Best Contemporary Horror Books

Eighteen-year-old Eunice secretly loves Denver, her brother Paulo’s best friend. Before he leaves for U.S. medical school, their passion culminates in her losing her virginity; he vows to return and seek Paulo’s blessing. Scared of Paulo’s reaction and pressured by parents to focus on studies, immature Denver panics and ghosts her, believing distance is best. Years later, hearing of her pregnancy via a friend and getting shut down by Paulo (protecting her secret), he misinterprets it as her moving on and stays away. Eunice, feeling abandoned, raises son Leo alone in silence. After ten years, Denver returned, now a pediatrician engaged to another, treats Devon and spots the uncanny resemblance and timeline. Confrontation reveals Devon is his son; misunderstandings unravel. Denver ends his engagement and pleads for forgiveness . Eunice must choose: reclaim their love or safeguard her heart after a decade of pain from fear and miscommunication. A tense second-chance romance on the misunderstanding trope, delving into regret, pride, and enduring love.

This Christmas was supposed to be quiet. My boyfriend cheated earlier, bluntly, and I was left with nothing but heartbreak and resentment which now reeked from within me. I planned to spend the holidays curled on my couch, watching Tik Tok, scrolling through my social media accounts, anything that wouldn't make me cry. But then Chloe, my best friend, invited me over. Her family's place was warm, full of life and exactly the escape I needed. I never expected anything. Definitely not him. Dominic Callahan. Chloe's father. I've always noticed him, strong, distant, way too captivating for someone his age though he never looked twice at me.... until now. I noticed the change. His eyes lingered longer. His words slower, even his stare. The air between us became tighter. I assured my self it was greif.... My emotions were taking a better part of me. But when he kissed me, I didn't refuse. When he pulled me into his room, I didn't say no. And then it became a normal thing. Everything in me flagged it wrong. Chloe didn't deserve this betrayal. But my desires didn't care about rules. And neither does her elder brother. Now, before Christmas lights go down...I'm with child. I only came for peace. But I found obsession, dirty secrets and something way too dangerous to name. This was supposed to be my holiday escape....so why does it feel like the beginning of my doom? Find out what happens next!

My best friend, Scarlett Throne, is diagnosed with cancer. After running away from home, she takes her own life. She leaves behind only a testament and a pair of eight-year-old twins, a boy and a girl. "You're the only person I can rely on in this world. I'm not asking you to adopt them, but just make sure they have enough to eat." Out of compassion, I take the siblings in. For the next 20 years, my husband and I have been working hard together to raise them, buying them cars and houses. But one day, my adopted daughter reports my husband for being abusive toward her. Even my supposedly dead best friend suddenly appears and testifies against him. I demand to know why she does such a thing. My best friend, filled with righteous indignation, says, "I see you as my best friend! I've never thought you adopted my children just to serve your husband's perversions!" My husband's reputation is ruined, and he's been thrown in jail. I desperately try to prove his innocence, only to be forcibly sent to a mental hospital by my adopted son. There, I wither away and die. When I open my eyes again, I find myself back on the very day my best friend was diagnosed with cancer.

Catherine Young has it all—cheer captain, the perfect body, and the hottest boyfriend in school, Asher Davies, the soccer star everyone wants. But her perfect life shatters when gossip explodes across campus: Asher cheated with the new transfer blonde, Jennifer White.Heartbroken and humiliated, Catherine drowns her pain at a bar and somehow ends up at her best friend Alice’s house… only Alice isn’t home. Her nerdy, quiet younger brother, Dominic Marion, is.One night of vulnerability turns into the biggest scandal of the year. When Alice finds out—and the rumors spread like wildfire—Catherine is forced to face Dominic in public and pretend to be his girlfriend.But the more time she spends with him, the more she begins to see that the shy, awkward boy she once ignored might just be hiding something rare… something real.Maybe diamonds really do come from the rough.

