Hold Still: Natures in Harmony, #1
By Megan Derr
4.5/5
()
About this ebook
Esen has spent his entire life an outcast, and he threw out his last chance at fitting in when he broke the engagement his family worked so hard to arrange. Sent to the royal palace to fulfill one last duty, he counts the hours until he is literally left homeless and destitute.
But hiding away in the royal garden, he accidentally overhears a private conversation and meets the mysterious Queen's Man...
Megan Derr
Megan is a long-time resident of queer romance and keeps herself busy reading and writing it. She is often accused of fluff and nonsense. When she’s not involved in writing, she likes to cook, harass her wife and cats, or watch movies. She loves to hear from readers and can be found all over the internet.meganderr.compatreon.com/meganderrmeganderr.blogspot.comfacebook.com/meganaprilderrmeganaderr@gmail.com@meganaderr
Read more from Megan Derr
The Eastern Gate Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Once Upon a Dream Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Talismaker Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Stable Boy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Runescribe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Something Sweet Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5By the Way Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Dragon's Tamer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cake with the King Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Royal Fire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ransom of a Night Hunter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Trilogy of Knights Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Only Option Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Midsummer Baker Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dire Straits Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGodfrey and the Detective Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Magic & Mischief Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lukos Heat Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How Not to Marry a Prince Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Blood in the Water Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Main Gauche and Other Tales Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Monk Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gather Close Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Game Most Dangerous Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ink and Paper Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Shopping List Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ivan the Heartless Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Alchemist Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Night-Blooming Hearts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpell Weaver Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to Hold Still
Titles in the series (2)
Hold Still: Natures in Harmony, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gather Close: Natures in Harmony, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related ebooks
Gather Close: Natures in Harmony, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGather Close Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHold Still Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Dragon's Tamer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Exception: Jewel Bonds, #3 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lord Seabolt: Four Families, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finder Tolan: Four Families, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Matchmaker Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Main Gauche and Other Tales Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An Admirer: Jewel Bonds, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kiss the Rain: Jewel Bonds, #2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Royal Inquisitor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finder Tolan Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Crown Jewel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Toymaker's Hoard: Trice City Lovers, #2 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Two Parts Mistletoe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Love Tokens: Trice City Lovers, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Godfrey and the Detective Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Midsummer Song: Tales of Midsummer's Night, #5 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fresh Meat: Dance with the Devil, #6.5 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Little Moments: Little Moments, #2 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Huntsman: Blodwen Forest, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Castellan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fairy Wings: Scales and Wings, #2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cake with the King Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Trick of the Light Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Close Enough to Touch: Anti-Heroes, #3 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Glass Coffin: Dance with the Devil, #1.5 Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Dragon of Bellerose Island Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Talismaker: Stray Magic, #2 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
LGBTQIA+ Romance For You
Swap Tales: Substitute Girlfriend Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Coming Out: 14 Erotica Closet Gay Bundle Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Three for Three: Friendly MMF Menage Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Yaoified Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bossy: An Erotic Workplace Diary Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Love and Pleasure: A Steamy Lesbian Romance Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Visitor: a Friendly MMF Ménage Tale Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Consort Academy Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Purple Panties: An Eroticanoir.com Anthology Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: by Taylor Jenkins Reik - A Comprehensive Summary Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAm I a Lesbian? 15 Signs You Might Be Attracted to a Woman Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You Make It Look Good Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Second Chance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Worth the Wait Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Orgy: A Short Story About Desire Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Governor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Broken Blade Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Backwoods Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Thieving Threesome Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Us: Him, #2 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5AITA? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Charm Offensive: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Him: Him, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blood of the Pack Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Reality of Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Queer Atmospheres: Gay, Lesbian and Queer Romance Stories from Imogen Markwell-Tweed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Epic: Him, #3 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Greatest Risk Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Keeping Her Secret Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Hold Still
10 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A classic Megan Derr tale, with the fantasy aspect, the sweetness we have learned to expect and lovely characters (except for the ex, I kind of felt like he was there just to make a point). Definitely worth a read if you like the style!
Book preview
Hold Still - Megan Derr
Esen has spent his entire life an outcast, and he threw out his last chance at fitting in when he broke the engagement his family worked so hard to arrange. Sent to the royal palace to fulfill one last duty, he counts the hours until he is literally left homeless and destitute.
But hiding away in the royal garden, he accidentally overhears a private conversation and meets the mysterious Queen's Man...
Hold Still
Natures in Harmony
By Megan Derr
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission of the publisher, except for the purpose of reviews.
Edited by Samantha M Derr
Cover designed by Megan Derr
This book is a work of fiction and as such all characters and situations are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual people, places, or events is coincidental.
Third Edition August 2019
Copyright © 2019 by Megan Derr
Printed in the United States of America
Hold Still
A Natures in Harmony Book
Megan Derr
Esen slipped outside, desperate to escape the stifling ball, the whispers that sprang up whenever he passed by a cluster of people, the reproving looks that he could feel like something slithering across his skin. He didn't need the judgment of strangers. They had no right to be accusatory, disappointed, or to spout twisted speculation as to why he had broken his engagement.
Not that it stopped any of them.
He just wanted to fulfill his obligation to Queen Marga and then...well, go, though he had no idea where he would go. Home was out of the question, and tempting though it was to return to Mount Chiron, he did not really want to become a hermit, alone and forgotten by the world. Bad enough he had spent his childhood that way.
There was some appeal to traveling, to seeing the world—but he had always imagined doing it alongside someone, traveling with a purpose. The idea of wandering around aimlessly because he quite literally had nowhere else to go...
'Fickle Wind' was the term he had heard most that evening, though anyone who really knew Sylphs knew they were no such thing. More than any elemental, Sylphs needed stability, needed someone who would ground them so that they did not succumb to the whispers of the wind.
He just wished...
Esen sighed and stared up at the night sky, the yellow half-moon shining down on the queen's garden. There was a sweet scent on the summer breeze, and he was tempted to drift into it, lose himself in it. Who would miss him? Certainly not his family, who had not bothered to recall him until he was sixteen. They had then crammed a thousand neglected lessons into his head so that he could be quickly married off to suit family ends, only to toss him right back out again when he had broken the engagement, sending him as a representative at the Gathering of Harmony with the understanding that he need not bother to return.
No family, no friends, and the entire court rife with gossip about why he would break such a fine engagement.
He fussed with the edge of his jacket, sad that after all the trouble he had gone to in picking out the dark pink fabric and the gold lace and the shiny buttons... It was so handsome and colorful, but all night people had looked at him as though he was wearing a flour sack.
Sighing again, he retreated to one of the stone benches set against the high garden wall, hiding himself from immediate view of the queen's summer palace behind night-blooming jasmine and roses. He closed his eyes, reminded himself of why the rumors and looks and his family's fury were worth it. After so much anger and pain, he would not doubt himself. He would not spend the rest of his life miserable.
But, an inner voice whispered, it would be nice if just one other person believed in him. He was so tired of being alone in everything he did. He did not need