Book picks similar to
First, Last, and in Between by Jamie Bennett
romance
contemporary-romance
slow-burn
abused
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.
The Predator
RuNyx - 2020
As the only non-blooded member in the high circle of the Tenebrae Outfit, he is an enigma to all - his skills unparalleled, his morality questionable, and his motives unknown. He is lethal and he knows it. As does Morana Vitalio, the genius extraordinaire daughter of the rival family. What Caine does with weapons, Morana does with computers. When a twenty-year old mystery resurfaces, Morana infiltrates Caine's house, intent on killing him, unaware of a tie that binds them together. Hate, heat, and history clash together with unexpected sparks. But something bigger, something worse is happening in their world. And despite their animosity, only they can fight it down.
The Fake Girlfriend Rules
Penny Wylder - 2021
I’ve known him forever.He’s always been able to ask me anything.I NEVER imagined he’d ask me to be his fake girlfriend.I’m terrified, but I want to help, so we make some rules.No kissing. No strings attached. It should be easy…Right?DouglasWe’ve been friends for years. Just friends.Sure, I thought she was hot, but I never looked at her as more than one of the guys.Asking her to be my fake girlfriend for a work event was a no-brainer.Until I saw her in that tight dress.Until we stumbled into a taxi together at the end of the night.Until we… well.I promised to follow her rules.Now, I’m going to break all of them.
Untouched
Melody Grace - 2013
Juliet knows it the minute she lays eyes on Beachwood Bay's resident bad boy. Forced to spend her summer before college in the sleepy beach town, she never expected to crash into the most devastating guy she’s ever met—or for Emerson’s blue eyes to strip through her dark secrets, and make her feel a desire she’s never known. Their connection is undeniable, but Juliet is torn. She knows, once she gives him everything, there’ll be no turning back.Juliet McKenzie is dangerous. Emerson can tell from the way she blows through all his defences, laying bare the demons he’s carried alone all his life. He’s left a trail of broken hearts and empty beds in his wake, but Juliet is different. Her innocence is intoxicating—and the passion she keeps hidden, just below the surface. He wants to be the only one to set it free, but with every kiss, he’s closer to losing control and doing the one thing he swore he never would: fall in love.One summer. Two damaged hearts. Their story is only just beginning…UNTOUCHED is a prequel novella to the USA Today Bestselling UNBROKEN. It also can be read as a stand-alone story.
Dirty Curve
Meagan Brandy - 2021
She does. But I don’t want to steal her time anymore. I want to earn it. If anyone can do that, it’s me. I’m Tobias Cruz, the king of the curveball. I don’t lose. Not the game, and surely not the girl. Little did I know, this girl has a secret...and it’s the dirtiest curve yet. ___From USA TODAY & Wall Street Journal bestselling author Meagan Brandy comes an all-new standalone romance set in college about a hotshot pitcher and the girl who never saw coming.
Enzo: The Gambani Mafia
Savannah Rylan - 2019
I plan on following my father's footsteps and lead the family one day. In the meantime, I am all right with getting my hands dirty. I would do anything my father asked. But I never thought that would mean taking a bride. I especially didn't think that the bride would be someone I spent the night with before. Serena captivated me from the moment I saw her. But since I left her in my bed, she has hated me. Now I have to fix this. Or face my father's wrath. How the f*ck do you get someone that hates you, to marry you?
Fake Fiancée
Ilsa Madden-Mills - 2017
They say nothing compares to your first kiss,But our first kiss was orchestrated for an audience.Our second kiss . . . that one was REAL.He cradled my face like he was terrified he'd f*ck it up.He stared into my eyes until the air buzzed.Soft and slow, full of sighs and little laughs,He inhaled me like I was the finest Belgian chocolate,And he'd never get another piece.A nip of his teeth, his hand at my waist . . .And I was lost.I forgot he was paying me to be his fake fiancée.I forgot we weren't REAL.Our kiss was pure magic, and before you laugh and say those kinds of kisses don't exist,Then you've never touched lips with Max Kent, the hottest quarterback in college history.Three months. Two hearts. One fake engagement.
Heart Bones
Colleen Hoover - 2020
After carving her path all on her own, Beyah is well on her way to bigger and better things, thanks to no one but herself.With only two short months separating her from the future she's built and the past she desperately wants to leave behind, an unexpected death leaves Beyah with no place to go during the interim. Forced to reach out to her last resort, Beyah has to spend the remainder of her summer on a peninsula in Texas with a father she barely knows. Beyah's plan is to keep her head down and let the summer slip by seamlessly, but her new neighbor Samson throws a wrench in that plan.Samson and Beyah have nothing in common on the surface.She comes from a life of poverty and neglect; he comes from a family of wealth and privilege. But one thing they do have in common is that they're both drawn to sad things. Which means they're drawn to each other. With an almost immediate connection too intense for them to continue denying, Beyah and Samson agree to stay in the shallow end of a summer fling. What Beyah doesn't realize is that a rip current is coming, and it's about to drag her heart out to sea.
