book 1 of the windows of the soul duology ✿ ✿ ✿ lucent: softly bright or radiant ✿ ✿ ✿ My brother's hand traces the cut on my right cheek for some minutes. I have no idea how a cut can be so interesting, but I won't judge a book by its cover. He unexpectedly moves and places a heartwarming kiss on my crown, brushing through the strands of my hair. But what startles me the most, is when he speaks, "Duerme bien, mi niña bonita." And just as I wasn't able to sleep hours ago because of my stupid fear, I let myself fall into a dreamless sleep as his soothing voice travels through my ears. ✿ ✿ ✿ Layla Rivera. A young naive fourteen-year-old who's just lost her childhood best friend and guardian. She's anxious and timid when meeting other people, so she usually cowers and distracts herself, immerse between the pages of books. When she is thrown into the lion's den - or also named as her older brothers' house - she's left fearful and intimidated by the six foot three males who she never had a clue about. Trying to make sense of what her new life will bring while being unaware of the dangers her new home beholds, she tries to make her way into her new family, but it doesn't seem as easy as she expected, or is it? ©️juststarsandbooks All written works on this account belong to Juststarsandbooks. I do not condone any reproduction/duplication of this book anywhere - app, website, etc - without my consent. Pics aren't mine.

Bronwyn Larson has spent her whole life not depending on her mother, a constantly recovering addict, until the moment her life was literally torn apart when an EF4 tornado ripped through their trailer park and her mom is found dead, miles away after the storm. Suddenly, her estranged father is a part of her life, a prominent state senator who's been absent since Bronwyn was born, a product of her parents' secretive affair. After living alone with her mother in a trailer for seventeen years, Bronwyn now has a stepmother and four new siblings, including an older brother and sister who seem skeptical, if not actually disproving, of Bronwyn living with them. While staying with them in their vacation lake house an hour away from what she called home, Bronwyn is hit with the bombshell that her mother's death is being treated as suspicious, with injuries inconsistent of being killed during the tornado. Estranged from everyone she knows, except her estranged new family, Bronwyn doesn't know who trust or who to believe about her mother's death. Torn between her life as the daughter of a single drug addict and the middle child of a well-respected senator, all while learning more about the mother she thought she knew, Bronwyn is forced to navigate through this new unfamiliar life alone, with this gut feeling she has. That her mother's killer isn't unfamiliar. 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐏𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐃 𝐌𝐀𝐘 18th 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐏𝐀𝐃 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐒 Cover designed by Ashley Bandy

Two years ago, the Kingston family learned what it meant to stumble through hell with battered hearts and betrayal running deep inside their veins. After barely making it out alive from the devastating consequences of a family history founded on lies and deceit, they slowly begin to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives in efforts to feel whole again. But as the remnants of their dark pasts continue to haunt their healing hearts, they are forced to come to the realization that sometimes, the aftermath can be just as deadly as the nightmare. [This is the spin-off to Caged + Freed, it cannot be read as a stand-alone] • • • Contains sensitive material (no cliches). Copyright © 2021 by luxedreams. All rights reserved.

Heartbroken after the betrayal of those who once meant everything to her, Isabella begins to pave her own path to freedom as she realizes that shared blood doesn't always mean family. And family doesn't always mean love. [This is the sequel to Caged. It cannot be read as a stand-alone] • • • Contains sensitive material (no cliches). Copyright © 2021 by luxedreams. All rights reserved.

They will claim to be her salvation as they take her through hell. Left in the care of her brothers, Isabella starts to realize this as the truth begins to crack the surface of all that she has left and she realizes there is no escape. • • • A thriller/mystery based book about family. Contains sensitive material (no cliches). Copyright © 2020 by luxedreams. All rights reserved.

Forced into a marriage neither of them wanted, a fierce Greek mafia princess and a ruthless Sicilian underboss must navigate a storm of power, passion, and betrayal-only to discover that their greatest battle might be against their own hearts. *** They hated each other from the moment they met, but little did they know, they were destined to be together. Millicent Rhea Darmos: Princess of the Greek Mafia. At 25 years old, she's established herself as a self proclaimed boss bitch, running her own publishing company. But now it's time she fulfils her duty to her family's organisation. It's time she gets married. Costantino Salvatore Accardi: Underboss and Heir to the Sicilian Mafia. At 28 years old, he has no interest in settling down-he already has it all. He believes in family above all, so why bring in an outsider? Yet, after a strange string of events, the two of them find themselves thrust into married life. It's full of chaos, drama and all kinds of tension. The question is, how do they survive their marriage and the storm that follows? *** "I've never kissed anyone." My voice trembled with a tinge of vulnerability - something I hated. But Costa didn't seem to mind that I was nervous or anxious. "Good. You're mine." He spoke so seriously, without a flicker of doubt as he took my hand in his. "So you want it be special, principessa?" "Every girl's first kiss is special." I whispered, watching as he brought my hand up to his lips. "I only care about yours."

