Book picks similar to
Surface by Anna Brooks


romance
contemporary
dnf
age-gap

Prick Tease


Misti Murphy - 2015
     There are a million damn reasons why I shouldn’t touch her. Her brothers are my best friends. We grew up together, under the same roof. I’m supposed to think of her like a little sister. I won’t break my loyalty for a f*ck. Razer Bennington forgot me when he joined the marines. One kiss. Seven years. I can’t get the taste of him out of my mouth. I’m meant to be the good girl. A virgin. A role model. I’m supposed to live up to their expectations. Screw that… I’m going to get what I want. I should be careful what I wish for. *** Claire Hadley was about to check the perfect fiancé off her checklist. Until she found him underneath a hooker. Running home to her brother, she doesn’t expect to be rescued by Razer Bennington. Seven years ago he left her behind. But she hasn’t forgotten their last night together. Or the kiss they shared. Tired of living up to the expectations of others, she throws caution to the wind. This time she’ll get what she wants. Even if getting what she wants could destroy him. Complete stand alone romance.

The Education of Sebastian


Jane Harvey-Berrick - 2012
    When her husband finally wins a long sought-after promotion, Caroline feels she has little choice but to follow him to a new home in San Diego. There she meets Sebastian, a young man of 17. For an all too brief summer, their happiness blooms. But external pressures begin to bear down, not least from the overbearing David, and Sebastian’s parents begin to suspect that their son has a secret. Even Caroline’s new friend, Donna, realises that dark passions exist below the serene surface.

Irish Kiss


Sienna Blake - 2018
    Long haired, tattooed and tall as an Irish giant. He was more than just handsome, he was drop dead gorgeous. And the only one who ever truly cared. It didn’t matter to him that my father was a criminal and my mother a whore. He saw me, understood me. I could be anything I wanted, he said. Except his. Because I was too young and he was my Juvenile Liaison Officer. Diarmuid It’s been years since I last saw her. No longer a girl, she has a body of a woman. When our eyes met again, I saw the only one who ever broke through my asshole mask. She never judged me. She saw me, accepted me. She could be anything she wanted. Except mine. Cause she’s only seventeen and I’m trying my hardest not to fall for her. If I give in, she will ruin me. This is a slow-burn, angsty love story spanning across a seven-year time period with sexual situations and drug-use involving characters under the age of eighteen. Irish Kiss is a complete standalone novel with a Happily Ever After, but damn, it is going to hurt along the way.

Love Unexpected


Q.B. Tyler - 2020
    One kiss, under the dark of night, in a city where no one knew us. One kiss fueled by my hormones and alcohol and the blinding grief over losing my mother. One kiss from the man I told myself was untouchable. But, it didn’t stop at one kiss. And now we are running full speed down a road with no intention of stopping. His touch disarms me. His kiss revives me. But, our love, could destroy me. *This is a taboo novel and is intended for mature audiences only.

A Perfect Mess


Zoe Dawson - 2012
    He was always the unpredictable one, the one who would be brash enough to make it big self-publishing horror novels on the internet. He promised never to tell, but everyone knows you can never trust an Outlaw.Then a year later, in the middle of the night, she receives a phone call at Tulane. Her aunt, who took her in after her mother’s death, is in a coma under suspicious circumstances. Now she has to face that one person who knows all about what she did that summer—sexy Booker. Returning to Hope Parish to be with her aunt, stirs up all those ugly memories. When Aubree starts getting threats, she can’t help but wonder if what she did last summer was tied to her aunt’s “accident.” Afraid, she turns to the only person who knows the truth and Booker doesn’t hesitate to offer his broad shoulder for her to lean on. But Booker has a secret of his own that could crush their fledgling relationship.As the hot, sultry summer days move on, she finds that even a perfectly smart girl can lose her heart to a perfectly bad boy. What is she going to do when someone starts asking questions Aubree doesn’t want to answer? She’s knee deep into a terribly dangerous, wholly life changing, who-can-she-really-depend-on perfect mess.A Perfect Series: Three perfect girls, three perfect secrets, one unholy trinityA Perfect Mess, Book #1 – the girl most likely to succeed, an unpredictable Outlaw, and a dangerous secret that could be the death of her.A Perfect Mistake, Book #2 – A preacher’s daughter, a reckless Outlaw, and a secret that will change her life forever.A Perfect Dilemma, Book #3 – The town’s poor little rich girl, a sweet-talking Outlaw, and a secret that will ruin all that she holds dear

Secret Lucidity


E.K. Blair - 2018
    But it did.This wasn’t supposed to be my life. But it was.I was just a typical girl, living a typical life. Nothing was out of the ordinary until tragedy threw me into a turnstile I couldn’t see my way out of. That was, until him.I never could’ve imagined my heart falling the way it did. Hard, fast, and with unbounding beauty. The only problem? He was off limits. Forbidden. But he became my everything, and I became his, so we risked it all. It was only a matter of time until I realized that our risk came with unimaginable consequences. My name is Camellia Hale and his is David Andrews, and this is our love story.

Rock Me


Carly Phillips - 2017
    Ben Hollander has sworn off mixing business with pleasure. But keeping his hands off of the sexy songstress is easier said than done and once the threat is neutralized, will she choose fame over love?

Misbehaved


Charleigh Rose - 2017
    She’s outspoken, brazen and wants nothing more than to escape the Nevadan hell hole that she calls home. On the brink of eighteen, with a deceased mother and a well-meaning, yet absent father, she is forced to fend for herself. The only person she’s ever had to depend on is her borderline obsessive stepbrother, Ryan. But, what used to be her anchor is quickly becoming a loose cannon. When Remi gets the opportunity to attend the best private school in the state during her senior year of high school, she jumps at the chance. Then she meets Mr. James. Ornery, aloof, and totally irresistible. Most girls would swoon in secrecy. Most girls would doodle his name with hearts in their notebook. But Remi Stringer has never been like most girls.

