Book picks similar to
Deceit in Bloom by Jennifer Michael
romance
dark
favorites
mystery
First Light
Isabel Jolie - 2021
Letting someone in could be devastating for my family.For the most part, isolation isn’t a hardship. I haven’t been looking for love or any kind of serious relationship.But then I met Logan. I tried to keep my distance. He won’t let me.Logan is gentle, kind, and loving. Everything I never knew I needed in my life.He’s also a cop—exactly the kind of man who’d never understand my truth.So, while he has shared his deepest, darkest secrets, I keep mine hidden.Too bad I can’t keep my heart locked away, too.Because now I’m falling for a man who can never be mine. Not truly, anyway. How can I ask him to be my future when I can’t even let him help me survive my present?******A steamy girl next door romance featuring a former-military, grumpy hero temporarily relocated to a resort island with a small-town atmosphere, right off the coast of North Carolina. First Light is a standalone steamy contemporary romance. The Haven Island Series can be read in any order; you do not need to read any of the other books in the series to enjoy First Light.
Empathy
Ker Dukey - 2014
They say some people are born with decreased activity in the front central lobe causing them a deficiency in empathy. Maybe that’s true about me but whether I was born this way or created in a moment of evil, empathy was something I didn’t possess until her green eyes met mine in the mirror and I couldn’t take her life. I didn’t want to feel, didn’t want this woman in my life complicating how I lived but she was there at every turn. Sent to haunt me for my sins. Her light so bright she provoked a shadow from everyone she touched. When a job turns bad quickly altering my life forever I’m forced to feel. When nothing is making sense I’m forced to face truths I never would recover from. When life drowns you in its cruelty you don’t know which way the current will drag you or who you’ll become once you re-surface. Melody:I was a daughter I was a studentI was a victimDid I have his love? Did I make him feel?Did I have his empathy?When the actions of a soulless killer forces sorrow into my veins I never dreamed the man healing my wounds would be the one to leave the worst scar. His love would scar my soul. Scars are permanent; I will never feel the relief from them. Will I learn to live with them, remember why I have them and learn never to let him close enough to inflict more? Will I eventually cover them… like tattoos coating them with new memories, new love and new starts? I didn’t know these answers because the pain was too suffocating, the only thing I knew was they will always be under the surface lingering. He had scars too, from his sins. There is nothing that can cover them, they were too deep, too ugly, too dark and they marked us both forever.Warning: This book will mess with your mind. It is a very dark, sexy, twisted romance novel. 18+ only.
Sworn
Maria Luis - 2018
The words are tattooed on my skin, just as they’re branded on my heart. But I never planned for Sergeant Lincoln Asher, a man as deceptive as he is cold. His dominance sets my teeth on edge . . . and my body on fire. He won’t stop until I’m his, but I’m not his to take. My secrets bind me—and blind me. I live in the shadows of New Orleans. Hidden and protected in the underworld I call home. I know who I am. I vow never to kneel before a man... Save one. And he will be my downfall.
Fleeting Moments
Bella Jewel - 2016
My rock.He was just a strangerJust a selfless stranger with a face I'll never forgetCan't forgetWon't forget And like everything else, he just disappearedAs if he never existedI have to find himI need to find himHe has to know that he saved me He has to know that in that one fleeting moment, he was all I could see
Rescuing Melissa
Ellie Masters - 2017
All she wants is to move on and put the past behind her.On leave from his role as a Guardian, an elite group of para-military hostage rescuse specialists, CJ will finally witness the execution of the man who butchered his baby sister.As Melissa and CJ rebuild the pieces of their lives, a man with the blackest of hearts and an endless capacity to inflict pain changes everything. Prince Charming seeks to honor his mentor's legacy and expand his collection of princesses by adding his most treasured Queen. As tornados tear through town, three lives will be uprooted, twisted, and tangled beyond what any of them can foresee. Melissa and CJ will struggle to come together as horrific events rip them apart, while Prince Charming seeks his Queen.Will Prince Charming destroy CJ and Melissa's chance for a happily ever after? Or will True Love win in the end? Grab your copy of Rescuing Melissa today and find out!What reviewers are saying:"Embodying the worst, and the best, of the human spirit, this author used a steady hand to produce a story that was, in the end, a testament to love and enduring strength. This was a 'stay up until 4 in the morning read' that was worth every minute of lost sleep..." ~ Nerdy Dirty and Flirty reviews."From the first page to the last I was totally captivated. This fast-paced romantic suspense would not let me put it down. I had to know what would happen next." ~ Tamye from Books, Coffee and Crafts News"Who doesn't love a good fairy tale? Especially when it involves a serial killer whose victims are named after fairy tale princesses?? This book is an awesome romantic psychological thriller... There is action, lots of suspense, romance, and of course, not one but TWO psychopathic obsessive villains. If you are in the mood for a Cinderella meets Silence of the Lambs tale, this is your book!!!"This book was previously released as "Twist of Fate." New updated scenes have been added to this edition.
