Adriana Kraft

When it's time to heat things up...

Excerpts

New Release! Serpent’s Kiss By LisabetSarai @lisabetsarai #Paranormal #Shifters #Mayan #Mythology #Guatemala #FatedMates #Tikal #Ritual #Quetzlcoatl #Reincarnation #Apocalypse

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Embracing the Shadows

What makes paranormal romance so popular? I’ve been pondering this question for a while. Readers, it seems, are happy to consume as many tales about vampires, shape shifters, ghosts and psychics as we authors can produce. You’d think that they’d get bored, but that doesn’t seem to happen. Why not?

I’ve got a theory. We’re all tempted by the dark side.

The realms of paranormal romance are vast, but most books offer characters with dual natures, torn between normal humanity and―otherness. The “other” aspect conveys special powers―unnatural strength, heightened sensation, hidden knowledge―but always at a price. The characters suffer because of their power. Blood-drinkers and half-beasts are ravaged by conscience because they maim or kill. Immortals bear the weight of lonely, isolated centuries and the pain of watching mortal companions wither and die.

In my novella Fin d’Espoir, vampire Etienne de Rémorcy haunts the forest around the ruined plantation of his former mistress, guilty, bitter and alone. He has sworn to never again taste human blood, but when the woman he rescues begs him to take her, he cannot resist. My prescient hero Kyle in At the Margins of Madness can see the future but the fury of his visions drives him insane. In my new release Serpent’s Kiss, Jorge Pélikal is the incarnation of an ancient god but each time he makes love to his human mate he comes close to killing her.

In the paranormal genre, power and darkness go hand in hand. Yet somehow, we are attracted to the darkness. We brush the suffering aside; we want to feel the power. A vampire isn’t sexy when he’s fighting against his blood craving.  Only when he sweeps his victim into his arms and buries his fangs in her flesh does he make us breathless and moist.

How many books have you read where the human hero or heroine willingly submits to “the change”, the transformation that will make them “other” as well? How many characters, in contrast, manage to resist the pull of the dark side?  Not many. Normal mortal life seems absurd, bland and empty after you’ve tasted power. This is especially true because sex on the dark side in erotic romance is always more intense, more extreme, transcending the limits that bind ordinary humans.

Even a villain with supernatural powers tempts us. A well-written antagonist should invite enough identification that the reader can understand what moves him to do evil. The best bad guys are ambiguous, able to justify their deeds so well that they draw our sympathy. They dazzle us with their logic and their beauty, until we can’t see their wickedness. Lucifer still looks like an angel as he bargains for your soul. Stefan Aries, my villain in At the Margins of Madness, is handsome and brilliant enough to make Kyle want him, despite his being a murderer. Jorge’s evil twin Teodoro Remorros is suave, handsome, and terribly convincing as he tries to persuade Elena to abandon Jorge and the world he’s trying to save.

We’re drawn to the dark side, I think, because it’s an escape. Sometimes the real world leaves us feeling so powerless―we can’t help wanting the ability to take control, to bend the world to our will the way our paranormal characters do. Who wouldn’t want to leave the dirty dishes and the unpaid bills behind and slip away into the night, to slink through the shadowy streets scenting for blood or to howl, unfettered, at the moon?

The dark side calls to us in paranormal romance. Every time we open a new book, we flirt with the possibility of ecstatic surrender.

BOOK INFORMATION

Serpent’s Kiss by Lisabet Sarai
Paranormal Erotic Romance
Five flames
36,000 words, 136 pages
Smashwords and Amazon KDP
ISBN (Smashwords): 9798215674734
ASIN: ‎ ‎ B0CL2HPVV4

BLURB

When a woman atoning for past sins heals the human avatar of an ancient god, she’s drawn into a perilous dance of destiny and desire.

