Book picks similar to
Damaged Elite (The Darlington Elite, #2) by Waverly Alexander
august
1
college
not-interested
Lawless Kingdom
Natalie Bennett - 2020
Judas Barron, for example. Wicked blue blood and heir to a severely twisted cutthroat society. Everyone knew who he was and what crew he ran with—a clandestine group of filthy rich kids surrounded by ominous secrets. Secrets that were rumored to be dark, dirty, and stained with blood. It was never my intention to get tangled up with them, but Judas and I had a secret too, one he was determined to make sure I took with me to my grave, which meant keeping me by his side. Now forced to be part of a savage coterie, I start to see his world through a new pair of eyes. It isn’t long before temptation becomes something dangerous and wild, breeding the sickest kind of infatuation. And those secrets Judas keeps? They’re about to tear my life apart. **WARNING** Before beginning this series please be aware that while LK is mild in terms of darkness, the following books in this series will be on a drastically different level, containing graphic violence, total power-control, explicit sexual content, and varying triggers. LK is a percursor that sets the stage for the rest of the series. 18+ only.
Last Call
Michele G. Miller - 2013
A bevy of blind dates. An Australian bartender. And a stalker. Finding a wedding date has never been so complicated.When college senior, Savannah Guthry receives an invitation to her cousin’s wedding back home in Charleston, South Carolina, her first thoughts aren’t of flowers and dresses. Instead, she's reminded of the groom: her first love.Determined to show up and dazzle not only her ex but her spoiled cousin too, Savannah allows her friends to set her up on a series of humorous blind dates looking for Mr. Right.Enter Gage, an Australian bartender with a front row seat to Savannah’s dating woes. As the wedding draws near and prospects run low, Savannah realizes that sometimes you find love in unexpected places. And sometimes you find more than you bargained for.
Secret Puck
Rebecca Jenshak - 2020
In my defense, the first time I saw her I didn't know who she was.Kind, gorgeous, a little naïve. Ginny brightened my world from day one.I knew I was no good for her. She was just out of a relationship and I had a reputation for having a new girl in my bed every weekend. I tried to do the right thing. Honest.I'm the one who insisted we should be just friends. That lasted about as long as you'd expect.But Ginny? She's the best - best friend, best everything. So yeah, hooking up with the team captain's sister wasn't a great idea.Would I do it again?In a heartbeat.The first book in a new college hockey romance series.
Heart Stopper
Michelle Hercules - 2020
He’s also the bane of my existence.Our meet-cute wasn’t exactly cute. He called me a nerd, and I accused him of slacking off on the field. Now, we have to live together. I’m supposed to try to play nice to keep a roof over my head. Not in my nature. Our arrangement could be a living hell, but slowly, I realize the worst thing he ever did wasn’t calling me names. It was making me see there’s more to him under the surface. And now, I’m screwed.*Heart Stopper is an enemies-to-lovers college sports romance filled with banter, pranks, and off the charts chemistry that will make you swoon. This is a standalone novel.
Looking to Score
Carrie Gray - 2020
Oakley Davis is the star running back at our University, and the reason I’ve broken my vow to avoid the college party scene. Thanks to a mixup with my advisor, I’m now serving my Public Relations internship as a glorified babysitter to the party-hard football players.Specifically, Oakley.He’s impossible to manage. His Instagram is full of half-naked, drunk photos and he’d rather attend parties than practice. His brand needs some serious work, and when he’s not driving me insane, he’s sleeping his way through the entire female population. But I’m determined. I have plans to graduate a semester early and nothing or no one will get in my way. I’m a Virgo, after all. Oakley Davis might be a privileged, cocky, football star, but I’m Amanda Matthews; and I’ll do whatever it takes to get my A. I have to make sure I don’t end up falling in love with the idiot, first.
