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Two identities. One dangerous imagination.
Demi: I move through life like a sparkler in a gas station parking lot—bright, loud, shedding glitter, and always half a second away from disaster. Fast cars, bad ideas, bigger laughs, and absolutely zero chill. People love me… until I’m too much. Too messy. Too emotional. Too intense. That’s why I keep things casual and leave before anyone gets the chance to see all of me. Then I met Will. Oh, so careful. Precise. I should be intimidated by him. Instead, I’ve made it my mission to get him to see me for who I am and admit we’d make one hell of a team.
Will: I don’t tolerate mess. Not in my bar. Nor my space. Not on my hands. People think I’m harmless, but I’m the one who makes problems disappear when things go wrong at Ruin’s End. I notice details other men miss, especially when it comes to Demi Kincaid. She’s reckless, annoyingly relentless, and absolutely not what a man like me should want. Yet the more she spirals into my world, the more I realize she isn’t a mess I need to take care of. She’s a stain I refuse to let anyone scrub away.
A Stain to Keep (Ruin’s End Vol. Two) is a daring, slow-burn dark romantic comedy about what happens when a woman who survives in chaos meets the man who believes control is salvation—and together discover that some disasters are meant to be faced, not avoided.
Ruin's End Series
Volume 2 of 3!
A Stain to Keep
Status
Drafted and Beta Read
Editing: March 26th, 2026
ARC Sign Up: CLOSED
ARC Window: 8/1-10/31
Publishing: September 22, 2026
This is not a love story. This is a story of three sisters, born into a world that wasn’t built for girls unless they forced it to be.
In the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, 1882, the Riley sisters live by grit and gunpowder. Ennis, the eldest, carries the weight of being the mother none of them ever knew. Lake, quick-tongued and restless, can outdraw most men in town but longs for something steadier than dust and whiskey. And Thomasina—Tom to her sisters, Sina in town—wants nothing more than to be a lady, even if trouble follows her like a curse.
When Tom returns home bloodied and broken, carrying a confession that could destroy them all, their hard-won survival teeters on the edge of ruin. Now the sisters must decide how far they’re willing to go to protect their own, even if it means becoming exactly what the town thinks them to be.
But Oak Crest is not a town that forgets. Blood is demanded. The new sheriff watches with equal suspicion and interest. And a hired foreman proves he’s more than a match for cowgirls forged in fire. Secrets multiply, loyalties fray, and the Riley sisters find themselves caught between desire and devotion.
The Devil’s Daughters is a sultry, dark-humored Western gothic about blood ties, buried sins, and the women who learn the world won’t hand them power—so they must take it.
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The Devil's Daughters
Standalone
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Morally gray heroines
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Fierce sisterhood
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Touch her and die (Protective Women Version)
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Power, control, and forbidden intimacy
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Small town secrets
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Lawman vs outlaw
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Autoimmune representation
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1880s Western Gothic setting
Tropes
Reviews
Out NOW!
"The way I inhaled every page of this book. Absolutely a million stars.
A western gothic that follows the Riley sisters in 1882 details family dynamics, family feuds, secrets, and a new sheriff in town who has his sights set on one of the Riley sisters.
I laughed at times. Tears slipped at others. The writing is phenomenally done with the best western metaphors.
I fell absolutely in love with these characters and their story. Tate has such a way with words and really brings an incredible story to life." - Chelsea R. (Goodreads)
Ruin isn't where a story ends. It's where the obsession begins.
Sable: I've spent my whole damn life doing things the right way. Good daughter. Good mom. Good at pretending I'm not unraveling. I run my own furniture restoration shop, keep my head down, and never, ever make a scene—even when my ex's final gift to me is a stalker who's gotten way too close to ruining what's left of my restraint. I don't know how to fight someone like her. But I've just met a man who might.
Hex: She walks into my bar like she doesn't belong—perfect posture, perfect mouth, trying too hard not to fall apart. I've seen plenty of beautiful women, but none like Sable. None of them ever looked at me like I was the safest option in the room. She's not built for my world—an ex-fighter who leaves the kind of marks bad people don't come back from—and I still sleep just fine after. But Sable makes me want to clean the blood off my knuckles for good. Too bad the past doesn't like to stay buried... and old enemies don't like when I play house.
A Wing to Break (Ruin's End Vol. One) is a gritty, heat-soaked dark romantic comedy about what happens when a woman who's always followed the rules meets the one man who makes her want to break every one of them.
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Ruin's End Series
Volume 1 of 3 Out Now!
A Wing to Break
Reviews
"If you liked the comedic dark romance in Lights Out and the 30+ divorced single motherhood rep in Chasing Petals, you will most definitely like A Wing to Break by Calla Tate. It contains darker themes, so please check your trigger warnings where appropriate, but the comedy, BFF/sidekick banter, found family, single motherhood, and reverse age gap romance make it stand out as unique in the rapidly growing genre of dark romance. 🖤" - Mrs. K Book Reviews (Goodreads)
"This book had me hooked from the beginning! the characters and plot were great to follow along with and the tension buildup for both steamy scenes and the plot towards the end had me on the edge of my seat, literally.
I have been recommending this book to friends and family to pre-order and couldn't stop thinking about this book weeks after I read it.
Thank you for allowing me to read the ARC, truly one of the best and Calla Tate has a new follower!" - J. W. (Goodreads)