Sherry Ewing's Blog, page 27

Medieval Monday with Sophia Nye

It’s week two for Medieval Monday, my lovelies, and I have a new author to introduce to you. Please welcome Sophia Nye who has a snippet from her novel a Highland Autumn. Isn’t the cover just lovely? Happy reading and enjoy!

Snippet:

He paced the small solar. Once, years ago, he had spent hours in this room with his sister. The morning before she birthed his niece, she had sat in the corner chair. The sun had streamed in just the same as it was this day. He continued his walk across the room. Back and forth, over and over, as though he could walk his troubles right out.

A Highland Autumn
Seasons of Scotland Book 1

A murder, a mix-up, and a midnight missive make for one unforgettable Highland romance…

When a fiery, red-haired Englishwoman falls for the laird’s charming, off-limits son, their passion ignites a fire that threatens to engulf the clan.

Ronan Calder, eldest son of Clan Calder’s laird, is going to stay as far away from marriage as he can get. After losing his mother and beloved sister during childbirth, Ronan knows there is no way he could ever inflict such a fate upon any woman. Things get a little complicated when he meets the enchanting new scholar and mistakes her for his future bride.

Adelina Matheson has every intention of becoming the first female scholar at Oxford, and the quick wit to prove it. The only thing she’s missing is permission to attend lectures. When the masters challenge Adelina to serve as advisor to a Highland laird in exchange for entry, she is left with little choice. She agrees to the challenge – surely she can manage such a simple task to prove herself.

Except that once Adelina arrives at Calder Keep, she realizes that nothing about her task is simple. She must battle her alarming attraction to the laird’s handsome son while enduring the laird’s beastly temper. The only other Englishwoman is also her competition for Ronan’s affection, and the entire clan is under threat of attack at the upcoming Samhain celebration. Can Ronan and Adelina put aside their personal troubles and save Clan Calder, or will they doom the entire clan?

Buy link:

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08L8PRG18

See last week’s snippet on Sophia Nye’s blog:  https://sophianyewrites.com/blog/
Follow along next week on Judith Sterling’s blog:  https://judithmarshallauthor.com/blog/

Hop along for a chance to win a gift card for $75!

Welcome to our Valentine’s Day Blog Hop. I’m so happy that you stopped by. Thank you, Ruth A. Casie, for sharing your book, Knight of Runes, and for offering a giveaway. Today I’m sharing a bit of flash fiction with my character Miss Miranda de Courtenay… but more about her story later in this post. Be sure to keep reading to find out what my giveaway is and don’t forget to comment here on my blog to go into the drawing for the Grand Prize of a gift card (US$75 value). So let’s get to that bit of flash fiction I promised you!

Miss Miranda de Courtenay entered the Assembly Rooms in Bath for a charity Valentine’s Day Ball. Her eyes surveyed the already crowded room while her brother-in-law took her pelisse.

“It’s quite the crush,” her sister Grace mentioned as she took Miranda’s elbow steering her towards the ballroom.

Miranda squeezed her sister’s arm, offering her a bright smile. “I’m just glad our brother at last forgave me for the part I played in his current state of wedded bliss and allowed me to attend.”

Grace laughed. “Adrian was just being stubborn, although I must admit you do tend to go a bit overboard in your quest for a title, Miranda.”

“Why should I be the only one in this family without a title?” she fumed before masking her face to not show how upset this particular conversation always made her. She had gone too far on one or two occasions, not that Gracie ever faulted her for her mishaps. “Besides, everyone could see how much Adrian and Celia were in love with one another. And before you say anything, Celia didn’t want the Marques. I thought to take advantage of the situation but it’s certainly not my fault he turned out to be a cad.”

Grace leaned forward to kiss Miranda’s cheek before whispering in her ear. “You were lucky to not have your heart involved with Wyndham, dearest sister. He was only a man with a title and obviously not husband material. Love will find you when the time is right. Perhaps try to not be so impatient and let Cupid find your mystery man when he’s ready to show you the way.”

“I could only be so lucky to stumble into someone like you did, Gracie,” Miranda said fondly knowing how happy her sister was with her second husband Nicholas.

Grace’s laughter burst forth. “I was lucky, wasn’t I?”

Before Miranda could respond, Nicholas came as if they conjured him up with a magic wand and swept Grace away to join the dancing. Miranda surveyed the room again trying to figure out her best options to pursue a possible relationship with one of the titled gentlemen who were present. There were plenty of men here that she had already been introduced to so that formality wouldn’t be a problem. She only needed to find someone who would be willing to forget her past mistakes since the two major ones she had made were public knowledge much to her regret.

She was thankful when she was asked to dance by a man she had met during the previous season. An Earl … but she couldn’t remember his name and she reminded herself she needed to be better at remembering people’s names. But he at least asked her to dance and it was better to be seen dancing than to be a wallflower sitting alone on a chair against the wall. She swore if she didn’t get a proposal soon, she’d be on the shelf for sure.

The dance continued and she briefly caught a glimpse of her brother talking with a man she had never seen the likes of. Good heavens, where had he come from and why on earth had she never been introduced to such a divinely handsome man? She continued to stare at him when the opportunity presented itself and she wondered what color his eyes were. It was hard to tell from this distance and from the hundreds of candles casting a soft glow upon the room.

She missed a step in the dance and mumbled an apology to her partner when she stepped on his shoe. She was hard pressed not to crane her neck to further inspect the man who had caught her attention. She generally didn’t care for men with blond hair but in his case she just might make an exception!

The dance ended and the Earl began talking about the weather of all things, and Miranda tried not to appear bored at such a mundane conversation. She looked up only to see Adrian was no longer standing next to her handsome stranger who was looking directly at her. He raised his champagne flute in a silent toast causing Miranda’s eyes to widen. Goodness but he was a bold one and clearly she should stay as far away from him as possible.

Unsure of herself for the first time in her life, she fled the dance floor, leaving the Earl without even a polite thank you for the dance. She headed to the buffet room hoping she could partake of something to calm her nerves. No man had ever had her this flustered and Grace’s words rambled inside her head making Miranda wonder if perhaps Cupid had shot his arrow in Miranda’s direction.

***

Captain Jasper Rousseau observed the beautiful woman as she left the dance floor. She intrigued him, not that he was used to dealing with a young lady who was probably only interested in finding a husband. But there was something about her that had him following her. It must be this damn ball meant for happy couples. If his mother had not requested he accompany her to this event, he would be at his manor getting ready for tomorrow’s business appointment.

