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

What will happen when two Alpha Bloods collide? Will sparks fly or will the battle for supremacy begin?  ¤¤¤¤¤ "Leave." A groan left my throat before I shut my eyes, trying to erase the image of her nakedness, but my action was futile — no matter how I tried to block it off, her alluring body kept seeping into my head. "Are you losing it? Should I start commanding you to undress for me, Alpha?" Her voice came out so seductive that my throat suddenly felt too dry. I wanted nothing but to give in. But this was all wrong. I shouldn't cross the line between us. "I believe you have forgotten that I am the Alpha of this pack." I opened my eyes, hands coiling into fists. "And I think you forgot that I am an Alpha as well. You can't tell me what to do, Jace." I let a smug smirk form on my lips before I locked eyes with the beautiful lioness in front of me.  "How sure are you that I can't tell you what to do?" I licked my lips as I began to unbuckle my belt. "On your knees, Amara..." ¤¤¤¤¤ Alpha Jace Galhart had always known what he wanted from the start: to be the perfect Alpha for his pack while waiting for his fated mate. He thought he was doing well until Amara came and showed him that perhaps breaking the rules he set for himself wasn't that bad at all.

Carla thought finding her mate was the end of her life's journey. It turned out it was the beginning of her misery. Just because she couldn't bear a son, an heir, Ian Houston mistreated her and her daughter. She ran away only to fall into another Alpha's arms. Zurin Abrams, Alpha of Wild Fire Pack, lost his first mate on a Rogue attack. Five years later, he accidentally smelled Carla as her second mate. Thus, he determined to protect her from whatever chased her. Unfortunately, things never went easy on them. Ian was back and wanted to reclaim Carla. The war broke out, which led Carla to choose between two males. Zurin or Ian? ---------- I ~ G : elainecassauthor

Asya is the most promising ballerina the Royal Ballet has seen in years. Wildly ambitious, back-breakingly disciplined, and immensely driven, she has only one objective: prima ballerina. There is nothing she won't do to earn this once-in-a-generation title. But behind her ballerina grace she hides dark secrets of an inhumanly strict mother, pushing her body to cruel limits, and serial hookups with male dancers. Roman Zharnov is the star of the Russian ballet: young, successful, arrogant, beautiful, and worst of all, talented. He's come to London for a fresh start after earning himself the nickname 'the bad boy of ballet'. It is during a rehearsal that his eye falls on Asya, a nineteen-year-old soloist with spitfire in her eyes and a raw talent capable of silencing an auditorium. But Asya has a partner, and she wants to stay as far away as possible from the Russian prodigy with a reputation that won't seem to leave him alone. In the competitive world of classical ballet Asya is climbing the ranks, earning coveted parts and building a name for herself as a promising soloist. But all the while she is playing a dangerous game behind the curtain. Roman has found the one ballerina that can keep up with him and wants her to partner him, but he will soon realise that animals can't do what she does.

On the one-year anniversary of the company's public listing, my wife, Susan Lynn, publicly announced that she was gifting a supercar worth millions of dollars to her childhood friend, Charles Baker. Charles, with his arm around her shoulder, raised his glass and said, "Thank you, Susan. Here's a toast to our friendship!" I let out a derisive laugh and walked away. Susan, feeling upset, chased after me, shouting, "Angus, what's your problem? What's wrong with me giving the top salesperson a supercar? You're just a useless waste of space, and you still dare to throw a tantrum!"

"How did you capture his majesty's heart?" This is the question that everyone wishes to ask the newly hired eunuch to serve the emperor. Xu Zhengming, also known as Eunuch Xu, the great Casanova in town. His looks aren't inferior to Pan An's, and he knows it. This beautiful man knows all types of women and mastered the ways to get them. He experienced being chased many times but successfully gets away every single time. On that one fateful night, while running away from a group of women he bumped on his majesty the emperor. And with that, the ruler of an empire took him to his palace. Now that he's back to the imperial palace, previous relationships won't remain in the past. First friend, first love, first heartache. Connections that got severed by the sharp blade of fate. Will the once parted and now finally reunited be separated for the second time?

