Book picks similar to
Wild North by J.B. Salsbury


romance
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Brutally Beautiful


Christine Zolendz - 2013
    With blood still on her hands, Samantha Matthews is on the run, running from dark secrets and a man she prays to God will never find her. Running and hiding, just to stay alive. She had no choice but to run, to leave, to hide and forget about her life before. When Samantha believes she's gained enough distance from her past and her demons, she stops running, hoping to find her future in the heavily wooded area of the Adirondack Mountains, a place she never expected to encounter a man with secrets as dark and as sordid as hers. Kade Grayson is hiding, not from the demons after him, but from himself and from the entire outside world, wishing every day he could have just died. Arrogant and domineering, he’s tormented and terrorized by his past, seeing nothing good for his future. With the ghosts of his past still haunting him, he has exiled himself to a life of solitude, only living for his words and through his stories.Until her.An undeniable attraction, turns into hate and then ultimately obsession, an obsession that grows into a powerful story of love and redemption.Will the bond they have begun to build between them grow stronger than the tragedies that have scarred both of their lives? Or will they allow their demons to consume them?

Menace


J.M. Darhower - 2017
    So fucking bored. Most people either annoy him or avoid him, afraid to face him. Figuratively. Literally. With his face partially disfigured, scarred, he looks every bit the monster the stories make him out to be: the notorious menace they call Scar. They say he's a sociopath. Maybe he's a psychopath. Whatever path he's on, people tend to stay far away from it.Until one day, a young woman bumps right into him--a woman just as fed up with life, but for much different reasons. With a Scarlet Letter inked on her wrist and secrets buried deep in her soul, Morgan Myers is running from something... or maybe somebody. Lorenzo isn't quite sure.You can bet your ass he's going to figure it out, though.

The Air He Breathes


Brittainy C. Cherry - 2015
    To look at Tristan and see a monster.But I couldn’t do that. I had to accept the wreckage that lived inside of him because it also lived inside of me.We were both empty.We were both looking for something else. Something more.We both wanted to put together the shattered pieces of our yesterdays.Then perhaps we could finally remember how to breathe.

Lessons in Sin


Pam Godwin - 2021
    As the headteacher of a Catholic boarding school, I’m never tempted by a student.Until Tinsley Constantine.The bratty princess challenges my rules and awakens my dark nature. With each punishment I lash upon her, I want more. In my classroom, private rectory, and bent over my altar, I want all of her.One touch risks everything I stand for. My faith. My redemption. And even my life.As if that could stop me. I need her pain, and her heart, and she needs my lessons in sin.

Twisted Love


Ana Huang - 2021
    Alex Volkov is a devil blessed with the face of an angel and cursed with a past he can’t escape. Driven by a tragedy that has haunted him for most of his life, his ruthless pursuits for success and vengeance leave little room for matters of the heart. But when he’s forced to look after his best friend’s sister, he starts to feel something in his chest:A crack.A melt.A fire that could end his world as he knew it.***Ava Chen is a free spirit trapped by nightmares of a childhood she can’t remember.But despite her broken past, she’s never stopped seeing the beauty in the world…including the heart beneath the icy exterior of a man she shouldn’t want. Her brother’s best friend. Her neighbor.Her savior and her downfall.Theirs is a love that was never supposed to happen—but when it does, it unleashes secrets that could destroy them both…and everything they hold dear. Twisted Love is a brother’s best friend/opposites attract romance with a hint of suspense. It's book one in the Twisted series but can be read as a standalone.WARNING: This book contains a possessive, morally gray alphahole; explicit sexual content, and profanity. No cheating or menage, but if you're looking for a traditionally sweet, loveable hero, this is not the book for you. Recommended for 18+.

