Book picks similar to
Scars and Tats by Kristi Pelton


single-parent
contemporary
arc
romance

The Realm of You


Amanda Richardson - 2015
    Over the course of one day, she begins to piece together the last week of her real life. What’s more, when the day is over, she doesn’t want to leave. Though she avoids it, sleep eventually comes, and the life she yearns for disappears forever.The next day, Marlin wakes up in a hospital bed. It becomes abundantly clear that her wonderful life in Vermont was all a dream. Intent on regaining the happiness she felt, she decides to uproot her life and begin volunteering at a psychiatric hospital in the same town as the one in her dream. What she doesn’t expect is for both lives to come crashing together in a strange twist of fate.The Realm of You is a dark contemporary romance about discovering your second chance. Sometimes the mind works in mysterious ways, and in Marlin’s case, it gives her a glimpse of what could have been. Once she gets a taste, she’ll do anything to make it a reality.

Bloodstained Beauty


Ella Fields - 2018
     Fresh out of college and headed straight for my dream job, I didn’t think things could get any better.
 Then I met my dream man. 
In an instant, my happy ever after had begun.
 The life I’d stumbled into was beautiful, and the man I loved was perfect.
 But perfection comes at a cost, and I’d slumbered through all the alarms.
 Then I met my nightmare. 
 The man whose bright eyes held untamed darkness. 
 The man who disarmed me with his peculiar behavior. 
 The man whose cold, merciless hands shook me awake.  
In an instant, questions started to dismantle my happy ever after.
 But whoever said the truth would set you free was wrong. 
It wasn’t going to repair the cracks in my naive heart. 
 It wasn’t going to caress my face with comforting hands and reassure me it was all just a dream.
 No, the truth shoved me down a rabbit hole, and I landed in the lair of a real-life monster.

Every Soul


L.K. Collins - 2014
    Destiny . Fate series. More to come....When you lose the one person who grounds your existence, your whole world changes.In life, it is said that everything happens for a reason. If that’s true, how can you explain death? Especially when it happens to someone so young, so beautiful, and so innocent? My name is Bain Adams, and I struggle with these thoughts every day. I’ve been through hell and back, somehow surviving the unimaginable. My sister took her life six months ago, and now, what’s left is a shell of the man I once was, a shadow of the person I used to be. Do I miss that life? Absolutely. But I miss her more, every day. I pray time will ease the pain and help my suffering while I search for the answers…but so far, nothing.Happiness is something I knew so long ago, and now it’s nothing but a faint, distant recollection of the life I once had. My name is Arion LaSalle, and seven months ago my life was shredded to pieces when my fiancé disappeared while deployed. He never came home, burning a hindrance of pain and agony within my soul. For so long, I lived my life believing everything happens for a reason, until now. ‘Cause none of it makes any sense. Why Nate? Why only him? Since getting through each breath is a struggle, I put on a fake persona, pretending I’m someone I’m not, living my life recklessly. Because for me, it was all taken far too soon.

Little Dove


K.C. Decker - 2018
    There is something special about me. Not special in a good way though, more like special in a way that will get me killed one day.It’s not something I talk about with anyone, but that doesn’t stop me from trying to snare my neighbor in my devious web.He is angsty and brooding and completely sexy in a scrappy, bloody knuckle kind of way.I should also mention that he’s a scheming, felonious drug dealer and I’m drawn to him like flies on shit.The problem is, he doesn’t yet know his role in my narrative, but he will fall in line. They always do.Trigger Warning: This book contains references to past abuse, violence, and a sexual assault that some readers may find distressing. Follow National Award-Winning Author KC Decker, as she takes you on an intense, sensual ride through the dark corners of the human psyche. Little Dove is a commanding story that explores both the mercy and self-destructiveness that lives within us all.

