Book picks similar to
Year of the Scorpio: Part Two by Stacy Gail
contemporary
mafia
romance
dark
The Paper Swan
Leylah Attar - 2015
But on Day 22, she would have given anything for the sweet slumber of death. Because on Day 22, she realizes that her only way out means certain death for one of the two men she loves.A haunting tale of passion, loss, and redemption, The Paper Swan is a darkly intense yet heartwarming love story, textured with grit, intrigue, and suspense. Please note: This is NOT a love triangle.A full-length, standalone novel, intended for mature audiences due to violence, sex and language. Subject matter may be disturbing for some readers.
Cole
Tijan - 2017
I didn't know his name. We never made eye contact. There was no connection between us at all.But I could feel him.The tingle down my spine. The command in his presence. The snap of tension in the air around him. That was the first time I saw him, and I was captivated.The second time was different.He was in the mysterious back elevator of my apartment building. Our eyes met for a fleeting second before the doors closed, and I was staggered. My breath was robbed. My senses on high alert. My body hummed.That was just the beginning.He was the leader of the mafia. I was about to fall in love with him, and his name…Cole Mauricio
Wrong
L.P. Lovell - 2015
I knew exactly what I wanted and where I was going, until I was thrust into his world and ripped from mine. In the blink of an eye everything shattered, proving to be nothing more than a cheap illusion. Now I’m living in this twisted form of hell, where enemies and friends are one and the same. I thought I wanted perfection. Now I don’t know what I want - perhaps not even my own freedom. Jude I'm the definition of wrong. I'm violent, I'm greedy, and I stop at nothing to win. I'm a notorious bookie and in my game paying with your life is not just a figure of speech. You lose, I collect. I take whatever you have. She’s collateral for a debt, and if that debt's not paid someone will die. This should be just business, so why can’t I kill her? Everything is not always as it seems. Lust. Blood. Lies.Nothing this wrong should feel so right.
Beautifully Brutal
Nicole Edwards - 2015
Sometimes the only way to describe it is beautifully brutal. If you think you know him… You’re wrong. If you think you know his family… Wrong again. If you think you know his story… You don’t. If you did, you’d likely wonder how the hell a man like Maximillian Adorite managed to make it to this point in his life. At twenty-nine, he’s experienced more than most people could only ever imagine, all thanks to his family. Organized crime they call it. Mafia. No matter how they spin it, it comes down to one thing. Max gets what he wants. Except for the one thing he wants most. Her name is Courtney Kogan. And now that he’s had a taste of her, Max knows he’ll never be able to let her go. The Southern Boy Mafia series is a spinoff from the Sniper 1 Security series. It has been set up to be read without reading Sniper 1 Security, however, the characters will frequently cross over.
Epiphany
Gemma James - 2013
And those mahogany eyes that are as familiar as my own?They’re haunted.Rife with tragedy.Dark with an agenda.It can’t be a coincidence he appeared when the killings started. Now my nights are full of visions I’d rather not see.Death and despair.Victims and headlines.A reality I can’t escape.My dream lover is determined to protect me, and I’m determined to save him from the demons of his past. Together, we might just heal each other…if fate and a serial killer don’t get to us first.Epiphany is a full-length standalone novel.
The Professional
Kresley Cole - 2014
Ordered to protect her, Aleksei will do anything to possess her as well—on his own wicked terms.Rules are made to be broken…Grad student Natalie Porter had barely recovered from her first sight of the dark and breathtaking Sevastyan before the professional enforcer whisks her away to Russia, thrusting her into a world of extreme wealth and wanton pleasures. Every day under his protection leads her deeper under his masterful spell.Are you ready to play?Yet all is not as it seems. To remove Natalie from an enemy’s reach, Sevastyan spirits her into hiding. From an opulent palace in Russia to the decadent playgrounds of the mega-wealthy in Paris, the two lovers will discover that even their darkest—and most forbidden—fantasies can come true...
Darker Than Love
Anna Zaires - 2020
Both merciless. Both damaged.In his embrace, I find hell and heaven, his cruelly tender touch destroying and uplifting me at once.They say a cat has nine lives, but an assassin has just one.And Yan Ivanov now owns mine.
Taken by My Best Friend
Logan Chance - 2018
Sometimes not for the better.Xavier is no longer the maid’s son. Or my best friend. Now he’s wealthy and powerful--the dark don, in charge of one of the largest corporations in the world.I never expected the boy who always saved me to be the man who kidnaps me.XavierSome things never change.Rhiannon is still as fiery and beautiful as the day I walked away. Now I'm back, ready to seek vengeance against the one man who wronged me. My rival. Her father.If her father wants war, he'll get a war.Kidnapping his daughter is the key to my ultimate revenge.
