Keri Lake

Meet the Devil of Blackthorne Manor ...When I was a little girl, I dreamed a handsome knight would come and rescue me from my wretched mother. He'd ride up on his white steed and break the curse I've been fated to carry since the day I was born.Funny how things changed over time. How the fairy tale twisted into something far more crooked, darker than I ever imagined.In reality, my knight is scarred and broken, living alone in a castle of bones that overlooks the sea. He isn't searching for me. He never was.Lucian Blackthorne is as cursed as I am, and equally shunned by the locals, the fishers of men, who believe him to be the devil in the flesh.Perhaps he is, with the way his amber eyes draw me in, ignite me like an infernal blaze. And the sins he whispers in my ear are as wickedly intoxicating as the man himself.Yet, his touch is heaven and his will is my weakness.He calls us forbidden, an unsalvageable tragedy, with no happy end. Maybe we are. But in this story, he's the one who needs saving.Master of Salt & Bones is a dark modern gothic contemporary standalone romance.

Master of Salt & Bones

Nocticadia

Nightshade

In the Louisiana swamplands, ghost stories are as much a part of childhood as chasing fireflies and crawfishing. They never much scared me, though, nor the possibility of evil out to do me harm. Until the night I watched shadows come to life and butcher everything I loved. With a stranger's help, I managed to escape to an isolated place miles north, and, in time, became my own ghost story. A cautionary tale for the locals. Nearly a decade passed, before I returned to my birthplace, in hopes of unearthing long-awaited answers. Instead, I found something I wasn't looking for. Someone. A remedy for my loneliness.Or so I thought. Turns out, Thierry Bergeron is no elixir. He's a deadly poison, cursed by the demons of his past, and feared by those who call him the elusive Rougarou of the bayou. A devious rogue, whose seductive whispers and rough hands haunt my dreams. The big bad wolf that defiles me without apology, or remorse. I should resist him, but I can't. And when the shadows return to stake their claim on me, his darkness is the only safe place to hide. The Isle of Sin and Shadows is a modern southern gothic contemporary standalone romance, set on a darkly enchanting fictional island.

The Isle of Sin & Shadows

Julie Belfield

Papa says everyone has a story that deserves to be told. Most begin years ago, after the second bomb hit, unearthing a deadly contagion that divided the population into the pure, the infected, and the Ragers. Many recount the moment we rose up from the ashes and started anew. Others tell of the day we built a wall to keep them out. For some, they're nothing more than the vestiges left behind-a simple name carved into the knotty bark of a Juniper tree. My story begins with a boy. A mute, from the other side of the wall, known only as Six, who touched my heart in ways that words never could, and gave me the courage to face my darkest truth. Juniper Unraveling is a full-length standalone romance set in a post-apocalyptic world.

Juniper Unraveling

A spellbinding gothic dark fantasy about a shunned woman who is forced beyond the mortal realm's forbidden boundary, into a terrifying world of cursed souls and grotesque creatures. Only the banished know what lies beyond the woods... There are whispers about what lurks in Witch Knell-the forest where sinners go to die. The villagers call it The Eating Woods because what's taken is never given back. Only those who've lost their senses would dare to go near it. Or the banished. Maevyth Bronwick knows better than to breach the misty labyrinth of trees, but a tragic turn of events compels her beyond the archway of bones, to a boundary no mortal has crossed before. One that cloaks a dark and fantastical world that's as dangerous as it is alluring. It's there that he dwells, the cursed lord of Eidolon. The one tasked to keep her hidden from the magehood that seeks to crucify her in the name of an arcane prophesy. Zevander Rydainn, known to his prey as The Scorpion, is the coldest, most calculated assassin in all of Aethyria and he'd sooner toss his feisty ward to a pack of vicious fredrakes than keep her safe. If only he could. Maevyth's blood is the key to breaking his despised curse and vanquishing the slumbering evil in Witch Knell. Unfortunately for Lord Rydainn, fate has other plans for the irresistible little enchantress. And his growing obsession with her threatens to destroy everything. Including himself.
Anathema is a full-length, gothic dark fantasy, the first book in The Eating Woods duology. Perfect for readers who enjoy a plot-heavy and atmospheric story with a unique magic system, a slow-burn romance and a touch of horror.

