Book picks similar to
Oceans of Us by Vanessa Luisa
age-gap
romance
forbidden
contemporary
Uncharted
Julie Johnson - 2018
“When we crash-landed on the island, I thought my story was over. Turns out, it was about to begin.” He was an asshole from the first moment we met. I took one look at the stranger in the airport terminal and knew he was exactly the kind of man my mother spent seventeen years warning me against. Gruff, grumpy, and far too good-looking to stare at without experiencing heart palpitations. Thankfully, I’d never see him again. Or so I thought. I couldn’t have known our plane would crash. I couldn’t have predicted we’d be the only survivors. I couldn’t have ever, in my wildest dreams, anticipated that the asshole from the airport would become my only source of solace in the darkness. It’s so wrong to want him, for so many reasons. But as the months slip by and our hopes of rescue grow dimmer… the spark between us kindles into something impossible to ignore. Sometimes, survival requires swimming in uncharted waters.But if salvation doesn’t come soon…I might just drown in him. ** UNCHARTED is a full-length story of survival and forbidden love. Due to action elements, adult language, and sexual content, it is recommended for readers ages 16 and up. **
Love at First Fight
Carrie Aarons - 2020
Since the moment Smith Redfield laid eyes on me, he’s hated my guts. I’m serious, I think the raven-haired restaurateur gets physically sick just being in my presence. And he’s never been shy about hiding that fact. There was the time he cackled when I landed face first in a pile of Manhattan trash bags. Or the night I tried to throw my ex-boyfriend a surprise party, and Smith had strippers crash the bash. Or maybe it was New Year's Eve, when he got in my face and called me a sheltered goody two-shoes who wouldn’t know passion if it smacked me in the lips. He’s rooming right next door for the summer months, and I don’t think more animosity could exist than in the hallway of our vacation rental. As if I wasn’t already sporting a bruised ego and broken heart from the way his best friend left me. But the more midnight run-ins we have, the more I can’t help but think about the way his mouth would feel against mine. With each heavy-eyed glance over the dinner table, I’m starting to wonder if the damaged alpha male doesn’t harbor more than just loathing towards me. After all, they say hate is the closest emotion to love. And with the way we’re skating that thin line, it’s bound to burn this whole house down.
Mr. Masters
T.L. Swan - 2018
Job satisfaction has taken on a whole new meaning. When I lied on my resume, I didn’t expect it to matter. I mean any child would love me; I was born to be a nanny. I applied for a position working for a woman, or so I thought. But Julian Masters is definitely all man…the kind you dream of licking chocolate from. The first day was bad. The kids were the spawn of the devil and I spied through a window and caught him doing something obscene…. and equally fascinating. The second day was worse, he caught me snooping in his bathroom cabinet in my skimpy pyjamas and all hell broke loose. On the third day, I ran over him in a golf cart. And by day four I had decided that I wanted that chocolate…all of it. Melted….on me. But intelligent, widowed Judges don’t fall for ditzy nannies. Or do they?
Crash Course
Alyssa Wilde - 2021
Not in the real world. Not here."After Arden Hart gets into a horrible collision with a drunk driver, her life comes to a standstill. Now, she’s a year behind her peers in graduating high school, college plans are on hold indefinitely, and nightmares of that horrifying night plague her every time she shuts her eyes. The only way she can cope with her past is by detaching from the present, so Arden makes it her mission to isolate herself.Everything changes when Henry Ames, the young, mysterious guy who saved her from the car wreck, unexpectedly becomes the new Creative Writing teacher at her high school. Much to Arden’s frustration, his presence is a constant reminder of the night she’s tried so hard to forget. When Henry is forced to help her with an assignment that confronts her buried emotions, she has no choice but to face her trauma head-on. What she doesn’t expect is the immediate connection she feels to Henry. As the two begin to develop an undeniable bond, Arden comes to a startling realization—the one person she cannot have is the only person she doesn’t want to push away.Though Henry is adamant that their relationship remains professional, neither can deny their growing feelings. When boundaries blur, emotions run high, and secrets from that terrible night emerge, Arden must decide if the fight for Henry’s heart is worth risking her own.*CRASH COURSE contains strong language, mature content, and dark themes.