He had a new ship to run and didn’t have time to dally with a woman, especially one so obviously young as he guessed her age to be around twenty-three give or take a couple of years. Yet he still found himself following her to see for himself what caused him to become so infatuated with a lady he hadn’t even spoke to as yet. Afterall… what could it hurt to have a short conversation with a beautiful woman?

Storm & Shelter

When a storm blows off the North Sea and slams into the village of Fenwick on Sea, the villagers prepare for the inevitable: shipwreck, flood, land slips, and stranded travelers. The Queen’s Barque Inn quickly fills with the injured, the devious, and the lonely—lords, ladies, and simple folk; spies, pirates, and smugglers all trapped together. Intrigue crackles through the village, and passion lights up the hotel.

A collection of eight all-new novellas. One storm, eight authors, eight heartwarming stories. Special preorder price of only $0.99! Learn more on the Bluestocking Belles’ website at https://bluestockingbelles.net/belles-joint-projects/storm-shelter/

My contribution to the Storm & Shelter box set is Before I Found You: A de Courtenay Novella (Book three).

A quest for a title. An encounter with a stranger. Will she choose love?

Miss Miranda de Courtenay has only one goal in life: to find a rich husband who can change her status from Missto My Lady. But when a handsome stranger crosses her path at a Valentine’s Day ball, her obsession with titles dims. Might love be enough?

Captain Jasper Rousseau has no plans to become infatuated during a chance encounter at a ball. He has a new ship to run, passengers to book, and cargo to deliver. But one look into a young lady’s beautiful hazel eyes, and he becomes lost. Does love at first sight really exist?

Their paths continue to cross until they are both stranded in Fenwick on Sea. Their growing connection is hard to dismiss, despite Miranda’s childish quest for a title at all cost. But what if the cost includes love?

My Giveaway for our Valentine’s Day Hop!

I’ll be giving away an eCopy of A Kiss For Charity & The Earl Takes A Wife. They’re books 1 & 2 of my De Courtenay series. I’ll randomly choose a winner from all the comments right here on my blog! You’ll have plenty of time to read them before Miranda’s story releases in the Bluestocking Belles’ box set Storm & Shelter on April 13, 2021.

Go in the drawing to win a gift card

The contest is open for Valentine’s day—from sunrise on 14th February in New Zealand (noon on February 13 U.S. EST) until midnight on 14th February in Hawaii (or 5 AM February 15 U.S. EST). When the contest ends, we’ll collect all comments on all 15 blogs in the hop. We’ll draw one at random, and then announce the winner on our blogs and contact him or her with a gift card to the value of US$75. Good luck! 

Did you miss Ruth A. Casie’s blog?

If you happened to miss Ruth’s blog and the giveaway she’s offering, you can find her blog at https://ruthacasie.blogspot.com/

Next up, Alina K. Field

Thank you again for joining me today. Your next stop is with the wonderful Alina K. Field. Although Alina is one of our guest authors who contributed a novella in the Storm & Shelter box set today she’s sharing some flash fiction from Fated Hearts. You can find Alina’s blog post at https://wp.me/p2YGUG-1Zj.

Happy reading and I hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day, my lovelies. Good luck in all the giveaways! 

First Kiss Friday with A Second Chance At Love!

Welcome to my First Kiss Friday blog! With the release of A Second Chance At Love this week, I thought it would only be fitting to give you a scene from this Frost Fair Regency romance. I hope you enjoy Digby and Constance’s journey to finding love and their first kiss! Happy reading and enjoy, my dearest readers!

Excerpt:

Constance waited in the foyer while a servant went to fetch her pelisse. Her aunt had stayed behind in the meeting room to finish up a few details, and Constance hoped this would give her some additional time alone with Digby. Her heart leapt when she saw him leaving the front parlor. She could barely contain her breathing as he came ever nearer to her side. How she loved this man.

“Your aunt—” he started to say, bowing over her hand.

“—is momentarily delayed,” she finished with a smile.

He leaned forward to whisper in her ear. “Come with me,” he urged, while gently taking her elbow.

She gave a quick glance around and nodded. None of the other people gathering in the foyer paid any attention to them. They were too preoccupied with their own conversations or going on about the details of the event to follow next month.

Constance and Digby did not go far and she was thankful he escorted her into an open room with no door, thus ensuring her reputation remained intact. A nook not visible from the hallway gave them a semblance of privacy and she could only wonder what this man who owned her heart would do next. She did not have long to wait.

“You may think this is too forward of me, Lady Constance,” he began.

She let a light laugh escaped her. “We have known one another far too long to be so formal, my lord, at least when we are alone together.”

He brightened her day with his smile and brought her closer. “Constance… you do me a great honor.”

“The honor is mine, Digby,” she breathed in a soft whisper, resting her hands lightly on his forearms.

“During my time away, a day did not go by that I did not think of you. The hurt I caused you at our parting has weighed heavily on my mind for two long years.”

“I have already forgiven you for all that, Digby.”

“Yes, I know, and I am most grateful you can forget my foolishness. This may be too fast, since we have only just reunited, but I wanted you to know I still care for you, Constance.”

She reached up to cup his cheek. “Digby, surely you must know you still own my heart?”

“You give me hope for a future together,” he said in a husky tone.

“Nothing would make me happier.”

She thought she was prepared for when Digby bent down to place his lips upon her own. The kiss was gentle at first, a testament to what they truly felt for one another. But as she stepped closer, wrapping her arms around his neck, everything changed. Digby pulled her into his arms and every fiber of her being burst in sheer joy. He deepened their kiss, and she was more than willing to follow his lead. Tingling sensations stole down her spine and Constance knew in this very instant that she had not lost his love. Surely, if Digby could kiss her like this then he would certainly wish for them to wed at some point in their future.

A low moan of desire escaped her and she felt his arms tighten around her waist.

A Second Chance At Love:
A Frost Fair Regency Romance
By Sherry Ewing

Can the bittersweet frost of lost love be rekindled into a burning flame?

Viscount Digby Osgood returns to London after a two-year absence, planning to avoid the woman he courted and then left. Surely she has moved on with her life; even married by now. A bit of encouragement from a friend, however, pushes him to seek the lady out. Can she ever forgiven him and give them a second chance at love?

Lady Constance Whittles has only cared for one man in her life. Even after he broke her heart, it remains fixed on him. Another man tries to replace him, but she soon learns she can never feel for him a shadow of what she still feels for Digby. One brief encounter with Digby confirms it; she is more than willing to forgive him. Can they truly take up where they left off?

Charity projects and a Frost Fair on the Thames bring them together, but another stands in their way. Will he tear them apart?

