Book picks similar to
Don't Speak by Dyan Layne


arc
angst-drama
contemporary-romance
disabled-scarred-mcs

Can We Pretend?


Sana Khatri - 2020
    He saw me. My heart gave up."Guess what?" he'd tell me."What?" I'd say."I've got something that'll make you smile today," he'd reply.I fell. Hard.But he was someone else's...Could we pretend otherwise?Wane:God, how it pains to be a mortal.I saw her. She saw me. My soul awakened."Did you know?" she'd tell me."What?" I'd say."Life's too short to not laugh," she'd reply.I plummeted. Strongly.But I belonged to someone else...Could we pretend otherwise? This book has mentions of sexual assault, suicide, and bullying. If any of the given topics are a trigger to you in any manner of the way, then a consideration is advised.

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.

A Cut so Deep


Dani René - 2020
    But he saw me. He looked right into my eyes and picked out all those shattered pieces.I have nowhere else to go.And as much as I want to deny it, Damien gives me the one thing I need, the one thing I’d been searching for—solace.Three Thornes.One Rose.And a town filled with secrets.Handsome. Confident. Wealthy.These are the men of Thorne Haven.And I’m their new stepsister.

The Sinful King


Claire Contreras - 2020
    Every summer he arrived with his security detail and friends in tow and rented out a row of cottages near the water. Cottages that belonged to my family. Each of those summers, my parents sent me away – summer camp and later, boarding school. Anything to keep me away from the royals and their partying. I hadn’t been home in years, but when I finally come back for the summer, I see that not much has changed. Like all the summers I’d been gone, Prince Elias is back, but this time with an incognito security detail and no friends. This time, there is no partying, no noise, no crowds. No reason at all to even think he was there. I’m given strict orders not to talk to him, not to even look in his direction, but he makes this an impossible task. I may be doing everything in my power to stay away from him, but there is no one in the world who can say no to the future King of France.

Maldeamores: Lovesick


Mara White - 2015
    He’s always been the only man in my life—my constant protector, and his rejection only intensifies my need.Luciano: I’ve never known a love more fierce than the one I feel for Belén. But I force myself to deny her no matter how much it hurts. Our love is a sickness and both of us are infected. Because there’s no cure for being from the same family ***Warning*** This novel contains graphic sex scenes, including: incest, F/F, and ménage, M/M/F. Some drug use and violence.

A Step Two Close


Jaimie Roberts - 2015
    To help me numb the pain. Because for those few minutes of pleasure, I could shut it all off. The reminders of all that I had lost. All that I had endured. Of all that I saw die before my eyes.I slept with a man I can’t get out of my head. It was supposed to be a one-time thing with no attachments and no commitments. No names were exchanged, no phone numbers swapped. And that was fine by me... until I lay awake at night, dreaming about that man’s caress. Wanting and yearning to feel his touch once more.But one day, my fantasies of seeing this man become an all-too-consuming, nightmarish reality. Suddenly, he is in my house, that cocky grin of his silently promising more to come. And the reason being? His father is getting married to my mother. We are going to be family.I am in the seven circles of hell. His look alone consumes my soul and makes me beg for more. He wants me and is determined to get me. I’m his obsession, and I’ve just become a slave to his infatuation... to the games he likes to play. The games he knows will have me surrendering to his will.But that’s not the only problem. That’s not the only reason I am living in my own personal hell.The year before I met my soon-to-be step-brother, Hunter... The year I made a decision that will ultimately end up destroying my very soul...I lost my virginity to Hunter’s dad.Warning: Contains scenes of emotional and physical abuse. Readers with sensitivity to such subjects are advised to proceed with caution.

Lessons in Sin


Pam Godwin - 2021
    As the headteacher of a Catholic boarding school, I’m never tempted by a student.Until Tinsley Constantine.The bratty princess challenges my rules and awakens my dark nature. With each punishment I lash upon her, I want more. In my classroom, private rectory, and bent over my altar, I want all of her.One touch risks everything I stand for. My faith. My redemption. And even my life.As if that could stop me. I need her pain, and her heart, and she needs my lessons in sin.

Liar, Liar


T.L. Martin - 2020
    So I ran—from them, from home, from everything.That’s when I found him. He became my savior before he even knew I existed.And then I was welcomed into the family.Now he sees me. I make sure of it.I notice the way he watches me when I slip from my bed and fall into someone else’s. See the heated flicker in his eyes when I peer up at him from behind red solo cups, wandering hands, and blaring music. Feel the burn in his touch when I stumble and he catches me—and he always catches me.But I’m no longer the same weak girl he discovered hiding behind his house all those years ago, and some demons simply can’t be set free. All the lies in the world can’t hide that.Even though the same blood doesn’t run through our veins, I know he can never be mine.I was never supposed to fall for him.We’re family now, and I’m going to be a good little sister.Liar, liar, liar.CONTENT WARNING: contains sex, profanity, and sensitive subject matter, including sexual abuse (such as rape) and taboo content.

