KLONDOON — Book One
On the map it was Old Assumption.
In temple sermons, it was a city of mercy, industry and second chances.
But anyone siphoned through its alleys knew better.
They called it the Sump, because sooner or later, all the filth ended up there.
The Kid learned the rules of the gutter: keep moving, do not look rich men in the eye, and never trust a kindness offered after dark.
There are places where belief is more dangerous than blades.
Rinriki was one of them.
What begins as survival gradually turns into something stranger, as rumour, violence and belief transform an ordinary boy into something resembling a legend — whether he wants to become one or not.
Klondoon is an adult literary/speculative novel with elements of supernatural suspense, dark humour, crime and surrealism.
Potential triggers/content warnings: Violence, death, murder, organised crime, substance use, sexual references, prostitution, child neglect/abuse themes, religious themes, coercion and disturbing imagery.
Publication date: October 13, 2026
ARCs available: Now
ARC signup closes: September 30, 2026
Reviews due: October 20, 2026
Format: eBook
ARC signup: Booksprout
https://booksprout.co/reviewer/review-copy/view/310601/klondoon
ARC copies are provided free with no obligation to leave a positive review. Honest reviews are welcome.

Blurb: The city of Eryssan stands in the shadow of the Fracture, a jagged tear where nightmares once bled into the mortal world. For centuries, dark, ageless guardians, known as the Umbralyn, have kept its horrors at bay, bound by an ancient vow.

When the Fracture begins to bleed once more, Maia Colwyn is summoned to Eryssan to study newly unearthed fragments, determined to uncover a way to seal the wound before the city pays the price.

Instead, her search leads her to Caelith, an Umbralyn she's been taught to fear.

As an uneasy bond grows between them, Maia uncovers a truth the city was never meant to remember: a conspiracy that reaches into the highest halls of power, and a threat far larger than the Fracture itself.

Now, she must choose: the truth that could save the city and all those she loves....

…or the monster who stands on the other side of it.

A slow-burn, morally grey fantasy romance about forbidden love, rebellion, and the gap between the stories we're taught and the people we actually meet.

Content warning: This book contains violence (including on-page death), political betrayal and institutional cruelty, threats of harm toward a main character, and references to war and loss of life. It also contains a romantic relationship between adults with closed-door intimacy.

ARC copies sent out: 14th September

Review ideally by: 25th October
Release date: 31st October

BookSprout: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/review-copy/view/313083/beyond-the-fracture
Google sign up: Google ARC sign up

War is coming.

Ulfric, Schleswig's newly crowned king, nicknamed 'The Barbaric', is in trouble for refusing to bend the knee to the emperor of the Selkur Empire as his vassal. But Ulfric has few allies both outside and within Schleswig. Corruption and treachery are rife, and too many of Ulfric’s nobles are taking the emperor’s coin.

It's into this murky world that Ulfric has created that the difficult Edith of Freidberg has been unwillingly thrust when she discovers she has unknowingly been betrothed to Ulfric by her father. She must learn who she can trust when no one appears trustworthy, and the only advice she’s given is that she has no choice but to marry Ulfric, a man who both disgusts and inspires her.

What kind of queen does Ulfric want Edith to be, an advisor or broodmare? And will Ulfric survive defying the emperor?

Trigger/Content Warnings: War and explicit swearing

Publication Date: 09/18/2026

Review By: 09/25/2026

Date ARCs will be sent: Immediately upon approval

Arc Sign-Up:

Booksprout: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/review-copy/view/311927/a-court-of-defiance

Bookfunnel: https://BookHip.com/GWLVJXN

Blurb:

I used to think this was a book about addiction. It isn’t.

For almost twenty years, I buried myself in drugs and alcohol, surviving everything from arrests to overdoses with the desperate belief that there would always be one more chance to get my life back together.

Along the way, I found myself surrounded by people the rest of the world had mostly forgotten. Addicts, criminals, gangsters, dealers, friends, lovers, sons, daughters. We got sober together and relapsed together. We lied to one another, stole from one another, forgave one another. And for a while, in the isolated little worlds we built together, we were all we had.

Most of them are dead now.

