"They may see you as how you try to be, but what I see is what you try not to be." SHE IS A BASTARD... Maxine Theobald hid from the rest of society to protect her father's name. But as she grows tired of her role-playing games every year during the famous Theobald weekend parties, she starts to question how she has been living her life. She starts to wonder about the other part of her that she was deprived of--her mother and why she left her. A DISGUISE... Having finally found the courage to search for the one thing that she believes can help her understand her true nature, Maxine cuts her hair, puts on her breeches, and runs away from the only home she has ever known. She travels to the affluent town of Wickhurst and found herself employed as the valet of the famous rake Nicholas Everard, a game she will later find to be quite dangerous. SOMETHING DIFFERENT... Maxine set out into an adventure with none but one goal, yet found herself stumbling upon an unlikely find for the search of something else--romance. Still set in the fictional place of the Town, this fifth book in the Everard Family series follows one heroine who has chosen to defy the norm and her own fears in an attempt to understand her own nature, the first step to a discovery of not just about her lineage, but of love so unexpectedly, irritatingly and undeniably powerful. (This story is a standalone title in the Everard Family series.)

Just when she's decided to leave the Town, Lady Cressida Belverst is forced to marry Lord Calan Haverston, the man who coincidentally knows a way out. Agreeing to marry for all the wrong reasons, can Cressida and Calan find out where their hearts truly belong? *** It is impossible to leave the Town, but one woman is determined to escape with the help of her betrothed. Lady Cressida Belverst has always been judged as a walking scandal. Oh, how she tries (on some rare occasions) to be proper! When her parents arrange for her to marry a rich lord, Cressida has had enough. She has to leave the Town because she will not be forced to live with a man she doesn't love. But what happens if the very man she's betrothed to is the only one who can help her get out? Calan Haverston, the Lord of Easton, takes the risk and helps his betrothed by using his knowledge of the Town's secrets because he is as willing as she to stay free of marriage for reasons completely different. He has dark secrets he cannot share with her, and his life is not one he can likewise open to anyone. But what happens when she leaves after awakening desires he thought he has under control? And what happens when he finds himself longing for her? Cressida goes to a completely different place, one she has only heard in stories and read in books, with hopes of finding what her heart has always longed for. But love, mystery and secrets will chase her and it will only be a matter of time before she realizes what her heart truly desires. *This story is a standalone title in the Haverston Family series.

The Ice Lady... She is not the most charming. In fact, she is too cold, too frank, and too flat. Worse, the only home she has known all her life has been taken away from her and she has to find a way to keep it. Upon her mother's strong suggestion, she has to at least try to seduce the next Lord of Langworthy. The Cursed Friend... He is charming and rich. He is handsome and smart. Women wanted him. If only he was not cursed. For now, having everything leaves him with nothing to do but be the friend to help the future Lord of Langworthy escape from Lady Ice. When these two completely opposite individuals cross paths, sparks fly. (This story is a standalone prequel title in the Everard Family series.)

Banished for five years, Lady Belinda Carrington returns to Willowfair, claiming to know things one would find impossible to believe. With her tainted reputation, can Belinda make Town Guard McKenzie Haverston help her in her pursuit of the truth? *** After her banishment five years ago, Belinda Carrington returns with secrets and tales too impossible to believe. But something in her lies makes McKenzie Haverston desperate for the truth... When Belinda shows up in McKenzie's home asking for protection in return for important information on a case he's working on, he rejects her. But when he learns where she had been banished after her great scandal five years ago, he finds himself striking a deal with the woman-he protects her, she gives him answers. The question now is: how true is her tale? She was once considered the fairest of them all, but one scandal later, she has become the most reviled. And she is also being hunted. If Belinda wants to stay alive, she has to start trusting McKenzie Haverston, a task she finds to be surprisingly easy to do. However, as the truth of the past begins to resurface, and the secrets of her scandal is revealed, Belinda is confronted by her own demons, causing her to doubt her own reality. Trigger warnings: abuse, violence, mental trauma, sexual assault, mental health illness

When Mary is caught in a scandal with one of the most notorious rakes in town, she believes the only solution to the grave trouble for her dangerous secrets is a wedding. What she didn't account for was her heart--and his. *** Adrien Haverston is a rake caught in his own trap after a seduction goes wrong. One great scandal and a bitter wedding later, he is one angry husband to Mary Featherton. But despite his vow to make her suffer for shackling him to a life he has avoided ever since, he begins to realize that the burning attraction that brought them together in the first place might just lead to something promising. But falling in love with his wife may not be as easy as he first thought, because as Adrien peels off every charming and beautiful facet of Mary, he also discovers dark and dangerous secrets--one of which has the potential to shatter him.

In Belcourt, they rear weapons no man can contend with: women. Sasha was never meant to be in the Court of Flowers, one of the most sought-after courts in Belcourt, but when she is suddenly placed there without warning, she discovers a world far from what she expected--one that reeks of passion, seduction, secrets, and betrayal. ***** Belcourt, an orphanage for young girls, keeps many secrets within its walls. Among those are the four courts that rear the kingdom's most powerful weapons: the Ladies of Belcourt. Sasha is safely tucked away in the Court of Libraries when Belcourt makes a sudden decision it has never done before in more than half a century. She is transferred into the Court of Flowers, the most famous court of all, where she is expected to service gentlemen who paid their way in for a Belle, a woman trained to please, seduce, and spy. Things take a turn when she is introduced to the mysterious West Blackwood who has a very different service in mind, one too tempting and one that may ultimately change Sasha's safe life in Belcourt. Torn between powerful forces, both the kingdom and Belcourt itself, Sasha will have to determine where her loyalties lie: to the man who not only infuriates her at every turn but also awakens sensations she never felt before? Or to the place that has always been her home since the day she walked away from a cottage with two dead bodies?

[ WATTYS '18 LONG-LISTED ] ❝ I have slit throats far more beautiful than yours.❞ In which a thousand brides have fallen, and she is the last, so she spins a tale as old as time to live the dawn. | an arabian nights x beauty and the beast crossover | (cover by ES Johnson) trailer (video by @AKfiction): https://youtu.be/2OSjakJrUeo

When Margaret Everard is asked to investigate the man she once loved for the murder of the Prime Minister, she knows he's innocent, until clues start to prove otherwise. ***** Years ago, Margaret Everard was engaged to be married to Cole Devitt, but a series of tragic events ruined it all. Now, ten years later, she's forced to infiltrate his life for reasons other than romance. Cole Devitt is the prime suspect to the murder of the Prime Minister and Margaret can hardly believe it. But as a member of a secret elite group of spies, she's given one difficult task: spy on him. Taking on the challege, Margaret has to fight old feelings buried in layers of pain of the past. But when she stumbles upon more clues, she realizes that the case she's working on is more complicated that it seems. As secrets of the past and their feelings start to unravel, Cole and Margaret have to learn how to trust again. However, one of them is bound to betray the other. Trigger warnings: abuse, violence, mental trauma, sexual assault, mental health illness

THE BANDIT She merely meant to steal and get away with it. She did not mean to find a dying woman and be chased for it. She merely meant to help. She did not mean to be dressed in a gown and be a target for murder. THE GUARD He was tasked to chase them. He was not expected to work with them. He merely meant to pay for an oddly professional service. He was not expecting it to be complicated and sexually dangerous. (This story is a title in the Everard Family series.)