Sure, my idea of a party is a mini box of wine and hanging out with a feral raccoon, but it works for me.When I’m accused of murder, things get crazy. One, I learn that I have magic. Two, there’s a secret magical city hidden right in London itself. And three, my only hope is a vampire who’s sexy as sin and scary as the devil himself. He's called the Devil of Darkvale, and he all but owns Guild City.Some say I should just quit and turn myself in. Not a chance. I’m going to solve this murder myself, which means surviving in a new world of witch parties, magical guilds, and a vampire with a tortured past. The vampire and I are like colliding stars, and the heat is irresistible. I should avoid him, but if I want to save my own life, he’s my only hope.

    1 Ley Line Drifter by Kim Harrison - Pixy Jenks faces murderous dryad locked inside statue 2 Reckoning by Jeaniene Frost - Bones, faces New Orleans ghouls who eat victims alive - horror 3 Dark Matters by Vicki Pettersson - JJ superhero has illicit affair with Shadow agent Solange 4 The Dead, the Damned, and the Forgotten by Jocelynn Drake - Savannah vampire Keeper Mira investigates murder 5 Two Lines by Melissa Marr - Eavan resists sex and murder that morph her into a glaistig until Daniel Brennan, sex slaver, tempts her into both.

    . . Some are not.What happens when "the happiest day of your life" turns into a nightmare? Forget the drunken best man or the bridesmaid dresses from the '80s . . . none of these wedding day disasters can compare to a cursed bride determined to make it down the aisle, or a vampire who is about to disrupt your wedding.

     In London for graduate school, Val knows she's finally free. Her father and ex-almost-boyfriend are back in California and she's out of the Vampire hunting biz for good. Or is she? She draws the attention of Lucas, a 1600 year old Vampire, and King to his kind. He’s also wicked hot. As golden as Lucifer, and just as tempting, he makes Valerie an offer she can't refuse — help him find out if the Others (Empaths, Fey and Werewolves) still exist or he'll stop protecting those she loves. Lucas tells her that Empaths were a Vampire’s biggest weakness before going extinct hundreds of years ago. While the Fey or a Werewolf might kill a Vampire, an Empath could enslave them, seducing or harming with emotions at will. The one detail he leaves out? Valerie is an Empath. And after 1600 years of an emotionless existence, Lucas wants Valerie like a recovering alcoholic wants a wine cooler. Can she keep those she loves alive, stop Lucas from munching on her, survive a fanged revolution and still find a way to have that boring, normal life she’s always wanted? Probably not, but boy is she gonna try! This is a full length novel and contains adult content.

     Suspenseful, surprising, sometimes dark, sometimes humorous-these all-new stories will ensure that readers never think of vampires (or birthdays) in quite the same way again. In New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris's "Dracula Night," Sookie Stackhouse is the only human at the annual commemoration of Dracula's birth. But this year, the Prince of Darkness actually shows up-and finds Sookie to be a tasty-looking present. New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher's crime-solving wizard Harry Dresden, of the Dresden Files novels, heads to a role-playing party to give his vampire brother a birthday present in "It's My Birthday Too," only to discover there are some bloodthirsty party crashers who don't share their brotherly love. In "Twilight," Cassandra DuCharme, who appeared in New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong's Dime Store Magic, knows she has to kill to live as a vampire another year-but finds herself disturbingly disinterested in the hunt. Plus ten more bloody good birthday stories that take the cake.Contents xi • Preface: A Few Words (Many Bloody Returns) • (2007) • essay by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner1 • Dracula Night • [Sookie Stackhouse 4.3] • shortstory by Charlaine Harris21 • The Mournful Cry of Owls • novelette by Christopher Golden50 • I Was a Teenage Vampire • novelette by Bill Crider73 • Twilight • [Women of the Otherworld Short Fiction 7.2] • novelette by Kelley Armstrong100 • It's My Birthday, Too • [The Dresden Files 9.2] • novella by Jim Butcher146 • Grave-Robbed • [Vampire Files] • novelette by P. N. Elrod176 • The First Day of the Rest of Your Life • [The Morganville Vampires: Extras 2.5] • novelette by Rachel Caine201 • The Witch and the Wicked • novelette by Jeanne C. Stein230 • Blood Wrapped • [Henry Fitzroy] • novelette by Tanya Huff254 • The Wish • shortstory by Carolyn Haines265 • Fire Ice and Linguini for Two • [Garnet Lacey 2.5] • novelette by Lyda Morehouse [as by Tate Hallaway ]290 • Vampire Hours • novelette by Elaine Viets318 • How Stella Got Her Grave Back • novelette by Toni L. P. Kelner

    I am their last hope in bringing home the lost ones. I salvage what they cannot. I’m on the FBI’s wanted list. I have a werewolf for a pet, a Witch of a best friend, and have no need for anyone else in my life. But when a salvage starts to spin out of control, help comes from a most unexpected direction. One that is dangerously dark, brooding, and doesn’t know a thing about the supernatural. One whose kisses set me on fire.

