Not After Everything


Michelle Levy - 2015
    Then his mom kills herself. And Tyler lets it all go. Now he needs to dodge what his dad is offering (verbal tirades and abuse) and earn what his dad isn’t (money). Tyler finds a job that crashes him into Jordyn, his former childhood friend turned angry-loner goth-girl. She brings Tyler an unexpected reprieve from the never-ending pity party his life has become. How could he not fall for her? But with his dad more brutally unpredictable than ever, Tyler knows he can’t risk bringing Jordyn too deeply into the chaos. So when violence rocks his world again, will it be Jordyn who shows him the way to a hopeful future? Or after everything, will Tyler have to find it in himself?

Let Her Go


Briana Pacheco - 2017
     Owen Stevenson is unknowingly paying for the sins of his father. He doesn't understand why Zoë can't look at him for more than a few seconds or why his touch is unsettling at times. All he's ever wanted was to love her, to protect her, and to be hers, but it's not so easy. She pushes, he pulls. She hurts, he loves. Both are holding onto ghosts of their pasts and in order for them to peruse a relationship they'll have to let them go.WARNING: This is a darkish New Adult friends-to-lovers romance kind of book. Due to heavy subject matter, strong language, possible triggers of child sexual abuse, and some sexual situations this book is recommended for ages 18+

The Scars of Us


Nikki Naravez - 2014
    When her dark past threatens to resurface, she decides to take precautions to protect herself by enrolling in self-defense classes at her gym. Her instructor, Ryker Campbell, is the tattooed womanizer everyone warns about. Kaiya attempts to resist Ryker's advances, but the more time they spend training together, the harder it is for Kaiya to resist him. Ryker's view on relationships is simple: strictly sex, nothing more. Haunted by demons from his past, he never allows himself to become attached to any woman. No attachment means no weakness, no vulnerability, no pain. He doesn't realize that his whole world is about to be turned upside down when Kaiya enters his self-defense class. Determined to have her, at least for one night, Ryker sets a plan into motion that will change both of their lives forever. Will love be able to heal their scars, or are they too deep to overcome?

Don't Let Go


Sharla Lovelace - 2014
    The two had their future all planned out—until one unspeakable decision tore them apart.Twenty-six years later, Jules is living her life by someone else’s plan. She’s running her mother’s store, living in her mother’s house, following her mother’s rules, and keeping the secrets her mother made her bury.Then Noah comes home, and any sense of order and structure flies out the window. Noah’s return does more than just stir up old memories—it also forces Jules to see her life in a whole new way and uncover secrets even she didn’t know were hidden. But can the power of first love triumph over years of pain and lies? Revised edition: This edition of Don't Let Go includes editorial revisions.

Rainfall


Melissa Delport - 2013
    Paige fights her depression and pulls herself out of the dark place that she has succumbed to, with monumental effort and a new-found determination to live her life to the fullest, doing things that both terrify and exhilarate her.When Paige meets Adam, the attraction is instantaneous. Adam grew up in an orphanage and has no recollection of his life before the age of six. Paige falls head over heels in love and embraces a happiness she never dreamed possible. Until the day she finds Adam in bed with another woman.Wanting nothing more to do with him, Paige cuts Adam out of her life, until she receives a mysterious visitor, who reveals secrets about Adam's past that shock Paige to her very core.Determined to fight for the man that she loves, Paige finds herself on a journey that will change her life forever.

Beautiful Ink


Nicole Reed - 2014
    It elicits powerful thoughts and emotions for most people. Loving. Caring. Supportive. Togetherness. Forever.But not for me. The word family means so much more. Vicious. Harmful. Dangerous. Corrupt. Deadly.You can’t run forever from the ones who love you.Note: This novel is not a cliffhanger and can be read as a standalone. Warning: This book is real, beautifully raw, and not for the faint of heart. It is the story of a young girl’s loss of innocence while growing up around a motorcycle club. It is not suitable for children under the age of seventeen due to language, sexual content, and intense subject matter. Based on true events.

Fading


E.K. Blair - 2013
    About to graduate college and pursue her dreams of becoming a professional ballerina, Candace decides it’s time to let go and have a little fun. But fun is short-lived when a brutal attack leaves her completely shattered. The memories that consume and torment Candace are starting to destroy her when she meets Ryan Campbell, a successful bar owner. He feels instantly connected and tries to show her that hope is worth fighting for. But is Ryan harboring his own demons? As walls slowly begin to chip away, the secrets that are held within start to become painful burdens. At what point do secrets become lies? (17+) This book contains mature subject matter that is not suitable for those under the age of 17.

Ethan, Who Loved Carter


Ryan Loveless - 2012
    Although his friends accuse him of letting his Tourette's dictate his life, Carter moves from Los Angeles to a quiet California town. He'll keep his head down and avoid people. He doesn't anticipate his new neighbor, Ethan Hart, crashing into his solitude and forcing him to get out and live.From the beginning, Ethan makes his love for Carter clear. But he fears Carter won't see past Ethan's damaged brain, even though it makes Ethan more attuned to his emotions than most people. For Carter, there's a bigger issue: he's been burned by so-called "perfect" matches, and he won't risk his heart again.One way or another, Ethan's determined to show Carter they belong together. Then Ethan receives tragic news. Suddenly he must turn to Carter for strength and support. Will Carter come through when Ethan needs him most?