From the first, Dr. Elena Navarro senses that the wounded man she discovers outside the gate of her rural clinic is not an ordinary mortal. With his chest ripped open, Jorge Pélikal still demonstrates unnatural strength and power. Elena is irresistibly attracted to Jorge, although he warns her their coupling could open the gates of chaos and cost her life. Despite his dire predictions, they fall in love. Gradually Elena comes to understand that Jorge is a supernatural player in a cosmic drama that will determine the fate of the earth and of mankind—and that even if he triumphs in his apocalyptic struggle with his nemesis, she may lose him forever.

Note: Serpent’s Kiss was previously published by Totally Entwined. This new edition has been re-edited, revised and expanded.

Reader Advisory: This book may not be appropriate for individuals with a fear of snakes.

EXCERPT

Elena surveyed his naked body. Her eyes lingered on his sculpted thighs, his narrow hips, the rippled planes of his belly. His penis drooped against one thigh, shiny with her juices, thick and meaty even in its quiescent state. Her mouth watered as she stared at it. Perhaps she could rouse him with an intimate kiss.

On the other hand, he may already have had more sex than was good for him. Elena flicked her gaze up to his wounded torso, checking that her stitches had not worked loose.

She gasped in wonder and horror. His chest was perfectly smooth, the swell and dip of his pectorals unblemished by any flaw.

The terrible gash she had treated only twenty-four hours ago was completely gone. There no signs of the two dozen stitches she’d inflicted on him. There wasn’t even a scar.

She shook her head, unwilling to believe what she was seeing. It couldn’t be true. It was impossible. Yet here was the evidence, physical evidence that her rational doctor’s mind could hardly ignore.

Who was this man?

BUY LINKS

Kinky Literature – https://www.kinkyliterature.com/book/1317-serpents-kiss/
Amazon US – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CL2HPVV4
Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CL2HPVV4
Smashwords – https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1465062
Barnes and Noble – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/serpents-kiss-lisabet-sarai/1017488008?ean=2940166119209
Kobo  – https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/serpent-s-kiss-26
Apple Books – https://books.apple.com/us/book/x/id6469359665
Add on Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199721219-serpent-s-kiss
Add on BookBub – https://www.bookbub.com/books/serpent-s-kiss-by-lisabet-sarai-2023-10-15

ABOUT LISABET

Lisabet Sarai became addicted to words at an early age. She began reading when she was four. She wrote her first story at five years old and her first poem at seven. Since then, she has written plays, tutorials, scholarly articles, marketing brochures, software specifications, self-help books, press releases, a five-hundred page dissertation, and lots of erotica and erotic romance – over one hundred titles, and counting, in nearly every sub-genre—paranormal, scifi, ménage, BDSM, LGBTQ, and more. Regardless of the genre, every one of her stories illustrates her motto: Imagination is the ultimate aphrodisiac.

You’ll find information and excerpts from all Lisabet’s books on her website (http://www.lisabetsarai.com/books.html), along with more than fifty free stories and lots more. At her blog Beyond Romance (http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com), she shares her philosophy and her news and hosts lots of other great authors. She’s also on Goodreads, BookBub and Twitter. Join her VIP email list here: https://btn.ymlp.com/xgjjhmhugmgh

 

He had what she wanted… Cherry Tune-Up #EroticRomance #Excerpt #Menage #LGBTQ

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She’s desperately seeking a sex tutor –
what if he demands total control? 

Now that Mr. Kraft and I have published fifty books, I thought it was time to give some of the backlist a little love. First up? (Up being the operative word…) Cherry Tune-Up, first released in 2007, then revised, updated and re-relased in 2013.

BOOK INFORMATION

Title: Cherry Tune-Up
Publisher: B&B Publishing: Ebook
Released: December, 2013
Novel: 31,000 words
Cover Artist: Rebecca Poole
Heat Rating: Four Flames
Explicit sex: M/F, F/F; Ménage: F/F/M; light bondage; cosplay; voyeurism; anal sex; sex toys.