Buy Links:

Amazon US | Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Books2Read

Amazon AU | Amazon BR | Amazon CA | Amazon DE | Amazon ES | Amazon FR | Amazon IN | Amazon IT | Amazon JP | Amazon MX | Amazon NL | Amazon UK | Angus & Robertson

Happy Release Day!

It’s always a wonderful day when you can release a new book into the world! Although A Second Chance At Love was previously released in the Bluestocking Belles’ box set Fire & Frost, I am now releasing my novella for individual sale. I’m pretty partial to this cover, since my lovely daughter is in the image. Thanks to all the readers who preordered this story. Here’s an excerpt for your reading pleasure and I hope you enjoy Digby & Constance’s journey to finding a second chance at love!

Excerpt:

A rush of air left his lips as though he had been holding his breath while awaiting her answer. He stepped up to the desk and reached for her hand, kissing the air between his lips and her knuckles as any proper gentleman would. “You are very gracious, Constance. I must admit I was afraid you would hate me, considering how I left things between us.”

She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “I could never hate you, Digby.” A blush rushed to her cheeks at the tone of her voice. They had been on a first name basis two years ago and somehow it seemed right to call him by his given name. My word, she had missed this man.

“Then perhaps you would allow me to escort you to a meeting at the Duchess of Haverford’s residence next week on the third. I understand she is in the process of forming several committees to organize an event for The Ladies’ Society for the Care of the Widows and Orphans of Fallen Heroes and the Children of Wounded Veterans.”

Constance laughed. “You must be joking? Why, you will never get all that on any kind of a banner.”

Digby joined her and laughed. “I would never make up such a tall tale, my lady.”

“No one in their right mind would, although it does sound like a worthy cause.”

“I could not agree more, which is why I have offered my services to the gentleman’s auxiliary, whose responsibilities will include making sure you ladies are able to do your work in this dreadful weather. I knew this was just the sort of event that would be of interest to you.”

“You know me so well. I would be happy to accompany you, Digby.”

“Wonderful,” he replied with a smile. “If your aunt could join us and act as chaperone, then I could pick you both up around noon, if that is acceptable.”

“I will eagerly await next week, my lord.”

Digby took her hand again and bowed over it. “As will I, my lady.”

His gloved hand felt warm in hers. When Digby’s thumb gently caressed the back in a small circular motion, Constance’s heart leapt at the possibility that all was not lost. Her eyes went to his in a long lingering glance as pleasure swept across her entire being. She smiled, and he returned it with a smile of his own. Constance could not remember when she had ever been this happy…

A Second Chance At Love:
A Frost Fair Regency Romance
By Sherry Ewing

Can the bittersweet frost of lost love be rekindled into a burning flame?

Viscount Digby Osgood returns to London after a two-year absence, planning to avoid the woman he courted and then left. Surely she has moved on with her life; even married by now. A bit of encouragement from a friend, however, pushes him to seek the lady out. Can she ever forgiven him and give them a second chance at love?

Lady Constance Whittles has only cared for one man in her life. Even after he broke her heart, it remains fixed on him. Another man tries to replace him, but she soon learns she can never feel for him a shadow of what she still feels for Digby. One brief encounter with Digby confirms it; she is more than willing to forgive him. Can they truly take up where they left off?

Charity projects and a Frost Fair on the Thames bring them together, but another stands in their way. Will he tear them apart?

Buy Links:

Amazon US | Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Books2Read

Amazon AU | Amazon BR | Amazon CA | Amazon DE | Amazon ES | Amazon FR | Amazon IN | Amazon IT | Amazon JP | Amazon MX | Amazon NL | Amazon UK | Angus & Robertson

Medieval Monday with To Follow My Heart

Hello, my lovelies, and welcome back to Medieval Monday! Our spring theme this year is the first kiss between our hero and heroine. I’ve decided to take you back to two of my favorite characters in my medieval/time travel To Follow My Heart: Fletcher & Jenna. In this scene and in the coming weeks, Fletcher is called home while Jenna learns she is to stay at Berwyck Castle. I hope you enjoy these upcoming snippets and happy reading!

Snippet:

Fletcher made his way to Jenna’s chamber, hesitating before he gave a firm knock upon the portal. She opened it faster than he had anticipated, almost as though she had known he was heading in her direction. He saw her take only one look at him before worry became etched upon her lovely face.

To Follow My Heart:
The Knights of Berwyck, A Quest Through Time (Book Three)
By Sherry Ewing

Love is a leap. Sometimes you need to jump…

After a gut wrenching break up with her fiancé, Jenna Sinclair heads to the coast to do a little soul searching. To say everything is subject to change is putting it mildly. Her world is not only turned upside down, but pretty much torn asunder when she is pulled through a time gate on the beach beneath the Cliff House and transported more than eight hundred years into the past.

Fletcher Monroe, captain of the garrison knights at Berwyck Castle, has wasted too much time pining for a woman who will never be his. When he finally decides to move on with his life and focus on his duties, he is suddenly confronted with a woman who magically appears at his feet. This could either be the best thing that has ever happened to him or another cursed event in a string of many.  He soon finds he is wildly attracted to her, but she’s scared to death of him – not a very encouraging beginning.

From the shores of California to twelfth century England and back again, Jenna and Fletcher must find a way to reconcile their two different worlds before Time forever tears them apart.

Buy Links:

Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | Apple Books |  Kobo

Follow along next week and find my snippet on Sophia Nye’s blog:  https://sophianyewrites.com/blog/

First Kiss Friday with Jessica Cale & a Giveaway!

Hello, my lovelies, and welcome to my First Kiss Friday blog. Today’s guest is my friend Jessica Cale who has a new story out in The Nightingale and the Lark, featured in the Regency in Color anthology. Isn’t this cover just heavenly? Read on for Jessica’s excerpt and be sure to read all the way to the end for her giveaway. Happy reading and good luck on her giveaway!

Excerpt:

“You look so panic-stricken.” Frank smiled at her in the moonlight. “I knew you were a lady the moment you walked in the door.” 

Oddly, that didn’t calm her a single bit. “You did?” 

He stopped hiding his laughter. “Obviously. How many fishwives do you think look like you?” 

Andie folded her arms. “What do you mean by that?”

Frank snorted. “Beautiful. Elegant. Queenly.” He rolled a hand as if making a bow to a monarch. “Your borrowed clothes aren’t fooling anyone. I’ve known opera singers my whole life, and not one of them brought the light with her when she walked into a room like you do.” 

Her breath caught. “You think I’m pretty?”

This was usually the part when tonnish lords fell all over themselves to quote sonnets and praise her with flowery, impersonal cliches. 

