Tag Archives: Regency Romance

$2.99 Sale, Sale, Sale!

26 Monday Sep 2022

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Everyone loves a sale, right? As I sit in the middle of my apartment at the moment contemplating how in the world we’re going to get all this luggage and boxes into my daughters car, I know that the end result will be a vacation that has been long awaited.

Where am I going, you may ask… Well… I’ll be spending the next week at the lovely Westgate Hotel in San Diego attending the Historical Romance Retreat. In honor of the readers who will be attending, I’ve got all of my eBooks on sale right now for only $2.99! You read that right, my lovelies! Only $2.99 and that’s a deal for some of my longer novels. Grab yours now while my sale lasts. And if you’ll be attending HRR22, I look forward to hanging out with you. See you there!

First Kiss Friday with Cerise DeLand

19 Friday Aug 2022

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Welcome to my First Kiss Friday blog. Today’s guest is my dear friend (and fellow Bluestocking Belle) Cerise DeLand who has an excerpt from her latest release in the Lyon’s Den Connect World entitled: A Lyon’s Share. Just look at that cover. I wonder if he needs any assistance with his bath? Happy reading and enjoy, my lovelies!

Except:

The quietude of friendship was a quality Adriana had hoped for in her second marriage. That it arrived so quickly and effortlessly surprised and pleased her.

“You’re smiling,” Sidney remarked from his seat across from her in his town coach. He appeared at his ease, his regard of her casual. Yet his dark eyes continuously roved over every inch of her.

His regard sent gushes of wet heat through her.  The physical desire she felt startled her. Suppressing the tempting sensation and pushing the memory away, she tipped her head and offered him an eager nod. “Thank you for all you have done. I am happy.” 

“Ever my goal.” He ran long fingers through his black curls. That silver streak would never stay put above his forehead. 

She longed to thread her fingers through it and push it back. Yet even when young, he had been composed. Controlled. Never disconcerted. The only sign of his disorder had always been that errant shock of hair.

“When we arrive home, I have a few questions for you.”

What did he plan? If he wished to discuss their sleeping arrangements, she had forgotten her anxiety of them in the rush of the ceremony and the joys of well wishes from her family. But his sentiment drained away her peace and filled her with doubts. “Why not ask them now?”

His eyes grew hard, and she could not tell if he was insulted or angry. “Don’t trust me, do you?”

She was ashamed to respond.

“You have evidence to the contrary, Adriana. Years of it.”

“I do. And I apologize. I shall reform.”

He crossed one leg over the other, long muscles rippling in his sleek-fitting breeches. The fawn wool accentuated his roaring good health. So did the superfine emerald of his morning frock coat and the complementary azure and green satin of his waistcoat. His crisp cravat, tied to an extravagant bow, was certainly all the crack. 

That wash of desire flooded through her again. Odd. She’d not desired any man in so very long. Fruitless, too, to nurture aspirations of affection for him. He didn’t want her. Not as anything more than a friend. His proof was that he had agreed to her conditions. Her unusual conditions…

She pasted on a grin. “I must admit that I do adore what your tailor has done for you.”

“Like a well-dressed man, do you?” He arched a curious brow. 

“Always. Rarely do I see one. Many men have little sense of cut or color. You do, I see.”

“Does this mean you will be proud to be seen with me?”

She caught the more important meaning in his question. “With the Hound of the Guards? Even without those accolades, Sidney, I have always been proud to be your friend. And now, in addition, I am pleased to be your wife.”

Throughout her response, he had trained his gaze—umber and mysterious—on her mouth. The even breaths he took had grown deeper and his mood more somber. “I will take that as a compliment, Adriana.”

“Do,” she said and meant it without qualification.

The coach slowed.

“I believe we are home,” he said with more gusto than necessity. Then he reached for his hat and got out as soon as the footman had the door open and the step down to the ground. 

She followed and took his proffered hand.

But at once, he swept her up into his arms. His gaze straight beyond at the entrance to his townhome, she wound her arm around his shoulders. 

“You needn’t do this,” she said in a low voice, though she loved the chivalry of him. To touch his power, to feel his strength, stimulated her blood better than good red wine. A man could enchant a woman with his prowess. That she had forgotten. 

“Custom,” he told her on a laugh. “I wish to. I’ll not have anyone talk.”

That shook her. Staring at him, she noted his superbly Roman profile. The intensity of his solemn deep brown gaze upon the house, their future…and their reputation.

“Good. Thank you for that,” she told him, for she would not wish to have others think less of him. He was a man with need for respect. To let it be known that he had agreed to a loveless and merely friendly marriage would make him a laughing stock. He deserved more than she had offered him, and it stung her that she deprived so worthy a person of his dignity—and his due.

Thus, in a sign of her gratitude—and yes, for the show of it—she kissed his cheek in public.

He shot her a look that spoke of his surprise and pleasure. 

She chuckled and hugged his shoulders as he continued up the steps into their new home.

The Lyon’s Share 
By Cerise DeLand

She’d spend every last penny to marry again for security, comfort—or even friendship.

He’d win her wager, possess her, keep her for himself—even if he’d never win her love.

Adriana, Lady Benton, has many regrets—and one hope. To wed a good man to gain a life to which she is entitled. One free of sorrow, penury and ridicule. Appealing to Mrs. Dove-Lyon, Adriana hopes to attract one man who may appreciate her assets. But never need her love.

Colonel Sidney Wolf, once hailed as the ruthless ‘Hound of the Horse Guards’, vows to end Adriana’s hardships. He’s home from the wars and faces the daunting task of filling his father’s role as the Earl of Middlethorpe. Believing only Adriana will do as his helpmate, he strikes a deal with Dove-Lyon that brings him the one woman he admires. The one woman he tells himself he can live with—and never touch.

But the nearness of his funny, charming, beautiful bride drives him mad. Knowing she will never love other than her first husband, can he keep his hands—and his heart to himself?

And if he doesn’t, can she ever forgive him?

Buy Link:   https://amzn.to/3bc6ri3

About the Author:

Cerise DeLand loves to write about dashing heroes and the sassy women they adore. 

But I bet you knew that! 

Did you know that she’s known for her poetic elegance and accuracy of detail? 

That she’s an award-winning author of more than 40 novels and was first published in 1991 by Kensington, then Pocket Books, later by St. Martin’s Press and independent presses? 

That her books have been monthly selections of the Doubleday Book Club and the Mystery Guild? Right. And she’s won awards. Lots of them. Need details? Write to her. She’ll send you the list!

To research, she’s dived into the oldest texts and dustiest library shelves. She also travels abroad taking good walking shoes, trusty notebooks and pens, plus camera! She visits chateaux and country homes she loves to people with her own imaginary characters. 

