Book picks similar to
Art of Sin by L.M. Halloran
romance
dark
dark-romance
arc
Pretty Stolen Dolls
Ker Dukey - 2016
Kidnapped and held prisoner by the psychotic serial killer, they spend years in captivity, lost to the world. Resolute in seeking freedom, Jade finally manages to escape the clutches of the brutal monster of a man and his sadistic torture. But it comes at a devastating price. Macy is left behind. Years later, and now a detective herself, Jade is determined to hunt down her kidnapper and finally free her sister. She soon learns, after a string of new murders with an eerie familiarity…She's not the only one on the hunt.Her past is about to catch up with her. And Benny is a lot closer than she thinks.This is a dark title with adult themes.
The Man I Can't Have
Shanora Williams - 2019
The owner had no pictures of himself on his website, just a portfolio of nice outdoor sitting areas, pools, and vibrant gardens that I’d always dreamed of having.Of course I hired him.I expected to meet an average guy, but Mr. Marcel Ward is far from your average man. He’s handsome, and well-built, and his smile—though a rare trait—is truly infectious. He’s every woman’s dream—a handsome, older man who doesn’t mind getting down and dirty to create something beautiful all because of his passion for it. Unfortunately, that lucky woman can’t be me. Although Mr. Ward tests my limits, quickens my breath, and makes my heart skip a beat when he’s around, I’ve promised to devote myself to my husband.So why am I falling for a man I know I can’t have?
The Contract
Scarlett Edwards - 2014
My imagination conjures up demons of the worst kind.Reality is much worse:A collar with no leash. A prison with no walls. And a life stripped of meaning.I am presented with a vile contract and asked to sign. It outlines the terms of my servitude. The only information I have about my captor are the two small letters inked at the bottom:J.S.Armed with only my memories, I must do everything I can to avoid becoming ensnared in his twisted mind games. But in the end, it all comes down to one choice: Resist and die.Or submit, and sign my life away.
Owned
M. Never - 2014
Please pay close attention to the use of the words dark, erotic, and romance. It has intense sexual situations, a Master/slave relationship, mild abuse, and some violence. Reader discretion is advised. "I like you collared, baby. I like you naked, I like you mine.” Ellie Stevens has lusted over Kayne Roberts since he first walked into the import/export company she works for a little over a year ago. As Expo’s most important client, Ellie has always kept a safe distance from the man with the majestic blue eyes — until temptation finally gets the better of her. Impulsively, Ellie invites Kayne to one of Expo's infamous company parties her flamboyant boss is notorious for throwing. Unbeknownst to Ellie, the god in the Armani suit isn’t just the suave entrepreneur he portrays himself to be. Underneath the professional exterior is a man with a secret life, dark desires, and nefarious contacts. In a hidden corner of a trendy New York City lounge, the spark kindling between the two of them ignites. Unable to resist the sinful attraction, Ellie agrees to leave with Kayne, believing she is finally bedding the man of her dreams. Little does she know when she walks out the door, she’s about to be Owned.
Hard Rules
Lisa Renee Jones - 2016
His reckless and ruthless brother, Derek wants to keep Brandon Enterprises cemented in lies, deceit, and corruption. But the harder Shane fights to pull the company back into the light, the darker he has to become. Then he meets Emily Stevens, a woman who not only stirs a voracious sexual need in him, but becomes the only thing anchoring him between good and evil.Emily is consumed by Shane, pushed sexually in ways she never dreamed of, falling deeper into the all-encompassing passion that is this man. She trusts him. He trusts her, but therein lies the danger. Emily has a secret, the very thing that brought her to him in the first place, and that secret could destroy them both.This is book ONE of FOUR in Shane and Emily's story.
Freeing Her
A.M. Hargrove - 2014
the story of two people who were meant to be together. Why? Because unknown to them, they shared terrifying pasts and the cruel circumstances of their births doomed both of them to a life of hell. Two strangers ... one night ... one accidental meeting that changed their lives forever. Gabriella Martinelli, Manhattan psychiatrist had only one goal in life—to help abuse victims avoid the horrors she’d experienced herself. She worked late, volunteered, and donated her services to anyone who needed them. Life was good ... until her nightmare resurfaced. He found her, and began stalking her, and she knew he wouldn’t stop until he destroyed every ragged piece of her.Kolson Hart, Manhattan’s most eligible bachelor, was ruled by his dark past. He liked control, from the boardroom to the bedroom and didn’t care to be involved with someone whose life was just as screwed up as his was. But one look at Gabriella short-circuited everything. Want ... desire ... need ... will sometimes drive a man to do things he swore he never would.He freed her from a life of fear ... When he couldn’t even save himself.
