9263 Book(s) Related to synopsis of the maidens: a novel

That admissions season, Lily — a poor student who couldn't even clear the state university cutoff — insisted on dragging my two childhood friends off to the worst community college in the state, just so she wouldn't have to go alone.

Ethan held an offer from Yale. Ryan had been accepted to Stanford. Yet the two of them, as if under a spell, were ready to throw away those schools just to follow her.

I wore myself out trying to talk them down. All I got back was: You look down on Lily. You're just jealous.

Behind their backs, I contacted counselors, admissions offices, and their parents, and clawed their spots back one by one just before the deadline.

Lily went to that community college alone. Six months later, she jumped from the roof of her dorm.

Ethan and Ryan handled her funeral, then came back and tied me to the roof of a thirty-six-story building.

"If you hadn't stopped us from going with Lily, she never would have been bullied there."

"You're so capable, aren't you? Then go down and keep her company."

They pushed me over the edge without a flicker of hesitation.

When I opened my eyes, I was back at the start of college application season.

This time, I won't save them.

He rejected me at the altar and called it mercy.
He lied.
Alpha Roland discarded me like I hadn't bled for his pack for three years. But he made one mistake. He didn't know what I was carrying when he exiled me.
Now I'm inside the territory of Kael, the Cursed King, a monster every pack fears. He says he wants my power. I think he wants something else entirely.
Roland wants me dead. Kael wants me caged. And my secret? It could destroy them both.

I’m in love with my sworn enemy.
My touch tames his inner beast.
… Until I find another woman’s bite mark on his neck.

As a holy witch, I shouldn't be sneaking out for Zuri—a cursed shape-shifter from a rival clan.
But our forbidden heat is intoxicating.
When his monstrous Primal breaks free, slaughtering everything in its path, even his fiercest warriors cower.
I don't.
I walk straight to the blood-soaked beast, press my body against his, and tame him with a single, desperate embrace.

There’s just one problem: his clan betrothed him to a Shaman’s daughter.

I tell myself it's purely political. I tell myself his heart is mine.
Until tonight.
He sneaks into the woods for me. We share a deep, hungry kiss under the moonlight.
But as I pull back, my blood runs cold.
Right there, on the neck of the man I just risked my soul to save...
Is a fresh, undeniable bite mark.

"Lucien. Do you accept this St... sorry." The elder quickly apologized for his drunken slip up, "This 'woman' " his disdainful gaze darted towards Aria as he said that, "as your mate?"
"I, Lucien Vine, once alpha of this great Clawhold, take this...Woman." He started his vow, his pause deliberate as he glanced at Aria, "To be the Luna of my house. I vow no love, no care. Just duty and nothing else."
"And you, Aria Thorne?" he drawled, his speech coming out slurred, "Do you accept – "
"I do." Aria replied quickly. Too quickly.
Aria Thorne was born into a pack that treated her like dirt beneath their paws. Born as a StillBlood, she was mocked, beaten, and branded "broken."
Her only chance at escape? A forced marriage to a fallen Alpha whose scars ran deeper than flesh.
Lucien Vine was once a man of legend. A ruthless warrior. A king among Alphas. Now he's a shadow, crippled and discarded by the very pack he once led and bled for.
Lucien saw nothing but another chain when the new alpha forced him to wed a StillBlood. She was nothing more than one more curse.
However, fate has a perverse sense of humor. Because the Broken Luna possesses a hidden ability that she is unaware of, and the only person who might be able to awaken it is the Crippled Alpha.
Will they ruin one another? Or rise together and set the world on fire?

"I don’t bow to Kings. Especially not spoiled ones like you."
​At Northview High, Liam Vance is a god. As the star hockey captain and heir to a billionaire empire, he rules the hallways with an iron fist and a charming smirk. He’s never met a person he couldn't buy or a rule he couldn't break—until he meets Elena.
​Elena Vance is the "Scholarship Ghost." She lives in the shadows, working night shifts and studying until her eyes ache just to keep her future alive. When her family is evicted, she is forced into a deal that feels like a prison sentence: move into the guest cottage on the Vance estate and tutor the arrogant boy who once splashed her with his Porsche.
​Liam and his elite circle of friends want her gone. They think she’s a "charity case" they can humiliate for fun. They ruin her belongings and try to crush her spirit, but Elena doesn't flinch. She knows something Liam doesn't: without her, he loses his spot on the team and his father’s respect.
​Trapped in the same territory, the war begins. He tries to break her with wealth and status; she fights back with intelligence and ice-cold discipline. But as the late-night study sessions blur into something more, they both realize that the person they hate the most might be the only one who actually understands them.
​In a world where status is everything, can a girl who has nothing win the heart of the boy who has it all?

My body pressed against Raymond's, my kisses stretching from his lips to his chin and throat.

He suddenly rolled over and pinned me underneath him, gripping my chin tightly. "You asked for it!" He growled, grabbing my lips and kissing me furiously.

I let out a playful whistle and trailed my fingers down his chest before deftly undoing his belt.

Raymond's breath was coming in quicker and quicker, his eyes locked on mine. "Damn it, Amelia, I'm going to fuck you"

But I wasn't there to fuck, I was there to torture him. As he lunged at me, I quickly flipped him over and handcuffed him to the table. "Sorry, tonight is my time, not yours."
After that night of madness, I fled in a panic. Five years later, I returned with our child

After Raymond found out about my transgressions, I was convinced I wouldn't live to see the next dawn.

I distanced myself from him, feared him, even considered hurting him.

To my surprise, the aloof heir to the Adams family clasped my hand and pleaded, "Honey, when are you gonna fuck me again?"

