Guest Post with Author Manda Collins and Giveaway

Today I am super excited to welcome back author Manda Collins. Manda is super nice and has quickly become one of my favorite authors. Manda is celebrating the release of her newest book in her Ugly Duckling trilogy, How To Romance a Rake and has stopped by to chat. Before I give the floor over to Manda, lets get to know her a bit.

Manda Collins spent her teen years wishing she’d been born a couple of centuries earlier, preferably in the English countryside. Time travel being what it is, she resigned herself to life with electricity and indoor plumbing, and read lots of books. An affinity for books led to a graduate degree in English, followed by another in Librarianship. By day, she works as an academic librarian at a small liberal arts college, where she teaches college students how to navigate the tangled world of academic research. A native of coastal Alabama, Manda lives in the house her mother grew up in with three cats, sometimes a dog, sometimes her sister, and more books than strictly necessary.

Places to find Manda:

| Site | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads |

A FINE BROMANCE: Our Favorite Male Friendships in Regency Romance

Thank you so much to Danielle, for having me here at her blog again!

One of the things I love about my job (the writing one, not the librarian one) is the opportunity it affords me to totally indulge myself in writing bromance. There is just something endearing and amusing and utterly satisfying about watching men be men together.

In my Ugly Ducklings trilogy, some of my favorite moments are the ones shared between Winterson, Monteith and Deveril. Not only does it allow me to offer some comic relief amid the very serious business of falling in love and solving mysteries, but it also lets me show what these guys are like when they aren't crushing bad guys and wooing their women.

But mine is not the first metaphorical pen to dabble in writing male friendship. Plenty of other authors have paved the way for me, and I thought I'd share some of my favorites with you. Without further ado, I give you…

MANDA'S LISTICLE OF FAVORITE BROMANCE IN ROMANCELANDIA

Simon Darby and Rhys Godwin in Eloisa James' Duchess Quartet—Eloisa James has long been one of my favorite authors of bromance. She captures quite well the way that men, and most especially gentlemen, relate to each other. One of my favorite instances of male friendship in her books is the scenes between Simon Darby (hero of Fool for Love) and Rhys Godwin in Your Wicked Ways. Rhys is rather famous in Romancelandia for being one of the first heroes to be terrible at sex. Looking for pointers, he goes to his good friend Simon for advice, with hilarious results. Fortunately for his wife, Helene, he gets better at it.

Summerhays, Hawkeswell, Castleford of Madeline Hunter's Rarest Blooms Quartet—There is a particularly entertaining moment in Ravishing in Red, Summerhays' book, when he and Hawkeswell walk in on Castleford…uh…with a prostitute in his own bedchamber. Summerhays and Hawkeswell are skeeved out, but Castleford being Castleford, is unfazed. But despite their discomfort at their friend's behavior both men know that when the chips are down they can rely on Castleford to stand with them. And vice versa. They can also rely upon him to insult them and vice versa. And when Castleford finally gets his romantic comeuppance, both Summerhays and Hawkeswell make sure to tease him as mercilessly as he teased them. True bromance, it would seem, is cemented with a mixture of trust and cutting remarks.

Spencer, Rhys, Julian of Tessa Dare's Stud Club Trilogy—One of the most interesting aspects of Tessa Dare's bromance in the Stud Club books is the fact that Spencer, Rhys and Julian aren't really friends before the start of the trilogy. That doesn't stop the three of them from trading insults and jibes over the course of the first two books, and joining forces in Julian's book, Three Nights with a Scoundrel, to hunt down the murderer of their fourth member, Leo Chatwick. Three very different men, from very different walks of life, they manage to put aside their differences when the chips are down. And the finale when they finally get the man who killed their friend is utterly delicious, not least because of their constant bickering.

So, gentle reader, what are some of your favorite bromances? Which male friendships in Romancelandia make you laugh, cry or shake your head in exasperation? One commenter will win a copy of How to Romance a Rake!

You can lead a wallflower to the ball, but you can’t make her bloom—unless one daring young bachelor turns up the heat…

DANCING WITH DANGER

What’s a nice girl like Miss Juliet Shelby doing in a place like Lord Deveril’s ballroom? With her shy demeanor, she’s a total stranger to the dance floor and a source of mockery for the ton. So imagine her surprise when Deveril gallantly comes to her defense—and offers to teach her to dance! Juliet can hardly believe the most handsome bachelor in London would notice her, until he takes her in his arms and sets her heart ablaze…

PLAYING WITH FIRE

Lord Alec Deveril has never felt such a spark of attraction for an unmarried lady before. Unlike the “fashionable” women he’s accustomed to, Juliet possesses a generous spirit, a fiery intelligence—and an explosive secret. Deep in the London underworld, a dear friend has vanished, and Juliet fears the worst. Deveril insists on helping, escorting her through the darkest alleys in town. But he too is hiding a shocking secret—and the only way he can defeat the devil in his past is to seduce the angel in his arms …

Check out my review here.

Places to Purchase:

| Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository |

Check out the other books in the Ugly Duckling trilogy: 

Click on cover for more info. 

1 lucky commenter (International Shipping Available) will win a copy. 

To Enter:

• Leave a comment answering Manda's question: What are some of your favorite bromances? Which male friendships in Romancelandia make you laugh, cry or shake your head in exasperation?
• Fill out the Rafflecopter form below.  

Good Luck =)

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