Books like 'Necessary Cruelty'

Readers who enjoyed Necessary Cruelty by Ashley Gee also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.

contemporary  dark romance  arranged marriage  multicultural  from hate to love  cruel hero  poor heroine  mystery  new adult  class difference 

  • Enrage by Rachel Van Dyken

    Enrage by Rachel Van Dyken

    Rated: 4.59 of 5 stars
    · 29 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  angst  m-f  mafia  contemporary  dark
  • The Black Wolf by J.A. Redmerski

    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...
    Categorized as:
    suspense  new adult  mystery  angst  m-f  dark  contemporary  mafia
  • Sponsored links
  • Scandalous Prince by Rachel Van Dyken

    Scandalous Prince by Rachel Van Dyken

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 28 ratings
    A mafia romance about secrets and soulmates by Rachel Van Dyken, the number one New York Times bestselling author of the Eagle Elite series.The Woods are Lovely, dark, and deep, but I have promises to keep and miles to go, before I sleep —Robert FrostI was born under fire and swore to protect her until my dying day, I just never knew that one day, I'd be the very monster I was protecting her from...
  • Dylan by Jaymin Eve, Tate James

    Dylan by Jaymin Eve, Tate James

    Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 3 of 5
    Open door [?] · 27 ratings
    Dylan Grant.One of Forbes’ 30 under 30.One of the most eligible yet unattainable men in the country.One of the Delta Five.Together with his friends, Beck, Riley, Jasper and Evan, Dylan runs half the damn world. He is the epitome of power... and the definition of emotional baggage. Too damaged from his shitty upbringing. Too hung up on his best friend's girl...
  • But I Need You by W. Winters

    But I Need You by W. Winters

    Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 18 ratings
    Some love stories are a slow burn. Others are quick to ignite, scorching and branding your very soul before you’ve taken that first breath. You’re never given a chance to run from it. That’s how I’d describe what happened to us.Everything around me blurred and all that existed were his lips, his touch… The chase and the heat between us became addictive...
  • Becoming Noah Baxter by J.M. Sevilla

    Becoming Noah Baxter by J.M. Sevilla

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 36 ratings
    Jay and Lily complete each other in ways no one else ever could, teaching one another things about themselves they wouldn't have known otherwise, but is it enough? Can two people from entirely different worlds find a way to make it last? Even if their love is strong enough, they still have an obstacle standing in their way...
  • Empire Nightclub #1-4 by K.A. Tucker

    Empire Nightclub #1-4 by K.A. Tucker

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 17 ratings
    One visit to her father in prison—convicted for a murder he didn’t commit—and she's attracted the attention of the last man she'd ever want knowing that she exists.This bundle includes all four full-length books in the highly addictive Empire Nightclub series!Sweet MercyGabriel FallenDirty EmpireFallen EmpireThis series is intended for mature audiences...
  • 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...
  • Savage Bloodline by Kenya Wright, Amarie Avant

    Savage Bloodline by Kenya Wright, Amarie Avant

    Rated: 4.72 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 10 ratings
    Darkness lurks behind their gazes.There’s something sinister about their smiles.Their name incites fear in their enemies.Their touch arouses passion in the women they love.They are the DeLucas. In the streets and in the sheets, there’s one word that describes them best.SAVAGE.The men of the DeLuca family are proof that the bigger the alpha, the harder they fall… in love...
  • Obsession by T.K. Leigh

    Obsession by T.K. Leigh

    Rated: 4.88 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    One week. No names. No expectations.That was our agreement. We were supposed to walk away after our time in Hawaii was over. No matter what.That was before…Before I learned who she is.Before I realized how interconnected our lives are.Before I fell in love.But our love isn’t the stuff fairy tales are made of.Demons lurk around every corner.Good doesn’t necessarily prevail over evil...
  • Bed of Roses by D.V. Fischer

    Bed of Roses by D.V. Fischer

    Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 13 ratings
    I never thought I'd fall for a murderer. As an old employee at a funeral home, Tegan's life had been full of corpses. When her parents died, she couldn't take being surrounded by death anymore. She had to get away, and to do that, she moved to a small, sleepy town in Utah. When Tegan rented a house sight-unseen, she had been told it would need a lot of work...
  • Cold Hearted Casanova by L.J. Shen

    Cold Hearted Casanova by L.J. Shen

    Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 43 ratings
    From USA Today bestselling author L.J. Shen comes a witty romance about a woman desperate to marry into money…and her fake marriage to a (real) billionaire reluctant to commit even to a zip code.Riggs Bates may be a billionaire, but he knows money can’t buy happiness. He keeps his financial status a secret and takes his women the same way he takes his meals—a different one three times a day...
  • Tempted to Kiss by W. Winters

