Showing results by narrator "Joel Leslie" in All Categories

Magnus Carlsen is determined to grow old disgracefully. At 52, he doesn’t believe in keeping anything. Men, sofas, books—everything gets jettisoned, eventually. He’s divided his life into happy compartments. A successful trial lawyer, he spends his days lecturing jurors, exasperating judges, and striding arrogantly around courtrooms. He fills his nights with a parade of handsome young men who want to make him happy. Why date someone his own age to discuss back pain, retirement planning, and corns when he can date men who don’t care to discuss anything at all? 

Tristan Everett has always preferred the company of the dead because they usually don't talk back. Being a somewhat awkward introvert working as a pathologist at the Hackney Public Mortuary suits him just fine. That is, until a freak accident with a rogue ice cube and suddenly he can see ghosts. No longer content to just lie on the table and let him figure out how they died, they're now peering over his shoulder critiquing his work and confessing their most lascivious sins before skipping off merrily into the afterlife.

Marian Hayes, the Duchess of Clare, just shot her husband. Of course, the evil, murderous man deserved what was coming to him, but now she must flee to the countryside. Unfortunately, the only person she can ask for help is the charismatic criminal who is blackmailing her—and who she may have left tied up a few hours before....

Sir Gawain, First Knight of the Realm, is tasked by his older sister the Queen to travel to the edges of their kingdom, where a beast is flaming villagers and has the locals ready to form a mob and hunt it down themselves. His mission is to find the dragon, stop the violence, and do what he needs to maintain the peace. His journey puts him in the heart of a confrontation with the dragon, but instead of saving the villagers, it is the dragon that needs rescuing. Zephyr, a fire dragon and an escaped slave, needs protection, time to heal, and a chance at a life full of hope.

Librarian Sebastian Rath and his lover Vesper Rune are tasked with seeking and containing the evil Books of the Bound. But one of the books has been freed from its prison — and is in the hands of a killer. As more bodies turn up, Sebastian finds himself tempted to use forbidden magic to locate the book and stop the murderer. And when an unexpected connection to the necromancers who created the books is revealed, Sebastian must choose just how far he’ll go to right the wrongs of the past — even if it means endangering his own future.

Twelve months after his change, Alec MacAidan is still getting used to his many vampire talents. While most vampires would give anything to have more than one supernatural power, Alec craves nothing more than peace and time alone with Cronin. But when Alec meets entities from outside this realm, he's left powerless in their presence. Zoan are half-lycan, half-dragon creatures that have slipped through time and reality, seemingly undetected by man and vampire. Or have they?

When Theodore Davenport decides to switch his mundane job for a career, he walks into Holden House Publishing with enthusiasm and determination to succeed. As he settles into his new role, makes new friends, and dreams of making it to the top, everything is going to plan. Until he meets James Holden, CEO of Holden House.

The Kingdom of Askara has been torn apart by conflict for centuries, where humans exist as subservient beings to their werewolf masters. Legend says it will only be able to heal itself when an Alpha King and a pure omega are mated and crowned together, but a pure omega hasn't been born in over a thousand years. Luca is an Alpha-heir eagerly awaiting the choosing ceremony on his 25th birthday and the gifts granted by whichever omega he mates.

With the battle of Egypt behind them, Alec and Cronin are enjoying the thrill of new love. Though fate doesn't wait long before throwing them back into the world of weird. They know Alec's blood is special, though its true purpose still eludes them. And given Alec's inability to be changed into a vampire, Cronin is free to drink from him at will. But the ramifications of drinking such powerful blood starts a ripple effect. With the help of Jorge, a disturbing vampire-child with the gift of foresight, Alec and Cronin face a new kind of war.

For decades, Brendan Lau has swept the Hollywood scene as an openly gay actor starring in romantic films—but now, at fifty-one, he's losing out on roles to younger actors. And when he's passed over as the hero in a period film and instead cast as the father, it's less his reputation and more his pride that can't take the insult. But when he confronts the younger actor who stole his part, he walks in on Cillian Tell struggling to fend off the director's unwanted advances. 

They were trapped by evil, horrible Jaeggi mages for 10 long years until they were rescued by the brave dragon named Gunter. The grumpy red knight swept in, carrying them off to a fair castle, where they lived happily ever after. That’s how the story’s supposed to go, anyway. Nikki would really like to have that fairytale ending, please and thank you.

