Sometimes it's not the butterflies that tell you you're in love. Sometimes, it's the pain. © 2020 mia ruby jane | all rights reserved [ unedited first draft | extended description inside ]

[2024 WATTYS SHORTLISTED] [18+] In the picturesque lakeside town, the calm waters mask the storm within Juniper Jenkins' heart. Betrayed and broken by her cheating boyfriend, she flees to the sanctuary of her friend's lakeside house, to work remotely for the summer. What she doesn't expect? Running into Wells Hansen-her rival from the Seattle Sun Times-of all people. And of all places, he's running the only coffee shop in town with decent Wi-Fi. She's sworn off men for the summer-pinky-promised no boys-with her two best friends. So there's no way she's breaking that pact. Not after what just happened. But fate doesn't care about pacts, and Juniper keeps bumping into Wells no matter how hard she tries not to. She resents him, and the feeling seems mutual. At least, that's what she believes.

[FREE STORY w/ bonus paid chapters] When a scandal hits perfect seventeen-year-old Rose in the run-up to an election, she starts to believe that her dreams of becoming Class President are over. But in the shreds of her reputation is where she meets Blake - Archbury High's favorite troublemaker. As morally corrupt as he is handsome, Rose knows that asking for his help is a risk, but it could help to claw back her dignity. What starts off as a mutual arrangement soon begins to unravel, and as the pair grow closer and secrets are spilled in the run-up to the election, Rose starts to learn that maybe perfect isn't everything.

Goat sucker. Overgrown lizard. Monster. Miguel is all too familiar with the many names humans have for chupacabras. As a member of a struggling pack, he knows how unfair the world can be to his kind. With their scaly bodies, sharp claws, and flesh-melting venom, it's no wonder humans fear them. After Miguel protects a human from his pack leader at the only restaurant that caters to chupacabras, his life takes a turn for the strange when he is offered a job as a chef. Adapting to the culinary chaos soon becomes the least of Miguel's worries as he finds himself falling for Alejandro, an outspoken chef who treats him with more compassion than even his own kind. But what human would ever love a chupacabra? With the restaurant struggling to stay afloat, inter-species tensions flaring, and Alejandro's ex serving as a constant reminder of what he can never be, will Miguel be able to take the heat, or will he be forced out of the kitchen? Cover by @ShyGuySamurai

2023 WATTY'S SHORTLIST When Finley Bowers decided to study abroad in England, he wasn't expecting to fall in love. But when Harlyn Evans shows up in his life, he brings a whole lot of goodness - and chaos - with him. *** Finley Bowers has always done what everyone expects of him. But the last few years have been rough, and he's decided to make his own decisions instead of what everyone else wants him to do. The first step is to get out of his tiny town and study in England for the semester with his best friend, Max. Little did he know three short months would change his whole life. Harlyn Evans is really good at taking care of everyone else. He's not as good at taking care of himself. And after a long semester of too many work hours, piles of schoolwork, and his family's host student freezing him out, he's wary when the new host student, Max, moves in for the term. But Max and his best friend draw him in in ways he never expected. As Finley and Harlyn get closer and try to figure out their feelings for each other, the end of the semester and Finley's return to the states looms in the distance. What will their future hold? COMPLETED: June 14, 2023 SMALL EDITS MADE: July 6, 2023

College football star Reid Donahue's comeback is documented by sports media head Jo Lawrence, but as sparks fly between them, Jo must navigate both her career ambitions and growing attraction to the reserved athlete. *** When college football superstar Reid Donahue is ready for a comeback following a gruesome injury, the university tasks their head of sports media for a season-long piece on Reid's return to glory. Jo Lawrence knows that doing this piece is her in for a post-grad job at ESPN and is determined to make her way through a notoriously male-dominated industry. But Reid - reserved and withdrawn since his injury - is making things difficult for Jo at every turn...including the wind sprints her heart seems to do every time he looks at her across the football field. *** [2024 WATTY WINNER] [Wattpad HQ pick January 2025 & June-July 2025] [6x featured story] [18+] Copyright 2023-2025 | Taylor Romagnoli [moonraess]

Alex Bates has had more than enough of life. Plagued with the agonising guilt of being the cause for his sister's recent death, he's heading down a destructive path. But just as he is about to give into the urge to jump in front of an oncoming train, he's interrupted by a girl. Shy and observant Kalila Woods knows that no words can stop him so she only hands him a packet of Skittles and walks away. And so begins an unlikely friendship. She's on a mission to convince him of the many reasons to live and he's on a journey to find himself along the way. And maybe, just maybe, Alex will realise that dying isn't quite worth it.

When Dallas Cooper stages a fake relationship with her enemy Amara Singh to get revenge on their exes, the last thing she's prepared for is their feud-ridden hatred turning into love. Standalone in the Sunset Scandals series *** Dallas Cooper hates Amara Singh. After their infamous feud over volleyball captain, she'd do anything to avoid her arch-nemesis. So when she's dumped by her first love, only to learn that her ex has moved on with none other than Amara's on-again, off-again ex-girlfriend, things feel like they can't get any worse. Except now Amara and Dallas have something in common. And with little risk and a lot to gain, they agree to a foolproof plan: pretend to be a couple to get revenge. As the unlikely duo spend time together, shocking the whole school with their picture-perfect romance, the line between ruse and real starts to blur. What happens when falling for each other is no longer part of an act? Will Dallas and Amara give in to their undeniable chemistry, or will their hatred-filled past and suspicious exes manage to tear them apart?

Brea Lancaster may have been born in the country, but she is a city girl through and through. She is stylish, influential, and loves the excitement that the party life has to offer. When she receives a call from her brother, who she hasn't spoken to in years, she is forced to return to her small country town that she hasn't been back to visit for almost a decade. Glendale is far from the pretty lights and vibrant parties of the city that Brea is used to. Especially the people in town. When Brea runs into-quite literally-her brother's nemesis and childhood friend, Zander, Brea starts to wonder whether everything she has grown up to think of Glendale may not to be true. This is a contemporary romance about a girl learning there is more to life than what meets the eye, and realizing how incredible but terrifying, falling in love is. A steamy, small town, brother's rival romance.

Emily and River meet in Miami, where they have the time of their lives, but it isn't meant to be: the next morning, Emily leaves for San Francisco, leaving both their hearts broken. They don't think they'll ever see each other again. Emily goes back to the privileged life with her parents. There, a plan is set up for her to marry Jason in order to save the business of both their parents. River remains in Miami with his little sister, while struggling to provide a living for them both. It is then that he gets the chance of a lifetime, but it means giving up everything he loves. Then, against all expectations, Emily and River meet again a few months later... On her wedding day with someone else. ***** Featured on WattPad's @StoriesUndiscovered Featured on WattPad's @NA First place Lavender Awards First place Honour Awards First place Glitter Awards First place Blue Rose Awards First place Acheron Awards Second place The Soul Awards Honorable Mention Ohana Awards #8 in #youngromance (September 4, 2020) Cover by @dysanic "So awesome. Can't wait to read more! [heart]" - carolinegraced "I'm so hooked already" - a_lost_feather "From the summary I had a lot of expectation of a one night stand, one and done type of thing with drama to follow up in later chapters. What I got was something different. The beautiful descriptions of the beach town made me feel warm and cozy and kept me reading until these two characters were introduced. I thought their meeting was innocent and sweet, not what I was expecting. It was really good." - CourtneyPeterman0