Book picks similar to
Brutal Winter by Quirah Casey


reverse-harem
dark
mafia
dark-romance

Take My Crown


Louise Rose - 2020
    Like in all the pretty pictures, King Town looks perfect. But underneath the cracks, that a painting can never altogether hide, lies and sins rule the town with the Academy right in the middle of it.Kidnapped and forced from my latest foster home into the dangerous world of King Academy and the games they play, I find out I’m from here and now there is no escaping this world. I’m born to play the same games they do. Four houses rule this small gated town, and they always have done, poisoning the waters with their sins and darkness. And their heirs? Well, they think they rule everything and everyone. They use their money and good looks to charm the academy into calling them their kings.But I’m not falling for that bullshit. Romeo Navarre, Archer Knight and Declan Dauphin may think they own the academy, own the town, and get everything they want…but then they have just met me.They will soon find out I’m not falling for the sexy boys of King Academy. Recommend for 18+ readers due to content. This is a full-length book and the first of five books in this series and a reverse harem romance which means the main characters has more than one love interest.Release dates for the series-Take My Crown #1- July 10thTake My Place #2- August 10thTake My Throne #3- September 10thBe My Traitor #4- October 10thBe My Heart #5- November 10th

Boys like you


Jaye Pratt - 2021
    Finding out who I am is low on my priority list when I feel like I can breathe for the first time in my life...A life I can no longer remember.

Badly Behaved


Meagan Brandy - 2021
    A chameleon. I’m whatever I must be.And what I must be is a flawless daughter, a skilled socialite, and the perfect prize to the man who signed along the dotted line. Not that I’m complaining. I’m all for a contractual agreement, a quick and clean catapult into the next phase of rich girl life. One that takes little thought, less effort, and zero devotion. It’s exactly what I want. An impassive life. A calculated future. Or, it was until the lights went out, darkness took over, and I learned what it meant to live.To feel.To fall. But everyone knows what thrives in the night burns in the light and flames were among us. There is no escape. No turning back. No ending within my control. My mother always says our choices determine our consequences. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.

Broken Compass


Jo Raven - 2018
    Three boys. We’re friends. Neighbors. Our lives are linked through disaster, fear, and pain. I love them all. Not sure I can live without them. Can we just stay friends? Can we ignore the desire flaring when we’re around each other? Can I kiss one and not the other? I can’t choose. Don’t want to choose. And I’m not sure they can, either. This story will either end up in heartache, or as any story should: in a happy ending. Love is not a road. It’s a country. A sprawling galaxy. Love has no compass. No rules. No limits. Love is a universe. Lose yourself in it. *** Warning for possible triggers and dark themes *** ** Contains some boy on boy love - m/m **

Madeleine Abducted


M.S. Willis - 2013
    As Maddy learns to save herself… She becomes the one thing that could set the son free. Madeleine Clark was raised to become a concert cellist. Sheltered and naïve, she remains hidden behind her music, a protection from the world around her. On the night of her first solo performance, Maddy accepts the admiration of a stranger and finds herself captive in a cruel and twisted power struggle between a sadistic father and his son, Aaron. Seemingly dangerous and uncaring, Aaron manages the business operations of his father’s estate. Wanting nothing to do with the slaves kept at the Estate, Aaron refuses to take part in the deeper depravities of his father. Despite his resistance, Aaron’s father ‘gifts’ him with a petite, brunette woman he can’t refuse. A bond forged in conspiracy and deceit, Aaron struggles to save Maddy by teaching her to survive in the world in which he’d been raised. An unlikely union, Aaron soon learns that great strengths can exist within small packages, while Madeleine learns that love and light can exist in the darkest of places.

The Devil's Vow


Bella J. - 2020
    Only a prized possession to be kept in a gilded cage until my father was ready to trade.It was my duty, carved in stone and written in my blood that one day my virtue would be exchanged for an alliance. And now, that day has come.Gian Silvestro, heir to the Silvestro empire, will accept me as his wife and seal my fate with a kiss that holds a thousand promises. But to him, our vows only mean one thing…I am bound to him…and shackled to his hate.

