Books like 'Very Wicked Beginnings'

Readers who enjoyed Very Wicked Beginnings by Ilsa Madden-Mills also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.

contemporary  dark romance  bad boys  athletes  new adult  mafia  sports  college  cruel hero  football

  • Intolerable Bishop by Brooklyn Cross

    Intolerable Bishop by Brooklyn Cross

    Rated: 4.75 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 14 ratings
    The arrogant bishop feels superior, but it will race the fastest to its downfall. I had been looking forward to summer break since learning I was going home for a month. Not only would I see my Aunt Nadia and my best friend Lizzy, but I wasn’t traveling alone.But being home wasn’t at all what I thought it would be…I’m drowning in mysteries and have to find the answers or die trying...
  • Stolen Sin by B. B. Hamel

    Stolen Sin by B. B. Hamel

    Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 19 ratings
    A standalone fake marriage mafia story with a couple of enemies that turn into steamy lovers from bestselling author B. B. Hamel.My boss caught me trying to steal from him.My punishment?Get pregnant with his baby.My father was scammed out of everything he owns, and I need to find a way to bail him out of trouble...
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  • Bitter When He Begs by Avery Collins

    Bitter When He Begs by Avery Collins

    Rated: 4.53 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 16 ratings
    LucaI’ve built my life on control. On the field, in my reputation, and in keeping my demons buried where no one can see.Sage Blackwell was never supposed to be a part of that. The nerdy prodigy overheard something that could ruin my entire career, so I do the only logical thing. I don’t threaten him. I don’t scare him off.I claim him.I tell myself it’s about survival, about keeping my secret safe...
  • Saving Poughkeepsie by Debra Anastasia

    Saving Poughkeepsie by Debra Anastasia

    Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars
    · 19 ratings
    Beckett Taylor’s quest to be a better man has brought Eve Hartt back into his life, but sometimes it feels like they’re bound together with barbed wire. Though he longs to love her without causing pain, the wreckage of their past continues to crash down around them. Yet with the help of this brothers—and for his brothers—Beckett won’t stop trying...
  • Destructive King by Rachel Van Dyken

    Destructive King by Rachel Van Dyken

    Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    A mafia romance about love and loss by Rachel Van Dyken, the number one New York Times bestselling author of the Eagle Elite series.…When you awaken in the morning's hushI am the swift uplifting rushOf quiet birds in circled flight.I am the soft stars that shine at night.Do not stand at my grave and cry;I am not there. I did not die. — Mary Elizabeth Fyre "I'm sorry for your loss...
  • Heads You Lose by Bea Paige

    Heads You Lose by Bea Paige

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 20 ratings
    Beast…Beast in name. Beast in nature.Once upon a time Tales was my home.I was the second in command and the best goddamn fighter the club had ever seen.I fought. I won.Every. Damn. Time.Until one day I lost trying to protect the princess from the true monster of this f*cked-up fairy tale.She shunned me, sent me away.Now I’m back to tell her the truth, not some tale full of half-truths and lies...
  • Falling by E.K. Blair

    Falling by E.K. Blair

    Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars
    · 33 ratings
    Sometimes it takes someone else to show us what we are truly capable of becoming. Suffering from years of violent abuse, Ryan Campbell has learned how to keep people from getting too close. But when you shut yourself off, people get hurt along the way. Never caring much about others, Ryan creates a world in which he doesn’t have to feel...
    Categorized as:
    new adult  bad boys  college  contemporary  dark  male-pov  m-f  rape
  • SINS: Books 1-4 by Emma Slate

    SINS: Books 1-4 by Emma Slate

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    Sins of a King (Book 1)Flynn Campbell is a king among men.He plays Manhattan’s elite like pawns on a chessboard.He’s a man you don’t cross, but that’s exactly what my brother has done.Debts must be repaid.But it’s not money Flynn wants…It’s me.Suddenly I’m thrust into a criminal underworld, full of seduction and lies.Ensnared by danger and power, foreign desires burn within me...
    Categorized as:
    bad boys  mafia  dark  death  contemporary  length-novella
  • Cooper by Lane Hart, D.B. West

