Wattys 2018: Longlist Niccolò Romano. His name is a threat. Everyone that has ever crossed him has ended up dead. He is a killer, a gangster - a monster. And his enemies will do anything they can to hurt him.

Aftertaste, noun Af·ter·taste : persistence of a sensation (as of flavor or an emotion) after the stimulating agent or experience has gone There was once a time she was running away from her life, from people, from everything and everyone; running as far as she could. Now, she's running towards it. She's running towards happiness. Towards love. Towards him. She got to experience a different life. With him. She got the taste of being with him. Now this is the aftertaste; the taste that lingers afterwards. This is what it's like to be loved by Sin.

The cold man fell in love with the kind girl because he knew that she deserved the world and that he wanted to be the one who gave it to her. ♡ Alette Faye was a sweet girl. She was exceptionally kind and had an air of simplicity. Between her part-time job at the bakery, her classes, her time spent tending to her flowers and walking in the fields, she didn't get the opportunity to experience much. Her past created fears in her that she seemingly couldn't overcome, and then she met him. For when she meets him, she should have run away in fear, but she stayed. She stayed and she opened her big heart for a man who found his heart, just for her. ♡ This story is a little cliché, a lot unedited, and super simple.

Declan "Boss" Packard is dominating and powerful, with a deep need for control. Being the leader of a Special Ops team at Knight Security, his missions are priority and his teammates are his life. The word "love" has never been a part of Declan's vocabulary and he has never been interested in romantic bullshit, but Lexi Bradshaw changes that in an instant. Lexi awakens every protective and possessive fiber of Declan's being, but when her past returns to haunt her can Declan surrender his need for control in order to save her life?

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞? 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞. Nothing in life has come easily to Chase. He's had to work for everything he's gotten until she comes along and feels like the big break he's been waiting for all his life. Lexi may have stumbled into his arms, but he's going to have to fight like hell to keep her there; to earn himself a spot in her life, in her heart. But Chase knows that she's worth it, and he's no stranger to hard work. Lexi wants to be free, and Greenville is the key to the platinum shackles keeping her from escaping the dollhouse of a home she grew up in. Everything about her new home breathes color into her dull life, and she's not going to give it up for anything. She's going to make it on her own, and nobody is going to underestimate her this time. Lexi is built from materials much stronger than porcelain. Her high hopes may finally be within reach, and she doesn't plan on letting anything or anyone distract her from her future, at least not for more than one night. Apparently, Chase didn't get the memo.

after a prank gone terribly wrong, hayden jones is sent across country to caldwell academy, a school for the bitchy, the dangerous and the rebellious. and if that wasn't bad enough, it becomes much worse when hayden is accidentally put in the male dormitory, landing her in a room with the school's notorious heartbreaker, chase everett. [not edited...like at all]

"Since you're a player, let's play a game. "Let's cuddle, and kiss, and play fight. We'll tease each other, go on dates, meet each other's friends and families. Let's talk on the phone until we fall asleep and makeout until our lips are numb and hold each other for hours. "First one to fall in love, loses." ----------- Beatrice Henderson would much rather spend her time in the fictional realm of her books where she can pretend everything in life is perfect, a place where she can escape from reality, a place where she can pretend the series of unfortunate events that led to her moving to this small town in the first place never happened. Ryder Adams is impulsive, reckless, and has no regard for rules. And despite his many efforts to avoid it, his following right in his fathers footsteps, a fact his mother resents him for. Unwanted by everyone, Ryder spends his time doing what he pleases without a care in the world for anyone else. The two meeting was something straight out of one of Beatrice's romance novels. And in an opportunity to live out one of her favorite books, she agrees to play a game with the towns bad boy, first one to fall in love loses. And she's determined to win. But so is he. And Ryder Adam's doesn't like to lose.

Revenge. I'm familiar with it. You have to be when you're the firstborn son of a notorious mafia leader. Death and vengeance have been the very foundations of my life. So who in their fucking mind would be stupid enough to cross me? My brother and I have been wrongfully convicted of a crime we didn't commit. We know who is behind this. We bid our time behind bars, planned and prepared for the day we got out. Now we're free and hungry for redemption. I know what must be done. I know whose blood will be spilled. But before I go after him, I'll go after his daughter. I never said I play fair. *Book one in the Marino Brothers Duet. Rated 18+ due to explicit language, sex, and violence.*

Ashley Martin has been through more grief than a person experiences in their entire life and carries baggage that no kid should ever entail. Tyler Miller is the school's scandalous bad boy who acts on impulse, blinded rage and will single-handedly destroy anybody who stands in his way. Then all of a sudden, they're thrown together and despite their destructive past, they're forced to overcome their differences. It's time for Ashley to stop running away from his death glares, blank stares and that spine-chilling scowl that reminds her just how little he cares. Driven by a whirlwind of secrets, a class assignment and midnight walks into the past, things should start working out. But then fate kicks in; hard-hitting and soul-crushing. It's a fight-or-flight situation, a reincarnation of her past, a chance for him to right the wrongs he did by her. A second chance is like giving someone an extra bullet for their gun after they missed you the first time round. So here's Tyler's gun. Here's Ashley's heart. And here's to their second chance, however hopeless it may seem.

When Hailey Evans, an aspirant employee of the marketing department in one of the most wealthiest companies in the states finds herself in trouble with the arrogant, cold hearted CEO Ian Kingston, she pulls a trick no one has ever done. And in return he gives her a disastrous kiss that turn her world upside down. One party. One kiss. And the next thing she knows, she's a billionaire's fiancé.