Booker Prize 2019 Longlist

There were five things I was absolutely certain I wouldn't miss even if I became blind: -The first one was the fact that I was a slave and my life would never go back to the way it was. -The Second one was the Duke who bought me was a dragon hiding his identity for a reason I didn't know. Weren't dragons supposed to be powerful and all? Using his race might give him a huge advantage in politics. -The third one I was certain the Duke was hungry for me and I started to love him. Furthermore, he was cursed and the cursed ones didn't live for more than a year. Conquering him was a lost cause; a battle with less than 50% of success. However… Was it really necessary to label numbers on everything that was happening? -The Fourth one: Was it really necessary for Dotoria, the human land, to curse the other races existing within its borders? I wasn't confident about the statement. Nonetheless, everyone was looking for a wish granter gem. The nine kingdoms collided eying the gemstone like a prize for dominion. -The Fifth one had the magic of belief in it; Do you work on your dream or stay back hiding behind a smoke of mist fearing failure? I wanted to escape but I gradually lost interest in it. The world was a mystery in my eyes and I was taught to never engage in a battle with less than 50% of success. Do I even have a dream because the only thing I wished for was the reason I was a slave. People were driven by dreams and goals and I didn't have one yet.

She spent six years loving him. Six years planning forever. But on the eve of her dream wedding, Adrianna Rodriguez is forced to watch it all shatter, her groom, Damien Blackwood, is marrying someone else. Not just anyone. Her dying sister. Katherina’s final wish? To wear the dress Adrianna was supposed to wear and to marry the man she thought was hers. It was supposed to be a sacrifice. It felt like betrayal. Offered half of Damien’s empire as compensation, Adrianna is left broken into pieces and silenced. But broken hearts don’t stay quiet forever. What happens when love demands too much? When family guilt disguises cruelty? When forgiveness is no longer an option? In a world of twisted loyalty and secrets buried as sacrifice, Adrianna must choose walk away quietly… or turn heartbreak into revenge. Extract “She wants to marry me,” Damien said, his voice thick with emotion. “It’s her last wish.” Adrianna’s breath caught in her throat. The perfect wedding, the life they had planned, the vows they were going to say all seemed to fall apart in front of her. “My wedding,” she whispered, her voice trembling with heartbreak, “was supposed to be our day.” Damien stepped closer, desperation in his eyes. “I’m offering you half my properties. Two million dollars. I want you to understand… this isn’t just about money. It’s about family.” Her jaw clenched. Anger began to burn inside her like a wildfire. “Compensation? Is that what I am to you? A deal? A consolation prize?”Something you can pay off?”

I thought divorce would free me from Roland Voss, the man who turned our marriage into a gilded prison. But walking away from a Voss isn’t freedom. It’s war. The press calls me a gold-digger. His lawyers call me a liability. And Roland? He just smirks across his mahogany desk and murmurs, “You’ll never escape me, Aliyah. Not while you carry my name.” I swore I’d never shatter again until I met him. Dominic Voss. Roland’s younger brother. The man I shouldn’t even look at, let alone want. He sees the cracks in me no one else bothers to notice. When the world turns its back, Dominic leans close and whispers, “Let me protect you. Even if it means going against my own blood.” Every stolen glance is treason. Every brush of his hand sets me on fire. And when Victor Hale, a rival billionaire with teeth sharper than Roland’s, circles closer, I realize I’ve become the prize in a game where men like them never lose. But I’m not the same woman Roland once broke. This time, I’m willing to risk everything, scandal, ruin, even the wrath of the dynasty that branded me theirs to choose the man who makes me feel alive. The question is… Will my freedom cost me my heart? Or will loving Dominic ignite a war that none of us survive?

I thought losing my cheating husband was the worst day of my life. I was wrong. My name is Maya Winters, and I spent six years trying to make Damien Cross love me. Six years being the perfect wife to a billionaire who looked at me like I was invisible. Then he brought home his secret daughter and her mother, handed me divorce papers, and destroyed what was left of my stupid heart. Two weeks later, I lost our baby—the one he never knew about until it was too late. I thought my life was over. Turns out, it actually was. Now I'm trapped in something called THE SURVIVAL GAME with twelve other dead people, including my ex-husband. We have to survive forty days of deadly children's games. Red Light Green Light. Hide and Seek. Simple games with one terrible rule: lose and you die for real. But that's not even the worst part. One of us is a spy working for the Game Master. One of us is making sure people die. And I have no idea who to trust—especially not Damien, who keeps looking at me like he actually cares now that we're both fighting for our lives. The prize for winning? One wish for anything I want. Money. Power. Revenge. Or even a second chance at the love that destroyed me. Forty days. Thirteen players. Only one winner. Game on. Warning: This story contains mature themes, violence, and intense situations. Recommended for readers 18+.

