
Lady Diamond "Glain" Carmichael, paragon of propriety, is horrified when she discovers her headstrong younger sister at the Royal Colonnade Library reading books that would enrage their ducal father. Worse, this disaster-in-the-making has been abetted by an outspoken, opinionated librarian named Mr. Abaddon Grimoire. Abaddon clawed his way free of a life of poverty and crime thanks to the refuge he found at the Royal Colonnade Library, and he's determined to help other people find their escapes as well—in the pages of the library's books! He issues Glain a challenge: Spend a fortnight exploring the volumes on the library's shelves; if after two weeks, she still wants to prevent her sister from visiting, he won't interfere. Abaddon soon realizes that beneath Glain's icy veneer beats the heart of a loyal, loving, and passionate woman, and Glain comes to see that Abaddon's devotion to books is a respect for truth and learning. A former guttersnipe and a duke's daughter aren't the stuff of matches made in Mayfair, but perhaps happily ever afters aren't just for fairy tales! Note: This will be the first time Diamond in the Rough is available worldwide to readers. Previously, this story was half of Yuletide Gems, a novella duet originally published as a library exclusive in 2022.
Author
USA TODAY Bestselling author CHRISTI CALDWELL blames Judith McNaught's "Whitney, My Love!" for luring her into the world of historical romance. While sitting in her graduate school apartment at the University of Connecticut, Christi decided to set aside her notes and pick up her laptop to try her hand at romance. She believes the most perfect heroes and heroines have imperfections, and she rather enjoys torturing them before crafting them a well deserved happily ever after! Christi makes her home in Charlotte, North Carolina where she spends her time writing her own enchanting historical romances, and baking surprisingly good cakes (almost 2 years in lockdown will do that) with her courageous son and twin daughters, each who with their daily antics provides limitless source material.