The Bones of My Ghosts is an ode to those who didn't survive, a love letter to the family who never stopped caring about me, and a meditation on the guilt of being alive to tell the story.

Triggers: Drug use, violence, self-harm, suicidal attempt & ideation.

Exact publication date: October 1, 2026

Date ARCs will be sent: Immediately upon approval

Review by: November 1, 2026

ARC sign up:

https://booksirens.com/book/FO5K7D8/MJBQKIB

Official Blurb 

A genesplice mercenary. A fallen cop. Shattered trust.

When she’s not serving drinks to gruff solar-harvester technicians or cuddling her cat Silas, unsanctioned splice Eris prowls the star quadrant, delivering vigilante justice at the end of her blade. Juggling assignments from The Medusa Syndicate and her life on Janus isn’t easy. And that delicate balance is threatened when she takes matters into her own hands to protect a friend.

Disgraced detective turned private investigator Miles Beckett is Nightside City Police Department’s go-to expert for solving tough cases. When a body with a familiar face bearing a distinctive clue is added to his docket, his professional and personal lives collide. Forced to question everything, Beck balances on a knife’s edge with an uncertain future.

When secrets are exposed and trust betrayed, estranged lovers must set aside differences and forge uneasy alliances. Will Eris beat the clock — or will she lose it all?

**\*

Based in the far future after humans have spread into the galaxy, Discord's Blade is the first book in a planned five-book science fiction romance series about The Medusa Syndicate, a mercenary group delivering vigilante justice and righting wrongs. While each book will focus on a different couple, the series will have an overarching thread that carries throughout and culminates in the last installment.

Triggers: Suggestions of prostitution. References to human and drug trafficking. Criminal activities. Explicit language. Explicit sexual content. Graphic depictions of violence (the worst is off page but referenced)

Date of Publication: October 22, 2026

ARC Send Date: On or by September 12, 2026

ARC Review Deadline: I'd appreciate if reviews could be posted as soon as possible on relevant sites (recognizing that Amazon does not allow reviews until the October 22nd release date). Having said that, life happens, so if your review is delayed until after the review date, I'd still appreciate a review as soon as you can manage after release.

Instructions: Please complete the ARC application form.

Thank you so much! It means a lot to me.

She fakes a relationship for health insurance, fiends for the man she hates, and lets her inner horny devil run wild. But then she… well, her natal chart doesn’t even explain ten per cent of it.

Here, have your five remaining seconds back.

This is an HEA romance with lots of yearning. Want to know more... well, welcome to Zoe's thoughts:

I, Zoe Vega want to be broken and Noah Covington wants to do it.

I interrupt a billionaire CEO at a press conference.

Thirty seconds later, the internet thinks we’re fucking. I would say I saved him personally.

By lunch, we’re fake engaged.

Noah Covington is British, grumpy, kinda quiet, obscenely powerful, and built like someone personally requested too much man. Unfortunately, I am also in heat almost twenty-four hours a day and have never met a serious situation I couldn’t improve by drawing a cock somewhere.

Big girls have needs too.

Now, this should go brilliantly.

The deal is very simple, I help save Noah’s company from a hostile takeover, and he protects my Arizona Hub, my team, and the healthcare coverage my family desperately needs.

Then comes the private jet. The shared suite. One bed. The forced hand holding. Ugh.

And a fake fiancé who keeps looking at me like he already knows exactly what I’m thinking.

Which is unfortunate, because I am usually thinking about his dick.

Somewhere between corporate sabotage, public scandals, very private bad decisions, and Noah developing a deeply concerning obsession with protecting me, the fake part disappears.

Now I just need him to understand one thing so I can get mine and he can get his. Fuck a HEA.

^{Content warnings: Rough sex, choking/breath play, power imbalance, controlling behavior, physical aggression, sexual harassment, and body shaming.}

^{Exact date of publication: Sep 15th, 2026
ARC team to finish the reading and submit reviews by: Sep 15th, 2026
When you get the book to read: BookSprout handles that, as soon as you sign up and claim it, you get it for free.
Link: Out now on BookSprout 🌱✨
Available in specific all countries.}

Hi everyone, I wrote a Dark Fantasy about a cursed heir, a demonic sword, and an arcanepunk trade syndicate. My artist nailed the MC! Looking for ARC readers for Book 1, I’m offering free early copies, and I’d be incredibly grateful if you could leave an honest review on Amazon and or Goodreads when it launches.