Always You


Stephanie Rose - 2015
     All we had was friendship and my silly hope for more. When he left and took all of that with him, I moved on. Settled. I figured that happiness wasn't in the cards for me. Until, one night of drinks with an old "friend" gives me a hope I never expected, but don't know what to do with. This time, I have the chance I always dreamed about—but I'm not free to take it. *** Ten years ago, Samantha was only a friend, a sweet girl I never wanted to hurt. Now, she's everything I want and nothing I can have. She belongs with me, even if she's not really mine, and I can’t settle for anything less than all of her. Now that I’ve got a second chance, I'm grabbing it with both hands. Why did it take so long to realize that it was Always You?

Shouldn't Want You


Lilian Monroe - 2020
    I swooned.He left.Poof! Gone.His kiss still echoing on my lips, his face still etched on my brain.G-O-N-E. Disappeared. Ghosted. Never to be heard from again…...until now.My brother’s getting married, and his best man happens to be the one person I never want to see again.Sacha Black is all grown up.All man.All muscle.All thigh-clenching, cheek-burning, panty-melting misery.The moment his stormy, gray eyes meet mine, I know my poor heart doesn’t stand a chance.The only thing standing between us is ten years of pain and my very protective brother.Easy, right?... Wrong.

Addiction


Shantel Tessier - 2015
    I’m a man with no shame. I’m a lover with no soul. What am I? You’re a loner with no friends. You’re a beggar with no place to go. You’re a face with no name. Who are you? It doesn’t really matter what I am or who you are. Everyone has sin in common. But I pride myself on doing it better. Through the eyes of another, I am envied. If they only knew the wrath I have endured. Greed can be a motherfucker, but it is what makes us strive to be better. Lust can make you burn, but without it you would freeze to death. Some of us are a glutton for punishment and want to feel the pain that reminds us we’re still alive rather than overcome by sloth. The lure of these seven deadly sins is like an addiction. And I intend to indulge in each of these unforgivable sins.

Angelo


Lisa Carlisle - 2020
    A neuroscientist in danger.And one dance that might give them a second chance... CatherineA stranger has been warning me about my research for the government. My coworkers tell me not to worry, but it bothers me. I can't let it show, though. This is my first time as a project lead. At least, a weekend wedding in Newport promises a much needed escape.But when I come face to face with Angelo DeMarchis, that illusion shatters.He's the one who got away.And he's grown even sexier after all these years.That's when I realize I'm in even more trouble.And once again, the price might be my heart.AngeloI've needed this leave for a long time, but the memories haunt me no matter where I go.Even at a wedding--a happy occasion--where I run into a woman from my past.Catherine has become even hotter since high school. I wouldn't mind spending every minute I'm home with her.There's only one problem.Her research has gotten her into trouble. She downplays the warnings, but I'm not buying it.I have ten days to make sure she's safe.She's mine and I won't let anyone get to her. This time I'm playing for keeps.Meet the DeMarchis family in this series by USA Today bestselling author Lisa Carlisle. Navy SEALs, Marines, and hometown heroes -- each who encounters his most complicated mission yet when he will find a woman from his past challenges his plans for his future.

Deliver


Pam Godwin - 2014
    Now it's whatever she wants it to be. She is a Deliverer. She lures young men and delivers them to be sold. She delivers the strikes that enforce their obedience. She delivers the sexual training that determines their purchase price. As long as she delivers, the arrangement that protects her family will hold. Delivering is all she knows. The one thing she can't deliver is a captive from slavery. Until him. And her stubborn slave thinks he can deliver her...from herself.DELIVER series (HEAs with no cliffhangers - must be read in order):Deliver #1Vanquish #2Disclaim #3Devastate #4Take #5Manipulate #6Unshackle #7Dominate #8Complicate #9

Bite & Release


Cory Cyr - 2014
    Somewhere along the way her dreams of stardom crashed and burned, along with her life. Thirteen years later she is forced to return to Fairbanks because her unforgiving and emotionally-distant father has suddenly died. Ryan seizes the opportunity to not only escape her abusive husband but to be able to attend her best friend's wedding. What could go wrong? It's only Fairbanks, Alaska... While wishing she was anywhere but her father's funeral and wake, Ryan is struck senseless by a stunning, drop-dead gorgeous man. Her thoughts turn carnal and she desperately wants to know him in every way and position possible. There's only one problem... He's the devil's spawn. He's the one who marked her for life. He's the kid she used to baby-sit. And he's hotter than hell! Shea Michaels has loved Ryan Chase for most of his life. After surviving an unspeakable childhood, he became a man of whom she could be proud of...if she ever came back. Now that she's returned, Shea pursues her with a vengeance, undaunted by the thirteen year age difference that Ryan uses as the shield between them. Confusion, guilt and lust bombard Ryan as she battles the memories of the little boy she used to know while still being drawn to the heart-stopping man he has become.

