Book picks similar to
What You Deserve by Mary Martel


contemporary
contemporary-romance
mafia
drama

Vicious


A.E. Murphy - 2020
    Usually with a hard shove or a swift swipe of her ankles.He was a vicious and unruly child; then a boy, now a man. He is in every bad memory Immy has ever had. He consumes her thoughts, her nightmares and reluctantly, her dreams; even now, years after she fled.She hoped she could stay gone, but life hands out jokers sometimes disguised as aces. The ace being her grandmother is dead, good times. The old hag can rot, but not before Immy makes the journey back to Faceless, Texas, to give a eulogy fit for no child’s ears. Releasing years’ worth of weight from her chest. A much-needed release.The joker being… this brings her straight back to her hometown, straight back to him.And unfortunately for her, he is waiting. 18+

Fury


Cat Porter - 2017
     Prisoners in brutal darkness, Finger and Serena fall in love.  Free in the world, they’re desperate to put their scars behind them. They kill to be together. What could tear them apart? Ever the defiant biker, Finger’s craving for his forbidden woman drives him to build his own outlaw empire. But still, nothing and no one can satisfy his savage hunger for her. “Soul dark, Heart dense, Blood fierce, Purpose raw. Flame burning. Unrelenting. Brewed on vengeance, laced with tenderness, my fury for you.” For Finger and Serena, first love is forever No matter the sacrifice, the blood, or the fury. This romantic suspense novel is a standalone motorcycle club romance / second chance romance / coming of age romance full of anti-hero alpha hotness. This book is a spinoff of the Lock & Key series saga **Warning: This work of fiction contains graphic violence, language, sex, and disturbing material some readers may find objectionable.**

Elite


Rachel Van Dyken - 2013
    But after her grandmother's death, Tracey is all her grandfather has. So when Eagle Elite University announces its annual scholarship lottery, Tracey jumps at the opportunity to secure their future and enters. She isn't expecting much-but then she wins. And life as she knows it will never be same . . .The students at Eagle Elite are unlike any she's ever met . . . and they refuse to make things easy for her. There's Nixon, gorgeous, irresistible, and leader of a group that everyone fears: The Elect. Their rules are simple. 1. Do not touch The Elect. 2. Do not look at The Elect. 3. Do not speak to The Elect. No matter how hard she tries to stay away, The Elect are always around her and it isn't long until she finds out the reason why they keep their friends close and their enemies even closer. She just didn't realize she was the enemy -- until it was too late.

Rising


Jessica Ruben - 2018
    Anonymity is key in my neighborhood—particularly as a lone female walking at night. All I want is to leave my crime-ridden shadow of a home in New York City. I’ve done everything I can to keep my head down and focus on my studies. College is my only goal; love has never been on the map… That is, until my sister brings me to an underground fight, where I meet a gorgeous and mysterious man: Vincent. He is the ghost in my shadows, showing up to feed me pieces of his upper-crust life, then evaporating into darkness until his next visit. I’m falling hard and fast. How can I trust him amidst the depth of his secrets? Vincent may be even more dangerous than the dark world I’m trying to escape.

Blizzard


Addison Jane - 2016
    His father was a long-time member of the Brothers by Blood MC. He believed the brotherhood came first, even before his wife and child. At first Blizzard didn't even blame his mother for walking out on them. That was until he learned that she’d hooked up with a member of another MC, leaving him behind to deal with the aftermath.He never thought he would feel that kind of pain again, swearing that his back would never again see the blade of another knife. That was until Rose came along, tempting him, drawing him in and then leaving him on the sidewalk, fighting for his life as she walked away with the enemy. Rose had spent her whole life wondering where she’d come from. Her mother had always kept that information to herself, taking it with her to the grave. She was determined to know her history and her father but soon found it wasn't the reunion she’d hoped for. She may have escaped the hands of a madman, but the family she’d been left with still didn't fill the void she had inside. Rose had made many mistakes, hurting people who cared for her and destroying herself in the process. She was heading down a dark road and returning to the town where she lost herself—and her heart—was never part of the plan. When given the opportunity for redemption and with nothing left to lose she was about to throw herself back into hell. But karma against her, this time there might not be anyone coming to her rescue. They say time heals all wounds, but time is running out. Could you forgive and forget if it meant the difference between life and death?

