The Look of a King by Tom Dumbrell

SPFBO7

Two young men. One with a dark past, the other with a bright future. Cyrus is a storyteller frustrated by the mundane trappings of village life, while Prince Augustus struggles to meet high expectations after an upbringing of royal privilege in the bustling capital. As both try to forge their own paths, a royal assassination unexpectedly closes the gap between them. The nation of Easthaven is thrown into war with their oppressive neighbours, and so begins a conflict from which neither can walk away. Will a young prince finally measure up to his destiny? Will a storyteller create a legend of his own? Cyrus and Augustus's lives may seem worlds apart, but perhaps they aren't so different after all...

An old Shirt and A New Name by Brad McMullen

" Stitched Tales " is an exciting series that weaves together true stories that have been greatly embellished over time. Join Buttons, Patch, and Sora as they pounce into action, unravel secrets, and embark on crazy adventures. A heartwarming tale unfolds in "An Old Shirt and A New Name." intertwining love, curiosity, mischief, and how lost things can be re-discovered in the most unexpected ways. Watch how one small kitten's adoption stitches a tapestry of countless tales.

First Contact: America by Matt Turner

What happens if First Contact doesn't go the way we want? A religious American family set's off on a delightful weekend away. Mom and daughter embark on a girl's getaway, while Father and Son have a guy's weekend. Just as the two pairs are starting their little vacations, aliens unexpectedly descend upon Earth; making First Contact. The family's torn asunder and their idyllic weekends take an unexpected turn as they grapple with this otherworldly encounter. The aliens come bearing ominous messages. Are they friends or foes? A family, torn apart, embarks on an adventure that tests their physical and mental fortitude, as well as their faith. Will they find unity once again?

How to Survive This Fairytale by S. M. Hallow

An absolutely beautiful book!! Couldn't put it down and was constantly highlighting portions of text because of how raw and powerful the writing was. A new favorite and one I'm honored to have been able to read.

Review by forestthemlinreads on 2026-05-13T23:23:52Z

Her Injured Biker (Broken Heroes Love Harder Series) by Annee Jones

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Review by ChelseaK on 2026-05-13T23:11:41Z

A Kingdom of Curses by Danielle D Drummond

This was an easy to follow fantasy! I thoroughly enjoyed it!

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Review by briebriereads on 2026-05-13T18:35:41Z

Smoke: A MC Biker Fake Dating OTT Reverse Age Gap Short Dark Romance by Julia Stone

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Review by ChelseaK on 2026-05-12T19:32:55Z

Pretty Dogs by Riley Nash

God bless white t-shirts and NASCAR. Beck and Dallas have built something lovely together and it was incredible to watch it grow even stronger. As a trans reader I loved how the trans characters were treated and was so exited to learn that Nash is an own voices author.

Review by Shrike on 2026-05-10T23:34:13Z

Her Injured Biker (Broken Heroes Love Harder Series) by Annee Jones

🩺 Whitley: The most dangerous man I've ever treated just tried to climb out his hospital window. Again. Scorch — Road Captain of the Devil's Backbone MC — took a bullet meant for his president and landed in my trauma bay looking like trouble wrapped in leather and tattoos. He's built like a weapon and absolutely done being stuck in a hospital bed while his club needs him. I know this because he tells me every single time I catch him trying to leave. He flirts. I don't flinch. He turns up the charm. I use his real name. He goes so still it should scare me — and somehow that became our game. Every escape attempt. Every slow smile. Every time he says "come on, sweetheart" and I plant myself in his doorway and cross my arms. 💀 The problem isn't that he keeps trying to escape. It's that I'm starting to want him to stay. 🔥 Steamy, fast, and impossible to put down — a standalone in the Broken Heroes Love Harder series. 🏍️ Enemies-to-lovers • Forced proximity • MC romance • Military hero • Guaranteed HEA Binge it in one sitting. 🖤 He takes bullets for his brothers. She's the only one who's ever brought him to his knees.

The Farthest Reach by Nova Shrike

Core memories allow Kindred to connect to the world's magic, but after the magic reveals it has memories of its own, things get complicated. Jaron is a defunct blacksmith desperate for adventure after a life in the Stagnant, a place so unchanging it doesn't even have weather. After discovering a new source of water, he hatches a plan to find its origins and return a hero. Beyond the mountain range isolating his home, he encounters life changing experiences like the wind, fish, and a woman in the woods. Elza is a Kindred scholar tasked with restoring her ancestral homeland. While she successfully roused the forest from its slumber, things don't follow her meticulous plan. Its memories transform her conjured rain into a torrential storm and it’s spreading. When she collides with Jaron in the aftermath, the two embark on a journey to uncover a way to stop the storm while balancing her measured caution against his impulsive nature. The Farthest Reach is a cozier fantasy that features a sentient magic system linked to core memories, strong family bonds, a central cast over thirty, and LGBTQIA+ representation.

A Divided Life a memoir of hiding from myself, survival, and becoming whole by Todd Boler

What does it mean to survive by hiding — and what does it cost? A Divided Life is a deeply personal memoir about growing up in a time and place where silence felt necessary. In a small Midwestern town shaped by faith, family expectations, and unspoken rules, Todd Boler learned how to divide himself in order to endure. Outwardly, life continued as expected. Inwardly, pieces of the self were carefully guarded. Rather than centering on a single moment of revelation, this memoir follows the quieter, more complicated path of endurance: how coping strategies form, how they protect, and how they eventually limit the life they were meant to save. Through friendships, belief, longing, and loss, the book explores the emotional and psychological cost of living divided from oneself. Neither polemic nor manifesto, A Divided Life offers no easy answers— only honesty, reflection, and recognition. It speaks to anyone who has lived with invisible struggle while appearing “fine,” and who wonders what it might mean to finally live whole.

Deadly Angles by K.S. Krown

Love was never meant to be simple. Margot Beaufort finds herself caught between two men who offer her everything—and demand far more in return. Art’s devotion is quiet, unwavering… and consuming in its own way. JC’s passion is magnetic, dangerous, and impossible to escape. What begins as desire quickly becomes something far more deliberate. As their lives intertwine between Atlanta’s glittering social circles and the secluded elegance of southern France, the boundaries between love, control, and betrayal begin to blur. Each of them believes they understand the game being played. None of them are prepared for the cost. Deadly Angles is a dark, psychologically charged exploration of obsession, manipulation, and the fragile illusions we create to justify the choices we make. For readers drawn to morally complex relationships, seductive tension, and stories where love and power collide, this is a novel that lingers long after the final page. Some love stories don’t end. They unravel.

Devious Demons by K.S. Krown

Love was never meant to save her—it was meant to burn the world down. Lilley Meade doesn’t remember who she was before London, before the dreams of wings and fire. Then she meets Max—fierce, magnetic, achingly familiar—and something ancient stirs inside her. But behind his gentle eyes lies another name… one that Heaven still fears to speak. Lucifer. As the truth unravels, Lucifer and his two fallen brothers emerge from the shadows—angels who once loved her, betrayed her, and damned themselves for her. Torn between Michael’s devotion and Lucifer’s consuming fire, Lilley must decide whether love will redeem them all… or finish what the fall began. Devious Demons is the first book in a dark fantasy saga of angels, temptation, and the price of forbidden love.

