Guest Post with Author Ashlyn Macnamara and Giveaway

Meet Ashlyn Macnamara, author of What a Lady Demands.

Ashlyn Macnamara is the author of What a Lady Craves, A Most Devilish Rogue, and A Most Scandalous Proposal. She lives in the wilds of suburbia outside of Montreal with her husband and two teenage daughters. When not writing, she looks for other excuses to neglect the housework, among them knitting, reading, and wasting time on the Internet in the guise of doing research.

Find Ashlyn at:

| Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter |

First of all, I’d like to thank Danielle for hosting me today and featuring What a Lady Demands, the second book in my Eton Boys trilogy. Part of the fun I had in writing this story is that it contains shades of one of my favorite romance tropes. I’m talking specifically about the one where the heroine has a long-standing crush on the hero.

One of my favorite book series—that isn’t romance at all—is the Harry Potter books. From the first installment, I had a strong feeling Harry was going to end up with Ginny Weasley. Especially after the second book where she developed a full-blown crush on the Boy-Who-Lived. You can bet I was cheering the two on in the sixth book where it seemed apparent Ginny had gotten over her adolescent feelings, and the situation was turned around.

A recent release I’m really looking forward to digging into is Anne Barton’s Scandalous Summer Nights where we get the story of Lady Olivia Sherbourne and her long-time crush on her brother’s best friend. In previous books in Anne’s series, we’ve seen Olivia’s yearning for James. Now we get to see that yearning come to fruition.

Another one I loved was Jennifer McQuiston’s Summer Is For Lovers where the heroine rescues the hero from the sea when she’s twelve and dreams of him ever since. Eleven years later, when he comes back into her life, can those dreams become reality?

Or how about Lorraine Heath’s When the Duke Was Wicked? Grace Marbry grew up as the Duke of Lovingdon’s next-door neighbor. She’s adored him since childhood, but he’s been oblivious. Surely by the time she book opens, she’s given up on him.

In Heather Snow’s Sweet Deception, Emma has loved Derick since their childhood. He comes back after fourteen years, and Emma jumps at the chance to snag him. Or we might rock it old-school with Julie Garwood’s The Wedding, where Brenna proposed to Connor as a five-year-old. And if we wanted we could go really, really old-school. Jane Austen’s Emma, anyone?

In the case of my story, I say shades of this trope, because in my story where Viscount Lindenhurst and Cecelia Sanford meet again Cecelia has long since gotten over her crush. She thinks back on her years as a young lady with a certain fondness and nostalgia for a more innocent time in her life.

What titles have I overlooked here? Tell me about your favorite romance where the heroin has a previous crush on the hero in the comments.

Readers of Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, and Sabrina Jeffries will love Ashlyn Macnamara’s novel about a smoldering new love that is threatened by past betrayals.

Viscount Lindenhurst cannot seem to find a governess who meets his impossible standards—until Cecelia Sanford becomes the first woman to interrupt the widower’s brooding in years. Lind had returned home from the Napoleonic wars, broken in body and soul and longing for his wife’s embrace, only to find her changed. Before they could reconcile, an accident struck their son and claimed her life. Now enter Cecelia, with her soft curves and sharp tongue—a tempting distraction, it is true, but not a welcome one.

Past the usual marrying age and haunted by a scandal of her own, Cecelia soon finds herself caring for both the child and the man. The viscount is brittle and even abrupt at times, yet she cannot deny the attraction that stirs her body in his presence. Moved by the deep sense of abandonment that tortures his soul, Cecelia aches to fully awaken Lind’s heart from its rancorous slumber—if she can just keep their pasts from destroying a second chance at love.

Purchase: | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iTunes |

Check out the Eton Boys Trilogy:

 

Check out what's up for grabs.

Up For Grabs:

• 1 $25 Gift Card + Loveswept Mug & Tote

To Enter: 

• Tell me about your favorite romance where the heroin has a previous crush on the hero.
• US/CA shipping ONLY.
• Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.

Good Luck! 

Special thanks to Ashlyn Macnamara & Tasty Books for sponsoring this tour-wide giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway