Books like 'The Darkness of Perfection'
Readers who enjoyed The Darkness of Perfection by Michael Schneider also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary dark romance suspense cruel hero horror
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The Fallen: Genesis by Tillie Cole
Rated: 4.53 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsTHE FALLEN: GENESIS (A Deadly Virtues Prequel) IN THE BEGINNING... They told them they were evil. They told them they were possessed by demons. They told them that darkness ran in their veins. Holy Innocents Home for Children is a haven for orphaned boys who have nothing and no one. The priests watch over them, educate them, raise them in the family of the church...Categorized as:
suspense horror new adult contemporary tortured hero bad boys angst disabilities and marks -
Can't Go Back by Debra Webb
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThe past and the present collide in the final installment of USA Today bestselling author Debra Webb’s Devlin & Falco series, threatening everything these two detectives care about.Birmingham detectives Kerri Devlin and Luke Falco arrive at the scene of a double homicide to discover that nothing makes sense... -
Bitter Falls by Rachel Caine
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsShe’s investigating a cold case no one else could—by going places no one else would dare.In spite of a harrowing past still haunting her, Gwen Proctor is trying to move forward. Until a new assignment gives her purpose: the cold-case disappearance of a young man in Tennessee. Three years missing, no clues. Just Ruth Landry, a tortured mother in limbo... -
Beneath Dark Waters by Karen Rose
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsDeadly secrets lie beneath the murky waters of the Louisiana bayou in this pulse-pounding new romantic suspense novel from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Karen Rose. There's no safe place for a child to hide when danger comes from every direction. Public prosecutor J.P... -
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Rebellious Rook by Brooklyn Cross
The rook’s heart is as cold as stone, but when the rock crumbles, the spoils are twice as sweet. Death follows me around like a dark cloud just waiting to strike. First, it stole my mother, then my aunt, and now my father is missing. Even though I’m told to walk away, and even though finding him shouldn’t be my top priority, the memory of him begging me to talk to him haunts my dreams... -
Destructive King by Rachel Van Dyken
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA 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... -
Sinner by Sheridan Anne
Death surrounds me.Every step I take, there’s someone waiting for me in the shadows.There’s nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and now, I’m out here on my own, my hands stained with the blood of those I’ve killed to survive.Zade DeVil was my executioner, my most feared enemy, but he was also my protector. I wasn’t willing to cross that line with him, despite how much I may have wanted to...Categorized as:
suspense cruel hero new adult from hate to love forced proximity contemporary dark length-medium -
Chasing The Dragon by T.K. Leigh
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsHe’s trying to protect his heart… She’s a shell of the girl she once was… Can he chase away the demons threatening to destroy her? Mackenzie Delano craves control. After tragedy strikes during her freshman year of college, she compensates for the helplessness she felt by micro-managing every aspect of her life, from her business life to her social life…to her love life... -
Unholy Bonds by Maya Raine
Rated: 4.51 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThree serial killers connected by an unholy thread, tangled in a twisted chase for revenge and blood. In this game of hunters, who will become the ultimate prey?***He is every sin she wants to commit. Yara West spends her day as a Medical Examiner. At nights, she dons the mask of a twisted killer to satiate the demons in her head... -
Big by L. Wilder
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsHow much would you risk to save the one you love? From NYT and USA Today Bestselling Author L. Wilder comes book six in the Satan's Fury Series, a standalone MC romance. Big: I don't use a knife or a gun to get the guy I'm after. I find that my weapon of choice has a much longer, more crippling effect. With just a few keystrokes, I can have him scrambling for his life... -
Condemned Soul by Emma Creed
Rated: 4.75 of 5 stars · 8 ratings**The Final Instalment Of The Dirty Soul MC Colorado Series**'Bound not by blood but loyalty.We live, we ride, and we dieby our own laws'Being President isn’t easy.I’ve loved.I’ve lost.But through it all I’ve always had my club.We’ve gone through hell and come out fighting.Relied on each other and never gave up hope.Now, our biggest threat of all is closing in... -
Counterfeit Love by Jessica Gadziala
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsFinch can spot a fake a mile away.Raised in the Bayou with crime in his veins, he managed to turn his talent into a career. Making money. Racking up a few enemies along the way.On the run from one of those, he starts overin a new town. Where he meets her. Full of lists and guards and attitude.Someone beautiful enough to make even blackmail seem sexy.Chris has lived through hell... -
