Showing results by narrator "Holly Warren" in All Categories

Holly Spinnaker is a monster. Really. Fangs and all. Never mind the petite figure. Pay no attention to the once-bouncy blonde mane. When Jarvis Winters first encounters...it...he prepares to exterminate freak number 132 without a flinch. Mistake number one: following it back to its lair. Mistake number two: watching and listening to her...it...replay voicemail messages from loving, clueless parents again and again and again. Mistake number three: having an actual conversation with a bloodthirsty fiend.

It was just a teeny, tiny lie we told the loan officer. “Together? Yes, we’re together.” Now, Clarissa and I have to play like we’re engaged. She’s doing me a huge favor - the bank won’t loan to me unless I have a partner. Clarissa’s got her own requirements for holding up her end of the bargain, though. She wants benefits. And I mean more than just free margaritas on Saturday nights. She’s heard about my "special ability", and not the fact I make the best martini in town. So we make an agreement: no feelings, just sex. Really, really hot sex. 

One thing that can be said about Quinn Pearson is that she has a knack for doing the wrong thing at the wrong time. Like, the worst time ever. Take her job for instance. One little slip of the tongue using the mother of all swear words while reporting the news, and suddenly she finds herself with over 18 million views on YouTube and her employment in jeopardy. If that wasn’t bad enough, when she meets the man of her dreams, she nearly chokes to death on a powdered sugar donut. Thankfully for Quinn, the dashing Brit, Henry, finds her near death experience quite charming. 

Some of North Carolina's finest fiction and nonfiction writers come together in Every True Pleasure, including David Sedaris, Kelly Link, Allan Gurganus, Randall Kenan, and more. Within the volume - featuring writers who identify as gay, trans, bisexual, and straight - are stories and essays that view the full spectrum of contemporary life though an LGBTQ lens. These writers, all native or connected to North Carolina, show the multifaceted challenges and joys of LGBTQ life, including young love and gay panic, the minefield of religion, military service, and more.

After a disastrous family Thanksgiving, all I wanted was to avoid anything holly and jolly this year, so an unexpected business trip seemed like the perfect escape plan...until I landed smack-dab in the middle of a freaking winter wonderland, otherwise known as Carole Cove, Montana. It’s merrier and brighter than the North Pole. The town even comes with its own Mr. Holiday - Noel Holiday, that is. Not only is he holly and jolly, but he’s hotter than the lattes he sells at his café. And for some reason, he would love nothing more than to share the magic of the season with me. 

I’m the queen of dating disasters - I’ve had more rotten dates than you can shake a long-stemmed rose at. After years of one disappointment after another, I’m beginning to feel like I’ll never say “I do.” So after being dumped one too many times, I do something stupid: I make a pact with my best friend Asher. If neither of us is married by 35, we tie the knot. I’ve got to meet Mr. Right by then, don’t I? But when I take a job redecorating Asher’s bachelor pad, I realize he’s a lot different from the guy I thought he was.

Can a spirited, down-to-earth influencer get an uptight hockey player out of his shell? Josh: I am a warrior. That’s been my motto since I recovered from a near-death accident when I was younger. Now, I enjoy my nice, settled life in Dallas playing pro hockey - a boring life is better than being dead. I’m not a party guy or an adventurer; I like my routine and peace and quiet. So, being traded to New York is the worst possible change that could happen. And, meeting unfiltered and fascinating Sara Carrington throws my life into even more chaos.

Zombies are on the loose in New Orleans and of all the end-of-the-world scenarios, Alexis Winter wasn't prepared for this one. But, an apocalypse is an apocalypse and she should have this covered. She has been "prepping" for the last three years. The problem is, she's stuck downtown and she has to get to her house on the outskirts of the city. Luck comes in the form of the ridiculously hot Blake Miller. The two team up in unexpected ways as they find they can't keep their hands off of each other even when the world is falling down around them.

Custom demanded that Prince Urban get a love mark tattooed to the side of his left eye as an infant, just like the rest of his people, but to him, the stupid things have only brought on the scorn of his father, the misery of his siblings, and caused his entire kingdom to go broke from fighting so many wars over the irritating ink stains.

It's one thing to be dumped by the huge Hollywood star you thought you were going to marry. It’s quite another to move back to the small town you're both from. As a booby prize for being shown the door by Dex Ryder, everyone is trying to set me up with their son, their nephew, or their long-lost cousin’s gardener. Either that or they’re throwing me pitying looks that say, “You’re a big loser.”

