Book picks similar to
Progress by Amy Queau
romance
contemporary-romance
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dark
Progress
Amalie Silver - 2016
She was rounder than the girls who usually caught my eye. Not my type. But when I saw her sitting in that booth alone, for the first time something in my mind or my instincts or my heart told me to join her.She defied me.She challenged me.She gave me hope.Before I knew it, moving forward was my only option.CharlieI couldn’t tell you when it happened, but it had to have been a gradual change; I never moved too quickly.If someone would have told me earlier that year what I was going to go through, I wouldn't have believed them.Jesse was so different from anyone I’d met before. And everyone I’ve met since. He sucked all the life out of me, in the best—and worst—ways.We don’t get strong overnight. For most of us it takes time. Strength isn’t measured by how high and fast our walls go up, but how easily we can watch them fall.Warning: This book contains material that might be a trigger for some readers. Abuse and rape are implied, but not described in detail. Discretion is advised.
Break
Vanessa Waltz - 2014
She's still trying to rebuild herself from a sexually abusive past, and a guy - no matter how gorgeous - would only mess up the fragile balance of her life.Almost-billionaire Luke Pardini is gorgeous, that's for sure. He's also desperate. His dying father thinks he's too irresponsible to inherit the family estate, and Luke needs to convince his dad that he's grown up and ready to settle down with a girl. Any girl.With five billion dollars at stake, Luke can't mess this up. But as he pretends to date Jessica, he finds himself drawn to her more than he'd like to admit. He has been hurt too many times to count, but Jessica is the one person who makes him feel safe. It could have been a Cinderella story, but both of them made a promise that their relationship was just for show, and neither of them is going to step over the line.When Jessica's secret past emerges on the front page of the tabloids, his dad threatens to disown him if he doesn't sever ties with her. If their relationship was only a charade, the solution would be easy. But if it's not…
Inky
J.B. Hartnett - 2013
While working as a bartender to pay her bills, she meets Cole, a sexy divorcee. She denies their mutual attraction and tries to put him out of her mind.When an abusive person from her childhood makes an unexpected visit, Inky’s world is turned upside down. Secrets are revealed and truths are exposed leaving Inky devastated and questioning what she thought was love. As she picks up the pieces and tries to move on, she finds her path crosses with Cole once again and this time, she cannot deny the passion between them.Once she opens her heart again, will she be able to move forward or will her past find a way to stop her?
Miss Me Not
Tiffany King - 2012
Madison Hanson's past demons have given her a shadow of an existence with little hope. With the sudden tragic death of a fellow student, Madison questions her own life choices, and is now forced to evaluate everything she thought she believed in. When fate intervenes and partners her with Dean Jackson, a popular "all around good guy" from school, Madison gets a glimpse of a life that is filled with sunshine that has the power to break through the darkness she has cloaked herself in. With Dean's help, Madison discovers a desire to finally step out of the shadows, and embrace life and all its gifts.
Right There with You
R.J. Sable - 2013
Having finally moved out to start her new life as a university student she tries to faithfully follow the strictly ordered life they've lain out for her. These rules haven't been an issue for her before because she knows she owes them everything. More than any sibling can ever owe. She dutifully follows these rules until she meets Jason Reed and the biggest one becomes a problem. No boyfriends. Torn between her loyalty to her brothers and the sizzling attraction to the intriguing ladies' man, Jamie-Lea finds herself on dangerous standings with her overbearing and somewhat aggressive brothers. Jason Reed isn't intimidated by the Carters. He knows what he wants the moment he sees it and nothing is going to come between him and the girl he never expected to fall for.With the odds stacked against them, where will this forbidden romance take them?
Break My Fall
Chloe Walsh - 2014
I was homeless, strapped for cash, and running from my past.Now I'm here, in a brand-new state, miles away from home, and sleeping in the room next to his. The room with the revolving door of females.I know he's a bad idea for me. He's cocky, a manwhore, and way too self-assured for a sheltered girl with secrets.But when he smiles at me, I lose my freaking mind.I don't want her in my home.She's too sweet for a prick like me. Too innocent.Too f*cking much.I have more baggage, secrets, and commitments than she could ever understand.I need her gone, dammit, but I keep pulling her back in.I'm blurring lines with this girl.She's a temptation I can't resist, and I'm losing my head.I'm so goddamn screwed…Break My Fall is the first installment of the bestselling Broken series. Due to its explicit content, bad language, and graphic sexual content, Break My Fall is recommended for mature readers of seventeen years and above.
Breaking Kate
D. Kelly - 2014
In Michaels mind there is absolutely nothing that will ever be able to keep the two of them apart. The night Michael is set to propose to Katherine the evening is interrupted by an unexpected tragedy that tears the two of them apart for good. Three years have passed since that fateful night when Katherine, now known as Kate meets Daniel. After an awkward start sparks fly between them. Daniel and Kate fall hard and fast into the most passionate and intense love affair of their lives. In three years a lot can change, Michael knows he made the biggest mistake of his life when he left Katherine and he will do anything to get her back. Asking his best friend Daniel for help is his first step in righting the wrongs he made so many years ago. Unfortunately, neither of them realizes that Michaels long lost love Katherine is Daniel’s true love Kate. While attending the engagement party of a mutual friend, all of their paths collide. How is Kate supposed to choose between the two men that mean the most to her in the world? Kate has to push past her heartache and put some serious thought into what comes next. One wrong choice and not only could she lose them both but Daniel and Michael may never recover their friendship.This book is newly re-edited as of March 2017. If you have an older version please delete it and download the new version. (This book is free)
Let Love In
Melissa Collins - 2013
Ripped from her home and everything that she has ever loved, she is forced to start all over again. The only way for her to move on is to build walls around her heart and keep everyone at a safe distance. Her logic: she can't get hurt if she doesn't fall in love. That theory is blown to pieces when she meets Reid Connely during her freshman year at college. He is gorgeous and darkly mysterious. He understands Maddy's pain all too well, but sharing his pain would mean breaking down the walls he put up around his own heart. Conflicted between loving Maddy and hiding his dark past, Reid starts to reevaluate his world. Maddy's inner strength, snarky personality and breath taking beauty help Reid to make peace with his past. Together they find out what happens when they let love in.
