In this exciting novel from USA Today best-selling author Amanda Roberts, the story of the slow march toward the fall of the Qing Dynasty comes to life in vivid detail, revealing a world of love, sex, ambition, and intrigue surrounding the world of empresses, princesses, consorts, and concubines, and the emperors they served.
History books may tell about the fall of the Qing Dynasty. But they haven’t told my story…
Born to a family of wealth and privilege, Zhenxiu was trained from a young age to become the wife of a very powerful man, though she prayed it would not be Prince Yizhu, the future Xianfeng Emperor, a man with cruel and salacious appetites. The sudden death of the prince’s consort, however, thrusts fifteen-year-old Zhenxiu into the prince’s bed and the center of the Qing Court, a court still reeling from the aftershocks of the Opium War.
Zhenxiu finds solace in the friendship of a girl named Lanhua, and she does her best to help her friend rise in the emperor’s estimation. When the emperor dies and leaves only Lanhua’s five-year-old son as his heir, Zhenxiu finds herself as the de facto ruler of China, a position she was never trained to occupy. As she leans more and more on Lanhua for help, she slowly comes to realize that Lanhua’s ambition has no bounds. An ambition that could get them both killed.
The Other Empress is a riveting historical drama that brings to light the story of an empress who stood at the helm of the Qing Dynasty for more than twenty years. An empress overshadowed by the strong presence of the woman who would prove to be her dearest friend—and her most dangerous rival.
USA Today Bestselling Author, Jane Anthony, delivers a provocative tale of lust, love, and all-out war. Opposites attract when Dylan Masters — a golden boy from a wealthy political family — meets Darla Burke—smart-mouthed former bully with a big attitude—on their angst-fueled road from hate to love.
Dylan Masters is the worst. Our only date ended with me doing the walk of shame with his taste still lingering on my tongue. I never expected to see him again . . . nor did I want to.
But when he walks into my restaurant the next morning, I have no choice but to serve him lunch with a smile. Turns out, Dylan isn’t just a date gone wrong—he’s the governor’s son. And I’m nothing more than poor trailer trash, only good for one thing in his eyes.
He acts as if I’m beneath him, but sometimes I wonder if his callous behavior is more than class warfare. There is something else brewing behind his obvious disdain for “the help.” He hates me in public, but when we’re alone, the mask falls away. We’re caught up in a dangerous game, one I fear we both may lose in the end.
In a world where cash is king, Dylan Masters finally found the one thing he wants that money can’t buy: me.
Jane Anthony is a USA Today best-selling author of contemporary/new adult romance & women’s fiction. A reader proclaimed “queen of angst”, she approaches tough subjects with a gritty voice that tugs on your heart and leaves you breathless.
It’s here! Look at this gorgeous cover of The Friendship Adjustment by Paulina Ian-Kane!! The book releases April 2nd and is available for pre-order NOW!
Cold, rude, and aloof are the nicest terms people usually use to describe me. But my apathetic attitude has gotten me this far, and I’m quite fine with it. I’m not even sure I’m capable of romantic feelings.
That is, until Daniel bursts into my life. He’s my complete opposite in every way—delicate, elegant, sweet, and kind. From the moment I laid eyes on him, I’ve had an inexplicable urge to protect him.
Three months has passed since that day and he’s become a close friend I can’t possibly live without.
But what happens when I start seeing him in a different light? When I become jealous and possessive of him when another guy shows his interest? When I finally get a taste of his sweet lips and want more?
Should I just ignore all of it? I definitely should.
Daniel is too good for me. What could a forty-three-year-old with more baggage than an airport luggage carousel possibly offer him?
Our friendship is at risk…or maybe it’s just in need of some adjustments.
Content warning: This is an MM story, book two in the Love After Forty series. It contains an MC with a neurodiverse condition, strong language, very hot sexual scenes and hilarious side characters. Each book in the series can be read as a stand-alone.
Wall Street Journal & USA Today Bestselling Author Glenna Maynard brings you another gritty, age gap MC romance set in the Royal Bastards MC World.
