Book picks similar to
Mad World by Hannah McBride
bully
romance
contemporary
new-adult
Kiss and Break Up
Ella Fields - 2019
Dashiell Thane wasn’t a nice guy. He was an abrasive, demanding, conniving, intolerable brat. Yet somehow, we’d been best friends our whole lives. Until our senior year when I finally decided to dip my toes into the dating pool. All it took was one kiss for jealousy, lies, and betrayal to sweep in and propel us heart first into dizzying, hostile depths. You’re not supposed to kiss your best friend. You’re definitely not supposed to kiss your best friend while you’re dating someone else. And the absolute worst thing you could do is fall for your best friend. Unless, of course, you want to ruin everything.
Wicked Dreams
S. Massery - 2020
She doesn’t realize the anger I’ve been harboring.I’ve been waiting for the perfect time to ruin her life, and it’s finally here.Because even traitors sleep—and I’m going to make sure she only dreams of me.Then I’m going to destroy her.This is a dark high school bully romance with mature content and themes. It contains dubious situations that some readers may find offensive. If you're looking for a white knight hero, this book is not for you. Wicked Dreams is book one of a trilogy and cannot be read as a standalone.
Little Lies
H. Hunting - 2020
You mean nothing to me. I never loved you. I turned my words into swords.And I cut her down. Shoved the blade in and watched her fall. I said I’d never hurt her, and I did. Years later, I’m faced with all the little lies, the untruths, the false realities, the damage I inflicted, when all I wanted was to indulge my obsession. Lavender Waters is the princess in the tower. Even her name is the thing fairy tales are made of. I used to be the one who saved her. Over and over again. But I don’t want to save her anymore. I just want to pretend the lies are still the truth.A standalone angsty new adult romance. Heroine: Lavender Waters (Alex and Violet Waters’ youngest daughter, PUCKED and FOREVER PUCKED couple origin, Pucked Series )Hero: Kodiak (Kody) Bowman (Rook and Lainey Bowman’s son, A LIE FOR A LIE couple origin, All In Series )
Beg for Mercy
L.A. Hart - 2019
The only problem is that Aric’s also a rich, arrogant, and gigantic prick. Nothing but filth and insults come out of his smirking mouth, constantly reminding me that poor, trailer park trash girls like myself don’t belong in his pretentious academy. Aric and his best friends all think they’re untouchable. But the cocky bastard is finally going down this year. I’ve hit the motherload of blackmail on the jerk, pun intended, and I can’t wait to give him exactly what he deserves. Aric Prince’s reign at the academy is coming to an end. Before I’m done with him, he’ll be on his knees, begging for mercy. WHILE BEG FOR MERCY IS A HIGH SCHOOL BULLY ROMANCE, IT CONTAINS DARK THEMES, EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT, AND GRAPHIC LANGUAGE THAT IS INTENDED FOR MATURE READERS.
Devious Little Liars
Elle Thorpe - 2020
Some of us are just better at not getting caught.”He murdered my uncle then covered it with fire. A fire that should have killed me, too. Instead, he hauled me from the floor while flames licked the walls, strong arms holding me close.He saved my life.Now I want to know why. I never saw his face. All I know is the letters on his shirt. SVH.Saint View High.The worst school in a hundred miles. Full of drugs and despair. Breeding ground for future criminals. Armed security guards and weapon checks at every door.A far cry from my privileged life of money, private school, and fancy vacations.With the police doing nothing, I take matters into my own hands. I enroll in a school I have no business being at.But the Untouchables are quick to let me know exactly how big a mistake I’ve made. They’re the group of boys even the teachers are scared of.Colt. Banjo. Rafe.Every teenage girl’s dream. Good looking. Popular. Powerful.And determined to break me.Thing is, I’m not that easily broken. And I’m coming for them, too.Devious Little Liars is the story of three bad boys and a girl who knows how to stand her ground. It is a mature high school/new adult, reverse harem, #whychoose romance, meaning the main character has more than one love interest. This book contains enemies-to-lovers and bullying themes. It is the first book in an ongoing trilogy.
