We were tasked to compile a list of the best romance books featuring crazy possessive and jealous protagonists who are madly in love with the heroine. We are talking about book heros who stop at nothing (and we mean nothing) to claim and protect the heroine and defend what they consider theirs, often to the point of controlling or manipulative behavior.. Over the top? For sure! Delicious regardless? Absolutely!

• #21 Bitter Heat - Mia Knight

  

  billionaire vengeance possessive hero arranged/forced marriage dark romance

  She was the wood. He was the flame. After this, they would be ash.
  
  A cruel twist of fate leaves Jasmine Hennessy stranded in a remote cabin with her worst nightmare—her ex-husband, James Roth, who she hasn't seen in five years. He isn't acting like the man she married, but did she ever really know him?
  
  One night together kicks off a series of events that threatens her freedom as Roth seeks vengeance on those who ruined him seven years ago. He's determined to bring her back into the world she left behind where money is king, reputation is everything, and people will kill to keep their secrets. more

• #22 Luca Vitiello - Cora Reilly

  arranged/forced marriage dark romance sweet/gentle heroine

  I was born a monster. Cruelty ran in my veins like poison. It ran in the veins of every Vitiello man, passed on from father to son, an endless spiral of monstrosity. A born monster shaped into an even worse monster by my father's blade and fists and harsh words. I was raised to become Capo, to rule without mercy, to dish out brutality without a second thought.Raised to break others. When Aria was given to me in marriage, everyone waited with baited breath to see how fast I'd break her like my father broke his women. How I'd crush her innocence and kindness with the force of my cruelty.Breaking her would have taken little effort. It came naturally to me. more

• #23 Her Baseborn Bridegroom - Alice Coldbreath

  medieval marriage of convenience shy heroine plain heroine grumpy & sunshine

  Lady Linnet Cadwallader has been raised a helpless invalid in her own castle. Brought up to believe she will 'never make old bones' she lives a quiet and lonely existence, hiding away her excessive freckles and red hair from a world that believes her to be hideously misshapen and ugly.
  
  Until one day her uncle arranges a marriage of convenience for her, a marriage in name only with a young puppet groom... but Sir Roland does not show up. In his place turns up his base-born brother Mason Vawdrey. And dark, forceful Mason is no-one's puppet.
  
  Things are about to get interesting at Cadwallader Castle. And Linnet is about to discover that maybe a golden leopardess does not need to change her glorious spots.. more

• #24 The Sweetest Oblivion - Danielle Lori

  mafia enemies to lovers marriage of convenience age gap

  She's a romantic at heart, living in the most unromantic of worlds . . .
  
  Nicknamed Sweet Abelli for her docile nature, Elena smiles on cue and has a charming response for everything. She's the favored daughter, the perfect mafia principessa . . . or was.
  
  Now, all she can see in the mirror's reflection is blood staining her hands like crimson paint.
  
  They say first impressions are everything . . .
  
  In the murky waters of New York's underworld, Elena's sister is arranged to marry Nicolas Russo. A Made Man, a boss, a cheat—even measured against mafia standards. His reputation stretches far and wide and is darker than his black suits and ties. more

• #25 Shadows - Suzanne Wright

  urban fantasy vampires enemies to lovers possessive hero

  Devon and Tanner fight like... well, cats and dogs. Which, to be fair, makes sense since hellcats and hellhounds aren't exactly a match made in heaven. Unfortunately, their demons' antipathy towards each other is matched only by the red-hot sexual tension between Tanner and Devon. It's driving them - and their long-suffering friends Harper and Knox - mad.
  
  When Devon is nearly kidnapped, Tanner's protective instincts kick into overdrive - he's sticking by her side, day and night. But staying so close means their hunger can no longer be denied - they know their demons won't accept the match, but after one red-hot night they'll fight to stay together for as long as they can. more

• #26 Twist Me - Anna Zaires

  dark romance suspense bad boys abduction possessive hero

  Kidnapped. Taken to a private island.
  
  I never thought this could happen to me. I never imagined one chance meeting on the eve of my eighteenth birthday could change my life so completely.
  
  Now I belong to him. To Julian. To a man who is as ruthless as he is beautiful - a man whose touch makes me burn. A man whose tenderness I find more devastating than his cruelty.
  
