It is with great pleasure that I welcome the talented Collette Cameron back to Leatherbound Reviews. I was fortunate enough to host Collette for the releases of Highlander's Hope and The Viscount's Vow. I want to say that if you have yet to read one of Collette's books, you are missing out. I found myself not wanting to put down either book as I read them and am eager to get my hands on The Earl's Enticement.
Talk about *hot* Scottish men! Major swoons for Ewan and Ian.
Without further ado, let's see what The Earl's Enticement holds in store for its readers.
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THE EARL’S ENTICEMENT
She won’t be tamed.
A fiery, unconventional Scot, Adaira Ferguson wears breeches, swears, and has no more desire to marry than she does to follow society’s dictates of appropriate behavior. She trusts no man with the secret she desperately protects.
He can’t forget.
Haunted by his past, Roark, The Earl of Clarendon, rigidly adheres to propriety, holding himself and those around him to the highest standards, no matter the cost. Betrayed once, he’s guarded and leery of all women.
Mistaking Roark for a known spy, Adaira imprisons him. Infuriated, he vows vengeance. Realizing her error, she’s appalled and releases him, but he’s not satisfied with his freedom. Roark is determined to transform Adaira from an ill-mannered hoyden to a lady of refinement.
He succeeds only to discover, he preferred the free-spirited Scottish lass who first captured his heart.
*******
I’m not sure which whether it was my love for
Regency, Scottish/Highlanders, or castles that gave me the urge to write the Castle Brides Series.
Well, that’s not entirely true. I had written Highlander’s
Hope, which despite its title, is really a Regency-Scottish historical,
and I wanted a castle on the front cover. After all, Ewan and Yvette find love,
at last, at Craiglocky Castle. (I made the name up just because we author’s get
to do that. J)
I always knew Highlander’s Hope would
develop into a series . . . or two. You
know, I had to do something with all those characters I dared to introduce in
the book. I might add they gave some reviewers fits. *Snort.*
But, since I like reading books with large casts
of characters, as long as I can keep track of who’s who, I did what I wanted in
my book. We authors get to do that, too! Ah,
the power.
By-the-way, in hindsight, I wish I’d titled the
book, The Highlander’s Heiress. But since I didn’t, I’m using that
title for another story which will be part of a Viking/ highlander anthology
releasing from Soul Mate Publishing late this year or early next year.
Okay, back to the whole castle business.
When I wrote Vangie and Ian’s story in The
Viscount’s Vow, naturally he had to have a magnificent estate and an
enormous manor house with turrets. I had to have those turrets you know,
because the south tower is where Vangie’s off-her-rocker mother-in-law has
Vangie locked up. Somersfield is also where Yvette takes refuge when she flees
London in Highlander’s Hope.
Once again, a castle appeared on the front cover
of the book. So, it was only natural to have another castle on The
Earl’s Enticement. A great deal of that story takes place in
Craiglocky’s dungeon.
For those of you who read Highlander’s Hope, you’ll
remember Roark and Adaira. Well, The Earl’s Enticement is their
story, and trust me, when I tell you, all kinds of stuff happens both in and
out of the keep’s dungeon.
Once the third book was done, I had this “duh”
moment. I had no series title. No, I really didn’t.
All along I’d known the books were going to be a
three-book series, but did I come up with a title? Nope. I ran a couple ideas
by my fabulous Regency critique group and then asked what they thought of the Castle Brides Series. They gave me the
thumbs up, and I passed the information along to my wonderful publisher.
The cover of The Earl’s Enticement you see here
today, does not have the series title or cover quote on it yet. They are,
however, on the cover that is released. And lest you, dear readers, be worried that
some of the other characters you met and fell in love with in previous books
should be left out ... fear not!
I’ve started a new six book series, The Highland Heather Romancing a Scot
Series, and I promise you’ll be seeing much more of your favorite people
from the Castle Brides series.
*******
EXCERPT
Adaira punched the pillow in her lap.
Legs crossed, she sat in the middle of her bed.
“I won’t do it. I won’t. They cannot
make me. I’ll run away to Tante Floressa’s. She’s invited me to visit her many
times over the past two years.”
Never mind the French Wars had
prevented any such thing. Tante Floressa was somewhat of a flibbertigibbet. The
one time Adaira had visited France, her aunt nearly swooned when she spied
freckles on Adaira’s nose. She hadn’t even been six yet.
Wonder what she’d make of my breeches?
A momentary smile hitched the corners
of Adaira’s mouth before shifting into a scowl. There would be no more
breeches.
She punched the pillow twice more
with sharp hard blows, pretending it was the Earl of Clarendon’s smug face.
“I’m glad I hit him,” she muttered.
“Wish I’d hit him harder. Wish I’d
broken that perfect, straight, arrogant nose of his.”
Whap. She slugged
the pillow again, this time hard enough, it flew across the room. The cushion
bounced off an armchair before tumbling to the floor. She knew she sounded like
a petulant child, and was acting like one too. She didn’t care. She hugged
another small pillow to her chest.
Father had confiscated her riding
crop after his lordship squawked she’d attacked him in the crofter’s cottage.
She hadn’t meant to strike Lord Clarendon with the weapon, and the earl knew
it. Now, how was she to protect herself? She supposed she’d have to start
toting a dagger sheathed to her thigh like Yvette’s Romani cousin, Lady
Warrick.
Wouldn’t that put the earl in a dither?
The punishment Adaira’s parents
levied on her, dictated by the earl, of course, was far too harsh for her
crimes. He’d not been seriously injured. His detainment hadn’t been torturous
or lengthy. Yet, the sentences imposed on her were both of the latter. A year
at Miss Hortensia Doddington’s Finishing School or a Season in London.
Adaira had to choose.
Three months of torture or nine?
Hell or Hades?
Connect with Collette Cameron
ABOUT COLLETTE
Award
winning, Amazon best-selling, and multi-published historical romance author,
Collette Cameron, has a BS in Liberal Studies and a Master's in Teaching. A Pacific Northwest Native, Collette’s been
married for thirty years, has three amazing adult children, and five
dachshunds. Collette loves a good joke, inspirational quotes, flowers, the
beach, trivia, birds, shabby chic, and Cadbury Chocolate. You'll always find
dogs, birds, quirky—sometimes naughty—humor, and a dash of inspiration in her
novels. Her motto for life? You can’t have too much chocolate, too many hugs,
or too many flowers. She’s thinking about adding shoes to that list.
