Book picks similar to
Venerable by Laura B. Martínez


dark
freebie
romance
contemporary-romance

Still Beating


Jennifer Hartmann - 2020
    This book contains subject matter that may be sensitive for some readers, including rape, as well as strong language and explicit sex. 18+ only. Please read responsibly. When Cora attends her sister’s birthday party, she expects at most a hangover or a walk of shame. She doesn’t anticipate a stolen wallet, leaving her stranded and dependent on Dean—her arch nemesis and ultimate thorn in her side. And she really doesn’t anticipate waking up in shackles in a madman’s basement.To make matters worse, Dean shares the space in his own set of chains.After fifteen years of teasing, insults, and practical jokes, the ultimate joke seems to be on them. The two people who always thought they’d end up killing each other must now work together if they want to survive.But Cora and Dean have no idea their abductor has a plan for them. A plan that will alter the course of their relationship, blur the line between hate and love, and shackle them together with far more than just chains.

Master of Sin


Sienna Snow - 2019
    The one I shouldn't want, shouldn't crave, the one who could destroy my carefully built life.Hagen Lykaios was the essence of sin, indulgence, and danger - everything I knew to avoid.All it took was one unexpected touch, and he consumed me, left me begging, needy, and hungry for more.He said if I entered his world he would corrupt me, own me, and change all that I had ever known...and you know what? I went anyway.

Black Skies Riviera


Catherine Wiltcher - 2020
    I'm a black suit of spades:Determined to bury both her and my demons.I never asked to see the shape of her heart.I never asked for her to fill the blank spaces of mine. But the mafia wants her secrets.I'm not the first she betrayed.And Issa? Sweet, not-so-innocent Issa?She's now a debt no sinner can pay. Black Skies Riviera is a heart-stopping, enemies to lovers romance with NO cliff-hanger and a guaranteed HEA. For mature readers only.

SEAL The Deal


Kate Aster - 2013
    Yet she is the type of woman he wants to avoid – the kind that gets him thinking about settling down, spawning kids, and finding lower-mortality employment.Lacey has her own reasons for avoiding Mick. Tired of living in the shadow of her financial mogul sister, this real estate agent has tossed ethics aside to succeed in today’s beleaguered housing market. Her no-fail plan to land lucrative listings? Crashing the funerals of wealthy corpses with the hope their heirs will need to sell their homes.But when their circles of friends collide, Lacey can’t avoid Mick’s rock-hard abs and a smile that melts her into a pool of hot wax. Friendship blossoms and passion simmers... even as she struggles to conceal the unethical business plan that brought him into her life.SEAL the Deal is a full-length novel about the fine line that divides friendship and love, and the unexpected joy of crossing it.

Tempting Christa


Tracie Delaney - 2019
    I lived through it. Hell, I almost died because of it. Once bitten, twice wiser. I thought my battles were over—I was wrong. Christa Left with limited choices, here I am, a face among millions, another runaway hoping to lose herself in the Big Apple. And I will not—dare not—repeat the mistakes of my past. Mister I-always-get-what-I-want Dayton Somers may have manipulated me into accepting his bizarre offer, but he needn’t think I’m in awe of his reputation, or in any way impressed by him. Sure, he’s charming and successful—but I see through the veneer to the darkness lurking beneath. He might hold my immediate future in his hands, but he’ll never have me. Dayton I’m a winner, a fighter, a man who knows what he wants, and how to get it. The day Christa Adams walks into my building, I know I’ve found my latest challenge. Her skittish behavior pushes me to look deeper. What’s her story? Who is she running from? How can I persuade her to trust me? Christa can erect her barriers, but I’ll tear down every single one. She may not realize it yet, but she’s mine.

Red Hourglass


Scarlet Risque - 2015
    Janet swears loyalty to the White family and they train her at their Academy as a secret agent. Before long, her transformation into the Red Hourglass—an assassin—is complete. She is ready to start her missions in service of the White Queen.In order to learn the whereabouts of her real mother from the White Queen, the Red Hourglass must stop the planned expansion of Wilmar Enterprises. She goes undercover to infiltrate Wilmar, and she is hired as the executive secretary to the Chief of Security, Conan Casey.Janet works diligently to uncover all Wilmar’s secrets. She soon learns that Conan Casey, her target, is heir to the billion dollar Wilmar organization. She falls prey to his dark seductions and twisted secrets … and they leave her gasping for more.She unwittingly bets her stakes on a dangerous game of love. Where do her loyalties lie? Will she betray Conan for the White Queen, or fall in love with him and give up all hope of finding her real mother? And will they get out alive?The first in the Hourglass series - a dark coming of age thriller romance novel about finding one's identity with dominance and submission romance scenes against the backdrop of capitalism, undercover agents, poker and tango with an infusion of eastern and western philosophy.A sequel will be released every Halloween.

Contrite


Kathy Coopmans - 2015
    Yet she can't pin point what. Together since College, they know everything about each other. So why has she spent the last few days watching everything he does, hoping for a clue? What could have happened within that week he was gone?One way or another she's going to find out.When Clove invests in the help of her brother Zack, a police detective, she’s afraid her suspicions of infidelity will be confirmed. Terrified that such news will crush her heart, she sets about preparing for the worst. Only to find it's much more than she could have imagined—there is no other woman. Clove’s life is about to descend into a web of deceit, lies and betrayal. Appearances can be deceiving… and only the Master Manipulator will be left standing. “The eyes only see what the mind is prepared to comprehend.” – Henri Bergson

Beast: The Beginning


Mary Catherine Gebhard - 2017
     I thought selling myself to a mafia boss was noble. So what if they called him the Beast? I grew up in rags, and he would lift me to riches. All I had to do was give him my soul. He was punishing. Insatiable. Captivating. Nothing like I expected him to be. Each day my reality blurred, leaving me wondering if I was slave or princess. The longer I stayed, the more I lost myself to him. Even after every cruelty the Beast visited upon me, I longed for his touch. Even after every savage word he spoke, I begged for his lips. I thought the worst thing he could take was my body. I was too naïve to guard my heart. Once upon a time, I thought love was a fairytale. Now I know better than to speak of happily ever afters. Beast is the first book in the Hate Story duet. About what it means to fall in love with the person who has absolutely destroyed you, it contains disturbing and graphic situations that may be a trigger for some.

Stateless


Meli Raine - 2019
    She doesn’t care why.I do.Treason comes in many forms.Love is one of them.Our training taught me to be a sociopath. A machine. A pawn. Nothing more than a tool for a larger goal, without attachments or feelings.Our teachers forgot one important detail:Pawns shouldn’t have hearts.Yet we do.It turns out our emotions are our greatest weapon.And I know exactly where mine are aimed.

Stark Revenge


Andi Rhodes - 2020
    I’ve spent years craving it, and now that I’m finally in a position to make it happen, nothing can stop me. Enter one stripper that doesn’t fit in and everything changes. I still need revenge and to ease the ache of failure, but she makes me want something else, something I never thought possible. Now, I want a life. Katelyn…I never dreamed I’d be taking my clothes off for money, but here I am, working at The White Lily, trying to satisfy my deal with the devil. For months, I’ve done what I had to in order to protect the people I love, but when I’m given to my boss’s head of security as a reward, I wish I were more selfish. I need to finish what I started, but I also can’t turn my back on the beautifully broken man who is not at all who I thought he was. Revenge is his past and present, but can I be his future? Stark Revenge contains subject matter that some may find disturbing. Reader discretion is advised.