In a world where shapeshifters live under rigid hierarchies, Maya learned early on to hide. Among a race considered inferior, she camouflages her true identity: a wolf descended from a powerful and ancient lineage. To protect herself, she maintains the lie that she cannot transform—a trick that keeps her away from prying eyes, but also isolates her from who she truly is.

Everything begins to spiral out of control when Conrad, the alpha king, arrives in her region. Cold, imposing, and respected, he is there to investigate a series of events linked to black magic—something that threatens to destabilize the fragile balance between the races. Upon meeting Maya, he immediately recognizes the rare and profound bond between souls linked by destiny: she is his mate. But Maya doesn't want to be found, nor claimed. Maya fears what Conrad will see when he truly looks at her.

With the dark threat intensifying and her past beginning to surface, Maya finds herself trapped between the instinct to flee and the need to protect herself. Conrad, torn between his duty as king and the bond that ties him to Maya, will have to decide whether to trust a woman who hides more than she reveals.

Because when the truth comes to light, nothing will be the same—and not everyone will survive what is to come.

“Don’t ever let him touch you again.” His fingers tightened on my jaw, forcing me to meet his burning gold eyes. “As long as you wear her face, you are mine.”


Resurrected in the body of the woman he once loved, Elara—a nineteen-year-old human—becomes a living mystery Vincent Ashmere cannot ignore.

Nine hundred years old and feared by all, Vincent is trapped between an obsession with the past stolen from him and the dangerous pull he feels toward the girl now wearing his lover’s face.

He knows he should hate the soul inside that body. He knows he should destroy the imposter.

Instead, he begins to crave her.

But when the woman he once loved returns in her true body, Elara is forced back into her own, and Vincent must choose between the love he lost… and the girl he was never meant to want.

Rejected. Betrayed. Left for dead.

On the night of my eighteenth birthday, everything I believed in shattered. I was Saffron Myers—the quiet, silver-haired omega everyone ignored. The girl who clung to the hope that the Moon Goddess would gift me a mate who saw my worth.

Instead, I was rejected. In front of the entire Bloodfang Pack, Alpha Callahan Woods looked me in the eye and said I would never be his Luna. Hours later, I found him buried between the thighs of the she-wolf he did choose. My fated mate. In another’s arms. While I bled alone.

Then came the attack. The beating. The fall. Tossed into a ravine like garbage—no one searched, no one mourned.

But I didn’t die.

I was found by Nyx, a Moon Priestess older than legend. She offered me rebirth—not as the girl I was, but as something more. Something dangerous. Something powerful. I said yes.

Now, I’ve returned. Cloaked in shadow, cloaked in seduction, with magic curling around my fingertips and vengeance in my blood. They call me a rogue. They call me cursed.

And just when I think I’ve mastered the game, Conan Sterling walks in. Alpha of the rival Crimson Howl. Ruthless. Dark. Possessive. And my second chance mate.

He wants to worship me. Corrupt me. Claim me.

But I’m not the girl who begged to be loved anymore. I’ve learned how to seduce. To destroy.

Still, Conan sees through the fury. He touches the part of me I buried in fire. And as I spiral between two alphas—one who ruined me, and one who would burn the world for me—I have to ask:

Can I have revenge... without losing the heart I’ve rebuilt from ash?

Power is my birthright.

Pleasure is my weapon.

And this time, the omega bites back.

Mira Alcott does not fall in love. She gets paid.

For two years she has worked as a professional stand in fiancée, hired by wealthy families to attend the events their real heirs cannot face. She smiles for the cameras. She charms strangers. She goes home alone.

Her newest client is different. Julian Voss never shows his face. He speaks to her through a hidden earpiece, feeding her lines, warning her of danger, guiding her through a world built on lies. She has never seen him.

She only knows his voice.

Slowly, his voice becomes the only honest thing in her life.

But Mira signed a contract with one absolute rule. She can never contact Julian directly. She can never ask why he hides. She can never fall for the man behind the voice.

When a rival threatens to expose the arrangement, and a secret about Julian’s inheritance comes to light, Mira must decide if the voice she has fallen for is worth breaking every rule she has ever followed.

Some contracts are written to protect a fortune. This one might cost a heart.

Some things can't be mended. Born into the shifter world he hates, Alpha Hades finds his destiny on the same road used to avoid it. The air of danger that surrounds him is felt by humans and werewolves alike. He's both a beast and a genius.

With a Bratva Prince at his side, Hades and Kazimir find themselves thriving in the shadows of the underworld, but the Moon Goddess seems to have other plans for them. This bad boy never wanted a mate but now that he's found her, he wants to possess her. Odessa Theodorus may just be his redemption, though it's not redemption he seeks but retribution. From cage fights in Moscow to the shores of Cyprus, all roads lead back home to Greece.

The Secret Lover in the Movie Star's Heart is a suspenseful romance novel that transcends time and space. Modern-day detective Sophia stumbles upon a thirty-year-old buried corpse and, through a mysterious photograph, is transported back in time to meet the deceased, William—a gifted but missing actor with whom she forms an unbreakable bond. As Sophia journeys across different eras, she uncovers the truth behind William’s disappearance, while their love story unfolds across time itself. However, each passage through time brings unknown dangers and challenges, and Sophia must solve the mystery while protecting William from the twists of fate...

Rosalie Bellrose has always believed there are worse things than being a witch. Being a terrible one, for example.

Her magic never answers to spells or potions. It slips into her baking instead: happiness in honey cakes, forgotten memories in cinnamon rolls, longing in strawberry tarts. So Rosalie runs her strange little bakery, sells enchanted pastries to those who can afford them, and keeps her magic to herself.

She never imagined her secret would end up on a king's plate.

Kael Edevane is the ruthless king of the kingdom, and when something goes terribly wrong after he eats one of Rosalie's creations, her quiet life comes crashing down. By morning, her bakery is shut down and soldiers are at her door.

