Итоги 2021: Топ - 15 — 15 книг

Love will never die if it exists on the lips of death. I often thought about this while I was locked inside my Doll House in Patience. Groomed every second of every day, they made sure to cover all of the darkness lurking in my soul with the false guise of perfection. The soul is fickle. Naked to the public eye and only visible to the owner, a soul bleeds every time it’s put through pain. But when that’s hidden, it spreads. The trick is to protect it from reaching your brain.
It was too late for me.
Until I met them.
One was an Elite King.
One was a Brother of Kiznitch.
Both were liars.
I’m Lilith Patience, The Sorcerer of Death and daughter of one of the most feared organizations known to man. After being thrust into the notorious world of Midnight Mayhem, I found myself coiled around a past that I want to forget and a future that could destroy me. I love two men, and they love me as much as they love each other, but when the demons of my past tighten their grip around my throat, will I finally let them strip away the layers of perfection to get to my rotten, withered soul? Maybe.
Or maybe they’ll die trying.

Love will never die if it exists on the lips of death. I often thought about this while I was locked inside my Doll House in Patience. Groomed every second of every day, they made…

“Our love is so much more than a mere catastrophic occurrence.”

My name is Freya Wilson.
I am not your typical girl next door.
I’m far from it.

As my mother likes to point out since I graduated high school, I should be planning my life instead of wallowing around the house, in my pajamas all day. Girls my age are either preparing for college or taking advantage of the warm summer days that California provides in spades. She doesn’t understand why I prefer to be stuck in my room, watching the world pass by.

But there is a reason to my melancholy that she will never know.
I’m in mourning. I morn a love I can never have. A love that if anyone were to learn about its existence, I would be judged and ridiculed. Branded with names too ugly to mention. Years ago, I had made the ultimate sacrifice so no one would discover my secret.

However, now my secret is being put to the test. I will need to overcome one last obstacle.

When fate brings me to live under the same roof temptation lies, I fear I might not be strong enough to hide my feelings. The moment I set foot inside it, my life takes an unexpected turn and the vision I once had of eternal solitude, seems out of reach. The chains I have weaved around me are no match for the allurement the house next door provides.

There is no running away from love, and I was a fool to think otherwise.

“Our love is so much more than a mere catastrophic occurrence.”

My name is Freya Wilson.
I am not your typical girl next door.
I’m far from it.

As my mother likes to point…

Asher Henderson.
Captain of the Highnam Academy football team, and the bane of my existence.
As Alstone High’s team captain, I’ve been pitted against him from the beginning, but our conflict isn’t only reserved for the pitch.
Everyone knows we’re enemies. From our first encounter, our rivalry has been escalating, spiralling out of control.

Until one night when everything between us changed.
He pushed me too far, and we crossed a line that should never have been crossed.
Now, I can’t get him out of my head.
Can we ever be more than rivals, or are there too many obstacles in our way?

One thing I know for sure.
Things between us will never be the same again.

Savage Rivals is a standalone M/M new adult high school romance with enemies to lovers and gay awakening themes. This book contains mature situations and content.

*Originally included in the Brutal Boys on Devils Night collection. This edition of Savage Rivals has been expanded with additional content.

Asher Henderson.
Captain of the Highnam Academy football team, and the bane of my existence.
As Alstone High’s team captain, I’ve been pitted against him from the beginning, but…

He held a darkness that could never be touched.
She carried a light that could never be seen.
Not by anyone. Only by each other.
Simply two halves of the same soul, Brantley and Saint were fused together with equal parts wrath and peace. Nothing could break through their bond. Nothing.
Until now.

He held a darkness that could never be touched.
She carried a light that could never be seen.
Not by anyone. Only by each other.
Simply two halves of the same soul, Brantley…

She was everything that I wanted.He was everything that I despised.Until she wasn’t.Until he wasn’t.Killian Cornelii was a walking calamity. He reached inside of me and touched every single inch of my ruined soul, but he didn’t just touch it. He caressed, petted, and captivated it. He tailored me to fit into the palm of his hands. The same hands that possess so much cruelty, were the very same that comforted me.I thought I knew him.He thought he knew me.This isn’t a fairy tale, or some achingly beautiful story about two soul mates who instantly fall irrevocably in love with each other.This is a story about a love so painful, so rich, that it destroys everything and everyone around it.Including ourselves.Midnight Mayhem is the platform to which Killian performs his tricks on, but the greatest trick wouldn’t come from him.It would come from me.Tricksters don’t have hearts.They just pretend that they do.Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

