Book picks similar to
Beautiful Nightmare (Shadow River Elite, #1) by Leila James


bully
angst-drama
college-young-adult
emotional-roller-coaster

Devious Bully


Harmony Grey - 2020
     And that bad habit was men. They're like her own personal form of crack and she never wastes anytime getting through her stash. I don't know if it's intentional, but she smokes them up and bleeds them dry until there is nothing left. Each and every one of them. Then she'll move onto her next victim... making sure she drags me along for the ride too. Only this time she's made the wrong move and now I'm forced to live with the Devil himself. My new stepbrother hates me. He's not shy in showing me how much he detests me either. I never thought I'd wish for my mom to hurry up and bleed her new guy dry, but right now that day can't come soon enough.

Cruel Bully: The Ravenshaw Academy Box Set


Iris Taylor - 2020
    But no one ever said being the new girl was easy... His name was Victor, and he was the hot, untouchable football captain whose piercing grey eyes noticed me from Day One. Bad luck for me. Because now I was placed in the spotlight of Ravenshaw Academy's elite - Adrienne, Elijah, Jessica and Victor himself, to name a few - and straight into the claws of its worst bullies. And bully me they did. I thought I had been through pain, but their methods are far worse than I could imagine... This is an enemies-to-lovers high school bully romance, non-RH, with a trigger warning. TRIGGER WARNING: Cruel Bully: The Ravenshaw Academy Box Set is a duet with bonus material at the end. It is a compilation of both Cruel Bully and Shattered Rose, and has no cliffhangers (as a duet) and a HEA. If topics such as violence, rape and abuse is something you will not tolerate, please do not read. It also contains sexual content, and thus is for readers aged 18 and above. You have been warned!

Dax: Bagram Nine MC


Amy Love - 2016
     DAX Here on these streets, there is no room for the weak. Jayna didn’t summon me into her life, but I’m here now and I’m not going anywhere. She gave me one hell of a ride, and now I can’t get her curves off my mind. But when the demons in my life went after her, something in me snapped. I’m putting them all in the ground. And then I’m putting a ring on her finger. A kid in her belly. And making her mine. JAYNA I didn’t have to help him, but I did, and now he thinks he owns me. Maybe that’s what I wanted all along: to be owned. Devoured. His savagery should have him in a cage, but his command of my body is something more primitive than I can understand And when he pierces me with his eyes. His scarred, muscular body crushing against mine. I can’t help hearing his words, rumbling in my ear: “MINE” DAX is a full-length, standalone romance novel with steamy hot sex, NO CHEATING, strong language, a happily every after ending and NO CLIFFHANGERS. Contains dark and disturbing themes, and over the top sexiness that may be uncomfortable for some readers. Perfect for fans of Joanna Blake, Alexa Riley, Devon Hartford, Sabrina Paige, Winter Renshaw, Vanessa Waltz, Emilia Kincade and Melanie Harlow

Bound by Passion


Kelsey Dawson - 2021
    

Saving Becker


Amber Thielman - 2020
    We belong at home, in the kitchen … or so they say.But I made it, and I’m here. I passed the fire department’s strenuous testing, and I’m now I’m the first female firefighter to make it onto the Lakewood Fire Department’s staff.But there’s a problem---a big problem. The men don’t want me here, and neither does anyone else. The only real support I have is from our Captain, Tate Becker, and earning my crew’s trust is a task I feel I might never be able to accomplish.Falling for my capital? I don’t think any of us saw that coming.TateHallie earned her spot on my squad regardless of my men’s feelings towards her. She’s determined, sassy, and she knows exactly what she wants.I like that in a girl.But just when we think the guys might actually accept this newcomer, Hallie is framed, and our department’s trust is shattered.The worst part? I think it’s one of our very own.Proving Hallie’s innocence means finding the real culprit, even if it kills me. I’d do anything for my crew, but Hallie is more than just that ...Because I think I’m falling for her, hard, and I won’t let her go down for this."Hearts On Fire" is a steamy first-responder romance novel. No cheating, No cliffhanger, plenty of heat, and a guaranteed HEA!

