Vorab-RezensentenLily Riley

Betrayed by her first and only love, Doctor Wilhelmina Van Helsing fled to Paris intent on finding a cure for the blood plague devastating the country.

With her many talents and sheer force of will, she’s become the preeminent supernatural physician in all of Europe. It seems nothing can stand in her way—until her former lover shows up unannounced and quite unwanted.

Rafael Dracul is fiercely determined to regain Mina’s love after breaking her heart twenty years prior, but his plan is complicated by the fact that he’s being hunted by the Order—a shadowy organization now determined to stamp out the blood plague. If Rafael can’t clear his name, find the true origin of the plague, and convince Mina he’s a changed vampire, more than their future will be lost.

With the Order’s poisonous influence edging France ever closer to an all-out war between humans and vampires, Mina agrees to set aside her anger—if only to uncover the truth of the threats against her adopted homeland. But helping Rafael means getting close to him again, and soon she’s faced with an impossible choice—risk the lives of everyone she cares about, or risk her heart on forgiveness."

The murder of a marquis, an accidental kidnapping, an elite vampire death squad, and a beast stalking the French countryside? All in a day’s work for a member of the les Dames Dangereuses.

As the most enviable comtesse of the tonne, Charlotte de Brionne was almost satisfied with her wealth, power, and rather tepid marriage, until her murderous husband betrayed her.

Now she has seized the chance to make a more adventurous start with les Dames Dangereuses, an order of women spies in service to the French crown. But her latest assignment is rudely interrupted when she is kidnapped by a crossbow-wielding madman, who turns out to be not at all mad only rather surly and annoyingly handsome.

Lieutenant Antoine de Valle has no idea what to make of the exasperating, untrustworthy, and frustratingly beautiful woman he’s suddenly saddled with, but his honor demands he see Charlotte safely home. Especially since it’s his fault she accidentally witnesses his murder of a marquis, ends up on the wrong end of a brutal vampire death squad, and barely survives an encounter with the Beast of Gévaudan.

In fact, the more Antoine tries to keep Charlotte safe, the more trouble they find themselves in. And the harder it is for Antoine to remember his honor in the face of Charlotte’s dangerous charms.

Turn up the heat this holiday season with this sexy collection of gifts from your favorite City and Mystic Owl authors. Each story has been hand-curated by award-winning, bestselling, and debut authors to please lovers of romance in the science fiction and fantasy subgenres. Place it under the tree, in someone's ereader stocking, or give yourself the gift of a few stolen hours of pleasure as you sink into each winter themed happily ever after. From vampires to fairy tale retellings and everything in between, these scorching hot short stories are sure to hit the spot, curl your toes, and fill you with holiday cheer. So stoke the fire, nestle under a blanket, and slip in between the pages with your next new favorite authors.

The fate of France itself is at stake if these sworn enemies cannot change their ways—and their hearts. Daphne de Duras is a proper French duchess by day and fledgling assassin by night. Her latest mission is to dispatch justice and protect the French aristocracy by executing Étienne de Noailles, disgraced former noble, legendary rake, and vampire emissary to the court of King Louis XV. But Étienne’s alleged crime—the gruesome murder of Madame de Pompadour, the King’s mistress and Daphne's friend—doesn’t quite fit the dashing vampire’s nature. With his immortal days suddenly numbered, Étienne needs to convince his would-be executioner not only of his innocence, but that they should hunt the real killer together—a challenge almost as difficult as convincing himself that he isn’t falling for her. Daphne reluctantly agrees to a temporary partnership when Étienne persuades her that something more sinister is afoot. He can, after all, help her find answers in places she’s unable to go alone. And despite her deep loathing for any and all vampires, she can't help but start thinking of a few other places she'd like to go with him.