Up And Down Nct U

"This brutally romantic mafia love story will grip you!" ~#1 New York Times bestselling author Helen Hardt Arranged-marriage, age-gap, Mafia/cartel romance Capo to the Luciano Famiglia was my birthright. The cruelty needed to succeed in this life has been beaten into me since I was a young boy. My father, Vincent Luciano, taught by example and with the slap of his hand. My independent streak took me down paths my father would never have gone. With our enemies gaining strength, it is my idea to attempt an alliance with an unlikely bedfellow. The Roríguez Cartel and the Luciano Famiglia are improbable partners, yet even Vincent Luciano can’t deny the possible benefits. The only way to solidify the deal is for me to marry Catalina Ruiz, the eldest daughter of Andres Ruiz, a top lieutenant in the Roríguez Cartel. Catalina is young, beautiful, and thinks she understands the path she is being forced to follow. There is no way for her to know the monster she is about to wed. A man doesn’t become a made man at thirteen if he is capable of love. That emotion is beyond my scope of expertise. Saving the famiglia is my goal. And once this alliance is made, ours will be but the first of the brutal vows exchanged. Have you been Aleatha’d?

Blood and Moon is a story between two packs. One master and the other slave. The two packs are forced to live at each other's mercy because of the witch wars that has scorched the world and covered their earth in death and ash, blocking most of the earth from the sun. Isolated on their land, Moons try to survive, living amid the Bloods, their betters. Desire Dawson is a Moon that had just graduated and planned on leaving when her stepfather signed her up to work at the Blood's packhouse without her consent so he could receive her wages. She was sent to work in a place where she was regarded as a lesser wolf. The wages were good, and her life would have been easy there if Adam Kingston, the son of the Blood's Alpha King and only heir, did not take interest in her. This is the first book in the Blood and Moon series. It focuses on the love story between Desire and Adam during the witch wars. *Can be read alone*

"Unwed and Expecting" follows the tumultuous journey of Sophia Harrington, a young woman whose perfect life shatters on her wedding day when she is abandoned at the altar by the man she thought was her soulmate. Alone and humiliated, Sophia discovers she is pregnant—a secret she kept, hoping to surprise her groom. Now, she's forced to navigate a new reality as an unwed mother-to-be.Sophia's world is turned upside down as she battles societal judgment, her family's disapproval, and her own fears of raising a child alone. But when she meets Ethan Caldwell, a brooding yet compassionate businessman with a troubled past, she finds an unexpected ally. Ethan, dealing with his own pain of being "extinguished twice"—once by a failed marriage and again by a betrayal in his career—relates deeply to Sophia's sense of loss and uncertainty. Despite their initial resistance, a bond forms between them, filled with undeniable chemistry and shared wounds.However, just as Sophia begins to open her heart, her ex-fiancé returns, claiming he made a mistake and begging for forgiveness. Sophia is torn between the past and the potential future with Ethan. The core struggle centers on Sophia’s journey to self-worth and her fight to choose what's best for herself and her unborn child, rather than what others expect of her. Meanwhile, Ethan must confront his own fears of being hurt again, questioning whether he’s truly capable of being the man Sophia and her child need.Cliffhanger: As Sophia prepares to make her final decision, a shocking revelation about Ethan’s past surfaces, threatening to destroy the fragile trust they’ve built. Will Sophia find the strength to forgive and move forward, or will the weight of past betrayals extinguish her chance at happiness once more?

Born as a human into a family of vampire hunters, Angel Collymore’s fate was changed forever when she was turned into a vampire at birth by her father’s sworn enemies. Growing up, Angel attended high school and tried her best to blend in with her human peers as she struggled with her identity and thirst for blood. She had learned to control her bloodlust, yet her burning desire for vengeance against her makers drove her to become an exceptional vampire hunter.   However, her life took a dramatic turn when she fell in love with a boy at her school, Bryan Finnegan. She knew that pursuing the relationship was dangerous, with her being a vampire and him being a human, but the bond that tied them together couldn’t be resisted.   As their relationship deepened, secrets emerged. What would happen when Bryan discovered her secret? Would their love crumble, or could it conquer all?   What if she wasn’t the only one who had a secret to hide?

What if you woke up in an unfamiliar bedroom and find out that you got kidnapped? What if you find out that you have magical powers? What would you do if your beloved got murdered that very day? And what if you fall in love with the murderer? Particularly, I would call myself insane but the case was a lot different with Cressida. Cressida, a girl with a goddess like face and body, perfect grades and with a promising future, will face an incident which will bring a great turn in her life, will make a predictable future turn into an unpredictable one. All the kids with the magic manipulation powers will be kidnapped by a mysterious academy; one which promises to guide them to the right path and help them learn how to use their powers. But what will make their lives more astounding, will be the secrets that will keep unfolding, thanks to Cressida and her 4 more friends. The Prophecy states that 4 Keystone Diamonds, will come, their loyalty bounded to the Queen of Magic Manipulation Powers, and the fate of the century old powers will rest in her hands. But what else lays behind the Prophecy, that the academy tends to keep hidden? Will Cressida be able to unravel the mysteries, handle the surprises, heat of the undesirable love, and beat her mysterious enemies? Follow the adventure of Cressida with her friends to have fun at an amazing ride of bunch of genres, all at once!

