Books like 'Lesson Learned'

Readers who enjoyed Lesson Learned by Layla Simon also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.

contemporary  dark romance  age difference  consensual-non-con  high-school  somnophilia  spanking  mafia  bdsm  new adult 

  • Sancte Diaboli: Part Two by Amo Jones

    Sancte Diaboli: Part Two by Amo Jones

    Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 46 ratings
    He held a darkness that could never be touched. She carried a light that could never be seen. Not by anyone. Only by each other. Simply two halves of the same soul, Brantley and Saint were fused together with equal parts wrath and peace. Nothing could break through their bond. Nothing. Until now...
  • 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  mafia  angst  suspense  contemporary  dark  m-f
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  • Sancte Diaboli: Part One by Amo Jones

    Sancte Diaboli: Part One by Amo Jones

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 45 ratings
    The Devil comes with baggage, and not the kind you can lose. I was two years old when he saved me. I didn’t understand much at that age, but I remember the pale boy with hair as dark as ink, saving me from two evils. He said he would protect me; I just didn’t know he meant from himself...
  • Reluctant Surrender by Measha Stone

    Reluctant Surrender by Measha Stone

    Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 21 ratings
    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...
  • Twittering Birds Never Fly, Vol.1 by Kou Yoneda

    Twittering Birds Never Fly, Vol.1 by Kou Yoneda

    Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars
    · 29 ratings
    Yashiro is the young leader of Shinseikai and the president of the Shinseikai Enterprise, but like so many powerful men, he leads a double life as a deviant and a masochist. Chikara Doumeki comes to work as a bodyguard for him and, although Yashiro had decided that he would never lay a hand on his own men, he finds there's something about Doumeki that he can't resist...
    Categorized as:
    bdsm  mafia  age difference  angst  m-m  dark  contemporary  rape
  • Forbidden to Love by Siobhan Davis, Regina Wamba

    Forbidden to Love by Siobhan Davis, Regina Wamba

    Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 31 ratings
    Natalia Mazzone has grown up knowing she is promised to a made man. As the only daughter of one of New York’s most powerful mafia dons, she knows she can’t refuse. It’s her duty, and she would never dishonor her beloved father.But the man she’s promised to is a monster. And there is nothing but torture, pain, and heartache lying in wait...
  • Intolerable Bishop by Brooklyn Cross

    Intolerable Bishop by Brooklyn Cross

    Rated: 4.68 of 5 stars
    · 11 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
  • 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...
  • Savage Little Lies by Eden O'Neill

    Savage Little Lies by Eden O'Neill

    Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 3 of 5
    Open door [?] · 34 ratings
    Tiny. Twisted. Secrets.The news about what happened to Dorian’s uncle rocks the town. Especially when a private school’s educator turns up dead. The focus surrounding the events that occurred that night shifts, and no one knows that more than the Legacy boys’ dark prince. Dorian’s looking for answers in the hours following the harrowing truths revealed in that video...
  • Nightshade by Autumn Woods

    Nightshade by Autumn Woods

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 3 of 5
    Open door [?] · 33 ratings
    *Book one of a duet*When Ophelia Winters accepts a scholarship at a prestigious Scottish university to prove that her parents' death was the fault of Cain Green, an American aviation tycoon, her plan is simple; keep her grades up and her head down. The last thing she wants is to wind up in a mafia war or step on the toes of royalty...
  • Backdraft by Cole McCade

    Backdraft by Cole McCade

    Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 17 ratings
    ABOUT THIS EPISODE When a 911 call goes wrong and a young man goes missing, it falls to Malcolm and Seong-Jae to investigate the responding officers when Internal Affairs' internal politics leave the case compromised and the officers aren't willing to talk...
  • Drew by Siobhan Davis

    Drew by Siobhan Davis

    Rated: 4.65 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    The explosive finale in the highly addictive Rydeville Elite series. Mistakes and secrets. My life is littered with them. And it’s not always me who pays the price. So, I do something I swore I wouldn’t do—become the monster my father raised me to be. To shield my loved ones from the predators I hunt, I keep family and friends in the dark, but I won’t apologize for protecting them...
  • Wrath of Rage by R.E. Bond

    Wrath of Rage by R.E. Bond

    Rated: 4.62 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    Being Archer Hendricks’ little sister has always had its problems.My dates ending up dead, kids at school shunning me, and every aspect of my life controlled.I’ve always been kept on the outside of the crew life, always watching, and never participating.I craved to be a part of my brother’s world, no matter the danger.Looks like my wish has been granted because Rage Evans knows I exist...
  • Tiernan by Jane Henry

    Tiernan by Jane Henry

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    When I knew Aisling, she was my sister’s best friend. Young.Innocent.Wild.But that was then.Now I’m hardened and ruthless.A bare-knuckle boxer. An enforcer for the Clan.And that carefree girl is a slave to her addictions with demons in her eyes.And I want her.When she witnesses a murder—a murder I committed—I have no choice but to take her.I’ll keep her silent.I’ll keep her hostage...
  • Cor Amare by Pepper Winters

