Book picks similar to
These Dark Hearts by L.A. Cotton


romance
novella
high-school
contemporary

Find Me


Ashley N. Rostek - 2021
    My parents. My twin sister. All of them murdered by the man who has stalked me for years. He nearly killed me, too. But I got away and he’s still out there, searching for me. He won’t find me. At least, I hope not. Thanks to WITSEC, I’ve been given a new life with a new identity.The present…My uncle, my only living relative, has helped me glue myself back together and given me the tools I’ll need to survive. I’m not fixed and my grief is heavy, but I’m at a point where I can put one foot in front of the other to try to move on.I know my future will be hard and lonely. I must stay strong and focus on the good. I’m getting a second chance at life. I am safe. My new home is beautiful. The four brothers who live next door are even more so. Little do I know that Colt, Creed, Keelan, and Knox will soon become my everything. It’s as if my lonely heart screamed out for someone good to find me. Four answered back.***WARNING This is a reverse harem romance. Contains violence, graphic killing, foul language, and sexual content. Some parts may be triggering.***

Weak for Him


Lyra Parish - 2014
    Bright lights. Sex.Jennifer is made an offer: sell her virginity to the highest bidder and transform into one of Finnley's girls. But she finds herself weak for him, and doesn't fully realize what she's agreed to until it's too late.Will she rise to the challenge and play by the rules in a land where money is king and love is prohibited? Or will she lose herself and values in the attempt?Weak for Him has unlady-like language, adult subject matter, and s-e-x-ual situations. There is resolution at the end but the story does continue on to Weak Without Him.

Fallen Crest Christmas


Tijan - 2015
    This was written to be a FREE gift to any Fallen Crest readers! And with that said, Happy Holidays from Tijan. (If it is not free, please refrain from purchasing. I am working on making it free.)

Glass Heart Savage


Lindsey Iler - 2020
    𝘋𝘌𝘊𝘌𝘐𝘛. 𝘗𝘙𝘐𝘝𝘐𝘓𝘌𝘎𝘌.The elite come to play on the campus of Glass Heart Academy.𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐫My sister was their everything. I’m their nothing.They waited three hundred and sixty-five days after her disappearance to acknowledge I’m alive.Their wicked games should scare me.Except they don’t know I’m not much different than her.𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐤Palmer Weston isn’t anything like her sister.She’s sweet and naive. There are plenty of reasons why I should keep my distance.Except where’s the fun in that.I’m a boy who loves his toys and I’ve kept her on the shelf long enough.It seems someone is determined on giving Palmer the same fate as her sister.Problem is I’ve never been good at sharing.{Glass Heart Savage is the first book in the Glass Heart Academy Series.}

Love Hurts


Mandi Beck - 2015
    I’m at home, in my element, inflicting pain onto men trained to hurt me just as badly. Making them submit, knocking them out, maiming them, because it’s them or me. And I choose them. Outside the Octagon, my only weakness is a five-foot-two, classy as fuck woman that I’ve loved for most of my life. She’s the one that brings me to my knees, fills my arms, my heart, and one day soon, my bed. She makes me reckless. Volatile. I drink too much and try too hard to fuck my way out of feeling—all because of her.Frankie De Rosa is my girl, my best friend. I haven’t earned her yet, but I won’t stand by and let anyone take her from me. She will be the greatest fight of my life, but she’s worth the battle. Love hurts, but anything worth having does, right? I’m Deacon “The Hitman” Love — Welcome to the Cage.

Ghostgirl


J.B. Salsbury - 2018
    Abandoned with his two younger brothers, Milo Vega was placed in foster care. Now a twenty-year-old high-school senior covered in gang tattoos and working as the school’s janitor, he is living a life vastly different from the one he was destined for. When another foster joins the family, this one from the psychiatric facility, Milo’s skeptical. A rare genetic condition makes her unlike any girl he’s ever seen, and he wants nothing to do with the one he calls Ghostgirl.Despite his reluctance, his protective instincts flare when she enrolls in school, and eventually, an unlikely friendship grows between them. When a tragic event snaps her fragile psyche, Milo is faced with the possibility of never seeing her again. Unless he risks it all to save her.

