I named myself. I took the word animal out of their mouths, wore it like a badge of honor, then shoved it down their throats. I've fought for what I have. I see you coming before you even know you want a piece of me. In a city riddled with warring families, I'll rise up between them. My people, the broken souls I gather, will have power by the time I'm done with them.

I met her among the chaos of a gang fight - one that I inadvertently started. Ember. Beautiful, feisty, and passionate. And the sister of Mercy, an infamous assassin. We fell for each other, hard. Until forces outside of our control intervened. Now, she's a prisoner, doing everything she can to keep her family safe. And I'm her guard, doing everything I can to set her free. I'd take a bullet for her. Hell, I'd take a few. In this dark, twisted world, we only have each other. But I have to wonder, is that enough?

He taught me to kill. Murder is in my blood now. It runs through my veins and though I hide the monster I see in the mirror with ink, it doesn't keep him from coming out. My street name is Mercy, but I never show any. Except for her. I watch Becca, though she doesn't know. She saved me a long time ago; the day my father killed my mother. Her bravery turned her into a target. My father holds a grudge and knife with the same proficiency, and Becca is the focus of his hatred. And I'm the only monster who can save her.

Verity Michaels is new to New York City, but even she knows riding in a stolen cab is not a normal way to meet someone. Damn it if that tattoo-covered would-be felon isn't everywhere now, and lighting everything on fire under her skirt. His name is Hudson Fenn, and he's frustratingly impossible to pin down. He works as a bike messenger, but has the manners of a prince - along with a strange tendency toward breaking and entering.

Ashira, a belle from the suburbs, is the wealthy acting CEO of her father’s booming building firm. That's when she’s not the dancer on the Gram and TikTok, dating the latest Black Hollywood shooting star. To her, Jas, a construction laborer, is a walking conundrum. He’s fruitlessly ambitious yet steadfast in his spiritual convictions. He’s enigmatic, well-read, regimented, and poor. Oh, and a felon. An incredibly disarming parolee who wants no connection to her. Until he does.

All Zarinah wanted was to fall in love. Growing up, she had kissed her fair share of frogs. When an unconventional situation leads her to Lawson, her wishes might become reality. Lawson is the new CEO of his family's hotel casino chain. He's tired of aimless dating and women just wanting his money. When he meets Zarinah, he instantly feels like she's the one.

Pine River was supposed to be a new start for me. And it was, especially attending school with my three overprotective cousins, who were the triplets at the top of the social hierarchy. Except they weren’t alone there, and the first day when I came to school, I saw him. Scout Raiden. Tall. Lean. Tattooed. Mesmerizing. He was a golden god with dark and piercing eyes—looking like he wanted to eat me up. The feeling was mutual, and that was a problem.

When Kacy Conner crashed her car into the side of my repair shop, I should have ignored it. Given the damage to the building and her car, I couldn’t. But I didn’t have to offer her a place to stay. None of it had to do with her being stranded in our small town or those beautiful blue eyes. And it certainly did not have to do with her contagious laughter or the fact that she’s crazy sexy and feisty. I’m lying. It has everything to do with her. Now, I have to think of a reason to make her stay beyond the two weeks it takes to fix her car.

When ballet dancer Clara Campbell arrives in New Orleans, lonely and homesick, she is immediately captivated by the story of Windisle Plantation and the tragic tale that is said to have transpired beyond its gate. Legend has it that it is abandoned by all living souls, but to Clara’s great surprise, it is not a ghost she hears through the stone wall surrounding the property, but a flesh and blood man: a scarred stranger with a pain deeper and darker than the churning waters of the Mississippi river that flows beside his self-imposed prison.

Grief. I’ve never battled with the raw, debilitating pain that comes with it. Then a twist of fate hits me out of nowhere, and I can barely keep from drowning. It’s like weights tied to my ankles in the middle of a raging ocean. I’m helpless, with no way to swim back to the surface. But fate is crueler still, bringing my stepbrother back for the first time in years.

They say there are three things you should do at least once in your life: Dance like nobody’s watching. Travel the world. And fall hopelessly in love. I aimed to do all three. I went to Italy to find myself. But he found me.

It was supposed to be a harmless kiss at a lavish debutante ball. A clandestine moment with a handsome stranger. But unlike his namesake, my Romeo isn’t driven by love. He’s fueled by revenge. To him, I’m a chess piece. Leverage. His rival’s betrothed. To me, he is a man deserving of poison. A dark prince I refuse to marry. He thinks I’ll accept my fate. Well, I plan to rewrite it. And in my story, Juliet doesn’t die. But Romeo? He perishes.

