❝Why do you have a tongue piercing?❞ I asked, observing the other piercings he had and the designs inked on his skin. I'd never seen so much work done on one person before. ❝What's the purpose?❞ A playful grin quirked on to his lips, challenging me. ❝Would you rather I tell you or show you its purpose?❞ ♡♡♡♡ Set in the years 1987-1993 At nineteen-years-old, Sophia Álvarez has everything a girl her age could ever want. A trustworthy best friend, high markings in her college classes, and a loving family. Everything in her world is calm and full of structure. She's content with what the universe has served her until one fateful night causes her to cross paths with a mysterious man. After only one interaction with the tattooed and mean-spirited college senior, Bryce Matthews, Sophia's life suddenly changes from being calm to being chaotic. Their love is just as undeniable as it is dangerous. Bryce smuggles kilos into the California coast, and with his job comes serious trouble. He's everything she shouldn't want. In the end, it's their differences that charge their relationship, adding fuel to the fire and giving them a reason to fight for their love. But when dark pasts, obsessive exes, and deceptive friends threaten their relationship and their lives, will Sophia draw the line and say enough is enough or will she stick around for the long haul? ♡♡♡♡ HIGHEST RANKING: #1 in Diverse Lit 1/3/19 #2 in Teen Fiction 11/13/18 #1 in Completed #9 in ChickLit 11/18/18 #1 in Crime

The story of Dakota and Silvia continues in the sequel, Dismissing Dakota. ⚠️ DO NOT read the summary unless you want to be spoiled. None of this book makes sense if you haven't read Disarming Dakota ⚠️ Silvia Ellington is crushed by what she has just learned. A revelation she wasn't expecting has been thrown on her lap for everyone in town to see. Dakota is now a stranger - and Silvia wants to keep it that way. As weeks pass, Silvia can't help but miss the bad boy she's dismissed so easily. But she knows what she's done is the right decision. Soon enough, something more sinister begins to brew in the town of Crescent Heights. Silvia's trust in Dakota gets tests once more when the truth is revealed. Silvia OWN hidden past from Maine may not remain a secret for long either.

Why wasn't I moving anymore? I'd gone still, muddled as what I should do. My eyes swept up off my body and on to the boy, catching a breath in my throat when he smirked in my direction, flicking two fingers two in the air. "Hi," I read his lips. Helplessly, I become entangled in his soft spoken greeting, taking the first leap to the captivating boy in the corner. I decided he was beautiful enough to become my distraction. My own little addiction until I left the safety of the pretend world we were all playing make-believe in. --------- Right when Silvia Ellington is about to start her senior year, her mother decides to have her move in with her aloof father and his "perfect" family in California. She promises to be on her best behavior, and for the most part, she's able to keep her snappy attitude in check...until she ends up going to a party one chilly night. In the adolescent madness, she finds a tattooed boy named Dakota. He's ungodly tall and has crystal blue eyes that can sway any good girl to do bad things. When they first meet, he makes it his job to show that he doesn't like Silvia. And he's got reasons. All she has to do is disarm this bad boy and unlock the secrets he's keeping deep inside. Before they know it, Silvia and Dakota embark on an emotional roller-coaster of a relationship that is bound to ruin a few lives. But when Silvia's own secrets come knocking on her door, will it tear them apart or will love prevail? HIGHEST RANKING: #1 in Action #2 in Humor #2 in Teen Fiction #1 in Drama #8 in Romance