After witnessing the murder suicide of her parents at age 10, being mistreated by her grandmother and betrayed in past relationships, Deja finally found peace in her life—her best friend Jade introduced her to Xavier Jones, the partner/cousin of Jade’s boyfriend Jay, and she got everything a woman could ever want: the man, the ring, and the baby. Tajana Sutton delivers Deja series box set urban fiction where but Jay’s ex Mona felt that was her position and she wouldn’t stop until she reclaimed the spot, while Xavier and Jay had recently retired from the drug game as millionaires but that came with a price and much drama. 💍Xavier’s baby mama Latasha wasn’t too happy about him settling down with Deja either—she felt she had the baby, so she should have the man as well and she tried everything in her power to break them up until she realized the joke was on her, but it was too late. Sutton explores what happens when finding peace means battling exes who refuse to accept they’ve been replaced, examining how retiring from the drug game as a millionaire doesn’t end the drama when baby mamas and bitter exes want what you have. 💰
The author delivers urban fiction where tragic childhoods lead to hard-won happiness that jealous people try to destroy, proving that sometimes the biggest threats to your relationship aren’t external but come from people who think they have prior claims. Sutton writes a heroine whose traumatic past makes her peace precious but also makes her a target for women who see her happiness as something stolen from them. The five-book Deja series establishes stakes where getting the man, ring, and baby is just the beginning of the fight. 👑
What makes this compelling: Urban fiction Deja series box set where after witnessing her parents’ murder suicide at age 10, being mistreated by her grandmother and betrayed in past relationships, Deja finally found peace when best friend Jade introduced her to Xavier Jones, partner/cousin of Jade’s boyfriend Jay—she got everything a woman could want: the man, the ring, and the baby—but Jay’s ex Mona felt that was her position and wouldn’t stop until she reclaimed it, while Xavier and Jay recently retired from the drug game as millionaires with that coming with a price and much drama, plus Xavier’s baby mama Latasha wasn’t happy about him settling down with Deja, feeling she had the baby so she should have the man and trying everything to break them up until she realized the joke was on her but it was too late.
Marjorie Griffiths suspects her husband is having an affair when he has a clandestine meeting with a young woman at a local motel—she hires private investigator Dick Hampton to keep him under surveillance, and when Hampton informs her that her husband is in a room at the motel with the woman again, Marjorie hurries over there. John Hemmings continues Mark Kane with private investigator mystery where when she sees her husband leave and drive away, she decides to confront the woman—and then she vanishes, without a trace. 🔍When Chuck reports his wife missing, he becomes an immediate suspect in her disappearance—he hires attorney Oliver Davies to advise him, and Davies asks Kane & Lucy to investigate Marjorie’s mysterious disappearance, but when traces of Marjorie’s blood are found in their home and in her abandoned car, Chuck is arrested, and this is only the beginning of his nightmare, as demons from his past return to threaten and even destroy him. Hemmings explores what happens when catching a cheating spouse leads to the wife’s disappearance, examining how suspicion becomes certainty when blood evidence appears and past secrets resurface. 💔
The author delivers private investigator mystery where hiring a PI to confirm infidelity creates a nightmare when the client vanishes, proving that sometimes the affair is the least of your problems when confronting your spouse triggers deadly consequences. Hemmings writes investigators whose missing person case becomes murder investigation as evidence piles up and the husband’s past reveals he had more reasons to want his wife gone than just the affair. The seventh Mark Kane novel asks whether cheating husbands are also murdering husbands. ⚠️
Why I’m including this: Private investigator mystery continuing Mark Kane where Marjorie Griffiths suspects her husband is having an affair when he has a clandestine motel meeting with a young woman—she hires private investigator Dick Hampton for surveillance, and when Hampton informs her that her husband is in a motel room with the woman again, Marjorie hurries over and sees her husband leave and drive away, deciding to confront the woman—then she vanishes without a trace as when Chuck reports his wife missing he becomes immediate suspect in her disappearance, hiring attorney Oliver Davies who asks Kane & Lucy to investigate, but when traces of Marjorie’s blood are found in their home and abandoned car, Chuck is arrested and this is only the beginning of his nightmare as demons from his past return to threaten and even destroy him.
