*Blog Tour* Royal Decoy (Fate of Eyrinthia #1)- Heather Frost

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ROYAL DECOY Blurb

A SERVANT blackmailed into becoming a princess’s decoy.
A BODYGUARD determined to keep her alive.

A PRINCE forced to execute his father’s brutal laws.
A PRISONER used to keep him compliant.

A WORLD on the brink of war.

In one horrible night, Clare goes from kitchen maid to royal decoy. She has three months to become the princess’s perfect double so she can ensure her betrothal to an enemy prince. Desperate to survive, Clare throws herself into self-defense training, taught by her distractingly attractive bodyguard. The danger increases when a ruthless assassin begins stalking her, intent on ending the tenuous peace.

Across the northern mountains, Prince Grayson is his father’s ultimate weapon. He carries out the king’s harsh orders because the one person he cares about is his father’s prisoner. Grayson’s silent obedience is tested when his father plans to exploit the marriage alliance between two of their greatest enemies. If Grayson submits, the blood of thousands will spill. If he resists, the girl who means everything to him will die.

The fate of Eyrinthia hangs in the balance. Some want peace. Some want war. All will be thrown into chaos.

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085299HQN

Exclusive Pre-Order Gift!

Pre-order ROYAL DECOY and you can receive an exclusive bonus short story!

Grayson is his father’s ultimate weapon–but he wasn’t always. THE PRINCE AND THE PRISONER is the story of how a young Grayson met the little girl who would change his life forever.

To claim your gift, simply pre-order ROYAL DECOY and fill out the form linked below. (You will need to upload an image of your pre-order receipt.) After ROYAL DECOY releases, you will receive via email THE PRINCE AND THE PRISONER!

NOTE: Since you can only pre-order the Kindle edition of ROYAL DECOY at this time, I will also extend this to any physical copy purchases made on release day, June 18th!

Claim your pre-order gift here:https://forms.gle/u3PpeGAU5KPLFxKEA

My Review

“Life isn’t predictable. Tragedies happen, and there are consequences beyond our control. But we choose the people we want close to us. We choose to be lonely, or embraced. Don’t choose loneliness, my dear.”

Reading a new (to me) author’s work is always exciting because you don’t know what to expect. It feels like waiting for that jump scare in a horror movie. Heather Frost is an author that I definitely want to keep on my radar. She wrote a book that not only was mysterious and blood pumping but also something that made me have serious trust issues.

Clare is a kitchen maid for the Royals. She works hard to take care of her two younger brothers because she would do anything/everything for them. While leaving her shift one day, she comes across the Princess and her guards. What should have been a momentous occasion turns into something dreadful as assassins come out of hiding to attack the Princess.

Clare freezes as fighting ensues. That is until she sees someone trying to sneak up behind the Princess. Then she quickly steps into action. She throws herself at the Princess to save her but winds up becoming a prisoner. They think she was out to harm the Princess just like those assassins.

With Clare locked up, she is offered two options. She can stay in the cell and await her disastrous fate or go undercover as the Princess as a decoy. Danger is lurking around the Princess and they want to protect her at all costs and also figure out who’s behind this madness.

Clare decides to become a decoy and begins training immediately. What she assumed was going to be an easy but grueling task becomes something more as she catches the eye of the guard who is supposed to protect and train her, Bennick.

Prince Grayson disobeys his father every chance he gets. He knows his father is a cruel and unfair King but somethings just can’t be helped. The Prince must obey the ways of his father because he knows that he’ll kill the one person he loves most in this world. The King uses the Prince’s love as a pawn to get him to do his bidding.

The King wants to put a stop to a marriage alliance between two of his greatest enemies. The one thing that will help him get his way is for Prince Grayson to end someone’s life. The Prince has a choice, he either spills the blood of many innocent people or the woman he loves the most will die.

Will peace be brought forth? Or will Eyrinthia erupt in war?

