Book picks similar to
Not Giving up by K.J. Thomas
bully
dnf
high-school
abuse
Crooked Crows
Elena Lawson - 2021
Heartlessly cruel. Broken beyond repair.Corvus, Rook, and Grey – The Crows. Bred in a world of gang wars, violence, and secrets, they rule the bloody town of Thorn Valley and all the people in it…too bad for me I’ve never been good at kissing ass or keeping quiet.Even if their savage spirits awaken something inside of me I thought was long dead, I can’t break. I won’t. They think they scare me, that I’ll run and hide, but the joke’s on them. The Crows aren’t the first monsters I’ve faced, and they won’t be the last. There are worse evils out there waiting to take their stab at Ava Jade Mason.I say let them try. I’m tired of running. Tired of holding back my darkness. Thorn Valley isn’t ready for a new boogie man. Too bad I’m already here.Crooked Crows is a dark enemies-to-lovers reverse harem romance, meaning the main character will have more than one love interest.Warning: This series contains foul language, explicit sexual content, graphic depictions of gang violence, and jealous/possessive themes. Recommended for readers aged eighteen and up. Please read responsibly.
Pretty When She Cries
A. Zavarelli - 2020
Ours was baptized in fire.I was the new girl trying to find her place.Landon was the brooding neighbor I tutored over the summer.I didn’t know he was a legend at Black Mountain Academy.I didn’t know they worshipped him like a religion.But I fell for him before I knew those things.To me, he was just the tortured soul who drew me in like a magnet.And then he did something so unspeakable, so unforgivable, it shattered me.I ran away then because I was weak, but I’ve shed my tears.He stole my heart and my dignity, and I’m here to take it back.The only problem is… he’s not giving it up without a fight.
The Sinner
Kelsey Clayton - 2020
She ruined my life in one fell swoop, and didn’t even have the heart to warn me.Now, nearly a decade later, I’m back in the town I grew up in, determined to make her pay.They say revenge is a dangerous game, but I’ve never been one to play it safe. There is nothing I’ll love more than to find her weakness and use it to destroy her. The lie she told all those years ago will be her undoing.Savannah Montgomery may be queen of the rich and entitled, but she’s about to meet her match.
THE SINNER is a standalone and part of the Haven Grace Prep series. It contains angst, violence, and scenes that may be triggering for some readers. If you're looking for a sweet love story, this may not be for you.
Untouched
Jaxson Kidman - 2019
Now I’m the new girl. My mother’s in rehab and the last person I expect to see takes me in so I don’t end up on the street. Except… BAY FALLS HIGH is like nothing I know. Rich. Power hungry. A$$holes around every corner. Liars. Cheaters. And if that wasn’t enough… I have three of the hottest and baddest guys in school after me. I didn’t mean to see what I saw to get their attention. And I swear to them I won’t say a word. But they don’t believe me. I’m not a prize. I’m a toy. I know once I’m broken they’ll leave me alone… … but maybe for the first time in my life I’m done with being broken. Plus, when I find out what they really want from me, I realize that maybe I can be the bitch calling the shots.
Hating You
J.L. Beck - 2019
Maybe she thought it was only a little lie. That she did the right thing, that the worst was behind her, that no one had gotten hurt. Oh how naive the black haired beauty was. Fate has finally brought her back to me, to Blackthorn Academy. Once upon a time I was obsessed, consumed with the need to make her mine. Now I just want revenge, and I’ll do whatever I can to get it. You see the beautiful, sweet, Willow doesn’t realize the mistake she’s made yet. She doesn’t realize that she’s entered the lion's den and there won’t be any escaping her fate. I’m Parker Rothschild, and I’ll become her nightmare, her enemy, her bully. By the time I’m finished with her she’ll be begging me for forgiveness and pleading to confess her sins. **This is a standalone DARK bully romance. This book contains scenes that may be triggering to some readers. This is not a YA romance novel and should be read by those only 18+ or older. **
Wicked Dreams
S. Massery - 2020
She doesn’t realize the anger I’ve been harboring.I’ve been waiting for the perfect time to ruin her life, and it’s finally here.Because even traitors sleep—and I’m going to make sure she only dreams of me.Then I’m going to destroy her.This is a dark high school bully romance with mature content and themes. It contains dubious situations that some readers may find offensive. If you're looking for a white knight hero, this book is not for you. Wicked Dreams is book one of a trilogy and cannot be read as a standalone.
Bully
Penelope Douglas - 2013
He doesn't call me that, though. He would never refer to me so informally, if he referred to me at all. No, he'll barely even speak to me.But he still won't leave me alone.We were best friends once. Then he turned on me and made it his mission to ruin my life. I've been humiliated, shut out, and gossiped about all through high school. His pranks and rumors got more sadistic as time wore on, and I made myself sick trying to stay out of his way. I even went to France for a year, just to avoid him.But I'm done hiding from him now, and there's no way in hell I'll allow him to ruin my senior year. He might not have changed, but I have. It's time to fight back. I'm not going to let him bully me anymore.***This novel contains adult/mature young adult situations. It is only suitable for ages 18+ due to language, violence, and sexual situations.
The Silver Swan
Amo Jones - 2017
When she begins Riverside Preparatory Academy, the private school her father has swept her into in The Hamptons, she hopes for a fresh start. What she wasn't hoping for was the pack of bad boys who run the school; ten, to be exact. When Madison gains the attention of their leader, Bishop Vincent Hayes, a whole new world that she didn't think existed is exposed to her. A whole world that starts and ends with The Elite Kings Club and these boys, are about to flip her world upside down. Secrets are overflowing and family lies are about to be exposed. Is there more to Madison Montgomery than even she knows?
