3838 Book(s) Related to my neighbor totoro a novel

After five years of rebuilding her life, star basketball player Ava Carter believes she has finally escaped the shadow of her abusive ex, Ethan Cole. Her career is at its peak, and her relationship with Dylan Brooks, the league's golden boy, is the picture of happiness. That picture shatters when she wakes to find Dylan murdered in her apartment, with all evidence pointing to her.

As Detective Morgan circles, Ava discovers this isn't a random crime. Dylan had been living a double life, secretly investigating a network of corruption within professional basketball that was using the obsession of her ex, Ethan, as a weapon. Dylan's murder was not the end of a lover's quarrel; it was the beginning of a carefully orchestrated plan to destroy Ava, a plan that began the night she thought she'd escaped Ethan for good.

Forced to clear her name, Ava must navigate a maze of secrets Dylan left behind. Her only unlikely ally is Jace Reed, her on-court rival and a man with his own guarded history of watching over her. As a stalker's messages grow more personal and more violent, Ava realizes someone on the inside—someone she trusts—is feeding information to the enemy. In a fight that turns from the basketball court to the abandoned training facilities of her past, Ava must confront the man she escaped, unearth the truth about the conspiracy that used him, and face the possibility that Dylan's death was a sacrifice made to protect a secret about her own identity. The ultimate question isn't just who killed Dylan, but who opened the door for the monster to return.

I grew up being my father’s prisoner, didn’t know the outside world. Not in the way I wanted, I was tired of doing only your wishes and living only in my own home. What I most desire is to be free, to live and to love without limits.
And I did, as soon as I met him.
Jordan, it was different and at first glance it won me, it became my salvation, and my redemption. He was much more than I imagined, was the love of my life, but what we did not imagine, however, was that because of intrigues involving our families in the past, our love would be put to the test and thus, we would be separated without knowing for sure what fate reserved us.

"I'm not your fucking mate," I hiss under my breath so other people can't hear me.

"Oh-kay, my fake mate then. We are supposed to make it look real, remember?" Ivy pouts.

"There is no 'we.' You are forcing me to play this game," I say grumpily.

"Heck, yes. And you need to be better at your acting job and pretend to be happy to see me," Ivy says, swinging her braid.

Ivy is wolfless, and she feels the weight of her pack's expectations on her shoulders. As a member of the Hidden Valley Pack, she's expected to find her fated mate and settle down. But even as Ivy approaches her twentieth birthday, she still hasn't found her mate, and her pack members are starting to question her, making her feel like a failure. Desperate to save face, she comes up with a plan to ask the handsome and popular college baseball player and pack Alpha, Ryder, to pretend to be her mate.

When Ivy approaches Ryder with her proposal, he initially scoffs at the idea. But Ivy knows that Ryder has a secret that could threaten his position as Alpha, and she uses this knowledge to her advantage. She makes a deal with Ryder: if he pretends to be her mate, she won't reveal his secret to the pack.

"You think I don't want to leave? My wolf would find you." Damian's words are branded into my heart like a searing mark.

Ella Blackwood awakens to discover she's lost three years of memories, yet has become the mate of Damian, the most powerful werewolf Alpha. More shocking still—her ex-boyfriend Lucas, Damian's own brother, has been exiled from the pack.

As Ella readjusts to her luxurious new life, she discovers she's not only the head of the werewolf medical consortium but is also known as the "Miracle Doctor." However, pack elder Marcus schemes in the shadows, plotting to challenge her legitimacy at the annual summit. Even more complicated are her conflicted feelings toward Damian—this cold Alpha who prepares her hot chocolate, remembers her every preference, and even places the ancestral silver blade capable of killing any werewolf into her hands, saying: "If you discover I'm the villain, then kill me."

When Lucas secretly reappears, claiming Damian has been surveilling her from the beginning and may have even manipulated their fated bond, Ella plunges into a crisis of trust. The Blood Moon pack's threats intensify, family political struggles escalate, and she must perfectly perform as a loving mate at the summit.

At the lavish summit banquet, when the Blood Moon Alpha's sister deliberately splashes red wine toward her white gown, Ella grips her wine glass, prepared to retaliate. At that moment, Damian's hand covers hers, his eyes holding a depth she's never seen before: "Trust me."

Meanwhile, at the far end of the ballroom, Lucas's figure flashes by—he shouldn't be here. Tomorrow is their appointed meeting day—Blackwood Sanatorium, 3 PM.

Ella must choose: trust the husband beside her, or meet the ex-boyfriend who claims to hold the truth? But what she doesn't know is that regardless of her choice, someone waits in the darkness...

"Have you been a good girl, Inés?"
His fingers brushed her cheek, light, familiar, dangerous.
By day, he is her stepbrother, cold and distant, openly contemptuous of her presence in his home.
By night, he becomes her most devoted client, watching her beneath crimson lights as if he wants to take her apart piece by piece.
Inés never wanted saving. When her mother marries a dying billionaire, it is not love. It is survival. The price is living under the same roof as Miguel Alvarez, the arrogant heir who treats her like she does not belong.
But their new life is built on secrets. A debt from the past, three hundred thousand owed to dangerous people, is still waiting to be collected.
So every night, while the world believes she is somewhere safe, Inés disappears into the shadows of the city's most exclusive club. Behind a mask and a wig, she becomes Red, untouchable, desired, and finally free.
Until the night Miguel walks in. He does not recognize her. But he cannot stop watching her, wanting her, needing her. At home, he barely sees her. At the club, he is obsessed with her.
Inés knows she should run before the truth comes out. But she does not, because no matter how much she hates him, her body betrays her every time he gets too close.
Secrets do not stay buried forever. And when Miguel discovers that the woman he craves and the stepsister he despises are the same person, it will not just break them. It will destroy everything they thought they could control.