Smoke: A MC Biker Fake Dating OTT Reverse Age Gap Short Dark Romance by Julia Stone

He agreed to be her fake boyfriend to protect her. Now he won’t let anyone else touch her. Bunny: Unwanted love letters began showing up in my work locker, increasing in frequency the longer I ignored them. I’m not interested in the man leaving them. Not even a little. There is only one biker I’ve ever wanted. Smoke. He’s gruff, gorgeous, and he looks at me like I might be trouble he can’t afford. Which is ridiculous, considering I’m the one asking him to pretend to be my boyfriend to deter this stalker of mine. It should be simple. A little convincing touch, a few possessive glances, maybe a kiss or two if we have to sell it. Except Smoke doesn’t touch like he’s pretending. He treats me like I’m really his. The longer I stay by his side, the more I find myself unable to decide what I fear more: my stalker or the end of this act. Smoke: Bunny is sunshine in a world that runs on sin. She flirts like she was made to ruin men, laughs like she doesn’t know the damage she does, and looks at me like I’m the one thing she can’t resist. That should scare me less than it does. I’ve spent my life gambling, taking risks, playing games I know I can win. But Bunny is different. She gets under my skin and makes me want things I never planned on wanting. So when she asks me to play her boyfriend, I say yes before she can ask another man to sweep her off her feet. Now her stalker thinks she’s taken. The problem is, I’m not sure I know where the game ends anymore. When Bunny is cornered, and I finally decide to claim what’s mine, everyone will learn the truth. I’ll never let anyone take her from me. Steelwood MC - Meadow Falls features darker themes throughout. Each book can be read in any order, and all conclude with a happily ever after guarantee!

Embryonic Cells by Yuval Sagiv

What happens when the orderly life of a biologist turns into an experiment never written in any protocol? Sarah, a brilliant researcher at a prestigious Chicago lab, is on the verge of a scientific breakthrough that could change the face of modern medicine. But when she becomes unexpectedly pregnant, the boundaries between her career and personal life begin to blur—when she decides to test her discovery on herself. From the moment she presents her experimental results in a bold and unforgettable lecture, her life spirals out of control. Biotech companies pursue her relentlessly, internal power struggles at the university threaten her future, and anti-abortion protests erupt at the campus gates. When the danger reaches those closest to her, Sarah realizes she must save not only her project—but herself as well. But to do that, she must first understand: Who is the real enemy?

Becalming by Aga Maksimowska

Gosia feels stalled in her life, but a family trip opens her eyes to the life she has … and the life she wants. Gosia, a high school chemistry teacher, travels to her native Poland to visit her estranged father. Back in Canada, meanwhile, her father-in-law — who has been more of a dad to her than her own — is dying of cancer. Away from her routine, Gosia questions everything in her life, including her long-term boyfriend, Peter. She feels stuck in the terrifying time of early adulthood, in her first grown-up job while managing student debt, monogamy, and existential dread. Is this really it, she wonders? Gosia’s time in Poland gives her the chance to examine her life, and she finds herself pulled homeward to Canada, where she faces the fact that Peter’s father — like her own — is far from perfect. Can she love despite betrayal? Can she find hope in her fiery, complex love for Peter? Is there something more to this life that she didn’t even realize she had? Becalming tells the story of two people realizing that happily ever after is not something to be but something to continue to explore, through adversity and outrage, tragedy and inspiration, and love.

The Lineman by Christina K. Glover

GRASPING AT THREADS If there’s one thing Henley Yu has learned, it’s that nothing is easy when it involves Chief Operator Kittinger. The pair can finally face the world together, focused on the pursuit of the Ethereal lord who escaped into the Actuality. This time the mortal world won’t be a silent victim, and Kit and Henley will hunt their quarry with the help of mages who have plenty to lose. But Kit punched through something he shouldn’t have in the battle for the Order Headquarters. His transgression has opened him up to a darkness that swallows him whole, leaving him cold and his body empty. What is broken can only be mended by the hand of the maker. In his fight for Kit and their future together, Henley will need help from the only one who knows the real story behind the Between—but only if the Lineman is willing to lend his aid. Secrets will be revealed and the final battle unfolds as the Connections series comes to a close!

The Constellation Caves by Keilani McConnell

A group of sailors travels together across a tropical country, meeting new people and solving the mystery affecting those there. The crew of PearlHeart is on break after their most recent journey. Rath, One-Eye, his Spirit Lion, and others have chosen to spend it on Delphy, Rath's homeland. However, while traveling to where they are staying for the Summer, cracks begin appearing in different parts of the country and the group agrees to help find the cause in order to protect the Constellation Caves, which lay underground. ​For readers who love rich characters, mysteries, and traveling across fantasy worlds.

Black Hole Guns For Hire by Friday Strout

The empire made them soldiers. The void made them rebels. Lina Bho captains a beat-up transport at the galaxy's ragged edge, running aid missions with veterans who'd rather fight than follow orders. She left the United Earth Marines behind, with its politics, its prejudice, and the boot she wore too long. Her Chief, Zuri Josmith, keeps the platoon sharp and the Captain honest. She's also the only woman who's ever made Lina want to take orders. A black hole is swallowing their star system. No one is coming. When Lina discovers the United Earth deliberately stranded nine billion people to wipe out a rebel stronghold, she turns her crew against the government that raised them. Pirates stalk her vessel; alien predators nest in her cargo hold; and her hired guns look to her for a plan she hasn't finished writing. They'll fight their way out or die as the Black Hole Guns. A jump-capable freighter at the sector's edge is their only ride out. Between Lina and escape sits a pirate captain with a personal vendetta, alien cyborg predators, and her own unraveling mind. Zuri can hold her together or hold the crew together. She can't do both. This sapphic military sci-fi features a found family crew, morally gray characters, and a second chance romance with power exchange. It contains graphic violence, explicit language, and adult content. Check the copyright page for details. BLACK HOLE GUNS FOR HIRE can be read as a standalone.

Breath of Darkness: Volume Two : Phoenix by Hüseyin Örskaya

From the ashes: reborn, but not the same. The crystals did not destroy the city. They rewrote it. A year after the night that changed everything, the survivors of Awakening are no longer survivors: they are carriers, translators, thresholds. The world has learned to speak through them, and they have learned, slowly, painfully, to answer without losing themselves. Anitta walks the crystal districts as a witness. Reha edits memory like a score. Onur reads the pulse of the new grid. Around them, a second Istanbul is rising, half architecture and half intention, and a decision is taking shape on every rooftop, in every stairwell, behind every locked door: whether to burn the past or carry it forward, transformed. Phoenix is a novel about what comes after survival. It is about the rooms that open only once you stop running. It is a fire that asks, gently, what you would like to become. Volume Two of Breath of Darkness, following Awakening. Literary science fiction translated from the Turkish.