Scars


Sinden West - 2014
    What starts as a nightmare, soon turns into a twisted relationship. Warning: This dark romance contains abusive and sexual situations, including rape, underage teen, f/f and m/m sex that some may find offensive.

If The Seas Catch Fire


L.A. Witt - 2016
    Years later, through ruthless strategy and tireless patience, he’s a contract killer working for the three families ruling Cape Swan… and he’s nearly in position to bring them all down from the inside.Domenico “Dom” Maisano is Mafia royalty, a made man… and a hitman. He’s caught up in a violent life he can’t escape, struggling to maintain an image he doesn’t want, and suppressing desires he can’t have.A chance encounter throws the killers into each other’s paths. Though Dom knows he’s playing a dangerous game, he’s intrigued and keeps coming back. Sergei can’t resist him either—Dom is everything he set out to destroy, but he’s also everything he’s ever ached for in a man.Then Sergei gets the contract he’s been waiting for—the hit that promises to bring the town’s Mafia to its knees.But when a capo makes an unexpected move, Sergei must choose between dropping the hammer on the families he vowed to annihilate, and protecting the man he swore he wouldn’t love.And the wrong choice—or even the right one—will destroy them both.

Cartel


Lili St. Germain - 2015
    Germain.How much is a life worth?I grew up in Colombia, the daughter of a wealthy drug lord. I lived a life of extravagance, until one day a drug run went horribly wrong and everything came crashing down around us.I was given away. A payment for a debt. The Gypsy Brothers Motorcycle Club became my new owners, and I did everything I could to survive.But falling in love with the man who owned me wasn't part of the plan...

King of Corium


C. Hallman - 2021
    Assassins, mafia leaders, arms dealers and art thieves.You name it, this college houses them.Here nothing can touch them.Upon arriving I knew Aspen would be here, she was the daughter of our enemy, a snake in the grass like her father. I had no intention of sparring with her. That is until she opened her pretty little mouth. One sentence and she became my next target, and a woman that I would do anything to see on her knees at my feet.If she thought the university was the only nightmare she would have to face, she was wrong.I was the king, and this was my kingdom.**King of Corium is a dark romance novel, that contains dark themes, including dub-con, non-con. It is not a standalone novel.**

Black Skies Riviera


Catherine Wiltcher - 2020
    I'm a black suit of spades:Determined to bury both her and my demons.I never asked to see the shape of her heart.I never asked for her to fill the blank spaces of mine. But the mafia wants her secrets.I'm not the first she betrayed.And Issa? Sweet, not-so-innocent Issa?She's now a debt no sinner can pay. Black Skies Riviera is a heart-stopping, enemies to lovers romance with NO cliff-hanger and a guaranteed HEA. For mature readers only.

Fawn


Elaina Jadin - 2020
    We're her worst nightmare. We've been called vicious monsters. Brutal. Cold. Savage. We rule the criminal underworld the same way we rule our pack—with absolute control. We take what we want and demand complete obedience. When she comes to us, she's damaged. Fragile. Wounded. And oh so tempting. Soft skin, haunted eyes, and a darkness inside her that sets us on edge. She's not broken… yet. But that's what we do best. For thirty days she belongs to us, the Baron Alphas. She's our property, to do with as we please. She thinks it’ll be easy. That we'll have mercy on her. That we'll use a gentle touch. And that she'll be able to walk away from us at the end of the month. She's wrong. Our little fawn will come to know our cruel strength. She'll see the fierce beasts prowling inside us. Feel the hunger of the wolf's teeth against her throat. And she'll beg for more.