And at home every day? She cooks. Never dusts. (That can be a problem.) She goes swimming or pumps iron once a week and tries (desperately) to grow vegetables in her arid backyard in south Texas!

Find Cerise:

Cerise DeLand’s Website: www.cerisedeland.com
Cerise DeLand’s Delicious Doings Blog: http://cerisedeland.blogspot.com
Cerise DeLand’s Amazon Author Page:
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0089DS2N2
Like her on Facebook: CeriseDeLandAuthor
Follow her on Twitter: @cerisedeland
Goodreads: Cerise DeLand
BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cerise-deland
Cerise’s Treasures on Pinterest!
Cerise DeLand’s Delicious Newsletter! http://www.cerisedeland.com

First Kiss Friday with Jude Knight

24 Friday Jun 2022

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Welcome to another First Kiss Friday! Today’s guest is my dear friend Jude Knight. This excerpt is from Farewell to Kindness, the first novel in the series The Golden Redepennings. Farewell to Kindness is on special until the end of June, price reduced to 99c. In the excerpt, Rede, the Earl of Chirbury, has taken Anne and her family into his house after the roof of her cottage collapsed. They have encountered one another late at night, and he is showing Anne how to drink brandy. Happy reading and enjoy!

Excerpt:

“No. Wait,” Rede said. “Swirl, sniff, and then sip. Here, let me show you.” He leaned forward and cupped his hand around the glass over hers.

“Swirl.” He moved her hand gently in a small, tight circle.

“Sniff.” He held the glass several inches from her nose and again swirled it slightly, then shifted it closer.

“Now sip. Just a small amount, slowly. Let it slide over your tongue.”

Anne followed his directions, not taking her eyes off Rede. This time, the brandy seemed a lot smoother. The flavour filled her mouth, the fiery liquid warmed her throat.

Rede had not removed his hands, and now he leaned forward still further, his eyes holding her motionless.

He came closer and closer, slowly. He would stop if she protested. She should protest. She would not.

The first brush of his lips on hers was brief, and light as a feather. He drew back enough to look into her eyes, then leaned in again. This time, his lips landed and stayed, moulding to the shape of her mouth. After a moment, he began to move, cruising along her upper lip with tiny pecks and then along the lower. He settled again, this time his mouth slightly open. Was that his tongue, sliding along her lips? How odd. How… pleasant.

She opened her own lips, and was rewarded with a hum of approval before he dipped his tongue into her mouth. Tentatively she touched his tongue with her own, which sent a tingle down through her breasts to her belly.

He hummed again, this time almost a moan.

So he liked that, did he? She began to copy, doing to him what he was doing to her. At some level, she was conscious that he had removed the brandy glass from her hands and set it to one side. With that out of the way, he came to his knees before her chair, and she found herself widening her legs so that he could press up against her. 

She was aflame with sensation, barely aware of all the ways he was touching her; his hand on the curve of her waist, pulling her into his body; his lips, teeth and tongue teasing and tasting. His other hand had somehow found its way inside her robe, and was lightly stroking its way up her breast, ever closer and closer to the nipple, which had pebbled so hard it was almost painful.

She moaned, asking for something, but what she did not know.

Rede seemed to understand. His lips left her mouth, and skimmed their way down her throat, pausing for a moment to nibble and lick at the nape of her neck, then continuing downwards. He must have nudged the robe and her nightgown aside, because all of a sudden his tongue was laving one nipple while his clever fingers gently rolled and squeezed the other.

Then he began to suck.

“Rede!” She pressed closer, desperate for the feelings to stop, to continue, to go away, to go further. She didn’t know, but Rede did. “Rede?” she said again, a question this time.

“I have you, Anne,” he soothed, and bent back to his task, changing to give his intimate attentions to her other breast.

Meanwhile, his hands slipped lower, one now cupping her buttocks and the other—surely he didn’t mean to touch her there? 

He did. His fingers stroked her most private place through the fine lawn of the nightgown, sending the biggest shockwave of sensation yet cascading through her body. 

“Ah, Anne,” he whispered, his voice husky, “you are wet for me.” His voice was warm with approval. He bent to lave her nipple once more, before straightening, grasping her buttocks in both hands and pulling her hard up against him. 

The length of the male part Hannah had described now rubbed where his fingers had been a moment before. It was bigger than she expected. 

“See how hard you make me?” he murmured. He kissed her again. She squirmed, unable to resist rubbing against him. The same amazing shock drowned her still deeper in sensation, and she moaned again.

“I have dreamed of this,” Rede said. “I’ve dreamed of holding you like this, kissing you like this. Of spreading you beneath me and bringing you to pleasure such as you’ve never known. Oh, Anne,” he groaned as he kissed her again, and that same questing hand began to inch her nightgown up her thigh.

At that moment, a door opened at the far end of the gallery. Anne looked around Rede’s shoulder. Susan was there, holding a candle.

“Oh!” Susan said. “I beg your pardon. I heard a noise. Please, just carry on. I am going back to bed now.” The last said as she shut the door.

Rede sat back on his heels, his expression wry. “I suppose you do not wish to take her advice?” 

Anne, recalled to herself, was blushing furiously again. Honestly, she blushed more in Rede’s presence than she could remember doing for years.

“I think I had better go to bed now,” she told him. “Alone,” she added, so that there should be no doubt, and blushed even deeper.

Silent, he stood and offered her a hand to her feet, then gave her the candleholder. He followed her out into the hall, but said nothing till they turned the corner after Ruth’s room.

“I am sorry, Anne,” he told her. “When I kissed you… I stopped thinking. I should not have kissed you in a place we could be interrupted. I would not embarrass you for the world. I won’t say I am sorry I kissed you, though. It was everything I dreamed and more.”

“What Susan must think!” Anne said.

“Do not worry about Susan. She will not betray us. Next time…”

She spun back to face him. “There will be no next time, Rede. I have to think of Kitty, and Ruth and Daisy too. It would take very little to make a scandal, and a scandal could destroy them. I cannot do this.”

He nodded. “I know, I know. I do not mean to threaten your reputation or endanger your family. I promise.”

“How can you understand? You are a man. And a peer.”

“I am. But nonetheless, I understand. I will not harm you, Anne. Tonight… I have thought of you for so long. When I kissed you, I lost control. I will not steal another kiss, I promise. Not until I can find a way for us to safely be together without risk to your reputation.”

“There is no way.”

He denied that with a shake of his head. “I will find a way. What we have together, it is extraordinary, Anne.”

It was her turn to shake her head. “It does not matter. Kitty matters. Daisy matters.”

She turned back to finish the walk to her room, and he continued to follow her.