BLURB

Desperate for a crash course in lovemaking, Bobbi Jo Martin seeks out her childhood best friend. A successful contractor with NASCAR dreams, Jack Day has never forgotten her—but how will he protect his heart?  In a moment of sheer genius he decides to play the role of master…

 

BUY LINK

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H5WCXSI/

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING…

Five Stars at Amazon:

Bobbi Jo and Jack are sizzling, and then they put Joy into the arrangement and wow! Bobbi Jo learns more than she imagined. It’s a romantic, fun tale. Enjoy !! D. Hart

The very first word that came to mind when I finished this book was HOT! and I do mean HOT!! Crystal

Let me be Bobbi Jo – what a delightful story! Sheila

EXCERPT

Chapter One

Bobbi Jo Martin hung back in the shadows under the Highway Thirty-Seven Racetrack stands. Acrid smoke, fumes and dust from a long night of racing swirled in the hazy light but couldn’t entirely block her view of her childhood best friend. There he was, Jack Day, strutting toward a red pickup with a buxom brunette hanging on each arm. She cringed—they must be the spoils that went to the winner of the feature race.

Deflated, Bobbi Jo shuffled toward her rental car. She’d had no contact with Jack for nearly ten years, but she just knew he’d help her with her current problem. When they were kids, he had never, ever let her down. She glanced one last time at the two women scrambling into the pickup. A solution would have to wait.

Her skin chilled, then suddenly turned hot. She needed him, damn it. She slid behind the wheel of the car, started the engine and rested her head on the steering wheel.

Bobbi Jo had a surprise for Jack—but would he welcome it? He had to relieve her of her virginity. Her childhood sweetheart had to teach her how to be a captivating lover—and there wasn’t much time. Two weeks from tonight would be her wedding night, and she had to be skilled at lovemaking by then.

She banged her fist against the steering wheel. Why did he have to be involved with those two women tonight, of all nights? She’d hoped to set up a chance meeting in a public place. Now she’d have to go directly to him.

Would he want her? Goosebumps pebbled her arms. She couldn’t let him reject her. He had what she wanted.

 

Who was the mystery woman? #SnippetSunday #SnipSun #WeekendWritingWarriors #RomanticSuspense #Sale #99cents #MFRWAuthors

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Whose mask will crumble first—
the enigmatic professor of Celtic Studies,
the undercover cop masquerading as a co-ed,
or the campus stalker,
biding his time to strike again?

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday, the weekly hop for everyone who loves to write – and read!
Click on the graphics to travel to the other snippets.

                                        

It’s October – time for something scary! My romantic suspense novel The Unmasking is on sale for $0.99 for the entire month of October. The story opens on Samhain/Halloween and has a truly creepy villain. In today’s excerpt, the professor has just concluded the lecture Nancy attended.

EXCERPT

So who was the mystery woman? Matt Bayfield reassembled his notes and glanced toward the newcomer standing in the rear of the lecture hall. He’d been offering this lecture series for nearly a year, roughly every six weeks. This fall, only three freshmen had inquired about last year’s handouts. The dark-haired female in the back wasn’t one of them.

Odd that she’d sit in the last row, because most women, especially those as comely as the co-ed with full lips and watchful eyes, wanted to sit up front to impress him – as if he were looking. He didn’t expect to be hanging around Trillium, Minnesota long enough to develop any romantic interests. And he had an ironclad rule against such liaisons with students.

Book Information

Title: The Unmasking
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: B&B Publishing
Length: 87,000 words, 375 pages
Tropes: Lady cop, Undercover Detective, college campus, small town
ASIN B00IDVB6KQ

BLURB

Is anthropology professor Matt Bayfield the Blackthorn College rapist, or a potential ally? Aloof and unapproachable, Matt has academic ambitions. He can’t escape Blackthorn College soon enough, and he doesn’t want any entanglements to slow down his exit.

Nancy Appleby would like nothing more than to solve the string of campus rape cases before Thanksgiving so she can go home. The last thing she wants is a relationship to complicate her life—but she’ll settle for a fling, especially when the sex sizzles.

The stalker has his own carefully crafted timetable, with a special date just for Nancy. Can Matt and Nancy force him out of his hidey-hole before it’s too late?