After Emily's heartbreaking birthday party, Sandra invited Emily for a one-week Christmas holiday in her father's mansion. Emily's fiancé, Desmond, celebrated her childhood friend Tricia at Emily's birthday party and made her look like a shameless guest. To help Emily recover from the heartbreak, she invited her to her father's mansion for a one-week Christmas holiday. When she arrived and met her best friend single dad, she lost her home training. She couldn't control herself. As forbidden as it looks, she wanted to have him all for herself. She wanted him to claim and use her as he wished. She was ready to risk her friendship with Sandra and have what her body desires. Before the end of the holidays, she got what she wanted. But what happens when she finds out she was pregnant with twins for him? Will he accept or reject her? Will it affect her relationship with Sandra? I guess you have to find out yourself.

After her father walks out on their family for his secretary, seventeen-year-old Miley’s world crumbles overnight. With her mother barely holding it together, they move to a quiet suburb hoping for a fresh start. But peace is the last thing Miley finds. Because the boy next door? He’s a walking headache with a six-pack and a smirk. Shirtless. Arrogant. And totally infuriating. Their first interaction? He flips her off. Their second? He calls her “darling” like it’s his full-time job to get under her skin. She wants to hate him. She should hate him. But Jordan isn’t just Liv’s older brother—he’s a tangled mix of charm, mystery, and a past he won’t talk about. And worse, he’s seeing straight through her walls. As secrets unravel and sparks fly, Miley is forced to confront everything she’s running from: heartbreak, trust, and the terrifying possibility that sometimes the person you hate the most… is the only one who truly sees you.

On the night of her anniversary, Renee was pushed into the sea by her husband and best friend, their betrayal disguised as an accident. They pretended to grieve at her funeral, but little did they know, even the Moon Goddess couldn't let it end that way. Renee was reborn. This time, everything is different. The powerful, cold-hearted Alpha—her best friend's father—finds himself drawn to her in ways he never expected. With a smile, he says to her "best friend," "Little angel, come meet your new mommy."

We shouldn’t be doing this,” Nate said like he meant it. But he didn’t move away. All I wanted was a fresh start. New city. New apartment. New version of me. So when my best friend, Olivia, offered me a place in her brother’s building, I didn’t hesitate. What I didn’t expect was Nate. Her older brother, my landlord, and a man who already belonged to someone else. The kind of man who looks at you once and makes you forget every reason you shouldn’t want him. I knew the rules. I knew the risks. I broke them anyway. But desire has a price. And mine came with a friendship on the line, a past that refused to stay buried, and pressure closing in from every direction. The smartest thing I could’ve done was walk away. The problem? Nate had already made me forget how. The moment we crossed the line, everything I came here to rebuild was suddenly at risk.

"I've tried to not want you, but everytime I'm near you, my whole being craves for you. It's not supposed to be that way, Lola," I held in an excited scream. Even though I was happy, I still had a mission to accomplish. "Then let's play a game. Let's get rid of all these sexual tension between us. I'm sure one night will be enough to clear it away," "One night," He growled. "One night is all there will be," In one quick movement, my towel dropped to the floor with his lips devouring mine. ~~~~ Lola thought her life had come to an end when she lost her father, but it was only an invitation to a new phase when she accidentally meets her late father's best friend in a club. A myriad of sparks flicker at first sight, but he never pays any attention to her until one rainy evening, followed by a passionate steamy night, Rowan falls twice harder for the lady he's supposed to protect. Now he's ready to fight the world and even his son to keep the woman he's hopelessly in love with by his side.

Mia Jones – Blake Jones’ little sister who’s not so little anymore. A stunning twenty-year-old with long black hair, green eyes, and shapely curves, she’s a tiny spitfire who barely comes up to Blake’s shoulder. Tanner Greysen – Blake’s best friend since middle school. Although she was always hanging around, he never paid much attention to Mia growing up – she was always just his best friend’s bratty little sister. Three adults, returning to their hometown of Mason, Texas for the holidays. But sparks fly when Tanner notices just how grown-up little Mia has become. His attraction to her could cost him the best friend he’s had for years – if Blake doesn’t kill him outright first, that is.