Book picks similar to
Dark Sonata (Elysium #1) by Claire Marta
contemporary
paranormal
dark-romance
dark-elements
Pretty Things
Devon McCormack - 2019
For some time, I've been confused about my attraction toward men, but there's no confusion when I look at him--just pure, unfettered desire to feel his body against mine, taste his flesh, breathe in his scent.So many things an experienced man like Liam could show me.But I don't just want to sate my desire for his body--the physique of a Titan, those abs practically chiseled from stone, and one particular challenge that looks more than slightly intimidating...Yes, I want all that, but also so much more. To know everything about him. There's something behind the facade he presents to the world. Sometimes, it's as though I'm offered a glimpse behind the smokescreen--to who he really is. Yet it's tricky to know the real Liam when he's determined to keep his secrets.I assumed he had a dark past.But I didn't realize he hadn't left it behind and that I'd wind up roped into it--into a dangerous world so different from the one I've spent most my life living.It's a world of secrets, deception, and peril.I quickly discover there's a price to being with Liam McKinney.But no price is too great when the reward is being the man in his arms and his heart.Being his very own Pretty Thing.*Pretty Things features two men who can't get enough of each other, action/adventure involving secret government agencies and nefarious conspiracies, and sexy shenanigans that'll make it impossible for you to forget you're in a Devon McCormack novel. The book contains references to suicidal ideation and scenes of peril that could act as triggers for some readers.
Branded by Flames
Sean Michael - 2017
Five dragon shifters, each with a strong elemental power. And each with a fierce desire to find his soul mate… For years, dragon-shifter-slash-firefighter Jake has been searching for his mate, but he's beginning to tire of the search. Maybe soul mates are only for the lucky few. Then he meets Shae. A former navy welder, Shae is handsome, talented, into power play and rough sex, and covered in dragon tattoos. All of this suits the shape-shifting dragon just fine—until he finds out that Shae literally has Jake's family crest already tattooed on him. A coincidence? Or something more… Jake must convince Shae to trust him as a man and as a Dom before the heat between them burns out of control. Becoming a dragon's mate is not without danger, and Shae will need Jake's guidance—and love—if he's going to make it through alive. This book is approximately 76,000 words One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you're looking for with an HEA/HFN. It's a promise! Find out more at CarinaPress.com/RomancePromise.
Embraced
Nicholas Bella - 2014
Because of him, I was captured by my loathed enemy: The vampires. Right now, the sun is still high in the sky, but I know when it sets, I’m as good as dead. They can’t wait to get their fangs into me. I guess some would say I have it coming. I did raise a lot of hell with my Resistance crew, and I was planning on raising a hell of a lot more at dawn before I was sold out by Jonah. The vampires, werewolves and dragons, have been trying to track me down for months and I’d always been two steps ahead of them. *Laughs* I guess my number is up. I just hope they make it quick. You see, the vampires in my reality aren’t the romantic lot you read about in books. They don’t sparkle or hang out at high schools with their teenage girlfriends. Hell no, vampires are brutal, calculating, sadistic and bloodthirsty. As a matter of fact, all of the monsters are! That’s how they were able to take over the world so easily and change an entire civilization to suit their needs. Whatever happens, I know it’s not going to be pretty, so I’m preparing myself for the worst. May God help me. Warning: This novelette series contains hardcore sexual situations between men, not meant for sensitive eyes. I’m talking crude, lewd and full of attitude. This series will most likely either offend you or get ya revved up. This series isn’t going to be pulling any punches whatsoever, so you’ve been warned. Mature Adult Content meant for readers looking for something dark, taboo, sexy, and unapologetic in their paranormal erotica. This is NOT a romance. This novelette is approximately 13300 words.
