Book picks similar to
The Frenchman by Lesley Young


romance
contemporary
contemporary-romance
mafia

The Viper


Kele Moon - 2014
    A gang member. Someone who has seen the dark side of humankind and survived. He has lost family and gained enemies. He has stolen cars and destroyed hearts, stripping one for money and the other for pleasure. His past is haunted and his future is bleak.Until her.Katie Foster is a high school history teacher. Smart, strong, and sexy. She is a woman Marcos shouldn’t want. Shouldn’t touch. Shouldn’t love. He met her in Garnet, a backwards, hick town that’s the last place in the world he wants to be, but he finds himself going back for a taste of the forbidden.Katie represents all that is good in the world, and Marcos knows he’s nothing but trouble for her perfect life. He fights and he screws. He commits crimes and he breaks the rules. He will never change and he will never escape his gang lifestyle.Or can he?What happens when two different people from two very different walks of life risk it all by giving into the passion that threatens to consume both of them? Can a woman who only knows how to play it safe give her heart to a man who lives hard and loves harder?Will she survive The Viper?

Mid-Life Love


Whitney G. - 2013
    Her career as a marketing director is on the brink of being legendary, and her marriage to her high school sweetheart has never been stronger. No, wait. It has. It used to be amazing and fulfilling, but one day Claire realizes that she's been living a lie and her best friend and husband have committed the ultimate betrayal. Broken and depressed, Claire is in need of something new—new city, new job, new friends. When she happens to attract the interest of the sexiest man she's ever met, a man significantly younger than her, she immediately turns him down—only to later discover that this man is Jonathan Statham, self-made billionaire and CEO of Statham Industries. Her boss.Jonathan Statham is unlike any man she's met before. He's used to getting whatever he wants—whenever he wants, and he isn't about to take no for an answer. Sexy, unpredictable, and charmingly clever, Mid Life Love is a story that will captivate you, entertain you, and force you to fall deeply in love with the characters.

Beauty and the Feast


Julia Barrett - 2010
    Eva moves to the Napa Valley where her culinary skills come to the attention of the owners of a start-up, All Things to All People, and Eva finds her niche as a personal chef. Now all she needs is a man as perfect as her cooking, but she has serious doubts that such a creature exists. When wealthy entrepreneur, winery owner, and noted Lothario, Gabriel Abbott, makes plans to seduce his flavor of the month, his assistant hires All Things to All People to cater a gourmet dinner. Eva expects to use her way with food to showcase the startup. What she unexpectedly discovers is that her culinary skills showcase far more. Once Gabriel finds himself seduced by Eva's voice, and the sensual flavors and textures of her food, his previous plans are quickly forgotten. He begins to obsess about meeting his little chef in person. But when Eva and Gabe finally come face to face, the question is, how hot will their fire burn?

Incineration


D.H. Sidebottom - 2013
    He brings out emotions and reactions Ava hasn’t felt in a very long time and soon the pair are utterly consumed in a passionate but toxic affair.Masons’ dominancy and need for control has Ava fighting against the things she swore would never hold her back from life, but she soon discovers that love and passion may not be enough to hold their turbulent relationship together and when a friend of Masons’ is gripped by a jealous rage, Ava finds herself relying and depending on the very parts of her old self that she locked away so securely five years ago along with desperately trying to shield her heart from Masons suffocating rule on her.Sometimes, Love is just that little bit too difficultThis book contains explicit sex scenes, Strong Language, violence and drug abuse…and one hell of a hot alpha male!

Otherwise Alone


Shay Savage - 2012
    Other than his loyal Great Pyrenees, there's no one around to break up the monotony. The tedium is excruciating, but it is suddenly interrupted when a young woman stumbles up his path. He has two choices - pick her off from a distance with his trusty sniper-rifle, or dare let her approach his cabin and enter his life.Why not? It's been ages, and he is otherwise alone...

Owned by the Hitman


Alexis Abbott - 2016
    I will not hurt you, unless you want me to.”I'm in deep to the Mafia. My father was the one who made the deal, and when I inherited his club, I also inherited his troubles.Ivan wants to save me, or so he says. More like he wants me to be his slave for a year. After the one-night stand I had with him, though, would that be so bad? With his impossibly hard body, and the way he always makes me scream...But he's still a monster. He's a criminal, and something so much worse.And yet I can't stop the tingling in my body every time I think of how he touched me, and those dark but delicious words rolling off his tongue, tinged with his Russian accent.He knows what I'll say, even before I do. "I'll take your offer."

Merciless


Willow Winters - 2018
    Women like her are made to destroy men like me. I couldn’t resist her though. Given to me to start a war; I was too eager to accept. But I didn’t know what she’d do to me. That she would change everything. She sees through me in a way no one else ever has. Her innocence and vulnerability make me weak for her and I hate it.I know better than to give in to temptation.A ruthless man doesn’t let a soul close to him.A cold-hearted man doesn’t risk anything for anyone.A powerful man with a beautiful woman at his mercy… he doesn’t fall for her.

