Philophobia (n.) is an overwhelming and unreasonable fear of falling in love, beyond just a typical apprehensiveness about it.

Ozias Van Everly is a Beast, and he knows it. An attacking midfielder of the United States Men's National Soccer Team, he's a beast on the field. An avid player among the ladies, he's a beast in the bedroom. A jerk who cruelly destroyed his relationship with the love of his life, he's a beast in life as well. But it's not a Beast thing to murder. Ira Brown knows it. Life hasn't been easy for Ira. Between teaching long hours at her local high school, paying for her son's hospital bills single-handedly without enough help from her ex-husband and arguing with her landlord about possible eviction from her apartment complex, she barely has time to breathe. As a result, when she finds Ozias standing at her apartment door, 8 years after their last contact, framed guilty for murdering one of his many conquests, asking her to be his alibi and fake girlfriend in return for him providing financial support for her son, she agrees reluctantly, despite her wounds from the past not being fully healed. When the Beast reconciles with his Beauty, sparks are sure to fly. Throw in a crazy murderer who wishes for him to rot behind bars, Ozias and Ira need to be careful that the sparks don't grow into a massive fire, burning them both to ashes. After all, it's a Beast thing to destroy, but it's a Beauty thing to save. 🌹 My entry for The Golden Writer Contest. A 'Beauty and The Beast' retelling. This is a dual POV book.

[Featured in FreetheLGBT: Diverse Literature reading list and Humor: Young. Dumb. Full of Fun list] Colin Mitchell, a photographer at a well-known store, Snapshot, is openly gay--mostly. His ideal experiences are sexcapades that are always subtle, never out of line and straight to the point. (Ironic, isn't it?) However, he meets Peter Chu: a snarky Chinese student with a loud mouth and more issues than Vogue. His intriguing persona has Colin enraptured and willing to throw away his CADBMBB- 'Clients Aren't Dated, But May Be Banged' principle--and take things further than they've ever gone with any guy. Circumstances push both their lives together, with Peter seeking to find his own path after a bad break up and a significant move. Colin is willing to walk that blazed trail with him--in more ways than one. But there is one problem... Peter is as straight as they come. Kinda. ♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤ Highest rankings: #1 in blindness- 31/07/2020 #1 in freethelgbt- 24/01/2021 #1 in gay- 22/05/2021 #4 in teenfiction- 22/05/2021 #4 in bxb out of 78.5K- 20/05/2021 #4 in pride- 09/11/2020 Warning: Contains mature language, violence and steamy scenes. Warning 2.O: This book will have you hooked! #new adult + #teen fiction + #romance + #boyxboy + #humor Started: 16th June, 2020