Book picks similar to
My Bastard by Ellie Jean


dark
dnf
alpha-male
contemporary-romance

Unsuitable


Samantha Towle - 2016
     Daisy Smith has spent eighteen months of her life paying for a crime she didn’t commit. Now out of prison, she has only one focus—to get back custody of her younger brother, Jesse, who is deep in the foster care system. Desperate to rebuild her life and show the system that she is responsible enough to care for Jesse, she takes on the only job available to her—working as a maid at the Matis Estate. On day one of her new job, Daisy meets Kastor Matis, the only son of the owners and her new boss. An enigmatic, handsome Greek god of a man, Kas is closed off, cold, and…well, kind of a bastard. The more time Daisy spends around Kas, she starts to see there might be more to him than just his cold, bastard ways. He may actually have a heart beating in that frozen chest of his. But Kas has secrets, too. Secrets that he’s determined to keep. Secrets make Daisy curious. And you know what curiosity can do…

Punching and Kissing


Helena Newbury - 2015
    Standalone romance: no cliffhanger!She has no choice. She must fight. She's going to need a badass to train her...When an illegal underground fight leaves my brother in the hospital, I make a desperate deal to save his life: I volunteer to fight in his place. To survive, I need a fighter who can teach me to be as tough as him. I need Aedan O'Harra, the blue-eyed, Irish beast of a man who everyone fears.But training together means getting close. Every touch of his hands makes it harder to control my feelings. I begin to see the man inside him, the one no one else can. Can I help him break free of the dark secrets that haunt him and can we save each other, or will we both be defeated? Because neither of us is ready for how dark and desperate this fight will become.

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.⁣

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.

The Viper


Kele Moon - 2014
    A gang member. Someone who has seen the dark side of humankind and survived. He has lost family and gained enemies. He has stolen cars and destroyed hearts, stripping one for money and the other for pleasure. His past is haunted and his future is bleak.Until her.Katie Foster is a high school history teacher. Smart, strong, and sexy. She is a woman Marcos shouldn’t want. Shouldn’t touch. Shouldn’t love. He met her in Garnet, a backwards, hick town that’s the last place in the world he wants to be, but he finds himself going back for a taste of the forbidden.Katie represents all that is good in the world, and Marcos knows he’s nothing but trouble for her perfect life. He fights and he screws. He commits crimes and he breaks the rules. He will never change and he will never escape his gang lifestyle.Or can he?What happens when two different people from two very different walks of life risk it all by giving into the passion that threatens to consume both of them? Can a woman who only knows how to play it safe give her heart to a man who lives hard and loves harder?Will she survive The Viper?

Jax (The Heights Saga, #2)


E.M. Moore - 2021
    The all-consuming, toe-curling kind of love.Fate had other plans for the two of us though.Ruled by a world of dangerous men, I did something reprehensible. I did what I needed to survive. I betrayed Jax—the only man who ever truly cared whether I lived or died.Years later, I remain a brokenhearted plaything. A puppet to maneuver around a chess board. Psycho uses my body, my face, my skills to get him exactly what he wants.I’m the predator no one sees coming.And my next job is to come face-to-face with him again. My Jax. Once Psycho gets something in his head, he won’t let up. What he wants next is what Jax has, and he’ll do anything to get it.Including using me in any way he can.Now, I have to make a choice between my safety and my conscience. My life…and my heart.But there’s one thing I know for sure: my second chance is the most treacherous game I’ve played.JAX is a full-length m/f dark romance standalone in the Heights Crew world.

