Book picks similar to
Bane by Kristin Mayer


romance
contemporary
standalone
contemporary-romance

Predator


Michelle Horst - 2017
    I'm tortured and beaten within an inch of my life when he walks right into my hell.No one knows who he works for, only that he leaves no one alive. But for some unknown reason, he doesn't end my miserable life.Instead, he takes me, and I don't know which is worse... the death sentence hanging over my head or being at his mercy.Previously published as 'PREDATOR.'(Rewritten with a new cover and title 2021)WARNING:This book contains subject matter that may be sensitive for some readers. There is dark and triggering content between these pages. 18+ only. Please read responsibly.This is Cara's story. Her trauma and her journey of healing are the main focus of this book.

Enemies and Playmates


Darcia Helle - 2009
    Lauren Covington's family maintains a grand facade that belies the life they live behind closed doors. Alex Covington, Lauren's father, keeps a tight rein on his family through dominance, abuse, and obsessive control. Consequently, Lauren doesn't believe she could ever trust a man, much less fall in love with one. When Lauren meets Jesse Ryder, her carefully constructed protective wall shatters. She falls hopelessly and completely in love. It's only fitting that Jesse is a private detective who had once worked for her father, had defied him, and was now the subject of Alex Covington's wrath. Amidst devastating loss, betrayal, and her father's destructive pursuit of Jesse, Lauren finds the trust and love she had always longed for.

Bloodstained Beauty


Ella Fields - 2018
     Fresh out of college and headed straight for my dream job, I didn’t think things could get any better.
 Then I met my dream man. 
In an instant, my happy ever after had begun.
 The life I’d stumbled into was beautiful, and the man I loved was perfect.
 But perfection comes at a cost, and I’d slumbered through all the alarms.
 Then I met my nightmare. 
 The man whose bright eyes held untamed darkness. 
 The man who disarmed me with his peculiar behavior. 
 The man whose cold, merciless hands shook me awake.  
In an instant, questions started to dismantle my happy ever after.
 But whoever said the truth would set you free was wrong. 
It wasn’t going to repair the cracks in my naive heart. 
 It wasn’t going to caress my face with comforting hands and reassure me it was all just a dream.
 No, the truth shoved me down a rabbit hole, and I landed in the lair of a real-life monster.

Seek


Mia Sheridan - 2018
    She's even more heartbroken and confused when a hired private investigator tracks him half a world away, to a seaside town in Colombia. But the country has recently been ravaged by a massive earthquake and deadly tsunami, shutting down outside communication and making travel all but impossible. Still, Olivia is determined to make it to Colombia to find the answers she so desperately seeks. What she needs is a guide—a mercenary.The man named Thomas arrives in shadows, an unmistakable air of danger about him, promising to help lead her through the ruined, crime-infested country. But when Thomas and Olivia find themselves fighting an undeniable attraction, danger takes on a whole new meaning. Then again, in the lush jungles of South America, all the rules are different and Thomas and Olivia are about to discover that sometimes the thing you seek, isn't necessarily the thing you find.Seek is a STANDALONE novel with a small, fun connection to the Sign of Love Collection

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.

Sparrow


L.J. Shen - 2016
    The son of a dead mobster. The heart throb with steel blue eyes. "The Fixer" who can make or break you in this city. Oh, and my new husband. Sparrow RaynesThat's me. No one seemed to remember my name up until he barged into my life. But then he caged me.Kidnapped me.And killed every chance I had to runaway from the place where we grew up.Put simply, Troy Brennan clipped my wings.I have dreams, big ones, but I doubt he'd ever let me chase them. I have no idea why he'd decided to take me as his wife. But I do know this: pissing off this man will not do me any good. At all.Sparrow is a standalone, full-length novel. It contains graphic violence and adult situations some may find offensive.

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.

The Truth About Lies


Aly Martinez - 2018
    And I was helpless to save her. Consumed by hate and rage, I spent four years running from my memories. Until a shattered woman gave me a reason to stop. Cora lived in a nightmare, but through sheer force of will, she’d turned it into something beautiful. She had a smile that could pierce the darkest soul. And with one glance, she shredded mine. Lie: I was only there for a fresh start. Lie: I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Lie: There was nothing I could do to save her, either. But that’s the thing about lies—you never know who to believe.

