Books like 'The Holy Innocents'
Readers who enjoyed The Holy Innocents by Gilbert Adair also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary dark romance young adult 20th century queer horror
-
Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 46 ratingsFor readers of Girl in Pieces and The Way I Used to Be comes an emotionally gripping story about facing hard truths in the aftermath of sexual assault. Mara and Owen are as close as twins can get, so when Mara’s friend Hannah accuses Owen of rape, Mara doesn't know what to think... -
![End of the Innocence by John Goode]()
End of the Innocence by John Goode
Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsKyle Stilleno is no longer the invisible boy, and he doesn’t quite know how he feels about it. On one hand, he now has a great boyfriend, Brad Greymark, and a handful of new friends, and even a new job. On the other hand, no one screamed obscenities at him in public when he was invisible... -
![]()
![]()
Sponsored links -
![Where All Paths Meet by Gregory Ashe]()
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]()
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 Old Wheel by Gregory Ashe]()
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)... -
![Dear Medusa by Olivia A. Cole]()
Dear Medusa by Olivia A. Cole
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsThis searing and intimate novel in verse follows a sixteen-year-old girl coping with sexual abuse as she grapples with how to reclaim her story, her anger, and her body in a world that seems determined to punish her for the sin of surviving.I'm starting to realizethat a woman doesn't get that madso mad that her hair turns to snakesso mad that her rage turns blood to boulderall on her own... -
![Foxes by Suki Fleet]()
Foxes by Suki Fleet
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsWhen Dashiel’s body is found dumped on an East London wasteland, his best friend Danny sets out to find the killer. But Danny finds interaction difficult and must keep his world small in order to survive... -
![Little Universes by Heather Demetrios]()
Little Universes by Heather Demetrios
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsOne wave: that’s all it takes for the rest of Mae and Hannah Winters’ lives to change.When a tsunami strikes the island where their parents are vacationing, it soon becomes clear that their mom and dad are never coming home... -
![The Dead List by Jennifer L. Armentrout]()
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... -
![Dear Adam by Jaclyn Osborn]()
Dear Adam by Jaclyn Osborn
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratings**WARNING: This story contains suicidal material that may be sensitive to some readers. **Things weren’t supposed to turn out this way. My story should have been different. Happier. Maybe in another life, it would’ve been. But, life isn’t a fairy tale, and the good guys don’t always win.I didn’t mean to cause anyone pain. I just wanted to end my own. The letter, his words—crushed me... -
![Every Hidden Truth by Nik Knight]()
Every Hidden Truth by Nik Knight
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsTwo young men haunted by their pasts. One bond that can save them both. Sarcastic loud-mouth, Silas Brigs is used to taking care of himself. He's done it for years, after all. But the too-perfect Ben Adams has other plans. Against all odds, the California diver has worked his way under Silas's prickly exterior, and Silas is left to wrestle with the simmering attraction building between them... -
![Mysterious Skin by Scott Heim]()
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... -
![Every Mended Heart by Nik Knight]()
Every Mended Heart by Nik Knight
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsTwo broken souls searching for hope. One love that redeems them both.After everything Silas and Ben have fought for, it seems the true battle has only just begun. As rumors spread through the school, Silas's already strained relationship with Ben starts to crack from the added pressure. His personal bully is back and determined to tear Silas down at every turn... -
![The Law of Inertia by Sophie Gonzales]()
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... -
-
![This Is Not a Love Story (Love Story Universe) by Suki Fleet]()
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... -
![A Broken Kind of Life by Jamie Mayfield, Cody Kennedy]()
A Broken Kind of Life by Jamie Mayfield, Cody Kennedy
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsWith a foreword by C. Kennedy. Aaron Downing is broken, barely clinging to the hope that one day, he will be normal again. His life remains a constant string of nightmares, flashbacks, and fear, but he perseveres and starts college, determined to move on. Then Aaron gets assigned to work with Spencer Thomas for his programming project... -
![The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis]()