    Tempted to Kiss by W. Winters

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 27 ratings
    From 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...
  • Untamed by M. O'Keefe

    Untamed by M. O'Keefe

    Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars
    · 13 ratings
    Marriage 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...
  • Hunt by Taylor Rose, Kenya Wright

    Hunt by Taylor Rose, Kenya Wright

    Rated: 4.64 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 10 ratings
    READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED:This is a twisted ride. Dark psychological themes, dubious situations, and intense sexual circumstances layer this story and may be triggering or offensive to some.CAINBefore Phoenix, there was only death and blood.After Phoenix, I changed.Now, I was no longer only the villain—the hopeful seminary turned serial killer. My humanity was slowly returning...
  • Empire of Ash by Jagger Cole

    Empire of Ash by Jagger Cole

    Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    "Be careful what you wish for, little one..."A bit of advice: when you shoot for a king?Don't. Bloody. Miss.Empire of Ash is book 2 of a two-part duet which includes Burned Cinder and Empire of Ash. Both books will be released June 9th. The completed duet is a standalone story, with a HEA. This is a dark, twisted romance...
  • Ruthless Sinner by Faith Summers, Khardine Gray

    Ruthless Sinner by Faith Summers, Khardine Gray

    Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars
    · 13 ratings
    I’m the governor’s daughter and he’s a mafia boss in the Bratva. It was a no-brainer. I was forbidden to him and him to me. But when we met at his nightclub, I thought he was my prince charming. I couldn’t fight my attraction to the tattooed Russian god, any more than he could for me. Dante Levitsky is tall, dark and dangerously handsome with Mediterranean blue eyes you could swim in forever...
  • The Difference Between Someday and Forever by Aly Martinez

    The Difference Between Someday and Forever by Aly Martinez

    Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars
    · 25 ratings
    The world took everything from us. As survivors of not only a plane crash, but two other impossible tragedies, we’d more than earned a life of peace. But time and time again, we were shown that fate had no intention of giving that to us. Remi and I were soulmates. Plain and simple. Our love should have died in the depths of our darkness, but the sun still exists even when it’s not shining...
  • 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...
  • 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...
  • Captive Rival: Armani by Stella Gray

    Captive Rival: Armani by Stella Gray

    Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    I thought I could walk away…but Armani Bellanti wants me for keeps.My intentions were good.I thought I was on the side of angels.But all my plans led me straight to hell.There’s nowhere for me to turn.My whole world is his cage.I have no one.No one but him.He silences me with cruel kisses.I taunt him with his desire for me.We don’t trust each other, but we can use each other...
  • 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...
  • Lust by Eva Charles

    Lust by Eva Charles

    Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 15 ratings
    Our fate was sealed with a blood oath.She’s more than I expected.Beautiful.Fiery.Seductive.And hiding deadly secrets.Her angels play so nicely with my demons.I crave her touch.Her whimpers.Her obedience.Her light.Do I deserve her? No.Will that stop me from taking what’s rightfully mine? Also no.Some men never seek forgiveness, not even with their final breath...
  • Shattered Altar by Nicole Fox

    Shattered Altar by Nicole Fox

    Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 41 ratings
    It started with the mile high club.It ended with a fake marriage and his baby in my belly.I thought it was just a hookup on an airplane.Let’s be cute and call it a “one-flight-stand.”Or we could be more accurate and call it what it really was:The day that ruined my life.Aleksandr Makarova sure looked the part of the knight in shining armor...
  • A Reckless Note by Lisa Renee Jones

    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...
  • Naked Truth by Lisa Renee Jones

    Naked Truth by Lisa Renee Jones

    Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    Jax North. He's handsome, brutally so, and wealthy. Our first encounter is intense and sex is my escape. I go with it. I go with him and what a ride it is. And then, I say goodbye. Only you don't say goodbye to a man like Jax if he doesn't want you to. I've challenged him without meaning to. He wants me. I don't want to want him, and yet, I crave him. And he tears me down, my resistance, my walls...
  • Summer Sparrow: by Emmerson Hoyt

    Summer Sparrow: by Emmerson Hoyt

    Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars
    · 7 ratings
    Rylee Adder left Eden thinking she’d put the worst day of her life behind her.She was wrong.Separated from her new family and Colton—the man she never thought she’d have to live without—Rylee finds herself in Boston facing her biggest challenge yet: surviving the Vipers’ Den...
  • Possessed by Lies by Ella Miles

