Showing results by narrator "Jill Smith" in All Categories

Flora Hyde-Clare’s visit to her beau’s ancestral home was always going to be a disaster. Her mother’s nervous habit of rambling nonsensically, her father’s thinly veiled contempt, her own desperate desire to make a good impression on Sebastian Holcroft’s parents, and his seemingly endless parade of siblings all guaranteed that their stay in the country would be intolerably awkward at best. Yet for all her dire misgivings, Flora never imagined one of the household servants would wind up slain in his own bed. But that is precisely what happens to the handsome young land steward.

I foolishly believed this day would never come, that life in charming Chipping Cheddar would always be pleasant and somewhat predictable—but all good things must come to an end. And it seems the dormant portal is no exception.

I’ve had enough. I’ve been at odds with my family for as long as I can remember. And I’ve been at odds with myself. Light and dark. White and black. Good and evil. To hell with the scales of justice, my mother and Grandma deserved what they got for the recent wrong done to my beloved Chief Fox. If that means finally embracing the fury within, then so be it. Except then I'm no better than they are. Meanwhile, there’s a new supernatural threat in town, but I’m too preoccupied to put on my badge and get to work.

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.

Well, maybe not all supernaturals. I tend to avoid using my fury traits, but when I reluctantly use my power of invisibility and then can't undo it, I don't know whether the gods are punishing me—or someone else is. At first my condition isn't so bad. I can play well-deserved pranks on my family and aid Chief Fox as a silent observer in town. As time passes, however, it becomes clear that the longer I'm sight unseen, the more clear and present danger I'm in.

What was supposed to be a day of morel hunting turns into work for Stormy Morgan and her fiancé, Hunter Ryan, when they accidentally stumble across a body. The victim was a few years behind them in school and almost never left her home.

When a woman is murdered behind the library, Chief Fox realizes the victim was more than she seemed and enlists the aid of Chipping Cheddar’s resident Federal Bureau of Magic agent, Eden Fury. The woman’s death also triggers the arrival of Alcina, a powerful supernatural hellbent on uncovering the killer’s identity and bringing them to justice. Alcina views Eden as her polar opposite on the supernatural scale of good and evil and doesn’t trust her to conduct a proper investigation, no matter what her badge says.

In the picturesque setting of Five Island Cove, the bonds of friendship are as enduring as the tides. This summer, the cove is abuzz with wedding bells as Mandie and Charlie, Ginny and Bob, and Julia and Liam prepare to say their vows! As the joyous beach wedding season unfolds, unexpected challenges arise, testing the strength of their relationships and the resilience of their friendships. And Robin really has her work cut out for her in planning and pulling off three very different weddings in such a short time frame–especially when they’re each so meaningful to her. But she’s not alone.

Ten years ago, teenagers Shauna and Eli Eaton disappeared. They were never found. That’s about to change. On her way home from Hemlock Cove, Stormy Morgan finds two teenagers in the middle of the road. They can’t possibly be the same teenagers, though. Can they? Turns out they are, but they haven’t aged a day.

Federal Bureau of Magic Agent Eden Fury spends her days catching demons and returning them to Otherworld where they belong. Grandma spends her days catching Little Critters on her favorite game and never the twain shall meet. Until they do. When a spell goes awry and allows Little Critters to escape the game, Eden and her family are forced to team up and find them. The creatures might look adorable in the app, but Eden quickly learns they’re far more terrifying and dangerous in real life. Will Eden catch ‘em all or will it be game over for the residents of Chipping Cheddar?

Stormy Morgan should be on top of the world. She’s engaged, about to move into her dreamhouse, and her magic is stabilizing. In fact, she’s becoming one heckuva witch. Too bad trouble keeps finding her. This time, it comes in the form of a gang of kids who appear to be stealing cars from various townsfolk. It’s become a big enough issue that everybody in town is becoming unnerved, paranoid even. Their solution is to form a Neighborhood Watch, which should be okay in theory. Unfortunately, the reality is anything but.

Stormy Morgan wanted to be a famous author. Her dreams didn’t turn out as she planned. Now she’s home, and despite being forced to work in the family business, things are better than ever. Not only has she reconnected with Hunter Ryan, the “one who got away,” but she’s also discovered she’s a witch and has magic to wield. Unfortunately for her, it’s one of those jobs she has to learn on the fly. Thankfully she’s got a little help.

Quitting my job right before Christmas wasn’t what I wanted, but what I wanted (my hot, older boss) wasn’t an option, either. Or so I thought, until he follows me to my family Christmas and doesn’t blink an eye when I panic and introduce him as my imaginary boyfriend. But “girlfriend” isn’t exactly what he wants to call me...

Why, yes, the former Beatrice Hyde-Clare is distracted. Having settled comfortably into marriage to the duke of Kesgrave, she is nevertheless surprised to find herself in an interesting condition. And it has to be that—the unsettling prospect of motherhood—that causes her to overlook the obvious clue that Roger Dugmore had indeed been killed in his sleep.

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.

Agent Eden Fury is currently building a bridge over troubled waters and she's not sure if she has the tools to finish the job. The truth about her personal life is out and Eden wants nothing more than to put the genie back in the bottle. Unfortunately that won’t happen without the type of magic she refuses to touch. With a mayoral election in full swing and a dead body in her family’s yard, Eden is struggling to keep her nose clean and her head above those troubled waters

Despite suffering a few initial setbacks, the former Beatrice Hyde-Clare has settled into her new position nicely. Thanks to Lady Abercrombie’s machinations, she has secured the admiration of society and finally earned the respect of her staff. Even the lessons in defending herself, which her husband, the Duke of Kesgrave, insists she take if she wants to continue in her dangerous avocation, are going well. But then she learns from a most unlikely source that Kesgrave’s malevolent uncle is scheming to destroy her happiness.

Beatrice, Duchess of Kesgrave, emerges from a wretched night’s sleep to discover him embracing the most beautiful woman she has ever seen. His former mistress! It is shocking, yes, but not so very alarming, for Penelope Taylor is actually there to see Bea. Her dearest friend has been brutally slain, and as Millicent Lloyd happened to be sleeping in the courtesan’s bed at the time, Mrs. Taylor is the only suspect. The magistrate is impatient to cart her off to Newgate and refuses to acknowledge the truth that is glaringly obvious to her: She was the intended victim.

To be clear: Beatrice, Duchess of Kesgrave, does not think every dead person in London is the victim of a sinister plot. The city is large, after all, and some of its inhabitants had to have died from innocent causes. Like Peter Huzza, who was killed in a horrifying steam engine accident. It is shocking, yes, the way his body was torn apart by the explosion of his very own machine, but not entirely surprising. High-pressure steam is notoriously dangerous to harness. There is no reason to suspect foul play. Nope, none at all.

It’s autumn in Whiskey Springs, Vermont, and more than the leaves have changed color. Life has never been better for Fallon Foster. Her relationship with the town’s newest citizen, Riley Main, is progressing as Fallon had hoped. Fallon finally believes she may get the family she’s dreamed of. Her business is thriving, and her friendship with her former lover, Andi Maguire, is back on track. Meanwhile, Andi has been spending time with a local nurse named Billie Steele. The pair have become nearly inseparable, sharing dinners, cocktails, laughs, and long walks.