Reader's Edyn: Blitz: Gilded Ruins (Blinding Light #2) by Chantal Gadoury + GIVEAWAY

**Gilded Ruins by Chantal Gadoury**

Good Morning, Everyone! So thrilled to see you all today! Today is a bit different! I have featured this author before as a writing duo, but today I have her with a book she has written on her own! Fun! Ms. Gadoury is here to tell us more about her latest release! Please allow me to once again feature on the blog Chantal Gadoury and her latest release, GILDED RUINS ….

**CHANTAL GADOURY**

**BIO**

Amazon Best Selling Author, Chantal Gadoury, is a 2011 graduate from Susquehanna University with a Bachelor's Degree in Creative Writing. Since graduation, she has published several titles, including "The Songs in Our Hearts" with 48Fourteen Publishing, and "Between the Sea and Stars," "WinterDream," and "Blinding Night" with Parliament House Press. Chantal first started writing stories at the age of seven and continues to love writing today. Chantal is also the Co-Founder and Senior Editor of the Parliament House Press. Writing and sharing books with the world has become a dream come true! When she's not working, she enjoys painting, drinking lots of DD Iced Coffee, and watching Disney classics. Chantal lives in Muncy, Pennsylvania with her family.

To find out more about Ms. Gadoury please visit:

**GILDED RUINS**

Publication date: May 12^TH, 2020

Series: Blinding Light #2

Genres: Mythology, New Adult, Paranormal, Retelling, Romance

**BLURB**

The Story Continues. . .

Summer and Darce are summoned by the order of Zeus himself to travel to the home of the Gods: Mount Olympus, where they’re to face even more ancient Gods and Goddesses.

Summer braces to confront her mother again, illuminating secrets about the truth of her tragic pasts, while also persuading Zeus to allow her to stay with the God of the Underworld, her true love – Darce.

Aboard Poseidon’s luxury yacht, Summer meets her mythological family, while also uncovering what exactly happened to her past lives – and the true roles her mother and Darce played.

When Darce and Summer suddenly find themselves separated, Summer must find her inner power and unite them together, before her mortal time runs out.

**EXCERPT**

“So you’re the human in love with Hades. Summer was it?” a voice said, startling me from behind. I turned sharply, finding myself staring into another set of almond-shaped eyes. The man was lean, but broad shouldered. His eyes were dark, his brows thick, and his lips were full; nearly a perfect shade of soft pink. A distinct crease could be seen on his lower lip, like a dimple. He was different from the others, dressing most similarly to Darce—a dark blue suit, a softer blue shirt, and a patterned tie with dress pants.

He flashed me a white-toothed grin as he came to stand closer next to me. I leaned back against the cold, metal railing. He was uncomfortably close to invading my personal space.”

“And you are?” I asked, raising a curious brow.

“Eros,” he said with a broader grin. “I’m sure you’ve heard of me.”

“Oh,” I replied with a nod. “Right, you’re Cupid…”

“Yes, Cupid to some. Eros by most.” He chuckled, sliding his hands into his pants pocket slowly, lazily, just like Darce. Eros crossed to the other side of the railing, and I inched away a fraction. I didn’t like how he snuck up on me.

“Nice to meet you.” It sounded more like a question, but I also wasn’t trying to force myself to be as nice as I had before. Besides, he had completely caught me off guard and I didn’t think he had exactly earned my forced courteousness.

“I’ve met plenty of human girls just like you,” he said gently. “But I never would have guessed you to be the reincarnation of Persephone. There’s nothing. . .unique about you.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be smooth and romantic?” I wrinkled my nose, feeling slightly wounded by his insult—intentional or not. “Is that what you say to all the women you meet?”

He laughed as his cheeks turned a shade of pink. “Fair enough, though I’m not here to seduce you. It wasn’t my best line, I’ll admit that. I hope you know I didn’t mean anything by it. More simply that. . . I thought you’d look more. . . ethereal.”