Ember Moving in with my brother and his roommate, Smoke is my first mistake. Getting involved with a biker is bad choice number two. Hiding the relationship is the third strike in a series of poor choices. My brother has made it clear that I’m to stay away from the Royal Bastards MC. Only when it comes to Smoke, I can’t resist him. He makes me want to play with fire no matter how deep the burn will be when we’re over. My affiliation with the club puts a target on my back. When danger strikes, Smoke vows to protect my body, but what about my stupid heart?
Smoke After the end of a bitter marriage, I’m done with relationships. Hit’em and quit’em is the name of my game. I have no shame. I’m a player. Entering into a friends with benefits agreement with Ember on the down low is the perfect set up for a guy like me. No strings. No attachments. No catching feelings. I’m a bastard who can’t be tamed. But when an enemy threatens her, all bets are off.
Taming The Biker is book 13 of the Royal Bastards Charleston, WV series and reads as a standalone. However, for best enjoyment the series should be read in order.
For a limited time you can get an audio copy of The Sassy Submissive by Golden Angel for just $2.99 on select platforms.
If you love to listen to BDSM romance, this is the deal for you!Learn more & find your favorite retailer here: https://geni.us/SassySubAudio
BLURB: A Dom with trust issues and a submissive pretending to be something she’s not… what could possibly go wrong?
“If you’ve ever wanted to be part of an intimate real world BDSM circle, but leaving the house isn’t your jam… the Stronghold series is the perfect fictional home away from home.” – Loki Renard, USA Today Bestselling Author
After years of reading but never doing, Angel is finally ready to explore her fantasies in real life. The only problem? She’ll have to learn the ropes all alone. Adopting a false Mistress persona for one club to explore the lifestyle, she’s not expecting to be irresistibly attracted to one of men she meets, but she persists in pretending to be something she’s not.
Master Adam is looking for a relationship, and not with a Mistress, but he can’t get “Mistress Angela’s” face out of his head. His past has taught him to hate deception and liars, so when he meets Angel again as the submissive she really is, he has an important choice to make: turn and walk away or teach the impertinent subbie a lesson about misrepresenting herself.#audiobooks #audiobooksale #discountaudiobook #booksale #bookdeals #cheapreads #cheaplistens #romancenovels #romancebooks #bdsmromance #eroticromance #steamyromance #thesassysubmissive #strongholddoms #reading #books #booklovers #readers #booknews #bookbuzz
There are two sides to every love story: his—and hers.
From Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon bestselling author Winter Renshaw comes a collection of binge-worthy romance novels that have captured the hearts of readers all over the world. These seven full-length, standalone novels feature grumpy, alpha-hole heroes and the intelligent, fearless women they never saw coming.
From the pages of ABSINTHE, where two internet strangers find themselves in the midst of forbidden love when they unexpectedly meet in person, to TRILLION, a fake-engagement boss-employee romance with a trilionaire twist, this collection has it all.
Meet a woman who returns home after ten years to make good on a marriage pact with her rough and tumble high school sweetheart in WHISKEY MOON. Discover what happens when you accidentally fall for your ex’s insufferably heartless best friend in STONE COLD. And that’s just the beginning.
These angsty, addictive standalones will keep you reading late into the night. Don’t miss out on the chance to own this limited-edition grumpy sunshine, opposites-attract, enemies-to-lovers collection!
INCLUDED IN THIS BOX SET:
1. Stone Cold
2. Absinthe
3. Trillion
4. Hate the Game
5. Whiskey Moon
6. The Best Man
7. Enemy Dearest
TRILLION
Sophie
I’m in the middle of running a Tuesday report for Miranda in Accounts Receivable when my office phone flashes with an unfamiliar extension.
It takes me three rings to process the name on the Caller ID.
It takes me an additional stomach-dropping ring to answer. “Sophie Bristol speaking.”
In the three years I’ve worked at Westcott Corporation, Trey Westcott has never called me.
“Ms. Bristol, I need you to report to my office.” The commanding tenor in my boss’ voice sends actual chills down my spine—not an easy feat. “Immediately.”
