Book picks similar to
The Cruel Guardian by Isabella Starling
romance
dark-romance
age-gap
arc
Deal with the Devil
Meghan March - 2019
He was a predator, and he had set his sights on me.I knew better than to bet more than I could afford to lose that night. I knew better than to bet myself. But desperation leads to bad decisions, and I thought there was no way I could lose.I was wrong. Now I have no choice but to make a deal with the devil.
A Vow Of Hate
Lylah James - 2021
We were poison together and there was no antidote.Our story began like any other fairy tale ended.With a beautiful wedding.One kiss.Two rings.Three vows.Killian Spencer became my lawfully wedded husband and I, his dutiful wife.But he was no Prince Charming. He didn’t come to save me… and he vowed there would be no happily ever after.And me?Just like the legends I'd read as a little girl, I always thought I’d be the princess in my fairy tale.Well, I was the villain of our love story.“Till death do us part…”
Code of Silence
Shantel Tessier - 2020
Who just so happens to also be my ex-boyfriend.It’s complicated. Two years ago, he broke my heart when he left me to do his father’s bidding. After months of crying, I finally accepted he was gone and wasn’t going to look back. That maybe he’d never loved me at all. I never wanted to see Luca again.Now a cruel twist of fate has signed me over to him in a heartless deal. I’m his. He thinks he did me a favor, but I feel like I’ve been given a death sentence. He doesn't want to get married because he still loves me. No, he did it for money. More power.I’m going to be a mafia wife. And there’s only one way out of it. Death.But as it turns out, someone else doesn’t want me to marry the ruthless Luca Bianchi. And if he has his way, I’ll see that early grave.Due to mature content and themes this book is recommended for readers aged eighteen and over. Code of Silence is an arranged marriage and a complete standalone. This novel may contain triggers.
Dark Russian Angel
Odette Stone - 2019
I was in the wrong place at the wrong time,And I witnessed a crime.The police are failing to protect me.And my chance of survival isn't looking good.Andrusha, is the cold and dangerous leader of the Vancouver Russian mafia,He's also my best chance to make it to trial alive.The only thing we have in common,Is our shared enemy.This man is everything your mom warned you about.He's ruthless.He's cold.And he likes to be in control.I should be afraid of him.I should keep my distance.So why is he the only one who makes me feel safe?Who will protect me from my protector?
Seeking Vengeance
Eden Summers - 2021
To give me a future, freedom, and, most of all, vengeance.Problem is, he has no idea who I really am.I’m not someone he should fall for.I’m a liability.An outcast.A threat.He just doesn’t know it yet.***I’m infatuated. She’s a pretty little liar who wrapped me around her finger.I’ll stop at nothing to learn her secrets.I’ll deceive. Manipulate. Scheme.Walking away isn’t an option, even though I’m not someone she should succumb to.I’m a predator.A criminal.The villain.I’ll give her the revenge she craves. I’ll do whatever it takes.But this woman is mine.I won’t give her up.She just doesn’t know it yet.From bestselling author, Eden Summers, comes a seductively thrilling romance destined to leave you breathless.
Asher Black
Parker S. Huntington - 2017
Huntington comes a steamy, slow-burn love story full of unexpected love and banter.It started with my bladder.I didn't mean to witness a shady deal in the restroom hallway.I didn't think twice when I called the cops.And I certainly didn't know who the club belonged to.Asher Black.Former mafia hitman.Billionaire CEO.New York's most eligible bachelor.When he shows up at my college, looking for the girl who called the cops on his business, I know I'm as good as dead.What I don't expect is his offer--he'll pay my tuition and set me up with a cushy job after I graduate.All I have to do is... be his fake fiancée.Asher Black is a 90,000-word standalone novel in The Five Syndicates mafia romance series.
Forsaken
B.B. Hamel - 2016
And I couldn’t resist. I’m not a good man. I’m a hired killer, and damn good at what I do. Raised to be ruthless and forced into this life, I never had a choice. Until she was thrown into my lap. I didn’t want to take the hit. It’s too dangerous, and I can’t afford these kinds of risks. I turned my employers down, but they sweetened the deal. Gifting her to me. She’s scared, beautiful, and all mine. She gazes at me with her gorgeous baby blues, and I can hardly resist taking her. She makes me want to break my rules… all because of the desire hidden in those stolen glances. I’m addicted to her seductive curves and the soft moans that spill from her lips. She’s tempting in ways she doesn’t even realize. I’m practically obsessed. They’re going to want her back, but I’ll kill them all to keep her. *Forsaken is a full-length standalone DARK romance with an HEA, no cheating, and no cliffhanger. Includes expanded content and a deleted scene!
Diamonds in the Dust
Charmaine Pauls - 2020
Then she came along like a pretty wildflower pushing through the cracks on a dirty pavement—fragile yet resilient, a breath of beauty among the filth. She was supposed to be just another job, a nameless person I was to pluck from her life and hand to my brother, nothing but a pawn in the gamble of our diamond business. There’s a psychological label for men like us.We lack empathy and guilt.We do things to have what we want, things that make flowers wilt.(This is Book 1 of the Diamonds are Forever Trilogy and ends on a cliffhanger. Diamonds in the Rough (Book 2) will be released on 14 July 2020, and Diamonds are Forever (Book 3) on 15 September 2020.)
