What Books Are Similar To 'The Last Carolina Girl'?

After fifteen years away, I was finally brought back to the DeLuca family. I thought I was returning to my real home. Instead, I walked into a house where the adopted daughter wanted me dead, my father treated me like a burden, and my brothers would rather watch me bleed than make her cry. On my first day back, she set dogs on me. That night, I was dragged to the top of the observatory and forced to apologize to her. When I fell from the tower covered in blood, they still called me a liar. Because in the DeLuca family, I may have been the real daughter by blood— but she was the daughter they loved. She thought she could bully me, poison me, and freeze me to death without consequence. She was wrong. Because the night I nearly died, my mother finally chose me—and turned a gun on the whole DeLuca family.

The night before my wedding, I caught my fiancé, Miguel Sheffield, kissing the Newells' biological daughter in the garden. I stood there with my pregnancy test in hand, my chest hollow. The next day, the wedding went on. Flowers lined the red carpet. Guests lifted their champagne glasses. But the bells rang again and again, and the bride never showed. The daughter the Newells had raised by mistake left only her engagement ring on the vanity. Then she vanished. I moved overseas and raised my child alone. I cut off everyone from my past. Five years later, I came home. And one by one, they walked right back into my life.

Lana Kang, a high school senior, unwittingly becomes a witness to a brutal murder that shatters her world. The victim's cold-blooded demise leaves Lana with unanswered questions and a mounting desire to clear her own name. In her pursuit of truth, Lana's dearest friend, Naomi Jang, gets entangled in the web of violence, ultimately paying the ultimate price. The murder is hushed up, buried alongside Naomi's haunting suicide, leaving Lana burdened with untold secrets. Fifteen years later, Lana returns, compelled by an insatiable need to unearth the forgotten fragments of her memory surrounding Naomi's tragic end. As she unravels the past, Lana stumbles upon a sinister underworld with malevolence and hidden agendas. To her astonishment, Lana discovers that Samuel Jin, her childhood confidant, has survived the darkness that tore their lives apart. Meanwhile, Jason Bak emerges, promising a love and protection that surpasses Samuel's. Alongside them is Jerry Chon, an enigmatic psychiatrist dedicated to untangling the nightmares haunting Lana's amnesiac mind. With each revelation, Lana grapples with her haunted past and faces a daunting choice. Can she reclaim her shattered life once the truth is laid bare? Who can she trust amidst the shifting alliances and hidden motives? In a relentless pursuit of justice, Lana confronts her deepest fears, traverses treacherous paths, and unveils the true face of evil. Her decisions will shape her destiny and ripple through the lives of those she holds dear. Brace yourself for an enthralling tale of lost innocence, seeking redemption, and the unwavering determination of a young girl fighting to reshape her own destiny.

For eighteen years, Ariel Perez has believed that she is the daughter of a hardworking woman struggling to make ends meet. Her life is modest, but she has never questioned the love she receives from Mrs. Perez. Determined to change their circumstances, Ariel dedicates herself to academics and dreams of earning admission to Harvard University. Everything changes when a DNA test reveals a devastating truth: Ariel was switched at birth and is actually the biological daughter of the wealthy Dalton family. Overnight, the girl who grew up with almost nothing becomes an heiress. But wealth cannot buy acceptance. When Ariel enters the Dalton household, she discovers that not everyone is pleased by her arrival. Britney Dalton, the girl who unknowingly lived the life Ariel should have had, sees her as a threat. Determined to protect her position within the family, Britney makes Ariel's transition into her new life as difficult as possible. At Crestmore Academy, Britney uses her influence to turn students against Ariel, humiliating her because of her humble background and questioning whether she deserves to belong among them. Rather than surrendering to their judgment, Ariel channels her frustration into her studies and gradually establishes herself as one of the school's brightest students. Then she meets Theo Carter, a wealthy heir who sees beyond her circumstances. What begins as an unexpected friendship slowly develops into something deeper, but their growing relationship only intensifies Britney's jealousy. While Ariel fights to earn her place within the Dalton family, protect Mrs. Perez, achieve her Harvard dream, and navigate her complicated feelings for Theo, she must also learn how to live between two very different worlds. The girl who was once overlooked must now prove that being born into wealth does not determine who deserves to be loved, respected, or successful.

For ten years, I lived as an invisible daughter in my own family. My parents and brother never forgave me for the death of Emily, the adopted daughter they truly loved. They gave me a room, money, and their last name—but never their affection. When our cruise ship sank, they sacrificed themselves to save me. For one foolish moment, I thought it meant they had finally chosen me. Then my brother spoke his last words. “We’ve regretted bringing you home for years. If we hadn’t found you, Emily would still be alive.” “If there’s another life, please don’t come looking for us again.” Only then did I understand. They hadn’t saved me because they loved me. They were only repaying the daughter they wished they had never found. So I released the life ring and let the ocean take me. When I opened my eyes, I was back before the day I reunited with my biological family. This time, they remembered our previous life too. Certain I would still beg to become their daughter, they offered me money, a house, and a place in their lives—as long as Emily remained their only daughter in public. They thought I would eventually accept. They didn’t know I had decided to give them exactly what they wanted—a life in which I never became their daughter.

When Scarlett Hudson left her home-town, she never thought she'd have to go back one day. But when tragedy strikes she's forced to return to the very place that broke her. She has to face the people who had made her life a living hell three years ago, her former best-friend Hunter Adams being one of them. Scarlett knows that the past can't be undone and she has no intention of letting down the walls she has built so carefully around her heart. But when the truth starts to unravel, Scarlett is forced to question everything she once believed in.