Book picks similar to
The Art of Us by Symone West


high-school
interracial
suspense
heroine-student

Boys of Brayshaw High


Meagan Brandy - 2019
    I didn't listen, and now I'm on their radar. They expect me to play along in their games of hierarchy, to fall in line in the social order they've deemed me fit. Too bad for them, I don't follow rules. Too bad for me, they're determined to make sure I do. Inconceivably attractive and treated like kings...these are the boys of Brayshaw High.And I'm the girl who got in their way.

The Peer and the Puppet


B.B. Reid - 2018
    Win the race. Collect the cash. It should've been an easy job. Ran out of town with a broken leg and a lawsuit, my mother's latest flame swoops in like a knight in gilded armor. Blackwood Keep is a place I don't belong, and I'm not the only one who knows. To the boy across the hall, my savior's only son, I'm a stray looking for a bone.He's lord of the manor.King of the academy.And number one on my shit list.THE PEERI have no intentions of becoming a happy family with the social climber and her wild daughter. A bottle of Jameson and a cracked skull gets my problem shipped to reform school, but I didn't bank on her returning.Four's out to get even, and she almost had the perfect plan: expose the privileged kid moonlighting as a gangbanger. She's smart, but she'll have to be smarter. Sending her away won't be good enough this time. I'm going to have to tame the little troublemaker. To the girl across the hall, the one without a name, I'm nothing without my silver spoon.She's lady of the trailer park.Queen of the swamps.And my new favorite pastime.The Peer and the Puppet is a standalone romance, however, the series is one story. The plot introduced in Four and Ever's story will continue in the following novels. Content suitable for 18+.

Broken Wings


Jaymin Eve - 2019
    There used to be five, but one of them died, leaving a fifth position that I now fill. I didn't ask for this. I didn't want to be part of this billionaire-boys-club. But no one cares about what I want.Sebastian Beckett is the worst of them. Their leader. He draws me in, and strips me of every defense I have. He calls me Butterfly, but it's not a pet name, it's a threat. Beck wants nothing more than to break my wings, pin me to a board and watch me writhe.He wants to see me broken. Body, heart and soul.And what these elite want, they get.Only they've never met Riley Jameson.Let the battle begin.**This dark romance features four sexy, dangerous boys but is NOT a reverse harem.**

Ruthless


Aria Cole - 2020
    It’s a world where secrets are draped in trust funds, and lies cloaked in family legacy.The boys that came out of the academy were notoriously bad news. And boarding school dropout Kyler Sinclair was the worst, a good-for-nothing bully with a broken moral compass. He was beautiful, he was dark, he was ruthless.Madison Evans prided herself on her immaculate school record. A dedicated bookworm with a love for fiction over reality, she’d always been a do-gooder rather than a good-time girl.Transferring to Black Mountain from the wrong side of the tracks was torture when you're a born loner. But then bad boy Kyler entered her quiet life.He’s wrapped in ink and covered in chaos, and she never expected to become the center of his attention... or the target of his scorn.His vicious insults left fresh wounds—but neither expected the past to catch up with them and change their lives forever.

Beg for Mercy


L.A. Hart - 2019
     The only problem is that Aric’s also a rich, arrogant, and gigantic prick. Nothing but filth and insults come out of his smirking mouth, constantly reminding me that poor, trailer park trash girls like myself don’t belong in his pretentious academy. Aric and his best friends all think they’re untouchable. But the cocky bastard is finally going down this year. I’ve hit the motherload of blackmail on the jerk, pun intended, and I can’t wait to give him exactly what he deserves. Aric Prince’s reign at the academy is coming to an end. Before I’m done with him, he’ll be on his knees, begging for mercy. WHILE BEG FOR MERCY IS A HIGH SCHOOL BULLY ROMANCE, IT CONTAINS DARK THEMES, EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT, AND GRAPHIC LANGUAGE THAT IS INTENDED FOR MATURE READERS.

Brutal Bully


Logan Fox - 2019
    A new town, a new school—perfect for easing a mind racked by tragedy.Then the invincible, untouchable monster who runs Lavish Prep sets his eyes on me.Handsome, intelligent, gifted Prince Briar should have been this school's most eligible bachelor...but no one is brave enough to find out if the disturbing rumors about him are true.Except me.Ever since I arrived, he's punished and humiliated me.I'm done letting him rip me apart.I'm earning myself a place in history by taking down the Dark Prince of Lavish Prep. All I need to do is expose his disturbing secret to the world.I'm brave enough to stand up to him, but am I strong enough to destroy him before he breaks me?Brutal Bully is a dark enemies-to-lovers new adult romance. This standalone dark high school bully romance novel is intended for mature readers only as it contains material that some may find triggering.

