Book picks similar to
Swollen by Stephanie Brother


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Ruin


Samantha Towle - 2018
    He just didn't think they would come with a tragedy that would change how he viewed the sport forever.Cameron Reed was in her second year at Juilliard when her childhood sweetheart, Zeus Kincaid, walked away from her. A few months later, Cam realized that she would never fulfill her dream of dancing for the New York City Ballet.Now working as a dancer in an upscale club in Manhattan, Cam is brought face-to-face with the man she once loved. And it's her turn to walk away from him.After five years of missing Cam, Zeus isn't prepared to let her go again. But when he finds himself standing on her doorstep the next morning, things don't go quite as he expected...

Forgiving Reed


C.A. Harms - 2014
    She had no choice but to move forward and give her son the best life she could. Which meant moving back home. Except there was one problem.Home was where Reed would be...The man who once held her heart, then shattered it into a million pieces. Grieving the loss of Rhetts dad, and learning to forgive those who have betrayed her, Kori was battling it all.But will she ever have the strength to forgive Reed?

Next to Never


Penelope Douglas - 2017
    And when a family friend—several years older—from her childhood captures her heart, she knows they’re going to be a problem. Lucas Morrow is a man—experienced, sophisticated, and important. And knowing her brothers, he may as well be forbidden.But Lucas left town years ago and shows no signs of returning. Quinn knows she shouldn’t wait for him anymore.But then a package turns up on her doorstep with no return address and its contents reveal family secrets that threaten to turn Quinn’s world upside down. She’s never asked about the tumultuous path of her parents’ romantic history, but she soon learns their happy marriage had a very rocky and passionate start.As she begins to see things around her with new eyes, Quinn will have to make tough choices about whether she’ll keep waiting…or finally go after what she really wants.*Next to Never is a 60,000 word novella from Quinn's point-of-view. It is not her love story. That will be a full-length novel eventually. This story covers some family history, introduces the new generation, and catches up with the original couples.

Calico


Callie Hart - 2016
     Port Royal, South Carolina, was my home. I was born there. I fell in love there. And I nearly died there. I never thought I’d go back. Now, after so many years, I have to return to bury the man who made my life a living hell. Some nights, I used to cry myself to sleep, praying my father would die. Other nights were different. Other nights, there was him. Callan Cross. My first confidante. My first kiss. My first love. My first everything: Callan was the glue that held me together when everything else was falling apart. He was my savior. He was there for me whenever I needed him… Until he wasn’t. Every night, I’ve seen the love of my life in my sleep. I just never thought I’d have to face him again. Callan Twelve years ago, I f*#@ed up big time. Living life through a camera lens is sometimes easier than dealing with it head on. Scratch that. It’s always easier. For over a decade, I’ve been a master of my art, taking photographs all over the world. Yet despite all of the countries I’ve visited, the amazing things I’ve seen, the beautiful women I’ve screwed, my heart has remained in pieces. Coralie’s the only woman I’ve ever loved, will ever love. And I’m determined to show her that we’re meant to be together. Even if it means unearthing the bones of the past in the process. A lifetime and a thousand miles have stood between us. Now, there’s no length of time I won’t wait, no distance I won’t travel, in order to make her mine.

Watch and See


Jiffy Kate - 2018
    But when her mother is admitted to a long-term rehab facility a few hours away, Harper sees her chance for a fresh start. A shoebox apartment above a Chinese restaurant isn't exactly the escape she dreamed of, but she makes it work. With limited funds and social life, she views her new city through a dusty old pair of binoculars. There's no harm in looking. Just a peek and I'll stop. Harper finds her new pastime quickly turning into a full-fledged obsession. She begins falling for a man she doesn't know--has never met--as she watches him have sex through the window of his apartment. Daydreaming about what it would be like if she were one of his conquests. We all reach a point when watching isn't enough--when we can no longer just be a spectator in our own life. That's when it's supposed to get good, right? When we take control and go after what we want. But what happens when it all blows up in our face and we're left with less than nothing? What then?

