This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Alix Nichols will be awarding a digital box set of her bestselling series The Darcy Brothers to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Description of A Duchess With A Secret
For sixteen years, they’ve hated each other…
and craved each other.Widowed and betrayed, Eva Castellane will do anything to protect her daughter’s inheritance.
Standing in her way?
Alex Castellane—her late husband’s steely, magnetic half brother.
The man poised to take it all.
Her worst enemy.
Her forbidden temptation.Stuck together in the family castle, their legal fight spirals into war…
until a common threat forces a reluctant alliance.
Desire blurs the lines.
Chemistry sizzles.
Rules get broken.But as the verdict nears, one slip could unravel Eva’s explosive secret…
A Duchess with a Secret stands alone within the Montevor Royals Saga. It is a spicy contemporary enemies-to-lovers romance with forced proximity, family secrets, and a hard-won HEA.
Read an Excerpt of A Duchess With A Secret
Alex
The air outside the basement at Mount Evor Secret Service feels colder than it did inside. It isn’t exactly chilly; just crisp enough to bite, which I welcome wholeheartedly. It clears my head.
“I’m going to walk to the hotel,” Eva says. “I need air.”
“I was about to say the same.”
She shoots me a look. “Please don’t. I don’t want to start thinking we have things in common.”
“What about the duchy?” I taunt.
“Of all the things we don’t have in common,” she quips, “the duchy is the one we don’t have in common the most.”
I smile despite myself. The pretty shell has some humor.
“May I walk beside you?” I ask.
“If you must,” she says after a beat. “But don’t think I’m warming to you.”
“Understood.”
We fall into step, heading toward the hotel located in the city’s historic center. She keeps her arms folded tight across her chest like a shield.
“I want you to know I will fight you with everything I’ve got. Dirty. No-holds-barred,” she warns. “My lawyer, Pauline, is very good at her job.”
I glance over. “So, this is your idea of small talk?”
“If you’d prefer silence…”
“No, this is delightful.”
We keep walking. Pombrio glows in the late-September dusk. The limestone facades catch the last golden rays and appear to be lit from within. Lined with old trees starting to turn, cobbled streets stretch ahead, winding gently. Cafés hum with end-of-day energy, clinking glasses, and low laughter. A faint whiff of woodsmoke rides the breeze.
I’d enjoy this stroll more if Eva weren’t so close. Her presence is magnetic and annoying in equal measures. Her perfume doesn’t help. It has none of the sugary sweetness most ladies favor. Instead, it’s seductive in a sharp, provocative way that’s so much her.
Interview with Author Alix Nichols
What inspired you to come up with the idea for your book?
I’ve been wanting to write a romance in the Montevor Royals world that felt a little different. The hero and heroine are older, with some real life experience and emotional wounds behind them. And in the heroine’s case, she also has a child to think about and protect.
Do you have a favorite scene? If so, what was it?
My favorite scene is probably the one in the dungeon. It has everything I love in a romance: adventure, mystery, witty banter, chemistry, and sizzle. And, well… it’s set in a dungeon!
When you’re not writing, what are you up to?
Reading, or rewatching the 1996 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice (the one with Colin Firth). You see, I’m obsessed with Jane Austen’s writing, that particular book, that particular mini-series, Mr Darcy, and Colin Firth. Hence the 50+ rewatches.
What do you love most about writing?
What I love most about writing is the power to create entire worlds, bring characters to life, and shape their destinies. As an author yourself, you have no doubt felt how heady that creative rush can be. It gives me a high unlike anything else.
What other books have you written?
In addition to the Montevor Royals saga, I’ve written three other series. The Bistro La Bohème was my first — a series set around a quirky Paris bistro. It’s perfect if you loved Friends, Sex and the City, and How I Met Your Mother. Then there’s The Darcy Brothers, my bestselling trilogy. Book one is a spicy modern reimagining of Pride and Prejudice (I already mentioned I’m obsessed with Darcy, didn’t I?). Book Riot named it one of their Top 100 Must-Read International Romances, which made me very happy. And finally, there’s my sports romance trilogy, Playing to Win. It features water polo — a sport that’s rare in romance. Which is honestly incomprehensible, given how hot the players are!
About Author Alix Nichols
Alix Nichols is a caffeine addict, a longtime fan of Mr. Darcy. She pens sexy romantic comedies and romantasy. Her books have been described as “pure pleasure” (Kirkus Reviews) that “keep fans of romance hanging off the edge of their seat” (Romantic Times).
At the age of six, she released her first book. It featured highly creative spelling on a dozen pages stitched together and bound in velvet paper.
Decades later, she lives in France and still writes. Her spelling has improved (somewhat), she has become a Kindle Scout winner, Chanticleer First Place winner, USA Today bestseller, Book Riot’s Top 100 Must-Read International Romance author, and Amazon All-Star for being one of the 100 most-read authors in Kindle Unlimited.
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