“Pretty?” Frank emitted an ungentlemanly snort. “No, darling. I’m saying you’re the goddamned sun.” 

Andie didn’t know what to say. No man had ever said anything like that to her and meant it. She’d gotten her fair share of awful poetry over the years—as it happened, nothing rhymed with Archambault—but none of it meant half as much as knowing that Frank Creighton saw her like that.

“You just swore,” she said dumbly, kicking herself as soon as it was out. 

“I blame the rum.” He stubbed out his cigar. “I blame the rum for this too.” Frank stood abruptly and crossed to the other doorway. He opened it a crack, and music from the theater spilled out into the night. He grabbed the bucket beside the door and brought it back to where Andie was sitting. “How do you feel about birds?”

Andie sat back, bewildered. She’d thought he might kiss her, and now he was talking about birds. “I beg your pardon?”

Frank finished his rum in a single gulp. “Sunflower seeds.” He tipped the bucket in her direction so she could see the contents. It was indeed filled to the brim. “Take a handful. I want to show you something.” 

She looked at him with suspicion. What was wrong with this man? “All right…” She reached into the bucket and filled her hand with seeds. 

Satisfied, Frank took two great fistfuls for himself. “Hold your hand a little loose and shake them so they rattle. Are you ready?” 

Andie wasn’t at all sure about this, but at the joyful urgency in his eyes, she acquiesced. “Ready.” 

She followed his lead as he shook the seeds for about five seconds, then they both tossed them toward the edge of the roof. 

Within seconds, they were surrounded by a whirlwind of black feathers. It was so sudden and overwhelming that Andie screamed. Dozens and dozens of crows swooped around them in circles until they settled on the seeds, seizing them from the floor and picking them out of the thatch. 

Andie doubled over in fits of laughter, tears streaming down her cheeks as she struggled to catch her breath. “I thought you were joking!” 

Frank chuckled at her response, looking a little too natural surrounded by a hundred crows under the full moon. “I never joke about crows.” 

Andie playfully swatted his shoulder, and Frank caught her hand and held it to his chest. When she didn’t pull away but stepped closer, he wound an arm around the small of her back and led her around the roof in a sort of improvised waltz to the music coming from inside. Her cheeks ached from smiling as he spun her under the moon, crows fluttering away to avoid her feet. As he caught her in his arms, she met his gaze and she knew. 

She curled her fingers into his crisp white shirt and whispered, “You are quite mad, Frank Creighton.” 

His eyebrows drew together, and she was treated to a slow, crooked smile. “You have no idea.” 

Grasping his collar in her hands, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. 

It was a bad idea, the worst idea—she couldn’t have explained why she did it other than that she had to. He was the most exhilarating, infuriating, impossible man, and every nerve in her body was screaming at her to kiss his ridiculous face. 

Frank didn’t seem to mind. Gathering her up in his arms, he returned the favor with interest. His kiss was like his music—instinctive, passionate, and casually skilled. Though Andie had very little experience with men—and certainly no one like Frank—kissing him felt as easy and essential as breathing. 

The chill of the night seemed to disappear as she pressed herself against the heat of his chest, burying her fingers into the unruly waves of his hair. He tasted of salt and rum, the heady scent of good tobacco still hanging in the air. 

In the back of her mind, she was acutely aware that this was expressly forbidden; ladies of her class had been compelled to marry for less. If anyone caught them up here, her reputation would be ruined along with her sister’s marriage prospects. Worse, if things went wrong, her career could be over before it truly started. 

She knew. She knew, but for now, just for this moment, none of it mattered. 

After a lifetime of sacrificing her own wants for the comfort and convenience of others, kissing Frank Creighton felt like a radical act, the first and only time she had not only expressed what she wanted but had outright taken it. 

The heavens opened, moonlight spilling over them. She heard the sound of angels’ wings—or perhaps that was still the crows—followed by the sudden end to the music and a deafening roar of applause. 

It was the applause that finally pulled Frank away. He held her gaze, the dreaminess in his eyes giving way to mortified horror. “Oh, shit.” 

With one last lightning-fast kiss, Frank took off running. Andie had never seen someone move so fast. He flew down the staircase, jumping over the last several steps, and thundered to the central staircase. Andie followed at a rather more sedate pace, reaching the top balcony just in time to see him skid to a stop on the stage below. 

Frank straightened his shirt, pulled a brace back up on his shoulder, and ran a hand through the mess of his hair. “The Spider Dance, everyone!” 

Clearly knowing exactly what he’d been up to, the cheer that closed the show was at least half whistles and raucous laughter. Frank made a face and laughed at himself, spreading his arms wide and taking a bow. He looked up and met her gaze, and Andie could see his face was red. 

She didn’t think it was possible, but she’d managed to fluster Frank Creighton. 

The Nightingale and the Lark, by Jessica Cale
featured in the Regency in Color anthology

Andromeda Archambault has it all. An heiress and daughter of a French marquis, London is her oyster, but to pursue her dream to sing professionally—and free of her family’s influence—she’ll have to leave the West End for the bright lights of…Shoreditch? 

The Crow’s Nest is a crumbling Elizabethan behemoth owned and operated by the eccentric Frank Creighton, a director with more than one skeleton in his closet. He knows Andie’s talent when he sees it, but if his Phantasmagoria doesn’t scare her away, his reputation and his relatives surely will. 

Will Andie make a name for herself before her mother figures out where she is? Has Frank finally met a woman more interesting than his piano? And crucially, will they be able to get their act together before the re-enactment of the Battle of Waterloo at Vauxhall Gardens? Find out in The Nightingale and the Lark  

Link:

Regency in Color is available on Amazon and via Kindle Unlimited: https://www.amazon.com/Regency-Color-Collection-Gabrielle-Carr-ebook/dp/B08NSYMBY8

About the author:

Jessica Cale is a romance author, editor, and historian based in North Carolina. Originally from Minnesota, she lived in Wales for several years where she earned a BA in History and an MFA in Creative Writing while climbing castles and photographing mines for history magazines. She is the editor of Dirty, Sexy History, and you can visit her at http://www.dirtysexyhistory.com.

Social Media 

Website: www.dirtysexyhistory.com

Facebook: facebook.com/authorjessicacale

Instagram: @caleisafourletterword and @dirtysexyhistory

Giveaway! Comment for a chance to win an e-book copy of Sleeping Evie, a Victorian reimagining of Sleeping Beauty set in the Pre-Raphaelite art scene of 1870s London. You can also find it on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited here: https://www.amazon.com/Sleeping-Evie-Lady-Gooseburys-Tales-ebook/dp/B085DD9J4V

First Kiss Friday with Jo-Ann Power

Welcome to my First Kiss Friday blog. Today’s guest is my friend Jo-Ann Powers who has an excerpt from Heroic Measures. Isn’t the cover just lovely? Happy reading and enjoy, my lovelies.

