Epic Reads

The things we want are so very rarely the things we need. Clifton Heights, a modest Adirondack town, offers many unique attractions. Arcane Delights sells both paperbacks and hard-to-find limited editions. The Skylark Diner serves the best home-cooked meals around, with friendly service and a smile. Every August, Mr. Jingo’s County Fair visits, to the delight of children and adults. In essence, Clifton Heights is the quintessential small American town. Everyone knows everyone else, and everyone is treated like family. It is quiet, simple, and peaceful. But shadows linger here. Flitting in dark corners, from the corner of the eye. If you walk down Main Street after dark, the slight scrape of shoes on asphalt whispers you're not alone, but when you look over your shoulder, no one is there. The moon shines high and bright in the night sky, but instead of throwing light, it only seems to make the shadows lengthen. Children disappear. Teens run away. Hunters get lost in the woods with frightening regularity. Husbands go mad, and wives vanish in the dead of night. And still, when the sun rises in the morning, you are greeted by townspeople with warm waves and friendly smiles, and the shivers pass as everything seems fresh and new... Until night falls once more. Handy's Pawn and Thrift sits several blocks down from Arcane Delights. Like any thrift store, its wares range from the mundane to the bizarre. By daylight, it seems just another slice of small town Americana. But in its window hangs a sign which reads: We Have Things You Need. And when a lonely traveling salesman comes looking for something he desperately wants, after normal visiting hours, after night has fallen, he will face a harsh truth among the shelves of Handy’s Pawn and Thrift: the things we want are rarely the things we need. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

My fiance, Victor Blackwood, is a mafia boss who rules the country's underworld with an iron fist. To the rest of the world, he is the epitome of power. Yet to me, he is the embodiment of love. But I do not realize the cost of loving a man like him. On Valentine's Day, I cook his favorite dishes and wait for him to come home. However, time passes, and his chair stays empty. Uneasy, I go to Queenie Stone's social media page. She is Victor's foster sister. She posts, "All I said was that I felt lonely, and he came right away. "Even when I accidentally spilled wine on him, he didn't mind. Victor is still someone who puts family first, even if it means neglecting his lover. "He never lets me down. I hope things stay that way." In the photo, Victor's shirt is soaked at the waist. Queenie's handkerchief lingers near his most private parts, but he doesn't pull away. He merely looks at her affectionately. I do not make a fuss and give Queenie's post a like. Then, I send Victor a message that reads, "Let's break up." Victor ignores it as always. Later, I discover that when my breakup message popped up, he had said offhandedly, "Vivienne can't live without me. She's just acting out. "If I ignore her for a few days, she'll come crawling back by herself. She's easy to please." What he doesn't know is that I was easy to handle only because I once loved him. But now that I have decided to leave, he cannot make me turn back, no matter how he tries to win me over.

"There will come a time when this ugly and cruel fellow will bow at my feet and feel honored to be in the same place as me, breathing in the same air as I'll be doing. You wrote this?" asked Alpha Benna. Kiara remained silent. "I want to hear it from your own lips, Kiara Yezus. Do you want your life to be ruined? I'll have you tortured to the extent that you'll beg for death." He meant it. In this mind-gripping novel, Kiara Yezus, after escaping her cruel father's clutches, wages an epic war with her new alpha, who bought her as his slave. While running for her freedom, she stumbles upon a ruthless Lycan prince. "Bear me a child, Kiara, and I'll turn your dream into reality." He proposed a deal. Will Kiara be able to bear an heir to the Lycan and get her freedom? Find out! You can read my other books as well. Rejected (Completed although abandoned halfway) Luna Returns (Completed) The lycan series consisting of two books Book 1: Banished by Her Cruel Alpha King(Completed) ; Book 2: Vengeance on the Cruel Alpha King (Ongoing)

"You will be mine." He whispered huskily while moving to my back, and start kissing the back of my neck. "Give in to me Rain, let me satisfy your every needs." He seduced me like the true sexy demon that he is. ***** When his mate passed away, he was ready to follow his footsteps. But then he felt the desperate needs to avenge his lover's life, doing the one thing he knows best.Until it brought him to hell and meet the king himself. His wolf resisted him, he was confused with himself. He felt like a traitor to the one man he ever truly love. Ranulf was the poster child who was sent down to hell, he was a fallen angel due to his sexuality which causes havoc up above. He was a wise King and a better lover. Until one day a human werewolf intrigued him and made him second guessed his beliefs in monogamy. Will Rain settle for his lifestyle? Will Ranulf bends the rule for his love?Join me for the Epic love story between two strong and very hard-headed characters. Love knows no worlds. Love knows no boundaries. Love knows no gender. But it will conquer all

*Abandoning ship isn’t my style. It wasn’t hers either, but our circumstances ripped us apart. Now it’s not just a literal ocean standing between us. Francine Chirilova has no direction. After coming out of the closet leaves her without a family at age 18, the quick witted 25 year old has been forced to survive on her connections and kind personality. Throw in a rapidly decreasing appetite and a tendency to gravitate toward abusive women for a epic shit show. While recovering from her latest 4 year long mistake, she makes a strong, yet unlikely connection with her virtual best friend. Que in recovering alcoholic Vasilisa Krovopuskova, aged 26 from Siberia, Russia. After surviving a grueling upbringing on her own, trust is a difficult concept to grasp. Already having experienced heartbreak once before, she wasn’t looking for anything serious when Francine crash landed into her life via an online sanctuary for lesbians. With an ocean separating the two, neither Francine nor Vasilisa know which direction to swim in. Will they stay on their side of the world, or drown trying to get to the other? *Disclaimer* - Strong mature content. 18+, please Book one. To follow is book two: “Our Blank Canvas.”

