From the CIBA Chatelaine Grand Prize winning author of The Art of Enchantment Niki Ballantyne will take any risk — except an emotional one. Driven by guilt over her brother's death, she's spent years throwing herself into danger and pulling other people out of it. It's easier than feeling. It's safer than being seen. On an adventure holiday in the south of France, she meets two men — charming, unsettling Luc, and his gentle, lonely friend Didier. When she realizes Didier is being bullied and quietly heartbroken, Niki does what she always does: she steps in. Helping a shy blacksmith find love isn't her usual rescue project. But he reminds her of her brother. And it keeps her safely focused on someone else's heart instead of her own. The problem is Luc. He sees through her reckless bravado in a way nobody else does — and that terrifies her more than anything she's ever jumped off. Emotionally layered and set against the luminous landscape of southern France, A Forged Affair is a story about the cost of protecting yourself from the very thing you need most. "e;A carefully woven and surprising story of love, friendships and heartache — an utterly independent woman who you will find endearing but frustratingly stubborn."e; — Reedsy Discovery ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the CIBA Chatelaine Grand Prize winning author of The Art of Enchantment Niki Ballantyne will take any risk — except an emotional one. Driven by guilt over her brother's death, she's spent years throwing herself into danger and pulling other people out of it. It's easier than feeling. It's safer than being seen. On an adventure holiday in the south of France, she meets two men — charming, unsettling Luc, and his gentle, lonely friend Didier. When she realizes Didier is being bullied and quietly heartbroken, Niki does what she always does: she steps in. Helping a shy blacksmith find love isn't her usual rescue project. But he reminds her of her brother. And it keeps her safely focused on someone else's heart instead of her own. The problem is Luc. He sees through her reckless bravado in a way nobody else does — and that terrifies her more than anything she's ever jumped off. Emotionally layered and set against the luminous landscape of southern France, A Forged Affair is a story about the cost of protecting yourself from the very thing you need most. "e;A carefully woven and surprising story of love, friendships and heartache — an utterly independent woman who you will find endearing but frustratingly stubborn."e; — Reedsy Discovery ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the CIBA Chatelaine Grand Prize winning author of The Art of Enchantment Niki Ballantyne will take any risk — except an emotional one. Driven by guilt over her brother's death, she's spent years throwing herself into danger and pulling other people out of it. It's easier than feeling. It's safer than being seen. On an adventure holiday in the south of France, she meets two men — charming, unsettling Luc, and his gentle, lonely friend Didier. When she realizes Didier is being bullied and quietly heartbroken, Niki does what she always does: she steps in. Helping a shy blacksmith find love isn't her usual rescue project. But he reminds her of her brother. And it keeps her safely focused on someone else's heart instead of her own. The problem is Luc. He sees through her reckless bravado in a way nobody else does — and that terrifies her more than anything she's ever jumped off. Emotionally layered and set against the luminous landscape of southern France, A Forged Affair is a story about the cost of protecting yourself from the very thing you need most. "e;A carefully woven and surprising story of love, friendships and heartache — an utterly independent woman who you will find endearing but frustratingly stubborn."e; — Reedsy Discovery ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