After two years abroad in seclusion as I recovered, I received a selfie from my daughter, Lila Ashford. She was sitting on a bike, dressed in a work uniform. "Mom, you’ll be home soon, right? I miss you so much." My heart softened as I thought about how my girl had grown up. She understood that she needed to start from the bottom and work her way up. I was about to praise her when I noticed her skin seemed tanner, and her fitted shirt was the same one I’d bought her three years ago. It was frayed and worn thin, yet she still hadn’t thrown it away. As a child of the wealthiest family, Lila shouldn’t have to live like this, not even for "life experience". I zoomed in on the picture again. Her shoes were falling apart, the front gaping wide open. The more I looked, the more uneasy I became. The next second, I stumbled across Serena Ashford, my adopted daughter’s posts on social media. She was showing off male models, luxury cars, and on her wrist, the global limited-edition diamond bracelet I had given Lila. What shocked me most was the car that appeared in nearly every photo, the very one I had gifted Lila for her college graduation. How the hell had it ended up with her instead?!

"Let's get married!" ... Aurora Devane has been treated like a slave by her half-sister and her stepmother and her dad has always been a bystander to the taunts. After being framed for pushing her sister down the stairs, Aurora is thrown out of the house. However, in a turn of events, she meets Daniel Froster, the richest man in the country, who is known to be cold and ruthless, and they both get married for their gain. What wasn't in the contract was falling in love and encountering secrets of the past that threatened to ruin the future. Excerpt: “Never leave me, Aurora.” He whispered, his hot breath tingling her neck. She could hear the vulnerability and pain in his voice. The pain he has always hidden. “I’ll never leave you. She promised. “You are mine. Mine.” The words sent a shiver down her spine. His.

Alexa loved him when he was untouchable. Hulio wanted her when it was too late. Now, she’s the woman he never saw coming. Alexa Hills was always the overlooked one, the awkward girl with plain looks and a heart too tender for a world obsessed with appearances. She was rejected by all. But behind her timid eyes burned the legacy of a dynasty, and the will of a queen in waiting. Hulio Ripples, one of the heirs to Ripples Investment Firm, was every woman’s dream, charming, arrogant, and hopelessly smitten with Alexa’s glamorous older sister, Ashley. To him, Alexa was a nobody. To him she was a reject. Until his world crashed, quite literally, and she was the only one who stayed. When tragedy strikes, Alexa gives up everything to care for the man she’s always loved. For a moment, it seems like her devotion will be enough. But when Hulio recovers, he returns to the woman who once broke him—leaving Alexa shattered and pregnant with his child. Now, she’s back. Not the shy girl he once ignored, but a stunning force of power and poise—CEO of Hills Fusion and a woman with nothing left to lose. With the help of his brother, Helia, she rises from heartbreak to empire, crushing Hulio’s pride and reclaiming her throne. But in a tangled web of love, betrayal, and revenge… can a heart once broken ever trust again. A provocative tale of passion, pain, and power, Ripples and Hills is a revenge romance that will leave every reader spell bound and lost in a world of entanglement and revenge and unrequited love.

Jace Katherine Sullivan found herself trapped in a deal with the God of Darkness—Helion. She never thought such transcendent being exists, but he proved it real. Helion has been searching for the girl who has the invisible mark of lotus for decades, which is Katherine, to sacrifice her in the bridge of death and bring his sister back to life. But in order for the bridge of life to accept the offering, Katherine must be willing enough to do it, the reason why Helion had no choice but to make a deal with her. He will do the things she wants, and in return, she will give her life to him later on. Katherine asks him to give her a month to do everything she wants before he takes her life and he agreed. However, as they spend time with each other, an unexpected bond grows and Helion just found himself saving her from all the dangers. But as they face their complicated relationship issues, mysteries began to unfold and Katherine found out the truth behind her identity, that she has a demon blood running in her veins. The deities protecting the human realm are threatened by this, reason why they are going to Katherine at all cost. But Helion is willing to do whatever it takes to protect her.

Steel & Saddle In a city ruled by shadows, love becomes the most dangerous rebellion. Gabrielle Wren never asked for refinement. Raised on horseback and heartbreak, she’s more comfortable in a saddle than a silk gown. But when her father dies, she’s forced to trade the wild countryside for the polished prison of city life under her aunt’s watchful eye. Dante Virelli is 28, heir to a criminal empire built on silence and blood. Feared by many, trusted by none, he’s a man who walks the line between power and ruin. But beneath the tailored suits and cold stares lies a soul quietly unraveling. When Gabrielle defends a stable boy from Dante’s men, she catches his attention—and his curiosity. She’s everything he shouldn’t want. He’s everything she’s been warned about. But as danger closes in and secrets unravel, their unlikely bond becomes the one thing that could save them both… or destroy everything.