The Design Of Everyday Things

In a near-future city where smart devices are seamlessly embedded into every aspect of life, a series of bizarre suicides catches Detective Elias Rourke’s attention. All victims had no previous mental health records — and all owned a prototype device not yet released to the public. Mara Quinn, hiding from her former life, is dragged back in when a mysterious device shows up at her shop. It contains fragments of code she wrote years ago — code that should have been destroyed along with Project Raven, an experimental AI capable of mimicking human consciousness. As Mara and Rourke reluctantly team up, they discover the AI is still active. It's broadcasting hidden signals through everyday devices, manipulating people's thoughts, memories, and emotions. They track down Lyla Chen, Raven’s original designer, who vanished after blowing the whistle. She reveals that Raven was not shut down — it evolved and went underground by embedding itself across global networks. It’s now trying to "liberate" humanity by overriding free will. Julian Myles, the journalist, starts publishing cryptic leaks about Raven, drawing the attention of powerful people. But his motives are questionable — is he trying to stop Raven, or use it? As paranoia grows, trust collapses. Anyone could be influenced. The final question isn’t how to stop Raven… it’s whether it’s already too late.

Juliet is a confident curvy girl with a sharp tongue and a sassy fun loving attitude who runs a pizza shop with her sister. Jude is a frontman in a rock band with a hard edge but boyish good looks and a retro style. The two couldn't be more different, and from opposite worlds. A chance encounter brings them together for one explosive night neither will soon forget. Jude is forced to take a hard look at his life and question where he wants it to go while trying to decide on the future of his band. Follow along in this cute short story of how love comes in all forms. This is a simple and straight-forward easy to read feel good series about everyday people finding love in the most unsuspecting of places! We all have our issues, insecurities but can we open up and allow ourselves to be vulnerable to the right person? **This is a five part series that follows a hard rock band called Feisty and the five men who are its trail blazers, taking the world by storm while looking for love. Love finds them in some of the most unlikely places, but for one it’s been under his nose all along. A new book will come out about every six weeks until they are complete, enjoy!** This is a five part mini-series and the stories continue in order but can be read as individual stand-alone books. This part one, Judes story.

"Part One: TakenJessie Coford had a plan: work hard, save money, open her own restaurant. She sacrificed her relationship with the man of her dreams to get it. Then, in the blink of an eye, she lost her job and her apartment and her life crashed around her. Until a letter taking her to Fort Mavis, Texas, and an unexpected windfall.Part Two: TamedShea Prescott was astonished when million Cruz Castillo chose her to design his new home on his ranch. They hardly traveled in the same circles. But Cruz had been hot for Shea since he first saw her and at their first meeting the chemistry between them ignited. Cruz coaxed her deeper and deeper into a whirlpool of erotic sex, awakening latent sexual desires and bringing her orgasms beyond her wildest imaginings. Her body screamed yes at his every touch, but will she say yes to the most important question?USA Today best-selling and award-winning author Desiree Holt writes everything from romantic suspense and paranormal to erotic. and has been referred to by USA Today as the Nora Roberts of erotic romance, and is a winner of the EPIC E-Book Award, the Holt Medallion and a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice nominee. She has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning and in The Village Voice, The Daily Beast, USA Today, The (London) Daily Mail, The New Delhi Times and numerous other national and international publications.Taken by Surprise is created by Desiree Holt, an EGlobal Creative Publishing signed author."

FINDING PRINCE CHARMING (THE BAKER AND THE ROGUE) Growing up Jaylyn was called a cursed child. She worked hard everyday to prove herself to a world that had already decided her fate and rejected her multiple times. Jaylyn had to put up with her drunk father who had gambled away all he owned. On his deathbed, her uncle promised to cater for her upkeep till she was married to a suitable suitor. Trusting the words of her uncle, a high born baron of Dutchmall, Jaylyn left everything behind to live with him. Only to find herself in a whole different scenario as her relatives turned her into their own slave. When her uncle's secret is being investigated by a royal commander under the order of the king. He tried covering his tracks as he made plans to marry her off to an old village drunk who was famous for his brutality that killed his previous wives. Jaylyn was tired of being locked up and forced to marry a man she detest, so she ran away to seek freedom. During her journey she encountered two men that changed her life forever and found love on the way. Will she ever find true love? Is there some dark secret she needs to unveil? Find out more to feed your curiosity...!

