Blog tour: I Adored A Lord (A Prince Catchers novel) by Katharine Ashe + excerpt & review
I ADORED A LORD
eA
Prince Catchers Novele
By Katharine Ashe
"Readers
are in for a riotous good time in
this Regency-set game of Clue…Ravenna and Vitor's banter sparkles with wit and flirtation… A strong plot and exceptional dialogue will appeal to mystery fans as well as
romance readers."
— Publishers Weekly
“Sparkling and witty, with tender romance and sizzling
sensuality.”
— Kirkus Reviews
She’s intended
for his brother. He’s destined for adventure. Then an astonishing mystery
throws them together, and all they want is each other.
Once
upon a time a soothsayer foretold a glorious future for three orphaned sisters:
one of them would marry a prince! On that day, the mystery of their past would
be revealed. Award-winning author Katharine Ashe returns with a sensational second
installment in the delectable Prince
Catchers series in I
ADORED A LORD (Avon;
7/29/2014; Paperback ISBN: 9780062229830; $5.99). Who is the
mystery Prince Charming, and which sister will be his bride? Only time will
tell…
When a wealthy young prince is looking for a bride, it’s
only expected that the ladies from the finest families in England gather at his
castle to choose who will be his princess. Dragged along to the event by her persistent
sisters, hoydenish wallflower Ravenna Caulfield is much more interested in
animal doctoring than prince catching.
When a handsome stranger kisses her senseless in the
stable, the party suddenly gets interesting. Ravenna can’t possibly ignore
their chemistry, or high
society’s scheming maidens
competing for the
prince’s hand in marriage. Snowbound in a
luxurious castle with a delectable lord? Lord Vitor Courtenay is far too distracting, making it impossible for her
to think of anything—including her future—but him.
Adventurer, warrior, master of disguises, and former
monk, Vitor has a single purpose at the castle: to protect his princely half-brother
from an assassin, all while playing babysitter
to the potential brides. After a man is murdered, a dog
worth thousands in gold goes missing, and Ravenna and Vitor find themselves
wrapped in a mystery they're perfectly paired to solve. But the closer they get
to the murderer, and the more perilous their mission, the more Ravenna seems to
end up in Vitor’s arms. As for the mystery of love, he’s not about to let her escape
until he's gotten what exactly he desires…
EXCERPT:
He was nearly a head taller than she and certainly the most
handsome man she had ever stood so close to, with his shirt of close-woven
linen and waistcoat of brocaded silk. The whisker shadow of the night before
that had scratched her chin had gone; his cheeks were smooth and high-boned,
his jaw firm. “You seem remarkably comfortable with all of this.”
“I was at war, Miss Caulfield. There is little that can
discomfit me now.”
But that was not the entire truth. He was not at ease as he
seemed to study her features now.
“As you can see, I have knowledge that can help you find the
murderer,” she said.
“What suggested to you that I have any intention of pursuing
such a course?”
“Of course you have, or you would not have brought the body
here and bribed the servants to keep it a secret from everybody else.”
“I did not bribe them.”
“You must have. I would have. After you tell the prince, I
suppose he will summon the local law to investigate. When it arrives, let me
help.”
“I cannot in good conscience allow that.”
“Then allow it in bad conscience.”
“Miss Caulfield—”
“You must allow me to help.”
“And yet I will not, despite my wish to please you.”
“You don’t wish to please me. You wish to thwart me.”
“You are correct. In this at least.” His gaze slipped to her
shoulder, then her arms she was hugging to her waist, passing over her breasts
as though they were not there. “Your lips are blue. You must retire to the
warmth of your bedchamber. I will instruct Monsieur Brazil to send up a maid to
build your fire again.”
“Aren’t you concerned that the murderer might realize we
have discovered the body and will know that I know about it, and will come
after me?”
That muscle twitched in his jaw again, but she did not know
if humor or pique inspired it. “Yes.”
“If you keep me close, he won’t be able to get to me easily.”
“Interesting choice of words from the woman who vowed not
two hours ago that she would not in this life come close to me again.”
“To solve the mystery of the murderer,” she said, her tongue
abruptly dry, “of course.”
