8516 Book(s) Related to the summer i turned pretty books in order

I met my future husband from thirty years later in a late-night diner. He knows every hidden habit and secret of mine. Mistaking the star quarterback for my destined love, I endured endless ambiguity and humiliation from him and his stepsister. But when he abandoned me in front of the whole school, I finally learned the truth — the man meant to love me for a lifetime was never him.

I died on my birthday.

While kidnappers shattered my limbs and violated me to death, my family was throwing a grand party for my sister Chloe—yes, we shared the same birthday, but only hers was worth celebrating.

I called my father for help. He sneered and hung up: "Stop using this pathetic kidnapping stunt to ruin Chloe's birthday."

I called my fiancé Mark. He said with disgust: "If you're going to die, do it somewhere far away."

In the final second before the flames consumed me, I finally understood—

I was never loved in this family.

And now that I'm truly dead, now that they've discovered Chloe hired those men to kill me, now that the truth has been exposed to the world...

Will they regret it?

Or will they, as always, continue to favor Chloe and blame everything on me—the dead one?

The day I died, my sister wore the wedding dress I had always dreamed of, and married my boyfriend.
My family felt no sorrow over my disappearance.
My brother suspected I deliberately avoided blessing my sister.
My silent father believed I was malicious, unwilling to see my sister surpass me.
My mother called me ungrateful and demanded I apologize to my sister.
They didn't care if I was alive.
They were only worried that my absence would sadden my sister by denying her my blessing.

“Do it again.”
“Be more specific, baby.” I heard a smile in his words. He was enjoying this and wanted me to beg.
“Fuck you. You know what I mean.” I grunted in frustration.
“I actually don’t.” He stopped again. His rough hand remained between my thighs.
“Stop playing games, or I will stroke myself until I come.” I wiggled my ass, seeking a quick relief from the throbbing in my core.
Breathing raggedly, he said, “No one is playing games here, baby. I just want to know what you want.”
“You really make me do this, don’t you?” My voice was a combination of frustration and irritation. He was enjoying this too much, probably punishing me for giving him blue balls twice.
“You were complaining earlier, so, yes. I don’t want another broken nose.”
“Spank my ass, Califf. Then touch me and fuck me with your finger. I wanna come. Do you think you can do that?”


All Shadow ever wanted was to live in peace with their pack, but as a royal Lycan and the daughter of a witch, it came at a price.

When a faceless enemy targeted her, she did not only lose her wolf but also her healing gift, leaving her powerless and vulnerable.

Now that the bond is gone and her happy ending is not guaranteed, she has nothing left to offer. She doubts whether she’s still worthy of her mate and Luna of their pack.

Alpha Califf becomes a formidable Alpha after defeating a sinister enemy. He should be invincible with allied packs everywhere and witches at his disposal, but Shadow becomes a liability.

Despite what happened to his mate, he’s willing to leave the pack and live with her away from threats, but their enemy is two steps ahead of them, and Shadow becomes cold and distant, leaving him nothing but agony he’d never felt before.

Will Shadow get her revenge and find a way to get her wolf and gift back? Will they uncover the ugly truth behind their enemy? Or their foe is just right under their noses all along.

Her future was set in stone; in just three months, she would become the first Alpha female of her bloodline.

Life felt like a dream until one day, it turned into a nightmare. That day, Aife learned that the vicious beast elders brought up as a way to scare children wasn’t just a fruit of someone’s imagination.

He came out of the shadows to prove he was real: the pack was under attack, warriors fell at her feet and she was forced to make a choice that would shatter her reality. “Her. Give me her and I will let the remaining ones live. Give her willingly or I will take her after I finish slaughtering the few pack members you have left.”

To save them, Aife agreed to leave with the man who slaughtered her pack. Little did she know her life would be at his mercy from the moment he threw her over his shoulder. In a matter of hours, Aife lost the title of the future Alpha and became the beast’s possession.

King Valerio's cold eyes searched through the small crowd, then on her. "I want the half-dead thing..." He calmly demanded.

The Alpha King hesistated, his expression thick with uncertainty. "Take her then, if it properly seals the treaty like you have demanded."

That moment, Evyths Thorne knew that her pack not only hated her but effortlessly threw her at the mercy of the very creature that could ruin what's left of her.

The ancient vampires in Ravencroft.