The Eating Woods #1 

Anathema 

WARNING: **Not recommended for readers under the age of 18 due to graphic violence, sex and strong language. Trigger warning for self harm. The only sure way to destroy a man is to take what he cannot live without. Three years ago, I had everything. A beautiful wife. A son. A reason for living. Until a ruthless task force, assembled under Mayor Michael Culling, with a brutal strategy to make the streets of Detroit 'safe', ripped away everything I loved in a deadly hunt called The Culling. They tried to kill me, too. I wish they had. Now I'm cursed by the memories of that night, and the words I whispered to my dying wife. A promise-to avenge the wrong and set it right. I'm no longer Nick Ryder. I'm a masked vigilante. Faceless. Loveless. Fearless. A man with nothing left to lose-one who's seen the dark and violent truth behind the city's flawless veneer. Michael Culling doesn't know who I am. Or what I want. All he knows is that I've kidnapped his beautiful wife. An eye for an eye-isn't that how the saying goes? And Aubree Culling is the perfect pawn to destroy him. If she doesn't destroy me first.

Ricochet

"Nightshade. This peculiar place is where I first met the cold and callous recluse living in a decaying cliffside cathedral. Jericho Van Croix is the epitome of everything I’ve been told to fear. A raven-winged harbinger who wears intrigue like a warm black cloak. An enigma that I’m determined to unravel – even if it means getting closer than I should."--Publisher's description.

Infernium

Passion is blind in vengeance and love. Ayden's suburban home was invaded by a pack of Lycans; the brutal attack is the only memory she carries of her former life. The Sons of Wrath are a brood of vengeance-dealing warrior demons. They band with Ayden to hunt the Lycans on Detroit's most deadly feeding grounds. Kane Walker should've been her easiest kill. Unfortunately, the newly bitten Lycan has something she wants-- clues that may finally lay her past to rest. To reach them, she must be willing to submit to the sensual pleasures awakened by his touch.

Soul Avenged (Sons of Wrath, #1)

In a world of suffering and brutality, she's the key to his humanity ...I was fourteen when I was sold to the men in black uniforms. Too young to understand I served a purpose beyond that of the other girls they'd taken.For the greater good.Now, after four years in Calico, I've seen more death and suffering than during my days of surviving out in the Deadlands against the threat of Ragers and famine. I didn't think this world could get any bleaker. Didn't think it could take any more from me than it already had.Not until I finally learned my purpose.That same day, I walked the dark halls in the bowels of this hell, where the suffering is in silence, and ghosts of the dead whisper through the walls. A place where nightmares are real.A place where I met my Champion-the most revered Alpha in S-Block-locked away in his dark cell.For the greater good.He's their weapon, their only line of defense against the mistakes of the past: the mutations that could wipe out all of what's left of us.Me, I'm his whipping girl. His reward for good behavior. And his punishment for acts of defiance.Calico Descending is the follow up book to Juniper Unraveling, a full-length dystopian post apocalyptic romance.SERIES READING ORDER: Juniper Unraveling (Book 1)Calico Descending (Book 2)Kings of Carrion (Book 3

Calico Descending

Ripley They call me RIP. I'm a killer. A murderer. A psychopath. In the eyes of the righteous, I'm a monster, born of sin and depravity. I want to protect her, but I'm not a good man. I want to love her, but I no longer feel. She gets under my skin, though, and has awakened something inside of me. Something I'd kill for. I'm not her savior-not even close. In fact, I'm worse than the hell she's already suffered. I'm her vengeance. Tit for tat, as they say. And if she's not careful, I'll be her ruin. Dylan For months, I've watched him. I've fantasized him as my savior, my lover. My ticket out of the hell I've lived in for the last six years. I never dreamed he'd be my nightmare. Had I known what he really is, I'd have never gotten in the car that night, but life is full of cause and effect. And sometimes the choice on offer isn't a choice at all. It's the result of something already in motion, and we're merely left to survive the ripple effect.

