All the Little Secrets by S.J. Sylvis

Title: All the Little Secrets

Series: English Prep

Author: S.J. Sylvis

Genre: Mature YA/NA (High School Romance)

Release Date: October 27, 2020

English Prep has always been known for housing the most uppity, privileged rich kids in all of Pike Valley. That is what has been driven into my brain since attending the opposing prep academy in the area since middle school.

So, when I am hastily pulled out of Wellington Prep and thrown into English Prep my junior year, it feels like I am being thrown to the wolves. 

My plan is to blend in and to remain invisible, so I fly under the radar, staying away from the “in” crowd.

Then, I lock eyes with Ollie Powell.

I learn very quickly that the Powell brothers rule the halls of English Prep in all their prestigious glory. They turn heads with their smug grins and good looks as they parade through the hallways shoulder to shoulder. And although Ollie is the lesser of two evils, he is still the bane of my very existence.

That’s because English Prep isn’t our first run-in.

The first time we met was gritty and dark, shoved deep beneath secrets neither of us want to reveal. 

I thought I was being thrown to the wolves the first day I stepped foot in English Prep.

But I was wrong.

There is a much bigger wolf out there, and Ollie might be the only one to slay it in the end. 

All the Little Secrets is a standalone, Enemies-to-Lovers High School Romance intended for readers 18+. This book deals with subjects that some may find triggering. (Although this is the second book in the English Prep Series, it IS a standalone!)

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Prologue 

Ollie 

Secrets. They were what drove a wedge in reality. They were the bridge between the past, present, and future. They were everywhere. Everyone had secrets. Some bigger than others, sure, but we all had them. 

And she knew my deepest, darkest one. 

Piper sat beside me in the back of my brother’s Charger as he reluctantly stepped out and climbed up the side of a drab, shithole of a house to get to Hayley’s bedroom. 

I couldn’t even fathom the amount of secrets those two shared. Old best friends turned enemies with enough sexual tension to light this entire fucking town on fire. But Hayley was Christian’s little secret, and no one liked to reveal the truth. 

Leaning back in the Charger, my lip lifted as I glanced over at Piper. The interior of the car was dark, the window tint blocking the glow of the moon, almost as if it had disappeared altogether. Small specks of illuminating blue light from the dashboard dotted the side of Piper’s delicate cheek. Her soft features were drawn tight as she stewed in her hatred for me. 

“Stop staring at me,” she hissed. 

I chuckled, the deep sound reverberating in my throat.

“Are you angry because I’m right or because I’m wrong?”

“I’m angry because you tricked me into thinking my best friend was in the car. You all but kidnapped me from the party!”

A jealous side of me emerged as I thought back to an hour ago when I’d walked into the Wellington Prep party. Piper was too close to one of their own, and it irritated me. Fire fanned over my skin as if she were actually mine. It was the reason I’d revealed my hidden ace in the first place.

I slowly shook my head back and forth in Piper’s direction. “That's not why you're angry.”

Her eyes flared to mine. I couldn’t see their color, but I knew they were a jade green, just like the leaves of the evergreen trees that lined the back of English Prep. 

She scoffed. “Then please enlighten me as to why I’m angry.”

I answered matter-of-factly, “You’re angry because I know it was you that night.”

Her face didn’t so much as twitch. Her pink lips stayed straight. Her eyelashes didn’t flutter closed. Nothing. Not even a tick of her cheek. And that right there, my friends, proved that I was correct in my assumptions. She knew if she reacted, she’d give away her poker face and crumble. 

I leaned in a little closer, watching Christian through the Charger’s window, following after Hayley as she stormed across the street. I breathed in Piper’s soft scent as I dipped my lips down to her ear. “I know your secret, Piper. You aren’t nearly as innocent as you lead people to believe.” She held her breath, not daring to make a move. The heat from her body put the interior of the car at a solid 100 degrees, and it stirred up something unholy inside of me. “But that means you know mine, too.”

