A Historical Christmas Event with Katharine Ashe

Katharine Ashe is the USA Today bestselling, award winning author of historical romances reviewers call “intensely lush” and “sensationally intelligent,” including The Duke, one of Amazon’s Best Romances of 2017. A professor of history and popular culture, she writes romance because she thinks modern readers deserve grand adventures and breathtaking sensuality too. 

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Feature: The Duke by Katharine Ashe

Katharine Ashe continues her lush and sensual Devil’s Duke series with a sweeping story of unbreakable love.

Six years ago, when Lady Amarantha Vale was an innocent in a foreign land and Gabriel Hume was a young naval officer, they met . . . and played with fire.

Now Gabriel is the dark lord known to society as the Devil’s Duke, a notorious recluse hidden away in a castle in the Highlands. Only Amarantha knows the truth about him, and she won’t be intimidated. He is the one man who can give her the answers she needs.

But Gabriel cannot let her learn his darkest secret. So begins a game of wit and desire that proves seduction is more satisfying—and much more wicked—the second time around…

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ARC Review: The Earl by Katharine Ashe

“The Earl” by Katharine Ashe is the second book in her Devil Duke series.  In this book, Ashe brings to a close the storyline of Lady Justice.  I have just recently started Ashe’s books so I am not sure when the character of Lady Justice appears but she is a strong character through different books and her story interweaves with other characters in different stories. If anyone has read Ashe before they know to expect adventure and twisting storylines that keep readers guessing until the end of the story.

In “The Earl” Ashe focuses her long awaited story for Lady Justice/ Zenobia/ Emily. Emily has taken up a cause to fight for the underclass and underrepresented as a pamphleteer in London. She has many dedicated followers and her voice of equality and justice have caused many political advancements but also some trouble, especially for Collin Gray. 

Collin Gray aka Pelegrine was the leader of The Falcon Club, a club dedicated to finding lost people through England.  His group has to disband when Lady Justice not only writes some scathing criticisms about Collin and his group but also gives away the identity of his members.  Collin continues to take on a special assignment and one that he can’t turn down when Lady Justice herself reaches out to him for help. 

Collin and Emily or Zenobia as she prefers to be called, share a long history. They were childhood friends and their families made an arrangement for them to marry when they were very young. Collin was very late in his ability to speak, much to his father’s frustration, and Emily was always by his side. When Collin grew-up him and Emily grew apart and they were no longer friends.  Collin has no idea that Zenobia and Lady Justice are one in the same. When fortune steps in and they are thrown together on an adventure, they situation is only made worse when they are mistaken for two highwaymen.  One going by Collins name. 

So, my thoughts. I loved Collin. I thought he was such a great guy and he was very easy to like and admire. Although a part of the upper-class he was very humble and dedicated himself to helping reunite people. I have to confess I had a harder time liking or accepting Emily. I loved that she was a tough character but much of her anger, resentment and discontent seemed exaggerated and worse unwarranted.  Granted, Lady Justice is definitely fighting a difficult fight. She is working very hard to get an act passed in the House of Lords that will grant women the same rights as men! Something completely unheard of at that time. To Ashe’s credit, she is very eloquent in introducing the dire situation that married women faced.  Yes, they were married but they were properties of their husbands.  Her notes were fascinating to read. She explains that if a man is caught helping a married man escape from her husband that person is severely punished.  As the reader, we finally know why Emily is so angry with Collin and it just didn’t seem to fit her indignant emotions. In my humble opinion, Emily has it pretty good. She lives as she wishes and no one is giving her a hard time. Her father pampers her lifestyle and to her credit she uses her time to help others.  Aside from my dislike of the heroine the story is filled with adventure and one breath taking chase after another.  Now I am anticipating the next story in the series with Emily’s sister and her determination to uncover the sinister scot who lives in his castle. Ashe’s stories never disappoint. 

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: The Rogue by Katharine Ashe

The Rogue is the first book in the “Devil’s Duke” series. Katherine Ashe is an automatic read for me. I’ve read some of her previous work and really enjoyed it. I think she is a fun and great author. I also think that her storylines are original and unique. I was beyond excited to read this book about the mysterious and lethal -Saint.

Lady Constance Read can be described as an alpha woman. She is ahead of her time and doesn’t bend to anyone’s rule. Her father asks a favor of Saint- André Sterling- he wants him to teach his daughter how to defend herself. Unbeknownst to him Constance and Saint share a history.