Some days, Everly still thinks she sees him. In the food court at the mall, or in a car speeding past as the light changes. It only lasts a second, but when it happens, she slips back to a time when she was ruled—and nearly ruined—by August Kincaid. And it doesn't matter that she's moved on, that she's about to marry another man. In those moments the only thing she can do to regain control is take a deep breath and remind herself that August can't hurt her—because he's in a coma. Except that he's not anymore.

After two years in a coma, August Kinkaid has forgotten the darkness in his past. But his past hasn't forgotten him. His beautiful former fiancée, Everly, remembers every tumultuous moment of their stormy relationship. The sizzling passion. The web of lies. And the terrible secret Everly's been hiding since her last fateful night with August. Now the truth is out and August remembers everything. As his long-buried memories come flooding back, he begins to understand why Everly would want to move on with her life.

College graduate Valentina never expected to fall for the hot as hell and intimidating Derek Cole when she accepted his offer to rent his property. From cottage to mansion, Valentina is certain she doesn't deserve the fairytale unfolding. But Derek gets what he wants...and he wants her. He’s “the one” for her, but before she says I do, she has to survive a month long trip to his family’s estate in Atlanta. Gaining approval from four brothers and an over-protective mother might just be her hardest test yet.

I hate Charlie Cavendish. Rich. Over-privileged. Smug. The guy’s far too good-looking for his own good, and he’s always got that smirk teasing at the edges of his mouth, telling me what he thinks of me. And now, my worst nightmare has come true. Charles Cavendish has moved into my building, which means I can’t avoid seeing him everywhere I go. He’s always there, judging me, especially when I come in late at night. Hey, I can’t help it if my “single American girl in London” writing gig means I’ve got to check out every new club in town.

Mackenzie “Kiki” Forbes finds herself in a pickle. Either become her snarky sister’s nanny or move halfway across the country to work as assistant to the stylist of a country music star. Neither job sounds ideal, although bedazzling cowboy boots may be a hell of a lot more interesting than ironing her brother-in-law’s underwear. But life on the road as the errand coffee girl for a sold-out tour leaves much to be desired. That is until Kiki meets her sinfully sexy new boss’ boss.

Brand Merrick is a take-charge cowboy who considers relax a four-letter word. So when an injury lands him six weeks of physical therapy, he intends to keep right on working - until his grandmother hires a therapist to stay at their family ranch. He's not used to following orders, or slowing down, but Avery Grant has a way of getting him to do things he'd never thought he'd do....

The Reluctant Rake: Proper, elegant Miss Julia Devere is shocked when she spies her fiancé in the arms of another woman. She awakens to the fact that the game of love can be played by very different rules than her own. And unless she can beat this new mistress at her own game, Julia stands to lose. How to Beguile a Baron: Miss Susan Wyndham's and Miss Marianne MacClain's debut at the first ball of the season is ruined when they realize they're wearing the same gown - and enamored of the same gentleman. Randal Kenyon, Baron Ellerton, is the most eligible lord in London. He sparks a battle between the pair.

Autumn Stratton has it all. Or so she thinks until she catches her two-timing husband with his pants around his ankles. There is much Autumn can forgive but infidelity isn’t one of them. Since she obviously can’t trust her judgment in men, she decides they are only good for one thing.  

The words on the page jumbled into a toxic mess my brain refused to comprehend, much less accept. Please consider this letter as a formal request to arrange a paternity test (DNA). I barely remembered Chelsea Airy. That wasn't true - we'd gone out once, and we'd been friends for a while after. But I hadn't heard so much as a peep from her since I'd gotten married. I'd reached out a handful of times, but she'd quit responding and fell off the face of the earth.

Tall, trusted Tandy Caide, CPA, is a long-time patron of the arts in her town, which is why you will find her sitting in the front row of the high school's annual musical production. This year is an Annie year - and it would be no different than other years were it not for the high school's hiring of a new vocational agriculture (Vo-Ag) teacher. With his beguiling ponytail and decorative beaded belt, Kenny catches Tandy's eye immediately. Ignoring the fact of her slovenly husband - who takes most of his meals in their hot tub - Tandy decides to entertain Kenny's advances.