Book picks similar to
Man's Ruin by Nicola R. White


contemporary
is-it-worth-it
madam
religion

Slaughter


Shantel Tessier - 2018
    It is about revenge and hatred, misery and violence. I wasn’t always this way even though it was in my blood. I grew up happy and in love with my best friend until she betrayed me and walked away. After that, I fell into the deep, dark world I was meant for. Presleigh Clarke's actions turned me into the ruthless man I am today. Too bad for her, I believe people should pay for the things they have done. The more painful and messy, the better. I get off on making people bleed. It feeds my inner demon, and right now, he is starving. She crossed me once, so now she’ll know what it’s like to fear me. But not all stories end the way you think they will … mine certainly didn’t.

Tattered Stars


Catherine Cowles - 2022
    Just for sixty seconds. Twenty breaths.One night changed them both forever. Their lives shattered, beyond repair, with jagged edges and pieces askew. Now, Everly has a chance to make things right. To bring healing to the place where everything fell apart. But it means facing the family her father almost destroyed, and the boy with the dark eyes—now grown—who still haunts her dreams.Just one breath away from having your life ripped out from under you.The last thing Hayes wants is another reminder of all the ways he failed sixteen years ago. When Everly drives back into Wolf Gap, his only mission is to get her to leave. For his family’s sake, and for his own, those demons need to stay buried for good.But everything about this woman is a surprise, from her spine of steel to the sanctuary she hopes to create with the land her mother left behind. And Hayes is powerless to stay away. As a careful friendship sparks into something more, someone watches. And they’ll do anything to tear it all apart…

The Wife Before Me


Laura Elliot - 2018
     Two years later, Elena Langdon meets Nicholas Madison. She is grieving the loss of her mother, he is grieving for his wife. Together they can help each other. Now Elena is living with Nicholas. But Elena doesn’t really know him. She doesn’t know what he is capable of. And she doesn’t know what really happened to Amelia. Until the day she discovers the torn page of a letter and the words she reads chill her to the bone.  Elena must find the person who wrote these letters if she is to save herself. A totally breathtaking page-turner about the darker side of love and what really goes on behind closed doors. This book will have you gripped from the very first page until the dramatic final twist.

Savage Beginnings


J.L. Beck - 2020
    Like a thief I came in the dead of night and stole her away from her protected castle and placed her in a gilded cage made of gold. The arrangement had been made. Her father knew I was coming, knew I had intended to make him pay. His empire was crumbling. He had no money, nothing of value to me, nothing except... her. Which is why he agreed. His precious, virgin daughter in return for a debt paid. He thought I would break her, kill her, he had no idea what I had really planned. She would become my wife. She would bear my children. She would bend to my will. And I would go to any lengths to keep her by my side. *This is a dark mafia romance that contains mature themes, graphic violence, and sexual content. This is a standalone with a HEA.*

Raphael


Tillie Cole - 2019
    A brotherhood of murderers whose nature compels them to kill. But guided by their leader, Gabriel, the Fallen have learned to use their urges to rid the world of those it is better off without. For Raphael, sex and death are intertwined. Where there is one, there must be the other. He is a lust killer, luring his victims with the face of an angel and a body built for sin. And Raphael lives to sin. His newest mission takes him into the sadistic underworld of Boston’s secret sex clubs, and puts him face to face with his greatest fantasy made flesh. Maria is everything he’s ever dreamed of, the kill he’s always longed for. She’s not his target. And he knows he must resist. But the temptation is too strong… Yet Raphael is not the only one with a mission. Maria is not quite what she seems. And as her secrets and Raphael’s unravel, Maria begins to question everything she thought she knew—about evil, about the place she calls home, and about the beautiful sinner she was sent to destroy. Dark Contemporary Romance. Contains sexual situations, violence, sensitive and taboo subjects, offensive language and topics some may find triggering. Recommended for age 18 years and up. The Fallen: Genesis a prequel novella in The Deadly Virtues Series and MUST be read before RAPHAEL (DV: book one).

Dodgers


Bill Beverly - 2016
    Salinger. It is the story of a young LA gang member named East, who is sent by his uncle along with some other teenage boys—including East's hothead younger brother—to kill a key witness hiding out in Wisconsin. The journey takes East out of a city he's never left and into an America that is entirely alien to him, ultimately forcing him to grapple with his place in the world and decide what kind of man he wants to become.   Written in stark and unforgettable prose and featuring an array of surprising and memorable characters rendered with empathy and wit, Dodgers heralds the arrival of a major new voice in American fiction.

King's Captive


Amber A. Bardan - 2017
     Because I'm not here as a guest. Not even close. I'm a prisoner. I'm his. Julius King. Powerful. Wealthy. Dangerous. There are parts of me he wants that I can't give him. When he looks at me, there are times I swear he sees someone else. And the scary part is that sometimes, when he touches me, I think he may be someone else, too. Though my body might be tempted, and he might control everything else, I can't let him have any piece of my heart. I won't. But every day, the fight gets harder, and Julius manages to slip past my defenses in the most unexpected ways.  I have to find out the truth about Julius King. Even if it destroys me.   This book is approximately 81,000 words  One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you're looking for with an HEA/HFN. It's a promise! Find out more at CarinaPress.com/RomancePromise