Legally Yours


Nicole French - 2017
    Okay, so maybe she's a little neurotic too. She just can't afford to be distracted these days, especially not by the immature boys that keep asking her out. At the end of her third year at Harvard Law, all Skylar wants is to figure out her next steps: ones that will hopefully include a job, an apartment, and enough money to help her father stop getting into trouble. She simply has no room for romance, especially the kind that might break your heart. But on a dark, snowy night, when she's stranded in the living room of the notorious CEO of Sterling Ventures and one of the best attorneys in Boston, all of those boundaries are about to be knocked down.Brandon Sterling never believed in fate. A man of his own making, he firmly credits his successes to hard work. How else could you explain his rise from the poorest of backgrounds in South Boston to becoming one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Boston? Living in the lap of luxury, it never mattered to him that increasing success meant increased isolation in his big house on Beacon Street. After all, when you have everything, everyone else always wants something. That he walks in to find a gorgeous redhead sitting on his windowsill. Suddenly, the idea of love at first sight seems like the most plausible thing in the world...if only the one person he wants to give his heart to would actually take it.Together, Skylar and Brandon have the kind of passion few hope to find, but things keep getting in their way. Between school, business, her father's gambling troubles and Brandon's history of personal struggle, will their complicated lives prevent them from making it work together? Or, as they both suspect somewhere deep down, have they finally met their match in each other's hearts?

Filthy Beautiful Lies


Kendall Ryan - 2014
    Regardless, I'm now the proud new owner of a perfectly intact hymen. A lot of good that will do me. I have certain tastes, certain sexual proclivities. My cock is a bit more discriminatory than most. And training a virgin takes finesse and patience - both of which I lack.Sophie Evans has been backed into a corner. With her sister's life hanging in the balance, the only choice is to claw her way out, even if that means selling her virginity to the highest bidder at an exclusive erotic club. When Colton Drake takes her home, she quickly learns nothing is as it seems with this beautifully troubled man. Being with him poses challenges she never expected, and pushes her to want things she never anticipated.

Sunshine and the Stalker


Dani René - 2018
    I call it clever research.It gets me what I want and when I want it.When I get bored, I move on.My system works like a charm…Until a little ray of SUNSHINE shows up.***Dating is nonexistent for me.I’m quirky, silly, and inexperienced.This means my romantic life is certainly lacking.I don’t date because no one’s interested.Some say I’m an independent woman who doesn’t need a man.But I know I’m on the fast track to becoming a lonely cat lady.How many cats are too many cats anyway?My boring world stays that way…Until my future stepmother’s STALKER shows up.

Bare Your Soul


Rochelle Paige - 2016
    Walking into a strip club and asking for an audition certainly qualifies as desperate, but when her mom's battle with cancer ends months before Angelica is due to start college, she doesn't feel like she has much choice. The moment Morgan Cadwell sees her on his stage, he knows she's the one woman who could make him break all the rules. There's no way he's going to let Angelica dance for other men, so he hires her as his live-in personal assistant instead.Morgan's offer lets Angelica keep her clothes on...but little does she know that, in the end, he'll make her bare her soul instead.

Chasing Love


Kat T. Masen - 2020
    So when the ever-so-perfect Julian Baker proposes marriage, I'm ready to forget the past and move on with my new love.In a cruel twist of fate, my past and future collide. I'm forced to face the man who destroyed my heart back in high school.Lex Edwards, turned billionaire tycoon, is ruthless, cunning, and will not stop until I'm his.A complicated love triangle was never something I imagined when Julian proposed to me. Especially not involving Lex.Hearts and egos are bound to be broken.But whose heart will capture mine when the darkness fades? **This title was previously published as Into the Darkness. It has been extensively rewritten, re-edited, and has a steamy new cover**

When August Ends


Penelope Ward - 2019
    Things didn’t exactly get off on the right foot with Noah Cavallari. Our first encounter was embarrassing, to say the least.But despite that, I found myself waking up every day with a newfound energy. Nothing exciting ever happened on the lake—not until Noah moved into the small boathouse on our property. He’d booked it for the entire summer…and I was still trying to figure out why.When my mother became ill, I inherited the responsibility of making sure our guests were well taken care of. I should have been in college. Instead, I was living my best life…as a maid.Dark, handsome, and mysterious, everything about Noah screamed forbidden. I knew he was just passing through town for the summer.I knew he was probably too old for me.Yet, I was drawn to him.Not to mention, he tried to save my life when he mistakenly thought I was drowning.I wanted him and made no secret of it.His own attempts to warn me away soon gave way to late-night moonlight chats by the lake. We were slowly easing into a friendship that was gearing up to explode into something I might not recover from. Because he’s leaving at the end of the summer.And I have no idea what I’ll do when August ends.

Signed


Marni Mann - 2018
    More ruthless and cutthroat than any arrogant bastard you’d ever met.The top actors in Hollywood came to me to get signed. When I saw James Ryne, America’s Sweetheart, standing across the bar, I wanted her body like I’d never wanted anything before. I broke rule number one.But, after all, I was a man. No one had ever mistaken me for a saint.Rule Number 1: Do Not Fall in Love Again I didn’t know his name. I didn’t who he was. All I knew was that he was deliciously handsome and he had to be someone to get into the most elite bar in LA. He was too old for me, too experienced—the kind of man everyone warned me about. It was only supposed to be a one-night stand. I could have walked away. I should have walked away.And then I was forced to walk away when my scandal hit the tabloids.I broke rule number one and now I had to make the biggest decision of my life.Risk my heart or get signed.