The Rising Books

"Babe, what’s happening here?" I blurted out, my voice shaking as I tried to make sense of the scene before me. Jeffrey turned, his face hardening as if I was a stranger in my own home. "What does this look like to you?"he snapped, rising from the bed with a fierce look in his eyes. He walked toward me, gripping a piece of paper as if it held all the power in the world. "Sign the divorce papers!"he said, shoving the document toward me like it was a blunt instrument. "B... but babe!!" I stammered, my mind racing with disbelief. "Will you shut up and just do it already?" His voice was ice-cold, cutting through my confusion like a knife. Each word stabbed at my heart, making me feel like I was on the verge of falling into an abyss.

Legora, the largest capital city in the world. Once one of nine, now there are four. We had lost five cities in the great calamity. Creatures from god knows where poured in from a tear in the earth. A dimensional tear in space and time the scientists called it, but really who the fuck knows? All I know is they were bigger, stronger, looked nothing like us and they outnumbered us hundred to one. An overwhelming amount of refugees flooded the other cities, telling tall tales of heroes rising and taking on four to six creatures at a time. they fought them off while the rest escaped. Delusions, false hope, call it whatever you want we all knew nothing was coming to save us. We sharpened our swords and barricade our homes. The creatures would find us, just like they found all the other cities.

I'm hospitalized after a car accident that nearly costs me my leg. Meanwhile, my fiancé is too busy in the room next door taking care of his first love. She's only faking a sprained ankle. From that same room, I hear Johan Rivera's mocking voice. "Raelyn? She's just a pawn the old man picked for a political marriage. She's not even good enough to be your stand-in." In that moment, something in me finally breaks. I watch the news coverage of a rising business star who's surrounded by reporters and flashing cameras. He's also my childhood friend who has pursued me for ten years. I calmly send him a message. "Christian, does your offer for a contract marriage still stand?"

Aliana Reeves is an affable and dazzling rising model and actress, tagged as a social butterfly in the entertainment industry. However, at the back of this lies her limited freedom, strict diets and body rules, monitored activities, lack of privacy, and greater exposure to other people’s judgment. In one private party where she was allowed to be herself, she chose to seize it as she rarely had this kind of chance. Waking up the following day, she found herself in a five-star luxury hotel next to a sleeping hot billionaire, Kievan Aldrei Martinez. In the midst of her world filled with camera flashes and his private life packed with luxury and complexity, will love be able to flourish? Is that one steamy night the start of it all, or has there always been a red string connecting them from the time an accident happened fifteen years ago?

She was the only daughter of the ruling Alpha, strong, smart, and destined to inherit the pack. But her father, seeing no son to pass the legacy to, struck a deal: she would marry her fated mate—a rising Alpha from a smaller pack—giving him access to her bloodline, her influence, and her loyalty. She helped him rise to power. She fought his battles, funded his armies, and silenced the opposition. She did everything as his Luna—even when the pack looked down on her for being “just a woman.” But once he became Alpha of the united packs, he brought his mistress into their home—the omega she once saved—and announced she was carrying his heir. “You want me to leave? I will. But not before I take back every drop of blood, power, and sacrifice that’s mine.

"You need money; I need a wife."    Peony Sinclair, a workaholic girl, crosses paths with Mattia Luigi D'Amato, a notorious mafia boss with a deadly secret. While Peony works hard to pay her dad's medical bills, Luigi lives a double life, doing dark things that no woman survives. He killed every woman who had sex with him.   Due to the rising bills in the hospital, Peony needs to find a job that will pay her a large amount of money. As desperation drives Peony to seek lucrative job opportunities, their worlds collide. She had ended up in the auction after being deceived by another woman who promised her a lucrative opportunity.   Will Peony's resilience and purity be the beacon of change for Luigi? Or will she face the same fate as his other victims?

Nina Facelo was a typical nerd who love novels and books so much more than her very own life. A good neighborhood girl who likes to help others but prefers to be home at all day. On her way to buy the physical book of the infamous romance-fantasy novel, Illuminating Darkness. She was stabbed by a thief after helping a poor old woman. Clutching her stomach, she witness how blood flowed like a fountain until her vision started to darken. She thought she was going to die. But suddenly, she woke up in a different body. The body of Lady Marina! The wickedest dame of the Avalor Kingdom! The suspected villainess of the infamous story, Illuminating Darkness! She knows she is going to die again like every villain in a story. Though shocked and confused, she is determine to stay alive and find answers. But in order to not be discovered she must pretend to be Lady Marina. Will she be able to find answers and escape the fate of a wicked dame?

"Ms. Rowe, are you certain you want to delete all identity records? Once they're erased, you'll be completely removed from the system. No one will be able to find you again." Eva Rowe pauses for a moment before nodding with quiet resolve. "Yes. I want to disappear from this world. I want to make sure no one can ever find me." Two seconds of silence follow on the other end, as if they're giving her one last chance to reconsider. "Understood, Ms. Rowe. The wipeout protocol will be completed within 14 days. By then, you'll be officially 'dead' in all databases. Please make the necessary arrangements." With that, the call ends. Eva books a one-way ticket to Felnor, scheduled for 14 days later. Then, she turns off her phone, watching as the screen goes dark. She stands by the floor-to-ceiling window, staring out at the endless city lights, and lets out a soft, cold laugh. She is no longer anyone's Eva.

My wife cheated on me—with my cousin. The three of us were headed to sign divorce papers when bam—car crash. Next thing I knew, I was back on the day we got our marriage license. This time, no fights, no drama. We both knew it was over. She ditched me for Jason fast and skipped the country with him. I stayed behind, buried in law books and case files. Five years later, she was famous—thanks to Jason pulling strings. Concerts, cash, fans screaming her name. Me? Still grinding at a law firm, backing folks who needed real legal help. Then came the family reunion. She showed up on Jason's arm, smug and shining, throwing shade like it was sport. But when I mentioned I was settling down with someone else? Her face snapped. "I made one dumb mistake! How DARE you move on?!"

There are a lot more truths in the books we read, than we’d like to admit. What if a book delves into the lives of the very town you live in? Reveals to you some personal stories of people you know? Or thought you knew. Bookstore owner Kevin Ellison faces this truth when a mysterious book shows up in Through a Mirror, Darkly by Kevin Lucia. Through a Mirror, Darkly is a Supernatural Thriller collection masked as a novel. With elements of mystery, suspense, and otherworldly horror, Through a Mirror, Darkly successfully delves into the worlds of Lovecraft, Grant, and the mysterious Carcosa. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing Arcane Delights. Clifton Heights' premier rare and used bookstore. In it, new owner Kevin Ellison has inherited far more than a family legacy, for inside are tales that will amaze, astound, thrill...and terrify: An ancient evil thirsty for lost souls. A very different kind of taxi service with destinations not on any known map. Three coins that grant the bearer's fondest wish, and a father whose crippling grief gives birth to something dark and hungry.