Showing results by author "Lisa Henry" in All Categories

Brady Garrett needs to go home. He's a conscripted recruit on Defender Three, one of a network of stations designed to protect the Earth from alien attack. He's also angry, homesick, and afraid. If he doesn't get home he'll lose his family, but there's no way back except in a body bag. Cameron Rushton needs a heartbeat. Four years ago Cam was taken by the Faceless - the alien race that almost destroyed Earth.

The whole of London society has long assumed Lord William Hartwell will marry his childhood best friend, Lady Rebecca Warrington. After two seasons, Hartwell remains quite content with bachelorhood - his parents do not. When Hartwell learns they intend to cut his purse strings unless he makes a match this season, he resigns himself to a marriage of convenience with Becca, and yet he can’t help but be drawn to her younger brother, Warry.

Brady Garrett is back in space, this time as an unwilling member of a team of humans seeking to study the alien Faceless and their technology. It's not the first time Brady's life has been in the hands of the Faceless leader Kai-Ren, and if there's one thing Brady hates it's being reminded exactly how powerless he is. Although dealing with the enigmatic Faceless might actually be easier than trying to figure out where he stands with the other humans on board, particularly when one of them is his boyfriend's ex.

Lord Christmas Gale is a genius and a misanthrope, and, quite to his disgust, adored by all of society for his capacity to solve mysteries. When a man approaches him seeking help in locating a lost dog, Gale rebuffs him. But what begins with a missing dog ends in murder and intrigue—two of Gale’s favorite things, if it weren’t for the orphan that comes attached to them. Oh, and Benjamin Chant. The Honorable Mr. Benjamin Chant isn’t sure how he got swept up in Gale’s investigation, but there’s something intriguing about the man—a vulnerability the world doesn’t notice.

One thing he's not is a jerk. So when a shy guy at a wedding gives Archer his number, Archer is impressed by his courage in putting himself out there. What starts as a courtesy call to the guy turns into friendship. Eli is awesome, and Archer can't understand why he's single. With the help of his fraternity brothers at Alpha Tau, Archer comes up with the perfect project for the semester: Get Eli Fuller the perfect boyfriend or die trying.

Royal envoys Calarian and Benji embark on a quest in the alpine duchy of Tournel. Things go rapidly downhill when the duke plummets to his death from the tower wall. Whoops - that's going to be hard to explain. And it’s not as though they can just grab the nearest human and make him the new duke. Or can they? Enter one Lars Melker, a slightly gullible cowherd built entirely of muscles and sunshine, who happily accepts their word when they tell him he’s the duke now.

Imprisoned pickpocket Loth isn't sure why a bunch of idiots just broke into his cell claiming they’re here to rescue the lost prince of Aguillon, and he doesn’t really care. They’re looking for a redheaded prince, and he’s more than happy to play along if it means freedom. Then, his cranky cellmate Grub complicates things by claiming to be the prince as well. Now, they’re fleeing across the country, and Loth’s stuck sharing a horse and a bedroll with Grub while imitating royalty, eating eel porridge, and dodging swamp monsters and bandits.

When Alex and Brandon are drafted onto the Phi Sig Academic Challenge team, they start spending time together. But as the competition - and their relationship - heats up, Alex’s determination not to die a virgin clashes with Brandon’s vow of lifelong celibacy, forcing them to examine what’s truly important to each of them about love.

Brady Garrett is back on Earth. He's living with his partner Cam and they're raising his sister Lucy together. Life is better than some feral reffo from Kopa has any right to hope, and Brady knows it. He's even grateful for it, most of the time. He loves Cam, even though he's afraid that he's not good enough for him, and he's still having nightmares about the alien Faceless. Cameron Rushton loved being a pilot once, and he still feels the pull of the starlight. He's building a life with Brady now, and with Lucy. Life is good, even if it's not without its complications.

Mark Cooper is angry, homesick, and about to take his stepdad's dubious advice and rush Prescott College's biggest party fraternity, Alpha Delta Phi. Greek life is as foreign to Aussie transplant Mark as Pennsylvania's snowstorms and bear sightings. Studious Deacon Holt is disappointed to learn Mark's pledging Alpha Delt, his fraternity Phi Sigma Kappa's sworn enemy. Mark is too beautiful for Deacon to pass up an invitation for sex, but beyond sex, Deacon's not sure. He wants a relationship, but a difficult family situation prevents him from pursuing anything beyond his studies.

