The Diamond Slipper Book

Dear Reader,

What comes to mind when you think of a diamond slipper? Cinderella, perhaps? That's what Cordelia Brandenburg imagines when her godparents arrange a
marriage for her with a man she's never met—a marriage that will take her to Versailles, far from the rigid confines of her childhood home. The betrothal
gift is a charm bracelet with a tiny, glittering diamond slipper attached...as befits a journey into a fairy-tale future.

But Cordelia—young, headstrong, and completely adorable—runs into trouble right away. Her escort to the wedding is the golden-eyed, sensual, teasing Viscount Leo Kierston. For Cordelia, it's love at first sight. Yet Leo seems to see only a spoiled child—perhaps it's the way she cheats at chess—and Cordelia is determined to show him the woman beneath.

There is, however, no escaping her arranged marriage. She's devastated to discover that her new husband is an utterly loathsome tyrant who will stop at nothing to satisfy his twisted desires.

My heart went out to Cordelia as she struggles courageously against a man determined to break her spirit.  But her husband has a secret, one that will bring down the vengeance of Viscount Kierston and all who have reason to hate him.

I hope you'll enjoy this love story of two of my very favorite characters.

Warmest wishes,

Jane Feather

P.S. The charm bracelet makes its next appearance in The Silver Rose.
Look for it next summer.

Publishers Weekly

Feather's (Virtue) latest, is full of sharp and often disquieting contrasts that may rattle some readers. The book starts in a sweetly frivolous tone as Lady Cordelia Brandenburg is married by proxy, at the same time her best friend, Marie Antoinette is pledged to the future dauphin. Cordelia is the typical cute-and-plucky naf who quickly decides that she's in love with Viscount Leo Kierston, the stand-in for her intended, a widowed prince with small twin daughters. Together, the proxied brides are to travel to Versailles to join their husbands and solemnize their marriages. Maybe, given the fate of her good friend, readers shouldn't be surprised when Cordelia's own story switches from lighthearted to disturbing: when she arrives at her new home, she learns that her husband intends to break her spirit, ignores his children, enjoys sexual perversion and murdered his first wife. The promise of a happy ending may not be enough for everyone to stay with it until the bittersweet end. (Feb.)