Book picks similar to
Embers of Starlight by Sonia De Leon
dark
romance
new-adult
arc
Illusion
J.S. Cooper - 2014
Cooper introduces the Swept Away series—three new, dark and sexy romances about a woman marooned on a desert island with a mysterious stranger—but is he friend or foe?The day started like every other day... Bianca London finds herself kidnapped and locked up in a van with a strange man. Ten hours later, they’re dumped on a deserted island. Bianca has no idea what’s going on and her attraction to this stranger is the only thing keeping her fear at bay. Jakob Bradley wants only to figure out why they’ve been left on the island and how they can get off. But as the days go by, he can’t ignore his growing fascination with Bianca. In order to survive, Bianca and Jakob must figure out how they’re connected, but as they grow closer, secrets are revealed that may destroy everything they thought they knew about each other.
Control
Olivia Ryann - 2018
Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Amazon Bestseller Vivian Wood writes dark romance as OLIVIA RYANN. I wake up terrified, humiliated, and chained to a wall. The shackles around my wrists mean only one thing. He owns me now. With his dark glares and barked orders, he is dangerous. He is my tormentor, my captor, a threat to my very existence. Not to be toyed with. Even if my frightened mind whispers maybe… Even if I am very curious how such a man came to be. I am still his dark and twisted pet, to cherish or to scorn. And I am starting to love the darkness... Reading Order: Capture (Cherish Series FREE Prequel) Control (Cherish Series Book 1) Covet (Cherish Series Book 2) Cherish (Cherish Series Book 3)
Enslaved
Marissa Honeycutt - 2014
Her entire purpose is to serve those in control and be the perfect tool to control everyone around them. One man will seek to take her unique gifts into himself and become both the source of power and the hand that wields it. But at the age of sixteen, Anna has a vision of a man. A man whom her Master is determined to discover and destroy. A man who will change Anna's life forever.Anna's complete story is told in five, full-length novels. Enslaved, Entwined, Embraced, Ensnared, and Emerged.***Please note that this is a dark, twisted story. Very Dark. Very Twisted. You've been warned.***
Beyond Ransom
A.T. Douglas - 2014
My life is shattered. Everything I've ever known is gone from me, yet I've discovered something beautiful. I didn't expect to be taken. I never dreamed that love would find me while my life was slowly stripped away. With him something new and alive stirs within me, and I am completely changed. Though battered and broken-down, I'm not alone. The most unlikely man protects me and gives me strength. I will survive this for him. I will find a way to save us both. While they hold me, he holds my heart, and I'm not willing to pay the price to get it back. WARNING: Beyond Ransom is a New Adult Romantic Suspense novel intended for mature audiences 18+. It contains disturbing situations, graphic violence, strong language, and sexual content. The Ransom Series concludes in Beyond Revenge, available February 8, 2014.
Beautifully Broken
Alex Grayson - 2014
A place to take a deep breath after months on the run.What Bailey didn’t count on were the people welcoming her with open arms. Making her feel safe and protected for the first time in her life.Especially Jaxon Walker. The tattooed bar owner who’s determined to get under her skin and force her to reveal her deepest secrets. Even if it puts everyone she cares about in danger.Just when Bailey finds the love she’s been searching for her whole life, her past blazes its way into the dream world she’s been living in.Will Jaxon save Bailey before it’s too late? Or will the evil that is her husband finally finish her off?
Captive
Samantha Jacobey - 2013
When you grow up with a Motorcycle Gang of Mercenaries and Drug Lords like the Dragons, a normal life is more like a fairytale. For years, she accepted her dark reality, a world consisting of drugs, sex, violence and murder. In the end, she learned the most valuable lesson: survival.After years of being ruled by the Dragons, Tori uses her skills of seduction and assassination to free herself from the grasp of the people who vowed they would never let her go. Taken in by the FBI, she fears not everything is what it seems, and soon finds herself lost in a web of lies and deceit. She thought getting away from the Dragons would put her on a path to a new and better life, but now she must face the cold hard truth” there is always a price to be paid. ˃˃˃ Excerpt "Quietly, he explained to her that he was going to arrange for another group to kill the Dragons and send her to live with someone who would take care of her. Not understanding, she asked why she would have to go with someone else. If the Dragons were dead, why couldn't she just go with him? He refused to explain, and simply said, "You are going to have a different life, baby girl. A life I cannot give you. You must be strong and willing to do whatever it takes to make this happen. Promise me you will do this...." ˃˃˃ Book 1 of 7 in A New Life Series This is the first in a series that chronicles the life of a young woman who is raised by a group of men who work as freelance mercenaries in the dark world of drug trafficking and murder for hire. They acquired the young woman at a very young age, as she has no memory of life before them. The book opens as she has broken free and moves through a series of current events and flashbacks that explain the beginning of her story. It is very dark with an unfinished feel, because in the end, the past is not the real story - the real story is what happens from here. ˃˃˃ WARNING: GRAPHIC SCENES This book is intended for readers 18+ and contains scenes that may cause distress to some readers: Domestic Abuse, Kidnapping, Rape and Substance Abuse are described in detail.
Born Sinner
S.L. Jennings - 2016
Statistically, I wasn’t supposed to survive these streets past the age of eighteen. Fate had a different plan. I was bred for one purpose and one purpose only: to unleash death and destruction on my world. My thoughts are power. My words are weapons. Evil created me then grace tried to save me. But first… they tried to kill me. They call themselves the Se7en. They are sin and salvation, and everything we’ve feared from the beginning of time. And their leader is the deadliest of them all. He doesn’t lose. He doesn’t compromise. And most importantly, he doesn’t distract himself with mortal weakness. Not until me. Kill one to save a million. That’s what he told me when he took me as his prisoner. Kill one to save a million. That’s what he’s been trying to tell himself ever since he took me into his arms.Librarian's note: See alternate cover edition of ASIN B01K6HQY8S here.