Vicious Prince
Lili St. Germain - 2018
A brutal abduction.And a love so forbidden, it might destroy them both.Avery Capulet is missing.Taken by a madman. Kept in the dark.She might not survive.He’ll use her body. Destroy her mind. All before he ever lays a hand on her.Rome Montague is a drug dealer. A criminal. A thief.And he needs the secrets Avery and her family are keeping – even if it means cutting them out of her pretty Capulet flesh.Rome Montague is missing – but nobody will miss him.Not that it matters; After the things he’s done to this girl, he doesn’t deserve to be found.Vicious Prince, set in the criminal underbelly of San Francisco, follows two warring families who are ruled by blood, power and twisted desire.Please note this book was formerly titled Verona Blood.
Gian
Lisa Cardiff - 2016
And I had a plan to make it all happen. Move to New York. Find an agent. Work hard. Then with a little luck mixed in with some natural talent, I’d be a Broadway star. One devastating injury and a broken engagement later, I have nothing to show for my life except an empty bank account and a jaded heart. Desperate to salvage my dreams, I agree to interview for a job with my best friend’s brother, Gian Trassato. Gian is charming. He’s magnetic. He’s connected to the Trassato Crime Family, and everything I should stay away from, but I don’t have a choice. I need the job. Just when I thought I was about to get my life and career back on track, I make one thoughtless mistake. I go back to the club to pick up my purse and witness something Gian’s enemies would kill to keep secret. Now I’m being sucked deeper and deeper into a terrifying world I don’t understand…Friends and enemies are interchangeable. Honor and family are everything. And the scariest part of all…I might actually be getting lost in Gian.
Bully Me
Selena . - 2020
When we move to a small town in the south, we’ll own it, my brothers said. After all, my family is rich as sin and used to getting whatever they want. How hard could it be? Except when we arrive in Faulkner, someone already owns this town. The Darling family. They’re every bit as wealthy as we are, and they’re not happy with our new money moving in. The three Darling cousins, each one more cruel and gorgeous than the last, rule the halls of Willow Heights the way my brothers ruled our prep school in Manhattan. None is worse than Devlin Darling, who makes it his personal mission to ruin his new rivals. The Darlings see my brothers as a threat. They want them gone. It doesn’t take them long to find my brothers’ one weakness. Me. *Bully Me is a high school dark romance suitable for readers 18+*
The Dirty Ones
J.A. Huss - 2018
I wrote dirty, I wrote erotic, I wrote the truth.And then they called me a liar. But it's not me who's lying, it's them.Our story isn't for everyone. It's not even for us.So if you're looking for the fairy tale and the stupid prince on his dumb white horse, move along. You've got a hold of the wrong book. This is not your story, this is not your life, and this is not your opportunity to dip your frightened little toe into the dark pool of water and "try new things" and then pull it out and decide... #NotForMe.When you go in with us you go all in. So make a decision before you turn this page. Because I'm making one promise with this book.Just one.We are The Dirty Ones and this is our truth.The Dirty Ones is a brand new, thrilling, standalone romance about the secret world of erotica authors by New York Times bestselling author, JA Huss.