Destroyed


Pepper Winters - 2014
    Not broken or ruined or running from a past I can’t face. Just complicated. I thought my life couldn’t get any more tangled in deceit and confusion. But I hadn’t met him. I hadn't realized how far I could fall or what I'd do to get free. He has a secret.I’ve never pretended to be good or deserving. I chase who I want, do what I want, act how I want.I didn’t have time to lust after a woman I had no right to lust after. I told myself to shut up and stay hidden. But then she tried to run. I’d tasted what she could offer me and damned if I would let her go.One secret destroys them.

Dirty Ugly Toy


K. Webster - 2016
    Things are looking up. She’s dirty and ugly. He’s wicked but handsome. Six months to toy with her. Six months of vacation and a ton of money. I’ll hurt her beyond repair. I’ve been through much worse. She's difficult to control and doesn't obey. I'm done submitting to anyone or anything in this life. I should hate her. I should hate him. The game has changed. I will win. Dirty Ugly Toy is a novel that blurs the lines of right and wrong, deals with abuse, contains dubious consent, and adult subject matter. If you are sensitive to violent sexual situations, the book may not be suitable for you. Some parts of this book are not easy to read and are not intended for everyone. However, those that keep an open mind and stick with it will not be disappointed.

Machiavellian


Bella Di Corte - 2020
     I hungered to be seen. There were three things I knew about Capo Macchiavello: He was gorgeous. He was reclusive. He was considered one of New York’s most savage animals. And he wanted me as his wife. A simple arrangement – you do for me, I do for you. Nothing owed, no expectations. Except for one: never leave. Life was never that simple, though. By the age of twenty-one, I was parentless, jobless, and homeless, and I had come to learn the hard way that nothing was ever free. Even kindness comes with strings. Capo might’ve been the only man to ever see me, but I had made a vow to myself: I would never owe anyone anything. Most of all, the man I called boss. I killed to stay hidden. Mariposa Flores thought she owed nothing to no one, but she owed everything…to me, the ghost the world had once called The Machiavellian Prince of New York.

Condemned to Love


Siobhan Davis - 2021
    Will one life-altering night unite or destroy them? Bennett Mazzone grew up ignorant of the truth: he is the illegitimate son of the most powerful mafia boss in New York. Until it suited his father to drag him into a world where power, wealth, violence, and cruelty are the only currency.Celebrating her twenty-first birthday in Sin City should be fun for Sierra Lawson, but events take a deadly turn when she ends up in a private club, surrounded by dangerous men who always get what they want.And they want her.Ben can’t believe his ex’s little sister is all grown up, stunningly beautiful, and close to being devoured by some of the most ruthless men he has ever known. The Vegas trip is about strengthening ties, but he won’t allow his associates to ruin her perfection. Although it comes at a high price, saving Sierra is his only choice.The memory of Ben’s hands on her body is seared into Sierra’s flesh for eternity. She doesn’t regret that night. Not even when she discovers the guy she was crushing on as a teenager is a cold, calculating killer with dark impulses and lethal enemies who want him dead.Understanding the risks, she walks away from the only man she will ever love, stowing her secrets securely in her heart. Until the truth becomes leverage and Sierra is drawn into a bloody war—a pawn in a vicious game she doesn’t want to play.As the web of deceit is finally revealed, Ben will stop at nothing to protect Sierra. Even if loving her makes him weak. In a world where women serve a sole purpose, and alliances mean the difference between life and death, can he fight for love and win?A STAND-ALONE DARK MAFIA ROMANCE.

