Lyric Brown is a Bronx-born hurricane-part bartender, part artist, all heart. In LA, she craves more than survival; she wants to feel alive. Vanilla, acrylic paint, and stubborn hope cling to her skin like second nature. She doesn't follow rules, and she definitely doesn't follow men. But Diego Romierz isn't just any man. Diego lives in shadows-quiet power wrapped in Cuban silk and cold smoke. He built his empire on secrets and fists, never letting anyone close enough to see the scars underneath. Lyric was supposed to be a distraction. A risk he could control. One night, one broken rule, and a missed period later, they're both pulled into something neither of them knows how to hold. Love. Trust. A heartbeat on a screen. And for two people who've only ever known how to fight, family might be the hardest battle yet.

She ran from the life she was born into. Now, it's come to collect. For eight years, Imani Blackwood built a life far away from the crime empire she left behind. In Paris, she's not a Blackwood-she's Imani Laurent, a respected art curator, mingling with high society and securing priceless masterpieces for the world's elite. Her past is buried, locked away with the girl she used to be. Until Nikolai Petrov walks back into her world. Cold, calculating, and dangerously untouchable, he was the one risk she allowed herself. The man who got too close, who made her feel something real-until she discovered the truth. Nikolai isn't just a wealthy investor. He's the heir to one of Russia's most ruthless Bratva families. And he's known exactly who she was from the moment they met. Now, with her father demanding her return to Atlanta and Nikolai already waiting for her there, Imani is thrown back into a world of power struggles and dangerous alliances. Malcolm Blackwood expects her to broker a deal between the Blackwoods and the Bratva-but Nikolai has his own plans. She swore she'd never let herself love a man like him. She swore she'd never be owned by anyone. But some wars aren't fought with bullets-they're won with the heart. And Nikolai has never lost a battle.

Book 1 of the "Caged Hearts" Series Nikolai Orlov is everything she's been warned about: ruthless, untouchable, and a man who gets what he wants - no matter the cost. As the heir to the Orlov criminal empire, he's built his life on power, fear, and control. But there's one thing Nikolai can't control: his obsession with Nia Makeda Beumont. Nia is the daughter of the president of a small island nation - a sweet, innocent woman with a fiery soul. Her life is upended when she's forced into a arranged marriage with Nikolai to help save her family from financial ruin. At first, she thinks it's just another business deal - until she finds herself tangled in the dangerous world of mafia politics, and worse, tangled in Nikolai's obsessive grip. But as Nia grows closer to Nikolai, she uncovers a dark truth: His parents, the ruthless patriarchs of the Orlov family, hate her simply for the color of her skin. They treat her like dirt when Nikolai isn't around, spewing hatred and racism at every chance they get. When Nikolai finally learns the truth about how his parents have been treating her, his fury is unmatched - and his obsession grows into a need to protect Nia at all costs. Nikolai will do whatever it takes to shield her from the poison of his family, but as their relationship deepens, Nia begins to wonder: Is Nikolai truly her savior, or is he just as dangerous as the world he's built around her? What started as a fake relationship becomes a dangerous obsession, one that Nia may never escape from - no matter how hard she tries.

𝐈𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐧. ꙬꙬꙬꙬ All that Yara Morello was told all her life was that she was the shame of the family. She was a mistake that was never supposed to happen, a disgrace to be shunned and cast away. She yearned for freedom, a chance to forge her own destiny on her terms. Except freedom wasn't part of the plan anymore when her father makes her a candidate for an arranged marriage in place of her half sister. Secrets get revealed, the past pays a visit to the present. She discovers that the true cost of freedom was far greater than she had ever imagined or bargained. ♈︎♈︎♈︎ -𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 -𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐞 -𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐥

| 2025 Wattys Shortlist 🖊️🧡! In Cairnwall, 1972, unaware of the mobster who has been threading across the narrow line of near psychotic obsession for over a year, finally makes himself known to her. His unwavering attraction to her is forbidden, frowned upon by many, and they both know this. But he doesn't care. Before her, no one was able to crack through his mask, but she smashes through it without effort-without needing to say a word. She makes his heart-something he cast aside long ago-stumble and stammer with a simple smile. Her breath catches when he glances her way, her heart burning when he pulls away, but she would rather push him away, keep their coupling hidden away, locked behind closed doors, and deep within the depths of the shadows. She wants to protect herself from the scrutiny society will cast upon her for having the gall to be with him, but he wants to put her on his throne and make society kiss her feet. What will happen when two worlds that should not even glide past each other end up crashing?

" cause girl your perfect, and you deserve it " ‼️STAND ALONE BOOK FROM NEEDED ME SERIES ‼️ still the same series though 🤍

I froze. A man was slumped against the graffiti-covered brick wall, blood blooming across his side. His white shirt was soaked through, and there was a gun just inches from his open hand. My heart slammed against my ribs. Run, Skye. You should run. But I didn't. Instead, I dropped my bag and took a cautious step closer. His head lifted. Piercing, icy blue eyes met mine, sharp even through the haze of pain. His face was all sharp edges and shadowed scruff, blood trailing from the corner of his mouth. His accent was thick and rough, like broken glass. "Leave." I shook my head slowly. "You're bleeding. Bad." "Not your concern." His voice was lethal, but he flinched hard when he tried to move. "You're gonna die out here," I whispered, kneeling beside him. My hands trembled as I pressed a napkin from my apron against his side. "I'm studying to be a nurse. Let me help." He stared at me like I was something he couldn't comprehend. A stranger. A softness he didn't trust. Then his hand, heavy and warm, clamped around my wrist-not rough, but firm. "What's your name?" he rasped. "...Skye." A beat passed. Then another. "I am Mikhail." His eyes darkened. "And you shouldn't have found me."

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝗎, 𝘪'𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵." 𝖬𝖠𝖸 𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟤－𝖩𝖴𝖭𝖤 𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟤 *𝖥𝗂𝗋𝗌𝗍 𝖡𝗈𝗈𝗄*

Recently moving to the west coast, Daniela Parker expected a shift when moving with her mother and brother to Los Angeles. Daniela didn't think she had anything to worry about since her brother is an A+ student, and she stayed out of people's business. But when a known gangster, Enrique González, put his eyes on her, she had trouble avoiding the charming brown-eyed man with a background of violence. *black female lead and latino male lead* #1 in the U.S 4/25/25