Book picks similar to
Unmasked Heart by Veronica Eden


mafia
arranged-marriage
romance
contemporary-romance

Lines


Anna B. Doe - 2018
    For the shy, nerdy girl-next-door that she is, high school is torture and all she wants is for it to be over. Having her heart broken by a popular, womanizing boy all those years ago doesn’t help the matters. Nor does his best friend who still has a habit of mercilessly teasing her. Now, she only has one year left, one year to be invisible before she can move on with her life.Derek King doesn’t do drama, but his life is all about drama once Maximillian Sanders steps foot into his town, his school, and into Amelia’s life. Max is always around, and he is making her smile again. But the boy who once broke her heart isn’t ready to let her go. Older and wiser, Derek isn’t about to let someone take away what he wants, and he wants Amelia.She's set on not believing in him and on not getting her heart broken once again. He is set on showing her wrong.She says she hates him, but maybe the line between past and present, love and hate is thinner than she ever realized.

Machiavellian


Bella Di Corte - 2020
     I hungered to be seen. There were three things I knew about Capo Macchiavello: He was gorgeous. He was reclusive. He was considered one of New York’s most savage animals. And he wanted me as his wife. A simple arrangement – you do for me, I do for you. Nothing owed, no expectations. Except for one: never leave. Life was never that simple, though. By the age of twenty-one, I was parentless, jobless, and homeless, and I had come to learn the hard way that nothing was ever free. Even kindness comes with strings. Capo might’ve been the only man to ever see me, but I had made a vow to myself: I would never owe anyone anything. Most of all, the man I called boss. I killed to stay hidden. Mariposa Flores thought she owed nothing to no one, but she owed everything…to me, the ghost the world had once called The Machiavellian Prince of New York.

Dark Needs


T.M. Frazier - 2015
    With blood literally still on his hands, the only thing on Jake's mind is making up for lost time with the woman he loves.Dark Needs is a companion novella to The Dark Light of Day.

Hunter


Eden Summers - 2018
     I've been running for ten years - fleeing my past and clawing my way toward an inescapable act of vengeance. Until he walks into my life, sure and strong and full of secrets. He dilutes my thirst for retribution with his touch. He obliterates my need for solitude with his kiss. But it's his hidden agenda that makes the hair on the back of my neck prickle. He wants something. Something that doesn't revolve around sweaty skin and tangled silk sheets like he'd have me believe. I have to stop falling for him, otherwise the last ten years will all be for nothing. I need to keep running, keep fighting for vengeance, even though I know he will track me down. But trying to escape him is just another problem. Because now I crave the hunt.

Capture Me


Anna Zaires - 2015
     Yulia Tzakova is no stranger to dangerous men. She grew up with them. She survived them. But when she meets Lucas Kent, she knows the hard ex-soldier may be the most dangerous of them all. One night—that’s all it should be. A chance to make up for a failed assignment and get information on Kent’s arms dealer boss. When his plane goes down, it should be the end. Instead, it's just the beginning. He wants her from the first moment he sees her. Lucas Kent has always liked leggy blondes, and Yulia Tzakova is as beautiful as they come. The Russian interpreter might’ve tried to seduce his boss, but she ends up in Lucas’s bed—and he has every intention of seeing her there again. Then his plane goes down, and he learns the truth. She betrayed him. Now she will pay.

A Hurt So Sweet


Isabella Starling - 2019
    She died years ago. This town broke her. I’ll burn it to the ground before I let that happen to me.In Eden Falls, I’m forced to attend a school for the elite. The Firstborns own this place and they think they own me, too. It’s not long before Dexter, Caspian, Lai, and Julian become the bane of my existence. There are only two people I’m afraid of – my strict father, and my malevolent fiancé. Unfortunately for me, my husband-to-be is one of the Firstborns ruining my life.Dexter Booth and I will marry on my birthday to secure our families’ bond. Every woman in this damn town wants to be Dexter’s toy. Except me.Dex and his Eden Falls Prep cronies have forced me to give up my body. I know my betrothed wants my mind next.I play along… But soon, I’ll leave the beautiful jerk behind without the thing he wants most from me.His heir.

The Rise of Saint


Bella J. - 2020
    Monster. Thief.That’s what he is. The one who stole me. The man who ripped me from a life I thought was mine. There was no negotiating. No choice to be made. And no. Way. Out.He says my whole life has been a lie. I believe him.He says he’s addicted to my tears. I believe him.He says once I give him what he wants, he’ll let me go…I don’t believe him.~ Saint ~Orphan. Fighter. Secret.That’s what she is. The woman I took. The woman they tried to hide from me but failed.Now she’s exactly where she’s meant to be. At my side. And at my mercy. The blood that runs through her veins makes me her king. But to me she’s nothing but a means to an end. A way for me to feed my vengeance.Once she gives me what I want I’ll let her go back to her miserable, mundane life. But for now, she’s mine to play with…until she breaks.

