Books like 'Scars'
Readers who enjoyed Scars by Cheryl Rainfield also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary young adult dark romance mystery secret-relationship
-
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 161 ratingsCheck out the #1 New York Times bestseller Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, called “a surefire hit” by Entertainment Weekly. "The secrets burrowed in this seemingly placid small town...are so suburban noir they would make David Lynch clap with glee.. -
You'd Be Home Now by Kathleen Glasgow
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 48 ratingsFrom the New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces comes a breathtaking story about a town, its tragedies, and the quiet beauty of everyday life.For all of Emory's life she's been told who she is. In town she's the rich one--the great-great-granddaughter of the mill's founder. At school she's hot Maddie Ward's younger sister...Categorized as:
mystery young adult contemporary mental illness high-school substance abuse dark death -
Boy Shattered by Eli Easton
Brian You’ll make it out of here, Brian. I swear. I had everything—school quarterback, popular with girls, and my dad was proud of me. I told myself it didn’t matter no one knew the real me. And then I nearly died. Landon saved my life. He’s the bravest guy I know. He came out a few years ago, proud and fierce, and he ran into gunfire to help others. Me, I’m a mess...Categorized as:
mystery secret-relationship young adult m-m angst friends to lovers tearjerkers contemporary -
The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 56 ratingsA contemporary YA novel that examines rape culture through alternating perspectives. Alex Craft knows how to kill someone. And she doesn’t feel bad about it.Three years ago, when her older sister, Anna, was murdered and the killer walked free, Alex uncaged the language she knows best—the language of violence. While her own crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can’t be trusted among other people... -
-
Game by Barry Lyga
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsBilly grinned. “Oh, New York,” he whispered. “We’re gonna have so much fun.” I Hunt Killers introduced the world to Jazz, the son of history’s most infamous serial killer, Billy Dent. In an effort to prove murder didn’t run in the family, Jazz teamed with the police in the small town of Lobo’s Nod to solve a deadly case... -
Before I Break by Portia Moore
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsOut of the past six years of my life, I only remember about half of it. After a dozen doctors and thousands in medical bills, I was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder--one that causes me to lose track of time. Sometimes it’s hours, days or even weeks with no recollection of anything. The good thing is it's been almost two years since I had my last ‘black out’...Categorized as:
mystery young adult contemporary love triangle suspense new adult dark other-man-woman -
Where All Paths Meet by Gregory Ashe
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsHolmeses. Moriartys. Adlers. What’s a Watson to do? When Jack Moreno receives an anonymous invitation to the Zodiac anniversary gala, he’s inclined to ignore it. His best friend (and more), Holloway Holmes, vanished from his life five months ago, and Jack has no desire to bump into Holloway’s terrifying father, Blackfriar... -
Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas, Abby McDonald
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsIt's Spring Break of senior year. Anna, her boyfriend Tate, her best friend Elise, and a few other close friends are off to a debaucherous trip to Aruba that promises to be the time of their lives. But when Elise is found brutally murdered, Anna finds herself trapped in a country not her own, fighting against vile and contemptuous accusations... -
The Girl in the Hoodie by SarcasticallyWitty
A girl moved to California two years ago.No one knows what she looks like.All they know is that she wears a hoodie...Categorized as:
mystery contemporary young adult high-school friends to lovers angst dark found-family -
The Old Wheel by Gregory Ashe
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsBlackmail. Breakups. Boys. Trouble always comes in threes.Life is different for Jack Moreno. Good. Definitely good. Well, better, anyway.He’s back in school (although classes are harder than he expected). And his dad is healthy (which means he’s worrying again about things like Jack’s curfew and, oh yeah, grades)... -
The Storyteller by Antonia Michaelis
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsAnna and Abel couldn’t be more different. They are both seventeen and in their last year of school, but while Anna lives in a nice old town house and comes from a well-to-do family, Abel, the school drug dealer, lives in a big, prisonlike tower block at the edge of town. Anna is afraid of him until she realizes that he is caring for his six-year-old sister on his own... -
Cruel Legacy by Dakota Lee
A NEW LIFEThat’s what the move to canyon falls was supposed to offer me. A chance to leave my past behind.But day one I manage to paint a target on my back and the vindictive boys who run this school, Pax, Finn and Holdendecide to turn me into their personal punching bag.They try it all. Liquidated accounts. Public humiliation. Every prank and act of horror designed to break me.I’ve endured worse...Categorized as:
mystery young adult new adult contemporary dark suspense reverse harem from hate to love -
Persuasion by T.K. Leigh
