Book picks similar to
The Kiss Game by Esme Devlin
romance
bully
dark
new-adult
Bought
Lauren Landish - 2016
I trust no one. I thrive with control and I’ve learned to be ruthless and coldhearted. A love life? I’m not interested.But I still have desires.That’s where Dahlia came in; my treasure. She had never been a submissive before and I was eager to train her.The dusting of sparkles on her dress barely hid her tempting curves. I wanted to see all of her. My d*ck was already hard at the thought of my hand leaving a bright red print across her lush ass.When I saw her on stage at the auction, dressed in gold, I knew I had to have her.She’s mine for an entire month. I own her. But one lie changed everything.She’s going to be punished for it. But I’m doing this for her own good. She needs this.I’m going to make this right. I’m going to heal her.If it’s the last thing I do.
*Bought is a full-length standalone romance with an HEA, no cheating, and no cliffhanger.
Ruthless Creatures
J.T. Geissinger - 2021
Geissinger.
Five years ago, my fiancé disappeared. He left me with a wedding dress I’d never wear. Left me with the kind of scars that can’t be healed. The man I built my future on vanished like a ghost. All that remained were my broken heart and unanswered questions.Until a mysterious stranger arrives in town. Tall, dark, and dangerous, Kage is as full of secrets as he is sex appeal. Though I know he’s hiding something, I’m drawn to him like a moth to flame.The intensity of our connection is addictive, unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. Heat crackles between us with every look, desire flares into passion, and I fall hard, unable to resist.But when I discover how he’s tied to the darkness in my past, I learn what happens when you fly recklessly into fire:You get burned.
Bully Me
Selena . - 2020
When we move to a small town in the south, we’ll own it, my brothers said. After all, my family is rich as sin and used to getting whatever they want. How hard could it be? Except when we arrive in Faulkner, someone already owns this town. The Darling family. They’re every bit as wealthy as we are, and they’re not happy with our new money moving in. The three Darling cousins, each one more cruel and gorgeous than the last, rule the halls of Willow Heights the way my brothers ruled our prep school in Manhattan. None is worse than Devlin Darling, who makes it his personal mission to ruin his new rivals. The Darlings see my brothers as a threat. They want them gone. It doesn’t take them long to find my brothers’ one weakness. Me. *Bully Me is a high school dark romance suitable for readers 18+*
The Sweetest Oblivion
Danielle Lori - 2018
. . Nicknamed Sweet Abelli for her docile nature, Elena smiles on cue and has a charming response for everything. She’s the favored daughter, the perfect mafia principessa . . . or was.Now, all she can see in the mirror’s reflection is blood staining her hands like crimson paint. They say first impressions are everything . . . In the murky waters of New York’s underworld, Elena’s sister is arranged to marry Nicolas Russo. A Made Man, a boss, a cheat—even measured against mafia standards. His reputation stretches far and wide and is darker than his black suits and ties. After his and Elena’s first encounter ends with an accidental glare on her part, she realizes he’s just as rude as he is handsome. She doesn’t like the man or anything he stands for, though that doesn’t stop her heart from pattering like rain against glass when he’s near, nor the shiver that ghosts down her spine at the sound of his voice.And he’s always near. Telling her what to do. Making her feel hotter than any future brother-in-law should. Elena may be the Sweet Abelli on the outside, but she’s beginning to learn she has a taste for the darkness, for rough hands, cigarettes, and whiskey-colored eyes. Having already escaped one scandal, however, she can hardly afford to be swept up in another.Besides, even if he were hers, everyone knows you don’t fall in love with a Made Man . . . right?This is a standalone forbidden romance.
Bound by Honor
Cora Reilly - 2014
What many consider a gift means her doom when she’s forced to marry Luca Vitiello to bring peace between two mafia dynasties. Luca is the future Capo of the New York Famiglia, a man known for his brutality—and for crushing his cousin’s throat with his bare hands.Aria is terrified of marrying a monster like him. He may be one of the most sought-after bachelors in New York, thanks to his good looks, wealth and predator-like charisma. But Aria knows the bad boy aura isn’t just a game; blood and death lurk beneath Luca’s striking gray eyes and arrogant smile.In her world a handsome exterior often hides the monster within; a monster who can just as easily kill as kiss you.Yet, there’s no escaping the arranged bond, much less a man like Luca. He’d follow her to the end of the world.Her only chance to survive in a marriage with Luca is to gain his affection and work her way into his heart—even when rumor has it that Luca doesn’t have a heart to begin with.A mafia princess known for her beauty given to a monstrous man. Even monsters have a heart.She has every intention of working her way into his.
The Initiation
Nikki Sloane - 2019
But there are rumors of a sordid rite of initiation. Whispers how one woman and nine men disappear into a boardroom. This time, that woman will be me. The Hale family owns everything—the eighth largest bank in the world, everyone in our town, even the mortgage on my parents’ mansion. And now Royce Hale wants to own me. He is charming. Seductive. Ruthless. But above all, he’s the prince of lies. My body may tighten with white-hot desire under his penetrating gaze, but I refuse to enjoy it. I’ll make a deal with the devil to save my family and sell myself to the Hales. But Royce will never own my heart.
The Bandit
B.B. Reid - 2016
She thought she could steal from me and get away with it, but I have no intention of letting her get away at all. Mian Ross has a lesson to learn, and I'm going to be the one to teach it to her.HE STOLE MY SONI'll never forget the night I made the second biggest mistake of my life. It was supposed to be a simple job, but it quickly became so much more--one that cost my freedom and cost my son. Angel Knight became my worst nightmare... and now, he'll never let us go.