When Mae, a poor girl and a common thief tries to steal from the pockets of Alpha Alcot, the most fearsome and dangerous man in the entirety of Black Wolf pack, she gets caught and the only way she can be spared from her punishment is to work as a servant in the Alpha's Quarters. One thing she does not know is that this dangerous man is infact, the anonymous stranger whose letters had comforted her during her bad days.

Now, with Alcot's scarred face and heart, his dominating mother, a power thirsty luna he is married to and an obsessed admirer, Mae would have to choose between fighting for her heart's desires or keeping safe and alive in this blood-thirsty tower.

Alison, eighteen years old, finds herself in a dilemma when she is paired with her sister's love interest, and worst, he loves her sister dearly….
She is hated and seen as an enemy by her family, and worse, she is seen as a misfortune to her mate and treated poorly by him.

Alexander Gale is the king and the ruler of Basin City. He and his family had a strong bond with Lane, and thus he had his eyes set on Angelica, Allison's younger sister.

He hoped on the mating ritual, they would be paired and thus leading to his hatred for Allison when they got paired as mates.

By law, she is supposed to marry him, and her child becomes the next ruler, but the law never says anything about killing her when she gives him his heir.

"Once she gives me an heir to the throne, I will get rid of her and be with you," he assured Aurora in the presence of Allison.

Now she is doomed; with her locked up, she has nowhere to run. What will happen next? Will she be able to escape? Will he eventually fulfill his promise to her?

Jacinta a 21yrs old girl finds herself working as a bar tender after losing all her father's wealth to her greedy arrogant uncle. She stops schooling to fend for her little sister. She is later employed in a very big company as the pa of the boss whom they are not in good terms since their first encounter. Little did she know that she shares a very big secret with the boss, concerning their previous life.

Gina promised herself that she would actually get married before she was twenty-five years old, because they were in the race that when the woman was over twenty-five years old, she would be an old maid forever, just like her cousins and her aunts. Gina works as a waitress in an expensive restaurant at night and studies in the morning. Ace is the man she secretly loves and her co-worker as a waiter, he did nothing but teases her.

Unexpectedly, Ace suddenly proposed marriage to her, even though he wasn't courting her. But Ace Durant's unromantic words were hardly the proposal of her dreams. Seeing this as perhaps her chance to get married before she is twenty-five years old, and thus she can break the spell in their family beliefs. Gina decided to take Ace's offer, but she also had a proposal on her own.

Never had such words affected the cold-hearted Ace. The undercover agent who pretended to be a waiter, had told her that the only reason he would marry her was to protect her, as if Gina's world collapsed when she heard that. But he was finding it increasingly difficult to keep their temporary marriage strictly in name only. Can Ace avoid Gina's venom and her seduction of him?

Gina promised herself that she would actually get married before she was twenty-five years old because they were in the race that when the woman was over twenty-five years old, she would be an old maid forever, just like her cousins and her aunts. Gina works as a waitress in an expensive restaurant at night and studies in the morning. Ace is the man she secretly loves and her co-worker as a waiter, he did nothing but teases her.

Unexpectedly, Ace suddenly proposed marriage to her, even though he wasn't courting with her. But Ace Durant's unromantic words were hardly the proposal of her dreams. Seeing this as perhaps her chance to get married before she is twenty-five years old, and thus she can break the spell of their family beliefs. Gina decided to take Ace offer, but she also had a proposal on her own.

Never had such words affected the cold-hearted Ace. The undercover agent who pretended to be a waiter, had told her that the only reason he would marry her was to protect her, as if Gina's world collapsed when she heard that. But he was finding it increasingly difficult to keep their temporary marriage strictly in name only. Can Ace avoid Gina's venom and her seduction of him?

Korey Wilson is a ruthless alpha, an alpha with no emotions, no heart, damn arrogant, just so cold gets his Luna... Bentley Janice. Bentley Janice, a pretty young lady gets chosen by the moon Goddess to be Korey's Luna. Korey gets annoyed because he would be having a human as his mate and there is nothing he could do, his weakness is her weakness, he became super arrogant towards her, but that never stopped her from loving him.

"Ever since the night, I kissed you... I find it hard to concentrate at work I tried my best but all I could find myself doing was thinking of you, craving to hold you, to touch you, to feel your lips once more... But I don't know what's stopping me" he rushed taking his last statement calmly

"if anyone ever told me I'd fall in love with you... I'd disbelieve, but now I think I am" he said breathlessly

"what are you going to do about it? "Jan asked

"Jan please.. please...stop oppressing me!" he said as she walked closer to him, his eyes fixed on the floor avoiding her eyes.