Ex Games


Stella Rhys - 2016
    Ghosted by my fiancé, I was suddenly broke, heartbroken and facing eviction. Enter Mason Leo, the six feet and two inches of pure muscle and arrogance I’ve hated with a passion since the day we met. The man is cocky, womanizing and ruinously gorgeous.Worse than that, he’s my ex’s brother. And for the next two weeks, he gets to do with me as he pleases.I’ll explain.With both our exes – wait for it – set to marry each other in St. Lucia, I’ve agreed to let Mason pay my debts so long as I play his date. My only job is to keep my clothes on while I get my closure. Because as much as I hate Mason Leo, the man is a walking sex god. And in the name of revenge, he gets to take me out, show me off – dress, touch and kiss me with those wicked lips. It’s all for show, but every night in paradise with him brings more drinks, more drama and another temptation, so no matter what I do, I can’t stop reminding myself this:There’s absolutely no good to come from f*cking my ex’s brother.No matter how good it’ll feel.**EX GAMES is a sexy, full-length standalone with a HEA**

His


Brenda Rothert - 2016
    I’m flat on my ass. Homeless, hungry and in hiding with my little sister at the age of twenty-one, I’ve never been so desperate. I’ve hit rock bottom when I get an offer I can’t refuse. Sell my body to save my sister? There’s nothing I won’t do to keep her safe. I make the rules and I’m not afraid to defend myself if this rich guy crosses the line. But once I see beneath his cold, calculating façade, the lines aren’t so clear anymore.AndrewShe’s an intoxicating mix of tough and vulnerable I’ve never known before. This homeless woman who fits right into my upper-class world is running from someone powerful, and I’ll do whatever it takes to protect her. But Quinn isn’t meant to be controlled, so I’m forced to choose between owning her and loving her. I’ve finally met my match, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make her truly mine.

No Prince


Stevie J. Cole - 2020
    He was the top of the food chain. And I was next in line to be dragged into the lion’s den. At least that’s what he thought… Good girls wanted to tame him. Bad girls want to be tainted by him. Everyone bowed down to him. And me?I hated Zeppelin Hunt with every fiber of my being.Which was why I stayed away from the arrogant bad boy with tattoos and a rap sheet.Until I couldn’t.Until we traded favors, and I owed him three months of my life. I never thought I would end up in his bed, and when I did, I had to remind myself that he hated me as much as I hated him.Until I didn’t. Zepp Hunt was no prince, and I absolutely refused to be his damsel in distress…

Black Swan Affair


K.L. Kreig - 2016
    He wears scruff like he invented it and ambles with a swagger that makes panties drop. Killian Shepard. Shep. We grew up together. We played Ghost in the Graveyard. Had our own rock band. It didn’t matter that he was five years older than me. It didn’t matter that he looked at me as a kid sister even as I grew into woman. It didn’t even matter when he left me behind to go to college and start his adult life. He’d be back. He was always meant to be mine.He came back, all right. But instead of smelling of promises, he stunk of betrayal. And he destroyed me—us—the day he married my sister instead of me.So I did the only thing a girl like me in my position could do. I got my revenge. I married his brother, Kael. Now we’re one big happy f*cking family.***mature content appropriate for 18+

Killing Sarai


J.A. Redmerski - 2013
    Over time she forgot what it was like to live a normal life, but she never let go of her hope to escape the compound where she has been held for the past nine years.Victor is a cold-blooded assassin who, like Sarai, has known only death and violence since he was a young boy. When Victor arrives at the compound to collect details and payment for a hit, Sarai sees him as her only opportunity for escape. But things don’t go as planned and instead of finding transport back to Tucson, she finds herself free from one dangerous man and caught in the clutches of another.While on the run, Victor strays from his primal nature as he succumbs to his conscience and resolves to help Sarai. As they grow closer, he finds himself willing to risk everything to keep her alive; even his relationship with his devoted brother and liaison, Niklas, who now like everyone else wants Sarai dead.As Victor and Sarai slowly build a trust, the differences between them seem to lessen, and an unlikely attraction intensifies. But Victor’s brutal skills and experience may not be enough in the end to save her, as the power she unknowingly holds over him may ultimately be what gets her killed.This is their story…