The Angels
Ruby Vincent - 2020
Nothing could unite the two factions until I set foot on campus.For the first time in our history, they all agree on one thing:I must pay for my father’s sins.But why should I care?The joke is on them because I have nothing left inside. No part of me that isn’t already broken. I invite them to do their worst.Until The Angels enter the game.The most dangerous gang in town has a score to settle with my family, and Cassius, Clay, Hiro, and Royal are here to collect.Raven River soon becomes a battleground of lies, deceit, and violence, and I stand at the heart of it.The gorgeous otherworldly Angels will remind me that there is one thing left that I care about… and they’ll destroy it in heavenly fire.
Into the Deep
Samantha Young - 2013
Live hard. Love deep.Charley Redford was just an ordinary girl until Jake Caplin moved to her small town in Indiana and convinced her she was extraordinary. Almost from day one Jake pulled Charley into the deep and promised he was right there with her. But when a tragic incident darkened Jake’s life he waded out into the shallows and left Charley behind.Almost four years later Charley thinks she’s moved on. That is until she takes a study year abroad in Edinburgh and bumps into none other than Jake Caplin at a party with his new girlfriend. The bad-boy-turned-good attempts to convince Charley to forgive him, and as her best friend starts spending time with Jake’s, Charley calls a truce, only to find herself tumbling back into a friendship with him.As they grow closer, the spark between them flares and begins playing havoc with their lives and relationships. When jealousy and longing rear their destructive heads, Charley and Jake struggle to come to grips with what they mean to one another.And even if they work it out, there is no guarantee Charley will ever trust Jake to lead her back into the deep…
Make Me
Amanda Heath - 2013
Make me fall. Push me, shove me, just make sure I get there.” I shout at him, taking a step back. His eyes clash with mine. I read the challenge there, making me take another step back.He stalks the few steps to me and grabs my arms slamming his forehead down on mine, “I’ll make you.” His lips skim against mine as he continues to speak, “And I’ll be falling right there with you.”Paisley Vaughn grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. After finding her mother dead from an overdose, Paisley and her baby sister are shipped off to live with her maternal grandparents. She always knew they were rich, she just didn’t realize how rich they were. Now she’s being forced to go to a prestigious high school. One where the tuition is more money then she’s ever seen. Thinking these rich kids are going to be snobbish and rude, she’s surprised to find the Vaughn name means she is untouchable. Well unless your name is Channing Southerland. Paisley has to navigate her new life and all the new people in it. While her mother might have lied about her grandparents, no one is lying about Channing. He’s beautiful, mean, arrogant, and turning her on. Before long a war is fought, leaving Paisley wondering if she’ll be ruined or made. Though she might just fall irrevocably in love.
The Touch of a Villain
Holly Renee - 2021
Wealthy. Elite. Ruthless. The boys of Clermont Bay ruled over this town as if it was their kingdom. And Beck Clermont controlled them all. He was arrogant and conceited, and from the moment I met him, he had made up his mind about me. Dangerously handsome and wickedly cruel, he had no intention of letting me spend my senior year under the radar. The secrets of old money ran deep, and even though I barely knew them, the sins of my family had put a target on my back. He was a hurricane, and I was unprepared for the storm. His touch fatal. His impact irreparable. There was no negotiation. He stole my heart. Without warning, without permission. He was the enemy, but that didn’t stop me from falling for The Touch of a Villain.
Filthy Gods
R. Scarlett - 2018
Wealthy. Elite. Attractive. The gentlemen’s secret society at Yale was filled with them.And Nathaniel Radcliffe, the bane of my existence, was one of them.As the right hand of the American Gods, he was conceited and arrogant. A dangerously handsome man in a tailored custom suit and shiny black oxford loafers.The classroom was our battlefield. We made a sport out of arguing and debating, ready to do anything in order to win over the other.Deadly opponents, deadlier minds.I'd sworn I'd never give him the upper hand, until...The secret I’ve been hiding for the last three years?He just discovered it… and now he has all the power.Prelude in the American Gods series.
