Books like 'The Villains We Make'
Readers who enjoyed The Villains We Make by Natasha Knight also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary dark romance marriage of convenience suspense super rich hero betrayal from hate to love age difference mystery m-f
-
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... -
Scandalous Prince by Rachel Van Dyken
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsA 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... -
Fierce Queen by Sadie Kincaid
My name is Alana Montoya. My husband is the King of L.A. And I am his Queen. I never asked for this life, but now that it’s mine, I will fight for it with every breath in my body. Our love is fire and fury, burning brighter than the heat of a thousand suns...Categorized as:
suspense arranged marriage alpha male possessive hero super rich hero anal sex spanking m-f -
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:
spanking arranged marriage suspense age difference possessive hero m-f mafia friends to lovers -
-
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 possessive hero alpha male m-f contemporary strong heroine dark explicit-plentiful -
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...Categorized as:
suspense age difference alpha male mystery from hate to love m-f military contemporary -
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 possessive hero alpha male m-f contemporary dark strong heroine explicit-plentiful -
It Ruins Me by Penelope Sky
I married you because I was in love with you.Those words have echoed in my mind ever since he said them, and despite the way my heart races for him every time he steps into the same room, I can't say it back. Not after he hurt me. Not after he betrayed me.Every time I feel us come close together, my heart pulls away... -
Matteo: A Forced Marriage Mafia Romance by T. Priceton
In my world, marriage is a transaction between two families. Nothing more. So, when the head of the Mancini crime family approaches me with an offer to marry his daughter in exchange for what I need to destroy my enemy, I accept.But when a woman I’ve never heard of shows up on the contract, questions arise.If forcing her hand in marriage is what it takes to get what I want, then so be it... -
Obsession by T.K. Leigh
Rated: 4.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsOne 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
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... -
Born in Blood Collection Volume 1 by Cora Reilly
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe first four books in the bestselling Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles in one big book!Bound By HonorBound By DutyBound By HatredBound By... -
Cold Hearted Casanova by L.J. Shen
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... -
Written with You by Aly Martinez
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 48 ratingsWhen I was fifteen, a single bullet changed my life. I spent the next decade trying to outrun the devastation of my past, building an empire that would shield me from whatever life could throw at me. But all the money in the world couldn’t help me when I found a screaming newborn abandoned on my doorstep. I’d never wanted to be a father...Categorized as:
super rich hero suspense mystery alpha male from hate to love age difference rich heroine m-f -
-
Ivy by Willa Nash
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsCan you keep a secret?Aston University might be teeming with prestigious and wealthy students, but the currency on campus isn’t their millions. It’s their secrets. And the three women living at Clarence Manor are filthy rich in lies and deceit.Two of the roommates have played this game for years. Some would consider them masters of a ruse... -
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... -
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... -
Fallen Rose by Amelia Wilde
Leo Morelli has lost everything.His safety. His sanity. But worse than that, the woman he loves. He will destroy Bishop’s Landing to get her back, even if it means becoming the monster she fears. The entire city will feel his wrath. Haley Constantine loves her beast, but she can’t walk away from her family. They need her now more than ever. It will take more than violence to face these enemies... -
Copper by K. Webster
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsFrom USA Today Bestselling Author K Webster, comes a new MC dark standalone novel!I’m a Fed.Rigid. Rule follower. One of the good guys. I uphold the law…when it suits me.My loyalty lies first with my brother, Koyn, and secondly with his motorcycle club.Jeremy Koynakov was the man I used to be. I’m Copper now. For a decade, I aided my brother in his quest for revenge. We thirsted for vengeance... -
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... -
Mac by Jane Henry
