Book picks similar to
Beautiful Nightmare (Shadow River Elite, #1) by Leila James
bully
angst-drama
college-young-adult
not-interested
Savage God: A Dark College Bully Romance
Ivy Blake
He feasts on my tears and screams for breakfast, stares me down with hateful eyes and taunts me with salacious threats.I was the first girl to say no to him…But Nate doesn’t give a shit about the word no.I was lucky to escape him once, now my luck has run its course.Oakwood was meant to be my safe haven, my escape from home, but now it’s become the lion’s den and my tormentor lurks in the shadows, waiting to pounce.My cries mean nothing to him; they only make him want me more. Nate doesn’t ask, he takes.My bully likes to play with his prey before he devours it.He vows to bring me to my knees and have his way with me.I don’t know when he’ll strike, but I know he’ll make me pay for daring to disrespect him.Nate knows all the right spots to touch, which makes me hate him even more.But when his hand is wrapped around my throat, it’s hard not to be tempted by that deliciously cruel mouth.I won’t stop fighting him, I won’t bend to his will. And yet, I don’t know how much longer I can continue living in fear. If I surrender, will Nate finally leave me alone?‘Savage God’ is a standalone dark college bully romance that will be a part of a series of standalones set at Oakwood Academy. Check the trigger warnings before diving into Nate and Violet’s deliciously dark story! Recommended for older readers.
Not My Prince
L.V. Chase - 2020
I break them.No one believes in me, not even my mother, but I've got my one in a million shot. I've got a scholarship to Roman Academy.They're rich as gods here. I don't fit in. I don't care. I'm here to make my own way.Grayson Voss rules this school. He thinks I should know my place. I think I don't give a d*mn.It turns out that school isn't so simple for us scholarship girls. They're planning something, and they won't tell me what.But I'm not trading my pride for my future. Push me hard, and I'll push back harder.My mistake.Now he's got a special plan for me. Now he's going to make me pay...Warning: This is a dark bully romance that may contain triggers and is intended for readers over 17. Not My Prince ends in a cliffhanger and is the first book in a trilogy with an eventual HEA.
Hate So Sweet: A High School Bully Romance (The Hate Series Book 3)
Nina Lincoln - 2021
Toxic Whispers : A Collateral Damage Novel Book Three
Candice M. Wright - 2022
Once there was a girl.That’s where her story ends.She has no family, no home, no name.No chance,Until he pulled her from the dark.Once there was a man.That’s where his story starts.He’s rich, handsome, powerful.Lonely,Until she dragged him into the light.Two people whose lives should never have crossed,Find themselves irrevocably tied to each other.And they both lived happily ever after.Except this is no fairytale,The girl is no princess,The man no prince.Once there was a girl.Once there was the man who bought her.
Getting it Wrong
Michelle Mankin - 2022
She doesn’t have the luxury of dreaming about her future. She must plan for it. Abandoned by her father and living with a drug addicted mother, her number one priority is taking care of her younger sister Rachel. It isn’t easy. Nothing in Southside Seattle is easy. It’s a struggle to survive. Music is Addy’s only escape from her bleak world. When she listens to it, she can pretend she is anywhere and believe anything is possible. Her handsome best friend BARRY EVANS understands her predicament. It’s not much different from his own. He is a great source of comfort and strength for her. Addy has one indulgence. COLLIN MURPHY. Her number one crush is one of the most popular guys at Southside High. Collin can have any girl he wants, and he sets his sights on Addy when her younger sister joins his rock band. The gorgeous guitarist isn’t the only one who notices how pretty Addy is. Martin Skellin, the rich and powerful owner of the club where Collin’s band ABCR performs, becomes obsessed with Addy.One man wants to win her heart.The other wants to rule her.And another could be just who she needs, but she can’t cross that line. She can’t risk losing him. Will the band ABCR become a success? Will Addy and her sister escape Southside? Will her plans secure her future or destroy it? Getting it Wrong is book one in this standalone romantic suspense duet. You will want book two, Getting it Right, as soon as you finish book one. This book contains 56 angsty chapters. It’s a page-turning story that will make you want to throw your e-reader at times. Do not read if you want a boring book. You will cry. It’s one of the most emotional romances the author has written. You will be in a book hangover and desperate for book two at the end.