    Possessed by Lies by Ella Miles

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    I fought my way back, and now I’m possessed. I’ve healed the wounds that kept me trapped. I’m done fighting it. I’m hers. Completely. I just don’t know if she feels the same. What if the empire we’ve been building crumbles along with our love?Possessed by Lies is book 5 in the Truth or Lies series. It continues Enzo and Kai's story...
  • Consumed by Truths by Ella Miles

    Consumed by Truths by Ella Miles

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Enzo is my heart. My soul. My breath. I never thought I could be so dark. Never knew love meant losing myself and getting reborn. The lies and truths have finally caught up with us. We may have stolen an empire, but we aren’t ready to give it up. It’s ours. He’s mine. And our love will find a way to the truth. Consumed by Truths is book 6 and the final book in Enzo and Kai's story...
  • Merciless Union by Faith Summers

    Merciless Union by Faith Summers

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 8 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  m-f  contemporary  dark  mafia
  • Imperfect Affections by Charmaine Pauls

    Imperfect Affections by Charmaine Pauls

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    When Leon tries to force Violet into marriage, it's war for both of them. The battle is hot and dirty, and no one walks away without scars.A DARK ROMANCELove is for people who don’t mind getting hurt. I vowed to never fall into that trap. I entered into war with my beautiful, corrupted, and dangerous husband. He warned me he always won...
  • Blackness Within by Norma Jeanne Karlsson

    Blackness Within by Norma Jeanne Karlsson

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    Fighting to find his worthy place in life… This is the story of a woman that has worked tirelessly to build her own life from nothing. While the task has been exhaustive, it’s been worth every drop of sweat to earn her own slice of normal. Natasha Reynolds has built a life beyond an absent mother and a drug addict brother to become a home-owning, dog-loving nurse...
    Categorized as:
    suspense  possessive hero  m-f  contemporary  dark
  • Savage Beast by Kristen Luciani

    Savage Beast by Kristen Luciani

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    He Stole My Kiss…Right Before He Stole Me.The second my brother’s ex-best friend tore off my clothes, I was obsessed. His ripped muscles, seductive smirk, and bad boy charm made my knees weak and everything else tingle ever since we were teenagers.I always dreamed I’d become the center of his world.I guess I should have been more specific about my wish.He ruined me...
  • Mafia Crown by L. Steele

    Mafia Crown by L. Steele

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    Mine to destroy. Mine to ruin. She belongs to me...He’s my second chance.The man with the face of my first love.A terrifying and magnetically gorgeous man with brutal blue eyes.An outlaw whose very presence sucks the air from my lungs.A monster who doesn't remember his past, whose soul is shrouded in scars, pain, and darkness.A villain who refuses to acknowledge my very existence...
  • Captive Bride: Armani by Stella Gray

    Captive Bride: Armani by Stella Gray

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    I was supposed to get close to him…but Armani keeps his secrets closer. Everyone knows that Armani is the most dangerous Bellanti brother.No one knows what he’s capable of. I do know there is nothing he won’t do for his family. For months, I’ve interacted with the dark, broody man.The way he looks at me moves the earth under my feet.His touch makes my skin tingle.But I’ve had my own agenda...
  • Resilient Queen by Amber Vant

    Resilient Queen by Amber Vant

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    I never wanted this. Never asked for any of it. The corrupted, chaos of the past is playing catch-up with the present and nothing is as it seems. Everyone wants something. Me? All I want is the truth. I thought this was the end, but it turns out it’s only the beginning. The basis for a much darker twist of fate. Secrets are starting to unravel; relationships have grown fractured...
  • Adrenaline by A.L. Woods

    Adrenaline by A.L. Woods

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 9 ratings
    Four years ago, I betrayed his trust.He retaliated by breaking my heart.Adam Ryan had secrets.The kind better off where they belonged.Buried.As an urban explorer, I’m not afraid of a little trouble.But when I venture to the one place Adam forbade me from, I get more than I bargained for.Him and his friends.Along with their threats.Their violence.And their lust.Adam might claim to still hate me...
  • Till Death Do Us Part by Aleatha Romig

    Till Death Do Us Part by Aleatha Romig

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    Arranged marriage, enemies to lovers, Mafia/cartel romanceAs the only daughter of the Kansas City capo, at eighteen years of age, I was given to the son of my father’s consigliere, a man who was expected to accomplish great things for the famiglia. Things didn’t go the way we planned. There wasn’t love. My husband was a traitor, a part of a coup against the famiglia. My husband is dead. I’m free...
  • Angel's Promise by Aleatha Romig

