Title: Winter Solstice in the Crystal Castle
Author: Jennifer Ivy Walker
Genre: Medieval romance; holiday romance
Book Blurb:
Gabrielle is a flame haired, fire hearted French princess who dreams of becoming a Valkyrie warrior queen like her Viking ancestors from Normandy. Sent to Paris to learn the proper etiquette for a future French queen, she is called home to le Château de Beaufort for a forced marriage to a man she loathes when her father the king’s precarious health takes a sudden turn for the worse.
Chivalrous, solitary knight Sir Bastien de Landuc suffers an impossible love for Gabrielle, the unattainable princess he can never have. Without a title of nobility, he is ineligible to compete in the tournament for her hand in marriage, despite his unparalleled equestrian skills and inimitable swordsmanship.
Yet, Yuletide wishes for a wondrous winter solstice in the glorious Crystal Castle might make impossible dreams come true.
Can the valiant knight win the coveted hand of his Viking Valkyrie?
Excerpt:
Seven years of holding her close, inhaling her rose scented, luxuriously long red hair.
Seven years of admiring the soft, porcelain skin he longed to touch.
Seven years of perfectly molding her strong, athletic body to his own.
Tantalizing, torturous torment.
“I shall be a warrior queen,” she’d told him, emerald eyes ablaze with fierce pride as she’d blocked and parried his blows. “A Valkyrie shield maiden, like my ancestor, Brunnhild.” Agile and graceful as a dancer, she’d spun with stunning elegance and surprising force, disarming him with a glorious, gloating grin. “And I shall defend this kingdom with my sword… thanks to you.”
She’d strolled across the heather blooms to pick up and return his fallen blade. And-- long red hair whipping in the salty sea spray like a victorious Viking goddess-- she’d kissed him, her full, sensuous lips bestowing a generous gift of gratitude.
And the promise of invigorating, intoxicating, impossible love.
L’amour impossible.
The courtly love of a chivalrous knight for a lofty Lady he could never have.
So, he’d worshipped her in his young heart, suffering in silence as she honed her impressive skills and shared her secret hopes for the future as a powerful, invincible queen.
A Viking warrior queen.
A valorous Valkyrie shield maiden.
A voluptuous vixen who danced in his daring dreams.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/winter-solstice-in-the-crystal-castle-jennifer-ivy-walker/1144031968?ean=2940186024446
Google Books: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Winter_Solstice_in_the_Crystal_Castle/6sAm0AEACAAJ?hl=en
What I love most about the holiday season:
The bright eyes of children (and adults!) who believe in the magic of Christmas.
Why is your featured book a must-read to get you in the holiday mood?
It’s a medieval holiday romance where Yuletide Wishes come true!
Giveaway –
One lucky reader will win a $100 Amazon gift card.
Open internationally.
Runs July 1 – 31, 2024
Drawing will be held on August 1, 2024.
Author Biography:
Enthralled with legends of medieval knights and ladies, dark fairy tales and fantasies about Druids, wizards and magic, Jennifer Ivy Walker always dreamed of becoming a writer. She fell in love with French in junior high school, continuing her study of the language throughout college, eventually becoming a high school teacher and college professor of French.
As a high school teacher, she took her students every year to the annual French competition, where they performed a play she had written, "Yseult la Belle et Tristan la Bête"--an imaginative blend of the medieval French legend of "Tristan et Yseult" and the fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast", enhanced with fantasy elements of a Celtic fairy and a wicked witch.
“Winter Solstice in the Crystal Castle” is a blend of her love for medieval romance, the French history of Vikings in Normandy, and chivalrous valor. It’s a steamy, passionate romance between a fiery French princess descended from Viking Valkyrie and the sullen, solitary knight who suffers an impossible love for her. Readers who enjoyed The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven trilogy will recognize several of the main characters in this new novel as well.
Explore her realm of Medieval French Fantasy. She hopes her novels will enchant you.
Social Media Links:
Website: https://jenniferivywalker.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bohemienneivy
Youtube for book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnGy-S6xlUM