Books like 'These Defiant Souls'
Readers who enjoyed These Defiant Souls by L.A. Cotton also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
mystery high-school sports enemies-to-lovers forbidden-love suspense steamy slow-burn multi-pov drama
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Trouble at Brayshaw High by Meagan Brandy
Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars · 25 ratings"You don't belong." No words whispered in anger have ever rung more true. They're the Kings of Brayshaw with the world at their feet, destined for greatness and in need of control. I'm the girl from the gutter with nothing to offer and as defiant as they come. They say it doesn't matter, that I'm one of them now, and nothing could ever change that. Not even me, should I dare try... -
Liar by Tate James
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 28 ratings“Liar, liar, pants on fire.”The words scrawled on the back of my newest stalker mail makes my blood run cold. I have no idea if it's the lie I know, or one that I don't.Since arriving back into Shadow Grove, I've been stalked, tormented, chased and almost killed. I've been lied to, repeatedly, by people I was growing to trust.Liar.That word haunts me. Someone knows more about my life than I do... -
Toxic Creek by K.C. Kean
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 16 ratings“It’s so nice when toxic people stop talking to you. It’s like the trash took itself out.”I had everything I ever wanted, until my life was flipped upside down. Now, I’m suddenly being forced to live in my parent’s hometown, with complete strangers. Like my heart isn’t broken enough. Could I fall any further?Yes. Yes, I could.Why might that be?The Allstars... -
Break Me by Meagan Brandy
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsI had a plan, and it was solid. Track down what was hidden away and take pleasure in toying with it. Toying with her. It worked like a charm.Until it didn’t. Turned out, the feisty little thing I found was far from what I hoped for. She was different from all I knew and more than I expected. She was light, and I’m the bastard who led her into darkness.But this girl.. -
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Pawns in the Bishop's Game by Emilia Finn
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsHow do you protect the girl, when the most dangerous threat in her life is you? Kane Bishop is a professional enforcer, smuggler, all-around law breaker, and the latest resident of a tiny town hidden by mountains and forest. His job is to keep his kingpin boss safe and off the local law enforcement's radar... -
Fallen Crest University by Tijan
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFallen Crest is back with a vengeance!Samantha, Mason, and Logan are all together and united with one common enemy: Park Sebastian, the king of fraternity douchebags.With professional football scouts eyeing his every move, Mason Kade has to walk the line for the first time in his life. Any move he makes against Sebastian has to be perfect and under the radar. One mistake, and his career is over... -
Be My Brayshaw by Meagan Brandy
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsFrom USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Meagan Brandy comes an enemies-to-lovers, standalone romance about love, lies, and finding the strength to forgive."Cross one, cross all."That's the Brayshaw way.She should have realized this before sliding into our world with secrets too big to bury.She didn't and now the target is on her back...Categorized as:
angst coming-of-age crime cruel-mc enemies-to-lovers high-school multi-pov slow-burn -
Twisted Creek by K.C. Kean
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsI 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... -
Deviant Knight by Tracy Lorraine
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsUSA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Tracy Lorraine brings you more in her dark mafia, high school bully romance series.Whoever said to keep your friends close and your enemies closer… was right. Being around her is the worst kind of torture. Emmie is an obligation I can’t avoid… an oath I can’t break. And having her in my life is the last thing I want or need...Categorized as:
crime cruel-mc enemies-to-lovers forbidden-love high-school multi-pov slow-burn steamy -
Kill Switch by Penelope Douglas
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 63 ratings"I've done far worse than what I went to prison for.She has no idea how bad this can get." WINTER Sending him to prison was the worst thing I could’ve done. It didn’t matter that he did the crime or that I wished he was dead. Perhaps I thought I’d have time to disappear before he got out or he’d cool off in jail and be anything but the horror he was. But I was wrong... -
Corrupt Union by Tracy Lorraine
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsI found everything I didn’t know I needed. Accepted forgiveness I didn’t deserve.She fought for us. Killed for us. She was one of us. And there was no way I was letting her go… again. But I’m not the only one with wicked intentions for my siren. With her missing, we turn our blame to an obvious enemy. But our path of destruction could be leading us right into another trap... -
Corrupt Princess by Tracy Lorraine
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsUSA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Tracy Lorraine brings you the next instalment of her forbidden dark mafia, high school bully romance story set in the Knight's Ridge Empire world.I learned from a very young age that the only person I could count on was myself.For years I’ve been content with meaningless one-night stands and zero promises for tomorrow... -