I really liked Saint and found him to be an exciting hero. He has a strong military background and teaches others how to defend themselves with a sword. For Constance he is an answer to her prayers because she is part of the Flacons Club which is a sort of spy agency. She is determined to figure out who is taking the lives of some of the young women and she has an idea who it might be.

Just like previous Ashe novels there is action, adventure and a twist that adds to the mystery of the storyline. I have to confess that I wanted to love the book more than I actually did. One of the down falls for me was too much was going on and I didn’t really get a feeling or understanding of the characters together as a couple.

Overall, this was a very exciting story. I had some issues with it such as Constance. I didn’t really understand her. She was hard for me to “get.” I also thought that so much happened the first 30 % of the book that the rest of the book felt very long and dragged out for me. It is obvious that the author has done her research because she includes a lot of information in the story. Finally, I didn’t love Constance and Saint as a couple. These are just my opinions and even though I wasn’t crazy about this book I will continue to read more Ashe and especially am looking forward to the next book in the series.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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Sealed With a Kiss Event with Katharine Ashe

Katharine Ashe is the USA Today bestselling and award winning author of historical romances that reviewers call “intensely lush” and “sensationally intelligent,” including 2015 RITA® Award Finalist My Lady, My Lord. A professor of history, she writes romance because she thinks modern readers deserve grand adventures and breathtaking sensuality too. 

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ARC Review: Again, My Lord by Katharine Ashe

Katharine Ashe is one of my instant go-to authors. I’ve read some of her books and I absolutely loved them. She is such a talented storyteller. “Again, My Lord” is the second book in the “Twist” series. The previous book “My Lady, My Lord” was hilarious and I really enjoyed it.

The story is set in one day but previous to the story we find out a little bit of history. Tacitus Everhard was a very reclusive person. The only child, once his parent’s die he is very lonely and finally decides to marry. He sets his sights on Calista Holland. However, Calista and Tacitus are complete opposites. Where he is very series, she is very light and flirty. One day in the mist of his courting, he gets fed up with Calista and her immature ways but Calista asks him to come back the next day. Tacitus does and continues to spend his time with Calista and her siblings. Calista’s father is in debt and must marry her off, in despair she goes to Tacitus to ask him to help her escape her home, he doesn’t and she eventually ends up marrying someone else.

Calista did not have a good marriage. Her marriage was not a happy one and her husband was horrible. She sends her son off to visit her family and stops in a small town where she runs into Tacitus. Calista has a plan to run away from her husband and has the statue of Aphrodite with her.

To make a long story short Calista keeps living over and over the same day. However, she is the only person that knows it’s the same day repeated everyone else is just living the same day again and again. Each day does teach Calista something different but she finally becomes exasperated when she can’t figure out how to change the day and move on. In the middle of this she is trying to convince Tacitus to give her a second chance.

I’m so sorry to say that I just did not like this story. I found it to be so tedious and it grated on my nerves… I even put it down and hoped that once I started re-reading I would like it more, but I didn’t. I never really warmed up to Calista. Tacitus was a nice hero but he didn’t really stand out to me. Nonetheless I still plan to read anything that Ashe writes.

**ARC provided by NetGalley**

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ARC Review: I Loved A Rogue by Katharine Ashe

The story “I Loved a Rogue” by Katharine Ashe is the last book in her “The Prince Catchers” trilogy. I hate that I’m only just reading Ashe this past year. She is a superb writer. I found myself highlighting many parts of the story because her writing is just so beautiful. Needless to say I plan on reading the two previous books in the series “I Married the Duke” and “I Adored a Lord.” I was first introduced to Ashe when I heard the audiobook “My Lady, My Lord” which is one of my favorites. I was completly captivated by her ability to weave a fun farfetched tale into a greatly enjoyable story.

In the last book of the series we have Eleanor Caulfield. She is the youngest of three sisters and adopted by a clergyman. Now that her sisters are both married and her “Papa” (as she affectionately calls him) is married, she feels like she has no purpose. The day of her Papa’s wedding Taliesin reappears.

Taliesin is a gypsy. Eleanor and he were childhood friends/rivals. One day Taliesin disappeared and eleven years have gone by. But Eleanor has never stopped thinking about him or missing him. First, the friendship between Taliesen and Eleanor was so beautiful. I absolutely ached for them as two young people getting to know each other. When Eleanor became sick as a young child it was Taliesin that pushed her out of her sickness and challenged her. The friction and tension between them was palpable. At the beginning of the story they barely acknowledge each other least of all speak to each other. When one of Eleanor’s sisters encourages Eleanor to find out the truth of their heritage. Taliesin accompanies her.

