Masquerade Part 6: Masquerade, #6

By Valerie Francis

Part 6: Uh-oh. There's trouble in Paradise. In their real lives, things aren't going so well for Grace and Marlowe and the pressure they're feeling spills over to their rendezvous. When the fur begins to fly, will it be the end or can they find a way to kiss and make up?

 

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: Nov 27, 2016
• ISBN: 9780995340305

Book preview

Chapter 1

Isla was the first to leave the rare books room and did her best to act naturally. Tempted though she was to make a beeline for the door, she chose instead to saunter through the aisles and pause now and then to pick up a book or look at a trinket. That, after all, was more likely the behaviour of a book lover who'd made the trek to view the coveted Staadt rare books collection.

She was hyperaware of the other shoppers and still carried that disturbing feeling that they knew what she'd done; that someone was watching and would alert Eve. Although it wasn't likely to be the sweet old couple looking at Chicken Soup for the Soul, or the gaggle of teenagers oohing and ahhing over The Mortal Instruments books. Really, everyone seemed to be engaged in their own affairs and paying her no mind whatsoever. One man in a winter hat and felt coat turned away when she looked in his direction, but that surely was a coincidence. No, she was being paranoid. It was her guilty conscience and nothing more.

Still, before she left, she glanced at the man again, and once again he looked away.

Chapter 2

After being with Grace in the rare books room, the rest of Colin's afternoon was a bit of a blur. He certainly got stuff done but they were routine things that he could have done with his eyes closed. He didn't trust himself to take on anything more complicated because given his state of utter distraction, he'd screw it up.

It was all so surreal that at times he simply stared into space trying to convince himself that it actually had happened. He was so relaxed though, floating around in this zen-like state where nothing anyone did could bother him. It was this serenity more than anything else that convinced him they had truly been together. What was more, this feeling of tranquility was so addictive that even while he was still basking in its glow, he craved more.

That sense of longing made the train ride home downright torturous. It was like someone had plucked him from heaven and tossed him into the depths of hell. The noise, the crowds, and the awful smell of body odour and urine made being in the subway pure agony. He began to question how he could have taken this same route twice a day, every day for more than twenty years and have not noticed the misery. Maybe he had at first but now that it had become part of his daily routine, he'd gotten used to it. He sighed. It was a sad state of affairs when smelling human excrement in a public setting was the accepted norm.

Maybe Chandler had it right. Maybe there should be