Book picks similar to
The Masks We Wear by Lee Jacquot


romance
bully-romance
booktok
dark-romance

Kings of Quarantine


Caroline Peckham - 2020
    Heartless. Quarantined.The ruthless boys of Everlake Prep never saw lockdown coming.But the virus isn’t their number one enemy.I am.And as if being confined to a boarding school for the elite wasn’t bad enough, now I’m stuck in isolation with the boys who hate me most too.Saint, Kyan and Blake. The Night Keepers. Or so they call themselves. They’ve embodied the Native American legend which lives in this valley, taking on the role of the monsters who lurk in the forest. And though they act like beasts, they may also bethe most tempting creatures I’ve ever seen.With the virus escalating and my dad’s name splashed through the news, my entire world is falling apart. What he did has cast a dark shadow over me. And the Night Keepers want to make me pay for his crimes.Then things went from bad to worse when I touched the sacred rock. A rock which supposedly holds a curse to bind me as the Night Keepers’ slave. And as crazy as it sounds, I decided to play along. Because there are things about me they don’t know. Things my dad has hidden from me for years. All I can be sure of is that I have to find a way to escape this school. But until then, those savage boys are making my life a living hell.As the virus sweeps through the country and the world twists into something ugly and unknown, the kings of this school become true monarchs. Even the teachers bow to them now. And I’m kinda glad about that ‘stay six feet away from one another’ rule, because without it, I know they’d rip me apart.At least there’s a silver lining. I’m cosying up to Coach Monroe. My hot as hell, brooding P.E. teacher who has a vendetta of his own against the Night Keepers. And with his help, I may succeed at doing more than escaping the clutches of these heartless fiends. I might even destroy them along the way.My father taught me how to be strong.How to prepare for the end of the world.So this isn’t going to be the end of my world, mark my words.But if I’m able to use my mind and body to bring these assholes to their knees, it might just be the end of theirs.This is a high school bully RH series with off the charts angst, dark themes and is not for the faint of heart. Prepare to enrol at Everlake Prep. Bring your hand sanitiser, face masks and toilet paper to barter with, but don’t expect to hold onto them for long. Because it’s time to go into quarantine with the Night Keepers. And everything you own now belongs to them.

Regretting You


Colleen Hoover - 2019
    By getting pregnant and married way too young, Morgan put her own dreams on hold. Clara doesn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Her predictable mother doesn’t have a spontaneous bone in her body.With warring personalities and conflicting goals, Morgan and Clara find it increasingly difficult to coexist. The only person who can bring peace to the household is Chris—Morgan’s husband, Clara’s father, and the family anchor. But that peace is shattered when Chris is involved in a tragic and questionable accident. The heartbreaking and long-lasting consequences will reach far beyond just Morgan and Clara.While struggling to rebuild everything that crashed around them, Morgan finds comfort in the last person she expects to, and Clara turns to the one boy she’s been forbidden to see. With each passing day, new secrets, resentment, and misunderstandings make mother and daughter fall further apart. So far apart, it might be impossible for them to ever fall back together.

Follow


Tessa Bailey - 2017
    Too bad she already sold it. Family is everything to gambling den darling, Teresa Valentini. Blood comes first, especially before men. So when her brother lands himself in hot water, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to save him. And showing up topless in her unwitting savior’s motel room is turning out to be the furthest thing from a hardship…Will Caruso is the bad boy of New York’s financial scene…and he just found out the very thing that drives his success is a damn lie. Now, he’s exchanged his high-stress life for the open road, no one but his Great Dane…and half a million Instagram followers to keep him company. When a mysterious beauty arrives, her secrecy prods his suspicions, even while she tempts his lust to the breaking point.Teresa met Will under false pretenses, but the bond consuming them is real. They’re strong enough to overcome a little betrayal…aren’t they?

Wrong For Me


Meagan Brandy - 2018
    See, Alec was a thief.He stole my happy.My sanity.My first kiss. I told myself I was glad the day he went away, and I'm reminded of why not five minutes after his sudden and unexpected return.Now he stands before me with a heavy glare and hard body.But those greedy green eyes, they're darker than I remember, and brimming with a secret...A secret I didn't discover until it was far too late.Because this time, he didn't steal a simple kiss.This time... Alec Daniels stole my all.--Wrong For Me is a full-length, standalone novel with no cliffhanger and an HEA. Previously titled The Wrong Blaze, this is the same epic love story with a fresh look and brand new title!