Breath of Darkness: Volume One : Awakening by Hüseyin Örskaya

Find your way in the dark. Istanbul has exhaled its last breath. The sky bleeds an unnatural dusk, the Bosphorus hums with a light that does not belong to any known star, and crystal lattices have begun to grow out of the bones of the drowned city: threads of green, veins of violet, a second nervous system waking beneath the ruins. Anitta wakes in a world that is no longer the one she fell asleep in. Reha remembers a name that should not exist. Onur follows a signal no instrument can measure. Taru hears a voice that is almost, but not quite, human. Seven lives, seven fractures, one long tremor beneath the surface of the real. Something has opened a window between what we are and what is watching. In the silence that follows, each of them must decide which language to answer in. Awakening is the first movement of a story told in breath: literary science fiction from a new voice, translated from the Turkish Karanlığın Nefesi. For readers of Ted Chiang, Emily St. John Mandel, and Jeff VanderMeer.

Blessed is the Link by Sheri Singerling

Lenore lives in the shadow of her parents, Fenrir and Sophie. It’s been twenty years since they destroyed the Linkrot virus and, in doing so, restored the Link. A new world order has emerged with Fenrir and Sophie at the helm as wardens of the Link, dead set on protecting that enigmatic connection to other worlds. But Lenore doesn’t believe the ideology her parents spout. She defies them by joining revolutionaries determined to destroy the Link. After the rebels’ attempt fails, Fenrir and Sophie learn that the Linkrot virus isn’t wholly gone. It gnaws away at other Link nodes in other cities. As punishment for her involvement with the rebels, Lenore is forced to help her parents bolster the Link. They must travel into a land of unknowns and cleanse the nearest node of its Linkrot virus. Lenore doesn’t believe in their mission until she gets her first glimpse of the horrid creatures the Linkrot virus breeds. Were her parents right after all? Doubts consume Lenore, but there’s one thing she’s certain of—she’s not going to have her future decided for her. Can Lenore carve her own path and, what’s more, survive the deadly task ahead? Blessed is the Link is a dark science fantasy novel, the second in the Bit trilogy and part of the Alfom shared universe. It is highly recommended that readers complete book 1 in the Bit trilogy, Blessed is the Rot, prior to reading Blessed is the Link.

Our Ways Unmasked by C.B. Lansdell

Return to Knyadrea, a world of sea-born people shaped by tumultuous forces. Nearly a year after the events of Far Removed, the resourceful Oklas and guarded Prismer face a unique set of challenges in their socially stratified society. Knyadrea’s sovereigns grow ever more paranoid. Armed enforcers patrol Apidecca’s streets, and tensions escalate. With nothing to lose, Oklas Sayve turns to resyn for solutions. Could the mystical substance that unravelled his life also prove to be his salvation? There is no room for doubt. Too many are relying on his expertise. The knyads he once considered charities are now close friends and allies … and one of them might even be something more. New threats stand between Prismer and the dreams she’s only beginning to open herself up to. Venturing out from under the shadow of the Pentarchy, can she recover her faith in the knyad god, in herself, and in the people who see past her mask? In Our Ways Unmasked, the second book in the Apidecca Duology, Oklas and Prismer are not the only ones with an eye on the city’s future. Rebels, traitors, and scumbled outcasts have a myriad of reasons to seek change. Together, can they overcome an oppressive regime that has stood for hundreds of years? No Gen AI was used in the production of this book.

The Tidelings of Dras Sayve by C.B. Lansdell

Maverick diplomat Emis Rindar travels to the northernmost clan in the Dras Channel, seeking the assistance of an old friend. After a lifetime of adventures across Knyadrea, a large moon, his next planned endeavour will be unlike anything he has attempted. Isolated and enigmatic, the knyads of Dras Sayve keep even their neighbours at a distance, and few welcome the unorthodox ideas Emis brings from abroad. But all his breakthroughs happen here, and the Sayvians are the most technologically progressive knyads on the moon. Can Emis convince them that he will make a worthy mentor to one of their more curious juveniles? This story is set 30 years before the events of Far Removed (C.B. Lansdell’s debut sci-fi novel).

Together is a Distant Star by A.J. Calvin, V. Carvajal Leiva, Nancy Foster, Andrea Marie Johnson, Natalie Kelda, C.B. Lansdell, Karen Lykkebo, Erika McCorkle, Branwen OShea, Alyse N. Steves, Delilah Waan, Isabelle Wagner

How far would you go to find where you belong? A shapeshifting alien changeling raised by humans. The “wicked” child selected as the village sacrifice. People trapped in rigid belief systems, oppressive regimes, well-intentioned families, complicated relationships, and their very own bodies. Is it better to succumb and survive, or escape by staking everything on a slender hope? What triumphs in the end, love or vengeance? And if all that remains is ashes, is it still worth it? Grapple with these questions by diving into twelve new science fiction and fantasy stories. Together is a Distant Star is a collaborative anthology that encompasses authors hailing from Europe to Australia, South Africa to South America, and celebrates a kaleidoscope of perspectives—female, nonbinary, BIPOC, queer, and more. Featuring stories from: A.J. Calvin, C.B. Lansdell, Nancy Foster, V. Carvajal Leiva, Karen Lykkebo, Erika McCorkle, Branwen OShea, Alyse Steves, Delilah Waan, and Isabelle Wagner.

Alien Tower: An Alien Shifter Romance (Alien Wolf Tales #8) by Honey Phillips

The tower was never meant to keep her safe. It was meant to keep her hidden. Locked in a lonely tower where the jungle meets the sea, Liora has spent her entire life under the protection of a watchful AI guardian. She has never left the tower. Never met another person. Until a massive Vultor warrior appears at her door. Baylin came south to investigate an almost forgotten structure mentioned in an old colony record. He never expected to find a beautiful female living inside. Curious, brave, and far too trusting, Liora is fascinated by the dangerous warrior who has suddenly entered her carefully controlled world. But when Baylin discovers she carries a powerful secret, he must decide if he can break the tower’s hold before the world discovers she exists. Because the moment Liora steps outside the walls… everything will change. A spicy standalone sci-fi fairytale retelling featuring an isolated heroine, a protective alien wolf shifter, and a tower that was never meant to be opened.

The Nature of Shadow by Emma.R.Schofield

Will she be cast out of the one place she has left to go? Anhame, the Hall under the six point star, is the only place Lia can learn how to use her terrifying powers. But to take the oath, and to pass through the trials, she must conceal the darkness that is her nature. How long can she hide her dark secret from the Masters of her craft? And if they find out, what will they do to ensure she is not a danger to everyone around her? The Nature of Shadow is the first book in a literary high fantasy series of five. It is for people who love myth and magic, dragons and sword bearers, and walking the path of story with a frighteningly powerful protagonist who nevertheless faces entirely human struggles. Low on sex and violence, but rich in character development, atmosphere and world-building, it is suitable for fantasy lovers from young adult to long-retired elder.

