Season for Desire by Theresa Romain – Review, Interview & Giveaway
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Description:
Properly Wicked
Like her four sisters, Lady Audrina Bradleigh is expected to marry a duke, lead fashion, and behave with propriety. Consequently, Audrina pursues mischief with gusto, attending scandalous parties and indulging in illicit affairs. But when an erstwhile lover threatens to ruin her reputation, Audrina has no choice but to find a respectable husband at once.
Who would guess that her search would lead her to Giles Rutherford, a blunt-spoken American on a treasure hunt of his own? When a Christmas snowstorm strands the pair at a country inn, more secrets are traded than gifts—along with kisses that require no mistletoe—and Audrina discovers even proper gentlemen have their wicked side…
Review:
Season for Desire by Theresa Romain is a Regency romance story, written for the time of 1820. Background: in northern England. Richard Rutherford, apprentice jeweler, met and fell in love with a young noble woman. Lady Beatrix, daughter of a marquess, fell in love with him as well. The planned to elope, to keep this from happening she was stripped of her belongings. However, she did it anyway, but before leaving she had, unknown to anyone, hidden a fortune in jewels that belonged to her personally, leaving clues in three puzzle boxes left to her by her mother. On her deathbed she told Richard and Giles (their oldest living son) of the jewels and gave them clues, knowing her husband loved adventures and would seek them out, if for no other reason than for the adventure in a quest.
The story begins with Richard and Giles stopping in an inn in York, England. They had been searching the property of her relatives (with permission of a sort), but had found nothing so far. A servant of Lord Alleyneham came to them to request their aid. It seems the Lord’s youngest daughter was thought to be eloping and he wanted it stopped. They were to stop the coach when it came to this town and take the daughter and betrothed into custody until Lord Alleyneham and Lady Irving (an acquaintance) could arrive. Lord Alleyneham and Lady Irving arrived before the eloping couple; however it was not an elopement. Lady Audrina Bradleigh had been drugged and kidnapped for her dowry and the scoundrel David Llewelyn wanted her to marry him for the money, or he would blackmail her father for it.
What follows is a really interesting story, albeit regency morals and conversations, of wit, conversations, and situations leading to adventure for the group. I thoroughly enjoyed the conversations and the emotions that came through. Even the sex scenes were warm and steamy as well as frustrating.
Ms. Romain has written a wonderful tale of old England and great adventure, while addressing the very human issues of aging noblemen, female rights, and social attitudes. It’s mixed with wonderful humor, mystery, interesting characters and much more.
If you like the regency style and love a good mystery and chase…this is a delightful read. She has written others and given time, I will read them.
Grab a glass of your favorite beverage and cuddle up and enjoy! I certainly did!
Reviewed by Georgianna
Copy provided by Author
TRC: Hi Theresa and welcome to The Reading Café. We would like to start with some background information. Please tell us something about yourself?
Theresa: Thanks for inviting me to visit The Reading Café today! It’s great to be here. A little about me: I have a husband and a daughter (just one of each) and a houseful of books. I like reading even more than writing, which is saying a lot. I also like coffee very much, especially with a drizzle of eggnog in it. Fall and winter are my favorite time of year for beverages.
TRC: Have you always been interested in writing?
Theresa: I’ve always loved stories, though I can’t say I saw myself as a writer until I had finished my first book! As a kid, I preferred drawing or creating imaginary worlds out of modeling clay. Once I learned to type as a teen, writing got much easier. Schoolwork led to nonfiction writing, which eventually led to me trying to write a story of my own.
TRC: Is there anything (in general) you find particularly challenging about writing?
Theresa: Getting started is always the hardest part, especially if I’m working on a new project and don’t have a very clear idea of it yet. Once a book is underway, the story moves faster and faster and I enjoy writing more and more.
TRC: Would you please give our members, who may not have read this series, a brief description of the premise of Holiday Pleasures? How many books are you anticipating for this series?
Theresa: Happy to! The Holiday Pleasures books are a quartet of historical romances, and each story takes place in part or mostly during the Christmas season. There are continuing characters, but each book can stand on its own and has a firm HEA.
TRC: Season for Desire was released yesterday, and is the 4th book in this series. Would you please give us a brief description of the book?
Theresa: There’s a grumpy American hero with a wicked sense of humor, a pretends-to-be-proper earl’s daughter with an aptitude for mischief, a treasure hunt for long-lost jewels, a secondary romance for an older couple, a bit of insight with a telescope, and sexy snowbound-over-Christmas scenes.
Here’s the back cover copy, which I think captures the story’s sense of fun:
PROPERLY WICKED
Like her four sisters, Lady Audrina Bradleigh is expected to marry a duke, lead fashion, and behave with propriety. Consequently, Audrina pursues mischief with gusto, attending scandalous parties and indulging in illicit affairs. But when an erstwhile lover threatens to ruin her reputation, Audrina has no choice but to find a respectable husband at once.