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsBryn Aitkens is the daughter of my enemy.And my enemies must pay.Vengeance for the wrong done my family has driven me.Consumed me.And collateral damage means nothing.So I’ll charm the innocent girl.Seduce her.Win her over, heart and body.Ruin her for anyone but me.And then strike the Aitkens family when they least suspect it.For no enemy of the Cowen Clan goes unpunished…Including her... -
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... -
Monstrous Urges by Jagger Cole
I played games with the wrong stranger. Tall, powerful, and lethally gorgeous, Drazen Krylov is the ruthless boogeyman the Bratva world fears. He’s also the masked man from the app whom I unknowingly shared my darkest, most depraved urges with. Now the fantasy has become a nightmare. Drazen says I did terrible, unforgivable things... -
-
Cruelest Vow by Piper Stone
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsHe was my forbidden fantasy. Now, he's my greatest enemy. D'Artangan Conti was born into poverty, a stable boy in my family's savage regime. I was born into the life of luxury yet tormented by my father's brutal actions, longing to escape. Our friendship forbidden, the young man with the piercing sapphire eye and the voice of an angel became my everything...Categorized as:
from hate to love suspense super rich hero spanking m-f contemporary mafia length-long -
Oath of Possession by Jane Henry
Vivia Montavio is a traitor, and it’s my job to see to her punishment and interrogation. What a tragedy. She’s the hottest little number I’ve ever seen with that defiant little chin and eyes that spark with wit and boldness. I love a good challenge. We’re left with little choice when the truth outs. So I take her far, far away to La Cabina, a rustic cabin in the middle of nowhere...Categorized as:
suspense mystery abduction age difference spanking alpha male from hate to love betrayal -
Her Mafia Queen by Persephone Black
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsCaitlin O' Fearless. Rebellious. Wild.And her fire is a threat to my icy heart.As a ruthless Mafia Queen, my steely self-control is legendary. But Caitlin’s blazing spirit ignited a passion in me I had no idea I was capable of.I sent her away to shield her, but her safety is still my obsession...Categorized as:
age difference arranged marriage marriage of convenience mystery suspense f-f dark queer -
Lust by Eva Charles
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
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
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
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsJax 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...Categorized as:
mystery suspense super rich hero from hate to love contemporary dark dual-pov length-epic -
Sixth Sin by Cora Kenborn
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsPreviously published as StarletHollywood. Mafia. Secrets. Corruption. A dark and twisted enemies-to-lovers retelling of Anastasia. They call me America’s Sweetheart.Hollywood royalty. The last of an era.Sole survivor of LA’s most infamous crime.I’m not any of those things. He forced me into the spotlight.Dominic McCallum—a torn page from my tainted past...Categorized as:
suspense super rich hero mystery from hate to love dark mafia contemporary legends & fairy tales -
Ruthless Prince by Piper Stone
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsAlexandra is a senator's daughter, used to mingling in the company of the rich and powerful, but tonight she will learn that there are men who play by different rules. Men like me. I could romance her. I could seduce her and then carry her gently to my bed. But that can wait... -
House of Heathens: The Complete Trilogy by Alta Hensley
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA villain is made.A monster is hidden.A viper who is forbidden.Together, they are the Gods Among Men.Welcome to the House of Heathens.Within these walls, you are captive to a world of decadence and sin.Where dangerous secrets hide in the shadows.And a family tree with roots so twisted, they bind and strangle each unlucky generation...Categorized as:
alpha male age difference from hate to love tortured hero super rich hero dark daddy-kink pregnancy -
-
Royal Mistake: A Dark Billionaire Arranged Marriage Romance by Piper Stone
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsHe keeps what's his. And as far as he's concerned, I'm his already.When Valerio Royal decided I would be accompanying him to his private island, he didn't ask. He just dragged me onto his plane bound and blindfolded with my ass still sore from a spanking.Then, after he finished making me come until I almost passed out, he asked me to marry him...Categorized as:
super rich hero m-f arranged marriage abduction spanking contemporary length-long dark -
Boss's Vendetta by Via Mari
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsA ruthless mafia boss with a score to settle. A sassy heroine who’s not getting away. Will any chance at love survive the aftermath?We knew the bloodbath was possible, just not when or how our enemies would strike. In a heart-wrenching minute of blazing guns, the responsibility of getting retribution for the savage Italian Crime Family falls to me, Salvatore Larussio...Categorized as:
from hate to love suspense alpha male age difference betrayal dark mafia contemporary -
Consumed by Truths by Ella Miles
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsEnzo 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... -
Blackness Within by Norma Jeanne Karlsson
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsFighting 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... -
Digger by Brooke Summers
Coming October 27,...Categorized as:
mystery age difference suspense from hate to love possessive hero bikers pregnancy contemporary -
Till Death Do Us Part by Aleatha Romig
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsArranged 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...Categorized as:
m-f suspense super rich hero from hate to love mafia dark contemporary multicultural -
Angel's Promise by Aleatha Romig
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsEverett 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... -
Persephone & Hades by Lee Savino, Stasia Black
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsI’m king of the criminal underworld.I always get what I want.And she’s my obsession.Cora is new to the city of sin.Her innocent blue eyes beg for me to claim her.But I’m not the billionaire she thinks I am.There’s a darkness within me.And Cora is a shining light.She’s beautiful. A virgin.I’m ruthless. A beast.She found me for a reason.She’ll be my queen... -
A Harmless Little Ruse by Meli Raine
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsShe has no idea what she’s doing. Loose cannons never hit their targets. And they take out plenty of collateral damage. Four years ago Lindsay experienced the unspeakable right before me, and I couldn’t stop them. But that’s all changed now. When her father, Senator Bosworth, contacted me to ask — demand — that I protect her, it was a second chance. A shot at redemption... -
The Devil's Crown by Monica James
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsI was feared.Respected.Worshiped.But all of that changed when the impossible happened—I fell in love. Only those feelings weren’t reciprocated, because who could love a monster like me?My empire crumbled. People died. I went from being a victorious leader to lurking in the shadows, planning revenge on my half-brother who now reigns in my place...Categorized as:
suspense age difference alpha male from hate to love betrayal contemporary dark mafia -
-
Scorned Obsession by Victoria Paige
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsIt’s when her obsession for him vanishes that he becomes desperate to have it back.Bianca De Lucci has always been obsessed with Sandro Rossi.He was the hero of her girlish dreams.And the dream man of her adolescence.But no matter how much she showed him she wanted more,he always treated her like a younger sister... -
Sixth Sin by Cora Kenborn, Mollie Stark
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsPreviously published as Starlet by Cora KenbornHollywood. Mafia. Love. Lust. Secrets. Corruption.From USA Today best-selling author Cora Kenborn comes a dark and twisted enemies-to-lovers retelling of Anastasia.They call me America's Sweetheart. Hollywood royalty. The last of an era. Sole survivor of LA's most infamous crime. I'm not any of those things.He forced me into the spotlight... -
Mine to Keep by Cynthia Eden
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsLove is the most dangerous obsession… Skye Sullivan is trying to put the pieces of her life back together. She survived a brutal stalker and escaped his abduction, and now she is looking to the future—a future that includes Skye’s lover, billionaire Trace Weston. Skye thinks the danger is finally over for her. She’s dead wrong...Categorized as:
suspense tortured hero super rich hero alpha male mystery possessive hero m-f contemporary -
Break Me by C.D. Reiss
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsBook three - and the final in the...Categorized as:
suspense super rich hero from hate to love alpha male mystery dark contemporary mafia -
Savage Prince: A Savage Kings MC Spin-off Novel by Lane Hart, D.B. West
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsWhen 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...Categorized as:
from hate to love arranged marriage marriage of convenience suspense m-f dark contemporary mafia -
Claimed as Revenge by Piper Stone
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsA Dark Mafia RomanceI claimed her to send a message. I'll keep her for my pleasure.Valencia Rivera was given to me for a night to seal a deal offered to me by her father, but after that pact was broken I decided she was mine to keep. She thought she had a say in the matter, but she found out otherwise when the first stinging lash of my belt landed on her beautiful bottom...
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

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