She was everything that I wanted.He was everything that I despised.Until she wasn’t.Until he wasn’t.Killian Cornelii was a walking calamity. He reached inside of me and touched…

Walk with New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Donna Grant through the doorway into the next engaging installment of her captivating new Dragon Kings series…

I am hers, and she is mine…
Vaughn has spent eons searching for the woman who captured his heart, only to be disappointed time and again. Sure, he sees her in his dreams. May get to touch and hold her. But it’s not the same. As the emptiness inside him grows, he jumps at the chance for a distraction. Setting his eyes on the dragons again in Zora is a balm, but it can’t compare to once again coming face-to-face with the gorgeous beauty who holds a piece of his soul.

With responsibilities comes sacrifice...
Eurwen has never known anything but the burden and joy of ruling the dragons. But unlike her twin, she’s always been curious about Earth and the Kings and felt as if something were missing from her life. When her reunion with her parents brings an unexpected surprise, she can’t help but give in to the pleasure that Vaughn offers. Still, her loyalty lies with her realm, and the hurdles in their way to happiness seem insurmountable—especially with a new and unknown foe seeking to destroy them.

Trust doesn’t come easily, but love conquers all. And no amount of time or space can keep those who belong together apart.

Walk with New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Donna Grant through the doorway into the next engaging installment of her captivating new Dragon Kings series…

I am…

She is his enemy. He is her nightmare.

Three football stars who have it all: looks, money, talent and the world at their feet. No one messes with the Devils. You’re either with them or against them…and you’d have to be stupid to be against them.

Ava isn’t stupid, but one night of being in the wrong place at the right time is coming back to haunt her. One of the Santo boys—Jett—is out for blood. Specifically, her blood. Thankfully, he doesn’t know who she is, and Ava plans to keep it that way.

Sophomore year threatens to stop Jett's progression to the championships and, more importantly, his plan to play in the NFL. All because of some mystery blonde. But he has a plan: find the threat and eliminate the threat. Jett is ruthless in his pursuit to find the girl who threatens his career.

They say there’s a thin line between love and hate, and neither is prepared for the consequences when they cross that line.

Three guys, three girls, one game. Are you ready to meet the Devils?

Content warning: please note that there are elements of this story that may be disturbing to some readers. The story involves an incident of drink spiking but there is no non-con involved.

This is a 100k word novel and book ONE in a THREE book series.

She is his enemy. He is her nightmare.

Three football stars who have it all: looks, money, talent and the world at their feet. No one messes with the Devils. You’re either with…

Away games, back seats, and the locker room after hours... Get ready!

CLAY

Marymount girls are good girls. We're chaste, we're untouched, and even if we weren't, no one would know, because we keep our mouths shut.

Not that I have anything to share anyway. I never let guys go too far. I'm behaved.

Beautiful, smart, talented, popular, my skirt's always pressed, and I never have a hair out of place. I own the hallways, walking tall on Monday and dropping to my knees like the good Catholic girl I am on Sunday.

That's me. Always in control.

Or so they think. The truth is that it's easy for me to resist them, because what I truly want, they can never be. Something soft and smooth. Someone dangerous and wild.

Unfortunately, what I want I have to hide. In the locker room after hours. In the bathroom stall between classes. In the showers after practice. My head swimming. My hand up her skirt.

For me, life is a web of secrets. No one can find out mine.

OLIVIA

I cross the tracks every day for one reason--to graduate from this school and get into the Ivy League. I'm not ashamed of where I come from, my family, or how everyone at Marymount thinks my skirts are too short and my lipstick is too red.

Clay Collins and her friends have always turned up their noses at me. The witch with her beautiful skin, clean shoes, and rich parents who torments me daily and thinks I won't fight back.

At least not until I get her alone and find out she's hiding so much more than just what's underneath those pretty clothes.

The princess thinks I'll scratch her itch. She thinks she's still pure as long as it's not a guy touching her.

I told her to stay on her side of town. I told her not to cross the tracks.

But one night, she did. And when I'm done with her, she'll never be pure again.

Away games, back seats, and the locker room after hours... Get ready!

CLAY

Marymount girls are good girls. We're chaste, we're untouched, and even if we weren't, no one…

Connor Prince is a beast.
He’s a rich and infamous ex-movie star with one dream.
He wants a baby. And he wants me to be his surrogate.

