Common Cause, by Leslie Ann Brown, 15th September 2025

Rih’mirani Tane, royal granddaughter of the empress of the Kalen Empire, struggles to be taken seriously, even after surviving a treasonous attack that should have killed her. Her reputation as an immature girl desperate for male attention has followed her into adulthood. If only royals were valued for more than their ability to produce a high-caste heir. But she must learn how to rule. She can’t hide away in the little village of Selah-Alor for much longer. When she returns to the capital, she will change her image into a sophisticated royal to be reckoned with. A dutiful heir. Alas, she immediately veers off her path by falling for an unsuitable mate—the empress’s low-caste former lover.
Ivers Mailaig has been having a bad orbit. Discarded by the empress, he is struggling to get back on his professional and personal feet. It is exactly the wrong time to notice just how lovely the former troublemaker Mirani is. Right now, he is the worst thing for her. He must convince her that doing her duty to the empire is more important than their personal happiness.
But hearts and headstrong women are hard to tell what to do. Can the two mismatched lovers find a way to meet their obligations to the empress and the Kalen Empire while battling dangerous conspirators who have already cost both of them so much? Will there ever be a time when they can live just for themselves?
Common Cause is the third book in the Commons Trilogy. The previous books are Common Ground and Common Sense.

Cover Artist: Mistvale Media