Books like 'Ripple Effect: Episode One'
Readers who enjoyed Ripple Effect: Episode One by Keri Lake also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary dark romance suspense alpha male mafia angst new adult bad boys anal sex tortured hero
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Grounded by R.K. Lilley
James and Bianca’s story draws to a close in the explosive conclusion to the Up In The Air Trilogy. After a short but earnest courtship, Bianca can no longer deny her feelings for James, and though she’s tried her hardest, she can’t help but see that he cares deeply for her, as well...Categorized as:
alpha male possessive hero strong heroine bad boys suspense anal sex tortured heroine tortured hero -
Eulogy by Rachel Van Dyken
The next book in the internationally bestselling mafia series… All is lost. All. I don't recognize myself in the mirror anymore. My thoughts are filled with hatred and dripping with rage. I've lost my soul. She took it to the depths of Hell with her and haunts me with images of what could have been. Sixty lives are mine to take. Sixty lives stand in the way of my vengeance... -
Buttons and Beauty by Penelope Sky
I’m supposed to be his prisoner—but I’m the one that won’t let him leave. Every time he has a new hit, the separation in unbearable. I wait for him to come home on pins and needles. I paint alone in the bedroom, and now my artwork has changed. I used to paint homes and landscapes…but now I’ve painted a person. A man standing on the bank of a lake surrounded by snow... -
Enrage by Rachel Van Dyken
Rated: 4.59 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsEnrage is the next standalone in the international best selling mafia series, Eagle Elite.Part of a world I loathe.Part of a family who hates me more than I hate myself.Living with a girl who reminds me of my darkness.I'm. In. Hell.Also known as the Cosa Nostra.My life was over the minute I stepped off that plane.Son to a murdered mob boss.Heir to a throne of murder and lies... -
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Once A Crime Lord by Mia Knight
It all ends here. It’s been two years since the Pyre family was ripped apart by a sadistic killer who will stop at nothing to take Gavin Pyre’s position as crime lord of the Las Vegas underworld... -
The Black Wolf by J.A. Redmerski
Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars · 34 ratings-Series Reading Order-#1 - KILLING SARAI#2 - REVIVING IZABEL#3 - THE SWAN & THE JACKAL#4 - SEEDS OF INIQUITY#5 - THE BLACK WOLF--- Since devastating secrets were uncovered by Nora Kessler, Niklas Fleischer and Victor Faust have been divided as business partners and brothers... -
Behind the Hands That Kill by J.A. Redmerski
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 30 ratings-Reading Order-#1 - KILLING SARAI#2 - REVIVING IZABEL#3 - THE SWAN & THE JACKAL#4 - SEEDS OF INIQUITY#5 - THE BLACK WOLF#6 - BEHIND THE HANDS THAT KILL#7 - SPIDERS IN THE GROVE---Even professional killers need vacations, but for Victor Faust, his vacation in Venezuela is about more than relaxation and time alone with Izabel Seyfried... -
Undeserving by Madeline Sheehan
Warning: This isn’t a romance, but instead a tale of love between two despairing people, from two different worlds, both aching for something more. Debbie Reynolds is a runaway, New York City-bound... -
Tongue's Target by K.L. Savage
Rated: 4.51 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsI don’t live in the shadows anymore.Daphne has dragged me into her light.At first, it was bright, and I didn’t know how to live in it.I’m… adjusting.Life for the most part is better than I ever dreamed.But not better for her dreams.Especially when dreams tread the line of reality.When she tells me the truth, it sends me into a quiet place... -
Unbroken by Sloane Kennedy
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsEverything was supposed to go back to normal when I was rescued. It hasn't. And I'm starting to think it never will because I don't even know what normal is anymore... It's been two years since Aleks Silva was rescued by his older brother from the dark underworld of sex trafficking and every day since then has been a battle... -
Orbiting Mars by K.L. Savage
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsI'm a car accident waiting to happen and it's only a matter of time before I crash into something.Every day that passes, every second I blink, the need to drink grows. Meetings aren’t enough. My willpower isn’t enough.Sunnie… The second I see her, I want to crash into her instead. But she may not be enough to kill the need.And when Sunnie tells me something that I can’t handle?I break. I run away... -
Reluctant Surrender by Measha Stone
I took her to protect her. I'll be keeping her as my bride.As her thong is ripped off and my belt lashes her beautiful bare backside for the first time, I can tell Maggie Dudek is finally starting to realize that defying a man like me has consequences.Painful consequences.Rigging a high-stakes poker game put her in danger, but that's not why she's face down on my bed...Categorized as:
mafia suspense age difference possessive hero strong heroine m-f spanking friends to lovers -
Seeds of Iniquity by J.A. Redmerski
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsVictor Faust’s new Order is growing. Business is good as there is no rest for the wicked in an underground world of hardcore criminals and contract killing. Relationships among the operatives have changed little over the past year—but things are about to change now, and all six high-ranking members of the new Order will be blindsided by an unlikely enemy... -
Buttons and Devotion by Penelope Sky
If I don’t give her what she wants—I’ll lose her forever. When Sapphire became my muse, it was supposed to be a business transaction. We both got what we wanted—until she wanted something more. If I don’t give it to her, give her all of me, she’ll walk out of my life. My father already granted his approval—so he would be disappointed if I let her slip through my fingers...Categorized as:
suspense strong heroine possessive hero alpha male m-f contemporary dark explicit-plentiful -
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Code Name: Pisces by Janie Crouch
Rated: 4.59 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsMy code name is Pisces. The stars say I’m independent, wise, and intuitive.Still waters run deep. I’m the leader of Zodiac Tactical’s guardian unit. We’re the bodyguards—the ones who stand toe to toe with danger and refuse to give any ground. We protect people who need it most.But what if who needs it most is a spoiled diva?I don’t normally take on movie stars... -
Easy to Fall by W. Winters
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom USA Today bestselling author Willow Winters comes the epic conclusion to the heart-wrenching, edge-of-your-seat gripping, romantic suspense, Hard to Love series.With her I was always on the highest high. That's why it was so easy to fall. I never stood a chance without her. The two of us were made for one another. It's as simple as that. The world could try to rip us apart, but it would fail... -
Buttons and Betrayal by Penelope Sky
Conway paid off Knuckles to keep me—but he expects something in return. I belong to him exclusively, to fulfill every order he gives, personally and professionally. I’m more just his muse now. I’m his in every sense of the word. I live a life of luxury in his mansion, but he treats me like a servant. I can’t deny my attraction for him, but I despise the kind of man he is...Categorized as:
suspense strong heroine possessive hero alpha male m-f contemporary dark explicit-plentiful -
Saving Poughkeepsie by Debra Anastasia
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsBeckett 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... -
Becoming His by Ami Van
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsDerrick King He and his brothers are the ruthless heads of a crime family. KINGS. They’ve built their empire to become what it is today, collecting fortune and power, bending rules and taking out whoever stood in their way. Tall, dark and sinfully gorgeous, Derrick as head of the family never went to bed alone yet never slept in a bed with any woman either...Categorized as:
mafia age difference alpha male mystery suspense dark contemporary competent heroine -
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... -
Tempted to Kiss by W. Winters
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsFrom USA Today bestselling author W Winters comes an emotionally-gripping, romantic suspense. I fell for someone I shouldn’t have. I’m not the only person to ever do such a thing. I know that. And I’m not an awful person for desiring his touch, his kiss, his everything… but I knew I shouldn’t have indulged. There’s something about knowing it’s wrong that tempts me that much more... -
Savage by K.L. Savage
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsI'm on the road, but there's only one thing on my mind.Eden...Problem is, this isn't me.I don't chase.I don't pursue.But I can't help myself.Eden is stubborn.Headstrong.The toughest woman I know.My mistake was letting myself have a taste.It wasn't enough.I'm addicted.I'm breaking my own rules.I don't care how complicated it is.But the complications keep coming.. -
Raven by K.L. Savage
Rated: 4.53 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsNot even the holidays can make a bastard like me feel better.The guys are all gone for Christmas, but I decide to stay.I'm hunting a horrific serial killer and I can't afford to lose him.I'm regretting that decision when I find her:Beaten, bloodied, and left out in the snow to die.Who is she?That's the problem. Not even she knows... -
The Savage by Stella Andrews
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsIvan may be my name but I am best known as The Savage.Born and bred Bratva heir and loving every delicious minute of my life. That's why it was easy to kidnap the entitled Charlotte Richmond from her finishing school in England. It was my pleasure to hide her away while her depraved father searched for her.I have no heart, no emotion, and no morals.She is a bargaining chip, a means to an end... -
