Book picks similar to
The Butcher of the Bay: Part I by J. Bree
dark
romance
dark-romance
contemporary
Freestyle
Bea Paige - 2020
Dance is in my blood.It’s what keeps me sane, out of trouble. It used to keep them out of trouble too. A group of boys I grew up with.Xeno, York, Zayn and Dax.We were a crew once and we ruled the clubs.Separate we were insanely good, together we were unbeatable. F*&ing on fire. I was their girl and they were my Breakers.Until they did something they promised they never would; break my heart.We were sixteen when they left me.You see, for kids like us, dance was all we had.Growing up in a rundown housing estate in London with no prospects can make you view the world differently.It can make you choose the wrong path.I chose dance, and they chose crime.Three years later I’ve won a scholarship to Stardom Academy. I try to forget my past.But how can I do that when the four boys who hurt me are back?And this time they won’t walk away even when I ask them too.Freestyle is book one of this new gritty, contemporary reverse harem academy trilogy for 17+ readers and deals with adult themes and some subjects you may find upsetting. If you love dance, your men on the criminal side, alpha hot holes and the enemies-to-lovers trope, this is for you. Contains foul language and sexual scenes.
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.
Buttons & Lace
Penelope Sky - 2016
A big one. The payment can't be settled with money or favors. He only wants one thing. Me. Every action gets a reward. A button. Once I fill his jar with three hundred and sixty-five buttons, he'll let me go. He'll let me walk away. But I have to earn every single one. By submitting to the darkest, cruelest, and most beautiful man I've ever known. ** TRIGGER WARNING ** There are some dark and disturbing scenes of abuse and punishment.
The Death Club
Caroline Peckham - 2021
Carnage. Killing.The three Cs that make my life complete.I know killing technically doesn’t start with a C – but wouldn’t life be better if it did? Just like it would be better if the Devil was my boyfriend, Santa wasn’t a d*ck and I didn’t live under a bridge.I wished for my life to improve, but it didn’t. I was kidnapped, sold, sold again, stuck in a death game, sold AGAIN and now I’m living in a serial killer’s basement.Oh and there’s another dude down here who lives in a cage and doesn’t talk. I call him Dead Man on account of his soulless eyes. He either wants to kiss me or choke me out. I can’t decide which I want most.Anyways, my hot, tattooed, muscular insane Irish captor thinks I might make a good hit woman once he trains me up. Which is a freaking insult by the way as I’m already the best killer in town. Ask anyone. Except the cops. Don’t ask them or they’ll send me back to that creepy asylum where they gave me the crazy pills. But shh, that’s a secret. Want to know another one? I quite like it here. Every day is anarchy and that’s my favourite flavour.So I think I’m gonna join The Death Club and let my freak flag fly.This is a brand new dark menage series set in the same world as the Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep series with character crossover. Each series can be read independent of each other and the lead female character will end up with more than one love interest.
Resurrection
Siobhan Davis - 2020
The night I met Saint, Galen, Caz, and Theo. Those manipulative a-holes set out to ruin me after our hot night together, but they didn’t realize you can’t destroy something that’s already broken. And it only works if the victim cares. Which I don’t. Because I’ve been in hell for years, and nothing penetrates the steel walls I’ve erected.Until The Sainthood decides I belong to them and cracks appear in my veneer. Their cruel games, harsh words, and rough touch awakens something inside me, and now, I’m in trouble.They draw me deeper into their dangerous world, until I’m in the middle of all the violence and gang warfare, tangled up in all the secrets and lies, and there’s no turning back.Because they own me. And nothing has ever felt so right.I’m exactly where I should be.But with enemies on all sides, survival becomes a deadly game with no guarantees.And, sometimes, saints become sinners.Due to mature content, this book is recommended to readers aged eighteen and over. This is a full-length reverse harem dark romance novel with enemies-to-lovers/bullying themes. Cannot be read as a standalone and ends with a cliffhanger. Book 1 of 3.
Saint
Ruby Vincent - 2021
I’m sure you can guess how it goes.Girl winds up in the wrong place at the wrong time.She witnesses four gods of beauty and brutality murder some poor sap, and she’s stupid enough to get caught.Come on. You know what happens next.You know they tracked her… me… down.I don’t need to tell you that they claimed me. Ripped me from my safe, perfect world and bound me in chains to their throne.All of that is obvious.It’s the part where they corrupted me, dragged me into their world of death and destruction, made me theirs in every way I didn’t know was possible, and I became a soldier in a war that will bring all of Cinco City to its knees……that’s when it gets interesting.Saint is a dark contemporary why choose romance. This is book one in the series and features language, dark themes, and sexual scenes. If you're cool with that, dive in!
