Romance novels lied. The nerd doesn't always end up with the bad boy. Sometimes she's just an aroace bookworm trying to survive high school, pay rent, maintain a scholarship, and mourn fictional characters like they were real people. Eliza Avellins has neither the desire nor the time for romance. Unfortunately, the universe keeps throwing people into her life anyway - especially one annoyingly persistent extrovert who seems determined to become her friend. She wishes he'd stop trying. He wishes she'd stop running away. Neither of them is getting what they want. Magnificent banner by @bookishnxrd. previously The Nerd in the Corner #1 in socialanxiety

** 18+ Toxic Romantasy** **Thieves Guilds, Nobles, Fantasy Races, Magic** Growing up in the criminal underworld of Tide Gate shaped them both into monsters, yet their darkness is nothing alike. He's lethal control. She's devastating chaos. Known as The Ghost, Reed drags himself through life, half-dead from a mysterious illness that deteriorates his body and haunts his mind, yet nothing can stop him from taking what he wants. Cold, calculated, and ruthless, Reed is already the city's most feared assassin and the next in line to rule the Crimson Syndicate. But his ambition is never satisfied. Nyx is a loose cannon. Unpredictable and volatile. Her presence unsettles even those closest to her, yet her danger has an allure. She is poison that tastes of honey. Freedom is all she dreams of, desperate to outrun the ghosts of her past, but she remains a prisoner of the guild and her own unraveling mind. But beneath the blood and the lies, only they understand the darkness in each other. What starts out as a vicious struggle for power and freedom soon spirals into a storm of love and toxic obsession. As long-kept secrets unravel and ancient curses awaken, they must survive not only the enemies closing in, but also a deadly love that refuses to die, no matter how dark the night becomes.

🏆 22 AWARDS' WINNER 🏆 Ever since she was young, Melinda Grey knew she had a great destiny waiting for her. As a magical prodigy the likes of which the grand country of Obscuria had rarely seen, she had spent years and years training among those like her to preserve its glory. Unfortunately, when a great war led by a sorcerer named Patrick Hemingway manages to be worse than almost four decades of terror, causing Melinda to be faced with an evil she never could have imagined, the whole world is in danger of being ruined. However, that's only the tip of the iceberg. The trauma of a war-ridden country and many scarred psyches echoes throughout all facets of life, more horrible than the darkest of magic, especially as Melinda battles her dark side, searching for a way to preserve her tainted soul even as eldritch forces from above lead her astray, promising to reveal to her the secrets of the divine. Struggling against all odds, she gathers all her loved ones for a last stand, but will it be enough with all the odds stacked up against them?

When Brie lands a spot on Cheese Whiz, a cheese-themed cooking competition, the last thing she expects is to run into Colby Jackson, the man who left her heart with more holes than Swiss cheese. ~~~ It was supposed to be simple. Enter the contest, win the prize money, open her own restaurant. Easy peasy, extra cheesy. So of course Colby freaking Jackson and his smug, entirely too sexy face just had to come back into Brie's life like an extra stinky wheel of limburger cheese. Surrounded by fierce competitors and legendary amounts of dairy, Brie and Colby exchange barbs sharper than any cheddar. Yet, as the competition heats up, Brie quickly discovers the mozzarella isn't the only thing melting. Against her better judgment, Colby is once again worming his way into her heart. Will Brie find a whey to make things work between them, or will he leave her feeling bleu? 🧀 Rivals to lovers 🧀 Second chance romance 🧀 All puns are fully intended ONC 2026 4th place winner! Cover and banner by @-DeeIsDead-

BOOK ONE Atlas Hawthorne, one of five pillars chosen to save humanity, embarks on a mind-bending mission to terraform Earth. Equipped with all the tools necessary for success, Atlas and her four companions lead a team back to their home, determined to restore it to its former glory and amidst the scientific challenges, monsters, and triumphs of restoring the ravaged planet; Atlas unexpectedly finds love, adding another layer of complexity to their already monumental task. ATTENTION: I OWN ALL RIGHTS TO THIS STORY (including the book cover)- DO NOT use without permission or legal action will be taken! WARNINGS: 18+, Blood, Gore, Violence, Death, War, Self harm, Explicit Scenes

