Books like 'Rising'

Readers who enjoyed Rising by Jessica Ruben also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.

contemporary  dark romance  new adult  college  fighters  mafia  suspense  mma-boxing  virgin heroine  height-difference

  • Enrage by Rachel Van Dyken

    Enrage by Rachel Van Dyken

    Rated: 4.59 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 30 ratings
    Enrage 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...
    Categorized as:
    new adult  suspense  mafia  contemporary  angst  dark  m-f  audiobook
  • Intolerable Bishop by Brooklyn Cross

    Intolerable Bishop by Brooklyn Cross

    Rated: 4.71 of 5 stars
    · 12 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...
    Categorized as:
    new adult  mafia  dark  sports  contemporary  length-long
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  • Easy to Fall by W. Winters

    Easy to Fall by W. Winters

    Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    From 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...
  • 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...
  • Chasing The Dragon by T.K. Leigh

    Chasing The Dragon by T.K. Leigh

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · 17 ratings
    He’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...
  • Cardinal Rose by Mia Smantz

    Cardinal Rose by Mia Smantz

    Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars
    · 21 ratings
    Callie finally found a home. It's everything she's ever dreamed of - friendship, family, and a healthy dose of romance, which Dr. Harper repeatedly reminds her is a good thing since it will help her deal with her most recent loss. So, why can't she be happy? That reason comes in the form of one Russian mob boss named Nikolai Ivanov...
  • 30 Days of Shame by Ginger Talbot

    30 Days of Shame by Ginger Talbot

    Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars
    · 17 ratings
    The 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..
    Categorized as:
    mafia  suspense  dark  bdsm  captive  contemporary
  • Hear No Evil by Ivy Fox

    Hear No Evil by Ivy Fox

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 17 ratings
    Evil cannot take hold of an unconsenting soul.Do not be amazed that hell is empty, since all the devils live here.One by one, they will meet their hellish fate.One down…Three to go.EastonA tyrannous society has discovered our most atrocious secret and decided to wage war on us.They’ve had their fun with Finn, and now it’s my turn to be their little puppet...
  • SCARS by Jaimie Roberts

    SCARS by Jaimie Roberts

    Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars
    · 22 ratings
    I had the perfect school, the perfect friends—the perfect life ... At least, that’s what I thought. But you changed all that. You are always there ... Always watching ... Always waiting in the shadows. You send me flowers and messages. You stalk me, trace my every movement..
  • 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...
  • Desperate Lies by Ella Miles

    Desperate Lies by Ella Miles

    Rated: 4.71 of 5 stars
    · 7 ratings
    I 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...
    Categorized as:
    suspense  new adult  contemporary  dark
  • The Woman at the Funeral by Jessica Gadziala

    The Woman at the Funeral by Jessica Gadziala

    Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 3 of 5
    Open door [?] · 11 ratings
    He swore he’d never touch her.
Then her husband died.Nico Costa has spent years burying the way he felt about his friend’s wife. He was there the day they married. He watched her build a life with a man who didn’t deserve her. And now that man is dead—gunned down in a hit no one is willing to talk about, let alone look into...
  • Tangled Promise by Ella Miles

    Tangled Promise by Ella Miles

    Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    I can’t keep my promises. I’ve made too many, to too many people. All the promises have tangled into a web of sin and truths. But there is one thing I’m certain of…I have to end this—us. This is Book 4 in the Sinful Truths series...
  • Fallen Love by Ella Miles

    Fallen Love by Ella Miles

    Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    I’ve fallen in love, then out. In… Out… Now, I’m more confused than ever. I always thought falling in love would be easy. It would feel right when I fell for the right woman. With Siren, does it feel so right, yet so wrong? This is Book 5 in the Sinful Truths series...
  • Broken Anchor by Ella Miles

    Broken Anchor by Ella Miles

    Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    I’m broken. He’s broken. We are broken. But sometimes you have to shatter to pick up the pieces. To start over. To overcome our enemies. And find out if we can love again. He’s my anchor, but can our love be repaired? This is the final book in the Sinful Truths series...
  • 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...
  • Harder Betrayal by Penelope Sky

    Harder Betrayal by Penelope Sky

    Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 29 ratings
    I knew a relationship with Cauldron wouldn't be easy.But I underestimated just how challenging it would be...
  • Duty by Bethany-Kris