A running theme between the stories is that the three sisters appeared on the shores after a shipwreck. But they never knew who their parents were. Eleanor begins to gather clues. The story was a five star rating for me until about 70% of the story when Eleanor starts to uncover the clues behind the shipwreck. The author reveals a lot of surprises not only about Eleanor but also about Taliesin and his family. These secrets were fantastic. They were rich and I was really surprised even though I hadn’t read the previous books. My only complaint is that too much was packed into the last 30% of the book. There were other key characters that we meet and also a huge part of the historical significance to Eleanor’s parentage. Which was great and interesting but I thought it dragged the story down a little. My last and really only other complaint was Taliesin’s constant leaving. I get that he is a Gypsy but enough already.

Really I cannot recommend this book enough. The characters were rich and well developed. I loved both the hero and heroine. I loved who they were, who they became and who they discovered they were! Bravo Ms. Ashe!

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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Guest Post with Katharine Ashe, Caroline Linden, Miranda Neville, Maya Rodale and Giveaway

The Lady Authors, four historical writers, have gone contemporary with At the Billionaire’s Wedding: As Caroline Linden, Maya Rodale, Katharine Ashe, and Miranda Neville discovered, writing about the modern era requires a different kind of hero.

Award-winning Katharine Ashe writes lushly intense historical romance with a touch of adventure. She is the author of How To Be a Proper Lady, one of Amazon's Ten Best Romances of 2012, and eight other acclaimed novels set in nineteenth-century Britain. Readers can visit her website and discover how parts of her time-traveling heroine's story are in fact autobiographical (though she refuses to admit precisely which).

Find Katharine at:

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Audiobook Review: My Lady, My Lord by Katharine Ashe, Narrated by Veida Dehmlow

Katharine Ashe is one of those authors that I keep meaning to read and I wished I had sooner! What a story! My Lady, My Lord was nothing like I have read before! At first I was turned off by the plot but I was glad I stuck with it! It’s obvious that Ashe is an accomplished author and storyteller!

So the enemies to lovers’ storyline has been done before, but not like this! Lady Corinna Mowbray is a bluestocking. She has lead a very unconventional upbringing. When her father became a widower she dedicated herself to him and then she traveled the world with her aunt and uncle. When she returns to England she is past the marrying age but Corinna is perfectly okay with this. She would rather dedicate herself to art, history, politics and running her own salon then worrying about London’s tea rooms.

Lord Ian Chance is Corinna’s nemesis. Although neighbors and childhood friends there is a lot of bad blood and a lot of miscommunications with them! Ian is the exact opposite of Corinna. He gambles, drinks, has numerous affairs and does not live the type of life Corinna finds acceptable. Whenever Ian and Cornna are within hearing distance they are arguing and bickering. Although I’ve read about bickering heroes and heroines before Ian and Corinna’s mutual criticism caused them pain. It was interesting to see how they hurt each other really not meaning to only reacting to each other.

One argument has a very different result… They switch bodies. So I know at first it sounds too far- fetched but the author made it work! The scene when they realize that they switched bodies was incredibly well written and the narrator did a fantastic job of reading the scene.

This was a fantastic book for a numerous amount of reasons. First, the plot is so original and the best part was that it worked! The author was able to show us how Ian lived Corinna’s life and vice versa. One of my all -time favorite scenes was when Corinna (in Ian’s body) breaks into tears in public and it makes the gossip column. This was so hilarious. As they try to live in the others body they also try to do some sabotaging. For example, Corinna breaks off with Ian’s mistress, also funny. Ian, tired of Corinna’s mourning outfits, changes her dresses. Ultimately, there was so much heart in the story. In their switched bodies they come to really understand each other and their animosity towards each other melts away to understanding. I really enjoyed this story and I loved the chemistry between Ian and Corinna. Ashe is so talented that she makes everything believable! I really enjoyed and highly recommend this creative, unique and fun story.

**Audiobook provided by Tantor**

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Feature and Giveaway: I Adored a Lord by Katharine Ashe

She’s intended for his brother. He’s destined for adventure. Then a dangerous mystery throws them together, and all they want is each other.

All that clever, passionate Ravenna Caulfield wants is to stay far away from high society’s mean girls.

All that handsome, heroic Lord Vitor Courtenay wants is to dash from dangerous adventure to adventure.

Now, snowbound in a castle with a bevy of the ton’s scheming maidens all competing for a prince’s hand in marriage, Ravenna’s worst nightmare has come true. Now, playing babysitter to a spoiled prince and his potential brides, Vitor is champing at the bit to be gone.