Malice
Coralee June - 2021
Don't ask any personal questions.2. Don't show up at her house unannounced.3. Don't ever, ever let anyone know you're friends.For three years, I followed the rules. Vicky and I met once a week at the diner where I worked. I was her slice of normalcy, she was the one person I could confide in. It might have been unconventional, but it worked for us.One night, all hell broke loose and I got caught up in a battle of bloodshed where we almost lost our lives. I ended up face to face with Vicky's dangerous older brothers. Anthony, William, and Nicholas Civella--the made men of the Kansas City Mob.After fighting for my life and proving myself worthy, they brought me into their deadly world. It was glamorous but twisted. Torture, death, and crime followed me everywhere I went, chiseling away at parts of me until I wasn't the same anymore.Slowly, I betrayed my best friend, and fell in love.Chances are they'll ruin me. This thing between us has deadly consequences. But in this criminal world, I'm learning that the rules don't apply when you're the boss.*𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘮 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 18 +. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘦𝘹 𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.*
Hard to Love
W. Winters - 2019
I was too much of a bastard to push her away.I grew up in this life, and now I run these streets. Blood and violence taint everything I touch.Everything but her. She was my constant through it all.Just a touch would singe and soothe.Just a look would tempt and torment.She became my escape and my addiction.I only survived because she was by my side.I should’ve known better than to indulge.I should’ve known better than to let her fall for me.It was only a matter of time before the danger bled into what we had.I was Laura’s downfall. Problem was, she was mine too.
Sworn
Maria Luis - 2018
The words are tattooed on my skin, just as they’re branded on my heart. But I never planned for Sergeant Lincoln Asher, a man as deceptive as he is cold. His dominance sets my teeth on edge . . . and my body on fire. He won’t stop until I’m his, but I’m not his to take. My secrets bind me—and blind me. I live in the shadows of New Orleans. Hidden and protected in the underworld I call home. I know who I am. I vow never to kneel before a man... Save one. And he will be my downfall.
Broken by Lies
Rebecca Shea - 2015
He changed everything.
The way I breathed.The way I thought.The way I loved.He brought me back to life. He gave me strength and a safe place to land.
And then he broke me.
Finding Emilia was a chance to do something good for once in my life.
I wanted to change.
She believed I was her savior.I ached to be.She found her way into my heart and claimed it as her safe place.I should be telling her the truth about me…instead I break her with lies.This book is a New Adult Romance and contains mature subject matter. It is not intended for those under 17 years of age.
Sinners' Playground
Caroline Peckham - 2020
Because it sure as hell wasn’t for the surf. But what else was I supposed to do when I found myself in Sunset Cove with twenty bucks to my name, the key to my enemies’ secrets hanging around my neck and a mouth full of grave dirt that wouldn’t wash clean?I hate the Harlequin boys.But this is the perfect opportunity to take what they owe me. Because once upon a time, they broke my heart, stole my life and sent me away from everything I’d ever known.Fox, JJ, Chase and Maverick.The four names tattooed onto my heart more permanently than any of the ink on my skin. They don’t just live in this town anymore, they rule it. And the view here may be beautiful, but the sun, sea and sand hide dark secrets.The gangs.The lies.The violence.It all lurks beneath a veil so thin that once you’ve seen through it, you can never close your eyes to the truth again.But I don’t plan on closing my eyes. I have four devils set in my sights. And this dead girl no longer has anything to lose.This is an enemies to lovers contemporary series where the girl will end up with multiple love interests and all of the characters are in their late twenties. Trigger warning: this series features gangs, violence, dark romance and jealous/possessive themes.
First Touch
Laurelin Paige - 2015
Though the two were once notorious party girls, they haven't spoken in years. Although the message might sound benign to anyone else, Amber uses a safe word that Emily recognizes, a word they always used to get out of sticky situations during their wild days. And what's more chilling than the voicemail: it turns out that Amber has gone missing.Determined to track down her friend, Emily follows a chain of clues that lead her to the enigmatic billionaire Reeve Sallis, a hotelier known for his shady dealings and play boy reputation. Now, in order to find Amber, Emily must seduce Reeve to learn his secrets and discover the whereabouts of her friend. But as she finds herself more entangled with him, she finds she's drawn to Reeve for more than just his connection to Amber, despite her growing fear that he may be the enemy. When she's forced to choose where her loyalty lies, how will she decide between saving Amber and saving her heart?