Who would guess that her search would lead her to Giles Rutherford, a blunt-spoken American on a treasure hunt of his own? When a Christmas snowstorm strands the pair at a country inn, more secrets are traded than gifts—along with kisses that require no mistletoe—and Audrina discovers even proper gentlemen have their wicked side…
TRC: You have another Historical Romance series, The Matchmaker. Can you please tell us the premise of this series?
Theresa: The heroes and heroines in the Matchmaker trilogy think they are helping one another find love or passion with someone else—but then they fall for each other. The Matchmaker, a happily-married countess, plays a role as confidante in each book and helps the hero and heroine get together. The first story in this trilogy (It Takes Two to Tangle) is a Cyrano story, and the second (To Charm a Naughty Countess) is a Pygmalion story rather like My Fair Lady. But the role of Cyrano and Henry Higgins might not be played by the characters you expect!
TRC: What drew you to write Historical Romance? Have you ever thought about writing another genre?
Theresa: I’ve always loved history, learning about how people did things differently—or the same—in the past. And I’ve always loved romance, too! As a kid, the flirt-squabbling between Han Solo and Princess Leia was my favorite part of the Star Wars movies. So historical romance was a natural fit for me as a reader, and eventually as a writer. I do write nonfiction too, but at this point I’m not writing in any other fiction genres. I’ll never say never, though.
TRC: What is your writing process? Do you have a favorite spot, or time you like to write? Do you do an outline of your story or just go with the flow?
Theresa: The more I outline and plan, the easier the writing is. I like to write during the day, but with a young daughter, I have to be flexible. I pull a lot of late nights, random evening hours, and even some early morning shifts. I do have a small home office, so once I go in there, it’s clear to me—even if not to my daughter!—that it’s work time.
TRC: When not writing, what do you do to relax?
Theresa: Read read read read read. Or do puzzles with my daughter. If I’m feeling caught up on work, I really like to cook and bake, but usually I’m too frazzled for those to feel like fun.
TRC: What are you working on now?
Theresa: I’m working on a new historical romance series at the moment. I should be able to announce more details soon!
TRC: Many authors bounce ideas and information between each other and their family and spouses. With whom do you bounce ideas?
Theresa: There are two people who always read my work before it goes to my editor. One is my husband, who doesn’t read much romance but who reads a lot of other genre fiction. He has a good eye for pacing and lets me know if my heroes aren’t acting manly enough. (Ha!) The other is a longtime friend of mine. She’s a talented writer with a great eye for character development, so she lets me know if the emotional heart of the story is ringing true.
TRC: Would you like to add anything else?
Theresa :Thanks again for the chance to visit and chat about Season for Desire—and readers, thanks for stopping by today! If you’ve got any questions, please feel free to throw them at me in the comments. I love chatting with readers.
LIGHTNING ROUND
Favorite Food Pretty much any kind of noodles, with pretty much anything on them.
Favorite Dessert I am a fan of all desserts. But if I had to pick a favorite, either Jelly Bellys or any lemon baked good. (I’m not picky. And I have multiple sweet teeth.)
Favorite TV show My favorite show EVER is Jeeves and Wooster, a BBC show from the early 90s based on P.G. Wodehouse’s hilarious books. But if we’re just talking about shows that are on now, I really like Chopped. My young daughter likes it too, so I’m hoping she’ll start cooking for us (once she’s allowed to use the stove, that is).
Favorite Movie Since I studied silent film for quite a while, I feel I ought to give you the name of a very old movie. But honestly? It’s The Mummy, starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. It’s fast-moving, fun, suspenseful, and it has a brilliant librarian heroine. What’s not to like?
Favorite Fictional Character (not your own) Either Elizabeth Bennet or Jane Eyre. They’re both such real-seeming characters. If they could hop off the pages, I’d love to befriend them.
Dark or Milk Chocolate Milk chocolate, please, and lots of it.
Dog or Cat I had cats growing up, and there are lots of dogs in Season for Desire! But my husband is allergic to furry pets, so we don’t have either a dog or a cat now.
TRC: Theresa,thank you very much for taking the time to answer our questions. We wish you the best of luck with Season For Desire.
Theresa: Thanks so much for the chance to visit The Reading Café!
Historical romance author Theresa Romain pursued an impractical education that allowed her to read everything she could get her hands on. She then worked for universities and libraries, where she got to read even more. Eventually she started writing, too. She lives with her family in the Midwest, where she is working on her next book.
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Theresa is graciously offering a copy of SEASON FOR DESIRE (winner’s choice of paper, or e-copy (Kindle or Nook format) to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.
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8. Giveaway runs from October October 8 – October 11, 2014
