t supposed to walk into class Monday morning on my first day of college. He wasn’t supposed to be my teacher. He did things to my body that no man had ever done before. Things I wanted him to do again And again. And again. But the man I had in my bed two days ago was now off limits. He was my teacher. I was his student. I couldn’t have him... I wanted him anyway. First Semester is a 50,000 word standalone novel and the first in The Campus Tales series.
The Grownup
Gillian Flynn - 2014
On a rainy April morning, she is reading auras at Spiritual Palms when Susan Burke walks in. A keen observer of human behavior, our unnamed narrator immediately diagnoses beautiful, rich Susan as an unhappy woman eager to give her lovely life a drama injection. However, when the "psychic" visits the eerie Victorian home that has been the source of Susan's terror and grief, she realizes she may not have to pretend to believe in ghosts anymore. Miles, Susan's teenage stepson, doesn't help matters with his disturbing manner and grisly imagination. The three are soon locked in a chilling battle to discover where the evil truly lurks and what, if anything, can be done to escape it.“The Grownup,” originally appeared as “What Do You Do?” in George R. R. Martin’s Rogues anthology.
Arranged
Vanessa Waltz - 2019
She had him first. Alessio Salvatore. Charming, gorgeous, and completely off-limits. I watched him propose and counted myself lucky when my sister said "yes" to the notorious gangster. I have plans for my life. None of them involve sleeping with the enemy, even if it's to broker peace between our families. But when my sister mysteriously dies, my life turns upside-down. I'm now the heir of my father's assets, and without an arranged marriage, our families are on the brink of war. Until my father gives Alessio an offer he can't refuse. Me. -------- ALESSIO I need Mia to understand three things: 1. We are getting married in a month. 2. I demand loyalty. 3. I want kids. Now. I was meant to walk her sister down the aisle. A relationship with Mia would've been unforgivable. She was persona-non-grata forever until her old man gave me her hand in marriage. How could I say no? But wrangling the boss' daughter is more trouble than I thought. When she's not fighting her feelings, she's fighting me. Never mind that we have more fireworks than dynamite. Or that we're perfect together. Or that we're marrying in a few weeks. She hates me. Too bad. She'll have to get used to me. Author's note: This is a dark, mafia arranged marriage, standalone romance. A young woman desperate to leave a life of crime and violence fights her arranged marriage to her late sister's fiancé, a ruthless mob boss who demands three things from her: marriage, loyalty, and a baby. As their wedding date approaches, Mia struggles with a decision that once seemed easy--escape his control or surrender to her heart?
Stepdaddy Savage
Charleigh Rose - 2016
Read at your own risk You do not say no to Graham Savage, because Graham Savage doesn’t ask. Just like his name suggests, he takes, and right now, he believes I’m his. He is a cold, calculated, ruthless, formidable Irish mobster, and... my step-dad. Regardless of the fact that it's nothing more than a business transaction, he's technically married to my mom. Even still, I find myself scared to be caught, yet even more terrified of being cut loose. They say love is like a butterfly…well, we are about to prove to the world that it’s also like a punch in the face. Sometimes inevitable…and always painful.
Ember
Emma Slate - 2018
I am weak. Naked. Vulnerable.A lamb among wolves.My life is no longer enchanted. My life is no longer a dream.My life is a nightmare, and my only hope is a man who’s determined to fight my demons like they’re his own.Only, in the quiet of the night, I worry he isn’t my savior.He is my destruction.
The Sleep Tight Motel
Lisa Unger - 2018
Check in for the night with New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger.Eve has a fake ID, a .38, and a violent lover receding in the rearview mirror. He’ll never find her at the isolated motel, and its kindly manager is happy to ease her fears. But if Eve is the only guest, whom does she keep hearing on the other side of the wall? Eve won’t get a good night’s rest until she finds out.Lisa Unger’s The Sleep Tight Motel is part of Dark Corners, a collection of seven heart-stopping short stories by bestselling authors who give you so many new reasons to be afraid. Each story can be read in a single sitting. Or, if you have the nerve, you can listen all by yourself in the dark.
