In the Kingdom of Kaloma, a woman is forced to rely on a man to “keep her” and is forbidden from maintaining anything of her own. It’s the law.
In the remote village of Sevens, at the northernmost point of the kingdom, there lives a family with four daughters and a son, toiling day in and day out together, hopeful a treaty with the boarding kingdom of Jast might change things.
When one daughter—at risk of being imprisoned for fighting back—hides away in the Whitling Woods. She stumbles upon a dying man and despite the risk to herself, chooses to save him. Only who he is has the power to change everything…
Tarley Fareview, idealistic and stubborn, does what she can to support herself in spite of an unjust Kaloma law. When she fights back after being attacked, she flees into the woods disguised as a boy. While in hiding, she discovers a dying man and must decide if she risks her life to save him. Unable to walk away, Tarley chooses to intervene and works to save the stranger, only little does she know that by doing so she’ll also risk the heart she promised herself she’d never give to anyone.
When the Crown Prince of Jast, Lachlan Nikolas—forced by the king to attend treaty negotiations with the kingdom of Kaloma in disguise—is attacked, his horse bolts, and they both careen over a cliff, falling to their deaths in a raging river below. Only, miracle of miracles, Lachlan doesn’t perish, and instead is given a second chance at life, but at a price. When he wakes, he’s not only been stripped of his clothes but also his identity. Saved by a strange woman—in a terrible disguise because she looks nothing like a boy—Lachlan must learn very quickly how to survive in a world where he isn’t a prince anymore and with zero skills other than his entitlement and his charm. Unsure who to trust, Lachlan must reinvent himself, learn how to survive, open his heart to discover the truth about worthiness, and discover what it means to sacrifice one’s self for true love.
It was nearing sunrise on the fifth day. The twilight teasing the flap of the tent. The birds were only beginning to sing, and though the music of the birds waking and the river beyond were usually her salve to get her moving, her eyes were so heavy, and her body weighted with exhaustion. Her mind and senses lulled toward sleep by the sound of Ollie’s clear breathing and the song of the birds, so she shut her eyes.
Just for a moment, she told herself. Ollie’s safe. I’ll rest. Just for a moment, she thought and slipped into the rest of the darkness.
“Tarley?”
She stretched her body, uncurling it, and basking in the gloriousness of warmth and rest. Her hand dropped against something unforgiving, her head pressed against a wall. She moaned, disoriented, and grabbed hold of the mound under her quilt trying to figure out what had crawled into bed with her.
“I’ve always enjoyed a good fondling, but I prefer it being reciprocal.”
Tarley’s eyes snapped open at the foreign sound—a man’s voice with just the hint of an accent with which she wasn’t familiar. Skin. That’s what her eyes focused on. Lots of it. An arm. A shoulder. A scruffy jaw in need of a shave as she raised her gaze. Full lips arched with a smile, the bottom slightly fuller though the pronounced arches of the upper. He was grinning, and his eyes—a myriad of colors—were darkened with a ring of deep green at the edges.
Realizing she was flush against him, holding him, Tarley jerked back, scrambling to the opposite side of the ten, only there wasn’t enough room to maneuver. She regretted the quick movement, her body protesting with aches and pains of not enough sleep.
“Ollie. I–” She couldn’t meet his gaze.
“You were asleep.”
Her cheeks heated realizing she’d been holding him in her sleep. Holding onto him the night she’d been trying to save him flashed in her mind reminding her she’d held him before. To save him, she snapped at her inner self.
Her eyes danced across the quilt until she found the bravery to meet his gaze.
Maci Aurora has been writing stories since she was a child. When she was eleven, she fell in love with reading Sunfire Historical Romances about girls who made a difference in their lives and still fell in love. In high school, a friend introduced her to Lavyrle Spencer and Judith McNaught, and from there, her writing journey was cemented in telling stories about love. Having already published many novels (all of which are threaded with romance as upper YA and New Adult titles) under the pen name, CL Walters, Maci Aurora wanted to write stories that offered the same attention to story and characters but with additional steam.
Maci writes in Hawaiʻi where she lives with her husband, their children, and their fur-babies.
Title: Feisty Author: Diana A. Hicks Series: Raven Duet #1 Genre: Dark Contemporary Romance
I wanted her since the moment I saw her. I didn’t even care she’d been promised to someone else. Then we kissed, and I realized I was her first. I became…Obsessed
A Note from Diana: The Duet is now Complete. Binge Read Today! Fallen Raven is book one in the Raven Duet, which is a standalone romance in the Crime Society World featuring Don Enzo Alfera and Aurora Vitali. This star-crossed lovers romance is about never letting go. Check TW
Technically, I’d never been touched before. I’d never had anyone look at me like this before, let alone kiss me.
