by M. A. Grant
To my husband—From pacing my office with me brainstorming to sitting near me so I stay focused while I write to keeping our house, finances, and food situation steady, you have been my champion. I’m pretty sure I’d have shriveled up and blown away as a dehydrated, hungry husk if not for you. This berserkir’s for you.
To my family—Your encouragement as I’ve worked through this series has given me the courage to see it through. Thank you for the care packages, the questions about the process, and the continual “You’ve got this” messages you sent before I could tell you I needed to hear them.
To Ronan—I’m not crying, you’re crying. Or possibly we’re both crying but we won’t mention it. I know I said it in my emails, but working on this series with you has been a dream. Thank you for teaching me so much about stories, characters, nuance, and how to push myself to greater heights. I owe you a very nice lunch and nerdy conversation whenever we’re somewhere in the same vague region of the world.
To Deidre Knight, and the team at the Knight Agency—One amazing publishing experience down thanks to your trust and support, and many others to come.
To the staff at Carina Press—Thank you for giving me a voice, a polished product, and beautiful covers for a series I dearly love.
To John—Apologies in advance for the pronunciations in this one. And blessings upon you for bringing such heart to my boys in this series. I’m so glad to have worked with you!
To Kari—Can you believe we’ve made it?!? I think we deserve some kind of present for pushing each other through the rough spots. Here’s to many more series to come!
To the Five and the Nifties—Working with rock stars like you all reminds me how finding the right people can sustain you in a profession with the highest highs and lowest lows. Can’t wait to see you at conferences, or online!
To Kelsey, a.k.a. Hootsweets—Finding your art, talking to you, discovering what a lovely human being you are, and being able to geek out with you over all kinds of beautiful characters brings me so much joy. I hope you enjoy this last book, and can’t wait to keep up with all your projects!
To Kristin and Simon—Squad. Forever squad.
To Layla, Erin, Lisa, Kelly, Bea, Lacy, Carolyn, Paloma, Sam, Dori, Adrienn, Carol, Kate, Angie, Siren-Spoof, Aly, riendsboyf (your “Alaska” app has been approved), Camila, and all of the other amazing, kind, and passionate readers and friends I’ve met—Thank you for sharing in this journey with me. Talking with you online, laughing together, and sharing in your joy has sustained me at times when I wasn’t sure I could finish these stories. Your art, humor, and reading suggestions (now that I’ll finally have time to read again!) brighten my day every time.
To any new readers who may stumble on this series or book—*fist bump* You are the bee’s knees.
About the Author
M.A. Grant has always loved reading and writing, but fell in love with the romance genre when she started working at an independent bookstore in high school. After meeting her husband in college, they began a steady northward migration and are now happily living in the rugged beauty of Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. When she’s not calling out to passing ravens or making a cup of tea, she’s writing dark and moving stories.
You can find out more about her—and her upcoming releases—at marionaudreygrant.com, on Twitter and Instagram at @authormagrant, or Facebook.com/marionaudreygrant.
Introducing the Carina Press Romance Promise!
The Carina Press team all have one thing in common: we are romance readers with a longtime love of the genre. And we know what readers are looking for in a romance: a guarantee of a happily-ever-after (HEA) or happy-for-now (HFN). With that in mind, we’re initiating the Carina Press Romance Promise. When you see a book tagged with these words in our cover copy/book description, we’re making you, the reader, a very important promise:
This book contains a romance central to the plot and ends in an HEA or HFN.
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Look for the Carina Press Romance Promise and one-click with confidence that we understand what’s at the heart of the romance genre!
Look for this line in Carina Press book descriptions:
One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!
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The Hideaway Inn by Philip William Stover
The Girl Next Door by Chelsea M. Cameron
Just Like That by Cole McCade
Hairpin Curves by Elia Winters
Better Than People by Roan Parrish
Full Moon in Leo by Brooklyn Ray
The Beautiful Things Shoppe by Philip William Stover
Just Like Us by Cole McCade
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ISBN-13: 9781488054143
The Iron Crown
Copyright © 2020 by M.A. Grant
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
For questions and comments about the quality of this book, please contact us at [email protected].
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M.A. Grant, The Iron Crown (The Darkest Court)