My Favorite Book Boyfriend with Manda Collins and Giveaway

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.

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My Book Boyfriend: Colonel Lord Aiden Bedwyn of Mary Balogh's Slightly Married

I started reading romance around the age of thirteen. Now I'm thir…uh, older and even if we were to say I read only fifty romances a year (a modest calculation at best) that would still make the total number of heroes I've encountered somewhere around the 1000 mark. Now that's a lot
of heroes!

So, when Danielle asked me to divulge my favorite book boyfriend I had a hard time choosing. Do I go with the irascible August Falcon of Patricia Veryan's Jeweled Men series? Or what about the delectable Simon Darby, with his penchant for lace, of Eloisa James' Fool for Love? Perhaps
I should choose Elisabeth Hoyt's Jasper Renshaw from To Seduce a Sinner?

There are so many heroes I've fallen for over the years, but when it comes down to it, my pick is from an author I've been followed from the beginning of my romance reading career until now. My chosen hero is handsome, but not drop dead gorgeous like some. He is the younger son of a duke, and as such he went into the army to make his fortune. And like many younger brothers he's done whatever he could to distinguish himself from his elder brother, Wulf, a powerful duke. But it's not his military prowess that make me love him. Nor is it his status as a ducal offspring. What I love most about Colonel Lord Aiden Bedwyn from Mary Balogh's Slightly Married is that underneath his gruff exterior lurks the heart of a born caretaker.

From the first moment he meets his heroine, Miss Eve Morris, he wants nothing more than to make her comfortable. He meets her solely because he made a deathbed promise to one of his cavalrymen—a promise that he could quite easily have broken once Captain Morris had died. But, Aiden, with his strong sense of honor and his dedication to his men, could no more have ignored the other man's plea than he could walk on the moon. The result is a swoon-worthy
romance that I go back to again and again when I am in need of a comfort read.

If I were filling out a Teen Magazine "Favorite Things About My Crush" Questionnaire about Aiden, here's what I'd say…

His Favorite Outfit: Scarlet Regimentals
Celebrity He Most Resembles: Thomas Gibson of Criminal Minds
His Best Quality: His Sense of Honor
His Worst Quality: Stubbornness
His Biggest Secret: He'd Rather be a Farmer than a Soldier
His Favorite Make-Out Spot: Outdoors near the lake
His Weakness: Eve
His Secret Weapon: Unexpected wry humor

So, there he is, my favorite book boyfriend! My thanks to Danielle for letting me give him the shout out he deserves!

Meet the Bedwyns…six brothers and sisters—men and women of passion and privilege, daring and sensuality…Enter their dazzling world of high society and breathtaking seduction…where each will seek love, fight temptation, and court scandal…and where Aidan Bedwyn, the marriage-shy second son, discovers that matrimony may be the most seductive act of all.…

Like all the Bedwyn men, Aidan has a reputation for cool arrogance. But this proud nobleman also possesses a loyal, passionate heart—and it is this fierce loyalty that has brought Colonel Lord Aidan to Ringwood Manor to honor a dying soldier's request. Having promised to comfort and protect the man's sister, Aidan never expected to find a headstrong, fiercely independent woman who wants no part of his protection…nor did he expect the feelings this beguiling creature would ignite in his guarded heart. And when a relative threatens to turn Eve out of her home, Aidan gallantly makes her an offer she can't refuse: marry him…if only to save her home. And now, as all of London breathlessly awaits the transformation of the new Lady Aidan Bedwyn, the strangest thing happens: With one touch, one searing embrace, Aidan and Eve's “business arrangement” is about to be transformed…into something slightly surprising.

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

Lady Madeline Essex is the last of the unwed “ducklings” in her family—and by far the most outspoken. But when she boldly enters London’s most notorious gaming house in search of fodder for her novel, even her sharp tongue can’t save her from the horrible crime she stumbles upon there. As luck would have it, first on the scene is the last man she wants to see her vulnerable. The one man who could tempt her heart…

Christian Monteith, the new Earl of Gresham, isn’t much for card rooms and gaming hells. But as a favor to his former commanding officer, he's investigating a gamester for espionage on the night that Maddie ventures in looking more enticing than he's ever seen her. Suddenly, his feelings for his friend aren't so friendly anymore. And when her curiosity brings the impetuous novelist to the attention of a madman, Christian will stop at nothing to protect her—from a sinister plot that is far more dangerous than any stolen kiss…

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

Check out what's up for grabs.

Up For Grabs:

• 1 lucky winner will win a copy of How To Entice an Earl + Slightly Married

To Enter: 

• Please leave a meaningful comment/question for Manda.
• Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.

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