Setting the scene: We are in France, 1918, on the American front lines and Captain Adam Fairleigh, British Army officer, has come to take Nurse Gwen Spencer to lunch. The little cafe is in walking distance from the mobile hospital where Nurse Spencer is stationed and she has a few hours to spare. She has met Captain Fairleigh, who is attached to British Headquarters, previously when he was ill. This is the second time they have met, but the first since he danced with her at a reception given by General Pershing.

Excerpt:

“The gentleman’s name is Armand and he’s a very good cook,” she told Adam as he pulled out a chair for her to take the seat in the tiny cafe. No other patrons graced the place.

“What do you suggest?”

“Jambon et fromage. Vin rouge. Salade verte. Du pain, glorious et crispy.” She shivered. Lovely du pain.”

“Ha! Remind me to feed you often. You look glorious in raptures.”

She wiggled her brows. “On occasion, he has offered cuisses, but I have not gotten the courage to try them.”

“Frogs legs? You should. They are as tender as chicken.”

“The idea that Armand might have recently caught them in his garden—” she made a face, “—disturbs me. Though my aunt raises chickens and I’ve had to kill and pluck and gut them. I shouldn’t be so finicky.”

Beneath the table, he reached for her hand and tucked it in his lap. His affection was addictive. “Be what you are, Gwen. If you don’t want frog’s legs, you don’t have to eat them.”

“Have you done many things you didn’t care to do?” she asked, thinking of his venture into No Man’s Land. What kind of dedication did it take to do that? What kind of cunning? “I’m sorry. That was ridiculous to ask. We all do things we don’t want to do.”

“I like my position with Pershing’s staff. Even that jaunt across the barbed wire,” he offered with a faraway look, “was exciting. I have been known to test the limits. That excites me. Does that make me a daredevil? Do you prefer men who are more ordinary?”

“I’ve never thought about who I prefer. I only know who I like.”

He seemed not to breathe for a long while as his gaze traveled her lips and her eyes. “Like me.” His words sounded like a plea.

“Can you doubt it?”

“I never want to.”

His words were balm to an open wound she had not bothered to tend. If she let him do that for her now, would she be foolish? Or couldn’t she permit herself to be charmed? Just for one small moment in her life. “You are doing very well. Shall I tell you if you ever disenchant me?”

“Do I enchant you now?”

“I’m afraid you do,” she whispered.

“Don’t be afraid. I’d never hurt you.”

She had the urge to fling her arms around him, kiss his lips and tell him she trusted him. “I don’t trust our circumstances. If we were home… But then, you live in England and I live thousands of miles away and…and this is not appropriate for me to even talk this way.” She covered her hot cheek with one hand.

Armand appeared and bid them Bonjour.

“Forget I said all that,” she told Adam when the proprietor had disappeared into his little shop with their wine order.

“I can’t. Look at me. We both know what we face. The possibilities. But I don’t care. If you’ll have me, I want to come back. Take you to lunch and buy you vin rouge and jambon et fromage. Anything you want. As long as you smile at me as you do now and blush and tell me with those extraordinary violet eyes that I am the finest man you’ve ever met.”

Choked with emotion, her throat burning with tears of delight, she could only nod at him.

“Shall I drive over and see you again?” he asked as minutes later, they stood before her barracks once more and their interlude was done.

“Yes. Soon.”

He raised her hand, turned it palm up and placed a tender kiss in the center. “Keep that for me, will you?”

Dissolved into a puddle of girlish need, she summoned a reply. “Will you want it back?”

He pressed her closed fist to her heart. “Many times over.”

Blurb:

For Gwen Spencer, fighting battles is nothing new. An orphan sent to live with a vengeful aunt, Gwen picked coal and scrubbed floors to earn her keep. But when she decides to become a nurse, she steps outside the boundaries of her aunt’s demands…and into a world of her own making.

But that world has gone to war.

Volunteering for the Army Nurse Corps, Gwen promises to serve until the end of the conflict, no matter how long that is. She leaves her small hometown with her friends and sails away in the dead of night, chased by German U-boats. Ashore she discovers her new world is dangerous and demanding, helping doctors heal thousands of sick and injured Doughboys in primitive conditions.

She’s determined to overcome the heartbreaks and the challenges. Becoming an expert at anesthesia, she volunteers to go to the front lines with an acute care team. Braving bombings and the madness of men crazed by pain and despair, she surprises herself when she falls in love with a man she admires—and should not want.

Amid the chaos, she learns the measure of her own bravery to bear any burden, pay any price and claim the one man she adores as she becomes all that she desires.

Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/bzgaKn

About the Author:

Jo-Ann Power, an award-winning author of more than 40 novels, serves as the curator of the United States World War One Centennial Commission for the Army Nurse Corps. Researching the lives of those 22,000 valiant women who volunteered to save wounded Doughboys, Jo-Ann has spent weeks in dusty archives and years traveling throughout the United States and Europe to discover the facts of these nurses’ daily lives. 

In HEROIC MEASURES, she weaves a tale of a group of friends who decide to do the extraordinary and leave the safety of their garden gates to travel thousands of miles to the chaos of war to do the work they know will save lives.

Jo-Ann likes to tell others about these courageous women and speaks often about them to civilian and veterans’ groups. To learn more, please read her posts on her blog at: http://theyalsofought.blogspot.com and sign up for her informative newsletter on the Home page of her website: http://www.jo-annpower.com 

First Kiss Friday with One Last Kiss

Although this is obviously my First Kiss Friday Blog, today I’m giving you Chapter Ten from One Last Kiss. This is a pivotal scene in my Christmas novella where Jade experiences her first Christmas in medieval England and realizes she is beginning to have feelings for Thomas. I hope you enjoy this excerpt from One Last Kiss and everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Excerpt:

Jade listened to those assembled in the chapel. They all voiced a reverent amen. Earlier, she shouldn’t have been surprised when she was ushered to sit in the row of benches reserved for the lord and lady of Berwyck’s family. She could only be made to feel that she was in a place of honor. Yet all this gallantry and my lady business took some getting used to. At least she had seen enough movies or read enough romance novels to understand the fundamentals of twelfth-century living. But will it be enough to pass among them for any length of time? Maybe, the questions she should ask herself were how in the world was she going to get herself home, or did she wish to stay?

