Showing results by narrator "Natalie Duke" in All Categories

I'm one scrappy wizard. As someone with barely a flicker of magic, I've spent my life being mocked and surviving fights with bullies. But when my parents die in an accident, and I find myself responsible for our whole wizard house and family, I know my usual tactics aren't going to cut it. The situation veers from bad to catastrophic when my backstabbing cousin stages a coup and takes my family hostage. I barely manage to flee, but the only supernatural willing to help me is Killian Drake - the most feared vampire in the region.

Personal trainer Jonah Bodine discovers more than he bargained for with the half-siblings he didn’t know he had in small-town West Virginia. Not only is his dead father a person of interest in a cold-case disappearance, but the entire town seems way too invested in Jonah’s happily-ever-after potential. His summer of solitude in a lakeside cottage is ruined when his matchmaking sister saddles him with an unwanted roommate. Adorable, snort-laughing nerd Shelby Thompson came to Bootleg Springs looking for answers and ends up getting adopted by the town’s nosy elders.

Harlow Torrent, part-time journalist and full-time slip witch is pulled into a murder mystery when the skeletons of a man and a girl are uncovered on Truer Island.

Riley Thorn and her hot tattooed private investigator boyfriend are all moved in to their new fixer-upper. Not only do they finally have their own place they also haven’t found any new dead bodies on the premises. Yep. It looks like summer is over, and so is Riley’s bad luck. Or is it? While Nick gives up sleeping and showering to obsess over the cold case that still haunts him, his business partner Mrs. Penny is calling the investigative shots. It’s every bit as bad as you can imagine.

On a serene night in 1953, Sally Mason, a dedicated wife and mother of two, drives a twisting road on her way home from night school. Suddenly, a mysterious bluish-white light descends over the road. Terrified, Sally slams on the brakes. After a flash of bright light nearly blinds her, she passes out, awakening to the persistent knock of a police officer on her car window. When she sees the officer and remembers her frightening experience, she screams and faints, and is rushed to the hospital.

This special boxset contains the complete urban fantasy series, The Magical Beings' Rehabilitation Center: Vampires Drink Tomato Juice, Goblins Wear Suits, and The Lost Files of the MBRC.

Sebastian Stremmel doesn’t need another headache. He has enough of his own without Sara Shapiro, the noisy new reconstructive surgeon, stomping all around his surgical wing with her chippy, chirpy cheerfulness. But Sebastian doesn’t usually get what he wants. No one gets under his skin like Sara - so much so a heated “debate” and an exam room left in shambles later, they land themselves in eight weeks of hospital-mandated conflict resolution counseling. Now they’re forced to fight fair…which quickly leads them to playing dirty when no one’s looking.

Grace came to Longtooth, Alaska, looking for a safe place to hide. All she wanted was to keep her head down, do her job, and enjoy the peace and quiet. But there's no peace to be found once she meets Longtooth's cantankerous bush pilot. Caleb Kinoyit is surly and rude and mean. He's also, unfortunately, the most attractive man Grace has ever met. And as the long, Alaskan winter nights stretch on, she finds herself warming to his rough charm just as much as she's falling for the beauty of her new home.

Summer is heating up for reluctant psychic Riley Thorn and her handsome private investigator boyfriend, Nick Santiago. First, her disapproving grandmother arrives determined to make Riley take her powers seriously or face the wrath of “the Guild”. Then there’s the homicide detective, who needs her help figuring out who murdered the well-dressed corpse in the walk-in closet.

Heavily pregnant with her second child, Tessa Irons has enough on her mind without her toddler throwing tantrums at the local coffee shop. The boy is inconsolable, shouting “Gigi!” to a woman Tessa’s never seen before—and never will again. The next morning, the woman’s body is dredged up from the canal outside the Ironses’ posh Venice Beach home, and Tessa’s gut tells her it’s no coincidence.

