Once Upon a Wager
by Julie LeMense

First Place Winner of the Chantelaine Award for Best Debut Novel from Chanticleer Book Reviews

—Passion changes everything. So does betrayal…

When Lord Alec Carstairs returns from the Peninsular Wars, hailed as a hero in the midst of the London Season, only Annabelle Layton knows the sort of man that he really is, that the honor everyone praises is illusory.

They’d been close friends once, before a passionate kiss changed everything. But if she’d secretly loved him, those feelings had died one bright summer morning, when a reckless wager left Annabelle with terrifying injuries. Alec had abandoned her without a backwards glance.

Hardly the actions of a hero.

But Alec has never forgotten her, despite his vow to stay away. There is more to that long-ago day than Annabelle knows, and shocking lies have distorted the past. Can he uncover its painful truths, and still keep his distance from the stunning beauty? Can he deny his forbidden desire, even as it flares again between them, hotter than ever?

10% of all author proceeds from this book are donated to the Wounded Warriors Fund.

Other Books by Julie LeMense

All Around the Ton
5 Regency Romances

Once Upon a Scandal

Julie LeMense's Bio

A Georgetown University graduate with a degree in English Literature, I have been a Regency romance addict since I read my first deliciously bad Barbara Cartland novel. These days, I prefer the complex characterizations and plotting of Julie Anne Long, Sherry Thomas and Meredith Duran, but I’m always excited to find new authors.

Once Upon A Wager is my first novel, and you might be interested to learn that other than the primary characters, most of the people in my book actually lived during the Regency. Dr. Robert Chessher, for instance, is known as the Father of British Orthopedics. Arbury Hall, the home of Alec Carstairs, my hero, is a glorious estate in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. Lord and Lady Daventry currently live there, and open the home to tourists during certain times of the year. Astley Castle, where my heroine, Annabelle Layton lives, was a ruin until just a few years ago. It was recently restored, and is available for overnight stays. I can’t wait to go!

A member of the Romance Writers Association of America, I am currently working on my next two novels, as the ghosts who live in my old, gilded age-era home try to sneak their way into my stories.