[WATTY'S 2024 SHORTLIST] When the Ravos Kingdom abducts the Nyrial Emperor's dragon, princess Aeryn Glastos must marry the demon prince planning her assassination to save her empire and end the war while guarding her heart and a dangerous secret. ------------ The twenty-two-year-old Draconian princess is starting her final year at Insignia Academy during the height of the war between the Draconians and demons. Aeryn's dream is to graduate as a bonded Champion in the Fire Force and fight in the war. The only problem is, she is the only Draconian to never receive a power by age twenty. Ashamed of his powerless daughter, the emperor of the Nyrial Empire proposes a marriage between Aeryn and the Ravos Kingdom's demon prince to end the war and get his dragon back. Shade Cross is ruthless, cunning, and dangerously powerful. Everything he touches dies, except Aeryn. He awakens something in her she has never felt before and she acquires not one, but two powers. She must navigate both nations built upon lies, betrayals, a forbidden alliance, and a deadly curse. When she discovers the truth about her empire, she must make a choice: protect the secrets and save her father, or side with the enemy. Aeryn needs to be careful because when it reigns, it pours, and she is caught right in the middle of a feuding storm between both nations.

In the war-ravaged territory of Cadence, Olivia has spent her life hidden in the shadows-she's the secret her homeland cannot afford to lose. But no one has ever told her why. Years after the war's end, Vorrath, their relentless enemy, still casts a menacing shadow over Cadence. But the weight of isolation, the desperation for answer's and the sacrifice of others grow too heavy to bear, forcing Olivia to take a daring risk. Disguised as one of them, she infiltrates Vorrath, enrolling in their elite academy deep within enemy territory. Amid Vorrath's walls, Olivia searches for answers and uncovers truths about the war-secrets that not only threaten her survival but shatter everything she thought she knew about her homeland and herself. Her path collides with Tristan Hudson, a handsome yet dangerous academy trainer who happens to be the son of Vorrath's ruthless president. Olivia knows she should stay as far away from him as possible-but what if that's not an option? As she navigates life at the academy, it becomes evident there's something very different about her, something she won't be able to hide for long. Loyalties fracture, forbidden emotions ignite, and Olivia realizes she is more than just a hidden secret-she is the key to everything. All she wanted was freedom-but now, she'll have to fight to survive in a world where betrayal and revelation could cost her everything. *** I waited until it was COMPLETE and published the whole book for you. :) ENJOY!!!! #romantasy #fantasy #romance #youngadult #newadult #slowburn #enemiestolovers #magic

Seventeen-year-old Aria Castellano thought she knew who she was - a scholarship student, a good daughter, a girl with simple dreams and a mother who made the world feel safe. But when her mother dies in a car accident, the life Aria knew unravels overnight. A letter. A name. A father she's never met. Now she's flying across the country to New York - to a mansion with guards at every gate, brothers who don't know what to make of her, and a father still struggling to accept the daughter he didn't know existed. Her stepmother is kind, her new home beautiful... but nothing about it feels right. At St. Augustine's Academy, power hums beneath every smile and secret. The students there were born into legacies - families bound by alliances older than the school itself, until betrayal tore them apart. Those old rivalries still live on in the halls she walks now, and Aria's arrival is stirring them all back to life. One boy in particular seems to hate her most. He's untouchable, cruel in that effortless way only someone raised in power can be. But behind the sharp words and colder eyes is something else - something that pulls her closer even when she knows she shouldn't look twice. As Aria begins to uncover the truth her mother died protecting, she learns that some secrets were buried for a reason... and that even in a world built on bloodlines and betrayal, the most dangerous thing of all might be the way he looks at her. "Some secrets don't stay buried forever. And Aria Castellano's name might be the one that brings them all back to the light"

Six months have passed since Olivia Donahue Romano returned from the dead. Once the hidden American mafia princess, she lived in silence-trained, protected, forgotten. Now the underworld knows her name. The lost Romano daughter. The survivor. The girl who came back. But fame in their world is just another form of exposure. Every move is watched, every word twisted, every truth she thought she knew turning into something sharp enough to cut her. Delicate relationships hold her world together, yet new enemies are already stirring beneath the calm, waiting for their chance to strike. Delicate relationships hold the fragile peace together, yet new enemies are already moving in silence. Declan's silence has become its own kind of terror. No attacks. No messages. No trace. But his shadow lingers-in the halls, in her dreams, in the way she still looks over her shoulder. Every whisper feels like a warning. Every secret another crack in a reality already broken once before. Olivia knows better than anyone that peace is a beautiful lie- Her reality was shattered once before. And this time... it might not survive being broken again.

