[2024 WATTYS SHORTLISTED] [18+] In the picturesque lakeside town, the calm waters mask the storm within Juniper Jenkins' heart. Betrayed and broken by her cheating boyfriend, she flees to the sanctuary of her friend's lakeside house, to work remotely for the summer. What she doesn't expect? Running into Wells Hansen-her rival from the Seattle Sun Times-of all people. And of all places, he's running the only coffee shop in town with decent Wi-Fi. She's sworn off men for the summer-pinky-promised no boys-with her two best friends. So there's no way she's breaking that pact. Not after what just happened. But fate doesn't care about pacts, and Juniper keeps bumping into Wells no matter how hard she tries not to. She resents him, and the feeling seems mutual. At least, that's what she believes.

Book 1 of the #PAIN series Whoever said academic rivals are a "vibe" deserves a punch in their face. For Park Mellon and Rainer Barcross, rivalry is religion. Since seventh grade, they've been locked in a war of grades, grit, and grudges. Now, with only one scholarship standing between them and their dream film school, their feud is about to turn cinematic. But beneath the sharp comebacks and staged indifference, there's something neither of them will admit: a tension too dangerous to name, and a history too raw to forget. Because when two people burn this bright, it's never just rivalry. It's survival. And at the end of every story like theirs, someone always gets scorched. Good boy x bad girl is adorable; bad boy x good girl is a loved cliche. But what about when they're both bad? Welcome to Pencils & Polaroids. It's a land of no heroes. Only villains.

Book 2 in #PAIN Series [This book is the sequel to Pencils & Polaroids. It cannot be read as a stand-alone. Since this part contains spoilers, it is advised to read Pencils & Polaroids first.] . . . They say every love story has a villain. But this is one with no heroes. At Ravenford, where ambition wears a crown and betrayal is the currency, Park Mellon returns, not as the girl who once believed in happy endings, but as the storm that comes after. Her heart, once golden, now beats in grayscale. Her mission is simple: destroy the boy who taught her love could bleed. Rainer Barcross has spent a year rebuilding himself from the wreckage he left behind. But when she walks back into his world, vengeance stitched into her smile, he realizes some ghosts don't stay buried; they just learn how to breathe fire. In this story, there are no heroes-only survivors. No villains-only the ones left standing when the war ends. No morals, because you'll never truly know who writes the story. Every line between love and ruin, guilt and glory, power and penance-is blurred. If the first book was enemies-to-lovers, this one is going to be ten times magnified with drama, romance, and blatant hatred. To make it spicier, play Taylor Swift's Reputation Era in the background, and you'll have yourself the very mood and setting of Book 2 in the #Pain Series - I welcome you to Snakes & Scoundrels! Cheers! 🐍

Aria Shah is a hopeless romantic. So when a handsome stranger falls on her balcony, she's convinced this might be the start of the breathtaking love she's only read about in books. Leo Aldridge, on the other hand, is a self-proclaimed realist determined to get her head out of the clouds and into the real world. Neither one of them expected what would happen next.

[neighbors/ single dad] After having her heart broken, the last thing Alexia expects is to befriend single dad Lucas, the hot neighbor carrying lots of baggage. He says they should be friends since they want different things from life. But as they spend more and more time together, will they be able to ignore their sizzling attraction? ***** Alexia Grey used to believe in soul mates and fairy tales, until her own prince charming broke her heart and self-confidence along with all the plans they had for their future. Deciding to move to another city to start over and build a new life, she's ready to focus on herself and her new job. What she's not ready for is to meet her new neighbor Lucas Hart, the single dad of the most adorable little boy. The nice guy with warm eyes, easy smiles, and a hot body that makes her mind go blank. They want different things from life. He's warned her he's full of baggage. However, neither of them can keep their distance. They say they should be friends, that friendship is simple. But how can two people be friends when they are clearly so attracted to each other? **NOTE: This is book one in the 'New Beginning Series' and can be read as a standalone.**

A tale in which a thief with a double life grudgingly becomes a hero. ➳ Liana Mason has a life anyone would envy. Nobody suspects that the once orphaned girl grew up to be the city's notorious vigilante. She has been fine walking on the edge of morality for much of her life, but when an assassin arrives in her city she's forced to play a role she never imagined she'd choose: hero. A Robin Hood retelling. Trigger Warning: This contains themes that may be triggering for some readers (violence, sexual assault, etc). Cover designed by Ray Gardener

FBI agent Jack Rhodes and Doctor V.C. Coldwater team up to solve a murder involving treason, secret government research, and the Uzbekistani black market. ***** Commander Jack Rhodes was kicked out of the Navy SEALs after a mission went wrong, but he continues to serve the public as an agent of the FBI. After a woman is murdered, he's forced to team up with the unconventional and flagrantly disrespectful Doctor V.C. Coldwater. What looks like a simple case turns out to extend deep into government research, nuclear fission, and the global criminal underworld. Jack's forced to rely on a woman he thought he'd despise, because in a case this complicated, she's the only person he can trust. [[word count: 200,000-250,000 words]]

❝I- what? What are you talking about? Who is this?❞ ❝Well the bathroom stall says that this number is the gateway to a good time, and unless you're trying to say that a bathroom stall is lying to me, I think I need a little more information to be sold. Do you have like a yelp page I could look up? Past customer reviews? How many stars out of five?❞ ❝What are yo- oh my god, I'm going to fucking kill Marie.❞ (alternatively called: a lot of people shit with pens) written in dialogue // cover by xhemmingshugsx

You have no idea how much I need boring. Two years after the murder of her parents Caia is finally ready to start anew. New name, new town, new school. Desperately wanting normalcy and longing to put down roots again, she's determined to stay on the straight and narrow and avoid anything or anyone who poses a threat to her new life. And that includes steering clear of Liam 'Beast' Paine. The hot-tempered, adrenalin seeking mountain of muscles is precisely the kind of person she wants to avoid. Should be simple enough. And it would be if only she could keep a clear head when he kisses her. Run my little Bambi. The beast is on the hunt. Born with a will of steel and a silver spoon in his mouth Liam Paine is used to getting what he wants, so when he sets his sight on the shy and jumpy Caia he does what he always does: go after her with a single-minded determination and about as much finesse as a bull in a china shop. However, it soon becomes clear that the unassuming girl, who looks at him like a deer caught in headlights, has demons that need fighting. And if there's something Liam does well, it's fight. I'm ready to fight for you. But the past doesn't always stay where we want it and Caia's is always lurking just around the corner. Ready for the next round. **WARNING: This will contain mature scenes and language! There'll be sexual scenes, cursing, and droppings of the f-bomb. If you're uncomfortable with any of those things then don't read this story.** **Also this is not a fan fiction**

In the desert, an instant turns life into death and hate into love. In the desert, everything is different. Boundaries break down, and you find yourself doing things that you would never, ever have imagined. Lilly Linton finds this out the hard way: in the shadow of the pyramids, she and her boss, cold, calculating Mr Ambrose, must face death and danger together. Is the desert's heat enough to melt the cold heart of Britain's richest financier? WINNER of the PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD in the Wattys 2016 Sequel to Robert Thier's #1 Hit 'Storm and Silence'