S.J. Sylvis is a lover of reading and writing and just recently graduated with her graduate degree focusing on English and Creative Writing (the only fun parts were the writing classes). Besides writing, S.J. Sylvis loves coffee (specifically caramel iced coffee, but really, any coffee will do), binge-watching Gilmore Girls, going to the beach and spending time with her family! She currently lives in North Carolina but is often moving as her husband is in the United States Marine Corps and they go where the military sends them!

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Making Magic by Adelyn Zara

Title: Making Magic

Series: Tale of Resilience Book #2

Author: Adelyn Zara

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: November 12, 2020

Cover Design: Giselle Field, Wander Design

Dara Rue’s mental struggles lead to dangerous behavior. Connor Cerami masks his worries, covering panic attacks. The beautiful, intelligent girl brings joy to the overly intense Connor.

Magically, she comforts the sick, helped reconcile her father and grandfather, and holds evidence needed to squash harassment accusations against her father Donovan. While aiding his sick mother and working on a fledgling career, Connor brings stability to Dara.

Their road to happiness is long and difficult.

That evening, instead of texting Owen, Connor decided to call his little brother.

“What’s up, Connor? I can’t believe you called me!”

Connor took a rag and wiped down his kitchen counter. Scowling at the phone, he said, “Can’t I call you, little bro?”

Owen’s loud laugh had Connor smiling down at the phone which was in speaker mode, allowing him to wander around his kitchen while talking. 

Why did the good lord make me so serious and Owen such a nut? Couldn’t we have been at least a little alike so that I could be this free and easygoing with others?

“Of course, you can!” Owen’s voice boomed out. “It’s just that I’m used to text messages, usually very short and sweet.” 

Connor placed the dishrag neatly on the edge of the sink, making sure that it wouldn’t drip onto the hardwood floors. Feeling the soft rub of the cat, Connor scooped Skokie up and stroked through the fur.

“Wait: Is Mom ok?” The happiness in Owen’s voice gave way to panic.

“She’s fine,” came Connor’s quick, terse answer. “God, I guess we’ll always be on edge about her, won’t we?”

“Well, with all that’s happened to her and then, Dad. . .”

“Yeah,” Connor sat down at his kitchen table, letting Skokie jump down and run off. Dara’s hat that she’d worn to the Huntington several weeks before lay there. Although she’d been over many times since their trip, she’d forgotten the hat every time, teasing Connor by saying, “They say if you leave something behind, you’ll always come back.” But the truth was that Connor enjoyed seeing the simple femininity of the hat in his austere apartment. He pulled the blue ribbon through his fingers, back and forth, feeling its soft texture, thinking about how he was glad to have it here to hold when he couldn’t hold her.

“I’m just calling to get a little brotherly advice.”

“From me?” Owen laughed again. “I thought I was supposed to ask you for advice about money, computers, savings, women. . .”

“Well, that’s just it, Owen,” Connor interrupted. “I think you have more experience in the lady department than I ever will.”

Owen made a sharp blowing noise, sounding like a baby making raspberries. 

“C’mon, Connor. Alissa was your girlfriend for a long time,” he said, referring to Connor’s high school and early college sweetheart. “I don’t need to tell you anything, I’m sure.”

“I just need someone to talk to.”

At that statement, Owen quieted down. His voice became serious when he said, “Sorry. What do you need help with?”

“Not necessarily help. Just a sounding board,” Connor said. After taking a breath, he asked, “Owen, how did you figure out that you love Maribelle?”

“That’s easy!” the voice was tinged with humor again, something that Connor wanted as much as he wanted to hear Owen’s words of wisdom. “I couldn’t stand being anywhere without her. I love to make her laugh. See her all dressed up or sloppy as hell; doesn’t matter. And she listens to me, doesn’t take any shit. But she likes me goofy, too. I don’t know; I just knew.”

“Did it take a long time to know?”

“No.” Owen’s answer was direct. “I knew almost right away. I think it may have taken Maribelle a while, but that’s something you’d have to ask her. Why? Is there a new woman in your life, Con?”