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Untamed by M. O'Keefe
Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsMarriage has always meant violence. I don’t trust it, but it’s the only thing keeping me afloat in these dark undercurrents. I married for safety but I got the most dangerous thing in the world—Ronan Byrne for a husband.Now we’re returning to Bishop’s Landing to face our demons. Mine. His. We have real enemies to conquer, but it’s the fear in my heart that beats the loudest... -
Lone Star by Lauren Gilley
Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsFrom London, England to Amarillo, Texas, Michelle Calloway – now Michelle Snow – has spent her whole life with the Lean Dogs Motorcycle Club. The last two years, she’s served as the first lady of the Texas chapter, keeping the books and overseeing the club’s expanding legitimate businesses, including the bar named for her husband: Tastes Like Candy...Categorized as:
suspense age difference strong heroine alpha male mafia contemporary bikers dual-pov -
Fallen Royal by Rachel Van Dyken
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA mafia romance about betrayal and faith by Rachel Van Dyken, the number one New York Times bestselling author of the Eagle Elite series."The truth may hurt for a little while, but a lie hurts forever."—Ryan BiggeI grew up knowing it would happen one day. Believing that I would fall into my father's footsteps and become a monster of my own making. So I fought it. I lived. I loved. I teased... -
Reviving Izabel by J.A. Redmerski
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 51 ratingsDetermined to live a dark life in the company of the assassin who freed her from bondage, Sarai sets out on her own to settle a score with an evil sadist. Unskilled and untrained in the art of killing, the events that unfold leave her hanging precariously on the edge of death when nothing goes as planned...Categorized as:
suspense strong heroine bad boys mystery alpha male tortured heroine mafia sassy heroine -
Heads You Lose by Bea Paige
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsBeast…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... -
Surrendered Innocence by Measha Stone
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsHe didn't ask for my surrender. He took it... -
Deny by E.C. Land, Elizabeth Knox
Rated: 4.53 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsI'll crucify every last one of them that hurt her.MalcolmI didn't think she was so important in my life until she was taken, and then everything changed. It became clear she was my entire world and my life revolved around her. I did everything I could to pull her from their evil clutches, and by the grace of God I found her in enough time.But I didn't find her soon enough. Sure, she was alive . -
King of Pain by Piper Stone
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsMy vows didn't make me his. My body did. Diego Santos may be wealthy, powerful, and sinfully gorgeous, but his slick veneer doesn't fool me. I know his true nature, and I had planned to end this arranged marriage before it even began. But it wasn't Diego waiting for me at the altar... -
Deliver Us From Evil by Monica James
Rated: 4.53 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMonsters are real…and that monster is me.I’ve surrendered. I have no other choice.With Babydoll gone, I’m going to do whatever it takes to find her.I will lie.Cheat.Murder…and I’ll do so with a smile.I’ll even sell my soul to the devil…because that’s who my father, Sean Kelly, is. He won’t stop until Belfast is his. He knows I’m at my breaking point... -
The Devil's Crown-Part Two by Monica James
Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAll The Pretty Things Trilogy Spin-Off With the enemy dead, my throne awaits my return. But the reason I’m still standing is being held captive by another foe... -
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Brutal Saint by Luna Kayne
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHARLOW IS HUNTING HER SISTER’S KILLER.AND COLE IS HUNTING HER.COLE SAINTThe woman my family is looking for is the one-night stand I can’t get out of my head, and her life depends on me getting to her first.Harlow is sunshine and light.I live in the shadows, among the dark and the damned, but there’s something about Harlow that makes me want to take care of her... -
Breathe Again by Nola Marie
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom the flames of sin I rose, by her virtue, I fell...I found her in my eleventh hour. My whiskey-eyed canary. Quinn.Call it Fate or destiny or whatever, but she is the melody to calm my madness. With her, the demons inside me quiet. She doesn't have a hold on my heart, she owns it. She is my everything.I've been given a second-chance and I’m not about to squander it... -
Pretty Evil by Stella Andrews
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhen the cage door opens, freedom is a difficult temptation to ignore.Serena VieriMafia princess, protected her entire life for a very good reason.There is a target on her back.Her family believed she was better off not knowing but with knowledge comes a certain kind of power that she could sure use right now... -