WHAT REVIEWERS ARE SAYING

5 Stars, Amazon reviewer Rochelle: “They got me! I didn’t figure it out!”

5 Stars, Amazon reviewer Wendy: “wonderfully told, suspenseful, erotic romance”

BUY LINK

On SALE for $0.00 throughout October

Available on Kindle Unlimited

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IDVB6KQ/

Coming Nov 10 to @ExtasyBooks! Sweet Memories, by T. S. McNeil. #Romance #ContemporaryRomance #ComingSoon

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About The Book

Sweet Memories started as something of a challenge. First, and foremost, to try and write a modern Romance in the Contemporary mode that still mostly followed the traditional elements. Not so much the popular so-called tradition set out in the 1970s, but the true traditions set out by Jane Austen particularly in Pride & Prejudice and William Shakespeare with  Much Ado About Nothing.

The setting is a bit of an odd brew of small-town elements and stereotypes, most of them based on real places, that have never really existed in quite that combination. Many of the elements intentionally lampooned or exaggerated. Hopefully giving the reader a sense of the familiar, despite some of the elements being a little bit odd in context.

BLURB

Following the sudden death of her beloved older sister, big city girl Astra Read relocates to a tiny town fuelled by cottage industries, inheriting her sister’s old house and business, a bespoke teddy bear workshop.

Focused on doing her dearly departed proud, which are some big shoes to fill, Astra vows to keep her head down, but love works in mysterious ways and more than one sort of temptation lurks in the bakery across the street.

BUY LINK

Coming November 10 to Extasy Books:

https://www.extasybooks.com/Sweet-Memories

Excerpt

A summer breeze eased by soothing her mind. Thermostats rarely lied, especially those decorated with adorable

“Seriously, Daisy?” Astra asked.

Parking the classic Beetle which had already seen more action than the average warhorse, she set out in search of a general store, or wherever it was that ice cream could be scooped, in her new one coffee shop town. Moving freely among the cozy charismatic cottage industries, a selection of adorable denizens at the teddy bear maker’s peered pleadingly through the front window, as Astra spied a most improbable sign.

Round and wooden, the words were cut into the ancient fibre before being painted in with high-gloss white, standing out against the dark hickory. In impressively straight and legible the simple statement General Store.

Attached to the front of a blue and red rancher, the frontage also boasted a rendering of a three-scoop ice cream cone, giving the impression of actually melting as she watched.

The light shifted from bright to slightly less, making Astra blink. Impeccably arranged, the shop held a little bit of everything, each to its own minuscule section-sometimes limited to half a shelf. Cereal and cookies ran into condiments and napkins, as fruit juice and butter mingled more or less freely with eggs and milk in the cooler, the prices strikingly low despite the basic lack of competition.

“Goodness, you must be new,” the lone clerk said.

“Yes,” Astra said.

“Need some ice cream, dear?”

“Yes, please.”

Following at half speed, Astra was shown to the dedicated counter boasting twenty-seven flavours of ice cream under the glass.

“What’s your pleasure, dear?”

“Maple Walnut, please.”

Bent low in the cool, the clerk jerked with the best of them, hauling heaping scoops into the ready waffle cone. The stack of sweet relief duly handed over.

“Three-fifty,” quoth the clerk.

Things were done differently in the country, especially a tourist town far from the main highways. GPS had been nearly useless finding the way, a retro fit as it was, the directions having her driving into cow fields, not unusual in those parts, and up at least one logging road en route to her new home.

“Thank you,” Astra said.

“There’s plenty of shade if you’re looking for a break.”

“Where?”

“Out back.”

The clerk’s thumb crooked to the rear door. A metal and screen contraption, to keep the bugs at bay, it gave an enticing preview of the epic backyard.

“Okay, thanks.”

Not quite a porch the back had been done up with similar furniture. On the other side of the house from the sun, the spot proved to be very shady indeed. Easing into a comfortable seat, Astra let herself luxuriate as the system rebooted from default. Down to the final two crunches of cone, something like sanity returned to the world.

Strength restored to pre-trip conditions; the notion of groceries occurred. Unsticking from the chair that had almost become part of her, Astra found her feet, still in her stylish sneakers where she left them.

