From USA Today Bestselling Author Willow Winters comes the second part in the sizzling Hades & Persephone Duet.
Ripped away from Olympus to the Underworld was a hell of its own making, but so is returning.
Leaving behind Hades and my rightful place as Queen of the Underworld caused an agony I’ve never known before.
What’s worse is that the war has not come to an end and my place in Olympus is questioned by all because of Hades’ demands. My mother will stop at nothing to have me safe with her and neither will Hades.
I’m left torn between life, Olympus, my mother and the throne I was always meant to have beside my lover, the King of the Dead.
I miss him dearly, I crave his touch and I need the love I felt so strongly in his presence.
What brings me the most fear though, is my own thoughts and my own power. The threat of losing what I had is enough to make me question my sanity. My mother would starve the world for me, Hades would burn it. But myself… What I’m willing to do as the suffering intensifies is blasphemy and terrifies me to my core.
There’s no going back and in this place I must find peace and balance before it’s too late.
I know one thing for certain: after dark, there will always be light. If that wasn’t true, the dark would not have a name…
I started writing after having my little girl, Evie, December of 2015. All during my pregnancy with her I read. I only wanted to read romance novels and I read everything I could get my hands on. I would read a book a day — sometimes two. In January I was staying up late with her and just thinking of all these stories. They came to me constantly. I finally sat down and just started writing. I always wanted to do it so I figured, why not?
I never thought I would reach this point of success to be honest. It’s insane to me that I have connected with so many readers.
And I love each and every one of them for all of their support. I’ll be honest, some days are HARD. I have my littles during the day and I write at night. Some days are just simply exhausting and then I hear from a reader and it motivates me to push through and keep writing. I couldn’t be more grateful for this wonderful career. For more information, visit https://www.willowwinterswrites.com/
Keep up with Willow Winters and receive your FREE copy of one of her books when you subscribe to her newsletter:
I’m not a fan of change. So, when I hear the old bar I work at a couple of nights a week has sold, I wonder if it’s time for me to give up that side gig. It’s not like I need the cash. My job as a full-time firefighter is more than enough to keep me comfortable and plenty busy.
Then I meet the new owner, my new boss, Lizzie Meyer.
She makes me a deal: give her thirty days. If I don’t like the direction she takes the place, I can quit. Simple, right? But nothing feels simple once I’m around her. I try to ignore the pull, but her easy smile, hypnotic green eyes, and that stubborn streak wrapped in determination makes it impossible. The line between professional and personal is clear…until it isn’t.
Just when something real starts to take shape between us, my past stirs—ready to drag its way back into the light and threaten everything we’re beginning to build together.
Lizzie
I’ve spent years dreaming of a place to call my own. Growing up inside the biggest bar and restaurant in my hometown, I learned early on what my calling was. But lately, I’ve wanted something more. Something that isn’t tied to my family’s legacy. I want to build my own.
That dream leads me to Cooper Town, Ohio, a quaint small town with an old bar for sale and enough possibility to make me pack up my life and take a chance.
I know it will take hard work to bring the place back to life, and I’ve got the drive, the grit, and a modest savings account to get started. What I’m not prepared for is Collin Miller, the brooding bartender with a rare, disarming smile and a work ethic that mirrors my own. He’s impossible to ignore, even harder to resist. I try to keep things strictly professional, really, I do, but being around him feels like standing too close to a flame.
My simple request is that he doesn’t break my heart along the way.
USA Today Bestselling Author Lacey Black is a Midwestern girl with a passion for reading, writing, and shopping. She carries her e-reader with her everywhere she goes so she never misses an opportunity to read a few pages. Always looking for a happily ever after, Lacey is passionate about contemporary romance novels and enjoys it further when you mix in a little suspense. She resides in a small town in Illinois with her husband, two children, and three rowdy chickens.
Tropes: Small Town; Second Chance; Secret Baby; Blue Collar; Past Abuse (FC); High School Sweethearts; First Everything; She Runs
Release Date: February 16, 2026
In fisherman tales, there's always talk about the one that got away… This is that story.
When they were in high school, Brock and Courtney felt they were destined to be together. They'd had their future all mapped out. Until a week before graduation, when two pink lines changed everything, diverting the course of the life they'd planned.
Young and scared, Courtney made the impossible decision to keep it a secret and leave their hometown, never planning to return, and breaking both their hearts in the process.
And for years, her plan works. Until her abusive father dies, leaving her mother rudderless in her newfound freedom. Returning home with her secret daughter is the only answer. But what will happen when she comes face-to-face with the past she's tried so hard to forget but couldn't?
Thirteen years after the only woman Brock has ever loved ran from the small Alaskan island they'd called home, he learns she's back—with a preteen daughter. Too many emotions and unanswered questions hang heavy between them. And when the answers are brought to light, the chasm between them widens further. Will it be possible for them to reconcile for their daughter's sake?
.jpg)
.gif)