  My captor is an enigma. I don't know who he is or why he took me. There is a darkness inside him - a darkness that scares me even as it draws me in.
  
  My name is Nora Leston, and this is my story. more

• #27 Be Mine... Or Else - Alexa Riley

  age gap insta-love breeding

  Dove Rosetta is crushing hard on the hot guy she ran in to at the coffee shop. His big build, sharp suits and dark eyes have her flustered, and as luck would have it, they meet by chance every day. She might be innocent, but her thoughts aren’t, and she’s ready for him to make a move.
  
  Beau Heart has been watching her for weeks. It’s no accident that he sees Dove every day and he’s tired of playing it cool. He’s done with gentle and patient. He’s grumpy, and now it’s time for dirty and fast.. more

• #28 Ruthless King - Meghan March

  mafia dark romance enemies to lovers bdsm abduction

  New Orleans belongs to me.
  You don't know my name, but I control everything you see—and all the things you don't. My reach knows no bounds, and my demands are always met. I didn't need to loan money to a failing family distillery, but it amuses me to have them in my debt. To have her in my debt.
  
  She doesn't know she caught my attention.
  She should've been more careful. I'm going to own her. Consume her. Maybe even keep her. It's time to collect what I'm owed.
  Keira Kilgore, you're now the property of Lachlan Mount. more

• #29 The Bad Guy - Celia Aaron

  dark romance love triangle enemies to lovers forbidden love tortured hero

  My name is Sebastian Lindstrom, and I'm the villain of this story.
  I've decided to lay myself bare. To tell the truth for once in my hollow life, no matter how dark it gets. And I can assure you, it will get so dark that you'll find yourself feeling around the blackened corners of my mind, seeking a door handle that isn't there.
  Don't mistake this for a confession. I neither seek forgiveness nor would I accept it. My sins are my own. They keep me company. Instead, this is the true tale of how I found her, how I stole her, and how I lost her.
  She was a damsel, one who already had her white knight. more

• #30 Dark Protector - Celia Aaron

  mafia dark romance abuse vengeance abduction

  From the moment I saw her through the window of her flower shop, something other than darkness took root inside me. Charlie shone like a beacon in a world that had long since lost any light. But she was never meant for me, a man that killed without remorse and collected bounties drenched in blood.
  
  I thought staying away would keep her safe, would shield her from me. I was wrong. Danger followed in my wake like death at a slaughter house. I protected her from the threats that circled like black buzzards, kept her safe with kill after kill.
  
  But everything comes with a price, especially second chances for a man like me.
  Killing for her was easy. more

• #31 Burn - Suzanne Wright

  demons possessive hero urban fantasy tortured heroine competent heroine

  Part of a small demon lair in North Las Vegas, tattooist Harper Wallis lives a pretty simple life. That changes overnight when she discovers that her psychic mate, or ‘anchor', is a guy who's rumored to be the most powerful demon in existence. Compelling, full of secrets and armed with raw sexuality, Knox Thorne is determined to claim her as his anchor, creating a psychic bond that will prevent their inner demons from ever turning rogue. The billionaire also wants Harper in his bed. She's not so sure she wants either of those things. No one seems to know what breed of demon Knox is, only that he's more dangerous than anything she's ever before encountered. But he refuses to walk away. more

• #32 Buttons and Lace - Penelope Sky

  dark romance vengeance abduction bdsm

  I owe him a debt.
  A big one.
  The payment can't be settled with money or favors.
  He only wants one thing.
  Me.
  
  Every action gets a reward. A button. Once I fill his jar with three hundred and sixty-five buttons, he'll let me go. He'll let me walk away. But I have to earn every single one. By submitting to the darkest, cruelest, and most beautiful man I've ever known. more

• #33 Until November - Aurora Rose Reynolds

  possessive hero tortured heroine working class hero rich heroine

  November is looking forward to getting to know her father and the safety of a small town. After leaving the Big Apple and her bad memories for Tennessee, November starts working for her dad at his strip club doing the books. The one time she's allowed there during club hours she runs into Asher Mayson. He's perfect until he opens his mouth and makes assumptions. November wants nothing to do with Asher but too bad for November, fate has other plans.
  