When a stolen kiss in a stable leads to a corpse in a suit of armor, a canine kidnapping, and any number of scandalous liaisons, Ravenna and Vitor find themselves wrapped in a mystery they’re perfectly paired to solve. But as for the mysteries of love and sex, Vitor’s not about to let Ravenna escape until he’s gotten what he desires…

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My Favorite Book Couple with Kieran Kramer

Double Rita®-finalist and USA Today bestseller Kieran Kramer writes Regency historical romances and now contemporary romance for St. Martin’s Press. SAY YES TO THE DUKE came out in fall 2013 and her newest release, her debut contemporary, SWEET TALK ME, is on shelves now.  HE'S SO FINE will be out in fall 2014. A former CIA employee, journalist, and English teacher, Kieran’s also a game show veteran, karaoke enthusiast, and general adventurer. She lives where she grew up--in the Lowcountry of South Carolina--with her Naval Reserve commander husband and their three children.

Places to find Kieran:

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Feature: How to Marry a Highlander by Katharine Ashe

An intrepid lady takes on an impossible task to win an irresistible lord.

With seven troublesome half-sisters to marry off, Duncan, the Earl of Eads, has one problem: he’s broke. With the prospect of marriage to the pompous local curate, Miss Teresa Finch-Freeworth has one dream: to wed the handsome Highlander she saw at a ball.

How does a desperate lady convince a reluctant laird that she’s the perfect bride for him? She strikes a wager! If she can find seven husbands for seven sisters, the earl must marry her. But when Duncan gives her a deadline even the most audacious matchmaker can’t meet — one month — Teresa sets terms too: with each bridegroom she finds, the earl must pay her increasingly intimate rewards . . .

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ARC Review: How to Marry a Highlander by Katharine Ashe

How to Marry a Highlander (Falcon Club #3.5) was a nice little novella that follows up characters from the author’s previous book. Let me start by saying that I have loved all of Katharine Ashe’s books and I love her writing voice. This novella was pleasant, however, it just didn’t totally work for me. The main problem was with the premise of the book. It just wasn’t really believable. In addition, I felt like I was always missing most of the hero’s point of view. As a result, it seemed like he was someone I liked, but didn’t know. In spite of these troubles it was a cute story and I enjoyed reading it.

Teresa Finch-Freeworth became completely infatuated with an impoverished Scottish earl, Lord Eads, the first time she saw him. Unfortunately, he disappeared for eighteen months. During that time her family pushes her to marry the stuffy local vicar. When Teresa discovers that Duncan has returned to London she arrives on his doorstep, suggesting that they marry. He reluctantly agrees to marry her if she can find husbands for his seven half-sisters in one month’s time. He is attracted to Teresa, but has vowed never to marry because of his painful history. Teresa is optimistic and resourceful, but can she marry off seven wild Scottish girls and win Duncan’s heart? Can Duncan move beyond his tragic past?

How to Marry a Highlander was a light-hearted story with a lot of fun. Teresa and Duncan were introduced in the previous Falcon Club book, How a Lady Weds a Rogue. It is not necessary to have read the other books in the series to enjoy this one. The characters were very appealing. Teresa was lively, passionate and impulsive. Duncan was charming and sexy. His sisters each had their own personality and interests. There were just some issues that I couldn’t get past. Would a young lady of that time really propose marriage to a gentleman she didn’t know (or even one she did know)? Yes, it was a novella, and therefore, short, but Duncan put away all of his issues in one sentence, “Giving her what they both wanted, finally Duncan released the past.” Just a little too abrupt and simple. The situation for each sister was easily resolved with little or no conflict -- once again, probably because it was a novella, but it was just too simple. My recommendation is to read this story and enjoy it, but don’t expect too much depth or realism.

**ARC provided by Edelweiss**

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Feature and Giveaway: At the Duke's Wedding Anthology

Will you be AT THE DUKE'S WEDDING? Award winning, best-selling authors Katharine Ashe,  Caroline Linden, Miranda Neville and Maya Rodale serve up delectable Regency fun and a sexy contemporary twist in this anthology of original novellas.

Four authors, four couples, four deliciously romantic surprises. When it comes to love, anything can happen...

Weekly Winners

Congratulations to:

Yadira A

On winning an eBook copy of Fool Me Once by Lacey Wolfe

Gisele
On winning a copy of Captured By a Rogue Lord by Katharine Ashe

Yadira A
On winning a book of choice from Juliana Stone

Jeanne M
On winning an eBook copy of The Runaway Countess by Leigh LaValle

Sweety
On winning an eBook copy of C791 by Eve Langlais

All winners have been contacted via email. Thank you to everyone that stopped by and entered. 