...
When Prince Valerio D'Arcy Belmont chooses a rejected omega as his treaty hostage, the supernatural world questions his sanity. But Valerio knows something they don't…

The moon goddess chose her. The pack destroyed her.
Evyths Thorne was an omega without a wolf, the weakest member of the Crescent Pack.
Her fate should have been simple: become Alpha Ryker's Luna.
But when her fated mate humiliates her one too many times, Evyths makes the ultimate choice.
She rejects him.
A decision that costs her everything.
Banished from the only home she's known, Evyths becomes a prisoner of the vampires and the possession of Prince Valerio D'Arcy Belmont — a cold, brilliant vampire who sees her as nothing more than a bargaining piece.
But when an ancient prophecy begins to awaken, the omega everyone called a curse may be the one supernatural creatures have been searching for.
And Valerio must decide.
Is she his greatest weakness?
Or his greatest weapon?

“A MASTERPIECE OF THRILLER AND MYSTERY. Blake Pierce did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.” --Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone) ALMOST LOST is book #2 in a new psychological thriller series by USA Today bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose #1 bestseller Once Gone (Book #1) (a free download) has received over 1,000 five star reviews. When a divorcee vacationing in the British countryside puts out an ad for an au pair, Cassandra Vale, 23, broke, still reeling from the ruins of her last placement in France, takes the job without hesitation. Wealthy, handsome and generous, with two sweet children, she feels nothing can go wrong.But can it?Treated to the best England has to offer, and with France out of sight, Cassandra dares to believe she finally has a moment to catch her breath—until a startling revelation forces her to question the truths of her tumultuous past, her employer, and her very own sanity.A riveting mystery replete with complex characters, layers of secrets, dramatic twists and turns and heart-pounding suspense, ALMOST LOST is book #2 in a psychological suspense series that will have you turning pages late into the night. Book #3 in the series--ALMOST DEAD—is available for pre-order!

Lucia has always known the wilderness as her sanctuary, but when the fires of her heat drive her into the Blue Mountain Pack’s territory when she goes into heat, she’s hunted like never before. Cornered by Aiden and Declan - the fiercely protective twin alphas of the pack - Lucia finds herself tangled in a struggle of dominance, desire, and a desperate need for sanctuary. Fleeing a brutal past and an abusive mate who still haunts her shadows, Lucia has only her spirit and resilience to rely on. Yet under the powerful, watchful eyes of Aiden and Declan, her walls begin to crack. They offer her protection, strength, and an undeniable spark that ignites a passion she can’t ignore. But Lucia’s freedom is short-lived. Her dangerous ex-mate has found her, intent on reclaiming the prize he believes is his. In a fight to save their mate and secure their bond, the alphas will stop at nothing to destroy the darkness threatening her. Only together, bound by love and loyalty, can they conquer the past and embrace a future as one. In the arms of her chosen mates, Lucia has finally found her forever home—but it will take everything she has to protect it.

Rachel Wood is uprooted from her home and enters a new high school, in 10th grade, in an affluent suburb in Westchester, New York. She struggles with meeting new friends, finding a boyfriend, avoiding the cliques of mean girls, and meets a mysterious boy from her school, Benji, and knows he is different from everyone. As their romance deepens, will she give up everything to find out his secret?

I caught my husband sleeping with my sister, so I burned it all down.
The fire burned fierce, swallowing that abandoned cabin in the woods, along with my shattered marriage.
With the stench of gasoline still lingering on my fingertips, I thought I had finally buried the man who betrayed me.
Until the next morning, when he walked through the front door without a single scratch.
My mind reeled.
If he was still alive... then who the hell did I burn to a crisp last night?

My best friend pushed me out of the bunker to be fed to the zombies.

Before he died, his grandfather's pocket watch activated a storage space.

When I opened my eyes again, the apocalypse was still three days away .

My fiancée sent me a photo ; she and my brother were naked and embracing.

"In this life, it's your turn to die."

Our world has been taken over by the supernatural. As a way for mankind to become the most powerful they have screwed with nature turning them into some of the most deadly creatures to walk this land.

Now they have discovered a secret my kind has been trying to keep for thousands of years. Vampire blood contains the power of super healing and immense strength. There is a race to see who will crack the code to incorporate this power for their own gain.

So many of my kind were taken and I am no different. Except this time they tried something new. Something that seems to have turned me into a monster of a new kind.

More like an abomination.

I'm found by a group of men at the place where I should have died. They don't know why they were called to me and now I have a few tag-alongs on my journey to get answers.