Beauty in the Broken


Charmaine Pauls - 2019
    He gave his daughter to Jack Clarke in exchange for the excavation rights. Today, I’m walking free, and I’m coming for him with a vengeance. Six years of cruelty make beasts out of men. I’m going to take back what he stole from me, and more. I’m not interested in his properties or shares. I don’t want his small change. I want his biggest asset. Beautiful, mentally unstable, Angelina Dalton-Clarke.Worth billions, she’s the wealthiest widow in the country, and also the craziest. Her self-harming tendencies had Jack declare her incompetent before he put a gun to his head and blew out his brains. Lina isn’t allowed to touch a cent of her riches. Her father manages her finances. He has all the signing power. As her husband, that 'chore' will fall to me. But if she thinks I only want her for her money, she’s sadly mistaken.*This book is a stand-alone. No cliffhangers.

The Pawn


Skye Warren - 2016
    He tore down my father with cold retribution, leaving him penniless in a hospital bed. I quit my private all-girl's college to take care of the only family I have left.There's one way to save our house, one thing I have left of value.My virginity.A forbidden auction...Gabriel appears at every turn. He seems to take pleasure in watching me fall. Other times he's the only kindness in a brutal underworld.Except he's playing a deeper game than I know. Every move brings us together, every secret rips us apart. And when the final piece is played, only one of us can be left standing.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *THE PAWN is a full-length contemporary novel from New York Times bestselling author Skye Warren about revenge and seduction in the game of love. It's the first book in the brand new ENDGAME series.

Foxes


Suki Fleet - 2016
    But Danny finds interaction difficult and must keep his world small in order to survive. By day he lives in an abandoned swimming pool and fixes electrical devices to trade for supplies, but by night, alone, he hunts sharks a reckless search for dangerous men who prey on the vulnerable.A chance meeting with an American boy selling himself on the streets throws this lonely existence into disarray. Micky is troubled, fragile, and Danny feels a desperate need to protect him from what, he doesn't know. As Danny discovers more about Micky, he realizes that what Micky needs saving from is the one thing Danny can't help him fight against.To save Micky, Danny must risk expanding his world and face something that scares him more than any shark ever could: trusting he will be accepted for who he is. If a freezing winter on the streets, a sadistic doctor, and three thousand miles don't tear them apart first, that is.

Embrace the Darkness


Ashley N. Rostek - 2020
    I tried to be good... normal. But the darkness can’t be suppressed forever.Six years ago, I walked away from the family. Now, I must go back. I have no choice. But things will be different this time. I’m stronger, smarter, and I refuse to submit in a world ruled by dangerous men. My name is Maura Quinn. I'm the Banphrionsa—Princess in my father’s dark kingdom of crime. Everyone has a story. Even the bad guy. So proceed with caution because this is my descent or my rise. It depends on how you look at it. But most of all, this is how I embrace the darkness.*** Warning: This is a dark and twisted tale with violence, foul language, and sexual content. May contain triggers. This is also a slow build MFM menage romance.***

Only for You


Genna Rulon - 2013
    It also feels an awful lot like a kick to the stomach when you try to fight it!” All Everleigh Carsen wanted to do was complete her final semester at Hensley University and begin the life she carefully planned. When a wave of violent crime seizes campus, Everleigh is persuaded to attend a school sponsored self-defense seminar by her best friend, where she meets volunteer instructor, Hunter Charles. After Everleigh’s biting sarcasm induces Hunter to eject her from class, a tempestuous relationship is born. Everleigh is determined to forget the striking man, but fate—that fickle shrew—continuously intervenes. Unable to escape him, she declares Hunter an enemy combatant. The only complication…Hunter is resolutely pursuing vindication…by any means necessary. Verbal warfare ensues, and despite Everleigh’s ingenious efforts, in Hunter, she has finally found her equal.Only For You is a compelling tale of friendship, desire, and redemption—brimming with intelligent characters, witty dialogue, unexpected twists, profound sorrow, unfettered hope, and love’s unassailable perseverance.• This story is appropriate for readers 18+• Only For You is the first book in the For You series by Genna Rulon. Each book in the series can be read as a stand alone novel.

