Ann Patchett's "52 All-time Favorite Books From The Year I Turned 52"

"You're to leave this Pack and never to return.” The dreaded words echoed around the room as she stared at him in shock. He's shutting her out even before she had the chance to avenge her parents murdered in cold blood by his Father. “Logan?” She called, her eyes burning with hatred. “ I, Alpha Prince Logan, reject you, Slave Ava as my Mate. I also request that you leave Moonwalker Pack with immediate effect!” __ When the sad truth of her parents death surfaced, resolving around the man she had loved since she knew what's right and what's wrong, she couldn't believe the fact that he would acknowledge that fact and also add to her pain by rejecting her as his Mate. Ava was chased out of the Pack by her Mate after rejection. Angrily, she left with a great determination to return as someone he never imagined she could ever be. Her return of course takes a new turn after her one night stand with the man she swore never to have anything to do with. Logan met her again and she is carrying his child. But he has to battle with powerful Alpha's to get to her heart. Will he succeed in getting her or will the hurtful past between them hinder the affection blooming against their will?

I poured out my heart to him, telling him everything and not leaving a single part out of it. "Please, Don Xander, I will be grateful if you could grant me just this one wish" I begged desperately, my voice cracking at the end, even though I tried so hard to stay strong. He tilted his head to one side and smirked. "I can do that for you" he said, and my eyes beam with happiness immediately. "But..." He trailed off, swirling his drink in his hand. "What do I get in return for helping you? After all, it's all about give and take" My jaw dropped instantly. His playboy attitude playing in my head. "I... I can't... I mean, I'm sorry Don Xander but I'm not the type of girl who sleeps around with men. If it's okay with you, I can work for you instead" I suggested. He wave his index finger, shaking his head. "No, Bella" he said in a low, husky voice. Then, he rose from his seat and walked towards to me, his movement graceful and deliberate. I shivered, still seated as he crouched beside me. He leaned closer to my face and I tilted my head to look at him in the eyes. "If I will help you..." he whispered, his warm breath sending shivers down my spine. "You must give me something in return" "What do you want?" I asked in a low voice. His eyes gleamed with intensity. "I want you, Isabella" he whispered, his lips grazing my ear. I jerked back, shocked by his request. "Don Xander!" I exclaimed, my voice trembling.

When Elena Thunder finds the most perfect man to kiss at midnight on New Year’s Eve, she thinks its fate. But little does she know that Knight Blaze isn’t as simple as he seems and that the only reason he spends the night with her is because he has something entirely different on his mind. Come morning, Knight leaves Elena feeling hurt and betrayed and with something she’d have never anticipated from a one-night stand with a stranger, a baby conceived on New Year’s Eve. But Elena isn’t weak and she doesn’t let heartbreak bring her down. She decides to raise her child without a father. But fate has other plans for her as she accidentally bumps into Blaze once more during a fashion show and this time, he’s determined to make her stay.

Instead of drifting into the afterlife, Tyre is caught up in a magical time loop just after his death, he subsists in a plane between void and life. He must team up with other Deviants like himself as they journey through time preventing the inevitable event called;The Doomsday.

After Raven Fuentes's Childhood sweethearts Lyra Ross is taken by rogue wolves, Raven Fuentes hates me with everything he has. He'd rather spend his nights patrolling in the cold and drinking himself numb than face me, his mate. I care for him, try to please him, do everything I can… but all I get in return is his icy rejection. "The one you wronged is Lyra. If anyone should've been taken, it should've been you—not her." His words crush me. My heart breaks completely. And yet, when I'm attacked by a pack of rogues, it's Raven who throws himself into the fray to save me. He dies under their savage claws. Even in his final moments, he won't look at me. "If I had a choice, I'd never want to be tied to you again." At the funeral, Raven's mother faints on the stone platform holding his body, sobbing uncontrollably. "I should've never forced him into a mate bond with you. I would've rather he ended up with Lyra!" His father strokes his face one last time, his voice shaking with rage and grief. "He saved your life three times! This time, it cost him his own. You owe him three lives, and not even death can repay that debt!" Raven was the captain of the protection force. He spent his life shielding others. Everyone calls him a hero. The only tragedy, they say, is that he married me. And honestly, I agree. They forbid me from attending his funeral. They won't even let me say goodbye. Not long after, I hear the Silvermoon Pack has developed a time-travel device. Without hesitation, I pay the price so that I can go back in time. This time, I'll do what everyone wishes I had done. I'll cut all ties with Raven and stay far away from everyone.

