But she is also someone's daughter. A someone that Alika has absolutely no connection to. Enter Davina Bianchi. Having abandoned Alika as an infant, Davina has been desperately seeking out the daughter she walked away from. Alika, on the other hand, has no desire to enter a relationship with this woman from her past. In fact, Alika has made it perfectly clear that she already has a family and that she has on room for any more. But Davina is not giving up. She plans to do whatever she can to get just a moment to speak her peace. Unfortunately, for Davina, she's never met Rush. She doesn't know that Rush does whatever he needs to do to protect his family. This time is no different. Davina better watch out. Especially, when it's revealed that her intentions for Alika, aren't as pure as she's made them out to be. Get ready for this rollercoaster ride of both highs and lows that will finish out the Rapture series. There will be a few new characters introduced, but this will always be Rush & Alika's story, so expect to see plenty of the couple as they weave through the thick webs that await them.

    She gains a respectable post as housekeeper to an elderly man, but when he dies his waspish sister throws her out onto the streets where she faces destitution. At the entrance to the notorious Paradise Park Hotel she encounters Sal, a young street girl whom she tries to rescue. Her attempt ends in failure and Sal returns to her old life on the streets, leaving Rhiannon is even more determined to become respectable. She obtains a job as maid to unhappy Janey Buchan, who takes a liking to Rhiannon and teaches her ladylike ways. Her rascally husband Dafydd, once the lover of Llinos Mainwaring, causes Janey great unhappiness, and eventually she runs away, leaving Rhiannon once more without a job or a home. In desperation, knowing that little stands between her and a return to her old life, she finds herself back at the Paradise Park Hotel. Once scarcely more than a bawdy house, it has now changed hands and Rhiannon starts working there, helping gradually to transform it from a place of ill-repute into one of the finest hotels in Swansea. The only thing lacking in her life is love, and with Bull Beynon married to sweet, gentle Katie, she fears that she may have to live out her life alone . . . Paradise Park is the triumphant finale to Iris Gower's Firebird sequence, set amongst the romantic clay potteries of South Wales.

    She thought marrying would liven him up, but after twenty-five years he's just as boring as the day she married him , and now she wants to lead her own life. Her newly-married daughter, Olive, is shocked, but Hilda is adamant. Meanwhile, a heavy East End gang has moved into the area from Shoreditch, and has established a lucrative protection racket, bringing drama and anxiety to this closely-knit neighbourhood.

    He was a sought after young architect. She was a struggling college student. He was sensuality personified and she was undeniably intrigued. Amon wasn’t thrilled by their ten-year age gap, but he found Patrice impossible to ignore. For a time, she forgot her past. She forgot that in college, there were always back doors that resulted in secrets best kept hidden. Those secrets would haunt her longer than she could ever imagine.

    Once, his raw sex appeal and sultry Irish accent made women across the globe swoon. Now, he’s barely recognizable…But Katie Hughes, his best friend’s sister, is not the type of woman to give up on a man like Rill. She blazes into Vulture’s Canyon determined to save him from himself. Instead, she finds herself unleashing years of pent-up passion. In a storm of hunger and need, Katie and Rill forget themselves and the world. But will Rill’s insatiable attraction to Katie heal his pain—or will it just feed the darkness within him?

    The man she fell in love with turned out to be a lazy, good-for-nothing womanizer. Night after night Tiffany comes home to Blake's physical, mental, and verbal abuse. She's tried leaving in the past, but somehow he always finds her. Each time, she comes back and convinces herself things will get better. Then one day Blake beats her for the last time. Tiffany decides death is the only way out--and she's not the one being buried. Her life takes a drastic turn as she attempts to live the life she's always wanted. Lucky and Quick are childhood friends trying to make a name for themselves. They have been working corners, proving their loyalty to the streets and waiting for their big break. When they finally get the chance to prove themselves, they quickly climb up the ladder and find themselves working for the top dogs. Everything happens so fast that they end up on opposite sides of the fence and become enemies. Quick and Tiffany meet under unfortunate circumstances, but they instantly connect and fall in love. Tiffany is pulled into Quick's street world full of lies and revenge. Lucky and Quick are constantly going against each other, and the friendship seems to be lost forever. When the opportunity comes along for both of them to be on the top spot, will they be able to rekindle the friendship?

     When criminal defense attorney Max Harrison is called to defend long-term client, Dwayne Jackson, he advises the defendant to take the plea bargain. Dwayne has a strong case against him but seems impossibly confident. Max starts to dig beneath the surface of the case, and he finds a juror may have been bought. But the more Max digs, the more dangerous the case becomes. Can Max survive the ultimate double-cross?

