Book picks similar to
Cross My Heart by Shanjida Nusrath Ali
dark-romance
dark
mafia
dnf
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.
Knotted
Pam Godwin - 2018
It’s impossible. Growing up together, Conor and I shared all our firsts. First love, first kiss, first… Not all our firsts. We were sixteen the night she was violently assaulted while I helplessly watched. I’ll never forget the sounds of her suffering. Or my inconsolable agony when she left Oklahoma. Years later, she returns to honor our teenage pact. Except the boy she loved is gone, replaced by a ruthless cattle rancher knotted with secrets. She doesn’t know my dark cravings or the trails of sin that lead to her. I don’t deserve her, but one truth remains. She’s mine. TRAILS OF SIN series (HEAs with no cliffhangers - must be read in order): Knotted #1 Buckled #2 Booted #3
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.
The Brit
Jodi Ellen Malpas - 2021
Numbing herself to fear and pain is the only way she can survive in this cruel world. So when she’s taken as collateral by the notorious Danny Black in a deadly game of power, she’s thrown by the deep fear she feels rising within her. And, worse than fear, a profound desire. She’s heard tales of The Brit. He’s callous. Coldblooded. But no one ever said he was wickedly beautiful and darkly captivating. He sees past her mask, giving her a cruel sense of hope. But she must fight their twisted attraction or risk losing the one thing she survives for.When Danny Black took an enemy’s beautiful lover as security, he never anticipated the repercussions. Or the warped attraction they would share. Rose Cassidy pushes Danny to the brink of madness with her impenetrable façade and savage allure. He has to remind himself that she’s bait. A solution to a problem. Yet she evokes powerful feelings in Danny, and feelings are risky when you’re wanted dead by endless enemies.The most dangerous game is about to be played.But can either of them win?*This story is gritty, dark, edgy, and contains scenes that some people may find uncomfortable to read. It is NOT for the fainthearted.
Black Wedding
Emma Luna - 2021
I carried out the hit as I was hired to do by Irish Mob boss, Vernon O'Keenan. It's not my fault they found out too late that they had the wrong man. All I wanted was my money. I thought I could kidnap the Mafia Princess Brianna O'Keenan and get the ransom money. What I got was so much more!Ruthless, feisty, and incredibly sexy, she's far from the timid daddy's girl I was expecting. Bree has her own agenda. She wants to dominate in a world ruled by men. I have no doubt she can do it, but she will need my help. Her family rules state only males can run the business. So, Bree proposes we get married. She gets to rule, and I get more money than I ever dreamed of.Two dark, evil worlds collide when we agree to our black wedding. We will fight each others enemies and come out on top. But what happens if we develop real feelings and we realise our wedding wasn't all that black?
Author Warning
Black Wedding is a dark mafia, kidnapping romance. This book features dark themes which may be a trigger for some people. If you would like more detail then please email: emmalunaauthor@gmail.com.
We Are Us
Tara Leigh - 2020
Survivor. Daughter. Sister. Wife.Now I am called something else.Murderer.Believe it or not, this is our love story.
Den of Vipers
K.A. Knight - 2020
Their deals are as sordid as their business, and their reputation is enough to bring a grown man to his knees, forcing him to beg for mercy. They are not people you mess with, yet my dad did. The old man ran up a debt with them and then sold me to cover his losses.Yes, sold me.They own me now.I’m theirs in every sense of the word. But I’ve never been meek and compliant. These men, they look at me with longing. Their scarred, blood-stained hands holding me tight. They want everything I am, everything I have to give, and won’t stop until they get just that. They can own my body, but they will never have my heart.The Vipers? I’m going to make them regret the day they took me.This girl? She bites too.18+ Reverse Harem Romance. Warning this book contains scenes and references of abuse/assault that some readers may find triggering. Along with graphic sex scenes and violence. This is a dark book.
Tormentor Mine
Anna Zaires - 2017
He tormented me and destroyed me, ripping apart my world in his quest for vengeance. Now he's back, but he’s no longer after my secrets. The man who stars in my nightmares wants me.