She had been thankful when Thomas had been allowed to sit next to her, and he seemed happy to also have her near. It wasn’t as though she had never been in a church before. No, that wasn’t the problem. The problem was she couldn’t understand a word the priest was saying. The entire Mass had been said in Latin. She tried not to think about the fact that this was a daily ritual with the people of this time. She was unsure how she would survive what she would consider an ordeal.

Sitting on the bench or kneeling on the cold stone floor for what seemed like hours had taken a toll on her body, and Jade was slow to rise. Her knees wobbled, and Thomas was quick to rush to her aid. His arm snaked securely around her waist, leaving Jade no choice but to take hold of his tunic for additional support.

Green eyes met blue-gray as air rushed into her lungs when she came into contact with his extremely muscular chest. The sound of someone clearing his throat had them turning their attention to the priest. Father Donovan wasn’t pleased, and they quickly drew apart with a hasty apology.

Thomas began escorting Jade from the chapel but turned to pull up the hood of her cloak before opening the door. The air was crisp as a blast of wind snapped at her face. The newly fallen snow sparkled like diamonds but was also blinding, causing Jade to shield her eyes. She stood amazed at the view. The castle keep towered at least four stories high, and she could hear the sound of the ocean in the distance. She really had traveled through time because there was no way this was San Francisco!

“This is a lot to take in,” she said quietly to Thomas, who took her about the waist and gently guided her over an icy patch on the ground.

“You are handling this whole experience well, Jade,” he replied. “You do not mind that I call you by your given name, do you?”

She gave a short laugh. “Actually, I prefer it. It’s certainly way more personal than all this my lady stuff, although a woman could get used to that if she’s not careful.”

Entering the keep, the delicious aroma of roasted meat caused Jade’s mouth to water. Apparently, she was hungrier than she thought. Watching in fascination, her eyes traveled to the numerous servants who scurried about with platters filled to capacity as the occupants of the hall began to enter. Once she was seated, she stared in wonder at the bounty before her, while Thomas heaped food onto their trencher until it almost overflowed.

“You must be really hungry,” she teased him.

“You are not?” he asked before he dismissed a servant and took over the task of pouring wine into her chalice.

“Well, I am, but there’s enough food here for several meals. I’m not used to eating so much meat.”

“We have been fasting for nigh unto a month.”

Advent, she thought, remembering Thomas’s earlier words. Before she could answer him, the sound of trumpets blared into the room. A huge platter was carried in with much ceremony.

Her eyes widened. “Is that a pig’s head?”

“Boar. ’Tis very good. You must needs try it.”

She gulped, looking at the charred thing set before Lord Dristan and his lady who appeared pleased with the offering before them. “I think, I’ll pass.”

He shrugged. “As you wish, but you must eat your fill. I will not have a lady in my care wasting away because she forgot to break her fast,” he said, pointing to the food before them as he began eating with the gusto of a starving man.

She picked at the food, finding most of the meat quite tasty. The vegetables were too overcooked for her liking, and she would have preferred a nice salad. Since that wasn’t an option set before her, she continued to nibble at the food until she was full. Still, Thomas consumed most of what was left on the trencher. Jade sipped her wine, finding it far more intoxicating than what she had previously tasted, or perhaps, it was the man next to her that made her feel lightheaded.

She watched the room in curiosity. Christmas was far more understated than what she was used to as she attempted to remind herself where she really was. There was no tree with bulbs or tinsel with presents underneath, waiting to be unwrapped or any other decorations she expected from modern times. No bright twinkling lights, no red poinsettias, just an everyday hall in the twelfth century without any form of commercialism. This is actually kind of refreshing, Jade thought when she realized how the true meaning of the holiday tended to get lost in her world.

“Is something wrong?” Thomas leaned over.

Her heart flipped at the heavenly scent coming from this gorgeous medieval knight. The hint of warm spices seemed to surround him, giving Jade goosebumps, and she did everything in her power not to put her face into his hair just so she could smell him to her heart’s content. Good Lord, what was this man unintentionally doing to her?

She took a deep breath in a shallow attempt to calm her nerves that became scattered in a good way whenever she was near Thomas.

“No, nothing is wrong. In fact, everything is so right, it scares me,” she stated.

One corner of his mouth turned up, and his eyes sparkled in delight. “Then you are pleased to be here,” he said, waiting for her answer before taking a sip from his chalice.

Pleased, yes. Scared out of my wits? Yes. Wanting to return home? Possibly, Jade pondered in confusion. But really, what was there for her to return to back in Michigan? A couple of friends but no one who would truly miss her. Certainly, there wasn’t any family waiting for her with open arms since she had been lost in the foster care system until she became an adult and had been forced to make her own way in the world.

“Jade—”

She shook her head from the memories she’d rather leave buried in the past and returned her attention to the knight who now gazed upon her with worried eyes. “Sorry. What were you saying?”

“’Tis not of import,” Thomas replied, attempting to relax in his chair, but he was failing miserably.

A slight frown marred his features, and Jade had the sudden urge to see him smile instead. Just as swiftly as that thought popped into her head, another one entered her mind. He had spent far too many years burdened with the actions of his youth. The image of a young Thomas flinging the same ring now stuck on her finger off into the woods replayed inside her head. She wondered if what she thought was a mere hallucination from jet lag was actually true.

She placed her hand upon his arm, and her thumb rubbed the fabric of his tunic in a soothing motion.

“I think whatever you have on your mind is very important. Please tell me what you’re thinking,” she urged in a soft plea to hear the thoughts of this medieval man. She could almost hear the musings going on inside his head. He’s just as confused as I am with everything that is happening between us at such an alarming speed.

He took a deep breath and then another sip of his wine before placing the goblet back down upon the table. “I was asking if you are pleased to be here.”

In that moment, Jade knew she wanted to see where all this could go between them or even if it were possible for her to stay here in the past.

She took up his chalice and placed her lips to the spot where his mouth had just touched it. His eyes widened before a grin split his face.

She returned his smile. “Yes, Thomas. I believe I am…” Her words trailed off to be lost with the sounds of the busy hall.

If she had looked down upon her hand, she would have seen the ring giving off a low, golden glow.Let their journey begin.

Sometimes it takes a miracle to find your heart’s desire…

Scotland, 1182: Banished from his homeland, Thomas of Clan Kincaid lives among distant relatives, reluctantly accepting he may never return home… Until an encounter with the castle’s healer tells him of a woman traveling across time—for him.

Dare he believe the impossible?