    Angel's Promise by Aleatha Romig

    Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars
    · 13 ratings
    Everett Ramses came into my life like a hurricane on a dark New Orleans night. With a deep voice and penetrating gaze, his mere presence tingled my nerves and twisted my insides much like the city’s legendary stories of spirits and ghosts. As the ruler of New Orleans, Everett Ramses lives life hard and takes what he wants without apology.He wants me to be his queen...
  • A Single Glance by W. Winters

    A Single Glance by W. Winters

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 13 ratings
    From USA Today bestselling author Willow Winters comes a heart-wrenching, edge-of-your-seat gripping, romantic suspense. I saw her from across the bar. My bar. My city. Everything in that world belonged to me. She stood out from the crowd like she was looking for someone to blame for her pain. That night, I felt the depths of my mistakes. I felt my scars...
  • Broken Doll by Selena .

    Broken Doll by Selena .

    Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    The Dolces broke me, but it doesn’t matter.They shattered my body and soul, and when they were done, they left me for dead. But it doesn’t matter.I lived, but that doesn’t matter, either. I don't care.I don’t care about anything. Not even the one person I thought would never betray me, that I could always count on, the one person who always had my back.Me.I don’t matter.Royal taught me that...
  • Lies and Other Drugs by Coralee June

    Lies and Other Drugs by Coralee June

    Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    Alternate Cover Edition of ASIN B07L92X791Killing my brother’s murderers has become my latest obsession. Against the advice of my alcoholic therapist, I've left my life behind, moving across the country with just two goals in mind: Take down the elite Ivy League School that covered up my twin brother’s death, and seek revenge on the ones responsible...
  • Glass Heart Savage by Lindsey Iler

    Glass Heart Savage by Lindsey Iler

    Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars
    · 17 ratings
    𝘏𝘈𝘝𝘖𝘊. 𝘋𝘌𝘊𝘌𝘐𝘛. 𝘗𝘙𝘐𝘝𝘐𝘓𝘌𝘎𝘌.The elite come to play on the campus of Glass Heart Academy.𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐫My sister was their everything. I’m their nothing.They waited three hundred and sixty-five days after her disappearance to acknowledge I’m alive.Their wicked games should scare me.Except they don’t know I’m not much different than her...
  • Protective Vows by B. B. Hamel

    Protective Vows by B. B. Hamel

    Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings
    I crave freedom and his marriage bed.But I can’t have both.I’m all that’s left of the powerful Greek Florakis mafia. My father and my older brothers were murdered in a yacht explosion off the coast of Crete, and now my family is in tatters.That’s when Luca Valverde comes for me. He’s six-foot-four, covered in scars and muscles, a hardened killer, and my sworn enemy...
  • It's Our Secret by W. Winters

    It's Our Secret by W. Winters

    Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 3 of 5
    Open door [?] · 12 ratings
    From romance author Willow Winters comes a USA Today best-selling emotionally gripping, standalone, romantic suspense. Allison: It was only a little lie.That’s how stories like these get started.But with every lie I told, he saw through it.I think in his heart he knew I was broken; he felt my pain as if it was his.And that’s what changed everything.He’s the reason it all fell apart...
  • Bully Me: Class of 2020 by Shantel Tessier, Siobhan Davis

    Bully Me: Class of 2020 by Shantel Tessier, Siobhan Davis

    Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars
    · 13 ratings
    Loving 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...
  • Break Me by C.D. Reiss

    Break Me by C.D. Reiss

    Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    Book three - and the final in the...
  • Savage Prince: A Savage Kings MC Spin-off Novel by Lane Hart, D.B. West

    Savage Prince: A Savage Kings MC Spin-off Novel by Lane Hart, D.B. West

    Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars
    · 13 ratings
    When my best friend dumped her fiancé on their wedding day, I thought it served him right.After all, the first time I met Kellen Hawthorne, he offered to buy my panties before he even knew my name.But of course, the rich prick’s enormous ego can’t handle being rejected.He threatened to hold everyone in the church hostage unless I agree to marry him right then and there...
Fantastic book recommendations by romance book lovers for romance book lovers.
Find out more about romance.io.


Get recommendations by genres & tropes

Use the romance book finder to mix and match over 100 content keywords to find the books that match your preferences

romance book finder

Looking for more inspiration? Enter another book title to get more suggestions on what to read next.


Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.