    Cooper by Lane Hart, D.B. West

    Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    Cooper and Elizabeth Townsend are from two very different worlds - she's an attorney and he's an outlaw biker. At first, she was just an escape he needed, but now she's everything to him, even though their relationship remains a secret.After his world is blown apart, Cooper is no longer the same man he was before...
  • A Single Kiss by Willow Winters

    A Single Kiss by Willow Winters

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    From USA Today bestselling author Willow Winters comes a heart-wrenching, edge-of-your-seat gripping, romantic suspense. I should feel shame for not wanting this to end, but he doesn’t want it to end either. When the darkness sets in, the flames all flickered out, and the loud click of the locks signal it’s over, that’s when reality comes back. The war. The drugs...
  • The Arrangement 10: The Ferro Family by H.M. Ward

    The Arrangement 10: The Ferro Family by H.M. Ward

    Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars
    · 33 ratings
    When Avery realizes that her latest client wasn't Sean she doesn't know what to do. This person has invaded her life on a personal level and to make matters worse she doesn't even know who he is. The only good thing that came from it has been seeing Sean again, but now that he's in front of her, she doesn't want to let him go...
  • The Company by J.A. Huss

    The Company by J.A. Huss

    Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    Some people are above the law. Those people are called COMPANY.Twenty-eight-year-old James Fenici has been an assassin since he was sixteen. He's amassed debts and favors from countless Company brothers and participated in hundreds of Company jobs. But there are not enough favors in the world to clear his debt and make him worthy of the only girl he's ever wanted...
  • Path To Redemption by TheFeveredBookaholic

    Path To Redemption by TheFeveredBookaholic

    Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    Rising boxer Jaxon Cage is known to be a fighter on and off the ring. He's a man on a mission; redeeming the death of his little brother, who was on his way to becoming a boxing star. Jaxon holds himself accountable for his brother's death and now takes his place in the ring to continue his dream. Turns out, he's a natural...
  • Dreams of the Vengeful by Adelaide Forrest

    Dreams of the Vengeful by Adelaide Forrest

    Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    Our love was written in blood, but our dream was born from death.Once upon a time, I had it all.Born heir apparent to one of the Six Families,I was destined for greatness.Wealth and power were in my blood, andsweet Thalia was one more means to an end...
  • The Final Hour by London Miller

    The Final Hour by London Miller

    Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars
    · 28 ratings
    Three months pass without incident, leading Mishca and Lauren to believe they can finally move on from the past and build a life together ...but enemies both old and new lurk in the shadows, waiting for the opportunity to strike. When a dangerous threat presents itself, Lauren is forced to turn to the one person that would rather see Mishca dead than live happily ever after ..
  • When Darkness Ends by Marni Mann

    When Darkness Ends by Marni Mann

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    An all new angsty, dark, stand-alone Contemporary Romance in the Moments in Boston Series ...You never forget your first love … even when he becomes a memory.There was before.When we were together, when we were happy.When we had nothing but dreams.When not a single bad thing could ever happen because we were young and in love.And there was after...
  • Possessive Devil by B. B. Hamel

    Possessive Devil by B. B. Hamel

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    Give me what I want and I'll obey.Calvino is a nightmare wrapped in a million dollar suit. He has eyes like the black between stars and his toned body is a sculptor's dream.And someone in his family murdered my cousin.When Calvino catches me drugging and stealing from his brother, my life hangs in the balance...
  • Resilient Queen by Amber Vant

    Resilient Queen by Amber Vant

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    I never wanted this. Never asked for any of it. The corrupted, chaos of the past is playing catch-up with the present and nothing is as it seems. Everyone wants something. Me? All I want is the truth. I thought this was the end, but it turns out it’s only the beginning. The basis for a much darker twist of fate. Secrets are starting to unravel; relationships have grown fractured...
  • Cross + Catherine: The Saga by Bethany-Kris

    Cross + Catherine: The Saga by Bethany-Kris

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    Once upon a time, a wild boy fell in love with a sly girl … From high school sweethearts to a criminal King and Queen, Cross Donati and Catherine Marcello’s love became a force—even destructive, it was unstoppable. They were meant to be. Even when everything stood in the way. Always. Fall in love with the saga of Cross + Catherine, and their story of a love revered, and a life lived so unruly...
  • Legacy by Bethany-Kris