Rex “TW” McMurtry’s perpetual singlehood wouldn’t bother him so much if all his ex-girlfriends didn’t keep marrying the very next person they dated, especially when so many of those grooms are his closest friends. He may be a pro-football defensive end for the Chicago Squalls, but the press only wants to talk about how he’s always a groomsman and never a groom. Bartender Abigail McNerny is the gal-pal, the wing-woman, the she-BFF. Abby is convinced no one on earth could ever entice her into a romantic relationship...except that one guy she’s loved since preschool.

Working as Ruslan Oryolov’s personal assistant is the job from hell. After a long day spent tending to the billionaire’s every whim, I need some stress relief. So when I get home that night, that’s exactly what I do. Problem is, my thoughts are still stuck on the bosshole, who’s ruining my life. That’s fine—because of all Ruslan’s many sins, being gorgeous might be the most dangerous.

The job offer she expected after taking an unpaid internship at a major shoe company didn’t come through. The friend who’d offered her a place to stay suddenly gave her 48 hours to vacate after a misunderstanding. And when she’s forced to move back to her hometown to live with her father and his mistress-turned-wife, it almost seems impossible for things to get any worse...until she runs into her former best friend, who’s only gotten fine with time.

Whitney had some misgivings when she dropped her increasingly moody teenage daughter, Amelia, off at Lauren’s house. She’d never met the parents, and usually she’d go in, but Amelia clearly wasn’t going to let something so humiliating happen, so instead Whitney waved to her daughter before pulling away from the little house with the roses in front. But when she goes back the next day, an elderly couple answers the door - Amelia and Lauren aren’t there, and this couple swears they never were, that she’s at the wrong house.

When his roof caves in, Sean Lovett thinks things can't get any worse. Until he loses his job, adding yet another bump in the rocky road of his life. None of his so-called friends can—or will—help. And asking a favor from his abusive ex? Hard pass. Luckily, his sister comes to the rescue and offers him a great apartment—in the city, no less—until he can get back on his feet.

Bullets fly during a dangerous mission, and Major Mark Lopez is critically injured. A Blackstone soldier, Mark is transferred to the North Dakota hospital, where he meets a pretty nurse, Mia. After Mark recovers from surgery, he is discharged from the hospital with orders to rest; not that he does. But when he returns to the hospital again and again with minor - and not-so-minor - injuries, Mia suspects he’s only coming to see her. When someone from Mark’s past comes to him for help, more blood is shed, and Mark must put his life on the line to keep Mia safe.

Welcome to Precious, Texas, where fistfights serve as dinner theater and fire ants rain from the sky. The locals are very friendly, if a bit eccentric. No pictures, please, or you may find yourself a guest of the county morgue. Photojournalist Shala Winters already had her hands full bringing tourism to this backward, Podunk town, but her job just got tougher. Pictures can say a thousand words, and one of Shala's is screaming bloody murder. Now she has to entrust a macho, infuriating lawman with her life - but she'll never trust him with her heart.

Nero is the king of Legacy Prep, living a life of power. Elle is the school's punching bag, living a life of fear.

As an employee of MacBain Securities and Solutions, Claire Kelly can certainly hold her own. Armed with an impressive set of covert skills, she’s more than prepared to tackle any job that comes her way...except one involving Cooper Lockman. Cooper and Claire used to work together before his feelings for her sent him packing to Europe for six long years. But now he’s back and determined to ignore the still-smoldering heat that lingers between them. Their current mission: go undercover together at a California high school to root out the mastermind behind a prostitution ring.

A struggling writer must come to terms with her past, present, and future after she discovers that she's the inspiration for a pseudonymously published best-selling novel.

Theo Decker might be the lead singer of Riven, but he hates being a rock star. The paparazzi, the endless tours, being recognized everywhere he goes - it all makes him squirm. The only thing he doesn't hate is the music. Feeling an audience's energy as they lose themselves in Riven's music is a rush unlike anything else...until he meets Caleb Blake Whitman. Caleb is rough and damaged, yet his fingers on his guitar are pure poetry. And his hands on Theo? They're all he can think about. But Caleb's no groupie - and one night with him won't be enough.