Present Day, Michigan: Jade Calloway is used to being alone, and as Christmas approaches, she’s skeptical when told she’ll embark on an extraordinary journey. How could a trip to San Francisco be anything but ordinary? But when a ring magically appears, and she sees a ghostly man in her dreams…

Dare she believe in the possible?

Thrust back in time, Jade encounters Thomas—her fantasy ghost. Talk about extraordinary. But as time works against them, they must learn to trust in miracles.

Can they accept impossible love before time interferes?

Buy Links:

Amazon US  | Apple Books  | Barnes & Noble  | Kobo

Amazon AU  |  Amazon BR  |  Amazon CA |  Amazon DE  |  Amazon ES  |  Amazon FR  | Amazon IN  |  Amazon IT  |  Amazon JP  |  Amazon MX  |  Amazon NL  |  Amazon UK

And just in case you’re looking for more holiday reads, check out this video or my book tab above. From my family to yours and no matter how you celebrate this time of year, I wish you all a very happy holiday season and a prosperous New Year! Thank you for all your support throughout the past year. Hugs, Sherry

First Kiss Friday with Alina K. Field

It’s always a pleasure when I can welcome back author Alina K. Field to my First Kiss Friday blog. With a new release right around the corner, Alina has an excerpt from Fated Hearts. Take it away Alina, and happy reading, my lovelies!

Thank you, Sherry, for having me as a guest! I’m sharing the first kiss scene from Fated Hearts, a Love After All Retelling of the Scottish Play, available for pre-order for the December 20th release. 

Fated Hearts is based on the story of Macbeth and his lady, retold as a Regency-set romance. After a failed attempt to gain his cousin’s earldom, Finnley Macbeth divorced his wife Greer and went off to war. Twenty years later, they encounter each other in London during a chaotic and eventful week in British history. In this excerpt, Macbeth is recovering from wounds received when he was beaten on the street in the midst of the Corn Riots, and Greer is caring for him. 

Excerpt: 

Framed in the candlelight, there was no lovelier vision then this woman he’d loved all his grown life. Even when he’d hated her, he’d done so with a passion, and a sorrow, and a grief that could only have been born in and sustained by love. He’d been such a fool. He would make this right.

“Mo chridhe,” he whispered. “Greer.” His throat thickened, and he cleared it. “Lay with me tonight. We need do no more than sleep.” 

She raised an eyebrow and scoffed. 

He laughed, glad she had lightened the mood. 

“Go then. Change into your nightclothes and decide what ye wish. I am here behind a locked door and with a footman guarding it outside. I’m your captive, and ye may do with me as ye desire.” 

“And the key is on your side, and the young man an easy match for a warrior, even an injured one.” 

“Aye. Yet I’ll be here. And I’m feeling much better.” The next move must be hers. Except…

He tugged her close, captured her neck, and stole a quick kiss. Then he threw back the covers, bare-arsed as the day he was born. 

Greer froze to the spot, only her hands twisting together beneath her beautiful bosom. 

Biting his lip against the soreness in his bruised body, he hoisted himself to the side of the bed and stood before her in all his glorious nakedness. 

She blinked. Her mouth opened, and closed, and then opened again. “Ye’ll rest and recover,” she said. “Ye’re not leaving. I’ll hide your coats.” 

Lightheaded he might be, but the breathlessness in her voice roused that part of him that promised to carry on. If she would let him.

She needed to choose, and she needed a few moments of time for that. After all, it had been twenty years. 

He found the discarded banyan, struggled into it, and sat down at the table near the fire. Tears welled in his eyes, and he wiped at them, cursing his surge of unmanliness. What a damned foolish, blockheaded Scotsman he’d been. 

He wanted Greer, he wanted her to be his, for the rest of his life, no matter how short or how sorry it might be. 

He must go about it the right way, though. She must see him as he was, with all his wounds, and she must decide. 

As the fire dimmed, and the moments ticked on, he waited. No noise came through the stout dressing room door. 

She wasn’t coming. Heart sinking, he pushed to his feet. 

The latch rattled and a draft of cool lavender wafted his way, drawing him around. He gripped the back of the chair as time melted away and carried him back two decades.

The dress—and, praise God—the corset, were gone. She stood in a lacy transparent shift, her dressing gown loose and untied, her feet bare, and her hair… her hair was unbound, rich tendrils reaching to tease the peaks of her breasts. 

Blood pounded into his arms and his legs and his loins, screaming Take her.

He breathed, struggling for control. Consequences, Macbeth. ’Twas a discipline he’d pressed into his men, sometimes with the lash when nothing else would restore self-restraint. A woman, any woman deserved better than to be taken unwillingly. And Greer…Greer was much, much more than any woman. 

“Greer,” he said, searching for breath. “Tha thu brèagha mo ghaol.” 

Tha thu brèagha mo ghaol.

Greer’s hands tightened at her waist, her emotions a jumble. You are beautiful, my love, he’d said. 

And but look at him, stretching the shoulders of the generously sized dressing gown, his hair in those wild flaming tangles of waves she remembered, falling all the way to his broad, muscled shoulders. In the light of the table lamp, she could see also his whiskers coming in, glistening like the hair on his muscled chest visible in the vee of the gaping banyan. 

And his eyes…his eyes glowed a dark, compelling bronze. Heat leapt in her, unfurling long-repressed needs. 

“Mo ghaol,” she said, her heart beating wildly, sudden shyness holding her back. 

Finnley had ever been eager. Why didn’t he come to her now?

Her gaze traveled over him, and she spotted his hands, gripping the chair back, the knuckles white and crisscrossed with scars. He loosened one hand and reached out to her. 

“I am here,” he said.

I am here. Simply that. He expected her to capitulate even more, and come to him. 

Or…he was tempting her fiercely and letting her choose. 

“For how long?” 

He blinked. “How long do ye wish me to stay?” 

The hand beckoning her was steady and strong, the pull of desire, his and her own, even stronger. She would have him tonight, him, the only man she’d ever made love to. The only man she’d ever loved.

“Ye must stay tonight, certainly,” she said briskly, “and perhaps tomorrow night as well if the surgeon requires it.” 

The slow smile, the intense gaze, reached through her and squeezed her heart. “Greer,” he said. 

Heart pounding, she went to him and slipped under his arm. “Let me help ye back into bed.” 

In a flash, he scooped her up and juggled her, grunting. “Mo ghaol,” he said, nuzzling her cheek. “Ye smell like springtime.” 

She smoothed a hand down his bristly cheek, unable to speak. He smelled of the lemony soap Lady Fiona kept for the washstand, and the faint manly musk that was his alone. 

