Book picks similar to
Shattered by Natalie Baird
romance
fighters
fighter
contemporary
Untouched
Melody Grace - 2013
Juliet knows it the minute she lays eyes on Beachwood Bay's resident bad boy. Forced to spend her summer before college in the sleepy beach town, she never expected to crash into the most devastating guy she’s ever met—or for Emerson’s blue eyes to strip through her dark secrets, and make her feel a desire she’s never known. Their connection is undeniable, but Juliet is torn. She knows, once she gives him everything, there’ll be no turning back.Juliet McKenzie is dangerous. Emerson can tell from the way she blows through all his defences, laying bare the demons he’s carried alone all his life. He’s left a trail of broken hearts and empty beds in his wake, but Juliet is different. Her innocence is intoxicating—and the passion she keeps hidden, just below the surface. He wants to be the only one to set it free, but with every kiss, he’s closer to losing control and doing the one thing he swore he never would: fall in love.One summer. Two damaged hearts. Their story is only just beginning…UNTOUCHED is a prequel novella to the USA Today Bestselling UNBROKEN. It also can be read as a stand-alone story.
From Ashes
Molly McAdams - 2012
So of course she follows him to Texas when he leaves for college. She just didn't expect to be so drawn to their new roommate, Gage, a gorgeous guy with a husky Southern drawl. The only problem? He's Tyler's cousin.Gage Carson was excited to share an apartment off campus with his cousin. He didn't mind that Tyler was bringing the mysterious friend he'd heard about since they were kids ... until the most beautiful girl he's ever seen jumps out of his cousin's Jeep. There's something about Cassi that makes Gage want to give her everything. Too bad Tyler has warned him that she's strictly off-limits.Despite everything keeping them apart, Cassi and Gage dance dangerously close to the touch they're both been craving. But when disaster sends her running into Tyler's arms, Cassi will have to decide whether to face the demons of her past ... or to burn her chance at a future with Gage.
Drawn
Lilliana Anderson - 2013
And a friendship, so strong and loving that it will wait through anything.
In the end, you as the reader will be asked to make a choice. Aaron, or Damien. Light, or dark. There are two endings to this story, and only YOU can decide. Enter the world of Etta, in Drawn.Have you ever felt so drawn to someone, that you will put up with anything to be with them? That’s how I feel when I’m around him. Most of the time, I want to hate him. I want to stay as far away from him as possible. He’s so cocky, and arrogant. And he gets in the way and tells me what to do. He’s all things that I normally detest in a man. But, when we’re alone… I can’t even think for myself – the pull is that intense. I know I should run, I know I should stay away. But I can’t. I don’t know if I’m strong enough. What do you do when you just can’t stay away? Even when you know you should…***Content warning*** This is not your typical romance. This is an erotic thriller about an obsessive relationship between two people who struggle to maintain their control around each other. Its advised that readers be over 18 years of age before reading this novel due to sexual content and adult situations, including violence and abusive themes.
Smash
B.B. Hamel - 2015
Arrogant, cocky, and sexy as hell, I couldn't resist falling into his orbit. And then one night, we made the dumbest decision of our lives.We got married. We thought it was just a game but we were oh-so-wrong.Cole Redson is an MMA fighter. His whole life is fast and hard, violent and dirty. He's the complete opposite of me, and everything I shouldn't want.I never thought I'd see him after that. But when our high powered CEO parents get hitched, suddenly we're stuck living in the same house.He's my stepbrother and my husband. He's my dirty little secret sleeping in the room next door.Then again, secrets never stay hidden for long.When I find pictures of Cole kissing me tucked under my pillow, I'm thrown into a world of blackmail and excitement like I've never known before. Meanwhile, I'm trying to balance Cole's filthy comments and his toe-curling hot body with my need to finally get divorced.The stakes are huge. Our parents' careers are on the line, not to mention Cole's whole life as a fighter. I'm stuck between a marriage I don't want and my stepbrother's rock hard abs, trying to stop the truth from coming out.Smash is heart-thumping violent, shiver-inducing sexy, and features a hero with a filthy mouth. It's only recommended for audiences 18+. Smash is a standalone, full-length novel. No cliffhanger. Guaranteed HEA.For a limited time, BB's bestselling stepbrother novel Rock Hard is included!
