there's beggary in the love that can be reckoned with. joseph descamps © 2024

France, 1963 Vi Laurent is caught between two worlds, where her mixed Vietnamese and French ethnicity sets her apart in a town that clings to conformity. After being accepted into Voltaire High, a school reserved for boys that has become co-educational for the first time, she quickly discovers that the male students are less than welcome to outsiders. Battling against a tide of bullying and racism, Vi struggles to carve out her place among her French classmates, especially with a relentless Joseph Descamps, whose disdain cuts deeper than she ever expected. When Descamps loses his eye, he becomes a shadow of his former self, spiralling into a dark place, battling inner demons that no one else seems to recognise, except for her. It's that very fact that fuels his hatred for her even more. As Vi watches him unravel, she knows that understanding him could be the key to breaking through his hardened exterior, yet she also fears the darkness that threatens to consume him. WARNINGS: Descamps is TOXIC. And I mean, TOXI TOXIC. Contains smut but this book is not erotica.

He was a native European, a spoiled troublemaker who didn't hesitate to ridicule those he disliked. She was born in the distant steppes of the Soviet lands of that time, raised under the strict upbringing of Russian schooling. By a twist of fate, unfortunate and destructive, Alina Belikova found herself in France under the care of her grandmother, and although her knowledge of French was sufficient to blend into the new school, the cane in her hand and her exotic narrow eyes inevitably drew the attention of the main troublemaker of the lyceum - Joseph Descamps.

fin de siècle 《 a French term meaning "end of century," a phrase which typically encompasses both the meaning of the similar English idiom "turn of the century" and also makes reference to the closing of one era and onset of another. 》 oc x joseph descamps

𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝟏𝟗𝟔𝟑 Hélène Rimbaud is starting her first year of High School at Voltaire High. But as if being only eleven girls in an all boys school wasn't already hard enough, she'll have to deal with an arrogant and mean boy, who seems to have taken a liking at tormenting her. Between rivalry and attraction, the two teenagers will learn that you can't choose to whom your heart belongs. 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐡 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐬 / 𝐌𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐞 𝟏𝟗𝟔𝟑 Ennemies to lovers

"𝐵𝒶𝒷𝓎, 𝐼'𝓂 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈 (𝒷𝒶𝒷𝓎, 𝐼'𝓂 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈) 𝒜𝓃𝒹 𝐼'𝓁𝓁 𝒷𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈 (𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈) 𝓊𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓊𝓃 𝓃𝑜 𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓇 𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓈. 𝒴𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈 (𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈) 𝓊𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓅𝑜𝑒𝓉𝓈 𝓇𝓊𝓃 𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝓇𝒽𝓎𝓂𝑒. 𝐼𝓃 𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝒹𝓈, 𝓊𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑒𝓃𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒."

**** "Don't beat yourself up too much, ma fille." His hands wrapped around my waist, pulling me to his chest. Our noses touch as his soft smile turns into something far more sinister. "This was inevitable." ******* Saying goodbye to a life of privilege, Mary and her mother settle down in a quaint provincial village. With their funds waning, they must find a means of survival, or return to the scandal that awaits them in New York. Thankfully there is an 'Angel' in their midst, the kind that's missing an eye.