Skin
B.B. Easton - 2017
. . perhaps on the entire planet. He hated everyone, except for BB Easton—the perky, quirky punk chick he couldn’t avoid.BB, on the other hand, liked everybody . . . except for Knight. She was scared to death of him, actually. All she wanted was to marry Little Mermaid’s Prince Eric-lookalike and king of the local punk scene Lance Hightower.But Knight was patient. Persistent. Unexpected. And once he got under BB’s skin, her life would never be the same.A forbidden love story overflowing with '90s nostalgia, dark humor, and heart-wrenching angst, and based on a true story.
Drowning
Rachel Firasek - 2013
She's a party girl that doesn't believe in love until she meets a man that only writes about it.Seth James escaped his overbearing father and moved into one of the James family's vacant condos, hoping to create the music he loves in peace. But the fragile calm he's envisioned shatters when a tiny woman with a world full of energy bounces out of the elevator and nearly takes him out.With the patience of a saint, Seth seeks the dark that keeps Alice from enjoying life. He challenges her to exorcise the demons in her past in order to discover the true meaning of love. But when the walls fall down, the hidden deceptions will bare the ugly truth about a woman drowning in sorrow and a man who may not know how to be her hero.
Lost and Found
K.F. Breene - 2013
She gets her life back on track in San Francisco with a job that has limitless potential.Unfortunately, to achieve her dreams, she must brave the star of the company; a charming and handsome salesman that isn’t used to the word no. Krista tries to run from him at every turn, but his pull continually sucks her back in; her hesitancy to trust the only thing saving her from being another notch on a bedpost.Sean never has to try with women. He's the type of guy to jump in with both feet, get bored, and sprint right back out. But when a geeky new hire stumbles through the company, befuddling him with a keen intellect he doesn’t expect, he starts to lose his way. Before he knows it, all his efforts are concentrated around trying to capture the interest of the only woman to run when he tries to deliver a line. As she opens up, so does he, landing him in a terrain as disconcerting as it is invigorating.word count: 99,000
Searching For Moore
Julie A. Richman - 2013
I lost the love of my life when she disappeared without even a goodbye. It was the 80’s – there was no internet, no Google, no cell phones. If you wanted to disappear, you could. And she did. She crushed my soul. A friend just told me he saw her on Facebook. And now I’m a keystroke away from asking her the question that’s haunted me for two decades. “Why did you leave me?” Two decades after she broke his heart, sexy entrepreneur Schooner Moore uncovers the truth and betrayal his life has been built on when he Facebook friend requests college love, Mia Silver. Determined to win Mia’s love once again, Schooner embarks on a life-altering journey that could cost him everything. This is the first book of the Needing Moore Series trilogy and is not meant to be read as a stand-alone. Book 2 - Moore to Lose and Book 3 - Moore than Forever are currently available.Julie A. Richman's latest stand-alone novel, Bad Son Rising, releases September 12, 2014.
Free Me
Laurelin Paige - 2014
Screw fairytales. The only reward Gwen Anders got from her rough childhood was a thick skin and hard heart. She’s content with her daily grind managing a top NYC nightclub—Eighty-Eighth Floor. So hers isn’t a happily ever after. She doesn’t believe in those anyway. Then she meets J.C. The rich, smooth talking playboy is the sexiest thing that Gwen has ever encountered, but she’s not interested in a night-in-shining latex. But when a family tragedy pushes her to the brink, it’s J.C. who’s there to teach her a new method of survival, one based on following primal urges and desires. His no-strings-attached lessons require her to abandon her constant need for control. Her carefully built walls are obliterated. Gwen discovers there’s a beautiful world outside her prison. Freedom is exhilarating—and terrifying. When she starts to feel something for J.C., she fears for her heart. Especially as she realizes that he has secrets of his own. Secrets that don't want to set him free.
This series can be read alone or with the Fixed Trilogy.
Beloved
Corinne Michaels - 2014
Book 1 of 2 in the Belonging Duet Enough.That single word is all I’ve ever wanted to be. Enough to make someone stay. Enough for someone to love and cherish, but I’ve been burned every time.Except at my job.I thrive there. In my office, I have the ability to fix things and command situations.Until my new client walks in.It shouldn’t matter that he fills out a suit better than any man I’ve ever seen. His dimples and blue-green eyes shouldn’t call to me on every level. I know men like him and they’re dangerous to trust.But Jackson Cole is irresistible. The pain of the past disappears when he’s around. With him, I’m more than enough, and I break every rule about dating a client. I fall desperately in love with him—only to realize I should’ve trusted my instincts because I’m no one’s beloved …
Hot Mess
Emily Goodwin - 2017
Forget about dating--nobody's got time for that. Even if love hadn't left me jaded, I'm not settling for anything less than perfect this time around.Lucky for me, the perfect man just happens to work in my office. But there's just one small problem: he's my boss, and is totally off limits. But hey, if it's meant to be, it'll find a way, right?Then a night out with friends turns into a night in with the walking-talking bad boy cliche of a bartender. It's just one night. No harm, no foul, right?Except when the hot bartender turns out to be my boss's trouble-making brother, who wants more than just one night with me. The more I resist the spark between us, the more I find myself wanting him too. Which puts me in the middle of what could be the biggest sibling rivalry of the century.Life is messy.And love?Well, love is even messier.