The Siren


Katherine St. John - 2021
    John, author of The Lion's Den, comes another sublimely escapist thriller: When dangerously handsome megastar Cole Power hires his ex-wife, Stella Rivers, to act in his son's film, he sparks a firestorm on an isolated island that will unearth long-buried secrets -- and unravel years of lies.In the midst of a sizzling hot summer, some of Hollywood's most notorious faces are assembled on the idyllic Caribbean island of St. Genesius to film The Siren, starring dangerously handsome megastar Cole Power playing opposite his ex-wife, Stella Rivers. The surefire blockbuster promises to entice audiences with its sultry storyline and intimately connected cast.Three very different women arrive on set, each with her own motive. Stella, an infamously unstable actress, is struggling to reclaim the career she lost in the wake of multiple, very public breakdowns. Taylor, a fledgling producer, is anxious to work on a film she hopes will turn her career around after her last job ended in scandal. And Felicity, Stella's mysterious new assistant, harbors designs of her own that threaten to upend everyone's plans. With a hurricane brewing offshore, each woman finds herself trapped on the island, united against a common enemy. But as deceptions come to light, misplaced trust may prove more perilous than the storm itself..

Blood Sisters


Jane Corry - 2017
    One accident. A lifetime of lies. From the bestselling author of My Husband's Wife.Three little girls set off to school one sunny morning. Within an hour, one of them is dead. Fifteen years later, Kitty can't speak and has no memory of the accident that's to blame. She lives in an institution, unlikely ever to leave. But that doesn't keep her from being frightened when she encounters an eerily familiar face. Art teacher Alison looks fine on the surface. But the surface is a lie. She's struggling to make ends meet and to forget the past. When a teaching job at a prison opens up, she takes it, despite her fears. Maybe this is her chance to set things right. Then she starts to receive alarming notes; next, her classroom erupts in violence.Meanwhile, someone is watching both Kitty and Alison. Someone who never forgot what happened that day. Someone who wants revenge. And only another life will do. . .

The Bastard's Betrayal


Katee Robert - 2021
    Violently over-protective parents. A giant extended family, all ready to kill anyone who looks at her wrong. Learning to run a business that isn’t exactly on the right side of the law. So, naturally, when she meets a nice guy who isn’t in the life, she falls hard… Right up until the she discovers her new boyfriend isn’t a civilian at all.But he betrayed her.When Dante Verducci was sent on an undercover mission to evaluate the Romanov family for weakness, he never expected to have an instant connection with their unlikely heir. There’s something fierce and feral about Rose that calls to him. They’re alike, even if they’re both lying to each other during the months they date. Before he could figure out a new plan, Rose finds out who he really is, dumps him, and immediately enters an engagement with the heir of a rival family. Yeah, no, that’s not going to work for Dante.Now he’ll do anything to reclaim her. Even go to war.Author's Note: For all tropes, tag, and CWs, please check the author's website.

Black Lies


Alessandra Torre - 2014
    Has been in a relationship with me for 3 years. Has proposed 4 times. Been rejected 4 times.Lee:Cuts grass when he's not banging housewives. Good with his hands, his mouth, and his body. Has been pursued relentlessly by me for almost 2 years, whether he knows it or not. Go ahead. Judge me. You have no idea what my love entails.If you think you've heard this story before, trust me - you haven't.**This is a STANDALONE full-length novel. It is not part of a series, and does not contain a cliffhanger.**

Junkie


Heather C. Leigh - 2016
    A junkie. A whore. I'll do anything to get my next fix.Anything.Including walking right onto the property of Austin's most ruthless and feared drug lord to beg for some H. I don't know his name, only that people call him Boss. Oh, and that he won't think twice to put a bullet in my head.But like I said, I'll do anything to get my next fix. Even if it costs me my life.Or changes it forever.

Red.


London Miller - 2016
     Seven years ago, Niklaus "Red" Volkov was offered an opportunity, one that would give him the ability to even the score with the Albanian mobsters that had tortured him for days and took the life of the only girl he'd loved. But that gift came with strings... Molded into the perfect soldier, Niklaus joined an elite group of mercenaries, loyal to a mysterious man known only as The Kingmaker. He willingly paid the price for means to fulfill the vendetta that plagued him each day. Vengeance was all he knew... And death was all he lived for... Until it wasn't... Until her...

Consumed


J.R. Ward - 2018
    But when one risky decision at a warehouse fire changes her life forever, Anne must reinvent not only her job, but her whole self.Shattered and demoralized, Anne finds her new career as an arson investigator a pale substitute for the adrenaline-fueled life she left behind. She doesn't believe she will ever feel that same all-consuming passion for her job again--until she encounters a string of suspicious fires setting her beloved city ablaze.Danny McGuire is a premiere fireman, the best in the county, but in the midst of a personal meltdown. Danny is taking risks like never before and seems to have a death wish until he teams up with Anne to find the fire starter. But Danny may be more than a distraction, and as Anne narrows in on her target, the arsonist begins to target her.From the creator of the bestselling Black Dagger Brotherhood, get ready for a new band of brothers. And a firestorm.

Dangerous Temptation


Giana Darling - 2021
    Diamond cufflinks. A watch on his tanned wrist that cost more than we would ever see in a lifetime of work. He carries a single red rose for my mother.Months later, Tiernan Morelli lays red roses on my mother’s grave. That same day, he tells me that he is my new guardian.I should have known from the very start that he had more in common with the thorns than the rose. Now I know the truth: I’m a pawn in his dangerous game of revenge. I was too young and naive. Now it's too late to save myself from his clutches.I belong to him.