A Dark Mind by T.R. Ragan
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsA serial killer is terrorizing Sacramento, preying on happily married couples and unleashing unspeakable cruelties upon his victims. The ordeal rekindles disturbing memories for private investigator Lizzy Gardner, who barely escaped a serial killer clutches only years ago... -
30 Days of Shame by Ginger Talbot
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsThe monster draws pleasure from my pain. Now, it's time to fight back.SERGEI30 days of pain have pushed Willow to her limits.My pretty prisoner is no longer meek. She's trying to resist.But my precious prize doesn't know what I know.Nobody has ever won a war against me.Nobody has ever bested me.And she's not going to be the first.Good luck, little Willow.. -
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Pacific Prep: A Dark Academy Reverse Harem by R.A. Smyth, Michelle Lancaster
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 10 ratings⭑⭒⭑ A TOP 100 AMAZON BESTSELLING SERIES ⭑⭒⭑My name is Hadley Parker, and today I take control of my life.Today I start school at Pacific Prep.This is my new lease on life, and I won’t be wasting it.I need this, now, more than ever.I need the education, the promise of a future that I wouldn’t get anywhere else.These rich kids don’t like me though... -
Savior by Eden Summers
Rated: 4.51 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsI was stolen. Hidden. Trapped in a hell beyond salvation. Until him. Luca. The man who changed everything with his soothing words and vows of protection. I shouldn't trust him. What he promises is something I gave up on long ago. And yet here I am, falling under the spell of a reality I crave. I want him to save me. I need it... -
Layered Lies by Kaylie Hunter
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsTwo years after her son was abducted, Kelsey Harrison rebuilds a new life for herself. She opens a store, makes new friends, and settles into a peaceful existence. At least, that’s what she hopes the world believes.Behind closed doors, Kelsey hunts her enemies, living a life of lies. She hasn’t forgotten, hasn’t forgiven. She searches for answers still... -
Knight's Bright Eyes by Ciara St James
Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsKnight’s life completely changes once he finds out he has a daughter. The months he spends learning to be one and forming a relationship with her have been bumpy but good. He loves her and his club. The only thing his life is missing is female companionship. He has doubts he’ll ever have anything permanent, but he’s come to accept his daughter is his priority, not his love life... -
Desperate Lies by Ella Miles
Rated: 4.71 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsI lied. He lied. His search for answers is unrelenting.It makes me hate him, but I also want him. No, I can’t want him. I want to kill him, but I’d also die for him. I’m done relying on men to protect me.I’m the huntress, about to become the killer. Desperate Lies is Book 2 in the Lies Series. Ends on a cliffhanger... -
Into Temptation by Monica James
Rated: 4.71 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsMonsters are real...and that monster is my father.Ten years ago, I surrendered. I thought I was doing the right thing. But lies and greed have once again destroyed my life, leaving me to deal with the aftermath.This life has always been a curse, but the world as I know it has changed. Belfast isn't what it used to be.Alliances are broken. Kingdoms have fallen... -
Blackout by Janine Infante Bosco
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsEvery fairytale is just a tragedy with a twist. And happily-ever-after is a fantasy.Give me the real, ugly love of two people battling their demons to make it work. Two people like us. When the stakes have never been higher, I turn to my past. After all, it's our favorite sins that always do us in.But even in the midst of my blackout, there she is. The beacon of light I don't deserve... -
Dip's Flame by Andi Rhodes
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDip…I’m not a good man, and I’ve never pretended otherwise. As the Road Captain of Satan’s Legacy MC, I’ve seen and done things most wouldn’t be proud of, but me? I couldn’t care less. Good, bad, or indifferent, I am who I am, and you either accept me or don’t. That has always been the way I lived my life. Until the night I walk into a bar and see her... -
Guarded from Danger (Police and Fire: Operation Alpha) by Gia Cobie, Operation Alpha
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsI wrote romance stories. But I never expected to be living in one.At least, it started out that way.In the kind of meet-cute I’d put in my own books, I met Xavier by the romance section in a bookstore. Within the first five minutes, I knew he was someone I wanted to see again. And in some stroke of luck, he felt the same way, asking me out on a date before he left... -
The Last Party by A.R. Torre
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsA loving mother. A notorious murderer. They both have reasons to hide their secrets in a novel of escalating shock and suspense by New York Times bestselling author A. R. Torre.Perla Wultz lives with her husband, Grant, and their precious daughter, Sophie, in a gated Pasadena community. Affluent, sociable, and accomplished, Perla plays the part of loving wife and mother to perfection... -