Waking Olivia


Elizabeth O'Roark - 2016
    She's trouble of the devious, manipulative, too-f***ing-hot-for-her-own good variety. She's the kind of girl who causes trouble merely by existing, and then makes sure to cause more. And the last thing I need right now is more trouble."A failing farm.His father’s debt.And a struggling college track team. Will Langstrom has too many responsibilities, and the last thing he needs is Olivia Finnegan, a beautiful but troubled new transfer student.A smart mouth. A strong right hook.And a secret that could destroy her. Olivia is her own worst enemy, with a past she can’t seem to escape, and the last person she wants help from is a cocky track coach she can never seem to please.Refusing to be pushed away, Will is determined to save her. And determined to resist an attraction that could destroy them both.

The Bad Guy


Celia Aaron - 2017
    I’ve decided to lay myself bare. To tell the truth for once in my hollow life, no matter how dark it gets. And I can assure you, it will get so dark that you’ll find yourself feeling around the blackened corners of my mind, seeking a door handle that isn’t there. Don’t mistake this for a confession. I neither seek forgiveness nor would I accept it. My sins are my own. They keep me company. Instead, this is the true tale of how I found her, how I stole her, and how I lost her. She was a damsel, one who already had her white knight. But every fairy tale has a villain, someone waiting in the wings to rip it all down. A scoundrel who will set the world on fire if that means he gets what he wants. That’s me. I’m the bad guy. Author's Note: This is a 90,000-word romance with dark themes and a HEA.

Degrees of Control


Eve Dangerfield - 2015
    The man who’ll do all the things she’s only fantasized about…James Hunter has never worked for a damn thing. Why would he? He’s got his daddy’s money, his pretty face, and more women than he knows what to do with. On paper, he’s a businessman, but his true profession is keeping girls from thinking he’ll ever marry them.“This book was crazy insanely blazingly dirty filthy hot!” - Mandy, Goodreads reviewWhen James’ cousin sets him up with her yoga teacher, he’s more than down. What man wouldn’t want to break in a starry-eyed submissive? Especially one as innocent and beautiful as Charlotte? But he hadn’t counted on her being perfectly suited to his needs. She does anything he wants, even better than he could hope for. He'll spend every dollar he has to keep her in his bed, but how can he protect his heart?“Sexy, sweet, steamy, erotic and perfect in every way!” - Beanimous, romance blogger

The Strongest Steel


Scarlett Cole - 2015
    She's determined to forget her old life and is looking for an artist who can tattoo over the scars on her back.Trent Andrews, local legend and owner of the Second Circle tattoo studio, has his own reasons for specializing in inking over scars. And in spite of her mysterious past and the difficult road ahead, he quickly realizes that Harper is funny, smart, and--under her ridiculously oversized clothing and SPF 100 sunscreen--totally hot. He's happy to take on the challenge of designing a meaningful and deadly full-back tattoo for her.But when cryptic messages start appearing on Harper's phone, strange deliveries arrive at her door, and Second Circle is vandalized, Harper is convinced that her ex-boyfriend has tracked her down, and worse, that he knows about Trent. Running was the only thing that saved her last time, but now that she's started to put down roots in Miami, she'll have to decide if she can finally fight back instead.

Ruthless Princess


Rachel Van Dyken - 2020
    A mafia romance about best friends turned enemies by Rachel Van Dyken, the number one New York Times bestselling author of the Eagle Elite series.The enemy of my enemy is my friend…I never thought my father would ask this of me, to become the second generation at Eagle Elite University, to rule with an iron fist, and to take care of anyone who gets in our way.But ever since the incident.Ever since Him.There’s been a war in our little clique.After all, a house divided cannot stand.He’s the problem, not me.He used to kiss me like I was his oxygen.Now he looks at me like I’m his poison.But we both drank it, again and again, never believing there would be a day when our love would start a war.And our friendship would shatter into a million pieces.Then again, the worst thing you could do in the mafia is hang on to hope that your life will be normal.The second worse thing?Fall in love with your best friend.Enemy.And heir to the Nicolasi throne.