Book picks similar to
My Bastard by Ellie Jean


dark
alpha-male
dnf
contemporary-romance

Unconscious Hearts


Harper Sloan - 2018
    Alone and stricken with grief, she shouldered the blame and eventually closed her heart off, refusing to open it for another. After all, anytime she tried, guilt and regret were waiting in the wings to remind her how painful it was.A bet and one steamy night with a stranger force Ari to confront all she’s been hiding behind. She tries to move on, but he refuses to stand down, wanting what she is terrified to give—herself. This man may very well destroy her in the end, especially when it’s clear he has his own demons. What happens when two broken souls come together, finally allowing themselves to believe in the beauty of love … only to have to fight harder than ever to keep it.

Royally Bad


Nora Flite - 2017
    Too bad it’s her only choice. Kain Badd looks great on paper: rich, handsome, and he’s even a prince. But after spending a few minutes together, Sammy sees the real him—arrogant, possessive, and too hot for his own good. If she hadn’t agreed to help plan his sister’s wedding, she could have avoided him. Instead, she’s waking up in his bed after an unforgettable night she definitely wants to forget. But he won’t let her.When Sammy thinks her life can’t get any crazier, the wedding is raided by the police, and she spends her first-ever night in jail. The irresistible Kain isn’t just bad in name—his family is connected to a dangerous underworld. Now she’s mixed up in a power struggle between his family’s empire and their rivals. She has no choice but to put herself back in this filthy prince’s extremely capable hands.Sammy must trust Kain to keep her safe. She’s just not sure she can trust herself to resist temptation.

Degradation


Stylo Fantome - 2014
    Twenty-three-year-old Jameson Kane is smart, seductive, and richer. They come together for one night, one explosion, one mistake, and Tate is hurled into space—no family, no money, and no Jameson.Seven years later, life is going pretty good for Tate, when she runs into Jameson again. This time, she thinks she's ready for him. She doesn't have a naive bone left in her body, and she can't even remember what shy feels like. Jameson has evolved, as well—sharp words, sharper wit, and a tongue that can cut her in half. It all sounds like fun to a woman like Tate, and she is ready to play, determined to prove that she isn't the same girl he conquered once before. A series of games start, each one more devious than the last.But as the line between games and reality becomes blurry, Tate quickly learns that Jameson has most definitely earned his nickname, “Satan.” Can she beat him at his own game before someone gets hurt? Or will he leave her soulless, making him the winner, once and for all?WARNING: contains a wannabe B-rate porn star, an impersonal personal assistant, and the F-word, A LOT. Also graphic sexual situations and sadomasochistic themes.

Hard Rules


Lisa Renee Jones - 2016
    His reckless and ruthless brother, Derek wants to keep Brandon Enterprises cemented in lies, deceit, and corruption. But the harder Shane fights to pull the company back into the light, the darker he has to become. Then he meets Emily Stevens, a woman who not only stirs a voracious sexual need in him, but becomes the only thing anchoring him between good and evil.Emily is consumed by Shane, pushed sexually in ways she never dreamed of, falling deeper into the all-encompassing passion that is this man. She trusts him. He trusts her, but therein lies the danger. Emily has a secret, the very thing that brought her to him in the first place, and that secret could destroy them both.This is book ONE of FOUR in Shane and Emily's story.

Close Quarters


Kandi Steiner - 2021
    So when his steel gray eyes first meet mine, I expect him to pass right over me, to not give so much as a second thought to my presence.⁣⁣Instead, he sees me. ⁣Truly sees me. ⁣And for a girl who prefers to hide behind her camera lens, it’s the most unnerving experience of my life.⁣⁣Until he asks me to stay on his yacht for the summer.⁣⁣All I have to do to earn my keep is be Theo’s on-call photographer when he has guests, and I’ll get a free ride through the Mediterranean with my boyfriend. Easy peasy.⁣⁣Still, my skin prickles in warning when I say yes.⁣⁣As the humid days fade into balmy nights, I can’t seem to avoid Theo. And when he finds me, it’s like a rabbit running into a wolf.⁣⁣His intense gaze immobilizes me. The way he speaks strips me bare. Every brush of his skin sears me like a violent flame.⁣⁣My boyfriend’s billionaire boss always gets what he wants.⁣⁣And this time, I think he wants me.

The Bonus


A.J. Adams - 2013
    Facing a lingering and painful death at the hands of the Zeta cartel, Mexico’s most brutal organised crime syndicate, she persuades their enforcer to claim her.Ex marine and dark ops expert Kyle Suarez is chief enforcer for the Zeta cartel. Ruthlessly efficient, he is feared by his enemies. When he claims Chloe, he simply expects to enjoy a well-deserved and disposable bonus.Has Chloe made a huge mistake, or will her choice prove her salvation - and his?Warning: This bad boy dark romance contains explicit scenes of dubious consent, graphic violence and sex. It is for adults only.This bad boy dark romance is a compelling tale of vengeance, murder, cartel violence and finding love in the darkest of times. It is the first in the Zeta Cartel novel series, and can be read as a standalone.

Amusement


Albany Walker - 2021
    The moment she walked into my club, she was mine. She just didn't know it. I'll be the one to ruin her, and she will love every second.Innocence lost can't be regained.My life seems rather simple from the outside. I'm the devoted daughter to a former rodeo champion. I never wanted to follow my mother's footsteps into the arena. My boots are firmly planted in the dirt on our family farm, but an accident changed everything.Now I spend my nights on a stage, and my days in the barn. Dancing has paid the bills for the past two years, but no one knows my secret. Or so I thought.Amusement is the darkly sweet duel POV stalker romance you didn't know you needed.