They were once deeply in love. Until an accident took his memory and erased their marriage. When Grayson wakes from a coma, he remembers the world as it was five years ago. His family is familiar. His past makes sense. But his wife is missing from his memory entirely. For Calla, loving him becomes a quiet kind of pain. She must learn how to be patient with a man who no longer knows her, while holding onto the hope that their love was strong enough to survive even this. Because sometimes, the hardest part of love is not losing someone... but watching them forget you.

I thought being abducted and experimented on by aliens was the worst things could get. But I was wrong. Because when I tried, and failed, to escape, I promised to protect an alien-human baby. And then we were thrown into a new cage. And my cell-mate? He's big, scarred, brooding... and we're expected to give our captors a baby of our own. Sci-Fi Alien Romance [18+]

When Olive Sadie McKinley starts school at Markov Academy, she is immediately swept up into the buzz and fanfare of Aeriana's most prestigious boarding school. Just in her first year, Olive's not only secured a potential record deal, but she's finally making her mother proud by following in her successful sisters' footsteps. All is going well. Until she loses her voice. A year later, Olive must now learn how to communicate and navigate a world that only rewards performers and creators, all while balancing her school work and making her mother happy. Saxophone protege Kassian Williams has no problems with his mother's general unhappiness with his life's decisions. In fact, he relishes in her disappointment. He'd much rather spend his time trying to build his music career before he graduates so he doesn't have to continue in the family business. When a chance encounter has Kassian and Olive crossing paths, Kassian finds he's unable to get the young singer out of his thoughts. As Olive gets closer to Kassian, she not only discovers more about the grumpy upperclassman, but also about her desires for her life outside of what her mother wants. Except, when Olive's voice starts coming back and disappearing again in odd intervals, her life is thrown back into disarray. Because now, Olive's not sure what's causing her voice to disappear...and suddenly the Markov campus is not as safe as she previously thought.

Book two of "Marked By The Unseelie" After getting trapped in the Faerie realm for eating blue fruits, Livia has no choice but to live in the palace with her friend Klovis, the Unseelie Prince. Klovis takes it upon himself to look for a solution to allow Livia to bypass faerie law and return to her realm, which requires the recovery of the broken seelie mirror. Unfortunately, the recovery of the mirror requires them to embark on a journey deeper into the faerie realm to find the sap that would help fix the mirror. Back in the Seelie Palace, Zhier found out about their plans and proceeded to go after them both to take Livia and stop Klovis from restoring the mirror.

Naomi Cliffton believed she would go her whole life hiding her true identity. To the people of Tyrra, she is someone barren of magic and a social pariah. In reality, she is the last dragon shifter: a lone survivor of a race that was killed off for being a threat to Tyrra's hierarchy. In fear of being persecuted like her ancestors, Naomi has never revealed herself, until a chance encounter with one boy changes everything. Malcolm is not the simple guy he claims to be when they first meet, but the prince of Tyrra, escaping from the castle to avoid his royal duties. When street thugs uncover his ruse, they seek to abduct Malcolm and cross Naomi off as collateral damage. Desperate to save them both, Naomi transforms, unleashing her inner dragon. Exposed, Naomi has to accept the pact the king offers: her freedom in exchange for becoming Malcolm's bodyguard. Naomi joins Malcolm at his elitist school where she deals with prejudice from her classmates and growing animosity towards Malcolm's pretentious ways. But when someone tries to murder Malcolm, Naomi must put their differences aside to uncover the conspiracy against the royal family. As more threats stack up, one thing is clear: with a determined assassin after the prince's life, it's up to Naomi whether or not the killer succeeds.