Critical Review Brown University Novels & Stories

He didn't love her but she became his Mrs. Jack. She couldn't interfere with his personal behavior and couldn't tell others that she was his wife. When his ex-girlfriend returned as promised, she handed him the divorce agreement, saying, "She's back, and I'm returning your freedom." But he just laughed and said, "Mrs. Jack, you even have our child. Where else do you want to go?"

Born into a family of culinary royalty, Aria Beaumont has always lived in her father’s shadow — a feared food critic whose name alone can destroy chefs. After getting fired for calling out wrongdoing in the kitchen and catching her boyfriend cheating on the same night, Aria runs into the arms of a mysterious stranger and had a one night stand. When she enrolls in the prestigious Étoile Culinary Academy to rebuild her life and career, She never expects her mentor for the training to be Leon Cordon; the reclusive, world-famous chef who vanished from the culinary world after the tragic loss of someone he loved. And she definitely never expects him to hate her on sight. He recognizes her last name. Her family is his sworn enemy. He recognizes her from the one-night stand and refuses to mentor her. She recognizes his arrogance and was determined to bring him back to the culinary industry. Just as their forbidden connection becomes impossible to deny, the academy sends them on a month-long culinary retreat — isolated, breathtaking, and filled with ghosts of Leon's past. There, Aria learns that the culinary world’s greatest tragedy…may not be what it seemed. A past thought buried will return. Loyalties will break. A rival chef will step into the scene. And Aria must decide whether following her heart is worth losing everything she has finally begun to build.

One night. Two strangers. Three lives changed forever. Elena Martinez never expected her celebration drink to end in the arms of a mysterious stranger. No names. No promises. Just one unforgettable night of passion that should have remained a beautiful secret. Until she walks into her dream job interview—and comes face-to-face with her one-night stand. Damien Blackwood, billionaire CEO, is now her boss. And he's determined to pretend that night never happened. When Elena discovers she's pregnant with twins, Damien's response shatters her: "Convenient timing. Looking for a payday?" Accused of gold-digging and threatened with destruction, Elena disappears, vowing to raise her children alone. Five years later, their worlds collide again. Her brilliant, mischievous twins accidentally wander into Daddy's office, and one look at their faces reveals the truth Damien can no longer deny. But claiming his children means confronting the woman he wronged—the only woman he's never been able to forget. Elena's not the naïve girl he dismissed. She's built a life without him, and forgiveness won't come easy. Especially when corporate conspiracies, family betrayals, and dangerous enemies threaten everything they hold dear. As passion reignites and secrets explode, Damien must prove he's worthy of a second chance. But can a love born from one reckless night survive the chaos of reality? Some mistakes can't be undone. Some loves refuse to die. And some families are worth fighting the world for. A steamy second-chance romance with scheming twins, corporate intrigue, and a love that defies the odds.

Natasha, daughter of a wealthy former mafia boss thought her life was going well until she caught her boyfriend cheating on her. Feeling angry and hurt, she went to a bar, drank herself to stupor and ended up spending the night with a stranger. She didn’t see his face—only a tattoo on his chest. She went back home and found out her father was in trouble. The only available option to help him was to marry Liam—the son of her father's former colleague. She didn’t know he was the same stranger from that night. He knew because he recognised her immediately, but he didn’t tell her. Later, she found out she was pregnant. She told her best friend, Ashley, who took her to a doctor to secretly end the pregnancy. But the doctor was Liam’s best friend. He later started blackmailing her with it for his own selfish gain, after he found out she was married to his friend. Ashley later turned against her. Natasha was sad and confused, but things changed when Ashley came back and confessed everything about how she was the one behind everything. Liam found out the truth, protected Natasha, and punished those who hurt her. In the end, they decided to forget the past and build a real marriage with trust and love.

Ethan Fani, a rising star in the business world, finds his heart shattered after a betrayal by his partner. Desperate to see his son happy again and protect their family's legacy, his father devises a plan: pay someone to date Ethan and restore his confidence. Enter Anna Hobbs, a young woman thrust into adulthood by family tragedy. Struggling to provide for her father and sister, she's drawn to the promise of quick cash when she stumbles upon an intriguing job opportunity. But as she delves deeper into the charade, Anna realises that the price of easy money may be higher than she ever imagined. Can Anna keep her secret from Ethan, or will their burgeoning connection unravel everything? In a world where love and deception collide, Ethan must navigate the thin line between truth and fiction, risking her heart in the process.