"Lani, you can’t escape from me." Dante said this while gripping Lani's chin mercilessly. Lani tried to hold back her tears as she asked Dante, "Have you ever loved me?" "Never." Dante answered decisively, without any hesitation, leaving Lani's heart numb. Despite being together for over two years, Dante still saw her as a mere substitute, only viewing her as a mistress. Dante had thought Lani would never leave, but one day she proposed ending their loveless relationship. "Dante, let's end this." "I won't allow you to leave me." Dante coldly declared, but Lani was indifferent and chose to leave anyway. The more she tried to escape, the more Dante pursued her. Does Dante truly love her, or does he see her as a replacement for someone else? Who is the woman Dante truly loves, and will she reappear? What will happen next? Read on to find out.

After eight years of loving him in vain, my boyfriend, Gilbert Hughes, finally proposed. The wedding is set for a week from now. However, just as I'm happily preparing for it, I accidentally overhear a conversation between him and his friends. "I have to give it to Gilbert. The moment he proposes, his first love, Cheryl, gets restless." "But now that Cheryl's back, what are you going to do with your girlfriend?" Gilbert pauses for a moment, then replies casually, "It's fine. I'm not actually going to register my marriage with Jennifer. At worst, I'll just hold a wedding and play along." At the party the next day, he wraps his arm around me dotingly and socializes with our guests. Yet, the moment Cheryl Manning runs out in tears, he instantly lets go of me and chases after her in a panic. I follow quietly and watch them embrace tightly in the dark, kissing each other deeply. With my heart completely shattered, I turn away and dial a number. "Want to get married? I need a groom."

Cerise is a daughter of a famous businessman, moved to the city to pursue her dreams and follow her father's footsteps. What she doesn't expect however is becoming a supernatural Queen and getting involved with two men who want two different things. The world changes and now everything is in her hands.

After being publicly rejected by her mate, the Alpha's son, orphans Kit, and her little sister Cami, run away from their pack. Seven years later, who should walk into the diner that Kit works at and Cami studies in, but the new Beta of the pack they abandoned, who just so happens to be Cami’s very smitten mate. Kit is horrified when Cami begs her to come back to the pack where she still feels the humiliation from her rejection, but she can’t abandon her only family, so she reluctantly tags along. What she doesn’t expect, is that the once arrogant but popular son of the pack’s healer, Colin, has turned out to be not just a nice guy, but smoking hot too. And much to her surprise, he is interested in her. Which is great, because the mate who rejected her is now her Alpha and seems to take amusement in embarrassing her. Embarrassing her, and at the same time, wanting to use her for his pleasure, which even though she can’t stand him, she struggles to be able to physically resist him. And to make matters worse, he refuses to let her reject him back, threatening to kick her out and prevent her from seeing her loved ones anymore. Will she ever be able to finally reject him back and be happy with Colin, who wants her for more than just her body, or will she forever be trapped in an infatuation with someone who is emotionally uninterested?

Hailey Forge is one of the fiercest warriors in the Wolf Shade Pack, feared across the realm for her deadly skills in seduction and destruction. Confident and untouchable, her world shatters when her fated mate, Argon Grant, betrays her with her own sister. Heartbroken and furious, Hailey vows revenge, determined to make Argon suffer the way she did. Her plan? Seduce Alpha Grant Argon’s powerful father until Argon is wrapped around her finger, begging for forgiveness on his knees. But Hailey doesn’t realize that Alpha Grant, a hardened leader abandoned by his mate years ago, has been watching her for longer than she knows. Drawn into his web of desire, she finds herself in deeper than she ever intended. As the ruthless Alpha refuses to let her go, Hailey’s game of vengeance turns dangerously real. Secrets unravel, and when she discovers her affair with the Alpha has led to an unexpected twist; a child destined to become the next Alpha, Hailey is forced to confront a new reality. Will her seduction strategy lead to her downfall, or is it the start of something she never saw coming?