Book picks similar to
Kiss of War by Clara Elroy


romance
dnf
dark-romance
contemporary

The Land Where Sinners Atone


V.F. Mason - 2020
    Mine to destroy. I used to have it all. Successful career. Loving husband who adored me. A future full of possibilities. A perfect fairytale nothing could break. Until one day, life as I knew it was crushed into tiny little pieces. I was charged with a murder I didn't commit. And no matter how much I begged for justice, no one believed me. Least of all the man who promised to stand by me through anything. And the husband of the woman I allegedly killed? He vowed for me to live in a hell on earth–and even then it wouldn’t be enough to atone for my sin. His words rang in my ears every single day as life became an endless nightmare.With time, I grew to hate him so much my heart burned from it. Until three years later new evidence was found. And everyone believed my truth. I might be free but I’m still part of a twisted game the monster is playing. And the only way I can survive in it? Trust a man who I promised to hate till my last breath.

Born, Darkly


Trisha Wolfe - 2017
    She shattered his reality. They dared each other...to the brink of madness.A dark and twisted maze awaits criminal psychologist London Noble when she falls for her patient, convicted serial killer, Grayson Pierce Sullivan. As she unravels the traps, her sanity tested with each game, she's forced to acknowledge the true evil in the world around her.

My Beautiful Poison


T.L. Smith - 2020
    And I forgave him for breaking my body with his touch. But I couldn’t forgive myself for staying. Until I met you… my antidote. I knew I couldn’t keep forgiving him, when I could be safe in your arms. With your touch, there were no tears. With your kisses, I could finally breathe. You might be the villain in everyone’s story... But not mine.

Sweet Mercy


K.A. Tucker - 2019
    Tucker comes the dark and steamy Empire Nightclub series.One visit to my father in prison—convicted for a murder he didn’t commit—and I’ve attracted the attention of the last man I’d ever want knowing that I exist.Gabriel Easton.Son of an infamous crime boss. Deplorable womanizer. Scoundrel to the core.Worse, he has figured out how desperate I am to protect my father from brutality behind bars. He has the power to grant that protection, and he has offered it … for a price.Me.I'll do anything for my father, including agree to Gabriel's cruel game. But I won't comply with his every whim and wish. Unfortunately for me, I think my loathing for him is what he’s enjoying most.That's fine. By the time I’m through with him, he’ll be crying my name.Mercy.

Little Lies


H. Hunting - 2020
    You mean nothing to me. I never loved you. I turned my words into swords.And I cut her down. Shoved the blade in and watched her fall. I said I’d never hurt her, and I did. Years later, I’m faced with all the little lies, the untruths, the false realities, the damage I inflicted, when all I wanted was to indulge my obsession. Lavender Waters is the princess in the tower. Even her name is the thing fairy tales are made of. I used to be the one who saved her. Over and over again. But I don’t want to save her anymore. I just want to pretend the lies are still the truth.A standalone angsty new adult romance. Heroine: Lavender Waters (Alex and Violet Waters’ youngest daughter, PUCKED and FOREVER PUCKED couple origin, Pucked Series )Hero: Kodiak (Kody) Bowman (Rook and Lainey Bowman’s son, A LIE FOR A LIE couple origin, All In Series )

Wicked Liars


Laura Lee - 2020
    Every last one of them. The kings and queens of my new high school.The father and stepmother I never knew. Each has more wealth and privilege than I could've ever imagined. Each has a pile of wicked dirty secrets they'd do anything to protect. These people have grown accustomed to getting what they want and what they want is to make my life a living hell. Too bad for them, you can't break someone who's already broken. Too bad for them, I won't give up without a fight. Too bad for them, I'm going to make them pay...even if it's the last thing I do. *Wicked Liars is the first book in the Windsor Academy series and cannot be read as a standalone. This is a dark high school MF bully romance that may contain triggers for sensitive readers. Due to mature subject matter, it is recommended for readers 17+ only.

