WATTYS 2023 SHORTLIST Sarah Kennedy's life has fallen to pieces. Her family is broken, she's growing apart from her only friend, and it's been a while since she's stopped dreaming about anything better. She embarks on a trip to Latin America, joining a retreat she hopes will mend her dwindling friendship and escape her miserable day-to-day life. Bad turns to worse, and her hopes are shattered when she is kidnapped by a cartel. While her life is miraculously spared, she's kept captive by a daunting and narcissistic drug lord, Pablo. As his obsession with her grows, so do his favors and promises. Sarah soon finds herself in a gilded cage, living a life more lavish than anything she's ever imagined. But all that glitters isn't gold, and this luxury has a price. If Sarah wants to escape the violent, treacherous, and cocaine-fueled world of cartels, she'll have to fight the demons that keep her captive, as well as the monsters in her head, armed with nothing but a dry sense of humor and a fragile strength. But as she and Pablo both know- it's a long journey home when you don't have any home to go to. _____________________ DTOD is marked as mature for strong language, drug use, violence (and also dark humor) and the occasional steam/smut. Trigger warnings are included before sensitive or explicit scenes. _____________________ "Drugs, Treasons and Other Demons, a niche erotica for people who like men who keep their socks on." "A book that will make you cry whenever you hear a Pitbull song." "By the time I finished reading this whole book, I could have read the entire Hunger Games saga. But I would have had a lot less fun." "I went to read a few chapters of this book one night, and all of a sudden a whole weekend went by on me."

Description Jayla has spent years walking on eggshells in a relationship that looks perfect from the outside but feels like a prison behind closed doors. Trapped between obligation to her family and the control of a man who pays their bills, her dreams of freedom and love have faded into background noise. When her childhood crush, Shaq now a rising music producer returns to Jamaica, he awakens the part of her that still believes in more. With every beat he makes and every truth he speaks, Jayla finds herself remembering who she used to be before the fear, before the silence, before the bruises no one sees. But leaving isn't simple. Martin won't let her go easily. And the past has a way of showing up, especially when love starts looking real. Torn between survival and self-worth, loyalty and liberation, Jayla must decide: Will she keep living someone else's version of love or finally risk everything for her own? First love, last escape is a raw, emotional tale of healing, passion, and the power of reclaiming your voice when the world tells you to stay quiet.

Part two- Cyber Wife Malayiah's life turned upside down when her parents separated after her dad's infidelity. Forced to leave the familiar behind, Malayiah and her mother moved to a parish, hoping to start fresh. The new house they moved into had an unexpected neighbor - the boy Malayiah met at his birthday party when they were kids. Coincidence would have it that Malayiah transferred to the same school as him. Complicating things further was the baggage Malayiah carried from her ex-boyfriend, who had exposed her in a painful way. Now, as young adults, Malayiah and Tyrese found themselves caught in a web of denied emotions. Both fought their growing feelings for each other, trying to resist the pull of attraction amidst the complications of their pasts. Will they surrender to the love story unfolding between them, or will they continue fighting the undeniable connection? "Fighting Feelings" is a tale of young love, past hurts, and the struggle to let go and trust again. ---

Dr. Monáe Blackwell is a highly educated OBGYN, committed to her patients and her career. King is a younger slightly rude construction worker. ******************** I heard his footsteps behind me but I avoided him as I walked through the curtain and into the living room. "A you me a talk to enuh." "I'm not arguing with nobody's child." I said as I put on my shoes and walked out the door. I didn't notice that he was following me until I was at the gap in the fence. "Child? Mi a big man. Yuh think 25 a pickney?" Again I didn't answer. I focused my attention on the fence and tried to maneuver through the wire. Just my luck, the wires hooked the back of my leggings waist. "See it deh, you get hook. Mi just fi lef you right yasso." ********** This is a cutesy book!! Nothing tumultuous❤️❤️

#JAMAICA One phone. One mistake. One man who will ruin everything. Izzy thought her life was simple, safe. She was wrong. A chance encounter turns into a nightmare of guns, threats, and a dangerous man who sees more in her than she's willing to admit. She's running out of choices. She's running out of time. And maybe... running straight into him was fate.

All she wanted was to forget her mother's death, but constant reminder won't let her be. Information and truth gets unfold, but what will she do when she sympathize with the villain and empathize with the victims. Let's see.

"BROKEN,BUT NEVER BEYOND HEALING"

Forbidden from the begin like the fruit in the garden of Eden, but their bond was created way before the judgments, rules and discrimination was cast upon them. The constant separation only made their bond stronger and fester into something inseparable, but with the fight for more power, family legacy, reputation and loyalty on the line; they are force apart and force to choose. One left with the power, but at what cost.

She only agreed to the weekend because she needed a break from everything going wrong in her life. A house full of strangers, a world of wealth she has never known, and people she will probably never see again. Or so she thinks. Because somewhere between late night conversations and quiet moments away from the crowd, she catches the attention of a man whose last name carries influence across Jamaica. He is used to people wanting something from him, yet the one girl who does not seem interested is the one he cannot stop watching. What starts as a simple weekend escape soon turns into something far more complicated. And when two people from completely different worlds collide, the real question becomes whether fate is bringing them together or setting them up to fall apart.

Ever been in the wrong place at the wrong time? Yeah... I have. Don't recommend. I'm Lue'elle, by the way, call me Lue. Elle works too, honorable mention to my 'mom' for the name. Now, for the juicier part. Giordano? Definitely not my cup of tea. Let's just say I didn't like him. At all. But life, being the cruel little joke it is, decided to throw me and him into the same orbit. As if fate, or some sadistic writer, was testing how much hell a person can handle before they snap. One night. Wrong place. Wrong time. Turns out, hating him was the easier part. Actually, whatever this is between us might just drag you straight to hell... and back. Elle. Xoxo. Ranking🥇 #1 in Caribbean #1 in Jamaica