Beautiful Beast


Aubrey Irons - 2017
    He’s the anti-prince-charming. This is our happy ever disaster. Anastasia Here’s the first thing you should know: this is not a fairytale. Happily-ever-afters are fables, and Prince Charming is a sweet little lie. I know all this because he taught me. Once upon a lifetime ago, the rich, arrogant, sinfully gorgeous, and tragically broken dark prince of the Hamptons was my tormentor. My darkness, my shameful attraction, my all-consuming, forbidden temptation. I hate Sebastian Crown because nine years ago, for one night, I was stupid enough to think I loved him. And I’ve been paying for it ever since. Except now, he needs me to help him save his empire. …And he’s not taking no for answer. Bastian She’s my nemesis. My addiction. My weakness. My obsession. I used to tell myself I hated Anastasia Bell - for being poor, for not worshipping the ground I walked on, for looking at me like she pitied me for being me. When the rest of my world always told me yes, she was the ever-provoking no.
 She thinks I’m a monster - a tragic, f**ed-up, broken beast. She doesn’t know the half of it. Because she can’t begin to know the crimes of my past, or imagine the things I’ve done to her behind the scenes since she left this place. Years ago, I thought breaking her would fix me. I was wrong. Now I’ve got her in my sights again, and this time, I won’t be letting her go. Even if it means we both go down in flames... Authors's note: Beautiful Beast is a full-length, standalone romance (approximately 101,000 words) with a HEA and NO cliffhanger. For a limited time, I've included a copy of my second chance romance, Thief, in this new-release edition! Please note that Beautiful Beast finished at roughly the 2/3rds mark in this book ;).

El Diablo


M. Robinson - 2016
    ROBINSONI was ruthless. I was feared. I had sacrificed. Myself. Her. Everything... Living in a world where I was worth more dead than alive was a choice. I was a bad man, never claimed to be anything else. I’ve done things I’m not proud of. Seen things that can’t be unseen. I’ve caused pain that I can’t undo. It was all my choice. Every decision. Every order. Right and wrong never mattered. Until her. She was under my protection, until she became my obsession. But who was going to save her... From. Me. The devil himself. Fate brought us together. Destiny destroyed us. STANDALONE: Romance Suspense full-length novel.

Step Beast


Selena Kitt - 2015
    Because he’s built like the tanks he rode in Afghanistan. Beneath Conrad "Beast" Beeston III’s fierce, intense gaze, his brooding temperament, his knuckles scarred from fighting, lurks a wild man, his strong, broad back darkly inked with his own hard truths.He only has one mode, and “Beast” is it. He ripped through Tilly's life, tearing it to shreds, and then he was gone, giving a stiff middle finger to a life of entitlement. He left her like he leaves them all—with little more than a broken heart. But for Tilly, there was one more thing. He left her with an unbearable secret she’s been forced to keep for years. Tilly’s privileged life, after her recent graduation from Mt. Holyoke, has come to a screeching halt under tragic circumstances. Had she really believed she’d never see her Devil Dog stepbrother again? Now he’s coming home—and she’s forced to face his cocky smirk and arrogant swagger, to look once again into the eyes of the monster who left her. Forced to confront him, what she sees is a raw, broken, tortured man who just might be the only person she knows keeping even bigger secrets than she is.

Possession


Jaimie Roberts - 2017
    A domineering man. A powerful man. On that day, the first of two transactions were made with my very unloving parents. I became his possession.Something to own.Something to keep.An object intended only for his desire, his pleasure, and his ... indulgence.Although promised to this man, I at least remained safe ... untouched ... pure. I was to be his and his alone. On my eighteenth birthday, the second transaction took place.I escaped...But he came for me.Now, I'm his. He owns my body and my soul.And, as if all of that wasn't enough, he wants to own my heart too.I’m trying to resist him—trying to fight that irresistible monster inside of him. But, as with everything else in my life, nothing is ever that easy.Warning: Contains graphic scenes with sexual assault content. Please proceed with caution.

Phoenix


Raine Anthony - 2013
    Bad News. Killer. This is what Phoenix sees when he looks in the mirror.Shy. Timid. Afraid. This is what Eve sees in her own reflection.But when Eve looks at Phoenix she sees a strong, handsome, sensual man. And when Phoenix looks at Eve he sees a beautiful, untouchable, heavenly creature. Together they will help each other to escape the labels they have lived with for so long.Will the ghosts of their pasts return to hinder their happiness?Or will true love lead to freedom?Phoenix is a story of two lonely souls trying to find solace in one another’s hearts.

