1854 Book(s) Related to reviews of hear com

When the apocalypse struck, my brother Leo didn't hesitate to choose the offshore sanctuary.
In our past life, faced with a choice between a powerful inland warlord commanding a massive army and a leader clinging to a solitary island, Leo snatched up the first option.
But when a zombie horde overran the mainland and defenses collapsed, he fled to my island for refuge.
Jealous of how well I was surviving the end of the world, he and our parents knocked me unconscious in the dead of night and threw me into the ocean to drown.
Now that I've been reborn, Leo immediately took our parents to the maritime base, leaving the "dangerous" mainland to me.
He thinks the ocean is a natural barrier that guarantees his safety, that he can sit back and relax while the world burns.
But there's one thing he doesn't know.
Zombies aren't just static, mindless walking dead—they evolve.
And when they do, that offshore sanctuary will become a floating hell with no way out.

"You were meant to be my death. Instead, you've become my damnation."
Aria Thornwell has spent three years as a healer in her town, attempting to forget the night her former fiancé publically humiliated her by selecting her affluent stepsister instead—taking Aria's family fortune with him. Now, she lives quietly, utilizing her skill to aid the underprivileged while her stepfamily flaunts their stolen fortune.

But on the winter solstice, everything changes. She's chosen as the ceremonial bride for the vampires' holy Winter Feast—a "honor" that guarantees death at daybreak following the Christmas Eve rite. Dragged to the Crimson Vale with five other human tributes, Aria is prepared to meet her fate with dignity.

Until she meets him.

Lord Sebastian Thorne, the ancient vampire who has presided over the Winter Feast for eight centuries, is meant to drain her at dawn following the binding ritual. It's tradition. It's law. It's survival—the ceremonial blood maintains the vampire realm for another year.

But as Sebastian's lips brush her throat in the ceremonial hall, something unbelievable happens. Her blood doesn't simply sustain him—it wakes something in him that's been dead for generations. And in a move that shocks the whole vampire court, he refuses to complete the rite.
"This one is mine," he proclaims, his old strength sweeping the hall. "Anyone who touches her answers to me."

Trapped in the Obsidian Palace as Sebastian's "protected bride," Aria discovers three frightening truths: Sebastian isn't protecting her out of mercy—he's dying from an ancient curse, and her blood is the only thing keeping him alive past Christmas; the vampire court will do anything to kill her and reinstate the ritual; and her "ordinary" healer's gift is actually a rare and dangerous power that vampire nobility has been hunting for generations.

“…do anything rather than marry without affection.” —Pride and Prejudice   During the upheaval of the Great Depression, Elizabeth Bennet’s life is torn asunder. Her family’s relocation from the bustle of the big city to a quiet family farm has changed her future, and now, she must build a new life in rural Meryton, Kentucky.   William Darcy suffered family turmoil of his own, but he has settled into a peaceful life at Pemberley, the largest farm in the county. Single, rich, and seemingly content, he remains aloof—immune to any woman’s charms.   Until Elizabeth Bennet moves to town.   As Darcy begins to yearn for something he knows is missing, Elizabeth’s circumstances become more dire. Can the two put aside their pride and prejudices long enough to find their way to each other?   1932, Karen M Cox’s award-winning debut novel, is a matchless variation on Jane Austen’s classic tale.

Agatha Arionsa Elara thought that her body was the only thing her adoptive family sold to pay off their gambling debts. She was sold to Xavier Calestiano Valois, a handsome billionaire and underworld ruler nicknamed the “Devil” for his cruelty.
Agatha planned to play her role as an obedient doll while secretly carrying out her mission as The Rose, an assassin searching for traces of her biological parents. She intended to kill Xavier once her goal was achieved.
However, Agatha was dead wrong. Xavier did not just buy a compliant girl. The man had known about Agatha’s double identity from the very beginning.
Instead of exposing her, Xavier used that secret to bind Agatha to his bed.
Xavier offered a deal she could not refuse. He would provide information about Agatha’s biological parents, but the payment was not money. It was Agatha’s body and complete submission as his wife.
Trapped in a passionate and manipulative marriage, Agatha had to fight against her ego that refused to submit, and her own heart that began to betray her when the Devil’s touch felt more intoxicating than freedom.
When Agatha realized that Xavier never intended to let her go, it was already too late. She was no longer just a contract wife, but had turned into an obsession locked in a golden cage.