Book picks similar to
The Paper Swan by Leylah Attar
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romance
dark
contemporary
Tormentor Mine
Anna Zaires - 2017
He tormented me and destroyed me, ripping apart my world in his quest for vengeance. Now he's back, but he’s no longer after my secrets. The man who stars in my nightmares wants me.
Beneath the Burn
Pam Godwin - 2013
The timing is wrong.Three years later, she finds him again, but their separation was poisoned with narcotics and bloodied by enslavement.Her freedom gambled away, Charlee Grosky escapes the international businessman who held her captive. But his power reaches beyond her protective barriers and threatens everyone she has come to love. Jay Mayard wears his tortured secrets under his rock god facade. Drugs are his release, even as he seeks to be the man forged of the steel only she can see.In a celebrity world filled with paparazzi, groupies, and drugs, Jay and Charlee must face their worst fears. When the battle is over, what will be left...Beneath The Burn.Romantic ThrillerStand Alone (no cliff-hanger)
The Dark Light of Day
T.M. Frazier - 2013
Two broken souls that can't be healed, they can't be saved. Abby and Jake have to decide if they can accept the darkness not only within one another, but within themselves. If they can accept each other for who they really are they might learn that love isn't always found in the light...WARNING: This is NOT your typical romance. The story of Jake & Abby contains disturbing situations, graphic violence, sex, strong language, drug use, and all types of abuse.The Dark Light of Day is a King series prequel.
Sempre
J.M. Darhower - 2014
DEATH... LOVE... FREEDOM. THIS IS A STORY ABOUT FOREVER. Haven Antonelli and Carmine DeMarco grew up under vastly different circumstances. Haven, a second-generation slave, was isolated in the middle of the desert, her days full of hard work and terrifying abuse. Carmine, born into a wealthy Mafia family, lived a life of privilege and excess. Now, a twist of fate causes their worlds to collide. Entangled in a web of secrets and lies, they learn that while different on the surface, they have more in common than anyone would think. In a world full of chaos, where money and power rule, Haven and Carmine yearn to break free, but a string of events that began before either of them were born threatens to destroy them instead. Murder and betrayal are a way of life, and nothing comes without a price-especially not freedom. But how much will they have to sacrifice? Can they escape their pasts? And, most of all, what does it mean to be free?
Where the Blame Lies
Mia Sheridan - 2019
Zach was just a rookie on the perimeter of that case, but he’s never forgotten the traumatized woman with the haunted eyes.As more information emerges, the crimes take on an even more sinister similarity. But Josie’s attacker died by suicide. Does the city have a copycat on its hands? A killer who picked up where the original perpetrator left off? Or are they facing something far more insidious?Josie has spent the last eight years attempting to get her life back on track, but now there’s a very real chance she could be the unknown suspect’s next target. As Zach vows to keep her safe, and Josie finds herself responding to him in a way she hasn’t responded to any man in almost a decade, the investigation takes on an even more complex edge of danger.As past and present collide, Josie and Zach are thrust toward a shocking and chilling truth. A revelation that threatens not only Josie’s life, but everything she’s been fighting so desperately to reclaim.
Crow's Row
Julie Hockley - 2011
Just completing her freshman year at Callister University, Emily faces a quiet summer in the city slums, supporting herself by working at the campus library. During one of her jogs through the nearby cemetery while visiting her brother Bill's grave, Emily witnesses a brutal killing-and then she blacks out. When Emily regains consciousness, she realizes she's been kidnapped by a young crime boss and his gang. She is hurled into a secret underworld, wondering why she is still alive and for how long.Held captive in rural Vermont, she tries to make sense of her situation and what it means. While uncovering secrets about her brother and his untimely death, Emily falls in love with her very rich and very dangerous captor, twenty-six year-old Cameron. She understands it's a forbidden love and one that won't allow her to return to her previous life. But love may not be enough to save Emily when no one even knows she is missing.
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***
Debt
Nina G. Jones - 2014
Maybe I was bored, or lonely, or there was a void so deep inside of me that I needed something explosive to fill it. It was supposed to be safe. A thrill. A way to break through the monotony of everyday life. It was an illusion of danger that I could walk away from as soon as it was over. Except that it wasn’t. Because I had been in danger long before I ever invited it into my life. ———————My mission is almost complete. The bubbling boil of vengeance that heats my blood might finally simmer. She is the last piece of the puzzle. Once I destroy her, everyone who ever hurt me will have paid their debt. It was supposed to be quick and easy, but as soon as I met her it got complicated. Very complicated.DEBT is a standalone novel. 118k words. Adult/graphic content that may be difficult for some readers.
Tears of Tess
Pepper Winters - 2013
Happy, content, everything neat and perfect.Then it all changed.I was sold.”Tess Snow has everything she ever wanted: one more semester before a career in property development, a loving boyfriend, and a future dazzling bright with possibility. For their two year anniversary, Brax surprises Tess with a romantic trip to Mexico. Sandy beaches, delicious cocktails, and soul-connecting sex set the mood for a wonderful holiday. With a full heart, and looking forward to a passion filled week, Tess is on top of the world.But lusty paradise is shattered.Kidnapped. Drugged. Stolen. Tess is forced into a world full of darkness and terror. Captive and alone with no savior, no lover, no faith, no future, Tess evolves from terrified girl to fierce fighter. But no matter her strength, it can’t save her from the horror of being sold.Can Brax find Tess before she’s broken and ruined, or will Tess’s new owner change her life forever?A New Adult Dark Contemporary Romance, not suitable for people sensitive to grief, slavery, and nonconsensual sex. A story about finding love in the strangest of places, a will of iron that grows from necessity, and forgiveness that may not be enough.
