Books like 'Thousand Words'
Readers who enjoyed Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary dark romance athletes tortured heroine
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Fighting to Forgive by J.B. Salsbury
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 48 ratingsWhat do you do when everything you avoid, turns out to be exactly what you need? Easy and predictable, just the way he likes it, Blake Daniels flies through life the way he burns through women: on his terms, no regrets. With his fighting career in full swing, he's on the threshold of title contention. But when his training is compromised by injury, the stakes grow impossibly higher... -
Special Kind of Twisted by Lani Lynn Vale
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsHe had a way of pulling everyone into his darkness. Then, to make matters worse, he convinced you that you liked it there. Kyle Davis—ex professional baseball player and current felon—loved Sara, his best friend. Strictly platonically, of course. He’d do absolutely anything for her, even put up with Greer, Sara’s other best friend. What she was not was Kyle’s best friend... -
Twisted Creek by K.C. Kean
I have nothing left to give this twisted town, not a single ounce. I’ve let them beat me down, almost break me, but it’s time I fixed my ‘Grady’ jersey, and show them I will do anything to protect what is mine.Trying to survive Knight’s Creek without Xavier, Hunter, and Tobias is harder than I care to admit. I have to give it my all and try again; I have to run... -
Burn to Ash by K.C. Kean
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsBethanyRise. Shine. Sleep. Repeat. To the world.Break. Darken. Cry. Lost. Behind closed doors.Nothing is as it seems in the Asheville home or this hell hole town.Then he shows up. Pushing my buttons and demanding I take more from life, be more, be…me. But I have no idea who that is... -
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Sick Hate by J.A. Huss
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsIrina van Breda escaped the hopeless life she was born into and started a brand new one in America all by herself. She has everything she needs—a condo in South Beach, a new accent that doesn’t betray her dark origins, a brilliant best friend, and an easy life of walking the beach and feeding the gulls.But she is merely existing—until Dead-Eyes Eason Malone appears, asking questions... -
Hate Me by LP Lovell
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsAnna I am a whore. A slave. A possession. I accepted my fate long ago, but fate is not done with me yet. Freedom is so close I can almost taste it, only to have it snatched away under the guise of protection. A gilded cage is still a cage. Friend or foe? Saviour or oppressor? Rafael D’Cruze is a bad man. I hate him, so why do I feel safe with him? Rafael She’s a favour. Collateral... -
Fighting Dirty by Cheryl McIntyre
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsI wake up to a warm body draped along my side. I smile as the foreign feeling of happiness radiates in my chest. Everything comes rushing back as Rocky’s scent fills my senses. Not Olivia’s. My happiness bursts like a broken dam. Not because Olivia isn’t here. But because as I realized it was Rocky’s body against me, I still felt satisfied. Because I didn’t feel the misery of Livie’s loss... -
The Way Home by A.C. Bextor
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsWhere do you begin to piece back the fragments of a shattered heart? “I’m letting you go today, it’s time.” Finally, Sadey is ready to say goodbye to the only man she’s ever loved. With the help of Shame and Mace she’s learning to breathe on her own again; one day at a time. Her hopes are high and her world is finally coming into focus...Categorized as:
tortured heroine contemporary suspense friends to lovers dark love triangle abuse bad boys -
A Pucking Wrong Christmas by C.R. Jane
Lincoln, Ari, and Walker are back in a holiday novella…I hate Christmas.Years and years of disappointment have taught me that Christmas is the worst. I don’t like the music, the food, the decorations…anything.And Lincoln Daniels, my tattooed hockey god of a husband, thinks he’s going to change that…I tell him it’s not going to happen... -
Staying Dirty by Cheryl McIntyre
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 30 ratings“What I did today… I don’t want to be that person anymore. I don’t know how you can stand to touch me." “I’ll never stop wanting to touch you, Link. I’m pretty sure you’re the only one I want to touch for the rest of my life.” Link and Rocky's story concludes in this fifth and final installment of the Dirty series. *This is part five in a five-part novella series... -
Without Regret by Aubrey Bondurant
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsRejection and I have an understanding: I don't put myself out there and it doesn't screw with my life any more. I keep my feelings hidden, and my heart locked away. It was working well until he came along and threatened my impenetrable armor, one honeyed word at a time. With his clean cut looks, and southern manners, I'm convinced he's not my type...Categorized as:
tortured heroine humor contemporary strong heroine working class hero slow burn office tearjerkers -
Mine to Love by Kennedy L. Mitchell
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsWhen a decade-old one-night stand converges with a current high-profile case, can the three of them work through their differences to stop her from being the serial killer’s next victim?Running from a secret past and now a deranged killer, Remington Dotson and her nine-year-old son need protection to survive...Categorized as:
tortured heroine suspense secret child tortured hero forced proximity dark alpha male contemporary -