Rookies Do It Better


Heather C. Myers - 2019
    Blackmail. Scandal. And they say rookies don't have fun. JackJack Ruby is a fighter - literally.At 19, he's gotten into more fights than he remembers. It probably has to do with the fact that since he was a child, he's been angry. His mother's a drug addict who only talks to him when she wants money, he lives with his best friend since he has nowhere else to go, and he's in love with said best friend's sister.He's screwed.The only good that comes out of this is he just signed with the Newport Beach Seagulls's minor league affiliate, the Irvine Mayhem.If he's good at anything, it's hockey. And sex. And fighting.As long as he stays away from Lily, he'll be fine.But Jack's never been good at playing by the rules.LilyLily Sinclair doesn't get the opportunity to say no when her brother and his best friend move in with her. She's trying to get ready for her first year of college while they're partying, getting into fights, and playing hockey.Must be nice.It wouldn't be so bad if her brother was friends with anyone but Jack Sinclair. The brown eyes, the high cheekbones, that mischievous grin.God, she's in so much trouble.When an ex shows up in her life, blackmailing her over a video Lily hadn't been aware of, she's tells him to eff off.That's when all hell breaks loose in the form of Jack Ruby.Will he ever look at her the same way again?Fans of The Slapshot Series are devouring this new adult sports romance set in the same sunny beach city.

Defining Us


Karen Deen - 2022
    I chose for you to live your dream life.Even if it would never include me!Yet the universe had other ideas.A steamy night, and the muttering of the words,‘Just this one time’.We try walking away,but the attraction keeps drawing us back.Time and time again,it’s the dance we keep performing.Until that one night, discovering your truth,of the life you’ve been living.And finally, everything comes crumbling down.Promises broken, lips colliding, and the heat that can no longer be denied.Will the universe finally win? Or is this the end of the sensual dance, with our words echoing ‘one last time’.

Her Challengers


Taylor Blaine - 2019
    That’s all anyone sees. Frail like a flower.They want to crush me.Destroy my dreams. Trample who I am.But they don’t see my strength. They don’t know the anger and pride bucking to get out.When the three Jameson cousins come after me, they’re expecting an easy conquer. What they get will flip their world head over heels.I won’t accept a challenge sitting down.I'm a fighter and this might be the most important fight of my life.***Bad Boys of Jameson High is a high school bully romance/reverse harem trilogy with mystery, suspense, and action wrapped up over 400 pages of intense attraction.***We all want to be the strong, kick ass girl. Gray doesn't want - she is. And the cousins just might be her matches.

The Player and the Bet


Liv Reid - 2021
    (Doesn’t it always?)The star quarterback. The school loser. You know the rest… But our story is anything but typical.Mace Law is the bad boy football player all the girls want—except me.I’ve hated him since the day we met, all those years ago.Now, we are both at Winterford University, and the school is forcing me to keep him out of trouble if I don’t want to get expelled.It’s an almost impossible task, and I’m about to learn he has secrets darker than I could have ever imagined.But I’m not going to let some obnoxious, hard-partying player destroy everything I’ve worked so hard for. I’m not going to let him bully me.Sorry—not sorry—Mace, this is one game you aren’t going to win.The Player and the Bet is an enemies-to-lovers college sports romance. It’s a standalone story with a HEA. It’s filled with smoking-hot bad boys, sarcastic heroines, twists, and banter for days. It contains scenes that may be offensive or triggering for some readers.

Anyone But Her


Allie Everhart - 2019
    He's the reason I'm still on the path to being a professional golfer. Dating Taylor means losing everything.All I had to do was follow one rule. Don't date his daughter. Date anyone but her. But I couldn't do it.