"This game of yours is barbaric. How dare you make me play it?" Karen's anger rose again as she realized it was his own fault for being sore, tired, and bleeding. She could have died if it had not been for that asshole guy. "I suggest you take your finger out, Karen, and speak to me in a more respectful manner," Xavier warned. She finally lowered her hand, but she wouldn't back down. What he had done was unacceptable. "Why did you leave me to fight those werewolves if all that senseless bloodshed was to find a mate? I'm a hybrid, half-wolf! Obviously I shouldn't be there," she said angrily. "I have my reasons," he replied lightly. "Damn it!" she grabbed his fur again to make sure. ****************************************************** Karenina Mason, a headstrong and independent young woman, is not just an ordinary human-she is a rare hybrid with a powerful lineage. Unknowingly, she becomes entangled in a perilous game of political intrigue, where the coveted prize is to become the mate of the enigmatic and all-powerful Alpha of Westwood. Karenina resists this unwanted destiny, but fate seems insistent on thrusting her into this union. In her vulnerable state, Karenina finds herself surrounded by adversaries, and her once-trusted friends remain beyond her reach. Forced to rely on Xavier Westwood, a mysterious and captivating figure with his own hidden agenda, Karenina is drawn into a world of danger and desire. As they navigate the treacherous path together, an intense attraction grows between them, unraveling long-concealed secrets that should have remained locked away-secrets that may unleash powers too volatile to control.

Eira Thornwind has spent four years hiding the most dangerous secret in the shifter world—her wolf, Veyla, awakened at fourteen, two years earlier than any shifter in recorded history. Ancient, powerful, and carrying memories that don’t belong to this age, Veyla marks Eira as a prize any alpha would wage war to claim. Only her parents and a pair of trusted elders know the truth, and they intend to keep it that way. Now, with Eira’s eighteenth birthday approaching—the age when shifters can finally sense their fated mate—the annual Summit of the High Packs arrives on Crescent Fang land. Politics, competition, and centuries-old grudges simmer beneath the surface. Among the visiting delegations is Kalen Draven, the newly risen Alpha of the Ironshade Pack. Ruthless. Respected. Scarred by a past that forged him into a weapon. He expects manipulation, strategy, and power plays. He does not expect the Alpha’s daughter to strike him like a bolt of silver fire. Eira wants nothing to do with him. She doesn’t trust the cold Alpha with predator’s eyes, and she certainly doesn’t trust the way her ancient wolf stirs whenever he enters a room. Their packs are enemies. Their futures are already tangled with responsibility. But fate has its own design. Something old stirs beneath their feet. And a bond forged in silver flames may be the only thing that can save—or destroy—the shifter world. A slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers shifter romance filled with prophecy, danger, forbidden power, and a connection neither of them is ready for.

My roommate had a peculiar knack for pestering everyone into liking her posts on social media, all so she could collect enough likes to claim some prize or another. It was her way of life—nagging, nudging, and guilting us into clicking that little thumbs-up. One time, the campus beauty queen liked my roommate's ad for a facial mask. Not long after, she was in a horrific car accident. The vehicle caught fire, and her face suffered severe burns, leaving her disfigured beyond recognition. Meanwhile, my roommate seemed to undergo a miraculous transformation, her complexion turning porcelain fair and flawless as though she'd been kissed by the heavens. Then there was the academic prodigy, a shoe-in for graduate school, who liked her tutoring service post. Shortly after, he was exposed for academic fraud, and his once-brilliant reputation was reduced to ashes. Strangely enough, my roommate's research paper suddenly won an award, catapulting her to fame and fortune. And me? I fell into her trap too. I liked her rental agency ad, and before I knew it, my world crumbled. A scandal erupted, revealing that I was the result of a mix-up at birth. It turned out she was the long-lost child of wealth and privilege—a hidden gem cast into the rough, now reclaimed by her rightful family. As for me, I was packed off to the countryside village she had escaped from and forced into a brutal marriage with an old man. My life became a living hell, and eventually, I died there, broken and forgotten. But fate wasn't done with me yet. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back on the day my roommate begged me to like her post in exchange for yet another prize.

