"I don't understand what else you want from me." I hissed. She smirked, rolling her ice blue eyes that were filled with nothing but her ego and it made me want to choke her. "How about you come find out, hm?" Cover by @herparamour

After two years of mixing drinks at a local bar and serving caramel macchiatos to the stereotypical, teenage girl to help pay for college tuition, Esme manages to quit both jobs after receiving a check--one that would solve her financial burdens--from an overly generous customer. The same customer just so happens to have the same name as the Governor's wife and head councilwoman. Of course, there's a catch--taking the check means taking the offer that follows. Naive Esme Holland does, diving into unfamiliar territory, at the mercy of seductive huntress . The Perfect Scandal is your modern home-wrecker novel twisted with unrequited love and kink. (New Adult)

||WATTY'S SHORTLIST 2023|| [LGBTQ+ New Adult Fiction] When Mia Cunningham leaves her hometown in coastal Maine at 11 years old after her mother's death, her best friend, Leila Sutherland, gifts Mia a seashell "so she can hear the ocean and remember her home." Over a decade later, the two young women are beginning to navigate their post-grad lives. Leila has remained in Maine, afraid to branch out of her comfort zone, and Mia, after spending her college years in New York and unsure of her future, returns to the only place she ever felt home--Kenneburk, Maine. After a fateful meeting between the young women, Leila and Mia slowly begin to rekindle the friendship that had once been long forgotten. Their friendship is immediately tested, however, as Leila begins to develops familiar feelings and Mia, unsure of where she belongs, cannot help but wonder the direction her life is calling her towards. Will their friendship survive these new trials of adulthood, or should it have ended permanently the day that Mia left 12 years prior? Find out in "Can You Hear the Ocean?" (Published: 2021)

Ever since Hadley Castillo lost her mother at a young age. Her father pulled away and entrusted Hadley's life with maids and a security guard. However, as she grew older and started to resent the guards. She decided to make their task a nightmare and a game to entertain herself. Thus, driving her father mad for years and going through multiples of guards, this time, her father switched things around by bringing in a woman.

(TeacherxStudent) ❝ i found love where it wasn't supposed to be, right in front of me ❞ - Amber Run Sent to a boarding school in England to try and put her on the straight and narrow, Evelyn Luis doesn't even expect to make it through the first semester. But her teacher and dorm leader seems to have some kind of hold over her, and Evie finds herself becoming obsessed with the one person she cannot have. They say everything happens for a reason, and maybe their paths were always meant to cross, but at what cost? Perhaps following your heart can be dangerous, particularly when your heart leads you to the forbidden.

Opal Indick lives in the smallest and quietest town in the world, and she is fed up with the silence. Her only hope is Mrs. Wilkes, her professor whose stare lingers a little longer than it should. Having to choose between the relationship she already has with a girl her own age or the forbidden fruit propelling her desires, Opal finds her life and mental state falling apart. But when a string of violent murders begin occurring in the town where nothing ever happens, Opal begins to fear not only those around her, but herself. [tw: sex, violence, non-descriptive mentions of rape and suicide]

Sara has had a hard life. Going from foster home to foster home is not easy, especially if the homes are not friendly. She is used to beatings, fights, sexism and inequality. It seems the only thing keeping her going is to protect her foster sister from the scumbags who wish to do harm. So it becomes a difficult task for her to adapt to her new home. Not because of a poor neighborhood but because her new home is owned by a wealthy and extremely nice family. By using her odd behavior, Sara must cope with this new and weird environment in hopes that they could settle for her sister's sake.

Fresh out of law school, Sutton is eager to climb the ladder at her new job. But on her first day of work, she comes face to face with an unexpected colleague--her ex-best friend and first love, Ada. Forced to work together, Sutton and Ada must untangle the complicated feelings they've always had for each other--feelings that may lead them back to friendship, or even to something more.

Yeju Hwarng no longer believes in love. After breaking up with her long-term girlfriend and watching her parents divorce over the summer, all her passion disappeared, including her passion for science that got her into her microbiology Ph.D. program. When a new roommate moves into the apartment, Yeju recognizes her as more than just a familiar face; she is an enemy that needs to be chased out of her life. Lia Choi does not need love. Her parent never gave her any, and confessing to her childhood best friend over the summer only caused a fall out. Love has proven to be both unnecessary and a liability, and all Lia needs instead is to do well in college and get into a prestigious research position in the microbiology department. Unfortunately, her research mentor turns out to be her new roommate. And she is hell bent on ruining Lia's life. Tension escalates both at home and in the lab, but the more they work together, the more they realize: they have a common goal, and they need each other to achieve that. All they need to do is to open their hearts. Love is hard, but a life without love is harder. *** THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS meets DELILAH GREEN DOESN'T CARE; a STEM-oriented college sapphic romance about struggling adults navigating love despite their broken hearts. *This is a stand-alone spin-off to Cherry On Top. 💫 2023 Watty's Winner! 💫 Editor's Choice, 26 May 2023 - 29 June 2023 💫 Featured on Wattpad's Summer Loving Days reading list, 21 Jul 2023 💫 Featured on the official @lgbt, @Romance, @FreeTheLGBT, and @WattpadAfterDark profile First Published: 2 Feb 2023 Completed Date: 24 June 2023 Edited Date: 22 July 2023 Word Count: 55,000-60,000 Also posted on Scribblehub, Tapas, and RoyalRoad (Not on Amazon or anywhere else!) Cover art by Sarimopi on Instagram

Zara McMann and Peyton Mitchell aren't exactly what you'd call 'friends'. An incident in eighth grade turned Peyton against Zara, and they haven't spoken since. After being assigned partners for their latest English assignment they are forced to communicate, but when a lockdown ensues and they are trapped and alone, will they sort out their differences? Copyright © 2021 by crimsonclare