Books like 'High Stakes'
Readers who enjoyed High Stakes by Vanessa Waltz also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary dark romance young adult mafia suspense bad boys alpha male bdsm new adult college
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Elude by Rachel Van Dyken
This book is the sixth book in the internationally bestselling Eagle Elite Series. It's an interconnected stand alone novel with no cliffhanger. Twenty-Four hours before we were to be married--I offered to shoot her. Ten hours before our wedding--I made a mockery of her dying wish. Five hours before we were going to say our vows--I promised I'd never love her... -
Inferno by Catherine Doyle
Romeo and Juliet meets The Godfather in the second installment of Catherine Doyle's Blood for Blood series. Sophie's life has been turned upside-down, and she's determined to set things right. But Nic, the Falcone brother who represents everything she's trying to forget, won't give up on their love - and it's Luca's knife she clutches for comfort... -
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Jackson by Siobhan Davis
The devil came to me in disguise. Too bad I didn’t notice until it was far too late. Vanessa:. The devil doesn’t always wear an evil mask. Sometimes, he appears in the most beautiful form. Like the super-hot bad boy with the dirty-blond hair and a wicked glint in his blue eyes who swept in out of nowhere, stealing all the air from my lungs. I thought he was my savior. But he’s my ruination... -
Made by J.M. Darhower
Corrado Moretti. The world knows the notorious Kevlar Killer, but few have ever seen what lies beneath his armor. The abused child. The neglected teenager. The broken man. He always did whatever he had to do in order to survive. It's kill or be killed. Throughout his life, he has been there in the shadows, a witness to everything from beginning to end...Categorized as:
suspense bad boys alpha male mafia new adult contemporary friends to lovers forbidden love -
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Still Jaded by Tijan
Sheldon, Bryce, and Corrigan ruled their school until a killer wanted to rule them. Three years later, Bryce’s back home from Europe the local celebrity jock. Corrigan’s busy running his fraternity and Sheldon's about to be pulled back into the social world of drama. With the killer killed, who's trying to hurt Sheldon this time? Or maybe it's someone closer than she wants to admit? -
Elicit by Rachel Van Dyken
Cursed, numb, rejected, scorned, wicked, sinister, dark, twisted. .. my name is Tex Campisi and this is my legacy. I killed my father in cold blood and lost my soul right along with him. I crave war more than peace, and I'm about to take my place in history as the youngest Capo dei Capi in the Cosa Nostra. .. that is until someone stops me, saves me from myself... -
Almost Broken by Portia Moore
Lauren Brooks fell in love with Cal Scott at 21, married him at 22 and had her heart broken at 23 when he walked out of their marriage. At 25, though raising his daughter on her own, Lauren was finally moving on with her life. Until, she learned the reason for Cal's abandonment, the walls she’d carefully built around her collapsed.Categorized as:
suspense college cruel hero alpha male new adult cliffhanger contemporary young adult -
Speed by B.B. Easton
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsWith Netflix adapting BB's 44 CHAPTERS ABOUT 4 MEN into a new series, you're going to want the full story behind her outrageous adventures. Because BB Easton had so much fun writing her bestselling, award-winning memoir, she decided to give each of her four men his own steamy standalone... -
Always Crew by Tijan
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsFor the longest time, I was Bren Monroe. I lived in Roussou, California. I had no parents, no brother, but I had a crew. Then things started to change. I never planned for any of it. I didn’t think I’d fall in love. I didn’t think I’d have a relationship with my brother again. I didn’t think that he’d come back. Now I’m in Cain. My crew is in college... -
Taint Her by Caitlyn Dare
He wants to ruin her. She wants to save him. Hadley Rexford was a distraction I didn’t need. But when she discovers me with blood on my hands, I know I can’t walk away without demanding her silence. I’ll taint her. Torment her. In the end, I’ll ruin her. Cole Jagger was a puzzle I wanted to solve. But he refuses to let me in, and now I’m ensnared in his trap. He’s cold. Immoral...Categorized as:
new adult suspense cruel hero cliffhanger contemporary young adult sports from hate to love -
The Sainthood by Siobhan Davis
A complete dark romance trilogy from USA Today bestselling author Siobhan Davis. Includes Revere, a bonus novella set twelve years after the end of Reign. Everything changed the night my dad died. The night I met Saint, Galen, Caz, and Theo. Those manipulative a-holes set out to ruin me after our hot night together, but they didn’t realize you can’t destroy something that’s already broken... -
Reckless Dynasty by Tracy Lorraine
USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Tracy Lorraine brings you the next installment of her dark mafia, high school bully romance story set in the Knight's Ridge Empire world. My life has been full of half-truths tangled in lies—I’d been to hell and back more times than I could count... -
Out of the Dark by Danah Logan
Lilly. My name is the only truth they didn’t take from me. Betrayed by my family, my desperate need for answers put me back on his radar. The one person who was never supposed to find me. Again. I was unprepared for the world I got thrust into—the connection we shared. The deeper I dug, the more unstable my future became. With Rhys as my anchor, I will fight to bring my past out of the dark. Rhys... -