If I Break


Portia Moore - 2014
    And for the first time in my life, a little trouble was just what I needed.No. What I wanted.It wasn’t like I’d ever marry the guy.Until I did.What I thought would be my happily ever after, was only the beginning. Cal has a secret. One that makes loving him come with a price, and being his wife cost more than I bargained for.

Graceful Scars


Savannah Stewart - 2015
    When her world is turned upside down she finds herself spiraling into the darkness without any light in sight, until Talon Fisher walks into her life. Trying to find herself again, Tegan is faced with a dilemma she doesn’t want to encounter. But will her scars keep her from allowing herself a second chance at a normal life, or will she continue to free fall into the darkness?

Don't Kiss the Bride


Carian Cole - 2021
    He was my own personal hero who seemed to be in all the right places at the right times. Like when my car broke down and I needed a ride home, and when I face planted on the sidewalk right in front of him and had to be taken to the emergency room.Those weren’t exactly my best moments, but they were his. We became friends, and it didn’t matter that he was sixteen years older than me. We had a lot in common—like our love of old rock music and vintage fast cars, and our aversion to relationships.When he approached me with a crazy idea to help me out, I couldn’t say no.The arrangement was supposed to be temporary. A marriage on paper and nothing else.It should’ve been easy, but it wasn’t.Because here I am, eighteen years-old, still in high school, and married to a man I was never supposed to fall in love with.We had just one rule—no kissing the bride.But we broke that rule, and it sealed our fate forever.

The Opposite of Hallelujah


Anna Jarzab - 2012
    After all, her much older sister, Hannah, left home eight years ago, and Caro barely remembers her. So when Caro’s parents drop the bombshell news that Hannah is returning to live with them, Caro feels as if an interloper is crashing her family. To her, Hannah’s a total stranger, someone who haunts their home with her meek and withdrawn presence, and who refuses to talk about her life and why she went away. Caro can’t understand why her parents cut her sister so much slack, and why they’re not pushing for answers.Unable to understand Hannah, Caro resorts to telling lies about her mysterious reappearance. But when those lies alienate Caro’s new boyfriend and put her on the outs with her friends and her parents, she seeks solace from an unexpected source. And when she unearths a clue about Hannah’s past — one that could save Hannah from the dark secret that possesses her — Caro begins to see her sister in a whole new light.

Ten Tiny Breaths


K.A. Tucker - 2012
    Now she’s working hard to bury the pieces left behind—all but one. Her little sister, Livie. Kacey can swallow the constant disapproval from her born-again aunt Darla over her self-destructive lifestyle; she can stop herself from going kick-boxer crazy on Uncle Raymond when he loses the girls’ college funds at a blackjack table. She just needs to keep it together until Livie is no longer a minor, and then they can get the hell out of Grand Rapids, Michigan.But when Uncle Raymond slides into bed next to Livie one night, Kacey decides it’s time to run. Armed with two bus tickets and dreams of living near the coast, Kacey and Livie start their new lives in a Miami apartment complex, complete with a grumpy landlord, a pervert upstairs, and a neighbor with a stage name perfectly matched to her chosen “profession.” But Kacey’s not worried. She can handle all of them. What she can’t handle is Trent Emerson in apartment 1D.Kacey doesn’t want to feel. She doesn’t. It’s safer that way. For everyone. But sexy Trent finds a way into her numb heart, reigniting her ability to love again. She starts to believe that maybe she can leave the past where it belongs and start over. Maybe she’s not beyond repair.But Kacey isn’t the only one who’s broken. Seemingly perfect Trent has an unforgiveable past of his own; one that, when discovered, will shatter Kacey’s newly constructed life and send her back into suffocating darkness.

For a Good Time, Call...


Jessica Gadziala - 2015
    He settles into his new life in a new city with a sexy new neighbor who goes out drinking every night and seems to have a lot of kinky, fantastic sex every day.Fiona has more than a few scars from her past, nightmares so bad she cant be in her own apartment at night. She spends her days moaning like a porn star to her phone sex callers and putting up walls so thick no one can break them down.That is until she keeps getting woken up from the hot new guy next door and goes over to confront him, sending them both into uncharted territory. When their pasts come charging into their present, will they be able to heal the old wounds enough to let each other in? Or is there some damage that is simply too difficult to overcome?

Price of a Kiss


Linda Kage - 2013
    I mean, just because my last boyfriend tried to kill me and left a bit of a scar on my neck, then forced me to move across the country and legally change my name to Reese Randall to escape him, does not mean— Oh, who am I kidding? For a freshman in college, I have to have the worst dating track record ever. It’s no wonder love is the last thing on my mind when Mason Lowe enters my life. But the chemistry between us is like bam! Our connection defies logic. And he’s just so freaking hot. Being around him makes me feel more alive than I’ve ever felt before. I even like bickering with him. He could be my soul mate...except for one teeny tiny glitch.He's a gigolo.Boy, do I know how to pick them.