Shadows We Cast by James Chance

After their return from the Underworld, Vincent, Henry, and their pack find themselves with a new mission: break open the portals to Heaven and Hell, so every spirit can find their way to a peaceful afterlife. The catch: figuring out how to do it without a human sacrifice. The second catch: Vincent’s hellhound kin also have a new mission–to hunt him down, and kill anyone who gets in their way. With hellhounds and Shadowhand closing in fast, they need all the help they can get–even from some old friends they would rather have left behind. But together, they might be able to carve out one last chance to right the wrongs of history. To do it, they must travel across the ruins of Heaven, back through the depths of Hell, and even to the deepest crevices in the mind of a vengeful god. But they may just find that the doorway to saving mortalkind resides not in the mind, but the heart…and Vincent and Henry’s love could be the only key.

Turtle Journey and Other Silent Comics by Keilani McConnell

Five heartwarming, traditionally drawn comics following different animals on their journeys A turtle travels to a mountain, meeting friends along the way; a seagull finds a group of students attending a magic class and decides he wants to try it, too; a brachiosaurus guides the stars to their places in the night sky; a mouse makes their way through a snowy forest; a dragon and dragonfly fly together to different islands. Each comic is appropriate for all ages and reading levels, with uplifting and wholesome stories. Includes five comics: Turtle Journey Seagull Magic Dino Stars Snow Mouse The Dragon and the Dragonfly

The Heart of The Dawn by Joseph Moro

A love meant to unite a world is shattered before it can begin. On the day their lives were supposed to become one, Joe is torn away from Cheri by a force neither of them understands. What was meant to be a beginning becomes a fracture that echoes across everything they believed was certain. Separated by a mystery that refuses to stay buried, both are forced to confront more than distance. Truths long hidden begin to surface. Power moves in ways it was never meant to. And the deeper they search, the more they realize their story was never just their own. Because some bonds are not broken by distance. They are tested by it. And some truths, once uncovered, change everything.

The Inescapable March by Hana Carolina

Arran, a widely feared warrior-mage who can manipulate time and space, and his best friend, Hyacinth, an almost-famous actor and talented singer adored by (too) many, find themselves trapped in a recurring nightmare ending with their deaths. Separated amid a blood-soaked war, they keep meeting again, lost in a hazy space between winter and spring, dream and reality, friendship and love.

The Storm and the Rose by T.L. Johnson

Obsession leaves marks deeper than any wound. Arden Rivers has rebuilt her life brick by fragile brick, determined not to be defined by the shadows of her past. But when roses begin to appear at her door—perfect, blood-red, deliberate—so do the notes. Intimate. Intrusive. Written by someone who knows her too well. Each gift is beautiful. Each gift is a threat. The stalker who calls himself her admirer isn’t the only man watching. Gideon Blackwell, heir to a powerful legacy, is as relentless as he is protective. Calculated where others are reckless, he offers her safety—but at a cost: letting him past the walls she’s built. Torn between the protector who sees her strength and the predator who worships her fire, Arden must decide which man holds the greater danger. Because obsession doesn’t always hide in shadows—sometimes it comes wrapped in devotion. In book one of this slow-burn romantic suspense duology, passion and peril entwine. Love may be her refuge or the deadliest trap of all.

God's Scar by Ivy Margriette

"I was born from love, yet I am heaven’s greatest heresy." Born of angel and demon, the half-breed is raised in captivity until the day he escapes, carrying only a single forbidden tenderness from a healer angel who defied Heaven to hold him for a single night. When the healer is taken into the Demon Realm as a sacrificial offering, the half-breed tears through demon arenas, claims a throne he never wanted, and crosses the void where souls face eternal erasure. He encounters angels of all ranks, demon lords and fallen beings, all to reach that one love that he was never allowed to want. This is a journey that asks whether a soul born as heresy can claim the right to love, and to be loved in return. “Let them see it. Let them feel the weight of everything I was never allowed to be. I will not cower.” God's Scar is a slow-burn, emotionally intense, M/M dark fantasy romance of forbidden devotion, visceral worldbuilding, and the quiet violence of choosing to love in a cosmos built to destroy you. “I just want you. Painfully. Desperately. Endlessly. You are the only reason worth living for. The only thing that makes this world bearable.” - Slow-burn, non-explicit M/M romance. - Gritty, lyrical storytelling. - The ache, yearning, and grief that love demands. - Touch him and die. - Who did this to you? - Forced proximity. - Found family. - Vivid, immersive, theological worldbuilding. - Epic fantasy grounded in philosophy and emotional depth. - Character-driven saga - Morally grey demons and angels. - Not a fast read. A lasting one. “Because love was not the warmth they sang about in hymns. Love made you vulnerable, exposed to the sheer, naked terror of caring enough to lose everything.” For readers who love 'Angels Before Man' by Rafael Nicolas and 'Paradise Lost' by John Milton. For readers who want prose that reads like prayers. For readers who want vivid, epic Heaven and Hell. For readers who need love to cost everything, but then cost more. For readers who choose to be emotionally devastated. For readers who want an ending that will leave them quiet.

Amity in the House of Her Enemy by Hiyodori

It was an undeserved hatred, but she knew one day she would earn it. Amity already got her revenge. Since childhood, she's secretly worked to bring down the wealthy mage who destroyed her family. After succeeding, she runs away to start a new life under a stolen identity. Years later, she turns thirty, and the mage’s daughter—Juniper—tracks her down. Amity (a born servant) and Juniper (heir to a magical lord) have a long and unpleasant history. They clashed as children, and again in college, while Amity pursued vengeance against Juniper's clan. Amity shamelessly wielded every weapon at her disposal: her wits, her looks, her healing abilities, and her fearlessness. In those days, lying and sabotage were her bread and butter. Icy, uptight Juniper couldn't be more different. She’s always been a stickler for the law. But now the government wants to make an example of Amity for her crimes, and Juniper steps in to protect her. This can't possibly be an act of compassion… yet, given the choice between going with Juniper or going to jail, Amity chooses Juniper. A dangerous gamble. Juniper still has the legal right to claim her as an indentured servant. By trapping Amity in the desolate old mansion where it all began, perhaps Juniper can finally start to exact her own long-awaited revenge. Amity in the House of Her Enemy is a twisty and extremely slow-burn f/f romance featuring childhood enemies, hurt/comfort, family drama, and the very tentative beginnings of a movement against the greatest foe of all: the mageocracy itself. This novel takes place in the same contemporary fantasy world as the Clem & Wist series, but can be read and enjoyed as a standalone story.

Usurper's Might: Book Six of New Blood by W.D. Kilpack III

The future of Mankind relies on the Guardian of Maarihk. As the Usurper's darkness rises, will Natharr and the scattered Rilari stay the path when hope becomes dire? The Rilari are scattered, each forced down a different path as the Usurper’s power spreads across the continents like a growing storm. The Guardian of Maarihk, Ellis the Elder, Thair, and the remaining Knights of Ril fight to preserve the last fragile remnants of peace — yet even survival becomes uncertain as the darkness foretold in Natharr’s Sight draws ever closer, shadowing their every step. Meanwhile, Nathan endures the unforgiving mentorship of one of the Empire’s greatest warriors. Driven by a hunger for ultimate vengeance, he is pushed to the edge of his limits. But as his strength grows, so does the question that haunts him: how far will he go to claim the justice he seeks — and what will it cost him when the moment finally comes?

