Madelyn Chung is one of the best clinical psychology PhD students Harvard has ever seen--the most controversial, too. After discovering academic fraud conducted by Harvard's star faculty, Dr. Charlotte Shelby, her future career seems uncertain as whispers accuse her of being a burdensome whistleblower. With a potentially groundbreaking research project in the line, she is appointed to work with Dr. Alex Manning, Harvard's young neuroscientist and professor who revolutionized several research in his field. A life-changing opportunity for Maddie--but she must deal with the fact that Alex was one of Charlotte's past collaborators, and his career was at stake because of the scandal. Maddie has always been careful when trudging through endless hours of clinical shifts and research. But when she doesn't know if the longing stares from Alex every time he tries to make her life harder are an indication of hatred, or if they mean something else, she starts to feel unprepared. Because Maddie knows she is a falling star, and if she holds onto the fragile trust between her and Alex too tightly, she will only fall harder.

When college junior Maddie Arden catches her hockey-star boyfriend cheating, she turns her viral breakup into a power move-by getting herself hired as the team's new social media manager. Armed with a camera, a grudge, and her sharpest comebacks, Maddie infiltrates the locker room drama with one goal: make Austin regret ever messing with her. But revenge gets complicated when Nate Kincaid, the team's quiet backup goalie, volunteers for a fake relationship that quickly starts to feel a little too real. As locker room secrets unravel and team tensions rise, Maddie must decide if getting even is worth risking the one guy who might be worth falling for.

18+ | 2026 WATTYS SHORTLISTER | First Draft | Not edited. |"You gonna sit there all night?" Luka glances at me, smirking. I glare back. "I was enjoying the last few seconds of peace before having to spend an evening pretending to like you." "That's funny," he says, unbuckling his seatbelt. "Why?" I snap. "Because I was thinking the same thing." | The rules? Easy enough. 1. Pretend to be the perfect couple. 2. Keep it professional. 3. And whatever you do, don't. catch. feelings. Simple, right? Sofia Calloway never planned on going viral for throwing a drink in Luka Mikhaylov's face. But one video, one pissed-off hockey star, and one furious university later... she's suddenly stuck in a fake relationship with the guy she can't stand. He needs to clean up his image before the NHL draft. She needs the free tuition that comes with the deal. All they have to do is smile for the cameras, hold hands at the games, and act like they don't want to strangle each other. Then come the late-night arguments that last too long. The stolen glances that feel too dangerous. The moment where "pretend" starts looking way too real. Because when you break the rules, someone's bound to lose. And this time, it might be both of them.

𝟏𝟖+| 2026 WATTYS SHORTLISTER | A spicy enemies-to-lovers romance with a fake marriage contract trope. To find her missing best friend, Sofia Reyes is forced to marry her arrogant boss, only to realize her entire life has been built on lies. Can be read as a Standalone. || Book 1 of The Kiss Clause Series ************ Sofia Reyes has fought her way to the top of New York's legal scene, hiding scars she can't fully remember. But just as she's about to claim the promotion for Junior Partner she's worked so hard for, her best friend, and her boss's fiancée, Kiara, disappears. This forces Sofia into a marriage she never asked for; an alliance bound by secrets, contracts, and survival. Xavier Kingston is everything she loathes: ruthless, cunning, and impossibly arrogant. Yet behind his cold, calculating exterior lies a hunger for something real, something neither of them dares to admit. As Sofia navigates their fake marriage, the line between duty and desire blurs dangerously. Their chemistry ignites, but the truths Sofia uncovers: about the law firm, Kiara's disappearance, and her own hidden past, threaten to destroy everything. In a world of billion-dollar deals, betrayals, and forbidden glances, love might just be the deadliest game of all. **Cover image by Freepik** ** @TheWattys 2026 Shortlister in Romance (Mature) ** ** @TheWattys 2025 Shortlister in Romance ** **@TheAmbys 2025 Favorites (Top pick) in Romance**

Danica Miller is burnt out. She should be overjoyed that the app she started a decade ago has blown up and made her the darling of the tech world. Instead she is uninspired, running on fumes and dry cheerios. On top of the growing pains of dealing with her quickly expanding company and a lake house remodel, she is now faced with her high school sweetheart she swore she would never see again. Samuel Cane looks like he was created in a lab for superheroes. Tall, handsome and a winning smile. A new expansion team for the NHL brings him back home where he is named captain, effectively making him the city's new golden boy. As much as Danica wishes to never see his face again, fate just has other plans. This is a dual POV, second chance romance.