Grumpy As Hell
Marika Ray - 2022
Literally.Ace Hellman. Star quarterback. Grumpy-as-hell firefighter. Chief pain in my ass.He’s beyond arrogant, inducing women to fake emergencies just to see his sexy swagger as he comes to save them. Not me though. That fire was a total accident. I swear. He and I actually have a long history of hating each other, starting with him ruining my live performance of the Nutcracker in kindergarten and ending with me being the only woman in town under forty whom he hasn’t dated. I wear that title with pride.Now that we've been roped into teaching a first aid class together, things can't get more awkward. He’s determined to prove me wrong at every turn, and I’m determined to stop picturing him without his coveralls. I refuse to hide who I am, and Ace stands for everything I’m against.He’s so wrong for me the whole town knows it. So why do I feel like we start a fire every time we’re together?
Promised to the Killer: A Dark Mafia Romance
B.B. Hamel - 2022
She's the cast-off traitorous daughter of a minor mafia family with deliciously pouty lips and a wicked tongue.But after we spend one unforgettable night of sin in a hotel room, I can't walk away.I pull her from her family's clutches and make her my own. I save her from punishment and torture—and drag her into my world.She's my toy. My plaything. Nothing more. Never more.I'm too wrecked and twisted to ever let myself get too close to a woman—especially a woman like Siena.Until I get a peek beneath her ice-cold surface and taste the heat bubbling up from her core.My father will never approve of this arrangement. He'll cut my throat before he lets me take a traitor as my bride.But I can't get enough, and I might tear apart my family in the process.Welcome to the first steamy book in the Novalov Bratva series! You're going to fall in love with Maxim and Siena's gut-wrenching story, just like I did. Promised to the Killer is a full-length standalone novel with no cliff-hanger and a gauranteed HEA. Enjoy!
Bad Intentions (Kings of Hawk Academy #1)
Peitho - 2019
I was offered the chance to be part of their ritual. Old rules. Old traditions. Old building. Old money. But all of this was new to me. I wasn’t one of them. I wasn’t rich or privileged, and I was far from arrogant. The Kings, both Trent and James, were the most gorgeous but dangerously cruelest guys that I’d ever met. They expected me to fall in line and fade away as if their sky blue eyes would brainwash me as they continued to torture me. I was the new girl, but I was no princess. They may be the Kings of Hawk Academy, but when I find out their secrets, I’m going to bring them and these old walls tumbling down. Author's Note: This is book ONE in a THREE book series. Each part of the series is told from a different viewpoint. Please be advised this series contains material not suitable for all readers. There are dark scenes which could be disturbing to some readers.
Devilish King
Kylie Kent - 2022
This is book 1 of a trilogy, an epic cliff-hanger can be expected!!TheoMy whole life was mapped out, designed for me, before I was even a twinkle in my old man’s eye. I am the heir to the Valentino throne. A kingdom built with blood and dirty money. But one I’ll rule all the same.My father was the youngest Don to ever be crowned king. However, with any luck, the controlling bastard will drop soon, allowing me to beat his record by a few years.I love my father—respect the hell out of him. But some of his choices lately, the plans he’s laid out for me, they’re… archaic. I was happy to go along with his proposition, to embody the role I was assigned at birth. Until I met her.She wasn’t part of his carefully orchestrated game board. She’s not part of the lifestyle. She’d get eaten alive if I were to bring her into the fold.Those innocent emerald eyes of hers hold me captive from the moment our paths collide. To hell with the plans for my future. This girl, who has no place being in my world, has become its entirety.HollyA new job. A new city. A new country. This is the new me. Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself as I step off the plane at JFK. New York, I couldn’t think of a better city to force myself out of my comfort zone, to step out from under my sister’s shadow.My dream once included finding the husband, having the kids, building that white picket fence. It’s funny how things change over time.My new dream? Experience life to the fullest. Explore and discover who I am, without my other half. Surviving the New York culture shock, without getting mugged or killed, is also high on that list.That is, until I run into him. And just like that, my life takes a one-eighty. Again. There’s something dark inside him—it calls to a part of me I never knew existed. Can I really go against my moral compass, every belief I’ve held onto so tightly, just to answer it? To be with him?
