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... -
Ember by Rachel Van Dyken
Everybody Loves A Bit of Darkness..Until It Consumes Them... I am a Killer. A Rapist. A Monster. I know only pain and survival. That is until the Cappo's sister walked into my life. And changed everything...Categorized as:
suspense bad boys alpha male mafia new adult young adult pregnancy friends to lovers -
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... -
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... -
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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 -
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 contemporary young adult secret child -
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.They’re growing, going through their own things... -
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... -
Break Me by Meagan Brandy
I had a plan, and it was solid. Track down what was hidden away and take pleasure in toying with it. Toying with her. It worked like a charm.Until it didn’t. Turned out, the feisty little thing I found was far from what I hoped for. She was different from all I knew and more than I expected. She was light, and I’m the bastard who led her into darkness.But this girl.. -
Heart of Marley by T.K. Leigh
Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTo the moon and back… From the stars to the ocean… That was Marley and Cameron Bowen’s secret code. Twins born just five minutes apart, they have the perfect life… Until tragedy strikes just weeks after their eighth birthday and their father is killed by a drunk driver... -
Out of the Dark by Danah Logan
LillyMy 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... -
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... -
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... -
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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... -
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... -
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... -
Tame by Coralee June, Raven Kennedy
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 13 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... -
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 RomanceThis story unfolds over multiple volumes approx... -
Meet Me in the Dark by J.A. Huss
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 33 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... -
Brutal Precious by Sara Wolf
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 39 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... -
Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii Vol. 4 by Asuka Konishi
SOME THINGS YOU DO FOR MONEY, SOME YOU DO FOR LOVELove 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... -
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Arm Candy Warrior by E.M. Moore
I don’t belong in the Heights.Truth be told, no one does. It’s dirty, grimy. Riddled with crime, the destitute, and the desperate. Where the family unit doesn’t always mean a mom, a dad, and two-point-five kids. It’s whoever gives you the time of day.That’s how the Heights Crew came about. The only relationship that counts in the Heights is if you’re a part of the Crew... -
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: 4.44 of 5 stars · 9 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... -
Yakuza Fiance: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii Vol. 2 by Asuka Konishi
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 27 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 -
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... -
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 -
Yakuza Fiance: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii Vol. 3 by Asuka Konishi
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 23 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... -
Hidden Gem by Skye Warren
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsOf 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... -
Wicked Promises by S. Massery
I made a promise to Caleb, and I intended to keep it.I just didn’t anticipate the aftermath.One betrayal.One lie.One devastating cover up.It’s all out in the open now, and this time, I’m not running away.The secrets I hold are enough to destroy us.The truth is supposed to set us free—but we aren’t destined for freedom.This is a dark high school bully romance with mature content and themes... -
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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... -
Royal Elite Epilogue by Rina Kent
All five couples of Royal Elite series come to life again in this long extended epilogue.Levi & AstridAiden & ElsaXander & KimberlyRonan & TealCole & SilverThis epilogue is set after the end of Royal Elite Series so all the previous books need to be read before this...Categorized as:
new adult cruel hero alpha male young adult sports contemporary dark from hate to love -
Afraid to Fly by S.L. Jennings
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsI’d like to tell you that I’m ok. That the meaningless sex with countless women has somehow numbed the pain. That it’s deciphered the constant confusion in my head. Eased the self-hatred that sinks into my gut every time I look in the mirror. I’d like to tell you that time heals all wounds... -
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... -
Betray Me by Selena .
Used. Worthless. Broken. The Darlings think they won. They think they've beaten me, that I'm exactly what they call me--a dog. But there are things they don't know about my family. They don't know the lengths I'll go to get revenge. To protect my family. To honor my name. Devlin thinks he's done with me, but he's wrong. I'll never forget what he did to me, and I'll never let him forget... -
Wrong Crowd by Lisa Helen Gray
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsMy entire world was turned upside down the day my mum died. I feared what my life would become when an aunt I never knew about came swooping in and threw me into the unknown. She was rich. I couldn’t even afford a pack of gum. We were complete opposites, yet I wanted a fresh start in life, and she was promising to give me that. I just had to live with her for a year, until I graduated college...Categorized as:
new adult suspense from hate to love dark young adult contemporary betrayal length-short -
The Heist by Julie Weaver
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFreya I’ll do anything to escape the controlling monster who’s tormented me for years, even if it means putting my life at the mercy of a criminal. When Kane Daniels breaks into my gilded cage, he doesn’t realize his loot will include more than gold and diamonds—it’ll include me... -
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... -
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... -
Remember Me Forever by Sara Wolf
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 39 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... -
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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... -
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 -
A Whole New Crowd by Tijan
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsTaryn grew up in a different world. Her boyfriend was a criminal. His older brother was part of a gang. They weren’t great people, but they were her family. Then everything changes when she’s adopted by a family in the neighboring town. New family. New friends. A new world. She’s elated... -
Naked or Dead by A.E. Murphy
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 19 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... -
Ruthless Princess by Rachel Van Dyken
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...
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