{Wattys 2018 Winner - The Contemporaries} Versailles, France 1789: Where the only things more prevalent than opulence and wealth, are secrets. At the dawn of the French Revolution, Paris is divided. In the glittering palace of Versailles, courtiers party without a care in the world, but in the city, people must fight to stay alive. Eighteen-year-old courtier Gabriel de la Marche is part of both worlds. When Gabriel was fourteen, his older sister went missing, and desperation for answers led him to strike a deal with an underground organization of assassins-they would use their connections to help Gabriel find his sister, if Gabriel agreed to kill members of nobility under the alias L'Ange de la Mort. Four years later, he still hasn't found his sister, and the repercussions of his decision are catching up with him. But he fears it might be too late to turn back now. The daughter of a French mother and a wealthy English earl, Lizabeth survived in the womb when her twin brother did not. Believed by her family to be cursed, she has grown up shamed and unloved, locked away in her father's estate. That is, until Lizabeth's mother strikes a deal of her own. If Lizabeth travels to Versailles and kills L'Ange de la Mort, she'll be granted her freedom. At the palace, Gabriel and Lizabeth fall headfirst into love, neither of them knowing the other's secret. Amid lavish court life, Lizabeth desperately searches for the identity of L'Ange de la Mort while Gabriel searches for the person rumored to want him dead. And when the truth is finally revealed, they discover they've become entrapped in a plot bigger than either of them could have imagined. One which could change all of France. stunning cover by storms_and_seas! aesthetics by makovea!

Which role are you? 🎭 A restored theatre in Paris, hiding century-old dust and scandals. For one night a year, an eccentric philanthropist and former stage magician, Auguste Morel, hosts 〝The Masquerade Game〞, a private, invite-only spectacle where twelve guests wear ornate masks and act out secret "roles" assigned to them in sealed envelopes. But this year, a quick-fingered pickpocket from Montmartre infiltrates the party. Sabine Lenoir isn't on the guest list; hell, she wasn't even invited to the world of the bourgeoisie, but when she steals a fancy mask and invitation from a drunken aristocrat outside the theatre, she sees the party as a golden opportunity. Not for champagne and caviar, but for the wealthy pockets ripe for picking. However, the game is stranger than she imagined. Guests are forbidden from revealing their true identities. Their roles are elaborate, unsettling, and oh so eerily specific that they reference scandals done in Parisian societies. Before the first act ends, the lights cut out, and someone is found dead in the orchestra pit with one hand clutching a card scrawled with: Play Me. ~ ✨ Highest Rank ✨4th in amateur out of 4.73k stories on 18/12/2025 ✨3rd in allies out of 1.66k stories on 16/12/2025 ✨4th in ballroom out of 1.68k stories on 16/12/2025 ✨6th in masquerade out of 2.23k stories on 16/12/2025 ✨1st in pickpocket out of 231 stories on 16/12/2025 ✨2nd in amateur-sleuth out of 184 stories on 16/12/2025 ✨7th in high stakes out of 536 stories on 16/12/2025

An infamous French mansion. A garden tended with malice. A filthy empire-and a mute maid with mismatched beliefs and an attraction to rancid scents stood in front of them all. Maison de Néronville makes luxurious perfumes worth gems and cradles deeds that could render their sophisticated scents putrid. Notable for their lush gardens, spotless legacy through philanthropy, and acute noses, they are French Riviera's finest- and dirtiest. Marguerite I. Alméras (Mia) helps to wash their dirty laundry in private. A talented soul with a disability who left her village in southeastern France to find a place where she could bloom- ironically, she found gardens, ones whose flowers smelled like decayed flesh. Getting hired at the mansion's fragrant house was as effortless as slipping on her mismatched flats. Navigating her term under the glass domes? That's another case-especially with a blind patriarch, a depressed heir, a bloodthirsty daughter, and hah...the notorious twins all spilling their nastiest acts to her, because: Mia sees, Mia hears, Mia feels, and Mia knows. But one thing Mia can't do...is tell. ~ ✨Highest Rank ✨4th in perfume out of 2.19k stories on 18/12/25 ✨10th in garden out of 8.18k stories on 18/12/25

An ancient Italian estate. A vineyard full of secrets. A bloody legacy-and a young intern with mismatched socks and a hunger for mischief caught in the middle of it all. La famiglia Orsini Di Montepietra makes quality wine worth millions and harbours secrets that could stain it darker. Known for their vast fruitful vineyards, respectable reputation and intelligent minds, they are Tuscany's finest- and most feared. Marli Tavares is determined to find the skeleton in their antique cupboards. She's a young woman with a unique personality who left her home in Bahia to seek greener pastures-well, she found a whole vineyard; one whose grapes taste like bitter truth. Landing an internship at the estate's library was as easy as wearing her typewriter key ring. Surviving a year under the frescoed Orsini roof? That's another story-especially with a cold mistress, a brooding cleric, an annoyingly devoted first son, his Casanova of a younger brother, and oh! a brat of a younger sister all watching her every move. Would you like a tour of the Orsini estate, a taste of their darkest wine, or...both? ~ ✨ Highest Rank ✨1st in estate out of 6.2k stories on 18/11/2025 ✨3rd in unsolved out of 1.11k stories on 16/11/2025