Striker


Rachel Leigh - 2020
    MarniI wasn't supposed to be at that house.I should have never wandered away from the party.And I definitely shouldn't have pressed my ear to that door.The words I heard play in my mind like a record on repeat.Now, they want my silence.The four guys who terrorize the streets of Redwood as a sport will stop at nothing to make sure that my lips are sealed.What they don't know is that I refuse to go down without a fight. TalonMarni Thorn thinks she's holding all the cards. She believes she's harboring our secret. Little does she know, it wasn't ours to begin with. We made a rule that she's off limits.But a body like that is meant to be touched. Limits are pushed, and rules are broken. But one thing is for certain, I have my little rebel right where I want her.Striker is a Dark Bully Romancethat contains explicit sexual content,graphic language, and situations that somereaders may find uncomfortable.

Dirty Wicked Prince


Eden O'Neill - 2021
    I had the audacity of breathing his air. Dirty. Rotten. Savages.The Legacy boys are Windsor Preparatory Academy’s most privileged. No one crosses the devil spawn of this town’s upper echelon, but I managed. I call one of them out my first day, and no one hears it louder than their blond prince. Evil. Wicked. Twisted. Dorian Prinze is as cruel as he is beautiful and once he sets his sights on me, he refuses to let go. Apparently, I bother him by simply existing at my new school and no matter what I do, I can’t stay off the radar of him and his boys. He says I make too much noise and stupid me for not caring. Some really messed up stuff brought my brother and me to this town, and I won’t bow down to these elitist pricks. Something tells me going to war with the cruel prince of Maywood Heights may level both our foundations, but I won’t go down without a fight. I’ll do whatever it takes to win Dorian’s devious and twisted games. Even if he promises I’ll scream for him by the end.

Beautifully Insightful


K.C. Lynn - 2015
    I see the world differently than everyone else, I feel everything differently and I reflect on life differently. And being different in my world is not a good thing.I live in a place that’s divided between the rich and the poor, the beautiful and the unbeautiful, the prestigious and the mediocre. I have always belonged in the first category, because my father was the Governor of Georgia. Growing up around people I could never relate with, my life had always been lonely, that was until my senior year when I met the one boy who would change my life forever. A boy who my parents would never approve of because he didn’t come from money or the same social class. He rode a motorcycle, had tattoos and was considered to be from the wrong side of the tracks. Yet he was still envied by many.Ryder Jameson was someone who every guy feared, and one who every girl wanted to be touched by. He didn’t do attachments, or have friends… until me. And for the first time in my life I finally felt like I belonged. When I was with him, my different didn’t feel wrong or ugly. He made me feel beautiful- insightfully beautiful. Then one day my world came crashing down on me, and it would be six years before I'd once again see the boy I fell in love with.RYDER JAMESON ~ After working my ass off I am given the opportunity of a lifetime, and if I pull it off I will be the youngest FBI agent to run one of the biggest undercover operations in history. Only the case that gets thrown in front of me leads me back to the one place I swore I would never return to, and to the only girl who’s ever mattered to me. Except Emily Michaels is not the same girl I left behind. She still looks the same, she’s still beautiful inside and out, but there’s one thing that’s very different about her, one very big thing, and it’s something I didn’t think was possible.Ryder and I come from a world where politics separates us and wealth defines us, but even after all this time we will not let it divide us. Here is our story.

The Scene


Roxy Sloane - 2015
    The city of sex, sin — and secrets.I came here with one mission: solve the mystery behind my brother’s death.Somebody’s got answers.Somewhere, I’ll find what I’m looking for.I didn’t bet on Xavier. He’s my way into the scene — and my biggest threat.I should keep my distance, but I can’t stay away.I'm playing with fire, and I just pray I don't get burned.