  Asher Mayson has never had a problem getting a woman, that is until November. Now all he can think about is making November his and keeping her safe. more

• #34 The Golden Dynasty - Kristen Ashley

  fantasy abduction enemies to lovers cruel hero/bully sassy heroine

  Circe Quinn goes to sleep at home and wakes up in a corral filled with women wearing sacrificial virgin attire - and she is one of them. She soon finds out that she's not having a wild dream, she's living a frightening nightmare where she's been transported to a barren land populated by a primitive people and in short order, she's installed very unwillingly on her white throne of horns as their Queen.
  
  Dax Lahn is the king of Suh Tunak, The Horde of the nation of Korwahk and with one look at Circe, he knows she will be his bride and together they will start The Golden Dynasty of legend. more

• #35 Hopeless - Colleen Hoover

  abduction tortured heroine take-charge heroine second chances tortured hero

  Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…
  
  That's what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she's never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.
  
  Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he's nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. more

• #36 Dragon Bound - Thea Harrison

  dragon shifter urban fantasy sassy heroine sweet/gentle heroine

  Half-human and half-Wyr, Pia Giovanni spent her life keeping a low profile among the Wyrkind and avoiding the continuing conflict between them and their Dark Fae enemies. But after being blackmailed into stealing a coin from the hoard of a dragon, Pia finds herself targeted by one of the most powerful—and passionate—of the Elder Races.
  
  As the most feared and respected of the Wyrkind, Dragos Cuelebre cannot believe someone had the audacity to steal from him, much less succeed. And when he catches the thief, Dragos spares her life, claiming her as his own to further explore the desire they've ignited in each other. more

• #37 Forever Mine - Elizabeth Reyes

  young adult small town insta-love friends to lovers shy heroine

  Seventeen-year old Sarah's life is turned upside down when her single mom is sent to jail. She's forced to move, leaving behind everything she's ever known, including her best friend Sydney. Lost and bitter in a new school, her one goal is to save money and move back home. Then she meets Angel Moreno.
  
  Enigmatic but gorgeous, Angel is almost too good to be true. Except for one thing, his archaic belief that guys and girls can never be “just friends”. The problem? Sarah's best friend Sydney is not a girl. more

• #38 Dangerous Passion - Lisa Marie Rice

  billionaire tortured hero men in uniform shy heroine grumpy/cold hero

  A legend, a renegade, a ruthless, powerful enigma understood by no one and feared by all, Viktor "Drake" Drakovich heads up a billion-dollar empire—and shows no mercy to the many enemies who would stop at nothing to destroy him. He is a man with no love and no weakness, until...
  
  Grace Larsen takes Drake's breath away the first time he sees her—and quickly becomes his obsession. Never before has he burned for someone the way he desires this hauntingly beautiful artist who is plagued by troubling dreams. He aches to possess her, to protect her, to carry her to new heights of sensuous arousal and rapturous release. more

• #39 Beyond the Highland Mist - Karen Marie Moning

  time travel highlander tortured heroine marriage of convenience

  He would sell his warrior soul to possess her. . . .
  
  He was known throughout the kingdom as Hawk, legendary predator of the battlefield and the boudoir. No woman could refuse his touch, but no woman ever stirred his heart—until a vengeful fairy tumbled Adrienne de Simone out of modern-day Seattle and into medieval Scotland. Captive in a century not her own, entirely too bold, too outspoken, she was an irresistible challenge to the sixteenth-century rogue. Coerced into a marriage with Hawk, Adrienne vowed to keep him at arm's length—but his sweet seduction played havoc with her resolve.
  
  A prisoner in time... more

• #40 On Dublin Street - Samantha Young

  take-charge heroine billionaire friends to lovers age gap forced proximity

  Jocelyn Butler has been hiding from her past for years. But all her secrets are about to be laid bare…
  
  Four years ago, Jocelyn left her tragic past behind in the States and started over in Scotland, burying her grief, ignoring her demons, and forging ahead without attachments. Her solitary life is working well—until she moves into a new apartment on Dublin Street where she meets a man who shakes her carefully guarded world to its core.
  
  Braden Carmichael is used to getting what he wants, and he's determined to get Jocelyn into his bed. more