Princess Noemi's brother is betrothed to the crown princess of a neighboring kingdom, an alliance with a stronger nation in exchange for the magic that runs in Noemi's family. When Noemi's brother dies unexpectedly, there's no other male of the bloodline to offer, and the alliance is in danger of dissolving. But the court magician has an experimental spell he says will allow two women to produce an heir. Thus it is Noemi who finds herself married to Princess Caterina.<br><br>Noemi is fascinated by the kind and beautiful Caterina, but feels certain her feelings can never be returned. What does she have to offer except social ineptitude, a bad temper, and a mediocre appearance? How could Caterina ever want her instead of her lost brother?<br><br>But when an accident threatens Caterina’s life and only Noemi’s magical talent can save her, they may find they have more in common than they ever suspected ...

James Thorne, the widowed Viscount Tadbury, insists he will never remarry -- not because he could never love again, as the romantics of Society assume, but because he already <i>does</i>. His late wife's brother, Nicholas, who now lives in James's home, educating his sister's children, is the least appropriate person imaginable. To love a man so closely related by law is unseemly, improper, surely dishonorable, and James values honor and propriety above all things. His beloved Nicholas must never know his true feelings, for his opinion of James could only suffer by it.<br><br>Nicholas, meanwhile, has been in love with James since the day they met -- the day James was introduced as his sister's betrothed. Of course he could not act on his feelings then, and how can he now? How can he press himself on a grieving widower, or betray his sister's memory?<br><br>When Nicholas is badly injured during the social event of the Season -- James's brother's engagement ball -- will one of them be shaken into confessing their feelings? Or will they lose their chance forever?

Rafi Reyes figures going along with a fake-dating stunt is only fair after Julian Gault saves his life. The young actor is famously cold and snotty, and Rafi's rock band is falling apart in the wake of betrayal. A shiny new romance might be just what both their reputations need. It's too bad they don't actually like each other, but they'll both benefit -- a softer public image for Julian, revenge against his ex for Rafi. But as they navigate public events, attend red-carpet premieres, and play cat-and-mouse with paparazzi together, Rafi gets to know a different Julian than he expected -- one who defends horses, takes care of his troubled cousin, and has Rafi's back against his dysfunctional family. Rafi starts to hope he and Julian have something real together. But Julian has secrets more painful than Rafi can imagine. With Julian's powerful and controlling uncle scheming to turn them against each other, their relationship must become something much deeper if it -- and possibly either of them -- are to survive.

Simone, a female-identifying android, is part of a scientific team sent ahead of the first colony to return to Earth, which is finally habitable again after centuries of radiation recovery. She mostly finds her human crewmates irritating, and the most irritating by far is Dr. Lucy Zhong, who slowly becomes Simone's best friend, more important to her than anyone else has ever been. When Lucy is fatally injured, she kisses Simone during her last moments of consciousness. Only then does Simone realize they may be more than friends. To save Lucy, Simone places her in the last functioning cryo-pod, even though this means sacrificing another crewmember. Simone's programming should not permit that kind of choice, but if this is a malfunction, Simone doesn't care as long as it saves Lucy. When the colony ship arrives, Lucy is revived, and discovers it’s her turn to play rescuer, as Simone has been slated for deactivation. Does the android's "malfunction" mean she returns Lucy's feelings? If Lucy can't save her beloved Simone, she'll never find out.