    Legacy by Bethany-Kris

    Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars
    · 30 ratings
    This is an alternate cover edition for B018IMSYZE A Legacy PrequelBLURB:filth·y (fĭl′thē)adj. filth·i·er, filth·i·est1. Covered or smeared with filth; disgustingly dirty.2. Obscene or offensive.3. Vile; dirty. adv. filth·y1. To an extreme and often disgusting extent...
  • Perfectly Damaged by E.L. Montes

    Perfectly Damaged by E.L. Montes

    Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars
    · 29 ratings
    Schizoaffective disorder: a mental illness in which a person experiences a combination of mood disorder and schizophrenia symptoms. I know about this illness—very well—because I suffer from it. It’s been four years since my diagnosis, and ever since, I’ve been living in a dark hole. Voices constantly invading my thoughts. Hallucinations...
  • The Realm of You: A Novel by Amanda Richardson

    The Realm of You: A Novel by Amanda Richardson

    Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    When Marlin Winters awakens in an alternate universe, living in Vermont and engaged to a man she doesn’t recognize, she’s determined to figure out why she’s here and what sequence of events lead her to this moment. Over the course of one day, she begins to piece together the last week of her real life. What’s more, when the day is over, she doesn’t want to leave...
  • Valon: What Once Was by London Miller

    Valon: What Once Was by London Miller

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    Before there was Luka Sergeyev, there was a boy by the name of Valon Ahmeti, born to a Russian mother and an Albanian father. His life was not an easy one and he should have long succumbed to death, but prevailed, as only he could, into a life of hell and debauchery...
  • Thy Kingdom Come by Monica James

    Thy Kingdom Come by Monica James

    Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars
    · 13 ratings
    Monsters are real.When I was five years old, I watched my mother take her last breath-a breath three monsters stole from her.I never chose this life. My father says it's my birthright, but all I see is a curse. It's because of the Kelly name my mum was slain by the Doyles-our enemies in Dublin, the fellas livin' on borrowed time.All of Belfast fears my family, especially me...
  • Dirty Pool by Bethany-Kris

    Dirty Pool by Bethany-Kris

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    To get what he wants, he’ll have to play a game of dirty pool. Michel Marcello never wanted to be a mafioso like every other man in his family—he wanted to be more. That doesn’t mean he’s unfamiliar with the life, or that he can’t hold his own against other made men...
  • Promised to the Killer by B.B. Hamel

    Promised to the Killer by B.B. Hamel

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 9 ratings
    Her family tossed her aside like a broken doll.But she's my shining treasure and I'll kill to make her mine.Siena Bastone is going to die. She's the cast-off traitorous daughter of a minor mafia family with deliciously pouty lips and a wicked tongue.But after we spend one unforgettable night of sin in a hotel room, I can't walk away.I pull her from her family's clutches and make her my own...
  • Greed: A Rumpelstiltskin Retelling by J. Kearston

    Greed: A Rumpelstiltskin Retelling by J. Kearston

    Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars
    · 7 ratings
    I thought they’d be my salvation, but they look at me like I'm theirs.Beaten, starved, broken.With nowhere else to go, my only hope to survive is to sell my soul to the devil. After all, when you have nothing, even poison starts to look tempting. But the brutal men that work beneath him are just as trapped as I am, and now it's too late for me to back out...
  • Destructive Truths by Shauna Mairéad

    Destructive Truths by Shauna Mairéad

    Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars
    · 7 ratings
    Lies, Saoirse. It was all lies.Those were the last words I heard before my attacker held me under.Left shattered by deceit, with a past I couldn’t outrun, Killybegs destroyed the girl I used to be.But here’s the thing, this queen was born to rise, and those who hurt me will pay for the sins they committed...
  • Talking Dirty by Cheryl McIntyre

    Talking Dirty by Cheryl McIntyre

    Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars
    · 34 ratings
    I had no idea when I met Linken Elliot that he would be capable of doing this to me. I was perfectly unhappy, living my miserable existence before he came along. I was fine humping strange men’s faces in dirty bar bathrooms. I was comfortable living like a hermit and drinking myself into oblivion. I. Was. Fine. Now I want things. I want him...
  • Black Widow by Sheridan Anne