Heartless Hero


Mary Catherine Gebhard - 2019
    with cruel protection.Love is off limits with Abigail Crowne, but no one said anything about hate.Heartless Hero is the first book in the Crowne Point universe. You do not need to read any of the others to enjoy it, though it is recommended. It will enhance your reading experience as you will catch easter eggs and the timelines overlap.

Something About Lorelei


Sandi Lynn - 2015
    A successful career, loads of money and beautiful women who were always at my beckoning call. My problem? I lived under the shadow of my mother who started the company over thirty years ago. Not to mention her being married and divorced six times, left a bad taste in my mouth as far as relationships were concerned.“Women to me were nothing but mere toys. They were meant to be played with for my own personal pleasure and when I was done playing, they’d get tossed to the side.”Then walked in Lorelei Flynn. She was beautiful, and so wrong for me. The problem? She was my personal assistant and she was closed off to say the least. Despite being the beautiful woman she was, I had an overwhelming need to find out what was underneath all that beauty. It was something I couldn’t explain. It was just something about Lorelei.My name is Lorelei Flynn and I was Jack Sutton’s fifteenth personal assistant in a little over a year. My boyfriend was killed seven years ago in a car accident. Before he died, he gave me a gift: my daughter Hope. My life did nothing but revolve around her. I didn’t date and I hadn’t had sex in seven years. Then Jack Sutton came into my life and he was as sexy as sin but he was nothing but a womanizer and my boss. The line was there the day I took the job and it was one that couldn’t be crossed. Or shouldn’t be crossed. But it was crossed and now the only world I’d known was suddenly changing and it scared the hell out of me. For readers 18+

The Russian's Ballerina: A Mafia Romance


Ever Lilac - 2021
    All he knows is that he has to keep her in his life. With the precision that only an underground boss can have, he hunts her down and makes her his.But Alec has one, dangerous secret that threatens to tear them apart. And when his ballerina finds out she might dance out of his life forever...

Making the Cut


Anne Malcom - 2015
    Especially not a man who looks like Chris Hemsworth and Joe Manganiello's love child. One wearing leather, riding a Harley, and covered in tattoos. Gwen can bet every pair of her Manolos that Cade Fletcher is trouble. From the moment she meets him, the attraction sizzles between them. Gwen has a problem when it comes to attractive men in motorcycle clubs. The last one she got involved with almost killed her. After healing physically, Gwen decides to get a new start in a small town, half a country away from the man who nearly cost her her life. She isn't in town five minutes when she runs into Cade, a man that is too sexy and dangerous for his own good. She tries to keep away from him, to ignore the attraction between them. But the biker has other ideas, soon she is in way over her head. Her heart, and her life are in danger once again.

Devlin UnLeashed


Bethany Bazile - 2015
    A man born among violence with a heavily burdened mind. He wasn't the sort of man fairy tales were made of, but he was sinfully beautiful, and addictively seductive. Dark and dangerous, yet utterly alluring. I’d fooled myself once, only allowing myself to see the beauty in him despite the shadows I’d glimpsed in his eyes. When that darkness took over, I ran. And now he’s found me. He’d trusted me with his love and now he wants it back. And he’s all too willing to crush my heart to make his whole again. Juliana betrayed me. Went against everything I believed in and pushed the monster I tried to keep hidden out into the open. Our love was twisted—and I’d made it that way. But I wasn't prepared to let it go. I hunted her for years, picking up traces of her scent as she moved from city to city to escape me. Now that I've found her, I’m not sure even her fiery light can brighten the blackout she left me in when she walked away. Mature content warning: This title is darkly romantic and intended for adults 18+ due to explicit sexual content, language, violence, and dubious consent.

Not You It's Me


Julie Johnson - 2015
    Turns out, kissing Chase Croft — Boston’s most eligible bachelor — may be enough to convince even a girl who’s given up on love to let down her guard one last time...NOT YOU IT’S ME is a full-length, comedic contemporary romance about a girl who doesn’t believe in love… and the man who changes her mind. It is the first installment of the internationally bestselling BOSTON LOVE STORY series and can be read as a complete standalone. Due to sexy-times and strong language, it is intended for readers 17 and up.

Bloodied Hands


Adelaide Forrest - 2020
    When the masked man takes one look at my face and mutters my name in shock, my world stops. And then he follows it with a plea for forgiveness from the devil himself. Matteo uses the opportunity to invade my life, reclaiming me as if the past twelve years never happened. The boy I loved is gone, replaced by hardened cruelty and a dangerous reputation. But Matteo isn’t the only one who wants to make me a pawn in a game I never agreed to play, and freedom comes at a cost.Matteo Ivory comes strutting back into my life and making demands like she’s in charge. She doesn’t understand the games I played to keep her safe during our time apart. The sacrifice I made for her. She’s an innocent, caught up in the games of men and unprepared to deal with the consequences of her actions. She should have stayed away, but fate brings her back to me. I won’t let her go again. After suffering in the cruelty of my world for too long, I’m ready to feel the light of my Angel in my life once more. No matter what she has to say about it. Bloodied Hands is a full-length standalone novel with an HEA, but the series presents a better reading experience when following the suggested order. This series contains dark elements, including an over-the-top antihero who does as he pleases. Please read at your own discretion.

Married to the Bad Boy


Vanessa Waltz - 2015
    A man-whore. Whatever the hell you want to call it, I get around. During the day, I crack heads and extort businesses. At night, I find girls to f*ck. I live to hear them moan for me, but one night is all they get. No one ever made me want more. Until her.Elena.The moment her lips wrapped around me, I was done. All day, I think about running my tongue all over those curves. Too bad those curves are off limits. She's running from a man who will kill me for touching her.Well, she's tired of running and needs my help.She thinks I'm doing it for money.I'm doing it to make her mine.