[2026 Watty Awards shortlist] On the surface, Elaine Castillo and Dante Cyril are one and the same. The only children to two billionaire fathers, they are each the heirs to their families' self-made business empires. Elaine is armed with wit, a prestigious education, and the ability to read her enemies like open books. Her only downfall is a dark past that is being used against her in a blackmail-fueled bargain with her father's right hand man. The only way to escape this unwritten contract is to protect her father's business by getting answers out of their largest competitor - who just so happens to be protected by the Italian mafia. Dante lacks interest in ruling his father's kingdom. He thrives on the laid back lifestyle, filled with fast cars and loose women, he has always enjoyed. When his father dies to tragic and suspicious circumstances, Elaine and her father are at the top of his suspect list. Will the two be able to sort out their differences for the sake of their families' billions, or will they find themselves risking it all out of pride? In this grueling dark romance, you can expect to find yourself biting your fingernails, swooning, and sweating all at the same time.

♱ WHEN LOVE REFUSES TO STAY DEAD ♱ Felix Harper, an indie filmmaker with his career on the rise, has always processed grief through horror. His new project is no different: an intimate retelling of Dracula meant to exorcise feelings he'd prefer to see dead and buried. But in his search for the perfect lead actor, the person he's least expected to see again walks into the audition room. Raphael Montrose is Felix's ex-best friend, the person who once knew him better than anyone. The person he hasn't spoken to in years, not since Felix sacrificed their friendship in a desperate attempt to protect what he loved. The person who still makes Felix's heart beat in his throat. Casting him would go against any sort of common sense. But when it comes to Raphael, Felix has never had any. As the two navigate filming a potential cult classic and rebuilding the fragile trust between them, old feelings resurface and the lines between past and present, performance and reality begin to blur. But when the ghosts of their past return to haunt, will they be able to face them, or will they be forced to bury their feelings for good? For readers who enjoyed If We Were Villains and The Picture of Dorian Gray, a gothic second chance/friends-to-lovers romance spanning years of yearning, tenderness, betrayal and artistic obsession. ♱ cover by the amazing @raizelrose3

[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

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

2025 + 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**

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.

Recently moving to the west coast, Daniela Parker expected a shift when moving with her mother and brother to Los Angeles. Daniela didn't think she had anything to worry about since her brother is an A+ student, and she stayed out of people's business. But when a known gangster, Enrique González, put his eyes on her, she had trouble avoiding the charming brown-eyed man with a background of violence. *black female lead and latino male lead* #1 in the U.S 4/25/25

New updates every weekday by 9 am Thanks for 3k reads❤❤ "I don't care," Lucas snapped back, "get her out of my house and find someone else." "Lucas!" she scolded. "she's the first nanny the kids accepted without a fight." "We'll find someone else. For now, get that piece of shit out of my house, I can't fucking stand her." 'Piece...of...shit...' only that phrase stood out in my brain. ************************************************************************************************** Christine Channing has never had it easy in life. After being abandoned to a foster home at a young age, she struggles through life on her own. She runs into debt and her only hope of paying is in the form of one of the most intolerable assholes she has ever met. Desperate for a better-paying job she becomes a live-in nanny to the kids of Lucas Maxwell. She decides that all she has to do is focus on the kids and ignore him for the next year, but that proves to be more difficult than she expects it to be, or maybe it's because she cannot control the way her body goes crazy around him. Lucas is cold-hearted and a mean jerk, but he loves his twins more than life itself. He'd do anything for them, even if it means employing the one person that reminds him of a past he so badly wishes to forget. He has no other interest in women until he meets the beautiful and daring Chris. He directs all his focus on his company and his kids. But the only problem is the new nanny is as hot and beautiful as she is annoying and infuriating but she offers his twins more love than their own mother ever could. She proves to be a major distraction and it doesn't help that despite everything he dislikes about her, he still wants to sleep with her.

To save her family's flower shop, Sophie Miller agrees to an arranged marriage with Ethan Sinclair, a workaholic CEO who rejected her ten years ago. Ethan is cold to everyone, but only Sophie sees the cracks in his façade and glimpses the kindness he's hidden beneath years of pain. What begins as a business transaction turns into a journey of love and redemption, as Sophie's kindness and determination slowly melt Ethan's icy exterior. As Ethan's buried trauma surfaces, their relationship is tested. Can Sophie break through the walls around his heart, or will the weight of his past keep them apart? Disclaimer: This story contains mild romantic and intimate scenes, moments of emotional vulnerability, themes of healing from past trauma, as well as scenes involving physical altercations and perilous situations. :::::::::::::::::::::::::: Completed 🖤🖤🖤 Best rankings: #2 in Billionaire (13/02/25) #1 in CEO #1 in Flower (28/11/24) #1 in Florist (13/1/25) And many more higher ranking soon hopefully!!

Ava Sinclair is desperate. Her father's rare illness is bankrupting her, and time is running out. In a last-ditch move, she joins Velvet Circle-an elite underground agency where powerful men pay fortunes for one night of total control. Xavier Blackwood doesn't do love. He's a billionaire who treats women like transactions: hot, hard, gone by morning. No strings. No repeats. Until Ava steps into his world. One contract. Fifty thousand dollars every time he calls. No feelings. No questions. Just her body on demand. But obsession creeps in fast. His hands can't get enough of her curves. Her moans start sounding like surrender. And the money can't drown out the truth they're both avoiding: What happens when "just sex" becomes something neither can walk away from? A raw, steamy, addictive billionaire romance packed with dominance, possession, and heat that burns everything down.