    Cor Amare by Pepper Winters

    Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 24 ratings
    I made the worst mistake of my life when I was twenty-two.I let love and fear destroy everything I ever wanted, and now I have a choice to make.Run and hide, or stay and face the consequences.I'd always known I wasn't allowed to love her.I'd always accepted that I wasn't allowed to keep her.But that didn't stop me.I broke every rule and choked on every secret to have her...
  • Surrendered Innocence by Measha Stone

    Surrendered Innocence by Measha Stone

    Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    He didn't ask for my surrender. He took it...
  • Heads You Lose by Bea Paige

    Heads You Lose by Bea Paige

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · 20 ratings
    Beast…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...
  • Burn to Ash by K.C. Kean

    Burn to Ash by K.C. Kean

    Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    BethanyRise. Shine. Sleep. Repeat. To the world.Break. Darken. Cry. Lost. Behind closed doors.Nothing is as it seems in the Asheville home or this hell hole town.Then he shows up. Pushing my buttons and demanding I take more from life, be more, be…me. But I have no idea who that is...
  • Keeping the Throne by Nicole James

    Keeping the Throne by Nicole James

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    I'm the president of the RBMC's Durango Chapter.My brothers call me Rock.I've spent my life devoted to this MC.I've built this chapter from the ground up and I'm not about to watch everything I worked so hard to build go down in flames, but keeping this throne may cost me everything I hold dear...
  • Breathless by Willow Winters

    Breathless by Willow Winters

    Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 25 ratings
    Her lips tasted like Cabernet and her touch was like fire. I was blinded by what she did to me. I so easily fell for something I thought I’d never have. I was weak for her and should’ve known better. I should’ve known she could never love a man like me. She brought out a side of me that I wish had stayed dead. I won’t make the same mistake twice. I don’t care how much she begs me...
    Categorized as:
    new adult  angst  mafia  contemporary  dark  abuse  length-medium  m-f
  • Into Ruin by S. Massery

    Into Ruin by S. Massery

    Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 14 ratings
    Hockey guys are off limits—and yet, one has set me in his sights, and I have no chance of escaping. Camden Church is the guy I should’ve stayed away from. But when he mistakes my identity, I don’t correct him. I let him break all my rules. It’s a night I’ll never forget—not that he’ll ever let me...
  • 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  bdsm  dark  captive  contemporary  suspense
  • King of Pain by Piper Stone

    King of Pain by Piper Stone

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · 13 ratings
    My 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...
    Categorized as:
    spanking  mafia  bdsm  dark  suspense  alpha male  contemporary  m-f
  • Deviant Princess by Tracy Lorraine

    Deviant Princess by Tracy Lorraine

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 21 ratings
    USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Tracy Lorraine brings you the next installment of her new dark mafia, high school bully romance series.I should have known better than to play with fire...I’d been burned by Theo Cirillo enough to know that I should have seen this coming.He loved to show me his merciless side, but I couldn’t stay away from the deviant even if I wanted to...
  • Tiny Dark Deeds by Eden O'Neill

    Tiny Dark Deeds by Eden O'Neill

    Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 3 of 5
    Open door [?] · 31 ratings
    Stolen. Missing. Erased. I’m a headline in the town of Maywood Heights and known by a name I’ve never heard. They tell me I was taken, stolen, but none of this makes sense. I’m not who they say I am. I’m not a… twin, but even those close to me seem to believe the rumors swarming around me. Tiny.Dark. Deeds...
  • Endless by W. Winters

    Endless by W. Winters

    Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars
    · 24 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...
  • 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...
    Categorized as:
    new adult  mafia  contemporary  dark  length-medium
  • The Devil's Crown-Part Two by Monica James

    The Devil's Crown-Part Two by Monica James

    Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    All 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...
  • 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...
  • Breathe Again by Nola Marie

    Breathe Again by Nola Marie

    Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    From 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...
  • Master Thor by Ann Jensen, Rogue London

    Master Thor by Ann Jensen, Rogue London

    Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    Desperate times call for desperate measures.When I hit rock bottom I found Club Midgard was looking to hire. I knew nothing about BDSM when I interviewed with a man I couldn’t have dreamt up if I’d tried.In his world women are protected.In his world women are honored.In his world lay safety and happiness.ONLY if I gave him my submission...
  • Cruel Hearted by C.M. Wondrak

    Cruel Hearted by C.M. Wondrak

    Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 13 ratings
    The Black Hand. The syndicate of hardened criminals I planned on destroying. Things are not what they seem. Someone knows my secret, and it’s not someone I ever expected. He knows my truth, and he understands my need for vengeance—though he’s tried to convince me otherwise. What he doesn’t understand is if I don’t have justice, I’m nothing. I’m not Shay, not Celene...
  • Kings & Carnage by Sadie Hunt

    Kings & Carnage by Sadie Hunt

    Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 19 ratings
    I didn't think I could live with them.Turns out, I can't live without them.Rock - the one who takes care of me.Oscar - the one who makes me feel seen.And Neo - the one who lights my soul on fire.They made me see who I really am.Now I may have lost them forever.*This is the conclusion of the Aventine University series featuring Neo, Oscar, Rock, and Willa...
  • Bared Betrayal: Special Edition by Bella J

