Book picks similar to
Sweeter Than Hate by Anna Zaires
dark
dark-romance
mafia
romance
Beast
A. Zavarelli - 2017
But then he took me. And he taught me that life isn’t a fairytale. He is scarred. Broken. A dark and wild thing. His beauty is violent and his words are cruel. His heart is a shadowed landscape where nothing can grow. He tells me he could never care for me, and he proves it every day. He’s destroyed my life. Tortured me. And worse… He’s trained me to beg for his affection. This prison is a place where sunlight doesn’t reach. He taught me that hate is born in darkness. And then he taught me that sometimes love is too.
King of Lies
Whitney G. - 2020
That I'm a mere pawn in his twisted game of chess.Despite the fact that my heart is still tethered to his, or the fact that he's still the most gorgeous and beautiful man I've ever met in my life (he can still make me wet with a single sentence), I have to focus on getting away from him.I have to accept that he's no longer the man I fell in love with.He's the king of lies...
Dirty Angels
Karina Halle - 2014
Please see the bottom of this description to see if this is the kind of book that you'll love or piss you off**For Luisa Chavez, a twenty-three year old former beauty queen, a better life has always been just out of her reach. Sure, she’s had men at her feet since she was a young teenager but she’s never had the one thing she’s craved – security. Having grown up in near poverty, her waitressing job in Cabo San Lucas can barely let her take care of herself, let alone her ailing parents. Every day is another unwanted advance, every day is a struggle to survive.When Salvador Reyes, the depraved leader of a major Mexican cartel, takes an interest in her, Luisa is presented with an opportunity she can’t afford to pass up. She’ll become Salvador’s wife and exchange her freedom and body for a life of riches – riches she can bestow upon her deserving parents. But Luisa quickly finds out that even the finest wines and jewels can’t undo the ugliness in her marriage, nor the never-ending violence that threatens her every move.Soon, Luisa is looking for an escape, a way out of the carefully controlled life she’s leading. She finally gets her wish in the worst way possible.As it is, being the wife of Salvador makes her an ideal target for rival cartels and there’s one particular man who needs Luisa as part of his cartel’s expansion. One particular man whose quest for power has destroyed lives, slit throats and gotten him out of an American prison. One particular man who will stop at nothing until he gets what he wants.That man is Javier Bernal. And he wants Luisa. He wants to take her, keep her, ruin her.Unless she ruins him first.***WARNING*** This book deals with drug cartels and as such it contains a lot of sex and violence and some violent sex. It can get pretty ugly, pretty dark and pretty crazy. There is drug use, abuse, a bit of torture and dubious consent. The hero is not a hero and the villains...well, they're even worse. If this sort of thing bothers you, PLEASE DO NOT READ IT. This ain't no cupcake farting unicorn kind of book. If you are even a bit squeamish about violence, brutality and rape, this is your warning to stay away from a book that you certainly will not like (and why read books that you know you won't like?)******While this is a spin-off of The Artists Trilogy, prior knowledge of the books is not needed. DIRTY ANGELS is the first in a trilogy, however each book can standalone and follows or introduces different characters***
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.
Mister Black
P.T. Michelle - 2014
That one person who blew through our lives, their presence forever stamped on our psyche. They linger in our thoughts, in our hearts, and in the decisions we make. A soul crusher or a dream maker, depending on the perspective.My person is MISTER BLACK. I didn’t know him by that name when I first met him. I didn’t know him at all, but the impression he left behind was just as powerful as the name I call him today.He is Black: a deadly enforcer and masterful seducer.I am Red: a justice bleeder and willing participant.Together we are passion. Colors colliding through each other’s lives. When our secrets converge in a passionate encounter, stepping out of the shadows just might be worth the risk.
Depraved
Trilina Pucci - 2019
Sin. Depravity—-these are my virtues. My name is Dante Sovrano, head of the Chicago Mob.I run this city. Everyone bows down to me.With one exception—Sarah London.The first night we met, I knew we shared the same appetites. She never said “Mercy”—and all I said was “Good girl.”But the next time we met, Sarah stood up, looked me in the eye, and pulled the damn trigger.It’s funny, the moment I saw her, I knew she’d be trouble. And definitely my brand--fiery, cutthroat, wrapped up in a lickable package. If anyone was made for me, it’s this woman.But dark secrets are hiding behind those gorgeous blue eyes. Secrets she won’t tell, but I plan to know them all.Trouble’s found her. And now Sarah knows she has to deal with the devil to solve her problems.Too bad the devil always takes your soul.And I’ll be keeping it.Whoever wants to hurt this woman has to get through me. Because nobody ever touches what’s mine.Not if they want to keep their lives. This depraved King is keeping his feisty queen. And I'll take down an entire city to do it.
