Book picks similar to
Vendetta by Autumn Karr


new-adult
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mafia

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.*

Crow's Row


Julie Hockley - 2011
    Just completing her freshman year at Callister University, Emily faces a quiet summer in the city slums, supporting herself by working at the campus library. During one of her jogs through the nearby cemetery while visiting her brother Bill's grave, Emily witnesses a brutal killing-and then she blacks out. When Emily regains consciousness, she realizes she's been kidnapped by a young crime boss and his gang. She is hurled into a secret underworld, wondering why she is still alive and for how long.Held captive in rural Vermont, she tries to make sense of her situation and what it means. While uncovering secrets about her brother and his untimely death, Emily falls in love with her very rich and very dangerous captor, twenty-six year-old Cameron. She understands it's a forbidden love and one that won't allow her to return to her previous life. But love may not be enough to save Emily when no one even knows she is missing.

Crow


A. Zavarelli - 2016
    A missing friend. Two loyalties, ripping me apart. I had a plan. Get in, get my information, and get out. Easy, right?Turns out, infiltrating the Irish mafia isn’t exactly what I thought it would be. I just wanted a soldier. Someone I could flirt with to get me in the door. That’s when Lachlan Crow noticed me. Problem was, he wasn’t a soldier. No, he was next in line for the throne of the Irish underworld. And he was determined to hate me from the outset. My sob story about needing a job? Yeah, he wasn’t buying that either. Too bad for him, I won’t let anyone get in the way of my mission. Who cares if we have some kind of crazy chemistry? He’s the worst kind of wrong- and I would never in a million years be with a guy like him. Because they took her from me, and I’m going to make them pay.

Ruthless People


J.J. McAvoy - 2014
    But behind closed doors is a constant battle for dominance between two Bosses, cultures, and hearts.Ruthless People is a romantic crime fiction set in modern day Chicago, following the life and marriage of Melody Nicci Giovanni and Liam Callahan—rivals by blood and leaders through fear. Their marriage was arranged by their fathers in hopes to end years of bloodshed between the Irish and the Italians.Liam, next in line to lead the Irish, believes he’s getting a simple-minded wife, one he can control, one who bends to his every need . . . the complete opposite of Melody. Bred to be a Boss, a world-class marksman, master of disguise, with no mercy and no fear. Twenty-four years later, she has achieved more than any man could even dream of, killing anyone who steps in her way. She knows exactly what type of man Liam is, and she would rather die than give up the power she has spent her whole life building. But with no other family left, she must not only learn to work with Liam, but the whole Callahan clan.The Mafia of the past is evolving, and with rival bosses gunning for them, Melody and Liam will have to figure out how to work as one to take down those who stand in their way, all while keeping up appearances.Power, Family, and Respect are everything.Warning: This book contains adult language and subject matter including graphic violence and explict sex that may be disturbing for some readers. This book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.

In Peace Lies Havoc


Amo Jones - 2019
    Like a trained possession, weak against their control.She has been conditioned with our blood for years. She just doesn’t know it yet...But Midnight Mayhem was the stained glass that concealed a very dark culture.A culture that she is about to become the center of.The Brothers of Kiznitch come in fours, and they’re not happy about me being hustled into their acts.Or are we? Careful, Little Bird. A warning is a warning for a reason…Mind-tricks.Stunts.Deceit.Power.But there’s something uglier that has been haunting me for years upon years. So ugly that I have never seen its face. I never had to. I’d hear his whispers through my internal screams, feel his shadow brush against my nightmares. He was my the monster that tormented me.And maybe lived under your bed…When I started Midnight Mayhem, his presence faded.His whispers were silenced.His shadow dissolving without a trace.I wondered why that was. She didn’t have to wonder for long…

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.

Deception and Chaos


S.M. Soto - 2018
    With her older brother being her only living relative and her anchor, Sophia is sure she's destined for a brighter future. But that was until she was taken.Stolen from her mundane, orderly life, she was drugged, and woke to every woman's worst nightmare.With only four grimy basement walls and a rancid mattress, she loses her sense of time, and preserves what's left of her dignity by hurtling herself into the safety of her mind. The men, the beatings, they come and go with no reaction, until she hears one word that sends an arctic chill through her body. Sold.On the eve of Sophia's bidding, all hell breaks loose in the mansion of horrors. Gunfire and screams erupt all around her, as panic rises.Snatched by one monster only to be taken by another, Sophia slowly starts to learn that not everything is as it seems. When secrets unravel, and the twisted game of cat and mouse ensues, The Puppeteer pulls his favorite strings and chaos brews. Lives are lost while the clock ticks, and only time will tell who will be killed next... WARNING: This book contains very disturbing situations, dubious content, strong language, and graphic violence. May contain triggers for abuse victims.

Beautifully Cruel


J.T. Geissinger - 2020
    I didn’t know his name or where he was from. All I knew was that the only place I’d ever felt safe was in his arms. But safety is an illusion. And not every savior is a hero. And—as I’d soon find out—having an alpha save your life comes with a price. Liam Black wanted something from me in return.