The Company by J.A. Huss
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSome 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... -
A Shade of Evil by Stella Andrews
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsRevenge is a dish best served cold.Shade Vieri has no mercy. No compassion and no empathy.He is cruel, enigmatic, and deliciously dark.His instructions are clear.Find the Achilles heel of the enemy and destroy it.The enemy is a woman who slides across his soul like spun silk.A breath of fresh air in a dark, depressing world... -
Blackbird by Molly McAdams
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsFrom New York Times bestselling author Molly McAdams comes a powerhouse romantic suspense that will have you questioning your morals and second guessing your view on love. I live in a world few know exist. I’ve trained for this. I know what to say, what to do, and how to act. I’ve perfected the lethal calm required for this life. Now it’s time to buy my first girl... -
Violent Ends by Jessica Hawkins
Book 2 in the White Monarch trilogy... -
Destructive by Jay McLean
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsSome villains are made. Some villains are born. And some villains aren’t villains at all. Nate DeLuca was born into a life he didn’t want. Forced to walk a path that was already chosen for him. Grandson to a mob boss, he’s forever torn between his duty, his honor, his legacy, and the truth. But the truth is never simple, and it’s not at all what it seems... -
A Reckless Note by Lisa Renee Jones
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 21 ratings“I can chase you, and I can catch you, but there is nothing I can do to make you mine.” ― Morrissey It all started with a note, just a simple note hand written by a woman I didn't know, never even met. But in that note is perhaps every answer to every question I've ever had in my life. And because of that note, I travel thousands of miles. I look for her, but find him... -
Dirty by Callie Hart
Face of an angel. Body of a god. And a mouth so dirty he could make the devil blush… Fix Marcosa’s time can be bought with money, but he isn’t selling sex. Murderers, rapists, criminals: if you’re on the wrong side of Fix’s moral code, you’re in trouble. The kind of trouble that winds up getting you killed. As a hitman for hire, Fix is no stranger to violence. He’s merciless. Relentless...Categorized as:
alpha male m-f mystery bad boys new adult strong heroine tortured hero tortured heroine -
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Deception and Chaos by S.M. Soto
Sophia Cova lived a quiet, normal life, shadowed in sadness after the loss of her parents in a tragic airline accident. With her older brother being her only living relative and her anchor, Sophia is sure she’s destined for a brighter future. But that was until she was taken. Stolen from her mundane, orderly life, she was drugged, and woke to every woman’s worst nightmare... -
Until the End by London Miller
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsLauren Thompson After learning the truth behind her father's tragic murder, Lauren vowed never to go near another Volkov again, but sometimes matters of the heart are too strong to resist... Mishca Volkov As a Captain in the Volkov Bratva, Mishca has pledged his loyalty to the Vory v Zakone, but he soon finds himself at odds with the life he's always known.. -
Dark Desire by Bec Botefuhr
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThis book contains adult content. 18+ only. This isn't for the faint hearted, it is not your typical love story, but I do promise it has some seriously hot scenes. You have been warned. Enjoy. After the shock of finding out about Jagger's wife, Willow ran. She needed time, needed space to fix her heart. The love of her life has a big choice to make. Her or his wife... -
Celt. by London Miller
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWelcome to the Den ... Six minutes is all he needs to get a job done … Kyrnon “Celt” Murphy is one of the best thieves in the world. After all, his childhood was spent with a caravan of Irish Travelers that taught him everything he knows... -
A Lovely Confession by Coralee June
Sometimes, I wondered if he was real. Our time together was short, but it left a lasting impression on me. I’m older now. Wiser, too. Five years have passed, and I still can’t get him off my mind. Hunter was cruel, angry, and protective. I learned his secrets and he fled. The day he left, I vowed to find him... -
A Lovely Obsession by Coralee June
My guardian angel is a devil in disguise. He hates me. He protects me. He watches me. My stalker is obsessed with keeping me safe. He calls me his prettiest debt. An assassin in the notorious Bullet gang, he uses his empire to control my life. Everything I know is a lie. What started as a debt turned into something more. What started as regret turned into obsession...
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