She refused to look at him until they reached her door, then he caught her hand and held it for a moment to his heart. “See how it beats? It beats for you. Go to bed now, and know that I am three rooms away, lying in my bed, remembering how you taste, dreaming of tasting you again.”

“I cannot do this.” She could. She could take his hand and pull him into her room, and no-one would be the wiser. 

What nonsense. She shook her head again. Early in the morning as it was, the servants would soon be up and about. Or one of the other members of the house party might wander the halls as she had herself. She had to think of her family. 

“You mustn’t be afraid, Anne.”

How could she tell him that it was not him that she feared? It was herself. 

As if he could hear her most wanton thoughts, he took her hand again; but then he pressed her glass into it. “Here. Finish your brandy. It will help you sleep. Goodnight, Anne. Lock your door.”

He waited until she was inside and closing the door, watching him through the diminishing opening. He was turning away when she spoke, in barely a whisper. “Rede. I am not sorry, either.”

She closed the door before he could reply, and went to bed. She should be horrified at what had happened, at what had nearly happened. But she found herself smiling. At least she had the answer to whether or not this inconvenient desire was one-sided.

He thought he had buried his heart with his children. He was wrong.

Hidden from the earl who hunts them, Anne and her sisters have been accepted into the heart of a tiny rural village. Until another earl comes visiting.

Rede lives to avenge the deaths of his wife and children. After three long years of searching, he is closing in on the ruthless villains who gave the orders, and he does not hope to survive the final encounter. Until he meets Anne. 

As their inconvenient attraction grows, a series of near fatal attacks draws them together and drives them apart. When their desperate enemies combine forces, Anne and Rede must trust one another to survive.

Farewell to Kindness is Book 1 in the series The Golden Redepennings. Read more about the series at: http://judeknightauthor.com/the-golden-redepennings/

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/farewell-to-kindness

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/farewell-to-kindness/id974225678

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1121346576

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/522691

Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Farewell-Kindness-Golden-Redepennings-Book-ebook/dp/B00TXRW4KA/

About Jude Knight

Jude Knight’s writing goal is to transport readers to another time, another place, where they can enjoy adventure and romance, thrill to trials and challenges, uncover secrets and solve mysteries, delight in a happy ending, and return from their virtual holiday refreshed and ready for anything.

Website and blog: http://judeknightauthor.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudeKnightBooks

Pinterest: https://nz.pinterest.com/jknight1033/

Email: jude@judeknightauthor.com

First Kiss Friday with Caroline Warfield

10 Friday Jun 2022

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Happy First Kiss Friday and welcome to my friend Caroline Warfield who is sharing an excerpt from The Upright Son. We just know you’re going to love the next novel in her Ashmead Heirs series! Enjoy.

David Caulfield, Earl of Clarion is The Upright Son, so horrified by his father’s profligate life that he spent his entire adult life doing what is proper and correct. At friends’ urging he has been pursuing a perfectly proper young woman, Lady Estelle, to be his countess. The only problem is, no sparks fly, even when he kisses her. For once in his life, he is determined to do what he wants rather than what the world expects. Now the woman he wants, Delia Fitzwallace, has run from the ballroom.

Excerpt:

A waltz! What was David thinking? The last waltz should have been Estelle’s. Not his gauche neighbor’s. A friend, as Delia claimed to be, should have curbed his inappropriate impulse. Except David did not act on impulse. Ever. What then? Only one thing was clear. She could never be simply his friend.

Hints of whisper followed her. One voice rang clear out of the cloud. Lady Cranwick. “One has to question the man’s judgement. If he thinks he can aspire…” The sound faded away as Delia stepped into the hall and attempted to breathe, one hand clutching her breast bone. Oh David, what have you done?

She ducked into the breakfast room, dark and abandoned, leaned against the wall, and let common sense take over. Whatever people saw or thought they saw back in that ballroom, it was only a dance. David was a man and an earl. He would be forgiven his impulse. Lady Cranwick and her ilk had no real power to hurt his chances. They would savage her, of course, with Awbury’s venom poisoning her standing, but that didn’t matter. It wasn’t even particularly new.

She walked to the window, staring out into the courtyard garden, lost in shadows. It might be best if she stayed away for the rest of the party. Jeffrey would, of course, still attend and people would think it odd. There would be talk either way. Which would hurt David least?

“I thought I saw you come in here.” David’s rich voice vibrated through her. The door clicked closed behind him.

“What are you thinking?” she hissed. “Your guests expect to see you presiding over the gathering with dignity, not chasing after Awbury’s hoydenish daughter-in-law.” Her voice faltered as he came closer.

“Maddy has led them to a spectacular midnight dessert display, Brynn is entertaining all and sundry with an amusing story, and Lucy has Irma Barrington and Hester plotting sedate Sunday games for tomorrow while slyly implying they will be anything but. The older ladies are torn between outrage and laughter. The gentlemen are fixed on the food and champagne. No one will miss me.”

He stood very close now, his face lost in shadows, and Delia froze to the spot, unable to move. Tender fingers brushed her cheek driving the rhythm of her heart to a gallop.

“You mustn’t, David,” she whispered.

His hand brushed over her ear and touched her hair. “Why?” he asked.

She tipped her head to avoid his hand but couldn’t walk away. “Be sensible. Lady Estelle will make you a perfect wife. Carrying on with me may not bring you scorn, but…”

“Carrying on, Delia? Is that what we’re doing.” He raised her chin with the crook of a finger.

“No! Nor will we. I won’t be your mistress. I can’t.” Her voice broke on the last word.

“I know. It is one of the things I respect about you.” He ran his thumb over her lips. “One of the things I love.”

He covered her gasp with his mouth, their breaths mingling. He nibbled her lower lip and ran his tongue along the upper, and Delia melted with each touch until, boneless in his arms, she accepted what he offered, opened to his exploration of her mouth, and returned his kisses.

He kissed from the corner of her mouth to her ear, tickling her with his tongue. Hot and restless, her hands moved of their own volition under his coat, frustrated by his embroidered waistcoat. When his mouth moved down her neck to her shoulder, she began to undo the buttons.

Her gown gapped, and she realized the ties in the back had become loose. When did my oh so proper earl become so skilled at undoing ladies’ garments? Before she could consider it, he pulled her neckline down, exposing her breasts and all rational thought fled. He saluted one with gentle fingers and an urgent mouth and then the other, sending her into a maelstrom of sensation before crushing her against him, her aching breast against the heat of his fine linen shirt, as he devoured her mouth with his.

“No, ladies. I’m sure this is the other door to the dining room,” Lady Cranwick chirped, just outside the breakfast room, her voice shattering Delia’s world.

About the Book

A notorious will left David, the very proper Earl of Clarion, with a crippled estate and dependents. He’s the one left to pick up the pieces while caring for others—his children, his tenants, and the people of Ashmead. He cares for England, too. Now that the estate has been put to right, he is free to pursue his political ambitions. But loneliness weighs him down. Then he meets his new neighbor.

Her uninhibited behavior stuns him. Why can’t he get her out of his mind?

Happily widowed Lady Delia Fitzwallace revels in her newly rented cottage, surrounded by flowers and the wonder of nature, thrilled to free her three rambunctious children from the city of Bristol and let them enjoy the countryside to the fullest. If only she can avoid offending her very proper neighbor, the earl, when their children keep pulling her into scrapes.

She has none of the qualities he needs in a countess. Is she exactly what he needs as a man?

Learn more at https://www.carolinewarfield.com/bookshelf/the-upright-son/

About the Author:

Traveler, would-be adventurer, former tech writer and library technology professional, Caroline Warfield has now retired to the urban wilds of Eastern Pennsylvania, and divides her time between writing and seeking adventures with her grandbuddy. In her newest series, Children of Empire, three cousins torn apart by lies find their way home from the far corners of the British Empire, finding love along the way. 

She has works published by Soul Mate Publishing and also independently published works. In addition she has participated in five group anthologies, one not yet published.

For more about the series and all of Caroline’s books, look here: https://www.carolinewarfield.com/bookshelf/

Happy Release Day, Desperate Daughters!

17 Tuesday May 2022

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It’s always a good day when you send a new book baby out into the world. Today, the Bluestocking Belles and our guest authors celebrate the release of our Desperate Daughters boxset. With over 770 pages of reading, we know you’re going to have a book hangover come the morning. Don’t forget about our contest that is still active. There’s more information below. We hope you enjoy our characters and their journey to finding love. Happy reading, my lovelies!

Desperate Daughters: A Bluestocking Belles & Friends Collection
On sale still for only $0.99!

Love Against the Odds

The Earl of Seahaven desperately wanted a son and heir but died leaving nine daughters and a fifth wife. Cruelly turned out by the new earl, they live hand-to-mouth in a small cottage.

The young dowager Countess’s one regret is that she cannot give Seahaven’s dear girls a chance at happiness.

When a cousin offers the use of her townhouse in York during the season, the Countess rallies her stepdaughters.

They will pool their resources so that the youngest marriageable daughters might make successful matches, thereby saving them all.

So start their adventures in York, amid a whirl of balls, lectures, and alfresco picnics. Is it possible each of them might find love by the time the York horse races bring the Season to a close?

A Countess to Remember
By Sherry Ewing

My contribution to the set! I just know you’re going to love Richard and Patience!

Blurb:

Sometimes love finds you when you least expect it…

Patience, Dowager Countess of Seahaven cares for a bevy of stepdaughters and a Season for each to find husbands seems out of reach. With her own young daughter to care for, there’s been no chance for romance for herself. She’s been so busy worrying about putting food on the table, that finding love is the last of her concerns.

Richard, Viscount Cranfield is in York to see to his sister’s Season. He has no desire to find a wife despite his parents prodding him to do so. A chance encounter with a countess leaves him wondering what spell she has cast around him.

Will Patience and Richard find enough time to allow love to fill their hearts?

Desperate Daughters: A Bluestocking Belles Collection with Friends

Buy Links:

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3qG6WGs

Apple Books: https://apple.co/3HoEVcm

Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/2YOhqIm

Google Play: https://bit.ly/3Cr5GLm

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3qL5GlH

Books2Read: https://books2read.com/u/bMwL17

International Links:

Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/3ng3cth

BR: https://amzn.to/3qUFBkf

CA: https://amzn.to/3Fmf0Ab

DE: https://amzn.to/3ccXYrJ

ES: https://amzn.to/3wQPO1H

FR: https://amzn.to/30sHrgY

IN: https://amzn.to/3261J0v

IT: https://amzn.to/3Chmqmv

JP: https://amzn.to/3ozIpA6

MX: https://amzn.to/3FknEzq

NL: https://amzn.to/3qBPF1f

UK: https://amzn.to/30z5vz5

Thalia: https://bit.ly/30q8dqI

Vivlio: https://bit.ly/3qGqxqc

Help spread the word about Desperate Daughters.

Help to share Desperate Daughters and be in the Draw

Share our contest page and our Bachelor and other memes to any of your social media accounts. Each share gets you an entry into one of the weekly draws and the Grand Prize draw.

Learn more on our website here: https://bluestockingbelles.net/belles-joint-projects/desperate-daughters/giveaway/

An excerpt from A Countess To Remember:

The unseen woman was still in the carriage, as if she was still preparing to collect whatever had been left behind. A small dainty shoe poked out onto the edge of the step and Richard heard her heavy sigh that she made no attempt to mask.

Richard stepped forward, offering his hand. “May I be of assistance, my lady?”

“You are most kind,” the lady inside said. She put her hand in his and Richard swore he felt a tingling sensation rush up his arm.

“Where are my manners?” Lady Barbara exclaimed. “May I introduce my stepmother, Patience, Lady Seahaven. Patience, this is Lord Cranfield and his sister Lady Josephine.”

Richard was prepared for a matronly woman to reveal herself as she alit from the carriage. But when she lifted her head once upon solid ground to acknowledge their introductions, he was unprepared for the young beauty he faced. Blue-grey eyes that could rival the sky above met his. Wisps of strawberry blonde hair had escaped her bonnet while her porcelain skin was set in a lovely round face. But when her small bow mouth turned up into an enchanting smile, Richard became lost.

“Lord Cranfield,” her voice reached into his soul. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Richard bowed, completely bewildered in the spell she had captured him in with just one glance. At a loss for words, he could only stare at the woman before him, even while he continued to hold her hand in his. What had she done to him?

First Kiss Friday with Cerise DeLand

13 Friday May 2022

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Thanks for joining me today on my First Kiss Friday blog! Today’s guest is fellow Bluestocking Belle Cerise DeLand who is celebrating a new release. We hope you enjoy this first kiss scene from Lady, Behave. Happy reading, my lovelies!

Excerpt:

Sitting beside him, Addy held his hand, no matter propriety. He needed her. She knew enough of his malady to sit for many minutes without a word between them. He recovered himself, but slowly. And when a footman approached with a tray of wine or whiskey on offer, Gyles would have taken one.

“Do not,” she admonished. 

He stared at her. “No?”

“Spirits will only aggravate your condition.”

He looked away, but grimaced at the bright light of candles in a nearby sconce.

