Book picks similar to
Scars and Tats by Kristi Pelton


single-parent
contemporary
arc
romance

Into Temptation


Skyla Madi - 2016
     A good Catholic girl would never use church on Sunday to lust over the Father's son. A good Catholic girl would never pulse between her thighs and lose her breath over the boy who recites the closing prayer - even if his voice is low and sinful enough to make her toes curl in her shoes. A good Catholic girl would never allow herself to be led into temptation by dirty, blond hair and dark eyes... And a good Catholic girl would never use Bible study as an excuse to be used and abused. But, like I said, I'm not a good Catholic girl... And he's FAR from a good Catholic boy. Caleb Andrews is everything I don't need, but he's everything I want... God help me.

Trigger


L.P. Dover - 2017
    . . that’s what I am. It’s what I do. It’s what I live for. I’m no longer the Preston Hale everyone knew. I left that life and the people in it a long time ago the second I made my first kill. I wasn’t going to give in, but when I heard the screams there was no going back. It triggered the pain, the need. I knew what I had to do, and I did it well. But I never expected for Emma Turner – the only link to my past – to come back into my life. She triggers a different emotion inside me, something I hadn’t ever felt. It’s not a want to kill . . . but a need to CLAIM.

Deep Down


Brenda Rothert - 2015
    My closest companions now are shame and loss. But a sliver of hope lies in the only person I have left in this world – the one who’s growing inside me.Survival becomes living again because of my child, and the town where I begin anew. That’s where I meet the man who starts to melt the ice inside my heart.As we get closer, reminders of my past become sharper. Clearer. To confront the pain, I have to discover what’s deep down inside me. Is there enough left there to become whole again, or am I too wounded to heal? A portion of sales from this book will benefit the Keith Milano Memorial Fund at AFSP

Chat


Kimberly Stedronsky Adams - 2014
    Twenty-six years later, Jason is finally ready to move on from his divorce. His ex-wife leaves behind her Kindle, and he stumbles upon Bestselling Author Carissa Steel’s latest release. After learning that she lives less than an hour from his apartment- and is single- he contacts her on Facebook. As he struggles to flirt over chat, he enlists the help of his best friend.Sandy has spent three years waiting for her boyfriend, Jack, to finally pop the question. At the same time Jason asks for her help, her world slowly begins to crumble around her. Through her pain, she continues to support her best friend, playing Cyrano to his newest conquest.As Sandy begins to chat with Jason online, she creates a safe place to explore what neither of the friends thought would ever exist between them. As lines blur and are eventually crossed, they begin to wonder if amazing sex is worth risking a lifetime of friendship.Twenty-six years… twenty-six letters.Could they have always only needed each other?

All That's Left to Hold Onto


Ella Fox - 2015
    After leaving his hellish roots behind him, Ronan found contentment when he started over. Thoughts of the past had been pushed down for so long; he hardly thought about it at all. He intended to keep it that way.When unexpected circumstances force Ronan to return to Colorado, the Keely he finds is no longer the adolescent girl he remembered. Torn between desire and fear, Ronan struggles with his feelings for Keely and his need to escape the town that scarred him so deeply years ago.Letting go is all Ronan's ever known. Will he realize a life with Keely is something he should hold onto at any cost?

Bronx


Tess Oliver - 2021
    He grew up breaking colts and parachutes into wildfires as a smokejumper for a living, but Layla Rafferty, the elusive woman he loves but can't have, might be the one to finally break him.

You Loved Me At My Darkest


Evie Harper - 2014
    Kidnapped by a rich madman, Sasha is sold into slavery, while Lily is forced to join The Collection, a unique bevy of exotic beauties enduring frequent horrors at the hands of elite bidders. However, no amount of pain and suffering will break Lily, who will stop at nothing to save her younger sister. Possibly with help from an unlikely ally.Love is stronger than loyalty…Attempting to prove his allegiance to his employer, Jake is tasked with guarding the unruly and uncontrollable Lily. He can’t afford to help her in her quest to free Sasha—not if he hopes to fulfill his own agenda. But in their dark, gritty, tension-filled world, solace is taken wherever it’s found. Bonds are formed and hearts engage despite Jake’s resistance and both their attempts at self-preservation.When certain secrets come to light, the resulting explosion has breathtakingly bittersweet consequences that, by the end, may not leave everyone whole…or alive.

Tap


Georgia Cates - 2015
    That’s all she was when I agreed to play a part in deceiving her. But then the unplanned happened.We met. And all I wanted from her was a dirty weekend . . . until that wasn’t enough and I longed for so much more.Lawrence Thorn suddenly means the world to me. And that’s a problem. She’s my business partner’s sister. Forbidden fruit. Pursuing her can mean trouble for me at Lovibond Brewery. But I don’t care.I yearn for her skin against mine.I crave her smell on my body.I want to make her laugh and then hear her moan my name.And she does for a brief moment in time.But Lawrence wants more than I’m able to give. And it’s a damn shame because there’s no one on earth I want more than her.An epic love.A miserable ending.Unless it’s not.