Taken by Lies
Ella Miles - 2019
From USA Today Bestselling Author Ella Miles comes a new dark romance series!I was taken.Kidnapped by a boy I thought I could love.Then he sold me as if I were property.For three years I endured.Beatings.Torture.Pain.I never broke.I was strong, determined, resilient.But then one day it happened...I broke.Setting me free.I should have run away, found a new life, and started over.Instead, I returned.To find the man who sold me.This is book ends on a cliffhanger.Series Order:Lured by Lies #0.5--Prequel Novella included in this bookTaken by Lies #1Betrayed by Truths #2Trapped by Lies #3Stolen by Truths #4Possessed by Lies #5Consumed by Truths #6
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Amelia Wilde - 2021
An heiress lost at sea. And the treasure of a lifetime.He’s beautiful. Calculating. Cruel. And he’s taken me hostage.When pirates board my boyfriend’s yacht, I jump overboard to save myself. Drifting asea. Until one man rescues me from the endless ocean.Except he has plans of his own. I’m worth too much money for ransom. He’ll keep me on his ship and in his bed. The real danger lies in his dark-depth eyes. He wants more from me than money. Than passion. He wants everything.He rescued me, but I’m far from safe. There’s an entire sea of danger threatening to drag me under.The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by USA Today bestselling author Amelia Wilde is a dangerously sexy contemporary romance that will blow you out of the water.
Distrust
T.L. Smith - 2016
She would play with my emotions like a well-played guitar. Then she would disappear. Making me want to strangle her. Maybe she wasn’t a ghost, maybe she was the giver of sin. Because we sinned every time we touched, every time she was near. Her lips were shaped like a heart, deceiving you at every word. Her body was created straight from my fantasies, one I craved to bend to my will. Her heart, well, who the hell knew. She kept that shit locked tight. And I couldn’t find the key.
Royal Blood
Amity Cross - 2014
It was black or blacker. And I was the blackest of them all."Xavier "X" Blood only remembers the last few years of his life.Trained as an emotionless and deadly assassin, he goes through each day crossing out names on a never-ending list, not once asking why they deserve what he delivers. Death.Then one day, his programming starts to unravel and it's all because of her.Mercy Reid has a secret. A big one. The kind that will get her killed if it gets out.Looking to get lost, she runs from one hopeless situation and falls into the clutches of a monster. A monster that was programmed by the worst of the worst to kill without remorse. A man who is looking for her.When X is given his latest target, things become muddy. He knows his mark is right in front of his eyes, but he doesn't want to acknowledge it. He's literally losing his mind after all.Will he defy his programming and save the woman who has made him feel again?Or will he pull the trigger?
Owned by the Hitman
Alexis Abbott - 2016
I will not hurt you, unless you want me to.”I'm in deep to the Mafia. My father was the one who made the deal, and when I inherited his club, I also inherited his troubles.Ivan wants to save me, or so he says. More like he wants me to be his slave for a year. After the one-night stand I had with him, though, would that be so bad? With his impossibly hard body, and the way he always makes me scream...But he's still a monster. He's a criminal, and something so much worse.And yet I can't stop the tingling in my body every time I think of how he touched me, and those dark but delicious words rolling off his tongue, tinged with his Russian accent.He knows what I'll say, even before I do. "I'll take your offer."
Last Hit: Reloaded
Jessica Clare - 2015
His tattoos alone promised danger, but it was the look in his eyes that delivered on it. A contract killer since he was just a boy, Nick has now forged a new life and a new identity with the woman who followed him, captured him, and changed him.He terrified Daisy. Once. But she couldn't resist, and she ignored every warning. It paid off. Now she's part of a new beginning, a fresh start in America helping him to leave behind a reckless and violent past as a professional killer. But the past is never easy to outrun, especially when so much of it thrives on revenge.A new threat has emerged from the shadows, and now Nick and Daisy have no choice but to rely on Nick's killer skills to protect them from everything they've tried so hard to escape.
Shameless
M. Malone - 2017
I am a liar, a protector...a killer... I am Noah Blake. There is only one light in my darkness, one bright ray in the storm of my life. Lucia DeMarco. And I’ll do anything for her. Anything except show her who I really am...an assassin. Well, former assassin. I don’t really do that anymore...usually. It would be easier if she didn’t call me names. Asshole, control freak … shameless. It would also be easier if she didn’t look at me with those trusting gray eyes. If I didn’t dream about the perfect curve of her — never mind all that. The point is she’s digging into my world, my secrets, and it’s going to get her killed. But first, we have another more immediate concern. Lucia is going on a date—With someone else... And I’m not allowed to kill this one. Noah’s Cliffhanger Warning: Ladies, I know you want to see the full package. But I have to tease you first. So I’m just going to open a few buttons so you can take a peek. And while you’re at it, hold onto your panties because I like it dirty. (The Shameless series unfolds over the course of three books)
Possession
Jessica Hawkins - 2014
Wealthy businessman Beau Olivier wants Lola for a night, and in order to get her, he’s willing to make her dreams come true.But Beau’s conditions are explicit. From sunset to sunrise, Lola must submit all of herself to him—body, mind, and soul. Because nothing is more important to Beau than maintaining control...especially over his possessions.Sometimes, though, things don’t go according to plan. What if one night isn't enough? What if come sunrise, Beau isn’t ready to say goodbye?
Getting Dirty
Cheryl McIntyre - 2014
This is my number. It’s the exact sum of reasons I continue to go on.
One:
To strengthen my body. Make it strong. Make it a machine. Make it so that what happened before can never, ever, happen again.
Two:
To help others find their own strength so that what happened to me, what happened to my Olivia, doesn’t happen to them.And
three:
My favorite—to find the bastards that took my life away and make them pay for what they did. This is what my life is now. A dead man, inside a scarred body, living only for revenge.*This is part one in a five part novella serial.
**Due to sexual situations and violence, this series is recommended for 18+.