Book picks similar to
Hard Core by Tess Oliver


romance
contemporary-romance
abuse
contemporary

Accidental Hero


Nicole Snow - 2018
    Then he dared me to make it real.It was one freaking kiss with a stranger.I wasn't looking for a hero the day Brent Eden charged into my life.He saw a damsel in distress facing humiliation.We played pretend. Swore I was his. Baited sweet chaos.Blew apart everything.My dating disaster? Gone.Our kiss? Electric. Divine. Toe-curling.His mistake? Oh, boy.Dropping the ultimate F-bomb: fiancé.Especially when my gossipy cousin tells the whole family.Forget how he's badass personified.The ink. The leather. The abs. The smirk.The lightning eyes and the growl I can't resist.Nothing changes the fact that he's my favorite student's father.I'm risking it all for this charade. And I'm losing.The closer we get, the deeper I fall.The louder he vows to protect me.The more we come undone.Even my questions have questions.What if I'm not the only one who needs saving?What if our marriage mistake gets way too real?From Wall Street Journal bestselling author Nicole Snow - two hearts, one lie, and no mercy! Plus a damaged single dad who just can't let his Not Fiancée go. Full length romance novel with everything Happily Ever Afters are made of.

El Diablo


M. Robinson - 2016
    ROBINSONI was ruthless. I was feared. I had sacrificed. Myself. Her. Everything... Living in a world where I was worth more dead than alive was a choice. I was a bad man, never claimed to be anything else. I’ve done things I’m not proud of. Seen things that can’t be unseen. I’ve caused pain that I can’t undo. It was all my choice. Every decision. Every order. Right and wrong never mattered. Until her. She was under my protection, until she became my obsession. But who was going to save her... From. Me. The devil himself. Fate brought us together. Destiny destroyed us. STANDALONE: Romance Suspense full-length novel.

Shane


Jessica Gadziala - 2016
    And "trouble" was exactly what Shane freaking Mallick was. Knee-cap breaker, loan shark enforcer, panty-dropper. Trouble with a capital T. And the absolute last thing I needed in my life...* For possible triggers, please visit: http://www.jessicagadziala.com/trigge...

The Man in the Black Suit


Sylvain Reynard - 2017
    When her superior, Marcel, is attacked in a supposed random mugging, she is tasked with serving one of the hotel’s most mysterious and attractive guests.Nicholas Cassirer checks into the hotel under an assumed name every three months. Usually, he stays in the penthouse suite with a beautiful female companion but on this occasion, he arrives alone and is displeased in having to deal with someone new. A match of wits ensues as he tests Acacia’s expertise with a series of almost impossible demands. Her intelligence and creativity rise to the challenge, earning his respect.They strike a tenuous accord until Acacia discovers a famous stolen painting in his suite, she contacts a former boyfriend who works for the elite BRB, a unit of French law enforcement that deals with art thefts.Nicholas is questioned by police and released when it is revealed the painting is a reproduction. Irked with her behavior, Acacia’s supervisor demotes her threatening dismissal and the cancellation of her work permit.But Acacia has already attracted Nicholas’s attention. Remorseful that she may lose her job on his account, he offers her a choice – she can wait until her supervisor dismisses her, or she can leave the city of lights behind and become his personal assistant.Acacia initially refuses his offer, but Nicholas is persistent. He reveals himself as a man who quietly acquires stolen art in order to restore it to its rightful owners. Faced with mounting familial debts and the possibility of dismissal and deportation, she agrees to work for him.Nicholas opens up a whole new world of beauty and intrigue to Acacia as they travel the globe. Soon the line between employer and assistant is blurred, and the two lonely people embark on a passionate relationship.

Only Trick


Jewel E. Ann - 2015
    Here’s what I know …I was homeless. I’m a recovering drug addict.My inked skin crawls from lustful eyes. I have a serious aversion to women. My gay partner is a home wrecker. I own a gun and I’m a damn good shot. I’m a makeup artist, but it’s an insult to my talent. I’ve never wanted to possess anything except my Ducati … until I met Darby. Now here’s what I know since that day in the ER when she pieced me back together … nothing—but a few random thoughts.My new “friend” is distracting, clingy, and obsessed with acronyms, emojis, and phrases like “breakfast soul mates.” I didn’t want to like her, but she crawled under my skin and swallowed me whole. Now we’re best friends and she’s my new addiction. I'd drink her from a shot glass, snort her up my nose, or inject her into my veins if I could. What I won’t do … is ever tell her that. She doesn’t know me … I don’t know me. When those missing years come back, I think she will hate me … I think I will hate me. My parents named me Patrick Roth, and this is my story.

Unexpected Reality


Kaylee Ryan - 2016
    That's what they say, but it's easier said than done.How do you expect a change so huge it rocks you to your core?How do you prepare yourself for an event that will alter your life forever?One breathOne secondOne minuteOne hourOne day at a time, you learn to live with your unexpected reality.

The Bad Guy


Celia Aaron - 2017
    I’ve decided to lay myself bare. To tell the truth for once in my hollow life, no matter how dark it gets. And I can assure you, it will get so dark that you’ll find yourself feeling around the blackened corners of my mind, seeking a door handle that isn’t there. Don’t mistake this for a confession. I neither seek forgiveness nor would I accept it. My sins are my own. They keep me company. Instead, this is the true tale of how I found her, how I stole her, and how I lost her. She was a damsel, one who already had her white knight. But every fairy tale has a villain, someone waiting in the wings to rip it all down. A scoundrel who will set the world on fire if that means he gets what he wants. That’s me. I’m the bad guy. Author's Note: This is a 90,000-word romance with dark themes and a HEA.