Play Along
T.L. Swan - 2017
I realize, to save my life I need to become valuable.My body is my only weapon.Pleasure and pain.28 days is a long time to Play Along with his perverted demands.He thinks I enjoy them.It disgusts me that I secretly do.I hate him.I crave him.When my captor becomes my savior, escape will be my reality.Publishers note....This is a full length, stand alone, romantic suspense. It is not a dark romance.
Hard to Love
W. Winters - 2019
I was too much of a bastard to push her away.I grew up in this life, and now I run these streets. Blood and violence taint everything I touch.Everything but her. She was my constant through it all.Just a touch would singe and soothe.Just a look would tempt and torment.She became my escape and my addiction.I only survived because she was by my side.I should’ve known better than to indulge.I should’ve known better than to let her fall for me.It was only a matter of time before the danger bled into what we had.I was Laura’s downfall. Problem was, she was mine too.
Bodhi
A.R. Hadley - 2018
Her desire to submit an innate need. And it doesn’t take long for Audrey to realize this world has surpassed her wildest imaginations. But she lives in two worlds, straddling day and night, reality and kink — one foot has found its way into Gavin’s heart while the other rests on the outside. Her Master, though, doesn’t just want her submission…
Gavin has decided he needs both feet.
Bodhi is a 63,000 word standalone novel.
You Loved Me At My Darkest
Evie Harper - 2014
Kidnapped by a rich madman, Sasha is sold into slavery, while Lily is forced to join The Collection, a unique bevy of exotic beauties enduring frequent horrors at the hands of elite bidders. However, no amount of pain and suffering will break Lily, who will stop at nothing to save her younger sister. Possibly with help from an unlikely ally.Love is stronger than loyalty…Attempting to prove his allegiance to his employer, Jake is tasked with guarding the unruly and uncontrollable Lily. He can’t afford to help her in her quest to free Sasha—not if he hopes to fulfill his own agenda. But in their dark, gritty, tension-filled world, solace is taken wherever it’s found. Bonds are formed and hearts engage despite Jake’s resistance and both their attempts at self-preservation.When certain secrets come to light, the resulting explosion has breathtakingly bittersweet consequences that, by the end, may not leave everyone whole…or alive.
Vines
Brynne Asher - 2016
When the opportunity arose, she settled in horse and wine country. Experiencing more than her fair share of tragedy and loss, she had plans for her future, one where failure wasn’t an option. And not just because people and cows were counting on her. She’d poured everything she had into her struggling vineyard, because once she’s in, she’s all in. After giving himself wholly to the job for ten years, Crew Vega was done. He’d fulfilled his commitment, done his duty, gone above and beyond to settle the score. And the score was high. All he had to do was train his replacements and he’d be out for good. He had a plan, one that didn’t include getting involved with his new neighbor, a woman who not only kept cows for pets, but treasured her employees as family, and understood him better than anyone ever had before. But when he learned a high level CIA target being investigated for treason was keeping tabs on her? No, he never planned on that. And like everything Crew Vega did in life, when he goes in, he’s all in. Warning: I’m a devout member of the mama club and don’t want to get kicked out by angry mamas. If you aren’t eighteen, turn around, go drink your milk and eat your veggies, it’s good for your bones. And go to bed early, you’re still growing, your body needs sleep. And don’t text and drive. And be nice, sit with the kid who sits alone at lunch. And read a PG-13 book, it’s good for your brain. And go tell your mama you love her. Chop-chop, run along now. I’ll see you back when you’re eligible to vote.
Indebted
J.L. Beck - 2014
That all changed in a blink of an eye the moment Bree came home for break. She didn't expect to find her dad strapped to chair, a gun pointed at his head. Alzerro “Zerro” King wasn't a man to be messed with. Women flocked to him and men ran from him. He ruled the mafia with an iron fist and no one ever crossed him unless they wanted to pay the price. He believed the only way to pay for something, if unable to do so, was to do it in blood. Nothing got him harder than stringing someone up, and putting a bullet in their head. That is until Bree. One look is all it took for him to know she could pay for her father’s debt in many other ways… Ways that could get him hard. Could a big city mafia king fall in love with the small town country girl? Would she be able to handle his dark and demanding ways? When push comes to shove, would Bree end up running only to be killed? Or would she sacrifice herself for love?