Where We Belong


K.L. Grayson - 2014
    . . she's a snarky little bitch.I’ve tried several times to regret the events that took place on June 5, 2008, but for the life of me, I can’t. I'd never regret the pain, the suffering, or the heartache because it ultimately led me to the place I am now. And I can’t regret the place I am now. What I still can't figure out is this: how is it possible that the single worst day of my life inadvertently became the very best day?Five years ago my life was irrevocably changed.Seventeen minutes was all it took—to lose my best friend…to lose the love of my life…Seventeen minutes was all it took for the seeds of hope—the seeds of my future—to be planted in the worst possible way.My name is Harley Thompson, and this is my story.

A Life Less Broken


Margaret McHeyzer - 2014
    Broken and damaged, Allyn seeks help from someone that fate brought her.Dr. Dominic Shriver is a psychiatrist who’s drawn to difficult cases. He must push past his own personal battles to help Allyn fight her monsters and nightmares.Is Dr. Shriver the answer to her healing?Can Allyn overcome the broken?Contains distressing content. Only suitable for 18+. Standalone.

Tempting Christa


Tracie Delaney - 2019
    I lived through it. Hell, I almost died because of it. Once bitten, twice wiser. I thought my battles were over—I was wrong. Christa Left with limited choices, here I am, a face among millions, another runaway hoping to lose herself in the Big Apple. And I will not—dare not—repeat the mistakes of my past. Mister I-always-get-what-I-want Dayton Somers may have manipulated me into accepting his bizarre offer, but he needn’t think I’m in awe of his reputation, or in any way impressed by him. Sure, he’s charming and successful—but I see through the veneer to the darkness lurking beneath. He might hold my immediate future in his hands, but he’ll never have me. Dayton I’m a winner, a fighter, a man who knows what he wants, and how to get it. The day Christa Adams walks into my building, I know I’ve found my latest challenge. Her skittish behavior pushes me to look deeper. What’s her story? Who is she running from? How can I persuade her to trust me? Christa can erect her barriers, but I’ll tear down every single one. She may not realize it yet, but she’s mine.

Dark McKenna


Shayne Ford
    He doesn't believe in second chances.When Vivian Mason, a college freshman who has no family left and struggles to survive, runs into a broody, handsome man one November night while fighting a cold rain on the streets of Manhattan, she has no idea who he is.A man of a few words, a body made of steel and eyes brimming with fire, the mysterious stranger saves her life more than once.Soft and delicate and a moving target, she falls for the broad-shouldered man, although his identity remains a secret to her.Fate pulls him away from her before one morning, she finds herself and her best friend in the boardroom of a multi-billion corporation, waiting for the company's owner to commence his speech when the door opens, and a tall, dark-haired man wearing a high-end suit walks in.She stares at his back for a few moments before he slowly turns, and then her heart stops.NOTE:The enigmatic male lead makes an appearance in Golden Heir Series.Spoilers of Shade's story (the lead man in the Golden Heir Series) are present in the Shades of Love Series.This book ends in a CLIFFHANGER.Three books in this series. All available.

Broken


A.E. Murphy - 2014
    He is hers and she is his. Life can't get much better and their love can't get any stronger. That is until mistakes are made and their world comes crumbling down. She's left alone with no money, no home and a growing person invading her stomach. How will she survive? Forced to leave culinary school, the job she needs and the home they made together. Gwen finds a knight in the most unlikely source. Caleb's brother Nathan. A complex man with a phobia she doesn't understand and mannerisms that aren't of this day and age, will she be able to melt his seemingly frozen heart and become his friend? Or will he forever push her away and wallow in his loneliness and self loathing?

Unpredictable


C.A. Harms - 2015
    With an absent father and a mother who drowns herself daily in a bottle of Rum, there was no other option. Jett Jameson was the distraction Quinn needed, even if it was just for one night. A void filler, and a chance for a moment to allow herself to feel something other than emptiness. He wasn’t what she expected. Gentle. Her life didn’t have room for a man like Jett. Unpredictable. But now it was too late, there was no turning back. Desire. Nothing would ever be the same…

The Sins That Bind Us


Geneva Lee - 2016
    Not when I did my first line of cocaine. Not when I became a single mother. But I changed, and every decision I’ve made was to protect myself and my son from my weaknesses—and my past.Until Jude came along and made me question everything, even my own secrets. The sins I carry with me can never be discovered. Life handed me broken bits of people and left me to construct my own world, and it’s too fragile to take a chance on Jude Mercer.We write our own stories.We build our own prisons.We weave our own lies.We commit the sins that bind us.