Shelley Munro – Mistress of Merrivale – Review, Guest Post & Giveaway
Mistress of Merrivale
by Shelley Munro
Release Date: March 25, 2014
Genre: historical, romance
Links to order Mistress of Merrivale:
Samhain Publishing | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
Description:
A marriage of convenience…full of inconvenient secrets.
Jocelyn Townsend’s life as a courtesan bears no resemblance to the life she envisioned in girlish dreams. But it allows her and her eccentric mother to live in relative security—until her protector marries and no longer requires her services.
Desperate to find a new benefactor, one kind enough to accept her mother’s increasingly mad flights of fancy, Jocelyn is nearly overwhelmed with uncertainty when a lifeline comes from an unexpected source.
Leo Sherbourne’s requirements for a wife are few. She must mother his young daughter, run his household, and warm his bed. All in a calm, dignified manner with a full measure of common sense. After his late wife’s histrionics and infidelity, he craves a simpler, quieter life.
As they embark on their arrangement, Leo and Jocelyn discover an attraction that heats their bedroom and a mutual admiration that warms their days. But it isn’t long before gossip regarding the fate of Leo’s first wife, and his frequent, unexplained absences, make Jocelyn wonder if the secrets of Merrivale Manor are rooted in murder…
Warning: Contains mysterious incidents, a mad mother who screeches without provocation, scheming relatives, and a captivating husband who blows scorching hot and suspiciously cold. All is not as it seems…and isn’t that delicious?
Review:
Mistress of Merrivale is a wonderful new book by Shelley Munro. It’s basically historical romance with a unique mystery/crime premise. I just never considered how very hard it would be to solve crimes back in the 1700’s. To prove someone committed a crime you pretty much had to catch them red-handed. This was made so much more difficult by no phones, no fingerprints, and no modern crime investigation methods at all. It’s really interesting!
The story begins with Joycelyn Towsend, a lovely young woman whose father after having successfully married two of his daughters to titled men, lost his family money and business gambling and offered his home and last daughter as payment of his debts. Yeah, he was a real charmer, I’m sure. So Joycelyn became a consort to a very brutal man to pay her father’s debts. When her father died, she took in her mother (her sisters didn’t want to soil their hands with her) who suffered from dementia and more.
She was then won in another card game by Tobias Sherbourne, Earl of Melburn. He was a kind and gentle man with a great deal of money. However, he fell in love and proposed to another lady and had to set Joycelyn free. Tobias was such a good man and knew her circumstances were not of her own making, so he arranged for her to meet and marry his cousin Leo Sherbourne of Merrivale. Leo’s wife had died and he needed a wife for his daughter and wanted one that would be easily cared for and would do as asked and not betray him with other men, as his first wife had done. A marriage was arranged and she would even be allowed to take her mother with her to the country estate.
What’s interesting is, Leo is really attracted to Joycelyn and is looking forward to this marriage. She’s also attracted to him, and even thought she doesn’t know him is also looking forward to this. This would have been a wonderful story if just the romantic part was all there was; but Ms. Munro has chosen to weave a very intricate and really intriguing story of betrayal, murders, and so much more into this.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this well written story! In fact, I couldn’t put it down. So, of course, I didn’t. I just had to find out what was going to happen next. Would Joycelyn fall in love, would Leo and what would happen to the mother…you get the picture.
Do yourself a favor grab this wonderful book, your favorite beverage, some snacks; and please don’t forget the tissues! This will keep you guessing; make you laugh, cry, and swoon. All the things that make life and a book worthwhile.
This was my first book by Shelley Munro, but it certainly won’t be my last. I look forward to much more from this talented author. Enjoy everyone, I really did!
Reviewed by Georgianna
Copy provided by Author
Six Reasons to Read a Historical Romances
1. A historical romance is a cheap and comfortable way to time travel back to the past. The reader has the best of both worlds—the historical world with handy snacks and restrooms!
2. There is a historical era for everyone, and historical romances are much more interesting than those history classes back at school. Vikings, Medieval, Regency, Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, Tang Dynasty, 1930s, World War I or II. The world of historical romances is diverse and entertaining.
2. Most of the heroes are alpha, and there’s more than one bad boy between the pages of a historical romance.
3. Tired of all those contemporary billionaires? Try a sexy historical man instead. Nine times out of ten, he has money, position and dresses well.
4. The men knew how to seduce a woman. They were masters in the art of seduction, and could make a woman’s knees knock with a heated glance or a softly spoken word.
5. The clothes were sexy and displayed the body. Men wore tight breeches and the women wore tight corsets to define their waists and lift their breasts. Uncomfortable—maybe, but very sexy too!
6. Classic plots such as marriage of convenience work beautifully in a historical setting. In fact most of my favorite marriage of convenience stories are historical romances such as A Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas.
My latest release, Mistress of Merrivale features the marriage of convenience trope. This type of story comes with inbuilt conflict and makes for an exciting journey to happy ever after.
What do you like about historical romances?
Shelley is graciously offering an e-copy of one of her Historical romances, The Spurned Viscountess to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe
1. If you have not previously registered at The Reading Cafe, please register by using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.
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3. LIKE us on FACEBOOK and then click GET NOTIFICATION under ‘liked’ for an additional entry.
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5. Giveaway is open Internationally.
6. Giveaway runs from April 9 to April 12, 2014