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Deceitful Truths by A.R. Breck
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsKidnapped. Broken. Hopeless.Confined into a dark, abandoned basement with nothing but the clothes on my back.There's no escaping obsession, especially one honed by a serial killer who's bound and determined to call me his. Forever.Every day grows more dire with death circulating my existence.I believe all hope is lost until I'm saved by my own monster, the man who enslaves my soul... -
Because of Me by Katie Pearson
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsShe aspires to be the girl he deserves.Becca Mills is desperate to give her son a better life. To do that, she heads to a new town where nobody knows her, except her mother and her mother’s dealer. When Becca meets Dereck, a tatted mechanic who enjoys making her blush and earning her smile, things get complicated...Categorized as:
suspense cruel hero dark contemporary forced proximity friends to lovers length-epic -
Manik by Amo Jones
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsI’m Beatrice Kennedy, but everyone calls me Beat. I live a low-key life, fresh out of college and drifting from town to town until I find my home. I love music, and how it stirs even the deepest and untouched parts of your soul. Depending on what you choose to listen to, would depend on what it touches. It’s the drug we all damper in, only different strains. My strain is Jazz... -
Bully Me: Class of 2020 by Shantel Tessier, Siobhan Davis
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsLoving your tormentor isn’t easy, especially when they collect broken hearts and parade them around like trophies. They’re the bad boys, the alpha a**holes, and the thorns in our sides. They push us past our limits, turn us on, and break us. They’re our bullies. They’re the class of 2020...Categorized as:
suspense cruel hero new adult contemporary anthologies from hate to love dark alpha male -
The Lucky One by Jessica Payne
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsTen years ago, I survived a serial killer. They called me the lucky one, but they don’t know the truth I’ve been hiding ever since…Then: We danced together that night, our dresses glittering in the swirling lights. We couldn’t have known that for one of us, it would be our last night alive... -
Destructive Truths by Shauna Mairéad
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsLies, 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...Categorized as:
cruel hero suspense mafia alpha male new adult contemporary from hate to love love triangle -
Scorched by Yolanda Olson, Jennifer Bene
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsOne father. Two brothers.But there can only be one perfect son.Luke. Pater. Dad. The man left behind more than just a legacy when he died, and ten years is a long time to be without a guiding hand. I’ve done my best, tried to follow the rules my father bestowed on me when I was young, and now I have to fulfill a promise.I have to bring Cleo home... -
Pleasure & Prey: vol. 1 by A.J. Merlin
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsDepravedThere’s nothing out there.That’s what I keep telling myself while I walk back from a campfire to my isolated cabin.BrutalNothing bad happens at summer camp.That’s what my fellow camp counselors have convinced me of when the nights around the lake get a little eerie.ViciousOne, two, he’s coming for you... -
Black Widow by Sheridan Anne
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWho 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... -
Wicked Little Words by Stevie J. Cole
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsEdwin Allen Mercer I want them all to read my words. And they do. Every last blood-stained sentence, they've read and praised me for. They love the gore and violence, the realness. And I get a sense of power with it all because I know a secret: the victims in my books—they’re real and have all died on my table. And maybe that’s why the last book had such awful reviews... -
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Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 55 ratingsWhen young, pretty Catherine Bailey meets Lee Brightman, she can't believe her luck. Gorgeous, charismatic, and a bit mysterious, Lee seems almost too perfect to be true. But what begins as flattering attention and spontaneous, passionate sex transforms into raging jealousy, and Catherine soon discovers that Lee's dazzling blue eyes and blond good looks hide a dark, violent nature... -
Mud Vein by Tarryn Fisher
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 54 ratingsWhen reclusive novelist Senna Richards wakes up on her thirty-third birthday, everything has changed. Caged behind an electrical fence, locked in a house in the middle of the snow, Senna is left to decode the clues to find out why she was taken. If she wants her freedom, she has to take a close look at her past. But, her past has a heartbeat... and her kidnapper is nowhere to be found... -
Deadly Games by Faith Summers, Khardine Gray
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWe 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...Categorized as:
suspense cruel hero dark contemporary mafia dual-pov virgin heroine from hate to love -
The Wrong Drive: A Suspenseful Holiday Romance by Annie Wild
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsWelcome to a holiday from hell. Emersyn All I want is a secluded getaway.Instead, I get a wrong turn, a fortnight blizzard, and...A malevolent, enticing, and unstable stranger. Merry Christmas to me.Here's to unwrapping his insanity...And trying not to lose mine.TurnerI come here when I lose my grip.I come here so I can wreak havoc alone.Instead, I get an unplanned and unwanted gift... -
The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden
She's looking for the perfect man. He's looking for the perfect victim.Sydney Shaw, like every single woman in New York, has terrible luck with dating. She’s seen it all: men who lie in their dating profile, men who stick her with the dinner bill, and worst of all, men who can't shut up about their mothers. But finally, she hits the jackpot.Her new boyfriend is utterly perfect... -
Bystander by Sassa Daniels
A Dark Bratva... -
Chill by A.J. Merlin
One month. That’s all it takes for everything to unravel. For weeks, I try returning to normal, to forget the men who turned me into a killer against my will. At first, I convince myself I could be happy—at least I think I should be. But I’m not. I can’t be. When I find them, I realize what they’re doing. If I want them—if I want this—I have to accept what they truly are. Monsters... -
Serial, Volume Three by Lily White, Jaden Wilkes
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWith Donovan closing in, his feelings growing for Ronnie, and the sudden realization where their paths crossed before, Jude's composure might be cracking... -
Melodic Madness by Natalie Bennett
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsThere’s a method in his madness. Alaric is as brilliant as he is beautiful, and twice as deadly. He’s been watching me. Studying me. He’d planned to keep me long before I arrived on his doorstep. His chaotic world is now the prison I’m forced to call home. A place where nightmares and reality are indistinguishable... -
Deviant Deception by Selena .
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsI’d do anything for her.When she was sixteen, I stole her innocence.When she was seventeen, I convinced my cousin to break up with her so I could dry her tears and promise I’d never leave her.When she was eighteen, a terrible accident scarred my face. I couldn’t sentence her to a life with a hideous monster, so when she left town to chase her dreams, I watched her go...Categorized as:
suspense cruel hero dark new adult alpha male contemporary friends to lovers forced proximity -
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Opaque Melodies by Natalie Bennett
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAlaric Schuyler.Enigmatic, cocky, and my new brother-in-law.He had cerulean blue eyes and a smile so beautifully devious it could entice the devil to do his bidding.We were never supposed to happen.One night changed everything, tying him and me together in a sordid twist of fate, trapping me in his dark, chaotic world.The lucid dreams and sick fantasies followed... -
Evil Deeds by Selena .
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsYou can run, pretty girl. You can hide in another state, under another name.But not forever. Not from me.Everyone knows her as Gloria Walton, the reigning queen of Willow Heights Prep Academy. But I knew the real girl, before she gave up everything for the throne.Her beauty tempted me. Her wildness seduced me.Her leaving broke me.Now it’s time to repay the favor... -
In a Dark Wood by Josh Lanyon
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsIn a dark, dark wood there was a dark, dark house...Camping in the Jersey Pine Barrens may literally turn out to be a first date from hell for travel writer Tim and the cute cop who persuades him to revisit a past that Tim has done his best to forget... -
Black Vows by Dori Lavelle
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratings"Holy hell, this book is very intense! I've read several of this author's books, and this series right here is so damn good. It's super dark and disturbingly intoxicating." I need someone to shake me awake, to tell me this is only a dream. I keep waiting to let out the breath I’ve been holding since he captured me. But the nightmare doesn't end. The sun doesn't rise... -
Untangle Me by Chelle Bliss
Kayden is a bad boy that never played by the rules. Sophia has always been the quintessential good girl, living a life filled with disappointment. Everything changes when their lives become intertwined through a chance encounter online. Hundreds of miles separate them, but the connection that draws them together is too much to be denied... -
Whispers in the Dark (Dark Romance) by LeTeisha Newton, Laura Hidalgo
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsWe were bred in darkness. How else would we come to love? I was captured ... That's just the beginning of my tale. I've survived Purgatory, abuse, and near death. In that abandoned farmhouse I nearly lost everything, but Jacob saved me. We were trapped in this hell together, giving each other the strength to hold on. I fell into darkness with my captor's son. Until I left him behind...
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