Book picks similar to
Claimed by M. James


dark
mafia
dark-romance
new-adult

Andrei


Naomi West - 2020
    Time to show her how deep the darkness goes.It’s been a bad night for Cora Jones. It’s about to get so much worse.She thinks the man who snatched her from that alley and sold her to a brute is the worst man alive.But he isn’t. Not even close.Not compared to me.I’m Andrei Valeri, don of the Valeri mafia. And when I see Cora on that auction stage, I know one thing only:I have to have her.It costs me a lot to make her mine.But in the end, it will be worth it.Because Cora belongs to me now.And I know just how to make this angel sing.ANDREI is a full-length, standalone auction mafia romance. It contains adult themes that may not be suitable for all readers.

Kiss Me Like You Mean It


J.R. Rogue - 2018
    His kiss is mine. “The first time he saw me I was shattered glass, and he was a shadow. If I had stayed, he would have just faded away.”It’s strange how easy it is to tell our stories to a stranger’s eyes. The truth about Connor Stratford and I had always been a sad tale. Over ten years of chasing, tears, lies, vows, and leaving. Two people who never loved each other at the same time, but couldn’t let each other go.Now here I was telling our story over drinks midday in an airport bar with my old diary clutched in my hand. Telling some version of our story, anyway.I left him once with no goodbye. Now I was returning home to give him what he needed to move on.“It’s important. It’s what you’re thinking.”I knew what his message meant, sent in the middle of the night after I woke from a fever dream. He was finally ready, and so was I. I just needed to finally give him the kiss he begged for. The one that meant goodbye.

The Royal Romeos Series #1 - 3


Jenny Gardiner - 2019
    He's sworn off the fairer sex and instead spends his waking hours overseeing the expansion of his family's hugely successful winery in the magnificent hills of Chianti, where he is happy to never see a model again, let alone date one.American supermodel Taylor McFarland might be blond, but she sure isn't dumb. And she's smart enough to know to avoid the shallow men who seem to migrate toward her type, the ones who presume that models are the wild women of the fashion industry who happily discard men like used tissues.Only Taylor's not that type at all; instead, she's intent on using the influence her position affords her to help those less fortunate than she.But when her good deeds means clashing with the quintessential heartless Italian player who she'd heard left model Gia Sandretti at the altar, well, she will happily give him a piece of her mind, and certainly not a piece of her heart.Black Sheep RomeoOn cloud wine...Sometimes trouble seems to find Matteo Romeo whether he seeks it out or not. Long regarded as the black sheep of the famed Romeo winemaking family, he's hardly surprised when he finds himself in yet another predicament, this time harboring an unauthorized farmhand who he's discovered hiding in a tool shed just as the grape harvest gets underway.Freespirited Lizzie Moretti has long prized her independence. Lizzie's been wandering around the world, working odd jobs to earn just enough money to keep on the go. Forced to flee an aggressive host in the middle of a rainy night while working on a farm in Tuscany, she seeks the shelter of a tool shed until she can figure out a plan. Alas, it happens to be on the estate of the wealthy Romeo family on the eve of the coveted grape harvest, when strangers like Lizzie are most unwelcome.She's never put down roots. And he can't seem to escape the roots that sometimes feel like they're strangling him. They both walked away from family, but can they find salvation in the very family they've tried to run from?Red Carpet RomeoLook who's grown up now...Valentina Romeo loved a romantic wedding, and couldn't wait to serve as an attendant in her favorite cousin Prince Luca of Monaforte's upcoming nuptials. She and Luca had reveled in childhood summers at the family estate on the Ligurian Sea. Many of her fondest memories were made there, along with one of her most humiliating, when Luca's college roommate Parker shunned her brave declaration of love.Investment banker Parker Hornsby hadn't been back to Monaforte since he was in college. Back then he'd spent a glorious summer enjoying idyllic days at his best friend Luca's family beach home. The fun was marred only by Luca's obtrusive younger cousin Valentina, who could barely mask her crush on Parker, forcing him to flatly cut her off before she got her hopes up. The last thing Parker wanted was to be accused of going after his friend's jailbait cousin, even if she was about the sweetest fourteen-year old girl he'd ever met.But when Parker shows up in Monaforte, paired in Luca's wedding with Valentina, all bets are off on whether he can restrain himself from the beautiful--and fully grown-up--heiress to the world-famous Romeo wine label, or whether he remains the nemesis she thinks he is.