     Kanye and Monifa’s mating ritual is only days away but their fate was sabotaged. Monifa’s urge to cheat fate causes a dark past to haunt her. Will Monifa be able to fight the surge of black magic flowing through her veins or will she let it consume her and push Kanye into Arya’s waiting arms? Chancy and Akea are in love and are now expecting a new edition to the pack. The visions Akea had of Chancy with another wolf causes him to question their relationship. Would his insecurity push her away and into the arms of another wolf? Osiris who is possessed by a vampire god wants what belongs to him, Keora’s soul. But there are two things standing in his way, Monifa is Keora in the afterlife and she’s Kanye’s mate. Will Seth get what he wants or will Kanye go to war to protect him and Monifa’s destiny? In this second installment of the beasts, the couples are fighting for love harder than ever. They are willing to go to war until death in order to seal their fate. Which couple will surrender their love and who will win the war? This is a tale of passion, vengeance, jealousy, and erotica.

    Yet when Addis de Valence strode into Moira Falkner's cottage, there was no mistaking the sharp planes of his face, and the scar she herself had helped to heal. The young squire who had once been her hero was now her lord, a hardened man who returned to claim the son she had raised as her own. But Moira couldn't deny that Addis roused a passion she never thought to feel - and a perilous hope for a future that could never be...An Uncommon LoveAddis returned from the Crusades to find his lands usurped by his stepbrother, and his country on the brink of rebellion. Determined to reclaim his birthright, Addis could not afford to be distracted by a woman - even one as tempting as Moira. Yet the only living part of his contented past lay in Moira - and his desire for her was more dangerous than his deadly battles with the king's men. By law, Moira belonged to him... but possessing her heart might be far more difficult.

    She finds out that the happy life she once thought she lived was nothing but a façade when it comes to light that her fiancé, Deondre has been anything but faithful. Not only has he been cheating, but he had been doing so with the people who are closest to her. Overcome with grief from the shocking new information, Dominique lashes out the only way that she knows how, and finds herself in a world of trouble. As she’s carted off to jail, she reflects on her life and decides that she is through playing the fool. The only problem is, Deondre isn’t used to losing, and he doesn’t plan on letting her go that easy. Kaleb is tired of playing the backup boyfriend, and choses to step away and allow Dominique to work on her family life. Now single, he realizes that he was a fool to put his love life in jeopardy over something that he knew deep down would never be. Like all men he wants his old thing back, and tries to repair the relationship that he had with Tiera. When she reveals that he is going to be father, Kaleb vows to right by his child. Things are great between the two of them, until Dominique comes back around. Will Kaleb keep his word and stay away, or will his love for her cause him to lose everything?

    

    This time, with more drama, more secrets unleashed, and even some possible new enemies. We all want to know what’s going to happen between Neo and his wife Ocean. A couple who has been together since teenagers can have the perfect love story, but with this new revelation of Neo’s, I don’t think love is enough to keep the two of them together. This was the final straw for Ocean. As over the marriage as Ocean is, Neo will do anything, even if he has to move mountains, to get his wife back. Then, there’s Boss and Winter. They could be the Beyoncé and Jay Z of the Anderson company, but Winter has to let her guard down. She has to learn to be trusting and realize that she’s capable of being loved, accepted, and cherished.

    . . may the devil tek him! Her knows his temper, felt his fist many a time. And there be others as knows, women he's paid to keep silent about the blows they've suffered, for it tek more'n a roll in bed to satisfy Fenton Gilmore. Emma Lawrence has reason to fear the base cruelty of the man she must call uncle. She and her sister Rachel had been taken into the Gilmore household on the death of their parents and have known nothing but unkindness at the hands of Fenton and his wife. And now Rachel is dead, brutally raped and strangled, and Emma must dry her tears and flee if she is to escape the same fate. Emma falls in with two other orphans, and Timothy and Lily become as dear to her as her own departed sister. But Fenton Gilmore does not give up so easily. His evil ambition is to own a brothel and Emma is vital to his perverted plan.

    

    But she wants it from her secret crush, Ben. Only so does (snobby-stuck-up-so-in-love-with-Ben) Sabrina. So, the war is on! PLUS: A boy from Jefferson Middle School, Riley, wants his first kiss, too. Problem is: He wants it from his best friend’s girlfriend—Zoey Jones. Oh-oh!! This book now also includes another story by Melanie Marks. (So there is now two stories in the book.) The other story is titled: “Mackenzie’s Mystery.” That story is about an hour read. (First Kiss Wars is about a four hour read.) Summary of Mackenzie’s Mystery: The biggest, toughest (dreamiest) guy in the whole middle school refuses to play football. But the team needs him! As Mackenzie tries to solve the mystery of why Griffin Piper won’t play football, she discovers the big tough guy is all soft and mushy for sweet Ally. So, it’s clear: the school needs shy Ally to convince big tough Griffin to play. Gulp! Can shy Ally do it? Or will her shy, mushy heart explode? ... either seems possible. Will Ally convince Griffin ... or explode? Read on. Mackenzie’s Mystery is about an hour read. From Melanie Marks, the author of: Slumber Party Wars And: **NEW!** Best Friend Wars (Plus a lot of other books)