Book picks similar to
Half Truths by Claire Contreras
romance
new-adult
college
mystery
Left Drowning
Jessica Park - 2013
Then a chance meeting sends Blythe crashing into something she doesn’t expect—an undeniable attraction to a dark-haired senior named Chris Shepherd, whose past may be even more complicated than her own. As their relationship deepens, Chris pulls Blythe out of the stupor she’s been in since the night a fire took half her family. She begins to heal, and even, haltingly, to love this guy who helps her find new paths to pleasure and self-discovery. But as Blythe moves into calmer waters, she realizes Chris is the one still strangled by his family’s traumatic history. As dark currents threaten to pull him under, Blythe may be the only person who can keep him from drowning.
*This book is intended for mature audiences due to strong language and sexual content.Note: due to mature content recommended for Ages 17+
Down to You
Michelle Leighton - 2012
Olivia Townsend is nothing special. She’s just a girl working her way through college so she can return home to help her father run his business. She’s determined not to be the second woman in his life to abandon him, even if it means putting her own life on hold. To Olivia, it’s clear what she must do. Plain and simple. Black and white. But clear becomes complicated when she meets Cash and Nash Davenport. They’re brothers. Twins. Cash is everything she’s always wanted in a guy. He’s a dangerous, sexy bad boy who wants her in his bed at any cost. He turns her insides to mush and, with just one kiss, makes her forget why he’s no good for her. Nash is everything she’s ever needed in a guy. He’s successful, responsible and intensely passionate. But he’s taken. Very taken, by none other than Marissa, Liv’s rich, beautiful cousin. That doesn’t stop Olivia from melting every time he looks at her, though. With just one touch, he makes her forget why they can never be together. Black and white turns to shades of gray when Olivia discovers the boys are hiding something, something that should make her run as far and as fast as she can. But it’s too late to run. Olivia’s already involved. And in love. With both of them. Both brothers make her heart tremble. Both brothers set her body on fire. She wants them both. And they want her. How will she ever choose between them?
The Legacy
Dylan Allen - 2018
I craved every touch, every filthy promise that fell from his beautiful mouth, knowing he could break me. My past had left me battered and bruised, with scars he was determined to heal. Loving him was like drowning—he consumed me, body and soul.But Hayes has secrets of his own. And nothing could prepare me for the shocking pieces of our pasts that threaten to rip us apart. When the truth is revealed will our love be enough to shelter the storm?
The Sweetest Oblivion
Danielle Lori - 2018
. . Nicknamed Sweet Abelli for her docile nature, Elena smiles on cue and has a charming response for everything. She’s the favored daughter, the perfect mafia principessa . . . or was.Now, all she can see in the mirror’s reflection is blood staining her hands like crimson paint. They say first impressions are everything . . . In the murky waters of New York’s underworld, Elena’s sister is arranged to marry Nicolas Russo. A Made Man, a boss, a cheat—even measured against mafia standards. His reputation stretches far and wide and is darker than his black suits and ties. After his and Elena’s first encounter ends with an accidental glare on her part, she realizes he’s just as rude as he is handsome. She doesn’t like the man or anything he stands for, though that doesn’t stop her heart from pattering like rain against glass when he’s near, nor the shiver that ghosts down her spine at the sound of his voice.And he’s always near. Telling her what to do. Making her feel hotter than any future brother-in-law should. Elena may be the Sweet Abelli on the outside, but she’s beginning to learn she has a taste for the darkness, for rough hands, cigarettes, and whiskey-colored eyes. Having already escaped one scandal, however, she can hardly afford to be swept up in another.Besides, even if he were hers, everyone knows you don’t fall in love with a Made Man . . . right?This is a standalone forbidden romance.
Mud Vein
Tarryn Fisher - 2014
Caged behind an electrical fence, locked in a house in the middle of the snow, Senna is left to decode the clues to find out why she was taken. If she wants her freedom, she has to take a close look at her past. But, her past has a heartbeat... and her kidnapper is nowhere to be found. With her survival hanging by a thread, Senna soon realizes this is a game. A dangerous one. Only the truth can set her free.
