About the Book: After surviving marriage to a brute, Solomonida Sheremeteva has sworn never to take another husband. As a boyar’s widow, she at last has the right to choose her own destiny, and she intends to devote her attention to securing a happier future for her daughter. Never mind that she has feelings for a handsome official. His inferior rank means that any association with him can only damage her own child’s prospects. Anfim Fadeyev could not agree more. He knows as well as Solomonida that a priest’s son should not aspire to the hand of a noblewoman, whatever his achievements in the government and in trade. He needs a mother for his children, not a highborn lover. So when passion overwhelms him and Solomonida one winter’s night, they both face a dilemma: how to respond when the demands of the heart contradict those of the head?

About the Beverage: When Lesley was asked about her pairing, she responded with “Russia, you think vodka, right? But they didn’t have much vodka in the 1540s. Solomonida, my heroine, is drinking hard cider when her lover rejects her—or so she thinks he. Until they clear that up, she weeps buckets every time she smells it.”

About the Author: C. P. Lesley, a historian, is the author of “The Not Exactly Scarlet Pimpernel” and two connected series set during the childhood of Ivan the Terrible, starting with “The Golden Lynx.” Her latest book, ”Song of the Sinner,” appeared in January 2022. She also hosts New Books in Historical Fiction, a podcast channel on the New Books Network. Find out more about her and her books at https://www.cplesley.com.

SONG OF THE SINNER is available Amazon, $3.99 (Kindle), $14.99 (print).

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Publisher: https://www.fivedirectionspress.com
Website: https://www.cplesley.com