Bastard


J.L. Perry - 2015
    I was born a bastard and I’ll die a bastard. I learnt it at a young age, and nothing and nobody can change that. I’m on a one-way path of destruction, and god help anyone who gets in my way. I hate my life. Actually, I hate pretty much everything.That’s until I meet the kid next door. Indi-freakin’-ana. My dislike for her is instant. From the moment I lay eyes on her, she ignites something within me. She makes me feel things I thought I was incapable of feeling. I don’t like it, not one bit. When she looks at me with her big, beautiful, haunting, green eyes, it’s like she can see into the depths of my soul. It freaks me the hell out. She’s like sunshine and rainbows in my world of gloom and doom. I hate sunshine and rainbows.******** I’m Indiana Montgomery, my friends call me Indi. Despite losing my mum at the age of six, I have a wonderful life and great friends. My dad more than makes up for the fact that I only have one parent. I’m his little girl, the centre of his world. I adore him. When Carter Reynolds moves in next door, my life takes a turn for the worse. He’s gorgeous—sinfully hot, but that’s where my compliments end. He seems hell bent on making my life miserable. He acts tough, but when I look into his eyes I don’t see it. I see hurt and pain. To me, he seems lost. I should hate him for the way he treats me, but surprisingly I don’t. If anything, I feel sorry for him. I want to help him find peace. Help him find the light that I know is buried somewhere within his darkness, but, he won’t have a bar of it. He’s warned me time and time again to stay away, but I can’t. I’m drawn to him for some reason. He’s always referring to himself as a bastard. That may be true, but to me, he’s more like a beautifully, misunderstood bastard. Whether he likes it or not, I refuse to give up on him.***WARNING This book is recommended for persons over the age of 18 years, due to sexual content and coarse language.

More of You


A.L. Jackson - 2018
    . . The second I saw him walk through the door, I knew he was trouble. A gorgeous rebel with a bad attitude and a huge chip on his shoulder.My heart warned me. I didn’t listen. I fell hard and fast. He promised we’d be together forever, and then left me with a broken heart. Now, ten years later, Jace Jacobs is standing at my door.Sexier than he’s ever been. Provocative and commanding.Successful and powerful. The man I always knew he would become. But I promised myself I’d never lose my heart to him again.Even time couldn’t dim our chemistry. One glance of his intense eyes, and I become weak. One brush of his hand, and he brings me to my knees. Little do I know, Jace holds the key to everything I’ve lost and everything that threatens my future.Now he will either save me, or he will break me all over again . . . More of You – a Confessions of the Heart second-chance, stand-alone romance

Ghosted


J.M. Darhower - 2017
    Through scandal after scandal, addiction on top of addiction, a flurry of paparazzi hunt him as he fights to conquer his demons.She's a single mother, assistant manager at a grocery store, existing in monotony with her five-year-old daughter. Every day when she goes to work, lurid tabloids surround her, the face of a notorious bad boy haunting her from their covers.A man and a woman, living vastly different lives, but that wasn't always the case. Once, they were just a boy and a girl who bonded over comic books and fell in love unexpectedly.When Kennedy Garfield met Jonathan Cunningham back in high school, she knew he had all the makings of a tragic hero. With stars in his eyes, and her heart on her sleeve, the pair ran away together to follow their dreams.But dreams, sometimes, turn into nightmares.Now, years later, the only thing they share is a daughter—one who has no idea her father plays her favorite superhero. But Jonathan is desperate to make amends, and at the top of his list is the woman who gave up everything for him and the little girl he hasn't yet met.

In the Unlikely Event


L.J. Shen - 2019
    Shen comes a new, star-crossed lovers romance about loss, love, and meeting The One when you are too young to know how to keep them. Sometimes you meet people who are out of this world, so you make them a part of yours. A one-night stand born from vengeance in a foreign land. An explosive chemistry neither of us could deny. We signed a contract on the back of a Boar’s Head Pub napkin that said if we ever met again, we would drop everything and be together. Eight years and thousands of miles later, he’s here. In New York. And he’s America’s music obsession. The intangible Irish poet who brings record executives to their knees. The blizzard in my perfect, unshaken snow globe. Last time we spoke, he was a beggar with no intention of becoming a king. But a king he became, and now I’m his servant. I’m not the same broken princess Malachy Doherty put back together with his callused hands. I have a career I love. A boyfriend I adore. An apartment, a roommate, a life. I changed. He changed, too. But Mal kept the napkin. Question is, will I keep my word?

