The Key To All Things by Cindy Lynn Speer
Publication date: July 25th, 2020
Publisher: Dragonwell Publishing
Pages: 377
Synopsis:
From the bestselling author of THE CHOCOLATIER'S WIFE:
Every day, Lady Avriel hears the bards sing about the greatest love story of all times, a heartbreaking romance between a human nobleman, Captain Edward de Vere, and the beautiful Queen of the Fae, who shattered his heart when she abandoned him to accept her throne. Avriel secretly longs for the sad and romantic captain as she works as a double agent, serving at both human and fae courts to keep the peace between the two kingdoms.
But for three hours every night she remembers a completely different world, where the greatest love story is a lie, and Edward belongs to her. She believes this reality to be the true one, even if no one else does. The world has fallen under a spell, and it is up to Avriel to find its source and undo it.
To set things right, Avriel must face the all-powerful Elder Fae and confront the darkest powers that rule her destiny -- only to learn that if she proceeds, her actions will bring chaos and open her kingdom to destruction. Is this a choice she is willing to make to bring her love back?
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Praise for Cindy Lynn Speer
"Richly ambitious." -- Publishers Weekly
"A fine piece of fiction with some murder, mystery, magic, and fantasy." -- Front Street Reviews
"Cindy Lynn Speer has captured many voices in her novel and set them in a well-crafted world." -- SF Crowsnest
"Beautifully written, The Chocolatier's Wife will draw you into its spellbinding pages until you have read each and every one... I enjoyed each moment and encourage everyone to pick up a copy today." -- Long and Short Reviews
"This book is as delectable as chocolates. The Story was as smooth as chocolate that melts in the mouth. I devoured it with much pleasure." -- I am not a bookworm
"Really lovely fantasy-romance-mystery." -- Kyra Halland, author
"I enjoyed it, and I've now read it more than once. I'll almost certainly read it again." -- T.K. Elliott, author
"I loved the many twists and turns in the plot... The romance between William and Tasmin is so sweet." -- Bubble Bath Books
Excerpt - Prologue
I am the queen of sometimes. Sometimes I am a wife. Sometimes I am a spy. It just depends on what time of day you catch me.
There is a story that sits in the back of my head, and I remind myself of it every time I lie down to sleep. It is the story that recounts everything I had, and everything I lost. It is not the story you know, about war and love. You believe in the tale of Catherine of the Willows, a part-fae who fell in love with Edward de Vere, Captain of the King's Guards. You already are nodding, you know the story like you know your own face in the mirror. It's been told to you thousands of times. Catherine and Edward fell in love. They married despite their love being forbidden. And then, when the story should have ended with everyone having their happily ever after, the unthinkable happened. Catherine was chosen to take the fae throne. And with that, came a terrible decision. She could keep her mundane life, her marriage, or she could sacrifice her identity and become the Sapphire Queen of the Fae.
She sacrificed. And as she rose, Edward fell. Tossed aside, he became the tragic hero.
Here is the truth, if you would have it. There were three men who were like brothers: an inventor, a pirate, a romantic; warriors all. And there was a woman, Avriel, neither all fae nor all human, and she lived between the worlds of the human and fae courts. Avriel was the one enchanted Edward, Avriel was the one he wed, and everything should have been the happily ever after of the stories: flowers and sunshine and perfection.
So why don't you remember it this way? I don't know. No one remembers. They know of these three men -- Edward de Vere, and Merrick d'Marison, and Stephan d'Valerian, and all the things they did. They sometimes remember the woman -- me, Avriel, now a background character in a much grander story. But no one remembers the truth. In one brief moment everything's changed, and I do not know how, or why.
All I know is that Edward, my husband and the love of my life, does not remember who I am. But what is not as bad as it would seem. For, you see, except for three blessed hours each day, from nine until midnight, I don't remember him, either. Or, to be more precise, I don't remember that he was once mine. He's just an attractive soldier who once was the Captain of the King's Guard but now fell from grace, and all I can do is hide in the shadows and long for him.