Selling Scarlett


Ella James - 2013
    Dragged out of seclusion by her best friend Suri, Elizabeth is merely playing dress-up, rubbing elbows with a crowd that banished her troubled family years ago.Hunter West is tired. Tired of parties, tired of pretending, and tired of trying to right a wrong that haunts him every day. Bourbon heir and professional poker player by day, by night Hunter is gambling with his life in a high-stakes game of crime and blackmail. When Elizabeth stumbles into Hunter's den of vices, she's a light in the darkness, a flame in the void. And, just like everything he touches, Hunter mars her in a record time. To rectify the damage done, Elizabeth needs money she doesn't have, and she's come up with a foolproof way to get it.Follow Elizabeth - code-named Scarlett - to the lush Nevada brothel where she'll auction her virginity and risk the only thing that's not for sale: her heart. The highest bidder is a familiar face, with wicked hands and the devil's mouth. And a secret so dark that it could cost her life.

By Sin I Rise: Part One


Cora Reilly - 2021
    Raised by his uncle, the president of the Tartarus MC, Maddox is destined to follow in his footsteps. Now their chapter is on the rise again, but for their ultimate triumph they need to destroy the Vitiello empire. And what better way to do it than to steal the spoilt Vitiello princess and break her piece by piece until her father begs for mercy.Known as the spoilt princess of New York, Marcella Vitiello grew up in a golden cage. If your father is the most feared man in New York, people gift you with reverence.Destined to marry the boyfriend approved by her father, Marcella is sick of being treated like an untouchable porcelain doll. She resents the life forced upon her by her family until everything she took for granted is ripped from her. Where she’s now, her name doesn’t bring awe, only pain and humiliation.If you’ve grown up in a high castle, the fall is all the deeper. Sins of the fathers have a way of catching up…who’s going to bleed for them?

Red.


London Miller - 2016
     Seven years ago, Niklaus "Red" Volkov was offered an opportunity, one that would give him the ability to even the score with the Albanian mobsters that had tortured him for days and took the life of the only girl he'd loved. But that gift came with strings... Molded into the perfect soldier, Niklaus joined an elite group of mercenaries, loyal to a mysterious man known only as The Kingmaker. He willingly paid the price for means to fulfill the vendetta that plagued him each day. Vengeance was all he knew... And death was all he lived for... Until it wasn't... Until her...

Borden


R.J. Lewis - 2015
    After a crime-filled upbringing in a very harsh neighbourhood, Borden leaves his hometown, returning four years later mysteriously rich and unrecognizable, with one woman on his mind. A woman he'll never have. Pained by his devastating loss and filled with rage and guilt, Borden's world turns dark. * As a fiercely independent woman, Emma Warne knows all about hard living. Having kept to herself most of her life, the last thing she expects is to be thrust into the world of infamous criminal Marcus Borden, the dangerous man the entire city fears and loathes. But the more she pushes him away, the more he comes back, taking over her life and stripping her of her control she desperately clings to. Once Borden has his sights on her, Emma is going nowhere anytime soon, and what she doesn't expect least of all... is that she may not want to either. Book 1 of 2. ******* WARNING: This is NOT a love triangle. This book contains sexual situations - of a very rough nature - violence, and strong language that may be offensive to some.*******

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.

Better When He's Bad


Jay Crownover - 2014
    . . meet Shane Baxter. Sexy, dark, and dangerous, Bax isn’t just from the wrong side of the tracks, he is the wrong side of the tracks. A criminal, a thug, and a brawler, he’s the master of bad choices, until one such choice landed him in prison for five years. Now Bax is out and looking for answers, and he doesn’t care what he has to do or who he has to hurt to get them. But there’s a new player in the game, and she’s much too innocent, much too soft…and standing directly in his way. Dovie Pryce knows all about living a hard life and the tough choices that come with it. She’s always tried to be good, tried to help others, and tried not to let the darkness pull her down. But the streets are fighting back, things have gone from bad to worse, and the only person who can help her is the scariest, sexiest, most complicated ex-con The Point has ever produced. Bax terrifies her, but it doesn’t take Dovie long to realize that some boys are just better when they’re bad.

Screaming in the Silence


Lydia Kelly - 2010
    While hitchhiking across the country, she and her companion are struck by a car. Her friend is killed but Raleigh survives and her life is thrown into the hands of the three men involved in the accident. Bruised and in shock, Raleigh is locked in the basement of their remote country house, unsure of her fate. Kaden, one of her captors, is handsome and at times protective, and he convinces his friends to spare Raleigh’s life to ransom her. But the safety he provides is only from his friends, and Raleigh must face his sinister intentions. Agreeing to become his lover in return for continued protection, she begins to see a tender and caring side of Kaden despite their short but violent history. As the ransom payment begins to unravel and Raleigh's life hangs in the balance, she wonders how much she can trust Kaden. Are the feelings she has developed for him genuine or a result of her situation? Does he truly care for her, as he claims, or does he just see her as a ransom payment?