{WATTYS 2020 WINNER} {FEATURED BOOK} Paris, 1663. 500 girls selected by King Louis XIV embark on a journey across the seas from their homeland. Each is given a dowry, and the expectation that they are to marry a French settler, in order to increase the population of New France. They are the historic Daughters of the King, or "les filles du roi." Eighteen-year-old Celeste Dubois is a free-spirited, educated and headstrong girl. She comes from a wealthy Parisian family that has squandered their money and is subsequently forced to journey to New France. However, Celeste doesn't plan on marrying a complete stranger. She hopes to use the dowry and the free voyage as a way to escape the poverty and social ranks of Paris. Matters are complicated when against her will, she falls in love. Romantic, kind and stunningly beautiful Lorraine Leblanc is a girl from a large family with children to spare. Unlike Celeste, she happily dreams of the day she will meet her future husband in New France. When she marries a mysterious widower with two young children of his own and still reeling after his broken heart, she realizes that married life isn't all she had hoped it would be, and begins to question her new husband's complicated past. - Wattpad Picks Blast to the Future Past list 2018 - The 50 Best Wattpad Stories of 2018/19 by Design Wizard - 2018 Youngblood Awards Winner (Romance) - 2018 True North Awards 2nd place for Historical Fiction and 2nd place Truly Canadian special category award - Featured by Wattpad Historical Fiction profile under Kings, Courtships and Empires, Young Adult Fiction profile under Love, Actually and Romance profile under Time will Tell *Please be aware that since this book covers the colonial period, it does contain sensitive themes of racism and violence that readers will find disturbing. There are resources at the back of the book that prompt further learning in the Historical Notes section.*

Savage appetites and opulent vices are a way of life in Crescent City, a metropolis split among werewolves and humans. As one of its most beautiful socialites, Cora Marshall thrives on scandals and the attention they bring. Yet even she is stunned by her father's murder... and by becoming the prime suspect for it. Determined to prove her innocence, Cora hires Detective Sam Hayes, an irresistibly handsome werewolf with as many secrets to his name as she has to hers. To uncover the truth, they must trust each other with everything--especially now that the real killer hunts them throughout the city. *A WINNER OF THE 2023 ALPHA AWARDS*

Alice is twenty-four, far old enough to know that a change of scenery can't repair the cracks in a relationship long strained. But when her lover insists on a trip to a remote cabin to get away and recharge, Alice agrees... and discovers that among the beasts of the forest, there is one that shouldn't exist and yet does: a wolf that changes into a man and a man who changes into a wolf. He's savage, suspicious, and feral. And he's as undeniably interested in her as she is in him... Wolf's Wife is an erotic paranormal romance. This is the complete and full version, NOT a sample. It's just very short compared to its sequels.

[ORIGINAL DRAFT SAMPLE] She is twenty-nine when the FBI comes for her, but Catherine Themis was only seventeen, grieving and naive and angry, the first time she wiped someone else's blood from her fingers and felt the snake rise in her chest. She was seventeen when she stepped into the dark and never looked back. ***** By day, Catherine Themis is an unassuming civilian administrator for the Dedwich Police Department, but by night, she is a notorious vigilante known as The Hangman. Struggling with her violent urges and the psychological cost of her actions, Catherine becomes the target of an obsessive serial killer and a relentless FBI agent, and as the hunt for the Hangman intensifies, Catherine must decide which life she wishes to live and what she values more: vengeance or her fading humanity? A psychological thriller in the vein of MINDHUNTER and HANNIBAL, SERPENT HEART is a deep-dive into the life and history of a conflicted vigilante forced to confront her inner demons and evade a national manhunt. Catherine questions the efficacy of her own convictions as the FBI closes in and a vindictive murderer puts her family, love, and identity in jeopardy. With everything on the line and time running out, who will Catherine Themis become? --- [[AVAILABLE ON AMAZON]] [[REMOVED 24 DEC 2021]] [[2019 Watty Winner - Mystery & Thriller]]