Only a Fling
Delancey Stewart - 2022
But this city-boy condo builder doesn't know the first thing about construction in a place like Kasper Ridge. Will hired me to oversee the renovation at the old Kasper Ridge Resort - a job that will make my company and guarantee that Papa can live comfortably to a very old age. I just need to keep my eyes on the prize and make sure Will Cruz doesn't make any assumptions about my abilities just because I'm a woman in construction.And the prize is not Will Cruz's ocean blue eyes or those rock-hard abs. Besides, all those muscles and that killer smile are temporary. I've lived in the mountains long enough to know that slick city boys don't stick around for the long run. So I tell myself the things I need to hear to stay strong, hold firm, maintain my distance.Until Will kisses me one night and I forget pretty much everything I'd been telling myself about protecting my heart. I know it's only a fling, but what if there's a chance Will Cruz is the one? What if I give him my heart, and he doesn't stay?
Born Reckless
B.J. Alpha - 2022
I grew up with no real home or blood family around.That is until my uncle decided to be an unwelcome hero. He offered me a new life, a home in his mansion, and a fresh start at an exclusive private school. He thinks he’s better than me… They all do. Especially his hot as hell adopted son, Cameron. The reason I’m on lockdown.Uncle Jimmy thinks he’s doing me a favor, but I know his secrets, just like he knows mine. But the difference between us all, is I’d rather live my previous life than one like this. CameronIn one night, she destroyed something that meant the world to me. After filing charges, I inflict what I think is hell by having her sent to a detention center, a place with no future. Lock-up. Where she belongs. I want my revenge, what was lost to me forever, but I’ll take what I can get.That is until my adoptive father introduces me to his niece, and I see before me the very bane of my existence. I refuse to look into her eyes, to give in to the intrigue she stirs within me.I refuse to want her. Until the choice isn’t even mine.JP Hero ✅Bad-ass FMC ✅Step-cousin relationship ✅Enemies to lovers ✅WARNING: This book has triggers.It contains a pregnancy loss storyline. Graphic sex scenes, violence and strong language recommended for readers aged eighteen and over.This is a stand-alone book and ends with a HEA.
The Handmaid's Billionaire
Gigi Marlowe - 2019
She ran away.Sickness stole Corbin’s wife and love of his life.Mattie ended her marriage the day it should have begun.Corbin and Mattie are strangers living in Malibu, unaware of each other...Until Valentina Del Torre steps in.The matchmaker brings the lonely billionaire entertainment entrepreneur and the creative Broadway musical writer wannabe together, but it’s up to them to build a relationship.Corbin wants to love Mattie, but something is blocking him.Mattie must face her past and make a choice.But will Corbin wait for her to make it?Is new love just as good or better than first love?
Danny (Downton Cowboys Book 1) Kindle Edition
Miley Maine - 2021
Gigi Mans. The woman who owns this rancher in the palm of her hands. She had me at hello. Her smile showed me a possibility for a future that I didn’t think existed. As an introverted cowboy and an heir to a massive fortune, I hadn’t given much thought to my love life until she came along. But she also brought with her complications. Her mother was opposed to us. She hated the very sight of me. And if that wasn’t enough… Gigi was hiding behind a secret. One that would inevitably change our lives. I couldn’t win her heart if she was going to keep it from me… Could these external forces be more powerful than our love for each other?
Vicious Enzo (Verona Academy Book 2)
Melinda Terranova - 2020
By my family. By my name. Everything I do is for family. Blood In. Death out. It’s what we live by. It’s what we kill by. Now that there’s no one to rule me, a sinner likes to play.It’s simple. I want what I can’t have, and I’ll make sure no other f#cker gets it either.She had my heart and crushed it. I let her see the life that forged who I am, and she threw it in my face.Now she’s waltzed back into my life like it never happened.I hate to need her. I need to hate her.I will break her. Like my demons break me.The game of cat and mouse is long over, freshman.Who will break first?