Book picks similar to
Combative Trilogy by Jay McLean


back-burner-books
feeeeels
second-chance
angstfest

Under His Ink


Maya Hughes - 2018
    Now, I’m back because she’s the only person I can trust. And I couldn’t stay away for another day.Being near me means danger for the both of us because no one leaves the mob unscathed. She’s inking over my past one day at a time and it's strictly business for her, but the flames licking at our heels aren’t just from the heat between us.But the only thing harder than leaving the mob is leaving her. I’ll show her that what we have is forever as long as I’m still breathing…Under His Ink is a 55,000 word second chance mob romance.

One is a Promise


Pam Godwin - 2017
    My dark rebel in leather. My powerhouse of passion, devastating smiles, and impulsiveness.When his job sends him overseas, he promises to return to me.A promise that’s destroyed in the most irrevocable way.Two years later, an arrogant suit invades my heartbroken loneliness.Clean-cut and stern, Trace is everything Cole wasn’t.At first, he’s a job that will rescue my dance company. But as he intrudes on my life, our hostile relationship evolves.He knows I’m still in love with Cole, but his dedication is my undoing.Then a catastrophic moment changes everything.Promises resurface.Lies entangle.And an impossible choice shatters my world.I love two men, and I can only have one.The TANGLED LIES series must be read in order.One is a PromiseTwo is a LieThree is a War

Something in the Way: A Love Saga (The Complete Collection)


Jessica Hawkins - 2020
    Under the sweat and dirt, Manning Sutter was as handsome as the sun was bright. He was older, darker, experienced. I had never even been kissed. We found something in each other that would link us in ways that couldn't be broken...no matter how hard we tried. Because even though I saw Manning first . . . my older sister saw him next. Includes the complete, USA TODAY bestselling forbidden romance series: Something in the Way, Somebody Else's Sky, Move the Stars, and Lake + Manning.

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.

Severinov Bratva: The Complete Series: A Dark Russian Mafia Romance Box Set


Kristen Luciani - 2019
    Jet set across the world from the sinful sparkle of Las Vegas to the opulence that is Monte Carlo as they claim what’s rightfully theirs…including the hearts of the bold and brazen women who dare cross their paths. "Sexy, suspenseful, and so addictive! A dark romance filled with heat, passion, and drama that will keep you flipping pages until you gasp at the last words!" – USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author Kristen Hope Mazzola This box set includes four complete standalone novels of the Severinov Bratva series that can be read in any order. In addition, the set contains a brand-new, never before published novella, which is the prequel to the Marcone family Men of Mayhem series coming in January 2020. All of the books in the Severinov Bratva series contain mature content and of course, a HEA. 5 books. 900 pages. Pulse-pounding action. White-hot chemistry. Jaw-dropping twists and turns. If that isn’t enough to make you one-click, then keep reading! Merciless, Book One I’m a ruthless killer. A bloodthirsty beast. I always take what I want, What I’m owed, And what has been stolen from me. With a gorgeous face and a porn star body, Lindy thinks she owns Sin City. But my new obsession made a deadly choice when she walked into my casino. She trusted the wrong people, put greed before common sense, and lost everything. Now, there’s a debt to be paid. To me. But I don’t care about money. I want her as my payment. And it’s time to collect. Possessive, Book Two I struck a deal with the devil…and lost. For years, I followed orders and obeyed instructions. I put the family first. Always. Until temptation consumed me. I made mistakes and lost my focus, putting a target on my own back. I changed the game, Risked it all, And collected a prize. His prize. So when the devil came to collect, I had two options. Join him… Or kill him. Vengeful, Book Three One single gunshot threw my life into upheaval. An assassination that will bring my family to its knees. It’s up to me to avenge the murder. An eye for an eye…that’s my MO. I have one job to do, and it may be my last. Find my father’s killer and make him pay Before he finds me. But there’s one problem - one incredibly sexy obstacle I never saw coming. Tali Severinov. I’ve met my match with this woman. She’s beautiful, deadly, and more ruthless than I’d ever imagined. Think with my head? Never. At least, not with the one attached to my neck. She thinks I’m the enemy. Little does she know I’m her savior. Ravage, Book Four Protect the empire at all costs, Eliminate any threats, And defeat our enemies. For years, I’ve accepted these responsibilities to keep my family safe. I’ve given up my life in exchange for their happiness.