I need the money and the contract doesn’t look too bad.
All I have to do is hang out in his mansion for nine months getting pedicures and massages while gestating his child.
I’ll even have a chef.

But the castle ends up being a gilded cage, with Connor controlling what I can eat, where I can go, and what I can do.
He’s driving me up the wall with his growling, snarly crap.

Between pregnancy hormones, Connor pushing me to the limits of my patience, and the fact that he’s absurdly hot under the mountain man beard, frustrations are rising quickly.
The angry kind. And the sexy kind.

I’m beginning to suspect that a good man might be lurking under Connor’s permanent scowl, but I know getting entangled with him is a terrible idea.
He’s got demons and secrets, and I’m… what exactly?
I’m the girl with crooked pigtails and paint splattered overalls.

I keep catching glimpses of a life and a family, but I know it’s just a fantasy.
My time with Connor ends on my delivery date.
Which is really unfortunate because I might be falling in love with him...

‘Baby and the Beast’ is a sweet and sexy romcom featuring a bad boy hero and a quirky girl next door on a crazy road to happily ever after. It stands alone with no cheating, cliffhangers, or nonsense.

Connor Prince is a beast.
He’s a rich and infamous ex-movie star with one dream.
He wants a baby. And he wants me to be his surrogate.

I need the money and the contract…

FOSTER:
“Look out for Zach and don’t hit on him.”
My brother’s request sounds easy enough. Keep an eye out for his best friend on campus and keep my hands to myself.
Easy.
Even if Zach is a quintessential nerd, who I’ve always thought was cute, I don’t have the time to think with my … stick.
There’s only one stick I should be focused on this year, and that’s my hockey stick. My goal once I graduate is to get an NHL contract.
The last thing I need is a distraction. On or off the ice
Only, keeping to the rules is harder than I thought it would be.

ZACH:
People confuse me.
And no one more than Foster Grant.
I’ve barely spoken two words to him in the whole time I’ve known him, but the second I step foot on campus, he’s impossible to shake.
I can never anticipate his next move. And whenever we’re together, my next move is a total mystery as well.
I want to give in to him, but that might mean coming clean about something I’ve never been bothered about before.
I’m still carrying my V-card.
And I think it’s time to turn it in.

FOSTER:
“Look out for Zach and don’t hit on him.”
My brother’s request sounds easy enough. Keep an eye out for his best friend on campus and keep my hands to myself.
Easy.…

The ice is a cold mistress. As the league’s most eligible goalie, Max Fournier has access to his fair share of willing puck bunnies, but right now he’s more interested in bringing home another championship than a one-night stand. A romantic at heart, Max believes in love; he’s just not great at relationships. So when he finally meets a nice girl who’s not blinded by his celebrity, he’s feeling the heat—and the pressure to save her from herself.

Between working two jobs and raising her sister’s kids, Julianne Bradley doesn’t have time for sports—or men. All she knows about Max is that he’s the sexiest customer to ever grace her gas-station counter. And he sees past her tired eyes and makes Jules yearn for things she can’t have: a glamorous fling, a passionate lover, and the time to enjoy both. Max makes her feel like Cinderella, even though Jules has enough baggage to crush a glass slipper. Luckily, he’s no prince—only a fierce competitor determined to win her heart.

The ice is a cold mistress. As the league’s most eligible goalie, Max Fournier has access to his fair share of willing puck bunnies, but right now he’s more interested in bringing…

They hurt me, abuse me, use me…

I signed up for it. Literally. I agreed to the contract that made me the Lords’ Lady, a position that requires me to do whatever they want, but only as protection from someone worse. I agreed to be in their beds, on my knees, and punished should I disobey.

I just wasn’t expecting punishment like this.

Killian is two-hundred-and-twenty pounds of muscle, brutal physicality, and pure spite. He thinks I don’t know that he watches me when I sleep.

Tristian is fair-haired and charming to anyone who doesn’t know better. To me, he’s the man who seeks to control me, with his cold eyes and possessiveness.

Rath is the dark-eyed tempest who took me into his bed. Even having been subjected to his barbed tongue, he’s the first man to ever make me feel safe.

I hadn’t realized how much they’ve worn me down and made me feel complacent, but it turns out they’ve messed with my head just as much as they abused my body. Despite the awful things they've done to me, they actually made me feel special. Cared for. Protected.

And then I found out it was all a lie.

