Book Review: Before We Were Yours

After failing to kill each other for eight years, two rival mafia families — the Hayes and the Vilantros — must now join forces to eliminate a greater threat: the ruthless Peterson Russian Mafia. Aries Hayes can either work with her longtime enemy, Adam Vilantros, to protect their families and sort out their hate later… or take them both down. But as sparks fly and alliances blur, Aries faces a dangerous question: is Adam truly on her side, or just playing her heart to win the war? As betrayal, bloodshed, and forbidden desire explode around them, one thing becomes clear: it’s her life or his. Over her dead body… or his!

Theo Oblinger can't be arsed to admit that he feels a bit stuck. At 26, he's in the middle of finishing his PhD, thinks love just isn’t for him and plays the piano at an exclusive Club during the weekends. On a bleak Saturday night, he meets the owner’s son, Sam Wilcox, who might just help him get out of that place.

Miyuki Sakurai is a seemingly ordinary girl, coming from a poor family, and to earn money for college, she works in a bar. But no one knows that Miyuki is also a witch who, however, is terribly afraid of the dark. One day suddenly changes her monotonous life, as Miyuki meets two handsome men: Kai Ichatashiko, a psychologist who seems to understand her better than the others; and Aoi Takashima, an eccentric and independent musician to whom she is strangely drawn by his dark aura. Which of them will win the heart of the fearful witch? And what is the secret that connects these two men?

Anya Moore is a pop sensation with lots of people who look up to her, though her passion is something else. Sadie Ozoa wants to chase her dreams and doesn’t want to take no for an answer, but it feels like she doesn’t have a choice. But unexpected decisions they made had created unfaithful circumstances that have brought two different individuals together. Next unthinkable move: run as far away from the situation that could have led to their wishes. They don’t know how they ended up walking together and they don’t know why. But all they want to do is to escape from the environment they were surrounded in. Anya and Sadie thought they would be distant but with every step they took, they started to know so much about each other and what they have one thing in common: they hated how the world has become. They then thought what if they rebuild Earth where it is all ruled by them--and only both of them. The two then thought what if we start to make it a reality? As they go on the journey to create their own world, Anya sees that Sadie is more than an outcast and Sadie sees that Anya is more than just a star--they are each other’s world. But with the world that is against their odds, will they be able to show their truth? In this first debut comes a coming-of-age story about realizing that in order to survive the world, you must choose whether to follow the rules or break them for the sake of doing something right.

"I need to see Mr. Winchester! Please! My father--my father is dying I need..." "The world knows you are his mistress but Mr. Winchester does not entertain mistresses when he's working. Have some dignity and leave." ┌ Olivia Cabello has been the mistress to Ryat Winchester for two years. For two years she fools herself that the billionaire who's stone cold demeanor is well known by the press will one day love her and treat her more than just a plaything. She gets the shock of her life when Ryat gets engaged to a billionaire heiress and she is declared the other woman. A loose woman, they call her. A woman with no morals, they say. When the two red parallel lines on the pregnancy stick slap her with the bitter truth; it's time for Olivia to choose herself first. Except Ryat Winchester isn't letting go anytime soon. Not in this lifetime at least.

Cakes , chocolate , muffins are so sweet that it's hard to believe how problematic they can be sometimes . Apart from making you fat , they can bring along quite some trouble , especially when you work in a patisserie and a handsome boy ordered a third-tiered luxurious cake . After he saw the cake , he didn't like its decoration and refused to pay for it . At first I was mesmerized by his looks when he entered inside . Who wouldn't remain breathless at the sight of a boy so handsome that he looked like a sculpture . When hearing what a brat he was , the perfect look on him was wasted . I, who had done the decoration , had no intention to pay for it . We fought and I ended up covered in cake and jobless . As if that wasn't enough , the landlord wanted to kick my family and me from the house too . I was desperately walking around the neighborhood , praying to god for a miracle When I lost all hope, I saw a limousine parked in front of my house. When I entered inside, the old woman whom I had saved from a being smashed by a car this morning was there. To my shock , my prayers were heard and she offered to help me pay both my school and my family's expenses but nothing comes for free in this world . She would financially help me for the next four years while I had to become her grandson's assistant at the Jewel Knowledge academy and make sure he graduated with high scores . The only rule was , I couldn't fall in love with her grandson . I was an excellent student but her grandson was the school's bully . Will my heart be able to make it through these four years with a handsome troublemaker by my side ?

Everyone believed Ethan Cross loved Isabella Winters to his core, but nobody knew he'd already found an Isabella look-alike to keep him company through the lonely nights. Even when Isabella recovered, he continued his affair. Little did he know that Isabella's recovery was temporary—within two months, she would lose every memory she'd ever made. After that, she would forget Ethan completely, and her love for him would be erased forever.

Andrew and Rose are cousins who grew up together with a strong bond which eventually became love. 5 years later their families have become rivals and the two lovebirds are forced to choose either their family or their love. If they choose their family, they must forget their love and if they choose their love, they won't be spared. How will Andrew and Rose overcome this situation? Will their love triumph over hatred?

At seventeen, love feels infinite and endings feel impossible. Arielle never planned to fall in love during her final year of high school. Noah never planned to let his guard down. But when quiet glances turn into late conversations and unspoken feelings surface, they find themselves caught in a connection neither of them is ready to name or walk away from. Set against the fragile edge of senior year, Promises We Made at Seventeen is a slow-burn, dual-POV romance about first love, fear, and the weight of choices made too young to fully understand, yet too deep to ignore. As expectations, rumors, and the future press in, Arielle and Noah must decide whether honesty is worth the risk and whether promises made before adulthood can survive what comes after. Tender, dramatic, and emotionally raw, this story explores what it means to love someone while still learning who you are, and how some promises no matter how small can change the course of a lifetime.

Yen found out that she had been into a traumatic incident five years ago that caused her to forget a huge part of her past. And that past included her marriage to Kim, the CEO of the company she was working for. She may not have recognized him right away, but there was something about Kim that drew her emotionally to him. But having already married Zed, an almost perfect husband to her except for his sexual flaw, Yen found it hard to let him go. She tried to convince her boss to move on and let her live in peace with Zed, but Kim wasn't the kind to concede. What would happen then? Who would win the fight? And who would she choose in the end?