AustLit

'One gourmet party. Six potential couples. The taste of love?

'Nico De Luca has been doing his best to keep his family together and off the street since he was sixteen. Everyone thinks he's doing such a good thing, but they never care about the cost to him. With his stepfather fresh out of jail ... again ... trouble is brewing.

'Coming home after travelling is always bittersweet for Jade Russell. She loves seeing her sister and friends, but her parents have made it very clear she's not welcome. Christmas is full of fake happiness and spending money on junk people don't want. She sees it in the parents' eyes in her job as an elf taking photos with Santa.

'When Nico meets Jade in her elf uniform, he is enchanted. When they meet again at a Rainbow Cove Christmas lunch, he realises Jade is out of his league. She knows what she's doing with her life. She has a life. Following Jade makes stepping off the path easy and, before he knows it, freedom is within Nico's grasp. But if he leaves, he can never come back ...'

Source: publisher's blurb

'TV biologist, Jasmine Heydon, escaped Bitterwood once. She was 16 and run out of town by the cops for the crime of being born on the wrong side of the tracks. Ten years later, she's changed a lot but Bitterwood hasn't. The town's only claim to fame is the legend of the River Man, a murderous creature who first killed a century ago. Back in town to film a show about the River Man, Jasmine plans to put the mystery to rest once and for all.

'Bitterwood's favourite son, Gil Easton, has never forgotten Jasmine, and he's never forgiven his father, the chief of police, for running her off. But now Jasmine is back, stirring things up. This time, Gil is determined to stand by her even when the locals want her silenced.

'As Gil works to unearth the truth, Jasmine tries to understand her own childhood sighting of the monster. As the threats escalate, the search for the truth grows dangerous ... because the River Man is killing again.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Left for dead on a forgotten planet by his enemies, he’ll do anything to escape, including team up with the scientist who held a knife to his throat.

'Mercenary Emry Dan made one mistake on a job and was captured by the powerful arms dealer Riel. While Emry suspected Riel had a place to test his weapons, he never expected to be one of the subjects. From the moment he wakes, he starts planning his getaway.

'Scientist Marita Aleric worked for Riel until she started questioning how her research was being used. For ten days she’s survived on the weapons testing planet, fighting, scrabbling for supplies and weapons, and avoiding the infected. Any people who eat the plants become cannibalistic zombies.

'When she finds Emry she wants to believe they can escape, especially when their reluctant partnership blossoms into romance. But can anything survive on a dead planet?

'Note to readers: this is a gritty survival romance. There’s action, fighting, zombies and desperate sexy times.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Is it a rescue or a princess-napping?

'Nyssa Leofric can’t marry the new head of Riel Industries. Aside from the fact they trade in illegal weapons, he only wants her for her wealth and family name. But since her parents are strangely insistent, her only option is to escape while she figures out what is really going on between her father and Riel.

'So she hires the mercenaries known as the Dead Suns to kidnap her from her own wedding.

'Jessie Tabris believes in two things: getting the money up front and that people lie. He takes the job because he has no love for the Leofrics or the Riels. But when Nyssa’s ransom is paid and he has to return her, he finds himself in a bind, and not just because she arranged her own kidnapping.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Cosima and her brother, Anthony, have been trading magical objects and making a killing. Right up until their latest treasure kills Anthony. With a curse now on her tail she goes to the one person she knows can help.

'Sawyer Jones, is a thief and property acquirer for a price. He can strip the magic from objects and use it himself for a time. He never expected to see Cosima Delaney again. Last time they spoke she broke his nose and stole the sword he’d been casing.

'There isn’t enough money in the world to convince Sawyer to take this case…but making Cosima pay for denting his pride and taking his hard-won prize, now that is almost worth the trouble this will bring.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'A love potion gone wrong leads to a goddess hijacking Alexis’s body. Now Alexis will do anything to catch her boss’s eye. It’s unfortunate that he starts to notice her for all the wrong reasons. Such as the army of cats following her around.

'Peyton Kilpatrick has always kept his relationship with Alexis professional despite the simmering interest. But something has changed, she crackles with magic and she wants more from him than he’s able to give. As a witch and a lawyer his life is complicated enough, throw in a hell hound bite that causes all kinds of side effects around the full moon and he really isn’t boyfriend material.

'When Alexis finally gets Peyton in bed, things get hairy. Peyton reveals what he is and convinces her to give up her new-found power. If she doesn’t get rid of the goddess inhabiting her body, she’ll die.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'People coming to the Uncommon Raven Agency for protection, are at the end of the line.

'Noah Kelly takes the cases no other bodyguard will, the ones where demons are hunting the victim. Trouble is, he’s never managed to stop a demon from killing. Not even to save the girlfriend whose murder he was acquitted of four years ago. Since then he’s been determinedly single as he tries to find a way to stop demons and ease his guilt.

'Rachel Jarrett knew she was in trouble when the divorce lawyer she’d been dealing with is found dead—his limbs torn off. She runs, desperate to flee her husband, and finds herself at the Uncommon Raven Agency in the hands of a man with his own secrets. When she tells Noah what she’s seen he doesn’t laugh. He talks about possession.

