Promo: Paoletta - an Eye for an Eye by J.R. Powell
Today, I'm delighted to welcome author J.R. Powell to Ruins & Reading. We're sharing an intriguing excerpt from his thrilling new novel, Paoletta: an Eye for an Eye. It's well worth checking out. Read on!
Paoletta: an Eye for an Eye is currently on blog tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club. Check out other fascinating posts HERE!
Paoletta: An Eye for an eye
J.R. Powell
Excerpt:
Excerpt from Chapter 25
Lucie lingered in the shadows, ready to hand me the basket of bread and smear flour across my cheeks. Dwindling candlelight flickered eerily over the stage’s timbers, creaking beneath Madame Legrand’s robust frame as she strutted before a spellbound public of gawping eyes. More girls emerged from the darkness, clutching brooms and pitchforks. I knotted my neckerchief, wiped my sweaty, cold palms on my skirt, and followed them into the crowd’s gaze. Mathilde joined us, too, taking her place with Lucie next to Angélique at the front of the stage, where she was reaching the climactic moment of her impassioned monologue.
“We talk of sovereign nations, but what is a nation but its people? Is it not then obvious to whom this sovereignty belongs? But a powerful minority has usurped our sovereignty, just as they usurped our freedom and our equality, stole the bread from our mouths, and kept coming back for more. The People rule, Citizens. Our leaders must be accountable to us and us alone!”
A rapture of screams and cries erupted out of the silence, drowning Angélique’s words. Arms flailed in a desperate frenzy, and the thicket of faces rustled like a snake whipping through the undergrowth. A lone figure clawed its way to the stage. His eyes sparked like flint, his mouth agape, and he screeched the same words over and over. “For Daumont! For Daumont!”
A clap of pistol fire and a bright flash split the air. A searing heat flooded my belly, causing my knees to buckle beneath me. A haze of white smoke billowed. Cries and screams filled the air. My fellow Mariannes scattered into the wings. There, I crouched, alone, paralysed with fear. Figures poured onto the stage, encircling a girl with her head in Lucie’s lap. My gut froze and curdled as I looked up. I rose to my feet. For a mere blink, I was back in Uncle Stefano’s townhouse, staring numbly at the burning timber beams while my sight flooded with crimson.
A disembodied voice echoed through the air, its urgency piercing through the haze, “Mathilde! It’s Mathilde!” The sound seemed distant, muffled as if I were submerged in water. A firm grip fell on my shoulder, snapping my focus forward. Lucie stood before me, her scowl intense. Her touch cleared the fog from my senses.
“Fetch a doctor!” Lucie hissed, her voice flaring with urgency. To my side, a woman cradled Mathilde’s lifeless form, her sleeve drenched in scarlet and staining the timbers below.
Angélique appeared to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace. Lucie shook me again to regain my focus. “I’m taking her to the Café Février, you got that?!”
I hurriedly sought out the only physician I deemed trustworthy РDr Spice. Reluctantly, he made his appearance at the Caf̩ F̩vrier, donning his frock coat and clutching his ominous bag of blades. Naturally, we had to feign ignorance of one another, a masquerade necessary to shield us from deadly suspicion.
Once at the Café Février, we followed drops of blood to a secluded room at the top of the steps. There lay Mathilde, sprawled upon a table, her head propped on a rolled-up coat. Dr Spice brusquely elbowed Lucie and Clothilde aside and set his bag beside Mathilde’s head.
Placing a lantern on the table, he gently raised Mathilde’s hand and unbound the strips of dark red linen that the girls had hastily wrapped around her wrist. Lucie buzzed incessantly in Dr Spice’s ear, telling him what had happened, her words gushing forth like a breach in a sinking ship’s hull.
“Boiling water and some vinegar, quick!” Said Dr Spice, his words firm and directed to anyone who was able and within earshot. He swiftly poured a vial of milky fluid down her throat. She coughed and choked on it, foul stuff that I knew all too well. “Laudanum for the pain – lay still.”
Dr Spice wasted no time in tying a tourniquet tightly around Mathilde’s arm. Standing steadfastly by his side, Lucie continued to grumble and growl pleas and threats for Mathilde’s life into his ear, though Dr Spice barely cast so much as a glance her way.
“I hope for your sake, Citizen, that you save her,” Lucie snarled, sniffing and wiping her nose on the back of her hand. Dr Spice didn’t so much as twitch with unease, so Lucie carried on, “It won’t be pretty if you let her slip through your fingers.”
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Blurb:
Exiled to a Caribbean island, Paoletta Cadoville and her family cling to the hope of one day returning to their Parisian home. But in a single, devastating moment, that dream is shattered. Alone and horrifically scarred, Paoletta embarks on a perilous quest to uncover the truth behind her family’s tragic fate, only to become entangled in a web of political intrigue, secret societies, and dangerous alliances.
In a Paris overshadowed by the guillotine, Paoletta must decide how much of her humanity she’s willing to sacrifice in pursuit of vengeance. Will she achieve justice for her family or lose herself to the darkness that threatens to consume her?
Paoletta – An Eye for an Eye is a gripping historical thriller set during the French Revolution and a stark reminder that in times of upheaval, innocence is the first to fall, and revenge demands a price paid in blood.
Praise for Paoletta – an Eye for an Eye:
"A haunting tale of vengeance, survival and revolution - Powell's heroine grips you by the throat and never lets go"
~ Chris Riches, Daily Express
"Vivid, visceral, unforgettable. Powell's masterful storytelling plunges us into the heart of revolutionary Paris"
~ Will Barker, The Sun
Buy Link: Universal Buy Link
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About the Author:
Originally from the UK, J.R. Powell lives in Germany, where he works as a translator and editor. His debut novel was published in 2024, marking the first instalment of a new historical thriller series.
Paoletta – an Eye for an Eye follows Paoletta Cadoville, a young woman driven by vengeance after the murder of her family during the French Revolution. Drawing inspiration from his time living in Paris, Powell immersed himself in the city’s rich and brutal history to craft a story that brings a lesser-explored period to life with the momentum and intensity of a gritty, modern thriller.
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