Book picks similar to
Playing with Fire (Elements of Love, #2) by Callie Sparks
contemporary-romance
new-adult
forbidden-love
romance
From Ashes
Molly McAdams - 2012
So of course she follows him to Texas when he leaves for college. She just didn't expect to be so drawn to their new roommate, Gage, a gorgeous guy with a husky Southern drawl. The only problem? He's Tyler's cousin.Gage Carson was excited to share an apartment off campus with his cousin. He didn't mind that Tyler was bringing the mysterious friend he'd heard about since they were kids ... until the most beautiful girl he's ever seen jumps out of his cousin's Jeep. There's something about Cassi that makes Gage want to give her everything. Too bad Tyler has warned him that she's strictly off-limits.Despite everything keeping them apart, Cassi and Gage dance dangerously close to the touch they're both been craving. But when disaster sends her running into Tyler's arms, Cassi will have to decide whether to face the demons of her past ... or to burn her chance at a future with Gage.
Veiled Innocence
Ella Frank - 2014
Tick, tick, tock.Time.That’s all I have now.A small room, a photograph, and time.They want me to trust them and confess my sins.They told me they wouldn't judge me—they lied.I thought we could convince the world that this wasn't a crime.We were wrong.Time doesn't stand still.The clock keeps ticking, the world is unconvinced, and now…Now he is gone.
Like Gravity
Julie Johnson - 2015
After witnessing her mother’s brutal murder at age six, Brooklyn is guarded, damaged, and – by all accounts – a bitch. And that’s just the way she likes it, if it means keeping everyone at arm’s length. When she stumbles, quite literally, into Finn Chambers – campus ladies’ man and the lead singer of a local band —she’s unprepared for his persistence in befriending her, and for the dangerous attraction she begins to feel for him. Because with Finn, she knows it would be more than just sex. More than just friendship. And maybe even more than just love. When a sinister presence from her past reemerges, Brooklyn will be pushed to her breaking point. For the first time in fifteen years, she will confront both her grief and her memories, as she plays a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with an unforeseen enemy. Because sometimes, the demons we must confront aren’t only on the inside.... *** LIKE GRAVITY is a new full-length standalone romantic suspense novel, intended for audiences ages 17+ ***
Forever Changed
Tiffany King - 2012
She is used to a lifestyle where everything comes easy to her, from good grades to being captain of the cheerleading squad.Her entire world is shaken to the core when a fatal accident takes her father, causing Kassandra to re-examine the course her life was on. The actions of one individual forever changes her life, leaving her to pick up the pieces of her broken family. Kassandra begins to question everything she once cherished and the people she disappointed along the way.Maddon Johnson’s life is as different from Kassandra’s as night and day. Abandoned by his mother at a young age, he is left to deal with his abusive, alcoholic father on his own. He has one goal: lay low and get the heck out of dodge as soon as he is legally old enough.Everything changes when his father’s tragic actions send Maddon crashing into Kassandra’s world. Suddenly, getting away is the last thing he wants as he discovers it is possible to believe in love after all.
Learning to Live
R.D. Cole - 2013
Between growing up in foster care and her abusive boyfriend she has no idea what life can be. At 19 she goes through something no one should ever experience and is left alone once again. Six months later she moves to Mobile, Alabama where she meets someone whose eyes bring back memories of the one person she misses everyday. Too late she finds herself caught in a storm of emotions that are unwanted, but she's determined to fight them off.Jaxon Coleman has a good life, and for him to attend one of the finest Med schools in the country and follow in his dad's foot steps is a dream come true. However, dreams can change in life and when he meets Trudy he knows his will never be the same. Jax knows she has secrets she is unwilling to share, but he's never given up on something he wants and he wants Tru.Can Trudy stop resisting her feelings and welcome the chance to live a different life than she pictured or will her defiance and haunted past eventually take her out of Jax's reach?After tragedy living is not easy, but with the right person it can be learned.