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsI came to Hawaii to get answers about my sister’s death.But that all changes when I meet her.Beautiful. Charming. Haunted.And the last thing I need in my life.But that doesn’t mean I can stay away from her, a powerful force pulling me toward her when all rationale tells me to keep my distance.So we make an agreement.One week. No names. No falling in love.It’s the perfect plan... -
Yakuza Fiance: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii Vol. 2 by Asuka Konishi
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsDepuis la disparition de la fille d’un yakuza allié au clan Miyama, et le meurtre d’un de leurs hommes,Yoshino est contrainte à passer tout son temps avec Kirishima pour sa propre sécurité. Situation compliquée pour ses nerfs ! À l’occasion d’une sortie, elle aperçoit la soi-disant disparue dans un quartier branché...Categorized as:
mystery contemporary mafia young adult dark new adult marriage of convenience length-short -
-
Born Wrong by C.M. Stunich
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 22 ratingsWhen you're born wrong, sometimes you get bent and you get f*cked. Sometimes your life takes you places you don't want to go.Sometimes, it does. Dax McCann is as cold as ice. I'm intrigued by him. But I can't get close to him either. His music strokes my soul, butchers my broken heart. I wish he'd see me, but he only sees her... -
These Dark Hearts by L.A. Cotton
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsHarleigh Wren Maguire has loved Phoenix Wilder for as long as she can remember.He's everything she isn't.Brave.Reckless.One-hundred percent unapologetic.But it's Halloween... the perfect excuse to dress up and be someone you're not. To step out of your comfort zone and do things you wouldn't usually do.And Harleigh is determined to make her best friend notice her for once.There's only one problem...Categorized as:
mystery friends to lovers high-school new adult sports contemporary dark young adult -
The Dead List by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsIt's Ella's senior year of high school and she and her best friend Linds plan to make it the best year ever. At Brock Cochran's end of summer pool party, the girls vow to have as much fun as possible before they head off to different colleges next fall. But when Ella is mysteriously attacked on her way home from the party, everything changes... -
Mysterious Skin by Scott Heim
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsAt the age of eight Brian Lackey is found bleeding under the crawl space of his house, having endured something so traumatic that he cannot remember an entire five–hour period of time... -
I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 45 ratingsWhat if the world's worst serial killer...was your dad? Jasper "Jazz" Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say. But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could—from the criminal's point of view. And now bodies are piling up in Lobo's Nod... -
Hometown Girl Memories by Kirsten Fullmer
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratings"I was crying one minute and laughing the next. A definite must read!" Winnie is content in her role as the reining matriarch of Smithville, but when a letter arrives from a long-lost friend, the door to her past is reopened. Memories come flooding in, drawing her back to 1968, her college days; a time filled with people and events she hasn’t allowed herself to recall... -
Tough Luck by C.M. Stunich
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 24 ratings* This is NOT the last book in the series. There will be later books featuring Turner and Naomi again, and they also appear in this volume quite a bit. ;) Ronnie McGuire is my target. But I wish he wasn't. I didn't sign up for this destruction, this pain. In his music, I hear his soul crying out for me... -
The Law of Inertia by Sophie Gonzales
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen James’s boyfriend died by suicide, no one questioned what happened. A foster kid with a checkered past and a history of suicide attempts, Ash was just another number in a system that failed him. But to James, Ash was never just a number, and the facts around his death no longer stack up so neatly... -
The Execution by Ruby Vincent
They think they won. The Elite thought it would end at the battle, but I'm taking them to war. I will topple Landon, Michael, and Cole off their thrones even if it means bringing the system to its knees. Tensions are boiling beneath the surface of Breakbattle Academy. Protests are erupting, the lower classes are fighting back, and the Elites aren’t as invulnerable as they thought... -
Hate List by Jennifer Brown
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 55 ratingsFive months ago, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on their school cafeteria. Shot trying to stop him, Valerie inadvertently saved the life of a classmate, but was implicated in the shootings because of the list she helped create. A list of people and things she and Nick hated. The list he used to pick his targets... -
-
Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii Vol. 2 by Asuka Konishi
Depuis la disparition de la fille d’un yakuza allié au clan Miyama, et le meurtre d’un de leurs hommes,Yoshino est contrainte à passer tout son temps avec Kirishima pour sa propre sécurité. Situation compliquée pour ses nerfs ! À l’occasion d’une sortie, elle aperçoit la soi-disant disparue dans un quartier branché...Categorized as:
mystery contemporary mafia marriage of convenience young adult dark length-short glimpses-kisses -
This Is Not a Love Story (Love Story Universe) by Suki Fleet