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.

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...

Pieces of Perfect


Elizabeth Hayley - 2013
    Handsome single father Adam Carter is the man most women wait a lifetime for. They each take bold and impulsive Lily Hamilton on a journey of self-discovery that’s woven with jealousy, deceit, and a whole lot of fun. Lily gets a glimpse of two versions of happily ever after, but will her own piece of perfect be the bad boy or the nice guy? In her quest to have it all, she’s risking everything, and only one thing is certain. She’ll never be the same.

Rush


Daphne Loveling - 2016
    He’s big and bad, dripping with menace, and covered in tattoos. He has the kind of dominant swagger that should make me want to run away…Instead, it makes me fantasize about him. Even though I know he’s a thug, even though men like Greyson caused the violence that ended my father’s life…One rough, demanding night with Greyson, and I don’t know how to walk away. Even when life depends on it…GreysonAs the president of the Stone Kings, I have a few rules. Ride or die. Death before dishonor. And the club always, always comes before any woman.Simple. Easy. At least, it is until I see her.Big green eyes, killer curves, and that mouth… F*ck, the things I want to do to her. The second I saw her, I knew I wanted to make her mine. Ruin her for all other men.I also knew that can’t ever happen, because I’m keeping a secret… and if anyone finds out, I’m not the only one who will get hurt.One night with Seton in my bed, and suddenly I’m wondering... aren’t some rules meant to be broken?

Zack


Cheyenne McCray - 2014
    Then he comes striding back into her life—bigger, badder, and sexier than before. Zack Hunter never thought his job as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent would lead him back to his small hometown, and he never thought he’d set eyes on Sky again. Leaving her behind had been the stupidest thing he’d ever done, but this time he isn’t going to let her go. And as soon as Zack lays eyes on Sky, he makes it clear that he intends to make her his all over again. When Sky becomes entangled in the case he’s investigating, Zack can’t help but take the threat personally. As the danger mounts, their passion burns even hotter. **Please note: Zack was published in print only with St. Martin’s Griffin. Zack was originally published in eBook and print with Ellora’s Cave under the title "Wildfire". Character names were changed at St. Martin's request, and the Armed & Dangerous versions were expanded considerably from the original "Wild" series.

The Club: Obsession


Lauren Rowe - 2015
    Sarah : When I read Jonas Faraday’s brutally honest personal message on his application to The Club, I practically climaxed at my desk. I’m an idiot to risk losing my job but I couldn't resist contacting him. I knew my confession would be like dangling an irresistible carrot in front of his nose—but never in a million years did I think he’d actually hunt me down.Jonas: I was shocked to get my intake agent’s email—I’d attached that note to my application on a whim, never expecting a reply from an actual person, let alone a reply as mind blowing as that. Her message was so alluring, so irresistible, I’ve been spiraling into a full-blown obsession ever since I got it. What’s her name? What does she look like? Finding her is my top priority.In The Club, what starts out as an innocent exploration of attraction quickly spirals into a steamy story of unbridled passion, obsession, heartbreak, and, ultimately, redemption. **Contains graphic adult content and harsh language. It is only appropriate for adult readers age 18+ The Club is the USA Today and Internationally best-selling first book of The Club Trilogy. The story is a complete standalone, provided you do not crack open the epilogue, which launches you into the second, heart-stopping books of this bestselling, addicting, suspenseful love story.

The River Leith


Leta Blake - 2014
    Unmoored and struggling to face his new reality, Leith must cope anew with painful revelations about his family. His brother is there to support him, but it’s the unfamiliar face of Zach, a man introduced as his best friend, that provides the calm he craves. Until Zach’s presence begins to stir up feelings Leith can’t explain.For Zach, being forgotten by his lover is excruciating. He carefully hides the truth from Leith to protect them both from additional pain. His bottled-up turmoil finds release through vlogging, where he confesses his fears and grief to the faceless Internet. But after Leith begins to open up to him, Zach's choices may come back to haunt him.Ultimately, Leith must ask his heart the questions memory can no longer answer.

Deep Down


Elle Aycart - 2014
    He’s never needed much to be happy: his family, his friends, his girl. Especially his girl. But when Kyra left him seven years ago to chase her dreams, she all but destroyed him.Contemporary dancer Kyra Brims made it big, but it cost her dearly. With her life and career in shambles, she doesn’t need a do-over, she needs a friggin’ miracle. Injured, broke, and out of options after going through hell, she’s come back to Alden, the town she swore she’d never return to and home of Mike Haddican, the man who ripped her soul to pieces, to lick her wounds and recover.Forgetting and letting go proved impossible when they were worlds apart; now that they’re stuck together they don’t stand a chance, especially with Mike’s grandma and her partners in crime plotting, meddling and refusing to give up on them.As the passion that never died burns out of control, so do old hurts and unresolved issues. Both have reasons to be angry and feel betrayed, but now that they’re older, are they wise enough to make things work?