Book picks similar to
Rising by Jessica Ruben


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Beautifully Damaged


L.A. Fiore - 2012
    A little tomboyish from being raised by her father, Ember packs a punch when a stranger gets pushy with her in a bar, catching the steely blue eyes of a tall, gorgeous tattooed man—Trace Montgomery. Still damaged from her last disastrous relationship and warned off the bad boy by friends, Ember fights the smoldering heat that Trace sparks in her when he begins shadowing her like a dark angel.Burdened by a lifetime of horror and heartbreak, amateur fighter Trace doesn’t want to want Ember. His deep self-loathing keeps him from having any meaningful relationships, but Ember is an itch he can’t scratch. The two push and pull, slowly crumbling their walls, seemingly brought together by fate, because the turmoil that haunts their pasts is interlinked in undeniable ways. But can these two fighters finally lay down their arms?In Beautifully Damaged, L.A. Fiore delves into deep scars and lets love and forgiveness uncover redemption.

Dominic


L.A. Casey - 2014
    If she doesn't befriend people, talk to them or acknowledge them in any way they leave her alone just like she wants. When Dominic Slater enters her life, ignoring him is all she has to do to get his attention. Dominic is used to attention, and when he and his brothers move to Dublin, Ireland for family business, he gets nothing but attention. Attention from everyone except the beautiful brunette with a sharp tongue. Dominic wants Bronagh and the only way he can get to her, is by dragging her from the boxed off corner she has herself trapped in the only way he knows how... by force. Dominic wants her, and what Dominic wants, Dominic gets.

Fighting for Flight


J.B. Salsbury - 2013
    Liberated from the neglectful home of her prostitute mother, she finds solace as a mechanic. With few friends, she’s content with the simple life. Flying under the radar is all she knows, and more than she expects.Until she catches the eye of local celebrity, UFL playboy Jonah Slade. Weeks away from his title fight, Jonah is determined to stay focused on everything he’s trained so hard to achieve. Undefeated in the octagon, he’s at the height of his career. But resisting Raven’s effortless allure and uncomplicated nature is a fight he can’t win. Jonah trades in his bad-boy reputation and puts his heart on the line. But when her father contacts her, setting in motion the ugly truth of her destiny, Jonah must choose. In a high-stakes gamble where love and freedom hang in the balance, a war is waged where the price of losing is a fate worse than death.Will the hotheaded Jonah be able to restrain his inner fighter to save the woman he loves? Or will Raven be forced into a life she’s been desperate to avoid?Word Count: 112,406

Better When He's Bad


Jay Crownover - 2014
    . . meet Shane Baxter. Sexy, dark, and dangerous, Bax isn’t just from the wrong side of the tracks, he is the wrong side of the tracks. A criminal, a thug, and a brawler, he’s the master of bad choices, until one such choice landed him in prison for five years. Now Bax is out and looking for answers, and he doesn’t care what he has to do or who he has to hurt to get them. But there’s a new player in the game, and she’s much too innocent, much too soft…and standing directly in his way. Dovie Pryce knows all about living a hard life and the tough choices that come with it. She’s always tried to be good, tried to help others, and tried not to let the darkness pull her down. But the streets are fighting back, things have gone from bad to worse, and the only person who can help her is the scariest, sexiest, most complicated ex-con The Point has ever produced. Bax terrifies her, but it doesn’t take Dovie long to realize that some boys are just better when they’re bad.

Perversion


T.M. Frazier - 2018
    New/alternate cover edition here.USA Today bestselling author of the King Series, T.M. Frazier, brings you an all-new trilogy with a sexy anti-hero you're going to love to hate, and a ballsy heroine with more up her sleeve than just tricks. Love is supposed to be a fairy tale.Ours is a death wish.I'm the executioner for the Bedlam Brotherhood. She's a con artist working for my greatest enemy. I use her. She manipulates me.We find ourselves on opposite sides of a bloody war. My heart and head tell me I have to stay away. My lust for her doesn't give a sh*t. Nothings fair in love and gang war.

For Fallon


Soraya Naomi - 2014
    Fallon’s mask is real, what you see is what you get. Growing up with two loving parents in Chicago, graduating in Chicago, and now working a job she loves, she enjoys her life. Her untarnished world is shaken when Luca crosses her path. Luca’s mask is tightly controlled. Distrust, rivalry, and violence rule his life.When confronted with insecurities, when the one you love wears his mask perfectly, when your life unravels and you don’t know why, do you keep trusting the person you love? Everyone has a façade. Everyone has an ulterior motive.A contemporary romance/ romantic thriller in dual point of view. Contains sexual content and violence.