Author Bio:

Born in the Far North, T.S. McNeil grew up on novels and comedy movies.

Moving down south, he earned a degree in Art History in 2009 and has been writing in some way since the age of 8. Discovering the legit jokes in Four Weddings and A Funeral, realizing Romance could be funny, he took on Romantic Comedy as his main genre.

He lives in a cabin in the woods with his dog and several squirrels, and firmly believes that The Smiths would have been better as trio.

Website:

https://tmcneil933.wixsite.com/mysite

Pre-Order! Accidental Contact #sapphicromance #LGBTQ #ShortStory #PreOrder #99cents #MFRWHooks

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It was up to fate now…

Welcome to MFRW Hooks, where the authors of Marketing for Romance Writers
share snippets from their stories to entice you into wanting more.
Be sure to click on the links at the end to travel!

My Sapphic short story Accidental Contact is up for preorder and will be released on Friday November 3 – just $0.99 at all retail outlets!

It’s New York, Central Park is already a winter wonderland, and now there’s a blizzard…

BOOK INFORMATION

Accidental Contact, By Adriana Kraft
Release date: November 3, 2023
Genre: Erotic Romance
Length: Short Story
Pairing: FF
Tropes: Cougar Story, New York City, Snowbound, Just One Bed

BLURB

Natalie and the much younger Bridgette are real estate agents who’ve often traveled together for business seminars.

Now they’re snowbound in New York City in a hotel room with only one bed. Will Natalie dare to make her move?

 

EXCERPT

For three months, Natalie had eagerly anticipated this trip. She’d bought a pair of pink silk pajamas, wanting to feel a little more presentable and desirable. Pink had always gone well with her dark hair. And she’d come to believe that Bridgette’s choice of silk pajamas was perfect—not too seductive, not too revealing—but classy. Not klutzy like her old sleepwear that resembled sweatpants and gym clothes. On top of that, the feel of silk against flesh was incredibly sensuous.

At least she didn’t have to guess whether Bridgette was into women. She’d never tried to hide that fact. She’d even bemoaned not having found a partner with whom she really wanted to share a lot of time.

Natalie balled her fingers into fists. She’d made the effort to tidy up her pubic hair just in case. She swallowed hard. She couldn’t risk rejection. She’d done all she could. It was up to destiny now. What had Bridgette said? Everything happens for a reason. Maybe the blizzard was heaven sent just for her—just for her and Bridgette.

She blinked back tears. Even a blizzard wouldn’t be enough to fuel her courage. She dozed. Morning couldn’t come too quickly.

BUY LINK

Pre-order Accidental contact

https://books2read.com/u/47djkE

Want to sample a little steam from Accidental Contact? Here’s a taste… https://wp.me/p9O7pv-3u4

And don’t forget to travel to all the other yummy excerpts!

The Merchant’s Dilemma, by Carolyn Hughes @writingcalliope #HistoricalFiction #Medieval #BookReview #Meonbridge #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub #CPBC

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BOOK INFORMATION

Book Title: The Merchant’s Dilemma, a Meonbridge Chronicles Companion Novel
Series: The Meonbridge Chronicles
Author: Carolyn Hughes
Publication Date: 20th September 2023
Publisher: Riverdown Books
Page Length: 232
Genre: Historical Fiction

BLURB

Winchester. Seven months ago, accused of bringing plague and death from Winchester, Bea Ward was hounded out of Meonbridge by her former friends and neighbours. Finding food and shelter where she could, she struggled to make her way back to Winchester again.

Yet, once she arrived, she wondered why she’d come.

For her former lover – the love of her life – Riccardo Marchaunt, had married a year ago. And she no longer had the strength to go back to her old life on the streets. Frail, destitute and homeless, she was reduced to begging. Then, in January, during a tumultuous and destructive storm, she found herself on Riccardo’s doorstep. She had no plan, beyond hoping he might help her, or at least provide a final resting place for her poor body.