A Not So Meet Cute


Meghan Quinn - 2021
    And the answer is usually some bubbly, lovey dovey tale of being struck in the bum by Cupid’s arrow.My meet cute (well not so meet cute) is slightly different. I was trolling a wealthy neighborhood in Beverly Hills, searching for someone to take me as their bride, you know, to make my arch nemesis jealous who consequently just fired me.He was stomping around the block like some sort of gorgeous ogre, mumbling about a business deal gone wrong and attempting to finagle his way out of it.And that’s when we bumped into each other.There were no sparks.Not even a hint of blossoming love.But next thing I knew, I was scarfing down free chips and guac, listening to this man lay out all of his problems which led to his big ask . . . he wanted me to be his Vivian Ward, you know, from Pretty Woman--minus the frisky behavior.We’re talking about living in a mansion, intimate double dates, and pretending we were head over heels in love . . . and engaged. Can you imagine?The absolute audacity.But people do crazy things when they’re desperate. And I reeked of desperation. So, I struck up a deal.My one big mistake, though . . . big . . . HUGE? I accidentally fell for the incomparable Huxley Cane.

Black Sunshine


Karina Halle - 2021
    Unfortunately, fate has other plans for her. A week before her birthday, she’s kidnapped by the brooding and dangerous stranger with cold eyes and a lethal touch, who has been stalking her on San Francisco’s fog-shrouded streets. Absolon "Solon" Stavig isn’t your average criminal though. He’s a centuries-old vampire who’s caught between wanting to kill Lenore and wanting to save her. You see Lenore, too, is a vampire.She just doesn’t know it yet.Taken by a pair of vampire slayers when she was just an infant, Lenore was raised never knowing her true nature. All Lenore knows is that she has (normal) parents who love her, that she’s exceptionally smart, and she’s squeamish around blood. But once she turns twenty-one, she’ll fully turn into a vampire, and Solon hopes he’ll be there to guide her, opening her eyes to her deepest hunger...both sexual and otherwise. But this turning can’t be kept a secret. Soon both slayers and vampires are hunting Lenore, with only Solon and his unpredictable motley crew of vampires to save her.If they don’t kill her first.Black Sunshine is a dark adult romance with a paranormal twist, about sex, love, secrets, and revenge, set in contemporary San Francisco.

A Touch of Darkness


Scarlett St. Clair - 2019
    The truth is, since she was a little girl, flowers have shriveled at her touch. After moving to New Athens, she hopes to lead an unassuming life disguised as a mortal journalist. Hades, God of the Dead, has built a gambling empire in the mortal world and his favorite bets are rumored to be impossible. After a chance encounter with Hades, Persephone finds herself in a contract with the God of the Dead and the terms are impossible: Persephone must create life in the Underworld or lose her freedom forever. The bet does more than expose Persephone’s failure as a Goddess, however. As she struggles to sow the seeds of her freedom, love for the God of the Dead grows—and it’s forbidden.

Sex Material


Victoria Ashley - 2018
     Sex Material… It’s what I’m known around town for. A rock-hard body, covered in tattoos with a sizeable bulge that women spend their nights fantasizing about. Women track me down, needing someone that will take them rough without holding back. They find me because they need a distraction from reality. They need something to get their mind off of the boyfriend who screwed them over or the job promotion they got passed over on at work. Sometimes it’s just because they need someone reckless in the bedroom before settling down with the right one. ‘Cause I’m not that guy. Nowhere close. I’m not the suit wearing, flower-buying guy you take home to meet the parents. I’m not the guy who will make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Not anymore. I was boyfriend material once. Would’ve even made a good husband. Until one night changed everything. These women come to me because they need an escape to cope with the real world, but none of them know I need it more than them. I need something to make me feel alive. Something to get my heart beating again. Then Cami shows up in my hometown, broken-hearted and pissed off at the world, needing an escape from her cheating ex. She’s the only one that doesn’t want to use my body. In fact, she wants nothing to do with it and has no problems telling me so. She’s interested in one thing only from me—to move into my rental property. But the problem with that is the more we fight, the deeper she buries herself in my soul. Sex material is what I’m good at, but for the first time, it may not be enough.