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Mi desesperada decisión by Ariana Godoy
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsUna noche fue suficiente para cambiarlo todo, para destruirlo todo. Él acabó con mi familia, con todo lo que amo y por alguna razón me dejó con vida, ¿Por qué? Es tan doloroso vivir después de esa noche, tal vez él quería que viviera y sufriera, ese me parece un destino aun más cruel que la muerte... -
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Wicked Knight #1 (Knight's Ridge Empire) by Tracy Lorraine
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsUSA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Tracy Lorraine brings you a new dark mafia, high school bully romance series.The truth is meant to set you free… but not my truth.Mine has sent me deeper and darker, feeding my need for revenge. I want blood for those who wronged me and my family. And my so-called truth is ripping me apart, in a way lies never could... -
Real Girl by Sheridan Anne
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsLucien Valentine must die.It’s the thought that’s kept me going for four long years. I’ve imagined it, dreamed about it, relished in it. I want it so bad, but the question is, do I have what it takes to make it happen?Taking a life isn’t for the faint-hearted. Just ask Lucien, he knows.He’s taken me back to where it all started and I know exactly how it’s going to go... -
Promising You by Allie Everhart
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhen Jade first arrived at Moorhurst College, she never imagined that the guy who helped her move in would end up being the guy she wants to be with forever. Now, seven months later, Jade and Garret are starting to talk about a future together. But the people around Jade are planting doubts in her mind, questioning her decision to be part of the Kensington family... -
Wicked Empire by Tracy Lorraine
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsUSA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Tracy Lorraine brings you the next installment of her new dark mafia, high school bully romance series.She didn’t want to believe me.She wanted to believe the threat wasn’t really there.But as the sirens ring out in the distance and she stares down into my eyes, she can no longer deny what’s right in front of her... -
Forever Golden: Dark High School Bully Romance by Rachel Jonas, Nikki Thorne
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsWest Golden—Fierce protector. The one.The cocky jock I once wanted to kill with my bare hands is now the only one I trust with my heart.In a city full of corruption and dark secrets, knowing who’s on your side gets harder to determine every day. Especially now that Vin’s on the warpath, passing out threats he fully intends to see through to the end... -
Rewrite the Stars by Charleigh Rose
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsEvangeline Thorne is privileged. Beautiful and popular, if not a little jaded. A chance encounter with a green-eyed stuntman sets off a chain of events that turns her perfect, little world upside down. Short on options and desperate for adventure, she joins the traveling carnival for the summer...Categorized as:
angst coming-of-age drama enemies-to-lovers forbidden-love high-school multi-pov slow-burn -
The Moth and the Flame by B.B. Reid
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThey're the best of friends or the worst of friends. Neither one is letting go.THE FLAMEHere lies Louchana Valentine. She was a homeless, orphaned virgin.I never cared what my gravestone would say until I landed in deep with a powerful gangster. Lucky for me, my best friend happens to be ruthless too. I should feel guilty that he's forced to turn on the man who's been a father to him... -
Natural Born Killers by Lucy Smoke
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsRule No. 3: Never let anyone think they can hurt you and get away with it.I thought I’d seen and felt the worst of it, but there’s nothing worse than betrayal.Corina knows who’s behind what happened to me and she may think hiding will keep her safe, but after everything that’s happened, nothing can keep her safe from me and the Sick Boys... -
Bully God: An Anthology by R. Holmes, Meagan Brandy
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsRuthless and cruel.Ruling from their corrupt thrones, they have the entire world at their fingertips.Arrogant and selfish.They take without remorse, and destroy without a second thought.Creators of light and darkness...The deities of virtue and sin.Wreaking havoc and destruction, yet, demanding to be worshiped.What makes a man a God?Not just any God—a Bully God...Categorized as:
angst cruel-mc enemies-to-lovers forbidden-love high-school multi-pov steamy age-gap -
Honest Mistake by Lisa Suzanne
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsHe’s not the boy next door anymore, and I’m not the girl I used to be, either.His life is in the spotlight as one of the most popular professional football players on the Vegas Aces, while I can’t afford to have my secrets exposed. But as we work together on a project benefitting our small Midwestern town, we easily slip back into the friendship we once shared... -
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Hidden Mistake by Lisa Suzanne