Battle Calm: Omega Message by W.D. Kilpack III

Badger was bred to lead soldiers to victory. What will he do when he must question everything to save those who follow him? When Badger led his Keepers to Base Resurrection, he thought it was to a fresh start, a new Base from which to face the enemy. He did not know that the fighting would not end when leaving the trenches. He has to teach Red Skin’s Laws and relearn them himself, as the relentless combat with an enemy that never stops takes its toll, even affecting his closest bonds with Trinity and Korry. Those changes pale when lifelong truths are challenged by the discovery of the Omega Message. They were still Keepers. They fought, they killed, they lived to kill another day, but even that reality was unraveling. Life was war, they knew nothing else. So what do they do if even the promise of endless combat is not upheld? The remaining Keepers put their faith in Badger to lead them and find the answer ... but time is running out. • 5/5 Stars —"Omega Message is the second book in W. D. Kilpack III's Battle Calm Cycle. Set in a dystopian wasteland where the battle between the Keepers and the Reds is the only reality, the story picks up after Battle Calm. Badger and his Keepers are uncovering forbidden truths about the war they are sworn to fight. Badger's new borg parts can integrate with their automated systems. When the Reds force the Keepers from their base, they use their knowledge of the less lethal storms to mask their movements. The journey to find a new base becomes a journey of discovery as hidden truths unfold, and Badger's new ability allows him to contact other groups and open a new front against the Reds. The world the Keepers thought they knew has changed. Omega Message offers readers fresh insights into the Battle Calm universe while keeping a steady pace for the action!" — Kurt D. Springs, author of the Dreamscape Warriors Series • 5/5 Stars — "Omega Message dives into the emotional toll of endless war through Badger’s eyes [as] a leader burdened by responsibility and haunted by unraveling truths. Kilpack doesn’t just write action; he writes the weight behind every blow, every choice.As the Keepers struggle with fading purpose and shifting loyalties, the discovery of the Omega Message forces them and us to ask what happens when the only life you've known begins to fall apart. This is more than military sci-fi. It’s a raw exploration of identity, loyalty, and the quiet unraveling of belief. Powerful stuff!" — Luna Ray

Outskirts of Oblivion by A. Q. Adams

Under the iron grip of The Keep, the world is fractured, each piece ruled by a tyrant. In Xeon Eleven, peasants huddle near the throne for their daily bread—but every morsel comes with a price. Rebellion is nearly impossible, yet a few gifted dreamers dare to challenge the regime. Phaidon Tteldran is one of them. Forced to flee the city with his friends, he trades the suffocating streets for the run-down outskirts, where freedom is a dangerous gamble. Kale Vess, overlord of this realm, could use his precogs to detect crime before it happens—but he prefers a crueler game, purging the guilty and innocent alike at random. Colonel Grant “Brimstone” Brim is a prisoner in a remote facility, moved from the battlefield to a deadly game of wits. Freedom is the ultimate gambit—but Dr. Volkov and her subordinates are already reaching for checkmate. As Phaidon and his companions fall under Vess’s predatory gaze, the horizon looms with a climactic showdown. Do they have what it takes to stay uncaged? This story is only the spark. Beyond it stretches a universe of monstrous intricacy—humming, coiled, and waiting to explode.

The Tenant: A Novella by Odella Howe

Marvin Hoeff never thought he was a selfish bastard. Unfortunately for him, the universe begs to differ. After surveying the grim aftermath of tenant Colette Finch’s death, all petty, miserly landlord Marvin Hoeff wants is his evening takeout and a long, hot shower. The problem is, something has followed him home… something sopping wet, sharp-tongued, and absolutely furious with him. Before he can say “lease violation,” Marvin finds himself the newest guinea pig of a cosmic bureaucracy’s experimental reformation method. Colette claims the purgatorial punishments are all for his “character development,” which would be easier to believe if she didn’t look so delighted at his misery. But as her relentless haunting begins peeling back the rot he’s spent a lifetime ignoring, Marvin can’t help but wonder: What if she’s not trying to destroy him… but save whatever’s left? Twisting together dark comedy, supernatural suspense, and a sharply absurdist edge, The Tenant delivers a haunting that’s as unsettling as it is unexpectedly heartwarming. Perfect for readers who enjoy morbidly funny horror stories with a philosophical twist, morally gray heroes, and ghost stories wrapped in social commentary, this thought-provoking satire offers a fresh take on the paranormal—equal parts eerie, bizarre, and delightfully human.

How to Build a Champion: A Novel by Dylan Cody

How to Build a Champion is a picaresque story of courage, resilience, quick wit, and joy, which follows Cassandra, a bright, outspoken young woman, through a British summer in a multi-cultural, working-class neighbourhood, peopled with personalities, where the inner-city skyline changes in 'fits and starts'. Living among artists, musicians, trade-unionists, bohemians, students, writers, and educators defining what it is to live 'successfully' in the face of 'progress' in their shared city, Cassandra works with her uncle, Bobby, and his partner 'Toria, in their community-minded osteria. All is well, until their landlord, Harry, throws their lives into a tail-spin when he considers an offer from speculators, gentrifiers, and property developers who seemingly know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Raising their voices in opposition, Cassandra and her friends, street artists Mc, Pat, and Teddy, band together in a fly-by-night adventure, making mischief in their fight for the osteria, while a cunning lifestyle journalist 'helps' their cause. Learn to question your first impressions; to look twice at what you see. Learn to live life, fully, whatever your circumstances. Discover How to Build a Champion.

Tied to Life (Monsters of Brimrey Island #3) by Vee Debras

He has the keys to save her…and me. When I get the news that my cat Melody is dying, I know there’s nothing I can do but watch her suffer… Until one night I wake up to a hand reaching for me from inside a tomb. Oliver St. James should not be alive, but he is here and begging me to get him out of the mausoleum that’s been his prison for the past twenty years. I will—with one condition: he has to tell me how he came back to life. The problem is that he doesn’t remember what happened to him, and his family has put their millions behind keeping it a secret. Press-backed lies, bought silence, NDAs. All to pretend their heir never existed. The more time I spend with nerdy, charming Oliver, the less I understand what he could’ve done for his family to hate him like they did. And the more pieces of the puzzle I find, the more scared I get of the price I will have to pay to save Melody. Tied to Life is an MM monster romance with a trans main character, a couple of nerds falling in love, lots of angst, and bad science. Though best enjoyed as the third book in the Monsters of Brimrey Island series, it can be read as a standalone and has a HEA. Check out the rest of the series for more queer characters finding love in this small town on a haunted island.

