Smokethorn Paranormals Series by C.P. Rider

“Thanks for your concern, but I don’t need your protection. I have a mystical cat, an unprincipled gnome with a violent streak, and I have my magic.”Betty Lennox is an elemental witch on a mission to leave her desert hometown of Smokethorn, California, for good... more“Thanks for your concern, but I don’t need your protection. I have a mystical cat, an unprincipled gnome with a violent streak, and I have my magic.”Betty Lennox is an elemental witch on a mission to leave her desert hometown of Smokethorn, California, for good. But first, she needs to sell the property she inherited from her mother to someone who, among other things, doesn’t mind living in a paranormal seniors' trailer park in a town where it’s so hot in summer that the local demons head back to Hades to cool off.She’s also running low on cash to keep up the protection spell on the park. When she’s offered a job to procure a cursed grimoire, one so dangerous the local coven won’t touch it, she takes it. Even though the job comes from a vicious wolf alpha who won’t rest until she’s dead.To get the grimoire and keep her soul, she’ll have to lean on her partner—a magic cat named Fennel—Cecil, a homicidal garden gnome, a graveyard demon, her retired necromancer best friend, and her second-least favorite bartender in town, who also just happens to be the wolf alpha’s son.If they can manage to work together without killing each other, Betty just might survive.For fans of urban fantasy with a side of slow-burn romance. less

“Promise you won’t do anything to put yourself in danger.” “That’s not a promise I’m comfortable making. My partners are a delinquent gnome and a willing-accomplice magical cat. Plus, my best friend just bought a case of spelled wine from the witches in Sundance.” Betty Lennox is an elemental witch in a desert town that gives Hades a run for its money in summer... more“Promise you won’t do anything to put yourself in danger.” “That’s not a promise I’m comfortable making. My partners are a delinquent gnome and a willing-accomplice magical cat. Plus, my best friend just bought a case of spelled wine from the witches in Sundance.” Betty Lennox is an elemental witch in a desert town that gives Hades a run for its money in summer. Her magic is tied to the land under a paranormal seniors' trailer park she inherited from her mother, land that hasn’t fully accepted her. Because of this, her power has become unpredictable, unreliable, and unbelievably inconvenient. Small-town trailer parks don’t pay much, so when a job pops up to find a missing beta wolf—an octogenarian lothario with a shoebox of questionable toys and a little black book filled with juicy tidbits about the town’s senior ladies— she takes it. As Betty delves deeper into the investigation, she attracts the attention of a dangerous stalker and a deadly alpha wolf. To track down the missing Casanova and avoid her enemies, she’ll need to rely on her partners—a magical cat named Fennel and Cecil, a homicidal garden gnome with a penchant for explosives—her retired necromancer best friend, a graveyard demon she doesn’t trust, and the sexy-as-sin son of her worst enemy. For fans of urban fantasy with a side of slow-burn romance. less

“One thing, though. What was the last straw that made Maya file for divorce?”“She told me Desmond said he was going to kill her.”Betty Lennox, earth witch and paranormal investigator, has a whole slew of problems. Her magic is as finicky as a jackrabbit in the desert; the local werewolf alpha lurks around every corner, giving her death threats; and a certain sexy werewolf isn’t returning her calls.What’s a witch to do? Focus on work... more“One thing, though. What was the last straw that made Maya file for divorce?”“She told me Desmond said he was going to kill her.”Betty Lennox, earth witch and paranormal investigator, has a whole slew of problems. Her magic is as finicky as a jackrabbit in the desert; the local werewolf alpha lurks around every corner, giving her death threats; and a certain sexy werewolf isn’t returning her calls.What’s a witch to do? Focus on work.Betty is hired to investigate a one-eighty personality change in a woman who was going to divorce her husband but suddenly loves him again. That’s suspicious by itself, but the fact that he’s a member of the local coven puts Betty on high alert.With her team of allies—Ida, her BFF and a retired necromancer; Fennel, a magical cat, and Cecil, a homicidal garden gnome with a penchant for explosives—Betty digs deeper into the case and quickly realizes this deadly plan goes far beyond Maya’s marriage. She finds herself facing off with witches, shifters, and dark, arcane magic.The good news? Betty finds unexpected new allies to join her crew and help her solve the case. The bad news? Some of them start disappearing. It’s up to Betty and her unreliable magic to find her friends, protect her client, and save Smokethorn as something wicked this way comes…For fans of urban fantasy with a side of slow-burn romance. less

“Ah, Ronan. This witch is about to make your life a whole lot more complicated.”Just when Betty Lennox thought she had a handle on her life—reconnected with her earth magic, brought the saguaros back from the dead, sexy alpha wolf sharing her bed—everything goes sideways.Turns out she’s not just an earth witch. Thanks to dear old Grandpa Sexton, she’s got a demon side that's tired of being locked away... more“Ah, Ronan. This witch is about to make your life a whole lot more complicated.”Just when Betty Lennox thought she had a handle on her life—reconnected with her earth magic, brought the saguaros back from the dead, sexy alpha wolf sharing her bed—everything goes sideways.Turns out she’s not just an earth witch. Thanks to dear old Grandpa Sexton, she’s got a demon side that's tired of being locked away. A powerful and ruthless demon side with zero qualms about damage control when someone threatens her people. When Demon Betty takes the wheel, Witch Betty ends up doing morally questionable things like killing people who really, really need to die.Meanwhile, Ronan's birth father—Alpha Floyd Pallás, certified creep and all-around evil person—has kidnapped his sister to force him into submission. The pack is in chaos, shifters across the county are dying, and Betty’s running out of time to find her before the convocation where Ronan must challenge Floyd for the pack.But here's the thing about power-hungry wolves: they cheat. And here's the thing about Betty: She won't let the people she loves get hurt—even if it means embracing the monster within.For fans of urban fantasy with a side of slow-burn romance. less