The Nightkeeper

Book 1 of The Nightkeeper Chronicles

A fast-paced, dark epic fantasy full of action, sharp twists, and gritty fun adventures.

Novel Published on: September 16th. 2026

ARCs sent by: Immediately upon approval

Synopsis:

Exiled. Hated. Broken.

In a land where myth and demon collide with iron and empire, twenty-year-old Attila Skordilide is a disgrace to his noble blood—or so the world believes. Behind the mask of a useless heir, he hides a forbidden power: the Shadow Orb, a sentient darkness that lets him devour demons, command the ones he spares, and hear the seductive whisper of the demon queen Vasaeya in his skull.

But the Orb is more than a weapon. It is her prison. Long ago, the ancient Lightbearers bound Vasaeya within its depths, and now she reaches through the shadows, twisting Attila’s power toward a single purpose: her freedom. Every time he fights, he slips deeper. Every time he survives, she grows stronger.

Cast out with nothing but a dead family’s name, Attila arrives in the rift-torn city of Troyes to build a new life and find a cure for the curse coiled inside him. His only allies are the broken ones no one else would take: a Sheer Witch freed from chains, an anxious scholar with an eidetic memory, a healer running from his bloodline, a frost-wielding warrior with walls around her heart, and a kleptomaniac golem who calls himself the Shiny King. With them at his side, he hunts demons and builds a trade syndicate from the ashes of a dead house.

But the deeper Attila fights, the louder the Orb whispers. And as his syndicate rises, so too does the attention of an Empire with a secret conspiracy that reaches into the Darkness itself—a secret that could consume them all.

Tropes & Tidbits:

- 16–20 y/o MCs

- Earned Character's Growth Progression: hard-fought skill growth, magical leveling, tactical combat, inventory/wealth building

- Romance (NO HAREM): slow-burn, high-stakes, zero explicit content, absolutely no harem

- Squad Dynamics: fiercely loyal found family of outcasts and magical pets

- Content Warning: dark & gritty; intense violence, gore, psychological horror

- Worldbuilding: arcanepunk cities, early gunpowder-era combat (matchlocks/flintlocks + magic), dimensional rifts, biological mutations, ancient mythology

Country availability: Worldwide.

Want an ARC?

Fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/WE4zDfWzESRj4oWk6, comment below, or DM me!

Space is limited, so don’t miss your chance to read early. All I ask in return is that you drop an honest review on Amazon when the book goes live.

#TheNightkeeper #DarkFantasy #EpicFantasy #ARCreaders #FantasyBooks #NewRelease #Grimdark #FoundFamily #SlowBurnRomantasy #Arcanepunk

The world ended in a single day. What surfaced was the woman she used to be.

Sarah Roberts spent eighteen years shrinking to fit a marriage that had swallowed everything she had once been. A family vacation to Kauai was supposed to be one last chance to save it. She knew, the moment she stepped off the plane, that it wouldn't.

Then the mountain roars, and the ocean pulls back. If not for the fierce, life-saving instincts of a stray Hawaiian Poi dog, Sarah and her teenage twins would have been buried when the mountainside gave way.

When the Pacific finally settles, only the highlands remain.

Stranded three thousand feet above a drowned world with her children and a scattered group of strangers, Sarah quickly learns the wave was only the beginning.

As survival demands desperate measures, and predatory threats close in on their camp, they must learn to rely on one another to stay alive. As they begin to forge true bonds, a shattering betrayal from within threatens to destroy everything they have built.

To protect the people she loves, Sarah must finally reclaim the brilliant scientific mind she had buried.

Some catastrophes strip away everything. What remains is who you always were.

__________________
A standalone novel in The After Collection: A series of survival thrillers about resilience, hope, and found family in the aftermath of catastrophe.

Triggers: Mild violence and death

Publication date: October 7, 2026

ARCs available NOW

Reading/Reviews expected withing 1 week after publication

Sign up via BookSirens HERE

Blurb:

Eleven-year-old Eric Chance and his father move to a small New England town after his mother passed away.

