How Does 'Unwholly' Compare To Its Prequel In Terms Of Pacing?

Her grandmother knew the power she held so she chained it to make sure she would be safe. The day came when her family and the world was at stake. Would her choice to unchain her gifts to save the world make her lose everything she holds dear

Declan Callahan knew the instant he saw her at school: Evie McCarthy was his. He claimed her with a sick obsession, married her, had a daughter—until the day he lost her forever. Or so he thought. Six years later, in the middle of her wedding to another man, Declan storms into New York Cathedral, snatches the bride from the altar, and throws her over his shoulder. Evie doesn't remember him. She doesn't remember anything. To her, he's just a dangerous stranger. But Declan doesn't care. He'll take her back to Dublin. He'll imprison her. He'll mark her. He'll make her remember—even if he has to break her to do it. Across the ocean, Harvey Prescott, the man who kept her trapped in a lie for five years, declares war. Two obsessed monsters. One woman. Between fragmented memories, toxic desire, and an attraction she can't control, Evie discovers the darkest truth: she doesn't want to choose. She wants both.

Twice in One Life follows the story of Celine Hayes, a once-powerful businesswoman whose life is cut short by a betrayal orchestrated by the people closest to her. A year after her death, Celine returns as a ghost, unable to move on until she finds justice. She crosses paths with Ònààrà, a modern-day shaman, and discovers Evelyn, a woman who unknowingly serves as the perfect vessel for Celine’s spirit. With Ònààrà’s reluctant help, Celine possesses Evelyn and begins to piece together the events that led to her murder. She returns to the life she left behind, re-entering the world under the guise of Evelyn, and plans to marry her former fiancé, Darren. But as truths begin to unravel, Celine learns of Darren’s inappropriate relationship with his sister and the deep-rooted hatred that led to her death. As her connection to Evelyn begins to blur, and her desire for revenge intensifies, Celine is faced with a painful reality: to find peace, she may have to sacrifice the last shred of her humanity or risk dragging another innocent soul into her tragic fate.

Eliza Ward does not fall through time. Time bends toward her. Pulled from the present into Revolutionary America, Eliza becomes trapped in a landscape where history repeats unevenly, battles restart with variations, and memory functions as both anchor and weapon. She is not a chosen heroine, but a constant: a woman whose awareness destabilizes the moment itself. She meets Mercy Hale, a midwife and witch who understands time as a negotiation rather than a force to command. Mercy aids Eliza’s survival while refusing the role of savior, having already learned the cost of standing too close to history’s center. During a looping battle, Eliza saves Thomas Reed, a Continental soldier who does not shift when time does. Thomas is an anchor: steady, observant, unchanged across iterations. Their bond deepens in an almost-normal village where time briefly behaves. Eliza’s intervention triggers time’s response. Rather than immediate destruction, time collects interest. Mercy bargains to spare Eliza and Thomas, sacrificing her own future to stabilize the present. Time extracts payment from Eliza as well, stripping away her voice, the very tool she uses to name and hold moments in place. Silenced and unmoored, Eliza is violently displaced back into the original battle. Unable to anchor the moment, she watches Thomas die in the version of history that was always waiting beneath her defiance. Told in rotating perspectives between Eliza, Thomas, and Mercy, The Hours That Refused to Behave is a lyrical time-travel novel about revolution, restraint, and consequence, asking not whether history can be changed, but who pays when it is.

I begged my husband 304 times before he finally agreed to spend a birthday with our seriously ill daughter. We waited until the cake on the table melted and the warmth slowly left our daughter’s body, but he never showed up. Then, his first love shared a photo on social media. In it, my husband had one arm around her and the other holding her child. Behind them stood a towering birthday cake display. Our daughter had waited five years for a birthday cake that never came. Yet another child received it without even trying. The caption read: The promised tiered cake is finally here! I quietly liked the post. Soon after, he texted me, demanding an explanation. [How many times do I have to tell you? Miranda’s daughter is dealing with depression, and I need to be there for her. Don’t call me unless it’s urgent.] I looked down at the child in my arms, whose body had gone completely cold. “Alright,” I said softly. “I won’t do that again.”

The day I decided to file for divorce, Dean Potter couldn’t wait to draft the divorce agreement. Five years ago, he had been forced to marry me, and now he was finally free. On the day we were finalizing the divorce, Dean arrived with his new flame, radiating delight mixed with a hint of mockery. “Veronica Byrd, look at you—you’re miserable.” I watched his figure fade into the distance, my vision blurring. Miserable? In the next life, it wouldn't happen again.