Critical Review Brown University Novels & Stories

Jessica Jane is invisible by design. Quiet, soft spoken, and almost painfully unassuming, she spends her days hidden behind oversized glasses and paint stained hands in her elegant city art gallery. To the people around her, she is simply a gifted but awkward artist, a woman who keeps to herself and pours her emotions into hauntingly beautiful paintings that seem to possess an almost unsettling depth. Critics call her work raw. Emotional. Alive. They have no idea how right they are. Behind the gallery walls lies a secret darker than anyone could imagine. Jessica's masterpieces are not created with ordinary paint. Mixed into every canvas is the blood of the men she chooses as her subjects, men she believes escaped justice, men whose cruelty mirrors the monsters that stole her childhood. By night she becomes someone unrecognisable. Elegant, calculated and merciless, hunting predators who believe they are untouchable. As her artwork gains international attention and a determined investigator begins noticing disturbing patterns surrounding missing men, Jessica finds herself balancing two identities that are beginning to collide. Because the closer the world gets to discovering the truth, the more dangerous Jessica becomes. And buried beneath the blood, vengeance and carefully constructed masks is an even darker question: Is Jessica Jane delivering justice... or becoming the very thing she has spent her life trying to destroy?

When Elara Vance was at her breaking point—homeless, grieving, and clutching a positive pregnancy test—she turned to the only person she ever trusted: Julian Thorne. But instead of the protection he promised, he gave her a cold shoulder and a one-way ticket out of his life, choosing his family’s empire over their "pathetic" love.Five years later, Elara is no longer the girl who begs. She has rebuilt her life from the ashes, fueled by a quiet strength and the secret she kept from the world. But fate has a cruel sense of humor.When her new job lands her in the inner sanctum of the tech industry’s most ruthless billionaire, she finds herself face-to-face with the man who destroyed her. Julian Thorne is now at his peak—more powerful, more handsome, and more dangerous than ever. He doesn't recognize the woman he discarded, but he wants her.He thinks he can win her with his billions, unaware that Elara isn't there for his money or his heart."You told me I was a mistake you couldn't afford, Julian. Now, I’m the debt you’ll never be able to pay off."As the past and present collide, Julian is determined to claim her, but Elara has a bombshell that could topple his empire: The child he never knew existed is waiting at home.

After five years of marriage, Vanya thought she knew her husband Bernard until a near-fatal car accident opened her eyes to a devastating betrayal that shattered everything she believed about love and loyalty. When an ancient family heirloom suddenly awakens with mysterious power, Vanya finds herself with the resources and strength to fight back against those who destroyed her life. She meets Richmond, a humble restaurant owner who offers her a chance at a fresh start, but in a world where everyone has been lying to her, can she trust that he's really who he claims to be? Just when Vanya thinks she's finally taking control of her destiny, someone from her past returns with information that could destroy everything and the man she's falling for might not be the person she thinks he is.

She signed her freedom away with a trembling hand and a heart full of rage. Two years as Lucien Cross's contracted wife, playing the role of loving spouse while he remained her enemy behind closed doors. Mara Quinn made a deal with the devil to save her family. He married her to claim his inheritance. Their marriage is a battlefield, their home a cage gilded in wealth she never wanted. But hate burns hot—and somewhere between the fights and the forced proximity, between the public kisses that mean nothing and the private moments that mean everything, the line between enemies and lovers begins to blur. She promised herself she'd walk away when the contract expired. He promised himself he'd never care. They were both wrong.

“This….this is not right,” she whispered, closing her eyes as let her head fall back as he kissed her neck. Pleasure engulfing her, her mind hazy but at the same time working. “What isn’t?” He asked, in that rich, smooth, velvet voice that was quite enough to make her drop to her knees. She opened her eyes, staring right into his hunger filled ones. “It’s forbidden.” She whispered. “It won’t be nice if we get caught,” His lips twitched and he rubbed the back of his palm down her face, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Who said anything about getting caught, Rivers?” •••• If there was one thing Sloane Rivers loved most, it was Christmas. After working her ass off all year as an attorney, she was disappointed when she was nominated to go on the mandatory firm retreat. A day after she arrived, she found herself sharing the lodge with an unexpected “roomie” Ethan Hale. An arrogant, 6’2”, ridiculously wealthy CEO due to a storm. Their cohabitating came with plenty of back-and-forth bickering and arguments that slowly turned into something she looked forward to even after he moved out of her lodge. After the retreat ended, Sloane returned to her normal life. What she didn’t expect was for Ethan to crash into her world again, challenging every principle she’d lived by. The man she’d met a week before Christmas might just be her undoing, because mixing business with pleasure was strictly forbidden.

Selina Okoye lost everything when her father was falsely accused of fraud by Raymond Bellington—the powerful CEO of Bellington Holdings. The scandal sent her family into ruins and took her father’s life. Years later, Selina is forced into a strategic marriage to Adrian Bellington, Raymond’s only son and heir to the same empire that destroyed her family. Cold, calculated, and quietly noble, Adrian agrees to the union for his own reasons—an inheritance clause that demands he marries before taking over the company. Determined to never forgive the Bellingtons, Selina plans to endure the marriage for the sake of her family’s survival and leave when the time is right. But Adrian is nothing like his father. And as cracks form in her hate, feelings she thought were impossible begin to grow. Just when trust begins to bloom, Selina uncovers a dark family secret—one that threatens to break everything they’ve started to build. Can two enemies-turned-strangers find love in a marriage built on pain? Or will the past destroy their future before it even begins?

He swore I was his forever, but he stood at that altar, put a ring on another woman’s finger, and left me pregnant like I was nothing, and our baby meant nothing. I was twenty. Young, stupid, and poor enough to think love could win against his family. It couldn’t. They crushed me, and Sebastian let them. So I ran and buried the crying, broken girl who loved him and turned myself into someone colder, harder, someone who doesn’t break so easily anymore. Now I’m back after five years. Successful, untouchable, and ready to hurt him the way he hurt me. He looks at me like he’s seeing a ghost, eyes full of regret, telling me he never stopped loving me, that he wants me back… and that he wants his daughter. Too bad because sorry doesn’t fix the nights I cried alone. The only thing I want from Sebastian Hale now is revenge.

She was his forever until he cast her aside. On the night Aria Dorne was meant to be crowned Luna, Alpha Killian Blackwood rejected her in front of their entire pack, falling under the spell of the witch Seraphina. Exiled, broken, and carrying Killian’s unborn child, Aria flees only to stumble into the arms of her true fated mate, Alpha Lucian Stormrider. Now, caught between a past that refuses to let go and a destiny she never expected, Aria must decide: will she fight for the love that betrayed her or embrace the mate who was meant to be hers all along? But something evil is hiding and waiting to strike and Aria’s blood holds a power that could change the fate of the werewolf world forever. Two Alphas. One choice. And a secret that could destroy them all.

Tara’s mother and sister are both Lunar Wolves, blessed by the Moon Goddess with unique abilities. Tara seems to be an ordinary werewolf, but as she comes of age and welcomes her charismatic wolf, Trinity, her quiet life in Blue Moon is turned upside down. When she finds her mate, she’s catapulted into the spotlight, into a fairy tale with dark undercurrents she never saw coming. The threat of war looms, as her sister Talia prepares to become one of the first female Alphas, a controversial break with tradition that faces formidable resistance. Tara uncovers long buried secrets, a cryptic prophecy that unexpectedly awakens something dormant, and finds herself at the forefront as winds of change sweep through Lycan and Werewolf society. This is a story full of twists, turns, and laugh out loud funny moments. If you’re ready for a fast paced and thought provoking romantic comedy with plenty of drama and action, this novel is a fun must-read.

Alejandro Castillo has everything—money, power, charm. But when his ruthless father pits him against his genius younger brother for the CEO throne, Alejandro’s only hope of survival lies in passing college… and the broke tutor hired to save him. Mateo Rivera is supposed to fix his grades, not tempt his darkest secret. The more they study, the more Alejandro’s carefully built façade cracks. His forbidden attraction turns into something dangerous—something his family, his enemies, and the entire Dominican elite must never know. Because in a world of power plays, betrayals, and billion-dollar legacies… one kiss could cost him everything. And when secrets explode on live television, Alejandro will learn: falling in love is easy. Surviving it is deadly.