“Close your eyes. Turn toward me.” She stroked his hand and wrapped her fingers around his wrist and counted. “There. Your heart beat slows. You will be well. Give this a few minutes.”

He did as she bade him and in his time, he opened his eyes to consider her with quiet appreciation shining there. “You know my condition.”

“Bold sounds. Bright lights. Alcohol. Late nights. Exertion. They all contribute to your headaches. How long have you suffered them?”

He exhaled. “Since I was imprisoned by the French when I was young.”

“I see.” She squeezed his hand in sympathy. About that, she would learn more but not tonight. He had to recover first before he relived the cause of his distress. “You should not be at balls, sir. But home where you can be quiet and untroubled.”

“But if I did not attend here tonight, I would not have found you again.”

She bobbed her head to and fro. “We might have met in more sedate gatherings.”

“Perhaps. I would have chanced missing you.”

She had never been so sweetly entranced by a man who confessed to his liking for her in so unique a manner. “My sisters and I are in Brighton specifically to enjoy the Season. We will be…” she said as she circled a hand in the air, “everywhere.”

“Addy, How may I press my advantage?”

“You made an impression on me yesterday, Gyles. I will not soon forget you.”

He grasped her hand tightly. “Don’t forget me at all.”

“I won’t. How could I? You like my syrup.” She had to tease him and make him smile.

“I do. Among other things.”

She nodded, compassion in her heart for so afflicted a darling man. “Perhaps my dancing, too?”

“Indeed,” he said. “I’d like to kiss you for it.”

She gave a shocked little laugh. Since Grandpapa died and she knew she’d have to find a husband soon, she’d taken to kissing any man who appealed. Alas, she’d found none. But now, she was not only complimented but tempted to kiss this man. “Not here.”

“No. But somewhere and soon. With my thanks for the syrup, the dance and the laughter.”

Oh, my. Was he much too chivalrous? Was he a rake of no morals? A man who complimented women? Women like her? Young and naive. For all her good looks, for all her pride in them and understanding of them as a tool to attract men, she was still untried, uninformed of much of the physicality of mating. She could be all too easily influenced by a practiced man’s charms. Of that she had always been on guard. 

“A kiss for relief from a headache? Oh, surely that would be—”

“Bliss,” he vowed. “I will try for it tomorrow.”

“When you come for tea?”

“I come for you, Addy.”

He lifted her hand and pressed his firm lips to her glove in a stunning kiss. Had he blessed her bare skin with his mouth, she would have taken him to an alcove in the hall and tasted the flavor of his desire and called herself barely satisfied.

“Tomorrow then,” she whispered and longed to taste his lips on hers.

Lady, Behave
Naughty Ladies, Book 2
By Cerise DeLand

She was a Diamond with a few very tiny flaws—and the desire to be good.

He was a rogue with the sense to reform—and to help her to be bad.

Adelaide Devereaux flabbergasts most men she meets. She’s a Diamond, petite, mild-mannered—the perfect picture of a demure lady. She has one ambition—to kiss every man she likes until she finds one whose lips make her hear church bells chime. 

In Brighton, she meets confirmed bachelor Gyles, Marquess of Heath, who is felled by her charm. Though he vows to kiss her until she’s felt the earth turn on its axis, he cannot claim her unless he fixes his parents’ refusal to accept her. They’re too high in the instep to accept a wayward Irish lass who’s the granddaughter of a notorious rascal.

Pride might stall their romance, and lust might motivate a scoundrel to try to carry Addy away, but when love is the only passion that matters, do not all objections fall before its power?

Note: This series is part of Dragonblade’s Flame line, so this is a sexy, steamy, and scorching-hot read with multiple sex scenes. Be advised.

Amazon – https://amazon.com/Lady-Behave-Naughty-Ladies-Book-ebook/dp/B09WXVNCTR

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60543686-lady-behave

Books2Read – https://books2read.com/u/4DPXAr

Affiliate link – https://amzn.to/3qVM4uo

About the author:

Cerise DeLand loves to write about dashing heroes and the sassy women they adore. 

But I bet you knew that! 

Did you know that she’s known for her poetic elegance and accuracy of detail? 

That she’s an award-winning author of more than 40 novels and was first published in 1991 by Kensington, then Pocket Books, later by St. Martin’s Press and independent presses? 

That her books have been monthly selections of the Doubleday Book Club and the Mystery Guild? Right. And she’s won awards. Lots of them. Need details? Write to her. She’ll send you the list!

To research, she’s dived into the oldest texts and dustiest library shelves. She also travels abroad taking good walking shoes, trusty notebooks and pens, plus camera! She visits chateaux and country homes she loves to people with her own imaginary characters. 

And at home every day? She cooks. Never dusts. (That can be a problem.) She goes swimming or pumps iron once a week and tries (desperately) to grow vegetables in her arid backyard in south Texas! 

Do visit her website, http://cerisedeland.com and blog http://cerisedeland.blogspot.com. 

Also visit her YOUTube Channel for her videos of her research travels here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCba82P_Q1kUrJUVVW0CwJmw/

First Kiss Friday with Sherry Ewing & a contest!

06 Friday May 2022

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Welcome to my First Kiss Friday blog. Today I’m featuring my novella A Countess To Remember that is my contribution in the Bluestocking Belles’ box set Desperate Daughters. We’re also running a contest so be sure to read to the end to learn more. I hope you enjoy this first kiss scene between Richard and Patience. Happy reading and good luck in the contest, my lovelies!

Excerpt:

Their eyes met across the room, and he gave her the briefest of nods before walking through the open doorway and out onto a terrace. It was a silent invitation and one she wanted to accept. Patience knew she shouldn’t follow him, but all common sense seemed to leave where Richard was concerned. Besides, no harm could be done to meet him outside for only a few moments. Who would miss her?

Trying to keep her pace casual was harder than she thought. She skirted the outside of the dance floor making her way through the crush of people who watched on the sidelines or carried on their own conversations. She saw her girls being watched over by Barbara and she was again grateful that they were being looked after. With no further thoughts except her own personal agenda, she strode through the balcony doors and peered into the shadows to see Richard waiting for her. He held out his hand for her to take and she had a moment of hesitation, as prudence seemed the better course of action.

“Do you trust me?” His hushed baritone voice caused her to shiver in the moonlight and this had nothing to do with being cold.

“Richard… I—”

“Patience… I am asking for you to trust me,” he calmly said. “Do you?”

“Yes,” she answered him and she could barely make out his smile.

“Then come with me,” he said before whisking her away into the night.

He seemed to know where he was going as he went down several steps and onto a garden path. She gazed back over her shoulder wondering where he was taking her.

“My girls—” she began before he interrupted her.

