Books like 'Safe Bet'

Readers who enjoyed Safe Bet by A.L. Woods also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.

historical  dark romance  new adult  angst  20th century  christian

  • Special Forces - Soldiers by Aleksandr Voinov, Marquesate

    Special Forces - Soldiers by Aleksandr Voinov, Marquesate

    Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 41 ratings
    Special Forces is the story of a Scottish SAS soldier and a Soviet spetsnaz soldier. Two enemies who meet in the line of duty during the early days of the Soviet Union's last war in Afghanistan. Behind enemy lines respect and finally love grow ... but that's only the official version. This epic spans across over twenty-five years of their lives...
  • The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah

    The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah

    Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 54 ratings
    Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read .Renowned hip-hop artist, writer, and activist Sister Souljah brings the streets of New York to life in a powerful and utterly unforgettable first novel.I came busting into the world during one of New York's worst snowstorms, so my mother named me Winter...
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  • Wolves vs. Hearts by Anna Green

    Wolves vs. Hearts by Anna Green

    Rated: 4.78 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 5 of 5
    Explicit and plentiful [?] · 19 ratings
    The second volume of The Heart Rate of a Mouse trilogy.A new band, a new city, and new lover - Ryan dusts himself off and starts again, but the god-like status that his former band's tragic end has given him isn't as easy to shake off. As he should be focusing on making a comeback with his new band, he runs into the one person he hasn't been able to forget...
  • The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

    The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

    Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars
    · 118 ratings
    In The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath’s hauntingly beautiful semi-autobiographical novel, readers are invited into the mind of Esther Greenwood, a young woman whose dreams of literary success unravel into a descent into mental illness...
  • The Empty Hearth by Kitty Neale

    The Empty Hearth by Kitty Neale

    Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars
    · 13 ratings
    Dad loves Mum - loves her to the point of obsession. He's jealous when she shows us any affection.' Set in Battersea in the Fifties and Sixties, the Pratchett family have to contend with coalman Alfie Pratchett's obsessive jealousy. Although Alfie is a bully, his two teenage children, John and Millie, have learned to dodge him and his moods...
    Categorized as:
    20th century  historical  dark  length-medium
  • The Bell in the Fog by Lev A.C. Rosen

    The Bell in the Fog by Lev A.C. Rosen

    Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars
    · 29 ratings
    The Bell in the Fog, a dazzling historical mystery by Lev AC Rosen, asks—once you have finally found a family, how far would you go to prove yourself to them?San Francisco, 1952. Detective Evander “Andy” Mills has started a new life for himself as a private detective—but his business hasn’t exactly taken off...
  • Two Tribes by Fearne Hill

    Two Tribes by Fearne Hill

    Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 3 of 5
    Open door [?] · 16 ratings
    It’s 1995, and troubled seventeen-year-old Matt Leeson harbours three passions: indie music, wartime history, and the posh boy he sits next to in maths class. Not in that order. One of those passions is closely guarded, along with a few other secrets Matt tucks away. Such as his abusive father, the cramped run-down flat he calls home, and the futility of his dreams to escape both...
  • Unhinge the Universe by Aleksandr Voinov, L.A. Witt

    Unhinge the Universe by Aleksandr Voinov, L.A. Witt

    Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 16 ratings
    December 1944, the Battle of the Bulge SS Lieutenant Hagen Friedrichs is the sole survivor of a party sent to retrieve his brother—and the highly sensitive information he’s carrying—from behind enemy lines. But his daring rescue attempt fails, and Hagen becomes the prisoner. Allied command has ordered Captain John Nicholls to extract critical intelligence from their new Nazi POW...
    Categorized as:
    20th century  angst  m-m  military  historical  abuse  dark  war
  • Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith

    Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith

    Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 2 of 5
    Behind closed doors [?] · 65 ratings
    Set in the Soviet Union in 1953, this stellar debut from British author Smith offers appealing characters, a strong plot and authentic period detail...
  • Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer

    Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer

    Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars
    · 57 ratings
    From the internationally bestselling author of Kane and Abel and A Prisoner of Birth comes Only Time Will Tell, the first in an ambitious new series that tells the story of one family across generations, across oceans, from heartbreak to triumph. The epic tale of Harry Clifton’s life begins in 1920, with the words “I was told that my father was killed in the war...
  • Wrecked by J.B. Salsbury

    Wrecked by J.B. Salsbury

    Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings
    When you can't trust yourself, how can you ask anyone else to? It's been months since Aden Colt left the Army, and still the memories haunt him. When he moved into a tiny boat off the California coast, he thought he'd found the perfect place to escape life. Then Sawyer shows up and turns his simple life upside down...
  • Savage Kingdom by C. Lymari

    Savage Kingdom by C. Lymari

    Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars
    · 5 ratings
    The Sekt does not forgive.The Sekt does not forget.Keeper of secrets and dealers of lies.We bow to no king, nations, or men.Crossing us is certain death. • • • • • •He was a mercenary, and I a slave. He wanted to save me, but I liked the pain. We stole, cheated, and lied. Through a savage kingdom, we found a divide. He betrayed me, but so did I...
    Categorized as:
    angst  suspense  historical  mystery  dark  length-short
  • 야화첩 1 by Byeonduck, 변덕

    야화첩 1 by Byeonduck, 변덕

    Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars
    · 34 ratings
    춘화에 빠진 양반가의 도령 윤승호, 정체를 숨긴 춘화가를 찾아 나선다. 존경하는 선비님의 말을 따라 춘화 그리기를 멈춘 백나겸, 윤승호에게 붙들려 다시 붓을 쥐게 된다. Na-kyum is a young painter with an exceptional talent: creating erotic images of men. Though he has published a few collections under a pseudonym, he has decided to quit painting. Then Seungho, a young nobleman, barges into his life...
    Categorized as:
    angst  historical  queer  m-m  dark  abuse  from hate to love  rape
  • The Last Innocent Hour by Margot Abbott

    The Last Innocent Hour by Margot Abbott

    Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    It is 1946 and Berlin is a ruined city, the Nazis vanquished, but memories of the city in 1934 haunt Sally as she returns to investigate war crimes as an army intelligence officer. Her father was the American ambassador to the new Third Reich and Sally was too naïve to understand the corruption and depravity underneath the shiny surface of banners and marching men...
    Categorized as:
    20th century  dark  war  historical  m-f  non-trad-hea
  • Perfect Mistake Book Two by Amber Nicole

    Perfect Mistake Book Two by Amber Nicole

    Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Trapped on an island, you would think that's the worst thing to find out... Wrong. Now I'm carrying a psychopaths baby. One I dreamed of having before, now I pray the same thing from my past comes to fruition again. Rexley is not meant to be a father. He may be the monster of my nightmares, but the only way to survive is to let my demons out to play, too...
  • Decision at Delphi by Helen MacInnes

    Decision at Delphi by Helen MacInnes

    Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    Kenneth Strang sets out for Sicily and Greece on a seemingly innocent, though fascinating, magazine assignment. But even before his ship sails from New York, the atmosphere becomes charged with sinister omens. In the course of the voyage one mysterious event follows another...
  • The Laughing Cavalier (The Scarlet Pimpernel (chronological order) #0.4) by Emmuska Orczy

    The Laughing Cavalier (The Scarlet Pimpernel (chronological order) #0.4) by Emmuska Orczy

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 13 ratings
    This 1913 adventure tale, The Laughing Cavalier, centres on Percy Blakeney, a foreign adventurer and the progenitor of Baroness Orczy's well-known figure, the Scarlet Pimpernel. Frans Hals' artwork The Laughing Cavalier served as the model for a section of the story, which takes place in Holland between 1623 and 1624...
  • In a Shallow Grave by James Purdy

    In a Shallow Grave by James Purdy

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 11 ratings
    Garnet Montrose returns home from Vietnam to small-town Virginia with injuries so terrible that people become ill at the sight of him. Seeking assistance and companionship in his isolation, Garnet hires two young male caretakers, Quintus and Daventry...
  • Love Her Madly by Jessica Ruben

    Love Her Madly by Jessica Ruben

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 9 ratings
    From International Bestselling author Jessica Ruben comes a passionate romance. From India to Iran and New York City, buckle up for a journey you won’t forget.Darius is a man with power and control.As a child in the Mumbai slums, living among lethal street gangs, all he cared about was his safety and where he would find his next meal...
  • The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

    The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

    Rated: 3.91 of 5 stars
    · 68 ratings
    Sam Spade is hired by the fragrant Miss Wonderley to track down her sister, who has eloped with a louse called Floyd Thursby...
  • The Price of Desire (Lady Rivendale's Connections, Book Four): Regency Romance by Jo Goodman

    The Price of Desire (Lady Rivendale's Connections, Book Four): Regency Romance by Jo Goodman

    Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    Forbidden Desires and a Hidden Past Collide in The Price of Desire, by Jo Goodman a Historical Regency Romance from Jo GoodmanNo stranger to society's scandalous whispers, Griffin Wright-Jones, Viscount Breckenridge, operates a gaming hell teeming with temptation—a sanctuary for those eager to test their luck...
    Categorized as:
    angst  historical  regency  dark  mystery  abuse  m-f  forced proximity
  • A Private Gentleman by Heidi Cullinan

    A Private Gentleman by Heidi Cullinan

    Rated: 3.85 of 5 stars
    · 23 ratings
    "To seal their bond, they must break the ties that bind. " Painfully introverted and rendered nearly mute by a heavy stammer, Lord George Albert Westin rarely ventures any farther than the club or his beloved gardens...
  • Some Do Not... by Ford Madox Ford

    Some Do Not... by Ford Madox Ford

    Rated: 3.82 of 5 stars
    · 15 ratings
    Christopher Tietjens, a brilliant, unconventional mathematician, is married to the dazzling yet unfaithful Sylvia, when, during a turbulent weekend, he meets a young Suffragette by the name of Valentine Wannop. Christopher and Valentine are on the verge of becoming lovers until he must return to his World War I regiment...
    Categorized as:
    20th century  war  historical  dark  length-medium
  • Barren Ground by Ellen Glasgow

    Barren Ground by Ellen Glasgow

    Rated: 3.75 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    Ellen Anderson Gholson Glasgow's novel, Barren Ground, explores the complexities of love, marriage, and societal expectations in the post-Civil War South. Glasgow's writing style expertly conveys the emotional turmoil of her characters while also providing a vivid portrait of the setting and time period...
    Categorized as:
    20th century  historical  dark  m-m  queer  length-medium
  • The Spy and His Boy by Lyn Gala

    The Spy and His Boy by Lyn Gala

    Rated: 3.67 of 5 stars
    · 6 ratings
    Dear Author,The Dom is old French aristocracy, the sub the son of a German tycoon. Very young, they met at a university and discovered their sexuality together and played, what they didn’t know then was BDSM. They were separated during the long war where they both grew up and did their duty in different ways.At their reunion they almost killed each other...
    Categorized as:
    angst  bdsm  historical  m-m  war  military  age difference  dark
  • Bartered by Pamela Ann

    Bartered by Pamela Ann

    Rated: 3.78 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    A woman could be… …Everything. Anything. Nothing. I was a connoisseur of beautiful things, women included. I didn't just have one woman, but three—all exotic, stunning, and they would do anything I asked. My life was grand. It was perfect. I was content with it all until a little minx came along...
  • The Portrait by Megan Chance

    The Portrait by Megan Chance

    Rated: 3.75 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 3 of 5
    Open door [?] · 11 ratings
    The reigning master of the New York art world, Jonas Whitaker was brilliant and compelling, a man of dark passions and uncontrollable emotions. Terrified of his own dangerous nature, and scarred by the horror of his past, he hid behind his talent in a world of glittering emptiness--until Imogene Carter pushed her way into his life...
  • A Gentleman Tutor by Harper Fox, Callum Hale

    A Gentleman Tutor by Harper Fox, Callum Hale

    Rated: 3.73 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    For Frank Harte, impoverished schoolteacher, January in London means a yearly fight to survive. A former soldier, his injuries have barred him from all but the lowest-paid posts, and the cold incapacitates him still more. The chance to work as tutor to Viscount Gracewater, son of the famous big-game hunting Earl, comes as a lifeline to Frank...
  • Countries of Origin by Javier Fuentes

    Countries of Origin by Javier Fuentes

    Rated: 3.63 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    In this stunning debut, Javier Fuentes chronicles a tumultuous, passionate love affair between two young men from vastly different worlds during one, extraordinary summer in Spain, in what is ultimately a meditation on identity, class, belonging and desireIt is 2007, in New York where Demetrio, 24, is a celebrated pastry chef at the French restaurant, Le Bourrelet...
  • Scandal by Carolyn Jewel

    Scandal by Carolyn Jewel

    Rated: 3.79 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 35 ratings
    From an author known for her "pulse-pounding action, well-drawn characters, and sexy romance",* comes the tale of a proper young widow and the rake who is out to steal her heart... The Earl of Banallt is no stranger to scandal. But when he meets Sophie Evans, the young wife of a fellow libertine, even he is shocked by his reaction...
  • Dreamboat by MalevolentReverie

    Dreamboat by MalevolentReverie

    Rated: 3.40 of 5 stars
    · 5 ratings
    Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo RenA new family moves in to Rey’s cul de sac. She is roped in to babysitting their son, and while his flighty mother is out, Rey is frequently left alone in the house with his cold, strict father, Mr. Solo—who also happens to be her father’s boss...
  • The Ballroom by Anna Hope