The Real


Kate Stewart - 2018
    It started the moment I saw the simple message pop up on my computer screen: Cameron’s Mac: Hi. And when I met the eyes of the gorgeous man messaging me from across the coffee shop, I never thought my reply would lead to the most intense, sexual, and passionate relationship of my life. We both agreed to check our bags at the door and put our future hopes and aspirations on the table. It worked. I fell in love with his no holds barred attitude, sexy smirk, and undeniably good heart . . . and for a while we forgot about our baggage. We happily tripped over it to get to the other, neither of us willing to show the contents of our pasts in the off chance it could ruin us. We built our love on a foundation of gray. It was life in black and white that threatened to tear us apart.

Right Where I Want You


Jessica Hawkins - 2018
    . . and it cuts right through the middle of their office. Bad boys? They run right over good girls like Georgina Keller. But after a confidence-shattering breakup, she’s determined not to let anyone at her new workplace push her around—least of all the brooding creative director, a “bad boy of publishing” who’s made it clear she’s enemy #1.Sebastian Quinn's taste for fast cars, late nights, and beautiful women may have gotten him to the top of a leading New York magazine, but the reputation that made him is suddenly threatening to end his career.Georgina can help Modern Man shed its bad reputation, but in order to do that, she’ll have to start at the top—and no amount of rakish charm or inconvenient attraction will distract her.Because if Sebastian gets her right where he wants her, it means she’s going down.

Delicate Ink


Carrie Ann Ryan - 2014
    The problem: she can’t stand him. Now he’ll have to be his most charming and brooding if he has any chance of changing her mind…and claiming her heart.Sierra Elder has reasons for keeping away and secrets close to her heart. An accident took her first love and scarred more than her soul in the process. Now the inked man with a wicked grin is starting to melt the ice she’s built to keep her safe, but the danger isn’t only from what she feels.Some secrets were never meant to be kept and when mistakes from both of their pasts come knocking, they’ll have to trust each other, even if it could hurt them both in the process.

Co-Wrecker


Meghan Quinn - 2017
     I wanted to be friends — I would have even settled for her seeing me as anything but a nerd — but there was no getting through. So just like any hard-headed, red-blooded man out there, I made up my mind. I’d make my coworker fall for me. I’d like to say it was simple, but like every other epic love story, all it took was one drunken night and a lot of naked courage to get the girl. For a moment, at least. Love with a coworker is never simple, especially since Sadie’s trying to keep us on the low. Not to mention her persistent ex-boyfriend who won’t leave her alone. But I’ve never been good at giving up, and I don’t plan to start now. The whole thing is a recipe for a rocky road, but I plan to eat the whole gallon, no matter how bad the brain freeze.

Pieces of Him


Alice Tribue - 2016
    You want the truth?The truth is there’ll never be enough time in the world to figure out how to go back.I’ll never come up with a way to change the outcome.The truth is I don’t need to hear I have a son.I can’t deny it’s real because he’s the living, breathing proof my life is out of control.But the truth is I love him.The truth is it’s just him and me for the foreseeable future…Until I met a girl who crossed my heart and changed it all.Emelia was a bright star in my abandoned sky, and it would take a miracle to keep her there.I’ll fight for miracles, though, because losing them would mean losing pieces of me.

Underneath It All


Kate Canterbary - 2014
    It's all the little things--the action plans, the long-kept promises--that started falling apart when my life slipped into controlled chaos. After I fell ass-over-elbow into Matthew Walsh's arms, I couldn't decide whether I wanted to run screaming or rip his pants off, and most days I wanted a little of both. If I was being honest with myself, it was rip his pants off, ride him like a workhorse, and then run screaming. Meet Matthew Walsh. A rebellious streak ran through Lauren Halsted. It was fierce and unrelentingly beautiful, and she wasn't letting anyone tell her what to do--unless, of course, she was naked. She wasn't looking for me and I sure as shit wasn't looking for her, but we found each other anyway, and now we were locked in a battle of wills, waiting for the other to blink.

Sex Love Repeat


Alessandra Torre - 2013
    Dance to Bob Marley in the sand. Find love and peace in Paul's arms. In Hollywood, I drink champagne and watch our chef fix dinner. I visit Stewart at work and let him take me on top of his desk.Two separate lives. Two separate men. A woman that watched us all.I should have known that it wouldn't work out.

The Outskirts


T.M. Frazier - 2017
    Finn wants to forget he ever had one. After a tragedy, Finn Hollis escapesinto the swamp to be alone. That is until Sawyer Dixon shows up, all SCORCHING HOT innocence, claiming she owns the land less than fifty feet from his front door. Sawyer gets under his SKIN, but even worse? She makes him CRAVE things. Things Finn hasn’t thought about in a very long time. Finn WANTS Sawyer gone.Almost as much as he wants her in his BED.The swamp is about to get a whole lot HOTTER. The Outskirts was originally set to be a standalone. It is now book one of a duet. The Outliers is the title of book two.