Book picks similar to
Brutal Winter by Quirah Casey


reverse-harem
dark
dark-romance
mafia

Shunned


Steffanie Holmes - 2019
    I should have let them win. Now the kings of the school are out for my blood, ... and they’re not the only ones. The fire took everything. My parents. My best friend. My life. Now I have a second chance. I only have to endure one year at this prestigious academy for rich snobs. One year of being the charity case no one wanted. One year of taunts and insults and bullying. Then I’m free. But I didn’t count on Trey, Ayaz, and Quinn. Arrogant, privileged, dangerous. Drop-dead fucking gorgeous. They want me gone. They want me to suffer. They’re determined to make my nightmares real. Tough luck, bully boys – I won’t hide away. I’m not afraid. But maybe… I should be. HP Lovecraft meets Cruel Intentions in this dark paranormal reverse harem bully romance. Warning: Not for the faint of heart – this story of three broken bad boys and the girl who stood her ground contains dark themes, crazed cultists, books bound in human skin, high-school drama, swoon-worthy sex, and potential triggers.

Sins of a King


Emma Slate - 2016
    Billionaire. Criminal.I should hate him for what he’s done to me, but I’m powerless to resist him.His touch engulfs me. His demands conquer me.But Flynn Campbell isn’t who I thought he was.Suddenly, I’m thrust into a world of seduction and sin.Ensnared by danger and power, foreign desires burn within me.It's time to embrace the darkness...And become a queen.

Hard Truths


Rebecca Royce - 2018
     I had plans, big plans. I had my pretty little life outlined: Graduate school and get a job in social work—maybe even one day marry a nice man who actually knew what he was doing in bed. But everything changed when I woke up in a strange place with five men who insisted I call them D, W, J, K, and T. The Letters. They told me that the world wasn’t what it seemed. I lived my life thinking that I was in control of my own destiny, but in actuality they controlled everything. The world was their playground and I was just another ant, marching in line to the beat of their drum. The Letters kidnapped me to force my father’s hand, and they couldn’t promise me safe passage. I knew my place in all of this but still found myself losing who I was to their games. I’m Everly Marrs, and I’ll save myself if I have to.

December


Merel Pierce - 2019
    Her botched burglary attempt leaves her at the mercy of the Bratva and its leader Nikolai Petrovski, and after an incident with one of his men lands her in the hospital, the horrible truth is revealed. Nikolai wants to punish the tiny female who wreaked havoc in his holding pens, but after catching the scent of the girl his enforcer almost strangled to death, instinct prompts him to alter his course. When doctors confirm what was believed to be a sickly beta woman is actually a chemically sterilized omega, a plan to secure himself an heir becomes his first priority. When December awakes, it is Nikolai himself who breaks the devastating news. The faulty device that the state implanted in her when it deemed her unworthy of breeding has been removed, and she will soon experience her first true heat as an omega. December owed a debt, and she'd pay with her body, or her life. But what would happen when the alpha Nikolai discovered just how valuable a prize he'd caught? Would he honor the terms of their arrangement once he realized she was one of “The Sacred Omegas”? This is a Dark Omegaverse Fantasy Novel. Omegaverse often features themes of noncon, dubcon, power exchange, and more. If you enjoy these tropes, please continue. If you don't, this book may not be for you. *****WARNING***** This book is set in a world where criminal regimes reign. There will be strong language, violence, and scenes of assault that may trigger some readers. You may cringe, you may cry, you may rage, but I promise, if you can bear to fight through that darkness, light and a HEA wait for you on the other side. PROCEED WITH CAUTION. You have been warned.

Tears of Tess


Pepper Winters - 2013
    Happy, content, everything neat and perfect.Then it all changed.I was sold.”Tess Snow has everything she ever wanted: one more semester before a career in property development, a loving boyfriend, and a future dazzling bright with possibility. For their two year anniversary, Brax surprises Tess with a romantic trip to Mexico. Sandy beaches, delicious cocktails, and soul-connecting sex set the mood for a wonderful holiday. With a full heart, and looking forward to a passion filled week, Tess is on top of the world.But lusty paradise is shattered.Kidnapped. Drugged. Stolen. Tess is forced into a world full of darkness and terror. Captive and alone with no savior, no lover, no faith, no future, Tess evolves from terrified girl to fierce fighter. But no matter her strength, it can’t save her from the horror of being sold.Can Brax find Tess before she’s broken and ruined, or will Tess’s new owner change her life forever?A New Adult Dark Contemporary Romance, not suitable for people sensitive to grief, slavery, and nonconsensual sex. A story about finding love in the strangest of places, a will of iron that grows from necessity, and forgiveness that may not be enough.

