Sixteen-year-old Mila has caught the attention of the (soon-to-be) widowed king. She, however, has no desire to be queen, much less the wife of the disgusting old man. She longs for the freedom to develop her rare and forbidden gift of magic and to choose a future with her lifelong best friend, Alfrid. But what little hope she has for autonomy is lost when the Queen of Direwood plummets to an untimely death. She soon finds herself the reluctant bride of the vile, controlling king, step-mother to his dead-eyed twelve-year-old daughter and an unprepared participant in the trials of court politics. Her only comfort comes from the apothecary-who offers the young queen an opportunity to cultivate her magic and a plan to secure her future. But in time, the entire palace begins to doubt Mila's ability to provide an heir. Desperation turns to resentment when she discovers the king's mistress is with child. But it is the vindictive actions of the king that lead Mila to realize that he'll destroy her if she doesn't destroy him first, tempting her to use her gifts in darker, dangerous ways.

{WATTYS 2020 WINNER} {FEATURED BOOK} Paris, 1663. 500 girls selected by King Louis XIV embark on a journey across the seas from their homeland. Each is given a dowry, and the expectation that they are to marry a French settler, in order to increase the population of New France. They are the historic Daughters of the King, or "les filles du roi." Eighteen-year-old Celeste Dubois is a free-spirited, educated and headstrong girl. She comes from a wealthy Parisian family that has squandered their money and is subsequently forced to journey to New France. However, Celeste doesn't plan on marrying a complete stranger. She hopes to use the dowry and the free voyage as a way to escape the poverty and social ranks of Paris. Matters are complicated when against her will, she falls in love. Romantic, kind and stunningly beautiful Lorraine Leblanc is a girl from a large family with children to spare. Unlike Celeste, she happily dreams of the day she will meet her future husband in New France. When she marries a mysterious widower with two young children of his own and still reeling after his broken heart, she realizes that married life isn't all she had hoped it would be, and begins to question her new husband's complicated past. - Wattpad Picks Blast to the Future Past list 2018 - The 50 Best Wattpad Stories of 2018/19 by Design Wizard - 2018 Youngblood Awards Winner (Romance) - 2018 True North Awards 2nd place for Historical Fiction and 2nd place Truly Canadian special category award - Featured by Wattpad Historical Fiction profile under Kings, Courtships and Empires, Young Adult Fiction profile under Love, Actually and Romance profile under Time will Tell *Please be aware that since this book covers the colonial period, it does contain sensitive themes of racism and violence that readers will find disturbing. There are resources at the back of the book that prompt further learning in the Historical Notes section.*

cover: @JELyrica / One week after Margaret pulls the plug on her relationship with Vincent, a decade-old video of their performance as a musical duo called Citizen Samurai goes viral, and they're hired as an opening act for an aging British boy band's reunion tour. Their romantic collaboration is kaput, but Vincent and Margaret seize the chance to achieve creative dreams by portraying themselves as a dedicated couple, singing intimate songs onstage while finding separate ways forward during a chaotic European summer tour.

**FEATURED ON WATTPAD's UNDISCOVERED GEMS** Janey Cameron's life is falling apart Caught in the middle of her parent's tragic marriage she has no one to turn to and finds herself searching the woods at the family's summer lake house looking for comfort, solace, and peace. But instead she finds a very special tree, and a mystery that spans three generations bound by love and destiny. She longs for something that offers more than what her life is made of... she longs for love that never goes away. Follow Janey as she grows up and walks the path carved out for her. Even though you may not see it. When you ask for help, never doubt you've been heard. Triggers: While not a mature themed story, this does contain occasional language, examples and depictions of alcoholism, domestic abuse and childhood trauma. First Draft

[Wattys 2021 Shortlisted] In the ancient French perfume capital of Grasse, lives bohemian recluse Cassandra Ducasse, the last remaining member of a legendary family of perfumers. Trapped by her past, Cassandra is unwilling to take up the reins of her family business. When she is forced into an unlikely working partnership with hotshot marketing executive Vince, the two could make the perfect team to create a hit fragrance for global superstar, Imogen. But can they put their differences aside for long enough to see that each holds the key to unlock the other's happiness. Featured by @Beauty, October 2021; @adultfiction, October 2021 Winner: Contemporary Romantics Award by @Contemporarylit 2022 Highest rankings (at different times) #1 in perfume # 1 in France # 1 in Provence # 1 in Riviera # 9 in womensfiction # 3 in familyhistory And for one brief, glorious, but likely flawed moment... #10 in romance.

|||2021 WATTYS SHORTLIST||| Not everyone's high school experience involves hot romance, parties and big plans for the future. Some kids are shy. Some kids are socially awkward. Some kids have heavy burdens placed on them by their families or their religions. This is the tale of two of those kids. In her senior year, Sabrina Himmelschein feels like she has no privacy and no life of her own. She lives in one of San Francisco's iconic Postcard Row houses, in an Orthodox Jewish family with high standards and expectations. At a speech tournament she meets Neil Cannon, who lives up north among the vineyards of Sonoma County, where his parents happily work in the wine industry, despite being teetotaling Mormons. They form a bond, but reluctantly break it; the religious and cultural gulfs between them are too wide to bridge. Four years later, their dreams of changing the world reduced to retail jobs selling socks and cologne, they unexpectedly meet again. After the families and faiths they've depended on their whole lives have let them down in a dramatic way, Neil and Sabrina struggle with an important question: should they feel guilty about being happy to be back together?

{WATTY'S 2020 WINNER & EDITOR'S PICK.} Hopeless romantic and aspiring writer Mare Atwood has fallen madly in love with her childhood correspondent. There's only one catch-she doesn't know who he is. When the beaus of Star's Crossing return from boarding school to begin the courting season, Mare is determined to uncover the identity of her writer, flout her family's intentions of orchestrating an advantageous marriage, and procure the life of writing and romance she's always sought. But as in the tales she so adores, it won't be easy. Galas, masquerades, picnics, and hunts-alongside an old friend, a former teacher, and an unlikely ally, Mare delves into an investigation that leaves her torn between three clever, deceptive, and wealthy young bachelors. If Mare can confirm which is her writer and claim his hand before the courting season ends, she'll have her wish: the love of her life, a valuable marriage, and a future of writing romance. But with the eyes of Star's Crossing upon her, a business plot forcing invisible hands, and the unwillingness of her writer to come forward-Mare's future may not end in triumph, but tragedy. Set against the gilded Victorian backdrop of coastal Connecticut and lush with pre-war luxury, fans of Jane Austen, Margaret Mitchell, and Louisa May Alcott are sure to enjoy this lighthearted, lyrical novel of young love, independence, and identity. #1 Literary #1 YA Romance #1 Victorian #1 Lyrical #8 General Fiction