This should be a breeze....

Cassie had a whole life figured out she thought that she have everything going for her and everything in her life was perfect until an unexpected turn of events happened that would change the way she view life and love forever. After a failed engagement and finding out that her fiance had cheated on her and had been doing so for five years and has a child with someone else that she thought her fiance was friends with she decides to attend a friend's wedding while heartbroken and ends up falling in love with someone who he didn't expect to fall in love with and ends up getting married accidentally. Not only did she get married to the guy who's ex wife was the other woman, but he also turned out to be the guy his company her father wants to overtake and own. Will she come out with the truth now that she is married to him ,or she keeps secrets that could destroy their Union forever and is she really in love with this guy?

Grayson has always made it a point to go out with his sisters friends they are some friends his sister kept from him but he wasn't at all bothered by that because he had fallen for the one friend that she had always loved and married her. A couple of years into the marriage he finds out this wife was cheating on him with her highschool sweetheart , after her sudden death he also found out that his son wasn't his son.

Lost in Lust is a collection of steamy stories that dive into passion, temptation, and raw sx scenes.
Each story unfolds with sl encounters and irresistible attraction, where sl fantasies ignite and lovers surrender. Lost in Lust will leave you breathless and sexually aroused.Lost in Lust is a collection of steamy stories that dive into passion, temptation, and raw sx scenes.
Each story unfolds with sl encounters and irresistible attraction, where sl fantasies ignite and lovers surrender. Lost in Lust will leave you breathless and sexually aroused.

Lily lived a normal life, when her mom passes away. Then she discovers that her mom had a complete life that she knew nothing about. Determined to figure out why her mom was laundering money, Lily makes use of her company resources.
In the same time, Lily's boss is in a predicament where he needs Lily to obey his commands at work. However, Lily is not prepared to break laws for him. Threats become harder and more dangerous for Lily to give in to those commands.
Because of her position in her work, there are more people after her with multiple agendas. Matteo is one of these people after her, but then they fall in love when they least expect it. But when Matteo's enemy kidnaps Lily, he needs to chose between business or love. Along the way, Lily also continues to learn about her mom, with many twists and turns.

When graduate student Nina locked eyes with a stranger in a Ljubljana café, she thought it was chance.
It wasn’t.
Adrian had been watching her for months—first as a shadow, then as a savior, and finally as the man sent to decide whether she lived or disappeared.
He was supposed to erase her.
Instead, he fell in love.
Now they’re bound by a network built on secrets, code, and blood. From the streets of Vienna to the coast of Trieste, every step drags them deeper into a system that turns people into assets and love into a liability.
Nina was never meant to know what she was—a name hidden in an algorithm, a dormant asset waiting to be activated. Adrian was never meant to defy his orders. Together, they’ve broken the rules of a world that doesn’t forgive mistakes.
As enemies close in, and truth unravels faster than they can run, Nina must face the hardest question of all:
Can you love the man who was sent to destroy you—
or will the past he tried to bury take them both down?
A dark romance of obsession, betrayal, and the dangerous kind of love that rewrites every rule.

"Kiss the Ugliest Girl in the department." That was the line that shattered my life four years ago.

I stood frozen in the courtyard, the taste of Leonard Saint-Claire’s lips still on mine, while the crowd erupted in cruel laughter. He smiled that lazy, golden-boy smile, treating my humiliation like a cheap party trick. I ran away that night, leaving my dignity in the dust. But I didn’t die. I evolved.

Four years later, I walked back into his world. Not as the fragile girl in the oversized cardigan, but as Noelle Duval, the Creative Director holding the fate of his failing fashion empire in my hands. He didn’t recognize the woman in the tailored silk suit until I dismantled his authority, piece by piece.

"You're stripping back everything I built," Leonard growled, cornering me in the atelier, his eyes wide with a mix of fear and fascination.
"I'm not stripping it," I whispered, stepping into his personal space until he stopped breathing. "I'm correcting it. And you’re just a spectator now."

He thought he could apologize. He thought a rainy night and a confession would fix the cracks. But glass doesn’t heal, Leonard. It cuts. And I was ready to make him bleed.

