Showing results by author "Ava Ross" in All Categories

After my ex dumps my possessions on the sidewalk, cleans out our bank account, and steals my landscaping business, I'm once again submitting job applications. It’s that or no roof over my head. With the Intergalactic Employment Agency’s help, I land a position as a gardener for the owners of an off-world alien castle. Other than needing to tackle a rogue vine infesting the front shrubs, it’s an easy job. Best of all, I work alongside Dekrin, a dirty-mouthed fellow gardener who enjoys rolling in mud and wearing low-slung pants.

When the elderly duchess I cared for dies, her slimy son—my ex—tells me he wants me back. Um, no. I flee, and at the Intergalactic Employment Agency, I'm offered a job teaching an alien warlord sophistication so he can woo a mate at the upcoming Match-Mating Soiree. If anyone can domesticate a brute, it's me. In between teaching Forje how to converse politely and dance without crushing his partner's tail, he shares his battle scars and unusual poetry.

After my mother gave me to the Shiedar invaders as a child, they took me to a place where screams of pain echoed around me. The leader tortured me and other young males I soon called my brothers. In his determination to twist me into a feral warrior, the leader turned me into a beast. To protect myself, I built a barrier around my heart; a simple task since my people only experience muted emotions. Only when we meet our fated mates do our feelings come alive. Then I was sold to the Galaxy Games, where I’ll now complete a series of nearly impossible tasks. If I win, I’m free.

Determined to overcome my scaredy-cat status, I make a dare-me checklist. First on the list? Sign up for the Driegon mail-order bride selection. I didn’t expect to be accepted, or to fall for one of the Driegons—a seven-foot-tall, scaled alien with wings, claws, a tail, and a gruff voice that makes my knees go weak. But when one of my challenges results in Drace and I being captured by a rival alien clan, it’s going to take a big dash of bravery on my part to save us.

To raise credits for the local creature shelter, I enter Interstellar Chef. If I win? I'm awarded the catering job of a lifetime and prize money I can donate to the shelter. It won’t be easy—contestants must prepare exquisite meals in dangerous alien locations, and fellow chefs have been known to attack the others. Some competitors don’t make it home alive. All I have to do is avoid my stiffest competition, Thrombuka Nargoth, the brutishly handsome, golden-skinned alien who once left me stranded without my undies in a secluded hallway of a dive bar on Quazar 3.

I'm determined to turn Quirky Kingdom into the showpiece it used to be. Problem is—more than just the rides need fixing. It's way more than I can handle on my own. I tap my new neighbor to help—Rexin, a hunky orc handyman who's also a single dad extraordinaire. Since it's summer, he brings his twelve-year-old son to the job with him.

The building I'm renovating to turn into a B&B in the cozy coastal town of Mystic Harbor, where humans and monsters live in harmony, is either haunted or someone's trying to sabotage me. After someone rips up my flower beds for the third time, and the local law enforcement can't find any clues, I head to Monsters, PI, where I hire a much-too-gorgeous dragon shifter to determine if I'm a victim of crime or paranormal activity. After someone creeps through my building late at night, Reylor moves in with me to further his investigation. 

Four years ago, I fell in love with a demon. Then he bailed on me, leaving me with a broken heart and a big secret. When I see a news article about Monsterville's new demon sheriff, I recognize Venom. My heart may have healed, but our past isn't over. I present him with our daughter, and he's stunned and overjoyed. He's still the gruff, growly demon I fell for with a soft, squishy inside he hides from the world.

My hunky orc neighbor, Vrok, who I'd love to get to know better, keeps ignoring me. But when he overhears me reading the draft of my steamy romance novel out loud, he tells me he has ideas to make the male point of view better. Yeah, sure. One thing leads to another, and soon, we're not only working on dialogue, but we're also acting out some of the hotter scenes.

