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

"What do you want lecturer? Others might see us!" She snapped out consciously, looking around the sport field to check for any intruder. "What do you think Adrian? I'm doing what I've always wanted." He replied her hotly and smashed his lips on hers, cutting her unaware. He pulled ger closer to himself, blocking off all her resistance and all her senses was wiped off with the promising kiss and at that moment, she forgot all her worries..... Adrian had wanted a normal life is the university, but not until her wicked lecturer was changed and so did her dream.

A girl who grows up not knowing anything about mother’s love and tries her best to win the love of her father who is the only family she has. But alas, her father is a man who believes and act like His business is one and only the best thing in the world. Every decision she makes is only to impress him. Now it is going to change when a special person enters her life and decides to save her. Please note that he is not perfect. He is actually one among the people who mistook her actions. The actions which she did to just be able to experience the Father’s love, which she thrives from the time she was just a kid. Is it too much to ask??? Will she goes to deep ends to get that love from her father? OR Will this new person saves her or will she builds a wall making him unable to reach near her?

Sur une scène noyée de lumière pourpre, Sélia, danseuse de cabaret au tempérament incandescent, envoûte le public de ses mouvements sensuels. Mais une chute brutale interrompt le numéro : le noir total. À son réveil, plus de musique, plus de néons… seulement l’odeur entêtante du bois poli, le vacillement des torches, et des hommes en armure qui l’empoignent sans ménagement. Sans comprendre comment, elle a quitté son époque pour se retrouver projetée au XVIIᵉ siècle, au cœur du Royaume de Valcoris, un domaine prospère bordé par les déserts brûlants et les falaises océanes, où toute danse provocante est perçue comme un acte de sorcellerie. Face à elle se tient le Roi Lucian Aurel, jeune souverain redouté, aussi froid qu’implacable. Fasciné malgré lui par cette étrangère aux gestes envoûtants, il la déclare sorcière et ordonne sa mise à mort. Jetée dans une cellule humide, Sélia comprend qu’elle n’a que deux voies : mourir… ou séduire l’homme qui veut sa tête. Mais deux femmes rôdent déjà dans l’ombre du trône. Il y a Calandra, maîtresse officielle du Roi, jalouse et rusée, prête à défendre son privilège par le poison ou le mensonge. Et Lyria, mystérieuse conseillère royale, manipulatrice habile dont les sourires cachent des desseins plus noirs encore. Entre alliances fragiles et trahisons voilées, Sélia se retrouve prise dans un duel de regards, de mots et de désirs interdits. Plus la passion interdite grandit entre elle et le Roi, plus le fil de la lame se rapproche… car dans ce royaume, l’amour peut tuer plus sûrement que la guillotine.

Heloise, the Brook family's adopted daughter, was merely a pitiable tool they used to shield their biological daughter, Coral, from harm. She suffered abuse in the Brook household from a young age and was eventually discarded and left to fend for herself in the harsh and hellish slums of BlueWolf Mountain, teeming with mentally ill, disabled, and sinister individuals. Then one day, Reginald Wordsworth, the enigmatic and domineering CEO of the PHOENIXFELL Empire's first conglomerate, Reginald Wordsworth chose her, and brought her out of the slums. Her fate took a dramatic turn as she embarked on a quest for revenge. She pretended to be a mental patient and engaged in a battle of wits with Reginald, unraveling the mysteries surrounding the enigmatic head of the first financial conglomerate. At the same time, Reginald also discovered that she was not an ordinary person. ******** she had ever been penniless, but Reginald, the big cheese, was irresistibly drawn to her and highly pampered her. ******** " Heloise, an abandoned baby, a dirt poor!" Someone said before he saw Heloise signing dozens of real estate agreements, while dozing off. " Heloise, has no backing. Why is she so arrogant?" Someone said, and then he saw Phoenixfell's first conglomerate's tycoon Reginald Wordsworth publicly announced his marriage to Heloise. "Heloise, I know, she couldn't give birth a long time ago!" Another person said, and then he was beaten by Wordsworth's little young master, "Mommy can't give birth, so where did I come from?"

William Samsons MacRay, a famous architect, seemed to have a problem with getting everything done on time. He is a mature man, 37 years old, who is late in getting married because he is busy creating amazing architectural buildings in various parts of the world. However, this time, the unfortunate incident when his wallet was stolen and he missed his flight at the airport actually brought Will together with Emmy Estelia Setiawan. This cute 22-year-old girl has just returned to Jakarta after completing her architecture education at Harvard University. He bought Will a cup of coffee and also took the mature man home in an airport taxi. Who would have thought that Will was the owner of Fame Palette Artisans Co., a place that received an Emmy for working via email while still in the United States? This was the first time William felt so attracted to a girl that he kept Emmy with him wherever he went to work around the world: Berlin, Dublin, Morocco, Prague, Rotterdam, etc. They became so close that they had a special sugar daddy and sugar baby relationship. When the seeds of love grew, Will's parents even arranged for him to marry Vanessa, the daughter of their colleague, so that he could get married quickly. Will William dare to continue fighting for his love for his beloved cute girl, or will he try to be logical and end the long age gap relationship?