The number of times I’ve physically seen the unknowable powerhouse of a man, I could count on one hand, and all of those times have been in passing—with today being an exception.
From what I’ve heard, a person only gets called into his office when they’re about to be fired. The man likes to dole out pink slips in person. He claims it’s a respect thing, though I can’t help but wonder if he simply gets off on it. Power changes people.
Then again, Westcott’s been powerful his entire life. Born to one of the wealthiest families in the world and orphaned as a teenager, he’s spent the past twenty years turning his $500 billion inheritance into a net worth that tops a trillion dollars.
A hundred times, I’ve tried to wrap my head around that kind of money, but I can’t come close to fathoming it. They say if you were to count to a trillion, it would take two-hundred-thousand years. I don’t think an ordinary person could stay sane with that kind of influence and authority.
Some of the most prominent people in existence are terrified of him—of his capabilities. And the shroud of mystery (and rumors) that surround him only add to his intimidating allure.
I log out of my computer and quickly calculate the odds of it being the last time I do so. He’s got no reason to let me go, that I can think of, but I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve watched some poor, thankless company minion packing their belongings into a cardboard box while they attempt not to break down in tears in front of their staring colleagues. Once they load the elevator, they’re never seen or heard from again.
I don’t tend to fear anyone.
Trey Westcott is an exception.
For the past hour, I’ve replayed the break room incident in my mind on a loop, wondering what he heard and how much, if any, he attributed to me.
He stopped me in the hallway and said, “Thanks for … that.”
Was there sarcasm in his tone?
What if he thought I was the one spreading those ridiculous rumors?
Also, why is he calling me personally? He has half a dozen assistants to do this sort of thing …
“Ms. Bristol?” His brusque voice in my ear tells me I don’t have time to wonder.
“Yes.” I keep my composure and swallow my concerns for now. “I’ll be right there.”
Westcott is my boss’ boss’ boss’ boss’ boss on a zig-zagged chart that makes me dizzy if I stare at it for too long. I didn’t think the man knew I existed.
I’ve sat in on some meetings, amongst a hundred others, and we’ve passed in the hallway a time or two, never making eye contact. Other than that, nothing about our dealings have been remarkable or memorable, at least not for him.
I slip my work badge around my neck and lock up my office, mentally calculating how long it’ll take to get from the eighth floor of the southwest corner of our extensive corporate campus to the northeast section where I’ll hitch a ride on a private elevator to a penthouse office suite where Mr. Westcott spends no less than seventy hours a week.
Five minutes later, I check in at the desk outside his office where his number one assistant works behind a shiny black desk so gargantuan it nearly swallows her whole.
“Mr. Westcott wanted to see me,” I say. “Sophie Bristol, from Payroll.”
Spa-like music plays from hidden speakers but the air is particularly icy. I heard this is how he works. The hospital-grade air purifier combined with the frigid sixty-six degree thermostat keeps Westcott clear-headed and helps him do his best thinking.
The nameplate on the assistant’s desk identifies her as Mona, and while I’ve seen hundreds of emails go out on his behalf—all with her name on them—I’d yet to put a face with it. She’s stunning. Wide set hazel eyes. Inky dark hair that shines like lacquered glass. Pouty, matte-red lips. Lingerie model body. Baby face. Barely twenty-three if I had to guess.
She taps a button on her phone, lifts her fingers to the microphone of her headset, and mutters something low before pointing to the double doors behind her with the hand-carved Westcott monogram: a giant W flanked with a P on the left and an A on the right.
Pierce Ainsworth Westcott III.
The third in a line of successful, old-moneyed men, the world has only ever known him as Trey.
“You can head in,” she says, gaze careful yet curious. “Mr. Westcott is ready for you.”
I press my fingertips against the gold-plated door handle and give it a push.
It swings open and in a flash of a second, I know how Alice felt when she went down the rabbit hole.
Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon bestselling author Winter Renshaw is a bona fide daydream believer. She lives somewhere in the middle of the USA and can rarely be seen without her trusty Mead notebook and ultra portable laptop. When she’s not writing, she’s living the American dream with her husband, three kids, and the laziest puggle this side of the Mississippi.