Corrupt Kingdom
Ava Harrison - 2020
That he rules the underworld with an iron fist.A criminal. A murderer. A monster.He controlled fortunes and amassed empires.Our paths should never have crossed, but one poker game intertwined our fate. I woke up stranded on his island. Trapped.Forced to play a dangerous game of hate and lust.He said he took me to protect me. That he was saving me.But who will save me from him?
Liar, Liar
T.L. Martin - 2020
So I ran—from them, from home, from everything.That’s when I found him. He became my savior before he even knew I existed.And then I was welcomed into the family.Now he sees me. I make sure of it.I notice the way he watches me when I slip from my bed and fall into someone else’s. See the heated flicker in his eyes when I peer up at him from behind red solo cups, wandering hands, and blaring music. Feel the burn in his touch when I stumble and he catches me—and he always catches me.But I’m no longer the same weak girl he discovered hiding behind his house all those years ago, and some demons simply can’t be set free. All the lies in the world can’t hide that.Even though the same blood doesn’t run through our veins, I know he can never be mine.I was never supposed to fall for him.We’re family now, and I’m going to be a good little sister.Liar, liar, liar.CONTENT WARNING: contains sex, profanity, and sensitive subject matter, including sexual abuse (such as rape) and taboo content.
The Revenge Plan
Linda Kage - 2019
But he took his retaliation too far, and I have officially had enough. No more Miss Nice Haven. No one is allowed to lie to me, betray, embarrass, and devastate me, fill me with self-doubt, or put my future at risk, and expect to get away with it. He is going to feel my wrath.Enter Wick Webster, his archenemy. Nothing would provoke my ex more than to see me moving on with the one guy he hates most, so that’s exactly what I plan to do. The only hitch in my brilliant scheme is Wick himself. He’s just gotta be all love-not-war and peace-is-the-only-way. He’s more concerned about helping me heal than seeking my sweet revenge. And what the hell is it about his soothing presence and yummy looks that calls to me until I forget how much pain I’m in? He’s making it awfully hard to use and abuse him for my malicious means. The damn guy is making me fall for him.
Watch and See
Jiffy Kate - 2018
But when her mother is admitted to a long-term rehab facility a few hours away, Harper sees her chance for a fresh start. A shoebox apartment above a Chinese restaurant isn't exactly the escape she dreamed of, but she makes it work. With limited funds and social life, she views her new city through a dusty old pair of binoculars. There's no harm in looking. Just a peek and I'll stop. Harper finds her new pastime quickly turning into a full-fledged obsession. She begins falling for a man she doesn't know--has never met--as she watches him have sex through the window of his apartment. Daydreaming about what it would be like if she were one of his conquests. We all reach a point when watching isn't enough--when we can no longer just be a spectator in our own life. That's when it's supposed to get good, right? When we take control and go after what we want. But what happens when it all blows up in our face and we're left with less than nothing? What then?
A Not So Meet Cute
Meghan Quinn - 2021
And the answer is usually some bubbly, lovey dovey tale of being struck in the bum by Cupid’s arrow.My meet cute (well not so meet cute) is slightly different. I was trolling a wealthy neighborhood in Beverly Hills, searching for someone to take me as their bride, you know, to make my arch nemesis jealous who consequently just fired me.He was stomping around the block like some sort of gorgeous ogre, mumbling about a business deal gone wrong and attempting to finagle his way out of it.And that’s when we bumped into each other.There were no sparks.Not even a hint of blossoming love.But next thing I knew, I was scarfing down free chips and guac, listening to this man lay out all of his problems which led to his big ask . . . he wanted me to be his Vivian Ward, you know, from Pretty Woman--minus the frisky behavior.We’re talking about living in a mansion, intimate double dates, and pretending we were head over heels in love . . . and engaged. Can you imagine?The absolute audacity.But people do crazy things when they’re desperate. And I reeked of desperation. So, I struck up a deal.My one big mistake, though . . . big . . . HUGE? I accidentally fell for the incomparable Huxley Cane.
