Chocolate Alchemy: A Bean-To-Bar Primer

Heartbroken. Betrayed. Determined to start over. When aspiring chef Evelyn Hayes discovers her fiancé in bed with her best friend, her world falls apart. Leaving behind her small-town life, she heads to New York City, vowing to focus on her dreams—and never let love get in the way again. But fate has other plans. Enter Damian Blackstone: a billionaire playboy with a ruthless reputation and a family determined to force him into a commitment he’s not ready for. His solution? A deal with Evelyn—pretend to be his girlfriend and help him get his mother off his back, and he’ll jumpstart her culinary career. What begins as a simple arrangement soon sparks undeniable chemistry, testing both their hearts and their limits. As the lines between pretense and passion blur, Evelyn fights to protect her heart, while Damian grapples with feelings he never expected. Will Evelyn and Damian find the courage to embrace the love they never saw coming? Or will their carefully constructed façade crumble under the weight of their growing feelings? The Chef and the Charmer is a slow-burn romance full of betrayal, humor, and the kind of sparks you can’t fake.

At seventeen, Tiana’s world shatters when a cruel twist of fate forces her into marriage with Nikolai Toriaga — the arrogant heir to a billion-dollar coffee empire and the same boy who made her life hell in high school. For eight long years, she endures the cold silence and lovelessness of the Toriaga household. But in secret, Tiana earns a PhD in Business Administration and quietly becomes a billionaire, investing her allowance in cryptocurrency and major company shares. When Nikolai’s father dies, Tiana assumes the marriage is over. The man who forced it is gone, and so is the reason for Nikolai to stay. Her fears are confirmed when he shows up to the funeral with a world-famous model on his arm, while Tiana remains his estranged wife. Determined to reclaim her life, she steps into the spotlight, taking a job at Lancaster Group — a global chocolate brand — and reconnects with Ryan Lancaster, a former classmate who once secretly adored her. She expects the long-overdue divorce papers, but instead, Nikolai starts coming home… watching her, wanting her. When she finally confronts him, he fiercely responds, “There’s no way we’re getting a divorce, Tiana.”

Orennox is a wizard who has been around since the world was made. As technology progresses, magic tends to wane and Orennox adapts to the trends. Now called Oren Knox, he is mostly known as a gunfighter, a notoriously cheap gunfighter who will use magic to make one bullet do the work of many so he doesn't have to keep buying ammunition. His quest is to locate the last Earth Nodes, the last strongholds of magic, and harness their power with the goal of bringing back his trapped wife. In order to find these Earth Nodes, he must use the services of the female Diabolists (night witches) who can sense the magic from long distances. Only, Diabolists are extremely rare and there is a psychopathic killer out there who wants them all dead. After losing one Diabolist to fate, Oren must protect his new asset from those who would hunt her down and kill her so he can find enough magic to complete his quest. However, he is not the only wizard left looking for Diabolists, Diabolists have minds of their own, and, according to him, everyone Oren comes in contact with is a sidewinding, low down, scoundrel.

Kryzelle Rivera is a hardworking and bubbly barista in a cozy café in Makati, well-known for her warm smile and her talent for crafting the perfect cappuccino. One day, a wealthy young entrepreneur named Zander Castillo walks into the café. He is known for his charm, striking good looks, and a slightly tsundere personality. Because of a small incident in the café—a spilled coffee and a misunderstanding—their awkward encounters begin, slowly turning into playful banter, heart-fluttering moments, and a sweet romance. As they get to know each other, they discover that both of them carry emotional scars and hidden secrets. Despite coming from completely different worlds—barista and rich businessman—it becomes harder to stop their feelings from growing. From simple coffee orders to fancy events, unexpected trips, and comedic situations, they slowly learn that love is much like a perfect cappuccino—smooth, warm, and balanced with just the right mix of sweetness and bitterness. Though their worlds are far apart, a love begins to bloom. But sometimes, love is like coffee—it needs the right blend, or it turns bitter. But what if one day, the man she loves is hiding a secret that should have stayed buried long ago? Will she run away from the struggle, or will she fight for love and protect the sweetness they’ve built together?

In shifter society, Eden isn’t the paradise you’re used to hearing about in the Bible. It’s the place where all girls are housed from birth until their 18th birthday. A war between the humans and shifters left the werewolf population decimated and diseased due to poisonous agents used against the wolves. As a result, birth rates of purebred werewolves declined extraordinarily, while the presence of mutant werewolves rose. To combat their fertility crisis, the Elders invented Eden where young girls were kept locked away from society. Their knowledge of the outside world is very limited and their only purpose is to become breeders after their 18th birthday when they are selected by their mates during the Breeding Selection Ceremony. If the girls don’t prove they are purebred wolves or turn into mutants, then they are killed by the Alphas. Imani is shamelessly classified as a Breeder C–the most undesirable amongst the breeders. She hates that the girls are subjected to such barbaric practices and desires to escape from Eden. What she doesn’t expect is to run into Alpha Jackson, the man who was tasked to kill her on her 18th birthday if she didn’t prove to be a purebred wolf.  The Breeding Selection Ceremony commences and Imani is certain she doesn’t have a wolf. As her “sisters” are dying around her, Imani is shocked when Alpha Jackson spares her life. Not only does he spare her life, but he selects her as his Breeder! Alpha Jackson only kills when he’s 100% certain, but there is something off about Imani and the only way he can get to the bottom of it is if he keeps her close.

The Weight of Gold is a trilogy about what happens after the meet-cute — not the falling, but the building. It follows Eleanor across seven years as she trades inherited splendor for a chosen life: a small house, a workshop full of sawdust and linseed oil, a diner owner who becomes her true north, and a town that becomes her home. But it is also the story of the people pulled into the orbit of a life genuinely lived. A cousin who arrives hollowed-out by the wrong marriage and finds her footing in native plants and honest argument. A mother who mistakes the form of a life for the life itself, and slowly, carefully, begins to dismantle that mistake. A sculptor who needs wood that speaks. A town that goes better for being attended to. At its heart, this is a story about craft — the craft of furniture, of restoration, of building institutions and relationships and selves. About the difference between the shape a life is supposed to take and the shape it wants to take. About a word Daniel uses for bleached wood: ghost — not white, not absent, but elsewhere, waiting for the right conditions to return. Eleanor spends seven years learning that ghost is not an ending. It is the beginning of something better.