Carwrecked


Francesca Penn - 2020
    I’m trapped in between prison and truly being free. Figuratively, I may have escaped from my cell, but I’m still very much in the building. I’d gotten a glimmer of freedom, which lasted mere minutes until it came to a screeching halt. Now, I must climb out of the dregs of my former life and begin anew. But will the green-eyed stranger be able to help me, or will he become a distraction I do not need?Beau ScottThe life I’ve once lived had a tragic ending. Deep in my sorrow, I seek solitude in the one place that used to offer me peace. With the moon high, I witness a beautiful woman climbing out of the ocean like a seductive mermaid. Our connection is instant. My instinct fights with my logic, but I refuse to let her go. My new visitor is one big mystery on legs, but I can’t deny my desire to help her.Two people rising from the ashes of their first marriages learn how to love again.Warning: Mentions of abuse and Domestic Violence

Giving In


Lola King - 2021
    He hides it well though, under a beautiful smile and eyes that ravage your heart.But Stoneview Prep’s golden boy has always had a dark aura around him. Like a well-guarded secret. A blackness that he never lets anyone see."Curiosity killed the cat, Jamie." My mom always tells me.She never said it would get me in more trouble than I could handle. She never said it would throw me into the dark world of Jake White. And when I not-so-accidentally find out part of Jake’s past, I finally learn the consequences of mischievous nosiness.Curiosity doesn’t kill this cat. It turns it into a mouse to be played with.At least that’s what Jake decided.JakeThree years. That’s how much my twin and I got of freedom before our past caught up with us.We were doing well, we were being good, we were keeping out of trouble. Most of all, I was in control.But trouble always finds a reason to make its way back to us. And when it does, Jamie Williams is here to witness it.In the morning I learned of her existence, in the afternoon she was spying on me like a fangirl.This girl is desperate to find out what’s behind the golden boy’s facade I was kind enough to put on.So be it.I have time on my hands, darkness on my mind, and a hundred ways to make Jamie Williams bend to my will.This book is approximately 92,000 words and is the first book of a three-book series. Giving In is a dark high school bully romance intended for mature readers. It contains detailed sexual scenes and bullying scenes that some readers may find triggering. If you are unsure of your triggers, please heed the author’s trigger warning in the book.

Promises Hurt


Elle Brooks - 2014
    He’s the most popular guy at school and a complete player. Me; I’m the perpetual good girl, trying to carry out one last request. But when you make a promise, how far do you go to see it through? ~ BlairIt’s a running joke that I’m a terrible liar, if only people knew the truth. My whole life has been spent making excuses and deflecting questions. I was pretty good at it until Blair Thomas entered my world. She saw through the mask that everyone is so willing to accept. She makes me want to tell her all my secrets, but can she promise to keep them?~ Ethan

Evil Love


Ella Fields - 2020
    Ex-girlfriend? Whatever. Point is, the Adonis loved to hate me.It wasn’t my fault he’d followed me. It wasn’t my fault he’d stared too long and stood a little too close, just daring me to accomplish my wildest dreams.And it most certainly wasn’t my fault his ex-girlfriend arrived when he’d decided to kiss me back.Then the cruelty began.I’d thought I could handle it, so long as his lips kept gracing mine and he kept giving me more scorching firsts. Until he took it too far, and all his carefully kept secrets blew open the doors to a brand-new world. A world he was all too familiar with.Obsession became loathing and fear replaced naivety as Jude was forced to hold my hand and help me navigate a secret society rife with sin and debauchery—the crème de la crème of Peridot Island.If I wasn’t careful, I’d do more than lose what remained of my heart. My first love and greatest foe wouldn’t be satisfied until he’d devoured my soul, too.

