Sworn Virgin

<p><strong>A 2017 RT Reviewer's Choice Nominee for Best Historical Fiction Novel!</strong></p><p><strong><strong>Featured on Elle.com</strong></strong></p><p>Dukes's gripping historical novel tells the tale of a desperate Albanian woman who will do whatever it takes to keep her independence and seize control of her future...even if it means swearing to remain a virgin for her entire life.</p><p>When eighteen-year-old Eleanora's father is shot dead on the cobblestone streets of 1910 Albania Eleanora must abandon her dream of studying art in Italy as she struggles to survive in a remote mountain village with her stepmother Meria.<br/><br/>Nearing starvation Meria secretly sells Eleanora into marriage with the cruel heir of a powerful clan. Intent on keeping her freedom Eleanora takes an oath to remain a virgin for the rest of her life--a tradition that gives her the right to live as a man: she is now head of her household and can work for a living as well as carry a gun. Eleanora can also participate in the vengeful blood feuds that consume the mountain tribes but she may not be killed--unless she forsakes her vow which she has no intention of ever doing.<br/><br/>But when an injured stranger stumbles into her life Eleanora nurses him back to health saving his life--yet risking her own as she falls in love with him...</p><p><strong>It's hard to believe that the culture Dukes describes was ever real but the amount of research she put into this book definitely shines through. The story remains fascinating throughout; readers will definitely find it difficult to put this novel down.--</strong><em><strong>San Francisco Book Review</strong><br/><br/></em><br/><br/></p><strong></strong><p><strong></strong> </p><p><strong></strong> </p><p><strong></strong> </p><strong></strong><p><strong></strong> </p>