The Ohio State Library Novels & Stories

Laila Jones has spent eight years building a quiet, beautiful life for herself and her daughter, Malaya. After her high school boyfriend caved to his racist grandfather and chose football and family approval over her and their unborn baby, Laila left Ohio, moved south, and raised Malaya on her own. Now Malaya is eight, there’s a daddy–daughter dance coming up, and her one Christmas wish is simple—and heartbreaking: she wants to meet her dad. Going home for the holidays was hard enough. Running into Jordan Hall, now the golden-boy quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals, is worse. He’s famous, gorgeous, and acting like he has the right to look at her with regret. Laila is ready to avoid him, yell at him, or both. What she doesn’t know is that after his grandfather’s death, Jordan discovered every letter she ever sent—proof that she kept their baby, begged him to come, and raised their daughter without him. The truth wrecks him, and this Christmas, he’s determined to fight for the family he should have had all along. But Laila isn’t interested in being anyone’s redemption arc. Especially not while his nasty fiancée is calling her a liar to the press and the internet is tearing her apart. As secrets unravel and emotions explode in front of cameras, Laila and Jordan have to decide what matters more: anger, pride, and old wounds…or the little girl who still believes Christmas wishes can come true.

I slipped into a vegetative state because of an accident. For the next five years, my wife, Ella York, remains devoted to me. She turns down all of her admirers and has chosen to raise our child on her own. At the same time, she exhausts herself from taking care of me to the point that she suffers from stomach bleeding. Everyone advises her to find a new man to settle down with. But Ella exclaims in a choked-up tone, "I'll always be Zack's wife for as long as he lives!" When I miraculously wake up from my comatose state, the first thing I do is file for a divorce under the condition that Ella leaves this marriage without a cent to her name. All of my family, friends, and relatives are pissed off at me, to say the least. "You bastard! Ella has stayed by your side for the past five years! How dare you cast her out the moment you wake up!" As I gaze at Ella's tear-streaked face coldly, I say to everyone else, "Go ahead and check the security footage at my son's kindergarten. Then, you'll understand how Ella has taken care of me over the past five years."

"Don't move," he trailed his kisses to my neck after saying it, his hands were grasping my hands, entwining his fingers with mine, putting them above my head. His woodsy scent of cologne invades my senses and I was aroused by the simple fact that his weight was slightly crushing me. ***** When a famous author keeps on receiving emails from his stalker, his agent says to let it go. She says it's good for his popularity. But when the stalker gets too close, will he run and call the police for help? Is it a thriller? Is it a comedy? Is it steamy romance? or... is it just a disaster waiting to happen? ***** Add the book to your library, read and find out as another townie gets his spotlight and hopefully his happy ever after 😘 ***** Warning! R-Rated for 18+ due to strong, explicit language and sexual content*

Everyone said I was Domenico Calvetti's most obedient woman. On our first wedding anniversary, he flirted with a pair of twins at the gambling table. He had lipstick smeared all over his shirt. I smiled and wiped it away with a silk handkerchief, but he swatted my hand aside. "Don't kill the mood." In the third year, the star performer from the club he ran showed up at my door with a gun pressed to my temple, demanding to take my place. Without flinching, I disarmed her using the technique he taught me and disposed of the body myself. Behind me, he held his new lover and laughed softly. "Lucia, you always know what to do." In the fifth year, he blew up the library my father left behind just to make his new flame, Marilena Rossetti, smile. That library was my mother's favorite spot when she was alive, and it held the only photographs of our family of three. The explosion made me the laughingstock of the city. People whispered, "Signora Calvetti can't even protect her own memories." Everyone believed I could never leave the Calvetti family or Domenico, but they forgot how this all started. Back then, he rescued me from my adoptive father and fell in love with me at first sight. He knelt and begged to marry me, swearing he would protect me from blood and pain for the rest of my life. For ten years, I held onto those empty words. At our tenth anniversary party, his hundredth mistress arrived. Alice Russo, fresh out of college, held a glass of red wine and poured it down my gown while Domenico watched. "Signora Calvetti, this dress is so old. Given your position, you should be wearing something better." Everyone at the party waited to see my humiliation. Instead, I lowered my eyes and dialed Domenico's father's number. "Father, the ten-year agreement is over. I won't be Signora Calvetti anymore."

"Mr. Ziegler, I'll let you play with my body as long as you let me leave the campus." In the security office of the college, Lucy Brown, a sexy college student, sits on my lap while pleading to me to open the gate for her. I want to turn her down. After all, the campus' rules state that students aren't allowed to leave the grounds after 10:00 pm. But to my shock, Lucy takes off my pants instantly and sits on top of me.

"Dad, I think something is wrong.""What do you mean?""I'm smelling four.""Four?""Yes, there are four different scents. I don't know how to explain it but they all have the same earthly scent, but something else to it. What does that mean?""You have four mates.""Four mates? That can't be real, I have never heard of that before." Avery was in a state of panic now, which caused her to involuntarily transform back to her human form.

There's nothing certain in this world. When two people were supposed to be together, are they what really is called soulmates? The moment Mirabella accidentally stumbled upon the famous Alpha, Jason Langton in the library, the first words he was spouting was about rejecting her. What did she do? "Well, I reject you too." Mirabella said playfully, not the slightest bit bothered. Her words and reaction caused him to be stunned. He was caught in a trance for a moment. When he looked up again, she was no longer standing before him. He found her figure trying to reach for a book in one of the shelves. It seemed that the book is more important than the matters of him rejecting her? Rejected by an Alpha? For her, wasn't it just mutual rejection? He rejected her, she was just returning the favor!

The billionaire playboy of Carli State Uni wants her, and he would do anything, hurt anyone you get her. Alecia had been warned by her parents to stay away from werewolvess especially the werewolves in her school, but when she goes to a werewolf party and gets noticed by an Alpha, Ryder she finds herself falling a little for him. But Ryder does not love her -- not as she loves him. He has more pleasure breaking her heart over and over again, till she is too broken to be fixed

Laurent Leyva grew up in Valencia, Spain and moved to the Philippines when he was sixteen years old after the death of his mother. Being the secret bastard of the country's head of state and later on introduced as the president's nephew; Laurent never anticipated it. He eventually met his half-brother named Sebastian Gabrielle Blanco, who was numb, cold, and slightly a temperamental artist. Until one night, Sebastian and Laurent did something that shocks the entire country. Something that people did not expect at all.

This is a poignant and sensory rich coming of age story set in the vibrant, bustling heart of Lagos. It follows Tobi, a young boy trapped behind a barrier of selective muteness, whose internal world is a vivid "library of stories" that he cannot vocalize. ​The narrative explores the transformative power of art and the deep, ancestral bond between Tobi and his Grandpa. When Grandpa gifts him a set of professional art supplies and the secret name Soji ("The One Who Wakes the World"), Tobi finds a new medium for his voice. By transforming a weathered neighborhood shed into a massive, multi textured mural blending brilliant acrylics with the rich fabrics of his heritage. Tobi finally bridges the gap between his silent exterior and his thunderous spirit. Ultimately, the story is a celebration of finding one's "truth," proving that silence isn't a prison when you have the courage to let your colors shout.