“I hope you don’t help people with compliments like that,” I retorted, doing my best to stifle my own smile. He seemed suddenly uneasy, sliding another hand nervously through his hair.

“I suppose it would be best if I just stop talking,” Eros said. “This never happens.”

“Why do I doubt that?” I crossed my arms against my chest. “There are plenty of people who have the worst pick-up lines, and it seems you must have been the one who invented them all.” He lifted a finger, as if pondering before shaking his head.

“Not all.”

I turned, drawing my gaze back to the ocean. I wanted to roll my eyes, but it felt strange, suddenly, to roll my eyes at the God of Love. I hadn’t taken the time to consider what he might have looked like, other than a winged, cherubic baby with strappy sandals—but that was the Hallmark version of Cupid. This guy? He was woefully underwhelming which was ironic for someone who played the dealer in the game of love.

Irony at its best.

“After a moment, I saw him extend his hand out to me from the corner of my eye.

“Let me begin again,” he said coolly, “I’m Eros. To some, I’m known as Cupid. I’m the God of Love, and a far cry, it seems from being the master of pick-up lines.”

There was humor in his voice, and it made me smile. I looked at his hand and hesitated for a moment, before slipping mine into his.

“Summer Mavros,” I began. “Human, as everyone so graciously points out.”

He tilted his chin; I could feel his dark gaze sweeping the length of me and lingering on my eyes before nodding. It seemed like he was sizing me up.

“Pleasure to meet you, Summer.”

As he relaxed against the railing, I noticed a pair of white feathered wings began to unfurl from his back. They reminded me of Morpheus’ wings, though, his were much larger. How had I not seen them until now?

“Do you hide your wings?” I asked with wide eyes.

Eros shrugged. “From time to time. I find them to be somewhat of a nuisance out and about. Though it hurts my back to have them tucked in all the time.”

“Why aren’t you hiding them now then?”

“Aren’t I in the company of family now? If we can’t be ourselves in front of our own family, who else can we trust?”

I resisted the urge to respond, “you’re preaching to the wrong girl,” but instead, bit my tongue. I didn’t know his relationship to my mother or Darce yet, and both Morpheus and Darce had warned me to be careful.

“How do you get wings?” I asked instead. “I know not all of you have them.”

“A few of us do, yes,” Eros said with a nod. “I suppose they come with our jobs. Hermes delivers messages. I deliver love, and Morpheus delivers dreams.”

“Well, they’re beautiful.” Maybe not as lovely as Morpheus’s wings, but… beautiful all the same.

As I turned my gaze back out toward the sea, the small port we had launched from was completely gone now. No foreseeable land for miles.

I wished I had my phone then. I really wanted to take a photo of the water—the way it sparkled in the sunlight. It reminded me of photographs I had seen in a gallery at college. A classmate had gone to the shore and captured close-up shots of crabs and shells; the sun nestling against the gentle current of the sea, children eating cotton candy with their fingers on the pier, and a woman sorting through a pile of shells on the beach. It wasn’t my own memory, but I could imagine it just as if it were. This quiet place would have been a wonderful hideaway to sneak off to and paint all the things that began to filter through my mind. Perhaps someday I could persuade Darce to escape back to the sea with me; just him and I.

“If we had a someday.

“You really don’t remember me, do you?” Eros asked, breaking the tense silence between us.

“Remember?” I looked at him, feeling a little lost. Was I supposed to remember him?

“Persephone and I had been close friends once. Before she had gone away to the Underworld, she used to tease me that my arrows hadn’t struck her on purpose. She claimed I had a lousy aim.” He snorted. A small smile grew on his lips, and I almost wished I could see what he was remembering.

“But when she returned, she had a glow of love around her. A glow I had never quite seen before. It became clear to me as Persephone spoke of Hades, it was a sort of love beyond what I was capable of sharing.

“I’m sorry to say, I only remember some things,” I admitted. “And they only appear in broken images. Like a poorly directed indie movie.”

