{2022 WATTY SHORTLISTER} {18+ COMPLETED} England, 1842 Lady Hutton, otherwise known as Penelope Chapman, cares not that her husband has a wandering eye. That is, until he wanders away completely--all the way to the continent with his mistress, where he's been for the last five years. Abandoned, Penelope decides she shall not spend her life living without the occasional night of casual companionship. But then Penelope meets British naval officer Beckett Ash, and she realizes that there isn't anything casual about him. The man who has been assigned to protect her whilst uncovering a smuggling operation at her summer house party is strikingly handsome, and their connection is increasingly difficult to ignore. There are only two problems. Firstly, Beckett hasn't a clue that Penelope already has a husband. And secondly, his best friend and fellow naval officer is Penelope's protective half-brother. What happens when Beckett decides to marry an already married woman?

First year interns get tangled up in an enemies-with-benefits relationship while competing to be the top resident and get the best cases. ***** Delilah Harper has wanted to hold a scalpel in her hand since she was five. She's gone to the best pre-med and medical school, and now she's onto the best hospital in the country to start her residency. Everything is going according to plan with her dream of becoming a neurosurgeon. Except one little thing. Bradly Gallow. Stupidly tall, dark, and handsome Brad. Not only is he undeniably attractive, but he's also extremely arrogant and, unfortunately, intelligent-despite his stereotypical, air-headed frat boy name. Since day one of medical school, Delilah and Brad have been duking it out to be at the top of their class. And as fate would have it, they both match at the same hospital across the country to start their residency, continuing their rivalry. While competing to be the top resident, the two come up with the self proclaimed Brain Games where they battle for the best cases and keep tabs to see who will help perform the first major surgery. The games seem simple enough, until tension, sexual frustration, hidden feelings, and seemingly unfair advantages come into the mix to complicate everything. Who will win and who will lose? A spin-off of The Scars of Anatomy.

"You're atheist," I remind him. "You don't believe in god." "I believe in you," He murmurs, letting the cigarette hang from his lips. "I believe in whatever you believe." He says, letting the confession roll off his tongue as if it were that simple. As if god, the devil, heaven, hell-as if none of it really had meaning to him. "That's not how it works," I mutter as we walk down a few more alleyways-the city of Manhattan coated in a light blanket of snow. Henry Vitiello had never had anything to pray for, that is, until he met me-the only thing that had ever opened his mind up to the possibility of religion "Isn't it?" He argues, taking the cigarette by his middle and pointer finger before blowing the smoke out. "I'II dip my hands in holy water if it means I could touch you." "You'd probably burn." 𓆩♡𓆪 𝐇𝐄𝐍𝐑𝐘 𝐕𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐎, the reaper. He's a prick. An asshole. A pretentious son of a bitch. He's not perfect. He's not even decent. But he's hers. She could be a bottle labeled poison but he was an alcoholic, and he had drunk her empty. Now he was hungover. 𝐉𝐀𝐍𝐄 𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒, the healer. She's known to be the perfect good girl, with perfect grades and a perfect life with a perfect family. They didn't know that behind the gated doors of their billion dollar estate, she was strapped down to a chair every night and picked apart just to be put back together in time for supper. 𓆩♡𓆪 star-crossed; adjective (of a person or a plan) thwarted by bad luck. 'star-crossed lovers' and that, they were. So they fucked under those very stars that tried so desperately to break them apart. 𓆩♡𓆪 ‼️DISCLAIMER ‼️ BOOK REFERENCES TO MARA DYER, SHATTER ME, MIND FUCK, ETC ARE ALL INTENTIONAL SO DONT BE RUDE. AS FOR TRIGGER WARN