This book was superb. This was a well thought out story that was action-packed. When the action hit, it was like a bomb going off. It was amazing. The characters were developed really well and were all lovable in their own ways. Bennick was my favorite and I hope there’s a lot more of him to come.

Royal Decoy was a fantastic read that made me read it in one sitting. I was glued to the story that developed. It was easy for me to get lost in this mysterious and heartfelt read. Heather Frost will be an author that I keep on my radar from now on. Can’t wait for book two!

Exclusive Excerpt

Clare flew into the alley, wishing the shadows could swallow her. She could almost feel the whisper of a blade against her back, straining to reach her. Footsteps pounded behind her, cutting through the shrinking space between them.
“Stop!”
Her body jerked but she ignored the furious shout and kept running. She was nearly to the end of the alley when fingers swiped her arm, a failed grasp. She cried out, adrenaline spiking.
The reaching hand snagged her skirt and Clare stumbled as she fell, rearing her head back to protect her face. Her palms scraped against the cobblestones and the breath was knocked from her lungs. Her attacker landed on top of her, his weight crushing her. For a split second, she wasn’t aware of anything but the pain. Then terror exploded in her gut.
The man exhaled hotly against her ear before he levered back, knees digging into her sides as he braced himself above her. His fingers bit into her shoulder and he twisted her onto her back.
Clare blinked as rain fell into her eyes, blinding her. She shoved her hands against his chest, as if that would stop him from killing her. His body was hard as rock beneath her stinging palms, a muscled wall she would never be able to move. His knees gripped her sides, pinning her in place beneath him. Her shuddering breaths made her chest rise and fall sharply, and her eyes flicked to her splayed hands, still pressed against him. Her attention snagged on the material peeking between her spread fingers.
Blue. It was a blue uniform.
Her eyes cut to his face.
The princess’s blue-eyed bodyguard stared down at her, his stubbled jaw tight. His breathing was as ragged as her own and his hair swung wetly around his hard face. Tension rolled from him as he hunched over her, a soldier still locked in battle. “I told you to stop,” he ground out, the storm in his voice rivaling the elements raging around them. “Why didn’t you?”
Fear clogged her throat, snaring her words. His strong hands gripped her shoulders, keeping her trapped against the wet cobbled road. Her dress was already soaked, but the puddled water caused a shiver to rip through her. When lightning flashed and thunder clapped, every hair on her body lifted.
His grip tightened. “Why didn’t you stop?” he repeated.
“I didn’t know it was you!” she snapped.
His expression hardened, all rigid lines and harsh angles. Her stomach churned, her heart still thumping madly. Caged against the hard alley floor by the man who had ruined her best chance to truly escape, Clare felt a stab of anger.
Not fair, a distant part of her recognized. He saved your life.
The rain fell harder, muffling all other sounds and effectively cutting them off from the rest of the world. After the chaos of the fight and the panic of running, this moment felt locked in time. Drawn out. Slow.
Clare was aware of each place their bodies touched. His fingers digging into her shoulders. His knees bracketing her sides. His short breaths against her face.
A raindrop rolled to the tip of his long nose and splashed against her chin.
Clare flinched.
He released her and shifted into a crouch, every muscle in his body coiled. His gaze was wary as he studied her, and his tone came out more evenly as he asked, “Did I hurt you?”

Author Bio

Heather Frost writes mostly YA fiction and has a soft spot for tortured characters, breath-stealing romance, and happy endings. She is the author of the Seers trilogy and the Fate of Eyrinithia series. She has a BS in Creative Writing and a minor in Folklore, which means she got to read fairy tales and ghost stories and call it homework. When she’s not writing, Heather likes to read, travel, and hold Lord of the Rings movie marathons. She owns two typewriters, sings in the car, and dreams of living in a castle someday. She currently lives in a beautiful valley surrounded by towering mountains in Utah. To learn more about Heather and her books, visit her website: www.HeatherFrost.com