Book picks similar to
Venerable by Laura B. Martínez


dark
freebie
contemporary-romance
romance

Black Obsidian


Victoria Quinn - 2017
    Beautiful. Perfect. Flawless.I knew I had to have her.And by the end of the night, I will.My next submissive.**Intended For Mature Audiences**

Bad Boy Next Door: Downey Brothers Series


Mara Leigh - 2018
     Jade I can’t be pissed at my dad. His neglect made me strong. I might be young, but I can take care of myself, take care of my sister—take care of anything. But now Dad’s doing someone else’s time, and in exchange he gets protection, my sister gets college, and I get a low-rent apartment—a freaking miracle in San Francisco. All I have to do is keep the man who arranged dad's deal happy—some guy named Nick. What I didn’t expect was for Nick to be the biggest, sexiest man I’ve ever met. And I certainly didn’t expect I’d ever consider letting someone else take care of me for a change. Nick When the new girl moved in, I felt like the luckiest guy alive. She wants to keep things casual, but there’s nothing remotely casual about the intense fire between us. Or how her anger’s gonna burn when she finds out that I’m not the Nick she thinks I am. **Book 1 in the Downey Brothers series. Expect an extremely hot read and a happily ever after. NO CLIFFHANGER.**

Slave


Sherri Hayes - 2011
    After several rebellious teenage years, it gave him the stability and control he had been seeking after his parent's death. As president of a not-for-profit foundation, he knows what his future holds and what he wants out of life. All that changes when a simple lunch with his college friend and mentor, Daren, leads him to buying a slave.Thrust into a situation he never thought he'd be in, Stephan can't walk away. He is compelled to help this girl in the only way he knows how. Brianna knows only one thing: she is a slave. She has nothing. She is nothing. Can Stephan help Brianna realize that she is much more than just a Slave?***This is book 1 of a 4 book series.***

Ignition


Skye Callahan - 2015
    Fast cars, pain, alcohol, women... his vices come in many flavors, but one woman tempts him closer to the line he can never come back from. She'll be his hardest theft yet--an action that will set the looming conflict with his brother on a new and violent path.Aubrey has two choices. The first she knows too well: the alluring businessman who entwined her in his deceptive plots. The second is a stranger. He makes his promises not with a silver tongue but with harsh, blunt observations that Aubrey can't ignore. Either way, she's caught between two brothers each seeking the other's downfall--and neither has a problem taking her down in the process. IGNITION is the first book in the dark romantic serial, The Redline Series.1. IGNITION2. TORQUE (May 2015)3. BRAKE (July 2015)4. EXHAUST (September 2015)5. CLUTCH (November 2015)

Heartless


Jade West - 2020
    That’s my plan until I see her, the woman in gold with the sinful curves and the blonde curls. My will to dominate her runs as deep as the hate I have for her last name. No matter how beautifully she bends beneath my hands, I'll leave her shattered, a broken toy for her cruel family.I'm a sadist, and she's the object of my obsession."I'm speechless... My limits were tested and I even found a few hard limits of my own. I still hear that divinely, sexy man demanding those sinfully sweet words." - USA Today bestselling author B.B. Reid on DIRTY BAD WRONG