Dark Devotions


Nichole Greene - 2021
    But this is no fairy tale and I have nothing left to lose.Beaten, bruised, scarred, emotionally traumatized. Olivia finally found a way to escape her sadistic husband. Now broken and penniless, with nowhere else to turn, she seeks out the four men who always protected her when they were younger. But can they come together and help her heal from the damage wrought? She loved them all once, will she again after being held by the devil’s embrace?Sawyer, Nolan, Lake, and Grant share more wealth and power between them than the majority of the civilized world. But when an old friend comes back into their lives, they find themselves sharing more than a substantial plan full of revenge for the man that tried to break her. Each with their own set of skills but none able to resist the woman that needs them most. Vowing to protect her, the lines are blurred into murky shades of gray as secrets unfold and five hearts are on the line.Reader beware: this is a dark reverse harem with triggers (SA, domestic violence, death) none of which the heroine suffers at the hands of her four men or in great detail.

Ending Omen


Ashley Amy - 2019
    Friend or Foe. Truth or Lie. Everything has a counterpart. There’s always another side to a coin and to a person. Though, with these boys, I’m not sure if there’s any light left in them. Maybe once upon a time they had a tender side. One that allowed mercy to lead their judgment… But that didn’t exist within them anymore. Something snuffed out their brighter side and I wanted to know what it was. They were the most stunning kind of men within the world’s standards. But I saw what the jaded eyes didn’t. Under their beauty lied beasts of suffering. I noticed, so my bullies made me their target. They lashed their anger out on me. My pain excited them. I should’ve ran. I should’ve been smarter than this… Yet, I couldn’t back down. I couldn’t let them win. With how messed up I was, part of me craved their cruelness. Longed for their attention—even if it was only negative. Whether this mistake ends me or not, I’ve never felt more alive. Now, it was just unraveling their secrets to help me win this sick and twisted game. *WARNING: Triggers for sexual and physical abuse.

Thy Kingdom Come


Monica James - 2021
    My father says it’s my birthright, but all I see is a curse. It’s because of the Kelly name my mum was slain by the Doyles—our enemies in Dublin, the fellas livin’ on borrowed time. All of Belfast fears my family, especially me. I’m Puck Kelly, otherwise known as Punky; the lad ye don’t want to double cross. I don’t do feelings or emotions. I never have…until she walks into my world.Babydoll is a liar and a thief, but I can’t stay away. We both thrive in the darkness because that’s where our demons can play.No word af a lie, sixteen years later, those monsters still haunt my dreams. But every monster is scared of somethin’…and that somethin’ is me.No more hiding in the shadows because I’m huntin’ youse. Run, wee monsters, run.

All Things Burn


Jodie Slaughter - 2019
    What sparks between them is just as unavoidable as it is life-changing.Halle Temple is a good person; she doesn’t know anything as surely as she knows that. A successful black woman who uses her expensive law degree to work full-time at a women’s legal aid center, she has no doubt that her entire existence is being spent in the service of others. That perfectly normal life takes a deadly turn, however, when she crosses paths with a man who is willing to go to extreme measures to take possession of her.After he sets his threats on her family, Halle begins to question every moral she has ever held dear as she realizes that there is only one way to get him out of her life for good. To do that, though, she needs a bit of help.Callum Byrne is an Irish-American hitman who has made a life out of robbing others of their own. Darkness has always lurked inside of him and he has no qualms about setting it free - especially for profit. Halle enters his life suddenly, bringing with her an intensity that he has never felt before. It isn’t long before Callum’s narrow view of himself is twisted and challenged.As the job she’s given him becomes more complicated by the minute...so do Callum’s feelings for her.Content Warning: this book contains themes of violence and murder as well as mentions of domestic violence.

