Book picks similar to
From Within by J.M. Walker
dark
romance
new-adult
freebie
Rock & Regrets
Cassandra Lawson - 2018
I was a fool! Austin was no Prince Charming. Rather than sweeping me off my feet, he broke my heart.That was fourteen years ago, and I am completely over Austin. He is in my past, and that’s where he’s going to stay. At least, that’s what I thought until he moved back to the San Francisco Bay Area. Now, he’s determined to win me over. It won’t work. I will not think about how good Austin looks playing the drums shirtless, or what an incredible kisser he is. All right, I might think about those things a little, but I’m definitely not going to fall for him again.AustinI’ve never been the guy who rides off into the sunset with the girl and makes all her dreams come true. I’ve always been the rebound guy, the one who helps rebuild a woman’s confidence after a breakup. It hasn’t been a bad gig. I got all the benefits with none of the drama. It was all I wanted until Piper walked back into my life.She’s not ready to forgive me, and I don’t deserve a second chance. I should just leave her alone, but after seeing her smile, I can’t do that. I’m done being the rebound guy. Piper doesn’t know it yet, but I’m going to do everything in my power to make her love me again. This time, I’m not letting her go.
Love, Lies, and Deception
L.P. Dover - 2013
What made it even better – or so she thought – was when her path crossed with the alluring Alec Holden. Unable to stay away from him, Marissa experiences a love like no other, and falls into his world of passion and intrigue. However, things begin to shift when this path takes a deadly turn.Her trust is put to the test when hidden dangers unfold before her, revealing secrets that have been buried for years. Secrets that were meant to stay hidden. Murder, lies, and betrayal … will Marissa figure it all out in time and escape with her life intact, or will she be too late and fall into the trap of deception?
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?
Cole, (A Second Chance Romance)
Stella Marie Alden - 2021
In retrospect, hooking up was a mistake because no woman has measured up, since.When I see her again and she asks me for alone time, I assume we’re of the same mindsetInstead, I learn she’s an amateur sleuth, investigating her friend’s death. A county deputy, I shut that down fast. This is real life, not one of her video games.Join Cole and Danielle as they try to solve a murder and deal with smoldering desire, about to burst into flames.Warning: High heat, thrills, mystery, and romance. Not for the faint of heart.
Be Here Now
Andrea Wolfe - 2013
Attacked her. Raped her. Left her for dead. She lost her whole life in New Orleans and fled to Seattle, hoping to find sanctuary from her dark past. Simone LeClair isn't sure if she'll ever love anyone again—or if she even wants to.That is, until she meets the beautiful Aiden Meyers, a man with a myriad problems of his own, a man that wears different masks to keep his conflicting worlds separate from each other. For some strange reason, as soon as Simone lays her eyes on him, she can't look away. He's unlike any man she's ever met, and that makes him all the more unbelievable.When she's with him, all her pain becomes a distant memory, pain that she believed she'd never escape. But as Aiden's walls start to crumble, and the worlds he juggles start to collide, Simone realizes he's dangerous in a whole new way - she's fallen hard for him, even though he's on a downward spiral that threatens to take her down with him.Will Simone sink with him?Or will she pull herself out before it's too late?Full length (93,000 word) New Adult Contemporary RomanceMature Content Warning: Contains adult language and content.HEA ending.
Raven
Scarlett Finn - 2016
He keeps her grounded, And lets her fly. After a date ends in disaster, Zara Bandini is drawn into a conspiracy of dark lies and hidden motives. Bidding farewell to blissful ignorance, she must betray those who trust her to prevent evil from murdering innocent civilians. Raven guides her, shields her, and seduces her… Now Zara has to protect her heart while saving the world. Warning: Contains explicit language and imagery. Suitable only for ages 18 and over.
Blue
H.J. Bellus - 2015
Blending in is something Blue has longed for her entire life. Living in a dorm with a set of new friends is just what she needed to escape her stale life back home. For the first time, she’s seen for her talent and not her name or looks.Cheer is her number one priority, considering a full-ride scholarship landed her at a prestigious university, and she intends to take advantage of it. A true beauty inside and out, Blue’s heart has always pumped competitive blood. Until one night changes her forever…the beauty is gone, and all she has left are nasty, ugly memories. The man who saved her has a story of his own, with ninety percent of his body scarred. What happens when the Beauty falls for the Beast?