Rocked Under
Cora Hawkes - 2012
The intense and angst-filled story of Emma and Scott is a painful, gut-wrenching and exhausting portrayal of how hard it can be to let go...Picking up the pieces and starting again in the US, Emma enrols in college with her cousin, Ashley. She is finally free to do what she wants and live how she chooses, and no man will ever rule her decisions or emotions again.That is, until Scott Mason walks on stage...Intense bad boy Scott is the lead singer of a popular local rock band. A ladies’ man and Ashley's long-time friend, Scott holds an instant fascination for Emma — she finds herself drawn to him, even though he represents everything she hates and needs to stay away from in a guy. He treats females like he does a cigarette — light it, use it, and lose it. For her cousin's sake, Emma makes an effort to get along with Scott, but she soon discovers that there is more to him than first appears, making him even more dangerous in her eyes. Behind the façade of friendship, jealousy, obsession, fear and insecurity fester — an internal battle rages as she fights her attraction and does everything she can to stop history from repeating itself.One thing she knows for sure is that if she breaks her rule, it may destroy her.Warning: Contains mature content — recommended age 17+.
Beautiful Disaster
Jamie McGuire - 2011
She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University's Walking One-Night Stand. Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby needs—and wants—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.
The Fighter's Block
Hadley Quinn - 2012
For ages 18+)The entire fourth floor of Donovan Kemp's apartment complex houses only MMA fighters, dubbing it "The Fighter's Block." Growing up in an abusive home put Van on the fast track to nowhere, but a caring fight club owner took him under his wing as a teen and shaped him into a fighter with integrity. Now in his mid-twenties, his life changes dramatically when he steps in to help a beautiful girl in a scary situation with her boyfriend. Surprising to Van, she ends up going home with him. He's now on the fast track to something else: falling in love. He feels that Danielle is the type of girl men only dream about, but the two quickly fall hard for each other in equal measure.When the ex boyfriend proves to be nothing but trouble, Van has a tough time deciding between protecting Dani with legal measures or just bashing the guy's face in himself. The harassment escalates, eventually pulling Dani and Van apart, and Van finds himself feeling desperate enough to do something drastic.If being thrown in jail isn't bad enough for Van, an undercover investigator seems to be getting a little too close to Dani, the fight club he grew up in could be turned upside down with scandal, and the friends that he trusts with his life might not be who they say they are.So much for finally discovering the little morsel of happiness he'd been deprived of his entire life...
Hammer's Fall
Laurie Roma - 2014
He is a bad boy through and through, but that doesn’t stop him from craving the sweet little bakery owner, even though he knows she is too good for him… Kalista Redford has always struggled with her self-esteem, and her last breakup hasn’t done anything to help improve her opinion of herself. When she finds herself pursued by the dark and dangerous man she has secretly dreamed about, will she be able to follow her heart, or will past insecurities threaten to ruin her chance at true love? NOTE: This book was previously published but has been revised and edited.
Ace's Redemption
A.C. Bextor - 2014
Fear has a paralyzing effect, and love isn’t always enough to keep you safe.Ace was the gateway to a freedom I hadn’t known since I was fifteen. He offered his protection from the demons that haunted me; both living and dead.Although I knew I wasn’t enough to keep him, this didn’t deter my hope that one day he’d love me for who I was, not the broken girl he tried so desperately to save. In the end, the ghosts of my past found me. Their malevolence knew no bounds, and I was forced to succumb to their will of darkness. Each threat named against those I loved made any escape impossible; choosing my life for theirs became my desolate absolution.Inevitably, it was my own weakness and self-doubt that became my undoing.AceEmotional ties are sometimes severed. Friendships don’t always endure their hardships, and love offered isn’t always returned. I was in love once. For me, leaving her back in Ohio was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. For her, moving on with her life that included her son and the man she loved was no less than she deserved -- unconditional happiness.My reasons to bring Cherry home to California were obvious. I needed help with my family, and she needed help staying clean and convincing her parents she was ready to give her son the life he deserved.It was a perfect plan. However, the best laid plans often get lost amidst their best intentions.Cherry fell in love with me, and in return my love for her acted as the catalyst to her destruction.Authors Note: This novel contains material that is not suitable for individuals under the age of 18. Content includes: drug use, explicit language, violence, rape, and other scenarios with content that readers may find offensive. Please use caution when deciding on this book, as every reader has the right to understand the product before purchase. Ace’s Redemption is the first standalone novel in the Devil’s Despair series. Although the main character of Ace was introduced during the Lights of Peril trilogy, you do not need to read that series in order to follow this one.