Eros nodded again, as if he were taking my words into special consideration. “I suppose this could be an opportunity for us to begin anew.”

Tucking a stray hair behind my ear, I smiled—almost feeling slightly childish.

“You want to be my friend?”

“Is that so unbelievable?”

“Coming from the God of Love? Yes!” I laughed. “I’ve never had any luck with love.”

“I’m a horrible shot,” he replied with a wink. “Ares never hesitates to point it out, but just between the two of us…I could never pry him away from Aphrodite, even with my strongest arrow.”

“Ares was the only one I hadn’t met yet, but somehow I believed Eros. “Have you ever accidentally shot someone with one of your love arrows?”

“More than once,” Eros admitted, wrinkling his nose. “I can’t say it’s a pretty sight either.”

I pressed my hand to my mouth, giggling softly.

“Who?”

“Oh, I’ve made a few celebrities fall in love at first sight. Some have stayed together, tended to the jewel of love.” He pressed a hand to his heart for effect. “And some have allowed it to fade away. It’s happened over the span of several centuries. Kings. Princes. Milkmaids. Servants. Warriors. Baristas…”

“Baristas? That seems a little random,” I said with a laugh.

“I do enjoy myself a coffee or two from time to time. Spreading love should always begin with a cup of something as delightful as coffee. And I might have tipped the barista with an arrow of love. Which resulted in a first date, an engagement ring and a lifetime of happiness.

He watched me as he flexed his wings out and took a step away from the rail. I rolled my eyes. He had an ego on him—that was for sure.

“Are you for real?” I asked with a laugh.

He flashed me a sincere smile. “As real as they come.”

Another tacky one-liner. He didn’t seem to miss a beat.

**TEASER**

**EXCERPT**

“As tempting as you might appear, Summer, I’ve had lots of practice resisting.”

“Resisting charms?” I asked with a laugh. I didn’t bother to ask whose charms he had resisted. I already knew that Morpheus had spent decades resisting the gentle teasing of Persephone all those centuries ago.

“Exactly,” he replied with a chuckle of his own. “Speaking of which. . .” He released a sigh. “Perhaps I should prep you for the charms you should resist when we arrive at Mount Olympus.”

“I have no desire to flirt with anyone,” I stressed, wrinkling my nose.

“Oh, flirting will most certainly occur,” Morpheus said with a nod. “Flirting will only be the beginning. They love to flirt with each other. Sleep with one another. Tease and gossip. You’re entering a whole new world, Summer.”

“Sounds like Gossip Girl,” I said with a roll of my eyes.

Morpheus looked at me a little confused. “Never mind. So who should I prepare myself for?”

Morpheus lifted his hand, stretching his fingers for me to see. He lowered his thumb and murmured, “Hera. For starters.”

“Why?” I tried to recall what exactly she was the Goddess of. Marriage? Fertility?

He grinned. “You’re an offspring of Zeus. Technically. You are royalty in the eyes of the courtiers, and Hera will hate you for that. You’re not one of her own. She is jealous of anyone who is deemed more beautiful than her.”

“She sounds like an evil queen from a fairytale.”

“Far worse,” Morpheus replied nodding. “You will either gain her favor, or she will turn the other cheek.”

“And how do I gain her favor?”

“You’ll have to decide if you want to,” Morpheus pressed. I wasn’t sure how to take his comment. He lowered a second finger before I could ask.

“Ares.”

“He’s the God of War,” I replied.

“Yes,” Morpheus said. “He is not favored by the others. He is aggressive, and quick to anger.”

“Which I suppose is why he’s the God of War,” I finished, leaning up on the ledge, resting my chin against my arms. Morpheus shrugged.

“He was also once the lover of Aphrodite.”

“Are they not anymore?”

Morpheus raised a brow, his eyes twinkling with a hint of amusement.

“Well, while they have children together, Aphrodite is promised to another.”

