Book picks similar to
Glass Houses by Brian W. Smith


5-stars
aa
contemporary-fiction
crime-suspense

Your Man Chose Me


Racquel Williams - 2015
    Tiana Caldwell is not falling for that foolery. She lives by the code that if your man wanted you, he would not stray. She doesn't care if the man she is in love with turns out to be her best friend's man.Ayana Beasley has it all wrong. She thinks that good sex and babies will help her hold on to the man she loves. That is, until she realizes that he is in love with another woman. Broken and hurt, Ayana turns to the one person she thinks she can trust: her best sister-friend, Tiana Caldwell.Watch the drama unfold between these two women who share the same bed, share clothes, and eat out of the same pot, as they compete for one man. It's winner takes all, and these ladies are playing for keeps. How will it end? Will they throw away their friendship over a man, or will they both walk away from him?"

ENSLAVED, ENRAPTURED & ENTWINED: THE COMPLETE DEVIL & DOVE SERIES (TRILOGY): A BILLIONAIRE DARK ROMANCE SERIES


Jax Hart - 2018
    But I have a much more pleasurable position in mind for her. Several in fact. Her wide-set doe eyes and that sexy AF gap between her two front teeth have me picturing the many ways I'd like to introduce her to my world of dark pleasure.They call me "El Diablo" and Jessie Montgomery is about to find out exactly why. I stop at nothing to get what I want. No price is too high... no boundaries bind me. In my world, there are no safe words and nowhere to run where I won't capture little birds trying to flee their masters.ENRAPTUREDI'm lost.No longer the golden girl from California seeking adventure. He pulled me into his dark underworld. I might have escaped, but he still has me enslaved, craving his dark, devilish touch and the pleasures of the lifestyle he introduced me to.But he broke more than my boundaries.He broke me.I hate him... loathe him... can't stop dreaming about my master-- half wishing he'd find me and punish me like only he can. ChristosMy little dove ran.But I will find her. No one escapes EL DIABLO. And when I do find my little dove, she will learn just how far I'll go to keep her forever.ENTWINEDThe story to their bad romance has been written. Will they soar off into the stars or crash and burn into the ground?She changed me.I'm no longer a dark, broken man but the sins of my past haunt me.I destroyed lives while breaking countless woman who thought they could reach my black heart.They all failed.All but one.HER.But I'm not a man worthy of my dove. Not yet anyway. But I vow I will be someday. I hope she'll still fly for me then.JessieFreedom.It's all I've ever wanted.I know we can fly together.He left me, a broken shell of who I was. But who I am now is perhaps who-- I was always destined to be. I see that clearly. I know deep in my heart--Christos and I belong together forever. His handsome face is on the cover of every magazine. The internet is full of pictures of him giving his millions away to countless children's charities. My dark one is now the golden one, and I won't let him leave me behind.He won't shine for anyone but me.I gave him light.I deserve his bright future.But first I need to prove to him just how strong I've become. Together we can rule the world, chart our own course and soar higher than the stars.

Mama Raised Me, Her Demons Changed Me


Denora M. Boone - 2017
     Although he didn’t know it, Kiondre Andrews was in a battle that wasn’t caused by the choices that he had made. Incarcerated at the young age of fifteen for taking the life of another, he fought daily with the life that had been chosen for him by his mother. A life that no child should ever face and one that he didn’t wish on his worst enemy. Even still there was that mustard seed of faith that he held on to. Because of that faith, he was granted early release back into a society that he wondered if it would accept him knowing the lifestyle he used to live. But when one devastating secret comes out he feels that it’s only a matter of time before he returns to the cold cell that had become his home. Tayler Crenshaw, a divorced single mother of a fifteen-year-old daughter has had her share of trials and tests of faith. Losing her unborn child after finding her husband cheating, she consumed herself with work, her daughter, and keeping her mother and uncle from killing one another. She didn’t have time for a man nor was she looking for one. Her logic changes drastically when she ends up meeting Kiondre and all of her caution is thrown to the wind. He has her feeling things that her husband never made her feel and she wasn’t sure that she wanted him to stop. Has she finally found a true love or will his past hinder them from sharing something meaningful? Secrets so dark, one would begin to question if God was indeed real. How could He allow so much pain to come to the innocent yet the ones causing the pain walk around unbothered? Kiondre and Tayler learn lessons through unimaginable circumstances as they do their best to come to grips with it all. Will the demons of others change them for the worse or were they used just as another tool by the good Lord Himself?

