Cassel When I gave up life as a hitman, I thought everything was going to be better. I was going to become a PI, help people, and live normally... and then I met Jeremy, the most perfect man to have ever saved my life (I mean, he might be the only one who has saved my life, but he's still the best at it). From that point on, it was all over for me--I knew we were meant to be. The issue is that he doesn't... quite seem to realize that. But when he's targeted by criminals (literally, someone just shot at his head), he needs to rely on someone, so why not me? He might not know about my past as a hitman or that I don't need to be protected, but I'm prepared to do everything I can to save the day. Jeremy When my past comes back with a vengeance, I've never felt so alone and out of my element. That is, until Cassel offers me information that I desperately need, forcing me to drag him straight into danger. The issue is that he's too sweet and innocent for this world and I'm not sure that I'm strong enough to protect him, but I can't bring myself to push him away. As truths come to light, I realize that maybe Cassel isn't quite who I thought he was, and maybe we're not so different after all. While you can read The Former Assassin's Guide on its own, you'll get maximum enjoyment by reading The Hitman's Guide series first. This book contains speedy car chases and not-so-speedy ATV rides, a wager Cassel is determined to win even if it kills him, and way-too-tight sparkly spandex suits.

What happens when a snarky hitman and a by-the-book PI cross paths? Leland Being a hitman has its perks, but I never thought getting an accidental mooning by an attractive PI while he's caught on a fence would be one of them. While it's not exactly love at first sight, he's captured my interest and won't let go.Suddenly, I find myself caught in a game of cat and mouse, determined to attract the attention of Jackson, the PI who should be my enemy. He pretends like he's not flattered by my flowers and the mentions of my totally-not-fictitious blow-up doll Randy (or was it Dandy?), but I know better. Why else would he be teaming up with me to bring down Hardek, one of the city's most ruthless criminals? JacksonEven though the cops are telling me that the hitman is a notorious contract killer, I can't help but admit that I'm drawn to him. He's funny, charismatic, and attractive. There's no way this ridiculous man can be the person the cops are after.But when Leland ends up at my doorstep injured, I'm faced with a tough choice. It's my duty to hand him over to law enforcement, but my heart has other plans. I want to keep him. To protect him. To be with him. Though one question remains: why in the world does the man have so many d*mn guns?Contains: shenanigans on a swing that you would NOT find at a playground, a car chase that sadly doesn't have flips or explosions, a horsey ride sans horse, cuddles, an exuberant mutt, a suspicious chief of police, and lots and lots of laughs.

Daughter of the Forest is a testimony to an incredible author's talent, a first novel and the beginning of a trilogy like no other: a mixture of history and fantasy, myth and magic, legend and love. Lord Colum of Sevenwaters is blessed with six sons: Liam, a natural leader; Diarmid, with his passion for adventure; twins Cormack and Conor, each with a different calling; rebellious Finbar, grown old before his time by his gift of the Sight; and the young, compassionate Padriac. But it is Sorcha, the seventh child and only daughter, who alone is destined to defend her family and protect her land from the Britons and the clan known as Northwoods. For her father has been bewitched, and her brothers bound by a spell that only Sorcha can lift. To reclaim the lives of her brothers, Sorcha leaves the only safe place she has ever known, and embarks on a journey filled with pain, loss, and terror. When she is kidnapped by enemy forces and taken to a foreign land, it seems that there will be no way for her to break the spell that condemns all that she loves. But magic knows no boundaries, and Sorcha will have to choose between the life she has always known and a love that comes only once. Juliet Marillier is a rare talent, a writer who can imbue her characters and her story with such warmth, such heart, that no reader can come away from her work untouched. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Ricardo Torralba and August Morrison don’t agree on much besides the fact that they hate each other. According to Ricardo, August is a spoiled brat who really needs to knock off the sass once in a while. August insists that Ricardo needs a sense of humor, a good lay, or a well-placed bullet. Maybe all three. Fortunately, the assassin’s profession is a solitary one, and they can go about their lives without getting in each other’s way. Usually. When a contracted hit turns out to be a setup for both of them, they narrowly escape with their lives. Now, even if they don’t like it (spoiler: they don’t), August and Ricardo have to work together if they want a shot at survival. In between firefights and questionable interrogation methods as they hunt down their would-be killer, the cranky assassins discover that under all that mutual loathing is a spark of chemistry they can’t ignore. They want to ignore it, they probably should ignore it, but August can’t help flirting to annoy Ricardo, and Ricardo can think of at least one way to shut him up for a while. But they need to focus, damn it, and figure out who’s gunning for them and why. Assuming they don’t kill each other first. Hitman vs Hitman is a standalone* gay romantic suspense featuring two men who’d rather chew glass than fall for each other, a whole lot of inappropriate comments, and some buttons that will need resewing. * Okay, it was supposed to be a standalone, but August and Ricardo refused to be contained, so now they have a sequel, Sniper vs Spotter. Fans of L.J. Hayward and Alice Winters will love this assassin duo featuring a grumpy special forces veteran and the irreverently sunshine billionaire who drives him up a wall. Come for the enemies to lovers, stay for the feels. And explosions.