Obsession


Ann Mayburn - 2016
    This seems like a simple request, but I was born to parents who wished I had died of childhood leukemia, instead of my younger sister, and who have ignored me no matter how much I’ve tried to please them. I’m starved for affection, addicted to the feeling when someone cares about me, which has led to a love life filled with either boys I’ve scared off, or men all too eager to take advantage of me. I thought I would never find a man who could feed my craving for constant attention—and then I met Leo. He fills the void inside of me, haunts my dreams, and does things to me in bed that are so good, they’re probably illegal. I can only pray I don’t scare him off once he figures out just how needy I really am.LeoThere are very few people in this world I’ve ever been able to form an emotional attachment to, but the moment I saw Hannah, I knew she was mine. We were bound together by fate, our paths crossing first as children, then as adults, each time marking me. She doesn’t know it but I’ve been watching her for a year now, studying her, stacking the deck so when I do make my move, there’s no way she’ll ever escape me. But my world is a harsh, cruel place, and the cartel I work for demands absolute loyalty and trust…a loyalty Hannah has yet to earn in the dangerous eyes of my employers. There is only one way to ensure Hannah’s absolute devotion, and I hope that she doesn’t hate me forever when she finds out that not only have I brainwashed her into loving me, but that I don’t feel an ounce of guilt about doing it. She’s mine, only mine, and I’m keeping her forever.Warning: This story features a rough and demanding Dom who’s completely devoted to bringing his baby girl pleasure through such unconventional means as spanking, mild BDSM, D/S, roleplaying, and various other forms of wicked kinkery.

A Love of Vengeance


Nancy Haviland - 2014
    Vasily needs someone he can trust in Seattle to protect his estranged daughter, Eva Jacobs, while he avenges the murder of the young woman’s mother. Gabriel is unstoppable in a fight, whether he’s using fists, blades, or bullets; but innocent, onyx-haired Eva may just be the most dangerous—and beautiful—thing he’s come up against.Intense sparks fly between the two, tempting Gabriel to mix business with pleasure while in the Emerald City. But once word gets around that Gabriel has shown up in New York, Stefano—his vengeful brother and the de facto head of the family—decides that Eva is the key to ending the feud between them…permanently.In this pulse-pounding romantic thriller set against the backdrop of New York City’s storied underworld, loyalties will be tested, secrets will be told, and mob justice will be served.

Notice


K. Webster - 2017
    The shiny strands of gold in her silky brown hair. Tiny crinkles between her eyebrows when she frowns. Her passion for neatness. Once I focus on her, I can’t take my eyes from my newest obsession. Ever. I need to know everything about her. Her past. Her present. The way she takes her coffee. Exactly how she smells after a spritz of perfume in the mornings. She’s perfect in every way and I was blind. But, God, now do I see. I notice the organized way she arranges her clothes in her closet. How she visits the same market each Saturday. The sounds of her breathing as I lie beneath her bed in silence. Violet is mine. She just doesn’t know it yet. ***WARNING*** Notice is a dark and unusual romance. Extreme sexual themes and violence in certain scenes, which could trigger emotional distress, are found in this story. If you are sensitive to dark themes, then this story is not for you. If you aren't into super obsessive stalkers, then this story is not for you.

Whipping Girl


L. Jacobs - 2017
    I was taken, trained and conditioned to be everything that they needed from me and as a reward I received a Gift. My name is Allyanna and I am that Gift. I was taken from my family and used by The Guard to keep Alexander in line, I am their insurance, their leash, and their whipping girl.***DISCLAIMER*** This is NOT a completely fluffy story. Although it contains some humor and sweetness, it also has dark elements that might make some uncomfortable. It also contains elements of dominance, obsession, discipline and dubious consent. There’s also some blood and violence doled out. If any of this offends you, this may not be the book for you.