Joe is an average man, with an average life. Until of course, he boards the XX-Stacy: the world's premiere pleasure cruise and undercover feeding ground for vampires, werewolves and succubae alike. Joe though is not as average as he thinks and starts to turn heads on board when people start to sniff out his 'scent'. After a close brush up with an werewolf and a night spent with a succubus, Joe meets victoira, the princess of the vampires and proprietor of the cruise. She is beautiful and not like Joe would have expected a vampire to be, there is something about one another that neither can get a grasp of. It is this union that has been foretold by the Harbinger that would bring about the events that will lead to the end of the world as we know it. Can Joe pull himself away from her and save the world from the apocalypse or has it already been determined and fate's grasp unbreakable?

Bound in Blood is created by E.C.D. Meulenbelt, an eGlobal Creative Publishing Signed Author.

Mark barely touches her anymore. Judith knows it—feels it—in the cold sheets beside her and in the way his eyes linger too long on someone else.
That someone is Lila, the woman Judith once called her best friend, now the one slipping into her family, her home, her husband’s bed… and even her son’s heart.

For too long, Judith has been silent, the good wife who gave up everything.
But betrayal awakens something dangerous inside her.
And when Maxwell Blackthorn, a ruthless, magnetic billionaire pulls her into his world, she tastes desire she thought she’d lost forever.
The way he looks at her, the way he touches her—it makes her question everything she’s endured.

Now torn between revenge and redemption, Judith stands at the edge of ruin and rebirth.
Will she burn down the life that betrayed her, or surrender to the fire of a new passion that could consume her whole?

She thought she was loved at first, but she soon realized that wasn't the case. She was nothing more than a duplicate, a doppelganger, and a stand-in for them. And when the original reappeared, she had no choice but to vanish......
He thought he'd spend the rest of his damned life alone, in pain and loneliness, until she delivered herself to him on a silver platter one day.
He will do anything to have her in his arms, even if it means denying her many identities. To have him by her side, she will shed her adversary's blood and bury whoever threatens her happiness.
They will defy the heavens and fight against the world to be together

MARCELLA.

A perfect man. A perfect future. A perfect life.

Everything was perfect. Until it wasn't.

Until the perfect man turned out to be the Traitor. Only I couldn't get my answers from him because he was dead. Killed my the Devil who he sold my existence to.

The devil who now I spend every second fearing in a cage he trapped me in.

KILLIAN.

This was not the plan. But I knew the second I laid eyes on the most unique green colored eyes in that alley, it was decided. She was mine.

It was supposed to be a trade. A trade her weak boyfriend made to save his ass.

I could stop it from turning it into something else.

But the question was, did I want to?

Ella Kane has spent her entire life feeling like a mistake in a family that values perfection. Born from a forbidden one-night stand, she carries none of the typical fae markers of nobility…no  pointed ears, no magic, only soft human-like features that make her easy to overlook and even easier to dismiss. In a household driven by ambition, she becomes the embarrassment her mother resents and the burden her stepfather tolerates. Only her half-sister Mira has ever truly loved her.

So when Mira confesses that she is secretly pregnant for someone few days before her arranged marriage to the infamous High Prince of Storms, Ella agrees to help her.

The plan is simple:

Impersonate her sister,

Ruin the meeting, 

And secure a swift rejection.

What she didn’t expect was the prince choosing her to be his wife. 

The Court of Storms is bound by a violent curse known as Storm Madness, where the overuse of magic fractures the mind and drives even the strongest fae toward ruin. Damon himself stands at the edge of that breaking point and yet, when Ella is near him. The pressure in his mind quiets. The chaos in his power stills and the storm inside him does not feel like it is tearing him apart.

Now trapped in the storm-ravaged Court of Storms, Ella is pulled into a world of ancient prophecies, buried secrets, and a rising darkness tied to a returning villain thought long gone. In a place where power decides fate and survival always comes at a cost, she becomes something the court never expected… and cannot easily control.

Because some storms do not destroy you.

They choose you.

I longed for family affection and true love all my life. I tried my best to get along with my stepbrother Karen, and wholeheartedly loved his friend Nolan. However, my sincerity was trampled into the mud. They conspired to hurt me, spread indecent content to ruin my life, and even broke the last relic left by my grandmother. I suffered countless humiliations and injuries, then chose to leave without saying goodbye. Years later, the two men were trapped in endless regret, but I had already walked out of the shadow of the past. Trust is gone, and so is my tenderness for them.