I had to get away from here! From HIM. Before I embarrassed myself further, or worse… accidentally exposed myself. But to my horror… in my flailing, the first three buttons of my shirt popped, spilling my breasts from the revealing bra beneath. “What the hell?” His shocked eyes flew to mine. Mortification hit me like a wave. My eyes widened, burning with shame. And then his eyes turned angry—the surprise vanishing immediately. “Was that an act?” He snapped, dangerously. “Are you here to seduce me?” ~~~~~ Luca was just a client—albeit one who paid the highest to touch her. A man who claimed every Friday night at the casino, and far more of her heart than Maya ever intended to give. Then one night, he vanished. A year passed, and Maya was certain she’d never see him again. But fate is a cruel bitch. Fresh out of the casino and desperate for a new start, she takes a job as a nanny… only to discover that her new employer is the very man who's haunted her dreams. And he doesn’t recognize her! To Luca, she’s simply the caretaker for his son… but little does he know that the woman now tucking his child into bed is the same one he once undressed in the dark. And Maya intends to keep it that way. Because if he ever found out just who she really was... she could kiss her only hope of survival goodbye! ~~~~~ She swore she’d keep her past buried. He swore he’d never fall again. But secrets like theirs never stay hidden. And when the truth finally comes to light, desire might be the least dangerous thing between them.

Three years of marriage is such a short period of time for love, as people say. But for Seah Alxandra Garcia, three years of marriage with Mikhail De Luca was a curse. Matapos maka-graduate ni Seah sa kursong architecture ay agad siyang ikinasal kay Mikhail, isa namang italianong engineer. Malaking pagkabigo para kay Seah ang magpakasal agad, ngunit wala rin siyang nagawa dahil para ito sa ikabubuti ng kaniyang pamilya. Tatlo lang ang hinihiling ni Mikhail sa kaniyang bagong asawa para sa loob ng tatlong taon. Iyon ay ang manirahan sa Italya, matulungan siyang mapalago ang negosyo, at pagsilbihan ito — tatlong hiling sa loob ng tatlong taon para lang sa malaking pangangailangan ng pamilya ni Seah. Wala na kay Mikhail kung maisipan siyang iwan ni Seah matapos ang tatlong taong pagsasama nila, ngunit sa kabila ng lahat ay sadyang mapaglaro ang tadhana. Paano na lang kung nasanay na si Mikhail na mamuhay kasama ang asawa niya? Pero paano na lang kung gusto na niyang makapiling si Seah sa bawat araw na gigising siya? It was all clear to Mikhail they should have boundaries as a business marriage contract couple, but some things just ends up with what we don't expect. Seah didn't ask for a run, but who would've thought that her life will be in a double chase? Meeting the Ezekiel Ricci and Megan Ricci was like a lucky moment for Seah, pero ang hindi niya alam ay may trahedya pang naghihintay sa kaniya. She thought that finally, she will be stable and content with Mikhail, not until Ezekiel becomes the reason for their endless fights. Nang makilala ni Seah ang magkapatid na sina Ezekiel at Megan, para bang nabahiran ng gulo ang relasyon nila ni Mikhail. That with every bit of step she makes, their relationship fades.

After being unceremoniously dumped in her sophomore year of college, Elizabeth makes the reckless decision to sleep with the elusive Sebastian Gray, who she’d been crushing on for ages. Just one night and she’ll never see him again, she thinks. That decision comes back to bite her in the ass when she returns home for her mother’s wedding a year later and finds out that her soon to be stepfather is none other than Sebastian! Forced to bear the brunt of the consequences while biting her tongue, Elizabeth resolves to avoid Sebastian from now on. But it turns out to be a futile effort as the first person she sees on her list of professors for senior year is HIM! If she didn’t know any better, she’d think he enjoyed torturing her. Because every time he’s close to her, all of her common sense flies out the window. And his touches are becoming far too frequent for it to be coincidental…

High school was supposed to be simple for Annie—keep her head down, avoid the spotlight, and get through her last year in one piece. But then she meets someone who makes her heart race in ways she never expected. Between navigating friendships, senior-year chaos, and the confusing rush of new feelings, Annie is about to discover that her last year of high school can also be the beginning of everything that matters. “Last Year First Love” is a sweet, funny, and relatable teen romance about friendship, self-discovery, and the unforgettable magic of falling in love for the very first time.

After dating for seven years, I proposed a hundred and one times to my boyfriend, Jason Brown. However, he always told me that he was not ready, rejecting my proposals. This continued to my 28th birthday. In his suit pocket, I found a ring box. Thinking he was about to propose to me, I was overjoyed. However, to my horror, I saw him going down on one knee to propose to his assistant, Marcella Hopkins. Right before my eyes, he placed the ring I had yearned for so long on her finger. When one of his buddies asked what he planned to do with me, Jason wrapped his arm around his new love and chuckled. "Dude, I don't think I can bring myself to marry a woman who wants to get married that badly. She's so needy. However, if I do get a second wife, I might consider her. After all, she is hopelessly in love with me." He was sure I would wait for him, and he even placed a bet with his friends that I would crash his wedding. However, on his wedding day, I never showed up. Moments before his wedding ceremony was about to start, he suddenly noticed me, fully dressed up in a wedding gown in a separate banquet hall. Seeing me about to marry someone else, he almost went crazy.