Firstperson tagged booklist

Power of Shadow

by Violet Hale

Power. Control. Blood. Obsession. Ryker is the heir to the Pact — a ruthless mafia organization built on power, loyalty, and violence. A man raised to rule, trained to destroy, and sworn to a code that demands sacrifice above all else. Ashley was never meant to cross his path. She is Shadow — a legendary assassin feared in the criminal underworld. Silent. Deadly. Untraceable. She doesn’t miss. She doesn’t hesitate. And she never lets emotions interfere with the job. Until him. Their meeting was supposed to end in blood. Instead, it ignites a dangerous obsession and dark desires neither of them can escape. He should kill her. She should betray him. And yet every choice they make pulls them deeper into a world of lies, power struggles, and forbidden desire. As secrets unravel and loyalties are tested, one truth becomes clear: love is the most dangerous weakness of all. Because in the world of the Pact, it's not the one who loves the most who wins — it's the one who pulls the trigger first. Power of Shadow is a dark mafia romance featuring morally gray characters, enemies-to-lovers tension, obsession, violence, and a ruthless antihero. This book is the first in a series and ends on emotional resolution, while the danger is far from over. [Read More]

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Carve Me Free: A Steamy Enemies‑to‑Lovers, Forbidden Ski Romance

by Mara j. Ova

She is ice and scandal. He is speed and sin. When they meet, they turn heat into a weapon they can’t stop using. But can that last? Having spent her life as a decoration for her scandalously rich father, Élise Moreau finds her rebellion in a reckless downhill racer. Escaping an Olympic gala, she takes him up on his offer to be free and wild in his arms. One reckless Olympic night. No names. Just escape, freedom, and the kind of sex that brands itself into your bones. Nico Reiner is the golden, reckless Super-G talent of Austria, hurling himself down the ice like he’s furious at the mountain and flirting his way through camera crews and fan girls. He’s used to casual hook-ups, easy worship, and being the wildest thing in any room—until one perfectly polished princess looks at him like he’s beneath her, then kisses him like she wants to burn her whole life down. They were not supposed to meet again. But months later, Austria’s new speed hero locks eyes with his mystery girl at a World Cup sponsor party—and finds out the wild stranger from his bed is the Moreau heiress whose disgraced dynasty now quietly owns his skis. What starts as a filthy, anonymous rebellion turns into a season-long obsession they can’t tame. As the stakes climb, they learn lust is easy; love is brutal. When crashes threaten careers, tabloids circle like vultures, and her father moves in for the kill, Nico and Élise have to face something far scarier than breaking rules: sacrifice, letting go of each ot [Read More]

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Carve Me Golden

by Mara J. Ova

Trapped alone with your ultimate daydream crush while a storm rages around you… do you dare take the chance? Forced proximity · She’s also an athlete · Celebrity athlete and his fan · European alpine settings · High‑stakes sport · Overcoming traumatic past · Exotic settings and fresh sports After seven years with a toxic ex, Czech language teacher Zlata knows a new relationship is the last thing she needs. She’s finally thrown herself into ski racing, the real kind, with after-hours training and no rewards but the rush. But a girl is allowed to dream… and sometimes, dreams come true. A broken gondola. A violent storm. And Fabio Baier, her untouchable, world-famous ski racing crush, close enough to feel, to touch, to make her feel alive, if only for an hour. This was never supposed to be real. But when fantasy collides with reality, it doesn’t come softly. It burns. Because Fabio isn’t just every woman’s dream. He has demons of his own to outrun. And until they both face their pasts, all they have is craving. Carve Me Golden is a standalone in the Carve series, a high-heat sports romance filled with forced proximity, emotional scars, explosive chemistry, and a compelling couple who know that love must be earned. If you crave intense attraction, high-stakes passion, and a fantasy that refuses to stay just a fantasy, this book is for you. [Read More]

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A Field Beyond Notions

by Atria J. Merian

The scythe meets its match in a paranormal tale of mutual obsession. Humans think I’m a psychopath. I don’t think about them at all. My routines keep me in check. Seven days for a prisoner. Feed off their fear. Dispose. Paperwork. Repeat. But ever since Rosario had stepped into my office for an interview to be my operations manager, I’ve been lovestruck. For the first time in centuries. I watch her sleep. I plan our life together. I hear the bells toll. She may be trying to outrun her past, but she will never outrun her future. Till death do us part is a wonderful notion. Especially since I have no intention of ever dying. [Read More]