Amber Weys is a 17 year old girl with prominent curves and it is well known that during adolescence boys are usually very hard, bullying is more serious every day leading Amber almost to madness, one of the main perpetrators of her bullying is Adam Raymond an important player of the school, acclaimed by all and envied by others.
But his life is not perfect, he was abandoned by his parents which led him to depression, fortunately he received help from the person he least expected, making them both live that first teenage love, but sometimes life takes unexpected turns.

During a trip to Greece, in the ancient beach of Mykonos, Franco's life changes forever. Franco is deeply hurt because his ex-girlfriend Beatriz has broken up with him and has committed herself to a new man, his best friend, just two weeks after ending things with him. Desiring to forget his painful past, Franco travels to Greece and there he meets Mary. Both share a love for ancient sites; she is a beautiful journalist who is studying the yopa practices in Mykonos beach for an holistic report. But amidst hundreds of tourists, they experience an attack by werewolves, with Mary and Franco being the only survivors.

As the werewolves surround them, Franco notices a peculiar glimmer in Mary's eyes, a spark that ignites an undeniable attraction. Drawn to her, not just physically but by her inner strength and determination, Franco vows to protect her at all costs. The werewolves' presence in the temple raises questions in Franco's mind - what do these monsters seek in the temple of Apollo? And why do they look at Mary as if they want to devour her and possess her at the same time?

Determined to unravel the mystery, Franco discovers an ancient legend surrounding the temple - a legend that tells of a powerful artifact hidden within its depths. This fabled object is said to grant unimaginable power to whoever possesses it. Could this be the reason the werewolves are so fixated on Mary? They become each other's pillars of strength, drawing on their shared knowledge and unwavering trust.

Franco must make a difficult choice - embrace their connection and delve into the supernatural world to rescue Mary, or reject her and try to protect her from the dangers that await for both of them... will He conquer the love and the fears inside of him? ...

There's a heavy iron door at the end of the hall. Anyone who steps inside returns with eyes full of hatred. That’s all it took for the basement to turn my gentle fiancé into a predator and my loyal best friend into an enemy. Now, I'm trapped with a mother who claims the violence is all in my head. I have to open that door.

Eve has no choice but to give up her own goal and marry the old billionaire who could even be her grandfather...due to her father's illness and the expensive operational costs.

Despite the sex harassment she faces on a regular basis, the humiliation she receives from the old son, Liam, is another source of pain for Eve. Then, Eve's only thought is to make as much money as she can and get away from the family.

Nevertheless, as Liam works with Eve, he gradually falls in love with the girl he used to loathe.

What will he do about his hidden feelings for his stepmother?

Esther is accused of killing the princess. She is tortured by Alpha King Nicholas and the entire pack. She hopes to find her mate on her eighteenth birthday and escape a life of torment, only to find that her mate is Nicholas who hates her guts.

On the day the world ended, Ethan Cole was nothing.

Too poor to afford a NeuralVerse headset, he entered the apocalypse with no talent, no power, and no future. One year later, he died forgotten beneath a tide of monsters.

But fate gave him one impossible chance.

Reborn on the morning of launch day, Ethan remembers everything — the collapse of civilization, the betrayals, the hidden treasures, and the terrifying truth behind NeuralVerse.

This time, he refuses to stay weak.

Using fourteen loan apps, Ethan gambles everything to buy the only Bronze-tier headset in town… and awakens the legendary SSS-Rank Talent: Infinite Fusion.

A talent capable of evolving trash equipment into god-tier artifacts.

While the world panics and millions remain blind to the coming catastrophe, Ethan begins his rise from the bottom — forging ancient weapons, stealing destiny itself, and preparing to dominate a world where death is permanent.

In the Oracle World, mercy is weakness.

And Ethan Cole has already died once.

Christopher was born into one of the most powerful families in the country. Most of the family members are politicians. After graduation, he will become an official under his grandfather's arrangement. However, he meets a girl on his graduation trip and falls in love with her. His family disapproved of their marriage because he was engaged to a girl from a powerful family. So she eloped with him and became the daughter-in-law of his family. What's next for Christopher's story?

Haunted by a past she can’t outrun, Kaia is forced into an impossible bargain: deceive a ruthless mafia don and bring about his downfall within sixty days or lose the one thing she loves most, her son.
What begins as a deadly con turns into a dangerous game of desire, as Kaia finds herself drawn to the very man she’s meant to destroy. With every lie, every touch of heart, the lines blur.
Ninety days. One heart. A choice between survival and surrender.
Will Kaia finish the job she was sent to do… or will love rewrite the rules of the game?