Deep by Susan Fanetti
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsNick Pagano is a leader in the Pagano Brothers organization. As their head enforcer, it has been his responsibility to mete out justice, to seek retaliation, to uncover the secrets of Pagano enemies by any means necessary, and to sink deep the evidence of those means. It is work that requires keen vision and perfect control. It is work at which Nick excels. It is work that has made him dark... -
Blame It on the Shame by Ashley Jade
Shame. It wounds us. It damages us. Or, for the few poor souls out there like me...it defines us. I'm the son of the devil, himself—the most feared mob boss who ever lived. I was cursed from the moment I took my first breath. I hate him...and I never wanted to become him. And I sure as hell never, ever, wanted anything of his. Until her. My name is Ricardo DeLuca... -
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Violent Life by Nola Marie
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsI live for her. Will die for her and kill for her. What I can’t do is live without her.Zoey is the love of my life. Has been since she was eight years old. She is the air I breathe and everything I worship. Everyone knows we belong together. But one devastating attack steals everything from me...Categorized as:
tortured heroine athletes mafia sports new adult contemporary mental illness friends to lovers -
In the Stillness by Andrea Randall
Natalie is a wife. Natalie is a mother. Natalie is a cutter. Clawing at walls built by resentment, regret, and guilt, Natalie cuts as an escape from a life she never planned. Staying present is only possible when you let go of the past... -
It's Our Secret by W. Winters
From romance author Willow Winters comes a USA Today best-selling emotionally gripping, standalone, romantic suspense. Allison: It was only a little lie.That’s how stories like these get started.But with every lie I told, he saw through it.I think in his heart he knew I was broken; he felt my pain as if it was his.And that’s what changed everything.He’s the reason it all fell apart...Categorized as:
tortured heroine contemporary suspense new adult super rich hero dark mystery length-medium -
The Redemption of Callie & Kayden by Jessica Sorensen
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden comes an emotional new story about two troubled souls sharing one all-encompassing love . . . The dark secret Kayden has kept hidden for years is finally out. Worse, he's facing charges for battery. The only way to clear his name is for Callie to speak up-something he'll never ask her to do... -
Return of the Bad Girl by Codi Gary
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsBad girls don't forgive. Bad girls don't forget. Bad girls don't fall in love. Caroline Willis may be known for causing trouble, but she is NOT about to become homeless. So when she learns that her perfect apartment has been double-booked—to a dangerously hot bad boy—Caroline's bad-girl reputation comes out in full force... -
The Road Home by Amy Alves
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsI found the woman of my dreams. And then she introduced me to her boyfriend.Signing up for a yoga class in order to woo the gorgeous instructor could not have gone worse.First, the class I attended was actually for pregnant women, and I looked like an idiot.Second, her boyfriend showed up—the one I didn’t know about. The small town rumor mill had let me down.So I waited... -
Damaged Doll by Jennifer Bene
The long-awaited sequel to Breaking Beth is finally coming July 2022, pre-order now! "I'm too broken for love." After everything Beth has been through, all she wants is to feel normal.To be normal.But the weight of her past won't let her go easily. "Wanting her is wrong." All Jake wants is to be a hero.To save as many as he can from the monsters of this world... -
The Games We Play by Berlin Wick
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsI thought I’d never see her again. Ten years ago, we spent two weeks together. Fourteen inseparable days, just for her to disappear like she never existed.Now she’s here, in the last place I expected, sneaking around the lifestyle club where I run security. But before I can confront her to demand answers, she runs...Categorized as:
tortured heroine military grumpy sunshine dark dual-pov bdsm found-family tortured hero -
Out of Darkness by Laramie Briscoe
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsEx-News reporter.Rape survivor.Former enemy of the Heaven Hill MC. Meredith Rager’s life completely changed the night she was attacked by an unknown person. Once a vibrant force that threatened everything about Heaven Hill, she is now under their care. The only place she feels safe is inside their compound... -
Talking Dirty by Cheryl McIntyre
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsI had no idea when I met Linken Elliot that he would be capable of doing this to me. I was perfectly unhappy, living my miserable existence before he came along. I was fine humping strange men’s faces in dirty bar bathrooms. I was comfortable living like a hermit and drinking myself into oblivion. I. Was. Fine. Now I want things. I want him... -
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Miss Me Not by Tiffany King
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsMiss Me Not is a beautiful story of self-discovery, forgiveness, caring, and love. 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... -
Release Me by J. Kenner
For fans of Fifty Shades of Grey and Bared to You comes an erotic, emotionally charged romance between a powerful man who’s never heard “no” and a fiery woman who says “yes” on her own terms. He was the one man I couldn’t avoid. And the one man I couldn’t resist. Damien Stark could have his way with any woman. He was sexy, confident, and commanding: Anything he wanted, he got...Categorized as:
tortured heroine athletes contemporary tortured hero bad boys super rich hero dark alpha male -
Buried Deception by Amanda McKinney
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn the pulse-racing first installment of the On the Edge series, a criminal psychologist teams up with a former marine on a deadly wildland mission. Not even their hearts can stay out of harm’s way.In the swamps of East Texas, alligators aren’t the only danger lurking in the shadows...Categorized as:
tortured heroine mystery contemporary forced proximity dark suspense military dual-pov -
If You Know Her by Shiloh Walker
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsA SHADOW IN THE WINDOW Nia Hollister doesn’t scare easily. She’s returned to Ash, Kentucky, with a vengeance—and with a mission: find the killer who brutally ended her cousin’s life. What she didn’t count on was trembling with desire every time she sees Law Reilly. If any man can help her escape the nightmares for a while, it’s him...Categorized as:
tortured heroine suspense contemporary dark mystery possessive hero small town length-long -
Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 54 ratingsWhen young, pretty Catherine Bailey meets Lee Brightman, she can't believe her luck. Gorgeous, charismatic, and a bit mysterious, Lee seems almost too perfect to be true. But what begins as flattering attention and spontaneous, passionate sex transforms into raging jealousy, and Catherine soon discovers that Lee's dazzling blue eyes and blond good looks hide a dark, violent nature... -
Mud Vein by Tarryn Fisher
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 54 ratingsWhen reclusive novelist Senna Richards wakes up on her thirty-third birthday, everything has changed. Caged behind an electrical fence, locked in a house in the middle of the snow, Senna is left to decode the clues to find out why she was taken. If she wants her freedom, she has to take a close look at her past. But, her past has a heartbeat... and her kidnapper is nowhere to be found... -
Very Wicked Beginnings by Ilsa Madden-Mills
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsA Prequel Novella Girls say I’m a walking, talking sex god. Guys call me Hollywood because my life is golden. It’s not. But, ESPN did rank me as a four-star recruit, calling me one of the best defensive players since Briarcrest Academy opened its esteemed doors. So yeah, with football and a stellar GPA, my future seemed good... -
Life of the Party by Christine Anderson
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsThis novel contains mature themes and graphic content. Seventeen-year-old Mackenzie Taylor can't wait to be free; free from high school, the shadow of her perfect older sister, and her disapproving parents. The rebellious party girl has a perfect accomplice in best friend Riley, a boy from the wrong side of the tracks who scores them drugs, booze and under-age entry into the only club in town...Categorized as:
tortured heroine contemporary friends to lovers tortured hero abuse bad boys love triangle dark -
Love Me by W. Winters, Amelia Wilde
From USA Today best-selling authors W Winters and Amelia Wilde comes a sinful romance with a touch of dark and angst that will keep you gripping the edge of your seat … and begging for more.He was mine. My protector, my lover. My second start at life. The man who promised me there was more than this.He gave me hopeUntil my world fell apart again. It was bound to happen. It’s all life has given me... -
The Swan & the Jackal by J.A. Redmerski
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsThis is not a romance in any sense of the word. If that's what you're looking for, don't read it. Fredrik Gustavsson never considered the possibility of love, or that anyone could ever understand or accept his dark and bloody lifestyle—until he met Seraphina, a woman as vicious and blood-thirsty as Fredrik himself... -
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Damaged and the Bulldog by Bijou Hunter
Dylan Campbell took a bullet to save the girl of his dreams. This fateful day changed everything. Now Dylan struggles to claim Winnie as his own while making his bones with the Reapers MC. Winona Todds was broken by life. Hiding from the world, she remains consumed with fear until her heart craves Dylan. She´ll need to face her past to build a future with the man with the bulldog tattoo... -
Silver Creek High: A High School Bully Romance Complete Box Set by Belladona Cunning
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratings(#1 Amazon Bestselling Series in Teen & Young Adult Bullying Fiction *WITH NEVER BEFORE SEEN BONUS EPILOGUE*) “You. Are. Cut. Off.” He left me ripped apart and stripped of my last shred of innocence.He disappeared without a trace, two years ago, with no rhyme or reason.The same guy that swore to protect me, but instead fed me to the wolves of Silver Creek High.Now, he’s back...Categorized as:
tortured heroine reverse harem dark contemporary cruel hero abuse cheating vengeance -
Vital Sign by J.L. Mac
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsI used to have a great life. My little world was bright. I had no complaints. My perfectly simple life made the fall from grace that much more devastating. I plummeted from the heavenly little bubble that I shared with Jake. I fell fast and hard straight into the fiery pits of hell. The knowledge of how things used to be is a bittersweet torture that refuses me even one moment of respite...Categorized as:
tortured heroine contemporary tortured hero dark possessive hero angst m-f length-medium -
Disavow by Karina Halle
