? All About Romance Favourite Book 2025 ?Sold. Prostituted. Broken.Until him.London, 2095. The world drowned. The system broke. And people became property.Enslaved and microchipped, Alexander Lytton survived by creating the perfect mask: blank, obedient, invisible. Behind it, he was safe. One slip, and he was dead.Until his master is murdered, and Alex becomes the prime suspect.Detective Josiah Raine hasn't touched another man since his husband's brutal murder seven years ago. He's a ghost investigating ghosts, running on empty, barely holding himself together.His job: prove the beautiful, sharp-witted suspect guilty.The problem? He isn't sure Alex did it. And when Josiah cracks Alex's mask wide open, he finds something far more dangerous—the man Alex buried to survive.In Alex's arms, Josiah remembers what it feels like to be human. But Alex isn't his to love. He's evidence. Property. Forbidden.And the secrets Alex is hiding could destroy them both.Dark water. Deadly secrets. Dangerous love.Contains dark themes intended for mature readers—see Author's Notes for content advisory.What readers are saying:"Crocodile Tears is beautiful and sad; full of love, pain, grief, guilt, hopelessness, and loneliness. It's a tale of two lost souls, each treading the violent waters of guilt and grief in their own way for their own reasons." - Cinnamon ?????"Holy shit, this was amazing! It's got my stomach twisted in knots and my heart already broken for both Alex and Joe." - Goodreads Reader ?????"WOW! It's not often that I get sucked into the turmoil and grief on page but damn did I feel it in this one." - Bkwrm24 ?????"Xanthe Walter crafts characters that feel real, raw, and unforgettable. This book gave me chills and tears—I couldn't put it down." - Maissy Reads ?????

Some consequences can be so...cruel.Working cold cases never bothered Detective Wyatt Stromberg—until one unimaginably brutal murder that haunts his dreams. Finding closure for the victim's sister Briella becomes an obsession. She's equally tormented by guilt that she failed her sister and is determined to ensure the killer faces justice.As they grow dangerously close to the truth, and each other, the killer resurfaces, and he has his sights on Briella. Why now? Why allow a year to pass first? It doesn't matter—Wyatt vows to protect Briella no matter what. But the killer's sinister game of cat-and-mouse lurks around every corner, testing Wyatt's limits.To save Briella, Wyatt must walk a tightrope between breaking protocol and breaking the law. With lives on the line, can he toe that precarious line before the killer checkmates them all?With harrowing twists and turns, this gripping thriller will leave romantic suspense fans on the edge of their seats. Don't miss the next intense book in the Consequences series!The entire Consequences series: (Each book can be read as a standalone.)Dark Consequences (Book 1): Tate & AbbyCruel Consequences (Book 2): Wyatt & BriellaFatal Consequences (Book 3): Rider & JunelleVicious Consequences (Book 4): Jason & VictoriaSavage Consequences (Book 5): Jake & MaddieMalicious Consequences (Book 6): Lucas & ElleRuthless Consequences (Book 7): Keith & EmilyMerciless Consequences (Book 8): Owen & Windy

Some partnerships are forged in fire. Theirs was forged in blood.Scout is Blackstone Security’s resident wild card, all charm, zero filter, and ruthless when it counts. Wraith is their newest operator, a former Army Ranger who has spent her career surviving in spaces that never wanted her there. She trusts no one. Not the team. Not Scout. Not even herself.When a routine assignment turns deadly, the first victim is a client under Wraith’s lead. The second is a gas station attendant who gave her directions hours before he was executed with military precision. The pattern is deliberate. Someone is choosing victims who crossed her path and making sure she has no alibi when the bodies fall.The killer knows her instincts. Her tactics. Her tells. He is forcing her to confront a past she never intended to revisit while quietly dismantling her credibility from the inside out.Scout doesn’t know the full story. He only knows two things: someone is targeting his team, and Wraith is carrying more than she lets anyone see. Now the woman who refuses to trust must rely on the one man who refuses to walk away.Because when your enemy once had your back, survival demands more than skill. It demands trust. And this time, the cost of getting it wrong will be written in blood.SCOUT: INTO THE ASHESWhere loyalty burns and the deadliest threat is the one who knows you best.