    Duty by Bethany-Kris

    Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    They say heavy is the head that wears the crown … Andino Marcello’s world is turned upside down when he becomes the next heir apparent to the Marcello empire. He was comfortable in his place as a Capo, but comfort is for the weak in the world of mafioso. The boss’s seat is waiting...
  • Celt. by London Miller

    Celt. by London Miller

    Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    Welcome 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...
  • Priest and his Anarchist by Amo Jones

    Priest and his Anarchist by Amo Jones

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 13 ratings
    People said he was emotionless. Cold. But he burned her to the ground every chance he got. Priest Hayes thought he knew everything there was to know about the society of outlaws who ran by their own set of rules, and right now, he’d just taken the gavel. It didn’t feel heavy. It felt like it belonged there all along.In his hand.Just like her.But Luna Nox was the one girl he could never have...
  • Cruel Lies by Ella Miles

    Cruel Lies by Ella Miles

    Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    This is book 4 in the Lies Series. It continues Langston & Liesel's story.Ends on a cliffhanger...
  • 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 ..
  • Carnage by Ker Dukey

    Carnage by Ker Dukey

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Ezekiel “Carnage Creator” Ford. Brother of the Royal Bastards MC. Brutality incarnate. A lone wolf. The one they call in from the dark when they need shit done—and there’s no one better for the job than me.I have a tainted soul, oil black, and hungry for bloodshed.The world is a cesspit...
  • Brother's Best Friend: A Bratva Romance by K.C. Crowne

    Brother's Best Friend: A Bratva Romance by K.C. Crowne

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    My brother's best friend is a fierce underground fighter...And I'm his eager new understudy.Samuil Nicolaevich haunted my fantasies as a teen.And based on the way his gaze lingers on my lush curves..He clearly appreciates how much I've blossomed.In the dark world of underground fights,Women like me are rare victorious warriors...
  • Vicious Lies by Ella Miles

    Vicious Lies by Ella Miles

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    This isn't a love story. This is a story of all the reasons we can't be together. Reason number one: we lie.Liesel Dunn has a secret. One I literally ripped from her hands when we were kids. Her secret was in a letter that I tore in half. I have half the secret. She has the other half. We've always refused to share our part of the truth, so we've lived separate lives...
  • 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...
  • 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...
  • Ruthless Heir by Aidèe Jaimes

    Ruthless Heir by Aidèe Jaimes

    Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 10 ratings
    If love is the deadliest weapon, I’m about to discover just how much I can bleed.My father always warned me against falling in love. That all it would bring is pain and betrayal. But when I meet Noah and his golden gaze trails over me like a fiery tongue that heats my skin, I want nothing more than to prove him wrong.I should know better...
  • Filthy Marcellos: The Complete Collection by Bethany-Kris

    Filthy Marcellos: The Complete Collection by Bethany-Kris

    Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    Filthy Marcellos: La Cosa Nostra is not just a choice of regime and routine, it’s a culture. Born as mafia royalty, the Marcello brothers were raised ingrained with the beliefs and rules of what it meant to be a Mafioso prince. It is for life. Their status is considered a given right. They will always be these people. They will always be Marcellos. Family first. God second...
    Categorized as:
    suspense  mafia  dark  contemporary  audiobook
  • Sinful Promise by B. B. Hamel

    Sinful Promise by B. B. Hamel

    Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    I’m in his bed learning the limits of my body.Peter Calimeris. Greek mafia son, monster in a perfect suit, and the only man keeping me alive.He’s supposed to be my bodyguard, but he barely notices me.At least until Peter gets involved in a business deal with my half-sister...
  • Reckless & Ruined by Bethany-Kris

    Reckless & Ruined by Bethany-Kris

    Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars
    · 19 ratings
    Play dirty. It’s the only way to win in a war. Alessa Trentini follows the rules, or so it seems on the outside. A certain Conti has always been able to sway her inner rebel and keep her out of trouble, but even Adriano won’t be able to get her out of her brother’s mess. In a war, no woman is safe if her hand in marriage can advance her family in the world of the mafia...
  • Until the End by London Miller

    Until the End by London Miller

    Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
    · 29 ratings
    Lauren 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..
  • Endless by W. Winters

    Endless by W. Winters

    Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 25 ratings
    From USA Today bestselling author W Winters comes an emotionally captivating and thrilling, romantic suspense. He holds a power over me like no one else ever could. Maybe it’s because my heart begs to beat in time with his. Maybe it’s because my body bows to his and his alone. Maybe it’s because he thought he loved me before he even laid eyes on me...
  • Mafia Fire by Shanna Handel

