Hello
lovelies! It gives me great pleasure
today to host Shalini and her new book, “The Secret Life of Royals”! For other stops on her Goddess Fish
Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in
this post.
Be
sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $50 Amazon or Barnes
and Noble Gift Card!!! Also, come back
daily to interact with Shalini and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks
for stopping by! Wishing you lots of
luck in this fabulous giveaway!
The Secret Life of Royals
by Shalini Dua
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GENRE: New Adult, YA, Fantasy
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BLURB:
Olivia
can’t take it anymore. She’s had enough of the big city and it’s lack of
fulfilling her dreams. Then, just when she’s about to give up and move home,
out of the blue, she is offered her dream job. Olivia is suspicious but that
could just be the New York in her. She decides not to pull at threads. Despite
her best efforts to remain blissfully oblivious, the secret to her life upgrade
is soon uncovered when she finds herself invited to be part of a secret
society.
Olivia
learns that there is a thin curtain separating our world from theirs. Just
beneath the surface, an entirely different one exists. One that is controlled
by those of Royal lineage. The chosen ones, the Royals, hold the fate of the
world in their hands. Will Olivia be able to bear the weight of the crown?
Confessions
of a Shopaholic meets The Adjustment Bureau, this contemporary fairytale is
both relatable and aspirational. Taking a look at the current balance of media
and power with a healthy dose of humor, fashion, food and wanderlust.
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EXCERPT TWO:
Connor
cleans up nicely in dark jeans, a black blazer paired with a white shirt and,
shockingly for him, no tie. He’s shaved for the occasion to reveal perfect skin
that appears baby smooth. I want to reach out and touch it to see if it’s as
soft as it seems, but I resist. Actually, Connor is hot. If you like that
smolderingly handsome type. It’s so annoying because he is such a difficult
person. I try to ignore the attractiveness because I find his personality
extremely abrasive, but I’m being nice because I need to follow his lead and
learn as much as I can about what it is exactly that we do.
“Shall
we?” asks Connor, offering me his arm in an annoyingly chivalrous move, one he
will soon live to regret. I begrudgingly take it, discomfited by the fact that
he can be equally charming and exasperating and that I never quite know which
to expect.
…
“A
host shows us to our seats and we meet our dining companions. One I recognize
as Gloria, the daytime TV talk show host with the ability to change anyone’s
life with a wave of her hand, and an army of assistants; and the other is some
sort of political big-wig whom I don’t recognize at all. Gloria air kisses all
of us and promptly decides Connor and I are a couple.
“Young
love is soooooo sweet. I just love it! Don’t you just love it? I could eat you
both up,” she exclaims until Connor can’t take it anymore and cuts her off.”
“We’re
not together,” he informs her brusquely. There’s a beat of silence as Connor’s
tone kills the conversation.
“We’re
colleagues,” I helpfully add to try to soften the atmosphere, “at Le Salon.”
Gloria seems shocked, and not just a little offended, momentarily silenced in
what I’m sure is a very rare occurrence for her. Although, whether it’s because
no one has ever cut her off before or by the way Connor seems so hostile about
the fact that we are not together is not clear. I, too, do not care for Connor’s
tone. To ease the tension and to bug Connor, I give her a women-in-cahoots
smile and tell her, “We’re on a break,” and add in hushed tones, “Connor isn’t
taking it well but since we work together, we both got roped into attending
this event.” That explanation seems to satisfactorily explain Connor’s behavior
and Gloria moves on to more pressing matters.
“Oh
men! Who makes your dress, darling? It’s to die for!” Sophia has not briefed me
on my outfit. I must remind her about that next time. I’m not clear if she
works for me or vice versa and what, if any, authority I have over her, so I
decide I’ll just be super nice about it but firm. My new strategy is fake it
till you make it because, well, I’m not exactly sure what else to do.
“I
was styled by Sophia Garcia,” I respond and leave it at that.
Gloria
and Senator Broughton, as I learn, know each other from various events. They
exchange pleasantries about their families, lives and pets before Gloria gets
bored and turns her attention back to Connor and me.
“Tell
me about your story, honey.” She seems really fascinated by ‘our story,’ which
I suppose makes sense as that is what she does for a living and it’s probably
hard to turn off. And I, encouraged by my first glass of wine on a relatively
empty stomach, get a bit carried away and keep fabricating details.
“Well,
we met in a Starbucks when we both ordered the same obscure secret menu drink.”
I look fondly over at Connor. “When our fingers touched and our eyes met for
the first time, I just knew.” I put my hand on his arm. Connor squirms
uncomfortably and goes a bit red. I can’t tell if it’s from anger or
embarrassment.
“Oh
My God. What happened? You sound perfect for each other!” I wonder if Gloria
always thinks she’s being filmed, presenting to a live audience. I sigh.
“We’re
on a break. I got hired at Le Salon and Connor couldn’t put his professional
life aside for our love.” I dab at my eyes with my napkin for effect. This is
fun. Maybe I should try acting, but it’s getting to be a little too much for
Connor.
He
finally interjects and sort of quietly yells, “We are not together.” At this
point, and I’m not sure what prompted this, I burst into full-fledged tears and
then, get this, he grows redder still and tries to comfort me, probably because
I’m making a scene.
Gloria
eats this up, and by the time the first course, a delightful butternut squash
and lobster soup spiced just right with hints of cinnamon and red pepper, is
served she has become my best girlfriend and protector for the evening, giving
me lots of helpful, if generic, relationship advice, like,
“You
don’t need a man, darling.” Though, it’s unclear why not. And “You’ll find
yourself a better man.” Although, I am pretty convinced I don’t need one at
this point, and now I’m confused.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
An
international upbringing and a love of stories laid the foundation for
wanderlust. Shalini aspires
to spend her time country-hopping and consuming pop-culture, comedy and good
food but the reality is often frantically downing coffee, meeting deadlines at
exactly the last second and working her unglamorous corporate job to fund all
of the other pursuits.
The
Secret Lives of Royals is Shalini’s debut novel. Her other work includes
published poetry and scripts only she has read.
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CONNECT WITH SHALINI:
Website:
Email:
shalinidua126@gmail.com
Facebook:
Twitter:
Instagram:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle:
Amazon Paperback:
Barnes and Noble:
Apple iBooks:
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Shalini will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N GC
to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog. This does not cost you anything, it just
helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored
by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish
Promotions. Prizes are given away by the
sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish
Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting me!
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited to be sharing this book with all of you. If you love fashion, travel, shopping, food and pop-culture, you might just enjoy this read.
If you could have unlimited access to one designer's closet, who would you choose? I think mine would be DVF. I love a wrap dress!
I liked the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed it.
DeleteThank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you! :)
ReplyDelete