Sandra's Book Club: Blog Tour: JESTER by Brielle D. Porter

JESTER

by Brielle D. Porter

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GENRE: YA Fantasy with Romance

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BLURB:

What happens in Oasis, stays in Oasis.

Lisette’s father killed the King. His execution leaves Lisette alone, disgraced, and without the magic he intended to pass on to her. In Oasis, that’s a problem. Glutted with enchanted performers, Oasis is a sin city where courtiers pay in gold to drink, gamble, and above all, be entertained. To survive on its competitive streets, Lisette peddles paltry illusions in place of magic.

Desperate to prove herself, Lisette enters into a deadly competition to be chosen as the highest-ranked magician in the world, the Queen’s Jester. But her rival, the irritatingly handsome Luc, possesses the one thing Lisette does not―real magic. Lisette will do anything to win, but when evidence implicating the Queen in her husband’s murder surfaces, Lisette must choose between redeeming her family name, or seizing the fame she’s hungered for her entire life.

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EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT

Luc definitely has a type.

He takes her hand gently and leans in to whisper something in her ear. She titters, cheeks rosy. She’s clearly enraptured, unaware of the fate that awaits her, a butterfly in a web.

Even if she did know, I doubt she’d care. Half the women in this audience have seen Luc’s show before, and in spite of its macabre ending, they still keep coming in droves. He ignores her fluttering lashes, his eyes finding me again in the crowd. A chill runs down my spine.

Without breaking eye contact, he stabs the girl onstage. And even though I’ve seen his show hundreds of times, know exactly how it ends, a gasp breaks free from my tight lips as she crumples to the ground. Blood stains the wood around her, a stage that has seen its fair share of death. Seeing my reaction, he actually has the nerve to smile as she bleeds out on the ground beside him.

He steps away from the blood before it can reach his expensive snakeskin boots, ignoring the paunchy man who clambers onstage with him, pawing frantically at the bloody maiden.

“Olivia! What have you done to her? Olivia, wake up!”

Olivia’s father, I assume, if his age and resemblance to the girl are any indicator. Luc smiles down benevolently at the man, whose face is blotchy and panicked. Tears run down his cheek as he blubbers, and my gut clenches both in shame for him and pity.

“Who will pay the debt for this maiden?” Luc asks. He doesn’t extend a hand to the man, who grasps at his trousers, unaware of the blood that stains his fine clothes.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Brielle D. Porter decided to become a writer after a well-meaning elementary school teacher told her she had a gift for it. Stolen moments under the covers reading anything from Harry Potter to William Goldman solidified the desire to tell stories herself one day. Jester is her debut novel.

Brielle lives with her husband and three sons on a lavender farm in Northern Idaho. When she’s not writing, she can be found running and beekeeping. Only ask her about her hobbies if you have plenty of time to spare.

Author Website: https://brielledporter.com/

Goodreads Author: https://www.goodreads.com/briellums

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/courtshipofthemonsters/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/briellums

JESTER Buy Links:

Direct from publisher (CamCat): https://camcatbooks.com/Books/J/Jester

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Ip4smU

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/jester-brielle-d-porter/1140546918

IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780744305586

BookShop: https://bookshop.org/books/jester-9780744305586/9780744305586

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