The Playbook
K.G. Reuss - 2021
When my rival bets me to get the school nerd to fall in love with me, I accept the challenge. After all, I never lose.I just didn’t count on falling for her instead. She’s everything I didn’t expect. Sassy. Beautiful. Challenging. And she plays drums like a rock star. I can’t let her go now that I have her. My heart won’t let me.The only problem? There’s a video out there that could ruin it all. The truth always comes back to bite you. Too bad I’m learning it too late.GraceStaying invisible and wearing hoodies is my game. I’m a master at being a nobody. I’m fine with that. In fact, I celebrate my anonymity every Saturday night with scary movies and my own band of outcasts.When I land on Mr. Popular’s radar, I find myself in the center of the very place I’ve never wanted to be part of: the world of the court. The elite of our school.And the king has his baby blue eyes set on me.The only problem? Sometimes the truth hurts. Too bad I’m about to find out how much.The Playbook is a standalone high school romance. Trigger warning for adult situations and bullying.
No Prince
Stevie J. Cole - 2020
He was the top of the food chain. And I was next in line to be dragged into the lion’s den. At least that’s what he thought… Good girls wanted to tame him. Bad girls want to be tainted by him. Everyone bowed down to him. And me?I hated Zeppelin Hunt with every fiber of my being.Which was why I stayed away from the arrogant bad boy with tattoos and a rap sheet.Until I couldn’t.Until we traded favors, and I owed him three months of my life. I never thought I would end up in his bed, and when I did, I had to remind myself that he hated me as much as I hated him.Until I didn’t. Zepp Hunt was no prince, and I absolutely refused to be his damsel in distress…
Thy Kingdom Come
Monica James - 2021
My father says it’s my birthright, but all I see is a curse. It’s because of the Kelly name my mum was slain by the Doyles—our enemies in Dublin, the fellas livin’ on borrowed time. All of Belfast fears my family, especially me. I’m Puck Kelly, otherwise known as Punky; the lad ye don’t want to double cross. I don’t do feelings or emotions. I never have…until she walks into my world.Babydoll is a liar and a thief, but I can’t stay away. We both thrive in the darkness because that’s where our demons can play.No word af a lie, sixteen years later, those monsters still haunt my dreams. But every monster is scared of somethin’…and that somethin’ is me.No more hiding in the shadows because I’m huntin’ youse. Run, wee monsters, run.
Nothing But Trouble
P. Dangelico - 2019
And frankly, I kind of wish I still didn’t because then I wouldn’t have a sprained ankle to show for it. And my leg wouldn’t resemble a boa constrictor that’s swallowed a feral pig. Yeah, it’s that bad.I’ve spent years saving every penny I’ve ever earned to be able to transfer to Malibu University. And now my entire future––including my scholarship––is in jeopardy. So I either accept the help he insists on giving me, or lose everything I’ve sacrificed for. In the meantime, I’m going to ignore the fact that we’re becoming friends.And I’m definitely going to pretend he’s not turning into the object of my…umm, dirty fantasies. That’s not happening. Not even a little.Because the minute I clapped eyes on him I knew he was nothing but trouble.
The Enemy Series
M.E. Clayton - 2019
When money, power, and status start a battle with desire, obsession, and love, it's anyone's guess who will come out the victor. Facing the Enemy - Ramsey Reed has more money, power, and status than most people his age. And when Emerson Andrews comes into town, he soon realizes that it takes more than money, power, and status to impress a girl who fears nothing. Engaging the Enemy - Roselyn Bell isn't sure where she belongs in her new world of servants and mansions. But when she meets the princes of Sands Cove, Liam McCellan does everything he can to show Roselyn exactly where she belongs. Battling the Enemy - Deke Marlow cares about nothing in life, save for his friends. But when Delaney Martin gets caught in his crosshairs, he soon realizes his newest prey is far more fascinating than he ever imagined. Provoking the Enemy - Ava Hill is a self-proclaimed party girl and she gives no apologies for it. Then, one night, she meets Ace McIntire and all her carefully guarded secrets are suddenly in danger of being exposed. Loving the Enemy - After twenty years of marriage, Ramsey Reed is still in love with his wife, and wants to give her the wedding of her dreams. And he'll kill anyone who ruins it for her. Warning: While these stories contain HEAs, they are dark romance, bully reads. They contains triggers and can be offensive to some readers. Please do not purchase if sensitive to such materials.
