He remembers nothing-except how to smolder. She wants nothing-except to stay unbothered. Unfortunately, fate, scandal, and a very opinionated goose have other plans. After surviving a carriage crash, the notorious Duke of Bleakhollow awakens in a rustic village with no memory, no title, and no shirt. Mistaken for the new blacksmith, he takes up hammer and forge with alarming ease-until he meets Callista Underbramble, a fiercely pragmatic apothecary's daughter who doesn't believe in curses, fate, or men with cheekbones sharp enough to end empires. Callista has no use for mystery men, especially ones who bathe in moonlight and quote poetry in their sleep. But the duke-now calling himself "Ash"-refuses to leave her alone. And when an ancient family curse, a forgotten betrothal, and a possibly haunted chandelier crash into their lives, she may have no choice but to let him kiss her senseless in the name of healing. Also featuring: • A potion that might be an aphrodisiac • Shirtless forging as foreplay • An ancient curse powered by metaphors • A judgmental white goose and a mysterious black one who may have read the cover copy If you like gothic romance with absurdist flair, emotionally wounded dukes with no sense of boundaries, and heroines who'd rather eat nightshade than swoon, this is the disaster for you.

Autorentext

Verity Farcett writes the books you never knew you needed?until you tripped over them.
From Regency romps with weaponized scandals to epic fantasies where the Chosen One probably isn't, Verity skewers every genre trope she can get her quill on. Her stories blend absurdity, wit, and sideways logic, delivering plots that spiral gloriously out of control while somehow still hitting every satisfying emotional beat.

Whether it's historical romance, heroic quests, or gothic melodrama, no trope is safe?but every adventure is written with a suspicious amount of affection for the genre she's dismantling. If you like earnest disasters, reluctant heroes, and plots that fight back, you'll find your next favorite catastrophe right here.

When she isn't orchestrating fictional disasters, Verity can be found communing with her Tufted Roman goose, Toni?muse, menace, and inspiration for all honking hijinks.