“Oh right,” I said, “I forgot. This is like a soap opera show. Everyone is related to each other. They’re all sleeping together, and everyone hates each other.”

Morpheus snorted, dropping his chin to his chest. At least he still laughed at my jokes. “That sums it up perfectly.”

“So beware the wife of Zeus, who is jealous of everyone. Don’t make Ares angry, because he has a quick temper…who else?” I mimicked him and counted down on the one hand, too. Ticking them off like chores I needed to get done.

“Stay away from Minthe,” Morpheus said cautiously. “Keep your distance. You should already know that by now, but it’s still worth repeating.”

“I don’t plan on being alone with her at all,” I said, lifting my chin. “Anyway, go on.”

“Demeter, your mother,” he continued without pause, “she will paint a lovely picture for you. A picture of the life she wants you to have. You’ll need to see it for what it truly is.”

“A sham?”

Morpheus pressed his lips together and lifted his gaze out over the pool again. After a moment he said, “it will be up to you if it is a sham or not.”

Was it wrong to miss my mom? Was it wrong to miss hearing her laugh, or watching her flip through her romance novels? I even sort of missed her home-made pizzas. If my mom painted me an image of our old life—what would I do? I had a feeling she would make it hard for me to resist.

“What about Zeus? Should I be cautious of him?”

“Always,” he replied. “Always. Zeus does what he wishes, when he wishes. He is the God of all Gods. Whatever his will, it shall be done. Zeus could shower you with endless blessings one second, and then rip them away in the next breath. There is no rhyme or reason.”

He sounded a little unstable, though, I was too afraid to voice my thoughts aloud.

“You told me that they’ll try to change my mind about Darce. My mother. . . Zeus.”

“A lovely impression,” Morpheus repeated. “Just remember. Nothing is as it seems. Not with them. Truly, not with any of us. None of us should be trusted. We certainly do not deserve your trust.”

I couldn’t ignore the ice in his tone, and his words sent a shiver down my spine. I wanted to ask what he meant by that, but even I wasn’t sure how much information I could get from him. Besides, maybe I was being paranoid, and all this talk of Gods and Goddesses that I should be cautious of, only made that worse. Morpheus narrowed his eyes as he peered at the sky and jerked his chin back towards the door.

“It’s nearly four. We should get you back to bed. You should have some sleep before we leave.”

Releasing a groan, I slipped under the water, wanting to ignore him. I wanted to forget that the dawn of the day was mere hours away. I didn’t want to go back to bed. I didn’t want the morning sun to come up yet. I didn’t want to go. . .

Suddenly, an abundance of bubbles swarmed me like angry bees. There was hurried movement in the water; arms reached for me and began to yank me back up towards the top. I gasped and water gushed into my lungs. As I broke the surface, I opened my eyes wide with surprise and I began to cough. Morpheus was in the water beside me, his long silver hair surrounding us. His black eyes were filled with alarm.

“Why did you do that?” I asked, pushing my wet hair from my face as I reached for the pool’s edge. I continued to cough, my lungs burning for relief. Morpheus’ warm hand was on my back as he held me up.

“Do what?” He asked breathlessly.

“J—jump in?” I sputtered. I wanted to slide my hand over my face, to hide my mortification.

“Weren’t you drowning?”

I darted my gaze to his and shook my head.

“No, Morpheus,” I replied with a small laugh. “I wasn’t.”

The fear in his eyes slowly eased away as he processed what I said. The corner of his lips turned into a cracked, breathless laugh.

“I thought you said you were able to resist other’s charms?” I asked as I eased away from the wall. He looked defeated, surrounded by his silver, tangled hair and his drenched clothes. I suddenly felt bad for him. I reached for the ladder and pulled myself up from the water. Morpheus didn’t follow me out, instead he was floating on his back staring hopelessly up at the sky.

Then, just as I turned away, I heard him murmur, “it seems, Summer, I’m able to resist all but yours.”

**TRAILER**