Scarlet Stone


Jewel E. Ann - 2016
    In a single breath, everything becomes nothing, and she finds herself on a plane to Savannah, Georgia in search of the meaning of life. After securing a six-month lease for a beachfront house on Tybee Island, Scarlet changes the way she looks, thinks, eats—basically her entire outlook on life. She needs peace, but what she gets is a housemate who looks like Thor, acts like a warden, and smells her proximity like a Bloodhound. Theodore Reed is a carpenter and perfectionist with a body built of steel, a black, hollow heart, and a hunger for revenge. He doesn’t like company, girly-smelling crap, and British accents. He resents every breath she takes. She’s fascinated by his every move. In time, they discover their coexistence is toxic, their physical attraction is electric, the secrets they keep mean the difference between life and death, and the only truth they share is that everything is a lie. “Over eighty-five percent of the world's population believes in a higher power, yet, very few people believe in miracles.” Do you believe?

Stone Walls


A.M. Madden - 2015
    M. Madden, a red-hot cop and a broken beauty are linked by painful pasts . . . and one tempting future.As an NYPD officer, Benjamin Stone is married to his job, determined to clean up the drug-infested streets. His partner, Rob, always has his back—except when Rob and his girlfriend, Andrea, play matchmaker at his expense. On Ben’s birthday, they’re at it again. Andrea’s friend is exactly Ben’s type, even if he stubbornly will never admit it. But it’s not the lithe brunette’s looks that intrigues Ben; it’s the hurt in her eyes.Ella Parker is bright, beautiful, kind—and, thanks to one horrific night, severely damaged. She’d rather be training for her black belt or watching TV in her favorite pair of pajamas than be dragged out on a blind date. Sure enough, Ben swaggers into the club, locks onto Ella, and claims he’s not interested—despite the irresistible chemistry between them. So Ella decides two can play at that game. But when her dangerous past comes back to haunt her, Ben will break all the rules of seduction to keep her safePraise for Stone Walls “With an untouchable couple wrapped in a sweet package with a comical side, A. M. Madden’s Stone Walls is a must-read—the perfect mix of intrigue, mystery, and sex appeal.”—New York Times bestselling author Heidi McLaughlin“Stone Walls is a roller coaster ride with lots of twists and turns. Ben and Ella are wonderful characters: funny, intelligent, and perfect for each other. But the secrets from their pasts may destroy their chances for a future together.”—New York Times bestselling author Kathy Clark“Madden delivers an intense read with beautiful character development and so much emotion you feel every high and every low. There were times I wanted to reach into the pages and offer comfort to both Ben and Ella.”—USA Today bestselling author Chelsea Camaron“Madden’s storytelling pulls you in from the very beginning. I loved this romance story. With likable and believable characters and a riveting storyline, this book kept me up long into the night. Stone Walls is an excellent start to a new series! I can’t wait see what happens next.”—Stacey Lynn, author of His to Love“OMG! A. M. Madden blew my socks off with this one! I laughed, I cried, I got angry, cried again, and then I sighed with happy contentment. Stone Walls is one of my all-time favorite romantic suspense novels.”—Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews“Readers looking for some suspense with their romance will like this book and the characters. I will definitely look for more from A. M. Madden in the future.”—Ramblings from This Chick“I loved all the characters in this book! . . . The author did an amazing job.”—Summer’s Book Blog (five stars)“I’ll always look forward to more from this author. Fab five-star read!”—Fictional Men’s Page for Book Ho’s“A great book . . . This story is extremely well written (all of A. M. Madden’s stories are) and the characters are very well developed. . . . I was not disappointed.”—Sexy Lady’s Reading CornerStone Walls is meant for mature audiences 18+ due to sexual content and adult situations. Stone Walls is a stand alone novel from the True Heroes Series. Loveswept / Random House Edition

A Vow Of Hate


Lylah James - 2021
    We were poison together and there was no antidote.Our story began like any other fairy tale ended.With a beautiful wedding.One kiss.Two rings.Three vows.Killian Spencer became my lawfully wedded husband and I, his dutiful wife.But he was no Prince Charming. He didn’t come to save me… and he vowed there would be no happily ever after.And me?Just like the legends I'd read as a little girl, I always thought I’d be the princess in my fairy tale.Well, I was the villain of our love story.“Till death do us part…”