Nothing survived “The Breaking” unchanged—lives and fortunes, love and hate, freedom and slavery—it’s early 1860, and war hero Captain Nathaniel Chambers, commander U.S. Army Fort Davis in the west Texas wilderness, has received shocking news: his father is dead. Chris Bennett delivers historical fiction where he must return home to Virginia and claim his inheritance before a maniacal neighbor can murder his widowed mother and seize the family plantation, but he’s torn by a terrible dilemma: to stay in the army and turn his back on his fortune, his mother and his beloved childhood home, or become the thing he despises—a slave master. Is there no other choice? ⚖️An epic journey across a young nation seething with debauchery, brutality, corruption, and political intrigue, unwittingly on the brink of an unimaginable disaster: the American Civil War. Bennett explores what happens when duty to family conflicts with moral conviction, examining how a war hero opposed to slavery must choose between abandoning his mother or becoming a slave owner to save her. Nathan Chambers has left the violent army life behind in Texas, never imagining he’s on the very Road to The Breaking. 🇺🇸
The author delivers historical fiction where 1860 America forces impossible choices, proving that sometimes inheritance comes with moral compromises that test everything you believe. Bennett writes a protagonist whose heroism in war doesn’t prepare him for the moral warfare of pre-Civil War Virginia, creating stakes where saving your family means betraying your principles or abandoning them to murderous neighbors. The novel asks whether there’s a path between loyalty and morality when the nation itself is about to break. 💔
What makes this essential: Historical fiction where nothing survived “The Breaking” unchanged—lives and fortunes, love and hate, freedom and slavery—as in early 1860, war hero Captain Nathaniel Chambers commanding U.S. Army Fort Davis in west Texas wilderness receives shocking news his father is dead, forcing him to return home to Virginia and claim his inheritance before a maniacal neighbor can murder his widowed mother and seize the family plantation, torn by a terrible dilemma: stay in the army turning his back on his fortune, mother and beloved childhood home, or become the thing he despises, a slave master, asking is there no other choice in this epic journey across a young nation seething with debauchery, brutality, corruption, and political intrigue unwittingly on the brink of unimaginable disaster—the American Civil War—as Nathan Chambers leaves violent army life behind in Texas never imagining he’s on the very Road to The Breaking.
Redemption: Scott Pratt & the Birth of Joe Dillard
“Strange how the waves of destiny wash over a man’s soul, leaving ugly cracks and crevices here, polished splendor over there—strange indeed”—a lawyer’s fall from grace paved the way for an author’s rise to unimaginable success. Scott Pratt, J.D. Pratt, and Dan Fleser deliver author biography where in December of 2005, Scott Pratt was marched to a jail cell after being charged with suborning perjury, and within two years, he had written a legal thriller that was a finalist for the top mystery novel worldwide. ⚖️Joe Dillard, Scott’s primary protagonist, served as a whiteboard for the author’s life, enabling him to reimagine and reinvent himself—the connection between character and creator was close enough to be near autobiographical as Dillard acted as a literary marionette while his puppeteer subjected him to unimaginable adversity: his mother had Alzheimer’s and didn’t recognize him half the time, his sister was an addict in and out of jail, there was strong evidence against his client, the victim’s son tried to kill him twice, another client escaped prison and committed murder—all of this happened in the first novel with eight more following. The authors explore how personal catastrophe can fuel creative success, examining how a disgraced lawyer channeled his fall into fiction that resonated worldwide. 📚
Scott didn’t spare his main character any more than life had spared him as Dillard wrestled with a rowdy assortment of demons stalking him by day and invading his dreams at night. The biography delivers the story of redemption through writing, proving that sometimes the lowest point becomes the launching pad for something extraordinary. Pratt, Pratt, and Fleser write about transformation where jail cell led to bestseller status, creating a narrative where fictional protagonist and real author’s struggles mirror each other until both find redemption. 💪
Why I’m including this: Author biography where a lawyer’s fall from grace paved the way for an author’s rise to unimaginable success—in December 2005, Scott Pratt was marched to a jail cell charged with suborning perjury, but within two years he’d written a legal thriller that was a finalist for the top mystery novel worldwide as protagonist Joe Dillard served as a whiteboard for the author’s life enabling him to reimagine and reinvent himself in near-autobiographical connection, with Dillard subjected to unimaginable adversity including Alzheimer’s-afflicted mother not recognizing him, addict sister in and out of jail, strong evidence against his client, victim’s son trying to kill him twice, and escaped client committing murder—all in the first novel with eight more following as Scott didn’t spare his main character any more than life spared him.