[WATTY'S 2026 SHORTLISTS] Sophia Honey never expected college to mean sharing an apartment with her childhood nemesis. ~~~ Freshman Sophia Honey never imagined her brother would stick her with Theo Gray-his best friend and her childhood nemesis-as her roommate. But things get complicated fast. Theo, with his shirtless mornings, flirty remarks, and those intense stares, pushes all of her buttons. Just when Sophia thinks she can handle their awkward living arrangement, she discovers he's not just popular-he's one of the hottest seniors on campus. And as the star of the hockey team, his status skyrockets, forcing her to tread carefully around him to avoid drama. But drama comes knocking When Sophia lands a side gig with the seniors in her photography department to make some extra cash, she doesn't expect her first assignment to be Theo Gray shirtless in front of her camera. She definitely doesn't expect him to say yes with that smug grin-and one condition. What he wants in return? Not money. Something else. Something dangerous. As the photo sessions begin, so does the unraveling. Their banter becomes charged. His touches linger a little too long. Her defenses are violently slipping. ​Then comes the night the mask shatters. When Theo stumbles home drunk, his eyes glassy and his defenses down, he confesses a truth that breaks every version of him Sophia thought she knew. ​Gone is the boy who teased her growing up. This Theo is raw, complex, and beautifully broken in places she never noticed before. ​Suddenly, Sophia wants things she never dared to dream of. His kisses. His hands on her skin. His body-yes-but also his secrets, his pain... him. What started as a paycheck has become a dangerous line they can't stop crossing, forcing her to realize the most terrifying truth of all: ​What if falling for Theo Gray was the real assignment all along?

They say revenge is best served cold... and she's about to serve the best platter yet. Savannah Bristow wasn't the reckless type, but after catching her boyfriend in bed with her cousin-then finding out he's marrying her-she refuses to show up to their wedding alone. She needs a charming, bright smile, clean cut man to make her family swoon and make her ex regret ever losing her. She matched with the perfect guy for the job, but that isn't who showed up to meet her. In his place was his best friend. Jaxon Cage. The tattooed, illegally handsome, sharp-tongued menace who tormented her through high school-the last person she ever wanted to be dating, fake or not. But Jaxon's not the same boy she remembers. Beneath the cocky smirk is a man carrying his own demons, and when he offers to show her how to bring a man to his knees, the lessons start to cross a line neither of them ever expected to. Now Jaxon can't tell where the act ends and the truth begins, and it doesn't take long for him to realize that she might be the one he'd ever fall to his knees for. --- Fake dating. Hate to love. One wedding, one bet, and one very bad idea. Show Me How is a steamy, addictive university romance about second chances, past scars, and the moment a good girl decides to be bad for all the right reasons. ----- HIGHEST RANKINGS #1 in Fake Dating of 5.82K stories #26 in Forced Proximity of 7.58K stories #4 in Black Women of 15.8K stories #77 in Romcom of 37.6K stories #32 in Hate to Love of 26.2K stories #1 in Dating App of 467 stories #1 in Novel November of 28 stories #1 in Tattoos of 9.2K stories

Solana Campbell never asked to be famous. She just wanted to write, maybe pay rent on time, then go back to writing and avoiding drama like it's her job. Quinton Dynevor is London's favorite scandal. He's seen as arrogant, ill-tempered, and a playboy. Unfortunately for him, his scandals won't get him signed to his dream team. And thanks to one ill-timed photo, the internet is convinced they're a couple. He needs to fix his image. She needs a book deal. It's supposed to be an arrangement: public smiles, private distance, mutual gain. But in the quiet moments between flashes and lies, Solana starts to wonder if there's something real behind the performance. And Quinton? He's starting to forget where the act ends. Fake hand-holding starts feeling a little too real. Private jokes become habit, and the line between pretending and wanting disappears completely After all, the goal was never to fall in love.

[Slow Brew Series 2 of 2] [Completed] Bea's dream was always to open a cozy, charming little book cafe. My dream-me, Jules, it's my story now, bitches-was to avoid unnecessary stress, talking about my own feelings, and James Hale. So naturally, the universe decided to shove all three onto my lap. Now I'm thrust into managing Beaumont's Books & Brews-aka Bea's pride and joy (aka the haunted mess of a coffee shop we're scrubbing, gutting, and dragging into existence from the afterlife). Which would be great... if she didn't have to share the title of "co-owner" with a walking migraine in designer loafers. James Hale. My archnemesis. My best friend's boyfriend's brother. Also, somehow, my boss. We made out once. It was a mistake. A moment of weakness. A tragedy for the history books. And now he's here. Every day. Breathing my air, drinking sugary, over-creamed monstrosities he dares to call coffee, and always-always smirking at me. I take my coffee black. No syrup. No foam art. No pulling out emotional baggage mid-espresso. The way coffee should be. Just pure, tasteful pleasure-with a bitter finish. Welcome to Beaumont's. May the odds be ever in my favor. [2 of 2: Slow Brew Series] Dual POV | Romantic Comedy | Coffee Shop Romance 18+ for suggestive dialogue, some explicit scenes, language

𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬: 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐧𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥, 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚. When she agrees to tutor the university's star basketball player for forty dollars an hour, she's only thinking about one thing-the money. What she doesn't expect is Kenji Nakamura: 6'5" of tattoos, silence, and ego wrapped in a designer hoodie. He's used to girls falling at his feet. She charges him a late fee. He wants her number. She Venmo requests him instead. He's never had to work for anyone's attention. She's never had time to give it. Kenji doesn't do feelings. He does highlights, endorsements, and whatever it takes to make it to the NBA. But Destiny Morrison-with her sharp tongue, her bonnets, and her complete lack of interest in his fame-is the first person who's ever looked at him and seen just... a guy. And that terrifies him. Because for the first time in his life, Kenji Nakamura is falling first. And falling 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥. 𝐒𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝. 𝐇𝐞'𝐬 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠.