Less than a year ago, Joanne Baldwin was an agent for one of the most powerful organizations in the world, entrusted with the safety of millions of lives on a daily basis. Now she's a scantily clad "weather girl" for a Ft. Lauderdale television station. After losing her job as a Weather Warden (those with the ability to manipulate the weather and avowed to protect humankind), Joanne is finding life in the "real world" not as enticing as she once thought. Her job as a cheesecake weather girl is humiliating, especially with a lecherous head meteorologist (deliciously named Marvelous Marvin McLarty) who delights in devising new ways to embarrass her on camera. But with her supernatural Djinn lover slowly dying and a recently divorced, shopping-addicted sister camping out on her sofa, Joanne's problems couldn't possibly get worse -- or could they? Throw in a highly suspicious detective bent on arresting Joanne on murder charges, a Djinn civil war, and a monster of an approaching hurricane --and suddenly Marvelous Marvin's antics don't seem so bad! Wildly unpredictable weather -- and women! -- and an extraordinarily entertaining female protagonist with enough sexy panache and irreverent attitude to make Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake look like an octogenarian etiquette expert, Rachel Caine's Weather Warden saga (Chill Factor, Heat Stroke, et al. ) is an absolute delight to read. You want guilty pleasures? Read these novels, which are a little romance, a little urban fantasy, and a whole lot of fun. Barometer not included.

A free Weather Warden short story

One short week turned Ree McKenna’s life upside down. Not only does she have the weight of the world on her shoulders, but she still has to juggle homework, a job, and a curfew. While Ree tries to find her footing amidst the chaos, the Dark Ones and their champion are busy hunting down any humans that have a touch of the gods running through their veins. Allies have turned into foes, and enemies have become stronger. The world is growing darker, but the passion between Ree and two irresistible guys blazes hotter. Romantic ties from a past life will threaten to break Ree away from the love of her life and will cloud her judgment. In order to follow her heart, Ree will break rules put in place by the gods, risking her life and the lives of her friends in an act of Mortal Defiance.

Part-time librarian Aurora Teagarden is “a genuine steel magnolia”(Booklist) in bestselling author Charlaine Harris’s compelling mystery series. Now, Roe will have to use all of her southern wiles to investigate a murder within her own family…   Not just any woman in Lawrenceton, Georgia, gets to be a member of the Uppity Women Book Club. But Roe’s stepsister-in-law Poppy has climbed her way up the waiting list of the group—only to die on the day she’s supposed to be inducted.   What makes Poppy’s murder even worse are the rumors of infidelity on both sides of the marriage swirling around town. To find the killer, Roe must determine if the sordid stories are true. Suspects abound, and the things she uncovers make her question her own heart, but her passion for the truth drives her on—into the path of the cold-blooded killer.DON\'T MISS THE AURORA TEAGARDEN MYSTERIES ON HALLMARK MOVIES & MYSTERIES!

Jasmine "Jazz" Callender is on the downhill slide to ruin. Once a decorated homicide detective, she's lost it all: her former partner's been convicted of murder, she's been cashiered out, and she's drinking away what little self-respect she's got left. But Jazz has a talent for trouble, and somebody knows it. When a mysterious, sexy stranger comes looking for her with a fateful red envelope in his hand, she's about to make the deal of her life. . . for good or bad. The deal requires her to enter into a partnership with a stranger and investigate cases that arrive in special red envelopes. . . which is odd enough, but gets weirder as she and her new partner Lucia realize that they may be working for someone with supernatural abilities. And maybe they're not on the side of the angels anymore.

A thrilling return to the #1 New York Times bestselling urban fantasy series, continuing Rachel Morgan's story.RACHEL MORGAN IS BACK—AND THE HOLLOWS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME.What happens after you've saved the world? Well, if you're Rachel Mariana Morgan, witch-born demon, you quickly discover that something might have gone just a little bit wrong. That the very same acts you and your friends took to forge new powers may have released something bound by the old. With a rash of zombies, some strange new murders, and an exceedingly mysterious new demon in town, it will take everything Rachel has to counter this new threat to the world—and it may demand the sacrifice of what she holds most dear.

Things are going well for Alex Verus. He's on moderately good terms with the Council, his apprentice is settling in and his shop in Camden is gaining quite a reputation.But when a mysterious woman bursts into the Arcana Emporium one night with an assassin on her tail, Alex is thrown into a plot to revive a long-forbidden ritual. His old enemies are after the secret, as well as a Council mage named Belthas and a mercenary named Garrick, and at least one of them is trying to get Alex killed - if he only knew which.He can see the future, but knowing who to trust is something else.

After seven years of nothing too exciting happening in the office, Avery Clavens is forced to go undercover with an agent she's pretty sure speaks the English language as interpreted by Martians. Can the two of them stop arguing long enough to get their man? Avery doesn't know, but dealing with Agent Barnes definitely isn't in her job description.Avery Clavens is an average, somewhat socially awkward woman who works as a research assistant in a New York library. At least that's what everyone who knows her believes. In actuality, Avery was caught doing something wrong in her youth by a secret government agency, and when faced with either jail time or being recruited by the agency, she found orange really wasn't her color.After seven years of nothing too exciting happening in the office, she is forced to go undercover with an agent she's pretty sure speaks the English language as interpreted by Martians. It doesn't help that she feel drawn to said agent, or that there is a weird spark anytime the two of them touch.Can the two of them stop arguing long enough to get their man? Avery doesn't know, but dealing with Agent Barnes definitely isn't in her job description.

The voices of the dead become inescapable clues for lightning-struck sleuth Harper Connelly in this “winning series” (Booklist) of murder—and beyond—from #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris…Harper Connelly heads to Doraville, North Carolina to find a missing boy—one of several teenage boys who have disappeared over the last five years. And all of them are calling for Harper. She finds them, buried in the frozen ground. All she wants is to get out of town before she’s caught in the media storm—until she herself is attacked and becomes part of the investigation. Soon Harper will learn more than she cared to about the dark mysteries and long-hidden secrets of Doraville—knowledge of the dead that makes her next in line to end up in an ice-cold grave...

Fifteen-year-old Elena hides her magical abilities from everyone, except her best friend, Karl. Inseparable since very young, they've always shared everything, including the darkest parts of their lives. Elena's beginning to realise her feelings for Karl are growing into something more. But her mother's about to drop a bombshell – one that will change the course of her life, and heart, forever.A short story prequel to The Witching Pen Novellas. (This story takes place ten years before the events of The Witching Pen Novellas.) Fifteen-year-old Elena hides her magical abilities from everyone, except her best friend, Karl. Inseparable since they were very young, they've always shared everything together, including the darkest parts of their lives. Elena's beginning to realise that her feelings for Karl are growing into something more. But her mother's about to drop a bombshell on her – one that will change the course of her life, and heart, forever. PUBLISHER'S NOTES: This UK-based story is suitable for YA readers, but it should be noted that The Witching Pen Novellas series is aimed at adult readers. For fans of the series, this story includes two parts of Elena's past that were made reference to in The Witching Pen: 1) The moment that Karl turns up on Elena's doorstep having been beaten and 'jumped on' by his father and 2) "The Sex Talk" between Elena and her mother.Book length: short story (over 5500 words)