    Mafia Fire by Shanna Handel

    Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    A dark mafia...
  • Wrathful Souls by Anne Malcom

    Wrathful Souls by Anne Malcom

    Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    She survived the deadliest serial killer of her generation.Or so everyone thought.No one knew how many pieces of her he took to the grave with him. She hid her scars, her nightmares. She hid everything until she couldn’t.Then she ran.But Colby followed her.He’d follow her to the ends of the earth. To hell and back. Sariah knew he would…Because Colby had already wrenched her out of hell once...
  • Dreams of the Vengeful by Adelaide Forrest

    Dreams of the Vengeful by Adelaide Forrest

    Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars
    · 12 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...
  • Almost Innocent by Carina Adams

    Almost Innocent by Carina Adams

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    Callaghan. A name synonymous with power and fear. A family of untouchable criminals. As a teenager, Gabriella Forte had no intention of getting to know the town's most dangerous brothers. Once Dustin set his sights on her, she was trapped. There was only one way out of her personal hell. Declan was determined to break away from his family's shadow...
  • Raven by Leah Steele

    Raven by Leah Steele

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    Secrets are revealed, and I’ve never felt so betrayed. We had a plan, a good fucking plan, and with one explosion it all went to shit. Only, it wasn’t the bomb I set off that left destruction in its wake, it was the truth about my men. They've been hiding details about my life, and until they decide to share every last truth, they're choosing to live life on the edge of my blade...
  • Respect by Aleatha Romig

    Respect by Aleatha Romig

    Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Respect - An Infidelity series Novel “The making of a man” An EPIC mafia love story not to be missed. From New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author Aleatha Romig comes a stand-alone novel, a spin-off from her beloved Infidelity series...
  • Dirty Pool by Bethany-Kris

    Dirty Pool by Bethany-Kris

    Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
    · 8 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...
  • The CEO of Cristo by Sophie Lark

    The CEO of Cristo by Sophie Lark

    Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    I Lost The Love Of My Life…My best friend betrayed me.He stole my company and my freedom.I might have forgiven that. But there’s one thing I’ll never forgive. He ripped my love from my arms and wrapped her up in his.He sent me to Hell. Now I’m back. For her, and for my revenge… “The CEO of Cristo ” is a Secret Baby Billionaire Romance, inspired by Alexandre Dumas’ “The Count of Monte Cristo”...
  • Blood Sky by S. Massery

    Blood Sky by S. Massery

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 6 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...
  • Greed: A Rumpelstiltskin Retelling by J. Kearston

    Greed: A Rumpelstiltskin Retelling by J. Kearston

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 6 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...
  • Damien's Promise by Vic Tyler

    Damien's Promise by Vic Tyler

    Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars
    · 5 ratings
    Welcome to our corner of the underworld where everything you love can and will be used to destroy you. ***** She didn't just fall into the lap of the most ruthless criminal organization . She crashed our party. Bruised, battered, and broken - this innocent soul begged us to shed blood on her behalf. For justice . Retribution . Vengeance...
  • Merciless Union by Faith Summers

    Merciless Union by Faith Summers

    Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars
    · 9 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:
    suspense  new adult  mafia  contemporary  dark  m-f
  • 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...
  • Vow by Bethany-Kris

    Vow by Bethany-Kris

    Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    They say it’s always the one you least expect … Andino Marcello made his choices—the right ones for duty and famiglia. But even the right choices have consequences. He’s never been more aware of that fact than he is now. The thing is, Andino isn’t the same man he once was. The mafia wants what it wants. He’ll push until they all break. Even her...
    Categorized as:
    suspense  mafia  dark  angst  contemporary  length-medium
  • Obsidian Music by Scarlett Dawn

    Obsidian Music by Scarlett Dawn

    Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    The bestselling conclusion to the Lion Security series is here! Beth and Daniil's passionate love story reaches its ultimate struggle when Beth is kidnapped by Daniil's enemies. Dark and dangerous killers hold her captive, but the Russian mafia will stop at nothing for her return...
  • King of Beasts, Book 1 by Diana A. Hicks

    King of Beasts, Book 1 by Diana A. Hicks

    Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    From award-winning author Diana A. Hicks comes a dark mafia romance full of angst and heart.Rex Valentino is my enemy.He has the power to wave a hand and make all my family problems go away.In return, he only requires one thing...my complete surrender.Caterina Alfera, an angel lost in a world of beasts.I didn’t ask for her.Destiny brought her to me.And now I can’t let her leave.She’s mine to keep...
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