When American engineer Evan Hart arrives in Rome, he expects worn stones, ancient architecture, and a chance to quietly rethink his failing marriage. He doesn’t expect Livia Moretti—the enigmatic archivist whose fragile intensity pulls him into a slow-burning, dangerous affair he never meant to start. Livia is brilliant, secretive, and a little broken… and Evan can’t stay away. But when he finally tells his wife Leah he wants a separation, she collapses, claiming she’s been diagnosed with a devastating neurological disease. Overnight, Evan’s guilt becomes a trap. Then Livia disappears without a trace. Anonymous photographs of him and Livia arrive in the mail. A stranger begins watching his apartment. And Leah—sweet, steady Leah—starts behaving in ways he can’t explain. When Evan finds hidden documents and photographs connecting the two women in his life, he follows a clue to a remote coastal village, where he learns Livia once lived under a different name… and may have been running from something far darker than heartbreak. As Evan digs deeper, he uncovers the edge of a conspiracy built on identity, memory, and manipulation—one determined to keep its secrets buried. Someone is pulling strings. Someone is rewriting the truth. And someone wants Evan to stop asking questions. Caught between a wife he no longer understands and a lover who may not be who she claimed to be, Evan is forced to confront the one question he never thought to ask: If the women in his life are wearing borrowed identities… then who has been shaping his? In a story of seduction, deception, and emotional obsession, All the Names She Wore explores the dangerous terrain between love and control—and what happens when the truth becomes the most terrifying lie of all.

My fiance, Victor Blackwood, is a mafia boss who rules the country's underworld with an iron fist. To the rest of the world, he is the epitome of power. Yet to me, he is the embodiment of love. But I do not realize the cost of loving a man like him. On Valentine's Day, I cook his favorite dishes and wait for him to come home. However, time passes, and his chair stays empty. Uneasy, I go to Queenie Stone's social media page. She is Victor's foster sister. She posts, "All I said was that I felt lonely, and he came right away. "Even when I accidentally spilled wine on him, he didn't mind. Victor is still someone who puts family first, even if it means neglecting his lover. "He never lets me down. I hope things stay that way." In the photo, Victor's shirt is soaked at the waist. Queenie's handkerchief lingers near his most private parts, but he doesn't pull away. He merely looks at her affectionately. I do not make a fuss and give Queenie's post a like. Then, I send Victor a message that reads, "Let's break up." Victor ignores it as always. Later, I discover that when my breakup message popped up, he had said offhandedly, "Vivienne can't live without me. She's just acting out. "If I ignore her for a few days, she'll come crawling back by herself. She's easy to please." What he doesn't know is that I was easy to handle only because I once loved him. But now that I have decided to leave, he cannot make me turn back, no matter how he tries to win me over.

Rune Navarre, an Aberrant by the standards of their realm, was hired by Rosworth Pharmaceuticals to investigate and find out who were the people behind the taking of D-15, an unfinished drug that was supposed to stabilize an Omega's Heats. Things get emotionally complicated for her when she met Sven Rosworth, the attractive owner and CEO, who had his own fair share of secrets. Keeping her growing feelings in check as it was against their protocols and as Sven would never think of her more than a friend; together they navigate the whole case along with surviving the threats on his life, but all hell broke loose when one day, she woke up being mated and bonded to him. As they traverse their new relationship and nearing the end of the chase, Rune unexpectedly came face to face with someone who could shatter her already fragile relationship with Sven. When the truth comes to light, could Rune be able to right the wrongs? And was the bond she and Sven shared not enough for them to stay together?

The morning after the Haze, I open my eyes expecting to see the love of my life, my fated mate. Instead, I see... HIM! "This can't be happening!" *** Would you rather live in a world where the impossible is possible or the possible is impossible? Blanca faces an uncertain future when she finds she's mated to the one man she never thought could be her mate. If Kieran is her mate, then her entire life is a lie. Since she's been abused her whole life, that might be a good thing. But this is... wrong on so many levels. Will Blanca find out the truth about her real identity--or be banished from her pack forever? If you like love with a twist, give this one a chance--don't quit too soon, or you'll never find out Blanca's secret!

After being missing for 18 years, Mom and Dad finally found me. Jillian Swain, the fake heiress, crumples to the floor and starts sobbing. "Goodbye, Mom and Dad. Thanks for taking care of me all these years. But now that Wanda is home, I'm sure you don't have any use for me anymore." Mom and Dad hug her, completely heartbroken. "Sweetheart, don't talk like that! You're our only real daughter, now and always!" Even Harvey Schumer, the guy I was promised to as a kid, declares his love for her. "Forget who you really are. You're the only one I love." They're all tripping over each other to fuss over Jillian. They even throw a birthday celebration for her dog while I'm barely hanging on after a car crash. So I pack up my things, accept the space agency's offer, and slip away into a five-year confidential satellite research project. But the whole family freaks out the second I'm gone, turning the country upside down, searching for me.