Sam is the most promising swordsman among this year’s crop of Paladin trainees...and knows it. Brash, cocky, and unbeatable with a sword (well, almost), Sam is the kingdom of Thule’s best hope against the violence wrought by demons. The only problem is that Sam is really Lady Samantha, daughter of the seventeenth Duke of Haywood, and if her father has his way, she’ll be marrying a Paladin, not becoming one. But Sam has never held much interest in playing damsel-in-distress, and so she rescues herself from a lifetime of boredom and matrimonial drudgery. Pity that Tristan Lyons, the Paladin assigned to train her, is none other than the hero of her childhood. He hasn’t recognized her as Lady Samantha--yet-- but if he does, he’ll take away her sword and send her packing. Sam is not the only trainee hiding secrets: Braeden is a half-demon with a dark past that might be unforgivable. Sam, Braeden and Tristan set out for the western coast, charged with rooting out an infestation of demons that has made the West unlivable. As they travel, they uncover a deep-seated corruption of power that threatens to derail everything they stand for. Rebellion stirs, led by a rival faction of warriors who tempt Sam to join them with an irresistible offer. A war between men is coming, and Sam must pick a side. Will saving the kingdom cost her life -- or just her heart? Reminiscent of Mulan, but with a medieval fantasy twist, Paladin is a tale of adventure, action, and romance.

After the death of both of her parents, Bella is left to the care of supposed friends of the family. But the longer she stays in their home, the more sinister events become. Family secrets leave her locked behind closed doors, both literally and metaphorically. And her one long-time ally has suddenly turned against her, no longer willing to stand between Bella and her abusive foster father.Plagued by the memories of her mother's death and remembrances of the kind young doctor who, while caring for her mother in her last days, gently removed eight-year-old Bella from her dead mother's arms on the worst morning of Bella's life, she misses the love of her parents, especially after being blamed for the death of her foster mother and the crippling injuries of her foster father. Now all of the people she has loved are now dead...except one. But he now callously joins in her abuse, seeming to take pleasure from her pain. Pinned within the four walls of her small bedroom, Bella yearns to flutter freely, to live a real life once again. Will she ever be rescued from her abusers?