Burning Offer


Aubrey Parker - 2016
    Just for meeting a man downtown, in a public place, no questions asked. There’s no catch. I’ve checked. A banker vouched for the offer, the funds, and the wealth of my unknown host. I just have to show up. And given what’s gone wrong in Miami, I’m desperate for money. A man I can’t stand I can make more than I ever imagined, Daniel Rice tells me, if I agree to take part in a competition. But Daniel doesn’t impress me, with his tailored suit and silver cufflinks, with his big hands and callous manner. If Daniel is Trevor Ross’s right-hand man, I don’t even want to hear about Trevor’s little contest. It doesn’t matter how rich Trevor is. Daniel is a brute and a bastard, and for some reason he seems to hate me. Everything in me screams to run away, no matter how much I’m secretly drawn to Daniel. So why am I still here? A proposal I can’t believe Daniel is like an addiction, chipping away at my resolve, piece by piece. Just get into the limousine. Just get on the private plane. Just fly to an airstrip at the foot of the largest, most luxurious estate I’ve ever seen. Just stay the first night, then another. Tell no one where I’ve gone, or why. At each stage, they offer more money, easing me into the competition with all the other girls. I just wish it was only the money keeping me here. An offer I can’t refuse I only need to stay here in this place to make all that I need. I don’t even have to “participate” like the other girls do. There are twelve of us, but alliances were forming before I arrived. There are the three hired men, each one hotter than the last. There’s Trevor. And Daniel -- who the rules say I must stay away from. But I can’t. Daniel tells me I’m his, not Trevor’s or anyone else’s. He says he owns me. I hate the way he talks to me. But I can’t resist him, no matter the penalty. The rules say I can leave whenever I want. But for some reason, I don’t. Desperate times call for desperate pleasures. The Burning Offer is the first volume in the 4-book Trevor’s Harem series, and Aubrey Parker’s hottest, edgiest story yet.

Forever & The Power of One


Eve Newton - 2012
    And then a third time for good measure. I am demanding, a tad selfish, and a teeny bit vain. But at least I know my faults. I love the men in my life, each in different ways. Together we must solve the puzzle of the mysterious prophecy that has been thrust upon us, but at what cost? The journey just might bring us closer together, not only in my dreams but in reality.Will I get to have everything that I want? Or will the truth only serve to complicate my already confusing life? Who knows? This is my story. Expect trouble. It's my middle name.A Paranormal Reverse Harem Series: Fast burn M/M/M/F***Revelations: The Forever Series, Book 3 - Available now!

The Evolution of Ivy: Poison


Lauren Campbell - 2017
    But they know the old me well—the me she harmed, and the me he loved. She thinks she has him. But I'm going to take him back. He thinks she's the one. But I'm going to show him he's wrong. I thought it was over. But now I have a chance.

Bad Blood


Cora Kenborn - 2021
    A Carrera bleeds for revenge.Thalia Santiago is the daughter of my enemy. A beautiful rebel with a single cause.Impulsive. Fearless. And ripe for her father’s undoing.I recognized her the moment she stepped into my casino.I watched her start the fires that burned her pretty fingers, and then I poured gasoline on the flames. Now she’s in my debt, and her dues are a shiny gold ring and a vow of deception. I’ll bend her. I’ll break her. I’ll turn our mockery of a marriage into a battlefield.And that river of bad blood that flows between our two families? I’ll make it an ocean of hate. *This is book 1 of a new dark romance duet, releasing May 12th. Tainted Blood, book 2, releases June 9th. **Bad Blood is set in the Santiago and Carrera worlds, but it is not necessary to have read either trilogy beforehand.

Trigger


J.L. Drake - 2017
    Intended for 18+. May contain Triggers.*** I was raised by the Devil himself. Formed into a man who was unreachable. I went from the boy with bruises to the man with a trigger. Killing is the only thing that calms the itch. The demons inside were a constant battle… …until she changed everything. Problem is when you spend most of your time in the dark, is it smart to step into the light?

Pretty Killer


Michelle Brown - 2018
    This is Rosalina's story Rosalina Maria has death in her blood. The only child left in her family, she's heir to the head of the Mexican Mafia, and has spent her entire life training to take over. Studying self-defense, the ways of her father's empire, and the intricacies of their business - she's the perfect person to step in when her father passes away.But what happens when the princess tries to become the Queen, without a King?Anthony De Los Santos is a major member of the Cuban mafia. Hot, dangerous, and possibly as crazy as Rosalina - he has an agenda that he won't back down from.But what happens when tensions run high and emotions interfere with their best laid plans? Will Anthony turn on her? Will Rosalina choose to lead alone?Or will they risk it all for each other?Warning: this book will contain triggers and is intended for a mature audience 18+

