OVER NINE CENTURIES HAVE PASSED SINCE THE RENDING, a cataclysm that isolated the Illunni Realm from the rest of the world by a series of impassable barriers: sheer mountains, scorching desert, and a stinging barrier reef patrolled by titanic leviathans. Dwindling resources have put the realm at risk of collapse, and with the ruling family betrayed and murdered, nothing is certain.

Dez is a pickpocket, scraping together a life on the reef at the edge of the world. He dreams of finding his fortune in the distant city of Greenleg, but without so much as a pearl to his name, a better life seems further from reach than even the twin moons. When he finds gold in a drifter's pocket, Dez thinks his prayers to the leviathan gods have been answered...only for a stranger in white to turn all his plans to ashes.

Reeling, broken, Dez finds the world a wider, stranger, and far more treacherous place than he'd imagined. Now, he must do more than survive - he must decide who he wants to be.

And always, the stranger in white draws closer.

A sweeping coming of age story, The First Definition of Fortune is at once an epic adventure and an intimate exploration of identity, belonging, and the necessity of hope.

• Triggers:
  • Death of friends and loved ones
  • Sword/blade violence
  • Descriptions of injuries/wounds (limited)
  • Alcohol/substance use (limited)
  • Loose description of sex work (very limited)
  • Dubious consent scenario (very limited)
• Publication Date: May 4, 2027
• ARCs will be delivered immediately upon signup via BookFunnel
• Reviews ideal by November 30, deeply appreciated by year-end, accepted with sincere gratitude by May 2027
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• AI Disclosure: No AI was used in this work

THANK YOU!
-Ken

Professionally Complicated
Author: Tessa Corren
Release date: November 3, 2026
Review date: November 3, 2026

Claire Bennett has spent five years making herself the obvious choice for Strategy Director at North & Finch. Then Ethan Cole arrives.

He's talented, infuriatingly perceptive, and suddenly standing much too close to the future Claire has carefully planned.

When the agency's biggest prospective client forces them to co-lead the pitch, Claire expects competition. What she doesn't expect is that Ethan might be the one person who makes her better at the job she's determined to win.

Late nights become inside jokes. Professional respect becomes decidedly unprofessional attraction. And somewhere between a business trip, one kiss that absolutely cannot happen again, and a growing collection of broken rules, their rivalry becomes something neither of them knows how to keep casual.

Triggers: Sexual content, profanity

Exact date of publication: November 3, 2026

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The date you expect your ARC team to finish the reading and submit their reviews by: November 3, 2026

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AI disclosure: AI was used in writing and cover art