Regret the Day I Said Yes: Too Late For Sorry


Regina Swanson - 2016
     That thing called LOVE can turn your entire world upside down and knock you on your ass in the blink of an eye. Alan has done the unthinkable and just might have burned any chance of reconciliation with his wife after leaving her stranded and flown home with his mistress. Regret the Day I Said Yes: Too Late For Sorry is a story about a group of couples who think they have found the answer to having a happy lifelong marriage. Bailee & York and Tiffany & Damon have been secretly swinging for years. As they see their friends' marriages on the brink of disaster they encourage them to give it a try to spice things up. While it all seems logical at first, time later reveals that every choice has a consequence; Good or bad, their actions can come back to haunt them. Can these marriages be saved? Can these friendships be rebuilt? Have you ever regretted the day you said yes? Sometimes it's too late for sorry.

Kenneth: A tale of fate, hate, and far too much wine


Keith A. Pearson - 2019
    Who is the mysterious man in the brown suit? What does he want from her? Is there any wine in the fridge?As her life descends into chaos, Kelly’s questions lead her along a twisting path towards the truth — a truth she could never have imagined.

Everything I do..


Suvika - 2015
    A boy. A heir. To carry the family name and the company forward into the future. Instead I got you! Two daughters. Fit for nothing except to marry someone and walk away.”Kajal Rathore had walked out of her home and her father after that confrontation, making a life and living it on her own terms. Away from the archaic chauvinism that made her father reject her because she was not the son he wanted. Now her father’s flailing health has brought her back to her home. And to the company that had been in her family for generations. Once Kajal had had a dream of becoming a part of that company and now fates were handing over that dream. But to claim it, she will have to confront the father who denies her, the mother who never stood up for her, the sister who needs her and the man who wants her. “I want you to marry Kajal. I don’t..I can’t trust her with Rathore Industries. But I don’t have a choice. But if you are beside her, I would never have to worry. Marry her and the company would be yours.”Arjun Shekhawat was deeply indebted to his boss. The man who had been his godfather and his mentor. Refusing him was not on cards. Even when it was something as personal as marriage. After all, it was a win-win situation. But keeping the promise meant getting close to his boss’s daughter. Close enough to win her trust, to appreciate the person that she was and the secrets that surrounded her. Close enough to fall in love with her. And to realize that he had unwittingly agreed to become the weapon that would one day be used against her.

Pines (Digital Sample) (The Wayward Pines #1)


Blake Crouch - 2015
    Night Shyamalan, starring Matt Dillon and premiering May 14th on FOX. Secret service agent Ethan Burke arrives in Wayward Pines, Idaho, with a clear mission: locate and recover two federal agents who went missing in the bucolic town one month earlier. But within minutes of his arrival, Ethan is involved in a violent accident. He comes to in a hospital, with no ID, no cell phone, and no briefcase. The medical staff seems friendly enough, but something feels…off. As the days pass, Ethan’s investigation into the disappearance of his colleagues turns up more questions than answers. Why can’t he get any phone calls through to his wife and son in the outside world? Why doesn’t anyone believe he is who he says he is? And what is the purpose of the electrified fences surrounding the town? Are they meant to keep the residents in? Or something else out? Each step closer to the truth takes Ethan further from the world he thought he knew, from the man he thought he was, until he must face a horrifying fact—he may never get out of Wayward Pines alive. 2013 International Thriller Award Nominee

Seven Perfect Things


Catherine Ryan Hyde - 2021
    One day Abby witnesses a man dump a litter of puppies into the nearby river. Diving in to rescue all seven, she knows she won’t be able to bring them home. Afraid for their fate at the pound, she takes them to an abandoned cabin, where all she can offer is a promise that she’ll be back the next day.To grieving widower Elliot Colvin, life has lost meaning. Looking for solace, he retreats to the hunting cabin he last visited years ago, before his wife’s illness. What he discovers is not at all what he expected: seven puppies and one determined girl with an indomitable heart.As Abby and Elliot’s friendship deepens, Abby imagines how much better her life—and the puppies’ lives—would be if her mother were married to Elliot instead of her father. But when Abby’s father moves the family hundreds of miles away, Abby and her mother must decide how long they’re willing to defer happiness.Seven Perfect Things is a story about joy, where to find it, how to know it when you see it, and the courage it takes to hang on to it once you have it.

The Closing Bid


Elle Wright - 2019
    When she requests his presence at her neighborhood bachelor auction, he agrees—under one condition. His participation must be kept under wraps. He may be one of the best “closers” in the league, but the last thing he needs is a media circus. Unfortunately, the persistent woman who wins his company is a reporter. She stands for everything he tries to avoid, but their instant connection and her undeniable beauty are slowly breaking through his exterior whether he likes it or not. One night, one goal. That’s all sports journalist Ashton Joy (A.J.) Cook needs to land the exclusive interview of her dreams. She’s worked overtime to earn respect and interviewing the mysterious baseball player is an opportunity too delicious to pass up. Using her sly reporter skills, A.J. arranges the auction’s winning bid for Christian. Yet, the man behind the legend is infuriating in more ways than one. Their explosive chemistry is giving her whiplash and soon, A.J. must decide between doing what’s best for her career or following what she feels in her heart.