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsWhen fifteen-year-old Romeo's mother leaves one day and doesn't return, he finds himself homeless and trying to survive on the streets. Mute and terrified, his silence makes him vulnerable, and one night he is beaten by a gang of other kids, only to be rescued by a boy who pledges to take care of him. Julian is barely two years older than Romeo... -
Unstable by Alexandra Ivy
WHEN IT COMES TO KILLINGA dead man in a cemetery isn’t news—unless he’s found on top of a grave, with a bullet through his head. The body belongs to Jude Henley, who was supposed to be buried below. Instead, the grave contains the remains of Staci Gale, thought to have run away nearly three decades ago...Categorized as:
mystery young adult second chances suspense men in uniform contemporary dark length-medium -
Right Behind You by Gail Giles
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsWhen he was nine, Kip set another child on fire. Now, after years in a juvenile ward, he is ready for a fresh start. But the ghosts of his past soon demand justice, and he must reveal his painful secret... -
A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsFaulkner’s most famous, most popular, and most anthologized short story, “A Rose for Emily” evokes the terms Southern gothic and grotesque, two types of literature in which the general tone is one of gloom, terror, and understated violence... -
Nerd Queen by Ivy Clyde
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsI survived the first year at Knighstwood Academy but my struggles are far from over. People still don’t want the Charity Case hanging around on the campus of their elite prep school.While I have the Kings of the academy backing me, they can’t predict every attack coming my way. And while I am struggling to endure it all, secrets of my past resurface, secrets that my mother took to her grave... -
Dark Heart by Ella James
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA devastating love story, coming summer 2020.--I thought he was the white knight. Looking back, it makes sense. I was young and needed saving. Luca was my strength. He could take on anything—the world, for me. They say first love cuts the deepest. Ours became a blade that bled me out. It turns out I didn’t know a villain when he held my heart in his hands. Now it’s darker—more like his...Categorized as:
mystery secret-relationship contemporary new adult super rich hero dark mafia from hate to love -
The Falling of Hadley by Jessica Sorensen
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsMy life is getting more complicated the longer I remain in Honeyton. But I'm tough. I always have been. But trying to handle everything on my own is becoming difficult, especially when I discover a family secret. I hate to admit it, but I may need some help if I want to protect my sisters. And the only people I may be able to turn to for help are my next-door neighbors who drive me insane... -
Deep Blue Eternity by Natasha Boyd
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsLivvy is on the run. And she’s escaped to the one place nobody will ever find her. But the isolated cottage isn’t empty. Her refuge is home to a troubled stranger, Tom, there for reasons of his own. In the intimacy of the abandoned cottage, and the remote wilderness of the island, the electrifying connection between them is impossible to ignore... -
Locked and Loaded by Nenia Campbell
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsKeep your friends close and your enemies closer... Christina Parker agreed to go to work for the BN because she thought it would keep her and her loved ones safe. But the BN's training facility is more like a prison than a school, and rumors about her illicit relationship with an IMA assassin make assimilation difficult - if not impossible... -
-
Ómorphi by C. (Cody) Kennedy
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratings"Hauntingly beautiful, a book that you never wanted to end because you were so much a part of the characters lives. When you finish the book you want to know more, to pick up the phone and call Christy. Magically written, the voices and setting of the story were so clear you lived each moment with the characters... -
What She Found in the Woods by Josephine Angelini
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsMagda just wants to forget what happened. But there's a nightmare lurking —and it's coming for her...This is Magda’s last chance. Recovering from a scandal at her elite New York City private school that threw her life into a tailspin, she’s shipped off to live with her grandparents in the Pacific Northwest for the summer...Categorized as:
mystery young adult contemporary suspense mental illness dark high-school substance abuse -
You Were Here by Cory McCarthy
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsGrief turned Jaycee into a daredevil, but can she dare to deal with her past?On the anniversary of her daredevil brother's death, Jaycee attempts to break into Jake's favorite hideout—the petrifying ruins of an insane asylum. Joined by four classmates, each with their own brand of dysfunction, Jaycee discovers a map detailing her brother's exploration and the unfinished dares he left behind... -
Girl, Stolen by April Henry
Rated: 3.97 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsSixteen-year-old Cheyenne Wilder is sleeping in the back of the car while her stepmom fills a prescription for antibiotics. Before Cheyenne realizes what's happening, the car is being stolen. Griffin hadn't meant to kidnap Cheyenne and once he finds out that not only does she have pneumonia, but that she's blind, he really doesn't know what to do... -