Declan + Coraline
J.J. McAvoy - 2015
Twenty-three-year-old Coraline Wilson is fresh out of college and just wants to experience life to the fullest for the first time. On her journey towards self-discovery, she ends up meeting twenty-seven-year-old Declan Callahan. They fall for each other hard and fast…but their families may prove to be problematic… A Ruthless People Prequel Novella (about 46,000 words)
Wild
Elsa Day - 2014
In her dreams she is a nurse, has a family, and is safe. That's not much to ask.But when she's forced to return to her childhood home because of her mother's illness, everything changes.>Lilly's car crashes and she's taken in the night by the Dark Riders. It could have been any motorcycle club, but it was his.Lilly's first love.Asher Thomas is bigger, stronger, and more damaged than Lilly remembers, but he never forgot about her.They still burn for each other, but is this the life for Lilly? Can she put her white picket fence dreams on hold and trade them in for the rough love of an outlaw biker?Wild is the first entry in the Dark Riders Motorcycle Club serial, following the story of Lilly and Asher. The series contains strong sexual themes, and is not intended for readers under the age of 18.
Rip
Rachel Van Dyken - 2015
But I broke her, and now we both have to pay the price.I'm her nightmare. I'm her savior. And now that I have her signature on an ironclad contract, I own her body and soul. She doesn't remember me. She will. It's inevitable. Because as much as I know I need to stay away, for fear of unlocking the memories I helped her father bury--I can't. She was the apple in the Garden, dangled in front of me, her core so tempting and sweet. A voice whispered. Just. One. Bite. I bit. I tasted. I fell. Welcome to the world of the Russian mafia, where death, is your only future.
The Professional: Part 1
Kresley Cole - 2013
. .Mafiya enforcer Aleksandr "The Siberian" Sevastyan’s loyalty to his boss is unwavering, until he meets the boss’s long-lost daughter, a curvy, tantalizing redhead who haunts his mind and heats his blood like no other. Ordered to protect her, Sevastyan will do anything to possess her as well—on his own wicked terms.Rules are made to be broken . . .PhD student Natalie Porter had barely recovered from her first sight of the breathtakingly gorgeous Sevastyan before the professional hit man whisks her away to Russia, thrusting her into a world of extreme wealth and wanton pleasures. With every day she spends under his protection, she falls deeper under his masterful spell.Are you ready to play?Yet all is not as it seems. To remove Natalie from an enemy’s reach, Sevastyan spirits her into hiding. From an opulent palace in Russia to the decadent playgrounds of the mega-wealthy in Paris, the two lovers will discover that even their darkest—and most forbidden—fantasies can come true…
Lucien
Silvia Violet - 2020
I never imagined the protector I longed for would be a mob boss who demanded complete control.I shouldn’t have gone to Lucien’s office.Once I looked into his eyes, I couldn’t leave.He commanded me to kneel.Beg.Obey.I couldn’t help myself.One taste, and I craved more.Lucien vowed to protect me from his enemies…But who’s going to protect my heart from him?This MM Mafia Romance is the first book in The Marchesi Family series.
Confess
A. Zavarelli - 2018
Two signatures. A marriage of inconvenience. Lucian West is one of the most hated men in America. He’s a ruthless attorney who gets what he wants in the courtroom, and outside of it. Now, he wants me. For reasons I can’t fathom, he’s determined to make me his wife. He makes it clear he’s not above blackmailing me to put a ring on my finger. But he should know I can’t be domesticated. I don’t know how to love men. I only know how to leave them… with everything I want. ***I don't do love. I don't even do relationships. But all of that changes when I stumble upon the tragic, beautiful woman confessing her sins in the dark of night. She’s a thief. A con. The essence of everything I loathe. And yet she lures me in with her lying eyes.I want to protect her. I want to bring her to heel. I want to teach her a lesson she’ll never forget. She belongs to me, she just doesn’t know it yet. I've already made her mine in name. Now it’s time to claim the rest of her.
Saved
D.D. Prince - 2017
But when she has to jump from a burning building into the arms of the mysterious and handsome master of the house, it's a catalyst for big change. Holly, no longer happy to be blissfully ignorant, starts to play with sexual fire. How badly is she about to get burnt?Him: I saved her from a fate many would believe was worse than death. But, I’m no hero. Far from it. I’m saving her for myself, which might be an even worse fate. Her: He's dark. He’s dangerous. He’s the most attractive man I have ever laid eyes on. Everything about him says villain but I can't help but think that maybe there's a hero deep inside. He's kept me apart from the others for a long time. No one is allowed to touch me. Few are allowed to even set eyes on me. I arrived here just before my sixteenth birthday. But soon, I won’t be a little girl any more. How much longer will I be safe? And is safety all that matters? This is a dark romance. If you like your romance dark, proceed. If you don't, or if you're not sure --- approach with caution. This story is a standalone that is a Dominator series spin-off. Holly and Alessandro's story. You do not need to have read the Dominator books to enjoy this story. (Possible trigger. Dark romance. Sex, Violence, Coarse language. Human Trafficking.) Dedication: This story is for the readers who like to spend time in the dark. With the anti-heroes. The damaged ones who don’t think they can be redeemed. This book is for you. And for them.