"Korey... I Love you, and I'd keep loving you no matter what"

Lily Mayer was sold to an ugly old rich man as bride by her family, all of the country knows that her future husband Harold Bamak is a hideous and extremely disgusting man who loves to torture women, what will happen if Lily finds out that her husband is actually an extreme good-looking and powerful young man instead of the man the rumors says and he loves her from the deep of his heart because of her innocent and kindness?

“Now tell me who you belong to?” Rael rasped, our breaths mingling together. Fuck! He was my sister's fiancé, yet here he was, fucking me like he owned me.

The feeling of being on the bed of the man she plans on marrying next month brought a sense of accomplishment to my being.

“I'm yours, Rael. Fuck! I'm yours!” I almost screamed with another hard jab of his waist.

“Wrong answer.” he muttered, pulling out of me just as I'd almost reached my peak. Fuck!

...

After being reborn, I was out to get revenge on my family. And the first step was possessing the man my sister loved.

“I love you. I am your mate. We are destined to be together," she hugged the man tightly, trying hard to hold back her tears.
"I reject." The man pushed her away. "I have a child. I swore to her and my late wife not to accept another woman in my life."
"I don't care. I have been waiting for you for centuries. I will do anything to get you back. Nothing can stop me now."

After seeing her lover's death before her eyes, Lillianne vowed to wait for Leander’s reincarnation. She finally saw him again after 700 years as Blaze Davies, a widower who is also her boss.
Rejection simply didn't exist in her dictionary. She believed that she and Blaze were destined to be together in any lifetime even if that meant she had to fight tooth and nail for that. Seducing him was not a difficult thing to do anyway.
However, that was not the only problem here. Her current mate, Zephyr, the one who killed Leander was after them and he had a mission to eliminate her man again. Lillianne must protect Leander and help him regain his power to reclaim his position as the original Alpha of their tribe before that happens.
Will she succeed?

His eyes traveled all over my body, from head to toe. It made me self-conscious for some reason.

"The dress fits you well," then he paused and murmured, looking at the floor. "I

was wondering if you'd like it or not." "Huh?"

His head turned to me again as if he was freed from a trance.

"So now will you tell me what I have to do for you, sir?" I said sarcastically. "What?" He looked at me with surprise.

"What? You have to have some purpose for keeping me here by force," I said, pressing on the last two words.

He paused for a few seconds and then the lamest thing I could have ever imagined came out of his mouth.

"Yes, you are here to serve me," he stated blankly.

"What? Did I hear you right? You knocked me out, kidnapped my sister, and

blackmailed me into coming here just to be your servant?" I cried out in disbelief.

A smirk began to settle on his face as he took in my reaction. He was enjoying this absurdity even more!

"Yes, dear. You are here to serve me. From now on, you will be with me 24 hours. All matters regarding me are your responsibility from now on."

This is insane! Is he really a pervert? What is he trying to pull?

"But you already have a lot of servants!" I protested. 'And they're always at your beck and call too! Why the hell would you have me kidnapped for this? And who gives new clothes and breakfast in bed to a servant?"

This was driving me crazy. Was he playing with me? Probably, a rotten rich vampire prince playing for fun. But I was not going to play hooky with him. No way!

He kidnapped her sister and forced her to be with him. She waited for the right time to get herself and her sister free. But when the time will come, will she want to get away from him?

Once she clocked eighteen Lira Quin’s world shatters as she is faced with a harsh rejection from her mate, Rowan Vexley, the heir of the Crescent Fang Pack.
She is scorned for her nature as an omega, made a public laughing stock as she close the Beta’s daughter instead, Alicia Cross.
But what happens when her mother is suddenly engaged to the Alpha of the pack, Rowan’s father, the powerful Alpga Kael Vexley?
Lira must brace herself to navigate life under the same roof as the mate who scorned her, but then fate plays a cruel trick on her.
At the altar, as vows are exchanged and futures sealed, Lira’s wolf awakens for the first time—stirring with an uncontrollable force, not for Rowan, but for Alpha Kael.
Her new stepfather.
Will Lira be able to resist the bond and her forbidden desires? Or will she give in to the pull of a fate more dangerous than rejection?

My beauty boss lives next door to me. She insults me in the company at day, then I invade her house at night…

I poured my heart into Leo’s next song, only to have him mock my lyrics in front of the whole school.
The next morning, he woke up in my body… and I woke up in his.
Now he has one month in my volleyball trials to earn a scholarship spot, while I must master his guitar, voice, and stage swagger for the “Battle of the Bands” that’ll get him signed.

“Don’t do this.” I muttered, my voice shaky as I took a step back. He advanced towards me, his eyes lidded with emotions..

“Don't do what?” He asked, his voice deep and filled with so much pain that my heart aches.

“You know what.” I responded. I looked away from him, not able to stomach the pain in his eyes because I had caused that pain. “We're terrible for each other.” I added.

He stopped walking towards me and clenched his hands beside him. When he spoke again, his words shattered the remaining of my heart.

“Is it so bad to love me, Celia?”
.
.
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Cecelia had her entire life planned out. She would graduate at the top of her class, go to an Ivy League school, and most importantly, make Alex Gomez's life miserable.

But life had other plans.

She was diagnosed with cancer in the middle of a school year. Even though, she ended up beating the illness, things had changed when she returned to school for senior year.

People had changed. Or so she thought.

Alex Gomez, her biggest rival, was still infuriating and competitive, but he had replaced her as the top student.