“What’s it to you?”
He furrowed his brows and dropped his hands to his sides. He watched me with curiosity as I brought my arms around my belly. Tears stung my eyes because I knew he’d say something cruel again. I knew I was going to have to deal with the fallout come Monday morning. I made to leave, but he blocked me, caging me in again.
“Let me show you how.”
What? As in, teach me? “Why?”
“Because I want to.”
He wanted to kiss me? Or teach me? “Why?”
“Tell me to go to hell.” He unraveled my arms from around my body and brought my palm to his face. “Say the words. Enzo. Go. To. Hell.” He enunciated every word.
The raspy quality of his voice was so sexy and hypnotizing; I wasn’t going anywhere.
“What happens if I do?” I moved my fingers ever so slightly. I was afraid if I did more, he’d shut me out again like before.
Diana A. Hicks is an award-winning author of steamy romantic suspense and science-fiction romance.
When Diana is not writing, she enjoys hot yoga, kickboxing, traveling, and indulging in the simple joys of life like wine and chocolate. She lives in Atlanta and loves spending time with her two children and husband. Connect with Diana on social media to stay up to date on her latest releases.
Title: Blackout Trail Author: Linda Naughton Genre: Post-Apocalyptic Dystopian
Doctor Anna Hastings is no stranger to disasters, having spent much of her career as an aid worker in conflict zones around the world. Yet when an electrical phenomenon known as an EMP brings down the power grid, Anna faces catastrophe on a scale she never imagined. She must learn what it means to be a doctor in a world deprived of almost all technology.
As the blackout causes planes to fall from the sky, Anna crosses paths with devoted father Mark Ryan in the chaos at the airport. Mark convinces Anna to travel with him and his seven-year-old daughter Lily to their family’s cabin in remote Maine. There Mark hopes to reunite with his wife, and find a safe refuge from a society on the brink of collapse.
Journeying across a thousand miles of backcountry trails, they will face a daily struggle against nature. Their biggest peril, though, may come from their fellow survivors. As Anna grows closer to Mark and Lily, she resolves to see them safely home. But can she hold onto her humanity in a world gone mad?
It became a familiar refrain, everyone hoping that someone else’s phone was working. It soon became apparent nobody’s was. Coupled with the cars all dying, the realization left a hollow fear gnawing at the pit of my stomach. I couldn’t worry about the hows and whys right now, though. There were dozens of people injured, and so far not an ambulance in sight.
Most of the evacuees had congregated in a grassy area between the short-term parking garage and the open parking areas beyond. The flat, grassy stretch was criss-crossed with access roads and stalled cars. There had to be more injured in the terminal, and on the far side of the lot where the second plane had torpedoed the cars. Right now, though, I had my hands full just with the people I could see.
I knelt down beside the middle-aged woman who had called for help. She was with a man —her husband, judging by their matching rings. Leaning against the wheel of a car, he clutched at a bloody gash on his thigh. “I’m Anna, I’m a doctor. Let me see?”
He obliged, but as soon as he removed his hand, the wound spurted blood up into the air. It splattered my shirt, pulsing in time with his heartbeat. Oh shit. I managed to keep the exclamation to myself, clamping my hand over the wound.
Jerry, my volunteer assistant, recoiled. “Damn, that’s a lot of blood.”
Seeing the panicked look on the injured man’s face, I shot Jerry a brief glare. “It’s all right,” I assured my patient. “I’m going to take care of you. Jerry, can you hold pressure here? Tight as you can.” I guided his hands to the right spot, then looked at the wife. “Ma’am, I need your scarf.” Trembling hands fumbled to oblige without question. “Do you have a pen or pencil in your purse?” While she looked, I wrapped the scarf around her husband’s upper thigh, just below his hip.
“Here, will this work?”
She handed me a pen, which I slipped under the knotted scarf. I turned it like a winch, drawing the scarf tight around the leg. The husband groaned at the pressure. “I know, I’m sorry. It’s not comfortable, but it’s going to keep you from bleeding to death.” I secured the makeshift tourniquet in place, then had Jerry remove his hands from the wound. The bleeding had slowed to a trickle. “Okay, that’ll hold you till help arrives. Ma’am, you keep an eye on that. If it comes loose, you tighten it back again and come find me, okay?
Linda Naughton is a writer, software engineer, paramedic, and mother of two. She’s the author of several novels, gaming products, and the blog Self-Rescuing Princesses. A proud geek and gamer girl, she enjoys TV, movies, video games, and role-playing games. Visit her website at https://lindanaughton.com.