Connor was nodding his head, not realizing that his brother couldn’t see him.

“Connor?”

“Oh! Sorry,” Connor pulled the ribbon through his fingers once more, remembering the strappy sundress that matched the blue of the hat, the dress that eventually adorned his bedroom floor.

“Yes, I have met someone.”

“That’s great!”

“Hmmm. I think so. . .”

“What’s the pause? You’re not sure, or what?”

“It’s just that there are complications to it all.”

“Complications? Is she married? Already with someone else?”

“Nothing like that, man.” Connor laughed at Owen’s question, then turned serious. “Look, if I tell you, can you keep it to yourself? Not tell mom or anyone we know.”

“Geez, I think I should be insulted,” Owen pretended to sound hurt. Then he laughed again. “Of course, I’ll be quiet.”

“Well . . .” Connor picked up the hat, looked at it from all angles, then placed it again in the middle of the table. “You know that Donovan Rue guy mom’s been seeing?”

“Yeah, she’s told me some about him. I think we’re going to have a cookout with him when I come into town next. What about him?”

“I’m seeing his daughter, Dara,” Connor let out a big breath. “She’s pretty amazing.”

“That’s great! What does Mom think?”

“I haven’t told Mom. And Dara hasn’t told her Dad,” Connor admitted. “I’m a little worried about what they’ll think of us seeing each other.”

Another long pause. Then Owen asked, “Why?”

“It just feels weird . . . Kinda incestuous to me.”

“Incestuous?” Owen chuckled. “Why would you even think that? You and Dara aren’t related, Con. God, you have the higher GPA, and even I know that word doesn’t apply.”

Connor took the hat and flipped it on top of his head. “I need to get over it, don’t I?”

“Um. . . yeah! Can’t believe you think that. Can’t believe you haven’t told mom yet either!” There was a brief, comfortable pause, then, “She seems happy seeing Donovan Rue. Is it good?”

Connor took the hat off and placed it in the middle of the table again. He almost growled in his answer to Owen. 

“That’s another hang up of mine. Do you think it’s too soon for Mom to date?”

“Connor! How can you even say that? Mom’s an adult woman. I imagine men her age would find her attractive. When she isn’t sick, she’s fun.” Owen paused to chuckle again. “I don’t think we get a say about our mother’s love life, dude.”

“Don’t even go there.” Connor thundered. “I think we’re done with this phone call. Back to texts. I can handle you there.”

“Seriously, Con,” Owen hurried before his brother hung up, “Just enjoy this Dara chick. You’ll be fine. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”

“Okay.”

“You’re a great guy, Connor. And you deserve to be happy, so let this just happen.”

“Okay, okay. Okay!”

“One more thing –"

“Owen, enough!”

“Okay, I’ll see you at the cookout.”

As he clicked the phone off, Connor realized that he had not even had a chance to ask his brother what he knew about dating girls with mental disorders.

On Word & Upward!

A phrase that she repeats a lot, Adelyn goofed in an online forum and misspelled onward, thus creating her tagline.

She is the author of Tales of Resilience, novels about strong women and men who overcome illness, oppression, and circumstances of their own making.

For the last seven years, Adelyn works on her own personal challenges, including cancer, brain tumors, strokes, and botched eye surgery all of which made good fodder for her characters. Her goal is to always bring the Happily Ever After to her stories as she personally seeks that for herself.

It started when she wrote about a snowman in fourth grade! Since then, Adelyn has written stories concerning her family, her travels, and what she has witnessed in others’ struggles. The Tales of Resilience encapsulate some of her observations.

When she isn’t writing at her kitchen table, she is reading, calming herself during with long walks, enjoying her granddaughter, reading, hiking with her husband, reading, retail therapy, and reading, or working in her garden. Learning a new word can pull her back to her keyboard or influence a story. She invites you to enjoy her Tales of Resilience, or her personal thoughts on life’s challenges.

So . . .

On Word & Upward!

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