He Saw Me First
M. Johnson - 2020
. . but only for a moment.The next night, he was waiting for me.He sat there in his expensive suit and watched.No participation.My only acknowledgement was the look of lust in his eyes.It continued until the night before I left,when I found a card under my door.No words. Just a number. So, I texted him.I’d never done anything like it before.It felt so dirty and wrong, but at the same time, I felt alive.He was much older than me, so intimidating and sexy.He made me feel things no man ever has.I was under his spell.The last thing I expected was to ever see him again.
Throttled
Lauren Asher - 2020
Unapproachable. Ruthless on and off the track.A man with walls higher than the Grand Canyon.And my brother's new teammate.I want more of the prince who disguises himself as the villain.But while I crave a happy ending, he wants to destroy his.Maya Alatorre is a forbidden temptation.An ambitious post-grad I should stay far away from.And chaos wrapped with a bow.We're a ticking time bomb, about one wrong move away from exploding.I want to trip the wire, detonating together in passion and pain.Because in the end, all's fair in lust and war.
Pushing the Limits
Brooke Cumberland - 2015
From USA Today Bestselling Author comes a new adult student/teacher romance...He's my art professor.I'm his student.With an electric connection and undeniable chemistry, I know it won't be long until one of us cracks.When the opportunity arises to pose naked for the entire art class, I can't help the thrill of knowing he'll be watching me.While they all look past me with their eyes narrowed and concentrated, drawing only the lines and angles of my body, he sees right through me down to my vulnerability.He sees more than just the physical aspects--he sees me.That's when I see the struggle in his features as he tries to stay in control.How do we keep our distance when everything seems to be pulling us together?What feels so right can only go wrong if we keep pushing the limits.Recommended for 18 & above due to explicit sexual content, language, and adult content.*Pushing the Limits is a 102,000 words standalone.*
Welcome to the Cameo Hotel
K.I. Lynn - 2018
The effect she has on me is intense, and I make her life a living hell because of it.I love her spirit, her internal defiance when completing the most inane task I assign her. My two week stay has turned into unending, just to be near her.She’s under my every command if she wants to keep me happy.There’s one last thing I want.Her.***Welcome to the Cameo Hotel is a stand alone novel***
The Ruthless Gentleman
Louise Bay - 2018
Until British businessman Hayden Wolf comes aboard—all sexy swagger and mysterious requests.He wants me. And Hayden Wolf’s a man who’s used to getting exactly what he demands. Despite being serious and focused. Demanding and ruthless. He’s also charming when I least expect it as well as being devastatingly handsome with an almost irresistible smile.But guests are strictly off limits and I’ve never broken a rule. Not even bent one. My family are depending on me and I can’t lose my job.Only problem is Hayden Wolf is looking at me like I just changed his life. And he's touching me like he’s about to change mine.A standalone romance.
Burn Baby Burnt
K.L. Mann - 2022
Her heart aches in a way it has been for three years; punishingly. Three years have molded her into a cold shell of her old self, but that shell is cracking with every step she takes toward the mansion she once called home, the one she left, leaving her soul behind in her dust. Sacrifice for love is something she had only ever experienced in movies and nightmares. It quickly became her reality when saving the reputation of Jasper Aroselyn meant breaking his heart and crumbling her own into dust. And now, now, she was walking into the Lion’s den to… interview him. She wishes she was given a name before accepting the responsibility because she might throw up before she even lays eyes on him, given the circumstances of the newsworthy story. Her phone vibrates in her dress pocket, and it sure as hell isn’t an email. It’s him. Burn Baby Burnt is a new adult contemporary second chance forbidden romance with an age gap and "taboo" themes. It contains explicit content that should only be viewed by adults.