But that's only the beginning.

For the first time in years, Kael can feel again. Her warmth. Her loneliness. Her anger. And worst of all, her desire.

Then Rosalie discovers her grandmother's death was not what she was told. Whatever her grandmother was hiding, someone is willing to kill for it.

And the closer Kael gets to Rosalie, the more dangerous their attraction becomes. Because there are secrets surrounding her that neither of them can afford to uncover.

If Rosalie cannot find the truth before they find her first, she may lose more than the bakery her grandmother left behind.

This is a sequel to Ignition and Ice: A Racer's Forbidden Blueprint. It can be read as a stand alone but references to events in the aforementioned book would be made.

By day, Nora Mercer lives at 200 miles per hour. As the only female driver on the F1 grid, she carries the weight of the Mercer Racing dynasty on her shoulders. Her father watches her every move, ensuring no one gets close enough to distract her.

But by night, she craves a different kind of speed.

Sneaking out to the gritty, illegal underground street races of the city, she crosses paths with "K"—a ruthless, tattooed, undefeated biker who races for pink slips and survival.

He doesn't care about her money or her fame. He pushes her to the limit, stripping away the good-girl persona she wears for the cameras.

Anyways "K" is keeping a secret.

And when the masks finally come off and the truth is revealed, Nora must decide: will she run back to the safety of her father's empire, or will she risk everything for the boy who was born to be her enemy?

In my family, there's a rule: any woman who reaches thirty without getting married must return to the family estate and have her marriage arranged by the Council of Elders.
When I told Dominic Moretti about this, he was sitting on my desk flipping through financial reports.
After hearing me out, he let out a derisive laugh.
"Is the Bennett family some medieval royal house? A bunch of old men get to decide who marries whom?"
"I'm not asking for your opinion. I'm simply telling you—we've been together for seven years."
"If we don't get married, I'll have to go back to the estate."
"Ava Bennett, I said I'd marry you, and I will." Dominic finally looked up, his eyes fixed on me. "But you'd better understand—me wanting to marry you and you forcing me into marriage are two very different things."
Forcing him?

Father calls me and Chloe into his study, and two documents already sit on the desk. On the left, the Whitfield family succession papers. On the right, the marriage agreement with the Sullivan family.

He lights a cigar, the smoke half hiding his face. "You two need to make a choice today. One of you takes over the Whitfield family. The other marries Derek Sullivan."

In my last life, Chloe took the succession papers.

She sat down in Father's office, put on an expensive suit, called in every department head, and announced she'd make the Whitfield family stronger. But she couldn't even read a warehouse ledger, didn't know which shipping route mattered most, couldn't tell flattery from threats in a family meeting.

Within three years, the south warehouse burned down, the north route slipped out of our hands, and cash kept bleeding out of the books like there was a hole in them.

Father died on a dark street, three bullets in his chest.

Chloe fled with whatever money was left, and I got married off to Derek instead.

After the wedding, he took my passport and locked me in the basement of the Sullivan estate. When I refused to sign the transfer documents, he had them cut off my water for three days straight. In family meetings, one wrong word out of me and he'd slap me in front of everyone. During an ambush, he shoved me right into the line of fire.

Later, Chloe found me. She pointed a gun at my chest, and there wasn't a trace of sisterly feeling left in her eyes. "This is all because you're useless. If you'd helped Derek keep the Sullivan family steady, Whitfield wouldn't have gone under."

I opened my eyes in a pool of blood and woke up back on this day.

My reward for my father dying for the Alpha? A guaranteed forced bond with one of his two sons.

I chose the golden child, Ronan—and paid for it with my life.

Reborn on the day of the ceremony, I didn't hesitate. I pointed straight at Darius, the terrifying outcast brother everyone warned me about.

To hell with Ronan and his fairy tales.

But there's one sick twist I didn't see coming: Ronan remembers our first life, too.

And this time, he's the one who's going to beg.

I caught my husband sleeping with my sister, so I burned it all down.
The fire burned fierce, swallowing that abandoned cabin in the woods, along with my shattered marriage.
With the stench of gasoline still lingering on my fingertips, I thought I had finally buried the man who betrayed me.
Until the next morning, when he walked through the front door without a single scratch.
My mind reeled.
If he was still alive... then who the hell did I burn to a crisp last night?

I was doted to the bone by the mafia heir, Ethan — he took bullets for me, endured 99 lashes, and promised to take me to see the Southern Sea that never freezes!
But he let Ashley get pregnant with his child.
He accused me of causing Elara’s pollen allergy, and even gave the only keepsake left by my mother — a bracelet — to Ashley as an apology.
He said, "It’s just a bracelet."

During an argument, he shoved me down, causing my head to bleed, yet he rushed to the hospital with Ashley, not even bothering to look back at me.
I lay in the hospital getting stitches, and his suit still carried Ashley’s perfume. He yelled at me, "You followed me to the hospital to cause trouble!" My heart shattered, yet he still lied to me, "I only love you. After this fake wedding, I’ll take you away!"

She never wanted to be a Breeder--but her parents sold her anyway.

The Alpha King is looking for an heir in the most unorthodox way. Whoever can impregnate the Breeder first will get to be king, which means Rose finds herself in a castle where she must submit to four men or disappoint her entire pack. Though she's nervous at first, it's easier than she would've thought once she meets the four Alphas.
Mark is intelligent.
Eli is sweet.
Reece is debonair.
And Tristan is a horny goofball.
Rose wants to stay with all four Alphas forever, and they seem to love her, too. But things aren't always what they seem, especially when the king's cousin, Emily, announces she will be the next Luna.
Will Rose and her men have a chance at true love?