Devious Lies


Parker S. Huntington - 2019
    Huntington comes an enemies-to-lovers, slow-burn romance full of revenge and a dash of fate. “She could enjoy her pretty, perfect world a little longer. Soon enough, everything she owned would be mine.” I had a plan to escape the friend zone. Step one: sneak into Reed’s room. Step two: sleep with him. But when the lights turned on, it wasn’t familiar blue eyes I saw. These were dark, angry, and full of demons. And they belonged to Reed’s much older brother. Four years later, Nash Prescott is no longer the help’s angry son. I’m no longer the town’s prized princess. At twenty-two, I’m broke, in need of a job. At thirty-two, he’s a billionaire, in need of revenge. Who cares if my family ruined his? Who cares if he looks at me with pure loathing? Who cares if every task he assigns me is designed to torture? I need the money. Simple as that. I’ll suffer his cruelty in silence, knowing there’s one thing he wants more than revenge… Me. Note: Devious Lies is a 145,000-word standalone in the Cruel Crown series. If you love banter and angst, this book is for you! Welcome to Eastridge. Enter if you dare.

Games We Play


Dana Isaly - 2021
    He makes a living playing video games and using his gravelly voice to bring people’s sexual fantasies to life.When the top gaming site on the West Coast sends someone out to interview him, Quinlan walks into his apartment with her auburn curls and thick curves, and they’re instantly drawn to each other.Quinlan has no idea of the monster that lurks beneath the surface of his calm demeanor. Jack is quicksand, pulling her down into the dark underbelly of his desires. To get out unscathed, she’ll need to give into the hunger she has always tried to deny.

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.

Breaking the Bully


Jessa Kane - 2021
    Heart and soul. After years of pining for her in the halls of our high school, I finally touch her one night in an open field beneath a storm, receiving a miracle I never expected—she needs me in return. Or so I think. As soon as she finds out I’m a handyman, she cuts me off. But I’m not letting the richest girl in school break my heart without consequences. She will pay…But I’ll pay a far worse price when I find out why she really left me hanging without a word. And after unfairly bullying my sweet girl, I’ll sell my soul to win her back.

Bad Boy Blues


Saffron A. Kent - 2019
    In middle school, he spread false rumors about her. And in high school, he ruined her prom. She hates that his smirks are unfairly sexy. And she definitely loathes that his dark eyes seem to follow her everywhere. Sometimes, even in her dreams. It doesn’t matter that he’s rich and popular or that he lives in a freaking mansion full of butlers and maids. He’s rude and arrogant, and she wants to stay as far away from him as possible. But unfortunately for Cleo, she lives in the same freaking mansion as Zach. Only he’s the prince and she’s the lowly maid who serves him. #EnemiesToLovers #ZachAndCleo #AssholeAlpha #Angst #NewAdult

Hate


Tate James - 2020
    I wasn’t dead. But I was set up.After being charged with a string of offences--and made an example of by my political minded father--I’m eventually released back into Shadow Grove with one thing on my mind.Hate.Someone is going to pay for derailing my carefully laid out future. Someone is going to catch the full force of my hate. How very convenient that someone just moved into the bedroom down the hall from me.Archer D’Ath and his boys messed with the wrong chick and they’re about to learn just how cold Madison Kate’s hate can run.HATE is a full length mature college/new adult romance with enemies-to-lovers/love-hate themes. This is a reverse harem novel, meaning the main character has more than one love interest. This is book one of four in the series.

Haunting Adeline


H.D. Carlton - 2021
    Especially not when I plead for him to leave.He's always there, watching and waiting.And I can never look away.Not when I want him to come closer.The ShadowI didn't mean to fall in love.But now that I have, I can't stay away.I'm mesmerized by her smile, by her eyes, and the way she moves.The way she undresses...I'll keep watching and waiting. Until I can make her mine.And once she is, I'll never let her go.Not even when she begs me to.While not required, it is highly suggested to read the novella, Satan's Affair, first.This book was previously banned on Amazon due to the trigger warning. Please read reviews or go to the author's website.