What Is The Best Ilana Tan Novel To Read First?

He shouldn’t have imagined her lying naked on his bed. She shouldn’t have imagined his devilishly handsome face between her legs. But it was too late. Kiara began noticing Ethan's washboard abs when he hopped out of the pool, dripping wet after swim practice. Ethan began gazing at Kiara’s golden skin in a bikini as a grown woman instead of the girl next door he grew up with. That kiss should have never happened. It was just one moment in a lifetime of moments, but they both felt its power. They knew the thrumming in their veins and desperation in their bodies might give them all they ever wanted or ruin everything if they followed it. Kiara and Ethan knew they should have never kissed. But it's too late to take that choice back, so they have a new one to make. Fall for each other and risk their friendship or try to forget one little kiss that might change everything. PREVIEW: “If you don’t want to kiss me then... let’s swim.” “Yeah, sure.” “Naked.” “What?” “I always wanted to try skinny dipping. And I really want to get out of these clothes.” “What if someone catches you... me, both?” “We will be in the pool, Ethan. And no one can see us from the living room.” I smirked when I said, “Unless you want to watch me while I swim, you can stay here.” His eyes darkened, and he looked away, probably thinking the same when I noticed red blush creeping up his neck and making his ears and cheeks flush. Cute. “Come on, Ethan. Don’t be a chicken...” “Fine.” His voice was rough when he said, “Remove that sweater first.”

Synopsis of The Vans International Billionaire Julian Vance is a hyper-focused, notoriously paranoid tech billionaire weeks away from launching an autonomous shipping empire that will redefine global logistics. Driven by the ghost of his father’s financial ruin, Julian trusts no one and relies strictly on cold, hard logic. But when a catastrophic routing error threatens to tank his company’s imminent IPO, he leaves a chaotic, failed algorithm scrawled across his penthouse office glass wall in a fit of midnight rage. By morning, the multi-billion-dollar mathematical bottleneck has been flawlessly solved by an anonymous outsider who left behind a sarcastic sticky note. The mathematical savior is Maya Lin, a fiercely independent young woman working two exhausting jobs—grocery cashier by day and night-shift commercial janitor by night—to fund her younger brother’s critical cerebral palsy treatments. Guided by an intuitive, self-taught mind for numbers, Maya simply couldn't look past the broken syntax. When Julian discovers the breach on security footage, his lifelong paranoia flares. Convinced Maya is a highly trained corporate spy sent by his bitterest rival, he decides to keep his enemy close. He pulls her out of the shadows, forcing her into a high-stakes, 24/7 role as his personal executive assistant. Trapped in a world of intense corporate deadlines and forced proximity, the firewall between them crumbles. Maya handles Julian’s high-pressure lifestyle with unvarnished honesty, even anchoring him through a severe panic attack, while Julian discovers the raw brilliance and desperate family sacrifices behind her defensive exterior. But when a real, devastating cyberattack leaks the proprietary code, the engineered evidence frames Maya. To claim a future together, Julian must choose between the ruthless, defensive logic that built his empire or calculating the ultimate wildcard: trusting the woman who rewrote his entire life.

Five years ago, Lilian West's world shattered when she discovered that her marriage had been nothing but a carefully crafted lie. Her best friend, Emily, had introduced Wilson as her cousin, but in reality, he was her lover, and together, they had planned a scheme to strip Lilian of her family's wealth. Blinded by love, Lilian used her father’s resources to propel Wilson’s career as a fashion designer and then she signed over her father’s assets to him. The betrayal came crashing down when she uncovered their deceit—just as she learned she was pregnant. With his mission accomplished, Wilson coldly discarded her, leaving her homeless and broken. Powerless but fueled by vengeance, she made a bold move—marrying his stepbrother and relocating into a new city, where she gave birth to twins with extraordinary talents. Over the next five years, their unique abilities led her to unimaginable success, transforming her into the most powerful and influential woman in the world. At last, the moment to crush Wilson had arrived, and everything was falling into place—until, once again, her world came crumbling down.

When corporate attorney Isla Bennett catches her fiancé in bed with her assistant on the eve of their wedding, she makes a reckless decision that changes everything, she crashes his uncle's million-dollar charity gala and publicly calls off the engagement. But her dramatic exit leads to an unexpected collision with Damien Cross, her ex-fiancé's estranged uncle and the ruthless CEO she's been hired to oppose in the biggest merger case of her career. One impulsive kiss to prove she's moved on turns into a dangerous attraction neither can ignore. Now Isla must choose between the partnership she's worked ten years to achieve and the man who could destroy everything she's built, or give her a second chance at the life she really wants.

Anika Sterling was the perfect wife, the perfect employee, and the perfect scapegoat. Betrayed by her husband, discarded by her step-sister, and left to drown in the dark waters of the river, Anika’s life was supposed to end. But destiny, and the most dangerous man in the city, had other plans. Everyone knows the legend of Icelyn Alabaster Sterling: cold, untouchable, and utterly heartless. He is the man who oversees an empire, the man who terrifies his own nephew, and the man Anika Sterling once feared from across a crowded room. Saved by him, Anika is given a choice: vanish forever, or burn her past to the ground. She chooses war. By marrying the man who holds the Sterling empire’s strings, she transforms from the discarded wife into the formidable "Aunt" who commands respect. But as Anika builds her legacy, she uncovers a secret: the terrifying realization that her savior’s love wasn't a rescue... It was a hunt, and what's more terrifying, she wanted him to.

“Zion,” I mutter. “If you don’t get your filthy hands off of me, you will not like the result.” “You used to beg for these filthy hands,” he murmurs. I am shocked by his words, and when I look up to look at him, the desire is unmistakable.“I prefer cleaner hands now,” I reply. His eyes flash in anger. “Let’s see about that.” “What do you mean by that?” I ask. “Come to my home, and I will make you forget about all the clean hands that have been on you.” I lick my lips without even knowing it. My heart thunders, and I hate it. I hate the way I hate Zion, but my body doesn’t. “I will never sleep with you again.” He smirks slightly and steps even closer to my personal space, not caring about everyone in the room. “Who said anything about sleeping?” Before I can say anything, he walks away, and I look at his retreating figure, feeling a wetness I haven’t felt in a long time. And it has to be for the man I am going to destroy. ______ At 22, Alana is the young, loyal and brilliant PA to the rising young billionaire heir Zion Koh Foster. She falls for the young billionaire quietly, and he falls for her even harder. But then there is a corporate betrayal that shakes the Foster empire. Zion is manipulated into believing that Alana was a snitch planted to give information to their rivals. He destroys her publicly. Ashamed, she leaves, but years later, she returns, but not as his assistant, but as the woman who can take everything from him. And that is exactly what she wants.