And if you’d like to be the first to know when a new book is coming out, please sign up for her private mailing list here —> http://eepurl.com/bfQU2j
I knew Penny Lane had something up her sleeve the moment she accepted the job she’d never wanted before. I knew it was a mistake to let her into my organization. My family. And I did it anyhow. Because she was a friend of the family. Because Sloane Brennan and Brooks Peterson stood up for her. And because I’d wanted the girl since we were kids.
I should have listened to my brother and kept her out of it. But now it’s too late. Because whoever is coming after my family is coming after her, too. They think she knows more than she does. They think she’s more important than she is to my family. And they’re willing to kill her to prove it.
But only if they can get through me and my men.
Do I know what she was doing? No. Do I think I can trust her? Honestly, I’m not sure. Do I have any intention of letting anyone else get their hands on her?
Absolutely not.
Because somewhere between hiring her to protect her and dancing through the night at a museum benefit, I fell for the girl I was never supposed to fall for. And now that I’ve got her, I’m not going to give her back.
Even if keeping her costs me my life.
Her Keeper is a swoonworthy romantic adventure that features enemies to lovers, a girl who’s in over her head and the guy who’s going to do whatever it takes to save her, spying, intrigue, hijinks, kidnapping, guns, and plenty of sexual tension, and is the second in the Penny and Michael duology of New York Rogues.
Once upon a time, there was a young man who loved a girl, and she loved him right back. Then I threw it all away. Turns out guys born into darkness don’t get a happily ever after.
And now that darkness owns me.
As the underboss to one of the youngest dons in La Cosa Nostra, responsibility is a heavy cross to bear. Regret is not an option. My grandfather taught me that the world is ruthless—and now, so am I.
Until she came back, and all I have are regrets.
Stubborn, she throws my family’s protection back in our faces. Now word is out, and she’s become a target for more than one reason.
Our enemies are conspiring against us, and a war is brewing. I can’t let her get caught in the crossfire. We need to be able to trust each other, yet we both have secrets that threaten to destroy us.
I’ll find a way. Because I. Never. Give. Up.
🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺
Dive into the dark world of the Sicilian Mafia and the men that keep it alive and well. It all starts with blood…
The truth always surfaces at the Bennett Fantasy Resorts, even in the Arctic.
When Rosi Sanchez wins the trip of a lifetime her hope is to find secrets hidden in the frozen tundra around the Glacial Palace Resort—secrets in the form of mythical creatures that will help her prove to the world such monsters exist. What she doesn’t plan on is falling for the handsome “face” of the resort, extreme sports superstar Austin Cooper.
Austin’s goal is to make it into the brand-new space games and a gig at the resort is his ticket there. But when the contest winner he’s supposed to take on a private excursion turns out to be a smart and sexy twenty-something with a firecracker personality, his goals begin to unravel. The problem is he’s sworn off getting close to anyone because of the danger involved in his lifestyle, and a dangerous truth he’s keeping buried.
When the cryptid creature Rosi uncovers turns out to be all too real, everyone’s secrets start an unavoidable avalanche that could bury them all.
Rosa. My Mafia Princess. I promise always to protect you. Life has dealt me a raw deal since the day of my birth. I’ve experienced loss and death. Been alone and filled with hatred. If it weren’t for my MC brothers and club, I’d have nothing to live for.
My orders are clear: take Rosa Remotti Morrison home to her family and return to the compound.
Except the brunette beauty has become my deepest obsession. I hate how my heart races when she’s near me. I barely eat and sleep, wholly consumed with the young woman who possesses me in ways I never thought possible.
I can’t hide the love coursing through my veins… I must leave Rosa and never look back. It is wrong to desire her when I will only hurt her as I have done to another. I swore never to love again, and I won’t break that promise.
My resolve is short-lived when Rosa’s family wants her to marry a man unworthy of her. I must intervene and claim my Mafia Princess—our age gap be damned. Only my actions set off a chain of events I cannot stop. Or maybe I wish not to stop the inevitable because Rosa means more to me than anyone else, even more than my club.