the ballerina's bargain | excerpt + giveaway

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about the book

A burdened earl. A determined ballerina. Saving the theatre was part of their bargain. Losing their hearts wasn’t.

London, 1815

Emmeline Laurent has survived by grace and grit. After her parents’ execution in France, she has learned to live unseen as a humble ballerina instructing young pupils in a small London theatre. When whispers spread that the Danforth Theatre may be sold to an unscrupulous buyer, Emmeline fears not only for her livelihood but for the safety of her impressionable students. With no time and no options, she does the only thing she knows to do: leap into a moving carriage and bargain with the new lord who holds their fate.

Grant Atherton, the Earl of Quincy, has inherited the crushing weight of duty along with a failing theatre, an arranged engagement, two younger sisters to usher into society, and a mountain of his father’s secrets. Selling the Danforth is the only way to save his family from ruin. The last thing he needs is a beautiful, infuriatingly determined ballerina turning his careful plans upside down.

But when Emmeline’s hidden past begins surfacing and the danger circling the theatre proves far deadlier than either of them realized, Grant must choose between the life he planned and the one God may have been preparing all along.

For fans of Roseanna M. White and Jen Turano — a sweeping Regency romance about the grace found in surrender, the courage it takes to trust, and the God who makes a way when every door seems closed.

publisher: wild heart books

release date: september 8, 2026

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excerpt

His pulse pounded in his ears from Emmeline’s closeness. Her desire to help him identify his feelings might be his undoing. He couldn’t share his physical sensations with her, not from last night and definitely not from today.

“I don’t know.” Grant mustered a ridiculous answer with a shrug. “I was hungry.”

Her eyebrows flashed her surprise, “It’s true, then, that men think with their stomachs?” She paced in her graceful dancer’s walk, tapping her index finger to her sensual mouth.

He inwardly smiled at her quip and delighted in their comfortable companionship. She wasn’t as factitious as Miss Hadley or as nosy as his sister, Victoria.

Emmeline, lost in her own contemplation, had no clue as to her appeal—the graceful sway of her walk, the lightness of her steps, the charming poise in the way she carried herself.

The tight knot of his cravat rolled over the bob of his Adam’s apple.

She stopped and raised her pointer-finger. “Non. This is good, but you must look deeper, take it further. Hunger is what you feel here.” She rapped the back of her hand on his stomach.

His muscles spasmodically tightened.

Her dark eyelashes swept up, and she peered at him. His fingers ached to touch the softness of her cheek, to run his thumb along her plump bottom lip.

“But hunger grows.” She resonated the words with crisp diction. “It consumes your thoughts. It craves for you to act and appease the need.”

His lungs refused to breathe.

about the author

Lorri Dudley is the bestselling author of The Leeward Island Series and The Agents of Espionage Series. She has a master’s degree in psychology and lives in Ashland, Massachusetts with her husband and three teenage sons, where writing romance allows her an escape from her testosterone filled household.

Connect with Lorri by visiting lorridudley.com to follow her on social media and subscribe to email newsletter updates.

giveaway

(1) winner will receive a $50 Amazon gift card and a prize bundle with reading blanket, socks, and candle!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight September 8, 2026 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on September 15, 2026. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US/CAN only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

tour schedule

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