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe boy next door is back, and so am I.He’s spending his NFL off-season in our small Midwestern town after seven long years away, and I’m in town for different reasons.Memories shift to reality as we find ourselves in the place where we first fell in love. We’re different people now, but I’m falling fast and hard for the man he is now.But he’s married... -
Reckless Dynasty by Tracy Lorraine
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMy life has been full of half-truths tangled in lies—I’d been to hell and back more times than I could count. But nothing could have prepared me for the fear in her voice, and then the sight of that building going up in flames. After the way I treated her, the way I hurt her, I’d earned that pain back tenfold. I deserved to lose the only bit of light in my dark, twisted life... -
Final Score by Lisa Suzanne
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe final betrayal was enough to break us.When I learn of the secrets he’s been keeping for two decades from a source other than him, I’m devastated. I don’t know how I’ll ever trust him again.But I’m keeping a secret of my own. One he deserves to know.I thought the final score ended in a tie where we both lost, but maybe there’s hope to put a little more time on the clock... -
Bases Loaded by Lisa Suzanne
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAlexis is backed into a corner as she looks between two doors. Behind door number one is the man her father is pushing her to marry, the man who’s good for her brand and her future. Behind door number two is me: the bad boy of baseball who happens to be the man she has fallen in love with.I wish we could just run away together. I promised I’d wait for her no matter how long it took... -
Grand Slam by Lisa Suzanne
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAlexis’s father tells me he’s going to ruin me. He does not want his pop star daughter or her brand associated in any way with the bad boy of baseball.I make it my mission to prove to her father that I’m not the bad guy he thinks I am. But he takes things a few steps too far, causing major issues that will affect my upcoming baseball season... -
Boys of Brayshaw High by Meagan Brandy
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 27 ratings"Girls like you aren't exactly welcomed at a place like this, so keep your head down and look the other way." Those were the exact words of my social worker when she dropped me in my newest hellhole, a place for "troubled teens". I didn't listen, and now I'm on their radar. They expect me to play along in their games of hierarchy, to fall in line in the social order they've deemed me fit... -
Gluttony by K. Webster
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsMy life has been served to me on a gold platter to be devoured by my silver spoon. Money, money, and more money. It’s the backbone of the Goddard name. I’m the only son, so it’s all mine for the taking. But sometimes money isn’t enough. I always want more, yet nothing seems to satisfy me. My father has made sure I become a part of The Elite Seven... -
Perfect Wreckage (The Wrecked Series) by Catherine Cowles
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsMy past taught me to play it safe.To stay far away from handsome men who promised it all.My life was good without them. Stable, secure, predictable. But one kiss showed me that I’d been playing it safe for far too long.One night, and all I wanted was more of his wildfire.One challenge and my carefully constructed walls tumbled down... -
Bad Boys Never Fall by S.J. Sylvis
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIsaiah:We were destined to burn from the second I laid eyes on her.Within every dark corner of St. Mary’s Boarding School, watchful eyes tracked our every move. My guilty conscience whispered unjust excuses in my ear anytime we touched. Our futures suddenly became unclear, and the already blurred lines became blurrier.A past we didn’t know existed turned our walls of self-preservation to rubble...Categorized as:
coming-of-age crime cruel-mc enemies-to-lovers forbidden-love high-school multi-pov sports -
Blue Hearts #2 by Sydney Jamesson
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsBeth Parker Stone knows what it feels like to be alone. She just didn’t expected to feel that way only three months into her perfect marriage. Ayden Stone is a man who has everything, except the one thing he needs most: the only woman he has ever loved... -
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Boneyard Tides by Amo Jones
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsPicture this…you’re sitting by the ocean, sipping your favorite cocktail. The sun is setting over your skin, and the sound of waves crashing against the sand offers the perfect background music for the mellow reggae tunes that play through the salty air. Life is good... -
Loving You by Allie Everhart
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSince meeting Garret on her first night at college, Jade’s had to overcome many obstacles to be with him, including interference from Garret’s father. Now, months later, it seems that Mr. Kensington has finally accepted Jade dating his son, but the reason for that is unclear. After what Jade witnessed at the Kensington mansion, she’s not sure what his acceptance of her means... -
Stolen Crush by C.M. Stunich
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFinding out you’re the daughter of a millionaire true crime novelist isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.When I was two, I was kidnapped. Kidnapped by a loving family, sure, but still kidnapped.Now, my biological mom wants me to live with her on the opposite side of the country.Her … and my new stepdad and his jerk of a son: Parrish.Wannabe tattoo artist, languorous rich boy, pouty mouth... -