"Stay with me, Luna. Please. I can't lose you both."
Her eyes were on mine and I could see the resolution and gratefulness in her eyes despite the pain.
"You never deserved us. We were too good for you. If I had another chance," she whispered slowly pausing to breathe, "I would never stay with you. I would save my son from your indifference. I would spare us both the pain of loving someone who never loved us back."
"I did love you," I insisted, tears rolling down my face. "I do love Ollie. Please, Luna."
"Next time," she promised, a smile on her lips and tears running down freely her side of her eyes, "we'll be free."


Luna has tried her best to make her forced marriage to Xen work for the sake of their child. But with Riley and Sophia- Xen's ex-girlfriend and her son in the picture. She fights a losing battle.
Ollie, Xen's son, is neglected by his father for a very long time, and he is also suffering from a mysterious sickness that's draining his life force.
When his last wish to have his dad come to his 5th birthday party is dashed by his failure to show up, Ollie dies in an accident after seeing his father celebrate Riley's birthday with Sophia, and it's displayed on the big advertising boards that fill the city.
Ollie dies, and Luna follows after, unable to bear the grief, dying in her mate's hands, cursing him and begging for a second chance to save her son.
Luna gets the opportunity and is woken up in the past, exactly one year to the day, Sophia and Riley show up.
But this time around, Luna is willing to get rid of everyone and anyone, even her mate, if he steps in her way to save her son.

Blood pooled beneath Eloise's head just moments after she discovered the truth about her husband. The man she built her world around wanted nothing more than to destroy her. He stole everything, her company, her pride, her future, and left her to die. But as the darkness closed in on her, fate offered a second chance.

**

Now she is back, with bloodstained memories and a thirst for revenge. Desperate and broken, she made a deal with the devil, a man powerful enough to hand her the weapons.

But his help comes at a price.

To be owned by him. For four months. A strict deal with no strings or feelings attached. But nothing about him is simple. He's infuriating, intoxicating, and every second with him chips away at her control.

What starts as business quickly spirals into a dangerous game of possession, secrets, and desire. And when hearts get involved, the real cost becomes something more than she bargained for.

He’s the last man she should trust… and the only one who makes her lose control.

"Love doesn't hurt, Adrian. You did. I'm leaving to become someone you can't destroy. And when I return, you will learn what it means to lose everything."
Five years ago, Arabella Sterling disappeared without a trace, carrying disgrace, heartbreak, and the label of a billionaire's hidden scandal. What no one knew was that she was also his wife. The woman he once claimed to love. The one he abandoned when it mattered most.
Now she is back.
No longer the fragile woman he betrayed, Arabella has reinvented herself as The Reformer, a world-renowned business strategist known for reviving collapsing empires. Powerful, untouchable, and unstoppable.
Her next target is The Sterling Group. His empire.
Adrian Sterling has spent years trying to bury his past mistakes, but nothing prepares him for the moment Arabella walks into his boardroom. Colder. Stronger. Completely out of reach.
He wants redemption. She wants revenge.
Because this time, Arabella is not here to save him.
She is here to make him lose everything.

Five years ago, Elena overheard the ambiguous whispers between her husband Arthur and his first love. In that split second, all her love for him crumbled to dust. She left the country with her pregnant belly, vowing never to have any connection with this man again.​
Five years later, Elena returns to her home country with her twins Liam and Luna—now a world-renowned top doctor. Unexpectedly, she finds herself entangled with Arthur once more. His eyes reddening with emotion, he grabs her abruptly and pleads, "Elena, I was truly wrong. This time, I will never let you get hurt again."

"Marry me," my billionaire CEO demanded, trapping me in his office, completely unaware that my father was the man who murdered his parents.

I stared at John Alexander Blackwood, a man who evaluated people like stock options. He was cold, calculated, and terrifying. "A contract marriage," he said with dead eyes. "Three years. In exchange, your family's financial ruin disappears." I should have screamed no and ran out of that top-floor office. But I signed the papers, binding myself to a man I barely knew.

Moving into his sterile, expensive penthouse felt like walking into a beautiful prison. We lived like ghosts, avoiding each other in the hallways. But the ice between us started to crack. Late-night encounters in the kitchen turned into shared whiskey, and his dark, calculating eyes began tracking my every move with a burning intensity. Behind his cold armor, I found a broken man still grieving the parents he lost in a tragic car crash twenty-six years ago. I was falling for him. Hard.

But then, the anonymous envelope arrived.

My hands shook as I tore open the seal, staring at the faded contract inside. Fifty thousand dollars. That’s what my father was paid to sabotage the brakes on the Blackwood family car. The crash wasn't an accident. It was a cold-blooded assassination ordered by John's own grandfather, and my father pulled the trigger.

I was sleeping under the same roof as the man whose life my family had destroyed. If John found out, he wouldn't just divorce me—he would obliterate me.

Was I my father's daughter enough to pack my bags and run, or was I reckless enough to stay and let the truth burn us both to ashes?

Catherina Hanshaw Dalton has spent six years believing she lived a fairytale, married to billionaire Xavier Dalton, cherished by him, and building a life rooted in devotion, even amid one heartbreak she cannot control: their inability to have a child. Though Xavier assures her she is enough, Catherine senses his quiet disappointment, a wound deepened by the venomous hostility of his mother, Lydia Dalton. Lydia never misses a chance to insult Catherine’s infertility, idolize Xavier’s sister Mia and her children, or imply Xavier married beneath his status. Catherine endures it all, clinging to the one constant comfort, Xavier always defends her. Or so she believes.
This Christmas, however, Catherine’s dread of another humiliating Dalton family gathering turns into confusion. Lydia is gracious….kind, even. The manor is full of relatives, business partners, and esteemed guests, including Hunter Powell, Xavier’s ruthless business rival. The brief moment when Cathy’s eyes meet Hunter unsettles her, but nothing prepares her for Lydia’s “special Christmas gift.”
During the toast, Lydia presents Caroline Turner…a beautiful young woman who is allegedly four months pregnant through surrogacy…with Xavier’s child.