Blurred Red Lines
Cora Kenborn - 2017
A word whispered in fear and respect. A name to avoid at all costs. Until I see something I shouldn't and come face-to-face with it.Abducted. Held against my will. A prisoner of a war I know nothing about.But my kidnapping is more than a case of mistaken identity, and my captor is more than a stranger.He's the heir to the devil.A ruthless cartel prince who takes everything and promises nothing. I should hate him, but the deeper Valentin Carrera drags me into his corrupt world, the harder it becomes to resist either one.He's determined to take more than my freedom.He wants to own my soul.I'm at his mercy. A plea that means nothing to a man whose hands are stained with blood.Until that stain?That blood?It becomes mine.And I'm no longer a prisoner of war.I am the war.*The Carrera Cartel books are all standalones and can be read out of sequence. However, if you prefer to avoid spoilers, it's highly recommended that you read them in order.
Flawed
Francette Phal - 2014
That's the only memory he carries from a childhood he does not remember. And now it is all he knows. Blood is his life.Knox Bishop has done a lot of horrible things, all at the command of the man who holds his leash. It's a matter of loyalty for him. Allegiance to the man who saved his life when he was a child. So he goes where he is needed and does what he is told. He tortures. He kills. He kills. He tortures. It is an unrelenting cycle that he constantly craves and can never quite satisfy.Until her.Eighteen year old Lacey Barnes distributes her assets to fund her dreams. Medical school is the end game and she is determined to get there by any means necessary. But a family member's careless mistake derails her plans and now she must pay a price in order to save him. She goes to Knox willingly offering him the only valuable thing she has. Herself. In doing so he allows her into his world, a world she quickly realizes is void of any light and hope for escape is utterly elusive. But escape is something she finds that she no longer wants. "He lays a path of pleasure laced agony for me to follow and I do. Stupidly I follow him down the blinding darkness of his euphoric hell."Disclaimer: This is book is intended for mature audiences (18+) due to description of violence and sexual situations.
Black
T.L. Smith - 2016
I am strong, but I have scars. I am an angel, but the devil. I met her when I was sixteen and she was a breath of fresh air. She swooped in, making me smile. But then she left, taking my next breath with her. Her smile could light up a room, making my black heart pitter patter. I found her again ten years later, with a syringe in her arm. Blood coming from between her legs. She was broken and I was glad she was broken. She wouldn't think less of me and my damaged ways.
Dirtiest Secret
J. Kenner - 2016
Everyone knows him as a notorious playboy, a man for whom women and money are no object. But to me, he’s still the one man I desperately crave—yet the one I can never have. Dallas knows me better than anyone else. We bear the same scars, the same darkness in our past. I thought I could move on by staying away, but now that we’re drawn together once more, I can’t fight the force of our attraction or the temptation to make him mine. We’ve tried to maintain control, not letting ourselves give in to desire. And for so long we’ve told ourselves no—but now it’s finally time to say yes. Dirtiest Secret is intended for mature audiences.
Darkness Lurks
J.L. Drake - 2014
It’s not easy, but Emily finally has the life she wants. She’s an A student at Orange University and has a comfortable home and a great circle of friends. She’s also in love with handsome Orange PD officer Seth Connors. He doesn’t seem to return her feelings, though, so she tells herself his friendship is enough. Jimmy Lasko is a psychopath, and Emily is his greatest obsession… Lasko knows what he wants—what he deserves—and has the deadly skills and unending patience to get it. What he wants is Emily, and he is watching and waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. That time is coming soon; he’ll make sure of it. A sense of unease settles on Emily, but is the danger real or imagined? When Emily begins hearing noises and suspects someone has been in her house, Seth urges her to get a roommate. But after a search, she realizes a certain attractive cop would be the perfect choice, and Seth moves in. Seth loves Emily, but fears his feelings might make it difficult to protect her. In all areas of his life, Seth sees himself as a protector. He’s determined to keep Emily safe, but he pushes the captivating blonde away in an attempt to stay objective. However, after her stalker makes a failed attempt to capture her, Seth can no longer deny his feelings. With help from Seth’s police colleagues, he and Emily set out to identify the person hunting her before it’s too late. But is it worth the risk to bait the trap with what he wants most?
Maybe Yes
Ella Miles - 2016
Kinsley Felton has everything. Money, a loving family, and a modeling career. She graduates from Yale in just days, but unlike a typical college student she doesn’t have to spend hours looking for a job when she graduates. Kinsley will inherit the multi-billion dollar gaming and hospitality company her great-grandfather started. The only problem is she has to do everything her family asks for in order to get that money. That includes marrying a man of her family’s choosing. That’s not a problem since Kinsley has been following her family’s orders all her life. Until a phone call from her grandfather changes everything. Will she marry the man her family chooses or will she decide her own future?
Unmasked: Volume One
Cassia Leo - 2014
I have a night job that pays the bills. Every night, I put on my mask and walk to work.Then one night, I hear and see something that will change my purpose in life... forever: a murder that will bring him to me.He says he wants to protect me. And, through a series of events I can’t fully make sense of, I find myself believing him. But our nightly visits are always cloaked in darkness. I don’t know his face and he will never know mine. I was born into this world unwanted. I will leave this world unmasked.