The worst part was that he was assigned to be her tutor.

Cecelia was going to make sure he regretted it. She didn't anticipate falling for him, or that he would feel the same way.

This was Angela Cassiel's last year in high school. She had planned to spend the last year smoothly and welcomed her she-wolf when she turned 18. She may even find her mate. But she didn't expect her bully, Leo Miller to come back. Leo had always bullied Angela since they met in middle
school. Leo kept bullying Angela, because Angela's father was the reason his mother and sister died. And he wanted Angela to pay for her father's mistake. Angela had no idea of this. She just knew Leo hated her to the guts. She tried to fight against Leo several times, but she was no match for him. Two Years ago, Leo transferred to another school because of family issues. Angela was glad to get rid of the bully bandage. And she thought they would probably never see each other. But her peaceful life was shattered, again, by Leo Miller's return. What would happen next? Would Angela fight against Leo
bravely this time?

Synopsis
Charlotte Darclen, the pampered daughter of a corrupt tycoon, loses everything when her husband, Frederick Lancaster, reveals in court that their marriage was nothing more than a premeditated act of revenge. With her father in prison and her family name tarnished, Charlotte is forced to survive in the shadows, until a year later, a medical crisis drags her back into Frederick's clutches. Sick, alone, and penniless, Charlotte receives an offer she can't refuse: to become his secret lover. In return, he will grant her access to the only treatment that can save her life. Amidst perverse games, poisonous silences, and an attraction that refuses to die, Charlotte's heart is torn between the man who can humiliate her with one hand and caress her with the same intensity with the other. Because no one knows Charlotte like Frederick... or hurts Frederick like Charlotte.

“You're my sister's boyfriend.” I forced the words out through gritted teeth.

Adrian only smirked. “Does that suddenly erase what happened between us?”

“It should.”

He took another step closer until my back hit the locker. “Then tell me why you're still looking at me like you want me to kiss you again.”

—

He was my rival on the ice, my sister's boyfriend, and the one-night stand I couldn't forget.

Falling for Adrian Knight would destroy my family, ruin my hockey career, and expose the secret I've spent my entire life hiding.

So why couldn't I walk away?

A steamy MM hockey romance packed with angst, secrets, and forbidden love

“I’m going to kill you, but first, I want to kiss you...” he groaned, his hands tightening on my throat and eyes lidded with lust.

His grip wasn't tight enough to hurt, just enough to show dominance. He would never hurt me, I was certain of that.

I leaned forward, my lips hovering just above his, our breaths mixed.

“Then kiss me already, QB.” his nostrils flared and then he slanted his lips with mine.
.
.
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Harley Smith had the perfect life, until she didn't. One unfortunate accident had her mother in a coma and her father's business going bankrupt. Left with no choice, Harley struck a deal with her enemy: tutor him and get paid.

When the star quarterback of the school is suddenly out of the league for senior year because of a knee injury, Asher is forced to find alternative ways to get into college aside football. He couldn't stand school, nor could he stand Harley, his twin brother's best friend. But she was his only shot at a future outside of football.

The two are forced to work together for their benefits. How far will they keep their alliance before years of rivalry tears it apart? Or will their alliance evolve into something more?

She was killed by her mate and was dumped in the forest for bird to feed on but was saved by a soccerrer who turned her into an hybrid with a black magic.... How cruel must fate be when she got mated to the same man in her new body?

I was married to Liam for one perfect year before I destroyed us both.

Now he’s wealthy, powerful, and about to marry my sister.

His revenge is a cruel contract: play his loving wife in public for one month, and he’ll keep our past a secret. Refuse, and he’ll expose every lie my family has built.

But living with him again is a sweet, painful torture. Because his revenge isn’t just about ruining me.

It’s about making me want him one last time… before he breaks my heart forever.

I grew up training in seclusion, intentionally sealing my royal aura to experience life as a regular werewolf. My family arranged a marriage for me a long time ago, and my fiancé is Derrick, the Alpha of a local pack. Today, I visit a high-end witch boutique to pick out an exclusive dress for my Mating Ball. I immediately spot a one-of-a-kind enchanted moonstone gown. Just as I reach out to take it.

A woman standing nearby shoots me a sideways glance and announces loudly to the people around her, "This dress looks pretty good. I'm taking it."

Before she even finishes her sentence, she steps forward and snatches the gown right out of my reach.

My face darkens, and I speak up to stop her. "First come, first served. I saw this dress first. Snatching it like that is way out of line."

She scoffs, looking me up and down with pure disgust. "This enchanted gown costs a fortune. Look at what you're wearing. Do you really think you're worthy of even touching it? I'm Selene, Alpha Derrick's mate. In this territory, Derrick is the law!"

How ironic. Derrick is the exact same fiancé my family arranged for me.

