Brutal Vows (Queens & Monsters #4)(113)

2022 marks the tenth year since my first novel was published. Brutal Vows is my twenty-ninth novel, and one I can say without doubt that I had the most fun writing. I hope the joy I felt creating this world and these characters came across as you were reading it.

If you found this book before reading the three prior installations of the series, the last chapter will probably make more sense if you go back and start with Ruthless Creatures, book one. And if you’d like to go back to where it all began, start with the Dangerous Beauty series, then read the Beautifully Cruel duet before crossing over to Queens & Monsters. Many of my series have crossover characters who like to make surprise cameo appearances, so there’s a full reading order on my website at www.jtgeissinger.com to help direct you.

Sincere thanks to my PR team, Social Butterfly PR, for all their help. Specifically to Sarah Ferguson, who never fails me, thank you so much for all you do. I appreciate you.

Thank you to Linda Ingmanson, editor extraordinaire, for your attention to detail and for hitting all my ridiculous turnaround deadlines.

Thank you to Letita Hasser of RBA Designs for creating my incredible covers, and also for your quick turnarounds. And for accommodating all the changes I come back to you with which probably make you pull out your hair.

Big thanks to Denise Black and Marnye Young of Audio Sorceress for making my audiobooks come to life so fantastically with your magic! I love everything you’ve done for me, and my readers love you, too.

Also huge thanks to Troy Duran, Brooke Daniels, Michelle Sparks, Tara Langella and Tess Hanna for your incredible talent.

Thank you to the first acquisitions editor I ever had, Eleni Caminis of Montlake Romance, for buying the Night Prowler series, becoming a wonderful friend, and making my dreams of becoming a published author come true.

Thank you to my sweet new friend Charles for insisting Stavros shouldn’t die. You’re going to have to explain to Declan how he’s supposed to fulfill his marker to Kage now, but I’ll stay out of it.

Thank you to Jay, my husband, best friend, and best human I know. Without you, I’m nothing. Well, okay, not nothing, but not much. Or at least not as happy. Or maybe just not as crabby? I don’t really know, but my point is that I think I’ll keep you around for another twenty-five years, if you’ll let me. (Which you will, because let’s be honest, my crazy matches your crazy. You’re welcome.)

Thanks to my mother for being half Queen Elizabeth and half Margaret Thatcher, with a side order of Jerry Seinfeld and a dash of the entire Jersey Shore cast. You are missed.

And Dad, I’m so sorry you bought all those copies of my first book and shared them with your friends and discovered that fatherly pride is no match for the surprise horror of learning your dear daughter writes smut. In my defense, I did try to warn you. I love you and miss you every day. Until we meet again.

PS – Ravaged by a Rogue and Glazed by the Gladiator are figments of my imagination.

PPS – I have no idea if I will write a series about the Thirteen, but Killian Black will probably continue to show up in future books, because he’s bossy that way. If you’re intrigued by the idea of him being all espionage-y, check out the Dangerous Beauty series and the Beautifully Cruel series, where he does his thing.





About the Author





J.T. Geissinger is a #1 international and Amazon Top Ten bestselling author of twenty-nine novels. Ranging from funny, feisty romcoms to intense, edgy suspense, her books have sold over seven million copies and been translated into more than twenty languages.

She is a three-time finalist in both contemporary and paranormal romance for the RITA® Award, the highest distinction in romance fiction from the Romance Writers of America®. She is also a recipient of the Prism Award for Best First Book and the Golden Quill Award for Best Paranormal/Urban Fantasy.

Connect with her online in her Facebook reader group, Geissinger’s Gang.

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The first letter arrived the day my husband was buried. It was postmarked from the state penitentiary, and contained a single sentence: I’ll wait forever if I have to.

It was signed by Dante, a man I didn’t know.

Out of simple curiosity, I wrote back to ask him what exactly he was waiting for. His reply?

You.

I told the mystery man he had the wrong girl. He said he didn’t. I said we’d never met, but he said I was wrong.

We went back and forth for a year, exchanging letters every week that grew increasingly more intimate. Then one day, the letters stopped. When I found out why, it was already too late.

Dante was at my doorstep.

And nothing on earth could have prepared me for what happened next.



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