Extreme Love
Abby Niles - 2013
But when the MMA fighter meets pretty Caitlyn Moore, he seems to be striking out left and right. The more Cait denies his advances, the more intrigued he becomes by the sharp-tongued beauty. She's a challenge he cannot resist.Comfortable with the average Joe, Cait doesn't get it when the ultra-masculine Dante walks into her life and expresses an interest in her. Sure, she's shed eighty pounds and her confidence is building, but there's nothing spectacular about her. Certainly not enough to hang onto a ripped babe-magnet like Dante, whose violent profession, catty groupies, and cruel competitors are already making her life a living hell. Dante's light-hearted pursuit quickly becomes a battle to win her heart as they find themselves thrown together again and again and it's affecting his training. Cait won't let him lose the biggest fight of his career because of her, but when her plan to keep him focused lands her in the dangerous clutches of Dante's vicious opponent, there is more at stake than just the championship belt.
Win by Submission
Melynda Price - 2015
They say it’s a miracle he can walk, if that’s what you call his crutch-dragging limp. Unwilling to give up on him, Cole’s manager sends the injured fighter to the best physical therapist he knows: his niece, Katie Miller. When Cole arrives in the small town of Somerset, Wisconsin, he quickly discovers his sly manager may have had reasons other than rehab for sending him to this frozen tundra.After a year of running from an abusive ex-boyfriend, Katie has returned to her hometown to care for her father, who’s recovering from a stroke. When Uncle Marcus calls in a favor, she reluctantly finds herself taking on a rancorous MMA fighter, broken at the height of his career. He’s insanely sex-on-a-stick hot—and everything she loathes in a man.If Cole thinks his fighting days are over, he’s dead wrong. To save Katie from her past and to win her heart, he’ll be in for the fight of his life.
Dirty
Kylie Scott - 2016
Discovering the love of your life is having an affair on your wedding day is bad enough. Finding out it's with his best man is another thing all together. Just when this runaway bride has nowhere left to turn, a handsome stranger offers her a broad, muscular shoulder to cry on. Vaughan is the exact opposite of the picture perfect, respected businessmen she's normally drawn to. This former musician-turned-bartender is rough around the edges and is facing his own crossroads. But Lydia's already tried Mr. Right and discovered he's all wrong--maybe it's time to give Mr. Right Now a chance.After all, what's wrong with getting dirty?Dirty is the first book in the Dive Bar series from bestselling author Kylie Scott.
Bound by Lies
Hanna Peach - 2014
He contacts me only through notes − unpredictable and untraceable. When we meet, he can touch me, but I’m not allowed to touch him. When we make love, it’s only after I have been bound and blindfolded. It’s the only time I truly feel alive. Which is why I play along with it. For now.Caden Thaine is the most sinfully beautiful man I have ever seen. But more than that, his touch sets me on fire. And dear God, do I ache for him. I don’t know where he lives or even what he does. But this doesn’t scare me. My only fear is that one day his messages will stop. I know he’s hiding something. But that’s okay. I am hiding things too. Like my real name and... who I really am. But the deeper I fall for him, the stronger my curiosity becomes. I could never have imagined just how much our lives are bound. And that pulling at his tangled web of secrets would cause my own dark past to come back to try and reclaim me. Will we survive? Will our love?Adult romantic suspense. +18 years.
Draw
Cora Brent - 2014
A set of fraternal triplets born to a depraved family, they were rough, sexy and wild as wolves."Saylor... I don’t even know if love is real. After running from the bastard who brutalized me, I limped back to Arizona, choosing a vibrant college town in the hopes of starting over. I never expected to find him there. Cord Gentry. He and his brothers were tough, lusty forces of nature I’d known since childhood. Years ago, Cord seduced me as a sick game. I’ve hated him ever since. Now here he is again, a man who beats other men bloody for money. Cord has always been heartless, dangerous, not to be trusted. And I want him so much I can’t think. Cord...They called us ‘those white trash Gentry boys’ until we believed that’s what we were. Our people squatted at the edge of a hellhole prison town for generations. The childhood we endured was the stuff of nightmares. I’d learned early on that my brothers, Chase and Creed, were the only people on earth worth my time. They all told us we were bad, that we’d always be bad. The horrors of the past have scarred my soul. But now I need to be better. For her. Warning: This book contains explicit language, sexual situations, and violence which may be upsetting to some. Draw is the first of the Gentry Boys series, however this New Adult Romance novel can be read as a stand alone.