Regency Romance

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Time travel! "Spy thriller, historical romance, science fiction, fantasy. Dazzling and often amusing ... has the feel of an instant classic." - Washington Post

In Bee Ridgway’s wonderfully imaginative debut novel, a man and a woman travel through time in a quest to bring down a secret society that controls the past and, thus, the future.

“You are now a member of the Guild. There is no return.” Two hundred years after he was about to die on a Napoleonic battlefield, Nick Falcott, soldier and aristocrat, wakes up in a hospital bed in modern London. The Guild, an entity that controls time travel, showers him with life's advantages. But Nick yearns for home and for one brown-eyed girl, lost now down the centuries. Then the Guild asks him to break its own rule. It needs Nick to go back to 1815 to fight the Guild’s enemies and to find something called the Talisman.

In 1815, Julia Percy mourns the death of her beloved grandfather, an earl who could play with time. On his deathbed he whispers in her ear: “Pretend!” Pretend what? When Nick returns home as if from the dead, older than he should be and battle scarred, Julia begins to suspect that her very life depends upon the secrets Grandfather never told her. Soon enough Julia and Nick are caught up in an adventure that stretches up and down the river of time. As their knowledge of the Guild and their feelings for each other grow, the fate of the future itself is hanging in the balance. [close]

[close] Advance copy of Regency-set historical romance. Wounded ex-soldier artist hero and sneaky war widow heroine! A good time is had by all.

WOOING THE WRONG WOMAN…
Henry Middlebrook is back from fighting Napoleon, ready to re-enter London society where he left it. Wounded and battle weary, he decides that the right wife is all he needs. Selecting the most desirable lady in the ton, Henry turns to her best friend and companion to help him with his suit…

IS A TERRIBLE MISTAKE…
Young and beautiful, war widow Frances Whittier is no stranger to social intrigue. She finds Henry Middlebrook courageous and manly, unlike the foppish aristocrats she is used to, and is inspired to exercise her considerable wit on his behalf. But she may be too clever for her own good, and Frances discovers that she has set in motion a complicated train of events that’s only going to break her own heart… [close]

[close] Marcus Redwyck comes from a long line of rogues who called upon their legendary charm when necessary to save the family fortunes. Upon his uncle’s sudden death, Marcus becomes the seventh Earl of Amberley and inherits a pile of debts. Reluctantly, he agrees to court Juliana Hutton, an heiress reputed to be as difficult to please as she is beautiful. But unlike his ancestors, Marcus is not a rake. A country gentleman, he fears he knows more about sheep breeding than how to please a lady.

When his first meeting with the heiress is postponed due to her supposed illness, he decides to go with friends to the opera, where he meets the intriguing opera-dancer Mademoiselle Juliette Lamant, who’s suddenly become the rage with all of London’s young bucks. Marcus knows he ought not to dally with an opera-dancer, although he begins to suspect his intended bride has run away from the arranged marriage. But for once in his life he cannot resist temptation.

Passion leads Marcus and the mysterious Juliette to the edge of scandal. Even when it is revealed that she is Juliana Hutton in disguise, it will take all of Marcus’s resolution and the fabled Redwyck charm to win the spirited heiress’s heart.

THE REDWYCK CHARM was originally published as a Signet Regency and won the Phoenix Desert Rose Golden Quill and the Colorado Romance Writers’ Award of Excellence. Length: about 75,000 words. Sensuality: kisses, several sex scenes.

Reviews:

“A warm and lovely romance...Don’t miss it!” -- Karen Harbaugh

“Greene takes a complicated situation and renders it both believable and enjoyable in its untangling, as the lovely Juliana falls victim to The Redwyck Charm.” -- Romantic Times

“The Redwyck Charm lives up to its title: it is, indeed, a charming book. It’s a story of honor and duty, expectations and deceptions, and love. Marcus and Juliana are engaging, likeable characters, with fears and foibles, hopes and dreams to which readers will readily relate. Marcus is a surprisingly unconfident, endearingly vulnerable hero. He doesn’t believe he possesses any of the legendary Redwyck charm; he’s far more conversant with crop rotation, sheep, and account books than with fashion and gossip; he walks with a limp that cost him the only lady he’s ever courted; he’s never even kissed a girl. Juliana has more confidence, and she’s endured a kiss or two, but she’s equally unaware of her appeal. She is also strong-willed and remarkably resourceful. A large cast of secondary characters, comprised mostly of Marcus’s and Juliana’s families and friends, adds depth and texture to this delightful tale.

“Believable double deception plots are few and far between, but Ms. Greene has written a very creditable one. Not only that, she has added her own unique twists by tying it to a wealthy heiress-impoverished nobleman plot. Although the story is loosely connected to the author’s last book, The Incorrigible Lady Catherine, and contains references to events in that novel, The Redwyck Charm stands well alone.

“I highly recommend The Redwyck Charm. Regency fans will adore this story, as will all readers who enjoy entertaining, well-written romances with marvelous characters and a dash of intrigue.”

-- Susan Lantz, in Romance Reviews Today

“I very much enjoyed this unusual storyline, and took pleasure in watching poor Amberley deal with his conflicting desires. Juliana Hutton, the lady he must woo, has her own difficulties--many of them, as with most people, of her own making. The story has enough humor to keep it light, but the characters experience enough peril to keep the reader turning the pages.

“I consider The Redwyck Charm one of the best Regencies I’ve read in the past few months. Elena Greene is a reliable author who delivers the kind of story Regency readers love.”

-- Barbara Hume, for Rakehell
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