Bully King
J.A. Huss - 2020
And the secret society that meets deep in the woods is even more exclusive. Only a select few will get in during the summer rush--and Cadee Hunter wants to be one of them. Too bad it's Cooper Valcourt's mission to make sure she fails.
Bully boys.Arrogant tyrants.Blue-blood bastards.Call them whatever you want.Around here, we just call them Kings.Fancy boats.Lakeside mansions.Luxe watches and bespoke suits.The Kings of High Court College act like Gods.And Cooper Valcourt is the worst of them.He is the bully king.His family owns everything.And his mission is to put me in my place and send me packing.But Cooper and I have a history filled with secrets.And everyone knows that power doesn’t come from having money.It comes from holding secrets.And I’m holding one of his.A very dark secret that can bring him to his knees.*****
Bully King is new-adult, dark, bully romance from New York Times bestselling author JA Huss featuring boys with power and girls at their mercy. It’s a campus shrouded in lies and a summer rush into an elite society that can propel a poor girl straight into the ruling class.If… she’s willing to pay the price.
Waterfall Effect
K.K. Allen - 2018
Allen comes a new and suspenseful small town mountain romance.Lost in the shadows of a tragedy that stripped Aurora June of everything she once loved, she’s back in the small town of Balsam Grove, North Carolina, ready to face all she’s kept locked away for seven years. Or so she thinks.As one of the victims of a string of mysterious disappearances in the small, picturesque Appalachian Mountain town, darkness has become her home—her safe blanket when the world reveals its true colors. But as the walls of darkness start to move in on her, she knows the only way to free herself from her past is to face it, head-on. She just needs to figure out how.Upon arrival, Aurora isn’t expecting her first collision to be with the boy she left all those years ago. The boy who betrayed her trust with no regrets. The boy who is no longer a boy, but a man with the same stormy eyes that swept her into his current before she ever learned to swim.She’d thought he was safe. He’d thought their path was mapped out. Turns out neither of them was ready for the crash at the bottom of the cascade.
Into the Light
Aleatha Romig - 2016
When her best friend disappears, Stella investigates—despite warnings from her police detective boyfriend—following a twisted trail that leads her through the city’s most dangerous and forsaken precincts. There she uncovers something more sinister than she could have imagined: a shadowy organization known as The Light, led by the enigmatic Father Gabriel.As Sara struggles to understand her place in the strange world she’s awakened to—an oppressive cult demanding unquestioning obedience—and her feelings for Jacob, the husband she can’t recall and whose harsh and tender attentions confuse and beguile her, Stella risks all to discover the truth. But enlightenment always comes with a price…
Treachery
Lily White - 2020
A man with a seductive smirk and a body built for pure sin. The linchpin of a group of wealthy bad boys known as the Inferno.A dark presence that repels as much as he attracts, Tanner is the poisoned apple I want to bite even when I know it will destroy me.Our story started in college, but I ran from him so far I believed I was safe.I should have known he’d find me eventually.I should have known that nobody escapes.He has me in his sights again with an offer I can’t pass up.I know better than to make a deal with the Devil. Not unless I’m willing to pay his sensual price…***Each novel in the series depicts a unique romance, but the plots through each book connect in one world. For the best experience, read the series in order.Nine Ruthless Men. Nine Unrepentant Sinners. Nine Irresistible Manipulators.
Waking Olivia
Elizabeth O'Roark - 2016
She's trouble of the devious, manipulative, too-f***ing-hot-for-her-own good variety. She's the kind of girl who causes trouble merely by existing, and then makes sure to cause more. And the last thing I need right now is more trouble."A failing farm.His father’s debt.And a struggling college track team. Will Langstrom has too many responsibilities, and the last thing he needs is Olivia Finnegan, a beautiful but troubled new transfer student.A smart mouth. A strong right hook.And a secret that could destroy her. Olivia is her own worst enemy, with a past she can’t seem to escape, and the last person she wants help from is a cocky track coach she can never seem to please.Refusing to be pushed away, Will is determined to save her. And determined to resist an attraction that could destroy them both.
