Cirrus@Austlit

'Despite being the second child of the king and queen of Merveille, Alyssabeth thought that if she kept a low profile she could stay out of the media’s glaring spotlight and live a relatively normal life. That was until her father, the king, and her brother, the crown prince, were both killed in a hunting accident.

'Her dream of joining the UN was no more and instead she needed to return to the small European country of her birth to pick up where her father and brother left off. Her Harvard degree in international relations was forfeit and in its place she must become queen, if the misogynistic Parliament can see past their prejudices.

'Not much had changed in the small country in her four year absence, but there were two noticeable differences. Her brother’s two best friends, Will Darkly and Jordan Wicks, had grown up into two very intriguing men. Jordan practically swept her off her feet from the moment she stepped off the plane but Will’s more reserved, darkly intense interest in her gave her tingles.

'Alyssa wasn’t sure she was cut out to be queen, but she knew that she wanted to do her father and brother proud. She was willing to give it her best shot, even if it meant going toe-to-toe with Parliament. And then there was the small matter of her needing to be married in order to fulfil her birthright and take her place as the head of state.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'There are always two sides to the story…

'A Royal Engagement was told exclusively from Princess Alyssa’s point of view…now see Will’s side of the story.

'The last few years have been hell for Will Darkly, Duke of Camphrey, Lord of Pemberton. First his mother died, then his father, leaving the estate destitute and we won’t even go into how he and his sister were betrayed by someone they trusted. Now, just when he has finally landed on his feet, his best friend, the Crown Prince Jacob St. Benét, is killed in a hunting accident.

'Jacob’s death brings Will face to face with his childhood crush, the prince’s sister, Alyssa, now the crown princess and heir apparent and she’s even more beautiful than he remembered. She’s also involved with the one man who could cause Will to commit murder.

'Grieving for his friend, trying to keep his business moving forward, and avoiding the attraction he feels for his best friend’s sister leaves him short tempered and irritable and something has to give before he loses his mind.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'On the day of the new queen’s coronation, a man from Lady Alexandra’s past turns up unannounced in Merveille. Lord Frédéric intercepts him and discovers that Alex had left this man at the altar six months prior and now he had arrived to claim her.

'Alex hasn’t told anyone the real reason she left everything she had worked so hard for in the States to move to Merveille and take up the position of Queen Alyssa’s personal assistant. But now the main reason for her flight from the US has turned up on the palace’s doorstep and she is backed into a corner. The only person that she can think of to help her is Freddie, but she worried that getting too close to him might just do more harm than good.

'The last thing Freddie wants is to get entangled with a woman. He liked to keep his options open, but now that he has returned to Merveille for good, his mother is trying her damnedest to get him married off and producing the next Bingham heir. When Alex asks for his help, he is only too eager to help her and maybe get his mother off his back in the process. He never expected to fall for her.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The queen is getting married and Priscilla is required to work alongside the Lord Chancellor, Dominique, to ensure that the whole affair goes off without a hitch and that they don’t, unwittingly, start World War III. The only problem is that Priscilla finds Dominique insufferable and Dom isn’t all that enamoured with Priscilla either.

'When Priscilla’s sister, Bianca, falls for Dominique’s brother, Louis, the two young lovers hatch a plot to ensure that they can spend time together, but it means that Dom has to pretend to be interested in Priscilla and get her to date him.

'The more time they spend together, the more Dom and Priscilla start to like each other, except that now Dom is caught in a difficult spot…should he tell Priscilla that he only asked her out because his brother wanted to date her sister, or should he keep quiet and hope she doesn’t find out?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Lady Jeanette Bower had always known what her life was going to look like. It had been drummed into her since she was a little girl. She would marry a titled gentleman and make him a splendid wife who was above reproach. It was what her mother had always wanted for her and Lady Jeanette always did what her mother wanted her to do. She was a good girl. The only problem was, Lady Jeanette didn’t expect a six foot four Australian with sparkling tawny coloured eyes and a mischievous grin to walk into her life and show her that there was perhaps another path for her to take.