The Terms: Part One
Ruby Rowe - 2017
For three years, Camilla withheld the fact that my brother had a son, Liam. Then, Tony died without ever knowing his kid, and I was going to make sure Ms. Rose paid a price for her deceit. I also wanted Liam to be raised as a Burke. Our family’s legacy was one to carry on, so the terms were straightforward. Live in my home. Allow me to help raise Liam. Oh, and agree to be my submissive. In return, I agreed not to rip Camilla’s child away from her. I also offered them both financial security and a life of luxury. It seemed generous to me. It might’ve been simple, too, had she not reminded me of the lady in red. The one who haunted my dreams at night. Camilla’s hazel eyes were a mirror image, her sweetness more than an acquaintance to my subconscious. I was a hacker by trade, and the internet was my best friend, sharing with me every secret I wished to unearth. I believed that until an unfathomable truth revealed itself in a different way. Some secrets are never whispered, only sensed by the heart, and all along, my soul held the truth. It hid even from me the most important secret of them all. The Terms ends in a cliffhanger. It contains explicit language and graphic sex, including aspects of BDSM. The second novel in the duet, The Terms: Part Two, will release June 2017.
Toxic
Nicole Blanchard - 2017
A criminal.As a prison nurse, I knew the rules: do my job, don’t get involved, and never let a prisoner get under my skin.I broke all three.My passion, my obsession, my addiction. I risked my entire life so we could be together.I thought helping him escape from prison would be the hard part.It turns out when you fall in love with a villain, you also turn into one.
Junkie
Heather C. Leigh - 2016
A junkie. A whore. I'll do anything to get my next fix.Anything.Including walking right onto the property of Austin's most ruthless and feared drug lord to beg for some H. I don't know his name, only that people call him Boss. Oh, and that he won't think twice to put a bullet in my head.But like I said, I'll do anything to get my next fix. Even if it costs me my life.Or changes it forever.
Damaged But Not Broken
W.H. Vega - 2013
She's only 15 but she looks like a woman, and for the group of sociopathic rapists that's good enough. The disgusting men hold her down, and one by one they destroy her innocence that night. Paige is forced to flee from her father and vows never to return, never to forgive him for allowing that night to happen. She leaves behind everything, her friends, her hope, her happiness, her life in Nashville, forever. She leaves behind Blake, her first love...her true love. The wounds of that heartbreak never fully heal, she never forgets about the only guy she ever really trusted. Thirteen years later Paige returns to her father's promise of sobriety, a record deal, and a blossoming career in country music.Everything changes when she sees Blake again, playing with his new band in a local Nashville club, the intense feelings she had buried deep inside rise up and refuse to go away. It's as if they never broke apart. Blake is no longer the 15 year old boy she once knew. Now he's a tall muscular front-man of the band Rust who seethes sex appeal and slays hearts. But as they reconnect, Blake's hardened shell begins to fall away as he teaches Paige to love again, to trust, and to give herself away completely.Paige finds a glimmer of hope and happiness again with Blake but is it all too good to be true? Can Paige overcome the hate, anger, resentment and learn to forgive - or will her father betray her? Her heart has been damaged but it's not broken...can she learn to love again?
Handfuls of Shattered Pieces
Kerry Taylor - 2020
With no memory of how, she has now escaped and finds herself running for her life, fleeing eight years of darkness, pain and silence, suddenly terrified by every sound and movement around her. Rescued by police, she finds the life she left behind long gone. Instead, surrounded by a world she now has very little knowledge or experience of, she is lost, scared and alone, drowning in a sea of harrowing flashbacks and soul destroying nightmares. Just when her terrifying memories threaten to pull her under for good, a light appears, in the shape of Dr Xander King. He has been where she is, scared and alone and he wants to do all he can to help her, including bringing her into the amazing family that, years earlier, had rescued him. In a home she does not know or want, Olivia finds a family she didn't realise she needed, and four men who will forever change her life. They do all they can to show her the way out of the terrifying darkness and into the light, and to help her discover who she is now that she is free. Kade, Kyle, Cole and Matt all have dark pasts of their own, which they still fight every day to survive, but they are determined to show Olivia that together, they can all find a way to repair their shattered pieces and find some happiness. But with the kidnapper's whereabouts unknown, and a serial killer lose on the streets of Chicago, keeping Olivia safe is their first priority. This proves harder than they ever thought, when it becomes obvious Olivia is the key to stopping a series of brutal murders. Now they must do all they can to protect the woman they are all falling fast for, from the evils of this world.This is a reverse harem story with one woman and four loving, protective men. It is the first book in the Pieces of Us series.