In the shadows, he was hired to kill her—in her light, he found the one thing he couldn’t destroy: Lucian Maddox is a man of few words and even darker secrets, by day managing a part of the family’s media empire while by night he’s a lethal assassin with no attachments until his next target shatters his reality. Maya Alden delivers dark billionaire romance where Calista Ferraro escaped her mafia past to run a homeless shelter and live a life of quiet purpose, but when a contract is placed on her life, her world collides with the man sent to end it—Lucian was supposed to kill her, but instead, he falls for her. 🔪As enemies close in, Calista begins to trust the man she believes is her protector, but when she uncovers Lucian’s truth, love may not be enough to save either of them. Alden explores what happens when an assassin’s target becomes the one person he can’t eliminate, examining how protecting someone from everyone else while keeping deadly secrets creates impossible stakes. 💔
The author delivers dark billionaire romance where hired killers fall for their marks, proving that sometimes the most dangerous thing about an assassination contract is meeting the person you’re supposed to kill. Alden writes a hero whose dual life as media executive and assassin collides catastrophically when his heart gets involved, creating tension where every moment of protection is also a lie. The novel asks whether love built on deception can survive the truth when the truth is “I was hired to murder you.” ⚡
What makes this special: Dark billionaire romance where in the shadows he was hired to kill her but in her light he found the one thing he couldn’t destroy—Lucian Maddox is a man of few words and darker secrets, by day managing the family’s media empire while by night he’s a lethal assassin with no attachments until his next target shatters his reality: Calista Ferraro who escaped her mafia past to run a homeless shelter living a life of quiet purpose until a contract is placed on her life colliding her world with the man sent to end it—Lucian was supposed to kill her but instead falls for her, and as enemies close in and she trusts the man she believes is her protector, when she uncovers Lucian’s truth, love may not be enough to save either of them.
A daughter’s escape to the Scottish Highlands becomes a mother’s reckoning, a sister’s choice, and a grandmother’s last chance in this witty, bittersweet novel about first loves, old ghosts, and the courage it takes to change—when floral designer Deli MacDonald’s heart is broken by unrequited love and her best friend’s abandonment, she flees to the Scottish Highlands and her estranged aunt Mo’s cliffside cottage by the sea. Devrie Brynn Donalson delivers coming of age fiction where there, embraced by a village of eccentric locals and her aunt’s unconditional, unfamiliar love, she finds herself drawn to brooding pub owner Lachlan Scott whose path once crossed hers twenty years ago on these same heather-strewn hills. 🌸As Deli fights to find her footing in the Highland soil among the wreckage of her life, she wakes family ghosts and accidentally reopens a decades-old rift—and when her mother and grandmother arrive unexpectedly, three generations of women must finally confront the painful patterns of love, lies, and grief that once drove them apart. Donalson explores what happens when escaping your problems means confronting your family’s problems, examining how three generations of women inherited the same wounds and must heal together or repeat the cycle. 🏴
Through a tapestry of wildflowers, family secrets, and fierce hearts, Deli must reckon with the truth of how she learned to be loved—but choosing between the familiar ache of her old life and the uncertain promise of a new one means finding the courage to let her family’s legacy, and the world she built, burn away completely. The author delivers coming of age fiction where healing requires destruction, proving that sometimes you must burn everything down to grow something new. Donalson writes a heroine whose Highland escape becomes three generations’ reckoning with inherited pain. 💔
Why I’m including this: Coming of age fiction where floral designer Deli MacDonald’s heart broken by unrequited love and best friend abandonment flees to the Scottish Highlands and estranged aunt Mo’s cliffside cottage—embraced by eccentric village locals and aunt’s unconditional unfamiliar love, she’s drawn to brooding pub owner Lachlan Scott whose path crossed hers twenty years ago on heather-strewn hills—as she fights to find footing in Highland soil among life’s wreckage, she wakes family ghosts and reopens decades-old rifts, and when her mother and grandmother arrive unexpectedly, three generations of women must confront painful patterns of love, lies, and grief that drove them apart, with Deli reckoning with how she learned to be loved and choosing between familiar ache of old life and uncertain promise of new one by finding courage to let her family’s legacy and the world she built burn away completely.