52 Book Club 2025: #22 - Found Family Trope

Before our wedding, my fiancée, Sarah Hargrave—a professor of medieval history—held a private ceremony in a secluded chapel in the countryside. But not with me. Under the glow of candlelight, she cradled Benjamin Wheeler—her first love, his face gaunt from the cancer consuming him—in her arms. Her smile was soft, almost reverent, as she murmured, "In the eyes of God, vows made before the altar are the only ones that matter. Even if the law says I belong to Daniel, my soul was never his." And so, to the faint echo of hymns and the scent of old incense, they drank from the same silver cup, exchanged rings, and stepped together into the dimly lit sacristy—their makeshift bridal chamber. I watched. Silent. Motionless. No outbursts, no demands for explanation. Just the quiet dialing of a clinic to undo the vasectomy I'd gotten for our future. From fifteen to thirty, I had loved Sarah for fifteen long years. But in all that time, there'd never been room for me. That space had always belonged to Benjamin, my stepbrother. So I let her go. Afterward, I joined a geological research team bound for the isolation of Antarctica—a land cut off from the world, quiet and clean. Before I left, I handed Sarah a divorce agreement…and a final gift to mark the end. I never anticipated that Sarah, who'd always met my devotion with frosty detachment, who'd never once glanced back as I walked away, would look ten years older overnight.

Story of a bad girl...who was once a good, innocent girl. Cathie is obsessed with Daniel and is willing to do anything just to make him love her.. She wants Daniel to marry her but Daniel doesn't love her. So... she made a plan so that Daniel has no other options than marrying her. But what happens when another man Edward appears in her life n interrupts her plan..!? Edward likes Cathie and wanted to marry her.. What will happen now...!! Will she be able to succeed in her plan..? Or fate has other plans for her..? will the bad girl be always a bad girl or... certain someone will change her..?

Umuwi si Aliya probinsya nila. Gusto niyang ipahinga muna ang sarili sa toxic na mundo ng trabaho niya ang pagiging call center agent. Lalo na at gusto din ng kanyang ama at kapatid na magbakasyon siya. Doon niya makilala ang binatang mekaniko na si Jayson Fuentebella, na kapit bahay din nila. Madaming babaeng umaaligid dito at mga nagpapalipad hangin. Pero ang labis na ipinagtataka ni Aliya, ay ang pagiging masungit nito sa kanya. Habang, hindi naman nagsusungit sa iba at maayos naman ang pakikitungo nito sa ibang kadalagahan na katulad niya. Kapag bumibili siya sa grocery store nito ay palaging pasinghal, at hindi man lang kakikitahan ng lambing tulad sa iba. May pag-asa pa kayang mapalambot ni Aliya ang matigas at masungit na binata? Kung sa simula pa lang na lalapit siya ay itinataboy na siya nito.

The Alpha's pup is an Omega!After being bought his place into Golden Lake University; an institution with a facade of utmost peace, and equality, and perfection, Harold Girard falls from one calamity to another, and yet another, and the sequel continues. With the help of his roommate, a vampire, and a ridiculous-looking, socially gawky, but very clever witch, they exploit the flanks of the inflexible rules to keep their spots as students of the institution.The school's annual competition, 'Vestige of the aptest', is coming up, too, as always with its usual thrill, but for those who can see beyond the surface level, it's nothing like the previous years'. Secrets; shocking, scandalous, revolting and abominable ones begin to crawl out of their gloomy shells.And that is just a cap of the iceberg as the Alpha's second-chance mate watches from the sideline like an hawk, waiting to strike the Omega! NB: Before you read this book, know that your reading experience might be spoiled forever as it'll be almost impossible to find a book more thrilling, and mystifying, with drops here and there of magic and suspense.

Annabelle Spencer, she was the result of her parent’s obsession for perfection while her twin sister was an unwanted imperfection locked away from the world. Life changed after their parents passed away. Studying law at college, Anna meets Dante Bernade the son of a mafia whom she started a relationship with. The result of their love ends up in blood, broken bonds and the passion for revenge.