The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsSeventeen-year-old Evan Panos doesn’t know where he fits in. His strict Greek mother refuses to see him as anything but a disappointment. His quiet, workaholic father is a staunch believer in avoiding any kind of conflict. And his best friend Henry has somehow become distractingly attractive over the summer...Categorized as:
queer young adult contemporary abuse m-m high-school friends to lovers mental illness -
![Finding Home by Garrett Leigh]()
Finding Home by Garrett Leigh
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWith their mum dead and their father on remand for her murder, Leo Hendry and his little sister, Lila, have nothing in the world but each other. Broken and burned, they’re thrust into the foster care system. Leo shields Lila from the fake families and forced affection, until the Poulton household is the only place left to go... -
![Teen Killers Club by Lily Sparks]()
Teen Killers Club by Lily Sparks
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFramed for the murder of her best friend, a young girl joins a super-secret society of teenage assassins to avoid a lifetime behind bars--and discovers her own true self--in this mesmerizing debut novel. Seventeen-year-old Signal Deere has raised eyebrows for years as an unhappy Goth misfit from the trailer park... -
![The Lies We Tell: A Darker MM Romance by Alex J. Adams]()
The Lies We Tell: A Darker MM Romance by Alex J. Adams
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 5 ratings"Lies destroy – especially the ones we tell ourselves. But reality can destroy too, revealing a truth that can shake you to the core."NateMy marriage was done. The criminal I was chasing was giving me the runaround. I was doubting everything, wondering where my life was going.I’d given everything to the job, but it had cost me everything, including my family and my home...Categorized as:
queer m-m young adult contemporary hurt-comfort forced proximity dark age difference -
![The Elite by Serenity Ackles]()
The Elite by Serenity Ackles
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsJames Keyingham University: a college for the country’s richest, most powerful and influential elite… My brother is serving a life sentence for a murder I know he didn’t commit. Things don’t add up, and all the evidence about the case seems to have disappeared. One scholarship later, and I’m attending James Keyingham University...Categorized as:
queer reverse harem contemporary young adult dark super rich hero suspense new adult -
![Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead]()
Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 36 ratings"You're gonna need a rock and a whole lotta medicine" is a mantra that Jonny Appleseed, a young Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer, repeats to himself in this vivid and utterly compelling novel. Off the reserve and trying to find ways to live and love in the big city, Jonny becomes a cybersex worker who fetishizes himself in order to make a living... -
![Cheerleading Can Be Murder by Carissa Ann Lynch]()
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... -
![The Value of Rain by Brandon Shire]()
The Value of Rain by Brandon Shire
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCharles is 14, and after being discovered with his first love he is forced into a mental hospital to cure his sexuality. For the next ten years he endures mental and physical torture as part of that treatment and when he is finally free, he begins a relentless quest for vengeance against the woman who abetted his commitment into that hospital, his mother Charlotte... -
-
![My Sweet Audrina by V.C. Andrews, The Real Virginia Andrews]()
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... -
![Garden of Shadows by V.C. Andrews]()
Garden of Shadows by V.C. Andrews
Olivia dreamed of a sun-filled love, a happy life. Then she entered Foxworth Hall...V.C. Andrews' thrilling new novel spins a tale of dreadful secrets and dark, forbidden passions -- of the time before Flowers in the Attic began. Long before terror flowered in the attic, thin, spinsterish Olivia came to Virginia as Malcolm Foxworth's bride... -
![Oblivion by Sasha Dawn]()
Oblivion by Sasha Dawn
Rated: 3.81 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsLisa McMann's Dead to You meets Kate Ellison's The Butterfly Clues in a psychological thriller full of romance, intrigue, and mystery. One year ago, Callie was found in an abandoned apartment, scrawling words on the wall: "I KILLED HIM. His blood is on my hands. His heart is in my soul. I KILLED HIM." But she remembers nothing of that night or of the previous thirty-six hours... -
![What You Hide by Natalie D. Richards]()
What You Hide by Natalie D. Richards
Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsFrom Natalie D. Richards, the New York Times bestselling author of mystery books for teens, comes a pulse-pounding thriller about two teens who uncover something sinister, perfect for fans of Natasha Preston and Karen McManus.Mallory didn't want to leave home, but it wasn't safe to stay... -
![Heartless by J. Roman]()
Heartless by J. Roman
