Nicholas Baudin lives in Toulouse, France, where he owns a small coffee place, Le Petit Café. His life is apparently tranquil, and made of small joys and simple habits. In truth, though, this young man’s soul is troubled with memories of a painful event.
Then, on a bright spring day, Nicholas meets a strange, enchanting young woman with white hair, and pale blue eyes. Her name is Lily Brightwell. She is an actress who captivates crowds with her talent and her stories.
As Nicholas begins to fall for the young artist, his life turns into something unexpected and lovely.
There are so many lovely books I come across, and I really wish I could read and review them all – it’s sadly quite impossible. So today I’d like to introduce you to a couple of authors that you might like to investigate for yourself.
The first is Petra March. The third novella in her A Touch of Cinnamon series – A Dream of Lilies – was released on June 21st, available for kindle through Amazon in the UK and US, and looks thoroughly lovely. I found a wonderful review from Michelle Ryles on The Book Magnet, and I’d like to thank her for allowing me to link to it here (do have a look round while you’re there – Michelle writes excellent reviews).
Although this book is part of a series, it can be read as standalone – but you might like to take a look at the other two novellas in the series too, A Veil of Glass and Rain (just £1.49 at time of writing) and the multi-award winning All the Skies I Will Not See.
Fancy trying a little? My thanks to Petra for this extract from A Dream of Lilies:
Lily Brightwell stretched her arms up to the pulsing lights, then waited for the music to graze her fingertips. She closed her eyes and smiled, as the loud notes penetrated her skin and ran throughout her veins, along with her blood, guiding its course and speed. Her body swayed to the music, as her eyelids fluttered, then finally her pale-blue eyes opened to take in the crowd around her.
The club was filled with bodies, perfumes, and colors. As she danced, Lily’s gaze carefully searched for a suitable partner. As she considered the enchanted faces, Lily made her way through the throbbing crowd, still letting her body follow the pattern painted by the music.
While she moved, a young man with dark hair and flushed skin – his dancing endearingly clumsy – smiled at her, but soon looked away. A warm hand stroked Lily’s, catching her attention; Lily turned and met a beautiful woman with short, blond hair. The woman’s long, lithe fingers stroked Lily’s white strands, while her eyes considered Lily’s features , the features of a twenty-four-year-old woman. “Lovely,” the woman mouthed, then backed away and into the arms of another lady.
Lily grinned and for a moment forgot her goal, as the music faded then grew into another rhythm. Lily let the new melody fold her into its hot embrace, and danced for a long while.
At last, determined brown eyes captured hers.
The man was tall, lean, and elegant; he wanted her and his entire body declared so. For a brief moment, however, Lily’s resolve faltered. So, to regain her courage, she conjured the images of two young men – one was her age, the other a bit older. They lived far away from her, yet on this particularly painful night, Lily and the two men were linked by deep, unspeakable, immense grief.
On this night, Lily – just like the two men, she believed – was looking for a necessary relief; that’s why she finally nodded to the elegant man, and smiled when she glimpsed his acceptance of her muted invitation.
About the Author:
Petra March studied Screenwriting and History of American Cinema at UCLA and NYU. Presently, Petra keeps travelling and dreaming through her novels. Her characters are deeply in love with Europe and the USA, just like Petra is.
Connect with Petra through her website and her Facebook author page.