    She doesn’t belong in snowswept Ossipee, New Hampshire; she doesn’t belong in the frigging gift shop she works at, she doesn’t belong with people that death will always take from her, and she definitely does not belong at this black tie party with Kat. But that is where she is, and where he is. Nicholas French, the man who mystifies her with a feeling of home she’s been missing, and impossible knowledge of her troubled soul. Nicholas followed an abomination that is one of his own, but soon finds fate has driven him to New Hampshire as more than a bystander. He reveals himself to Ellie as being of the Shinigami, a heroic vampire order that “save” their victims from more tragic ends. He knows why Ellie is human repellent, and why physical agony grips them when apart. The Shinigami are cornered into isolated human lives, plucked out when they have no one left to be created for their higher purpose. Ellie is destined to be a legendary Shinigami, and Nicholas her creator. Nicholas and Ellie’s fates intertwine closer when his latest victim in waiting turns out to be the only person who tethers her to this world, Kat. Fate will not be ignored, and in the only real choice Ellie has made in her life, she must determine a horrifying path; let the vampire who would make her a hero wither to shreds or sacrifice the life of her closest companion.

    P. Kelner return with an all-new story collection of postcards from the edge of the paranormal world...It really can be an endless summer - if you're immortal. Though a vampire would be ill-advised to take a cruise to Bermuda, the possibilities for getting away from it all - and maybe snacking on some unsuspecting tourist - are many...Sookie Stackhouse and her vampire friend Pam take a weekend getaway to Mississippi in #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris's "Two Blondes." And when they end up in a shady gentleman's club, to escape in one piece they need to do something that wasn't on their itinerary - something involving a stage, a pole, and very little clothing.New York Times bestselling author Katie MacAlister's "The Perils of Effrijim" follow a demon whose vacation in Paris is disrupted when he's banished to another plane, thus kicking off a crazy dimension-hopping road trip across Europe.Protecting an heiress from supernatural hit men isn't Cat and Bones's idea of a relaxing vacation in New York Times bestselling author Jeaniene Frost's "One for the Money," but it could get worse. And it does - when Cat's mother shows up.With ten more original tales, editors Harris and Kelner bring together a stellar collection of tour guides who offer vacations frightening, funny, and touching - for the fanged, the furry, the demonic, and the grotesque.

    To make matters worse, her college is forcing her into the Supernatural program. The last place she wants to be is in a room filled with ferals, vampires, and other monsters from her nightmares. The absolute worst thing she can imagine? Getting hit with her first fervor in the middle of said classroom. Especially in front of the new alpha of the Red Crescent pack, Lucas Masters.With every Supe in scenting distance caught up in the pheromone frenzy, Claire realizes she’s probably not going to survive the night with her dignity intact. She may not even survive at all…Thanks Grandma.The Fervor is the sizzling first installment of the Sinful Supes series. If you’re a fan of dominant werewolves and dark suspense, sign up for the free advance review copy today. http://xkovak.com/free-arc-sign-ups/ READER DISCRETION ADVISED

    Welcome the Johnstons - Jason (a doctor), Rachel (a designer), and their niece Emily (a current High School Senior).Emily has lived the life of a quiet loner in the past, trying to go unnoticed. But with Telluride being such a small and welcoming town, she finds a group of friends at school almost immediately. When Emily meets Link (another new transplant in town) her world turns upside down. She doesn't understand why she feels a magnetic pull toward him, or why she unknowingly lets her guard down around him. Link is just as confused by his own need to be with her.Emily knows she is playing with fire. She should be doing whatever she can to keep herself isolated, to keep Link from getting too close. Danger has a way of finding Emily's family - that is what keeps them on the move. They arrive in a new town every few years - it is safer that way.Because... Emily isn't really Emily... her real name is Charity - and Charity has an even bigger secret. Charity and her family are not like other people, they have "skills" that mere mortals cannot begin to comprehend.Before long, Charity is struggling with the reality that her two lives are coming closer to each other with each passing day. Soon Link will find himself wrapped in a supernatural world that he never knew existed - and discover that mortals are not the only beings that walk this earth.

