Canvas Synonyms

Olivia Jamerson spent years stewing in hidden rage for the person behind all her high-school ridicule and embarrassment. That person was none other than Joshua Taylor, son of the football coach and the famed bully of Westminster High. Students feared him, his friends revered him and teachers were sick of him. Two years after graduation and leaving town, Olivia had changed her whole appearance and character so much that no one could recognize her. Drowning in the sea of New Yorkers, Olivia finally felt that she had left her past behind and become a whole new person. At least that was the case until she bumped into the unlikeliest person she expected to meet in the big city—her old bully. Despite being annoyingly hotter than she remembered, the only thing that bothered her was that he was disturbingly nice, but worst of all, he did not remember her. Things turn a whole lot crazier when she finds out that Joshua has amnesia and when he starts flirting with her as if they did not have a complicated past. A big city, sparks and tension, and two people—one with bitter memories of their relationship and one with a blank canvas eager to fill it with potential memories. Will their tragic past catch up to them and will their horns lock once again? Will Olivia hold on to her grudges and lock him out of her life once again, or will she open her heart to the new and improved Joshua?

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, that couldn’t be more true in a free for all world where shifters have been forced to live out in the open. Assimilating into human life doesn’t bode well for most but those with means are still able to live their lives as they see fit. The Reznikov's, one of the most powerful mafia families in the world, have a dirty little secret that’s contributed to their success: they are werewolves. When the boss, Alexander buys a pup to turn into a fighter, he gets far more from the boy. He’s a blank canvas eager to learn the family business. Aleksey is feared by humans and werewolves alike, but he truly seeks the one thing that most werewolves are no longer guaranteed; a true fated mate. Emilia actually meets Aleksey when they are young teens, but they are unaware of just what their connection is. After losing her family and the only life she’s ever known, fate intervenes to put Aleksey in her path for a second time. Emilia quickly takes to her new life as the mate of a high ranking mafioso, shocking everyone including herself. Their love is intense and passionate, but there are many who try and test their resolve, including those in their own family who will stop at nothing to be on top. The story goes on to follow Aleksey's sister and then his best friend as they try to find love.

Serena stood in awe staring at the the most beautiful eyes she has ever seen, wondering how blessed she was to meet someone this beautiful just when she was having a very bad day. Damian Blackwood, a powerful and guarded billionaire haunted by past heartbreak, stumbles upon Serena Johnson's enchanting art studio during a moment of vulnerability. Drawn to the beauty and depth of her paintings, Damian finds solace in Serena's artistic sanctuary, where emotions are expressed in vivid strokes of color. Serena, a compassionate and talented artist, senses the turmoil within Damian and opens her heart to him with patience and understanding. As their connection deepens, they embark on a journey of self-discovery, trust, and unexpected love. However, as their feelings intensify, Damian's fear of betrayal resurfaces, threatening to tear them apart. Past scars and the weight of his guarded nature create an emotional tug of war between embracing love and protecting his heart. As Serena's art becomes a powerful conduit for emotional healing, Damian learns that vulnerability doesn't signify weakness, but rather a profound strength. Through the canvas, he confronts his inner demons, finding the courage to trust and love once more. As their bond strengthens, a series of challenges test their love and commitment. A business crisis and personal setbacks threaten to drive them apart, but their deep connection and unwavering love becomes their beacon of hope. Can Damian let go of his fears and open up to the positivity of love? Will Serena trust her heart and embrace the love she never saw coming?

Dmitri Volkov is the heir to one of New York’s most ruthless Russian mafia families—cold, controlled, and carrying scars no one is allowed to see. He has spent his life obeying blood oaths and burying every part of himself that doesn’t serve the syndicate. Love, especially love for a man, is a weakness he cannot afford. Ethan Moreau is a twenty-two-year-old French art student on scholarship at NYU—soft-spoken, openly gay, and painfully trusting. He came to New York to chase beauty in a city full of sharp edges, never expecting one of those edges to look back at him with ice-blue eyes. Their worlds collide by chance in Central Park. A fleeting encounter becomes stolen nights, desperate kisses in shadowed alleys, and whispered promises neither of them can keep. For Ethan, Dmitri is intensity and danger wrapped in tenderness he’s never known. For Dmitri, Ethan is the first crack of light in a life built on darkness—and the one thing that could destroy everything he’s been raised to protect. But secrets have weight. Dmitri’s family is closing in, a rival syndicate is circling, and every touch between them pulls the noose tighter. Misunderstandings fester into silence, jealousy into rage, and love into something that hurts to hold. When blood finally stains the canvas of their fragile world, Ethan will have to decide if he can love a man who was born to break hearts—and Dmitri will have to choose between the family that raised him and the only person who ever made him want to be free. In a city that devours the innocent, their story is a slow bleed of devotion, betrayal, and the kind of love that can ruin you completely.

All the relatives knew I had a "backward cousin." For my birthday, she gave me a grocery-store pound cake. When I ran a marathon, she presented me with a pair of worn-out canvas sneakers. At my graduate school acceptance party, she even sent a funeral wreath of white lilies with a sash that read "In Sympathy," wishing me an early departure to the afterlife. In my previous life, I slapped her so hard she tumbled down the porch steps. My brother took her side and plotted revenge, falsely reporting to the university that I had cheated on my SATs. My admission was revoked. "You're so modern. You know how things work," he sneered. "Plenty of people take a gap year. Just apply again." My father also defended her, cutting off all my financial support. "You've had so much schooling. You're so educated," he said coldly. "Support yourself." Alone in a city eighteen hundred miles from home, I fought to survive. I called my brother and my father again and again—only to be blocked. I delivered food while renting a room and studying to reapply. At my lowest, my hands were raw and cracked from frostbite, scrambling for delivery shifts at four in the morning just to earn a small bonus. Worn down by the cold and exhaustion, I suffered cardiac arrest at twenty-three and collapsed in a snowdrift in that unfamiliar city. No one ever came to claim me. This time, I chose to let it go and accepted the wreath with a gracious smile. To fully integrate myself into this family. After all, what is a moment of pride compared to a lifetime's inheritance?

Manhattan was doing that thing again twinkling like it had all the answers, when really it just had expensive lighting. Alexander Knight leaned against the glass wall of his penthouse, seventy-five floors up, watching the city hum below him. Bourbon in one hand (mostly untouched), phone in the other. The merger docs stared back at him from the screen, but the part that actually kept him up at night wasn’t the billions on the line. It was the fine print from the Japanese investors: “Family stability preferred.” Translation: get a wife, look settled, or watch the whole deal slip away. He exhaled, fogging the window for a second before it cleared. His assistant had already sent over a neat little list of “suitable” women—discreet, polished, zero drama. Women who understood arrangements. He hadn’t even opened the attachments. Because something about the whole thing felt… hollow. His gaze drifted down, past the grid of lights, to the tiny café on the corner. Golden glow spilling onto the sidewalk, handwritten sign in the window: Local Artist Pop-Up – One Night Only. A woman stood in front of a canvas, head tilted, paint-smudged shirt slipping off one shoulder. She was talking to someone out of view, laughing softly, then stepped back to study her work like it had personally offended her. She glanced up—straight toward his building, straight at him somehow, even though there was no way she could see him up here. But for a split second, their eyes locked across the impossible distance. But right then, with the whole damn city glittering between them, he had this ridiculous, unshakable thought: She’s the one I’m going to ask. And hell help them both when she says yes.