Where the Sun Hides


Bethany-Kris - 2016
    Violet Gallucci and Kazimir Markovic have grown up in the same city, but on opposite sides of the game they call life—Violet, an Italian principessa della mafia, and Kaz, a Russian Bratva heir. Lines have been drawn, and they know not to cross them. Their paths crossed once, a long time ago, but when they meet again, the territory and rules set out by their families that have kept them separated seem to bleed away. She's more than her last name … He’s more than a Russian … But secrets from the past—and the people determined to keep them hidden—have other plans for Violet and Kaz. Rival families. One city. Star-crossed lovers. They should be enemies. It could mean war. This is just the beginning … From authors Bethany-Kris (The Chicago War) and London Miller (Volkov Bratva) comes a thrilling, sexy new series—Seasons of Betrayal. Where the Russians and Italians clash in culture, mafia … and love.Coming June 2016

Because You're Mine


Claire Contreras - 2018
    They're the ones with experience. The ones with secrets. The ones that exude sex just by saying your name.From the minute I laid eyes on Lorenzo, I knew he wasn't just bad news. He was the headline.My opinion didn't change on our second meeting. Or our third. But my head and my heart are at war. He’s too mysterious, too gorgeous, too wild, and now, he wants me. I should run far away. So why am I racing toward him? I’m totally going to get burned. I know it. A man like Lorenzo won’t leave me unscathed.He'll make ashes of me.

I Dare You


Shantel Tessier - 2018
     Austin Lowes is new to town. She's running from a mom who hates her to her dad who cares nothing about her. Only a few months and she will be free, or at least, that's what she hopes ... until she meets him. Cole Reynolds is the devil disguised as a man. He wants her fear, he wants her blood, and he wants her soul. Just a little game, he says, I dare you. Will Austin survive him, or will she lose herself and the game? Secrets are revealed and justice will be served, but at what cost? Who survives and who doesn't?

All the Lies


Rina Kent - 2020
    I'll break. I'll pay for what I’ve done.Problem is, I don’t remember what I’ve done, but I have a clue.There was a fire.A dead girl.And I was there.All The Lies is a dark new adult book that contains dubious situations some readers might find offensive and/or triggering. If you're looking for a hero, you won't find him in Asher Carson. Please don't read if any of that bothers you.All The Lies is part of a duet and is not standalone.

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…

Violent Delights


Jessica Hawkins - 2019
    An untouchable among thieves. Heiress to a life others have killed for, and one I'd do anything to escape. I vowed not to leave without Diego, my first love and best friend, but if his ruthless brother has his way, I won’t leave at all.Cristiano de la Rosa is a man as big and bold as his legend. Once upon a time, he was our cartel’s best soldier . . . until he became my family’s worst enemy. And a man like Cristiano will bend fate to his will to get what he wants—even if it means tearing me from another's arms.Because in the de la Rosa family, old grudges run deeper than loyalty, and betrayal is a three-letter word: war. But this feud isn’t between enemies—it’s between brothers. And I’m the prize.

The Professional


Kresley Cole - 2014
    Ordered to protect her, Aleksei will do anything to possess her as well—on his own wicked terms.Rules are made to be broken…Grad student Natalie Porter had barely recovered from her first sight of the dark and breathtaking Sevastyan before the professional enforcer whisks her away to Russia, thrusting her into a world of extreme wealth and wanton pleasures. Every day under his protection leads her 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...

Perfect Chaos


Nashoda Rose - 2014
    Have since I was sixteen and my world fell into chaos. But I found a way to endure, or rather it found me. Now I’m a prisoner of my own doing, hiding behind a false mask so no one sees the truth. Not even the man I want but can’t have—Deck. But I messed up and the lies are spilling over, out of control. Deck is unrelenting and will settle for nothing less than the truth. He demands everything from me—EVERYTHING—even if it rips me apart.DECKI kill for a living.Unyielding—It’s how I survive in my line of work. I bend people to my will…except Georgie.But that ends now.I've played her game for far too long. Now I think it's time we play mine.

Hate


Tate James - 2020
    I wasn’t dead. But I was set up.After being charged with a string of offences--and made an example of by my political minded father--I’m eventually released back into Shadow Grove with one thing on my mind.Hate.Someone is going to pay for derailing my carefully laid out future. Someone is going to catch the full force of my hate. How very convenient that someone just moved into the bedroom down the hall from me.Archer D’Ath and his boys messed with the wrong chick and they’re about to learn just how cold Madison Kate’s hate can run.HATE is a full length mature college/new adult romance with enemies-to-lovers/love-hate themes. This is a reverse harem novel, meaning the main character has more than one love interest. This is book one of four in the series.