Marigolds & Moonlight

A novel by Talia Castelford

Synopsis

Chicago, late June. Paloma Reyes is two years into her PhD when a single phone call takes away her fellowship. Her grandparents are counting on her back in Pátzcuaro, September is coming fast, and she needs a job, fast: she ends up as housekeeper to Victor Delcourt, a wealthy man so cold she quietly calls him the Iceman.

And then there is Owen Zielony, who is trying to make a garden grow on poisoned ground behind an abandoned factory in Pilsen. Something is growing between them too. And there is the courtyard, home to a noisy, loving band of friends who take turns holding each other up through whatever life throws their way.

From the summer heat to the marigolds of the Day of the Dead, Paloma will have to decide what she is willing to give up, and what she refuses to lose.

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Details

Author: Talia Castelford
Genre: Contemporary fiction, Romance
Languages: English (US); original text in French
Setting: Chicago (UIC, Pilsen, Little Village) and Pátzcuaro, Mexico
Publication: October 11, 2026
ASIN (Kindle): B0HMMW9V9K
Publisher: Self-published
Series: Hearts of Pilsen, book 1

Excerpt — Chapter 1

Sitting at her desk, bent over the charts lined up in front of her, Paloma answered the phone absently, brushing a long strand of brown hair away from her face.

“Paloma Reyes?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“This is Adela Marchetti, from the financial aid office. I’m calling about your fellowship. Do you have a moment to come see me today?”

She had been dreading a call like this for a month already: friends had passed along rumors. Better to find out right away what was going on.

Crossing campus took her ten minutes. She had learned to love it. For some people, all that concrete meant harshness; for her, it meant safety. Until now, anyway. Between the gray slabs, the flower beds burst with color: in these last days of June, the tulips had given way to orange daylilies, purple coneflowers, and yellow black-eyed Susans.