From #1 bestselling author Blake Pierce comes a heart-pounding new mystery series.In the cornfields of Nebraska a woman is found murdered, strung up on a pole, the victim of a deranged killer. It doesn’t take long for the police to realize a serial killer is on the loose—and that his spree has just begun.Detective Mackenzie White, young, tough, smarter than the aging, chauvinistic men on her local force, finds herself called in grudgingly to help solve it. As much as the other officers hate to admit it, they need her young, brilliant mind, which has already helped crack cold cases that had left them stumped. Yet even for Mackenzie this new case proves an impossible riddle, something the likes of which she—and the local force—have ever seen.With the FBI called in, together, an intense manhunt ensues. Mackenzie, reeling from her own dark past, her failed relationships, and her undeniable attraction to the new FBI agent, finds herself battling her own demons as her hunt for the killer takes her to the darkest places of her mind. As she delves into the killer’s mind, obsessing over his twisted psychology, she finds that evil truly does exist. She only hopes it will not be too late to extricate herself from it, as her entire life collapses around her.As more bodies turn up dead and a frantic race against time ensues, there is no way out but to find him before he kills again.A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, BEFORE HE KILLS marks the debut of a riveting new series—and a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night. Book #2 in the Mackenzie White Mystery series will be available soon. Also available by Blake Pierce is ONCE GONE (A Riley Paige mystery—Book #1), a #1 bestseller!

“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery. Blake Pierce did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. 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) HOMECOMING (A Chloe Fine Mystery) is book #5 in a new psychological suspense series by bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose #1 bestseller Once Gone (Book #1) (a free download) has over 1,000 five-star reviews. When two husbands, best friends, turn up dead in a wealthy suburban town, FBI VICAP Special Agent Chloe Fine, 27, is called in to unmask the lies in this small town and to find the killer. Chloe will have to penetrate this town’s perfect façade, to get past its public appearances to understand the truth of who these men were, and who may have wanted them dead. And in a town that thrives on its exclusivity, that won’t be easy to do.What secrets were these husbands hiding?An emotionally wrought psychological suspense with layered characters, small-town ambiance and heart-pounding suspense, HOMECOMING is book #5 in a riveting new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night. Book #6 in the Chloe Fine series will also be available soon.

Seraphina Lancaster believed she was living a life that many women could only dream about. She believed she had married the man she loved, and built a successful future alongside him.

Damien Roth had saved her life at a crucial moment, and she did everything she could to support him and his business.

But what happens when her whole world comes crashing down with one painful truth?

On their sixth wedding anniversary, while preparing a gift for her beloved husband, she discovered that their wedding certificate was fake, and everyone she held dear had been deceiving her from the very beginning.
What she believed was a beautiful marriage was nothing but a calculated betrayal orchestrated by Damien, her best friend Camilla, and the Roth family—people who watched her sacrifice everything while quietly stealing the life she built.
Seraphina was beyond heartbroken, but she wouldn’t let her pain define her. Instead, it awakens something far more dangerous.

The burning desire to make them kneel at her feet.

Then comes Cassian Blackthorne.
A billionaire with his own scars, and a man the world calls cold and untouchable. But to Seraphina, he was her ticket to the ultimate revenge.
As Damien’s biggest rival, she offers him a proposal too sweet to ignore, one that pulls them both into a game neither of them can afford to lose.
Will Seraphina get everything that was stolen from her? Or will she find herself trapped between destruction and desire?

My name is Marlow Kane. I’m an orphan. I grew up in a lab—daily injections, pills, training—until I escaped and learned how to pass as “normal.”

No one knows what I used to be.

To my classmates, I’m the quiet nobody—the guy you forget is even there.

Then graduation trip hit. The boat went down, and I dragged seven classmates onto a deserted island.

At dawn I scouted the treeline and found a corpse—its wounds looked like someone had chewed the flesh right off.

I warned them not to go inland, not to wander. The school bully laughed in my face, said I was making up ghost stories because I wanted to play leader.

That night no one took watch. Everyone slept shoulder-to-shoulder by the fire—except me.

After midnight, one of us started shivering, shaking uncontrollably… then snapped upright and launched at the person next to her, teeth first.

The bully stumbled back. I was the only one who moved. I rushed in and drove a knife straight into her skull.

Firelight washed over her gray skin and bloodshot eyes. No one laughed anymore.

Blake sat in the sand staring at me, lips trembling, unable to say a word.

Ten years into my marriage, I'd traded my paintbrush for a spatula and turned into Mrs. Holloway.

Ever since my sister Brooke moved in, my husband Bennett and my daughter Lucy had picked up a habit. Anytime Brooke and I disagreed, they put it to a vote.

On my birthday I wanted steak. Two hands went up for the salad bar Brooke liked. When I hadn't slept in weeks and wanted to see a therapist, they sided with Brooke, who said I just had too much time on my hands.

We'd decided long ago that for our tenth anniversary, we'd go back to Jenny Lake, where Bennett had proposed. Then Brooke mentioned she wanted to surf in Maui. Another vote. Two to one, again.

Bennett finished booking the tickets before it even occurred to him to look at me.

"There were only three business-class seats left, so we grabbed them. Just book yourself an economy seat, okay?"

I nodded and bought a one-way ticket to Wyoming.

This time, I wasn't going with them.