Apollo's Curse
Brad Vance - 2014
After a few sessions with his new friends Rose and Sherry at a romance book club, well, the more romances they read, the more they're convinced they can do better. And do they ever! They join their creative forces to become "Pamela Clarice," self-published romance novelist. When they look for a cover model for their first book, Dane sees the photos that will change his life. Paul Musegetes is the world's most popular romance cover model, and the most secretive. Dane soon finds himself obsessed with this supernaturally handsome man, and when he meets Paul at the Romance Writers' Ball on the Summer Solstice, he and Paul connect for one night of passion...After that night, Dane's a writing machine. He can't stop writing romances, and every story he touches turns to gold. But he also finds that he can't write anything but romances. And soon he's spending every waking moment of every day writing another after another...Then Dane finds out that this Midas touch has a heavy price. When the year is over, he'll never write again. Not a romance, not a serious novel. Nothing. Not even a grocery list. And that leaves him with only one option - find Paul, and get him to break the curse. But before he can do that, he'll have to track down Paul's equally mysterious photographer, Jackson da Vinci...
Daddy Wanted
Susi Hawke - 2018
Must love dogs. Reply ASAP Toby Andrews is a busy, forgetful, scatterbrained musician with ADHD, a precocious dog named Ruffles, and a bad rep for partying too hard. When Toby’s actions put an all-important contract with a large label in jeopardy, his manager sarcastically suggests that the omega needs a keeper who'll redden his bottom if he steps out of line. Toby is intrigued, so when he sees an ad for a discreet company called Rent-a-Dom while scrolling his social media page, he impulsively sends a request for a Daddy Dom to help him stay on track. Thorne Barrett is a jaded, worn-out daddy of a Dom who has no desire to babysit some naughty, out of control, celebrity brat. The alpha reluctantly takes the job, promising himself he’ll find new employment when the contract is over. He doesn't know what his next step might be, but whatever it is, he hopes it will leave him stable enough so he can settle down and think about having a family of his own. Neither man is precisely what the other expected. Once Thorne gets his naughty 'boy' settled into a routine, Toby begins to blossom and find better ways to focus... and most importantly, stay of out trouble with the paparazzi. Between band issues, a crazed stalker, an unexpected pregnancy, and a thirty-day cross-country tour, Toby has a lot on his plate. Can he find stability for himself and Ruffles with Daddy Thorne? This MM book contains mpreg, D/s elements, and is intended for 18+ readers. Warning: Don't read unless you like fun books with feisty Chihuahuas, naughty boys who really want to be good, hot daddy alphas, a story that will keep you in stitches, and steam-filled passion. But then again, this is a Susi Hawke and Piper Scott collaboration—you already knew to expect that, didn’t you?
The Chimera
Adrienne Wilder - 2016
Instead of turning over his wealth, he barters his son. Kaleb finds himself thrown into a world where a class of men feel themselves untouchable, going so far as to call themselves gods. After the Great Economic Collapse there are no laws that cannot be broken. And Kaleb is forced into a ten-year sentence of servitude where he will have no say, no rights, no value and yet be coveted and protected as if he were a priceless treasure. Leo Roan has slipped the noose the Association bound him with by breaking his addiction to ambrosia, and Kaleb Holten was supposed to be his last assignment as a doxie Master. But something about the boy begins weaving a new net that will not only ensnare him but the conscious darkness inside that craves pain, agony, suffering, and death.
Prince of Air and Darkness
M.A. Grant - 2019
Born with the rare ability to tap into unlimited magick, he finds both Faerie Courts want his allegiance—and will do anything to get it.They don’t realize he can’t levitate a feather, much less defend the Faerie Realm as it slips into civil war.Unseelie Prince Roark Lyne, Phineas’s roommate—and self-proclaimed arch nemesis—is beautiful and brave and a pain in the ass. Phineas can’t begin to sort through their six years of sexual tension masquerading as mutual dislike. But Roark is also the only one able to help Finn tame his magick.Trusting Roark’s mysterious motives may be foolish; not accepting his temporary protection would be deadly.Caught in the middle of the impending war, Phineas and Roark forge a dangerous alliance. And as the walls between them crumble, Phineas realizes that Roark isn’t the monster he’d imagined. But their growing intimacy threatens to expose a secret that could either turn the tide of the war…or destroy them both.