Heaven
Darcy Rose - 2021
All I wanted to do was show him I’m not a little girl anymore. I didn’t know that would be the worst decision of my life.***Heaven is a short novella giving you the first glimpse into Purgatory, an exclusive club where either your wildest dreams come true or your worst nightmares swallow you whole.***
Preacher Man
Jessa Kane - 2019
My mother has always told me so. There’s an awful fever inside me. It builds, growing worse every time I attend church on Sundays and hear the deep, commanding voice of the handsome, mysterious town preacher. The way he watches me makes me shiver. Only he can put out this fire inside me. So if I’m as much of a temptation as my mother claims, it’s time to find out if she’s right. My baptism is next week. I’ll be touched by the preacher for the first time. Little do I know, once he touches me, he’ll refuse to let go…
Wicked Little Words
Stevie J. Cole - 2016
And they do. Every last blood-stained sentence, they've read and praised me for. They love the gore and violence, the realness. And I get a sense of power with it all because I know a secret: the victims in my books—they’re real and have all died on my table. And maybe that’s why the last book had such awful reviews. Murder is, after all, a dirty little thing. Some can stomach it. Others can’t. My answer to those reviews: find a woman to co-author with. To be the next pathetic character in my book. Pity she’s so pretty. Miranda Cross All I’ve ever wanted was to be successful as a writer so when I was offered the opportunity to co-author a book with my idol, EA Mercer, I jumped at the chance. He’s beautiful and a literary genius, but something about him makes my stomach knot. And maybe it’s my overactive imagination making my hairs stand on end when he walks up behind me. After all, these wicked little words we’re typing are only fiction. They’re only fiction…
The Tainted Souls
Shaun Hutson - 2020
A virus has seemingly come from no where, bringing with it a number of conspiracy theories as to its origin. Some of the theories are outlandish whilst some have an eerie ring of possible truth around them. But, as the world goes into lock down with people living in isolation only allowed out of their homes for essential journeys, people soon realise there are greater things to worry about than COVID-19. As the virus continues to get a grip of the world, mankind reveals the many monsters within.
A Fist of Permutations in Lightning and Wildflowers
Alyssa Wong - 2016
Weather workers. Time benders. When two people so determined have opposing desires, it's hard to say who will win - or even what victory might look like. This stunning, haunting short story from rising star Alyssa Wong explores the depth and fierceness of love and the trauma of family.
Fear: a Terrifying Love Story
Kathryn Ann Kingsley - 2020
And now I know it loves me back.My whole life has been defined by fear. It’s what’s driven everything I’ve ever done. It’s why I’m a firefighter. It’s why I sneak into abandoned buildings. It’s why I drive a motorcycle way too fast. Some people might call me reckless, but when I find myself on the edge of disaster, heart pumping, filled with terror, that’s the only time I feel like I’m alive.What’s the old saying? There is nothing to fear but Fear itself.One night…Fear proved to me how true that is.And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Warm Up
V.E. Schwab - 2013
His wife moved out, taking his son with her, and a devastated David hasn’t left his house since, terrified of the mysterious new power that followed him home from the ill-fated expedition.After months in seclusion, David’s ready for a fresh start, and ventures out, determined to keep his power in check. But David’s power isn’t the one he needs to worry about.
The Naughty List
Ellie Mae MacGregor - 2020
Kate isn’t sure if Nikolai is the real deal, but this silver fox with big hands and thick thighs might just make her believe in Christmas miracles.See if Kate has been naughty or nice in this light, fun, and steamy 15,000 word holiday romance with a guaranteed HEA.“I devoured this… It’s like a cup of cocoa, but if the tiny marshmallows were shaped like Santa boners” –Sierra Simone