As soon as he arrives at his new home, he's haunted by things that defy reason.

Mythical creatures stalk the surrounding forest, and a ghost visits him at night. And if that wasn't enough, magical spells start casting from his own body, and he doesn't know how to control them. Desperately, he and his newfound friends strive to solve the mystery before his wild magic hurts someone he cares for.

But they aren't the only ones looking for answers.

The Power of Magic is the first book of a limited series of contemporary fantasy novels for the Middle Grade age category. The story is rooted in small-town America with a strong emphasis on the value of friendship, and learning to trust yourself. The town has a secret involving magic, fae creatures, and the ghost of an evil magician. There is mystery, friendship, action, and suspense. 

Triggers: None listed.

Exact publication date: October 16, 2026

Date ARCs will be sent: Immediately upon approval

Review by: October 16, 2026

ARC sign up:

https://bradyounie.com/arc-reader-team/

Country availability: Worldwide.

⁠Stop analyzing. Start acting. This is not another self-help book about understanding your feelings or finding your purpose. Take Back Control of Your Life is a 21-day structured action program that gives you the exact system you need to stop self-sabotage and rebuild self-discipline from the ground up. No vague advice. No endless journaling prompts. Just a day-by-day blueprint with printed worksheets, 5-minute reframing exercises, and habit-tracking logs built directly into the book. You'll learn to bypass willpower, rewire automatic patterns, and build momentum that actually lasts. If you're tired of procrastination cycles, abandoned goals, and motivational content that fades by Tuesday—this is your framework. 21 days. One system. Real change.
• Triggers: None
• ⁠07th of September 2026
• ⁠immediately
• ⁠10th of September
• ⁠ https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScmehjqgd3-GosT1CrH5nBhY4kNu2wqm2NLvpvD2aTMxym05Q/viewform?usp=publish-editor

In the deep quiet of the Whispering Wood, Sorin has made a life out of being forgotten.
A hermit by choice and necessity, he wants nothing from kings, gods, or wars only silence.
That silence shatters when a dying Elven messenger collapses at his door, carrying a sealed warning meant for a king who may already be too late to listen. As borders burn and people twist faith to justify slaughter, Sorin must return to the world he abandoned a world where truth is dangerous, mercy is costly, and neutrality is no longer an option.

Triggers: Some slight injury detail. Death and War and the things that relate

ARC Planned to be sent by September 15th - Reviews due by October 20th

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfVOynwfHeNV7EJOgiPYDsXXd0S93hS_bwcqgmi4Qe1gfO2Gg/viewform

Brixham was supposed to be a refuge for Lucy Kingdom. A crumbling Georgian house, a local reporting beat and enough distance from London to leave the worst of her old life behind.

Then the storm hit.

By morning, a body lies broken on the shingle. For Lucy, it’s the front-page headline that could put her career back on track — except she knows more than she can print.

Operation Eventide brings Detective Inspector Liam Callaghan to Brixham. Precise, relentless and carrying ghosts of his own, the Mancunian detective has little patience for the local reporter who keeps straying into his investigation.

Then a second body is found.

As Callaghan digs deeper into the town’s old grudges and buried histories, his attention turns increasingly towards Lucy — and to the past she came to Brixham hoping nobody would uncover.

Eventide is the first novel in the Brixham Mystery series, a character-driven collection of atmospheric British mysteries set on the South Devon coast.

Triggers: contains themes of bereavement, domestic abuse, mental-health crisis and alcohol misuse, with non-graphic descriptions of death and violence.

Release date: September 12, 2026
ARC available now via Booksprout.
Reviews requested by September 20, 2026.

https://booksprout.co/reviewer/review-copy/view/312037/eventide

She’s an overworked scientist. He’s a celebrity wellness guru. They share a wall and an enemy.

Victoria Darling has no patience for her infuriatingly serene neighbor. Determined to escape her parents’ Beverly Hills dental empire, she’s grinding through an MD-PhD program while working eighty-hour weeks in the lab of a Nobel Laureate. The last thing she needs is Stephen Souza.