When Bea awakes to find she’s lying in Riccardo’s bed once more, she’s thankful, thrilled, but mystified. But she soon learns that his wife died four months ago, along with their newborn son, and finds too that Riccardo loves her now as much as he ever did, and wants to make her his wife. But can he? And, even if he can, could she ever really be a proper merchant’s wife?

Riccardo could not have been more relieved to find Bea still alive, when he thought he had lost her forever. She had been close to death, but is now recovering her health. He adores her and wants her to be his wife. But how? His father would forbid such an “unfitting” match, on pain of denying him his inheritance. And what would his fellow merchants think of it? And their haughty wives?

Yet Riccardo is determined that Bea will be his wife. He has to find a solution to his dilemma… With the help of his beloved mother, Emilia, and her close friend, Cecily, he hatches a plan to make it happen.

But even the best laid plans sometimes go awry. And the path of love never did run smooth…

The Merchant’s Dilemma is a companion novel to the main series of Meonbridge Chronicles, and continues the story of Bea and Riccardo after the end of the fourth Chronicle, Children’s Fate. It is a little more romantic and light-hearted than the other Chronicles but, if you’ve enjoyed reading about the lives of the characters of Meonbridge, you will almost certainly enjoy reading The Merchant’s Dilemma too!

Excerpt

From Chapter 1

Bea’s eyes flickered open and she peered over the edge of the coverlet. She was warm and comfortable between the mattress and the cover, but her mouth was dry. Tweaking the cover down, she lifted her head up a little and glanced about her, taking in her surroundings.

Moments later, her anxiety was relieved. Her head might still be dizzy, but she knew exactly where she was. That large window overlooked the long garden at the back of the house. The bright hangings on the walls depicted scenes of hunting. The painted chest that stood behind the door held shirts and braies.

Most familiar of all was this great bed, with its deep mattress and heavy curtains, the soft pillows beneath her head and the warm blanket and woven coverlet that topped smooth linen sheets. The bed embraced her, comforting her weary, feeble limbs.

She tried to lift her head a little more, but her vision swam and she fell back again. Yet, in that instant, she’d seen she was not alone: an old woman was sitting on a chair to one side of the window, dozing, a stump of candle on the small table at her side gone out. The sunlight filtering through the shutter was weak, scarcely sufficient for Mistress Collyton’s ancient eyes to be able to see across the room. But she was there, Bea assumed, waiting for her to wake. And, then, she’d surely go to fetch Riccardo.

Bea sighed, so softly Mistress Collyton wouldn’t have heard, even if she’d not been sleeping. Her heart beat a little faster, as she understood that what she’d hoped might happen – almost beyond reason – had. Riccardo had found her, and had taken her in. She was alive, and lying in his bed. The bed she knew so well but hadn’t imagined she’d ever lie in again.

Her heart turned over. Why was she lying in this bed? Where was Riccardo’s wife? Had she agreed to Riccardo bringing her up here, usurping the place reserved for her and her husband?

Nervous and confused now by what she didn’t know, Bea wriggled slightly further down the bed, pulling the sheet and coverlet up over her eyes. She was more comfortable than she’d been for months. She felt safe, but was she truly? Or was Riccardo’s wife downstairs, waiting for her to wake, so she could be turned out of the house once more?

Bea closed her eyes again. The longer she was asleep, the longer it would be before any such dismissal came. Or perhaps it would be better if she never woke? Then she’d never have to face again the life of vagrancy she’d lived since being abandoned by Riccardo and driven out of Meonbridge.

She’d no idea how long she’d been here, though the chamber’s chilly air told her it must still be winter. It was last summer she’d run away from Meonbridge, after the villagers – once her friends and neighbours – had attacked and threatened her, blaming her for bringing the pestilence from Winchester. Fleeing for her life, she’d lived for months out in the open, sleeping in barns, eating what she could find – or steal – eventually finding her way to Winchester. She didn’t know what she expected: to ask Riccardo for help, perhaps, or to return to her old life as a whore? Though, as her health deteriorated, and her body weakened into the frailty of a child’s, neither seemed a possibility.