The Theory of Opposites


Allison Winn Scotch - 2013
    Millions of devoted fans now find solace in his notion that everything happens for a reason. Though Willa isn’t entirely convinced of her father’s theories, she readily admits that the universe has delivered her a solid life: a reliable husband, a fast-paced career. Sure there are hiccups – negative pregnancy tests, embattled siblings - but this is what the universe has brought, and life, if she doesn’t think about it too much, is wonderful. Then her (evidently not-so-reliable) husband proposes this: A two-month break. Two months to see if they can't live their lives without each other. And before Willa can sort out destiny and fate and what it all means, she’s axed from her job, her 12 year-old nephew Nicky moves in, her ex-boyfriend finds her on Facebook, and her best friend Vanessa lands a gig writing for Dare You!, the hottest new reality TV show. And then Vanessa lures Willa into dares of her own - dares that run counter to her father’s theories of fate, dares that might change everything…but only if Willa is brave enough to stop listening to the universe and instead aim for the stars.

Life and Other Near-Death Experiences


Camille Pagán - 2015
    Despite her new sunny locale, her plans go awry when she finds that she can’t quite outrun the past or bring herself to face an unknowable future. Every day of tropical bliss may be an invitation to disaster, but with her twin brother on her trail and a new relationship on the horizon, Libby is determined to forget about fate. Will she risk it all to live—and love—a little longer?From critically acclaimed author Camille Pagán comes a hilarious and hopeful story about a woman choosing between a “perfect” life and actually living.

Rapture 3


Perri Forrest - 2016
    It holds especially true when you’re Rush Cambridge. The story is back and with something of a vengeance. In RAPTURE, new couple Alika and Rush were brought together under severe circumstances. Alika literally crashed into Rush’s life and created a need that he didn’t realize existed until she was there to awaken it. By RAPTURE 2, the couple had already been faced with the first of many obstacles: Rush’s father was murdered, his mother’s return after years of absence, and the arrival of a daughter that Rush never knew existed. RAPTURE 3 promises to keep the momentum going. Rush wrote off his sister, Jamie, when he realized that she knew about his daughter. Will they mend their relationship? Or will they remain siblings in name, only? What will happen when tragedy strikes and the traumatic event touches several of the lives that Rush holds dear? And what about Siobhan, Rush’s mother, who was being sought for his father’s murder? Somebody doesn’t want to let it go, and wants to make sure that Siobhan pays for her crime. It’s just too much, isn’t it? Well, it’s happening all while Rush and Alika await the birth of their first child. We know this couple can overcome just about anything, but will it still hold true in the end?

We Are All Made of Stars


Rowan Coleman - 2015
    Married to a war veteran who has returned from Afghanistan brutally injured, Stella leaves the house each night as her husband Vincent, locks himself away, unable to sleep due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.During her nights at the hospice, Stella writes letters for her patients containing their final wishes, thoughts and feelings – from how to use a washing machine, to advice on how to be a good parent – and usually she delivers each letter to the recipient after he or she has died.That is until Stella writes one letter that she feels compelled to deliver in time to give her patient one final chance of redemption…

Eliza Starts a Rumor


Jane L. Rosen - 2020
    It wasn't supposed to happen this way. When Eliza Hunt created The Hudson Valley Ladies' Bulletin Board fifteen years ago she was happily entrenched in her picture-perfect suburban life with her husband and twin preschoolers. Now, with an empty nest and a crippling case of agoraphobia, the once-fun hobby has become her lifeline. So when a rival parenting forum threatens the site's existence, she doesn't think twice before fabricating a salacious rumor to spark things up a bit.It doesn't take long before that spark becomes a flame.Across town, new mom and site devotee Olivia York is thrown into a tailspin by what she reads on the Bulletin Board. Allison Le is making cyber friends with a woman who isn't quite who she says she is. And Amanda Cole, Eliza's childhood friend, may just hold the key to unearthing why Eliza can't step out of her front door.In all this chaos, one thing is for sure...Hudson Valley will never be the same.Funny, romantic, raw, and hopeful, this is a story about being a woman and of the healing power of sisterhood.

My Heart Is Your Secret


Chelsea Maria - 2020
    With each passing day that went by without touching her… kissing her… I became more ill.Atlas fell in love with me when he thought it was impossible… I fell in love with him knowing it was guaranteed.I wanted Keatyn to be so in love with me that I became a second pair of skin to her. So engraved in her that she was unable to breathe unless I exhaled first… But I had secrets. And she had silent insecurities. With everything combined, we were a disaster waiting to explode…