Broken Wings


Jaymin Eve - 2019
    There used to be five, but one of them died, leaving a fifth position that I now fill. I didn't ask for this. I didn't want to be part of this billionaire-boys-club. But no one cares about what I want.Sebastian Beckett is the worst of them. Their leader. He draws me in, and strips me of every defense I have. He calls me Butterfly, but it's not a pet name, it's a threat. Beck wants nothing more than to break my wings, pin me to a board and watch me writhe.He wants to see me broken. Body, heart and soul.And what these elite want, they get.Only they've never met Riley Jameson.Let the battle begin.**This dark romance features four sexy, dangerous boys but is NOT a reverse harem.**

Cruel Intentions


Siobhan Davis - 2019
    It’s a truth my mother rebelled against, and she paid for it with her life. Now, I play their game. Publicly accepting the destiny that lies in wait for me when I turn eighteen. But, behind closed doors, I plot my escape. Trent, Charlie, and my twin, Drew, rule the hallways of Rydeville High with arrogance and an iron fist. I execute my role perfectly, hating every second, but they never let me forget my place in this world. Everyone obeys the rules. They have for generations. Because our families have always been in control. Until Cam, Sawyer, and Jackson show up. Throwing their new money around. Challenging the status quo. Setting hearts racing with their gorgeous faces, hot bodies, and bad boy attitudes. Battle lines are drawn. Sides are taken. And I’m trapped in the middle, because I made a mistake one fateful night when I gave my V-card to a stranger in a blatant F you to my fiancé. I thought it was the one thing I owned. A precious memory to carry me through each dark day. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Because the stranger was Camden Marshall, leader of the new elite and my perpetual tormenter. He hates me with a passion unrivaled, and he won’t be the only one. Fire will rain down if the truth is revealed, threatening alliances, and the power struggle will turn vicious. My life will hang in the balance. But I’ll be ready, and I’m not going down without a fight. Due to mature content and themes this book is recommended to readers eighteen and over.

Trust Me


Kristin Mayer - 2013
    When she is finally ready to move forward with her life, she embarks on a getaway vacation to Miami, determined to find healing from the painful memories in her past. Damien Wales also has a tragic past that has left him a cold and distant person. However, the moment he sees Allison, he's inexplicably drawn to her, and he is a man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. A sunset stroll brings the two together. Allison feels an undeniable attraction to Damien, but she's hesitant to get close to anyone. Damien will do everything he can to keep Allison in his life, but his overprotective and domineering demeanor might just push her away. When Damien's dark past begins to collide with his present, Allison's life is put in danger. Damien must keep her safe, but some things are just out of his control. Trust Me is the first book in the Trust Series.

Defiance Falls


Ali Dean - 2019
    Okay, so maybe choosing Cruz Donovan’s 18th birthday party wasn’t the way to go about it. Three years ago, I fell for him. I thought he fell for me too. But when he broke it off, he took my heart and, as if that wasn’t enough, he took my best friends too. They aren’t the same boys I knew before high school started. They’ve got all kinds of secrets they’re keeping from me. If I want back in, I’ve got to be ready to play their game. I might be a killer soccer player, but I’m not real eager to join a team when they won’t tell me who the opponent is, how to score a goal, or what rules I’m supposed to be following. I’m in the wrong place at the wrong time, a pawn in games I don’t understand. Maybe I never should have gone looking for trouble in the first place. Is it too late to change my mind?

Evil Love


Ella Fields - 2020
    Ex-girlfriend? Whatever. Point is, the Adonis loved to hate me.It wasn’t my fault he’d followed me. It wasn’t my fault he’d stared too long and stood a little too close, just daring me to accomplish my wildest dreams.And it most certainly wasn’t my fault his ex-girlfriend arrived when he’d decided to kiss me back.Then the cruelty began.I’d thought I could handle it, so long as his lips kept gracing mine and he kept giving me more scorching firsts. Until he took it too far, and all his carefully kept secrets blew open the doors to a brand-new world. A world he was all too familiar with.Obsession became loathing and fear replaced naivety as Jude was forced to hold my hand and help me navigate a secret society rife with sin and debauchery—the crème de la crème of Peridot Island.If I wasn’t careful, I’d do more than lose what remained of my heart. My first love and greatest foe wouldn’t be satisfied until he’d devoured my soul, too.