Book picks similar to
Travesty by Carrie Thomas


freebie
young-adult
standalone
love-that-cover

Bad Boss: A Steamy Romantic Comedy


L.V. Lane - 2020
    The throwing part is where the cliche ends for me. He doesn't look endeared by the incident, nor amused. He looks mad as freaking hell. My brain freezes, mental capability flees, and I look away from his penetrating gaze, but that brings my focus to his chest, where coffee drips down onto his doubtless expensive shoes.I want to die. I have never wanted to die before, but if a magic wish were granted me now, I would happily cease to exist. I've just thrown a full and very hot cup of coffee all over my very hot new boss.

Stolen Breaths


Pamela Sparkman - 2014
    Sometimes pain lies underneath, buried so deep that for a moment you let yourself forget – until you can’t. I didn't realize how numb I was until I started feeling again, and he made me feel – everything. Cooper Hudson came into my life when I needed him the most – twice. This is my story. This is the story of us. “It was funny how you never really realized how lifeless you were until someone came along and gave you that shock to the chest that forced your heart to start beating again.”Note: This is a true love story. It is a story about overcoming tragedy and circumstance. It's about learning to heal through the heartache when you would rather hide from it. Lily and Cooper meet, and nothing is ever the same.

My Mafia Boss: Pulse


Tasha Fawkes - 2020
    Her pulse skyrockets every time she's near the devastatingly sexy Irish mafia boss, Marcus Ryan. And working as his security consultant, getting close happens often. Not that she mind. Bad boys are in Allie's DNA and Marcus Ryan is the ultimate bad boy. As things heat up, Allie discovers a secret about Marcus that could destroy everything. Can Allie and Marcus survive the coming storm? Find out in Pulse, the first book in Tasha Fawkes new steamy romance series, My Mafia Boss.

Crave


Jennifer Dawson - 2015
    I crave. I give in.I used to be a nice, normal girl. I had dreams. Good, happy dreams of a white picket fence, 2.5 kids, and a fairytale love that lasts forever. Nobody ever warned me that sometimes, the prince dies three weeks before the wedding. Like any addict, I swear this time is the last…. Now, I go through my days, a shadow of my former self. I pretend I’m okay, and the people in my life pretend to believe me. But, sometimes, when I can no longer stand the craving, I roam an underground sex club looking for my next hit. It’s dirty and wrong, but I can’t stop, and my only line of defense between them and me, is the rules I’ve designed to keep me safe. The men always abide by my rules. Until I meet him. And, like any addict, I’m wrong.I don’t question the instincts that tell me to run. One look at him, standing there, power radiating off him in waves, tells me all I need to know. He will make me crave those happy dreams I’ve left behind. And that is not an option.

Paper Cranes


Nicole Hite - 2016
    “Stick to the plan, Kat,” is what I always told myself. I was never a risk taker or chanced anything to fate. That’s until I was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. All of my hopes, dreams, and aspirations fell by the wayside. I was dying. What else did I have to look forward to? Definitely not love.That’s until Lee Daniels came tapping at my window.Determined to push him away, the jerk kept coming back, over and over and over. There was no way I was going to give my heart to a man that would eventually leave me worse then I already was.But he didn’t see it that way.He saw strength, determination and a stubborn woman ready to give up on love.Why wouldn’t he just let me give up? For one very simple reason.Love, my friends.An unimaginable love. A love that didn’t require rules, stipulations, or even expectations. A love filled with dancing on Mardi Gras floats, three a.m. breakfast sessions and swimming with pigs in the Bahamas. That’s my kind of love, and it all started with a stupid paper crane.Perhaps it was time to take chances because…If not now, then when?

Breathe Me (Me #1)


Jeri Williams - 2015
    I used to know how my life as going to be, how I was going to live out my lifeless days, unloved and fearful. Hopeless to the possibility that life, my life could be anything better than what it is now. I knew that I would either give up, or give in, either one would eventually being the end of me and I didn't think that was so bad. I would no longer be constantly reminded that I was shit, and would be shit no matter how hard I tried in life. I thought it was all easier to just slip away.But that was before....