Zoe Marshall thought her marriage was unbreakable. She built her life around Ethan Carter—powerful, brilliant, and untouchable. Until his betrayal shattered her so deeply that filing for divorce became her only way to breathe again. She thought leaving him would set her free. But freedom is never that simple when your ex-husband is a ruthless billionaire who turns regret into obsession.
Ethan is determined to win her back, to claim what he believes is still his—no matter what it takes. Just as Zoe begins to rediscover her strength, Mason King enters her life: dangerous, wealthy, and hiding secrets darker than midnight shadows. He offers her protection and a passion she never imagined. But his world is deadly, and his past is painted with blood.
When an enemy obsessed with Ethan threatens Zoe’s life to erase her forever, and Mason’s hidden demons resurface, she finds herself trapped between two powerful men fighting for her love... or her destruction. Who will truly protect her? Who will destroy her? Because when love becomes a battlefield, only the strongest hearts survive—and Zoe isn’t letting anyone else decide her fate.

Daisy survives high school as a plus sized nerd bullied daily by star quarterback Liam Martinez and his girlfriend Tiffany. When her mother secures her a live in tutoring job for a wealthy family's daughter, it feels like an escape until she discovers the mansion belongs to the Martinez family and Liam is her student's older brother. Now trapped under her bully's roof, Daisy plans to study his weaknesses and destroy him from the inside. But unknown to her, Liam's teammates dared him to publicly date Daisy for three months without catching feelings and he's confident he can win. As fake tutoring sessions become something neither of them expected and the truth about the bet explodes before the championship game, Daisy and Liam must face what they've done to each other and decide if love built on lies and manipulation can become something real.

When Mila transfers to Northshore Academy, she wants a fresh start. She doesn’t expect to clash with Cole, the cold and feared hockey star everyone avoids.

Cole is the best player in the school. He barely talks. No one dares to challenge him—until Mila steps onto the ice and proves she can play just as well.

Their rivalry turns into a public challenge. The rule is simple: if Mila wins, Cole must carry her school bag every day for six months. If Cole wins, Mila will have to accept the embarrassment.

Mila wins.

From that day on, Cole walks beside her to school, silent and serious, carrying her bag. Rumors spread. Students stare. What starts as a punishment slowly turns into something neither of them expects

Blane Samuel
A definition of a nice guy, a guy who always think about others first than himself. Since his break up with Lauren Hastington, he's a wreck. He thought he won't look at another woman but he was wrong. One day, a beautiful girl in red dress came to him caught his eyes.

Camilla Medilton
Beautiful model who always have positive thinking and live her life the fullest. With her beautiful face and body, every guy wants her until it made some of them take a bad step. Since she sense the bad situation, she took a random guy to be his boyfriend and apparently that guy is Blane Samuel

"Hey baby! I miss you, what took you so long? How's work?" Camilla linked her arm to Blane who was clueless seeing a beautiful hot girl linking her arm to him

After pulling back-to-back graveyard shifts, I dragged myself to my twin brother's place to mooch his washer. One look at his biohazard of a bed, and I crashed on the clean bunk across the room instead.
Big mistake. It belonged to Jensen—the baseball team's untouchable ice king.
He lost his mind over the sweet peach scent someone left in his sheets, then discovered it was the first thing in two years that let him actually sleep. My desperate brother, hunting for free rent, conned me into playing Jensen's "replacement sleep aid" and locked the damn door behind me.
Jensen caught on instantly. But instead of throwing me out, he offered me cash to stick around as his contract girlfriend. After he handled some thugs threatening my brother, this guy who never lets anyone close pressed his face into my neck, voice raw and possessive:
"Your brother sold you to clear his debt. You're mine now. And I don't do returns."

I gave birth to three children for my ruthless mafia husband. And every single time, he tore the newborns from my blood-soaked sheets and handed them straight to my barren sister.
For seven years, I endured electroshock therapy and brutal captivity, reduced to nothing but a breeding vessel to complete their "picture-perfect" family.
He thought he had broken my spirit long ago. That’s why, when the assassins struck, he didn't hesitate to shove me into the line of fire as a human shield.
To protect his true love, he threw my bleeding, wounded body into a freezing water cell as their perfect scapegoat.
He thought tossing me a few scraps of mercy would have me crawling back to him, begging like a dog.
But he was dead wrong.
When the bone-chilling water swallowed me, I didn't panic or thrash. I simply smiled, letting the black depths drag me under.
Domenico could never have imagined that the cold, lifeless corpse he personally sent to the morgue was my perfect escape, seven agonizing years in the making.
He stole my babies. He stripped away every last ounce of my dignity.
So now, I’m going to take away everything he holds dear, piece by agonizing piece: his empire, his power, and the love he arrogantly thought he could control forever.