The Cruelest Stranger
Winter Renshaw - 2020
I was there to drown my sorrows after a trying day, he was there to escape the storm. After a brief yet incredibly cruel exchange, the handsome stranger bolted before I had a chance to tell him off. Incensed and two cocktails deep, I followed him out the door, determined to give the audacious Adonis a piece of my mind.
Tearing after him in heels and barely able to keep up in the freezing rain, I ended my chase when I realized where he was going.
They say never to judge someone unless you know their story.
I never could have anticipated his... And I never could have anticipated the way our paths would cross again—or that I would one day find myself falling for a man with a hollow cavity where his heart should be, a man as callous as he was beautiful, as complicated as he was mesmeric. They say never to judge someone unless you know their story. This one’s ours.
Earn Your Extra Credit
Meghan Quinn - 2021
I don't normally ask a girl out, have her fail to recognize it's a date, and then give me a high five--as if I'm her wingman--and take off with someone else.No. Normally I'm the one taking the girl home but with Stella, it's been one failed attempt after another and frankly, I'm done trying.But thanks to my best friend getting married in Hawaii right before the school year starts, I'm stuck on a tropical island, watching Stella parade around in what she claims is a bathing suit.Unfortunately, that's not the worst of it, just the tip of the iceberg. Because what I think is going to be a relaxing vacation, avoiding the one girl I can't seem to make it work with, has turned into a spectacle of being recruited as Stella's doting fake fiancé so she can save face with an old "friend" from high school.Now I'm navigating through purgatory while trying not to get turned on by the way she holds my hand or kisses my jaw. It's all fake, that's what I keep telling myself, even though it feels entirely too real.Note from author: This book is a smattering of tropes: Enemies to lovers, turned friends to lovers, and also coworkers to lovers. Not to mention, a fake fiancé romance that takes place in Maui and Chicago. Lots of heat--a balcony scene that will make you blush--absurdly funny pranks, best supporting cast, a surprise "mom" you'll never see coming, and a grumbly guss of a hero who can't stop pining after his girl. Enjoy!
Beneath The Surface
Abbi Cook - 2020
It's all I'm supposed to be.I take no prisoners. Until Lily. For her, I make an exception. But only for a week. When I walk in, time starts ticking down to zero. Her father has seven days to save her. Until then, she's mine. Mine to have. Mine to take. Mine to keep. Beneath The Surface is a standalone in the Captive Hearts series.
Silent Love: Part 2 (Forbidden Series)
Kenadee Bryant - 2018
Gage Harper is trouble, and I don’t need complications in my life. So why can’t I seem to stay away from him? It’s not like I’m attracted to him or anything. How could I be? He’s the exact opposite of what I want. Ethan is the one, always has been…which is why I’m crushed when I find out he’s dating my best friend. But I refuse to accept it. I’ve come too far to let him slip through my fingers. I’ll do anything to make Ethan realize I’m the girl for him—even if it means using Gage to stir a little jealousy. But once Gage agrees to play his part in this game of make-believe, lines start to blur, and the one thing I desperately tried to avoid happens… A giant complication.
King Me
Terri E. Laine - 2021
Tall, Dark, and Handsome takes pity on me,I’m helpless not to become his prey.What are men like him made of?Everything that should make me run.Yet, before my life no longer belongs to me,I want to enjoy the ride.I can only pray my heart will be intact when it’s over.HimI’ve got one mission.To have the man that fathered me, King Me as his.I deserve the billions as much as my legitimate brothers do.But I’m thrown off that pursuit by a pint-sized woman who saves lives as a career.By contrast, my job during many combat missions has been to take them.We are too different.Yet, she’s a beautiful distraction I can't seem to give up.I’ve made the mistake of falling in love before.I won’t do it again.So when I’m forced to choose between becoming a King and saving her life—The choice is simple.
You Can Have Manhattan
P. Dangelico - 2019
Sydney Evans is no stranger to hard work. It’s the one constant in her life. And with no family or friends to speak of it’s been easy to pour everything she has into her career as general counsel for Blackstone Holdings. She wants for nothing. Until her boss offers her a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. All she has to do in return is marry his good-for-nothing son. Scott Blackstone used be a party whore. Pardon, party animal. He hasn’t been that guy in a long time though. Not since he moved to Wyoming, bought a failing cattle ranch, and turned it into a profitable business. All is good. Until a phone call from his father threatens the quiet, simple life he’s built. Marry or lose everything. And to a woman who can’t stand him, no less. Well, Scott is not going down without a fight. He’s never going back to Manhattan. Not if he can help it.