Homeless and jobless, Fenn Todd has nearly run out of hope. All he has left are his longing for horses and the strength of his own two hands. But when he's cheated into accepting a very ugly sackcloth horse, he's catapulted into a world of magic, politics, and desire. Fenn's invited to stay at the black tower, home of the most terrifying man in the realm: Morgrim, the court sorcerer. Morgrim has a reputation as a scheming villain, but he seems surprisingly charming—and sexy—and Fenn falls hard. However, nothing is as it seems, and everyone at the tower is lying about something.

Navy Chief Calder Euler loves to win big. His latest score? A remote mountain cabin. Checking it out is supposed to be a quick trip, but Calder’s luck abruptly turns when a freak injury and a freakier snowstorm leave him stranded. Oh, and the cabin isn't empty. A silver fox caring for two young girls claims that the property is his, but Calder's paperwork says otherwise. Felix Sigurd is on a losing streak, and his ex-husband risking the cabin in a reckless bet is only the latest in a series of misfortunes. He'll tolerate the handsome stranger for a couple nights—but that's it.

NYPD Detective Alec MacAidan has always been good with weird. After all, his life has been a string of the unexplainable. But when an injured man gives him cryptic clues, then turns to dust in front of him, Alec's view on weird is changed forever. Cronin, a vampire Elder, has spent the last 1,000 years waiting for Alec. He'd been told his fated one would be a man wielding a shield, but he didn't expect him to be human, and he certainly didn't expect that shield to be a police badge.

Kit Webb has left his stand-and-deliver days behind him. But dreary days at his coffee shop have begun to make him pine for the heady rush of thievery. When a handsome yet arrogant aristocrat storms into his shop, Kit quickly realizes he may be unable to deny whatever this highborn man desires. In order to save himself and a beloved friend, Percy, Lord Holland must go against every gentlemanly behavior he holds dear to gain what he needs most: a book that once belonged to his mother, a book his father never lets out of his sight and could be Percy’s savior. 

When James learns that an uncle he hasn’t heard from in ages has left him something in his will, he figures that the least he can do is head down to Cornwall for a weekend to honor the old man’s parting wishes. He finds the family home filled with half-remembered guests and unwanted memories, but more troubling is that his uncle has tasked his heirs with uncovering the truth behind a woman’s disappearance 20 years earlier. Leo’s of the opinion that rich people aren’t to be trusted where wills are concerned. So he does what any sensible spy would do and infiltrates the party.

When an elderly couple is found dead in their own home, Chevy and Seneca are pulled into the case. But what's unusual is that it appears neither of them were killed; instead, they simply stopped existing. Even with Chevy's ability to go into the memories of the victims, he's unable to tell what happened to the seemingly normal couple. That is, until it happens again. This time, the victims are found alive, all of them kneeling and staring at a blank wall as if hypnotized by it. It's up to Chevy and Seneca to figure out what is drawing these people and who might be manipulating them.

The product of a disorganized and chaotic childhood, Zeb likes order and control, and as the boss of his own employment agency he can give that to himself. Life runs along strict lines and he never mixes business with pleasure. Everything in his life lives in neat, alphabetized boxes. Until Jesse. 

Needing a change of scene, Griffin Burke moves from Brisbane to Coolum Beach to start a new job. The beautiful white sand, aqua-colored ocean, blue skies, and summer breezes are everything he longs for. What he finds is a mud-covered dog, lost and hungry, with a name tag and a phone number. Dane Hughes is stuck in Surfers Paradise at a week-long work conference when he gets a phone call from his distraught mother. His dog, his fur baby, Wicket, has run away. Unable to leave and feeling helpless and miserable, he gets a text from a guy. "I think I found your dog."

Arlo Wright’s introduction to his sexuality came when he saw his older brother’s best friend, Jack Cooper, in his sweaty football kit. Unfortunately, he didn’t have long to enjoy the revelation because he promptly knocked himself out on a table. Relations between them have never really moved on from that auspicious beginning. Arlo is still clumsy, and Jack is still as handsome and unobtainable as ever. However, things look like they’re starting to change when Arlo finds himself sharing a room with Jack while on holiday in Amsterdam at Christmas.