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A Shore Thing

by Emily Shacklette

Juliette Matthews has chased light across the globe—from the Andes to North Africa—but nothing throws her off balance quite like being back at her family’s Jersey Shore summer home. Especially when “temporary” starts looking a lot like staying… and Wesley Olson is everywhere she turns. Wesley never left Ocean City—and never forgot the girl next door who wrecked him in the best and worst ways. He’s spent seventeen years building a life that’s safe, steady, and entirely Juliette-free. That is, until, she shows back up on his front porch like the prettiest ghost he’s ever seen. Because one look at her, and suddenly the past isn’t so past. The summer is hotter, the tension thicker, and staying away? Not an option. Not when every shared glance feels like a dare—and every touch reminds them exactly what they lost. This summer, Juliette and Wesley will have to decide—were they destined to be nothing more than a summer fling…or have they always been a shore thing? [Read More]

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The Sicilian Trap: A Grumpy Coach World Cup Spicy Soccer Rom-Com

by Mara J. Ova

He demands absolute control to win the World Cup. She is the sunshine that refuses to bend. Grumpy Meets Sunshine • Forced Proximity • Steamy Soccer Romance • Opposites Attract • Workplace Romance • Protective Hero • World Cup Stakes • Slow-burn With Sparkling Chemistry • Hilarious Banter • Found Family • Italian Vibes Vincenzo Messina is a tactical genius who demands absolute control to win the World Cup, but his new PR director is a walking distraction. Armed with weaponized sunshine, Sofia Hofer threatens his sacred locker room, igniting a fiery clash of wills and sizzling chemistry they both refuse to acknowledge. Arriving at the secluded Base Camp, Sofia's relentless optimism immediately collides with Vincenzo’s dictatorial temper. She treats football as a passionless branding puzzle to protect, while the volcanic coach fiercely shields his squad from the media. Bound by a lucrative Armani sponsorship, they are forced into thirty days of inescapable proximity within a secure compound and high emotion during the matches. As the grueling tournament progresses, their battle lines blur. Sofia discovers the devout heart beneath his melodramatic touchline theatrics, while Vincenzo realizes her efficiency actually protects his players, shattering his defenses. He engineered the perfect tactical trap on the pitch, but her weaponized sunshine cornered his heart. With the championship final looming, they must choose between maintaining their rigid professional boundaries or risking a catastrophic public scandal for a passion they cannot control. The Sicilian Trap is a standalone, fast-paced, steamy soccer romantic comedy by Mara J. Ova featuring grumpy-meets-sunshine and forced proximity tropes. It is a perfect read during the US-hosted World Cup, and the Italian vibes make it an ideal summer escape. Scroll up and look inside to experience the explosive chemistry and high-stakes tension. [Read More]

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Blue Sky Black

by Lea Vale

Zelda never stopped loving Ari. She just got better at pretending she was over him. Then she ran into him again on the last normal morning in America. By the end of the day, he was missing. Now Zelda is searching the wreckage of September 11th for two people: her best friend, Charlie, and the man she thought she'd lost long before the towers fell. *** As teenagers, Zelda and her best friend Charlie had been trying to escape Philadelphia for as long as they could remember. Ari was never part of that plan—until he walked into the pawn shop where Zelda worked and refused to leave her alone. They fell in love too young. They fell apart too fast. Six years later, September 11th puts them face to face on a Manhattan street, hours before the world changes forever. When the towers fall, Zelda survives and realizes Charlie and Ari were both inside and are missing. She has to find them both. Blue Sky Black moves between Zelda's desperate search through the aftermath of September 11th and the years that made her: a lonely, furious girl learning the value of things in a back-room pawn shop, falling in love for the first time, and losing everything she wasn't ready to hold. Perfect for readers who love: - Emotionally devastating love stories - Second chance romance - Slow burn with heat - Dual timeline - Found family - Female ambition Steam: Open door emotionally driven intimacy with explicit detail. Content Warning: Depictions of September 11, 2001, Grief, Loss [Read More]

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Duskshade

by Madison Patershuk and Ebony Dobson

Ophelia’s life is anchored by the measurable laws of the universe. As a dedicated heliophysicist, she trusts what she can prove and she trusts Nick, the man she believes is her soulmate. But when an impossible fracture in reality violently tears Ophelia, Nick, and her loved ones out of the human world and plunges them into the untamed Fae realm of Fenraeis, all earthly logic shatters. Stranded in a world that shouldn't exist, Ophelia quickly realizes they aren't just lost. They are being hunted. The Crownless, a terrifying and relentless entity, doesn't want her dead; he wants her caged. He intends to enslave Phee to siphon the elusive, ancient power awakening in her blood. It is a dormant, near-endless well of magic that hasn't been seen in an age, and this scientist has no idea how to control it. Desperate to keep the people she loves alive, Ophelia must become the warrior she was never meant to be. To survive, she is forced into an uneasy alliance with Kane—the ruthless, infuriating High King who might be just as dangerous as the monsters hunting them. As her impossible abilities rise to the surface, Ophelia realizes her arrival in Fenraeis wasn't an accident. She doesn't believe in destiny, but to keep her power out of the hands of a monster and to save those she loves, she must forge her own. [Read More]