Beneath the Scars


Melanie Moreland - 2014
    She wants to leave the rest of the world behind, and find some peace. The offer of a private house on the beach, set in a small town in Maine, is perfect. Time to think—to be by herself. It’s all she wants. It’s the escape she needs. Until she stumbles across the painting that seems to echo her own chaotic mindset. Until she meets the unfriendly artist behind the stormy painting and discovers his secrets.All Zachary Adams wants is to be left alone. His canvases, and the unending scope of the ocean and sand, are his life. They direct him—fill his hours. Bring him focus.Until she enters his life. She dredges up memories of the past—the haunting images he has hidden for years; the fears he has never shared. A story he keeps buried below the surface. Can she make him see what he is missing? Can he trust her enough to believe?Together they embark on a journey where their pasts collide and threaten to tear them apart. Will their fragile bond hold or wash away with the ebbing tide?

Rebels Like Us


Liz Reinhardt - 2017
    I guess it was just that, in Brooklyn, everyone was competing to be exotic or surprising. By comparison, I was boring, seriously. Really boring.” Culture shock knocks city girl Agnes “Nes” Murphy-Pujols off-kilter when she’s transplanted mid–senior year from Brooklyn to a small Southern town after her mother’s relationship with a coworker self-destructs. On top of the move, Nes is nursing a broken heart and severe homesickness, so her plan is simple: keep her head down, graduate and get out. Too bad that flies out the window on day one, when she opens her smart mouth and pits herself against the school’s reigning belle and the principal. Her rebellious streak attracts the attention of local golden boy Doyle Rahn, who teaches Nes the ropes at Ebenezer. As her friendship with Doyle sizzles into something more, Nes discovers the town she’s learning to like has an insidious undercurrent of racism. The color of her skin was never something she thought about in Brooklyn, but after a frightening traffic stop on an isolated road, Nes starts to see signs everywhere—including at her own high school where, she learns, they hold proms. Two of them. One black, one white. Nes and Doyle band together with a ragtag team of classmates to plan an alternate prom. But when a lit cross is left burning in Nes’s yard, the alterna-prommers realize that bucking tradition comes at a price. Maybe, though, that makes taking a stand more important than anything.

Reasons Not To Fall In Love


Kirsty Moseley - 2014
    Enter Harrison Baxter.Harrison is confident, flirty and breathtakingly handsome – and everything Bronwyn’s husband is not! What’s worse is that she knows every sexy thought about him is forbidden, which makes him all the more tempting.The only woman that ladies’ man Harrison has ever wanted is one he can never have. Bronwyn has left her mark on him, and he can’t get her out of his mind no matter how hard he tries! Bronwyn and Harrison have every reason not to fall in love, but are they brave enough to break all the rules? For fans of The Boy Who Sneaks in my Bedroom Window , this short story is unputdownable!

Proper Ink (Jaded Lily #2)


Zeia Jameson - 2018
    Specifically, tattoos. Patience, focus, and attention to detail are crucial. He's consumed with it all. For the past three years, Luca has been building his reputation as the master of ink in Savannah, Georgia. It wasn't his original plan, but sometimes, lives twist and plans change. Kerry Frazier knows entertainment. Specifically, event planning. Locations, guest lists, and the hottest trends keep clients begging for more. She's living the dream. Even though Kerry’s job is exhilarating and rewarding, it’s also never ending. So a night on the town for herself is just what she needs. Luca never expected someone like Kerry to waltz into his shop. And blatantly flirt with him, no less. He never imagined flirting would lead to more. One secret night. That was all it was supposed to be. Until one night turned into two. Three. Luca doesn't do feelings. Kerry can't do complicated. What happens when you're drawn to someone who is bound to break your heart?