As Soulden learns to be still for the first time in his life, Fernside wonders if perhaps it’s time to spread his wings a little. They can only hide from the outside world—and from their pasts—for so long before the secrets they’ve uncovered about each other strain the growing attraction between them. Each man must decide whether a life of comfortable lies is preferable to one full of difficult truths. And whether the sanctuary they’ve created together is something worth fighting for.

Writers short-listed for the Guardian 4th Estate BAME Short Story Prize read their short-listed stories. Collected here are the six best stories chosen by the judging panel of the Guardian 4th Estate BAME Short Story Prize 2017. In them you'll encounter a range of characters: an Indian soldier fighting for the British in WWII; a teenage girl fasting in a small London flat; an out-of-work dad in an urban playground; a woman cleaning the toilets in Hong Kong International airport; a wealthy Malaysian teenager in his last few days of school.

When Loftus and Morgan both set their sights on Soulden, the rivalry of the season begins. Their mutual hatred escalates into spite, sabotage, and scandal, as all of society eagerly waits to see which diamond of the first water will prevail. Except the course of true loathing, just like true love, never did run smooth. The harder they try to destroy each other, the closer they come to uncovering each other’s deepest vulnerabilities—and the more difficult it becomes to deny the burning attraction between them.

Dave is a simple orc with a simple life. He has his dragons, his music, and his friends, and that’s mostly enough. Sometimes though, he gets lonely. So it’s a delightful surprise when Simon Perrin, the new kitchen boy, not only knows all about dragons, but seems to like Dave as much as Dave likes him back. But all is not what it seems, and Simon is hiding a dark secret. There are sinister forces at work, and Simon needs to find a way out of the situation he’s trapped in.

Briar Pendelton is new to Lassiter, and he's determined to get into Alpha Tau. Even if that means lying about already having passed his LSAT and doing stupid pledge stunts like dressing as a sorority girl. Besides, he's always looked killer in a skirt. Casey Hill has been pledge master of Alpha Tau for two years. Keeping a bunch of pledges in line is a bit like herding cats, but Casey's got it down to a fine art. When Briar sashays into their fraternity with eyeliner, attitude, and legs for miles, Casey is thrown for a loop.

Aramin Decourcey - Min to his few friends - might be the best thief in Amberwich, and he might have a secret that helps him survive the cutthroat world of aristocratic families and their powerful magic users, but he does have one weakness: his affection for his adopted nephew, Harry. When the formidable Sabadine family curses Harry, Min must accept a suicide mission to save his life: retrieve Kazimir Stone, a low-level Sabadine hedgewitch who refuses to come home after completing his apprenticeship...and who is in Anhaga.

College is meant to be a new chapter in Tanner North's life, except he's still stuck in the shadow of his older brother, Colt. Not only is Tanner going to Lassiter like Colt did, but he's also pledging to Kappa Beta Rho because Colt was the chapter president there. Whatever. Tanner's not interested in getting involved in the dumb frat rivalry that Kappa Beta Rho has going on with Alpha Tau. He's just going to keep his head down and his grades up until he graduates. It's a solid plan, right up until Tanner realizes that Charlie is a member of Alpha Tau.

Their determination to protect each other is put to the test when James’s volatile younger brother, Frederick, returns from a decade abroad, nursing grudges from the past. When Frederick stumbles upon James’s secrets, he sees a means to rid himself of his brother and reclaim his own place in society. His scheming forces James and Harold from their idyllic life and into a web of treachery that can only be untangled by the Bucknall Club circle–if the two can let themselves trust these newfound friendships the way they trust each other.

Dalton Beauregard has a plan. It involves acing all his exams, making the Dean's List every year he's at Lassiter College, and going to med school and becoming a doctor. Marty O'Brien has a plan, too. His is to improve his life by emulating those around him. He's going to need a study plan, a tutor, and... a boyfriend?

Carter Westlake is on the brink of being Hollywood gold. Cast as the lead in a highly-anticipated sci-fi trilogy, he’s primed to be the next A-list action hero: all-American, hot as hell, and straight. The problem is, Carter can only check off two of those boxes. But that’s okay—his bisexuality can remain a secret until these movies are behind him. Childhood educator Noah Jones has a plan. Work as a nanny for six months, make some cash, and move to the UK to teach. He doesn’t expect his boss to be a Hollywood star. And he certainly isn’t prepared to fall for the guy.