He Found Me by Whitney Barbetti
Rated: 3.97 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsWhen I was seventeen, I disappeared. I walked out the door of my apartment with a backpack and never looked back. I left the life of Cora Mitchell behind, seeking freedom from my real-life nightmare. But my freedom came with a cost. I lived a fictitious life for the next six years, never letting anyone close enough to see underneath the facade that was Andra Walker... -
Cheerleading Can Be Murder by Carissa Ann Lynch
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsGetting on the cheerleading squad is hard enough without a psycho on the loose… For Harrow High freshman Dakota Densford, life should be easy. All she has to worry about is talking to cute boys and remembering her locker combination. But when cheerleading tryouts draw near, she learns the cards are stacked against her—spots on the varsity team are limited... -
Dead Girls Don't Lie by Jennifer Shaw Wolf
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsRachel died at two a.m . . . Three hours after Skyler kissed me for the first time. Forty-five minutes after she sent me her last text. Jaycee and Rachel were best friends. But that was before. . .before that terrible night at the old house. Before Rachel shut Jaycee out. Before Jaycee chose Skyler over Rachel. Then Rachel is found dead... -
By a Thread by R.L. Griffin
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsStella's future was set, and it was a bright one. She was engaged to a man she adored, and was headed to law school in the fall. Tragically, her perfectly planned future ends just as it was beginning. With no ties to family or friends, Stella finds herself alone in a new city, spiraling out of control. Her typical day comes to a close with her passed out on the floor; sometimes clothed... -
Love Grudge by Chantal Fernando
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTheir love will ignite a war in this Romeo and Juliet retelling from gripping New York Times bestselling author Chantal Fernando.Romeo I was born to rule the Devils MC. Every decision, every move I made was to further that goal—until I met Julianna... -
Shine by Lauren Myracle
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsWhen her best guy friend falls victim to a vicious hate crime, sixteen-year-old Cat sets out to discover who in her small town did it. Richly atmospheric, this daring mystery mines the secrets of a tightly knit Southern community and examines the strength of will it takes to go against everyone you know in the name of justice... -
-
Crash and Burn by Michael Hassan
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsOn April 21, 2008, Steven "Crash" Crashinsky saved more than a thousand people when he stopped his classmate David Burnett from taking their high school hostage armed with assault weapons and high-powered explosives. You likely already know what came after for Crash: the nationwide notoriety, the college recruitment, and, of course, the book deal... -
Marrow by Tarryn Fisher
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsIn the Bone there is a house. In the house there is a girl. In the girl there is a darkness. Margo is not like other girls. She lives in a derelict neighborhood called the Bone, in a cursed house, with her cursed mother, who hasn’t spoken to her in over two years. She lives her days feeling invisible... -
How to Lead a Life of Crime by Kirsten Miller
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA meth dealer. A prostitute. A serial killer. Anywhere else, they’d be vermin. At the Mandel Academy, they’re called prodigies. The most exclusive school in New York City has been training young criminals for over a century. Only the most ruthless students are allowed to graduate. The rest disappear. Flick, a teenage pickpocket, has risen to the top of his class... -
Cut Me Free by J.R. Johansson
Rated: 3.91 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsSeventeen-year-old Charlotte barely escaped from her abusive parents. Her little brother, Sam, wasn't as lucky. Now she's trying to begin the new life she always dreamed of for them, but never thought she'd have to experience alone. She's hired a techie-genius with a knack for forgery to remove the last ties to her old life... -
My Sweet Audrina by V.C. Andrews, The Real Virginia Andrews
Rated: 3.91 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsV.C. Andrews, author of the phenomenally successful Dollanganger series, has created a fascinating new cast of characters in this haunting story of love and deceit, innocence and betrayal, and the suffocating power of parental love. Audrina Adare wanted so to be as good as her sister. She knew her father could not love her as he loved her sister. Her sister was so special, so perfect-- and dead... -
Modern Monsters by Kelley York
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsVic Howard never wanted to go to the party. He’s the Invisible Guy at school, a special kind of hell for quiet, nice guys. But because his best friend is as popular as Vic is ignored, he went… And wished he hadn’t. Because something happened to a girl that night. Something terrible, unimaginable, and Callie Wheeler’s life will never be the same...
Fantastic book recommendations by romance book lovers for romance book lovers.
Find out more about romance.io.
Find out more about romance.io.
Get recommendations by genres & tropes
Use the romance book finder to mix and match over 100 content keywords to find the books that match your preferences

Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.