After Frederick—my guardian, eleven years older—saw the confession I'd posted meant only for him, he announced his engagement the next day.
Out of spite, I faked a hickey and stumbled home past midnight to find him waiting on the couch.
The second his eyes hit my neck, his face went dark:
"Dating someone?"
"Yeah."
"Are you sleeping with him?"
I twisted my dress between shaking fingers. "You don't get to ask me that anymore."
He pressed two fingers to his temple. The silence was suffocating.
I'd expected him to explode—this man who used to go ballistic if another guy came near me. Instead, his voice came out cold and flat:
"You're eighteen. I can't stop you. Just cover that up before you go out. It looks cheap."
Later, I finally gave up. Right under his second-floor window, I kissed another guy, planning not to come back.
That's when the composed law professor completely lost it.
That storm night, he dragged me to an isolated mountain house and pinned me beneath him. Seven years of control shattered:
"You have no idea how many pills I take every night just to keep my hands off you."
His eyes were wild, his voice destroyed:
"If you need someone that badly... I've been right here for seven years."

In a secluded modern villa, painter Iris Vale begins to suspect the pills hidden in her meals are stealing more than her sleep. As fragments of a buried night resurface—bleached kitchens, a locked basement, shattered glass on a staircase, and the shadow of her dead sister Nora—family protection curdles into psychological captivity. Dark, tense, and intimate, this is a memory-thriller of guilt, control, and the terror of facing what was done in the name of love.

My boyfriend hated the new freshman, Lila.
She followed him everywhere from day one, and he’d complain to me nonstop.
“Want me to get her kicked out? My dad can write a check and make it happen.”
I laughed it off. “Cocky much?”
He nudged my shoulder. “You really not scared I’ll get taken?”
Please.
We were childhood sweethearts, bound by family and our upcoming competition duet.
Her cheap, desperate act? I never saw it as a threat.
I had no idea how wrong I was.

"Honey, please open the door! Please!"

Kate Sterling pounded desperately on the basement door, with only 15 minutes left before the interview that could change her life. Yet here she was, locked inside by the very man she loved most.

It all started with a single prophecy from their new neighbor, Anna Cross: "If Kate goes to that interview, your marriage is over."

Anna's predictions had never been wrong. Last month, she predicted old Johnson would have a heart attack. Three days later, an ambulance pulled into his driveway. She predicted Mrs. Miller would discover her husband's affair. Now the Millers were filing for divorce.

Every prediction came true like clockwork nightmares.

Now Anna had set her sights on them.

When the truth finally surfaces, will it be escape... or death?

The day I risked my life to give birth to my daughter, there was not a single cry in the delivery room.
There was only a note left behind: "This is to pay for the child you killed in Sera's womb. Giving up your own daughter is exactly what you owe her!"
Sera—Seraphine—was my husband Soren’s unforgettable first love, and the legally wedded wife of his older brother.
I used to think that when he broke ties with his entire family to protect me back then, it was out of true love. That was until he gripped my jaw tightly and shattered all my illusions with a cold sneer: "I was just jealous that my brother married Sera. I used you as an excuse to piss off my parents. You’ve always been nothing but a tool."
Seeing through all the lies, I let go of all my obsessions and walked away without looking back...

A year ago, Selina collapsed into Kyle's arms, bloodied and sobbing, crying that Ella had pushed her down the stairs.

Kyle didn't even give Ella a chance to explain. He was fed up with her attitude—proud, possessive, never willing to back down. As the Alpha of the Black Wolf pack, he wanted a compliant wife, not some volatile woman who always picked fights with him.

In his rage, he signed those damned papers with his own hand, sending a tearful, pleading Ella to the notorious "Shifter Correction Facility"—a place that made people's blood run cold.

"When you learn to behave, you can come home," he had told her.

A year later, the facility called him to pick her up. He expected to see his wife return broken and sorry, begging for forgiveness.

But the Shifter Correction Facility doesn't teach people to behave.

They break them. Completely.

I am a monster, and I have been hiding in the shadows for twelve years.

In the apocalypse, she turned into a zombie. Those who had previously admired and respected her fled, and even the scientific research she had dedicated half her life to used her as a new experimental subject.

But I was happy about it. I put an exquisite collar on her, wrapped the chain around her neck, and led her home.

When she smells my scent, her eyes gradually redden, her chains rattle, and her golden hair turns snow-white, making her look like a beautiful elf.

"Don't bite yet, senior, be good."

The zombie's instincts seemed to make her constantly avoid getting close to me.

"Damn zombie instincts, how dare they defile my senior's body."

My mate died in a border skirmish with an enemy pack.
The woman he loved, Wren, died with him. She came from the pack we'd hated for a hundred years.
They left me two sons who weren't mine by blood.
Eighteen years passed.
I raised those boys like they were my own. I even got them into the Alpha King's Guard — the kind only a handful of pups make in a whole generation.
But the day they were chosen, my mate, dead all these years, walked back through the door with his forbidden lover.
She smiled at me like we were old friends.
"Thank you for turning our sons into the pride of the Guard."
"We couldn't have stayed hidden all these years without you."
Then my mate said he wanted the bond broken. He wanted her as his mate instead. He wanted his sons back.
I didn't cry. I didn't argue.
I just smiled.
"Okay."

They gave him 24 hours to hand over the girl.
He gave them 30 seconds to regret .

Jack Cole was supposed to be nobody—just another quiet college student.
No records. No past. No trace he ever existed.

But when a powerful family tries to take his cousin as part of a dirty deal…
and a billionaire heiress becomes the target of a professional kill team…

Something buried comes back.

The campus?
Just his cover.

The truth?
He’s a weapon trained for war—
the kind governments deny, and enemies never see coming.

Now the richest family in the city wants him dead.
A private army is moving in.
And a global biotech empire is pulling strings from the shadows.