When the storm hit – in the middle of January she thought it was – she was living on the city streets, finding shelter where she could. She was so thin, exhausted and perpetually cold, she was sure she would soon die. That evening, finding herself close to where Riccardo lived, she decided to throw herself upon his mercy: surely, he’d either help her live, or give her a decent burial? But, when she arrived at his house, he wasn’t there. Incapable of walking any further, she’d collapsed outside his door.

Crumpled on the ground, she’d drifted in and out of awareness, yet thought it wasn’t much longer before Riccardo did return. At least she’d imagined it was him. She’d thought she heard the sound of his voice, breathless with emotion, and the feel of his strong arms about her as he lifted her up and carried her indoors. The last moment she could recall was the touch of his lips upon her hand, before she slipped into unconsciousness.

Buy Links:

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Universal Link: https://books2read.com/u/3RY7Yj
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Merchants-Dilemma-Meonbridge-Chronicles-Companion-ebook/dp/B0CJJKJFT6/
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Merchants-Dilemma-Meonbridge-Chronicles-Companion-ebook/dp/B0CJJKJFT6/
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/Merchants-Dilemma-Meonbridge-Chronicles-Companion-ebook/dp/B0CJJKJFT6/
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/Merchants-Dilemma-Meonbridge-Chronicles-Companion-ebook/dp/B0CJJKJFT6/

Review by Adriana Kraft

Having read and enjoyed the Meonbridge Chronicles series, I was delighted to receive a review copy of The Merchant’s Dilemma, a companion piece that follows up on characters introduced in the fourth Chronicle, Children’s Fate. I always appreciate historical fiction that’s well researched and gives a realistic picture of life in the era of its focus.

In her series, Carolyn Hughes has succeeded in highlighting the many consequences of the plague that ravaged England during the reign of Edward III, in the middle 1300s. Across two waves of the pestilence, it is estimated that half the population of England died. Peasant families lost many members – often their chief laborers, their means of earning an income. Noble estates suddenly didn’t have enough workers to bring in the harvest – or to plant the next year’s crops. Parents lost children. Wives lost husbands.

What I hadn’t thought of, though perhaps I should have, is brought to life in The Merchant’s Dilemma. Prostitution may be the world’s “oldest profession,” but in any era, it carries great stigma and is viewed with vast disrespect by most. But what if it wasn’t the woman’s fault? If she had no choice? What if she was forced into selling her body by a ruse, by what looked like an offer to be taught a useful trade, such as embroidery? Is there any route out for such a woman?

Both main characters in this novel are constrained by the strict rules and expectations of the fourteenth century’s social order. A respected merchant can certainly have a mistress on the side – but a former prostitute? And then to marry her? Unthinkable.

Without giving away spoilers, I think readers will be cheering for Bea as she encounters one insurmountable obstacle after another. She’ll need all the help she can get.

A satisfying read. Four Stars.

Author Bio:

Carolyn Hughes has lived much of her life in Hampshire. With a first degree in Classics and English, she started working life as a computer programmer, then a very new profession. But it was technical authoring that later proved her vocation, word-smithing for many different clients, including banks, an international hotel group and medical instruments manufacturers.

Although she wrote creatively on and off for most of her adult life, it was not until her children flew the nest that writing historical fiction took centre stage. But why historical fiction? Serendipity!

Seeking inspiration for what to write for her Creative Writing Masters, she discovered the handwritten draft, begun in her twenties, of a novel, set in 14th century rural England… Intrigued by the period and setting, she realised that, by writing a novel set in the period, she’d be able to both learn more about the medieval past and interpret it, which seemed like a thrilling thing to do. A few days later, the first Meonbridge Chronicle, Fortune’s Wheel, was under way.

Six published books later (with more to come), Carolyn does now think of herself as an Historical Novelist. And she wouldn’t have it any other way…

Carolyn has a Master’s in Creative Writing from Portsmouth University and a PhD from the University of Southampton.

You can connect with Carolyn through her website and social media.

Author Links:

Website: http://www.carolynhughesauthor.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/writingcalliope
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