The Not-so Austen Bookclub

When nineteen-year-old engineering student Sky is scouted by Dream Entertainment, he thinks it’s a scam—until life throws him into financial uncertainty and he decides to take the leap. What starts as a desperate attempt to help his family quickly evolves into something far more complicated: a chance to star in a reality show where contestants pair up and compete for a coveted lead role in a new Boys’ Love (BL) series. Night, a successful but emotionally guarded model, isn’t the type to sign on for flashy reality shows—until he sees Sky’s casting photo and feels something he can’t explain. Against his manager’s advice and his own better judgment, he joins the project, drawn to the boy with the shy smile and uncertain eyes. Thrown into a house with six striking and wildly different contestants, Sky and Night are assigned roommates—others, not each other—and must navigate awkward first impressions, lip-sync battles, late-night conversations, and the growing tension between competition and connection. As the cameras roll and emotions blur, the question that hanging in the air: Is this just a path to fame in the entertainment industry—or is it something real? Is it all just for show?

After my parents died in a car crash, my cousin stole the compensation money and moved overseas to start a business. My aunt begged me on her knees not to call the police. Then, she locked me in a dark basement for three months. I was close to breaking down and ending my life when Julien Lawson, the neighbor’s son, broke down the basement door and saved me. “Joyce, what they did is unforgivable! They stole the compensation money for your parents’ deaths. You were going to use it to open your own studio! “Marry me. I’ll protect you.” He was the only person who cared about me after my parents died. I was so grateful that I married him and had his child. I worked three jobs during the day to help support the orphanage that Julien ran. At night, I took care of our child and created design sketches. But no matter how hard I tried, none of my work was ever accepted. Even though Julien told me to keep at it, I felt discouraged and thought of giving up on my design career to focus on our family. One day, our child was sick. I went to take over the shift from Julien when I overheard him talking to my aunt on the stairs. “Julien, it’s been ten years. Joyce’s designs are getting better and better. She even passed the first round of the national competition. Are you really not going to tell her about the next round?” my aunt asked. Her voice trembled. Julien said coldly, “For years, I’ve been sending Joyce’s design sketches to Mindy to copy and enter in the competitions or publish as her own. “To help Mindy’s career, I can’t let Joyce move on to the next round. “Joyce has talent. If people notice her, she’ll be a threat to Mindy’s career!”

On the day we were supposed to get our marriage license, Michael Robertson ghosted. I sat outside the County Clerk's Office for hours. Instead of him, I got a pic from his secretary, Kallie Clunt. She was in his lap, arms wrapped around him, making out like it was the hottest scene in a drama. [Sorry, Elsa. Michael said he had to comfort my broken heart. You don't mind, do you?] When I asked him about it, he just looked annoyed. "She gave me blood once. What's the big deal if I hang out with her? Can't you be a little more understanding?" My stomach dropped. I turned away and called his older brother. "Leon, do you still want to marry me?"

Kylie Cooper was Jonathan Sinclair's lover for three years. After they broke up, she became his executive assistant. Jonathan treated her coldly and mocked her with sarcasm. Kylie said, "You used me as a stand-in before. Now that she's back, please let me go." However, Jonathan was confused. "A stand-in? I've only ever loved you..."

I was reborn. Right back to the day I adopted Peter. The wind cut sharp, baby cries slicing through the cold. That's when it hit me—this was the day Stuart Pete, my oh-so-loving husband, dumped his illegitimate child right in my path after work. He knew me too well. The second I picked the kid up, he'd spin it into an adoption, making the boy ours. Last time, I fell for it. This time? I walked away without a second thought. Later, I heard the kid got pneumonia from being left out in the freezing cold—fever so bad, it wrecked him for life. I laughed until my stomach hurt. What I didn't see coming? Peter was reborn too—about to experience the life he was meant to have.

When I went to buy a new house, all I found was crumpled newspaper where my savings should've been. I almost called the cops—until I found out Tony Jarrett, my own husband, had blown seven years of my hard-earned cash on a shiny new motorcycle. For Pauline Schmidt. His ex. I asked why. He just shrugged. "She's a single mom. Life's tough. This way, she won't have to walk so much." I wanted to scream, but I swallowed it down. Made him at least get an IOU from her. While I was busy sourcing stuff for the factory, a flood warning hit our town. And Tony? Out buying toy cars with Pauline and her kid. Our son was home alone, trying to stay above water. I was back. Like life hit rewind and dropped me into that exact day. The day he gave her the motorcycle. I saw them—laughing, tight, like their own little picture-perfect family. But I didn't cry this time. Didn't beg. Just turned and walked off.

