Showing results by narrator "Amanda Ronconi" in Science Fiction & Fantasy

Nothing sucks the romance out of world travel like a boyfriend who may or may not have broken up with you in a hotel room in Brussels. Jane Jameson's sexy sire Gabriel has always been unpredictable, but the seductive, anonymous notes that await him at each stop of their international vacation, coupled with his evasive behavior over the past few months, finally push Jane onto the next flight home to Half Moon Hollow -- alone, upset, and unsure whether Gabriel just ended their relationship without actually telling her.

On the run from the coven she used to call home, Harley Merlin knows that Katherine’s power and influence are spreading like a poison. And she has no doubt that Katherine will follow through with her promise to torture and kill her friends, one by one. Then Harley discovers that the key to her enemy’s undoing might be hiding in a familiar place - her parents' grimoire. With Finch, Wade, and Garrett by her side, Harley vows to steal Hester and Hiram’s final gift. Liar. Rebel. Jail breaker. Why not add "thief" to the list?

Harley has a game plan to stop the third ritual: infiltrate the Cult of Eris and steal back her mother’s soul. But her only way in is through her devious half-brother Finch - the same guy who was Katherine’s most devoted bootlicker not too long ago. Joining a cult counts as sibling bonding time, right? Left with no choice but to break Finch out of prison, Harley must play the part of a loyal cultist.

Harley Merlin can sense people's emotions, among other things. It's how she snagged her first job pinpointing cheaters at a casino. But she has no clue where she got these freakish powers because she spent her childhood jumping from home to home in the foster system, and her father left her with nothing more than a cryptic note. Then she crosses paths with a terrifyingly real monster. Which is when a mysterious and annoyingly arrogant young warlock named Wade Crowley steps in, introducing her to a hidden world of beasts, magicals, and covens riddled with secrets.

The lost city lies beyond a locked gateway. But the key is not what it seems.... Now a map-maker extraordinaire, Finch must find the place Erebus so desperately seeks - although the “how” and “why” remain unclear. And a certain vengeful Necromancer is bent on beating Erebus to the punch, and he’d be more than happy to make Finch collateral damage. With his friends’ lives on the line, Finch will fall back on his old trickster ways to get his hands on the gateway’s key. In secret, he plans to uncover a loophole, a way to end his servitude for good.

Thanks to a series of unfortunate events - and one backstabbing frenemy - home is exactly where I'm headed. Back to Winterspell Lake, where magic runs rampant and humans are outlawed. Faster than you can say hocus pocus I'm unpacking my bags and settling into the guest room of my parents' house, trying to ignore the creeping sensation that I'll never break free again. The one thing Winterspell has going for it is the sweets shop in the center of town, a bakery filled with magical creations designed to enchant the taste buds and charm even the pickiest of connoisseurs.

Generations of werewolves have been secretly residing in a secluded valley a stone’s throw from Grundy, Alaska. So when a snooping Outsider comes to Grundy to investigate rumours of lycanthropic shenanigans in the area, the valleys pack alpha, Maggie Graham, resolves to chase him away, even if doing so takes a quick bite on the butt. What a pity that researcher Nick Thatcher turns out to be so drool-worthy, and that his kisses make Maggie want to sit up and beg.

 How does one become an all-powerful Child of Chaos? That’s what Harley desperately needs to find out before her unhinged aunt raises the death toll. All she knows for sure is that magical kids are missing, and they somehow fit into Katherine Shipton’s grand scheme. Now that Harley is an official member of the San Diego Coven, she feels more responsible than ever for its protection - and that of the magical world. 

Charlotte McBee knows she’s in for a challenge when she accepts a job as midwife for a dragon and a phoenix shifter. Being a fairy herself, it isn’t the supernatural world that scares her. It’s the thought of delivering a giant metal dragon’s egg, which has her gritting her teeth in pain for poor Jillian, the anxious mother-to-be. While preparing for the big event, a handsome town resident catches her eye. Leonard is kind, charming, and a little bit mysterious. He’s also suffering from a highly unusual condition brought on by an ancient fairy curse.