Like Dragonflies


K. Webster - 2019
    Pampered. Spoiled.Slowly suffocating under my mother’s stifling thumb.He’s the bad boy from Duncan.Poor. Abused. Criminal.Being swallowed by the darkness each passing second.Two lost souls searching for freedom and happiness.We’re lonely—broken—and trapped.Until the universe brings us together.Sometimes love is instantaneous.A supernova collision of emotions.Something that cannot be ignored.As our hearts tangle to the point they’ll never be able to part, the past comes creeping up like an evil villain. The mistakes of our parents become our consequences to face.We’re madly, deeply, foolishly in love.Soul mates who finally found each other.Two people who share the same father.

Just Like Heaven


Trilina Pucci - 2021
    𝐖𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐲. If only I could’ve convinced my heart.We were gorgeously young and desperate for one another. His lips whispered promises of all the stars in the sky. While I dreamt of a love that would last forever. But we’re star-crossed.Fate had decided our course.Leaving us to cling to each other as we crumbled to ash.His need became possession. My innocence turned jaded.Our families declared war.All that remained was hate. But Calder was raised by wolves. The rules didn’t apply. I was his until he said otherwise—for better or for worse.Our love story’s bathed in crimson and drenched in bullets.Because sometimes, Romeo comes with tattoos, guns, and a taste for blood.

Eraser


Megan Keith - 2013
    Mysterious. Dangerous. Brooding. Sexy. Once a week he frequents the bar where Mackenzie works. He orders the same drink, scotch on the rocks, and he sits back on the same lounge chair, quietly watching… waiting… He has money - that much is obvious. He wears his tailored suits well. He smells divine, of expensive cologne, and orders his scotch from the top shelf. He drinks alone, but he never leaves that way. With a snap of his fingers, a flick of his eyes, a glimmer of a smile, he gets the attention of the most attractive women in the bar. This time his focus is on Mackenzie. Instead of feeling nervous Mackenzie is enthralled, intrigued… and aroused.Please Note: This was originally written as a stand alone short story but after numerous requests for more, it has recently been turned into a series. This novella contains explicit sex scenes (including BDSM) and is for mature 18+ readers only.

The Danger You Know


Lily White - 2020
    Always has been. I'm the worst thing for her, yet I’m the only salvation she knows.He had his chance to make her happy.He failed.He didn't see how she was dying inside because he couldn't know her.Not like I know her.I am her stalker.Her protector.And the only man that can bring her back to life.***This book contains sensitive subject matter.

Survival of the Richest


Skye Warren - 2018
    A strong hand hauls me back onto the deck of the luxury yacht. Christopher was supposed to be my enemy, the son of my father's latest wife. Instead he protects me with fierce determination when I need him most.This tale begins with a fall, but it doesn't end there.Because another man wants me.Sutton wants to consume me with a passion more feral than kind. In the lush emotional wilderness I'm not sure I want Christopher to save me this time...Or if there will be anything left if he tries.SURVIVAL OF THE RICHEST is a book about finding your soul's desire, even if the search leads you places you never expect. A woman torn between two men. An impossible choice. And a war fought on the most dangerous battlefield--the heart.

Exposed: A High School Bully Romance


Suzana Thompson - 2018
    He was holding the proof right before my eyes, and my stomach lurched sickeningly. "Seems like you had too much to drink last night," he remarked in that condescending tone he always used with me. I looked up at him as he stood watching me from the doorway with his attitude of superiority. In that moment of weakness, I actually tried to plead with him. "Please. I've never done anything to you." "Begging me on your knees. That's a good start." Dread turned my clammy skin cold. Mason Sumner hated my guts, and he would have no compassion for me. This was bad. This was really, really bad. Not intended for younger teens due to adult content.

Stepdork


A.E. Murphy - 2019
    Raven hates her stepbrother with a passion, and she’s certain Travis returns the sentiment because he makes life at home with him hell.He ruined her favorite T-shirt, damn it.He’s a stepdork who plays weird board games with his dweebish buddies, and she’s a party-hard female who spends the majority of time with her equally party-hard girls. Travis excels at school, particularly science; Raven can’t remember the last time she did homework or attended a class without playing on her phone.They couldn’t be more opposite if they tried.So why does her heart skip a beat when he graces her with a rare smile?Why does it race when he surprises her with an unexpected moment of kindness?Living together is probably going to get messy.Not that Raven cares because… drama.18+