Rosa never imagined that her quiet, ordinary life would be turned upside down by colliding with a billionaire. Literally. After an unexpected incident, Alexander Wade, icy CEO and heir to a vast company, suggests a contract marriage to fulfill a clause in his grandfather’s will, she agrees reluctantly as it was the only hope she could find. To Alexander, it was simple: marry, inherit, move on. But nothing about Rosa is simple. With every stolen glance and every unexpected moment, the line between pretend and reality begins to blur. Suddenly, it’s not just about signatures and legalities. It’s about feelings he never intended to feel. But when his glamorous ex, Daphne, returns and his manipulative mother schemes to tear them apart, Rosa and Alexander's fragile connection is tested. Secrets resurface, betrayal cuts deep, and love is no longer enough on its own. Now, Alexander must make a choice; hold onto the past he's always known… or fight for the woman who unexpectedly stole his heart.

He married the wrong woman… and broke the right one. Now she’s back, with the power to ruin him… or make him beg. Seven years ago, Emily Truce dragged a boy out of a burning wreck, then vanished before he ever even saw her face. By morning, her twin sister had stolen the credit… and the life that came with it. Now that boy is Carl Ben, a billionaire bound to marry the woman he believes saved him. But when a crushing family debt forces a last-minute switch, the bride at the altar isn’t Lydia, it’s Emily. The wrong bride. The unwanted wife. From the moment they marry, Carl makes his feelings clear. Cold. Distant. Cruel. He gives his loyalty to a lie and his attention to another woman while Emily fades into a life where she is seen, but never chosen. Until the night everything breaks, she discovers Carl's preference for his matrimonial bed is her twin sister and never her and he confirms it to her face while she laughs at Emily with him buried inside her. That night, she stops hoping… and finally walks away. She signs the divorce papers he has long awaited, secretly pregnant and disappears without a trace. Emily Truce returns no longer invisible, but powerful, remarried in an arrangement to a marriage she once ran from, to a billionaire who worships her. “You'e mine, Emily, let the world burn if it dares touch you, you’ll breathe my love like oxygen for a lifetime" Nicole Ashfort vows. Now Carl Ben is begging, finally seeing the truth: she was the one who saved him. But Emily didn’t come back for love. She came for revenge, Ice-Cold, rich and brutal. And this time, she decides who stays and who she ruins.

Clark Johnson has always been invisible. A quiet bookworm in a very small Michigan town, he's used to being overlooked until the day Gordie Thomas, the school's larger football star, asked him to be his chemistry partner. What begins as an unlikely friendship quickly becomes something neither of them expected. But first love is rarely simple. As their secret relationship deepens, Gordie finds himself torn between the life everyone expected him to live and the feelings he can't seem to ignore. And when a girl enters the picture, Clark is forced to watch the boy he loves slip further and further away.

North Kennedy never imagined she would find herself in a contract marriage with her ex, Finn. But when the bride vanishes on their wedding day, Finn offers her a deal: marry him for six months, and he’ll fund her business dreams. Despite their painful past, North agrees, but insists on keeping her heart out of it. As their fake marriage turns real, fiery arguments, jealousy, and hidden emotions come to the surface. Finn’s older brother, Liam, sparks new complications, while Finn’s manipulative ex-fiancée threatens to reclaim him. But when North discovers the truth behind Finn’s intentions, she’s left heartbroken and pushed away. With a baby on the way and a battle of wills brewing, can they survive the lies, the jealousy, and their own hearts? Or will their second chance at love crumble under the weight of their past? A marriage of convenience. A love rekindled. Secrets, jealousy, and passion collide in this irresistible enemies-to-lovers romance!

Everyone thought he called me into his office to scold me. But when I got home, my phone lit up. “I’m sorry… did I f**k you too hard?” he asked, calm as ever. *** After years of being Grant’s invisible wife, Aurelia finally chooses herself. She leaves the mansion, the marriage, and the man who made her feel small. But healing doesn’t come easy, not when your ex can’t let go. Her new boss turns out to be the man every woman whispers about, Julien Knightley, ruthless in the boardroom, magnetic in every other room. The kind of man who sees through the walls she built, and makes her want to live again. But when Grant realizes he’s lost control, obsession replaces love, and the lines between power, passion, and possession blur. The end of her marriage was the beginning of her dangerous new story. A story of healing, second chances, and a woman who refuses to stay broken...