[wattys 2021 winner - new adult] A heroin addict struggling with recovery finds an unusual solace in a brilliant, beautiful girl in his therapy group, who seems to have being happy and sober down to a science. [2x wattpad editor's choice pick (2021 & 2023) & 6x featured story] Copyright 2020-2025 | Taylor Romagnoli [moonraess]

[Wattys 2023 Grand Prize Winner] After an eight-hour flight sitting next to her high school nemesis Jackson Carter, fashion designer and barista Isabelle Curtis thought that would finally be the last she would see of him. But as the saying goes, famous last words. * * * Isabelle Curtis and Jackson Carter were fierce academic rivals in high school, up until Jackson moved to the UK in junior year for boarding school. Eight years later, Jackson has returned from abroad to take on the role of CEO at his late father's company. When Isabelle and Jackson meet again, there's a war of words, banter and a passionate dislike towards each other. Throw in a high school reunion, some more chaos, and a 'deal' in the mix-one that might just involve a little faking and pretending. It's all fun and games and tit for tat, almost just like in high school, until real feelings become involved...

College is the fresh start Mackenna Baker is hoping for, but her past follows her from the small town she left behind like a ghost. She does her best to ignore them and no matter how hard she tries, she can never seem to actually let them go. Shoving down her feelings, her grief for a relationship and an important person in her life eventually comes crashing down when the person she never thought she'd see again reappears as if out of thin air. The fallout everyone saw coming but never expected the way it happened caused Wesley James to run all the way back home where he hid out all summer long. He's tried to mend his broken heart, unsuccessfully he'll regretfully admit, Knowing there's nothing he can do without seeing her one last time, he bucks up and leaves home to find her to tell her what happened, something he never gave her. CAMP NANO 2022 WINNER Completed on May 9th, 2023!

After a year and a half of trying to move on from the what-ifs, the tides have pulled Alexandra Rivera and Zachariah Kim back together again. ***** In the heart of Hawai'i, Alex finds an instant connection when she meets her best friend Emmie's new boyfriend at a party. And even as the relationship becomes strained, their friendship continues to grow until Alex finds herself stuck between the two people she loves the most. Though she learns how hard it is to balance these two relationships, especially after Emmie and Zach's relationship ends, they dive deeper and deeper into the depths of their secrets until their lies pull them under. After everything falls apart and Zachariah moves away for a year and a half, he returns and Alexandra's life is shaken up because he's not the only one back in town. With Zachariah and Emmie both returning to O'ahu, Alex is forced to reconcile what she wants out of life, and who she wants to be. » 2021/2022 wattys shortlist » editor's pick « » featured on @ContemporaryLit, @NewAdult, @StoriesUndiscovered, @Romance, @WattpadAsianFiction, @WattpadEmpowered «

A risky game of chance throws a broke college student into the arms of his billionaire bad boy boss. But can a relationship built on secrets and lust ever become something more? ***** Nolan Kim and Jung Jae-In live completely different lives. While Nolan is a broke college student working multiple jobs to afford the Gucci he loves, Jae-In is the billionaire playboy CEO of the world's leading tech company. But when sparks fly after they unexpectedly meet, Nolan can't resist taking a job as one of Jae-In's personal assistants. And when their sexual tension in the office leads to heated kisses and secret penthouse trysts, Nolan realizes that being in lust with Jae-In is everything he's ever wanted. Until it isn't. But is falling in love worth the risk when there's no guarantee against heartbreak? "Love Maze" was previously titled "Russian Roulette | VKOOK" Note: This story was originally written as a BTS fanfic that has been restructured into an original work Previously a Wattpad Editors' Pick [[word count: 90,000-100,000]] Cover designed by Joe Resch

Small town girl Song Hyejin grew up with a pair of scissors in her hand, spending her high school days in her father's barber shop cutting crew cuts for young men who were about to enlist in the army; this was how she was intending to spend the rest of her life. When top star Ares Hwang walks into the shop one rainy day demanding that she give him a haircut even though it's past opening hours, her life gets thrown straight into a raging hurricane known as the world of showbiz. ======== Enter Kang Hyunwon, hairstylist to the celebrities, touted by all the country's fashion magazines as the golden hands that could catapult anyone, literally anyone, from obscurity to stardom. When his limelight gets stolen unceremoniously by the head of hair atop one Ares Hwang (whom he had callously rejected to style just days before), his ego takes a beating that he will never forget. When he finds out who it is who was responsible for his humiliation, he vows to show this clueless suburban girl what it truly means to be hair-raisingly good with a pair of scissors... ======== Cover adapted from the artwork by @ClarissaNorth

"𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞?" "𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞." Nothing in life has come easily to Chase. He's had to work for everything he's gotten until she comes along and feels like the big break he's been waiting for all his life. Lexi may have stumbled into his arms, but he's going to have to fight like hell to keep her there; to earn himself a spot in her life, in her heart. But Chase knows that she's worth it, and he's no stranger to hard work. Lexi wants to be free, and Greenville is the key to the platinum shackles keeping her from escaping the dollhouse of a home she grew up in. Everything about her new home breathes color into her dull life, and she's not going to give it up for anything. She's going to make it on her own, and nobody is going to underestimate her this time. Lexi is built from materials much stronger than porcelain. Her high hopes may finally be within reach, and she doesn't plan on letting anything or anyone distract her from her future, at least not for more than one night. Apparently, Chase didn't get the memo.

Rosie is meant to hate famous rockstar Will O'Connor, who killed her father in a car crash, but she finds herself falling in love instead. ***** Rock sensation, Will O'Connor is in the prime of his career when he unintentionally kills a man in a car accident. Full of remorse, he must come to terms with his non-guilty verdict. People-pleasing Rosie Montgomery dedicates her life to making others happy. Following her father's death in Will's crash, she becomes desperate to keep her family intact. But when Will and Rosie accidentally meet at her father's grave, there's an undeniable bond. Can they ignore the rest of the world and go after what their hearts most desire? And most importantly - can either of them handle the consequences? [[word count: 80,000-90,000 words]]

Four princesses from the districts of Brown Town are accepted at the prestigious Brown Queen University, the only remaining university in the country to train princesses into the official royal family. Of course, there's a catch. The selected Brown Queen must be the epitome of what it means to be the most socially accepted and desired brown girl in all of Brown Town. Who will the next queen be? Or more interestingly, who will the next queen NOT be?

Ash Dlamini hates living her life with her back pressed against the wall. She wants to step out of her colossal bubble and live life to the fullest before her 16th birthday. When her friends find out that she has a crush on Mason De Lange, they want to help her get noticed by him. While all of this is happening, she finds her heart steering towards the opposite direction. Towards Darwin Swanepoel. × cover by @CAITLIN