Book Two of the Wild Hunt Series. The Hunt is over, but Tay Wilson's life as a Lady of demons has only just begun. Her soon-to-be-husband is a King bent on sacrificing her, she's made herself a wicked enemy in the form of the Marrow Witch, and she along with the other surviving maidens of the Hunt are trapped in purgatory with no way out. But there might be a way out. And if there is, Tay would do anything to escape before it's too late.

the graphic images unsuitable for sensitive eyes *mature*

Taryn Lowell has been dealing with one horrible thing after another while still coping with the sudden death of her brother. Yet when an invitation to go to Tokyo, Japan is offered to her by her ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend no less, Taryn couldn't help but wonder why and cautiously excepted. Thinking that it would be good to get her mind off things for a while. That it would be an experience, she would never forget. While the latter half of this trip is staying at a historic mansion in a remote village, one almost completely cut off from the rest of the world. However, within this rural village, there are several old stories passed off as legends or rumours. The story of a Priestess who sacrificed herself to many demons protecting her village by binding herself in ropes soaked in her blood. While rumours of a demon that is said to resemble a man or a woman who will whisk unsuspecting travellers away in the dead of night if they wander into the forest, all while looking like a living doll... Such stories and rumours are often truths distorted through countless years being passed from word of mouth, yet how much remains true while the rest becomes fiction? Or were such things even fiction to begin with?

"Most intriguing. You obviously know who - and what - I am, but you don't run." He leaned toward her and felt her body react. "Quite the opposite in fact," he murmured as he kissed her neck. Claire felt a shockwave of desire for him. She wasn't sure how long she would be able to think clearly. "Myrnin, wait...We have to talk...You have to remember," she said between breaths. "My dear, you needn't use such far-fetching pretext to gain my attention," he purred seductively. "All you need to do is ask and I will freely give to you. Not that I don't enjoy these amusements. You have intrigued me. Which indeed, is no small accomplishment." Her breathing was becoming shallow as he trailed kisses from her neck to her ear. Before she could stop herself, she found her fingers entwined in his hair. His voice was low as he stepped purposefully between her legs and slid her forward, right to the edge of the bed, to meet him. He growled softly in her ear, "Tell me what is it that you desire? Ask anything. I promise you won't be disappointed." Claire inhaled sharply, all intelligent thought gone from her mind. She felt his hand slide up her leg - the one sheathed with the hidden dagger - and stop. "My, my, my...Aren't you full of surprises? " he growled low in pleasure in his throat, "Would you like to try to use that on me? I think I might enjoy that game very much." She felt his hand gently remove the dagger and whispered against his lips, "No we can't do this. Not here, not now, and not when you don't remember me." "I will most definitely remember you," he kissed her neck and jawline as Claire felt his wandering hand continue to glide up her leg. "You are quite a contradiction, little Claire. Your lips say no, but..." He found what he was looking for and she gasped. He smiled wickedly. "Your body clearly says yes." Note - Story contains some sexual content and strong language. I do not own Morganville Vampires, just the plot to this tale.

"When will you accept me?'' Lucian murmured against my skin. The wonderful feeling only grew as he stepped closer, the thick muscles between our layers of clothing pressing against my back. He dipped his head. I could feel his lips against my ear when he spoke. "When, Victoria? I am tired of fighting with you. I know you want me just as much as I want you. Admit it." I couldn't. "Admit it, Victoria!'' Lucian's voice went deep when he raised it. Goosebumps prickled my entire body as he whirled me around so that we were face-to-face. I exhaled softly, hating the dominant position he had over me. Lucian wretched my chin up. His eyes were burning with a lustful smolder. "No." Oh, I would definitely get myself killed tonight. I knew my defiance was angering him further but saying I wanted Lucian would mean I was accepting defeat. And I didn't do that. Love was a game and I was determined to win it.