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsFrom New York Times bestselling author Karina Halle comes a seductive novel of riches, romance, and redemption. In the Dumont fashion empire, no heir has a reputation as decadent, arrogant, and ruthless as that of Pascal Dumont. Every transgression, an indecent pleasure. Every woman, a conquest. And none is more challenging than his new personal assistant, Gabrielle Caron... -
Believe Like a Child by Paige Dearth
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsABOUT THE NOVEL: Alessa is just seven years old when her uncle rapes her for the first time. As the years pass, his sexual appetite becomes more voracious and his perversion more twisted, until the abuse has become almost a daily ritual, with the unspoken involvement of the girl's mother... -
Be My December by Rachel Brookes
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsI knew the exact moment I’d become a ‘yes’ girl. December 16th, a cold winter’s night, four years ago. The night my innocence was stolen, the night I made the mistake of saying no—a mistake I’d never make again. The dream of a ‘happily ever after' was now a locked away myth... -
Catch Me by Claire Contreras
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsNovember 17, 2013... In the past, I've always been given everything I've wanted, but nothing that I truly needed. I've experienced a lot of things in my twenty-five years, everything except the one thing I want. It's the one thing that can’t be bought. It can't even be taken, it has to be given. And nobody has ever given it to me, not really anyway. Not until him... -
A Life Less Broken by Margaret McHeyzer
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsOn a day like any other, Allyn Sommers went off to work, not knowing that her life was about to be irrevocably and horrifically altered. Three years later, Allyn is still a prisoner in her own home held captive by harrowing fear. Broken and damaged, Allyn seeks help from someone that fate brought her. Dr. Dominic Shriver is a psychiatrist who’s drawn to difficult cases... -
Infraction by K.I. Lynn
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsThe exciting continuation of Breach! Waking up in the hospital after a terrible car crash, Lila has a long road of recovery ahead of her. More than just her body, she must recover her heart after an altering declaration by Nathan. With all that happened between them she must chose to forgive him and take him back, or sever all ties...Categorized as:
tortured heroine contemporary tortured hero dark alpha male abuse shy heroine cruel hero -
Captivated by Bethany-Kris
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA shadow meets the light … When someone needs to disappear, the Chicago mob calls on Joe Rossi. A man who can move without a sound, and kill without a word, they don’t call him the Shadow for nothing. This time, it’s a New York crime family in need of his skills, but it takes one glimpse of her to make him agree to the job. Liliana Marcello is every inch a principessa della mafia... -
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Make Me by LP Lovell
0.5 in The Kiss of Death Series. Prequel novella to Kill Me. At thirteen years old I was sold, doomed to become a sex slave. Nicholai Ivanov, boss of the Russian Bratva, gave me the ultimate gift. He saved me from a fate worse than death. He promised to make me strong, because only the strong survive, and the weak die, forgotten and inconsequential... -
Bad For Me by Codi Gary
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsCallie Jacobsen isn't about to open her heart to just anyone. Not so very long ago, trusting someone changed her life forever—and not in a fun way. Now she's better off focusing on her career, her friends, and her dog. So when former Marine Everett Silverton takes an interest in her, Callie's more than a little wary. No matter how charming he is, men are a bad idea...Categorized as:
tortured heroine contemporary humor tearjerkers tortured hero men in uniform alpha male abuse -
Behind the Mask by Carolyn Crane
TO SAVE HER TWIN SISTER SHE MUST SWITCH PLACES WITH HER... When her long lost sister--a prostitute--is won in a card game by a brutal drug cartel, Zelda knows what she has to do: take her place. Save her. Focus on infiltrating the shadowy group on behalf of the Associates, and try not to think about why she left the spying game years ago...Categorized as:
tortured heroine military suspense dark tortured hero contemporary explicit-open-door length-medium -
GRINGA - In the Clutches of a Ruthless Drug-Lord by Eve Rabi
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsI was twenty-one, a sassy university student who took crap from no one. While holidaying in Mexico, I was accosted by The Devil of Mexico called Diablo and shot, because the motherfucker mistook me for a spy... -
A Touch of Dark by Lana Sky
IS HE HER HERO? Juliana Thorne is falling apart beneath her perfect façade. Haunted by a monster from her childhood, the sheltered socialite is slowly losing her mind—while a mysterious stranger seems to lurk around every corner, relishing in her demise... -
One More Time: A Love Story With A Side Of Revenge by Nik Robbins
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhat would you do when you catch your husband having an AFFAIR?You get even by sleeping with his best friend.What happens when your affair turns into a love story hell-bent on a deadly game of REVENGE?What happens when love turns into an obsession so dangerous not everyone will make it out on the other side ALIVE..My marriage is a scam. A political move to further my husband's career...Categorized as:
tortured heroine dark contemporary love triangle vengeance other-man-woman friends to lovers m-f
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