The S*x Tape


Serena Akeroyd - 2019
    Among her peers, Briar’s humiliation knows no bounds when Flynn, Lennox, and Blake, each wearing their own crowns, find a wicked pleasure in destroying her reputation.They’ll stop at nothing until she’s torn to shreds.But the only question Briar has, is...WHY?Find out in THE SEX TAPE, a standalone bully, Why Choose romance.**All characters are over 18**

The Heir


Ivy Clyde - 2020
    Cruel. Merciless. A demon wearing the face of an angel.He is on a purge to rid the gang of every deceitful follower, paving the way to his succession with a trail of corpses. It won’t be long before the city turns into a battlefield.He is recruiting new blood into his ranks and I am the rookie agent being sent to breach them. After all, no one has studied him and the movements of the Sokolov Clan as obsessively as me. My department doesn’t just give me a fake ID. I am also disguised as a man. Soon, I’m plunged into a world unlike anything I could have ever imagined. Every moment spent with Victor makes me question everything I know about myself. I’m torn between fear and desire, right and wrong, pain and pleasure as I struggle to win his trust. My body and mind are betraying everything I’ve been taught to abhor. Can I still remain one of the good guys or will the devil devour my soul completely?The Heir is a RH dark mafia romance between mobsters and a disguised female agent. If you enjoy romantic suspense with organized crime, then this is for you. This book contains dark themes and steamy m/m and m/m/f scenes.

The Missing Link


J.M. Sevilla - 2013
    It's intended to be read by mature audiences. Part one of a two part series. There are three things Lily Evans immediately notices about her new neighbor, Jay Lincoln. The first is his monstrous size, the second is the malicious way he glares at her, and thirdly, but most importantly, the three scars that mark his right eye. She knows the smart thing to do is stay away, but she has never met or seen anyone like him. The more time she spends with this frightening yet captivating man, the harder it becomes. He can make her hairs stand on end but he also has a sweetness to him that tugs at her heart. Soon she finds herself merged into his world full of murder, revenge, and deceit.New Adult Romance

Keeping Lily


Izzy Sweet - 2016
    One night and everything in my life changed. Two words and my world turned dark. “Take her”.Owing the most ruthless crime lord in Garden City five million dollars, my husband chose to trade me and my children away to save himself. I was on the cusp of freedom, so close to divorcing that scumbag I was married to. Now I’m enslaved to a man who is obsessed with me. A man so wicked and beautiful, they call him Lucifer. So alluring, he makes the angels weep with envy. He’s so powerful, I can’t stop myself from bending to his will. He’s determined to master me, and he won’t rest until I give him all. He wants my light, and he wants my dark. He wants my body, and he wants my heart. But most of all, he wants the one thing I can’t give him. The one thing I can’t bear to part with…

Captive in the Dark


C.J. Roberts - 2011
    Kidnapped as a young boy and sold into slavery by a power-hungry mobster, he has thought of nothing but vengeance. For twelve years he has immersed himself in the world of pleasure slaves searching for the one man he holds ultimately responsible. Finally, the architect of his suffering has emerged with a new identity, but not a new nature. If Caleb is to get close enough to strike, he must become the very thing he abhors and kidnap a beautiful girl to train her to be all that he once was.Eighteen-year-old Olivia Ruiz has just woken up in a strange place. Blindfolded and bound, there is only a calm male voice to welcome her. His name is Caleb, though he demands to be called Master. Olivia is young, beautiful, naïve and willful to a fault. She has a dark sensuality that cannot be hidden or denied, though she tries to accomplish both. Although she is frightened by the strong, sadistic, and arrogant man who holds her prisoner, what keeps Olivia awake in the dark is her unwelcome attraction to him.WARNING: This book contains very disturbing situations, dubious consent, strong language, and graphic violence.

Tough Love


Skye Warren - 2015
    My father’s guards don’t see me. My sister doesn’t see me.No one sees me, except him.He’s the son of a mafia foot soldier. My father is the boss. I shouldn’t even know Giovanni. And I definitely shouldn’t kiss him. Our relationship is doomed to fail, but that won’t stop me from trying.Not every girl wants to be a princess. I just want to be free.