Filthy Gods
R. Scarlett - 2018
Wealthy. Elite. Attractive. The gentlemen’s secret society at Yale was filled with them.And Nathaniel Radcliffe, the bane of my existence, was one of them.As the right hand of the American Gods, he was conceited and arrogant. A dangerously handsome man in a tailored custom suit and shiny black oxford loafers.The classroom was our battlefield. We made a sport out of arguing and debating, ready to do anything in order to win over the other.Deadly opponents, deadlier minds.I'd sworn I'd never give him the upper hand, until...The secret I’ve been hiding for the last three years?He just discovered it… and now he has all the power.Prelude in the American Gods series.
The Butterfly Project
Emma Scott - 2017
She channels her pain into her art: a dystopian graphic novel where vigilantes travel back in time to stop heinous crimes—like child abduction—before they happen. Zelda pitches her graphic novel to several big-time comic book publishers in New York City, only to have her hopes crash and burn. Circumstances leave her stranded in an unfamiliar city, and in an embarrassing moment of weakness, she meets a guarded young man with a past he’d do anything to change...Beckett Copeland spent two years in prison for armed robbery, and is now struggling to keep his head above water. A bike messenger by day, he speeds around New York City, riding fast and hard but going nowhere, his criminal record holding him back almost as much as the guilt of his crime. Zelda and Beckett form a grudging alliance of survival, and in between their stubborn clash of wills, they slowly begin to provide each other with the warmth of forgiveness, healing, and maybe even love. But when Zelda and Beckett come face to face with their pasts, they must choose to hold on to the guilt and regret that bind them, or let go and open their hearts for a shot at happiness. The Butterfly Project is a novel that reveals the power of forgiveness, and how even the smallest decisions of the heart can—like the flutter of a butterfly’s wings—create currents that strengthen into gale winds, altering the course of a life forever. #standalone #triggerwarning for sibling loss/child loss
Lies
Kylie Scott - 2019
He’s nice, but boring, and their relationship has lost its spark. But steady and predictable Thom, suddenly doesn’t seem so steady and predictable when their condo explodes and she’s kidnapped by a couple of crazies claiming that Thom isn’t who he says he is. Thom is having a hellish week. Not only is he hunting a double agent, but his fiancé dumped him, and thanks to his undercover life, she’s been kidnapped. Turns out Thom is Operative Thom and he’s got more than a few secrets to share with Betty if he’s going to keep her alive. With both their lives on the line, their lackluster connection is suddenly replaced by an intense one. But in his line of work, feelings aren’t wanted or desired. Because feelings can be a lethal distraction.
Alex
Zoya Tessi - 2014
Fate had other things in store though, and she can be a real bitch sometimes. All he wanted was to get the job done and somehow to endure those long months playing nanny to a spoiled little rich girl. Without strangling her with his bare hands in the process. Well, it is going to be much easier said than done. All she wanted was to escape the past and live like any other girl. Her plan definitely didn’t include the arrogant, tattooed savage, with his awful mohawk and lack of social graces, whose only mission was to stick real close and mess up her life.But, people aren't always what they seem to be, are they?
The Ghostwriter
A.R. Torre - 2017
I stood in front of the police, my friends and family, and made up a story, my best one yet. And all of them believed me. I wasn't surprised. Telling stories is what made me famous. Fifteen bestsellers. Millions of fans. Fame and fortune.Now, I have one last story to write. It'll be my best one yet, with a jaw-dropping twist that will leave them stunned and gasping for breath.They say that sticks and stones will break your bones, but this story? It will be the one that kills me. This book is not a romance. It is contemporary fiction, but very suspenseful in nature. It is about a famous romance author and a dark secret she keeps.