They think they’re hunting him.

They’re wrong.

Jack isn’t running.
He’s choosing who dies first.

“Morgan Rice's imagination is limitless. In another series that promises to be as entertaining as the previous ones, A THRONE OF SISTERS presents us with the tale of two sisters (Sophia and Kate), orphans, fighting to survive in a cruel and demanding world of an orphanage. An instant success. I can hardly wait to put my hands on the second and third books!”--Books and Movie Reviews (Roberto Mattos)The new #1 Bestselling epic fantasy series by Morgan Rice!In A CROWN FOR ASSASSINS (A Throne for Sisters—Book Seven), Sophia, Kate and Lucas finally get the chance to journey in search of their long-lost parents. Will they find them?Are they alive?And what message do they hold for them?Their journey demands a price, though. Ashton is left without a ruler, and the Master of Crows still lies in wait, ready to strike. As the fate of the realm lies in the balance, help may come from the most unlikely place of all: Stonehome.A CROWN FOR ASSASSINS (A Throne for Sisters—Book Seven) is book #7 in a dazzling new fantasy series rife with love, heartbreak, tragedy, action, adventure, magic, swords, sorcery, dragons, fate and heart-pounding suspense. A page turner, it is filled with characters that will make you fall in love, and a world you will never forget. Book #8 in the series will be released soon.“[A Throne for Sisters is a] powerful opener to a series [that] will produce a combination of feisty protagonists and challenging circumstances to thoroughly involve not just young adults, but adult fantasy fans who seek epic stories fueled by powerful friendships and adversaries.”--Midwest Book Review (Diane Donovan)

“A dynamic story line that grips from the first chapter and doesn't let go.”--Midwest Book Review, Diane Donovan (regarding Once Gone)From #1 bestselling mystery author Blake Pierce comes a new masterpiece of psychological suspense.In A TRACE OF MURDER (Book #2 in the Keri Locke mystery series), Keri Locke, Missing Persons Detective in the Homicide division of the LAPD, remains haunted by the abduction of her own daughter. Encouraged by the new lead that has landed, the first in years, she pursues it with all that she has, determined to find her daughter and bring her back alive.Yet Keri, at the same time, receives a phone call from a frantic husband, a famed Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, who reports that his wife has been missing for two days. A wealthy socialite with no enemies and little reason to leave her life, he fears the worst has become of his wife.Keri takes on the case, assigned a new partner whom she hates, as Ray still recovers in the hospital. Her investigation leads her deep into the elite Beverly Hills world of the idle rich, to encounters with lonely housewives, and those with shopping-addicted, empty lives. Keri, in over her head in this world, becomes increasingly puzzled by the conflicting signals: did this woman, with a stalker and a lurid, secret past, run away, or was she abducted?Or did something far more sinister happen?A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, A TRACE OF MURDER is book #2 in a riveting new series—and a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night.“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.”--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)Book #3 in the Keri Locke series will be available soon.

"With blood, fire, and magic I claim you Urmah son of Abdi_ili and Anunit, the descendant of royals, blessed by the two gods of the sun..." ... "I am Tiye daughter of pharaohs, I am Sekhmet daughter of the great god Ra, we claim you, body and soul to the rest of your days in this world and the after to be our lord and guardian, to be our love and spirit, here we bound you to us. May we never be set free forever and ever."

Princess Tiye was meant to be a goddess queen, she would sit on Egypt's throne and rule with Sekhmet's blessing, but before her eighteenth name day she was betrayed by her uncle and cousin, and she became a fugitive, a murderer.

on her journey for safety, she meets prince Urmah, The forsaken son of the Akkadian king. He promises to help her to take back what is rightfully hers and get her revenge after his visit with his father. But their plan fails when her troubles follow them to Akkad, and that's when the goddess makes her presence known to the world.

Who would prince Urmah choose, the woman he renounced his God for, or his father's approval and acceptance? And what would Tiye do when she is forced to witness the murder of her loved ones for the second time? Are her throne and revenge worth the sacrifice?

“Morgan Rice's imagination is limitless. In another series that promises to be as entertaining as the previous ones, A THRONE OF SISTERS presents us with the tale of two sisters (Sophia and Kate), orphans, fighting to survive in a cruel and demanding world of an orphanage. An instant success. I can hardly wait to put my hands on the second and third books!”--Books and Movie Reviews (Roberto Mattos)From #1 Bestseller Morgan Rice comes an unforgettable new fantasy series. In A JEWEL FOR ROYALS (A Throne for Sisters—Book Five), Sophia, 17, gets word that Sebastian, her love, is imprisoned and set to be executed. Will she risk it all for love?Her sister Kate, 15, struggles to escape the witch’s power—but it may be too strong. Kate may be forced to pay the price for the deal she made—and to live a life she doesn’t want to.The Queen is furious at Lady D’Angelica for failing to woo her son, Sebastian. She is prepared to sentence her to the Lead Mask. But Lady D’Angelica has her own plans, and she won’t go down so easily.Cora and Emeline finally reach Stonehome—and what they find there shocks them.Most shocking of all, though, is Sophia and Kate’s brother, a man who will change their destinies forever. What secrets does he hold about their long-lost parents?A JEWEL FOR ROYALS (A Throne for Sisters—Book Five) is the fifth book in a dazzling new fantasy series rife with love, heartbreak, tragedy, action, adventure, magic, swords, sorcery, dragons, fate and heart-pounding suspense. A page turner, it is filled with characters that will make you fall in love, and a world you will never forget. Book #6 in the series will be released soon.“[A Throne for Sisters is a] powerful opener to a series [that] will produce a combination of feisty protagonists and challenging circumstances to thoroughly involve not just young adults, but adult fantasy fans who seek epic stories fueled by powerful friendships and adversaries.”--Midwest Book Review (Diane Donovan)

