Showing results by narrator "Jill Smith" in All Categories

As eager as Beatrice, Duchess of Kesgrave, is to meet her husband’s newly discovered illegitimate half sister, she does not want it to happen like this: in the keeper's house at Newgate. Yes, that Newgate, the abject prison filled with squalor and misery to which Verity Lark has been consigned for murder. Found standing over the slain corpse of an old tormentor with a still-warm pistol in her hand, she is obviously guilty. It is an open-and-shut case with little for an unduly curious duchess to investigate. Except it all seems a little too simple and straightforward.

Welcome back to the warm embrace of Five Island Cove, where old bonds are tested, new alliances are formed, and a historic treasure threatens to unravel the peace these friends have fought so hard to establish. After an eventful summer that shook up the relationships of the women in Five Island Cove, Madeline Lancaster is starting to feel a sense of normalcy in the midst of the chaos. Her son is married, and she’s finally settled as the manager of the newest, more popular, and completely upscale restaurant on Diamond Island—The Glass Dolphin. Oh, and she gets engaged.

For the last year, Stella Caldway watched her dearest friend, AJ Moore-Murphy, disappear into the fog more than once, traveling to the past with no certainty of returning. Though AJ came back, each time stronger than the last, Stella had no illusions on her own chance of survival had it been her that greeted the mist. Nope. She’s just fine living with her modern-day conveniences, and most importantly—a coffeehouse on every corner. Until one fateful day, when Stella should have followed her own advice and stayed in bed, the past returned.

Eight years ago she burned me. Now, my ex is the key to my revenge against her family. The rest of the world calls her the Princess of Wall Street, but I call her shallow. Traitorous. A she-devil in Prada. Those are the nicest words I’ll use for my ex, Cora Margulis, since I’ve made it my mission to keep her name off my lips. Though I can barely keep her memory out of my head. My brothers and I have climbed the rungs of success, starting from the basement. Now that we’re at the top, I don’t lack much. But my newest charity needs a particular type of building.

Stormy “Breeze” Morgan was living the high life until her dreams came crashing down around her and she lost her book contract. With nothing left to do—and no money in her bank account—she’s forced to return to the family business, a diner in Northern Lower Michigan. Stormy never thought she would have to work with her family again, and it’s just as horrific as she expected. Things only get worse when, after a night of drinking with her cousin, a family Ouija board leads to a burst of magic and Stormy wakes floating over her bed the next morning.

The only witch in the world? It might feel like it to Stormy Morgan, but she knows better. Twenty minutes away, in a town called Hemlock Cove, witches have taken over. Sure, the bulk of the town is made up of frauds looking to shore up their tourism industry, but there are real witches, too. There’s a family with the last name of Winchester, and they’re notorious. Stormy wants to meet them, but she has a myriad of problems darkening her doorstep.

Bedeviled by Colson Hardwicke’s treatment—summarily dumping her via tersely worded message!—Verity Lark is lying awake in her bed seething over his behavior when she hears a floorboard creak. Immediately alert to the presence of a late-night intruder, she deftly thwarts the attack. Taking her would-be kidnapper captive is easy. Figuring out what he wants with her—well, that part is tricky and she wonders if it could have something to do with one of her many alter egos.

Ilsa Lynn has made it her life's goal to avoid the curse that binds her family to serve the Summer Court of Faerie. With her magically talented twin sister given the role of Gatekeeper, Ilsa is content to hide under the radar amongst the regular humans. At least until a mysterious spell book falls into her possession, granting Ilsa with a sudden and inconvenient affinity with the dead, and dangerous magic that paints a neon target on her head.

These five best friends made a summer sand pact as teens and have only kept it once or twice - until they reunite decades later and renew their agreement to meet in Five Island Cove every summer. Get ready for more secrets to come to light in Five Island Cove, and for these five women to show each other what it means to love and support someone through thick and thin.