Have you ever been madly in love with your childhood best friend, but they never loved you the same way? I mean, not like they didn't love you back, but just not how you wanted it to be? Well, if you have ever been there, then you would most definitely relate to everything you are about to witness in Idara's messy love story. This is a VERY intriguing piece about Idara Thompson, a 25-year-old Nigerian lady who faces insane challenges in college! Her life becomes ridiculously twisted when she stumbles upon her insanely cute childhood best friend in school and starts catching feelings for him. Torn between a literally ‘blind’ best friend named Yomi who never acknowledges her undying love for him, and an estranged mother who just surfaces out of the blue, Idara is forced to make certain decisions that would seal her fate forever. But that's not all. There comes CANDICE, a lovely, beautiful maniac who just happens to be Yomi's special girlfriend and a stumbling block to the ever gentle Idara. How does Idara get past her? How does she balance her love life, family issues and her rivalry with Candice? Find out in this epic story, and you'd be glad you did! Enjoy!

Welcome to the Longwu Continent, the stage for five magnificent Empires ruled by high martial and magical talents. In the spotlight, a figure will gain fame and a brilliant scene. On this Continent, resources were abundant for those who mastered the two crucial talents: Mingzhu energy for outstanding martial arts and Nebula energy for mesmerizing spiritual skills. For those who do not possess both talents, their lives seem to be erased and forgotten by the world. Li Wei, a young man from the small town of Shuimiao in the Terra Empire, seemed to be a mere nobody with neither martial nor magical talent. However, he aspires to become a Sage, a half-immortal human. Luck arrived in the form of an unexpected encounter with a legendary creature one night, changing his life forever. Li Wei awoke to find that he possessed extraordinary talents in two things coveted by millions: martial arts and magic. These prodigies were not the result of mere chance but rather the intervention of a supernatural creature sea monster known as Longxu. Now, Li Wei enters the world of Cultivators and Magus on the Longwu Continent, carrying the promise of a secret society that makes him the target of truth-hungry experts. Will Li Wei achieve the dream of becoming a half-immortal as he desires? What is the big secret that makes him the hunted on Longwu Continent? Find out in this epic tale, "The Sage Story of Longwu Continent."

Eva Ann Rayner has always loved her best friend’s brother, Alexander who is six years older than her. Soon she realizes the gorgeous, temperamental, overprotective and arrogant Alexander Van Every is forbidden to her and definitely off limits. He doesn’t reciprocate her feelings, nor does he acknowledge her very existence. To him, she is always his little sister’s friend! Eva loses all hope when Alexander announces his engagement to the daughter of a business mogul. For four years she concentrates on her studies and career, avoiding Alexander at all costs. With his parents hating her with a vengeance, it isn’t a difficult task at all. So, what will Eva do when Alexander breaks his engagement after four years? What will she do when she needs to live with her best friend in the same building as him? Can she deal with the whirlwind of feelings that seeing Alexander every day unleashes within her? What happens when hidden secrets about her family are unearthed? Will Eva realize why his family is against her? Will she lose hope in Alexander forever? Read this unique and epic romance to know how Eva tames the possessive, dominant, overprotective, hot, and jealous billionaire with her sweetness.

Selene was born a wolf, but raised in chains. Betrayed by her pack, branded a burden, and stripped of the life she should have lived, she endured years of cruelty and silence. Her only solace came in the fleeting warmth of love. A mate who saw her, cherished her and gave her the only joy she had ever known: their twin children. But fate was merciless. When death stole him away, Selene was left with grief, two children to protect, and a heart turned to ice. From that day, she buried her emotions and lived only for her twins, earning a reputation as ruthless, unfeeling and cold. Few knew the truth that behind her silence lay a woman who had survived hell and was determined never to break again. When circumstances force her into the heart of the Shadowfang Pack, Selene faces trials harsher than anything before. The wolves see her as weak prey, unworthy of their respect, yet beneath her scars lies the strength born of suffering. To survive, she must rise not as a broken widow they believe her to be, but as something greater: a mother, a warrior, and one day a queen. "Heart of the Wolf Queen" is a sweeping werewolf epic of loss, resilience, and rebirth. A story of a woman forged in fire, who learns that even in the darkest night, there is a way to reclaim the throne of her own destiny

It all began in Del Mar, a chance meeting with a single rule—one week only. Or did it? Lennox ‘Nox’ Demetri and Alexandria ‘Charli’ Collins had every intention of following their agreement but rules are made to be broken. In CUNNING they are reunited with Nox setting down new rules for the game and Charli having no choice but to follow them. Now, once again, the game has changed. Nox and Charli’s hot sensual encounter has grown into something more but it is threatened with secrets and regrets. Is it their love and intense sexual chemistry that’s pushing them together or something darker, a puppetmaster behind the scenes pulling the strings on their love affair? Shadowy villains lurk around each corner and everyone is suspect as Nox’s and Charli's pasts collide with the present and threaten to compel them back to their predestined fates. Can deals brokered in the past be negated by something as pure as love and as steamy as the attraction shared by Nox and Charli? Or was it all a deception—starting with that very first meeting? From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Aleatha Romig comes a sexy, new dominant hero who knows what he wants and a strong-willed heroine who has plans of her own. With classic Aleatha Romig twists and turns, the depth of this epic romantic suspense continues to reach new levels as past and present intertwine. The Infidelity series will have readers swooning one minute and screaming the next. Have you been Aleatha'd?