I found the thirteenth piece of evidence of Reid's affair today.

Black lace panties, shoved deep between his car seats.

The first time, it was designer lipstick in his glove box. "Oh, that's mine," my friend Mia shrugged. "Must've fallen out when Reid gave me a ride."

The sixth time, a hotel key card in his console. "I borrowed his car for a business trip," my brother Owen explained calmly. "Stop being so paranoid, Nadia."

Thirteen times. Thirteen perfect excuses.

When I confront Reid with the panties, he just makes a phone call.

On speaker, Mia and Owen claim the underwear is theirs—some late-night hookup in my fiancé's back seat. "You're being ridiculous, Nadia," they snap in unison. "You're getting married. Start acting like it. Trust him."

I watch Reid's face, that innocent mask he wears so well.

Then I smile.

Because I bought those panties myself. I planted them there.

And now I finally know who's been his accomplice all along.

“A MASTERPIECE OF THRILLER AND MYSTERY. Blake Pierce did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.” --Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone) ALMOST GONE is book #1 in a new psychological thriller series by USA Today bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose #1 bestseller Once Gone (Book #1) (a free download) has received over 1,000 five star reviews. When 23 year old Cassandra Vale accepts her first job as an au pair, she finds herself placed with a wealthy family in a rural estate outside of Paris, and all seems too good to be true. But she soon discovers that behind the gilded gates lies a dysfunctional family, a twisted marriage, troubled children, and secrets too dark to air. Cassandra is convinced she’s finally found a fresh start when she takes a job as an au pair in the idyllic French countryside. Just beyond the Paris city limits, the Dubois manor is a grand relic of the past, the family its picture-perfect occupants. It’s the escape Cassandra needs—until she uncovers dark secrets that prove things aren’t as glamorous as they seem.Beneath the opulence lies a dark web of malice, one Cassandra finds all too familiar, triggering dreams from her own violent and tortured past, one from which she desperately runs. And when a grisly murder tears the house apart, it threatens to take down her own fragile psyche with it. A riveting mystery replete with complex characters, layers of secrets, dramatic twists and turns and heart-pounding suspense, ALMOST GONE is book #1 in a psychological suspense series that will have you turning pages late into the night. Book #2 and #3--ALMOST LOST and ALMOST DEAD—are also available!

Rachel Wood wakes in a castle to find herself turned into a vampire. She longs for home, for a normal life. But she is changing too fast. When she learns Benji is in danger, she realizes she has to find him. She will stop at nothing to be with him—even if it means having to choose between life and death.

In RISEN (Book #6 of the Vampire Legends), Rachel Wood embarks on a mission to find her grandmother in New Orleans, and to learn the secret of who she really is. Her travels take her deep into mysterious territory, as she searches for her roots, and for an explanation of all that is happening to her. Benji will not give up on her, even though she can’t remember who he is. He is still in love with her, and more determined than ever to find her and rescue her—before it is too late. Rachel’s brother struggles to keep from giving in to his dark side, as he grapples to come to terms with his new power. Her sister, Sarah, tries to come to grip with her new life at Syracuse, while learning what it means to be a vampire herself. Rob, driven by his love for Rachel, fights to shake off the influence of the dark coven. He will have to fight for Rachel’s love, hoping her loss of memory will also mean she has forgotten her love for Benji. It will be a race to save Rachel’s life as all these forces converge in an ancient cemetery in New Orleans. But there comes a shocking twist, and by then, it may all even be too late… Will Rachel finally remember her true love? And will she be willing to sacrifice it all for him? RISEN is book #6 of the Bestselling Vampire Legends series (following SWORN, TAKEN, BITTEN, CHOSEN and AWAKENED).

