She was four when they send her away . One misunderstanding. One signature. And her entire existence was cut clean from the family record. China became a holding cell. A hostel with hidden walls. That place swallowed children whole. Those who broke were buried. Those who survived... learned to kill. Yihun became one of the survivors. Raised by the underground syndicates of Europe, she sharpened into a weapon built of cold precision, selfish ambition, and a rage that never slept. She killed for money. She killed because it was the only language she was allowed to learn. Revenge became oxygen. So when they gave her the ultimate contract - assassinate the most powerful mafia lord in Asia - she said yes without hesitation. She didn't know she shared his blood. Kim Namjoon. Her brother. Twelve years lost between them. Just when the kill was in her scope... everything twisted. A deal with the police. A new mission. A new hell. She must infiltrate their world as a spy - living under the same roof as the family that abandoned her - appearing like a normal girl while carrying the scars of a trained predator. But in this empire, trust does not exist. And every smile hides a blade. This is a story about blood, betrayal and the kind of darkness that never lets you sleep. A BTS brothers mafia universe. Cover by user_thv.

In the glittering ballrooms of Regency England, widows are expected to mourn quietly, smile politely, and disappear into the shadows. They do. That's precisely why no one notices them. After the sudden death of her cruel husband, Lady Evelyn Harrington believes her nightmare has finally ended. Instead, an unsigned black invitation draws her into a hidden world that has existed for centuries, where mourning veils conceal dangerous secrets and justice is delivered far from the eyes of society. When a relentless Crown investigator begins unraveling a string of mysterious deaths among England's nobility, Evelyn finds herself caught between two impossible choices: protect the women who gave her freedom... or expose the truth that could destroy them all. But the deeper the investigation goes, the clearer one truth becomes. Some monsters wear titles. And some heroes wear black. ───⋆·✦·⋆───•───⋆·✦·⋆───•───⋆·✦·⋆───•───⋆·✦·⋆─── This book is written for TEGSA hosted by @AprilJester ───⋆·✦·⋆───•───⋆·✦·⋆───•───⋆·✦·⋆───•───⋆·✦·⋆───

Grace Keller built her life on control; it was the only thing keeping everything from falling apart. That is, until Julie Monroe crashed into it like she had no intention of leaving. Loud, impulsive and stubbornly kind, Julie takes no hints and doesn't know when to stop - the kind of person who leaves notes for strangers and brings home things no one else wants. Grace hates everything about her - the way she blasts music in public, the way she inserts herself where she doesn't belong and somehow makes it feel like she does, the way she tells the truth when she really shouldn't. The way her chaos makes Grace's carefully tailored mask crumble and expose the parts of her no one was meant to see. Most of all, she hates how quickly she started needing her. But some secrets aren't meant to be shared. Someone is watching. Someone who knows exactly how far Grace will go to survive - and won't hesitate to push her further. For the first time, though, surviving doesn't feel like enough. Now she's forced to choose: she can keep her secrets; or she can keep Julie. She doesn't get both. ~ Estimated word count: 80k Reached The Original Muse Awards Shortlist

(HONORABLE MENTION) Rik Sandro is a dimension traveller. Jumping from one version of the world to another was intriguing at first, until he discovered he can never go home. Now all these new beginnings are just a pain. Maybe it's time to stay in one place. Maybe it's time to settle down. Maybe it's time to fall in love. However, when his latest lover is murdered, Rik fears that he's being stalked and now, he might not have any control over how, where, or when, his life will end. (HONORABLE MENTION and ROUND TWO WINNER ONC2021 ) A clockpunk adventure, my entry for the ONC 2021. (Clockpunk / LGBTQ / Romance / Horror)

Jareth Coppersmith and Pol Flynt have one thing in common. They kill for a living. One works for GAME, the powerful Guild of Airship Mechanics and Engineers and the other, for the Royal Spymaster. But what happens when they are unknowingly sent on the same secret mission? At best they are rivals, at worst, mortal enemies. SciFi / Thriller/ Steampunk/ LGBT

Los Angeles, 1986. The city of bright lights, big dreams, and even bigger heartbreaks. When Nina lands a modeling contract in LA, she's thrown headfirst into a world of flashing cameras, ruthless competition, and a loneliness she never expected. Then she meets Rex - the magnetic lead singer of a rock band on the edge of their big break. He's charming, reckless, impossible to ignore... and exactly the kind of trouble she promised herself to avoid. As Nina fights to survive the brutal modeling industry, builds new friendships, and tries to find her place in a city that never stops moving, one question keeps echoing through the noise: Will she be strong enough to stay true to herself - or will she lose herself in the very dream she came here to chase?

⟢ ˓ 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐨 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 is a ❝ 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 ❞ playlist shop for 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 and 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬. ˙ . ꒷ ﾒ . ⋮ Whether your 𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥 feels 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦, 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐠𝐢𝐜, or quietly 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥, each 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 is designed to capture its 𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 through 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜. ⌓⌓‎ ᨳິ ׂ Thoughtfully 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 and carefully 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝, every 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 is created to feel like a 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 of the 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 you're telling. .ᐟ ֹ ₊ ⥃ ⿻ ﹗ 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐨 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬. Where 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 become 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝. ᶻz ◜

Jordyn wanted a better life. Desirée wanted a different one. Neither expected to wake up in each other's. Across a century, two women must navigate worlds that were never meant for them, one of glitter and survival, the other of silence and duty. But as they begin to change the lives they've stepped into, one question remains: When the chance comes...will they go back?

She arrives in the city hoping to disappear. After her older brother's sudden death, Katherine leaves behind the only home she has ever known, carrying nothing but grief and the belief that distance might quiet the past. In a place where no one knows her name, she builds a life in silence-working mornings in a small café on the edge of a busy financial district, learning how to exist without being seen. Before she leaves, she finds a hidden box in her brother's room. Inside are letters she was never meant to see. Most of them are simple at first-ordinary words, familiar handwriting, fragments of care she doesn't fully let herself read. She only opens a few before closing the box again, leaving the rest untouched as if keeping them sealed might keep something else from unraveling. In the city, life settles into routine. Early mornings. Familiar faces. The comfort of being unknown. It should be enough. But it isn't. A man begins to pass through her world each day-always at the same time, always just out of reach of notice. He does not speak to her. He does not look at her like she is anything more than part of the background. And she does not recognize him. Not once. And yet, something about his presence begins to linger where memory should be clear. As fragments of her brother's past begin to surface in small, unsettling ways, Katherine starts to understand that distance does not always mean escape-and some things follow you quietly, long after you think you've left them behind.

When Letitia Sharpe is pursued by her odious guardian, coerced to give him her hand in marriage, she flees to the only friend she has: the dashing Lord Archie Pemberton... her favorite author. Except the man she flings herself onto isn't Lord Pemberton at all, but Robert Lilley, his beleaguered secretary. At first, pretending to be Lord Pemberton-- as Archibald commands-- is a bit of a lark. But then Robert finds he enjoys being able to take the credit for the books he wrote, and quickly realizes Letitia is far more brainy than Lord Pemberton and her guardian both assume. But he knows he can't fall in love with her-- she thinks he's Lord Pemberton, and Lord Pemberton is engaged. But when Letitia's guardian comes to take her away and wed her against her will, and Lord Pemberton's elegant fiance descends on Brook House, the truth will have to come out...