One minute, I'm working as a cook, the next, I've been abducted by robocops and sent to a distant planet where I'm attacked by a ferocious beast. Then a seven-foot-tall, blue-skinned alien rescues me with crystal spears slashing. He cuddles me in his arms, and I feel safe for the first time since fleeing my stalker ex. Until he tosses me over his shoulder and takes me back to his clan where he announces I'm his new bride. I'm determined to return home, but there's something about Aizor I can't resist. Am I falling for this musclebound alien with a killer smile?

Reese: Moving back to Mystic Harbor was supposed to be a fresh start, but my welcome wagon has a knack for mischief. First, my blender explodes, then a seagull decides I'm its target. When I think things can't get any weirder, someone scrawls "Leave Town" on my bathroom mirror. To restore my sense of security, I hire a vampire detective named Wolfram to help me track down a potential stalker. Wolf, with his dramatic black cape and surprisingly cute fangs, makes my heart flutter in ways I didn't expect.

When my grandmother is arrested for poisoning the members of her social club, I hire Monsters, PI to help clear her name. My case is assigned to an ice lord, Elrik, the guy I met a week ago at a wedding and haven't been able to stop thinking about. As we track down clues and discover there's a lot more going on at Grannie's social club than potluck suppers, I start hoping I can thaw this ice lord's heart. But he was recently burned, and he's not sure if he's ready to try again. Can I convince Elrik to give love another chance?

When I took a nanny job in a distant colony caring for two young boys who recently lost their mother, I expected I'd grow to love them. Having experienced loss myself, I knew how hard it was to heal. What I didn't expect was to fall for their father, a big, burly alien with scars on his body that mirror those in my soul. Between teaching the boys and bringing fun back into their lives, I get to know Firoh, a guy I sense needs love as much as I do. It isn't long before I can see myself living in this alien colony forever, as long as I can be with Firoh and his sons.

With my boss out to kill me, I run, only to be abducted by robocops. They knock me out, and the next thing I know, the tiny pod I'm riding in crashes into a purple lake, and a loincloth-wearing alien with lots of muscles, tusks, and a sardonic smile rescues me. Xax takes me home to his clan and announces I’m his new mate. There goes my dream of opening a tea shop in a cute little coastal Earth town.

Do I dare trust my heart to Secret Agent Gargoyle? Angie: When my beer kegs turn up missing days before a big event, I hire Monsters, PI to track down my beer. Who's assigned to my case? Tuvid, the gargoyle who wrongfully accused me of gnome-theft. Tuvid's seven feet of gargoyle muscles with a...

When my sister is chosen for the Monster Mate Hunt—an annual event where two women must sacrifice themselves to the orcs for the good of us all—I volunteer in her place. The orcs hunt me as I bolt through the forest. I'm captured by the gruff, growly Commander Jaus, who expects me to cook and clean, plus sleep in his quarters with him at night, despite insisting he doesn't want a mate. Then something changes, and his dark, brooding gaze turns my way . . .

After my husband's death, my village pushes me into the forest during the monster mate hunt, where I'll be claimed as an orc's bride. I've vowed I'll never love another, but then I'm claimed by Madr, a strong, handsome orc who I suspect is hiding secrets. On his dragon-like vox, he flies with me toward his home. His warm arms keep me safe, and his teasing touch makes me reconsider every assumption I made about my past and my future. Do I dare give my heart to an orc?

I want to begin a new life far from my village. Will that life include an orc who vows to adore me? Kaila When a man in my village makes demands I'm not willing to give into, my younger brother and I flee into the forest. It's the night of the Monster Mate Hunt, but the orcs who are gifted with...

Kerry: After I'm taken from Earth and dropped in an alien forest, I resign myself to never going home. There went my dream of finding someone to love. Then a gorgeous, severely wounded alien stumbles into my campsite. As I nurse him back to health, I start wondering if this seven-foot-tall guy with shadows flickering in his eyes could be the one.

Maggie: After my twin sister and I are kidnapped from Earth, we're separated. When the ship transporting me crashes on a distant planet, I'm captured and sold to a lizard alien. Now I'm trapped, forced to dance in a bar under the watchful gaze of a tyrant. I've resigned myself to never seeing my...