A CONTEST-WINNING REGENCY ERA ROMANCE

SET IN THE FIRST DECADE OF THE 19^TH CENTURY

2014 ROYAL ASCOT CONTEST FINALIST

25th ANNUAL NATIONAL READERS’ CHOICE AWARDS

2015 FINALIST,  BEST FIRST BOOK – HISTORICAL

 

Lady Letitia’s great fortune and beauty are a winning combination on the marriage mart—until a scandal ends her engagement and ruins her reputation. The only way Letitia can preserve what she holds dearest to her heart is marry an old widower her enraged father finds quickly in the country. Though the young, broad-shouldered, and handsome Sir Percival Hanbury defies her grim expectations, she has no reason to rejoice. Because, why would she trust the man who, like others before him, jumps at the chance to marry her money?

But Sir Percival Hanbury has different appetite. He’s determined to recover his family’s ancient seat, no matter the price. Unfortunately, marriage to the current owner’s disgraced daughter has never been the cost he considered. Yet he cannot refuse, or his ancestral home will be razed. Not only is his joy dampened, but Percy loathes the idea of another woman in his life when memories of his first wife still torment him at night. And why would he trust a woman everyone in London gossips about?

Yet soon this gloomy prospect of a marriage takes a surprising turn when the half-ruined castle captures Letitia’s imagination. An accomplished artist, she just cannot ignore such challenge to her talent, especially as it comes with another one, the castle’s brooding owner—and the needs he awakens, challenging much more than her appreciation of beauty.

Percy is torn by feelings he thought he’d banished for good from his heart. Yet the golden beauty scaled his defenses before he even noticed, bringing back light into his life—and opening old wounds. The more he loses his heart, the more old, dark, and ugly secrets stand in the way of reaching for what he desires the most, and it is not the bargain he’s made with Letitia’s father.

But the fight for the love of his life will take more than facing the past…

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