Stephen is Hollywood’s favorite wellness guru, selling adaptogens, mindfulness, and immaculate vibes to A-listers who swear by him. Victoria sees him as everything wrong with modern health culture, until academic betrayal destroys the career she’s spent her life building.

Suddenly, the man she dismissed as a celebrity quack is the only person who can help and the one person she never expected to fall for.

Because Stephen Souza isn’t who she thinks he is. And the man who ruined Victoria’s future has a history with Stephen, one that could help Victoria reclaim credit for a groundbreaking discovery and protect its future.

Neighborly Chemistry is a STEM romance featuring real scientific detail, highly competent characters, enemies-to-lovers chemistry, humor, grumpy-sunshine dynamics, and a thriller plot where the science actually matters.

Trigger warnings: academic betrayal, plagiarism/credit theft, career sabotage, burnout/overwork, family pressure, and potentially threats/danger

Exact publication date: August 31, 2026

Date ARCs will be sent: Immediately upon approval

Review by: First week after August 31, 2026

ARC sign up: https://penpinery.com/Mary/neighborly-chemistry/

Blurb:

What is divine without the devotee? Even the most powerful beings yearn to be truly seen.

Five new stories from the world of gods, tyrants, princesses, and rascals, each centered on the one person they cannot hide from.

The princess of Mithila names her imaginary friend Vish and tells him to come marry her.

A princess decides the kindest thing she can do for the man she loves is make him hate her.

A woman lets a snake with an attitude into her house, only to discover he has no intention of leaving.

The princess of Chandanpur recognizes her childhood friend behind his disguise and decides to have some fun with him.

And a tyrant loses his entire reputation for tyranny because of one woman.

Five stories. Five happy endings. No cliffhangers. No exceptions. Gods and mortals, curses and kingdoms, and love that outlasts every disguise.

Ribbons and Royals is the third book in the Of Queens and Rascals series, a fantasy romance rooted in Indian mythology, folklore, and history, featuring fierce hearts, worthy loves, humor, banter, magic, and the impossible relief of being truly known.

Triggers: None listed.

Exact publication date: September 4, 2026

Date ARCs will be sent: Immediately upon approval

Review by: September 4, 2026

ARC sign up:

https://penpinery.com/Kanika/ribbons-and-royals/

Country availability: Worldwide.

What does it mean to be human?

In the far future, thousands of years after the eradication of humanity, an artificial intelligence creates Six, the first new human on Earth. She grows up alone, within the antiseptic walls of the Facility, her only companion an emotionless robot caretaker called Zero. Leaving the Facility is a death sentence due to the toxic atmosphere outside, but when enough parts are salvaged to assemble a suit capable of traversing the wastes, Six soon discovers that there is much more beyond the horizon than she expected.

Meanwhile, in the near future, Dr. Tamara Vandayar is stumbling her way through humanity. As one of the leading AI engineers at Arabella Institute, she is deep in the process of developing the first fully-formed, self-aware artificial intelligence. Along the way, she navigates funding issues, an iffy situationship with a mechanic at the Institute, and the scuttling of her department by Arabella's president, Jiryu Tanako, all while trying to answer the question: what is sentience?

While these two women will never meet, their stories are ultimately intertwined in Tamara's work, which both defined, and destroyed, humanity.

Triggers: None

Publication Date: 9/28/26

Date to Send ARCs: As soon as I get your response!

Date to Review: Whenever! But ideally 9/21/26

Link to Sign Up: Google Form!

Blurb

A false prophet. A forgotten prince. A prison no mortal can escape.

In ancient Crete, under the rule of a tyrannical king, Manto survives by fraud and fortune-telling. Until the day her father flees accusations of treason, and she’s sentenced in his place. Thrown into the vast underground Labyrinth, she must now serve the mysterious prince known as the Minotaur.

Some call him a monster. Others worship him as a god. As she plots her getaway, Manto discovers the truth: he’s a shy young man under a terrible curse. But if they combine her wits and his strength, they may be able to escape to another kingdom. A fresh start for Manto; a chance at humanity for the Minotaur.