Hard to Fight
Bella Jewel - 2015
She finally gets a chance to prove herself when she's given the case of a lifetime: capture Raide Knox and bring him to justice. Raide is a dangerous fugitive on the run...and the sexiest man Grace has ever met. Catching Raide won't be easy. He's not the kind of man to go down without a fight. Raide is more intense and frustrating than any man she's ever had to deal with, and the instantaneous attraction that sparks between them is undeniable. One thing is for sure...it's going to be a case they will never forget.**Hard To Fight is a full-length standalone romance with a HEA**
Bossy Nights
Liv Morris - 2018
The resume? I'll give to any man on the street. The other? Well... I won't settle for anything less than lightning bolt chemistry and so far no one has flipped that switch.Until I meet Barclay Hammond, CEO of the most prestigious publishing house in NYC and the city's most eligible bachelor.He's commanding.Charming.Gorgeous.And my new boss.The raw attraction between us is off the charts. Late nights together in the city, the looks he gives me across the boardroom table make him impossible to resist. I want him to be the one and he wants me too...There's only one BIG problem. Sleeping with your boss is strictly forbidden at Hammond Press.Who knew losing it would be so complicated?A 65,000 word full length novel. Get ready to swoon!
Freefall
Tess Oliver - 2013
A small inheritance from his grandfather has given him the funds to open up his tattoo shop, Freefall, and he has started to pull his life together. Aside from trying to keep his best friend, Dray, from killing himself in the fight ring, and his slight obsession with a pin-up model he's never met, Nix's life is going smoothly . . . until Scotlyn James, the object of his obsession, walks into his shop.Ever since a tragic accident killed her family and left her alone in the world, Scotlyn James hasn't spoken one word. Up until now she didn't care that she had no way of talking to people. Her awful aunt would never have listened, and Lincoln Hammond the arrogant, selfish man who pulled her from the streets of Los Angeles wouldn't hear her words if she could speak. But when Lincoln insists she get a tattoo to cover up a scar on her side, Scotlyn meets the artist, Nix Pierce. And now she longs for her voice. Now she has found someone who will hear her.
Perfectly Damaged
E.L. Montes - 2014
know about this illness — very well — because I suffer from it. It’s been four years since my diagnosis, and ever since, I’ve been living in a dark hole. Voices constantly invading my thoughts. Hallucinations. All of which force me to question if what I’m experiencing is even reality. But here I am, still hanging on, still breathing and living through it. That is, until he stumbled into my life. Logan Reed. I don’t want any part of him. I’ve pushed him away, but he isn’t easily deterred. I’ve told him I’m different, but he doesn’t care. He’s trying to slowly break me down. I’m trying just as hard not to let him. He doesn’t know how truly damaged I am; what will happen when he does? I know the truth — he’ll never be able to look at me the same way again. Just like everybody else.
Eighteen: 18
J.A. Huss - 2015
He wants things from me.Dirty things, nasty things, forbidden things.And I have to give in.His attention is completely inappropriate, but I can’t say no. The way he looks at me… the way he watches me through my bedroom window… the way he drags me deeper and deeper into his completely forbidden fantasy world just… turns me on. He knows it turns me on.He holds all the power. He holds all the cards.He holds my entire future in his hands.And I have to give in.Because Mr. Alesci is my teacher.And I need everything he’s offering.