As Darby Dixon sits in a tiny Texas church bathroom on her wedding day holding a positive pregnancy test, she realizes marrying her fiancé would be the worst decision of her life. She's never been very good at standing up for herself, but she'll sure as hell stand up for her baby. With very little cash and a ton of courage, she flees town to take a new name and start a new life.

To survive where I live, you have two options. You can be a Normal - a cheerleader, jock, member of the debate team, or on the yearbook committee. You pretend everything is normal. Or you can be crew. You insult us? We hurt you. You hurt us? We really hurt you. And if you f--k with us, we will end you. My name is Bren. I'm the only female in the Wolf Crew - the best, fiercest, and most dangerous crew there is - and we have a rule: There's no falling in love. Well...too late.

Hit me. Kick me. Hurt me. Hate me. There’s nothing that the students of Raleigh High can do to Silver Parisi anymore. Over the past year, she’s had to endure more pain and suffering than most people are asked to bear in their lifetimes. She’s a pariah, an outcast, a ghost. She’s also never been one to take shit lying down, though...despite what half the football team might say. With only 168 days left of the school year, it won’t be long until graduation, and Silver’s planning on skipping town and leaving Raleigh firmly in her rearview mirror. Until he comes along....

Charlotte has spent her 20s adrift, searching for a spark to jump-start her life and give her a sense of purpose. She’s had as many jobs as she’s had bad relationships, and now she’s feeling especially lost in her less-than-glamorous gig at a pie-and-fry joint in Los Angeles, where the uniforms are bad and the tips are even worse. Then she collides - literally - with Adam, an intriguing, handsome, and mysterious painter.

This audiobook box set collects the first three books in the new-adult romance series Empire High: Empire High Untouchables, Empire High Elite, and Empire High Betrayal. At a high-school where the wealthy, beautiful kids are on top, a new student comes in and shakes everything up.

Pittsburgh, 1995. The son of a black father he’s never known and a white mother he sometimes wishes he didn’t, 22-year-old Bobby Saraceno is passing for white. Raised by his bigoted maternal grandfather, Bobby has hidden his truth from everyone, even his best friend and fellow comic-book geek, Aaron, who has just returned home from prison a hardened racist.

Abandoned by a father who didn't want me. Cherished by a stepfather, though I wasn't his. Shattered by a boy who swore he loved me. But I belonged nowhere, to no one. Then I met Owen, the sweet-talking hockey player who made me love him. He gave me the courage to trust in someone besides myself. He showed me a love I longed for. When an unwanted ghost comes knocking on my door, my heartbreaking history threatens to repeat itself. But where do I turn if I lose everyone? And how do I find where I belong, when I'm still Finding Me?

He taught me to kill. Murder is in my blood now. It runs through my veins and though I hide the monster I see in the mirror with ink, it doesn't keep him from coming out. My street name is Mercy, but I never show any. Except for her. I watch Becca, though she doesn't know. She saved me a long time ago; the day my father killed my mother. Her bravery turned her into a target. My father holds a grudge and knife with the same proficiency, and Becca is the focus of his hatred. And I'm the only monster who can save her.

Noah Becker is nothing but trouble. That's what Mama told me when I was a kid, kicking his pew in church and giggling at the games we'd play. It's what the town said when his father died and the Becker brothers went wild. And it's on repeat in my mind the day I walk into the whiskey distillery where he works to buy a wedding gift for my fiancé.

I met her among the chaos of a gang fight - one that I inadvertently started. Ember. Beautiful, feisty, and passionate. And the sister of Mercy, an infamous assassin. We fell for each other, hard. Until forces outside of our control intervened. Now, she's a prisoner, doing everything she can to keep her family safe. And I'm her guard, doing everything I can to set her free. I'd take a bullet for her. Hell, I'd take a few. In this dark, twisted world, we only have each other. But I have to wonder, is that enough?

He told me that he’d destroy me. I knew he wasn’t lying, and I loved him anyway. I believed in love - in him. I just wasn’t prepared to carry the weight of his demons. I wanted forever with him, but life showed me love was temporary, and forever was a dream. Despite everything that happened, even now, I wouldn’t change any of it. For a love to have the capacity to destroy you, it has to be extraordinarily powerful - and that kind of love is impossible to walk away from.

Becoming a godfather was a close second. Paul and Emily Clarke have been my best friends for over twenty years. We've gone through it all. We were the three musketeers. When my best friends are ripped from all of our lives, leaving behind a broken piece of themselves, I know it's up to me to put things back together.