Decidedly Off Limits


Stina Lindenblatt - 2016
    Oops. Trent Salway is one of San Francisco’s hot up-and-coming-under-thirty bachelors. A highly successful mutual fund portfolio manager, a workaholic, and a ladies’ man, he’s got everything he could possibly want… except one thing. Physical therapist Kelsey Quaid dumped her ex-fiancé six months ago because she was tired of not even being a distant second to his career. Which is why despite secretly crushing on her big brother’s best friend for as long as she can remember, there’s no way Kelsey can go there. One workaholic in her life is more than enough, thank you very much. Before Kelsey’s brother leaves on his Navy SEAL mission, he asks Trent one simple request: make sure Kelsey isn’t dating any assholes while he’s away. As Trent does his best to do just this, he and Kelsey spend more and more time together. Sparks fly, as do a few items of clothing, and the next thing they know things are getting physical between them. Now, Trent has to decide what to do about the woman he’s falling for — the one whose brother would take him down faster than he takes down the enemy. And Kelsey will have to decide if Trent is just another workaholic or if he’s decidedly off limits. Warning: Contains naughty uses for silk ties, forbidden sex, and enough profanities to make a sailor proud.

Hyde


Lauren Stewart - 2012
    It includes lots of cursing, descriptive sex, biting sarcasm, and dark themes. HYDE was inspired by Stevenson's novella but is not a retelling, in part because he and this author have very different definitions of 'bad boy'.Honesty is impossible when you don't know the truth to begin with.Mitchell Turner is everything women want most in a man--he's charismatic, successful, and undeniably gorgeous. But he's not a man--he's a monster. By venting his rage 24/7, Mitch keeps people out of the danger zone that surrounds him. But, after the most incredible night of his life, he realizes that might not be possible. Except the woman he wakes up with claims she doesn't remember any of it. And that kind of thing can make a guy insecure.Eden Colfax is kind, loyal, honest to a fault, and cavity-inducing sweet. To rid herself of the monsters that haunted her broken childhood, Eden doesn't lie, doesn't curse, and definitely never wakes up naked in strangers' beds...until the day she does. Then the flashbacks start--places she's never been, people she's never met, blood she's never spilled. And the only person with any answers is a man she never wants to see again.What they don't know is that someone is manipulating them, determined to find out exactly what they're capable of. And when the truth leaves them nothing to hold onto, they will be forced into a partnership neither expected. Or wanted.But in life, who you trust is as important as who you are. And when you can't even trust yourself, sometimes the only person you can rely on is the last person on earth you should be falling for.

The Beauty and the Beast


Alana Albertson - 2016
    But without her love, I'll forever remain a BEAST.Isabella—Grady Williams is a national treasure, the youngest living Medal of Honor recipient, America’s scarred superhero. With tattooed arms sculpted from carrying M-16s, this bad boy has girls begging from sea to shining sea to get a piece of his action.When my father squanders away my college fund, I make a deal with this dirty-talking Devil Dog—I will pretend to be Grady’s girlfriend for the Marine Corps Ball, and my dad will write Grady’s war memoir.Grady is fearless. Hell, this badass jumped on a grenade to save his fellow Marines! As much as I crave him, I refuse to allow myself to become addicted to a dangerous man who will detonate my heart.Grady—Isabella Cuesta is an angel who can see beyond my mangled skin, a pawn used to repay her father’s debt, a woman who makes me feel like a man instead of a monster.But I no longer believe in fairy tales.She’s mine until our contract ends. I’ll take her hard and rough, listen to all her hopes and fears, lay down my life to protect her.This beauty will never let herself love a dangerous man like me—a man who has killed, a man who runs towards gunfire, a man who never backs down from a fight.But without her love, I’m not a man—I’ll remain forever a beast.Publisher's note: This is a full-length, standalone novel. Happily Ever After. No cliffhanger. No cheating.

Tell Me to Stop


Charlotte Byrd - 2019
    The kind money can’t repay. He wants something else: me, for one year. But I don’t even know who he is… 365 days and nights doing everything he wants…except that. “I’m not going to sleep with you,” I say categorically. He laughs. “I’m going to make you a promise,” his eyes challenge mine. “Before our time is up, you’ll beg me for it.”