Spotlight & Giveaway: The Cupid Dilemma by April Asher

Today, HJ is pleased to share with you April Asher’s new release: The Cupid Dilemma: A Novel

In the new paranormal romance from bestselling author April Asher, a down-on-her-luck wedding planner demigoddess and a Muse-less rockstar agree to a fauxmance that quickly turns anything but…

A lover of love and a champion for happily ever after. Those are two of many things people expect from Aphrodite’s daughter. To Adalyn Whitlock, ‘love’ pays the bills, and currently, not well. Business is dropping at Happily Ever Forever, with her latest wedding planning catastrophe ending in a negative social media storm and her sister Maxi’s matchmaking ability on the fritz. To top it off, there’s an ex-boyfriend calling her ‘the Anti-Aphrodite’ and paparazzi pics linking Addie to her new client’s older brother.

Phoenix “Nix” Cross—songwriter and drummer for the hot new band, The Stone Talons—is no saint, but he’s far from the womanizer the band’s image rep bestowed on him. If anything, Nix is a romantic, hopeful he’ll find a love like the one his parents share. With the band’s star quickly rising and the record label pressuring him to deliver their next hit, Nix’s writer’s block couldn’t have come at a worse time. But when he opens his door to his irate new next-door neighbor, Nix feels the brief flash of inspiration for the first time in ages. And it just so happens that his new Muse is none other than his little sister’s new wedding planner.

With Addie needing an end to her public-relations nightmare and the record label breathing down Nix’s neck, the pair agree to a fauxmance. But what happens when the emotions turned on for the cameras don’t turn off?

Enjoy an exclusive excerpt from The Cupid Dilemma: A Novel 

From The Cupid Dilemma by April Asher. Copyright © 2026 by the author and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.