Rated: 3.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsKeeping Secrets: Book One For gay teens in the South, Erwin High School is as good as it gets. The prevailing liberalism means being gay doesn’t have to be the focus of your life—which frees up seventeen-year-old Jason Strummer to take on the role of bully. Jason understands his beauty and power and has a reputation to match his attitude... -
![Jaya and Rasa: A Love Story by Sonia Patel]()
Jaya and Rasa: A Love Story by Sonia Patel
Rated: 3.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSeventeen-year-old Jaya Mehta detests wealth, secrets, and privilege, though he has them all. His family is Indian, originally from Gujarat. Rasa Santos, like many in Hawaii, is of mixed ethnicity. All she has are siblings, three of them, plus a mother who controls men like a black widow spider and leaves her children whenever she wants to... -
![Intervention by Mia Kerick]()
Intervention by Mia Kerick
Rated: 3.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAs a musician at the popular college café Coed Joe’s, high school senior Kai Manter is never lacking for male attention. Out, proud, free-spirited, and sexually aware, Kai sets his sights on his darkly Gothic and undeniably bad-tempered coworker, Jamie Arlotta, a freshman at the local arts university... -
![Pretty Dead Queens by Alexa Donne]()
Pretty Dead Queens by Alexa Donne
Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsSeaview High's homecoming queen is dead . . . and she's not the first. From the critically acclaimed author of The Ivies comes a nonstop thriller about a deacades-old mystery, a copycat killing, and the teen who won't stop until she discovers the truth... -
![What Girls Are Made of by Elana K. Arnold]()
What Girls Are Made of by Elana K. Arnold
Rated: 3.78 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsSixteen-year-old Nina isn't made of sugar and spice and everything nice. She is flesh and blood and desire, but she longs to know real love. Unconditional love. The kind her mother told her doesn't exist. National Book Award FinalistReeling from a shameful breakup with a boy she unabashedly worshipped, Nina drifts between school and her days volunteering at a dog shelter... -
![The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas]()
The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas
Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars · 36 ratings"Gripping from start to finish, The Darkest Corners took me into an underbelly I didn't know existed, with twists that left me shocked and racing forward to get to the end... -
-
![Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews]()
Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews
Rated: 3.82 of 5 stars · 72 ratingsWay upstairs there are four secrets hidden.Blond, beautiful, innocent little secrets, struggling to stay alive. Flowers In the AtticThe four Dollanganger children had such perfect lives -- a beautiful mother, a doting father, a lovely home. Then Daddy was killed in a car accident, and Momma could no longer support the family... -
![Stay With Me by Kira Hawke]()
Stay With Me by Kira Hawke
Rated: 3.56 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsLogan Woods just survived an attempted murder. Maybe. Left for dead in the sketchiest part of town, Logan has no idea how much time he has left. But through this disaster forms an unlikely friendship that might be worth living for... -
![The Falling Girls by Hayley Krischer]()
The Falling Girls by Hayley Krischer
Rated: 3.65 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsShade and Jadis are everything to each other. They share clothes, toothbrushes, and even matching stick-and-poke tattoos. So when Shade unexpectedly joins the cheerleading team, Jadis can hardly recognize who her best friend is becoming.Shade loves the idea of falling into a group of girls; she loves the discipline it takes to push her body to the limits alongside these athletes... -
![Rage: A Love Story by Julie Anne Peters]()
Rage: A Love Story by Julie Anne Peters
Rated: 3.68 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsA National Book Award Finalist offers an intense portrait of an abusive relationship. Johanna is steadfast, patient, reliable; the go-to girl, the one everyone can count on. But always being there for others can’t give Johanna everything she needs—it can’t give her Reeve Hartt. Reeve is fierce, beautiful, wounded, elusive; a flame that draws Johanna’s fluttering moth... -
![How to Kill Men and Get Away With It by Katy Brent]()
How to Kill Men and Get Away With It by Katy Brent
Meet Kitty Collins.FRIEND. LOVER. KILLER.Have you ever walked home at night, keys in hand, ready to throw a punch in self-defence? That’s how it all started. The killing spree, I mean.I sort of tripped into this role… Literally. The first one was following me. That guy from the nightclub who wouldn’t leave me alone. I pushed him, he stumbled, and fell onto his own broken wine bottle. Oops... -
![Brooke by V.C. Andrews]()
Brooke by V.C. Andrews