It was Valentine's Day when my fiancé, Gavin Pierce, took me out to that survival course in the Catskills — him, me, and Riley Harper, the girl his family took in when she was fourteen, after her parents died.
I'd asked for a table at the Gramercy Tavern. He'd said he hated standing in line for a reservation, that he wanted to do something that actually got our blood moving.
So he booked the three of us into a couples' wilderness challenge — which should have told me something, right there, when the booking was for three.
The final round was a solo penalty draw. One of us would pull the short stick and spend ten minutes locked inside The Freezer.
Riley hooked her arm through Gavin's, half pouting, half flirting. "Gav, if I pull it, are you gonna come get me out?"
Gavin laughed. "Rules are rules, Ri."
She stuck her lip out in a sulk.
Beside her, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.
Then Riley drew the black stick, and her tears came instantly, like a faucet turning on.
Less than a second later, Gavin spoke.
"It's too dark in here. Drew the wrong one, didn't I?"
He slid the safe stick out of my hand and swapped it with hers — smooth enough that it took me a beat to understand what I'd just seen.
"You're up, Caro."
Riley's tears dried up on the spot.
Gavin turned and murmured close to my ear, "Come on. Riley has a thing about tight spaces. You're tough. Ten minutes. You'll be fine."
This wasn't the first time Gavin had dropped me the moment it counted.
I looked down at the cold already seeping through the soles of my boots, and the phone sealed in my waterproof pouch lit up.
It was the man my father had been quietly pushing on me for months.
[Valentine's Day, Miss Langley. Have you made up your mind?]

At my boss's mother's funeral, I couldn't hold back my laughter, and as a result, I was treated as a lunatic, stuffed into a garbage cannon, and launched naked into an apocalyptic forest full of zombies. Everyone thought I was doomed, but they didn't know—I had been reborn 1,001 times. Unarmed and surrounded by the zombie horde, about to be torn to shreds, in desperation I clung to the last clue... When I finally uncovered the truth that could overturn everything, I laughed from the bottom of my heart. This time, I would personally end this greatest lie.

I bought a handsome, aloof incubus from a clearance sale online to be my live-in maid.
For a week, he was perfect. Then he started fainting, his skin burning with a fever no amount of rest could fix. Panicked that I’d somehow overworked my best employee, I called the 24/7 Aphrodisiac (companyI bought him from) helpline.

Ma’am, our incubus models have a demonic lineage and you have got a high-output model. They have near-infinite stamina. They don't get 'feverish' from vacuuming. But... why did you have him doing 'housework'?"
"Because the house was dirty?"
The agent suddenly chuckled. "Ah, I see. Everyone has their own fantasies and kinks. Roleplay is very popular. But tell me, according to the log, when was the last time Xanthos received physical intimacy?"
"Huh?"
"Physical intimacy," the agent repeated. "Love, spoiling, skin-to-skin contact. If a male incubus doesn't get intimacy, his internal energy stagnates. They fall sick. Male models are much higher maintenance than females; they need constant affection to stay healthy."
My blood ran cold. "Affection? I bought him to mop the floors!"
"Ma'am," the agent's voice dropped. "You are on Aphrodisiac. We are the world's leading provider of supernatural escorts. Did you... did you not read the site description?"

Turns out, I hadn’t bought a demonic domestic servant.
I’d accidentally purchased a high-maintenance supernatural escort.
And apparently, if I didn’t start showing my “maid” some affection soon, he would die and I would be jailed for abusing my maid.

My mother-in-law was a spoiled and soft woman.
Fifty years old and she couldn't book a rideshare. Couldn't pick up a package. When the breaker tripped, she cried into a video call to her husband and her son.
The whole family agreed on it. Her only skills were clinging and being adorable.
Then I bled at nine weeks and took myself to the ER.
The OB who picked up my chart was my husband's best female friend. Sable.
She saw me, photographed my chart into their med-school group chat, and hit record.
"Come look, everybody. Dog's wife. Pregnant five minutes and already bleeding from bed."
"Twenty-eight and she's already a geriatric pregnancy. You've got to pace yourself, honey."
The whole room laughed and looked at my stomach.
My face burned white. My nails went numb in my palm.
Thirty minutes later the door hit the wall.
My mother-in-law, the woman who covered her ears in her husband's arms over a tripped fuse, walked in on four-inch heels.
Behind her: hospital administration, the compliance office, and the sitting Chief of Obstetrics.
She pulled the chart out of my hand without lifting her eyes.
"Twenty-eight is advanced maternal age? Normal physiologic fluid, and you called it too much sex?"
"Dr. Smith, is your mouth that filthy because your brain's been marinating in locker-room jokes, or did your ethics get eaten by a dog?"

The world knew my grandfather as Professor Guo Zhenghua—a man who spent fifty years lecturing about justice.
They knew his wife as Lin Wanyu, a celebrated artist admired for her integrity.
Both reputations were built on a stolen identity.
The real Lin Wanyu was my grandmother.
She died in a mountain village with no legal name, no recognized grave, and her eyes still open.
When their grandson demanded a place at my law firm, I gave him the answer no one had ever dared give his family.
“No.”
By morning, they had taken my job.
By noon, I was ready to take everything else.

Luna has tried her best to make her forced marriage to Xen work for the sake of their child. But with Riley and Sophia- Xen's ex-girlfriend and her son in the picture. She fights a losing battle.
Ollie, Xen's son is neglected by his father for a very long time and he is also suffering from a mysterious sickness that's draining his life force.
When his last wish to have his dad come to his 5th birthday party is dashed by his failure to show up, Ollie dies in an accident after seeing his father celebrate Riley's birthday with Sophia and it's displayed on the big advertising boards that fill the city.
Ollie dies and Luna follows after, unable to bear the grief, dying in her mate's hands cursing him and begging for a second chance to save her son.
Luna gets the opportunity and is woken up in the past, exactly one year to the day Sophia and Riley show up.
But this time around, Luna is willing to get rid of everyone and anyone even her mate if he steps in her way to save her son.