Bastard
J.L. Perry - 2015
I was born a bastard and I’ll die a bastard. I learnt it at a young age, and nothing and nobody can change that. I’m on a one-way path of destruction, and god help anyone who gets in my way. I hate my life. Actually, I hate pretty much everything.That’s until I meet the kid next door. Indi-freakin’-ana. My dislike for her is instant. From the moment I lay eyes on her, she ignites something within me. She makes me feel things I thought I was incapable of feeling. I don’t like it, not one bit. When she looks at me with her big, beautiful, haunting, green eyes, it’s like she can see into the depths of my soul. It freaks me the hell out. She’s like sunshine and rainbows in my world of gloom and doom. I hate sunshine and rainbows.******** I’m Indiana Montgomery, my friends call me Indi. Despite losing my mum at the age of six, I have a wonderful life and great friends. My dad more than makes up for the fact that I only have one parent. I’m his little girl, the centre of his world. I adore him. When Carter Reynolds moves in next door, my life takes a turn for the worse. He’s gorgeous—sinfully hot, but that’s where my compliments end. He seems hell bent on making my life miserable. He acts tough, but when I look into his eyes I don’t see it. I see hurt and pain. To me, he seems lost. I should hate him for the way he treats me, but surprisingly I don’t. If anything, I feel sorry for him. I want to help him find peace. Help him find the light that I know is buried somewhere within his darkness, but, he won’t have a bar of it. He’s warned me time and time again to stay away, but I can’t. I’m drawn to him for some reason. He’s always referring to himself as a bastard. That may be true, but to me, he’s more like a beautifully, misunderstood bastard. Whether he likes it or not, I refuse to give up on him.***WARNING This book is recommended for persons over the age of 18 years, due to sexual content and coarse language.
God-Shaped Hole
Tiffanie DeBartolo - 2002
Everyone said she was a fraud, that she was just making it up. I'd really like to know why the hell a person would make up a thing like that.Written with the snap, glitter and wit of The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing, God-Shaped Hole is a memorable, poignant love story that will leave you weeping with laughter. It is told in the wry, vulnerable voice of Beatrice "Trixie" Jordan who replies to a personal ad, "If your intentions are pure I am seeking a friend for the end of the world."In doing so, she meets Jacob Grace, a charming, effervescent thirty-something writer, a free spirit who is a passionate seeker of life. He possesses his own turn of phrase and ways of thinking and feeling that dissonantly harmonize with Trixie's off-center vision as they roller coaster through the joys and furies of their wrenching romance. Along the way they try to come to terms with the hurt brought about by their distant fathers who, in different ways, forsook them.This story will prove so touching you will rush to share it with a friend or loved one or even a stranger.
A Song for Julia
Charles Sheehan-Miles - 2012
Six years later, he’s still at odds with his father, a Boston cop, and doesn’t ever speak to his mother. The only relationship that really matters is with his younger brother, but watching out for Sean can be a full-time job. The one thing Crank wants in life is to be left the hell alone to write his music and drive his band to success.Julia Thompson left a secret behind in Beijing that exploded into scandal in Washington, DC, threatening her father's career and dominating her family's life. Now, in her senior year at Harvard, she's haunted by a voice from her past and refuses to ever lose control of her emotions again, especially when it comes to a guy. When Julia and Crank meet at an anti-war protest in Washington in the fall of 2002, the connection between them is so powerful it threatens to tear everything apart.
Plain Jayne
Laura Drewry - 2014
Worn out from the long drive back home, Jayne Morgan can only smirk at the irony: Of course the first person she sees from her old life is Nick Scott. Once best friends, they lost touch when Jayne left town at eighteen, but nothing could keep them apart forever. Jayne has returned to take over her grandmother’s bookstore, determined to put all her bittersweet memories and secret disappointments strictly in the past — until, that is, Nick insists she bunk at his place. Nick never did care what people thought about having a girl for a best friend — or the “scandal” she caused by showing up to his wife’s funeral four years earlier — so he’s got no problem with the gossips now. Jayne was always the one person he could count on in his life. Now Nick is starting to realize that he never wants her to leave again... and that being “just friends” isn’t going to be enough anymore. Includes a special message from the editor, as well as an excerpt from another Loveswept title.
Because of Ellison
M.S. Willis - 2014
I had it all—good looks, a fast car and a hot girlfriend. Nothing in life was more important. That was, until I met Ellison James...Since the moment I first saw her she was a raging bull; tackling me in the mud and throwing out insults as fast as her tongue could form the sound. She was snarky She was rude And she pissed me off like no other woman could.I lived beside her for a summer and in the three months that I walked by her side...She opened my eyesShe changed my lifeAnd she made me a better man.