    The Ballroom by Anna Hope

    Rated: 3.76 of 5 stars
    · 31 ratings
    From the internationally acclaimed author of Wake comes a haunting story of love, insanity, and revolution set at the brink of the Great War.Yorkshire, England, 1911: After a moment of defiance at the factory where she has worked since she was a child, Ella Fay finds herself an unwilling patient at the Sharston Asylum...
  • Bringing the Nation's Husband Home by Ye Fei Ye

    Bringing the Nation's Husband Home by Ye Fei Ye

    Rated: 3.53 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    Qiao Anhao and Lu Jinnian had secretly longed for each other for thirteen years, and now that there's a possibility for them to be together, even though the circumstances may be unconventional, neither one can refuse their inner desires any longer...
  • Walking on Glass by Iain Banks

    Walking on Glass by Iain Banks

    Rated: 3.70 of 5 stars
    · 29 ratings
    'Her eyes were black, wide as though with some sustained surprise, the skin from their outer corners to her small ears taut. Her lips were pale, and nearly too full for her small mouth, like something bled but bruised. He had never seen anyone or anything quite so beautiful in his life.' Graham Park is in love. But Sara Fitch is an enigma to him, a creature of almost perverse mystery...
  • Dragonwyck by Anya Seton

    Dragonwyck by Anya Seton

    Rated: 3.68 of 5 stars
    · 32 ratings
    A novel of seduction, mystery, and danger set in New York’s Hudson Valley in the nineteenth century, by the author of Foxfire. There was, on the Hudson, a way of life such as this, and there was a house not unlike Dragonwyck . . . In the spring of 1844, the Wells family receives a letter from a distant relative, the wealthy landowner Nicholas Van Ryn...
  • In the Shadow of Lakecrest by Elizabeth Blackwell

    In the Shadow of Lakecrest by Elizabeth Blackwell

    Rated: 3.63 of 5 stars
    · 32 ratings
    The year is 1928. Kate Moore is looking for a way out of the poverty and violence of her childhood. When a chance encounter on a transatlantic ocean liner brings her face-to-face with the handsome heir to a Chicago fortune, she thinks she may have found her escape—as long as she can keep her past concealed...
    Categorized as:
    20th century  mystery  historical  suspense  dark
  • An Indecent Obsession by Colleen McCullough

    An Indecent Obsession by Colleen McCullough

    Rated: 3.60 of 5 stars
    · 27 ratings
    Dutiful and disciplined Sister Honour Langtry has sole charge of Ward X of a military hospital in the Pacific, caring for soldiers who are battle fatigued. The arrival of Sergeant Michael Wilson transforms the ward into a pressure cooker of emotion as Sister Honour is torn between duty and love...
  • The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

    The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

    Rated: 3.64 of 5 stars
    · 66 ratings
    From New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins comes a deliciously wicked gothic suspense, set at an Italian villa with a dark history, for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware.As kids, Emily and Chess were inseparable. But by their 30s, their bond has been strained by the demands of their adult lives...
  • Nine and a Half Weeks: A Memoir of a Love Affair by Elizabeth McNeill

    Nine and a Half Weeks: A Memoir of a Love Affair by Elizabeth McNeill

    Rated: 3.48 of 5 stars
    · Steam rating: 4 of 5
    Explicit open door [?] · 29 ratings
    The classic erotic memoir of an intense and haunting relationship that spawned the film.This is a love story so unusual, so passionate, and so extreme in its psychology and sexuality that it takes the reader’s breath away. Unlike The Story of O, Nine and a Half Weeks is not a novel or fantasy; it is a true account of an episode in the life of a real woman...
  • Wonderland by Stacey D'Erasmo

    Wonderland by Stacey D'Erasmo

    Rated: 3.09 of 5 stars
    · 13 ratings
    An NPR Best Book of 2014A Time Top Ten Fiction Book of 2014A New York Times Book Review Editors’ ChoiceA BBC Top Ten Book of 2014"Exquisite...As inspiring in its way as Patti Smith's memoir Just Kids ." — Los Angeles Times “Briskly addictive . . . Told in the voice of a female rock Ulysses.” — O, the Oprah Magazine “Marvelous . .
  • Astrid Sees All by Natalie Standiford

    Astrid Sees All by Natalie Standiford

    Rated: 3.29 of 5 stars
    · 23 ratings
    New York, 1984: Twenty-two-year-old Phoebe Hayes is a young woman in search of excitement and adventure. But the recent death of her father has so devastated her that her mother wants her to remain home in Baltimore to recover. Phoebe wants to return to New York, not only to chase the glamorous life she so desperately craves but also to confront Ivan, the older man who painfully wronged her...
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