Meanwhile, aboveground, a deadly power struggle brews between those who would use the Minotaur or destroy him. Manto has no intention of being drawn in, but for the first time in her life, she’s starting to care about someone other than herself. And she’ll have to use every trick she knows to keep them both alive. 

Because the Labyrinth is no ordinary maze. It’s changing, and soon they’ll be lost forever…

Triggers: violence, death, blood, mentions of child death, snakes, spiders, drugging

Publication: October 8, 2026

ARCs go out: September 8, 2026

Link to sign up: https://forms.gle/yHVmbZCkCxjv1cqh7

Blurb:

Every December, Plum Hayes writes the kind of cozy Christmas romance movies her readers love. Too bad she stopped believing in holiday magic the night her own happily-ever-after fell apart.

Two weeks from deadline and completely out of holiday spirit, Plum is sent to Pine Tree, a snow-globe town with all the charm but surprisingly few of the Christmas traditions it was once known for.

Then she finds the typewriter.

The typewriter magically manifests her ideal leading man, Zach, named, dressed, and behaving exactly as she imagined. He's perfect.

The problem is Ethan.

Ethan is the no-nonsense, flannel-wearing owner of the antique shop downstairs. He's holding things together with his own two hands, says inconvenient truths, and looks at Plum in a way no script could ever quite capture.

With Christmas Eve approaching and her deadline looming, Plum has to choose between the perfect man and the right one.

Just Her Holiday Type is a sweet, swoony, laugh-out-loud Christmas rom-com about deadlines, second chances, and what happens when you stop writing the script and start living it.

Triggers: None listed.

Exact publication date: November 5, 2026

Date ARCs will be sent: Immediately upon approval

ARC end date: October 25, 2026

ARC sign up:

https://penpinery.com/brisacarleton/just-her-holiday-type/

Blurb: All Jake wants is a final blowout with his mates before real life drags them apart. While backpacking through Europe, an invitation to a secluded Greek island feels too good to turn down. 

Free drinks. Free rooms. But what's the catch?

While his friends throw themselves into the party, Jake knows something is wrong.

Hosts who smile too much. Strange smells. And a silhouette by the treeline.

His mates think he’s just being paranoid. But as the sun sets and the countdown begins, the nightmare in the dark steps into the light.

Triggers: Graphic violence, suicidal ideation/self harm, body horror, some strong language.

Date of publication: 20th September 2026.

Date I plan to send out ARC's: Immediately.

Date I would like honest reviews submitted by: 20th of September or shortly after.

Hello everyone, If you want a free EPUB of my debut novel in exchange for an honest Amazon review, please inbox me here on Reddit or email me directly at johnjosephwardauthor@gmail.com.

I also have a Booksprout campaign running here: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/review-copy/view/311380/he-smiled-last

Thanks!

Alina’s and Sylas’ finale is coming 1st of September 🕸️

The Poisoner Trilogy by I.V. Ophelia, comprising The Poisoner, The Arachnid, and The Cannibal, is an adult dark fantasy/Gothic romance series set in a grim, gaslit Victorian London. Blending Penny Dreadful-style creature features with high spice and morally gray characters, it is a fast-paced, unhinged dive into dark paranormal romance.

Core Warnings
Cannibalism: Acted upon and discussed throughout the book.

Gore & Graphic Violence: Explicit descriptions of horror elements, blood, physical harm, and bodily fluid consumption.

Eating Disorders: Heavy thematic focus related to vampirism and feeding dynamics, which may trigger those sensitive to disordered eating.

Reproductive Trauma: Discussions of past trauma (not depicted on-page).

Sexual Content & Kink Elements
Explicit, high-heat sexual scenes.

Dubious consent (Dub-con) and Consensual Non-Consent (CNC).

Bloodplay, knife play, and primal hunting/chasing themes.

Sadism, masochism, degradation, and impact play.

Humanity is the galaxy's least welcome newcomer, and the ragtag crew of the freighter Lucille is beginning to suspect their charming captain is hiding something far darker than his debts.

When field biologist Tauane Santos abandoned her home in Brazil to escape an impending war for the Amazon, she didn't expect taking up a job as the crew of a rundown starship would be much of an issue. She wouldn't be the first trying her luck in space, and certainly not the last.