    Black Widow by Sheridan Anne

    Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    Who said prison was going to stop me from getting what I wanted?I thought breaking out of there was going to be the hardest thing I ever did. I should have known. Being the leader of The Black Widows is never that easy. Someone should have warned me that the woman I was about to kidnap was going to bring me to my knees...
  • Losing Traction by Amo Jones

    Losing Traction by Amo Jones

    Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings
    My name is Phoebe Rendon. Growing up as the only girl surrounded by the Sinful Souls MC community has never been easy. Outside of the club, I had no life because my brother and his two psycho best friends kept tabs on me. My only out was racing at Point Hellers, the largest and steepest drift mountain in Westbeach, California. Cars were my life, and eight years later, that hasn’t changed...
  • Playing Dirty by Cheryl McIntyre

    Playing Dirty by Cheryl McIntyre

    Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars
    · 34 ratings
    My need for power came to me by accident. The need was real. It was overwhelming. It was consuming me. So we played a dangerous game of trial and error. What I could handle and what I couldn’t. It became apparent fairly quickly that I couldn’t handle much. But I liked this game because I controlled it. Link and Rocky’s story continues in this second installment of the Dirty series...
  • Merciless Union by Faith Summers

    Merciless Union by Faith Summers

    Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    Everything changed overnight.Truth became my enemy, and the sting of betrayal dragged me into a web of lies.I’m damned if I fight to live and damned if I die. Both will be dangerous for the child growing inside me. I can’t trust Lucca to save us.Love is a myth we shouldn’t have explored.He was always my enemy.Love just made me forget and blinded me to the truth...
    Categorized as:
    new adult  mafia  suspense  contemporary  dark  m-f  audiobook
  • Royal Bully by Rachel Van Dyken

    Royal Bully by Rachel Van Dyken

    Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars
    · 25 ratings
    Something dark this way comes. He's gorgeous, mean, and mine. He catches me dreaming about him, and then just like my dream, he decides to make me his. I should have said no when he asked me to swear fealty to him. The knife clued me in first. The blood second...
  • Shattered by Control by B. B. Hamel

    Shattered by Control by B. B. Hamel

    Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    I don’t do vulnerable. I only do control.When a brutal shooting forces me onto the sidelines of a raging mafia war, I need a discreet physical therapist to help get me back in the game.That’s how gorgeous Mirella Falconet stumbles into my life.I offer her the world: money, power, whatever she wants, so long as she keeps her mouth shut and does her job...
  • Changing Rules by Anastasija White

    Changing Rules by Anastasija White

    Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    She's the love of my life...and I'll do anything to win her back.ISABELLA LAWSON is the happiest she’s ever been, simply because ALEXANDER WALKER loves her. With him by her side, Bella begins to understand her worth. The only problem? Not everyone wants to see her in Xander’s life...
  • Asher: My Russian Revenge by Shandi Boyes

    Asher: My Russian Revenge by Shandi Boyes

    Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    Our families were friends long before they became bitter rivals, but as the decade long hatred grew, so did the bloodshed. Things are different now, though; my father is a changed man. He’s had enough of the violence and wants to spend his final years in peace. In the midst of an epiphany, he gifted me to an enemy...
  • Made to Sin by Vy Le

    Made to Sin by Vy Le

    Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    She drowned in the Underworld's glitz and glamor. His darkness became her best comfort. Though she wasn't born into it, Katarina Camello found herself at the center of New York's finest syndicates. She was the Underworld's favorite definition of a mob wife: young, beautiful, and obedient.At least that was what she wanted everyone to see...
  • Desperate to Touch by W. Winters

    Desperate to Touch by W. Winters

    Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    From USA Today bestselling author Willow Winters comes a heart-wrenching, edge-of-your-seat gripping, romantic suspense. I ran from him, even though my heart knew better. Love was one thing, but survival another. He chose a life of crime. I never wanted any of it; I only wanted him. I left when the danger bled into my life, taking more than I was willing to sacrifice...
    Categorized as:
    new adult  mafia  contemporary  suspense  dark  m-f  audiobook
  • A Hurt So Sweet: Volume Two by Betti Rosewood, Fawn Bailey