Rated: 3.61 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsThe Orphans is a novelized miniseries credited to V. C. Andrews, but ghostwritten by Andrew Neiderman. It focuses on the lives of four teenage girls and their lives as "orphans." The four novels each focus on one of the four main characters. There is a final fifth book (not included) that ties all of their lives together. They were released from May to October 1998... -
![Crystal by V.C. Andrews]()
Crystal by V.C. Andrews
Rated: 3.62 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsThe Orphans is a novelized miniseries credited to V. C. Andrews, but ghostwritten by Andrew Neiderman. It focuses on the lives of four teenage girls and their lives as "orphans." The four novels each focus on one of the four main characters. There is a final fifth book (not included) that ties all of their lives together. They were released from May to October 1998... -
![Tenderness by Robert Cormier]()
Tenderness by Robert Cormier
Rated: 3.56 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsEighteen-year-old Eric has just been released from juvenile detention for murdering his parents. Now he's looking for tenderness--tenderness he finds in killing girls. Fifteen-year-old Lori has run away from home again. Emotionally naive and sexually precocious, she is also looking for tenderness--tenderness that she finds in Eric... -
![Butterfly by V.C. Andrews]()
Butterfly by V.C. Andrews
Rated: 3.61 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsThe Orphans is a novelized miniseries credited to V. C. Andrews, but ghostwritten by Andrew Neiderman. It focuses on the lives of four teenage girls and their lives as "orphans." The four novels each focus on one of the four main characters. There is a final fifth book (not included) that ties all of their lives together. They were released from May to October 1998... -
![Raven by V.C. Andrews]()
Raven by V.C. Andrews
Rated: 3.60 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsThe Orphans is a novelized miniseries credited to V. C. Andrews, but ghostwritten by Andrew Neiderman. It focuses on the lives of four teenage girls and their lives as "orphans." The four novels each focus on one of the four main characters. There is a final fifth book (not included) that ties all of their lives together. They were released from May to October 1998... -
-
![They All Fall Down by Roxanne St. Claire]()
They All Fall Down by Roxanne St. Claire
Rated: 3.60 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsPretty Little Liars meets Final Destination in this YA psychological thriller that will have readers' hearts racing right till the very end! Every year, the lives of ten girls at Vienna High are transformed. All because of the list... -
![Summer Rental by Rektok Ross]()
Summer Rental by Rektok Ross
Rated: 3.54 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsMEAN GIRLS meets SCREAM in this heart-pounding psychological thriller about a group of friends stranded on an island with a serial killer on the loose. Riley March and her friends are headed to ritzy, remote Palm Key Island for one last blow-out party weekend before college... -
![You'll Always be Mine by Natasha Preston]()
You'll Always be Mine by Natasha Preston
Rated: 3.48 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAfter escaping from police custody, Clover tries to piece his life back together. Determined to return to home and be reunited with his family, he has to first elude the country wide man hunt. Will he be able to resist his old ways in order to remain undetected? After hearing that Colin has escaped, Summer and Becca prepare themselves for the inevitable; Clover is coming back for them... -
![A Night to Die For by Lisa Schroeder]()
A Night to Die For by Lisa Schroeder
Rated: 3.32 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe Night Of meets Carrie when a boy finds a girl's body in the ditch on prom night...and becomes the primary suspect in her murder.All Mario wants is one normal night before he graduates. He's spent most of high school riding solo and gaming with his only friend, Lucas... -
![S.T.A.G.S by M.A. Bennett]()
S.T.A.G.S by M.A. Bennett
Rated: 3.55 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsNine students. Three bloodsports. One deadly weekend.It is the autumn term and Greer MacDonald is struggling to settle into the sixth form at the exclusive St. Aidan the Great boarding school, known to its privileged pupils as S.T.A.G.S. Just when she despairs of making friends Greer receives a mysterious invitation with three words embossed upon on it: huntin' shootin' fishin'... -
![The Cherry Harvest by Lucy Sanna]()
The Cherry Harvest by Lucy Sanna
Rated: 3.40 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA memorable coming-of-age story and love story, laced with suspense, which explores a hidden side of the home front during World War II, when German POWs were put to work in a Wisconsin farm community . . . with dark and unexpected consequences.The war has taken a toll on the Christiansen family. With food rationed and money scarce, Charlotte struggles to keep her family well fed...
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.