Guest Post with Author Katharine Ashe and Giveaway

Today I am so excited to welcome author Katharine Ashe to the blog. Katharine is currently on tour promoting the release of her new book In The Arms of a Marquess. Also, Katharine is my very first guest to the blog and I hope you all will give her a very warm welcome.

Katharine Ashe: Danielle asked me to say something about how I came to write a second chance love story for IN THE ARMS OF A MARQUESS. I'm excited to!

But first, with the utmost respect to my lovely hostess, may I alter the term a bit? May I instead call this a "love lost" story? It sounds more dramatic.

You see, I like drama in books. No, I don't like it. I adore  it. Like Danielle, I am a complete sucker for a delicious love story. And I'm especially fond of a certain kind of love story, the kind that tears your heart out as you read and hurls it about the room then returns it to your chest with a big crash! while you weep tears of sorrow, fear, laughter and -- ultimate -- joy. Then it does that all over again. A bunch of times, until you're a soggy heap of gratitude for the delectably torturous roller coaster ride you've been on. Graphic, I know. Apologies for that. But I wanted to make sure we're all on the same page, the page that paints a story of love so deep and powerful, and so beset by forces that seek to keep the lovers apart, that there's no reading it with dry eyes and a heartbeat slower than the gallop of an Ascot contender.

That is my favorite kind of love story, so that is the kind I endeavor to write. IN THE ARMS OF A MARQUESS turned out to be impossible not to write like that. You see, it's about a girl and a youth who tumbled into first love...passionate love...forbidden love...only to be torn apart. The details of that tearing apart destine their reunion seven years later to be fraught with misunderstandings and mistrust, but also unquenchable desire, and -- this time -- danger.

But how exactly did I come to write the second chance story of these young lovers?

I first met Miss Octavia Pierce at the age of fifteen sitting in a chair with her long legs thrown over the arm like a thorough hoyden, reading and Atlas of the World. Immediately I knew she would travel. So travel she did, to the East Indies, a land of wonder and magic that fed her adventurous soul.

Shortly thereafter I met Lord Ben Doreé on a snowy night in the corridor of a country greathouse that I was writing. In that scene in the first book of my Rogues of the Sea trilogy (SWEPT AWAY BY A KISS), that hero told his lady that the work he did upon the sea saving others -- noble, honorable, perilous work -- had a wealthy patron. And (here's where it gets weird) there was Ben standing behind me while I wrote, telling me he was that patron, he the powerful man of mystery behind that noble work. And he said he wanted Octavia -- a girl whose heart matched his perfectly -- to be his heroine.

Yes, romance authors are nuts. But I swear to yo that is how it happened.

Well, I told Ben in no uncertain terms that Octavia was only fifteen and he had to wait for her to become a lady. He wasn't even twenty anyway, far too young to think of a life-long love (Oh, how naïve I was!). He suggested they meet upon the verge of her womanhood, three years later. (Impatient man.) So I told him if he met her too soon, he would lose her for a while after that. That's just how I do things. He glowered. (I'll admit I cowered a little. He's the dark and dangerous type, you know.) Still, I don't think he believed I was really going to do it.

I did it. Because when lost love -- powerful, passionate, undying love -- is re-found -- gloriously, crashingly -- the very stars collide.

I do love drama.

Do you have a second-chance story in your past? Young love rediscovered, or a change to a more satisfying career, or simply starting a gray day over again so that it ended up sparkling?

She had never forgotten him...

Miss Octavia Pierce is witty, well off, and shockingly unwed. Still, she is far too successful in society to remain on the shelf forever, and her family has hopes that Octavia will finally make the perfect match. What they do not know is that years earlier Octavia was scandalously tempted by the one man capable of sweeping her off her feet-the man now known as the Marquess of Doreé.

A third son, never meant to inherit, Lord Ben Doreé has abandoned his past and grown accustomed to his illustrious new position of wealth and power. But he has never forgotten Octavia, and now she desperately needs his helps in a most dangerous, clandestine matter. Although she claims she has put the memories of the passion they shared behind her, Ben is determined to once again have her in his arms-and in his bed.

**Giveaway**

Thanks Katharine for such a wonderful post. Everyone, Katharine and Harper Collins will be giving away a $25 Amazon.com gift certificate to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. So make sure to check out all of Katharine's tour stops to increase your chances of winning.

*Must answers Katharine's question above

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*Open until August 26th