Book picks similar to
The Bad Guy by Celia Aaron


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Axel


Harper Sloan - 2013
    In fact, fate has been a downright bitch. Isabelle has learned the hard way how hard life can be when fate isn’t by your side. It can hand you dreams on silver platters, but it can snatch them right back and hand you nightmares. One thing Isabelle knew for sure fate was consistent with was taking away everything she ever loved.For the last two years Isabelle has been slowly clearing the clouds of her past. Happiness is finally on the horizon. She has a thriving business, great friends, and her life back. All she has to do is jump over the last hurdle…her ex-husband. When problems start causing her to fear her new life, and memories that are better left forgotten start rushing to the surface the last thing she needs is a ghost from her past to come knocking on her door. Axel never thought he would look into the eyes of Isabelle West again, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to now. He’s carried his anger for so long he isn’t sure he can just turn it off, but when he is faced with protecting her and an unexpected desire to have her again, life gets a little more complicated. How will Axel and Isabelle deal when all their cards are put on the table and everything they thought was true blows up in their faces? Note from the author--This book is intended for a mature reading audience and isn't suitable for younger readers.

Stuck-Up Suit


Vi Keeland - 2016
    It started out like any other morning on the train.Until I became mesmerized by the guy sitting across the aisle.He was barking at someone on his phone like he ruled the world.Who did the stuck-up suit think he was...God?Actually, he looked like a God. That was about it.When his stop came, he got up suddenly and left. So suddenly, he dropped his phone on the way out.I might have picked it up.I might have gone through all of his photos and called some of the numbers.I might have held onto the mystery man's phone for days―until I finally conjured up the courage to return it.When I traipsed my ass across town to his fancy company, he refused to see me.So, I left the phone on the empty desk outside the arrogant jerk's office.I might have also left behind a dirty picture on it first though.I didn't expect him to text back.I didn't expect our exchanges to be hot as hell.I didn't expect to fall for him―all before we even met.The two of us couldn't have been any more different.Yet, you know what they say about opposites.When we finally came face to face, we found out opposites sometimes do more than attract―we consumed each other.Nothing could have prepared me for the ride he took me on. And I certainly wasn't prepared for where I'd wind up when the ride was over.All good things must come to an end, right?Except our ending was one I didn't see coming.

Among the Echoes


Aly Martinez - 2014
    Including sexual abuse, graphic language, and adult situations. Intended for readers 18+.*My name was Dr. Erica Hill. I was a victim, then a witness, and then I ceased to exist altogether.I may still be breathing, but stripped of my identity, I have long since stopped living. I am invisible, and my life depends on my ability to stay in the shadows.But he sees me.Slate Andrews is the embodiment of everything I have been taught to avoid. He’s rich and famous, and one image of him with a woman would earn millions for any paparazzi lucky enough to snap it. He has vowed to protect me with his life, yet he exposes me with his every breath. I should be stronger and walk away. I should disappear. But I’m terrified he would come after me.I’m on the run, determined not to take him down with me but absolutely unable to let him go.My name is Riley Peterson… at least for today.

Hero


Samantha Young - 2015
    Ever since, Alexa has worked to turn her life in a different direction and forge her own identity outside of his terrible secrets. But when she meets a man who’s as damaged by her father’s mistakes as she is, Alexa must help him.Caine Carraway wants nothing to do with Alexa’s efforts at redemption, but it’s not so easy to push her away. Determined to make her hate him, he brings her to the edge of her patience and waits for her to walk away. But his actions only draw them together and, despite the odds, they begin an intense and explosive affair.Only Caine knows he can never be the white knight that Alexa has always longed for. And when they're on the precipice of danger, he finds he’ll do anything to protect either one of them from being hurt again…

The Silver Swan


Amo Jones - 2017
    When she begins Riverside Preparatory Academy, the private school her father has swept her into in The Hamptons, she hopes for a fresh start. What she wasn't hoping for was the pack of bad boys who run the school; ten, to be exact. When Madison gains the attention of their leader, Bishop Vincent Hayes, a whole new world that she didn't think existed is exposed to her. A whole world that starts and ends with The Elite Kings Club and these boys, are about to flip her world upside down. Secrets are overflowing and family lies are about to be exposed. Is there more to Madison Montgomery than even she knows?

Menace


J.M. Darhower - 2017
    So fucking bored. Most people either annoy him or avoid him, afraid to face him. Figuratively. Literally. With his face partially disfigured, scarred, he looks every bit the monster the stories make him out to be: the notorious menace they call Scar. They say he's a sociopath. Maybe he's a psychopath. Whatever path he's on, people tend to stay far away from it.Until one day, a young woman bumps right into him--a woman just as fed up with life, but for much different reasons. With a Scarlet Letter inked on her wrist and secrets buried deep in her soul, Morgan Myers is running from something... or maybe somebody. Lorenzo isn't quite sure.You can bet your ass he's going to figure it out, though.