Marked


Ruby Vincent - 2019
    My hair was on point. My skin was flawless. And now I wore the hell out of my clothes instead of hiding them.Even running into Ryder hadn't thrown me. So what that the green-eyed devil who tormented me for years now ruled my new school with a band of boys everyone called the Knights. The four of them were devastatingly rich, enviously handsome... and heartbreakingly cruel.But the Evergreen Knights didn't scare me. I had my own plans and no reason to enter their little world... until one fateful night and a masquerade ball changed everything.I saw something I shouldn't have and now I've been Marked.They'll do everything they can to break me but they don't know the monsters I've faced. They don't know I've been broken before.If they want to take on Valentina Moon... bring it on.Marked is a high school bully romance with a sweet tinge of mystery. This is book one in the series and features language and sexual scenes. If you're cool with that, dive in!

The Dare


Harley Laroux - 2019
    Please review the full content warning below.Jessica Martin is not a nice girl. As Prom Queen and Captain of the cheer squad, she'd ruled her school mercilessly, looking down her nose at everyone she deemed unworthy. The most unworthy of them all? The "freak," Manson Reed: her favorite victim.But a lot changes after high school.A freak like him never should have ended up at the same Halloween party as her. He never should have been able to beat her at a game of Drink or Dare. He never should have been able to humiliate her in front of everyone. Losing the game means taking the dare: a dare to serve Manson for the entire night as his slave. It's a dare that Jessica's pride - and curiosity - won't allow her to refuse. What ensues is a dark game of pleasure and pain, fear and desire.Is it only a game?Only revenge?Only a dare?Or is it something more?This dark erotic novella is written in First Person POV and is about 32k words in length.This book contains intense fantasy scenes of hard kinks/edgeplay, graphic sex, and harsh language. It is intended only for an adult audience. Beware: this is a dark, weird, kinky read. The activities depicted therein are dangerous and are not meant to be an example of realistic BDSM. Reader discretion is advised.Kinks/Fetishes within: erotic humiliation, fearplay, painplay, knifeplay, consensual non-consent (CNC), orgasm denial, boot worship, spanking, crying, blowjobs, clowns, group sexual activities, spit, bondage, public play, bloodplay.

It's Not Over


Grahame Claire - 2018
    The other tied to a past I can’t escape.For eight years, I kept them separate, knowing one day their collision was inevitable.That day has come.She’ll have to accept it.It’s over. VivianHe has two lives.A beautiful one with me. Another shrouded in ugly secrets.It didn’t matter, until now. I don’t know why he’s destroyed us, But fighting for him will be the battle of my life.It’s not over.

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.*

Rewrite the Stars


Charleigh Rose - 2018
    Beautiful and popular, if not a little jaded. A chance encounter with a green-eyed stuntman sets off a chain of events that turns her perfect, little world upside down. Short on options and desperate for adventure, she joins the traveling carnival for the summer. Thrust into a world full of drama, deception, and secrecy, Evangeline tries to find herself and protect her heart in the process. Sebastian McAllister is cursed. He knows better than to think otherwise. He’s content to live out the rest of his life traveling the country as one of the four Sons of Eastlake, seeking thrills the only way he knows how. The one thing he doesn’t see coming is the spoiled blond with stars in her eyes. The only problem is, the more time he spends with her, the more hope starts to stir in his dormant heart. Too bad hope is a dangerous thing when you’re a McAllister

Havoc at Prescott High


C.M. Stunich - 2019
    H.A.V.O.C. Hael, Aaron, Victor, Oscar, and Callum. The Havoc Boys rule the hellhole we call Prescott High. Once upon a time, they ruled me. For an entire year, I endured their shit. But senior year is going to be different. This year, I own them. I’ve made a pact with the Havoc Boys to get the vengeance I deserve. Their price? Me. At their beck and call, in their beds, a part of their gang. Their girl. A Havoc Girl. Those dirty, rotten boys are going to get revenge against everyone that’s wronged me—everyone but themselves. HAVOC AT PRESCOTT HIGH is a 105,000 word mature high school/new adult romance with enemies-to-lovers/love-hate themes. It has brief flashbacks of past bullying incidents as well as foul language and sexual scenes; any sex featured is consensual. This is a reverse harem novel, meaning the main character has more than one love interest. This is book one of three in the series.

Hot for Her


Caisey Quinn - 2019
    Until her friend drags her to a carnival where she runs smack into him.The blue-eyed Adonis from her art history class.Aiden Singleton isn’t looking for anything more than a meaningless hook-up. He’s got plenty on his plate without any added complications. But when a blond-haired beauty needs his help, all he can say is yes.Aiden knows he and Emersyn share something special. What he doesn’t know is that they also share a secret—one that could fracture both of their futures forever.Librarian's Note: An alternate title/cover for this ASIN can be found here.

Necessary Cruelty


Ashley Gee - 2020
    He is beloved by his subjects and ruthless with his enemies.We used to be friends, once. Not anymore.It’s no secret that he hates me, but only the two of us will ever know why. And the guilt of what I’ve done makes me hate myself more than he ever could.Except love and hate are two sides of the same coin and both will make you burn.Then he comes to me with a proposition: one fake marriage in exchange for enough money to finally escape this town and leave the past behind me. The offer is hard to refuse and Vin is used to getting what he wants.I want to know why me, but I won’t ask for his secrets when it means revealing my own.He is the best and worst thing that has ever happened to me.My savior and my destruction.It’s a deal with the devil.I’ll let him take my hand in marriage.The only question is whether or not he also gets my soul.