Conflicted


M.M. Koenig - 2013
    Her life was everything she wanted it to be; until one fateful night changed everything – leaving her broken and without direction. Nearly a year later, she still has little faith in anyone or anything. Desperate to reclaim her life’s ambition, she takes an unexpected offer that promises to solve all her problems. But as Mia moves forward, she’s faced with obstacles she couldn’t have foreseen. The biggest of them lies within the mystery of Ethan Fitzgerald; a man who affects her like no other, but who she should avoid pursuing, at all costs. On a mission himself, Ethan Fitzgerald didn’t care who he pissed off on his road to fulfill his mother’s dying wish. He relied on himself, and was closed off to the world around him – until Mia Ryan walked through his door. Normally one to avoid messy emotions, Ethan’s world is turned upside down by Mia, and he can’t seem to get enough of her. There are lines you can cross that will change the course of your life forever …

From Within


J.M. Walker - 2015
    Book contains adult situations, substance abuse, coarse language and raw gritty emotion. Do not read if you have a trigger when it comes to discussion of cancer. Tissues may be needed. Hearts may hurt. But know in the end, everything happens for a reason.We live. We love. We die. He is my ultimate undoing. She is my strength. He will destroy me. She will make me whole. I need him more than the control that he craves. I need her more than I need my next breath. He knows me. She sees me. As much as I want to, I can’t let him in. As much as I’ve tried, I can’t let her go. Together, we need him.

If We Were Young


Anna Bloom - 2020
    Things would be so different if they were young, but sometimes the answers to life's challenges aren't always as straightforward as they seem. Fifteen years have passed by in a blink. Will fifteen days be enough to make things right?

When I Come Home Again


Jennifer Rodewald - 2020
    But in a matter of a year’s time, everything she’d counted on fell apart, leaving her devastated. Seven years later, she’s stable again. She has a supportive boyfriend, fulfilling career, and close friends. She keeps her past heartache where it belongs—in her rearview mirror. Until the man who broke her heart finds his way back to Big Prairie.Craig Erikson had it all—popularity, success, and the love of his high school coach’s daughter. But after a year of mistakes that ended in a tragic accident, he’d left Big Prairie—the place he’d thought to always call home—hoping that without his antagonizing presence, Brenna would be able to heal. Now his mother desperately needs him, as do two young boys in her care. Craig has little choice but to return for good.Unsure that she can forgive him, Brenna does her best to avoid him. Irritated that she ignores him as if they’d never meant anything to each other, Craig becomes determined not to allow it. Life in a small town forces their interaction, making them confront their unresolved issues and igniting emotions that have smoldered for seven years. As Craig and Brenna are pushed together, can they endure the hard places still littering their lives? If so, is it possible to find their way back to love and home again?

Murphy's Love (Murphy's Law #3)


Michelle St. James - 2019
     After rescuing Elise Berenger from the trafficking ring run by the shadowy organization called Manifest, Ronan is more determined than ever to destroy them. Ronan knows he wants to make Julia his wife, but there’s no way they can talk about the future until they settle the past. When Elise’s captors are linked to Mark Gordon, a man whose private security firm is responsible for a string of atrocities around the world, Ronan and this brothers head to Monaco. Mark Gordon isn’t at the top of the Manifest food chain, but Ronan will do whatever it takes to make sure Gordon leads them there. Julia’s safety depends on it — and so does their future together. Julia Berenger knows how to survive. Haunted by the ease with which she committed murder to save her sister, Julia keeps her head down and tries not to think about the things she can’t change. But when tragedy strikes close to home, her escalating rage poses a danger not just to the mission of stopping Manifest, but to her own sanity. Then the man at the top of Manifest is finally revealed, and MIS pulls out all the stops to expose him to the world. When he retaliates, Ronan’s business — and his freedom — are in jeopardy and Ronan is left with only one question: is there room for love when vengeance has been your only law?

Velvet Fire


K.B. Winters - 2020
    Kill or be killed. I was born into this grim reality. MaisieI never thought I’d fall in love with a cold blooded killer.But with those dreamy eyes and that smile that won’t quit.I find I’m thinking of Virgil more and more.So what if he’s a criminal.My brothers are too. I’ve been around bad boys all of my life.And I’m not sure,Is he really that bad?Even after he saves my life?VirgilI’m not a knight in shining armor,Or even one of the good guys,But I really screw up when I kidnap the wrong girl.Maisie from Texas, with curves in all the right places.She thinks I’m her salvation—her rescuer.Not the guy who drugged her...But they say everything happens for a reason,And she’s my reason.For everything.I’ll rise up for her. Protect her.Crush those who are out to hurt her,And prove not all Prince Charmings ride a white stallion.Some wear a gun.And I’ll do it for her.For us.And when she’s safe, I’ll make her mine.

Daughter of a Killer


Lexi Archer - 2021
    I will be safe.Only school isn’t. It’s as dangerous as my old life.The bullies hound me. I can’t have a moment of peace.But they’re wrong. I’m not weak. I’m not helpless. And I’m not about to take their crap.Because I’m the daughter of a killer, and if they push me too far…I’ll push back harder, and they won’t like it.I’m a survivor by choice.