Hard to Love
W. Winters - 2019
I was too much of a bastard to push her away.I grew up in this life, and now I run these streets. Blood and violence taint everything I touch.Everything but her. She was my constant through it all.Just a touch would singe and soothe.Just a look would tempt and torment.She became my escape and my addiction.I only survived because she was by my side.I should’ve known better than to indulge.I should’ve known better than to let her fall for me.It was only a matter of time before the danger bled into what we had.I was Laura’s downfall. Problem was, she was mine too.
Wicked Knight
Tracy Lorraine - 2021
I want blood for those who wronged me and my family. And my so-called truth is ripping me apart, in a way lies never could.Everyone else has moved on, but I can’t. Not until someone pays.And it seems that fate is on my side this time, because the hellion girl from the graveyard is going to be my saving grace… and provide me with everything I crave.The pain.The vengeance.The blood.She has no idea what she’s been dragged into, but she’s going to regret every step she’s taken to get here.Stella Doukas isn’t like any other girl I’ve encountered before.She’s fierce, determined, and much stronger than I anticipated.I might have met my match.And that is not a good thing…Dear readers,Wicked Knight is the first to my new angst-filled new adult mafia series.This is my darkest bully romance yet. If the following doesn’t get your pulse racing in all the right ways, you might want to miss this one out…Dub/non-con, bullying, knife and blood play, mutilation, humiliation, somnophilia, sexual violence, exhibitionism/voyeurism. You have been warned. Enjoy!
The Boy on the Bridge
Sam Mariano - 2021
I saw someone hurting and wanted to help. I saw someone possibly in danger and wanted to make sure he was safe.There’s nothing safe about Hunter Maxwell, though. I thought there might be. I fell under his spell. Whatever the world saw when they looked at him, it wasn’t what he showed me. The bond we formed was real. I know it was real. But with Hunter, when the tides turn, you’d better hope you’re safely on the shore and out of his reach.I thought I was a strong enough swimmer to keep my head above water. I thought if it came down to it, I could resist his pull.I didn’t know, but now I do.Once Hunter sets his sights on you, there’s no such thing as out of his reach. Whether it’s today, tomorrow, or five years from now, he’s coming for me—and when he does, he won’t stop until he’s destroyed me.***The Boy on the Bridge contains mature, adult content and is only recommended for adult readers.
Heartbreak Prince
C.R. Jane - 2020
I believe in them. I was lucky enough to have two of them at one point.The only problem. My soulmates happened to be twin brothers.Caiden was the light to Jackson's dark. And after all that I had been through, the light was what I thought I needed.When I chose Caiden, I lost Jackson.Feeling like half a person after Jackson left, I barely survived when tragedy struck and I lost Caiden too.It took me years to admit to myself that I had chosen wrong from the beginning. I’m ready to admit it to Jackson...only problem, he hates me.I’m ready to fight for my happily ever after.But there’s a reason they call him the Heartbreak Prince.
No Prince
Stevie J. Cole - 2020
He was the top of the food chain. And I was next in line to be dragged into the lion’s den. At least that’s what he thought… Good girls wanted to tame him. Bad girls want to be tainted by him. Everyone bowed down to him. And me?I hated Zeppelin Hunt with every fiber of my being.Which was why I stayed away from the arrogant bad boy with tattoos and a rap sheet.Until I couldn’t.Until we traded favors, and I owed him three months of my life. I never thought I would end up in his bed, and when I did, I had to remind myself that he hated me as much as I hated him.Until I didn’t. Zepp Hunt was no prince, and I absolutely refused to be his damsel in distress…
Lawless Kingdom
Natalie Bennett - 2020
Judas Barron, for example. Wicked blue blood and heir to a severely twisted cutthroat society. Everyone knew who he was and what crew he ran with—a clandestine group of filthy rich kids surrounded by ominous secrets. Secrets that were rumored to be dark, dirty, and stained with blood. It was never my intention to get tangled up with them, but Judas and I had a secret too, one he was determined to make sure I took with me to my grave, which meant keeping me by his side. Now forced to be part of a savage coterie, I start to see his world through a new pair of eyes. It isn’t long before temptation becomes something dangerous and wild, breeding the sickest kind of infatuation. And those secrets Judas keeps? They’re about to tear my life apart. **WARNING** Before beginning this series please be aware that while LK is mild in terms of darkness, the following books in this series will be on a drastically different level, containing graphic violence, total power-control, explicit sexual content, and varying triggers. LK is a percursor that sets the stage for the rest of the series. 18+ only.
Bitter Heat
Mia Knight - 2019
He was the flame. After this, they would be ash. A cruel twist of fate leaves Jasmine Hennessy stranded in a remote cabin with her worst nightmare—her ex-husband, James Roth, who she hasn’t seen in five years. He isn’t acting like the man she married, but did she ever really know him? One night together kicks off a series of events that threatens her freedom as Roth seeks vengeance on those who ruined him seven years ago. He’s determined to bring her back into the world she left behind where money is king, reputation is everything, and people will kill to keep their secrets. Author's Note: This is a dark romance novel with triggers and mature themes that may make some readers uncomfortable.
Sweet Mercy
K.A. Tucker - 2019
Tucker comes the dark and steamy Empire Nightclub series.One visit to my father in prison—convicted for a murder he didn’t commit—and I’ve attracted the attention of the last man I’d ever want knowing that I exist.Gabriel Easton.Son of an infamous crime boss. Deplorable womanizer. Scoundrel to the core.Worse, he has figured out how desperate I am to protect my father from brutality behind bars. He has the power to grant that protection, and he has offered it … for a price.Me.I'll do anything for my father, including agree to Gabriel's cruel game. But I won't comply with his every whim and wish. Unfortunately for me, I think my loathing for him is what he’s enjoying most.That's fine. By the time I’m through with him, he’ll be crying my name.Mercy.