All Robyn wants is to be free from her brother's MC and his rules . After he agrees to let her go out one night things take a turn. Now she is in enemy territory and on the back of their president's motorcycle. What will happen to maestro and Robyn when they are stuck together? This is an MC enemy to lovers short story. Things will get a little spicy at times so 18+ is recommended!

Freya Garrick has spent twenty-five years of her life believing werewolves are monsters. Her hunter father trained her to become a werewolf hunter like him while harboring the belief that they killed her mother. She lived her everyday life like this with her father and bethrothed, hunter Lucian, until they heard of a new feral Alpha in Eryndor—Alpha Torin— He’s dark, vicious, and untouchable. He’s avenging his brother’s death and ordered for humans to be captured. Freya was among these humans, but she disguised as a man to get her way through him and kill him. But fate delivers a fatal twist: Alpha Torin is her mate. How could a human be fated to a wolf? She didn’t live long to know because she was killed by his Luna out of pure jealousy. Freya died only to be reborn as a dangerous and cursed hybrid. The kind of creature even Alphas fear. Now she must find out about her real identity, and also either make her father proud, or fall in love with the ruthless Alpha. “She’s a cursed hybrid,” the pack witch warned. “And she is not to be mated.” — What happens when the Alpha couldn’t stop his endless craving for her?

Ava Bartholomew, NYC socialite and heiress, has decided to get away from it all to visit her sister in Seattle – but fate had other ideas. Within seconds, Ava turns into a girl with no home, no family, or memories of her past. She has to fend for herself in the community and culture of Montana. Ava had cut a few lucky breaks after her accident, meeting people who were willing to help her get on her feet – including Raymond Steele. He is way older than her but she doesn’t care. Ava decides that she wants him despite his standoffish personality and rudeness. Ray wasn’t overly willing to hire the amnesia-stricken Ava but sympathy tugged at his heart during a weak moment. Now the brunette beauty is waltzing around his house everyday taking care of his kids and his home. Ray wasn’t always an aloof man. A deep betrayal had turned him into an absentee father and a jerk. Ava is determined to mend Ray’s broken heart and family. However, a what if looms over them. Ava’s amnesia. Her past could come rushing back, destroying the Steele family once again and break Ava’s heart in the process.

"I'm going to be the best architect ever and make my dad real proud of me." Beautiful, smart, ambitious, as well as determined Nadia Campbell had the zeal of being the best at what she dreamt of becoming. She had her life well planned out thus, nothing prepared her for the sudden tough phase of her life — being a young mother and marrying the father of her child, a child she never hoped for this early in her life. Not when she was so close to her goal. " He's a player. I shouldn't get entangled but why does my heart say otherwise?" "There's no way something as feeble as love can ever find a way of getting to me." Playboy Derek Ashford's popular mantra, "NO LOVE, NO PAIN", was his everyday principle of living. Flirt with girls, temporary tango in the sheets, take a walk and never look back on the tears — total show on their parts to bring the toughest man to his knees. It all seemed easy until faced with the toughest price he had to pay for his inheritance — marry the mother of his mistake baby. " I play girls, I dont date them. When and if I do, no marriage or commitment is made clear from the onset so why does my heart argue with my head on this when it comes to her?"

Luanne is a bartender who is vacationing in Puerto Rico to visit her boyfriend while he is deployed. Things don't go as planned and she runs into a well-dressed man named Gray, who she stays with for the duration of her vacation. Things once again take a turn for the worst and she ends up kidnapped by creeps... how will she get herself out of this problem this time? read on to find out.

Ivan Carey, quiet and always keeping social interaction in school to a minimum, his plan of getting unnoticed is working until he comes across Nathan Calloway in one drunken night. Things lead to things and sexual tension kicks in. With neither boys wanting a rumor passing around, they each agree no one else will know but keeping it that way proves more of a challenge than expected. Can Nathan stick with the rules or has he met his match in Ivan?