'For Noah, falling into bed with a client was always going to be bad news, but when her ex is a demon it could be fatal.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Halle Ish, one of Velli’s elite police Arrows, is shot down during a Precinct One riot. Wounded and unable to fly, she tries to hide and avoid capture, knowing that if she is found by the razor gangs or Clipper Sect they will sever her wings. She needs to get out of Precinct One.

'Avin Lent was once a promising medical student, but he started sniffing Mumble to beat the stress and is now the doctor to one of the biggest gangs in Precinct One—while not part of the Clipper Sect, they are just as dangerous. He knows he is only as useful as his next surgery and they would have no qualms about killing him. Only Jarro is keeping him safe.

'Oskar Quigley knows exactly when and how he’ll die. Living with a death curse isn’t easy, but after generations of research handed down to him he thinks he knows how to defeat the Thomas, his great uncle and a witch gone bad who caused the problem. There’s just one thing he never accounted for: another victim. Mylla has been Thomas’s servant for as long as she can remember, but her memories can’t be trusted. The marks on her wall add up to decades, and her diary is a muddled collection of rambling. When Oskar arrives to tend the gardens she needs to warn him that bad things happen, difficult when she can only talk on Thomas’ command. But she doesn’t need to talk to steal a few moments for herself in Oskar’s bed as she tries to convince him that magic is real. With time running out and Thomas’s suspicions growing, Oskar is forced to act. But if living with a death curse is hard, learning to live is even harder.' (Publication summary)

'“Remember to be wild,” Orabella’s mother would say.

'Stalkers and death threats . . .

'For Finlay Ryder, danger means playing a racecar driver on a daytime soap. That is, until he’s forced to reckon with his true identity as an Albah, a magical ancient race, by one of his own kind. Someone wants him dead. And worse, an ancient vampire is on the prowl, drawing blood left and right. Now, Finlay has no choice but to hunt enemies with unspeakable powers—or risk being hunted himself . . .

'. . . and that’s just the first date

'Ice skater Alina Nyx is using her broken wrist as an excuse for a career change. And when she falls for handsome Finlay, Albah drama feels like her new full-time job. Learning about magic and vampires is exciting, until her life is threatened. Now, as she begins to uncover her own mysterious powers, she must combine forces with Finlay to eradicate their foes for good, or all Albah will suffer ...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A submarine, a one-night-stand, and a forbidden workplace romance...

'Kurt Garland is at a crossroads: sign for another two years as a submariner or leave and rejoin civilian life. With only weeks to make up his mind, he’s torn between the financial stability and mateship of life in the Navy, and the freedom and balance outside of the military. With big life decisions on the line, Kurt needs space to think, so a one-night-stand with a sexy stranger is all he can commit to. Until his sexy stranger shows up on his submarine...

'Getting accepted into the Submarine Corps was an enormous career goal for Rainy Miller, and she has no intention of screwing it up. A Marine Technician for the last eight years in the surface fleet, Rainy craves the new challenges of a submariner. With her training complete, she’s about to join a boat for the first time, and her career relies on a good impression. When her one night stand shows up in the galley, she has to shut it down, walk away, pretend it never happened. But all submariners know that secrets don’t stay secret for long on a sub.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Is theirs a love match?

'For Leira Venn, her future is a given foretold by the oracle of the Albah, the ancient people she was born to. Which is why she knows from the moment she meets Dr. Julian Ryder that he is fated to be hers. But nothing else about the prophecy feels right. For the handsome doctor is shrouded by darkness, and intimately involved with a woman who seems intent on killing Leira …

'Or a death wish?

'Sorrow has shadowed Julian Ryder for as long as he can remember. But from the moment he meets lovely Leira, his heart is filled with hope for the future—a future that is as combustible as the powerful attraction between them. For Leira is marked for death by the very forces who killed his mother. The very darkness that stole everything he held most dear. Only this time, Julian is stronger, more in control of his powers than ever. But will it be enough to save Leira from those who would destroy her?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A man on a mission

'A brutal crime is haunting detective Dale Morgan. A young woman has been murdered on the city’s outskirts, and her blood drained. Dale suspects the leader of a depraved cult may be to blame. Yet with barely a shred of evidence at the crime scene, Dale will have to turn to the one person despises almost as much as the killers he puts behind bars.

'A woman with secrets

'To humans, Saba Venn is a psychic, but she’s Albah, a race long forgotten by humans but who live amongst them, her powers fueled by blood and silver. She agrees to help Detective Morgan, if it means stopping the vampire cult she believes is behind the killing. But the attraction she feels with Dale is immediate, and as their relationship intensifies she begins to doubt she can keep her secret from him.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'One Skeleton Key. Endless Adventures. After a big night out to celebrate his last day at work, Bryce Allard stumbles home. By his door he finds a glass skeleton key that makes his front door open to another world. Queen Keleti’s city is under siege. Betrayed by her cousin, she must find a way to save her city from the invading army. Keleti is a Heavenly, a hawk shapeshifter, so she could fly to safety, but she will not leave her people. When she finds Bryce hiding in her city she thinks he’s a spy. Bryce finds himself caught up in the skirmishes and the siege while trying to earn the Queen’s trust. Trust gradually becomes affection, and Bryce begins to consider staying instead of returning home. However he soon realizes why he is here. There is one thing that no one is willing to do to end the siege: kill a Heavenly. He has to kill Keleti’s cousin. But will he be thanked, or thrown off the cliff by the Warrior Queen?' (publication blurb).