    After a series of failed relationships, the last of which left her destitute, she takes advantage of her father’s offer to live rent-free in a property he hasn’t been able to sell. But feeling at home in a house on the edge of a graveyard isn’t easy, especially when things go bump in the night.The only positive is the stunning cemetery caretaker, Rick. Despite her resolve to end her pattern of relationship mistakes, she literally can’t keep her hands off him. The intensity of her attraction seems almost...magical.Once a spirit manifests on her staircase, Grateful can no longer deny that her house is haunted. Rick has a dark secret, and it has everything to do with her personal history, the house, and the spirit who warns her about both.Feisty witches, seductive vampires, and swoon-worthy immortals come together in this page-turning paranormal romance/urban fantasy series.**The Ghost and The Graveyard is a funny, exciting, and sexy read intended for adults. Due to sexual content, language, and violence this book is recommended for ages 18+.**

    Married to an abusive man and forced to act like the perfect politician’s wife in public, her freedom has been completely stripped away. Alone and without purpose, Ophelia feels as if there isn’t much in this world to live for. Everything changes when an employee kidnaps her from a state dinner. Ophelia is thrust into a new world filled with people who claim to be an ancient race of Mages. They also claim that she is one of them. While the country falls into the hands of a tyrannical dictator, Ophelia finds herself torn between the friendly Reece who wants nothing more than to protect her, and Spencer, the leader of the resistance who sees her as a tool to fight the war. Tensions run high as Reece and Spencer both try to help her master her powers and unravel the spells that restricted her from using them. As revelations of her past come to light, and the war is brought to her feet, Ophelia must quickly make a choice of who to trust.Binds is the first in a series of adult urban fantasy novels with sexy Mages, a sugar skull army, and an unfortunate set of Hello Kitty pjs.

    She's drawn to him in the worst of ways. Together they create something wild, dangerous and binding. An extraordinary force greater than either of them alone. But it doesn't come without a price.Now Alexa is craving human blood and shying away from sunlight. And she doesn't know how the hell she's going to explain it to Shaz, the pack mate who's always been more than just a friend.When Alexa's ex and pack Alpha is framed for murder, he comes to her for help. She'd like to see him suffer but as the body count rises long buried secrets are revealed. Secrets that force her to face the ugly truth that not everyone is who she thinks they are.Not even her.

    That part’s bad enough. But now, he’s trying to get out. Growing up, my father always told me that I’d come to a bad end, just like my mom did when I was a kid. Hearing that kind of stuff when you’re little eventually gets to a girl, but I can’t say I ever expected my ‘bad end’ to involve an angry vampire with a severe case of iron deficiency and a panty-melting English accent. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. Ever since my mother was assassinated, I’ve felt like there was something vast and frightening hidden beneath the fabric of the world. Something none of us are supposed to know about. So far, finding out I was right hasn’t been nearly as satisfying as I’d hoped. I guess the trick will be staying alive long enough to shout ‘I told you so’ from the rooftops. But before I can do that, I really need to figure out if the vampire who just bit me is one of the good guys or not. * * * The Last Vampire is a steamy urban fantasy romance series from USA Today Bestseller R. A. Steffan and Jaelynn Woolf, co-authors of the Circle of Blood saga. Grab the complete series boxset today, and enter a world shared by humans, fae, demons, and one very reluctant vampire. It’s a place where the supernatural threatens the mundane, nothing is as it seems, and love will either be the world’s downfall—or its salvation.

    If readers do not want to be spoiled, they should read the stories in order of their release dates.This is a short story (15,000 words or 50 pages) intended for readers of the Elder Races who enjoy Liam Cuelebre as a character.Reeling from a deep loss, the magical prince of the Wyr, Dragos and Pia’s son Liam Cuelebre, turns inward and withdrawn as he struggles to come to terms with who he is, along with the challenges that lie before him.Hoping to ease his heartache and offer comfort, a concerned Dragos and Pia offer him a gift, something he has desired for a long time. Liam’s response has a ripple effect across all of New York. Soon miracles of all kinds start arriving just in time for Christmas, along with a visit from a mysterious person who gives Liam hope and a vision of his future.LIAM TAKES MANHATTAN is the third part of a three-story series about Pia, Dragos, and their son, Liam. Each story stands alone, but fans might want to read all three: DRAGOS GOES TO WASHINGTON, PIA DOES HOLLYWOOD, and LIAM TAKES MANHATTAN.