Christmas in Winterspell means ice skating, hot cocoa by the barrel, and frosted gingerbread houses. I was almost looking forward to it. The merriment screeches to a halt when two elves show up, claiming to have been sent by Santa himself, on a mission to track down an ancient grimoire. A grimoire with the power of Christmas itself woven through the pages. Without it, Christmas isn't happening, and Santa himself is in grave danger. Could Winterspell hold the key to saving Christmas?

Once a devoted children's librarian, Jane Jameson now works at a rundown occult bookstore. Once a regular gal, she's now a vampire. And instead of a bride, she's an eternal bridesmaid -- which leads her to question where exactly her relationship with her irresistibly sexy sire, Gabriel, is headed. Mercurial, enigmatic, apparently commitment-phobic vampires are nothing if not hard to read.

Time is running out. For the final ritual, Katherine will sacrifice 12 magicals with rare abilities. Harley has already lost so much, and she can’t bear to sacrifice anything more. She will protect her friends at all costs - even if that means flying solo against the greatest evil the world has ever known. With her parents’ Grimoire, Harley finally has a weapon capable of overpowering Katherine. If only she could figure out how to reveal the hidden pages within, to perform the spell Chaos itself has written. And the spell may reveal more than she’s bargained for.

Maybe it was the Shenanigans gift certificate that put her over the edge. When children's librarian and self-professed nice girl Jane Jameson is fired by her beastly boss and handed $25 in potato skins instead of a severance check, she goes on a bender that's sure to become Half Moon Hollow legend. On her way home, she's mistaken for a deer, shot, and left for dead.

Magic always comes at a price. Harley is a ticking time bomb, ready to detonate with uncontrollable magic. The only solution? Find the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, make some risky deals, and balance the Light and Darkness within her - before she’s torn apart, atom by atom. If only she didn’t have a million other problems standing in her way.

Harley Merlin has a lot of unanswered questions in her life. What drove her father to kill her mother? How can she know the true extent of her magical abilities? Has Wade Crowley always been this annoying? After the violent gargoyle incident that left many dead, Harley fears what other evil tricks her psychotic aunt has up her sleeve. When she discovers that magical foster kids like herself are in danger, she knows she must do whatever it takes to protect them.

Anna Moder has just witnessed a shooting, seen her car pulverized, and rescued a wounded stranger - only to discover he's really a werewolf. And by her recent standards, things are actually looking up. Lycanthropes don't faze Anna. Doctoring a wolf pack outside Grundy, Alaska, is the closest thing to home life she's known in years. But hitching a ride to Anchorage with long-absent pack member Caleb Graham - that's a risk. Part of her itches to whack his nose with a newspaper. The rest is trying unsuccessfully to keep her own paws off every delicious inch of him.

Without magic, Harley knows the odds of defeating Katherine are stacked against them. Yet a sliver of hope survives in the pages of her parents’ Grimoire. The final, mind-boggling spell entails making a deal with a Child of Chaos. But what must be offered in return? Finch wants to be the one who ends Katherine. Mother Dearest brought him into the world, and he wants to take her out. He will give anything for that chance - even his life.

Five rituals to control Chaos. That’s all it takes. Now that Harley knows her enemy’s grand plan - to become a godlike Child of Chaos and punish those deemed “unworthy” - she’s got to figure out what the heck to do about it. Many of the missing magicals are still out there, and Katherine has vowed to kill everyone Harley cares about and make her watch. So that’s fun. Just when it seems like things can’t get much worse, one of the most precious monsters of the Bestiary escapes, and Harley is sure that Katherine has her dirty hands involved.

With her potions shop officially open for business, Holly sets off to the San Francisco Haven to compete with the most elite potions masters in the entire country. But what should be a fun and potentially life-changing experience quickly sours when Haven Council officials show up and start poking around Holly's workstation. When one of the competitors is found murdered, all eyes swivel to Holly and her apprentice. Holly doesn't know who killed the egotistical wizard, but she knows it wasn't her or Harmony.

No more Mr. Nice Guy...Finch is tired of people jerking him around - and now, it’s time for payback against the powerful forces who have made him a pawn in their games. Returning to the surface world is his endgame, but while that seems nearly impossible, especially when a certain Necromancer and demigod have teamed up to take Finch out of the running, Finch plans to use all the tricks up his sleeve on his enemies. And before he’s force-fed the love potion that will ensure he loves Princess Kaya forever. Good thing Shapeshifters are known for their trickery.