Cowboy Undone: The first sassy contemporary western romance in the Wild Creek Cowboys series: (Wild Creek Cowboys Book 1)


Mary Leo - 2018
     Learning he’s the biological son of the wealthy rancher he’s grown up hating, Reese Cooper’s entire world comes crumbling down around him. To add salt to the wound the woman who has haunted his dreams, Avery Templeton, the rancher’s lawyer, delivers the disturbing news. Avery has returned to Wild Creek, to the Circle Starr Ranch, under difficult circumstances. Her law firm has put her on leave pending an investigation. All she wants to do is lick her wounds and wait it out. When Chuck Starr, the man who is like a second father, puts her in the middle of a family crisis, she has no choice but to get involved. Problem is, the cowboy she finds herself getting involved with is Reese Cooper, Chuck Starr’s greatest enemy . . . and only child. “Leo writes wonderful, relatable characters in small-town settings with stories that are fun and entertaining to read . . . laugh-out-loud funny moments.” —RT Book Reviews What Amazon readers say about Mary Leo's books: ★★★★★ "Heartwarming and entertaining and romantic!!" ★★★★★ "A BEAUTIFUL LOVE STORY. YOU CAN'T LAY IT DOWN!" ★★★★★ "Such a great read. The storyline just flowed perfectly." ★★★★★ "Mary Leo brings you wonder when you read her books." ★★★★★ "I love the way this woman writes western romance, and I'm so glad I got to read this story!" ★★★★★ "Mary Leo is a fantastic author and each book leaves you happy, yet wanting even more!" ★★★★★ "Love this author's books. I think you will too. Would read again."

Bayou Cottage


Suzanne Jenkins - 2020
    It’s the perfect place to run away to after her heart was broken.The first night while she’s down at the road to lock the gate, a hunky guy on horseback steps out of the woods, but Maggie doesn’t recognize him. Turns out they were childhood playmates long ago during winter visits to her grandparents’ cottage. Justin Chastain, local vet and wild horse advocate, heard through the grapevine that Maggie had returned to Cypress Cove and wanted to see her for himself. But he didn’t know that she was hiding from a failed marriage, leaving her with a big chip on her shoulder. It remains to be seen if she can ever trust again. The chemistry Maggie senses fluctuates between lukewarm and molten, but for Justin, it’s constant and he’s falling in love, hard. Then he unintentionally commits a blunder that Maggie will struggle to forgive, and they have to start all over again. Is there another chance at love for Maggie Angel?

Defending Keirnan


P.J. Fiala - 2020
    Having realized that dream, she’s focusing on helping the local library with desperately needed repairs so she has a place to host her growing reading program. Just when her life is beginning to look like a storybook, an enemy of her father's threatens her very existence. Single father Dane Copeland has known his share of heartaches. He put love on the back burner to finish his career as a special operative with the Army and raise his daughter. Fate intervenes when he meets Keirnan, who brings a new zest for life and the promise of a new start. But it all comes crashing down when she is kidnapped and local law enforcement is unable, or unwilling, to mount a rescue. Partnering with Auggie Vickers, GHOST is born, and all of their lives are irreparably changed as the details behind Keirnan's abduction are revealed and time becomes their enemy.

Where's the Groom?


Cathryn Brown - 2020
    Now her groom’s missing and a new man’s helping her search for him.Summer realized she’d made a big mistake. Why did she say yes to him? When her groom never arrives at the church, she uses her one clue to find him. She gets a big surprise. And she meets her Watson to help her search.Cameron agrees to help Summer because a family member’s caught in her mystery. She’s glad to have someone working with her, especially when he’s handsome and has a great smile, but a new romance is out of the question. But she sometimes (maybe too often) gets in trouble when she leaps before she looks, so he could come in handy.Cameron and Summer are immediately pulled into a mystery bigger than a missing groom (with no dead bodies!) and fighting their attraction to each other. If they can find the groom—and solve this mystery—they’ll part ways and never need to see each other again.They’re caught in a situation they didn’t create. Can a woman who almost got married find love on the run?

Revenge


Dana Delamar - 2012
    And I want Kate Andretti with a fire that burns me to ash.Carlo Andretti wants Kate too… and my fortune, my estate, my empire. Most of all, he wants my death. Just as I want his.The vendetta between our families is old and deep. Only one of us can win, and only one of us can have Kate. Carlo believes that he can take what’s mine, that he can break me and make me crawl.But I’m Enrico Lucchesi.And a Lucchesi always gets what he wants.KATE ANDRETTIMy mother always said my impulsiveness would get me into trouble. She was right. Marrying a man I barely knew, letting him take me to Italy… not my best decisions.Especially when I now know what the “family business” really is.I want out of this life, and I want out of Italy. But the only person willing to help me escape the Andrettis is Enrico Lucchesi. And he wants me to stay in this world that I can’t bear to be part of.The vows these men take talk about “blood and honor.”But I know what this life is: it’s blood and danger. It’s blood and death.And I’m not ready to be a Mafia don’s wife.