The Hard Way


Katie Ashley - 2016
    Because of his talent at football, coupled with his father’s wealth, he’s always gotten his way. But when a night of drunken debauchery lands him in hot water with the college athletic board, neither his influential father nor his charming grin can save him. He finds it a total buzz kill when he is sentenced to community service with troubled youth at an inner-city shelter. But his nightmare is only beginning when his greatest high school regret is the very one in charge of the program, and she has him by the balls in more ways than one.For Avery Prescott, senior year was a nightmare of epic proportions, and Cade Hall played the lead villain. After she fled her small town for college in the bright lights of Atlanta, she thought she had escaped the painful memories of her past. She never could have imagined Cade would waltz through the door of the outreach program she presided over. But Avery has news for Cade--she isn’t the same shy, doormat of a girl she was in high school. Since she holds Cade's football future in her hands, she’s more than ready to make payback a real bitch.Will the two stay in the defensive zone or discover that sometimes life's greatest lessons are learned the hard way?

Scarred


Elizabeth Knox - 2018
    I had it all.Or, at least, that’s what everyone else thought.Between my husband being the president of the Demons of Hell and his club, I had a “family.”Except the only thing that made us a family was my husband’s persistent reminders that it was.But a family doesn’t turn a blind eye to things.A family doesn’t let one of their own become a punching bag for their mistakes.For all the pent-up anger and frustration for something that isn’t even my fault.My “family” was the reason I nearly died.And when Rage came into my life, he was all I could see.The only thing that suddenly mattered.Too bad I didn’t listen to the warnings before I became obsessed.After all, with a name like Rage, what was I expecting?

Giving In to You


L.M. Carr - 2015
    In fact, she isn’t looking for anything at all because life hasn’t been fair. Everything—the idea of love, her hopes and dreams—was ripped away in a single night.Arrogant yet sexy Adam Lawson makes the move to a small town in an attempt to escape life in the city. Here he hopes to provide a fresh start for those he loves and protects with a vow to never let anyone get close enough to hurt them again. A chance encounter with Miss Delaney begins a relentless pursuit that has Adam breaking his own rules when he makes an offer she simply can’t refuse. Despite her internal struggles, Mia knows there’s no denying the attraction between them. But when acquaintances become friends and friends become enemies, Adam’s need to protect those around him becomes even more crucial. Will the tangled web of lies and betrayal combined with past insecurities become too much for them to handle?

Hidden Scars


A.M. Myers - 2015
     Or she was...before him. Emma sets out to rebuild her life and find the person she once was. A wrench is thrown into her plans when she meets Phoenix West, a sexy as hell, smooth-talking tattoo artist. As soon as Nix meets Emma, he knows he's found something special. He can't deny their connection and despite her reluctance, Nix slowly works his way through her hidden scars and into her heart. Just when Emma starts to breathe again, her fear resurfaces, threatening her hopes for the future. Will she ever be free to live the life she truly wants? Or will her torturous past finally catch up to her?

Darkness Matters


Jay McLean - 2017
    Good versus evil. Heroes versus villains. Light versus dark. For two years, college freshman Noah Morgan lived his life somewhere in the middle, fighting darkness and light, always searching for answers to a single question: Why, Noah, why? The same three words keep him up at night, struggling for air while gripping a plastic cylinder containing white pills to match the white label with his name printed in ink as deep and dark as his memories—memories that turned him into a recluse. A shut-in. An introvert. Luckily for him, that’s not how the girl next door sees him.