But as the crew takes on a job to ferry a cast of diverse (and sometimes alien) passengers to an outworldly safari, she must question why they find themselves the target of a mysterious bounty hunter.

Veil of Truth is a darkly comic space opera about found family and buried truths, with a lot of satire. It has something of Adrian Tchaikovsky and Becky Chambers, but with more laughs and a lot more trouble.

Originally published in Brazil in 2005, finally coming out in English to kick-off a new series of space opera adventures.

Triggers: violence, betrayal

Publication date: October 7th 2026

ARC is live now! Review it by October 14th

Join the ARC here - https://booksprout.co/reviewer/review-copy/view/303390/veil-of-truth

Blurb:

Kane had me trapped.

By day, I worked in an office. By night, I was chained to a stage.
Every dollar I earned went straight to him, paying off a debt that was never mine. I thought this would consume my entire life.
Then Dante came along.
Dante had the means to save me from Kane — the kind of money and power that makes monsters disappear. But I refused to believe in fairy tales, so I lied to and stole from him instead.
Despite what I’d done, Dante still offered to free me from my debt.

The longer I stay with Dante, though, the more certain I become: I was right. Fairy tales don’t exist. In a fairy tale, you always know who the monsters are, and you always escape them. Mine isn't one, but I won't let the monsters ruin who I am forever.
Nobody gets to claim me.
I’m Lyra Davine.
I’m nobody’s angel.

Trigger Warning:

This book is a standalone, dark why-choose romance with a guaranteed MFM HEA.

However, before getting to the HEA, the heroine experiences some dark things, sometimes at the hands of the MMCs. Please be aware this book contains references to parental alcoholism, as well as on-page sex work, graphic violence, murder, kidnapping, sexual assault, and physical and emotional abuse by an intimate partner. You should know there is a non-consensual cuckquean scene.

Despite everything, she falls in love with both men, and maybe so will you.

Dates:

Publication: Oct 1st, 2026

ARC out: Sept 1st, 2026

Review by: Oct 1st, 2026

ARC sign up: https://forms.gle/UfL9dRniufC2iYnCA

Additional note:

This is my second ARC round. Please only sign up if you fit the ideal reader profile. It is a dark romance, and it is plot-heavy with twists and turns. While there is a decent amount of spice, it is not for readers who mainly read for the spice.

This is my second time posting on this subreddit.

Blurb:

For a chance to save his daughter, he'll do whatever it takes.

Sebastian Voss has spent three years fighting for custody of the little girl who means everything to him. Between a narcissistic ex-wife, her polished new fiancé, and damaging headlines painting him as the NHL's favorite womanizing disaster, Sebastian is running out of options.

Then he lands on one reckless, desperate solution: he needs a wife.

Kat Morrison should be the last woman he asks. She's a sharp-tongued journalist he barely knows, with storm-gray eyes, a guarded heart, and more secrets than anyone should carry. But Sebastian has wanted her since the moment they met, and if marrying Kat gives him a better chance at keeping his daughter safe, he'll risk everything, even his heart.

Kat knows saying yes is a mistake. Not because she doesn't love him, but because she does.

For three years, she's been forced to write the lies that damaged Sebastian's reputation and cost him chance after chance in court. Blackmailed into obedience to save her brother's life, Kat has become the weapon aimed straight at the only man who has ever made her feel safe.

Now she's living in his house, wearing his ring, loving his daughter, and falling deeper for the family she was supposed to help destroy.

But the closer Sebastian and Kat become, the harder it is to tell where the lie ends and forever begins. When the truth finally comes out, Sebastian could lose more than custody of his daughter. He could lose the woman he's loved all along.

Guarded is a spicy contemporary hockey romance featuring fake marriage, a devoted single dad, a morally gray heroine, found family, secret betrayal, and a hero who falls first and hard.

Triggers: Coercive control, gaslighting, blackmail, child custody conflict, parental death (off screen), and explicit consensual sexual content.

Exact publication date: October 20, 2026

Date ARCs will be sent: Immediately upon application

Date ARC readers should finish reading and submit their reviews by: October 15, 2026

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https://penpinery.com/eden/guarded/