“Ah.” A smile caught at the corner of his mouth, the dent
peeking out. “Of course.”
“I have plenty to
recommend me to this investigation that the local police will appreciate.”
“An expertise in deaths involving medieval armor, perhaps?”
“A female body.”
That stalled him. Again his gaze dropped but this time it
more than grazed over her breasts; it lingered. “I will admit I am not seeing
how that makes you an expert investigator to murder.” He lifted his eyes to
hers. They were decidedly dark and not entirely focused. The night before, his
eyes had looked like this when his body atop hers had become aroused.
“I can speak to the women at this party in a manner in which
I suspect you cannot. In regular conversation that seems like gossip I can
encourage them to reveal information that could be valuable to discovering why
this man was murdered and stuffed into a suit of armor. I will investigate this
murder whether you or the local police wish me to or not.”
There was a stillness about his contemplation of her that at
once made her breathe more deeply and unnerved her.
“You have me against the wall, it seems,” he finally said.
“I do.”
“The moment I have cause for concern over your safety, I
will remove you to the village.”
“You will do no such thing. You haven’t the right. I may not
actually be a lady, but I am a guest of the prince—”
“Who will do as I advise.” He seemed entirely confident of
this.
Suspicion prickled at Ravenna. “Who is to say you are not
the murderer, and now that you know I have useful information you won’t
dispatch me too?”
“None but me.”
She glanced into the darkness where the butler had
disappeared, then back at the tall, dark man who had subdued her quite
effectively in a stable the previous night. “This is the part where you pull out
the bloodstained dagger, isn’t it?”
“Why wouldn’t I have done it earlier, before Monsieur Brazil
knew of your involvement?”
“No doubt you only thought of it at this moment.”
“It seems I am carelessly shortsighted.”
“It does.”
“Miss Caulfield?”
“You are not the murderer?”
“Go to bed.” He grasped her fingers and tucked them around
the lamp handle. For a moment his large, strong hand encompassed hers, and she
thought that no man who murdered another could possibly have such a marvelously
warm, gentle touch. Then he released her. “The prince will call the party
together after breakfast. If you truly intend to assist in this—”
“I do.”
“You must have your wits about you.”
“I always have my wits about me.”
“I think I am coming to see that.”
“You haven’t dispatched me because you know you need my
help.”
“Do I?” He took a half step closer. “Or perhaps I have not
yet dispatched you because, as depraved as I am, when I look at your lips I can
feel your body beneath mine in the straw. If I were to do away with you now,
that scenario could never be repeated.”
…
Buy the Ebook: Google Play | iBooks | Kindle | Kobo | Nook
Cover comment:
Even though the stock art reminds me of some YA covers, I like the cover.
Book source:
Edelweiss
ABOUT THE
AUTHOR:
Award-winning, best-selling author KATHARINE ASHE writes intensely lush historical romance, including How To Be a Proper Lady,
among Amazon's 10 Best Books of 2012 in Romance, and eight
other acclaimed novels set in the era of the British Empire. With the
publication of her debut novel in 2010, she earned a spot among the American
Library Association's "New Stars of Historical Romance." She was a
nominee for the 2013 Library of Virginia Literary Award in Fiction, and in 2011
she won the coveted Reviewers' Choice Award for Best Historical Romantic
Adventure. Katharine is also a finalist for the 2014 RITA® Award,
the highest honor in the romance fiction industry, for How To Marry A Highlander. She lives in
the wonderfully warm Southeast with her beloved husband, son, dog, and a garden
she likes to call romantic rather than unkempt. A professor of European History at Duke University, Katharine writes fiction
because she thinks modern readers deserve high adventure and breathtaking
sensuality too. For more about her books, please visit her at www.KatharineAshe.com.
I ADORED A LORD • By Katharine Ashe • On Sale:
7/29/2014
ISBN:
9780062229830 •
E-book ISBN: 9780062229847
Avon Books • Mass Market Paperback • $5.99
You had me at Regency-set game of clue! This sounds so good!
ReplyDeleteHeather, this book is a lot of fun!
ReplyDelete