Shades of Onyx by TJ Williams

Medusa’s story didn’t end. It went on, and on and on… Now her time is up. The gorgon of mythical infamy now goes by Onyx; the latest in a long line of reincarnations. She gets by, avoiding attachments that make immortality more unbearable. She wouldn’t have chosen this life. But gods have never cared what she wanted, not even the ones who saved her from Athena’s wrath. Now, sinister whispers about the vengeful goddess and a sudden change in circumstances have Onyx spooked. Perhaps, if she tracks down something Athena wants, she can earn a reprieve. Blake Mihara’s research skills are important, but so is the way they look at Onyx. She should be focused on the task at hand, not how they make her feel after centuries of loneliness. When they both end up stuck in the Underworld, Onyx’s choices narrow to almost nothing. The Goddess of War wants to kill her, and now the Lord of the Dead wants to keep her. But with Blake stubbornly at her side, hope isn’t entirely lost. Maybe there’s a way out of this hell. The question is, which one? The one inflicted on Onyx, or the one she inflicted on herself? Shades of Onyx is a single POV, sapphic romance containing reimagined elements of various Greek and Roman mythologies—it is not a retelling. There are content warnings in the book and at www.tjwilliams.uk

A Myth of Ancient by T.M. Baylor

Goddesses. A dead king. A long lost people. Old stories long thought to be myth that now walk free through Eterin. After a devastating battle, Andyse is in shambles and the Davegu kingdom, Lupegi province, and the forgotten mountain city are not far behind. The once-strong foundations of the things that used to be believed are shaky and cracking more with every day. With new, unsteady alliances and shifting motivations, no one knows who or what to trust. Long buried secrets have been revealed and the world itself is changing because of it. Something dark is coming… After the gods of Lupegi learn the truth of the vicious battle and a new king in Davegu is crowned, a war is brewing. One with the power to change Eterin forever. ​​--- A Myth of Ancient is the second book in The Secrets of Eterin, an epic dark fantasy series that follows multiple POV characters from across the broken world of Eterin. It centers themes of power, the nature of resistance, erased histories, and the importance of knowledge to fight hatred. Features LGBTQIA+ and women characters. Intended for mature audiences, please check the content warnings.

The Land of Flames and Other Stories by Riley Taylor

Book two in The Kingdoms Set Ablaze contains nine short stories following the characters of Into the Fiery Woods and a prequel to book three, set in the neighbouring kingdom of Ithesha. Two years after saving Ailon, Gwen and Stark are forced to return to the legendary Land of Flames to discover why the fire is spreading and stop it. But when Gwen’s magic is blocked, and they find more than ancient ruins in the castle of Zivisea, their mission grows much harder. If they don't succeed, the flames will never stop. Sakda of the West was an elusive soldier travelling the kingdom to protect those in need. Kaew Chayanan was a lonely woman who wanted nothing more than to return home to her love, but had been gone so long, she worried she’d no longer be welcome. While Kaew is busy as one of the king’s most trusted knights, Eliza grows closer to Queen Guinevere. When the day finally comes to bring their child into the world, the midwife is nowhere to be found. Prince Erebus never thought he could love a boy and everything turn out okay. And though he was wrong about that, he’s not sure everyone will appreciate his new sense of fashion. Lucien was once willing to give up everything for their love to bloom, and now has a very important question to ask. Lady Sonya Blackwater knew becoming Queen of Ailon would take away many freedoms she enjoyed, such as swordfighting, but she never expected to both love and hate her husband. Solace came with her children, her two dear sons and the sweet princess who lost everything when Beihaal fell. Though Adrastos’ father was cruel and strict, that didn’t stop him from sneaking into closets with a pretty serving boy. Sent in disgrace to the castle, he meets the most beautiful girl to have ever existed, so beautiful she could be a goddess; he’ll do anything to protect her. Thomas cannot wait for Adrastos, finally his husband, to meet his parents, but, when they get there, their smiles are strained and the town is quiet, hardly the place he remembered from his childhood. Lady Divya won’t take Lord Donovan’s cruelty any longer, so she escapes to the castle with shocking news for her stepson. Once upon a time, Lilith loved a boy. Finn, the baker’s son, was as sweet as the pastries he snuck to her when they met in the woods. But one day, her father caught them and sent her off to wed a miserable Baron to preserve the family’s honour. When she finally escapes, innocent child in tow, she meets Sylvan. A mysterious man with dubious ideas, but working with him might just give her the power she craves. And more...

Dream the Deep by Clara Ward

You don’t need to reach Mars to reach your dreams. Robbed of their chance at leaving Earth to pursue green-energy innovations, Ryn embraces new dreams—fighting deep sea threats in conjunction with a giant cephalopod. It’s 2139 in the Cali-Coastal Corporate Zone, and Ryn struggles with their own body and brain as they fight to survive five days locked up with academic rivals and the military-backed billionaires who’ve misled them all since their teenage years. Ryn needs an exit strategy but doesn’t know whether to trust Akira, the hacker-spy who may have saved their life, or Jay, the geeky military rebel with a secret stash of hot chocolate. Not to mention, Jay keeps falling asleep in their bed, and Ryn’s not sure if either of them is interested in more—but at least they like the same shows! Five Days. One Ocean. Unlikely allies connect to Dream the Deep.

Be the Sea by Clara Ward

In November 2039, marine scientist Wend Taylor heaves themself aboard a zero-emissions boat skippered by elusive nature photographer Viola Yang. Guided by instinct, ocean dreams, and a shared birthday in 1972, they barter stories for passage across the Pacific. Aljon, Viola’s younger cousin, keeps a watchful eye and an innovative galley. Story by story, the trio rethink secrets, flying dreams, and how they experience their own minds. When they reach Hawaiʻi and prepare to part ways, opportunity and mystery pull them closer together. Both scientific and personal discoveries take shape as they join with ex-lovers, lost friends, and found family. Wend must navigate an ever-shifting future, complicated by bioengineered microbes and a plot to silence scientists, entangled with inexplicable dreams and a calling to Be the Sea.

Never Trust The Number 13 by Evelyn S.L

After her marriage collapses, Adalyn Domenico rents a flat in the heart of London, a place that calls for those looking for somewhere to start their life over. Every night at 3.13am, she hears footsteps pacing above. Whispers. Scraping. Someones up there. She notices flat 13 is missing. Adalyn finds evidence that someone is up there: a shoeprint, a note slid under her door, a light flickering behind a bricked up window. Then the messages begin ‘I know you hear me.’ ‘Look in the walls.’ In an attempt to piece together the evidence she discovers the tenant in the ‘non-existent’ Flat 13 may be connected to a disappearance from years ago - and someone in the building is desperate to keep the truth buried. But the biggest secret is the one Adalyn has been hiding herself. However, Flat 13 knows everything. And the truth always comes out

Hunter's Promise: A Post-Apocalyptic Alien Romance (Xarc'n Warriors: Mountains #3) by Lynnea Lee

GABBY A good girl gone awol I knew when I Ex-Laxed our leader’s food that they’d send me to the arena if they caught me. It was worth it to get some of my friends out of this dump. What I didn't expect was the seven-foot-tall Xarc’n hunter who has come to my rescue. My horned and fanged savior isn’t like any other alien warrior I’ve heard about. He dresses in furs, lives in a cave, and there isn’t a shuttle in sight. Every word sounds like a growl, but my body reacts to him like we belong together. But I can’t just hide in his den forever. I have to get back to my friends! TAL’N A hunter on the run When I found out about Earth and the compatible females living here, I abandoned my mission to come to this blue-green planet. Hunted by my own kind, I did all I could to stay hidden. Now I’ve found the female whose scent called to me all through the cold season. Gabby is mine, and I’ll stop at nothing to claim her. Her people are searching for her, and mine now know I exist, but I will level this entire mountain if they try to separate us. This post-apocalyptic alien romance is filled with action, adventure, and tons of steam. Can be read as a stand-alone or as a part of a series. HEA guaranteed.