My daughter was born with silver poisoning in her blood—passed down from me—which made it hard for her to sense her wolf, and even harder for her to shift. I worked tirelessly, taking on every job I could, to earn enough money to find a cure for her. One night during a late shift, I saw her. My daughter, dressed like a princess in an elegant, Silverlight-woven gown, sat at a table in a high-end restaurant. With her was my mate—supposedly bedridden and paralyzed—wearing a tailored haute couture suit. Across the table sat the famous she-wolf of our pack, the daughter of a respected elder. They had ordered a lavish dinner, the bill totaling over $500,000. After the meal, I overheard my mate ask our daughter, “You remember how to tell the story, right?” She nodded and replied, “Yes. I’ll tell Mom we were working as werewolf junk collectors all night, collecting waste paper crates, and in the end, we only earned enough to buy half a loaf of bread.” My mate smiled, pleased with the answer. The she-wolf then gifted my daughter an entire collection of newly released moonstone jewelry. Before they left, my mate tipped each waitress $5,000. I stood frozen, tears falling as the truth shattered my heart: my mate—and even my beloved daughter—had been lying to me. Even in dormancy, my wolf mourned. A colleague saw me crying and asked what was wrong. I forced a smile and said, “I’m just happy. I got $5,000 tonight. It would’ve been even better… if it hadn’t come from my mate, the one who’s supposed to be paralyzed and lying in bed.” No one knew what I had sacrificed to be his mate. I waited for an apology. But it never came. So I made my decision. I called my father—the one who had been waiting all these years for me to return as his heir. When I disappeared from their lives, just as they had always secretly wished... That’s when they finally began searching for me across the world.

Sehrize, as a national intelligence agent (NIA), was involved in the murder of her boyfriend who was a mafia leader. To save her daughter from the enemy, she decided to take her daughter to a man who had thick blood from Natallie,he is Mr.Groddy. However, the first flight when Sehrize returned to Switzerland, ruined Groddy's marriage to a woman.Sehrize also said that Natallie was Groddy's biological daughter in front of the invited guests.The man's anger could not be contained when the family's screams sounded hysterical, he immediately dragged Sehrize and Natallie out of the room.However, the DNA test results stated that Natallie was Groddy's biological daughter.How did the man feel when he found out that his ex-girlfriend had his child? And how do they feel after five years apart, then meeting again?Could it be that Sehrize still harbors feelings of love for the man she saw with eyes, having gotten married? Everything really makes the heart want to know their relationship in the future. Happy reading.

Layla Xander was gravely ill, with little time left. From that day forward, she had a revelation—when confronted with life and death, nothing else mattered. Selfish, leeching family members? She cut them off. A fiancé who proposed one day and cozied up to her 'good sister' the next? Out of her life. With nothing holding her back, she was finally free. Rumors about her slowly began to spread through her social circle. “Miss Xander has landed herself a wealthy benefactor.” “Miss Xander was seen vacationing with a young heartthrob.” “Miss Xander’s fortune has skyrocketed. She’s throwing around millions like it’s nothing.” Later, when the truth came to light, those who had abandoned her were left in tears, begging for forgiveness. Her leeching parents wept, “You’ll always be our sweet daughter. Come back home, won’t you?” Her scumbag ex-fiancé pleaded, “You’re the only one I’ve ever loved. Please, give me another chance.” But it was too late! A man stepped in, blocking everyone from getting near her. His face was cold and menacing as he growled, “Anyone who dares disturb Miss Xander again will leave here with broken legs.” And then, later still, that same man—once so untouchable and feared—knelt on one knee before her. His voice was deep and unwavering. “Whether in life or death, you’ll always be mine.” … William Lucas never claimed to be a good man. As the head of an elite and powerful family, his path had been paved with blood, and his decisiveness struck fear into anyone who dared cross him. No one could have guessed that this untouchable figure, feared by all, had been hiding away a tender place in his heart—for a girl. A secret he had carried for eight long years. Every ounce of gentleness he had was reserved solely for her.

When a botched attempt at love ends with Jake, Myra's crush of five years embracing an unknown woman at a party, fate allows her to meet and spend a night with a charming older stranger, Hart. Believing that being with Hart will help her forget the pain of her failed love, Myra decides to take a second chance at love, only to be pulled into Hart's unordinary life filled with twists and struggles. Just as Myra starts believing in fate again, Jake reappears in her life with a secret between their families: a secret she needs to fulfill. Read along to find out who is the destined prince of Myra's love story.