Book picks similar to
Chosen by Barbara Elsborg
dark
suspense
abuse
thriller
Still Missing
Chevy Stevens - 2010
The open house is slow, but when her last visitor pulls up in a van as she's about to leave, Annie thinks it just might be her lucky day after all. Still Missing interweaves the year Annie spent as the captive of a psychopath in a remote mountain cabin, which unfold through sessions with her psychiatrist, with a second narrative following the events after her escape—her struggle to piece her shattered life back together and the ongoing police investigation into the identity of her captor.Still Missing is a shocking, visceral, brutal and beautifully crafted novel.
Bloodstained Beauty
Ella Fields - 2018
Fresh out of college and headed straight for my dream job, I didn’t think things could get any better.
Then I met my dream man.
In an instant, my happy ever after had begun.
The life I’d stumbled into was beautiful, and the man I loved was perfect.
But perfection comes at a cost, and I’d slumbered through all the alarms.
Then I met my nightmare.
The man whose bright eyes held untamed darkness.
The man who disarmed me with his peculiar behavior.
The man whose cold, merciless hands shook me awake.
In an instant, questions started to dismantle my happy ever after.
But whoever said the truth would set you free was wrong.
It wasn’t going to repair the cracks in my naive heart.
It wasn’t going to caress my face with comforting hands and reassure me it was all just a dream.
No, the truth shoved me down a rabbit hole, and I landed in the lair of a real-life monster.
The Girl in 6E
A.R. Torre - 2013
That seems like it would be a difficult task, but it's not. Not anymore, thanks to the internet.I am, quite possibly, the most popular recluse ever. Not many shut-ins have a 200-member fan club, a bank account in the seven-figure range, and hundreds of men lining up to pay for undivided attention.They get satisfaction, I get a distraction. Their secret desires are nothing compared to why I hide... my lust for blood, my love of death.Taking their money is easy. Keeping all these secrets... one is bound to escape.What if you hid yourself away because all you could think of was killing? And what if one girl's life was depending on you venturing into society?Enter a world of lies, thrills, fears, and all desires, in this original thriller from A. R. Torre.
Inferno
Yolanda Olson - 2017
That may not seem like much, but my God, it's such an accomplishment. Being made to stand and kneel repeatedly while he performs his rituals is exhausting and I'm pretty sure that the welts on the bottom of my feet are ready to pop. My knees. They're bruised, covered in dry blood and cuts; but I won't fall down. I can't fall down; that means he wins again and I get put down in the oubliette. Being in the dark never scared me, being alone was something I used to cherish until he took me. I just want to find the light now. I want to find the warm place that he tells me so much about; the place where he says all of this pain will make sense. I won't fall down again. I can't. Not before I find my peace in the light. I have to do it soon because I'm not sure how much more I can take. Miserere mei sunt.
Redeeming Rhys
Mary E. Palmerin - 2016
He cut distortion out of his life years before, but he let her live; his only way to gain redemption once more.As his sinful needs blanket him with dread, he seeks penance from the soul he saw as a second chance.Is absolution too late for Rhys?**Warning, dark scenes depicted heavily throughout this novel. Read the Author's disclaimer carefully before proceeding with this title.**
Dark Mysteries
Jessica Gadziala - 2015
protecting a woman from a malicious stalker. One night, a woman shows up at his office, battered and begging for help. She herself is dealing with a stalker. What he doesn't know, however, is that ELLIE is hiding things from him. A dark and troubled past that threatens to put her, and his, life in jeopardy. Among trying to figure out the mystery of the woman begging asylum at his apartment, Xander is forced to deal with his growing attraction to her. Will he be able to reconcile his feelings for her or put the pieces of her life together and help her before it is too late?
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.
Slave
Sherri Hayes - 2011
After several rebellious teenage years, it gave him the stability and control he had been seeking after his parent's death. As president of a not-for-profit foundation, he knows what his future holds and what he wants out of life. All that changes when a simple lunch with his college friend and mentor, Daren, leads him to buying a slave.Thrust into a situation he never thought he'd be in, Stephan can't walk away. He is compelled to help this girl in the only way he knows how. Brianna knows only one thing: she is a slave. She has nothing. She is nothing. Can Stephan help Brianna realize that she is much more than just a Slave?***This is book 1 of a 4 book series.***
The Beast
Jaden Wilkes - 2014
From the rough streets of Moscow to the highest ranks in the Solntsevskaya Bratva, he has seen it all.An attack four years ago left him disfigured and in seclusion, hiding from reactions to his appearance and in safety from those who failed to kill him the first time.Comfortable in his penthouse, managing his billion dollar businesses, he's resigned himself to be alone, simply called The Beast among those who've dealt with him in the past.Columbia Grey is a pseudo-activist trying to save her neighbourhood from a developer intent on levelling it to build apartment towers. She goes along with a plan to confront the CEO of the company on his own turf, to force him to listen to her demands...all in a pathetic attempt to impress a man she barely likes.Little does she know, she's taken herself into the mouth of the beast, a man familiar with death and destruction, sex and seduction, a man used to getting exactly what he wants and a man with nothing left to lose.She's a beauty, but will that be enough to tame the beast and save her life?*** This is not a fairy tale, this is what happens when the music ends and life goes on after the credits roll. This is about simply existing until you find yourself and write your own happily ever after, no matter what form it takes.