Mountain Man’s Lucky Kiss: A Steamy Instalove Romance (Wildwood Valley Rescue #5) by Lilah Hart

A shy animal rescuer. A confident mountain man. A St. Patrick’s Day dare that becomes everything. I was the last one left. One by one, my roommates fell for the mountain men of Wildwood Valley. One by one, they stopped coming home. I stayed focused on my work—early mornings at the rescue site, long days caring for animals that depended on me to show up. Love was something that happened to other people. People who were chosen. Then a stranger walked up to me at a St. Patrick’s Day adoption event and told me he was going to kiss me. I didn’t know his name. I didn’t know why. I only knew the way he looked at me—like I was the only person in a crowded parking lot. When Stetson kissed me, everything changed. I was twenty-three years old. Never kissed. Never held. Never chosen. After losing my parents at eight, I was raised behind locked doors and strict rules meant to keep me safe—but never free. By the time I escaped that life, I didn’t know how to begin another. Stetson did. He was steady. Patient. Certain. From the first kiss on, he showed up and stayed—just like he did with everything that mattered. But I’d spent my entire life learning one hard truth: People leave. And when I discovered that our first kiss began as a dare between his friends, every old fear came rushing back. He had one chance to prove I was wrong. He didn’t waste it. Tropes: 🏔️ Mountain Man Romance 🐾 Animal Rescuer Heroine 🌸 Shy / Overlooked Heroine 💋 First Kiss / Never Been Kissed 🍀 St. Patrick’s Day Meet-Cute 🎯 Dare That Turns Into Love 🔥 Instalove Chemistry Mountain Man’s Lucky Kiss is a steamy instalove mountain romance featuring a capable heroine, a protective blue-collar mountain man, a high-stakes animal rescue, and a fast-burn, single-day love story where instant attraction turns into undeniable forever.

Mountain Man's Lucky Bride: A Steamy Instalove Romance (Wildwood Valley Rescue #6) by Lilah Hart

Runaway bride intervention. Best friend rescue mission. Stranded in a mountain town with a silent protector. I drove to Wildwood Valley in a wedding dress that wasn’t mine, determined to stop my best friend from making the biggest mistake of her life. Ten steps across the parking lot. That’s all I made it. Then he stepped into my path. Cormac. Towering build. Folded arms. Locked jaw. Grumpy mountain man energy with zero intention of moving. He didn’t argue. He didn’t smile. He simply informed me that Chelsea was happy. And when I pushed past him anyway… he let me. Only he didn’t leave. He was there when I learned he was right. There when my car refused to start. There when the adoption event closed down, the sun disappeared, and I was stranded in a town I didn’t know—wearing someone else’s wedding gown with nowhere to go. I’ve always been the dependable one. The fixer. The woman who carries everyone else. Needing someone was never part of my story. Cormac didn’t chase. Didn’t persuade. Didn’t pressure. He simply stood steady and offered the one thing no one ever had before— Stay. I came to Wildwood Valley to rescue my best friend. I never expected the grumpy mountain man who blocked my path to become my safe place. Tropes You'll Love: 💍 Fake Bride Chaos 🏔 Grumpy Mountain Man 🛻 Stranded in Small Town 🛡 Silent Protector Hero 🤍 Strong Heroine Breakdown 🧸 Adoption Event Setting 🔥 Emotional Rescue Romance 🌲 Wildwood Valley Mountain Town Mountain Man’s Lucky Bride is a steamy, standalone instalove romance featuring a grumpy mountain man, a runaway bride in over her head, and a small-town rescue that heals more than just a broken-down car.

Treasured by the Hunter (Xarc'n Warriors #12) by Lynnea Lee

ZOEY Years after the end of the world, my life is falling apart again. This time, I know exactly how to survive in the bugpocalypse. What I don’t know is what to do with the brawny purple alien following me around. Harb’k isn’t just big and strong, with a protective streak a mile wide, but he’s funny as hell too. I agree to partner up with him at least until I get to my destination, a settlement called Sanctuary. But before we get there, we come across something that could make or break humanity’s future. Will we be able to contain the threat? Even if we do, will Harb’k still want me if he finds out my secret? HARB’K Almost every hunter in my group found his mate but me. Desperate to get away from all the love in the air, I volunteer to scour the region for signs that the scourge—the abominations that brought us to Earth—are evolving. Instead, I discover a lone female navigating the ravaged landscape with enemies at her back. I convince Zoey to travel with me. She doesn’t know it yet, but she is my mate, and the mate bond is never wrong. I will move planets for her, but first, I must save this one. Can I convince her to love me before a deadly mutagen destroys everything? This is a sweet and steamy alien romance with plenty of action and adventure. Please check author's site for content details. Happily ever after, guaranteed.

Hunter's Valentine (Xarc'n Warriors #08.5) by Lynnea Lee

Food and water? Check. Shelter? Check. Weapons and ammo? Check. Check. I thought I was ready when the apocalypse came, but I wasn’t prepared for dirty bunker politics. Realizing I’m no longer welcomed, I step foot into a hostile landscape, ready to face down the deadly space bugs in search of a new home. It’s just my luck that I run afoul of a massively muscular, horned and fanged Xarc’n warrior on my very first day out. Mur’k carries me back to his hideout, claiming that I owe him for messing up his hunt. Nope! No way! I didn’t survive the bugs just to become some cocky warrior’s plaything. I don’t care if he’s hot as sin and purrs like a big cat. I’m going to make it to New Franklin on my own if it’s the last thing I do! A Hunter’s Valentine is a standalone novella-length story set in the Xarc’n Warriors universe featuring a protective hero with alien anatomy. It takes place between Book 8 and 9, but there’s no need to read in order. HEA guaranteed!