Dirty Angels


Karina Halle - 2014
    Please see the bottom of this description to see if this is the kind of book that you'll love or piss you off**For Luisa Chavez, a twenty-three year old former beauty queen, a better life has always been just out of her reach. Sure, she’s had men at her feet since she was a young teenager but she’s never had the one thing she’s craved – security. Having grown up in near poverty, her waitressing job in Cabo San Lucas can barely let her take care of herself, let alone her ailing parents. Every day is another unwanted advance, every day is a struggle to survive.When Salvador Reyes, the depraved leader of a major Mexican cartel, takes an interest in her, Luisa is presented with an opportunity she can’t afford to pass up. She’ll become Salvador’s wife and exchange her freedom and body for a life of riches – riches she can bestow upon her deserving parents. But Luisa quickly finds out that even the finest wines and jewels can’t undo the ugliness in her marriage, nor the never-ending violence that threatens her every move.Soon, Luisa is looking for an escape, a way out of the carefully controlled life she’s leading. She finally gets her wish in the worst way possible.As it is, being the wife of Salvador makes her an ideal target for rival cartels and there’s one particular man who needs Luisa as part of his cartel’s expansion. One particular man whose quest for power has destroyed lives, slit throats and gotten him out of an American prison. One particular man who will stop at nothing until he gets what he wants.That man is Javier Bernal. And he wants Luisa. He wants to take her, keep her, ruin her.Unless she ruins him first.***WARNING*** This book deals with drug cartels and as such it contains a lot of sex and violence and some violent sex. It can get pretty ugly, pretty dark and pretty crazy. There is drug use, abuse, a bit of torture and dubious consent. The hero is not a hero and the villains...well, they're even worse. If this sort of thing bothers you, PLEASE DO NOT READ IT. This ain't no cupcake farting unicorn kind of book. If you are even a bit squeamish about violence, brutality and rape, this is your warning to stay away from a book that you certainly will not like (and why read books that you know you won't like?)******While this is a spin-off of The Artists Trilogy, prior knowledge of the books is not needed. DIRTY ANGELS is the first in a trilogy, however each book can standalone and follows or introduces different characters***

He Hates Me


Rina Kent - 2020
    The entire duet will be released two weeks apart.

Captive


R.J. Lewis - 2020
    He's her captor.Their relationship is a volatile push and pull. He plays the villain, and she plays the victim; each play their roles to a tee. One buries the past to forget, the other fights to remind the other how they began.She is desperate to escape.He is desperate to keep her.One thing is clear:Only one will be left standing at the end.

Reign


Jessica Gadziala - 2015
    Alternate cover edition - ASIN B017JX376OOne notorious 1%erOne innocent trapped in an impossible situationOne vicious crime lordThree people who aren't who they appear to be= one big (bloody) mess.Reign is no stranger to the criminal underbelly and hard life, but when a random woman comes (literally) crashing into his life- learning things she has no business knowing, and bringing with her the weight of the city's biggest skin trader- the "hard life" starts to take on a whole new meaning.

Assumption


Aurora Rose Reynolds - 2014
    Kenton Mayson learned this lesson firsthand when he made assumptions about Autumn Freeman and the kind of woman she is based on what little information he had. What he finds out is she’s not only beautiful, but also smart, funny, a fighter, and exactly the kind of woman he wants to share his life with. Autumn made assumptions of her own about Kenton, and now he needs to prove her wrong in order to protect her and their future.

Taken


Natasha Knight - 2018
    He’s the first-born son of the Scafoni family. And we have history.For generations, the Scafoni family have demanded a sacrifice of us. A virgin daughter to atone for sins so old, we don’t even remember what they are anymore.But when you have as much money as they do, you don’t play by the rules. You make them. And Sebastian Scafoni makes all the rules. The moment I saw him, I knew he would choose me. Even though the mark on my sheath declared me unclean. Even though my beautiful sisters stood beside me, offered to him, he still chose me. He made me his.And then he set out to break me. Note: Taken is book one of the Dark Legacy Duet.

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.

Psychopath's Prey


V.F. Mason - 2018
    Mine to hunt. A criminal psychologist and a serial killer.The love between them shouldn’t exist.Or so the world thinks.Her mission is to find him.His single obsession is to catch her.The hunter and the prey.Let the games begin, and may the stronger one win.Warning: Dark Romance. 18+ due to sexual content, profanity, abuse, graphic violence, and adult subject matter.

Still Beating


Jennifer Hartmann - 2020
    This book contains subject matter that may be sensitive for some readers, including rape, as well as strong language and explicit sex. 18+ only. Please read responsibly. When Cora attends her sister’s birthday party, she expects at most a hangover or a walk of shame. She doesn’t anticipate a stolen wallet, leaving her stranded and dependent on Dean—her arch nemesis and ultimate thorn in her side. And she really doesn’t anticipate waking up in shackles in a madman’s basement.To make matters worse, Dean shares the space in his own set of chains.After fifteen years of teasing, insults, and practical jokes, the ultimate joke seems to be on them. The two people who always thought they’d end up killing each other must now work together if they want to survive.But Cora and Dean have no idea their abductor has a plan for them. A plan that will alter the course of their relationship, blur the line between hate and love, and shackle them together with far more than just chains.