Piper Dreams Part One
Amélie S. Duncan - 2016
He's looking for an escape. Together, they just might find what they both need. Journalist hopeful, Piper Rowe is searching for a story--the perfect lead to get her a coveted spot on a prestigious journalism team. Running into a cross-country biker group just might be the serendipitous happening she needs. The only problem? The sexy and protective gatekeeper, Brody Whitehurst doesn't want her tagging along, refusing to let her document the trip. But after a threatening altercation riles him, Brody relents, suddenly feeling the need to protect Piper. As Piper and Brody begin their quest to realize their dreams, they discover running is never the answer. Can two people, one with a broken past, one with an uncertain future, find what they're looking for on the open road? This is Part One of a Three Part Contemporary Romance Trilogy. This story contains adult situations, themes, and explicit sexual content.
Chasing the Wild Sparks
Ren Alexander - 2013
Just ask Hadley Beckett.Marriage. Even the mention of the word drives my nuptial-phobic, love-of-my-life boyfriend of three years, Finn Wilder, who is also Richmond’s sexy, golden boy sportscaster and daredevil, to the brink of total madness. Even though the daredevil thrives on adrenaline and danger and eagerly professes his love for me, becoming my husband is a dare he always eludes. What’s more, Finn Wilder is single, according to his coworkers and viewers—Finnatics—as they’re called. I don’t exist.Despite his marriage fears and questionable relationship status, Finn increasingly pressures me to move in with him, but being unusually traditional by today’s standards, I want to be married first, adhering to my moral beliefs, just as he desperately clings to his own religious upbringing regarding starting a family with me. Something he wants no part of either.As much as I love Finn, I’ve reached my limit with the lies, secrets, and his reluctance. Something has got to give. We’re forever at a standstill, a faceoff which one of us will lose. Everything.
Monday: Teaser
E.L. Todd - 2016
I have my brother, someone I can barely tolerate most of the time, and I have my best friend, Marie. And I have myself.But when Hawke walks into my life, there’s an immediate connection. Our eyes lock and an unspoken conversation is exchanged. For the first time in my life, I actually feel something.But he doesn’t.He keeps me at arm’s length and pretends there’s nothing between us when there clearly is. I’m not the kind of girl to wait around for any guy, so I don’t. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t in the back of my mind. Our paths cross again in a way neither one of us expect and it changes everything. Was it destiny that made it happen? Was it fate?Or was something else?
Be My Love
Lucy Kevin - 2014
and five beautiful, close-knit sisters who are each about to find their one true love.After four years on the Seattle mainland, when Hanna Walker returns to Walker Island to make a documentary about the infamous Peterson-Walker feud from the early 1950s, she’s shocked to realize that passions still run high. Especially when it comes to Joel Peterson, the one man who is totally off-limits… but that she’s never been able to stop dreaming about. The last thing Joel wants is for Hanna to dredge up the past, but when he realizes she’s determined to follow through with her documentary no matter what, he knows he has no choice but to join her. But despite vowing to hold back his growing feelings for her, as Joel works with Hanna to unravel the mystery of what really happened between their two families, he soon begins to see that love is an unstoppable force… and that sometimes two people are meant to be. BE MY LOVE is the first fun, sweet, and emotional contemporary romance in the Walker Island series from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Lucy Kevin.
Single Dad's Waitress
Amelia Wilde - 2017
Valentine is serving up the exact opposite at the Short Stack Café.She’s a disaster waiting to happen—a gorgeous, irresistible disaster.Ryder can’t risk his newfound stability on a whirlwind like Valentine. He definitely can’t risk his heart. But one taste of her has him willing to pick up the tab, no matter the price.(Previously titled Over Easy.)
Show
Joy Blood - 2020
Every part of the club is embedded deep in his roots, but he will go against them and his President for the woman he loves. When Cammy is banished from the club she is forced to go back to where she came from, with Show as her escort. Only when they get there, things aren't as they seem. Even with his orders Show knows he can't leave her there so he comes up with an idea. The only way for Cammy to be accepted back into the club.Marriage.A happily ever after couldn't be too far off, right?If only things worked that way.
Valentina: Woman Empowered
M.J. Fields - 2018
That his love saved her. Then, in the blink of an eye, he left her, leaving her more alone and vulnerable than ever. Betrayed by love What Franco Protettore left behind became her reasons to live. Pregnant with twins, Valentina had no choice but to protect his children the way he should have been there to do.Empowered by women Former party girl and fashion icon to lifestyle blogger, socialite to single mom, Valentina is followed by over a hundred thousand intrigued fans. When love threatens to destroy her again, will she fight for it or strap on her stilettos and walk away?
Healing the Broken
K. Street - 2017
Monsters didn’t just exist in nightmares.They were real; they lived among us.As the sole witness to a brutal murder, Ryann Sinclair knew that better than anyone.He’d been burned once, and Cash Donovan swore it was the last time.That all changed when Ryann stumbled back into his life.She was fiercely protective of her heart, and he was hell-bent on protecting her.Never one to back down from a challenge, Cash was determined to break her.Just so he could be the one to put her back together.