Each time the clock chimes nine, I remember what it was like to taste his kisses, to have him lean close and whisper in my ear, to fight by his side. I remember what it was like to be powerful and in control of my destiny, to have friends who respected me.
It used to hurt, the remembering. At first it would paralyze me. I used to think I was mad. I would sit in my room and stare at the wall, wondering what to do. There was no one to talk to, to turn to. Everyone had been taken from me.
Oh, I cannot lie. It still does hurt. But I force it away, and instead I consider the day behind me, and the day ahead of me, and I take out some paper and write down some notes. They are different, depending on what needs to be accomplished. I place each note where I will see it in the morning, out of sight of the mirror, because there is a fae courtier who controls me, who can see through mirrors, and who would not allow me to proceed.
One step at a time. We will solve this. I will have my life back.
There is a story that sits in the back of my head, and I remind myself of it every time I lie down to sleep. It is the story that recounts everything I had, and everything I lost. It is not the story you know, about war and love. You believe in the tale of Catherine of the Willows, a part-fae who fell in love with Edward de Vere, Captain of the King's Guards. You already are nodding, you know the story like you know your own face in the mirror. It's been told to you thousands of times. Catherine and Edward fell in love. They married despite their love being forbidden. And then, when the story should have ended with everyone having their happily ever after, the unthinkable happened. Catherine was chosen to take the fae throne. And with that, came a terrible decision. She could keep her mundane life, her marriage, or she could sacrifice her identity and become the Sapphire Queen of the Fae.
She sacrificed. And as she rose, Edward fell. Tossed aside, he became the tragic hero.
Here is the truth, if you would have it. There were three men who were like brothers: an inventor, a pirate, a romantic; warriors all. And there was a woman, Avriel, neither all fae nor all human, and she lived between the worlds of the human and fae courts. Avriel was the one enchanted Edward, Avriel was the one he wed, and everything should have been the happily ever after of the stories: flowers and sunshine and perfection.
So why don't you remember it this way? I don't know. No one remembers. They know of these three men -- Edward de Vere, and Merrick d'Marison, and Stephan d'Valerian, and all the things they did. They sometimes remember the woman -- me, Avriel, now a background character in a much grander story. But no one remembers the truth. In one brief moment everything's changed, and I do not know how, or why.
All I know is that Edward, my husband and the love of my life, does not remember who I am. But what is not as bad as it would seem. For, you see, except for three blessed hours each day, from nine until midnight, I don't remember him, either. Or, to be more precise, I don't remember that he was once mine. He's just an attractive soldier who once was the Captain of the King's Guard but now fell from grace, and all I can do is hide in the shadows and long for him.
Each time the clock chimes nine, I remember what it was like to taste his kisses, to have him lean close and whisper in my ear, to fight by his side. I remember what it was like to be powerful and in control of my destiny, to have friends who respected me.
It used to hurt, the remembering. At first it would paralyze me. I used to think I was mad. I would sit in my room and stare at the wall, wondering what to do. There was no one to talk to, to turn to. Everyone had been taken from me.
Oh, I cannot lie. It still does hurt. But I force it away, and instead I consider the day behind me, and the day ahead of me, and I take out some paper and write down some notes. They are different, depending on what needs to be accomplished. I place each note where I will see it in the morning, out of sight of the mirror, because there is a fae courtier who controls me, who can see through mirrors, and who would not allow me to proceed.
One step at a time. We will solve this. I will have my life back.
About the Author:
Cindy Lynn Speer is the author of several short stories, book reviews, books and interviews.
And she finds talking in the third person boring, so...
Hello! Let's see, what else is interesting? I write for many reasons... to make people happy, to explore further the worlds in my head (day dreaming can be sloppy... and jumpy. One moment, you're at a stop light, day dreaming about riding dragons, the next moment you're at work, pretending that you're a CSI specializing in filing systems. Not a very disciplined way of seeing stories through to the end.) and to just celebrate the joy of words.
My library contains books on ships, chocolate, swords, murder mysteries, folk lore, myth, fantasy and all sorts of things. I am a jackdaw. I love to read about a lot of different things.
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