In AWAKENED (Book #5 of the Vampire Legends), Rachel Wood wakes in Benji’s arms—except there is one problem: she cannot remember who Benji is. Heartbroken, Benji lets her go, as she insists on leaving him and returning home.Rachel arrives back in her home in Pennsylvania, and her dad and brother Mark are shocked to see her. She is even more surprised at their reaction: she can’t remember what happened exactly, but she feels sure that she was only away for a single night. Why is everyone acting so crazy, so surprised to see her?Rachel, not remembering anything else, insists on resuming her normal life. She insists on returning to her old high school in Pennsylvania, where she runs into all of her old friends, who are equally startled to see her. A new love interest arrives in her life, while she tries to shake dreams of strange omens, and of Benji, who she still doesn’t remember. She also tries to fight these strange hunger pangs that are overtaking her.In the meantime, Rob is as set as ever on finding Rachel, and he crosses the world, wreaking destruction, to get her. Benji, too, is determined to save her, to make her remember their love—while Hunter and Penelope and Matilda are on a mission to find the Waverly Tablet and prevent Violet from conquering the world.It will be a race to the end while all these forces try to converge on Rachel. But by the time they reach her, she may even be gone herself…Will Rachel remember her true love? What choice will she make?AWAKENED is book #5 of the Vampire Legends series (following SWORN, TAKEN, BITTEN and CHOSEN), and is also a standalone novel.

On Day 100 of the global heat collapse, surface temperature climbed to a hopeless 70°C.

To keep my girlfriend from being roasted alive, I drove my ice ability past the limit and became her personal human air conditioner.

But when my ability core was on the verge of shattering and I collapsed coughing blood, she stole the last two bottles of water from my pack and climbed into someone else’s temperature-controlled car without looking back.

Before she left, she tossed the life-saving lump of ice I’d condensed with half my life onto the blistering asphalt like garbage.

“Jack, I’m sick of your cooling cutting out any second. I’m not staying here to die with you.”

She didn’t know—

The moment that ice turned into white vapor, the broken ability core in my chest—the one ruined because of her—evolved in the abyss.

“When you think that life cannot get better, Blake Pierce comes up with another masterpiece of thriller and mystery! This book is full of twists and the end brings a surprising revelation. I strongly recommend this book to the permanent library of any reader that enjoys a very well written thriller.”--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Almost Gone) ALMOST DEAD is book #3 in a new psychological thriller series by USA Today bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose #1 bestseller Once Gone (Book #1) (a free download) has received over 1,000 five star reviews. After the disastrous fallout from her last placement in England, all 23-year-old Cassandra Vale wants is a chance to pick up the pieces. A high-society, divorced mother in sunny Italy seems to be the answer. But is she? With a new family come new children, new rules, and new expectations. Cassandra’s determined to make this one last - until a horrifying discovery pushes her to a breaking point. And when the unimaginable occurs, will it be too late to pull herself back from the brink? Who, she wonders, is she becoming?A riveting mystery replete with complex characters, layers of secrets, dramatic twists and turns and heart-pounding suspense, ALMOST DEAD is book #3 in a psychological suspense series that will have you turning pages late into the night. Book #4 in the series will be available soon.

Rachel Wood wakes after having just taken the leap of faith with Benji with the Blue Tablet to find he is mortally injured. Rachel embarks on a journey to save her love—a journey which will take her deep into the heart of the gravest danger. Is she willing to give up her life to save her one and only true love? How much is she willing to sacrifice?

Rachel Wood finally learns the secret that her new boyfriend, Benji, has been hiding: he is a vampire. She discovers his world in the mysterious Lyndvia Castle on the Hudson River. But just as their romance is blossoming, Benji’s twin brother shows up with a message that might mean the end for them all. Rachel will have to decide how much she wants to sacrifice to be with the love of her life.

In FALLEN (Book #7 of the Vampire Legends), Rachel Wood wakes to find she has fallen down a hole, into a fantasy world from which she tries to escape. She searches desperately for Benji, but destiny seems intent on keeping them apart.Rachel, saved from the underworld by her Grandmother, finally learns the secrets of who she is—and how powerful she is.Benji fights for his life, his love for Rachel never fading, he eager to be reunited with her. But he is up against forces more powerful than ever, and he may not be able to break free.Darker forces than ever are at play, determined to end the world, and it will be a race against time as they all converge on the portal in the midst of the ocean, all of them fighting for possession of the ancient relic that alone can save the world.More than anything, Rachel is determined to save her love. But as a dramatic twist comes at the end, she realizes, this time, all may be lost forever….FALLEN is book #7 of the Bestselling Vampire Legends series (following SWORN, TAKEN, BITTEN, CHOSEN, AWAKENED and RISEN).