“We won’t be gone long or go that far.”

“Promise?” she whispered into the night.

“Yes. I promise. You are perfectly safe with me, my dear,” he exclaimed and, true to his word, he halted near a gazebo awash in the moonlit sky. A romantic setting that caused Patience’s heart to race.

“This is a lovely place, Richard, but—”

He turned her into his arms, and Patience couldn’t object, not when she had been envisioning this in her dreams for the past several days. “I know this is sudden, Patience, but I’ve been dying to do this ever since we met,” he said brushing a lock of her hair behind her ear before cupping her cheek.

She leaned into the palm of his hand. “What have you been wanting to do?” she asked hoping he wouldn’t find her undesirable but also praying he would kiss her no matter that they had just met.

“This…”

She held her breath while his mouth slowly descended upon her own. At first, gentle, exploring to see just how much she might allow. A nip at her lower lip to tease her caused her gasp of surprise giving him the opening he had apparently been waiting for. His tongue dipped in to take hungry possession of her mouth, and she was more than willing to learn this new dance together.

She wasn’t new to the intimacies between a couple but Richard’s kiss flared into a burning flame in the pit of her stomach. Henry had never bothered with such affections, and yet, with Richard, she wanted to explore every aspect of what he could bring her. Did this make her one of those wanton women?

He deepened their kiss, and Patience wound her arms around his neck to play with the edges of his hair at his collar. His groan would have caused her to smile if she had been able to perform such a task. He brought her tight against his chest, and she could not mistake his arousal. She should have been shocked but this only made her want more of this man than he could obviously give her standing in a garden.

Whether he could read her thoughts or he just realized how entirely inappropriate their situation could become if they were found, he ended their kiss, leaving her wanting to return to his arms. He placed both hands on her cheeks, running his thumbs over them before giving her another quick kiss.

“Better than I could have ever imagined,” he murmured before he bent down to place his forehead to her own.

Desperate Daughters: A Bluestocking Belles and Friends Collection
Release Date: May 17, 2022
Preorder Sale for only $0.99!

Love Against the Odds

The Earl of Seahaven desperately wanted a son and heir but died leaving nine daughters and a fifth wife. Cruelly turned out by the new earl, they live hand-to-mouth in a small cottage.

The young dowager Countess’s one regret is that she cannot give Seahaven’s dear girls a chance at happiness.

When a cousin offers the use of her townhouse in York during the season, the Countess rallies her stepdaughters.

They will pool their resources so that the youngest marriageable daughters might make successful matches, thereby saving them all.

So start their adventures in York, amid a whirl of balls, lectures, and alfresco picnics. Is it possible each of them might find love by the time the York horse races bring the Season to a close?

Buy Links can be found on our website at: https://bluestockingbelles.net/belles-joint-projects/desperate-daughters/

Help to share Desperate Daughters and be in the Draw!

Help spread the word about Desperate Daughters.

Share our contest page and our Bachelor and other memes to any of your social media accounts. Each share gets you an entry into one of the weekly draws and the Grand Prize draw.

Congratulations to Catherine Maguire, winner of our week 1 draw.

Enter the Week Two draw here:http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/bb92b0a65/?

Find memes here: https://bluestockingbelles.net/belles-joint-projects/desperate-daughters/sharing/

Weekly prize

Every entry goes into the draw to win:

We’ll draw a winner each week for four weeks.

Grand prize

Every entry also goes in the draw to win:

  • $100 gift card
  • a made-to-order story. The winner gives Jude Knight some ingredients for a story (one character, a plot trope, and an object). Jude writes the story and the winner gets an ecopy at least three months before it is published anywhere else, and their name in the dedication at publication.

First Kiss Friday with Alina K. Field

29 Friday Apr 2022

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Welcome to my First Kiss Friday blog.

I’ve been featuring authors from the upcoming Desperate Daughters, a Bluestocking Belles with Friends Collection, available for preorder for only $0.99. Today let’s welcome one of the Bluestocking Belles’ guest authors, Alina K. Field, who’s sharing an excerpt from her novella, Lady Twisden’s Picture Perfect Match.  Enjoy!

The hero, Augustus Kellborn, has just handed Honoria Twisden his sketch of her:

Excerpt:

Her breath caught. The subject was a lady, shown in three-quarter view, her attention directed away, Tendrils of hair dangled at her neck and over her cheek. “It’s meant to be me.”

“Yes.”

“She’s too… That is how you see me? Well, the work is very precise, but to say that this is me…” She stood and he rose with her. “This lady is pretty.”

“Yes. That is how I see you. You’re pretty, Honoria.” He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and the heat rising in her cheeks rolled downward. “Shall I list your attributes? You have a straight little nose, full lips, hair the color of dark honey with the sun streaming through it, and rosy cheeks that seem to grow pinker when I’m around. A man notices a thing like that. And your eyes shine with intelligence and good humor. Yes. You are very pretty.”

Speechless, she forced her mouth closed. Pinned under Augustus’s dark gaze, she grew even warmer.

His big hand cradled her cheek, surprisingly gentle. “And I like your painting of the Minster. In fact, I should like to take it home with me to Whitlaw Grange and hang it over the mantel in my study. I should very much like to have you at Whitlaw Grange as well.”

“My painting?” Over his mantel? She wasn’t sure she wanted to part with it.

“Yes. And you must come as well. You can make sure it’s correctly displayed.”

“You want me to visit you? If you have ruins, perhaps I could paint… What? What are you doing?”

Augustus had dropped to one knee, sliding his hand down her arm to grasp her hand. Sancho bestirred himself and stretched.

“I don’t want you to come for a visit, Honoria. I want you to come as my bride. Will you marry me? Will you make me the happiest of men?”

Marry? Marry Augustus Kellborn?

His dark gaze pulled at her like a magnet, the desire in his eyes matching the heat rising in her. Her head dipped. Just a few inches more and…

She straightened and tried to get hold of herself. “We’ve had but one outing together.”

“And one dinner and luncheon. And don’t forget we attended church together.”

“You rescued me, and now you are being chivalrous. You’re acting in haste, and there is no need.”

His eyes twinkled. “I’m chivalrous? I rather like that.”

“You’re smiling now. That is better. Now, please, get up.”

He complied, still holding her hand. “You haven’t answered my question, Honoria. Will you marry me?”

Heart hammering, she stared up into his dark, intent gaze. “Augustus, you must agree this is precipitate. You cannot mean… you’ll meet a bevy of young women looking to marry.”

“It’s you I want.”

“But… but.” He’d shown no interest beyond what was polite and appropriate for a house guest. “Until now, I had no notion… no hint of any interest on your part.”