The way Tristian cares, Killian’s vigilant eyes, and worst of all, my contented moments in Rath’s bed, were all part of a game.

A game to see who can use me best.

A game they’ve been playing since day one.

And now?

It’s a game I’m going to win.

They hurt me, abuse me, use me…

I signed up for it. Literally. I agreed to the contract that made me the Lords’ Lady, a position that requires me to do whatever they want, but…

22-year-old Sullivan Meadows knew dating Akara & Banks would be complicated, but now that her relationship is public, everything has been put on blast:

@HeatherB: Can’t believe Sullivan Meadows is dating TWO men and they’re like all together. Like OMG. Totally didn’t think the rumors were true.

@YuiK: anyone know what happened to Sullivan Meadows? News is saying something bad went down. Seems bad.

@PaulieP: Why is there no reporting on the thing that “allegedly” happened to that Meadows girl? They aren’t saying whether her boyfriends were there???

@TiffanyW: Y’all I can’t with Sullivan’s boyfriends. They just sandwiched her in PUBLIC to avoid cameras lmao

@RiverT: Banks Moretti & Akara Kitsuwon are totally banging. I don’t make the rules

@CarlaR: OMGOMGOMG Sullivan Meadows qualified for the Olympics! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!

@LacieA: Celebrity Crush is saying ALL the families will be at the Olympics to root for Sullivan. Im dead #HalesMeadowsCobalts

@GeorgieO: Dude no way she wins a gold medal. Sulli the Slut is too busy screwing anything that walks

@VenusQ: I bet her boyfriends will distract her. Last Olympics, she was single. This one, she’s a MESS. Messiness isn’t getting gold #sorrynotsorry

With danger, Olympics, and unexpected life twists on the horizon for Akara, Sulli, and Banks, the only way out of the rising tide is to swim harder.

22-year-old Sullivan Meadows knew dating Akara & Banks would be complicated, but now that her relationship is public, everything has been put on blast:

@HeatherB: Can’t believe…

“How long do you last in bed?” Those were her first words to me, swiftly followed up with, “And how big would you say you are?”

Persephone Alexander. Math genius. Lover of blazers. The only girl I know who can make Heidi braids look sexy as hell. And she’s on a mission. Lose her virginity by the end of the semester.

I walked in on her interview session for potential candidates (who even does that?) and saw straight through her brave front. She’s got a list of Firsts to accomplish like she’s only got months to live. I’ve decided to be her guide for all her firsts except one. Someone’s got to keep her out of trouble. I have one rule, no sex. We even shook on it.

I’ll help her find the right guy for the job. Someone like her doesn’t need someone like me and my massive...baggage for her first time.

Drinking at a bar. Check.

Partying all night. Double check.

Skinny dipping. Triple check.

She’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met. The walls I’d put up around my heart are slowly crumbling with each touch that sets fire to my soul.

I’m the first to bend the rules. One electrifying kiss changes everything and suddenly I don’t want to be her first, I want to be her only. But her plan was written before I came onto the scene and now I’m determined to get her to re-write her future with me.

“How long do you last in bed?” Those were her first words to me, swiftly followed up with, “And how big would you say you are?”

Persephone Alexander. Math genius. Lover of…

Emma Chase, New York Times bestselling author of the Tangled series, returns with a brand new funny, romantic, sexy story!

A knight in tarnished armor is still a knight.

When you’re a defense attorney in Washington, DC, you see firsthand how hard life can be, and that sometimes the only way to survive is to be harder. I, Jake Becker, have a reputation for being cold, callous, and intimidating—and that suits me just fine. In fact, it’s necessary when I’m breaking down a witness on the stand.

Complications don’t work for me—I’m a “need-to-know” type of man. If you’re my client, tell me the basic facts. If you’re my date, stick to what will turn you on. I’m not a therapist or Prince Charming—and I don’t pretend to be.

Then Chelsea McQuaid and her six orphaned nieces and nephews came along and complicated the ever-loving hell out of my life. Now I’m going to Mommy and Me classes, One Direction concerts, the emergency room, and arguing cases in the principal’s office.

Chelsea’s too sweet, too innocent, and too gorgeous for her own good. She tries to be tough, but she’s not. She needs someone to help her, defend her…and the kids.

And that—that, I know how to do.

Emma Chase, New York Times bestselling author of the Tangled series, returns with a brand new funny, romantic, sexy story!

A knight in tarnished armor is still a knight.…