Bad Boy Blues


Saffron A. Kent - 2019
    In middle school, he spread false rumors about her. And in high school, he ruined her prom. She hates that his smirks are unfairly sexy. And she definitely loathes that his dark eyes seem to follow her everywhere. Sometimes, even in her dreams. It doesn’t matter that he’s rich and popular or that he lives in a freaking mansion full of butlers and maids. He’s rude and arrogant, and she wants to stay as far away from him as possible. But unfortunately for Cleo, she lives in the same freaking mansion as Zach. Only he’s the prince and she’s the lowly maid who serves him. #EnemiesToLovers #ZachAndCleo #AssholeAlpha #Angst #NewAdult

Moon Touched


Elizabeth Briggs - 2021
    Gaining my wolf form and my fated mate is my only chance to change packs and hope for a better life.Except when my fated mate is revealed, he's the future alpha of the Leo pack—our worst enemies. He rejects me in front of everyone, just before the Leos slaughter my entire pack and murder my family.I manage to escape, but then I'm kidnapped by a far greater threat: the alpha of the mysterious lost pack. The 13th sign was banished from the Zodiac Wolves years ago, and I thought they were just a myth.They're real. They're holding me captive. And the dark, dangerous alpha is offering me something I can't refuse—revenge.Moon Touched is the first book in the scorching hot Zodiac Wolves series.

Dirty Wicked Prince


Eden O'Neill - 2021
    I had the audacity of breathing his air. Dirty. Rotten. Savages.The Legacy boys are Windsor Preparatory Academy’s most privileged. No one crosses the devil spawn of this town’s upper echelon, but I managed. I call one of them out my first day, and no one hears it louder than their blond prince. Evil. Wicked. Twisted. Dorian Prinze is as cruel as he is beautiful and once he sets his sights on me, he refuses to let go. Apparently, I bother him by simply existing at my new school and no matter what I do, I can’t stay off the radar of him and his boys. He says I make too much noise and stupid me for not caring. Some really messed up stuff brought my brother and me to this town, and I won’t bow down to these elitist pricks. Something tells me going to war with the cruel prince of Maywood Heights may level both our foundations, but I won’t go down without a fight. I’ll do whatever it takes to win Dorian’s devious and twisted games. Even if he promises I’ll scream for him by the end.

The Bratva's Heir


Jane Henry - 2021
    Mine to protect. And mine to control…

Wicked Knight


Tracy Lorraine - 2021
    I want blood for those who wronged me and my family. And my so-called truth is ripping me apart, in a way lies never could.Everyone else has moved on, but I can’t. Not until someone pays.And it seems that fate is on my side this time, because the hellion girl from the graveyard is going to be my saving grace… and provide me with everything I crave.The pain.The vengeance.The blood.She has no idea what she’s been dragged into, but she’s going to regret every step she’s taken to get here.Stella Doukas isn’t like any other girl I’ve encountered before.She’s fierce, determined, and much stronger than I anticipated.I might have met my match.And that is not a good thing…Dear readers,Wicked Knight is the first to my new angst-filled new adult mafia series.This is my darkest bully romance yet. If the following doesn’t get your pulse racing in all the right ways, you might want to miss this one out…Dub/non-con, bullying, knife and blood play, mutilation, humiliation, somnophilia, sexual violence, exhibitionism/voyeurism. You have been warned. Enjoy!

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.

Steal You Away


Victoria Ashley - 2020
    Breakup after breakup, they always end up back together, even though I’ve always had a thing for her. I’m tired of waiting. He had his chance. I want mine.When Dixie’s Alibi — her Grandmother’s bar — needs a new cook for the food truck, I jump at the opportunity, despite the fact that Kennedy Ward hates me. At least, she pretends she does. We both know she secretly wants me and always has.One way or another, I will get her to finally admit it, even if it involves losing my brother. I plan to play dirty — real dirty — just like he did. This time I’m going to beat him at his own game. I wanted her first, and he knew that, but our age kept us apart. Not anymore.Now, I’m grown and ready to take what should’ve been mine to begin with.

Losing Control


Jen Frederick - 2014
    Anything, including ask Ian Kerr for help. I don’t know much about him, except that he has more money than some small countries. And he’s willing to spend it on me. Just one catch: there’s a string attached, and not just the one I feel pulling me into his arms and his bed. There’s also the plan for revenge he wants my help with. Every time he says my name, it makes my body shiver and my heart stutter. I know he’s going to wreck me, know there won’t be anything left of me but lust and sensation by the time he’s done with me, but even though I can see the heartbreak coming towards me like a train, ready to crash into me, I can’t get out of the way. I want what he makes me feel. Want what he’s offering. <This may have started out as something to save my mother, but now…now it’s about what he makes me feel. I’m in danger of losing everything that’s important. Worse? Ian's whispered words and hot caresses are making me believe that's okay.

Ruthless Saint


S. Massery - 2021
    His gaze steals my breath.Even if my heart thinks this could work, my brain knows better.We say “I do” with his brother’s blood on our clothes,and the bars of my gilded cage slam closed.Our wedding vows are forever – ’til death do us part.But with enemies closing in from all sides, death might be closer than we think.Please note: this book contains dark content that some readers may find distressing.