[Wattys 2023 Grand Prize Winner] After an eight-hour flight sitting next to her high school nemesis Jackson Carter, fashion designer and barista Isabelle Curtis thought that would finally be the last she would see of him. But as the saying goes, famous last words. * * * Isabelle Curtis and Jackson Carter were fierce academic rivals in high school, up until Jackson moved to the UK in junior year for boarding school. Eight years later, Jackson has returned from abroad to take on the role of CEO at his late father's company. When Isabelle and Jackson meet again, there's a war of words, banter and a passionate dislike towards each other. Throw in a high school reunion, some more chaos, and a 'deal' in the mix-one that might just involve a little faking and pretending. It's all fun and games and tit for tat, almost just like in high school, until real feelings become involved...

❝You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to face them.❞ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ After wiping out on the waves and spending the last six months in a physical therapy centre recovering, pro-surfer Thalia Monroe, heads to the small coastal town of Sandy Cove to escape the limelight. Still recovering mentally from her near-death experience, getting back on the waves has not come back to her as easy as she hoped. Maybe all it takes to get back on the board is a local, Atlas Hayes, who wants to show her that maybe the strength she's been looking for has been there all along. One thing Thalia wasn't expecting was that falling in love is like surfing a wave, it's an adrenaline rush that can throw you ten feet under.

Ashlyn hasn't spoken a word since the age of eight, and her heart's never felt more protected. But, when the confident and ever so charming Derek stumbles into her quiet little world, her emotions-and forbidden desires-have never been so loud. ***** For twenty years, silence is all Ashlyn Holland has known. Haunted by the memories of her father, and the harrowing song of the ocean that stole him from her, Ashlyn maintains a safe distance from the rest of the world. Treading carefully the sea of fear and anguish that surrounds her, Ashlyn is determined to do all she can to protect her heart from such a tragic loss striking again. In silence, she grieves. In silence, she is safe. In silence, she finds the strength to breathe. But the silence can only last so long... Derek Moreno is charming and devoted, and quick to see through every wall Ashlyn erects. With his arrival in town, defences fold and walls begin to crumble, the songs of her heart reaching new heights. Together, they crest twin tides of fate, the silence she'd once sought engulfed by his gentle touch, and the whispers of a love thought impossible. For the summer, Ashlyn welcomes the noise. The disruption. But, the ghosts of Derek's past will no longer remain silent, and their deafening power has the potential to drag them both into a current strong enough to drown them amidst their heartache. 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝟏 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ARCHER's VOICE x TEN TINY BREATHS meet in this journey through grief and the different stages of healing, finding love once thought impossible, and rediscovering one's voice.

❝𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒂 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒔 𝒒𝒖𝒐?❞ ━━━━━━━━━━ Rachelle Anderson moved to Massachusetts for two reasons: to pursue her dream of being a cellist and to pursue her childhood friend, Leon Taylor. Rachelle and Leon had been friends for forever and they spent most of their lives together, living in the same neighbourhood and going to the same schools. However, college happened and the two were pulled apart as they struggled to get a hang of their lives. Growing up meant growing apart - it was all part and parcel of life. Would moving into a new state move them out of the platonic boundary and move them into something more intimate? Or would it aggravate everything that they shared between them? Rachelle wondered if she should do something about them: What about a kiss? ━━━━━━━━━━ Romantic Dreams 2020: New Adult - Anticipation Love Award Reviewed by Team of Dreams: Aspire Magazine, November 2020 Issue ━━━━━━━━━━ 26.01.20: Completed | ✓

[2021 Wattys Shortlist] Monica Kelly returns to her hometown years after abandoning it, only to bump into and befriend Liam Belkin-who, despite his walls and issues, cannot help but draw himself closer to someone he can't have. ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎✦ ✦ ✦ After being screwed over too many times, Monica Kelly ran from her hometown as soon as she graduated high school, leaving her brother and former life behind. But it isn't until four years later when she returns, and in need of money and a distraction, she gets a job at the local diner. She swears this isn't a forever thing-when the summer is done, she'll go get her masters and become somebody, far away from the people who screwed her over. But when Liam Belkin, the towns residential brooding man who hides behind a baseball cap, steps into the diner every night, she finds herself breaking down her one rule: don't get close to anyone. And although he doesn't talk, or even smile for that matter, he finds himself doing so every time Monica is around. But when two people with broken pasts come together, there's no telling if two wrongs can make a right-especially when betrayal is right around the corner.