“I escorted you on your outing. I sat next to you at church. I would have snared your hand for a private stroll away from the picnickers today if you’d gone along with us. When I saw that Ripton had disappeared, I had a suspicion he’d be coming back here, so I returned in all haste only to find you rescuing yourself. And now, I want to make my intentions clear.”

“Clear?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

Did he feel the same wicked heat rising as she did? There was humor in his dark eyes, not lust.

She shook her head. “I don’t think you can be serious, Major Kellborn. Offering marriage when you haven’t so much as tried to kiss—”

“Kiss you? Why so I haven’t.” He leaned close and brought his lips a hair’s breadth from hers. “May I, my lady?”

Her heart threatened to melt into a puddle. He was letting her decide.

A spurt of madness lifted her heels, tipping her forward.

Her lips touched his in a featherlight connection. He angled his head and brushed a kiss over the corner of her mouth, over her cheek, and jaw, and down to her neck where his touch sent a ripple of need through her. Such softness, such tenderness, from such a hard man—it was a marvel, one that sent her hand sliding around his waist, and her other groping for his shoulder. She raked through the dark curls of hair at his collar and when he brought his lips back to hers, sighed and gave herself up entirely.

About Lady Twisden’s Picture Perfect Match:

After years of putting up with her late husband’s rowdy friends, Honoria, Lady Twisden, has escaped to York where she can paint (even if badly), investigate antiquities, and enjoy freedom.

Then her stepson appears with a long-lost relation in tow.

Promised York’s marriage mart and the hospitality of his cousin’s doddering stepmother, Major August Kellborn is shocked to find that his fetching hostess is the one woman who stirs his heart.

Where to find it: Lady Twisden’s Picture Perfect Match is one of nine novellas included in the Bluestocking Belles & Friends collection, Desperate Daughters, to be released on May 17, 2022.

About Desperate Daughters: Love against the Odds

The Earl of Seahaven desperately wanted a son and heir but died leaving nine daughters and a fifth wife. Cruelly turned out by the new earl, they live hand-to-mouth in a small cottage. The young dowager Countess’s one regret is that she cannot give Seahaven’s dear girls a chance at happiness. When a cousin offers the use of her townhouse in York during the season, the Countess rallies her stepdaughters. They will pool their resources so that the youngest marriageable daughters might make successful matches, thereby saving them all. So they start their adventures in York, amid a whirl of balls, lectures, and al fresco picnics. Is it possible each of them might find love by the time the York horse races bring the season to a close?

Available for Pre-order: https://books2read.com/u/bMwL17 for $0.99. The price goes up after the book’s May 17, 2022, launch day.

About the Author:

USA Today bestselling author Alina K. Field earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German literature but prefers the happier world of romance fiction. Her roots are in the Midwestern U.S., but after six very, very, very cold years in Chicago, she moved to Southern California where she shares a midcentury home with a gold-eyed terrier and only occasionally misses snow.

Website: https://alinakfield.com/

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

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlinaKField

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/alina-k-field

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alinak.field/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7173518.Alina_K_Field

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/alinakf/

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First Kiss Friday with Caroline Warfield.

22 Friday Apr 2022

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Today on my First Kiss Friday blog, I have the fabulous Caroline Warfield who will be sharing the first kiss scene from her novella in our Desperate Daughters box set. Caroline’s novella, Lady Dorothea’s Curate, is the first of nine stories and sets the tone of the entire anthology. We just know you’re going to love her characters, along with all the other hero’s and heroine’s that take York by storm! Read on and happy reading, my lovelies!

Ben and Doro have just been introduced as Lady Dorothea Bigglesworth and The Honorable Eustace Clarke at a ball. It is hard to say which of them was the most shocked, for it isn’t who they thought they were in Harrogate. He does the sensible thing. He asks for a dance and then whispers in her ear that they need someplace private.

Excerpt:

Hired assembly rooms have no garden but they do, apparently, have a terrace overlooking the square below. Or so Doro—Lady Dorothea—told him when he demanded to know. She seemed to know the place well. Can this night get any stranger? Ben doubted it.

Halfway across the room, she let go of his arm, and he had to skip to catch up with her as she reached the door. He grabbed her hand, half fearing she meant to bolt.

The terrace wasn’t large, but neither was it crowded. A few people mingled near the railing. A couple engaged in intimate familiarity in the corner to the far left of the glass doors, shadowed rather less than they obviously hoped by the gloom.

When Doro stopped in the middle, Ben, who still had her by the hand, dragged her to the similarly darkened corner to the right. It provided inadequate privacy, but it would have to do.

One hard yank on her arm swung Doro into the corner, around his front, to a hard stop against his chest. His other arm anchored her fast against his body and his mouth came down on hers. No tender salute this. Passion driven by anger and frustrated desire drove him. He plundered. He invaded. He…

He felt like a cad, but he didn’t care. Besides, she kissed him back, clinging to his shoulders like she might drown if she let go. When the need to breathe forced him to pull back a fraction of an inch, Doro closed the distance and kissed him again. That’s when he realized she was crying.

“Enough.” He held both her arms and set her a bit away. Not so far that she could run off. Just enough to reassemble his scattered wits. “Do you want to explain to me what happened here?”

“You kissed me. Rather thoroughly.”

Shame over her tears warred with delight at her passionate response. “Not that! Who are you, and what game are you playing?” he demanded gently wiping the tears from her cheeks.

“Lower your voice.” She hissed at him in the gloom. “I’ll answer your questions, but keep your voice down.” Apparently satisfied that he wasn’t going to shout her deception to the rooftops, she went on. “I am Doro Bigglesworth, Lady Dorothea Bigglesworth. In Harrogate the title didn’t seem to matter.”

“This isn’t Harrogate; it is York. Why the deception?”

She snorted. No ladylike cringing for his Doro. “You know what society thinks of those of us who are forced to work for a living. I didn’t lie to you about our situation. We needed my wages at the Hampton. My father was indeed the Earl of Seahaven, but when he died, we were left with nothing; Patience struggles to support the children. All of us had to scramble to help. If word got out here, it would ruin everything, destroy my sisters’ chances.”

“So, you’re deceiving all of York instead, so the Seahaven Diamonds can latch on to some wealthy fool and enrich all of you. Are the rumors about their dowries lies, too?”

“No! We pooled all we had, the money meant for the ten of us, and concentrated it on them.” She poked him with one very sharp finger. Hard. Several times. “That is precisely what people will think if you spread gossip, and it won’t be true. Not true at all.”