“Morgan Rice's imagination is limitless. In another series that promises to be as entertaining as the previous ones, A THRONE OF SISTERS presents us with the tale of two sisters (Sophia and Kate), orphans, fighting to survive in a cruel and demanding world of an orphanage. An instant success. I can hardly wait to put my hands on the second and third books!”--Books and Movie Reviews (Roberto Mattos)From #1 Bestseller Morgan Rice comes an unforgettable new fantasy series. In A DIRGE FOR PRINCES (A Throne for Sisters—Book Four), Sophia, 17, battles for her life, trying to recover from the wound left by Lady D’Angelica. Will her sister Kate’s new powers be enough to bring her back?The ship sails with the sisters to the distant and exotic lands of their uncle, their last hope and only know connection to their parents. Yet the journey is treacherous, and even if they find it, the sisters don’t know if their reception will be warm or hostile.Kate, indentured to the witch, finds herself in an increasingly desperate situation—until she meets a sorceress who may hold the secret to her freedom.Sebastian returns to court, heartbroken, desperate to know if Sophie is alive. As his mother forces him to marry Lady D’Angelica, he knows the time has come to risk it all.A DIRGE FOR PRINCES (A Throne for Sisters—Book Four) is the fourth book in a dazzling new fantasy series rife with love, heartbreak, tragedy, action, adventure, magic, swords, sorcery, dragons, fate and heart-pounding suspense. A page turner, it is filled with characters that will make you fall in love, and a world you will never forget. Book #5 in the series will be released soon.“[A THRONE FOR SISTERS is a] powerful opener to a series [that] will produce a combination of feisty protagonists and challenging circumstances to thoroughly involve not just young adults, but adult fantasy fans who seek epic stories fueled by powerful friendships and adversaries.”--Midwest Book Review (Diane Donovan)

The club is planning a team retreat, and sophomore Ashley suddenly raises her hand at the meeting.

"Doesn't Clara's family own a hotel? Cresthaven, right?"

"Since it's your family's place, we could each just chip in fifty bucks for the venue, like you're supporting your own business or something."

Cresthaven is the hotel my grandfather gave me on my eighteenth birthday.

Because it never advertises, outsiders assume it's just some bed and breakfast out in the countryside. In reality, the basic suites run eighty-eight hundred dollars a night, private dining rooms have a hundred-thousand-dollar minimum, and the ingredients get flown in fresh from around the world every single day.

She wants to hand me fifty dollars and get a free two-day retreat for fifty people.

I turn her down on the spot. Next week is already fully booked.

But that night at ten, Ashley posts in the group chat anyway:

[Good news! Thanks to Clara's generous support, the whole club is heading to Cresthaven next week for a two-day retreat, completely free!]

The replies underneath are wall-to-wall flattery.

She wants to use my hotel to buy herself goodwill and build her own reputation.

But that's up to me, not her.

“You thought you could walk away from me, Rosella?”
He pinned her against the glass wall of his office, the city lights glittering below like witnesses to her downfall.
His fingers curled around her throat as he leaned in, lips brushing the shell of her ear.
“I’m going to take back what you stole, Rosella. Every night. Every moan. Every broken little plea you can’t help but make.”
“And by the time I’m done with you, you won’t remember a life that didn’t revolve around me.”
*
Rosella Summers never did reckless things.
Until one night, she fell into bed with a stranger.
Who turned out to be her ex.
Loving Thorn Rockwell was the biggest risk she ever took. The heir to the Rockwell empire. A blazing-hot racing icon. And a man born so far from her struggling world, loving him felt like trying to catch starlight with bare hands.
Six years ago, they were inseparable.
Then she left. Broke his heart. Disappeared without a trace.
She told herself it was the right thing—that walking away would save him.
But she was wrong.
Now Thorn is back. And he’s her new boss.
The soft boy she once loved is gone. In his place stands a cold, vengeful monster. A man who looks at her not with love, but with the promise of destruction.
He wants to ruin her. Humble her. Have her. Preferably beneath him.
But Thorn doesn’t know the whole truth.
Rosella isn’t just protecting her own heart anymore.
She has Thraia—her five-year-old daughter, her whole world, and a secret that could shatter everyone if Thorn ever finds out.
He wants revenge.
She needs a miracle.
And the only thing more dangerous than his hatred…
Is the love they never truly buried.

I share one body with Allen.

I’m the second self. He’s the original—kind, yielding. I handle everything that isn’t polite.

Together, we built a company from nothing—until an accident put me into a two-year sleep. Allen kept living alone in our body.

When I opened my eyes again, I was locked inside a car with sabotaged brakes, racing toward a cliff.

In those two years, a woman named Victoria slipped in, stole Allen’s trust and affection, and took control of our company.