During the chaotic upheaval of his team, guys transferring, new guys coming in, and the veterans are left dealing with the loss of one of their own, Ryuu “Dragon” Shannon heads home for a visit to his Brooklyn neighborhood. He discovers that Jo is living with his mom, and to his shock, he finds his one-night stand with his tattoo artist produced a daughter, Ceri. He’d been drunk that night, and she’d been willing. As they work to navigate his newfound place in Jo and Ceri’s lives, he’s charmed by their sweet daughter and starts to fall for the girl he’d never gotten the chance to know and who has grown into a woman he can’t get off his mind.

Josephine Moretti is glad that Dragon is back for an extended leave. She remembered touching his body both when she gave him his distinctive tattoo and the night they spent together. A night that changed her life and…gave her Ceri. She’d had a thing for him, but had never gotten to know him as well as she hoped. He’d disappeared and she didn’t know how to get in touch with him. Now he was a Navy SEAL, and as far as she could tell, nothing had changed. Things were about to get complicated now that he was home and she wants her little girl to know her dad. But, Dragon has been away for a while, and Jo’s learned to take care of them both, but when a threat from Dragon’s past threatens them all, she finds that Dragon is every inch the hero she thought he was and maybe, just maybe, an amazing dad for Ceri.

She crossed paths with a serial killer…and lived to tell the tale!Evie Fleming’s life took a strange turn when she survived a serial killer and went on to write about it. Now a hugely popular true crime novelist, she’s come to L.A. to research some of the City of Angels' most infamous crimes…and to investigate what she thinks is another serial murder case!Detective Rowan Winchester has no interest in his infamous family’s celebrity and likes living under the radar as a plain old cop. He really isn’t happy when he’s assigned to escort some true crime writer around, especially since she’s digging into secrets he and his brothers would prefer to remain hidden.Unfortunately, Evie isn’t easy to ignore…or resist. And when she lands in the crosshairs of a brutal killer, Rowan knows he’ll do anything to keep her safe. Because she’s no longer just an assignment…she’s the woman he loves.“Kelly again peels back the glitz and glamour of L.A. to reveal the city’s dark side in this thrilling, twisty romance. Readers won’t be disappointed.” – Publishers WeeklyPreviously published as Wanting You.

Romantic Book of the Year Winner – A gripping standalone romantic survival adventure.They thought they were lucky to be alive. Until rescue never came.When a scenic flight crashes deep in the heart of Australia’s wild Kakadu National Park, glamorous socialite Abigail Mulholland is thrust into a nightmare that no amount of money can save her from. She’s used to luxury and champagne, not wild landscape, spiders, and crocodiles. Abigail must fight to survive with nothing but sheer determination and the reluctant partnership of Mackenzie Steel, a tough, emotionally scarred younger man who is no stranger to hardship.Nobody else survived the plane crash.And the only way out of the brutal wilderness is straight through it.Mackenzie is not a survival expert. He is a man who was forced to adapt, endure, and survive. Grieving the loss of his partner in the crash, the last thing he expects is to be stranded in the wild with a woman who is his complete opposite. Abigail is stubborn, sharp-tongued, and completely unprepared for the harsh environment. But beneath her polished exterior, he sees flashes of strength that surprise them both.As the days turn into weeks and their hope of rescue fades, an intense and unexpected romance begins to form. It is risky, raw, and impossible to ignore. Because out here, survival is not just about endurance. It’s about trust.Lost in Kakadu is an unforgettable romantic adventure of survival, resilience, and redemption, driven by a love that ignites in one of the most unforgiving places on earth.Nature tests them. Grief nearly breaks them.But untamed and unexpected love refuses to die.Find out why this romantic survival novel won Romantic Book of the Year.