❝ Things are only as beautiful as you make them, Charlie. Including murder. ❞ It's the opening night of Burton Abbey's production of Romeo and Juliet and all is going smoothly - that is until the climactic death scene. Romeo takes a big gulp of the poison to be with his lover, except it really is poison and Elijah, who plays Romeo, is now dead. Charlie Monet, in charge of props, is the first suspect but soon the suspicion around her turns to worry as it seems she's the next target. Khaleel Rahim, an aspiring writer, is dying for a mystery to solve at his new school. When he sees Charlie sneaking around at night he thinks he's finally found something worth writing about. After discovering Charlie's ability to see visions of the past, Khaleel decides that they're the perfect pair to solve the mystery. With threatening notes, a quiet library and poison disguised as props; somebody in the school is blurring the lines between theatre and reality and the fast friends are about to discover that there's more to boarding school than just silly rumours. [2022 Watty's Shortlist]

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" tells of a young man named Dorian Gray, the subject of a painting by artist Basil Hallward. Basil is impressed by Dorian's beauty and becomes infatuated with him, believing his beauty is responsible for a new mode in his art. Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, a friend of Basil's, and becomes enthralled by Lord Henry's world view. Espousing a new hedonism, Lord Henry suggests the only things worth pursuing in life are beauty and fulfilment of the senses.

❝Tell me a story, love.❞ In which, a slave girl tells a bloodthirsty king a story in exchange for her life. [07.15.16] all rights reserved ©2016

"GOD SAVE ANYONE WHO STANDS IN HER WAY." Even the painters couldn't capture the kind of darkness with which she made an empire bow. • winner of thefaefolk's book of the month • © sianna okaat 2017 • 284 in fantasy • 5 in #tarot •

The body of a missing student is buried in the woods. But only a few know this. At first, it was just a running joke in the hallways of Northwoods High, a lowbrow school in a lower brow town. Finn Sexton never really thought the joke was funny, but his friends couldn't get enough of it. The punchline? New kid, Levi Brightly is gay . Levi is used to being laughed at. A side effect of being the only out queer kid at school. But he draws the line at becoming the volleyball team's personal punching bag, especially since he wants to join the team. After threatening to report Finn's friends to the principal, Finn steps in as Captain and offers Levi a deal in exchange for his silence. He'll watch his back on and off court, and Levi will keep his mouth shut. Except keeping his end of the deal turns out harder than expected, and when the joke goes too far at a party, the worst happens. Suddenly, there's a dead body and no one alive willing to take one for the team.

NEW DARK ACADEMIA FANTASY [The Alchemical Child] The crown prince is dead. As the mourning bells ring, a student finds a sealed letter deep in the alchemical library. A letter that's addressed to her... The Alchemical Child is a dark academia novel about Sage, an apprentice of the alchemical arts. When her studies are interrupted by a letter from her estranged sister, Sage joins forces with a mechanical bird and a surly librarian as she begins to uncover the dark secrets hidden beneath her university's veneer of gold. Fantasy│Dark Academia│Romance Updated on Tuesdays and/or Fridays! [Cover designed by myself│Cover graphic 'Alchemical elements' attributed to Tatkuptsova on Dreamstime RF]

❝The Beautiful are just virtuous petals yearning to be ruin as the Damned are just shriveled petals desiring to be whole once more. ❞ In which I give you a glimpse of 10 lives who either experience love, loss, and death. • • • • Extended synopsis inside Started: 12/25/17 H.R.#031 Short Story | Romance | Teen Fiction Copyright ©damnedful

"Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus" is about an eccentric scientist Victor Frankenstein, who creates a grotesque creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment.

"..and just so you know, old sport, that boy eats hearts." copyright © donnastartt 2016