This is not a story about what happens. It's about what almost does. At an Ivy League medical school, Isabelle Laurent is known as the Ice Queen-brilliant, distant, untouchable. No one gets close. No one stays. Alexander Whitmore was never supposed to be different. Charming, privileged, and infamous for never staying longer than a few weeks, he understands desire. What he doesn't understand, until Isabelle, is restraint. She believes he doesn't want her. He knows wanting her openly would destroy everything. So they choose the most dangerous thing instead: friendship. "The most dangerous thing about Alexander Whitmore was not his reputation, nor his charm, nor the power he would one day inherit. It was the fact that he never asked for anything from me, and somehow, without realizing it, I had begun to give him everything that mattered." Slow burn • Dual POV • Consent • Emotional intimacy

Welcome to The Hidden Gem Awards, where the spotlight shines on the stories that deserve so much more recognition. This is a reader's choice awards book dedicated to underrated, overlooked, and rising authors. No judges. No bias. Just readers voting for the stories they truly love. Because sometimes the best books aren't the most popular... they're the hidden gems waiting to be discovered.

"I think I'm in love with you." He hesitated, then shook his head. "No. I am in love with you." "Don't." *** Sophie Bennett didn't come to Italy to fall in love. She came to learn how to cook without burning the kitchen down and to prepare for an arranged marriage waiting for her back home. Matteo Rossi is a chef at the culinary school. Talented. Arrogant. Off-limits. And Sophie is one mistake away from ruining everything. Italy was supposed to teach her how to cook. Instead, it might teach her how to love. 🔥🍝

- Lanterns at Dusk - {Unedited} When Lady Aracelli Danger is pressed into an engagement with the enigmatic Caius Draemont, she steps into a world of wealth shadowed by whispers. Draemont Manor, standing dark against the northern sky, is a place of secrets. It's walls heavy with memory, its master colder still. Caius is handsome, commanding, and distant, a man both alluring and unsettling. Society murmurs of his tragedy, of the fire that claimed his family, but in his silence lies a deeper mystery-one that unsettles Aracelli even as it draws her closer But the manor itself seems alive with watchful shadows, and Aracelli soon finds her nights plagued by visions that feel more real than dreams. The line between devotion and danger blurs, and every step she takes deeper into Draemont's halls binds her to a fate she cannot yet see. Torn between duty and dread, Aracelli must decide if her heart is leading her into love or into ruin. { A Victorian Gothic Paranormal Romance }

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. · · ♱ · · In 2007 Canaan Creek, Alabama, Sarah Willingham begins to rebel as her mother's faith becomes a weapon and her father relapses. She starts to grow curious of the outcast in her grade, Henry Carter, who skips school and drinks cheap beer down by the lake. He ignites her sin and draws her closer to the true version of herself, just beneath her broken faith. One terrible night changes everything, and what begins there shapes everything that follows. · · ♱ · · this is a slow burn, religion deconstruction story with a hint of dark romance some may get upset over the contents please read trigger warnings 18+

She has no magic in a world that worships it. He has power and chooses restraint. And somehow, they always meet when something is about to go wrong. Detailed Description: In a realm where magic defines worth, Valerie Elower has none - no power, no protection, and no place in a world ruled by those who command the elements. When she breaks rules she was never meant to survive, Valerie is pulled into a web of secrets, betrayals, and choices that demand more than magic ever could. He is powerful. Controlled. A man bound by loyalty, restraint, and a darkness he refuses to unleash. Not her savior; but the shadow that could swallow her whole. As loyalties fracture and danger starts wearing familiar faces, Valerie is forced to confront a terrifying possibility: that she was never powerless - only unfinished. She was never meant to matter. But she may be the one thing this world cannot afford to lose.

Hadley Jamison doesn't know what to think when she hears that her classmate, Archer Morales, committed suicide. She didn't exactly know him, but that doesn't stop her from feeling like there was something she could have done to help him. So to Hadley's surprise, on the very night of Archer's funeral, she has a run in with Death himself and is offered the chance to go back in time to stop Archer from ending his life. The catch? She only has twenty-seven days to do it. And if Hadley doesn't succeed? Well, she doesn't want to think about that.

He married her to please his dad. It was just another business deal for him. He had a girlfriend from the start and wasn't willing to give her up. He hated his wife Sophia with a passion even though she hardly crossed his way. She is a goody two shoes and never gave him a solid reason to hate her. She cooked for him and noticed his likes and dislikes even though they didn't share a meal or a room. One day, when his mother fell sick and was waiting for a donor Sophia is the one to step forward. She saved his mother even though the latter used to bully her. So what will happen when his mum starts to side with Sophia ? What will happen when his mum demands them to give her a grandchild? When did his younger brother became so close and flirty with Sophia ? Will he break free from this unwanted marriage or will the unwanted make him fall ? #highest Rank in Romance till today 1/5/2017 is 26 Ranked #22 IN ROMANCE in 1/5/2017 Highest ranked 12 in romance