His breath rasped carrying her, and then her bottom touched the mattress, and her dressing gown disappeared, along with his banyan. 

“Greer.” 

He knelt before her, his big hands cupping her shoulders, moving down her arms, touching, measuring, and inflaming, moving up again, bracketing her chest under her armpits and then sliding down, his thumbs tracing the sides of her breasts, gliding along her belly, down her hips, and along her legs all the way to her feet. 

He cradled one foot and dropped a kiss on the top of it, and then repeated the move with the other.

Eyes squeezed shut, she held back the desire threatening to burst her apart. 

She lifted his chin and brought her lips to his, touching, nibbling, and then angling her head for an open-mouthed kiss. 

Fated Hearts
by Alina K. Field 

A Scottish Baron returning from two decades at war meets the daughter he denied was his, and the wife he divorced, only to learn that everything he’d believed to be true was a lie. What he can’t deny is that she’s the only woman he’s ever loved. They’re not the young lovers they once were, but when passion flares, it burns more hotly than ever it did in their youth.

They soon discover, it wasn’t fate that drove them apart, but a jealous enemy, who played on his youthful arrogance and her vulnerability. Now that old enemy has resurfaced, more treacherous than ever. When his lady falls into a trap, can he reach her in time to rescue this love that never died? 

Available 12/29/20, pre-order today! Universal link:  https://books2read.com/u/bQdyPP

About the Author: 

Award winning and USA Today bestselling author Alina K. Field earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German literature, but prefers the much happier world of romance fiction. Though her roots are in the Midwestern U.S., after six very, very, very cold years in Chicago, she moved to Southern California, where she shares a midcentury home with her husband and a spunky, blond rescued terrier. She is the author of several Regency romances, including the 2014 Book Buyer’s Best winner, Rosalyn’s Ring. Though hard at work on her next series of romantic adventures, she loves to hear from readers!

Website: https://alinakfield.com/ 

Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Alina-K.-Field/e/B00DZHWOKY

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alinakfield 

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First Kiss Friday with Chasity Bowlin

Welcome to another wonderful First Kiss Friday. Today’s guest is Chasity Bowlin who has an excerpt from What Happens in Piccadilly and is part of her Hellion Club series. We hope you enjoy this excerpt. Happy reading, my lovelies!

Excerpt:

Winn had never been so angry in his life. In fact, he’d never known another person who had the ability to make him as angry as Miss St. James, his employee,  just had. Where in the devil had that come from? He was torn between wanting to throttle her and wanting to— He stopped the thought. He knew precisely what it was he wished to do with Miss St. James and he also knew that even considering it was nothing more than the path to ruination. Kissing Calliope St. James would surely bring about nothing less than his doom. Yet he could think of nothing else. 

Perhaps it was the fact that through the course of their angry and heated exchange they had somehow closed the distance that separated them until they were facing off toe to toe. He wanted to step back. There was no question that he should step back. But he didn’t. Instead, he inched forward until he could see her pupils dilate, until he could hear the soft hitch in her breathing and feel the rush of it as she finally exhaled. But she didn’t back away either. And as her head tipped back, her face lifting toward his, her lashes drifted lower. He was lost. Even knowing it was a mistake, he was unable to resist. 

He leaned in, touched his lips to hers. It was only a whisper of a kiss, but it felled him as surely as a volley from a cannon. Against every urge that gripped him, he didn’t take her into his arms. He didn’t deepen the kiss. Instead, he simply settled his lips more firmly upon hers and committed the texture of them, the taste of them and the lightning bolt sensations they stirred in him, to memory. Because even as he kissed her, he knew it was an error that could never be repeated but would often be remembered. 

It lasted only seconds, although it altered him forever. Some things, once done, could never be undone. And having tasted her lips once, it would now haunt him for all his days. He acknowledged that, acknowledged that he’d made a terrible error in judgement, and that he regretted it not in the least. Then he simply drew back from her and stared down into her upturned face and confused gaze. 

She stared up at him for a moment, one hand drawn up to her plump, rosy lips. “Why did you do that?”  

Winn shrugged. “I cannot say.” 

“You don’t know why you kissed me?” she demanded, as if that was somehow more offensive than the liberties he had just taken.  

A heavy sigh escaped him and he looked away from her for just a moment, long enough to get his bearings. Then he answered, “I know why I kissed you, Miss St. James. And I know why I would very much like to kiss you again. But those explanations are even more inappropriate than my behavior has been. So, no, Miss St. James, I cannot say.” 

What Happen in Piccadilly:
 The Hellion Club Book 3
By Chasity Bowlin
There’s no such thing as just a kiss…

Book 3 in the bestselling series The Hellion Club has arrived for your reading pleasure! Read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited!

Chaos! That is what greets Miss Calliope St. James when she enters the household of her prospective employer, Lord Winn Hamilton, the Earl of Montgomery. The newly appointed guardian for his nieces and nephew, he’s clearly a man who has no idea what to do with children… and they are children who clearly know when the adults in charge haven’t a clue what they’re doing. But he is handsome. Terribly, temptingly handsome even when he’s maddening.  
Winn thought it was bad enough when his home was overrun with children hell-bent on driving him insane. Then their new governess arrived… and she looks like no governess he’s ever seen. Distractingly beautiful, maddeningly forthright, frustratingly capable—he’s equal parts attracted to her and infuriated by her. 

And then he sees the portrait… the portrait that changes everything. Because Calliope St. James isn’t just the abandoned and unwanted child of unknown parents as she’s always been led to believe. If Calliope is who he thinks she is, she’s very, very wealthy and there are powerful people in the highest reaches of society who want her very, very dead. 

To keep her safe, he’ll have to keep her close, and that presents them both with an entirely different sort of danger.

Buy Link: Amazon

About the author: 

USA Today Best Seller, Winner of the 2019 Romance Through the Ages Award for Georgian/Regency Romance, and 2020 RONE Award winner, Chasity Bowlin is the author multiple bestselling historical romance novels, both independently and with Dragonblade Publishing. She lives in central Kentucky with her husband, their son, and their menagerie of animals. She loves writing, loves traveling and enjoys incorporating tidbits of her actual vacations into her books. She is an avid Anglophile, loving all things British, but specifically all things Regency. 

Growing up in Tennessee, spending as much time as possible with her doting grandparents, soap operas were a part of her daily existence, followed by back to back episodes of Scooby Doo. Her path to becoming a romance novelist was set when, rather than simply have her Barbie dolls cruise around in a pink convertible, they time traveled, hosted lavish dinner parties and one even had an evil twin locked in the attic. 

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