Raw
Belle Aurora - 2014
This is a story of love gone wrong.***Growing up the way I did, you’d think I’d be more screwed up than what I actually am.Soon as I turned sixteen, I left that bump in the road I called home and took my chances on the street.Best decision I ever made.Now, at the age of twenty six, I’m educated, employed and damn good at my job.My friends have become my family. Like me, they know what it’s like to grow up unloved.But the saying is true.The world makes way for those who know where they are going.That’s me.I know where I’m going and I’ll get there eventually. On my own terms and at my own pace.But then there’s him.I feel his eyes on me. I see him hiding in plain sight. He watches me.He makes me feel.It’s unconventional.But it’s real.I’m sure you’re wondering how a person falls in love with their stalker.So am I.This isn’t a story.This is my life.
Escape from Paradise
Gwendolyn Field - 2013
One spontaneous choice whisks Angela across the world to the pseudo paradise of Spain’s Mediterranean Riviera where she has another choice to make: live cooperatively as one of billionaire Marco Ruiz’s slaves, or die.* * *Colin Douglas’s future was seized and choked when deliberate tragedy struck his Scottish family at the age of sixteen. He spent his remaining youthful years infiltrating the U.K.’s crime world, seeking power, control, and revenge, all leading to a position as an undercover agent. With nothing to lose, Colin accepts the seemingly impossible job of rescuing America’s famous missing girl, Angela Birch. Colin knows that to enter a snake lair, one must become a snake. It turns out to be a mission which will put his desire for control to the ultimate test, and make him wish for things he never knew he wanted.*AUTHOR'S NOTE* Escape from Paradise is a work of fiction intended for adult readers, containing graphic sexual scenarios and strong language.
Captive in the Dark
C.J. Roberts - 2011
Kidnapped as a young boy and sold into slavery by a power-hungry mobster, he has thought of nothing but vengeance. For twelve years he has immersed himself in the world of pleasure slaves searching for the one man he holds ultimately responsible. Finally, the architect of his suffering has emerged with a new identity, but not a new nature. If Caleb is to get close enough to strike, he must become the very thing he abhors and kidnap a beautiful girl to train her to be all that he once was.Eighteen-year-old Olivia Ruiz has just woken up in a strange place. Blindfolded and bound, there is only a calm male voice to welcome her. His name is Caleb, though he demands to be called Master. Olivia is young, beautiful, naïve and willful to a fault. She has a dark sensuality that cannot be hidden or denied, though she tries to accomplish both. Although she is frightened by the strong, sadistic, and arrogant man who holds her prisoner, what keeps Olivia awake in the dark is her unwelcome attraction to him.WARNING: This book contains very disturbing situations, dubious consent, strong language, and graphic violence.
Bennett Mafia
Tijan - 2019
The wealthiest of the wealthy sent their kids to our boarding school, and Brooke Bennett had been at the top, though I never quite knew why. She was fun and outgoing, but she kept quiet about her family. The only things she showed me were photographs of her brothers. I became fascinated with her second-oldest brother. Kai Bennett. He was the most of them all. Smoldering. Hypnotic. Alluring. Kai had eyes that pulled me in and a face that haunted my dreams. Then I met him. He came to our school with their father, and that’s when I learned what kind of family Brooke came from. They were mafia, and Brooke’s oldest brother was dead. Her father said accident, but Brooke said murder. Three months later, her father died, and Kai became the head of the Bennett Family. Brooke left Hillcrest for good, and that was the last time I saw her. Fourteen years later, I’m staring at her face on the television. Brooke is missing. Two days later, Kai Bennett kidnaps me. ** This is a 120k complete standalone. ** There is a bonus chapter from another book at the end.
The Brit
Jodi Ellen Malpas - 2021
Numbing herself to fear and pain is the only way she can survive in this cruel world. So when she’s taken as collateral by the notorious Danny Black in a deadly game of power, she’s thrown by the deep fear she feels rising within her. And, worse than fear, a profound desire. She’s heard tales of The Brit. He’s callous. Coldblooded. But no one ever said he was wickedly beautiful and darkly captivating. He sees past her mask, giving her a cruel sense of hope. But she must fight their twisted attraction or risk losing the one thing she survives for.When Danny Black took an enemy’s beautiful lover as security, he never anticipated the repercussions. Or the warped attraction they would share. Rose Cassidy pushes Danny to the brink of madness with her impenetrable façade and savage allure. He has to remind himself that she’s bait. A solution to a problem. Yet she evokes powerful feelings in Danny, and feelings are risky when you’re wanted dead by endless enemies.The most dangerous game is about to be played.But can either of them win?*This story is gritty, dark, edgy, and contains scenes that some people may find uncomfortable to read. It is NOT for the fainthearted.
Play Along
T.L. Swan - 2017
I realize, to save my life I need to become valuable.My body is my only weapon.Pleasure and pain.28 days is a long time to Play Along with his perverted demands.He thinks I enjoy them.It disgusts me that I secretly do.I hate him.I crave him.When my captor becomes my savior, escape will be my reality.Publishers note....This is a full length, stand alone, romantic suspense. It is not a dark romance.