Rooke


Callie Hart - 2017
    Car thief. Heartbreaker extraordinaire.Rooke Blackheath has spent enough time in juvie to know that he really doesn’t want to go to jail. The food sucks, the clothes itch, and there are absolutely no women in sight. Well…none he wants to fuck, anyway. He should probably stop boosting cars, but the money is stellar and the high is out of this world. And why should he turn his back on something that sets his soul on fire anyway? The answer to that question comes in an unexpected form: a petite five-foot-three firecracker named Sasha who refuses to give him the time of day no matter how thick he lays on the charm. Rooke’s not easily deterred, though. Just like the watches he builds from scratch, Rooke knows all too well how women tick. Women are a game to him. A game he always wins. Sasha doesn’t stand a chance.***Sasha Cross’s life has been permanently derailed since her son died five years ago. You wouldn’t know it to look at her, of course. She has a great job, a beautiful house, and caring friends. Every week, she hosts a book club featuring the sexiest, most romantic stories on the planet, and every week she falls for a new fictional knight in shining armor. Fictional men are perfect, though. They don’t hurt you. They don’t break your heart. They don’t cheat on you after your child dies, and they rarely ever leave the toilet seat up. When Rooke Blackheath shows up at Sasha's workplace, it’s clear he’s nothing like the men who grace the pages of Sasha's favorite books. Dangerous, arrogant, sharp-tongued and sarcastic, Rooke’s not the kind of guy she needs in her life. Not to mention the fact that he’s eleven years her junior. They don’t live in different worlds. As far as Sasha is concerned, Rooke lives in a different galaxy altogether. She’d like to keep it that way, but fate appears to have other plans.When Cinderella lost her shoe, Prince Charming showed up at her door. When Sasha Cross loses her book, an entirely different kind of rogue comes a-knocking.

Mine & His: Ties That Bind The Complete Duet


A. Zavarelli - 2020
    

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…

Russian Tattoos #1-3


Kat Shehata - 2017
    Her overprotective father monitors every aspect of her life, so when he becomes employed by Vladimir Ivanov—a sexy Russian with an array of tattoos and an accent that weakens her knees—a bit of danger is within Carter’s grasp. Behind her father's back, she enjoys spending time with Vladimir at his lavish estate. But is he really the upstanding businessman she believes him to be?Vladimir Ivanov reigns as godfather of a Russian mafia crime ring.Vladimir spent five years of his life in a Siberian prison camp and has earned every tattoo inked into his skin. He is a powerful man who gets what he wants, and after stalking the gorgeous tennis player for years—he wants Carter. A little charm melts her heart, and behind the scenes, he orders his henchman to track her every move.He’s a tattooed stick of dynamite ready to blow at the slightest spark.As their romance reaches deadly levels, Carter senses something’s not right. When she’s lured into a compromising position at the hands of a shady European drug dealer, she calls in Boris, Vladimir’s right hand man, to rescue her—without telling Vladimir. With his authority questioned, he sets out to teach Carter a lesson about loyalty she’ll never forget.When Carter realizes she's in too deep, she must fight for her freedom before the attraction turns fatal.But the Russian mafia plays for keeps, and Vladimir’s fierce lust to possess her spirals their romance out of control.RUSSIAN TATTOOS PRISONER - BOOK #2American tennis player Carter Cook is being held prisoner by the Russian mafia...Carter is the obsession of mob boss Vladimir Ivanov, a man she once loved. Now a mafia war has erupted on his home turf, and Vladimir’s enemies have put a bounty on her head to force him to surrender. If she is captured, his rivals will deliver a deadly ultimatum—his life in exchange for hers. The price for Carter’s freedom is Vladimir’s blood.Vladimir holds ultimate power as godfather of the Ivanov Bratva…He spent five years in a Siberian prison camp and has earned every tattoo inked into his skin. He is a powerful man who rules his crew with an iron fist.But his enemies have discovered his only weakness—Carter. Vladimir knows if she stays in his world, he is handing her a death sentence, so he vows to get her home and never interfere in her life again. Giving up the woman he loves is the only way to protect her from the bad guys—including himself.Vladimir’s rivals have a different plan for the ill-fated couple…Some punishments are worse than death, and the head of the Ovechkin Bratva will go to any length to seek vengeance and inflict maximum suffering on Vladimir.Carter may be Vladimir’s weakness, but she is also his only hope for survival. When the boss of the Ovechkin family threatens the man she loves, she must fight for Vladimir’s freedom before their rivals can deliver the fatal blow.Love is blind—but it could also be deadly.RUSSIAN TATTOOS CRIMINAL - BOOK #3Russian mob boss Vladimir Ivanov has many enemies—one of them just kidnapped his wife.A mafia war has erupted in London, and Vladimir’s enemies know his one weakness is his deep passion for his new bride, Carter Ivanov. When rival mob boss Maksim Ovechkin kidnaps her, Vladimir is willing to pay the ransom with his own blood.But Maksim’s plans go deeper than that. Vladimir’s blood may not be enough.Maksim wants Carter for himself.Carter has a secret—she’s pregnant with Vladimir’s heir.If Maksim finds out, the consequences will be disastrous. But Carter isn’t willing to give up on her husband, even if her loyalty to Vladimir puts her life on the line.Some risks are worth taking, however, and Carter has a plan.Unfortunately, Maksim is one step ahead of her.