*FICTION AWARDS CHICKLIT WINNER 2017* Lies. Betrayal. Secrets. Corruption. Just your average day in an American corporation. Sebastian Harrison has successfully secured his spot as Harrison Incorporated's Chief Executive Officer. And although the goal has been achieved, it is only the beginning. With him and Leslie King on rocky ground and his father still trying to influence the future of Sebastian's company, Sebastian feels caught between doing the right thing and the safe thing. But when Leslie begins to show interest in Colombian Bachelor, Alejandro Quintanilla - nephew to Salvador Quintanilla, an important partner to Harrison Inc. - Sebastian struggles to put his money where his mouth is. And when it comes to Leslie whose budding new love interest and family intrusions have kept her busy, it's hard for Sebastian to step back and accept what never became. However, time can only conceal for so long, and in the midst of Sebastian's new position and Leslie's new relationship, it is inevitable that the past will come find it's way seeping through the cracks of the locked chest. Especially when this said chest has secrets being kept for each other's own good. ** Link to "The Harrison Inc. Series: Under New Management" trailer: https://youtu.be/qJ-wiSFflBQ

(Rewritten version of 'Playboy Rehab' - Wattys 2014 Winner) Leslie King is a publicist nestled in the heart of Los Angeles representing Garrett Harrison, president of Harrison Incorporated - one of the world's leading real estate and brokerage empires. Having had Garrett Harrison as her client for years, she has grown used to the uniformity in her job - not to mention the uniformity in her personal life. However, when Garrett Harrison shares the news of his retirement, Leslie's professional and personal life becomes anything but the harmonious routine she has grown used to. Sebastian Harrison - handsome Hollywood playboy and the youngest son of Garrett Harrison - enters Leslie's life in the most unusual of ways as she is asked to turn the King of Debauchery into a man fit and trusted enough to become the CEO of Harrison Incorporated. Even though Leslie vows to fulfill the expectations of the task handed to her, she soon discovers that Sebastian Harrison's past is darker and more complicated than what she has read and researched about him. Now, Leslie is caught between satisfying the expectations of her job description and helping the mysterious and twisted spirit that Sebastian Harrison possesses. Regardless of what choice she makes, Leslie knows that there is more to Sebastian Harrison than she could have ever prepared herself for.

#1 in humor, action, and romance ❝Octavia Snow, you're going to have to come with me,❞ the stranger said with an amused look. ❝No thanks, I'm really not a big fan of kidnapping.❞ ❝Sorry Cupcake. You don't have a choice.❞ --- OCTAVIA SNOW is a sassy, sarcastic, and perpetually hungry college student who is kidnapped by the CIA. ACE BLACKWELL is the leader of this highly deadly team, not to mention, he's the one who decided to kidnap Octavia. Together, a world-renowned agent, an infamous thief, a powerful mafia leader, a deadly assassin...and a teenage girl are forced to work together to stop the crime of the century. READERS' REVIEWS "By far my favorite book on wattpad." "My new standard of guys is Ace Blackwell." "I'm laughing, I'm crying, and I'm loving this." Started in December 2017

"Little Valerie," said Kai, bending closer to me. "Are you blackmailing me into dating you?" He didn't seem particularly disturbed by the notion. In fact, he remained completely amused. "Yes?" Kai grinned. "Very mafia of you. I'm weirdly kind of into it." *** When Valerie Williams discovers that her long-term boyfriend is sleeping with her best friend, she devises a revenge plot to get back at them both. But when she asks bad boy Kai Delaney to pretend to date her, she never thought her heart would be on the line. *** Self-proclaimed pessimist Valerie Williams is definitely your glass-half-empty kind of girl. However, Valerie is surprisingly optimistic when her (ex) boyfriend cheats on her with her (also ex) best friend. Valerie doesn't believe in holding grudges; she believes in getting even. Which doesn't seem easy, until her boyfriend's least favourite person and her best friend's long-standing crush, the sarcastic, cocky and popular bad boy extraordinaire Kai Delaney crashes, quite literally, into her life. When Kai accidentally hits her car with what is practically a monster truck, and can barely afford to cover it, Valerie has an idea. If Kai agrees to pretend to date her, for long enough to make her boyfriend and best friend regret their actions, Valerie will give him the duration of their scam to pull together the money to pay her back. Revenge is a dish best served fake. [150,000-200,000 words]