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The Jewelry Box #0.5

The Mercer Curse

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Q Mercer from Tears of Tess meets his half-brother Henri Ward from Ruby Tears for the first time...

……….

I’ve fought a curse all my life.
A curse inherited by my sick father.
There is no cure.
No antidote for what I am.
For years, I existed alone. Fighting the urges, doing my best to stay good.
Until Esclave 58 entered my life and I didn’t have to fight so hard.
She makes me better, she makes me human, but then he arrives on my doorstep.
He says he’s my half-brother.
He shares my blood. Our father’s blood.
That makes him dangerous.
That makes him like me.
He wants me for his family?
First he has to prove he has control over his darkness.
If he does…fine.
If he doesn’t?
I’ll kill him.
……….

A short prequel to RUBY TEARS.
Full of steam between a master and his submissive and two monsters meeting for the first time…
It’s short but it’s kinky.
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About the author

Pepper Winters

114 books16.6k followers
Pepper Winters is a multiple New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today International Bestseller.

She currently has thirty books released in nine languages. She’s hit best-seller lists (USA Today, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal) thirty-three times. She dabbles in multiple genres, ranging from Dark Romance to Coming of Age.

After chasing her dreams to become a full-time writer, Pepper has earned recognition with awards for best Dark Romance, best BDSM Series, and best Hero. She’s an multiple #1 iBooks bestseller, along with #1 in Erotic Romance, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary, and Erotica Thriller. With 20 books currently published, she has hit the bestseller charts twenty-nine times in three years.

Pepper is a Hybrid Author of both Traditional and Self-published work. Her Pure Corruption Series was released by Grand Central, Hachette.

Her books have garnered foreign interest and are currently being translated into numerous languages, including already released titles in Italian, French, Hebrew, German, and Turkish.

NEWSLETTER: http://www.subscribepage.com/www.pepp...

Or follow her on her website

www.pepperwinters.com

She loves mail of any kind: [email protected]

You can stalk her here:

Pinterest/Pepperwinters
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Twitter @pepperwinters
Blog pepperwinters.wordpress.com

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5 stars
355 (51%)
4 stars
228 (32%)
3 stars
90 (12%)
2 stars
15 (2%)
1 star
8 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 174 reviews
Profile Image for Pepper Winters.
Author 114 books16.6k followers
Currently reading
February 20, 2024
Profile Image for Melanie A..
1,184 reviews516 followers
March 1, 2024
5 STARS!
This fucking stranger was me.
Oh my goodness, I'd forgotten how intense Q is . . . and meeting his brother? I am so excited to read this series. This was the perfect quickie introduction to Henri and the darkness that swims inside of him.
Profile Image for Lisa.
256 reviews84 followers
February 15, 2024
I cant wait for Ruby Tears 🙌🏼
Profile Image for hala.
185 reviews
February 15, 2024
”He knew, just like my half-brother had known. I might want to be good. I might have fought all my life to remain a worthwhile citizen who pretended to be like everyone else, cared for his sickly mother, and paid his taxes on time, but the truth was…I wasn’t. I was a monster. Just like this bastard. And I officially signed my death warrant by shaking his hand and stepping willingly into his den.”

cher henri, je t’attends 🧎🏻‍♀️
December 31, 2023
OMG CAN'T WAIT FOR RUBY TEARS, HENRI MERCER AND HIS DELICIOUS FUCKED-UP DEPRAVITY 🔥😍

*CW/TRIGGER WARNING*: not for the faint at heart ! To all the puritanist readers out there that'll be clutching their pearls and running for the hills, don't come crying when you've been given a fair warning in advance ;)
Profile Image for 💜VGreedyReader🖤.
602 reviews123 followers
March 9, 2024
~𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚. 𝙈𝙮 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧~

Needless to say, Pepper can set a sizzling atmosphere in just a few words. She deliciously whet your appetite with this enticing prequel. As well as meeting Henri you get a glimpse of Tess and Q in their depraved sinful glory. If you are like me and can’t get enough of this dark world then you won’t want to miss this delicious bite into a promising sinful journey.

~𝙒𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜~

If you haven’t read Q and Tess story the series is complete and free in KU you can enjoy it while you wait for Henri’s tale.
Profile Image for SimplyƝì₭.
598 reviews299 followers
March 15, 2024


Oh shit! She's back y'all!! This will be dark. This will be true and raw and I am here for it.

just wow, Henri is eager. His demons have yet to take shape. He doesn't realize the depth of his darkness. Ready to jump to the jewelry box next. Wow

Profile Image for Mimiorphee.
619 reviews39 followers
March 15, 2024
Good introduction to Henri. Short novella, prologue, so there's not much to say other than it did the job and made me want to read the Jewelry Box series.
Issues with the French translations, though :(
PS: Can someone confirm that Teds got branded on the neck and not on the chest, please? I think we have a discrepancy here..
.
Profile Image for Tina H.
295 reviews39 followers
February 24, 2024
Q

Short but sweet, well as sweet a Q can be!

Oh how I've missed Q and Tess!!

I am ready for more, bring on Ruby Tears!
Profile Image for Kelly_Reads_Books.
2,040 reviews159 followers
February 23, 2024
The Mercer Curse started off with a bang, with Q and Tess doing what they do best, and then and uninvited and unwelcomed guest arrives and Q is not happy when his half brother Henri decides to make contact with family he has never met and request help with his disease.
Q offers Henri a daunting task, to infiltrate the infamous Jewelry Box and make contact with Q's greatest and slipperiest monster and help Q.
Will Henri be able to do what Q requests? Or will it send Henri into the pits of hell with this deviant group of criminals?
I can't wait for Ruby Tears! 🩸
Profile Image for Faiza Daudo.
243 reviews88 followers
September 1, 2023
This is a 2 chapter prequel, part of Aloha: An Anthology for Maui

It's no secret how much I love Q and Tess. I stumbled upon this series 4 years ago and since then, not a day went by where I didn't think about it. The characters, the plot, the love. Pepper showed me how powerful words are.
With this 2 chapters Prequel, Pepper took us back to our favorite master and his slave and we got to once more immerse ourselves in their world.

Le vôtre. Je suis à vous.


How I miss them. I miss Q, his love and devotion. His obsession with Tess. Him calling Tess Esclave. I miss sassy Tess. her equal obsession with her Maitrê.
This is a preuqel, so not only was it about Q and Tess, it's also our first look at who I know will be our next addiction: Henri Ward, Q's half brother. I already intrigued by him and this prequel only made me even more anxious to read his book. I can feel how deliciously dark his book will be.

You walk a fine line of disrespect and devotion and I... I want that.


Consider buying this anthology. The proceeds will be sent to Maui Food Bank and Maui Fire Relief fund due to the fires in Hawai.

All royalties from this project will be donated to organizations working in Maui to bring relief to the victims of the Maui fires. We aren't affiliated or endorsed by these charities. We are authors who are helping the best way that we can.

Thanks Pepper for the ARC <3
Profile Image for Stephanie (Bookfever).
1,046 reviews171 followers
March 18, 2024
"What you are is mine. My monster. And I want to get mauled."

No matter how short the novella or how brief their appearance is, I will always love reading about Tess and Q. And once again Pepper Winters sucked me in like no other and set the scene perfectly for a brand new series with this time Q's half brother Henri featuring.

In The Mercer Curse we meet Henri who shows up at Q and Tess' home, desperate to connect with the only family he had left. After a deathbed confessions, Henri's mother told him about Q's existence. Protective of his family as ever, Q certainly didn't like Henri showing up out of the blue so he made a deal with Henri. If Henri can get an invitation to the a sex club called the Jewelry Box and lead Q to it so he can destroy its owner, only then will Q welcome Henri in his family.

From the little bit that Pepper revealed about Henri, he seems just as dark as Q is, even a little more if that's possible. He's fighting his urges every day and even tried to kill himself but after meeting Q and Tess he wonders if he also could be happy and find someone, just as Q has found Tess. My heart absolutely broke for Henri. He wants to belong so badly that he'll even risk his life to find the Jewelry Box and try to get an invite, but this means giving in to his dark side and he might not come back from it.

I'm really excited to read Ruby Tears and read more about Henri and meet the woman who's going to end up with him. I just know it's going to be a dark, sinfully wicked read and I can't wait to dive in!
May 29, 2024
Edited 12/27/23 to review the new epilogue scene: What a perfect segue into Ruby Tears! This epilogue transitions the reader SO WELL from Monsters in the Dark to Ruby Tears! Ruby Tears, here I come!

Original review:

THE MERCER CURSE - ARC REVIEW

The Mercer Curse is a short novella that is part of “Aloha: An Anthology for Maui.“ Pepper gave us the best gift! Our Maître and Esclave are back! 🥰. I don’t want to say much about the novella because I want you to experience it for yourself, but I will say that it was everything I was hoping for. I got to read a fun spicy scene with our maître and esclave, and learn more about an introduction that I have been dying to read about!

“𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘬. 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.“

This short little novella was everything I needed to get even more excited about Pepper’s upcoming Jewelry Box series. Dare I say I’m feral for it now?

If you liked Monsters in the Dark, or plan to read it, please go preorder this anthology! It’s for a good cause. Proceeds are being donated to help the Maui Food Bank and Maui Fire Relief fund. It’s available to preorder on multiple platforms (Amazon, B&N, Apple, Kobo, and Google Play) today!
Profile Image for Vanessa Booked Up.
961 reviews458 followers
March 8, 2024
Oh my God... I am straight up giddy over getting to check back in with Q and Tess. Q is undoubtedly one of the most complex characters I've ever read and I didn't know how badly I needed to check back in with him until I started reading this.

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I mean, I could've done with another bazillion pages here reading about Q and Tess and their normal lives, while still having that edge and intrigue that only Pepper Winters can deliver.

And oh Henri! I want to know SOOOOO much more about you!!!

Finally, who is this narrator? His voice was absolute liquid sex! And his French? I mean, I know how to say like 6 words in French, but his pronunciation sounded pretty spot on to me!
Profile Image for Nadine Bookaholic.
3,584 reviews486 followers
March 8, 2024
I love being back in Tess and Q's world. This was a great intro on what is to come with The Jewelry Box Series. I have a feeling that Henry Ward is going to be every bit as Dark and Delicious as his brother is.

This book has some French in it, which the author does translate for us non french speakers, but I have to say listening to the audiobook and having both Luke William Bromley and Lucy Jessica narrating the story it was done impeccably. I have no idea if they are French or not but boy did it roll off their tongues like it was their native language. If you have the option to listen to this book I highly recommend it.
Profile Image for The Literary Puff.
211 reviews9 followers
August 21, 2023
He’d managed to survive this long but it wasn’t a life he’d been living. It’d been a prison.



Well, this was a delicious little amuse-bouche before we really get to know all about Henri.

For lovers of Q and Tess (and I know there are a lot of us!) this is delightful. To be able to dive back into their world and be reunited with their darkness is utterly delicious and thoroughly enjoyable.

It does what it needs to do—get us excited for the release of Ruby Tears and it delivers on everything I hoped it would perfectly. It teases and builds the anticipation which just makes me so excited to dive head-first into the world of Henri and the depravity of what I’m positive The Jewelry Box will be.

If he could prove he was better than our father, that he had the power to control himself, then I would teach him how to find joy even while being the worst kind of beast.


Get ready for more darkness … Q is back and he’s not the only Mercer man to lavish your attention on.

*ARC very kindly gifted by Pepper with zero pressure to review.
Profile Image for JenniiTheBookAddict.
148 reviews10 followers
August 28, 2023
The Maître is back. 🫠

It’s no secret that Q has been my number one since day one and so when Pepper announced this prequel a few days ago I was on cloud nine😍😍😍. I hadn’t realized how much I’ve missed Q and Tess until that very first page. When this man says “ 𝓔𝓼𝓬𝓵𝓪𝓿𝓮" I’m immediately a puddle on the floor 😮‍💨😩🫠.