I thought life would be easier after I unsealed my magic. Spoiler: it's not. I want to free my family from my traitorous cousin, but with all the allies he's got guarding his back, even my new powers won't be enough to beat him. My best bet is to use my parent's signet ring to prove my claim of leadership. It's clear that war will break out soon if something doesn't change. So, I'm a wizard searching for a ring, while trying to survive living with a bunch of vampires and their deadly, suddenly touchy-feely leader. Yeah, life is definitely not easier.

He didn't kiss me back like a gentleman. No, Derek Price slammed my back into the front door. A beast off his leash. Emily Stanton's perfect life just became a disaster. She has a trust fund brother looking for a handout, a father who is more board member than dad, and a mother who thinks she should give up on this whole billionaire CEO thing and meet a man with a pre-nup and a yacht. Oh, and then there's that "misunderstanding" with law enforcement witnessed by Miami's paparazzi.

What makes a romance novel a romance? Writing a well-structured romance isn't the same as writing any other genre - something the popular novel and screenwriting guides don't address. The romance arc is made up of its own story beats. Told in conversational (and often irreverent) prose, Romancing the Beat is like sitting down to coffee with romance editor and author Gwen Hayes while she explains story structure - the way she does with her clients, some of whom are regular inhabitants of the best-seller lists.

Ever had ex-housemates you can't get rid of? When Killian and the rest of the Drake vampires kicked me out of their mansion without any explanation, I felt beyond betrayed. I was livid! But I refused to waste my energy thinking about them. Thanks to all the free training I got while living with vampires, I had the skills I needed to finally free my family. I even got my house back! Best yet, I can pass on the magic techniques and fighting skills I've learned to all the wizards in our group.

Nora hasn’t looked back. Not since she left home and her broken heart far behind her. But now tragedy calls her back, where she must finally come face-to-face with ex-boyfriend Charlie and best friend Sophie. Sophie seems to have everything. Married to Charlie, with a wonderful daughter and a successful career. Yet underneath that perfection lies an explosive secret. A secret that ripped through their town and destroyed her friendship with Nora. So when Sophie finds out that Nora has returned, she hopes Nora’s stay is short. The life she has built depends on it.

Drew Clark, ex-Marine and martial arts master, is the new instructor at the Golden Tiger dojang. Intense and aloof, she hides dark secrets and unhealed wounds beneath her warrior's exterior. Sean Gray is the young psychologist and senior student who threatens to bring down the barriers Drew has erected around her heart. Battle hardened and world weary, Drew discovers that Sean wields a weapon she has no defense against - tenderness.

Luna da Rosa is America's vegan best friend. When she's not changing the cosmetics industry, she's dazzling her online fans with kombucha recipes - until Wild Heart is caught in a scandal, destroying her reputation as a cheerful do-gooder. Beck Mason is the prodigal son of Miami's most notorious biker gang. But Beck left his criminal family to start Lucky Dog, rescuing dogs who need the most help...except the surly ex-outlaw never realized leading a struggling nonprofit with a ragtag crew would be so damn hard.

Adrienne Pierce, buffeted by fate and abandoned by love, seeks refuge from her past as well as her uncertain future on Whitley Point, a secluded island off the coast of Maine. Tanner Whitley - young, wild, restless - and heir to a dynasty, desperately tries to escape both her destiny and the memories of a tragic loss with casual sex and wild nights, a dangerous course that may ultimately destroy her. One timeless summer, these two very different women discover the power of passion to heal - and the promise of hope.

When she invites her three best friends to join her and Jo in their mountain hideaway, all she expects is good food, fine wine, and lively conversation. Unfortunately for Amy, there are three things that she doesn't count on: her best friend's relationship is falling apart; her two other friends share a secret that causes nothing but conflict and discomfort; and the arrival of Jo's fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants niece Darby, who has a habit of leaving broken hearts in her wake.

Humanity survived. Barely, and thanks to networks of gigantic tower systems created to surround small villages with a protective barrier of lethal energy. It kept everything out...and everyone in. Sixteen years have passed, and a girl born the night the world fell apart learns that she has a strange talent. The towers can speak, and she is the only one who can hear them.