Miss Taken


Cleo Scornavacca - 2013
    Although they come from a loving close-knit family their childhoods couldn't have been more different. Raven went to school and was exposed freely to the outside world. Rain on the other hand was born with a blood disorder and denied many normal childhood experiences.Once grown, Raven becomes a lawyer at their dad's firm Kane & Medici in NYC. Rain along with her only childhood friend Tommy Conte, builds a very successful business as professional photographers. Traveling between Europe and Manhattan, and enjoying a world that was kept from her, Rain vows never to be controlled again.Dominick Kane is a product of his upbringing. He's powerful, self-assured and knows he can achieve anything he desires. Nothing gets in his way. There is only one thing he has ever failed at. A relationship with his father Vincent Kane. Upon his father's death, Dominick vows revenge. The events he sets in motion put him on a collision course he himself will be unable to control.In a bizarre twist of fate, Dominick kidnaps Raven as part of his plan for revenge. Only to discover afterward, he has taken Rain by mistake. Rain knows she can never survive being confined again. So she strikes a bargain with the devil and agrees to help Dominick get back what he feels rightly belongs to him. His father's share of Kane & Medici.Dominick decides to use the strong attraction growing between Rain and himself to control her in every way imaginable. Too bad no one ever taught Dominick you can't control the heart. Nothing could have prepared him for the effect Rain would have on his.Will this plan of revenge turn into unconditional love? Or will Dominick and Rain's need for control ultimately destroy them and any possible chance for a real futuretogether...

All the Little Lights


Jamie McGuire - 2018
    Both Elliott and Catherine feel like outcasts, yet they find an easy friendship with each other. But when Catherine needs him most, Elliott is forced to leave town.Elliott finally returns, but he and Catherine are now different people. He’s a star high school athlete, and she spends all her free time working at her mother’s mysterious bed-and-breakfast. Catherine hasn’t forgiven Elliott for abandoning her, but he’s determined to win back her friendship…and her heart.Just when Catherine is ready to fully trust Elliott, he becomes the prime suspect in a local tragedy. Despite the town’s growing suspicions, Catherine clings to her love for Elliott. But a devastating secret that Catherine has buried could destroy whatever chance of happiness they have left.

Only for You


Genna Rulon - 2013
    It also feels an awful lot like a kick to the stomach when you try to fight it!” All Everleigh Carsen wanted to do was complete her final semester at Hensley University and begin the life she carefully planned. When a wave of violent crime seizes campus, Everleigh is persuaded to attend a school sponsored self-defense seminar by her best friend, where she meets volunteer instructor, Hunter Charles. After Everleigh’s biting sarcasm induces Hunter to eject her from class, a tempestuous relationship is born. Everleigh is determined to forget the striking man, but fate—that fickle shrew—continuously intervenes. Unable to escape him, she declares Hunter an enemy combatant. The only complication…Hunter is resolutely pursuing vindication…by any means necessary. Verbal warfare ensues, and despite Everleigh’s ingenious efforts, in Hunter, she has finally found her equal.Only For You is a compelling tale of friendship, desire, and redemption—brimming with intelligent characters, witty dialogue, unexpected twists, profound sorrow, unfettered hope, and love’s unassailable perseverance.• This story is appropriate for readers 18+• Only For You is the first book in the For You series by Genna Rulon. Each book in the series can be read as a stand alone novel.

Don't Breathe a Word


Holly Cupala - 2012
    She can take his cruel words, his tender words . . . until the night they go too far.To escape, Joy sacrifices her suburban life to find the one who offered his help, a homeless boy called Creed. He introduces her to a world of fierce loyalty, to its rules of survival, and to love—a world she won’t easily let go.Set against the backdrop of the streets of Seattle, Holly Cupala’s power­ful new novel explores the subtleties of abuse, the secrets we keep, and the ways to redemption. But above all, it is an unflinching story about the extraordinary lengths one girl will go to discover her own strength.

Twelve Truths and a Lie


Christina Lee - 2016
    What she doesn’t have is much luck when it comes to dating men. And not only are her choices terrible, she also hasn’t been boyfriend free since she was a teenager. So she places herself on a sabbatical of sorts. No dating for twelve months. Cameron Miller has had a crappy year. His girlfriend fell for his best friend and to ease the pain, he drowns his troubles in more booze and women than he can count. When his buddies finally slap some sense into him and urge him to focus on his new position as a special education teacher in an urban school district, he decides to get his act together. Away from the prying eyes of their mutual friends, Cameron and Aurora agree to hang out once a week in their newly dubbed Chastity Club. Number of members? Two. It’s a chance to find solace, companionship, and something neither anticipated – a burgeoning attraction. But when Cameron invites Aurora to be his fake date at the reunion his ex-girlfriend and best friend will be attending, their passion ignites. What happens in Chastity Club stays in Chastity Club, right? Until they discover that a year of self-truths might actually lead them to true love.