Beautifully Damaged (Beautifully Damaged #1)


J.A. Owenby - 2022
    A thing—a car, a house, or expensive jewelry.But in my world, that object is me.My guardian owes a lot of money to his dealer, and now they've come for me.On the run with only a few dollars in my pocket, I have no place to live until I meet a stranger—sexy, rich, and more intent on saving me than protecting his fancy car or home.A billionaire like Holden Alastair doesn't belong with a girl from the other side of the tracks. I'm not capable of love or anything but running until fate intervenes. But with a broken leg and nowhere to go, I'm forced to accept his help, to live with a man I hardly know. One who has dark secrets.I'm suddenly immersed in a world more dangerous than the one I left, swept up in Holden's big heart and hidden life—lies, betrayal, and threats behind every corner.Now, I'm on edge, looking over my shoulder, biding my time to see who comes for me first. I think I'm ready, but nothing could prepare me for the twisted games that I'm about to play.Follow River into Holden's world of power, wealth, and lies. Beautifully Damaged is a secret billionaire/forced proximity college romance featuring a dominant, wealthy jock and the feisty heroine who brings him to his knees. Enough intrigue to keep you turning pages and enough steam to melt your Kindle!***This book contains dark and mature content and triggers.

Touching the Billionaire


Holly Jaymes - 2020
    Yes, our onscreen chemistry is off the charts when he touches me with those strong hands.I succumb to the combustive heat when I touch those rippled abs.It isn’t long before what was once a rehearsal now feels real. Maybe I was right to break all of the rules.Perhaps this is the beginning of a beautiful story for us. Or is everything about Theo Wolf, including the way he feels about me, an award-winning act?TOUCHING THE BILLIONAIRE IS A 60K STANDALONE BAD BOY, BOSS, NEIGHBOR, ROMANCE WITH NO CHEATING, NO CLIFF-HANGERS, AND A HAPPILY EVER AFTER THAT WILL KEEP YOU FLIPPING THE PAGES WAY PAST YOUR BEDTIME!

Savage Love


Nichole Greene - 2021
    Every plan. Every time. This girl is going to be the death of me. Or herself. Maybe we’ll go down in flames together.Elle isn’t the prize. She’s the penance.My first year of college should be amazing; freedom on a level I’ve never experienced. But one night of vengeance has led me to a prison sentence with a stern and sexy Russian mobster as my babysitter. He’s my ever-present shadow, and I vow to become his living nightmare. A car won’t be the only thing I set on fire.

Secondhand Soldier


Michele E. Gwynn - 2019
    Harold Tyler, code name; Eastwood, the second chance was mandated. Losing a leg in the line of duty didn’t mean retirement for this Green Beret. Instead of being sent home, Eastwood finds himself transported to a top-secret rehabilitation facility deep inside the infamous Area 51. Confined to an unknown camp beneath the Nevada desert, he comes face to face with Joely Winter, a sexy one-night stand he met in London.Joely Winter was a child prodigy and the inventor of advanced bio-engineered prosthetics. Now grown and the owner of a successful company, she’s contracted by the Department of Defense and put in charge of their new program, PATCH-COM. Here, the military ensures a return on their investment in highly-trained special operations soldiers by patching them up and moving them back out into the field. Unknown even to SEALs, Delta Forces, Green Berets and more, PATCH-COM soldiers operate far beneath the radar and beyond the knowledge of top brass at Fort Bragg.During his time at Camp Lazarus, Joely is determined to keep their relationship professional, barely. But when Eastwood receives orders to bug out, he suffers a crisis of confidence. Returning to the field on his new leg with a new team is too much to handle. Seeing her big, brave, handsome ex-lover doubt himself breaks her heart, so Joely breaks her rule to rally her man. It’s her patriotic duty, after all! But intimacy only draws them closer and when he leaves, he takes her heart with him.With orders in hand and a team of broken soldiers at his side, Eastwood heads out to recover a Ukrainian operative in possession of the very technology now propping him up. It’s a race against time to find the traitor within their midst responsible for betraying PATCH-COM before the operative can sell the stolen tech to their enemies. When the identity of the traitor is revealed, he knows Joely’s life is in danger. Can Eastwood save his woman in time?From Bestselling Author Michele E. Gwynn, creator of the Green Beret series, comes a thrilling, brand new, action-packed military romance series, The Soldiers of PATCH-COM

Protecting Her: A Police Officer Mountain Man Second Chance Short Romance (Magnolia Mountain PD Book 1)


Mazzy King - 2021