AJ Moore's life crumbled with the unexpected death of her beloved father and mentor. Her reporting career stalled, her love-life non-existent, and a family filled with more conflict than love, she relies on her best friend to survive cheerless days in the small town of Bayside, Oregon. When a 200-year-old ship materializes through the fog, inspiration strikes. AJ sets out to unravel its mystery, but her investigation is hampered by the ship's single passenger - the enigmatic sea captain.

Armon Ellington is 19 year old kid that always felt out of place. He's an orphan, a gamer, and a role playing game geek. When he dies after a 72 hour gaming marathon, instead of going to an afterlife he's transported to a new world governed by rules that are eerily similar to the RPG games he loves. On this new world, Terra, he can be anything he wants, a warrior, mage, or even a crafter. Only, Armon wants more than that, he also wants friends and family.

Swept away from Louisiana bayou country as a child, Miranda Miller is a woman without a past. She has a husband and child of her own and a fulfilling job in a Manhattan museum, but she also has questions - about the tragedy that cut her off from family and caused her to be sent away and about those first five years of her life, which were erased from her memory entirely. Summoned to the bedside of Willy Pedreaux, the old caretaker of her grandparents' antebellum estate, Miranda goes back to Louisiana at last, hoping to learn the truths of her past and receive her rightful inheritance.

Since the new Duchess of Kesgrave cannot be swayed from her unfortunate interest in dead bodies, Lady Abercrombie decides to confront the matter head-on by hosting a murder mystery dinner party. Gathering together several of society’s most influential members, she concocts an amusing puzzle-play, assigns roles, and stands back to allow Bea to impress them all with her ingenuity.

Macie Colon spent the last 29 years building a thriving business and raising her daughter, Emma. She made herself one promise. When Emma flew from the nest, Macie would take the adventures she put on hold. It would be her chance to make time for whatever piqued her curiosity. She might take up sailing, travel the world, or get her pilot’s license. Macie never considered falling in love with a woman three years older than her daughter.

Stormy Morgan left her hometown of Shadow Hills, Michigan, with one goal: To write the great American novel and strike it rich. Now, without a book contract, she’s back at her family restaurant in a one-stoplight town...and she’s convinced things couldn’t possibly get worse. That feeling only lasts until her first shift, when on a trip to the storage building behind the restaurant, she literally trips over a body. Stormy is a woman - or maybe a witch - lost in a sea of magic and despair...but murder might just lead her out of it.

As much as Beatrice Hyde-Clare relished the challenge of figuring out who murdered a fellow guest during a house party in the Lake District, she certainly does not consider herself an amateur investigator. So when a London dandy falls dead at her feet in the entryway of a London Daily Gazette, she feels no compulsion to investigate. It was a newspaper office, after all, and reporters are already on the case as are the authorities.

Once a sought-after assassin, a single error in judgment landed me in servitude to House August, the most powerful vampire family in North America. Now I use my special brand of magic as a member of their security team, fighting monsters in the city and keeping the royal family’s many enemies at bay.

Do you love dragons? How about LitRPG books? Do you like isekai? How about an OP MC who uses a combination of book smarts and life experience to solve problems? How about powerful allies and supporting characters who build each other up instead of acting like frenemies? How about random nerd humor and cultural references? If so then join me on a journey into a new series, one that is part of an Omniverse that will begin to unfold. Join James on his journey as he decides to go looking for his friend who vanished for an unknown reason during one of their guild's raid nights.

There’s a prominent threat on the block...and he might just be sharing Stormy Morgan’s roof. She’s a new witch, but she has a big problem...and it talks. Her new roommate Krankle may look cute, but he’s a huge pain in her posterior. He’s also hiding something. Before she can focus on that, however, the unthinkable happens.

Everyone believes Beckworth, the Viscount of Waverly, to be a man with no regrets, because he’s hidden the pain of who he’d become when trying to win his father’s favor. Stella Caldway sees the real man behind the mask—a loyal man who would drop anything to help a friend in need. His only fault lay in seeking acceptance from a man who didn’t possess the ability to give it.