📚“𝒲𝑒 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓈𝒾𝒸𝓀. 𝒲𝑒 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓉𝒶𝑔𝒾𝑜𝓊𝓈. 𝒲𝑒 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒸𝒶𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝓂𝒶𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔.”📚

I absolutely loved this short story! Q and Tess served one of the best dirty and wicked experiences but that’s to no surprise. I’m beyond excited to meet Henri, Q’s half brother and boy, oh boy will it get hot. 🥵

📚“𝐼 𝒷𝑜𝓉𝒽 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒽𝒶𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝒽𝑒𝓇. 𝐻𝑒𝓇 𝓅𝑜𝓌𝑒𝓇. 𝐻𝑒𝓇 𝒻𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉. 𝐻𝑒𝓇 𝓊𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓃𝒾𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒 𝒸𝓁𝒶𝒾𝓂 𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓂𝑒.”📚

This story will be featured soon in the Aloha anthology in which all funds will go directly to the relief after the fires in Hawaii. Please consider buying the anthology and help if you can. 🙏
Profile Image for Sarah.
579 reviews259 followers
March 5, 2024
prequel to her new series Ruby tears

If you loved years of Tess— this is for you. Pepper winters is releasing a spin off of henri .. Qs half brother!!! This is the prequel she released for free before Ruby tears comes out and we see a glimpse of Tess and Q now and how he meets Henri for the first time.

I am soooo exciteddddddd!!

This series is not for the faint of heart. It is dark. It is centered around trafficking!ng and $3c $!@v3s. So read the warnings!! I can’t wait to review Ruby tears!!
Profile Image for Miranda.
497 reviews96 followers
April 7, 2024
Rating 3.5-4
It’s a nice balance if you read this between Q and Tess book and right before Ruby tears which paves way for Ilys and Henri’s story. It’s a short little story where it reveals the brothers, the cursed way they’ve come to be and the sick fetish in which haunts them.
Hoping what Qs claimed he’ll do isn’t the outcome end game for the series however it would be poetic.
Profile Image for Sarietales.
127 reviews5 followers
February 22, 2024
Read an ARC some time ago, forgot to mark it. Audiobook was a delightful way to enjoy it again.
Profile Image for Kim Whitehead.
2,612 reviews
February 28, 2024
A delicious little treat before the main course! Looking forward to the next installment!
Profile Image for Helene Svendsen.
263 reviews18 followers
March 11, 2024
Well it definitely got me intrigued and wanting to read the series.
I haven’t read Q and Tess story, so maybe I should before diving into this one to get more backstory.

The theme in this book is definitely something I like to read about. Dark as hell, just the way I like it.
Profile Image for 25 Readings Or More.
728 reviews156 followers
February 27, 2024
So.... I'm totally obsessed with Q Mercer. I didn't realize how much i missed him and Tess but reading this little glimpse of their life after all this time made me absolutely giddy!!
I swear those two together are my undone. They are pure fire and i fucking melt with that damn French
🥵🥵🥵
Plus getting to know a bit Henry was amazing. Poor boy needs a family and i can't wait to know what he gonna do to deserve for himself something like what Q and Tess have 🤩🤩
Profile Image for TheBookPlatypus.
1,086 reviews217 followers
March 12, 2024
Q has a brother Henri Ward and he found Q begging him for help. This darkness inside their blood. He feels it. And it scares him. He wants help to quench this thirst for a dark and sexual appetite. But Q doesn’t want to help any of his siblings. But he made an offer. Infiltrate a sex trafficking ring and bring down a ruthless man. And then… only will Q help.

I love seeing Q and Tess again. A tidbit into their lives. And Henri.. his vulnerability. This is a sneak peek into his story in his book and it’s gonna be one hell of a dark ride!
Profile Image for Lana.
370 reviews2 followers
February 22, 2024
“Je suis ton maître, mais tu es le maître de mon âme.” (I am your master, but you are the master of my soul.)”

I realized that I missed Q💘 I am super excited to read Ruby Tears!
Profile Image for Beatrice.
1,192 reviews1,716 followers
March 5, 2024
I want Henri's book. ASAP.

Also, I miss Q and Tess. My OG dark romance couple.
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