Now she wants him dead—staging a drunk-driving “accident” so she can inherit everything as his fiancée.

I shattered the window and jumped, barely surviving. She was already preparing my funeral.

When I walked into the service, she tried the same old tears and moral pressure to pull me back into her script.

She didn’t know one thing: none of it works on me.

I used to think I had the perfect family.
My husband Nico started coming home less and less, always saying he had a meeting. But the truth was, he had another woman, Alessia. And it had been going on for a while.
The affair I could've handled. What really killed me was that my son Leo and my daughter Mia had known all along. They'd even started calling his mistress "Mom."
They thought I was clueless. But I'd known for months, his assistant had told me everything.
I tried so hard to win them back. I did more for them, cared more, tried harder. But they kept choosing Alessia.
That day, I stopped trying.
They could all have each other—Nico, Alessia, Leo, Mia.
I hoped they'd be happy together.

As the eldest daughter of North America’s most feared Mafia family, the Romanos, I married Matteo purely for love. For five years, everyone constantly envied me, thinking I was the luckiest woman alive.

Until I opened that video file.

The screen flickered to life, and my world violently collapsed.

The woman he had completely pinned against the wall, thrusting into her with feral desperation, was Valentina. His sweet, innocent adopted sister. The girl we had both carefully grown up with.

And the hands gripping her waist so tightly they bruised? They bore the exact wedding band I had lovingly slipped onto Matteo’s finger.

"Oh God, brother… you're so hard. If your perfect wife knew you were deep inside me right now, she’d lose her mind."

"Good girl, then stop talking about that boring piece of wood."

My refined, elegant husband was groaning, his voice filthy and depraved between loud, wet slaps of skin. "Squeeze tighter, fuck... You drive me insane, baby. The moment I successfully drain all her family’s stock, you’ll be the true mistress of this whole estate."

Every sweet nothing he had ever whispered to me was a calculated lie, designed to completely destroy me.

Those two despicable cheaters believe they have successfully won. They think my marriage was built on submission.

Well, since this rising Mafia star completely forgot that I am a Romano first and a wife second, it’s severely past time I gave him a taste of my own wicked performance.

Playtime is over. Matteo thinks he can steal my empire while burying his face in his sister’s bed?

I am going to carefully tear down his "perfect husband" facade piece by bleeding piece, and aggressively send them both straight to hell.

After the wedding, my husband moved his dead fiancée's mother into our guest room. The whole town called it the kindest thing they'd ever seen.
Every morning, Dione made me a green smoothie. Her grandmother's recipe, she said. Good for the nerves.
I never drank a single one. I poured them all into the chicken feed.
In my last life, I drank them. One a day, for thirty days.
Then I started losing time. I would blink at breakfast and come back at dinner. I found notes in my own handwriting that I never wrote.
I begged Julian to take me to a doctor. He held my shoulders and smiled. "You're just tired, baby. Drink your smoothie."
On the thirtieth night, I fell asleep in my own bed, in my own body.
I never woke up. Someone else did.
This time, every glass went to Nugget, the smallest of my backyard hens.
And one night, a hen crowed in my backyard.
Hens don't crow. And we don't have a rooster.

“A dynamic story line that grips from the first chapter and doesn't let go.”--Midwest Book Review, Diane Donovan (regarding Once Gone)From #1 bestselling mystery author Blake Pierce comes a new masterpiece of psychological suspense. A TRACE OF HOPE is the final book in the Keri Locke series, bringing the series to a dramatic conclusion.In A TRACE OF HOPE (Book #5 in the Keri Locke mystery series), Keri Locke, Missing Persons Detective in the Homicide division of the LAPD, is closer than she’s ever been to finding her daughter. Finally, she gets a fresh lead—and this time, she will do whatever it takes to bring her home alive.At the same time, a new, urgent case is assigned to Keri: an 18 year old girl has gone missing after being hazed by her sorority. As the race is on to find her, Keri plunges deep into the world of pristine college campuses, and comes to realize that all is not what it seems.A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, A TRACE OF HOPE is book #5 in a riveting new series—and a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night.“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.”--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)

“A dynamic story line that grips from the first chapter and doesn't let go.”--Midwest Book Review, Diane Donovan (regarding Once Gone)From #1 bestselling mystery author Blake Pierce comes a new masterpiece of psychological suspense.In A TRACE OF CRIME (Book #4 in the Keri Locke mystery series), Keri Locke, Missing Persons Detective in the Homicide division of the LAPD, follows a fresh lead for her abducted daughter. She winds her way through a twisted underworld, and step by step, she gets closer to finding her daughter.Yet she has no time. Keri is assigned a new case: a dad calls from an affluent community and reports that his teen daughter vanished on the way home from school.Shortly after, ransom letters arrive. Twisted, filled with riddles, they make it clear that there is little time to save the girl. They also make it clear that this is the work of a diabolical killer who is toying with them.Keri and the police must scramble to find the kidnapper, to understand his demands, to decode the letters, and most of all, to outwit him. But in this master game of chess, Keri may find herself up against a foe even she cannot understand, and for the missing girl—and her own daughter—she may just be too late.A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, A TRACE OF CRIME is book #4 in a riveting new series—and a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night.“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.”--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)Book #5 in the Keri Locke series will be available soon.