Shattered Empress


Brook Wilder - 2021
    He shaped me in the fires of his cruelty.Sal Faliero called me his princess – and then locked me in his cage.He made me his queen – and then he broke me.He showed me just how black his soul can be.Taunted me with the power of his cruelty.And shared with me the depth of his depravity.He made me learn that no matter how far I run, he would always find me.Our children were my one hope of happiness.And now, because of him, I may never see them again.He taught me what it means to be ruthless.What it takes to be an empress upon his throne of blood.But he taught me a little too well.He caged me.He broke me.But he’ll never rule over me.Shattered Empress is a dark Romance & Psychological suspense novel by bestselling author Brook Wilder.WARNING: This book contains scenes that may be disturbing to some readers.

Black Lies


Alessandra Torre - 2014
    Has been in a relationship with me for 3 years. Has proposed 4 times. Been rejected 4 times.Lee:Cuts grass when he's not banging housewives. Good with his hands, his mouth, and his body. Has been pursued relentlessly by me for almost 2 years, whether he knows it or not. Go ahead. Judge me. You have no idea what my love entails.If you think you've heard this story before, trust me - you haven't.**This is a STANDALONE full-length novel. It is not part of a series, and does not contain a cliffhanger.**

Denial


Lisa Renee Jones - 2015
    This is a standalone spin-off of the INSIDE OUT series (soon to be a TV show) that follows Ella Ferguson, Sara McMillan's best friend.Ella Ferguson awakes alone in Italy, unsure of who she is, and a gorgeous man has claimed her as his own. He’s tall, dark, and sexy, with money and power, the kind of man who makes a girl want to be possessed. And he does possess her, whispering wicked wonderful promises to her, stealing her trust and her heart. Soon though, the past finds her, yanking her from a cocoon of passion and safety. Everything is not how it seems. The truth will shatter her world, but it can set her free, if it doesn't destroy her first.

Take a Breath


Jaimie Roberts - 2013
    Feelings which had been bottled up for so long are now bursting to get out. I can no longer hide the overwhelming emotions that flow through me.Unfortunately, neither can a serial killer on the loose dubbed “The Blonde Killer.” I am his obsession.And Jake, the senior detective in charge of the Major Investigations Unit, is responsible for catching the murderer.I’m scared, but I know Jake will do everything in his power to protect me.I feel things can’t get any worse.Until they do.

Barely Breathing


K.G. Reuss - 2021
    She’s been my tormentor for as long as I can remember. If it’s not her long legs and wicked smile getting me hot and bothered, it’s her bullying and cruel intentions.When we’re paired on a class project, I swear it’s going to be my worst nightmare.I’m not wrong.The Asha Blake I thought I knew is nothing compared to the girl sitting on my bed, divulging secrets so painful and sick, that I find myself fighting for her instead of against her.But when it comes to the Queen of Mean, once you’re in her inner circle there’s no way out. I’m in too deep. Graveyard deep. And she’s about to bury me.Barely Breathing is a dark high school bully romance. Due to mature content, reader discretion is advised.

I Found You


Erica Marselas
    Four years later, Violet has recently finished college and Cooper is now a huge pop star. While both are letting loose in Las Vegas they find each other in a crowded bar. With their connection still burning red hot, they decide to make their union official and forever. But the thing standing in their way aren't the tabloids, it's their meddling mothers willing to do almost anything to break them apart again. Will their history and their love, along with their one special treasured bond be enough to win this time?