Kayla, anti-romantic creator of a 26th-century matchmaking system, has to confront Analyst Mathew's theories on love and soulmates in order to defend her life's work from becoming a business disaster. ｡ ✴︎ ⋆⚛ 🤖 ⚛⋆ ✴︎ ｡ Kayla Lacson is the brilliant mind behind Dorothea, the most advanced AI dating application of the 26th century, designed to calculate compatibility with extraordinary precision. She trusts data, logic, and predictable outcomes, believing that love is a biological equation that can be solved. Mathew Matel is a Behavioral Analyst as brilliant as Kayla is. He joins her team, and his theories on love and soulmates challenge her belief systems. And when Dorothea's latest revision loses public trust and corporate pressure mounts, he becomes the catalyst that pushes Kayla to uncover the flaws in her creation and fracture her carefully structured world. Despite Dorothea's calculation of their incompatibility, Kayla is drawn to Mathew. Flashes of his face begin to haunt her as she tries to untangle his unexplainable familiarity. And soon she must decide whether love is something to manipulate or something she must surrender to. ｡ ✴︎ ⋆⚛ 🤖 ⚛⋆ ✴︎ ｡ ONC 2026 Round 1 Winner and Ambassador Pick Round 2 Winner and Ambassador Pick Round 3 Qualifier and Longlister ｡ ✴︎ ⋆⚛ 🤖 ⚛⋆ ✴︎ ｡ Genres: Romance SciFi Speculative Fiction Unconventional SciFi Hard SciFi Slow Burn Romance

𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘤 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘺 When a sentient shooting star crash lands into Carolina Callista's gardens claiming that a great danger is coming, she doesn't quite know what to think. Especially not when the star -- who answers to the name Whimsy -- is unlike any moonchild she has ever met before. Soon enough, Caroline is utterly transfixed. But it'll take more than the pair's growing connection to save the moonchildren from what's to come. Which just begs the question: what sort of magic does it take to banish monsters born from nightmares? DISCLAIMER: 100% of this work belongs to duckywritez. This story is entirely original and human made. Absolutely no AI was used in any part of the creative process.

A one piece fanfic. What if Uta,had not been alone ,what if she made a crew and spread her music all around the world. What would happen? Will she achieve her dreams or see them shattered ? Read to find out. Arc 1 of the story has ended. Arc 2 of the story has started(Water 7 arc)

[NEW 2026] The Ambassadors are searching the community right now, scouting stories to bring you a fresh lineup of recommendations. Discover new writers, new voices, and maybe even your next favorite read with us.

'Monsters shouldn't have faces' But they wear my masks. A marionette bending to the will of her buyers strings. Playing right into their little dance. Until i realised it wasn't a game and i was an expendable pawn. A rough pair of hands snapping my head back at a weird angle gave me that clarity. Dragging my limp body away before I even hit the ground. In the bitter winter of 1888, Cassandra Thawne vanished from her family estate. To the world of heavy skirts and caged smiles laced with poison, she was a flighty girl escaping her father's doting care. But her sister's hunch that it was a cover up got out of hand as a trail of stolen correspondence urged an application for Blackwater. The one place a lady cannot go. Sheared hair and donning her brother's discarded uniform did NOTHING to dissuade Julian, a persistent meddler in her late night searches. Who'd saw through her act the moment she set foot in his territory. Just her luck, that this dogged man was illustrious, magnetic and unpredictable. The student party hung on his word like it was gospel and her professors couldn't praise him enough. Elara knew there was more to him. He spoke to her as an enigma would. A dusty book begging to be cracked open. "You're out late, Thawne," Julian whispers, his voice vibrating in the small space she was occupying, grating on her nerves. He didn't look at her yet, but his hand lingered on the shelf, effectively pinning them in. "Or should I say you're up to no good, looking for something that doesn't want to be found?" he scoffs, staring down at her with a heated glare. "Maybe it's a someone," she sneered up at him, her retort dripped with malice, hoping to puncture his rotten heart. He seemed so taken aback by her vicious response that he offered no resistance as she shoved past, not sparing him another second.