Ripple Effect

Decades have passed since our world was decimated by the Dredge. Some say it was an act of God. Others believe the devil himself breached the gates of hell and turned the masses into the mindless infected with an appetite for carnage.Those of us who've survived the Calico experiments know the only thing more terrifying than the monsters that seek to ravage what's left of us, are the men who created them. Ones too capable of hiding their true form, and burying their darkest secrets.Somewhere beneath the facility lies the answers, a cure for our suffering. To reach it, we'll have to open the haunting tomb, where man's deadliest mistakes, the most violent mutations, lie trapped within its tunnels, waiting to be set free.Our only hope in surviving them are the very Alphas who were designed to hunt us down. The titans forged by cruelty and pain.Kings of carrion.We taught them to love, and in turn, they vow to protect us. To deliver the cure for humanity's sake. Except this world doesn't give without taking, and any chance of saving us will require the greatest sacrifice of all.SERIES ORDER: Juniper Unraveling (Book 1)Calico Descending (Book 2)Kings of Carrion (Book 3

Kings of Carrion

A dark, atmospheric tale of deadly secrets and forbidden love. Mortui vivos docent. The dead teach the living. After watching my mother succumb to a mysterious illness, I promised myself two things. I'd find the cure for what ravaged her. And leave the godforsaken city where she abandoned me. Four years later, I receive an acceptance letter from Dracadia University, one of the oldest, most prestigious schools in the country. Nestled on a secluded island off the coast of Maine, it's rumored to be haunted by the souls of the mental patients exiled there centuries before. Those whose bones are said to make up the island's white sandy shores. And restless ghosts aren't even its most daunting peculiarity. Devryck Bramwell, known on campus as Doctor Death, is a brilliant pathologist in charge of the midnight lab. He's also my devastatingly handsome professor, who seems to loathe tenacious first-years, like me. Except, his dark and enigmatic gaze tells me all the ways he'd devour me if given the chance, and his stolen kisses burn my lips with forbidden jealousy. I crave his authority. He aches for redemption. Together, we're toxic. Delicious fodder for the prying eyes hellbent on exhuming the rotted skeletons of our pasts. For the dead have much to teach, and it's only a matter of time before Dracadia's most depraved secret is resurrected.

A Dark Academia Gothic Romance

"This is a dark apocalyptic romance and if you haven't read this genre yet, Keri will suck you into this world and keep you on the edge of your seat. Even if apocalyptic isn't your cuppa, trust me, this series will make a believer out of you." -Dirty Girl Romance Book BlogI've heard stories about the Alphas. Violent soldiers, bred to kill both humans and mutations, whose sole purpose was to balance our survival against the infected.Until they turned on their masters.Held as subjects of the Calico research facility, they were forced to endure the gruesome experiments that transformed them into callous savages with hearts as impenetrable as their defenses. More terrifying than the monsters that decimated our world with disease and famine.In the aftermath of Calico's collapse, many of the Alphas fled, only to be hunted by our own Legion army. And in their absence, the balance has shifted.I thought they no longer existed.Until I met him, the god of monsters.Now I don't believe in the stories anymore.To fall in love with the unyielding heart of an Alpha is said to be impossible.But to fall in love with a god would be a tragedy.SERIES ORDER: Juniper Unraveling (Book 1)Calico Descending (Book 2)Kings of Carrion (Book 3)God of Monsters (Book 4)

