A dying world. An academy to train seafaring heroes. Four 18-year-olds trying to survive it all. Silver beasts, lack of provisions, royal intrigue, and cloaked threats plague this realm. Four young people are chosen to attend the Hall of Explorers academy to train their minds, bodies, and magic, to sail and find their people a new world. Before they brave the unknown seas, they must complete their training. Not to mention getting to know each other and become a tight-knit team. Disturbing and bloody incidents soon make that even harder than it should be.

Hannah Taylor, a rising country music sensation, stands on the brink of superstardom. But beneath the glitz and glamour, she harbors a secret, one that could shatter her carefully crafted image and jeopardize her career. In a city where conformity is key, being a queer woman is a battle she fights every day. Shelby Montgomery is a small-town nobody, striving to provide a better life for her young son. With dreams deferred and a husband who vanished when the going got tough, Shelby's life is a constant struggle.

Cori Stratton’s a small-town girl. She loves making candles, and her little gift shop is her pride and joy. But when the shop’s building goes up for sale, she might lose her home and everything that makes her happy. The worst timing of all? Her landlord’s daughter Elizabeth Brennan—popular, smart, and oblivious to Cori’s existence in high school—has breezed back into town.

Alexandria Trenton is tired of living alone, but keeping secrets comes with a steep price. After growing up in witness protection, Alex is now a US deputy marshal specializing in protecting those awaiting trial. It’s a life that she simply can’t share, especially not when omitting the truth feels so wrong.

After the death of her grandmother, reluctant heiress Madilyn Marak agrees to stay with her grandfather at the estate for the summer. There, she finds an old diary hidden in an antique desk in the attic—The Apple Diary—written by her great-grandmother Isabel. In there, she finds the love story of Isabel and Lorah, along with a photograph of the two young women from 1933. The diary, like the love affair, was short and brief, but rich and vivid enough for her to feel a true bond with the women despite the heartbreaking ending.