Novels by E.L Shorthouse

I have been a keeper of many secrets since I was old enough to know what secrets were. No one knows the truth or the real me. No one knows about the abuse I suffer from my father behind closed doors. No one knows about the cuts and scars I hide from the world. To the outside world, I am your average teenager, but the truth is, I am a broken girl with no one to love her, to see the real sadness in my eyes. I keep it to myself because I want to. It is things I have hidden for years, and no one seems to notice. Until him, Ryland. The new boy in the town. The stranger who sees right through me from the second we meet. We are drawn to one another like a moth to the flame. The more I get to know him, the more I see I am not the only one fighting demons. To start with, he is a pain in my ass, but every day we grow closer, and we become what the other needs. A bond develops between us, one that becomes unbreakable. Neither of us realised that when two broken souls come together, it would be exactly what we needed to help one another heal. He shows me love, something I haven’t had since I lost my mother. I soon learn that just because you are broken doesn’t mean it needs to stay that way. Your past doesn’t need to define you. Possible Trigger Warnings: Physical abuse (It does happen, not often and not in too much detail). Rape, suicide, and self-harm are also mentioned. It doesn’t happen in the book, but it's discussed.

One year ago, my life changed forever. I lost everything in one day, starting with catching my best friend and husband in his office, and they weren’t just talking. From that moment, everything fell apart. I believed I would never get over it. I believed it would break me, but I refuse to kneel in defeat. One year later, and I am back stronger than ever. I am back for revenge. I am not the weak woman I used to be. I have changed a lot in the last year. Now, I am going to make my ex-husband and ex-best friend regret what they did. What better way to do that than to go after my ex-husband’s enemy? His half-brother from another mother. The one he hates the most, the one he is jealous of. I plan on teaching my ex-husband a lesson he won’t forget. I am coming for him. I am coming for both, and they have no idea. Karma is a bitch, and it is coming right at them. What I didn’t expect was to end up getting a second chance of my own.

I’m trouble for anyone who crosses my path. I am heartless and selfish. I don’t care about anyone or anything in this world. When you grow up in a house full of lies, distress and abuse, those walls go up high and thick. Anyone with any sense knows not to get involved with me. I hurt people and destroy their lives without a care in the world. The world has given me nothing. Why should I give it anything? I am comfortable with who I am, and if people have an issue with it, that’s their problem, not mine. Unlike others, I don’t pretend to be someone I’m not. What you see is what you get with me. When Aubrey unexpectedly enters my life, all I desire is to have her as my own. I should steer clear. She is my brother’s wife’s cousin. The fact that she is off-limits only increases my desire for her. She is sweet and nice. She has already been through a lot. It should be enough to keep me away, but it isn’t. I will do whatever it takes. Aubrey will be mine, even if just for one night, regardless of what I have to do. Nothing and no one can stand in my way. I thought I would ruin her life, but she ended up changing mine. Cover by Covers By Sophie

It has always been my father and me. He is a good man, but like everyone else, he makes mistakes. This time, the one he made has gotten him into a lot of trouble. He asked the wrong people for money, and now, they are threatening violence against not only him but me. He has only one choice: He needs to disappear until he can sort things out. I want to go with him, but he has other ideas. To protect me from the dangers he has put himself in, he leaves me with one person he knows he can trust. Ambrose Calloway. A man I know well, one who is ruthless and heartless. The last person I want to stay with, but when my father begs me, I can’t say no. I would rather stay with anyone else! He doesn’t want me around and only agrees because he owes my father a favour. Now, here I am, staying in a mansion with a man who hates me. The feeling is mutual. He promises my father that he will protect me until he comes back. People seem to fear Ambrose, but I have never understood why. What I don’t expect is that I would learn secrets about him that make me understand why no one messes with him. I wish I had realised from the start just how much danger I was in. I plan to make his life hell, but sometimes, when the tension and anger become too much, two people find other ways to take it out on one another that don’t involve arguments. I am not looking for a protector, but Ambrose becomes everything I didn’t know I needed. It still won’t make life any easier.