Follow the River


C.E. Ricci - 2020
    There will be triggering content for some readers. SPECIFIC TRIGGERS WILL NOT BE LISTED at the beginning of the book as they will be spoilers, so please be advised that if you have triggers, any at all, this book might not be for you.I've never been one to back down from a challenge. Rather than shy away, I grit my teeth and use it as an opportunity to prove myself. Not just in football, but also in life. Even when I was thrown through a loop in discovering I was bisexual, I embraced it. Owning it so no one can use it as ammunition against me.But when Ciaráin Grady comes barreling into my life with his venomous tongue and amber eyes brimming with disdain, I realize every test of my character and strength could never have prepared me for the trial he holds.One that toes the line of love and hate.It's all-consuming and toxic.Yet under the layers of revulsion he masks his face with, I see it. A glimmer of lust from deep within his secretive, broken soul.And when we're thrown together under heinous circumstances, the distinction between enemy and lover begins to blur.So...what is Ciaráin Grady to me?I'm only certain that he is the greatest challenge of my life.

Condemned to Love


Siobhan Davis - 2021
    Will one life-altering night unite or destroy them? Bennett Mazzone grew up ignorant of the truth: he is the illegitimate son of the most powerful mafia boss in New York. Until it suited his father to drag him into a world where power, wealth, violence, and cruelty are the only currency.Celebrating her twenty-first birthday in Sin City should be fun for Sierra Lawson, but events take a deadly turn when she ends up in a private club, surrounded by dangerous men who always get what they want.And they want her.Ben can’t believe his ex’s little sister is all grown up, stunningly beautiful, and close to being devoured by some of the most ruthless men he has ever known. The Vegas trip is about strengthening ties, but he won’t allow his associates to ruin her perfection. Although it comes at a high price, saving Sierra is his only choice.The memory of Ben’s hands on her body is seared into Sierra’s flesh for eternity. She doesn’t regret that night. Not even when she discovers the guy she was crushing on as a teenager is a cold, calculating killer with dark impulses and lethal enemies who want him dead.Understanding the risks, she walks away from the only man she will ever love, stowing her secrets securely in her heart. Until the truth becomes leverage and Sierra is drawn into a bloody war—a pawn in a vicious game she doesn’t want to play.As the web of deceit is finally revealed, Ben will stop at nothing to protect Sierra. Even if loving her makes him weak. In a world where women serve a sole purpose, and alliances mean the difference between life and death, can he fight for love and win?A STAND-ALONE DARK MAFIA ROMANCE.

Collide


Kitty Cox - 2021
    I'm rich and powerful now. Not too bad for a girl from small town Texas. All I really wanted was to become so beautiful that Luke, my teenage crush, would fall at my feet. But thirteen years is a long time.Long enough for this little girl to grow up and glue back together the pieces that were chipped away as a child. Plenty of time for me to figure out that love isn't made of fairy tales and high school crushes who didn't even know I existed. Maybe it's even long enough for me to realize what's staring at me through my best friend's eyes - even as I try to say we're just business partners.Then Gran dies. Now I have to go back to that same small town that destroyed me.I keep telling myself I've got this - right up until Luke shows up in my life again. This time, he's noticed me, but he comes with a troubled daughter that reminds me a little too much of myself. Then there's the new guy I just hired. He's the best person for the job, even if he is my best friend's ex - and looking at my crush a little too hard.I'm supposed to be taking over Gran's business, but the rumors are flying. This town hates me. My neighbor wants to see me fail, my love life is out of control, and Luke's daughter? It looks like she's going to be the only one who ends up hurt unless something changes. What good is success if I can't use it to help anyone else?I came home to save something. I just had no idea it was more than just a house.TRIGGERS MAY INCLUDE: Mentions of cancer, violence, criminal history, eating disorders, bullying, self harm, and discussions of child sexual assault and trauma.  This is a love story, but broken people deserve love too - and an ally on their side.Collide is a 155,000 word novel with an ending that will leave you needing more. The main female character will have multiple, often complicated, relationships with different men. The Shades of Trouble series includes M/M and M/F romance. For the purposes of the story, some medical and professional ethics may be bent or even broken.   Graphic language and situations that are suitable for a mature audience are included.Collide is the first in a series of four books.