The Only One for Me


Toni Jackson - 2015
    From the time he was a child, the importance of keeping his father's legacy in the family was drilled into him. His dream was to expand the company until Davenport Corporation was a household name.The one thing Sean Davenport wants - needs - is a child of his own blood to carry on the legacy his father left behind. A child of his own that he could groom and train to take over the company when the time came. For a man of his means, it should have been simple.But money can't buy everything.And this is the one thing he begins to believe he will never have.At least until he meets Danielle Knox, a rising star in the art world and the one person in the world who doesn't appear to be impressed by his wealth. To achieve his goal, he has to make her fall in love with him.But first he has to keep her alive....

Things I Wanted To Say (But Never Did)


Monica Murphy - 2021
    Dark and thunderous, furious and fierce. Cold, heartless and devastatingly beautiful, like the statues in our prep school gardens. The school with his family name on the sign. He can do no wrong here. This is his domain. He’s a menace on campus. Adored and feared. Hated and respected. His taunting words carve into my skin, shredding me to ribbons. Yet his intense gaze scorches my blood, fills me with a longing I don’t understand. When I stumble upon him one night alone, I find him broken. Bleeding. My instincts scream to leave and let him suffer, but I can’t. I sneak him into my room. Clean him up. Fall for his lies. Let him possess every single part of me until I’m the one left a gasping, broken mess. When he leaves me alone in the dead of night, he takes my journal with him. Now he knows all my secrets. My hate. My truth. And he promises to use my words against me. I’ll be ruined if my darkest secret gets out. That’s when I strike a bargain with the devil. I’ll let Whit Lancaster ruin me behind closed doors instead.

Stephan


Hazel Gower - 2014
    Contains language and actions some may deem offensive. Sexually explicit content. New Age – MF. In book one of Caveman Instincts: Stephan I always thought the gypsies cursed my family centuries ago, but most members of my family feel different, they say we were gifted with prosperity and the ability to know our soul mate. Great, you say, well they forgot to mention when we find our soul mate we turn into possessive cavemen. I never wanted the curse to get me. I was happy with my privileged life, a new woman every night and no one ever saying no to me. I had my life planned out just how I wanted it. That was until I saw her—Jade Black. I knew from the moment I laid eyes on Jade she was mine. My soul mate. The problem is I’m having trouble convincing her. Jade I’m so close to freedom, to being eighteen and having a say in my life. Getting my Higher School Certificate, going to university, and living the life I’ve always dreamed. I’m so close. I blame my mother for dying, because I’m not eighteen I have to either go into foster care or live with my deadbeat grandpa in Reed Creek. I choose my grandpa. I can put up with him until I graduate. The problem…Stephan Silverman. He comes into my life, messes with all my plans, and changes my outlook. I thought I had everything planned. Now I’m not so sure. Stephan Silverman is a pain in my arse.

Ugly Girl


Sheridan Anne - 2020
    His eyes draw me in while his vicious smirk screams at me to run and never look back. I’m a toy to him, a pawn to use in his devilish games.I’ve already suffered through hell and back and if it’s games he wants then it’s games he’ll get, but he should be warned, this time it’s my turn to play the lead.This time, I get to be the devil.Aston Creek High was supposed to be my fresh start. This was my one shot at freedom, but he had other plans for me. Slade Cruz was never a part of my plan, but he sure as hell made me part of his. I thought I was through with fighting to survive, but it seems as though the games have only just begun.Give it your best shot, Slade. I’m ready.

Tragic Beauty


Iris Ann Hunter - 2018
    Two beasts. The one who owns her. And the one who wants her. *** I was sixteen when I made the deal. When I put my fate in the hands of Shayne McAllister, a man determined to break me. A man with black eyes and a blacker heart, who’s been obsessed with me since we were kids. And now that my father has passed, he’s coming to collect his debt. But before I become his, I see a chance to make a choice for myself, and I take it. I slip away, for one night. One dark, stormy night that goes horribly wrong. Until a stranger crosses my path. An angry stranger, with a harsh voice and menacing eyes, who grants me one night. One messed up, beautiful night, that changes everything, and spares no one. Because the stranger wants more. More than just one night. He wants me. What follows, is darkness. A darkness where secrets will be revealed, blood will be shed, and sacrifices made. My name is Ava, and this is my story. (This is a very DARK, contemporary romance/erotic thriller with scenes some will find disturbing. It is a story about love and obsession, about hope and despair, but most of all, it is about finding light through the darkness. For mature audiences only.) ***This is Book One of the BEAUTY & THE DARKNESS Trilogy***