Mortal-enemies-turned-furniture-breaking-lovers August Morrison and Ricardo Torralba have found a groove that suits them both. They’ve teamed up as hired guns, they live together, and by some miracle, they haven’t killed each other. It’s the closest to normal they’ll ever have, and they love it. But their guns-and-roses future is thrown into chaos when Ricardo’s past comes crashing into their present. What begins as a favor for an old friend—well, “friend,” but don’t tell August—quickly spirals into something far bigger than they anticipated. Now they’re in way over their heads with powerful people on both sides of the law, and it’s going to take more than snark and explosions to see them through. Nevertheless, there will be plenty of snark and explosions, because this is August and Ricardo, and no one would expect any less. In between the smoke and sarcasm, though, they are determined to bring an evil operation crashing down… no matter who they have to work with to get the job done. And no matter who they have to kill. Sniper vs Spotter is the sequel to the apparently-it-doesn’t-want-to-be-a-standalone Hitman vs Hitman, which absolutely was supposed to be a standalone, but August and Ricardo (predictably) refused to be contained. Our audiobook narrator also shares some of the blame, Michael. So here we are. Fans of L.J. Hayward and Alice Winters will love this assassin duo featuring a grumpy special forces veteran and the irreverently sunshine billionaire who drives him up a wall. Come for the enemies to lovers, stay for the feels. And explosions.

Thomas Mann predicted that no manner or mode in literature would be so typical or so pervasive in the twentieth century as the grotesque. Assuredly he was correct. The subjects and methods of our comic literature (and much of our other literature) are regularly disturbing and often repulsive—no laughing matter. In this ambitious study, John R. Clark seeks to elucidate the major tactics and topics deployed in modern literary dark humor. In Part I he explores the satiric strategies of authors of the grotesque, strategies that undercut conventional usage and form: the de-basement of heroes, the denigration of language and style, the disruption of normative narrative technique, and even the debunking of authors themselves. Part II surveys major recurrent themes of grotesquerie: tedium, scatology, cannibalism, dystopia, and Armageddon or the end of the world. Clearly the literature of the grotesque is obtrusive and ugly, its effect morbid and disquieting—and deliberately meant to be so. Grotesque literature may be unpleasant, but it is patently insightful. Indeed, as Clark shows, all of the strategies and topics employed by this literature stem from age-old and spirited traditions. Critics have complained about this grim satiric literature, asserting that it is dank, cheerless, unsavory, and negative. But such an interpretation is far too simplistic. On the contrary, as Clark demonstrates, such grotesque writing, in its power and its prevalence in the past and present, is in fact conventional, controlled, imaginative, and vigorous—no mean achievements for any body of art.

An assignment that could change everything... When Jordan is assigned a story on Curt Beckett, she's not sure she wants the hassle. She can already see how much she'll be hounded when people find out she's spending time with the gorgeous bad boy Alpha's son turned billionaire. He's just having a good time... Curt isn't looking for anything serious, content to date around, keep things casual and focus on his company. He doesn't expect that the interview he reluctantly agrees to could change his mind. But Jordan catches his eye and his thoughts in a way he couldn't have predicted... ***Billionaire Bad Boy Werewolf Romance, Adult Content ***~27,600 words, Novella length