God of Monsters

From USA Today Bestselling author Keri Lake comes an intense and gritty romantic thriller that'll have you turning the pages well past your bedtime.The most terrifying monsters aren't found in dreams ...Four young socialites have gone missing in the Chicago area. Two found dead, bearing the signature marks of a brutal serial killer. With the kind of tragedy that mars Nola Tensley's past, she should be concerned, but without a pot to piss in, all the struggling single mom cares about is making a normal life for her son. After all, she's clearly not the murderer's type.Or is she? When Rhett Voss, an enigmatic and handsome stranger, answers her ad for the outdated in-law suite at the back of her property, offering double her asking price, Nola really can't refuse. Even though the supposed Wall Street Wolf seems better suited for a high-rise downtown-a suspicion that quickly turns into hindsight once she submits to the flirtations of her charming new tenant, and consequently, unearths a series of disturbing revelations. Her curiosities lead her down the path of a madman, whose moniker, The Sandman, only hints at the grisly nature of his crimes. He's smart. Evasive. A cunning psychopath with a twisted method of disposing his victims.And his hunting grounds are hitting too close to home.

Nocturnes & Nightmares

STANDALONE CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE No matter how unbreakable he may seem, every man has a weakness. A year ago, my home became a bloodstained crime scene. That night marked the beginning of my hell-the same night I was tortured by my enemies and tossed into an underground prison to die. They failed. I survived. Now that I'm free, only one motive burns in my soul: revenge. Lucky for me, they think Jase Hawkins is dead. Maybe I am. I've got nothing but a cold, merciless rage, and Black Betty, the sharp steel blade that never leaves my side. Then she drifts into my life. Lucia wants answers-so much so, she's willing to fall into the darkness where my enemies lie in wait, to kill her for what she knows. Or to take her for the depraved fantasies her body alone can rouse in a man's mind. Me? I want her for the fire in her touch that feeds my addiction, forces me to feel what has become numb, but my appetite for bloodshed runs deeper than flesh. For my own sanity, I've vowed to stay away from her. Because she's my only weakness, an obsession that leaves me craving more-one that could make even the most steadfast plan backfire. **Not recommended for readers under the age of 18. Trigger warning for violence, drug abuse and scenes of rape and torture. BACKFIRE is a spin-off of RICOCHET and can be read as a standalone.

Backfire (a Vigilantes Novel, #2)

From USA Today Bestselling author Keri Lake comes an intense and gritty romantic thriller that'll have you turning the pages well past your bedtime.It takes a killer to catch a killer.And no one understands the motives of ruthless murderer, The Sandman, quite like Rhett Voss. Having spent his childhood in the shadows of the deranged lunatic, he's become an expert on the topic. Killing is in his blood, and as a hitman for hire, Voss maintains a steady diet of carnage, himself.Except lately, it's lost its appeal. Until he's enticed to track down the clever Sandman who has his sights set on Nola Tensley.The stunning single mom is a distraction Voss can't afford, but to catch his elusive kin, he needs to watch the next victim closely. Consequently, stalking her soon becomes a dangerous obsession, turning a friendly game of cat and mouse into more than he bargained for, when someone close to Nola goes missing.Suddenly, it's no longer an old vendetta fueling Voss's need to hunt down his enemy, but new stakes that are sure to mean more bloodshed. Voss knows better than anyone, though: to draw a killer out of hiding, one must have the right bait.And both of them want Nola.

Requiem & Reverie

Imprisonment in Obsidius. Enslavement to a soul-sucking succubus. A reproductive cycle that'd send a sex fiend running into the arms of celibacy. Given the choice, most demons would opt for death. Gavin, eldest son of Wrath, has been sentenced to all three. When the succubus decides its time to collect, though, he fears his nightmares have only just begun. And Sabelle's timing couldn't be worse. With a bad case of uncontrollable lust, thanks to his Savidon, the last thing Gavin wants is a vengeful succubus stoking his darkest desires, but debts must be paid-he just didn't bank on enjoying his punishment so much. Because the swinging bachelor may have found his perfect mate in the sexy seductress. However, just as things seem to be looking up, past sins resurface, plunging the two into a deadly game of power and deception. As their worst fears merge into one unexpected threat, Gavin is determined to protect Sabelle and win her freedom. At any cost.

Keri Lake

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