Stolen Hearts
M. O'Keefe - 2021
To me, he was a mystery, but he was also the only man who ever knew me.In that single stolen moment before I had to give my life to someone else, I imagined myself with him, the man with scars and bruises. The one who knew what hurting meant far more than I did at that time.Instead I was given to another man, one who broke my soul right along with my bones.Through it all, there was always that memory of the man in the shadows, the one who said--not in words--that I was strong, that I could endure, that I was more than just a princess in a ballgown.Now Ronan is the only man who could keep me safe from two warring families that wanted my blood. The spark that started two years ago burned brighter with each touch, each glance, each kiss. He woke me from the nightmare, giving me life with soft touches and sharp words.Two years ago, Ronan gave me strength, but he took something in return. I never gave him my heart, but hearts like mine are made to be stolen.
The Decimation of Mae
D.H. Sidebottom - 2014
Not in the physical sense, you must understand, but very much literally. He was persistent, resolute and tenacious. His ruthless greed to annihilate me was utterly disturbing. I am sure if he had hierarchy, the man at the top would have dragged his arse into Hell’s prison for his unscrupulous methods. I was just fifteen when I first became aware of what he was capable of. This initial taste of him set the playing field for how my life was to be lived – for want of a better word. He mocked me, showed me mercilessly how he played the game and how he liked to cheat at said game. He ridiculed and taunted me until, six months later, he won and took something of so much importance from me that I would never be the same again. His second visit was, in my eyes, so much more cruel and heartless. I know we’re talking about the Devil here, and yes, you have a right to say he had no heart but even then, even when I was so utterly broken, I begged to differ and hoped – no, prayed – that somewhere deep in the caverns of his black, tortured soul there was something that beat and confused his emotions once in a while. The third visit was somewhat different than the other two. He tried, and at first succeeded to bring me to my knees once and for all, but then something happened. God finally intervened and altered Satan’s intention; he sent hope and morphed the Devil’s minion into an Angel, hoping to break and shatter the anguish and suffering. He gave the ability for me to feel pleasure in pain, order in the chaos and light in the darkness. But in giving me a reprieve, he also gave me something that would finally and ultimately obliterate me. He gave me the capability to love, therefore giving me the ability to be destroyed. And Satan made sure that I was destroyed. Cruelly, viciously and sadistically. I am Mae Swift, and this is the story of my decimation. ***WARNING*** This story doesn’t contain hearts and flowers, it doesn’t even contain the word ‘love’. It isn’t for the fainthearted, nor those who want romance and happy ever afters. It’s dark, in fact it goes beyond the dark realms of misery and despair. It contains disturbing scenes of sexual violence, cruelty and torture. It also includes self-harm, pain addiction and brutalisation. Please bear this in mind before purchasing this book. Thank you.
Rivalry
Laurelin Paige - 2019
I only took the meeting because I was curious. I thought he was going to offer me a job.But that's not what he's after at all. His proposal is much more intriguing, and I see an opportunity. An opportunity to turn the tables and bring down the devil.I've gotten in trouble playing these games before. I know when the risk is too great, when the stakes are too high. I know how to be cold and strong-willed and destructive. I know how to withstand dominant men with arrogant charm and rugged features.Yet I can't resist taking on Edward.And I can't resist the pull he has on me.Soon I'm not so sure which side of the battle I'm standing on--if I'm the warrior meant to slay,Or the one who will be slain.Slay is Book One in New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author, Laurelin Paige, next dark and edgy series.
Leather & Lace
Samantha A. Cole - 2015
Devon, an ex-Navy SEAL and private club owner, is all too happy to help.Soon, a single weekend of hot and dirty sex turns into something more. But while they fight their connection, a killer has Devon in his sights. Will they survive with their hearts and lives intact?**This book contains adult content.