Isabella’s world shatters when her longtime boyfriend, Damon Sanchez, publicly proposes to her best friend. Humiliated and heartbroken, she drowns her sorrows in a bar—only to wake up on the bed of Matteo Moretti, the city’s most powerful billionaire.
Their one-night stand should have been the end of it.
But when her brother Alan's illness and Damon's vengeance leave her jobless, fate delivers Isabella straight into the jaws of her most dangerous mistake—Matteo Moretti, now her ruthless new boss.
Caught between Damon’s vindictive games and Moretti’s dangerous allure, Isabella must decide—is survival worth the cost of her heart?
Especially when Matteo’s seven-year-old son, Noah, starts calling her "Mom."

"Love doesn't hurt, Adrian. You did. I'm leaving to become someone you can't destroy. And when I return, you will learn what it means to lose everything."

Five years ago, Arabella Sterling vanished without a trace, disgraced, heartbroken, and branded her billionaire benefactor’s dirty secret.

What the world never knew was that she’d also been his wife.
Or that the man she loved—and the son she gave everything for—chose another woman over her.

Now, she’s back as The Reformer, a world-renowned business strategist celebrated for resurrecting dying empires.
Her newest client? The Sterling Group.
Her ex-husband’s empire.

Adrian Sterling has spent years trying to atone for the lies that destroyed them both.
But when Arabella walks into his boardroom, colder, sharper, untouchable...he realizes redemption may come at a cost he can’t pay.

Because this time, she’s not here to save him.

She’s here to ruin him.

Wale never expected the world he built to crumble. One drunken night with his staff, Maya, led to a scandal that forced him into a marriage he never wanted. Behind closed doors, he promised his true love, Kate, “I’ll get rid of her in a year.”
For a year, Maya tried to win Wale’s love, enduring his coldness and distance, but he remained emotionally locked away. Just as he was about to hand her divorce papers, she revealed a shocking secret—she was pregnant. Wale, torn but still set on leaving her, abandoned Maya on the day she went into labor to be with Kate. In a cruel twist, a devastating accident claimed their baby’s life.
Devastated and broken, Maya confronts Wale with a chilling finality, “Congratulations, Mr. Wale. My baby’s gone. I want a divorce. You’ve taken the last reason I had to stay.”
For the first time, Wale feels something he’s never experienced—fear. Fear of losing the woman he dismissed for so long. But now, as Maya walks away, he’s faced with the hardest question of all; is it too late to win back the woman he pushed away? And even if he tries, can Maya ever forgive him for the pain he’s caused?

Eilidh MacLeod thought she had escaped. Seven years after walking away from a cold marriage and a ruthless man, she has built a life of quiet stability with her son, Finlay.
But ghosts don’t stay buried forever. When Ruaridh MacKinnon—her powerful ex-husband—suddenly steps back into her world, her worst nightmare comes true. As the new owner of her company, he is now in control of her professional fate. And if he looks too closely, he may uncover the one secret she swore to protect.

Stacy was a brilliant and beautiful girl in her days in Hillary High School, Everyone want to be friend with her.

She is one of the hottest girl in the School. She was indeed the Queen in the Hillary High.

Her Parents were business Tycoons. So they were super dopey Rich.

They were not always home and not always available though they provided her with more than enough money.

She sometimes lack parental care and this has always sadden her, she never got the love and attention she needed. She was a genius, always taking the First position.

She had a lot of admirers, boys always trying to woo her but she declines them and hates to be pestered. But Luckily that's gonna change as a matter of time.

It was a new day in Hillary High School. This day was the day of Resumption. Stacy was now in Grade 11 {SS2}, she had done well asusal in collecting most Prices at the Price giving day Emerging as the Overall Best Student, but she is ignorant of a New Rivalry.

As Stacy been the goddess of Hillary High.

One day, came a god

His name is.

“Thriller writing at its best. Thriller enthusiasts who relish the precise execution of an international thriller, but who seek the psychological depth and believability of a protagonist who simultaneously fields professional and personal life challenges, will find this a gripping story that's hard to put down.”--Midwest Book Review, Diane Donovan (regarding Any Means Necessary)“One of the best thrillers I have read this year. The plot is intelligent and will keep you hooked from the beginning. The author did a superb job creating a set of characters who are fully developed and very much enjoyable. I can hardly wait for the sequel.”--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Any Means Necessary)When nuclear waste is stolen by jihadists in the middle of the night from an unguarded New York City hospital, the police, in a frantic race against time, call in the FBI. Luke Stone, head of an elite, secretive, department within the FBI, is the only man they can turn to. Luke realizes right away that the terrorists’ aim is to create a dirty bomb, that they seek a high-value target, and that they will hit it within 48 hours.A cat and mouse chase follows, pitting the world’s most savvy government agents versus its most sophisticated terrorists. As Agent Stone peels back layer after layer, he soon realizes he is up against a vast conspiracy, and that the target is even more high value than he could have imagined—leading all the way to the President of the United States. With Luke framed for the crime, his team threatened and his own family in danger, the stakes could not be higher. But as a former special forces commando, Luke has been in tough positions before, and he will not give up until he finds a way to stop them—using any means necessary.Twist follows twist as one man finds himself up against an army of obstacles and conspiracies, pushing even the limits of what he can handle, and culminating in a shocking climax.A political thriller with heart-pounding action, dramatic international settings, and non-stop suspense, ANY MEANS NECESSARY marks the debut of an explosive new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night.Book #2 in the Luke Stone series is also now available!