    A Hurt So Sweet: Volume Two by Betti Rosewood, Fawn Bailey

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Sticks and stones may break my bones, but my bullies will never f*ck me. Dexter Booth has taken everything from me. My pride, my innocence and my resolve to resist him have all fallen prey to his wicked charm. And now, he wants to pop my cherry - the very thing that could save me from his cruel reign...
  • Deadly Games by Faith Summers, Khardine Gray

    Deadly Games by Faith Summers, Khardine Gray

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    We were supposed to be two passing ships on an unforgettable night…I accepted a foolish dare that changed everything-pretend you’re someone you aren’t until sunrise.I chose to be normal and free.Not bound by the duties my father forced on me.The sinfully gorgeous god-like man staring at me in the club with the I’m-going-to-devour-you smile was who I picked to be normal and free with...
  • Wicked Scorn by Havoc Wilde

    Wicked Scorn by Havoc Wilde

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 8 ratings
    He shattered my trust, now he swears to protect me.Jeremiah Blackwood is a silent storm brewing at St. Charles University. Surrounded by brothers as ruthless as himself, Jeremiah is a paradox of empathy and cold calculation...
  • Blood Sky by S. Massery

    Blood Sky by S. Massery

    Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars
    · 7 ratings
    Kill those who betray you.Never trust someone with nothing to lose.Family is business. Delia I watched my enemies murder my father. On the run, I plot to return home and lead my mafia family as my father did. But some would kill for my inheritance, and unearthing those people from the shadows would be impossible without Jackson...
  • Saint: A Dark Mafia Romance by Aubrey Irons

    Saint: A Dark Mafia Romance by Aubrey Irons

    Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    I'm supposed to take her life. I'm going to take her body instead. They call me a Saint, but I’m a f**king sinner. Ruthless. Coldhearted. Killer . I was young when my parents took off and left me alone to fend for my two younger brothers. I learned to survive. I learned to fix problems, by any means necessary...
  • Color Outside The Lines by M. Bonnet

    Color Outside The Lines by M. Bonnet

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Rhett Williams was the gorgeous, popular baseball player everyone fawned over. Most saw him as charming, but I knew what a monster he could be. He tormented me every day and made me hate everything about myself, my body most of all. Yet I fell for him anyway. One day, he went too far, breaking me beyond repair...
  • For Luca by Soraya Naomi

    For Luca by Soraya Naomi

    Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars
    · 22 ratings
    The story of Fallon and Luca continues and ends.... Betrayal is difficult to overcome when the trust is gone. Luca did everything for Fallon. But as the underboss of the Chicago Syndicate, he has an entire organization depending on him, and she is a weakness he can no longer afford...
  • Rise by N.V. Roez

    Rise by N.V. Roez

    Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    Hurt people hurt people. But can broken people save broken people? There’s dissension among the Knights. With new opponents forming alliances with old players, it’s forcing us to acknowledge the roles we have to play. Now Elijah is the only voice of reason.Caleb has made a deal with the devil; he just doesn’t know who that is yet.And Micah is devoted to living an unattainable life...
  • Last Gift by Jessica Clare, Jen Frederick

    Last Gift by Jessica Clare, Jen Frederick

    Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars
    · 25 ratings
    Last Gift by Jen Frederick and Jessica Clare, a holiday gift.This is a holiday short featuring Nikolai and Daisy. It's about 7500 words of holiday goodness...
  • Angel by K.M. Raya

    Angel by K.M. Raya

    Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    A single day at Draven Preparatory Academy and she's already made enemies. They call themselves The Brotherhood. Carter, Holden, Captain and Ellis rule the school like gods while their fathers rule the city. But Angel Valentino has never been one to take orders blindly...
  • Reapers and Roses (Grove High School Book One) by A.R. Breck

    Reapers and Roses (Grove High School Book One) by A.R. Breck

    Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars
    · 13 ratings
    Rose When my Mom told me we were moving to the Grove, I thought it was a joke. Our family, one of the wealthiest in Woodbury, moving to a dump like the Grove? Well, I guess that's what happens when you lose everything. Now we're shoved into the house the size of a shoebox and I can literally feel the darkness seeping in around me...
Very Wicked Beginnings by Ilsa Madden-Mills
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