Torrid Affair


Callie Anderson - 2016
    And one of them is my brother-in-law.He’s my drug. My fire. My addiction.But he’s married to my best friend. And I’m married to my husband.I’m not ashamed. I have no guilt.None.I’m not fucked. I’m a fucked up person.This is the story of how I ruined my life.And the life of the one I loved most.

Taking the Fall: Vol 1


Alexa Riley - 2015
    For years she has been haunted by the night she can’t remember. When she learns the only man she's ever loved has betrayed her, she escapes and crafts a new identity. She's finally free... Carter has waited eight years to claim his woman. Locking him up only fueled his obsession. The day he gets out he's coming for her. Taking the Fall was just the start. Now he'll stop at nothing to possess what's his. Warning: this book contains a hero who grunts and growls his way through life, a heroine nicknamed Cherry looking to lose it, and instalove so fast and hard your panties might disintegrate. Note: Not responsible for exploding panties.Taking the Fall is a four-part story. Please note the endings are NOT relationship cliffhangers. Layla is Carter's.

Ravage


Jessica Ames - 2020
    Even the mention of her name is enough to bring my demons out to play. I still don't know what happened, but what I do know is she walked out on me, the club, and the future we were working towards without a backwards glance. I should have known she wouldn't stay gone.SashaLeaving Rav was the hardest decision I've ever had to make, but I didn’t have a choice. Staying and facing my past wasn't an option. I suffered through hell, but I'm stronger than I've ever been, at least I was until my daughter got sick. Now, the only person left who might be able to save her is her father. Only, I have no idea who it is. Ravage, or his brother, Sin.*Warning : Contains adult content, reading age 18 +. Graphic violence and dark emotional scenes that may trigger some readers.

Drawn to Him


Willow Winters - 2017
     You know the kind. They steal the breath from your lungs and make your heart beat a little faster with a single look. You can’t stop staring, but the moment they pin those gorgeous eyes on you, you’re done for. The kind that’s too hard to resist. This is a collection of men just like that. Handsome, confident and all for you. DRAWN TO HIM is a collection of eight exclusive never-before-seen novellas you can't resist, complete with HEAs. They have all the book feels and angst you've been wanting.

The Match


Jillian Quinn - 2018
    She doesn’t go on blind dates, never deviates from her plan to become a surgeon. Not until her friend tricks her into meeting Sloan Hart, the hottest doctor in town and the best sex of her life, does she make an exception.When Ava walks into Penn General on the first day of her residency and discovers Sloan is her new boss, everything changes. With their careers and reputations on the line, Ava and Sloan know they should leave the best night of their lives in the past. But Sloan gives a whole new meaning to good with his hands, and Ava’s too distracted by those hands to do the right thing and walk away.

Down and Out


Kelley R. Martin - 2014
    And don’t read this book if you don’t like sassy, strong-willed, fiercely independent heroines who use phrases like “bossy asshole” as a term of endearment. You have been warned.*“Tattooed package of sin.” That’s how Savannah Ryan would describe her new boss, Declan Whitmore, the deliciously tatted and pierced fighter who holds the top spot in Boston’s newest underground fighting organization. She’d also describe him as bossy, arrogant, and—depending on what he does to piss her off that particular day—an asshole.It’s that aloof attitude, along with Savannah’s witty comebacks and tight little body that land her on his radar. Unfortunately for her, Declan is relentless when he sets his sights on someone, both in and out of the ring. Unfortunately for him, this recently reformed bad girl is trying to go straight after heading down a dangerous path. She’s not going to make this easy for him. In fact, she’s going to make it—and him—very, very hard.Declan’s not worried, though. He’ll have Savannah come hell or high water, because if there’s one word he’d use to describe her, it’s “MINE.”Genre: New Adult, ContemporaryAges: 18+