Masquerade Part 1: Masquerade

By Valerie Francis

What would you do if you knew you wouldn't get caught?

Unwind with this steamy love story. Told as a 12-part serial, each book is about the length of a glass of wine or a soak in the tub.

Isla Foster and Colin Jackman are strangers. Desperate to escape the daily grind of life, they each accept an anonymous invitation to a masquerade ball — one of the most prestigious events in New York City. There they are given lavish costumes, false identities and an opportunity to take part in a seductive game.

If they accept, using the aliases Grace and Marlowe, they'll meet each month for a year in a series of secret rendezvous, consequence free. No one will ever know where they go or what they do, as long as they follow three simple rules:

1. they must never know the other's identity
2. they must only meet at the prearranged times and places
3. they must not fall in love

What could possibly go wrong?

"You'll be hooked from the opening scene." - Victoria Barbour, USA Today Bestselling Author

 

A Selection of Reviews

"Masquerade reads like a piece of chocolate after dinner. It goes down smoothly and leaves you craving more."

"Amazing fantasy getaway. Perfect rainy day read!"

"Ms. Francis is a skillful storyteller. She quickly captured the attention of this fussy reader and held my interest through to the end."

"Hard to put down."

"Absolutely phenomenal. Each part is better written than the last."

"I enjoyed this book as another fun diversion from my busy life."

"It has excellent characterization and I was pulled into the story, intrigued to know what would happen next."

"Absolutely love this format of delivery for a book. Oh Masquerade you have my attention now! I voluntarily reviewed this book."

"I really like this book. The characters were believable, the story had some mystery and I liked where the series was going to go with the Masquerade themes. I especially liked how this story was 'as long as a glass of wine'. I didn't test that but it was as long as a short stint on the beach. Now I want to see what happens in the next few stories!"

"This first instalment hooked me in every way: interesting opening, great detail, fully-fleshed major characters, each with a problematical life situation and minus my pet peeve -- poor editing. This instalment is expertly written AND edited, so there are no grammatical errors or typos to weaken/distract from the story. Kudos to Ms. Francis. I look forward to reading more!"

"What a fun escape these first two books are! I just finished part 2 and am left hanging in suspense and anxiously awaiting part 3 to be delivered. This is a unique way to read for me and I love it. Come on part 3!!!!!!!!!"

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fifth Hammer Books, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 18, 2016
• ISBN: 9780994014153

Book preview

Chapter 1

When Colin Jackman was a boy the priest told him masturbating was a sin. He neglected to mention it was also bloody good fun and, after nearly twenty years of marriage, a necessity. Colin stepped into the shower and let the hot water run down his back. He'd had the usual dream about a brunette in pink lingerie and fuck me heels —damned if he knew who she was, not that it mattered. He'd woken up with a hard-on, and at forty-eight that was good enough.

His wife's conditioner doubled as a terrific lubricant. A slippery, silicone-laden cream that, luckily for Colin, she refused to do without. He slathered it on in a well-practiced pattern and sighed. If he was paving a private road to hell, so be it. He passed a forefinger over his ridge and moaned, a soft, barely-audible sound easily masked by the shower. He brushed his cock again and smiled. Water ran over his face, and his shoulders relaxed. It was pure indulgence and a way to escape his stress and constant worry. He rocked his hips in time with his hand. An image flashed in his mind of curvy hips and thighs spreading to welcome him. He was close.

The bathroom door banged open and before Colin could react, the shower curtain was yanked aside. He froze mid-stroke, one hand on the shower wall.

Morning, Maureen.

His wife stared. Oh, for fuck sake, she said. A look of disgust spread across her face and she pointed to the pale yellow cream slathered on his mid-section. Is that my conditioner? She picked up the bottle with two fingers, dropped it in the sink and left the room.

Colin closed the curtain with a sigh and rinsed off.

So far, it was a pretty average day.

Chapter 2

Isla Foster pushed down the plunger on her French press and poured her first coffee of the day. She added steamed milk and, in honour of the crisp autumn morning, made a leaf pattern in the foam. She took a sip and smiled. Pure indulgence.

The purple and orange silk scarf she'd bought the day before lay draped over the back of a chair. It was covered in a delicate, hand-stitched web pattern of charcoal grey. Office tradition held that employees were to wear costumes on Hallowe'en, but as the only female partner in her firm, she couldn't bring herself to don cat whiskers or Princess Leia buns. Although she had to admit Dorothy's sparkly red shoes held a certain appeal. But since the senior partners weren't likely to take her seriously with a stuffed Toto under her arm, the scarf and diamond spider-shaped studded earrings would have to do.

Isla opened the New York Times app on her phone and scrolled through the business section. At the fourth story down, she stopped. Corporate Fraud, Kenroy, Morgan & Walters.

Kenroy, Morgan & Walters. Her firm.

---

Accusations of corporate fraud and political interference are being levelled against Robert Walters, founding partner of SoHo's premiere engineering and architectural firm, Kenroy, Morgan & Walters. In a statement released yesterday, Marian Leo, Chair of New York's Municipal Historical Society said that, at the behest of Telgartner International, Mr. Walters used falsified data in a report claiming that the

Reviews for Masquerade Part 1

[Kate · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This is a nice idea to separate a longer story into smaller sections. But it doesn't work when you finish book 5 and are directed to book 8 as the next in the series. So if you do decide to read it, pay attention to which volume you're up to!

I wasn't super keen on this in any event as the man isn't single at the start. Then, despite wanting to know what's been going on at the woman's workplace, after the confusion with the order of the books, I've given up. 2 stars - not for me.