There Are No Saints
Sophie Lark - 2021
Until the night we both laid eyes on Mara Eldritch.Shaw wants to use her as a pawn in his twisted game.I’m fixated on her for a different reason…She makes me feel things I never thought I could feel. Want things I never wanted.Only she can make me lose control.I don’t know if I should protect her at all costs… or destroy her before she ruins me.Mara knows I’m no saint. But she has no idea she’s dancing with the devil…
The Lark Notes:
I have always been fascinated by true crime, as well as by villains and anti-heroes. A serial killer is, of course, the ultimate anti-hero — the baddest of the bad boys. Redeeming a character who starts so evil was a challenge that inspired me to entirely new heights and entirely new depths. Come on this darkly sensual and utterly brain-bending ride with me! — Sophie"There Are No Saints” is the first book in the Sinners Duet. Reader be warned: this is a dark and steamy serial killer romance that will take you on a journey through the twisted mind of an artist on the brink of madness.
Savage Beginnings
J.L. Beck - 2020
Like a thief I came in the dead of night and stole her away from her protected castle and placed her in a gilded cage made of gold. The arrangement had been made. Her father knew I was coming, knew I had intended to make him pay. His empire was crumbling. He had no money, nothing of value to me, nothing except... her. Which is why he agreed. His precious, virgin daughter in return for a debt paid. He thought I would break her, kill her, he had no idea what I had really planned. She would become my wife. She would bear my children. She would bend to my will. And I would go to any lengths to keep her by my side. *This is a dark mafia romance that contains mature themes, graphic violence, and sexual content. This is a standalone with a HEA.*
The Italian
T.L. Swan - 2019
Travel the world. And fall hopelessly in love. I aimed to do all three. I went to Italy to find myself. But he found me. It was like a story book, our eyes met across a crowded room. He asked me if I needed help reading the menu. We ate, we laughed, we danced, and I fell. Unfortunately, things didn’t go to plan, and we parted ways. Two years later, our eyes meet across a room again. Only this time I was on a date with another man. He went crazy in a jealous fit. But the man I met then is different now. He’s colder, harder, and officially one of the most powerful men in Italy. Dare I say it, even more enticing. But if you dance with the devil, you get burnt. And the fires in Italy are scalding hot.
'Til Death: Volume One
Bella Jewel - 2014
There is. I married a douchebag.I didn't know it at the time. He came in like a handsome stranger and blew me off my feet. I fell madly in love, like the naive girl I am. Then he left me high and dry. Turns out, I was nothing more than a business plan for billionaire playboy, Marcus Tandem. He needed to be married in order to obtain his grandfathers business, and I was the poor victim in his path. I believed in what we had, until the truth reared its ugly head. I never meant anything to Marcus. Not a damned thing. With my world spinning on its axis, the girl I once was has long since died. Instead he left me as this empty, emotionless shell.I may have made a vow before God to love and cherish him ‘Til Death do we part, but it’s time for me to give back to Marcus, exactly what he gave me. He has to pay.And pay he will. This is part of a two book series and it will contain a HEA – Readers over 18+
Torrent
Gemma James - 2014
Now, eight years later, he's returning the favor...I've been obsessed with Rafe Mason since I was thirteen. The twisted part of this story is that I still want him even now that he's holding me captive on an island.Rafe has his reasons for doing what he's doing, and if I'm honest, I can't blame him. I'm the girl who sent him to prison for a heinous crime he didn't commit.But now he's free and the tables have turned...now he's the one driven by obsession.NOTE TO READERS: Torrent is a dark romance with kidnapping and other disturbing themes. Intended for mature readers. Not for the faint of heart. You've been warned. Part 1 in the Condemned series.
Vicious Kings
Eva Ashwood - 2020
They never forgot me.Dad promised me we were safe, but I should've known that was just another one of his lies.The past always finds you, and mine finds me on my wedding day when four brutal, dangerous men drag me from the altar in a hail of gunfire.Four men who used to be four boys.Four boys I cared about.Four boys I left behind.They're not the same boys I knew though, and whatever we may have once been to each other, it doesn't matter anymore.Because they're only one thing to me now:My captors.Vicious Kings is book one of The Dark Elite series. This is a reverse harem new adult dark romance series that includes high steam, violence, and foul language.
Predator
Michelle Horst - 2017
I'm tortured and beaten within an inch of my life when he walks right into my hell.No one knows who he works for, only that he leaves no one alive. But for some unknown reason, he doesn't end my miserable life.Instead, he takes me, and I don't know which is worse... the death sentence hanging over my head or being at his mercy.Previously published as 'PREDATOR.'(Rewritten with a new cover and title 2021)WARNING:This book contains subject matter that may be sensitive for some readers. There is dark and triggering content between these pages. 18+ only. Please read responsibly.This is Cara's story. Her trauma and her journey of healing are the main focus of this book.