Wild Girl by Sheridan Anne
Have you ever known what it feels like to die? It’s not great. Trust me, I don’t recommend it. I’ve always said that my life is about surviving, but I didn’t realize how true that was until the devil sent me soaring off a bridge with the love of my life and lodged a bullet through my thigh. It’s not my time to die... -
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Enforce by Rachel Van Dyken
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsThere’s two sides to every story…. And ours? Isn’t pretty… Then again,. what’s pretty about the mafia? Trace Rooks, that’s what. But she only wants one of us, and I’ll kill him before I let him have her. The only problem ? We’re cousins . And she may just be our long lost enemy. Whoever said college was hard, clearly didn’t attend Eagle Elite University... -
FALL by Cora Brent
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsFrom NY Times and USA Today Bestselling author Cora Brent comes a new epic crossover novel. Jenny. .. I was a lost girl, a child bride. Now, to most people I appear to be just an average college student. They would never guess my strange history. But secretly I'm still held down by my past. I cannot bring myself to trust men... -
Tame by Coralee June, Raven Kennedy
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsI’ve got a secret. I’ve got bruises no one can see and the devil’s blood running through my veins. If I want to end my father’s reign, I’ve got to help Rocco Nomar with his daughter. She’s broken, jaded. A sad, pretty little thing with a big heart and eyes that make me feel like I’m drowning. She’s not swayed by the social politics of Savannah, but she has my heart doing double takes... -
Ghostgirl by J.B. Salsbury
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsShe was brainwashed into believing she could save mankind. Now, she’s the one who needs saving. Abandoned with his two younger brothers, Milo Vega was placed in foster care. Now a twenty-year-old high-school senior covered in gang tattoos and working as the school’s janitor, he is living a life vastly different from the one he was destined for...Categorized as:
new adult bad boys mafia cliffhanger friends to lovers young adult contemporary dark -
Before I Break by Portia Moore
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsOut of the past six years of my life, I only remember about half of it. After a dozen doctors and thousands in medical bills, I was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder--one that causes me to lose track of time. Sometimes it’s hours, days or even weeks with no recollection of anything. The good thing is it's been almost two years since I had my last ‘black out’... -
Forever Golden by Rachel Jonas, Lessa Lamb
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsWest Golden—Fierce protector. The one. The cocky jock I once wanted to kill with my bare hands is now the only one I trust with my heart. In a city full of corruption and dark secrets, knowing who’s on your side gets harder to determine every day. Especially now that Vin’s on the warpath, passing out threats he fully intends to see through to the end... -
Shame by Rachel Van Dyken
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsEverything done in darkness, will eventually be brought into the light. I ran, but all it did was keep me one step ahead of my past. I tried to start over; new name, new identity. But you can't change your soul. A fresh start at college was just what I needed. For a while, it worked. I was the party girl, the one that seemed confident, but it was a lie. When guys kissed me--I felt only pain... -
Collateral Damage: A Second Chance Mafia Romance by Amy McKinley
Rated: 4.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe spark is real, but the timing’s wrong. When Mafia surgeon, Trey La Rosa, met the one woman who could bring him to his knees, grief from his girlfriend’s recent death loomed between them. He forced himself to walk away. Months later, she’s been kidnapped—and he’ll do anything to save her... -
The Arrangement 15: The Ferro Family by H.M. Ward
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsIt's hard to trust anyone anymore. Everyone is suspect. And I have no reprieve, no rest. I can't sleep after all I've been through. Sean is slipping away, receding back into the monster he was. Alone, I'm being smothered by death's cold shroud. Too many people have died -- this ends tonight. If it kills me, so be it. Genre: New Adult Romance. This story unfolds over multiple volumes approx... -
The Devastation You Reap by Tracy Lorraine
For years I’ve kept my secrets. Kept the darkest, most twisted parts of myself buried from everyone around me. My need to destroy those responsible for tainting my life, ruining the person I was, the person I could’ve been, burns hotter with every passing day. And when I finally get the chance to confront one and unleash the monster he turned me into, I walk straight into the other... -
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Vendetta by Catherine Doyle
When it comes to revenge, love is a dangerous complication. With a fierce rivalry raging between two warring families, falling in love is the deadliest thing Sophie could do. An epic debut set outside modern-day Chicago. When five brothers move into the abandoned mansion in her neighbourhood, Sophie Gracewell's life changes forever... -
The Golden Boys by Rachel Jonas, Nikki Thorne