7
PORTAL PUKE
Addie
Addie, Max, and Bailey entered the New York Botanical Gardens Conservatory, the gorgeous, open space, home to colorful flowers and thriving plants . . . and the Olympus Portal. For the regular citizen, the stone structure abutting the end of the reflection pool created the perfect ambiance and selfie background.
For Addie, it signaled the start of what would be a day filled with portal sickness—stomach cramps and nausea that made the worst food poisoning seem like a tropical beach vacation.
Addie dropped her tote bag on the nearby bench, and while a couple taking pictures near the portal finished up their photo session, pulled out the white linen dress she wore only when day-tripping to the land of the gods. Tossing it on over her clothes, she used the flowy fabric to camouflage her outfit change, and Maxi did the same.
“Freaking Olympian dress code,” Bailey grumbled as they tugged their doctored wide-leg jumper over their running clothes. “What could they do if I show up wearing red? Take away my visitor badge? If they tried, my mom would start slinging arrows.”
Addie chuckled, already imagining the bow-and-arrow-wielding Athena on the warpath. It didn’t take much to set off the Goddess of War’s temper, but messing with one of her children did it almost instantly.
The nearby couple murmured to each other while stealing curious, jealous glances at them.
“Think we could convince them to go in our place?” Addie murmured.
Maxi smirked. “Look at it this way. You show your face, let the aunts and uncles pinch your cheeks, commiserate with a few of the cousins, and then you’ll be good for at least six months before Mom starts badgering you for another visit.”
“If anyone comes at me for a pinch, I will sic Do-Re-Mi on them.” Addie glanced down at her pups, whose tail wagged furiously, their gazes fixed longingly on the portal.
Bailey snorted. “Yeah, death by licking. What a way to go, am I right?”
“Can you three try and look a little more ferocious?” Addie rolled her eyes when their tail thumped wildly on the ground in response. “Guess not.”
“You complain about visiting every time we go, but then when we get there, you end up having a good time,” Maxi pointed out.
“I wouldn’t say good . . .”
But it wasn’t that far off.
After making the rounds and showing her face, she usually ended up at her favorite spot, a small out-of-the-way gazebo nestled along the perimeter of Fates Lake, which was coincidentally, her uncle Hades’s favorite hiding location, too. Although far enough away from the Olympus hub to avoid most of the activity, it was close enough to serve as prime viewing area as people made fools of themselves.
She and Hades usually recited play-by-plays that made even the most comical sports announcers pale in comparison.
Hopefully she’d at least get a little time at her spot, but she couldn’t forget the reason she’d finally agreed to this day trip—other than getting her mother off her back.
Aunt Eunice.
The Muses.
Aka, she needed a Muse 101 lesson so she could hold up her end of the deal with Phoenix, a deal she still couldn’t believe that she’d agreed to. A FAMA. Fauxmance Arrangement and Muse Agreement.
Addie didn’t know the first thing about being a Muse and while Phoenix had told her to just be herself, she was pretty sure she’d need to do more than binge-watch her true-crime documentaries in her pj’s. Once she had a basic idea of what to expect, she could formulate a plan . . . and then they could scratch each other’s backs.
Not literally.
Well, maybe . . .
“You ready to get this over with?” Addie adjusted the gold rope belt around her waist and peeked over her shoulder to make sure her ass wasn’t hanging out because the one time she didn’t check after a quick-change would feed the fire for a lifetime of ridicule.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Maxi stepped up to the portal, taking her spot on the left while Addie took the right, with Bailey in the center.
With a quick glance in each other’s direction, they simultaneously pressed their palms against the elaborate stone surface. At first touch, the cool rock elicited a wave of goose bumps, making Addie wish she was back in her clothes—and in a hoodie—instead of the light double-sleeved tank-toga. But the stone slowly warmed, the surface glowing brighter beneath their palms until the entire arch lit up.
If Addie didn’t know what lay on the other side, she would’ve found the sight breathtaking, as did a few of the spectators hovering in the perimeter.
“State your line.” The disembodied voice of one of the Fates drifted in on a nonexistent breeze.
Addie rolled her eyes at her aunt’s attempt at humor. “Pretty sure you knew the second we placed our palms on the stone . . . but if you don’t want to let us in, that’s okay. You’ll be the one to explain it to our mothers though.”
To her left, Maxi snorted.
Her aunt sighed heavily. “It’s bad enough I drew the short straw that put me on portal duty, but now you’re taking away any potential fun that I can find, Adalyn Love Whitlock.”
“Hey, hey. There’s no need for full-name calling,” Addie teased. “But fine . . . we’ll play along.” She cleared her throat and shot Maxi an amused glance before turning back to the portal. “The children of Aphrodite and Athena seek entrance into Olympus. Please light our way and guide our feet . . . oh Great Guardian of the Portal.”
Maxi’s and Bailey’s laughs ended on a snort and the portal pulsed, signifying the impending opening.
Their aunt’s voice invited, “You may enter, children of Aphrodite and Athena . . . and prepare your cheeks for pinching, smart-ass.”
“Boys?” Addie tapped her leg and Do-Re-Mi bounded to her side, and as the pulsing glow held strong, signaling the opening, they leaped into the light first.

From The Cupid Dilemma by April Asher. Copyright © 2026 by the author and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.

Excerpt. ©April Asher. Posted by arrangement with the publisher. All rights reserved.

Giveaway: One copy giveaway of THE CUPID DILEMMA, US Winner Only

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and post a comment to this Q: What did you think of the excerpt spotlighted here? Leave a comment with your thoughts on the book…

Meet the Author:

USA Today Bestselling Author APRIL ASHER was hooked on romantic stories from the time she first snuck a bodice-ripper from her mom’s bedside table. By day, April dons dark blue nursing scrubs and drinks way too much caffeine. By night, she still consumes too much caffeine, but she does it with a laptop in hand. She pens rom-coms with a paranormal twist, but also writes high-octane romantic suspense as April Hunt. She lives out her own happily-ever-after in Virginia with her college-sweetheart husband and their two children.

Get it here: Amazon | B&N | BAM | Bookshop | Powells | Target |