Freestyle
Bea Paige - 2020
Dance is in my blood.It’s what keeps me sane, out of trouble. It used to keep them out of trouble too. A group of boys I grew up with.Xeno, York, Zayn and Dax.We were a crew once and we ruled the clubs.Separate we were insanely good, together we were unbeatable. F*&ing on fire. I was their girl and they were my Breakers.Until they did something they promised they never would; break my heart.We were sixteen when they left me.You see, for kids like us, dance was all we had.Growing up in a rundown housing estate in London with no prospects can make you view the world differently.It can make you choose the wrong path.I chose dance, and they chose crime.Three years later I’ve won a scholarship to Stardom Academy. I try to forget my past.But how can I do that when the four boys who hurt me are back?And this time they won’t walk away even when I ask them too.Freestyle is book one of this new gritty, contemporary reverse harem academy trilogy for 17+ readers and deals with adult themes and some subjects you may find upsetting. If you love dance, your men on the criminal side, alpha hot holes and the enemies-to-lovers trope, this is for you. Contains foul language and sexual scenes.
Broken Trust
R.A. Smyth - 2021
Today I start school at Pacific Prep. This is my new lease on life, and I won’t be wasting it. I need this, now, more than ever. I need the education, the promise of a future that I wouldn’t get anywhere else. These rich kids don’t like me though. When Hawk Davenport decides he doesn’t want me here, his friends back him. Along with Hawk, Westley Warren, Cam Rutherford, and Mason Hayes rule this school and nobody dares go against them. They don’t know the real me. I won’t back down.***This book is a reverse harem, meaning the FMC will have three or more love interests. The book also has trigger warnings for emotional/physical bullying, abuse, violent scenes, reference to self-harm and mature content/swearing, so please do not read if you are easily offended or have the mentioned triggers.This book is intended for 18+
Riot House
Callie Hart - 2020
As far as the boys who run America’s most exclusive international academy are concerned, I’m an unwelcome interloper, an inconvenience, and they’re determined to make my life a living hell. When Wren Jacobi sets eyes on Wolf Hall Academy’s newest inductee, all he sees is an easy mark. A reserved little girl with a target painted on her back. He knows nothing of my troubled past, though. Nothing of my mother’s suspicious death, or the horrific treatment I’ve had to endure at the hands of my psychotic father. And he has no idea of the lengths that I, unassuming little Elodie Stillwater, will go to in order to break the savage beast who dreams of breaking me first. There’s a wolf stalking the forests that surround my new school. Little does he know…There are far scarier predators lurking out there in the dark.
Wicked Elites
Sofia Daniel - 2019
And burdened me with a terrible secret. I was homeless, drowning in debt, and without hope. Until the Brittas Academy offered me a scholarship. They even let me bring my sister—despite her problems. The academy would be our chance for a better future. Except that Kane, Zachary, and Ellis have different ideas. They’re the wicked princes who rule the academy. Cultured, sophisticated, and irresistibly gorgeous. They resent me because I’m not an elite. They want to break me. Humiliate me. Make me leave. But I’m determined to stay. Even if they break my heart. Wicked Elites the first book in a reverse harem high school bully romance. It contains cursing, sexual situations, and extremely dark themes.
Beautiful Disaster
Francette Phal - 2012
They call it the “bet” and new girl Ellie Holbrook is their latest target. Ellie is not the kind of girl Nicholas dates, but she is pretty enough to be his next conquest and so he sets out to seduce her and claim a nice little prize at the end. But her seduction proves difficult when she openly rejects his advances. In his dogged pursuit of her he slowly finds himself in her small circle of trusted friends and meets her two year old daughter, Sophie.Life takes a startling turn for Nicholas when he realizes his happiness now lies with the young mother and her daughter. Falling in love with Ellie isn’t something Nicholas ever thought could happen to him and he’s completely frightened at how fiercely she makes him feel. But before he can further examine those emotions and clearly process them, enemies from Nicholas’s personal circle of friends conspire to tear them apart and he must now decide whether their love is worth saving or allow his friends to take away the greatest thing that’s ever happened to him.
Tormented
Esme Devlin - 2019
I would never have played with fire and I would never have let it consume me. I would have listened to my friend. I would have packed my bags and left. I would have let him win. But you can’t know what you don’t know. I couldn’t have known about the secrets, the deception, the manipulation. I could never have predicted the damage a single kiss could cause. But what I do know is that I’m a hell of a lot stronger than I was when I moved halfway across the world to Scotland. He can push, he can pull, he can torment me and he can humiliate me. He won’t break me. Because you can’t really break something that’s already broken. Please note that Tormented is a DARK bully romance intended for mature audiences of 18+ only. It contains mature themes that may trigger readers. This is book 1 in a series and cannot be read as a standalone novel. Cliffy alert, but I promise it will be worth it.
Bullied
Vera Micic - 2016
I hoped life would get better when I moved to my mother's hometown, but it only got worse because it was there that I met my unrequited crush, Hayden Black.He despised me from day one, and even more when I became best friends with his twin, Kayden. Kayden gave light to my life, but my happiness with him lasted only until one night two years ago.That night Kayden died because of me.Half of me died with him. The other half was left to bleed, suffering Hayden's and his friends' constant bullying.Now I must endure one more year before I can finally escape them and go to college. This year has to be different.Either I will become stronger, or they will finally break me into nothing.Warning: This book contains mature and sensitive themes such as abuse, violence, and offensive language. It includes situations that may be triggering for some readers, so caution is advised.