52 Book Club 2025: #22 - Found Family Trope

I plan a family trip at my mother Lucia Sweeney's request. While avoiding the danger zones, my sister Linda Harper and I are ambushed by rogues. To protect her, I throw myself in the path of their claws and get driven into a silver mine. As I fall, my back is slashed open to the bone, and shards of silver embed deep into my right leg. The searing silver poison spreads quickly, burning through me and my wolf. My wolf is whimpering—she's close to death. However, as the pack's chief healer, Mom gathers all the healers around Linda to give her a full check-up over a few minor scrapes. I sob and beg her to save me first. "Mom, the poison has almost reached my heart. I can't hold on anymore." She turns around impatiently and yells, "Are you seriously still fighting with Linda now? Do you have any idea how close she came to getting clawed in the face by a silver claw? Our pack doesn't have a wolf as heartless as you!" And in that moment, I hear my wolf's final whimper, saying goodbye. I finally fall asleep in the cold wind, never waking up again.

You’re not a bad person, Mercy. I know that.” “How do you know?” she asked, challenging him. She stared into his eyes and asked again. “How do you know, August?” “I know because….” He stopped. The words weren’t coming out of his mouth. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to answer that question with mere words. August leaned toward her, stopping just short of meeting her lips with his. He couldn’t just kiss her without her permission, but how could he blurt out the question? He couldn’t, so he waited. Mercy’s long eyelashes brushed his face as she held her breath. He moved a fraction of an inch closer to her, and Mercy lifted her face, moving toward him. His lips brushed hers, and then there was no reason for words. She just knew. *** A lost woman in the woods... Memories that won't return... A past that must be found before love can remain. Alpha August Reeves finds a beautiful woman injured in the woods. When she awakes, she remembers nothing. Her mysterious powers tell him she's a special shifter, but when others come looking for her, he realizes it's not her powers that make him special to her. Can August keep Mercy safe and help her discover her past so they can build their future together?

In an unexpected circumstances, twenty-one-year-old Gianna Harrison is asked by her father to marry Adriano Altamira the sexiest yet ruthless man alive. Will this sudden decision be their new phase of life? Will it keep them apart or will they pull through their journeys to survive the difficulties life throws at them and come out unscathed as they explore a blossoming steamy romance?

From New York Times bestselling author Krista Lakes, comes a sexy standalone novel about the baddest bad boy doctor and the sweet little nurse that he falls for. When I left my small hometown years ago, I never expected to come back. I certainly never expected that when I did, I'd be working for him. He's the town's doctor. He's supposed to be a respectable member of society, a pillar for the community. He's supposed to have come a long way from the bad boy who rode a motorcycle in high school. But he hasn't. One glance from those lustful eyes looking at me tells me that he has the same voracious appetites that he did when we were younger. Only it's not quite the same stare. It's more urgent. It's more intense. I'm not the same nerdy girl who tutored him. I've grown up, developed fertile curves that I know he finds irresistible. In this small town, rumors travel fast, and the family doctor can't be seen as a player. So he does try to resist. And I do too. But with every smoldering glance and moment of sexual tension, we find our barriers breaking down. After a stressful night of touch-and-go baby delivery, a moment of elation overcomes our inhibitions. It seems like maybe we'll need to confront those rumors sooner rather than later, especially before I begin to show the results of that night. Can I give this doctor the family he has always desired?

Blanche Lucille Emerson, a relentless and calculating Captain haunted by the loss of her wife, Venus, in a mysterious accident. Now driven by a thirst for vengeance, Blanche navigates a world of secrets, betrayal, and political machinations as she digs into the layers of deceit that surround her family's powerful pharmaceutical empire. Alongside her, Yama Laine, a trusted ally, and Cessair, her estranged sister, reveal their own hidden agendas. Blanche uncovers a vast conspiracy linked to General Grey and an underground organization known as the Black Spectre, which her father, Silas Grey, once controlled. The deeper she digs, the more she realizes that not only her wife’s death but also her parents' and countless others' were orchestrated to protect a dark secret connected to her family. As Blanche takes calculated risks and enlists Yama’s help, her plan teeters between survival and self-destruction. Along the way, her encounters with spies like Aracelli and the revelation of her sister Cessair’s resentment deepen the conflict. Old alliances crumble, as personal motivations clash, and long-buried truths about her family and its ties to the Black Market come to light. All the while, Blanche's mind is torn between her mission and her lingering love for Venus. With a final showdown on the horizon, the question remains: Can Blanche take down the enemy and clear her family’s name, or will the weight of the past bury her alive? Catch-22: To Die is To Live Hard is a story of revenge, loyalty, and the heavy price of uncovering the truth.

For billionaire lawyer Cynthia, the courtroom is her domain. She's a fierce advocate for women's rights and has won countless battles against injustice. But when her own marriage implodes, she finds herself in the unfamiliar role of defendant. Can she navigate the treacherous waters of her own divorce and emerge with her rights intact?

I was never a mother. Never been in love. Never even kissed a man. But the day two children called me "Mummy," My world turned upside down. Ethan Stark, a cold, powerful, and ruthless billionaire, believed I abandoned our kids and forced me into a loveless marriage with him. All I have are my words... and no proof of my innocence. How can I explain to him I don't know what he was talking about when there is a picture that says otherwise and my striking resemblance with the kids?

Olivia stepped into New York City to start all over. Betrayed by love and fate she felt dejected and lost hope for love. She started her job as Lucas Adams's assistant who was a tall, young, and handsome-brooding man. From the first day, they felt an undeniable attraction but they didn't act upon it. Lucas hates women, he believes they are all gold diggers, but he can't help but feel something about Olivia. Soon love crept its way into their hearts Lucas tried to change his ways for Olivia but his past kept on making him stop in his tracks. The story of Olivia and Lucas fighting against the world to be together. Destined soulmates but still a forbidden love story.

Why is Love so cruel? Why does the same heart have to go through all the sufferings, pain and heartbreaks? Is there an end to this distance or were you never my destiny to begin with? The life of four people takes a drastic turn when all of them happen to intern in the same company. Series of unexplained events brings them all under one roof. Old flames will reunite and new flames will have to fight its way to happiness. Who knows what destiny upholds when it's hard to even figure out what your own beating heart represents. You might have a happy ending but 'LOVE does not always mean you have to end up being together, LOVE just means that you have to have immense care and endearment for that person so that if and when time comes, you can let go of him/her.' *** Who will confess their feeling first? Who might end up together? Will the sparkles that they feel in their heart brighten their life or will it be penned in, in the heart itself? Will their feelings be reciprocated or does destiny have something else written for them? A story with a perfect blend of romance, intensity, comedy and pain.

Arcangelo Romano... Mafia King.... Lucifer... He is Devil incarnated both metaphorically and literally... Ruthless, cruel, emotionless.... God's son who is punished to live in the hell on earth where sinners live... Mafia world... over centuries he rules there ... But God planned his death. He was supposed to die by his brother but he didn't. because even after ruining almighty god's plans... she saved him... She... a girl purer than the angels. Her light impressed even divinity.... a heart surgeon. She has a record of no one dying on her table. But now she made fate angry by saving the Devil. and Devil is madly searching for the girl who saved him. He wants her as his queen and he can do anything for it... Even if it means hurting her... Ruining her! But She has to be his.. Can she survive with her light in this darkness?... can her light change the Devil's darkness or his darkness will change her light .... seeing the fight between light and darkness is going to be a lot of sparks... .....