He grabbed her hand to stop her from jabbing him. “I saw you supervising supper like one of the servants. One minute you’re in an apron. The next you float across the dance floor in a gown designed to send a man’s imagination where it has no business going. It’s dishonest. It’s—”

“What about you—the Honorable Eustace Clarke. Who precisely is he? You haven’t been exactly forthcoming. Sunday, you wandered the Shambles in a shabby coat and clerical collar. Tonight, my stepmother introduces you looking like the answer to a maiden’s dreams. Exactly how honorable is that? You never mentioned your brother the viscount in Harrogate either.” She had a point.

Desperate Daughters: A Bluestocking Belles with Friends Collection
Release Date: May 17, 2022
Special Preorder price of only $0.99 until release week

Love Against the Odds

The Earl of Seahaven desperately wanted a son and heir but died leaving nine daughters and a fifth wife. Cruelly turned out by the new earl, they live hand-to-mouth in a small cottage.

The young dowager Countess’s one regret is that she cannot give Seahaven’s dear girls a chance at happiness.

When a cousin offers the use of her townhouse in York during the season, the Countess rallies her stepdaughters.

They will pool their resources so that the youngest marriageable daughters might make successful matches, thereby saving them all.

So start their adventures in York, amid a whirl of balls, lectures, and alfresco picnics. Is it possible each of them might find love by the time the York horse races bring the Season to a close?

Buy Links:

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3qG6WGs

Apple Books: https://apple.co/3HoEVcm

Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/2YOhqIm

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3qL5GlH

Books2Read: https://books2read.com/u/bMwL17

International Links:

Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/3ng3cth

BR: https://amzn.to/3qUFBkf

CA: https://amzn.to/3Fmf0Ab

DE: https://amzn.to/3ccXYrJ

ES: https://amzn.to/3wQPO1H

FR: https://amzn.to/30sHrgY

IN: https://amzn.to/3261J0v

IT: https://amzn.to/3Chmqmv

JP: https://amzn.to/3ozIpA6

MX: https://amzn.to/3FknEzq

NL: https://amzn.to/3qBPF1f

UK: https://amzn.to/30z5vz5

Thalia: https://bit.ly/30q8dqI

Vivlio: https://bit.ly/3qGqxqc

About the Author:

Traveler, would-be adventurer, former tech writer and library technology professional, Caroline Warfield has now retired to the urban wilds of Eastern Pennsylvania, and divides her time between writing and seeking adventures with her grandbuddy. In her newest series, Children of Empire, three cousins torn apart by lies find their way home from the far corners of the British Empire, finding love along the way. 

She has works published by Soul Mate Publishing and also independently published works. In addition she has participated in five group anthologies, one not yet published.

For more about the series and all of Caroline’s books, look here: https://www.carolinewarfield.com/bookshelf/

First Kiss Friday with Jude Knight

08 Friday Apr 2022

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Welcome to my First Kiss Friday blog. You probably have seen on various social media, that the Bluestocking Belles and their guest authors have a new box set coming out next month entitled Desperate Daughters. On sale for only $0.99 during preorder, Desperate Daughters releases on May 17th. Let’s welcome Belle Jude Knight as she shares an excerpt from her novella, Lord Cuckoo Comes Home. Happy reading and enjoy, my lovelies!

They come close to kissing on the page. Very close. but they were interrupted by the horse and a monkey.

Excerpt:

Chloe turned her head to examine his face. His eyes were firmly fixed on the road ahead, but he must have felt the weight of her regard, for he shot her a look and an anxious smile. “Did you know I was courting you? Lord Tavistock said you did not, and that I should tell you.”

“I was not sure,” Chloe admitted. I hoped so. The words occurred, but she kept them in.

Lord Dom grimaced. “I am not very good at it, it seems. I have never done this before. And then I met you.”

He turned his face to her, and must have checked the horses, for they slowed to a walk. “You probably think this is all too fast. I am afraid I am rushing my fences and will take a fall. But I am more afraid that—if I hold back and say nothing—someone else will win your regard in my place.” His laugh was a nervous expulsion of air. “Do you think… Could you tell me if I have a chance, Miss Tavistock? Maybe give me a hint about how to get better at this courting business?”

“I don’t know,” Chloe replied. When his face fell, she hastened to add, “I have never been courted before, Lord Dom. I never thought anyone would wish to marry me, but Martin insisted on this season in York.” She wanted to bounce in her seat and repeat the word ‘Yes’ over and over in fast succession. She resisted, and tested him with the question that had stymied the other two. “Can you perhaps tell me why you wish to marry me?”

“I think I can,” Lord Dom said slowly. He looked along the road ahead as he spoke. “I was attracted before we met, when I saw you across the room at the meeting. That was to be my last engagement in Yorkshire. Then you impressed me with your courage, your sense of humor, and your quick thinking, and I wanted to stay to get to know you better.”

He shot her another of those anxious glances. “But the moment of attraction came first. I don’t know if I can explain it better than to say it felt like recognition. Something in me saw you and said ‘that’s her’.” Another of those short barks of laughter. “It sounds mad, does it not? I am glad I listened, though, for every meeting has confirmed my first impression. You are the woman I can picture spending the rest of my life with.”

He looked so apprehensive that Chloe blurted what she was thinking. “It was the same with me, Dom.”

He dropped the reins to turn to her and take both of her hands. “Chloe! May I call you Chloe?” The horses, his soft control suddenly absent, tossed their heads and quickened their pace. Dom had to grab for the reins again to exert his will on them.

His soft laugh was exultant. “I lose all my senses when I am with you.”

Chloe, coming to her own senses just in time to grab at Rosario’s harness as the monkey started a flying leap for a passing tree, knew exactly what he meant.

“We turn here,” Dom told her, suiting action to word and setting the horses between two ornate gateposts. “We can talk more on the way home, Chloe. My darling.”

“Lord Cuckoo Comes Home” in Desperate Daughters

Dom Finchley only came to York as a favor to his half-brother, who asked him to attend a meeting there. After a devastating break with the Finchley family followed by ten years at war, he is keen to get the favor done and then leave to build the home he’s never had. A place to call his own.

Then he meets Chloe.

Chloe Tavistock is past the age for the marriage market, and unfashionable in her shape, her opinions, and her enthusiasms. She is not going to find a husband in York, whatever her fond brother might think.

And then she meets Dom.

Two people who have never fitted in just might be a perfect fit.

Buy link

https://books2read.com/u/bMwL17

Meet Jude

Jude always wanted to be a novelist. She started in her teens, but life kept getting in the way. Years passed, and with them dozens of unfinished manuscripts. The fear grew. What if she tried, failed, and lost the dream forever? The years since 2014 have brought 11 novels, 13 novella, 4 volumes of short stories, 3 awards, and hundreds of positive reviews. The dream is alive.

Website and blog: http://judeknightauthor.com/

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