King's Captive
Amber A. Bardan - 2017
Because I'm not here as a guest. Not even close. I'm a prisoner. I'm his. Julius King. Powerful. Wealthy. Dangerous. There are parts of me he wants that I can't give him. When he looks at me, there are times I swear he sees someone else. And the scary part is that sometimes, when he touches me, I think he may be someone else, too. Though my body might be tempted, and he might control everything else, I can't let him have any piece of my heart. I won't. But every day, the fight gets harder, and Julius manages to slip past my defenses in the most unexpected ways. I have to find out the truth about Julius King. Even if it destroys me. This book is approximately 81,000 words One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you're looking for with an HEA/HFN. It's a promise! Find out more at CarinaPress.com/RomancePromise
The Risk
S.T. Abby - 2016
Collecting the debts that are owed to me.Ten years ago, they took from me. They left me for dead.They should have made sure I stayed dead.Now I'm taking from them.One name at a time.I've trained for too long.I've been patient.I can't stop now.Revenge is best served cold...They never see me coming, until I paint their walls red.Logan doesn't know how they hurt me. He doesn't know about the screams they ignored. He doesn't know how twisted that town really is.He just knows people are dying.He doesn't know he's in love with their killer.No one suspects a dead girl.And Logan doesn't suspect the girl in his bed.They're looking for a monster.Not a girl who loves red.Not a girl in love.I'm a faceless nightmare.At least until I tell them the story they've pretended never happened.But in the end, will Logan choose them? Or will we watch them burn together?**Graphic**Adult language**Some triggers could be too much for the easily disturbed reader**Sexual content**Fucked up moral compass; read at your own risk.
Jasmine
Jennifer Bene - 2019
His property. His Jasmine.And he will never let me go.
Trapped in the middle of nowhere, taken by a madman, I'm forced to be his wife. Obedient, meek, righteous in the eyes of God.But I am none of these things, and I can't give in. No matter what he does to me, no matter how much he hurts me, I have to get out of here.I have to escape... before I forget who I was before him.
Asking for It
Lilah Pace - 2015
This is what I want. Now I need a man dangerous enough to give it to me.”
Graduate student Vivienne Charles is afraid of her own desires—ashamed to admit that she fantasizes about being taken by force, by a man who will claim her completely and without mercy. When the magnetic, mysterious Jonah Marks learns her secret, he makes an offer that stuns her: they will remain near-strangers to each other, and meet in secret so that he can fulfill her fantasy.Their arrangement is twisted. The sex is incredible. And—despite their attempts to stay apart—soon their emotions are bound together as tightly as the rope around Vivienne’s wrists. But the secrets in their pasts threaten to turn their affair even darker...Reader Advisory: Asking for It deals explicitly with fantasies of non-consensual sex. Readers sensitive to portrayals of non-consensual sex should be advised.
Mercy: Goodbye Sanity
Natalie Bennett - 2017
Often the monster is a tortured soul with a fucked up past, but even then, that monster is redeemable. This is not one of those stories. My monster revels in the carnage he creates. Our story is not one where good prevails and the villain becomes a hero. My reality is dark. His demons are darker. And though I love my monster, this is no fairytale. There is no happily ever after. This Saga contains extremely dark themes.
Deadly Captive
Bianca Sommerland - 2011
His words confuse her at first, but she soon understands they are both in the middle of a performance that will determine whether she remains in captivity or dies. The crowd must be entertained, and her cellmate makes sure it is. Forced submission is not the only horror Lydia endures. She has no memories of life before her imprisonment, and Joe, her cellmate, is her only comfort as the powerful creatures that hold them captive torture and debase her. Together, she and Joe cling to the will to survive long enough to break free and seek revenge. Their desire to sustain one another triumphs over their wardens' efforts to destroy them. There is no pain, no suffering, that can tear them apart. Beyond their cell, their love is tested. Can they hold strong in the face of the challenge of the new powers they have gained along with their freedom?