Love & Leave: A Sweet Romantic Comedy (MoonLIT Matches #01) by Kristeen Groth

What happens when a runaway celebrity bride lands in the arms of the man she left behind—without either of them knowing they’re being set up? Exactly what you’d expect. Ava Sinclair was supposed to be marrying Hollywood’s golden boy. Instead, she escapes her made-for-TV wedding and ends up in the wilderness... with Joe Mahoney, her ex—the first love she ghosted without a word. Now she’s torn between two lives: one of flashbulbs and fame, the other of pine trees and the man who knew her before the world did. Joe’s charming, flirty, and emotionally unavailable on purpose. It’s a system that works—until Ava crashes back into his life via the back of his pickup truck. Add one matchmaking book club of meddling grandmas, and a suspiciously on-theme book of the month (One True Loves), and things start looking less like fate... and more like a trap. Some love stories don’t end. They just wait—for the ending they were always meant to have. Love & Leave is a closed-door romantic comedy featuring a runaway celebrity bride, a firefighter first love, and a second chance neither of them planned on. When a matchmaking book club inspired by beloved romance novels gets involved, expect laugh-out-loud humor, small-town hijinks, and swoony five-alarm kisses you won’t want to put out.

The Grilled Cheese Paradox by Andrew D. Bale

Alan, the god of atheists, has had enough. Tasked with reconciling the ever-growing pile of contradictory scientific theories humans believe in, he decides the job is no longer possible. His solution is simple: wipe out humanity and end the problem at its source. Standing in his way is Jesus, who—assisted by Ganesha and Stan, a militant atheist and engineer—attempts to stop Alan before belief itself collapses. Their plan relies on a dangerous truth: belief doesn’t need to be true to be powerful. Things spiral out of control when an errant computer program begins killing belief-based beings altogether, threatening gods, demons, and reality itself. The Grilled Cheese Paradox is a satirical novel about belief, certainty, and what happens when humanity’s ideas become powerful enough to destroy the very gods they created.

Her Recluse Mountain Man: A Small Town Forced Proximity Age Gap OTT Instalove Short Romance (Mountain Men of Willowbrook Ridge #2) by Julia Stone

She rented a cabin. She got a recluse with rules. Tatum: I didn’t come to the mountains for adventure; I came for an escape. The rental cabin is supposed to be mine for the week—paid in full, nonrefundable, more money than I should’ve spent. I need the quiet that comes with nature and all the fresh air I don’t know what to do with. Instead, I find him. Abel. Broad shoulders. Heavy stare. A man who looks like he was carved straight out of the mountain and would rather bite off his tongue than make small talk. He says the cabin is his. Always has been. He makes it very clear he doesn’t like strangers stepping on his property. But the rain won’t stop. The roads are washing out, and I have nowhere else to go. He tells me I can stay until the storm passes, but accommodates me like I’m more of his guest than a burden. At this rate, I won't ever want to leave. Abel: I like my quiet, peaceful solitude. No one bothers me but the birds and squirrels. Then she shows up. Tatum. Soaked to the bone with tear-brimming eyes. Falling for some online scam, it’s trouble I don’t want to be mixed in. I should send her back down the mountain. Should tell her to figure it out. The storm is vicious, and the roads are slick. Doesn’t help that she looks at me like she’s one step closer to hovering over the edge. Against my better judgment, I let her stay. I keep my distance. I keep my rules. I remind myself she’s too young, too soft, too temporary. Being alone with a beauty I’ve got no right stealing glances at? It tests a man’s control. The longer she’s here, the more I realize something dangerous— I want her to stay.

Her Grumpy Mountain Man: A Small Town Grumpy/Sunshine Forced Proximity Age Gap Instalove Short Romance (Mountain Men of Willowbrook Ridge #1) by Julia Stone

Stranded, injured, and stuck in a broody older man’s cabin? Worst decision of my career… best decision of my life. Emery: I scaled a mountain in search of the ultimate wildlife shot to elevate my portfolio, but all I gained were torn clothes and an injury that left me questioning my career choice. Then he finds me. Callan. Older, silent, and carved straight out of the wilderness itself. He comes across my sorry state, drops to his knees, and looks at me like I’m something that shouldn’t be out here alone. He doesn’t offer to take me to town, but to his remote cabin, where he tends to my wounds with rough, careful hands… and watches me like I’m an inigma. He’s grumpy. Broody. Intense. And above all? Demanding. Every time he tells me to “hold still,” I want to disobey. Being stuck in his cabin should make me nervous. Instead, it makes me curious. Callan: I noticed the blood trail before anything else. Then I see her, scraped up and all alone in need of a savior. For whatever reason, she gets me. The smile she sends my way, like I’m everything she’d been hoping for, hits harder than any fall. She’s too young. Too bright. Too good for what I’ve done in my past The second I touch her, something in me locks in. I’ve spent years wanting nothing but nature and solitude. Now I want her. She thinks I’m helping because she’s hurt. She doesn’t understand. I’ve already decided. She’s going to be mine.

Fated to the Hunter: A Post-Apocalyptic Alien Romance (Xarc'n Warriors #13) by Lynnea Lee

KIERA Running the first-ever Trader’s Market is chaotic enough; I don’t need a horned, purple alien with fangs, claws, and zero chill crashing my party. Bael’k says he’s here to help, but so far, all he’s done is scare away the one person I need to see. When I finally track down the elusive nomad and snag the map I’ve been hunting for, guess who volunteers to be my protector on a quest I never planned to take? It’s my first time out of the settlement walls in years, and I’m woefully unprepared. But with my knight in shining loincloth by my side, I might just survive. BAEL'K They say the mate bond is absolute, eternal, and chosen by fate. But I don’t believe in fate. I believe in my blades, my shuttle, and the war I was bred to fight. I never wanted a mate… until I met Kiera. She’s fragile, stubborn, and maddeningly fascinating. When she sets out to recover lost tech in a dangerous Dead Zone, I volunteer, thinking it’ll earn me glory. But the moment she steps into danger, every protective instinct I’ve got flares to life. I soon realize she’s not just a mission. Kiera’s mine. And I’ll burn the stars down before I let anything take her from me.

Chosen by the Hunter: A Post-Apocalyptic Alien Romance (Xarc'n Warriors #14) by Lynnea Lee

I blame the moonshine. AKA, I kissed a Xarc’n warrior and I liked it. One moment, I’m strolling home, midnight snack in hand, and the next I’m smooshed against a broad, purple chest, tongue tangled with a Xarc’n warrior. “Drunkenly Taste-test an Alien” achievement unlocked! What follows is a flirty game of cat and mouse that makes me feel young and ready to make questionable life choices again. Ror’k wakes up a part of me I thought I buried right next to my divorce papers. Wanting the horned and fanged silver fox is easy. Trusting again? Not so much. But New Franklin has bigger problems than my accidental alien make-out session. Supplies are disappearing, people are getting jumpy, and someone in our cozy little settlement is up to no good. We need to get to the bottom of this before the summer swarms or New Franklin’s in serious trouble.

Chameleon’s Gambit by Babette Durso

Trust is a dangerous game. And someone is playing to win. Nothing about this world is what it seems—and neither are the people in it. Behind every move lies a hidden motive. Behind every face… another identity. As deception tightens its grip, the line between ally and enemy disappears. Every choice becomes a risk. Every truth could be a lie. And someone is always one step ahead. In a high-stakes game of manipulation, power, and betrayal, survival depends on seeing through the illusion before it’s too late. But when the masks start to slip… who can you really trust? 👉 Step into the game today.