At four months pregnant, I went to pick up my prenatal test results with my husband, Aiden Carter, who was an OB-GYN. The smile at the corner of his lips froze the moment he saw the report. Without a word, he grabbed my hand and tried to schedule an abortion. I stood there in shock. The attending physician, Dr. Marianne Cole, had just told me the baby was perfectly healthy! I tore myself free and demanded, "Why do you want me to get an abortion?!" He didn’t answer and had already scheduled the procedure. When I tried to run, he yanked my arm tighter. "There's no way we are having this child!" Clutching my belly, I hurried to call my parents, who were both OB-GYNs themselves. Dad, who had always doted on me, raised his fist, aiming straight for my stomach. Mom’s face twisted in horror, shaking her head wildly. "No, this won’t work. It can’t be like this." "Find a few men. Lock Clara Hart in with them." I didn’t understand why they were so desperate to destroy my child. All I wanted was to escape. Instead, they locked me inside a pitch-black room. When I felt the blood trickling down my legs, I knew my baby was gone. Mom came smiling to fetch me. I fought, demanding to know why they had done this to me. Without responding, she turned around and sent me straight to Ravenwood Asylum. I was tortured to death there. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the very day I went to collect my prenatal report. Aiden looked at me, his face glowing with joy. "Baby, this is our first child. I can’t wait for the day he’s born."

Still grieving from the death of his beloved girlfriend, Theo leave their place where the incident happened two years ago. He decided he should continue pursuing his delayed goals and dreams. He was recommended to work for the Esprerro's– specifically for their unica ija– Angelica. Like her name, she possessed not only the angelic face, but also the kindness. That will lead to drown Theo even more from the past that he's struggling to forget. Because Angelica resembled and sounds exactly his late girlfriend Marie! Will he be able to Find the Love with Angelica that he once Lost with Marie? Or is it just the beggining for a mystery that's been bound to be unraveled? Because one day he discovered something from the Esprerro's that will lead him to investigate on what he thought was an accident that killed his beloved Marie.

Sa pagtatakasil ng kaniyang boyfriend ay naisipan niyang ikama ang ibang lalaki, ang hindi niya inaasahan ang lalaking naikama niya ay ang tito ng kaniyang ex-boyfriend at ang CEO ng kompanyang pinagtra-trabahuan niya. Pinilit siya ng madrasta niya na mag-asawa ng ibang lalaki para hindi niya maagaw kay Diane ang step-sister niyang umagaw sa boyfriend niya, ang hindi inaasahan ay binayaran ng lalaking nakatalik niya ang lalaking dapat magiging asawa niya at ito ang pumalit dito. Ang CEO ng kompanya ay ang kaniyang asawa at ng malaman ito ng madrasta at step-sister niya ay hindi sila makapaniwala

Racheal Louis thrown out by her family after her parents death, struggled to provide for herself ,before getting hired by Austin Daniels, the CEO of Daniat Airways ,the rival of the Louis family to pretend to be the lost grand daughter of the Daniel's family for 2 months. Love and tension build up. Together they look for ways to expose her family.

The night my in-laws were rushed to the hospital after a car accident, I hurried over to handle the situation. At the payment counter, I swiped my card—only to find that the joint account I shared with my husband had a mere two dollars left. I called my husband, Zarrick Thompson, over and over again. But he never picked up. It wasn't until later that I learned the truth—he had taken our money to celebrate his first love's birthday. Desperate, I borrowed seventy thousand from a friend to save my in-laws. But after they recovered, they flat-out denied everything. My husband, meanwhile, made no attempt to hide his relationship with her. He wanted me gone. To force me into a divorce, he went as far as setting me up—staging an affair, taking photos of me being humiliated. Then he used them to threaten me. Either I walked away with nothing, shouldering all our debts, or he would ruin me completely. I worked endlessly, day and night, to pay it all off. Until, one winter, I collapsed in a frozen alley and never got up again. But when I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day of the accident.