Dark Flame
Kat Silver - 2021
You were born to be mine." ~ Prince Alexei VasilievHaunted by the death of his parents, Michael Blakeley wants answers. The twenty-six-year-old martial artist seeks their killer, but he also wants to know why electronics short out at his touch, and why his libido is a raging fire.So when a group of soldiers calling themselves Guardians rescue him from a back alley ambush and claim to have the answers he needs, he agrees to go with them. Especially when they tell him the attackers were vampires. But nothing in this supernatural underworld is as it seems, and when the silver-eyed commander cages him instead, Michael's answers slip further away.Can Michael find safety from the vampire prince who claims him? Can he escape the dark destiny he discovers is written into his blood? And will he break the chains of the commander who keeps him captive? The one man he has no desire to leave?Dark Flame is the first pulse-pounding book in the Flame Born LGBT urban fantasy series. If you like enemies to lovers, shifters, sexy vampire princes, and scorching heat, you'll love this smoldering tale of bloodlust and magic. There is content some readers may find distressing. Meant for mature audiences.
Rules to Follow
Susan Hawke - 2019
Travis Miller has a pretty solid life in the small California beach town he calls home. He’s working his way up in the district attorney’s office, he owns a home with an ocean view, and he has close ties with his family. Life is good. If only he could find a sweet boy to call his own, life would be… perfect. Adam Nichols’ life has never been easy. Growing up in foster care taught him to be strong, so finding himself in a violent relationship was a shock. Now that he's finally free of it, he faces new problems. He's jobless, homeless, and terrified of starting from scratch. With a little help from an old friend, Adam discovers a whole new world. He goes from rock bottom to renting a room from a hot assistant DA and working at Daddy’s Lap, a kink club that opens his vanilla eyes to things he’d never imagined. His new roommate is a balm to Adam’s damaged soul. The tender way Travis cares for him is almost like the Daddy kink community he’s seen at the club. But Travis isn’t a Daddy… right? If he were, surely he’d have said so. What happens when a lie by omission threatens to bring their budding relationship tumbling down around them? Will Travis ever be able to earn Adam's trust again? This is the first book in a new series about not-so-perfect Daddies, adorable “boys,” and one sassy brat with an insane list of rules. Grab your fan and tissues because this series comes with both a high heat advisory and all the squishy feels you’d want from a Susan Hawke book. Possible trigger for references to domestic violence.
I Feel Him Watching
T.A. McKay - 2018
He can’t see the camera lens that is pointed in his direction and he doesn’t know all his movements are being watched. He can sense it though, that strange tingle on his skin when he’s meant to be alone. Then strange things start to happen. Belongings go missing and things are moved, but what is really happening and what is just his imagination? It isn’t until a detective turns up at his door that he realises that something is very wrong. Not only is it his possession’s that are gone, its also the men he's been dating, leaving him the last person to see them. This makes him the police’s number one suspect and he isn’t sure how to prove his innocence. Its not until the detective in charge of the investigation gets a visit from Nicolai’s admirer that things become clear. Not only is Nicolai in danger, so is anyone connected to his life. This stranger is hurting the people he loves and he doesn’t know how to stop it. Nicolai doesn’t know who is out there or what he wants, but he can feel him watching. Trigger warning: this book contains scenes of rape, torture and abuse that some readers might find distressing. Reader discretion is advised.
Tales of Beastkin: Shiro
Bella Chan - 2021
A steamy hurt-comfort paranormal shifter alpha-omega mm romance.
Adam
The Beautiful Monster.
Alpha wolf shifter Adam Sullivan, dubbed The Beautiful Monster, is on a “sabbatical leave” of his position as the head honcho of one of the most powerful mafia clans in America. Relishing in his newfound peaceful life, Adam’s wonderful tranquility is being threatened when he happens upon a beaten-up foxkin youth in the back alley of New York City.