'Drew Taylor had just landed his dream job and the fact that it was half way around the world from his meddling mother was just icing on the cake. He never expected to be swept off his feet by a woman on a hot pink Ducati. A woman who also happened to be one of the queen’s ladies in waiting. And then there was the complication of the viscount she was supposed to marry. How could a cane farmer’s son from tropical Queensland compete with a man who could give Lady Jeanette the title she had always wanted? He couldn’t, but that wouldn’t stop him from trying.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Lady Meredith Bingham thought that she had her life sorted. She was a member of the royal guard - an elite security team tasked with protecting the queen of Merveille. She was also close personal friends with the queen and part of her inner circle - the ladies in waiting. But then her mother had to go and ruin it all. Lady Caroline Bingham was sick of her daughter fooling around and playing soldier. She thought it was high time her daughter got serious about her future and found herself a suitable husband. With the duke pulling double duty as the country's prime minister, it was only right that his daughter start acting like a proper daughter of nobility. Much to Meredith's chagrin, the queen agrees that Meredith must step down from her post.

'Prince Christophe Kostopolous was a prince in exile. For the last ten years he had been living under the pseudonym of Jamie Kosta, and for the last seven years he has been part of the royal guard. Very few people knew his true identity, but that was all about to change. The people he had been hiding from all these years have found him and he may finally have his chance to reclaim his rightful place on the throne of his small island nation of Kalopsia. The only problem is, he has fallen for a certain duke's daughter and she has no idea who he really is.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Coming to Merveille and taking up a position as one of Queen Alyssa’s ladies in waiting hadn’t been part of Savannah Rousseau’s plan, but she wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity when it came her way. The daughter of an impoverished viscount, Savannah had nothing to lose and everything to gain by being included amongst the new queen’s entourage…as long as no one found out about her secret.

'Savannah loved her son. Archer was the sun and moon of her life, but being a single mother would mean instant disqualification from the ladies in waiting. So she hid him from the queen and her new friends…for two years. Now someone had stumbled upon her secret and Savannah would do anything to ensure that she didn’t become a royal embarrassment.

'Jed Fairchild came to Merveille to escape his own scandal and the last thing he wanted was to be embroiled in another. Finding out about the young boy and impoverished viscount that Savannah had stashed in the abandoned hunting cabins was a complication that he didn’t need. Being attracted to the hot-tempered lady in waiting was another. All Jed wanted was to live a simple life working with his horses and ignoring the rest of the world, but with Savannah in his life and the inquisitive Archer following him like his very own shadow, the quiet life was the last thing Jed had…and maybe it wasn’t really what he wanted after all.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Lady Georgina Darkly, the newly titled Duchess of Pemberton, did not need one more thing to deal with the week before Christmas. The temperature was dropping alarmingly, a snow storm had been predicted, the milk tanks in the dairy were close to freezing and there was a leak in her bedroom roof. To top it all off Clarabelle, the cow that had a mischievous streak a mile wide, had escaped the confines of the barn and could very well freeze to death if Georgie didn’t find her soon. The absolute very last thing she needed was an arrogant, stubborn, wealthy, and undeniably gorgeous Italian to turn up on her doorstep in need of rescuing.

'Leonardo Ricci, youngest son of one of Italy’s wealthiest families did not want to be stuck in the middle of a snow storm in a country barely more than the size of a postage stamp. He wanted to be with his friends in Milan, not suffering through a stilted family Christmas with his parents. When a cow appeared in the middle of the road and caused his beautiful Ferrari to careen out of control into a snow bank, he honestly didn’t think his day could get any worse…and then he met the Duchess. She was opinionated, stubborn, far too capable for her own good, stunningly beautiful, and immune to his charms. They had nothing in common and if she hadn’t rescued him then he probably would never have given her another thought. But then they got stuck together in her run-down mansion with no electricity and no phones. That’s when the sparks really started to fly.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Lady Margaret de la Fontaine was the forgotten lady in waiting. She didn’t mind…most of the time. She liked working with Lady Savannah and the others and believed whole-heartedly in what the queen was trying to achieve in their small country of Merveille. She just wished that someone would notice her, just once.

'Queen Alyssa’s ladies in waiting had, one by one, met and fallen in love with their dream partners, all except Margaret, not that anybody had given her single status another thought. That didn’t mean she didn’t also wish for someone to love, but she wasn’t holding her breath, especially since her best friend, Lady Hadley Winchester, was now part of the ladies in waiting. It seemed the newest member of the group was a hit with everyone, including the queen, which was great but once again left Margaret as the wallflower.