A struggling Internet entrepreneur, a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter, a wife of an impressionable state senator, and a famous voice over actress find themselves caught in a web of espionage and intrigue that threatens their lives and those of everyone they know. When the undercover agents first approached Melanie Tyler and Kathleen O=Brian the night of their 30th high school reunion, the women could never have imagined that their innocent game of playing spies from a 60=s television show would become a real life confrontation with one of the most insidious criminal minds of their generation. Melanie "Mel" Tyler and Kathleen "Katie" Conner have been best friends since kindergarten. As teenagers, their favorite television show was The Man from U.N.C.L.E. The girls even had a hidden room where they kept files on various schoolmates. But after graduating from high school, everyone in the graduating class went their separate ways. Mel's voice-over talent landed her a high-paying job in Los Angeles while Katie married her high school sweetheart, James O'Brien, now the youngest member of the Minnesota State Senate. Mel and Katie find it difficult to believe that they are about to attend Abbeyville High School's thirtieth reunion. Seeing most of their former classmates should be fun, but there are a few that the ladies hoped would not attend. Unfortunately, the three worst do make an appearance. Charles Haussman and Eric Kramer were bullies back in school and they have not forgotten how the ladies once bested them. Then there is Wyatt Gaynes, the jock that Melanie had a crush on - along with many other female students. A novel of romance and adventure for Baby Boomers, fans of "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." and anyone who has ever attended their high school reunion!

Malam ini adalah malam tahun baru, saat semua orang merayakan pergantian tahun, 2019 ke 2020. Namun di laut lepas, sekitar lima puluh kilometer dari pusat kota Metropolis, sebuah kapal nelayan kecil terombang-ambing di tengah badai dahsyat. Perahu kecil milik Norman Ferdian terangkat tinggi, dihantam gelombang hingga terbalik. Di atasnya ada dirinya dan putranya yang baru berusia empat belas tahun. Dua hari sebelumnya mereka berlayar menangkap ikan, berharap kembali tepat waktu untuk merayakan tahun baru, namun takdir berkata lain. Ketika Nathan tersadar, tubuhnya basah kuyup dan terasa berat. Ia terbaring di pasir dingin sebuah pantai asing. Di sampingnya terbujur kaku sosok ayahnya, Norman Ferdian. Tak lagi bernapas, tak lagi bergerak. Wajah Nathan memucat, tangannya gemetar memegang tubuh ayahnya. Tangisnya pecah, diiringi angin laut yang pekat. Di sekitar, ia melihat sebuah wilayah yang gelap, sunyi, liar, asing. Tidak ada tanda manusia, hanya ombak dan ranting patah dipukul angin. Ia tidak tahu di mana ia berada, dan ketidaktahuan itu membuatnya semakin takut. ... Lima tahun berlalu. Di lautan sekitar pulau terpencil itu, kapal nelayan perlahan mendekat. Asap tipis dari tengah pulau menarik perhatian mereka. Pulau itu dikenal sebagai pulau misterius yang berbahaya, katanya tidak berpenghuni, menyimpan banyak kisah orang hilang. Tiba-tiba seorang pemuda lusuh berlari menuruni bukit. Tubuhnya kurus namun berotot, pakaian compang-camping, rambut panjang dan janggut lebat, memegang busur sederhana. Ia menembakkan panah api ke tumpukan kayu kering, menyalakan api unggun besar sebagai sinyal bagi kapal. Para nelayan terkejut. Nathan menunjukkan kartu identitas ayahnya dan makam Norman di pinggir pantai. Mereka mengerti bocah ini bukan pembohong. Dengan hati berat, mereka mengajak Nathan naik kapal. Nathan menatap pulau itu, mata yang tidak lagi sama. Lima tahun di tempat ini bukan hanya membuatnya bertahan, tapi mengubahnya menjadi sesuatu yang berbeda. Apa yang sebenarnya terjadi pada Nathan? Bagaimana ia bisa bertahan selama lima tahun di pulau liar itu?

Alessia Volkov, the ice-princess heiress to a powerful Russian syndicate, believes her life is mapped out: a strategic marriage to secure an alliance. But on the night of her engagement gala, her world is shattered. Dante Moretti, the most feared and ruthless Mafia Don in the city, storms the event. His reason? A blood debt owed by her fiancé's family. And he’s taking Alessia as collateral. Dragged from a life of opulent privilege, Alessia is thrown into a gilded cage: Dante’s impenetrable penthouse high above the city. Her defiance is immediate and fierce. She fights him with every weapon she has, venomous words, calculated escapes, and sheer, unbreakable will. But Dante is a master of breaking things. He doesn't use fists; he uses desire. His relentless, calculated seduction is a war of attrition against her body and mind. A rough hand pinning her wrists against the cold glass wall. A bruising kiss that tastes like victory and sin. A whispered threat that sends a shiver of unwanted arousal straight to her core. As the lines between captor and captive blur, a dangerous, twisted passion ignites. Their encounters are explosive battles of dominance and surrender, each feverish fuck chipping away at her resistance until her hatred transforms into a dark, addictive need. She begins to crave his touch, his possession, his punishing cock. But outside their penthouse fortress, enemies are closing in. The very war that brought them together threatens to tear them apart. Alessia must decide: is she the prize in this bloody conflict, or is she the queen destined to rule beside the king who stole her? This is a story of obsession, betrayal, and a love so violent it can only be born in the dark.