Listening Length: 10 hours and 33 minutes. West Golden - so easy to hate, yet so hard to resist. Don’t let that pretty face of his fool you. He isn’t the boy next door, or the kind you trust with your heart. He’s the devil in designer jeans, with all the charm of a bona fide psycho. Trust me. He swears I did something to cross him before I even stepped foot inside Cypress Prep, but it’s a lie... -
Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii Vol. 4 by Asuka Konishi
SOME THINGS YOU DO FOR MONEY, SOME YOU DO FOR LOVE. Love can make you do some crazy things. For Kirishima, they're all for Yoshino, even an affair with an idol arranged by a spoiled rich kid for blackmail purposes. He's a tiger who has managed to trap the hunters in the cage with him... -
Salvation and Secrets by L A Cotton
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsChastity Falls was supposed to be Ana Parry’s fresh start. But what started as her salvation soon became her undoing. Four months after losing the very thing that gave her reason again, Ana is back at Chastity Falls. Holding on by a thread and trying hard to forget about Jackson isn’t easy when she’s determined to uncover the Donohue’s biggest secrets... -
Tarnished Crown by Caitlyn Dare
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWaking up the morning after the night before, Bexley soon realizes his life will never be the same. He’s Electi now. One of them. Everything that Mia despises. She says she’s done, that his betrayal is too much of a burden to bear, but Bexley refuses to let her go. When Mia wakes up the morning after the night before, she realizes she has two choices: accept her fate or fight. She’s stronger now... -
The Vengeance You Crave by Tracy Lorraine
It’s been almost six years since she ruined what we had. Her lies shattered years of friendship and ripped apart the future we planned. After I called her a liar and revoked my trust, she left town and never looked back. In a cruel twist of fate, she’s returned. But I’m not the wounded boy she left behind. I’m a man now. A man full of anger, resentment and loss... -
Savage Kind of Love by Nicole Snow
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsSAVAGE LOVE: FIERCE, SEDUCTIVE, AND LIMITLESS. .. Shelly “Saffron” Reagan's life is in shambles, and it's about to get worse. Keeping up a broken home and a brother in the vicious Grizzlies MC is more than any woman can handle. Remembering the tough talking biker who nursed her after a savage attack is all she has, a bad boy who's impossibly out of reach. Or so it seems... -
Never His Girl by Rachel Jonas, Nikki Thorne
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsWest Golden--Football star. Playboy. Dead to me. Nothing puts the final bullet in a girl’s rep like a leaked sex tape. Especially one starring her and the cocky quarterback who’s had it out for her since day one. Yep, you guessed it. That girl is me. At Cypress Prep, West is king, but all I see when I look at him is the wicked prick who gets off on trying to break me. His plaything. Go ahead...Categorized as:
new adult cruel hero suspense alpha male bad boys cliffhanger high-school contemporary -
Pained by Vera Micic, Vera Hollins
Two months have passed since the day I pushed Hayden away. Two months since I found out he loved me and wanted to be with me. I’ve been trying to move on and forget about him, but my heart refuses to listen. Hayden had almost died saving me. Half of me wants to forgive him for everything and give him another chance...Categorized as:
new adult cruel hero cliffhanger young adult from hate to love dark contemporary cold hero -
Better When He's Brave by Jay Crownover
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsIn New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jay Crownover’s third novel in her sexy, thrilling Welcome to the Point series, a woman’s search for repentance leads her to the one man from her past she can’t forget as they join forces to save their city—and the explosive love neither can live without. Titus King has always seen his world in black and white...Categorized as:
suspense alpha male bad boys new adult young adult tortured heroine contemporary dark -
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Hidden Gem by Skye Warren
Of all the girls in Paris. .. he picked me. I was studying the Mona Lisa, and he was studying me. Not my sister. Me. He turned me upside-down. I hardly recognized myself through his eyes. Beautiful. Interesting. But it was all a lie. -
I Promise You by Shantel Tessier
It was supposed to be a game. I Dare You. We bought her in 'cause I wanted to play with her. Destroy her. But plans change and she got caught in the cross fire. Then I did something far worse. I fell in love with her, but she doesn't know I still have secrets. Ones that could rip us all apart. We're sharks. Raised to hunt and kill. We take what we want without asking...Categorized as:
new adult alpha male bad boys cruel hero cliffhanger young adult angst from hate to love -
Fractured Reign by Caitlyn Dare
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen Mia wakes up in the hospital with no memory of how she got there, she braces herself for bad news. But nothing can ever prepare her for the truth. Betrayed by the very people who were supposed to protect her, Mia no longer knows who to trust. All Bexley wants is to fix things for the girl he loves, and keep those around him safe. Even if it means embracing his legacy... -
Yakuza Fiance: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii Vol. 2 by Asuka Konishi
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsDepuis la disparition de la fille d’un yakuza allié au clan Miyama, et le meurtre d’un de leurs hommes,Yoshino est contrainte à passer tout son temps avec Kirishima pour sa propre sécurité. Situation compliquée pour ses nerfs ! À l’occasion d’une sortie, elle aperçoit la soi-disant disparue dans un quartier branché...Categorized as:
mafia new adult contemporary young adult dark marriage of convenience mystery length-short -
Remember Me Forever by Sara Wolf
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsIsis Blake hasn’t fallen in love in three years, forty-three weeks, and two days. Or so she thinks. The boy she maybe-sort-of-definitely loved and sort-of-maybe-definitely hated has dropped off the face of the planet in the face of tragedy, leaving a Jack Hunter–shaped hole. Determined to be happy, Isis fills it in with lies and puts on a brave smile for her new life at Ohio State University... -
Broken Legacy by Jaymin Eve, Tate James
They're my boys now - the four heirs of Delta. Together we’re a team . .. a family. Five broken, brutal, possibly sociopathic people, and we are all that stands between the world and the powerful, corrupt Delta corporation. We have no idea what we’re doing, but somehow we are determined to stop them. Permanently. We just need leverage . .. irrefutable evidence of their corruption...Categorized as:
new adult alpha male mafia college cruel hero contemporary super rich hero young adult -
Brutal Precious by Sara Wolf
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsLife meets death. The end meets the beginning. Eighteen-year-old Isis Blake hasn’t fallen in love in three years, forty-three weeks, and two days. Or so she thinks. The boy she maybe-sort-of-definitely loved has dropped off the face of the planet after his girlfriend's death, leaving a Jack-shaped hole... -
Friends by J.M. Darhower
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsFriends:. One moment. One wrong choice. That was all it took to destroy a friendship. *takes place before Sempre*. Forever:. Halloween. With a three year old. 'Nuff said. *takes place after Sempre: Redemption*. -
Pretty When You Lie by Anne Roman
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsJuniper Wild is a liar. With her full lips, pretty blue eyes, and angelic face, she might have fooled everyone else in our small town, but not me. I know the truth about her - that she's a spoiled, selfish liar. Five years ago, she shattered my dreams with a single lie. And just when I thought she was gone for good, she shows up again, still hiding something... -
Hometown Girl Memories by Kirsten Fullmer
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratings"I was crying one minute and laughing the next. A definite must read! ". Winnie is content in her role as the reining matriarch of Smithville, but when a letter arrives from a long-lost friend, the door to her past is reopened. Memories come flooding in, drawing her back to 1968, her college days; a time filled with people and events she hasn’t allowed herself to recall... -
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Meet Me in the Dark by J.A. Huss
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsHe’s empty, inhuman, dishonest, and cruel. She’s never wanted anyone more. Sydney has lived in fear for eight years after freelance assassin, Merc, failed to rescue her from a cult-like militia group. Left in the hands of a sadistic man, she did whatever it took to survive. But Merc’s last words gave her hope. Hope he’d be back to finish the job... -
Yakuza Fiance: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii Vol. 3 by Asuka Konishi
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsYoshino's life with Kirishima grows increasingly heated after he meets her adopted brother Shouma. Kirishima doesn't recognize his own jealousy until Yoshino points it out to him. .. and soon, he's not the only one burning up. It seems Osaka's temperatures have followed Yoshino up north when she catches her traditional summer cold... -
Bang Bang by Rachel Van Dyken
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsHe was my best friend. Until he became my enemy. All within the span of one night. Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang. The rapid fire of gunshots became the soundtrack to my life. This is the Mafia. Lines are blurred. Choices are never black and white. And the life you thought you knew is. .. one giant lie. He was dead. And I didn't want his life to be in vain, so I tried to make something of myself... -
Naked or Dead by A.E. Murphy
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsSmall town, small-minded people, small expectations, and big A-holes. Lilith Deville is the new enigma at Lakeside Preparatory Academy, a prestigious high school by a river and not a lake, which makes sense, not. Already she hates it despite its beautiful landscape... -
Shattered Legacy by Caitlyn Dare
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsMia Thompson wants only one thing: to survive Gravestone University, graduate, and get far far away from her hometown and its archaic traditions. But she’s about to become a pawn in a game she doesn’t understand. Bexley Danforth wants only one thing: to keep his head down, survive four years at college, and get far far away from his past and the mistakes that haunt him... -
Their Kingdom Come by Logan Fox
We're ready to die for the sins of our fathers, but is she? Zac, Apollo, Cassius, Reuben. They told us we were the cure. That we were special. That we were pure. It was all a lie. We were just like all the others they defiled, abused, neglected. We formed a brotherhood and vowed to have our revenge. Now no one stands in our way. No one, except one girl. Trinity Malone doesn't know about our past...Categorized as:
new adult suspense cruel hero cliffhanger young adult reverse harem dark contemporary
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