Pretty Little Savage
Lucy Smoke - 2020
1: Don’t piss off the Sick BoysThey’re cruel. Reckless. Impossibly fucked up.The Sick Boys feed on the order they create. They rule Eastpoint University just as their families have for decades. But their power doesn’t stop there. The three of them are heirs to some of the largest fortunes in the world, and behind that kind of wealth lies an underworld of corruption.On the surface, they’re perfect princes and he is their King. But underneath it all, they’re filled with blood, lies, and secrets. With all of their connections, they have the power to crush anyone who gets in their way. But just because they’re as warped as I am doesn’t mean I’m going to give them a free pass.Because I, Avalon Manning, bow to no one, and I live to break the fucking rules.***This is a Dark MF New Adult Enemies to Lovers Romance.***
Havoc at Prescott High
C.M. Stunich - 2019
H.A.V.O.C. Hael, Aaron, Victor, Oscar, and Callum. The Havoc Boys rule the hellhole we call Prescott High. Once upon a time, they ruled me. For an entire year, I endured their shit. But senior year is going to be different. This year, I own them. I’ve made a pact with the Havoc Boys to get the vengeance I deserve. Their price? Me. At their beck and call, in their beds, a part of their gang. Their girl. A Havoc Girl. Those dirty, rotten boys are going to get revenge against everyone that’s wronged me—everyone but themselves. HAVOC AT PRESCOTT HIGH is a 105,000 word mature high school/new adult romance with enemies-to-lovers/love-hate themes. It has brief flashbacks of past bullying incidents as well as foul language and sexual scenes; any sex featured is consensual. This is a reverse harem novel, meaning the main character has more than one love interest. This is book one of three in the series.
The Mafia And His Angel: Part 1
Lylah James - 2017
Ruthless. Killer. I am respected and feared by all. I wasn’t put on this earth to love or be loved. I was put here to wipe out every last member of the damn Abandonato mafia, to pay them back for my mother’s death. When I find a strange girl hiding, beaten, under my bed, I don’t let her live out of compassion. She’s a trinket, my plaything. Ayla… I thought Alessio was only one more man who wanted to use me, hurt me, and throw me away. I don’t know what it is to trust anymore. I can’t find my heart under the pain. Alessio found it. He touched it, and brought it alive again. But if he discovers just how dangerous I am to him…I’ll lose my life.
Sunshine and Bullets
Coralee June - 2018
It’s a nickname I haven’t heard since I lived on Woodbury Lane, where the houses were pretty but the secrets? Deadly. It was a pet name known only to the Bullets. Rough, violent, and ruthless, they laid claim to the town — and my heart. I wasn't supposed to fall for a boy from the wrong side of the tracks—especially not four of them. But they were the only ones who understood that sometimes hell hides in plain sight. I was the girl with all the conveniences a privileged upbringing could provide. The world only saw two loving parents and a pristine home life, but I knew the truth. And it was going to get me killed. So, I disappeared, from everyone and everything I’d ever known. I changed my name and my appearance, but the scars I carry, they’re still the same. The Bullets are all grown up now, too — a crime boss, a pro fighter, a bounty hunter, and a federal agent. Life took them in different directions, but they once shared the bonds of a brotherhood forged under the harshest conditions. Together they were fearless. Brutal. Unstoppable. I'm praying they can find that unity again. If I'm going to survive this, it'll take everything they have. Because that's the thing about running from the past. Eventually, it catches up to you.
Lord of London Town
Tillie Cole - 2020
She has never wanted for anything. A comfortable future as a married London socialite awaits her. But since the age of thirteen, Cheska has harboured a secret—an unshakeable fixation on a boy who could never offer her anything close to comfort. A boy steeped in sin and draped in depravity. A boy born into the possessive embrace of darkness. When Cheska’s seemingly perfect world is ripped apart by an unknown but deadly enemy, there’s only one person she can run to. One person in the world who has the power to keep her safe. The one person her weak and shattered heart craves. Arthur Adley. The new head of the most feared crime family in London. Forced too young to take the helm of the Adley firm, Arthur has become even more ruthless, formidable, and cold than ever before. His enemies are circling, and he must fight—and kill—to maintain his family’s place at the top of the London crime underworld. There is no room for weakness, emotion, or loss of control.But then Cheska smashes back into his life with the force of a wrecking ball. She has no place in this dark, vicious, and bloodthirsty world. And worse, she is the solitary chink in his impenetrable armour. He’s already pushed her away once, but this time she desperately needs him. She’s broken, lost, and in danger, and he is the only one who can help.Arthur must protect her. He must destroy those who dare to threaten her, hunt down those who would take what is his. He would raze all of London to the ground to keep her safe… but can he also protect himself?The infamous Dark Lord of London Town faces his most brutal battle yet—the crippling weight of the past, the unrelenting enemies lurking in the shadows… and the havoc that Cheska’s presence is wreaking on the granite fortress that was once his heart.