His Light in the Dark


L.A. Fiore - 2016
    It was my dad who had hit me.I had been four.Most of my memories were much of the same and no one ever saw, no one ever fought to help, no one ever cared.Then we moved.My new neighbor cared, rescued the twelve-year-old I had been from a beating. Always thought I'd suffer the nightmare alone, I was wrong.Mace Donati saved me that day in all the ways a person could be saved.And his daughter, Mia, she became the friend I had always wanted, my conscience when my own faltered, the light that led me home when I had lost my way.The girl who grew into the only woman I would ever love.But when you realize you're more like your father than the good people who took you in and gave you a home, the only way to return their kindness is to let them go.I let them go, got so far lost in the shadows I couldn't remember who I was anymore. Mia never gave up on me. She fought for me, kept the light on so I'd find my way back.And when I did, life threw us a curveball. I had to hurt Mia in order to save her.But when my past comes back to haunt me and I almost lose her, I'm ready to fight for her...fight to find a way back into her heart while keeping the demons from my past from finishing what they started. Cole Campbell

Dirty Ties


Pam Godwin - 2015
    I race to finance it. I evade to protect it. I kill to attain it. I planned everything. Except her. The alluring, curvaceous blonde at the finish line. With sapphire eyes that cheat and lie. Whose powerful family murdered mine. I hate her. I want her. I know she’s hiding something. But so am I.

The Peer and the Puppet


B.B. Reid - 2018
    Win the race. Collect the cash. It should've been an easy job. Ran out of town with a broken leg and a lawsuit, my mother's latest flame swoops in like a knight in gilded armor. Blackwood Keep is a place I don't belong, and I'm not the only one who knows. To the boy across the hall, my savior's only son, I'm a stray looking for a bone.He's lord of the manor.King of the academy.And number one on my shit list.THE PEERI have no intentions of becoming a happy family with the social climber and her wild daughter. A bottle of Jameson and a cracked skull gets my problem shipped to reform school, but I didn't bank on her returning.Four's out to get even, and she almost had the perfect plan: expose the privileged kid moonlighting as a gangbanger. She's smart, but she'll have to be smarter. Sending her away won't be good enough this time. I'm going to have to tame the little troublemaker. To the girl across the hall, the one without a name, I'm nothing without my silver spoon.She's lady of the trailer park.Queen of the swamps.And my new favorite pastime.The Peer and the Puppet is a standalone romance, however, the series is one story. The plot introduced in Four and Ever's story will continue in the following novels. Content suitable for 18+.

Junkie


Heather C. Leigh - 2016
    A junkie. A whore. I'll do anything to get my next fix.Anything.Including walking right onto the property of Austin's most ruthless and feared drug lord to beg for some H. I don't know his name, only that people call him Boss. Oh, and that he won't think twice to put a bullet in my head.But like I said, I'll do anything to get my next fix. Even if it costs me my life.Or changes it forever.

Ricochet


Keri Lake - 2015
    I wish they had. Now I'm cursed by the memories of that night, and the words I whispered to my dying wife.A promise—to avenge the wrong and set it right.I’m no longer Nick Ryder. I’m a masked vigilante. Faceless. Loveless. Fearless. A man with nothing left to lose—one who's seen the dark and violent truth behind the city’s flawless veneer.Michael Culling doesn’t know who I am. Or what I want. All he knows is that I’ve kidnapped his beautiful wife.An eye for an eye—isn’t that how the saying goes? And Aubree Culling is the perfect pawn to destroy him.If she doesn’t destroy me first.