The moment Adam lays his eyes on the exquisite white-haired, cobalt-blue-eyed Shiro, he is beguiled and knows he’ll be kissing his serene life goodbye if he doesn’t walk away. When Shiro begs for his help, Adam loses the fight to the inevitability and takes the boy home.
Shiro
Into the arms of a beautiful monster…
Shiro is a beastkin, a race of humans with small animal characteristics society despises. Having escaped the institute, he lives in the backstreet scavenging for survival. When Adam saves him after a deadly beating, he is grateful.
It isn’t long when Shiro finds himself falling in love with Adam, whose rough exterior and standoffish kindness steals the boy’s fragile heart. Shiro knows he can’t linger around and take advantage of Adam’s generosity, but leaving is just so damn hard, especially when Adam makes him feels he belongs, a feeling he desperately yearns for.
Tales of Beastkin: Shiro is a hurt-comfort paranormal shifter alpha-omega mm romance (boys love, yaoi) with some dark themes. The uke (Shiro) is a beautiful beastkin (a race of humans with small animal characteristics) and the seme (Adam) is an alpha shifter hunk.
Emerett Has Never Been in Love
Anyta Sunday - 2021
After losing his best friend to marriage—completely crushing his heart—he deems it prudent to distract himself, and what better way than playing cupid?He’s already got his eye on two young men desperately seeking romance, and he has a plan to hook them up.Barbecues.Photoshoots.Reciting Shakespearean love declarations.Lake is killing it. Love is positively pulsing in the air. Anyone could see it.Well, anyone other than Knight, his best friend’s dad, who cautions Lake to stop meddling. To leave love to its natural course.Lake has always valued Knight’s frankness, but this time he’s wrong. Without him, two hearts might be doomed never to find love.Besides, what does Knight know about romance? He’s barely dated in all the seven years Lake’s known him. He’s clueless.Though, there’s a thought. Knight has everything going for him. Sensibility. Kindness. Generosity. And for a forty-four-year-old, he’s—objectively—freaking hot.Why is he single?~ ~ ~“. . . [T]here may be a hundred different ways of being in love.” ~ Jane AustenAnd a hundred different ways not to recognize it.
Settling the Score
Eden Winters - 2011
His dreams of a happy ever after lie crushed at his feet. Novelist Troy Steele has an axe to grind against Hollywood heartbreaker types. Transforming Joey into a gorgeous, unobtainable hunk would be payback worthy of Troy’s poison pen. It's a brilliant way to get back at Joey’s image-obsessed ex-boyfriend and the movie producer who’s mutilating Troy’s novels. What begins as simple revenge may tangle them together in something far more complicated. Living well may be the best revenge, but Troy and Joey could rewrite that to loving well.
Bedtime Story for a Stolen Child
Anna Mayle - 2010
He has been broken and put back together so many times that he cannot even remember what he used to be. He has given up all hope of escape, until a soft breeze through his cell leads him home, only to find out that home has gone on without him. A man with Leinad’s face is there in his place, with his siblings, acting out his life. A changeling. The creature who enabled his imprisonment and torture for all those years. Daniel Tessel is a thirty year old folklorist. He is meeting his brother and sister at their family cabin, to spend the anniversary of their parent’s deaths together. His biggest worry is the séance his little sister is insisting on, and trying to stave off her inevitable disappointment. That is, until he looks up during the ritual to see his own face watching him from the window. He is pulled into the consequences of a plot he cannot even remember, accused of stealing his own life. Confused, angry, and frightened beyond reason, Daniel tries to escape from Leinad, but there is something pulling them together. Revenge and passion are two very similar things. Blood sings, lust and tempers rise, and before they know it, neither is quite sure who the real monster is anymore. Or if it will even matter in the end.
Public Display of Everything
Cara Dee - 2014
Flynn has a job he can no longer hide behind. A simple proposition in an effort to solve both of their problems leads two young men to confront the heartbreaks of their pasts in order to make a future together.What starts as an innocent bit of voyeurism turns into a public display of…everything.You know you like to watch.