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Talk to Me at Midnight

by Stephanie Harina

The voice that once saved her nights is now her trainer at work. Forced out of Bangkok by her dad, Yannie finds comfort in one thing: a mysterious voice who calls her every midnight. He doesn’t know her. She doesn’t know him. And that’s exactly why it works. Until she moves to Manila. And the voice gets a face. Now a teaching intern navigating office politics and Manila slang, Yannie is assigned to Ash Anderson, her serious, exacting English curriculum trainer—who is nothing like the man she talks to every midnight. Except he is that man. To protect her secret, Yannie makes one rule: Ash must never recognize her. Not when he texts her under the table with that ridiculous grin. Not when he stands far too close while demonstrating materials. And definitely not when he singles her out to present in front of everyone… where she’s now a walking disaster in heels. But when her fake deep voice slips, his smirks sharpen, and Ash starts calling her at work, Yannie realizes midnight secrets don’t survive daylight... especially when trouble wears a suit and knows all her confessions. [Read More]

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Siren's Hunt

by Ciera (C.M.) Miller

A merman prince trapped in human form. A woman reluctant to let down her guard. Her kiss will save him, if only he can win her heart. Bree O’Hara has always known there are sea dwellers. When she rescues a handsome stranger named Kai during a stormy night who is unable to speak, part of her wonders if he’s a sea dweller in human form or the survivor of a siren attack. As Kai finds ways to communicate without his voice, she realizes that both merfolk and humans are in danger so long as the siren leader Hunter possesses the trident. Between the lure of the sirens and Kai’s attempts to win her heart, Bree knows her destined path may just decide the fate of both land and sea. Once Upon a Time meets genderbend Little Mermaid in this adventurous and swoonworthy retelling of a classic fairytale. If you love the "he falls first" trope, this book is for you! [Read More]

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Siren's Lure

by Ciera (C.M.) Miller

His kiss saved her. Now her choice could destroy him. “When the sea chooses to keep something…or someone…there’s nothing that can stop that pull.” With Audrey captured, tension continues to rise between the sirens and the merfolk. As Bree ventures into the kraken-infested sea alone, led by the vision she hopes will guide her to her sister, Hunter gives her an offer she can’t refuse. When the trident’s magic calls to her, she must decide between the merman who loves her and the seduction of power. A genderbent fairytale with a modern twist, based on the Little Mermaid. [Read More]

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Love Twists and Knots

by Jo-Anne Carriere

An accidental proposal, a charming sailor, a Mediterranean Romance that changes everything… Genny needs a new beginning. She takes a break from the corporate world, and spontaneously decides to go to the South of France for a carefree holiday. Enjoying her wine at a harbor café in Antibes, she cannot believe that the man sitting across from her is… HIM—the one she’s always pictured herself with. After their eyes meet, and a light chitchat, and more wine, she accidentally proposes to the charming Nick. Nick laughs it off, but he doesn’t run. Intrigued, he invites her for a sail on the Mediterranean aboard his 83-foot classic sail yacht. What begins as a magical starlit night on his yacht soon becomes far more daring when Genny loses her job due to downsizing—she risks everything, and leaves Vancouver behind to follow the man who has captured her heart. Trouble rises when Heidi, an envious work colleague appears on the quay hoping to be part of Genny’s adventure. Genny shooed her away, but Heidi finds a way… Their romance gets twisted in a knot when Nick’s past resurfaces. Desperate to settle his divorce, Nick sells his beloved yacht to a shadowy buyer, an acquaintance of his ex. The buyer has two conditions—he pays for the yacht only after it is delivered to Puerto Rico—and he insists that Heidi stay onboard for the journey, causing spiraling tension. Fate did not work in Genny’s favor—unable to cross the Atlantic, she leaves Nick and the crew in Gibraltar and reunites with Nick in Barbados. The romantic trip Genny had in mind soon turns into a web of perilous secrets and lies when they discover the buyer had a different plan. Genny must decide what she truly believes. Is Nick her anchor, or is she caught in his wake? To keep her chance at love, will she take risks to choose the wild and beautiful life her heart whispers for? [Read More]

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