Claremont Review Of Books

He built empires by never loving anyone. She survived him by becoming something unstoppable. Adrian Blackwell did not believe in mercy—only leverage. As the youngest billionaire to dominate three continents, he ruled boardrooms with ice in his veins and blood on his hands. Falling in love with his wife was his only mistake. And when betrayal came, he chose the lie that preserved his empire over the woman who gave him everything. When Adrian cast Elara out of his life, he never knew the truth. She was pregnant. And she refused to beg. Disappearing with nothing but her name and a secret that could shatter him, Elara rebuilt herself from ruin. Years later, she returns not as the discarded wife—but as a powerbroker in her own right. Wealth sharpened by vengeance. Grace forged in fire. A woman who learned that survival is the most dangerous form of ambition. Now their worlds collide again—at the summit of global power. Adrian wants her back. Elara wants justice. But the past has claws, the truth has a price, and the child between them is no longer a secret that can stay buried. As enemies circle and empires tremble, love becomes a battlefield where forgiveness may cost everything and revenge may cost even more. Because in a world ruled by billionaires, love is the most expensive risk of all.

"What!" Ethan says in his all too familiar deep rude voice. "You hit me, which caused my coffee to spill all over me," I say, pointing out the obvious. "So, what do you want me to do about it," He speaks like he has done nothing wrong "You are supposed to say sorry," I say in a duh tone "And why should I." "Because that is what people with manners do." "I know that, but you don't deserve sorry from me." "Wow, really, and why is that." "Because black bitches like you don't deserve it." "I have told you times without number to stop calling me that," I say getting angry with his insults "Make me," Ethan says, taking a dangerous step closer to me. I don't say anything, but hiss and walk past him. I don't know why I even expected him to say anything better. It is Ethan, after all. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a story about two people who knew how to express the word hate more than anything else to one another. Ethan hates Adina more than anything in the world and would give anything to see her perish into thin air. While on the other hand Adina could careless about Ethan other than the fact that she won't let him walk all over her with his arrogant character. What happens when a big incident changes all that. How do these two different people deal with a feeling that is supposed to be forbidden to feel for the each other. Read to find out how the person you hate the most is the one person you can love the most.

Ever since Stanley jilted Petals in front of the entire school by calling their relationship a fake based on bets with his friends, she couldn’t bring herself to fall for anyone. She stayed hidden and never attended school reunion to avoid running into him for years. Her friends informed her about Stanley too not attending so she had nothing to worry about and forced her to go that particular year thanks to a game she couldn’t avoid with her friends only for her to meet him in the party. She tried her best not to interact with him but he was pushy, as a CEO, he had what she needed desperately, a job. He offered her a job in return for sleeping with him and she was caught between choosing the job that will turn her life around or letting the past be just as it is even if everything in her life was upside down. Unknown to Petals, the job she took on will be the one to solve all the mysteries and unanswered questions in her lives all these years. She is able to unravel all the hidden and deep secrets surrounding everyone around her and herself. What will be the fate of two people who still have a thing for each other beneath the deep hatred? Will their love be able to spring forth and prevail amidst all those storms?

A letter in crimson ink. A name she hasn’t heard in years. A place that doesn’t exist on any map. Bestselling author Sloane Maren receives a single line in an unmarked envelope: “Come to Elandra Isle. One guest. One week. One truth.” No signature. No explanation. Just the haunting certainty that someone knows what she did. Drawn by a past she’s tried to forget, Sloane arrives at the remote island estate expecting closure. Instead, she finds Theo—the man who once shattered her trust—waiting with secrets of his own. Each night unravels something darker. Each touch uncovers a memory she buried deep. And someone on the island is watching her.. As old passions ignite and hidden agendas surface, Sloane must decide what’s real and what was always a lie. Because some truths are written in blood. And some invitations should never be accepted.

Everette and Jack know next to nothing about romance novels.... or women. So when they accidentally join a book club full of both, they have no idea what to think. But, as the book and time goes on, the ladies in their book club become more interested in a different plot. The love lives of both men.

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?"