Fragile Things
Samantha Lovelock - 2020
And we definitely weren’t supposed to fall in love. But fate, and Folkestone, had other plans.A past kept hidden from me.A secret buried for years.A love I never expected.And now the dark history of this town threatens to rip us apart.I knew this was a mistake.♥Fragile Things is the debut novel from Samantha Lovelock, and the first book in the suspense-filled Folkestone Sins series. As it is part of an ongoing series, this book does end on a cliffhanger.This is a star-crossed lovers, angsty, mature new adult high school romance with a twist. It contains situations and flashbacks that may trigger some readers, including drug use, mental health issues, foul language, and scenes of a sexual nature.
Priceless
Miranda Silver - 2020
Maybe you like the dark more than you think.
I just quit the cheer squad. I’m about to dump my musician boyfriend. I’m partying harder than ever. I let money run through my fingers because I’m done reaching for standards I’ll never meet. Soon, I’m broke. And I don’t want anyone to know.
The more you hide your true self, the more you’re going to let it out with me.
I'm bubbly and outgoing. He's icy and alone. I stay away. I touch myself, thinking of him. When I finally seek out Patrick Caruthers, he has a proposition. Mind games. Humiliation. Control. Schedules. Him. Me.
I think you’re going to be the perfect playmate.
I'm not perfect. I'm not stunning or noble. I’m not a heroine.
You’re priceless.
I'm just a girl . . .
You were made for me.
And he’s a cold bastard Who is paying me for sex.
Sugar Daddy
Sawyer Bennett - 2016
Sela Halstead lost her innocence in a way that no sixteen-year-old should ever have to endure. She’s spent years trying to forget that night even while wondering about the identities of the monsters who brutalized her—until a telltale tattoo flashes across Sela’s TV screen. The incriminating ink belongs to Jonathon Townsend, the millionaire founder of The Sugar Bowl, a website that matches rich older men with impressionable young women. Obsessed with revenge, Sela infiltrates Townsend’s world, only to come face-to-face with a tantalizing complication: Beckett North, his charismatic business partner. The tech mastermind behind The Sugar Bowl, Beck always gets what he wants, in business and in bed. And yet, for a man who’s done every dirty thing imaginable, there’s something about the naïve, fresh-faced Sela that sparks his hottest fantasies. Because with her, it’s not just about sex. Beck opens up to her in ways he never has with other girls. So why does he get the feeling that she’s hiding something? In a world of pleasure and power, the shocking truth could turn them against each other—or bind them forever. Note: Sugar Daddy ends on a cliffhanger. Sela and Beck’s story continues in Sugar Rush and Sugar Free!
Normal
Danielle Pearl - 2014
Starting at a new high school, in the middle of my senior year, in a new town, in a new state. I know no one. No one knows me. That's what I'm counting on.A year ago, Aurora "Rory" Pine was just a normal teenage girl - just as sweet and naive as the fairy tale princess she was named after.But this isn't a year ago.Rory is broken, and now suffering from a debilitating anxiety disorder, wrought with precarious triggers, she moves across the country to escape the source of her troubles. Her plan is anonymity, but that's easier said than achieved for the new girl having a panic episode outside of calculus. The worst part? There's a witness - and a gorgeous one at that.Sam is a walking trigger for Rory. Incredibly handsome, built like the star athlete he obviously is, and undoubtedly popular, Sam outwardly represents everything Rory despises about high school. But as the fates keep throwing them together, a connection sparks that neither ever expected, and certainly couldn't ignore.But Sam has issues too, and Rory's past won't just stay in the damned past. When friendship evolves into something deeper, can a girl utterly destroyed by the worst kind of betrayal and a boy battling demons of his own ever have a normal relationship? Is that even what they want? Find out in NORMAL, a gritty story of trust and abuse, heartbreak and salvation, and if they're lucky - love. This is not a flowery romance - not for the faint of heart.
Wicked Liars
Laura Lee - 2020
Every last one of them. The kings and queens of my new high school.The father and stepmother I never knew. Each has more wealth and privilege than I could've ever imagined. Each has a pile of wicked dirty secrets they'd do anything to protect. These people have grown accustomed to getting what they want and what they want is to make my life a living hell. Too bad for them, you can't break someone who's already broken. Too bad for them, I won't give up without a fight. Too bad for them, I'm going to make them pay...even if it's the last thing I do. *Wicked Liars is the first book in the Windsor Academy series and cannot be read as a standalone. This is a dark high school MF bully romance that may contain triggers for sensitive readers. Due to mature subject matter, it is recommended for readers 17+ only.