Patch Up
Stephanie Witter - 2013
The relationship brought only pain and destruction in Skye's life, and yet, she can't bring herself to open up and live her life."What if I am already broken into pieces?"She hates to be touched, hiding under her oversized shirts and behind her wild frizzy hair. Even her bubbly roommate can't reach her. And yet ..."I'm the guy who knows how you can hurt so much that your insides feel like they're cut and bleeding."The tall, handsome, and tattooed TA in her psychology class changes everything when he literally collides with her and confronts her. For the first time in a long time, she wants to try and open up to this guy whose dark, intense eyes can't hide his own pain despite his dazzling smile getting to her.However, just when she's starting to live again, her ex-boyfriend comes back, breaking her time and time again, making it all the more complicated.She wants to fight for herself and for this building thing with the TA, even when he pushes her away, but can two broken people patch each other up?"I never thought colliding with someone could change lives, but it is possible."* Due to some shocking scenes, this novel is for readers of 18 and up.
Lords of Pain
Angel Lawson - 2021
In high school, they knew my secrets and I knew theirs. They had power and I had nothing. The night everything fell apart, my stepbrother allowed his two best friends to take their rage out on me while he watched. While they laughed.But what happened that night wasn’t my biggest secret. So I ran, planning on never coming back.Three years later I’m standing on their doorstep like a stray. They’re more powerful than ever now, having risen to the rank of Lords at Forsyth University. But I’m still on the run and there's another monster chasing me down.What could bring me back into their lives, their homes, and ultimately, their beds?Fear.Shame.Desperation.Killian, Rath, and Tristian aren’t the only ones who want me. There’s someone far more dangerous out there who's been stalking me since I left town the first time. Someone who makes the evil I know feel less dangerous than the evil I don’t.But being their Lady is more than just fancy clothes and reputation.I might be under their protection, but I’m also at their mercy.And there's nothing a Lord loves more than taking control.
Reason to Breathe
Rebecca Donovan - 2011
This was the place where everything was supposed to be safe and easy. How could Evan Mathews unravel my constant universe in just one day?"In the affluent town of Weslyn, Connecticut, where most people worry about what to be seen in and who to be seen with, Emma Thomas would rather not be seen at all. She’s more concerned with feigning perfection while pulling down her sleeves to conceal the bruises - not wanting anyone to know how far from perfect her life truly is. Without expecting it, she finds love. It challenges her to recognize her own worth - but at the risk of revealing the terrible secret she’s desperate to hide. Reason to Breathe is an electrifying page turner from start to finish, a unique tale of life-changing love, unspeakable cruelty, and one girl’s fragile grasp of hope.
Reclaiming the Sand
A. Meredith Walters - 2014
Tormenter and tormented. Villain and hero. Ellie McCallum was a bully. No connection to anyone or anything. A sad and lonely existence for a young woman who had come to expect nothing more for herself. Her only happiness coming from making others miserable. Particularly Freaky Flynn. Flynn Hendrick lived a life completely disconnected even as he struggled to become something more than that boy with Asperger's. He was taunted and teased, bearing the brunt of systematic and calculated cruelty, ultimately culminating in a catastrophic turn of events that brought Ellie and Flynn’s worlds crashing down.But then Flynn and Ellie grew up. And moved on.Until years later when their paths unexpectedly cross again and the bully and the freak are face to face once more.When labels come to define you, finding yourself feels impossible. Particularly for two people disconnected from the world who inexplicably find a connection in each other. And out of the wreckage of their tragic beginnings, an unlikely love story unfolds.But a painful past doesn’t always want to let go. And old wounds are never truly healed…and sometimes the further you try to run from yourself the closer you come to who you really are.