Riot Rules (Crooked Sinners) by Callie Hart
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsCARRIEYou think you know me, but you’re wrong. You look at me and see Carrie, the girl with the wild hair and the wild clothes.Reliable Carrie. Friendly. Quirky. Perhaps a little strange.What do you really know about me, though? The details of my past are up for debate.I’ve been careful to hide my sins, and even more careful to follow the rules. I do as I’m told. I keep to myself...Categorized as:
angst coming-of-age cruel-mc drama enemies-to-lovers forbidden-love high-school multi-pov -
Knowing You by Allie Everhart
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsNow that Garret's decided he's no longer following the rules of his wealthy family, he can finally develop a closer relationship with Jade. Things are going well, but Jade still worries that being with Garret is only temporary. And because of that, she's not sure how much of herself and her past she's willing to let him see... -
Vicious Vows by Kristen Luciani
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAn enemies to lovers arranged marriage dark irish mafia...Categorized as:
crime enemies-to-lovers forbidden-love steamy suspense action-adventure adult alpha-mc -
Fastball by Lisa Suzanne
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIt was over as quickly as it started…or at least I thought it was. But as it turns out, I can’t stay away. Life keeps throwing us together, and it seems like she’s everywhere all at once. She’s in the same house as me, in the bedroom next to mine as I dream about what she’s doing in there... -
The Golden Boys: Dark High School Bully Romance by Rachel Jonas, Nikki Thorne
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsWest Golden—easy to hate, yet so hard to resist.Don’t let that pretty face of his fool you. He isn’t the boy next door, or the kind you trust with your heart. He’s the devil in designer jeans, with all the charm of a bona fide psycho.Trust me.He swears I did something to cross him before I even stepped foot inside Cypress Prep, but it’s a lie... -
No Mistake by Lisa Suzanne
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAll I want is my happy ending with the boy next door.Every time we get close, something threatens to break us. Half-sisters, town gossips, and jealous exes throw punch after punch, but we hold on tight to each other as we attempt to navigate the chaos.With his life in the spotlight as a professional football player, I start to feel like it might always be like this... -
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Blame It on the Shame: Part 3 by Ashley Jade
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThere's something lurking in all of us. Something we hide and shelter from those we love in order to protect them. A darkness we try to suppress because we're ashamed of who that makes us. Because that's the thing about Shame. It wounds us. It damages us. Or, for the few poor souls out there like me...it defines us. It's there—in the shadows, beneath the surface...just waiting... -
Fragile Things by Samantha Lovelock
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsPoe Halliday was an accident. A chance meeting that changed my life forever.My mother didn't have secrets; her secrets had her. After she disappeared, I had nothing.Or so I thought.When the invitation arrived, the opportunity to learn about my mother's past was too great to pass up. Heading west to meet an aunt I had never heard of, I knew I was taking a risk, but I craved answers...Categorized as:
angst coming-of-age cruel-mc enemies-to-lovers high-school steamy suspense university -
Fiend by Ketley Allison
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWait for your invitation...CALLIEA lesson I’ve learned since enrolling at Briarcliff Academy: If you don’t join forces with their elite society, you will be ruined.I didn’t join. I rebelled.They couldn’t break me how they wanted.And now, they’re after me for what I know.Worse, they're ordering Chase, the boy who helped me uncover their terrible sins, to exact their revenge...Categorized as:
coming-of-age enemies-to-lovers high-school multi-pov steamy suspense action-adventure book -
Shattered Legacy : A Dark Bully Romance by Caitlyn Dare
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMia Thompson wants only one thing: to survive Gravestone University, graduate, and get far far away from her hometown and its archaic traditions.But she’s about to become a pawn in a game she doesn’t understand.Bexley Danforth wants only one thing: to keep his head down, survive four years at college, and get far far away from his past and the mistakes that haunt him... -
On Deck by Lisa Suzanne
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen a family emergency reminds us all how short life can be, Alexis’s father moves up the wedding date. She’s forced to wrestle with her father’s emotional manipulation as we fall harder and harder for one another and her wedding day moves closer. We’re keeping a huge secret from her father and her rabid fan base, and we both feel the walls closing in on us... -
Retaliate by M.N. Forgy
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsBeing the Vice President of the Sin City Outlaws Motorcycle Club comes with its perks. Respect, power, and easy women whenever I want. I have control in everything I do. Because of that, I wasn’t expecting my president to put me on babysitting duty, and on a female cop of all fucking people. I kill law enforcement, not protect them...
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