Shadowed Heart
Candace Wondrak - 2021
Payback. Chaos. If you’re looking for a story about unicorns and rainbows, this ain’t it. Now, if you’re in the mood for something a little psychotic and a whole lot crazy, then you’re in the right place. I’m Lola Harding. My parents used to call me their angel, but they’re dead now. For the last few years, I’ve made a name for myself—the Night Slayer. I stalk the clubs and make sure anyone with greedy hands and stupid ideas is permanently taken off the streets. One night I happen to kill the son of a crime lord, and then everything changes. They’re going to kill me, I know, but until they do, I’m to be their pet, wear their leash, and do whatever they say. The Lucianos are a family full of psychos and hatred… and I just might fit in better than I ever did anywhere else. And as a bonus? The other sons are the handsome and dangerous type, and even though they despise me for what I did to their brother, even though there might not be any light left for me at the end of this tunnel… I plan to enjoy the ride. Buckle up, b*tches, because it’s about to get wild. **Shadowed Heart is the first in a planned trilogy. It is an RH/Why Choose series, meaning there are multiple love interests, steamy scenes, and some things you might find triggering: violence, mentions of abuse, etc.**
Tough Sh*t
Sheridan Anne - 2020
Wrong.When the bank took our home, it didn’t come as a surprise. The bomb was when mom told me we were moving out of Breakers Flats, away from my crew, and to a place that only existed in fairy tales—Bellevue Springs. Home of the insanely beautiful, rich, and famous.Only, Bellevue Springs is far from a fairy tale. It’s a nightmare full of secrets, horrors, and the ugly reality of the one-percenters, but without this move, mom and I are up sh*t creek without a paddle.We don’t belong here—not even as the help.I should have been prepared. I should have done my homework so at least that way I wasn’t blindsided by Charles Carrington’s son; my new housemate.Colton F*cking Carrington.He’s the definition of an arrogant, entitled prick and he’s determined to make my life a living hell. Guess what, Colton? Where I’m from, you don’t start a war unless you intend to finish it, and that’s exactly what I plan to do.You can’t take down a girl who has nothing left to lose.We may be on your territory, but this is my game.WARNING: Rejects Paradise is a Young Adult / New Adult Dark High School Bully Romance series. It features dark themes and mature content.
Until Tomorrow Comes
Adelaide Forrest - 2021
I left with an obsession.With one look, Isa captivated me. She consumed me, drawing me into her world without ever knowing the dangers of mine. I intend to make her mine, no matter what lies I need to tell to manipulate her into falling in love with El Diablo. It should be simple enough, but secrets lurk in the depths of her multicolored eyes, and I’ll do anything to understand what broke her before I had the chance.Because she’s mine to break.IsaRafael Ibarra tore through my life like a raging inferno.Consuming every part of me he touches, he promises to show me passion and the real Ibiza. Though our tryst can never be anything but temporary, I never want to leave the man who makes me wish things were different. But there’s a nightmare hiding within his multicolored gaze, a phantom rattling at the cages who wants to devour me, to take me and claim me as his. He’s temptation, pushing me toward sin with his wicked touch. But the sins of the flesh are different from the sins of the mind, and as much as I hate his secrets.I will never tell him my own.Until Tomorrow Comes is the first book in the Beauty in Lies trilogy and ends on a cliffhanger. This is a DARK mafia romance and contains graphic violence, mature content, and elements that may be triggering. Please read at your own discretion.
These Monstrous Ties
K.V. Rose - 2019
He was Lucifer.Halloween night, one year ago, I sold my soul to the devil. Complete with a blood rite and everything. I had less than nothing. He promised me the world. And then he disappeared, taking my heart with him. But now, he’s the one with everything to lose. A family. A name. A reputation. I’ve still got nothing, but I’m clawing my way to the top, one body at a time. This Halloween, things are going to be different. This Halloween, ‘Lilith’ is coming to take what’s hers. Book 1 of the Unsainted series. Dark romance, only suitable for those 18+.