“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery. Blake Pierce did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. 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) IF SHE KNEW (A Kate Wise Mystery) is book #1 in a new psychological thriller series by bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose #1 bestseller Once Gone (Book #1) (a free download) has received over 1,000 five star reviews. 55 year old empty nester—and freshly retired FBI agent—Kate Wise finds herself drawn out of her quiet suburban life when her friend’s daughter is murdered in a home invasion—and she is implored to help.Kate thought she left the FBI behind after 30 years as their top agent, respected for her brilliant mind, tough street skills and her uncanny ability to hunt down serial killers. Yet Kate, bored with the quiet town, at a crossroads in life, is summoned by a friend she can’t turn down.As Kate hunts the killer, she soon finds herself at the forefront of a manhunt, as more bodies turn up—all suburban moms in perfect marriages—and it becomes apparent there is a serial killer stalking this quiet town. She unearths secrets from her neighbors she wishes she never knew, discovering that all is not what it seems in this picture of model streets and neighbors. Affairs and lying are rampant, and Kate must sift through the town’s underbelly if she will stop the killer from striking again.But this killer is one step ahead of her, and it may end up being Kate who is in danger.An action-packed thriller with heart-pounding suspense, IF SHE KNEW is book #1 in a riveting new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night. Book #2 in the KATE WISE MYSTERY series is coming soon!

Luna Chen wanted a quiet life. Instead, she got a 1940s architect in a tailored suit who appeared in her bedroom at 3 a.m. and calmly announced:

“You’re my wife now.”

Rhen Blackwood has been trapped in her grandmother’s apartment for eighty years, bound by a supernatural contract.

The final condition? Fall in love for real… or the Spirit Broker drags his soul into eternal nothingness.

Luna doesn’t believe in ghosts. She definitely doesn’t believe in love. But Ren is infuriatingly perceptive, dryly funny, and the only person who sees straight through her walls.

As the deadline closes in, the lines between annoyance and aching want begin to blur. Lights flicker. Secrets surface.

And every time Ren’s form starts to fade, Luna realizes she might lose the one man who finally makes her feel alive.

She was supposed to fix his unfinished business.
She never expected him to become hers.

A slow-burn paranormal romance full of dark humor, haunted hearts, and one very stubborn ghost who refuses to stay dead.

Woke up with the power to command endless zombies. I guarded the fortress for my sister, only to find her tortured, drained of blood, and used as live bait. A fake hologram fooled me for two years. Now I unleash my million undead army to burn all traitors to ashes.

To win a smile from my icy wife, I stood for four hours in a London blizzard, only to be greeted by her returning hand-in-hand with her childhood sweetheart, who had just returned from abroad.

For three years of marriage, I had concealed all my sharp edges, solely to warm her heart.
Until company secrets were leaked, and she unquestioningly believed her childhood sweetheart's framing, locking me, who suffered from severe claustrophobia, in a dark, abandoned wine cellar for a full forty-eight hours.

Watching her arrogantly slam the "Clean Break Agreement" onto my bleeding face, I smiled.
The moment I signed my name, the humble Arthur who loved her died utterly in the abyss.

That night, my yacht ran aground and exploded.
And the first heir of the Vance conglomerate, missing for three years, officially took control of the global technology lifeline.

Six months later, betrayed and facing bankruptcy, she clung to my trousers like a dead dog on the red carpet of a top-tier banquet, weeping and begging me to start over.
I was arm in arm with a true socialite, and I didn't even lift an eyelid as I looked at the woman covered in mud on the floor:
"Security, throw this crazy woman who's dirtied the carpet away. Don't spoil my fun."

Three days after I lost our baby, my husband finally remembered to call.

I was packing when Adrian Whitmore's name appeared on my screen.

"Vanessa told me you caused another scene over the medical bills," he said, sounding irritated. "I've authorized the payment. Can we please move on?"

I stared at the tiny knitted sweater lying in my suitcase.

I'd bought it the day I learned I was pregnant.

He didn't know I'd already prepared our divorce papers.

For three years, I'd been Mrs. Whitmore, the wife of one of New York's wealthiest men. No one would believe that after three years as Mrs. Whitmore, I couldn't find four decent outfits in my own closet.

Every dollar I spent required approval, and even my clothes and jewelry were locked away. To access anything, I had to ask his assistant, Vanessa Reed.

Adrian believed my modest upbringing made me incapable of handling money responsibly.

Three days ago, seventeen weeks pregnant, I needed money for an emergency medical transfer.

Vanessa deliberately delayed the approval until it was too late.

I lost our baby.

Adrian never cared enough to notice what I'd been through. I had endured years of humiliation just because I loved him, still holding out hope for the happy marriage he'd once promised.

But now our baby was gone.

And I had no reason left to stay.

For four years, I tolerated Grayson’s blatant favoritism. He spoiled my roommate Mia with exquisite breakfasts every day, while leaving me with plain biscuits and bitter black coffee. I swallowed every unfair slight, hoping for true love. Yet he finally humiliated me thoroughly by choosing Mia over me for the elite corporate event, sneering that I was unworthy of high society. Hiding my identity as the university’s secret heiress, I stopped my father from ruining his career on impulse. I will let them attend the glamorous party—not out of mercy, but to deliver my quiet, devastating revenge. Now I only need time to decide my next move, and whether to accept my arranged engagement.

In my previous life, I ran a barbecue restaurant to support my family for ten years, but my parents secretly sold the restaurant to a gang because of my younger brother's vanity in wanting him to study abroad.
An hour later, the apocalypse began, and my little shop became a god-level safe house—
Those with superpowers who enter the store have their abilities automatically copied to the store owner; the store is absolutely safe; the store owner decides who enters and who leaves.
My family ruined my amazing little shop, and they scolded me, saying, "Who told you to be unable to keep the shop?"
I was heartbroken and torn to pieces in the mouth of a zombie.
In this life, I was reborn back to an hour before the shop was taken away.
I must protect my shop!
As for those so-called family members—let them fend for themselves in the apocalypse!