From #1 New York Times bestselling author Elsie Silver comes a small-town, forbidden, rivals-to-lovers romance, the first book in the brand-new Western romance series Emerald Lake. Professional bull rider Emmett Bush is not looking for love. He’s looking for a paycheck to save his family’s farm from bankruptcy. So, when he agrees to be the leading man on a hot new reality dating show, Romance Ranch, he’s already decided it’s all one big performance. Until Julia Silva walks onto his property. Smart, snarky, beautiful, and off-limits in more ways than one. As the location consultant on set and the little sister of his most bitter professional rival, she’s the last woman who should pique his interest. Julia has been warned about Emmett. She knows better than to fall for his cocky swagger, broad shoulders, and smoldering good looks. Plus, she’s sworn off relationships. But as Julia and Emmett work together, mutual distaste grows into an unexpected connection and then… something more. Soon, they find themselves searching for excuses to spend time together and out of reach of the cameras. Knowing glances. Stolen kisses. Secret rendezvous. Still, Emmett signed up to play the role of an eligible bachelor searching for the one. His family’s land and legacy depend on him completing the show. The problem is, he’s already fallen in love. Just not with a contestant.

"Have you ever wondered how long it would take for a lethal dose of arsenic to kill you? Thirty-five hours, twenty-nine minutes, and fifteen seconds. I should know. I counted myself." Amidst the gaslit alleys and cobblestone streets of Victorian London, two killers find themselves entangled in a waltz they cannot escape. Alina Lis, a botanist and hobbyist poisoner, has a pastime of killing unsavory men in her twisted sense of poetic justice. When she targets the conceited playboy, Silas Forbes, only to find him in her apothecary the following week, she discovers human men are the least of her problems. The pair’s unlikely association sparks gossip among affluent society. As their mysterious bond deepens, a chilling truth emerges—concealed identities, lurking foes, and questions as plentiful as the hydra’s head brew within this haunting Gothic tale of violent passion. Will Silas and Alina find themselves in each other's arms, or will the shadows of their past keep them apart?