    Bared Betrayal: Special Edition by Bella J

    Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    I have a huge diamond ring on my finger, something that shows the world I’m spoken for. To me, it’s a reminder of a secret I can’t take with me when I walk down the aisle.My new fiancée just became an overnight sensation on the Hollywood scene, and we went from quiet dinners to champagne towers and caviar croquettes with A-listers...
  • Delirium by Katie May

    Delirium by Katie May

    Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars
    · 13 ratings
    ELLIE New secrets and shocking revelations have brought me and my guys closer together. We must work as a team to bring down the Paragons of Prosperity once and for all. But with one of my men presumed dead, another being actively recruited by the cult in question, and the other three chasing lead after lead, I fear we may be in way over our heads...
  • Lover by Eden O'Neill

    Lover by Eden O'Neill

    Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 3 of 5
    Open door [?] · 20 ratings
    Two lost souls.Two separate lives.A high dive.A challenge.And a pizza."What do you say, Jersey girl?"He asked me that over a deep dish, a man I met at a wedding when I'd been trying to forget the epic disaster that was my life. He was too young, but I was hurting, sad, and recently divorced. Basically, the trifecta for bad decision-making...
  • A Lovely Confession by Coralee June

    A Lovely Confession by Coralee June

    Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 18 ratings
    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

    A Lovely Obsession by Coralee June

    Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 25 ratings
    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...
  • Tease Me (Kings of Hell's Kitchen) by Tara Wyatt

    Tease Me (Kings of Hell's Kitchen) by Tara Wyatt

    Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 1 of 5
    Glimpses and kisses [?] · 6 ratings
    I wasn’t looking to fall for an angel. But the first time I laid eyes on Whitney Vanek, that’s what happened.Then I found out she’s my boss’s girl’s best friend. Someone I won’t be able to avoid, even though I know I should. Because a woman like that? Gorgeous and smart and full of life? She’s not for me. She thinks she knows me, but she doesn’t. She doesn’t know the things I’ve done...
  • Cross + Catherine: The Saga by Bethany-Kris

    Cross + Catherine: The Saga by Bethany-Kris

    Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
    · 8 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...
  • Don't Fear the Reaper by R.E. Bond

    Don't Fear the Reaper by R.E. Bond

    Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    Everything I’ve ever known has been a lie.From my family history, to the very reason I ended up on the streets as a kid.There was only one person I ever trusted completely.I’ll never trust him again.Archer Hendricks is everything I despise and crave.I’ve never loved and hated someone so much in my entire life.Too bad my heart didn’t get the memo that he’s the devil...
  • Reaper by Rachel Leigh

    Reaper by Rachel Leigh

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    They call me the reaper.Saying I have no soul. A heart that’s charred black. I tell them it’s true,because it is. I’ve been hiding in the shadows.Stealing secrets, destroying the lives of those who deserve it. But there’s one story to be told before this book closes. My story. Don’t be fooled, it’s not a fairytale. I’m no prince.And I certainly don’t want a princess...
  • Hook by Gianni Holmes

    Hook by Gianni Holmes

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    KITDodging bullets and jumping from two story buildings are things I’d only ever seen in movies.Never would I have expected that this would become my life.I keep deadly secrets for the man I love.I’ll follow him across countries to have his back.Why am I willing to risk everything for him?Because of the look in his eyes when I purr for him.SULLYWorking with Kit is my greatest joy...
  • 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...
  • Veiled Innocence by Ella Frank

    Veiled Innocence by Ella Frank

    Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 3 of 5
    Open door [?] · 45 ratings
    Tick, tick, tock. Time. That’s all I have now. A small room, a photograph, and time. They want me to trust them and confess my sins. They told me they wouldn't judge me—they lied. I thought we could convince the world that this wasn't a crime. We were wrong. Time doesn't stand still. The clock keeps ticking, the world is unconvinced, and now… Now he is gone...
  • Thick Skinned by C.M. Wondrak

    Thick Skinned by C.M. Wondrak

    Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 13 ratings
    The Black Hand. The criminal organization that owns everyone in Cypress, a group of people who rule the city in blood and blackmail. My plan is to take them down. Whether it’s one by one or all together, I will watch the Black Hand burn for what they did to my family five years ago. For my parents, for my brother… this vengeance is for them. I have both Jameson sons wrapped around my fingers...
  • Salvation by Cassie Hargrove, Story Brooks

    Salvation by Cassie Hargrove, Story Brooks

    Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars
    · 31 ratings
    It started with an Obsession… We knew from the moment we saw her that she would be ours, and we used all of our means of Seduction to prove it to her... However, with our way of life comes trouble. It didn’t matter how much Devotion we had, it wasn’t enough to keep her safe, and now we’re here. We’re fighting for our lives and everything we never knew we’d have...
  • Mafia Fire by Shanna Handel

    Mafia Fire by Shanna Handel

    Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    A dark mafia...
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