Monday, April 25, 2016

The Reluctant Duchess: Ladies of the Manor Book 2 By Roseanna M White

I received this book from the author and Celebrate Lit Blogging Team for no charge in exchange for my honest review of this book. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Book Description:


A Riveting Edwardian Series Set among Britain's High Society

Lady Rowena Kinnaird may be the heiress to a Highland earldom, but she has never felt good enough--not for her father, not for the man she thought she'd marry, not for God. But after a shocking attack, she's willing to be forever an outcast if it means escaping Loch Morar.

Brice Myerston, the Duke of Nottingham, has found himself in possession of a rare treasure his enemies are prepared to kill for. While Brice has never been one to shy away from manor-born ladies, the last thing he needs is the distraction of Lady Rowena, who finds herself in a desperate situation. But when Rowena's father tries to trap Brice into marrying his daughter, Brice makes a surprising decision.

Rowena wanted to escape the Highlands, but she's reluctant to marry a notorious flirt. And when she learns that Brice is mixed up in questionable business with a stolen treasure, she fears she's about to end up directly in the path of everything she was trying to avoid.



My Thoughts:

The Reluctant Duchess is the second book in Roseanna M. White's series, The Ladies of the Manor, and it is FANTASTIC. As a huge fan of Christian Historical Fiction I had the honor of reading and reviewing the first book in this series, The Lost Heiress and I was hooked on this series. I could NOT pass up the opportunity to review The Reluctant Duchess, after how much I loved The Lost Heiress. Roseanna M. White writes with authority about England and Scotland during this era, social graces, hierarchy of the times, and legends of the time. I found myself hooked from the first page until the last one, wanting more! The characters are great and complex. The lines of hero and villain are not clear or always what we thought. I also enjoyed meeting new characters, but also learning about some old friends from The Lost Heiress.  Even though this is the second book, The Reluctant Duchess can be read stand alone I feel. Roseanna M. White writing ensures that new readers aren't lost but "old" ones aren't bored by too much detail. One of the many things I have always enjoyed about her writing. I also loved feeling like I was there watching the events unfold. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Christian Historical Fiction, you will NOT be disappointed. I wait impatiently for the next book! I give this book 5 STARS. 



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Book Information

Purchase your copy here. Will Fleeing the Scottish Highlands Only Leave Her in More Danger? Lady Rowena Kinnaird may be the heiress to a Highland earldom, but she’s never felt good enough–not for her father, not for the man she thought she’d marry, not for God. But after a shocking attack, she’s willing to be forever an outcast if it means escaping those threatening her life. Brice Myerston, the Duke of Nottingham, has never been one to shy away from manor-born ladies, yet the last thing he needs is the distraction of the newly introduced Lady Rowena. He has enough on his plate having recently come into possession of a rare treasure for which many would kill, yet those around him seem intent on pairing him with this desperate but beguiling girl. Rowena is reluctant to marry this notorious flirt. And when she learns that Brice is mixed up in some kind of questionable business with a stolen treasure, she fears she’ll end up in more danger than she fled.

About the Author

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Roseanna M. White pens her novels beneath her Betsy Ross flag, with her Jane Austen action figure watching over her. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two children, editing and designing, and pretending her house will clean itself. The Reluctant Duchess is Roseanna’s eleventh published book. Her novels range from biblical fiction to American-set romances to her new British series. She lives with her family in West Virginia. Learn more at www.RoseannaMWhite.com


Guest Post from Roseanna White

Though I’ve written nearly thirty books, thirteen of which will be out by the end of 2016, there’s something very special about the Ladies of the Manor Series. The first book, The Lost Heiress, is a rewrite of the first novel I ever wrote—at the age of 12-13. Once I finished that first novel, I made it my goal to keep adding more manuscripts to my “finished” file. I started in immediately on the sequel . . . and soon ran into a problem. You see, I knew who I wanted these characters to be. Brice Myerston, a duke, whom readers would have met in the first book. And a young lady from Scotland who had suffered abuse.

That’s it. That’s all I knew. And it stymied 13-year-old me, who hadn’t a clue what it felt like to suffer such things, and whose imagination, while rich, just lacked a certain basis in the realities of human nature. Probably a good thing that I gave up on the story back then, and didn’t dust it off again until my mid-20s, when I was reworking the series. And better still that Rowena had many more drafts to go through before she finally took to the printed page in The Reluctant Duchess.

I narrowed my setting down, during those years, to the Highlands, and I chose Loch Morar because of how perfectly the region of Lochaber suited the story I wanted to tell. Isolated. Stark. Rugged. Beautiful. Sometimes cruel. This was a land utterly perfect for my heroine’s family, for her back story. Then came the challenge of picking a clan for her to belong to—because lemme just tell you, one could quite easily offend with such choices, if not portrayed properly, LOL. And because I wanted her father to be chief of her clan, I ran the risk of people mistaking him for the actual chief, if I chose an actual clan.

A writing friend came to rescue and offered her last name for my heroine: Kinnaird (pronounced “kin-AIRD”), which is a sept (branch) of another clan in reality, so had no chief of its own, but was still a well-established Scottish name. Perfect!

So Rowena Kinnaird was born after many years of her character floating in and around my head and computer screen. And I got to pair this backward, sometimes shy, sometimes stubborn Scottish lass with the charming, suave, polished English duke I’d had planned out since I was 13.

 I went to great pains in The Lost Heiress to make Brice Myerston a favorite character, so that readers HAD to read his story. Mwa ha ha ha. 😉 So far, so good on that score! Brice is a hero who has his faults, but he also has character. He has faith. He has a good heart, he’s considerate, he’s understanding. And he’s also so accustomed to charming everything female that he doesn’t quite know what to do when Rowena doesn’t seem inclined to be charmed.

There are clashes. There is tension. There’s much healing on Rowena’s part. Many trials for them both. But I hope that through this story of The Reluctant Duchess readers see what it means to triumph over past hurts. And how brightly God shines against the darkness.

Blog Stops

April 12: Just Commonly
April 12: Book by Book
April 13: Melissa Wardwell
April 14: A Holland Reads
April 15: Splashes of Joy
April 15: Story Matters
April 16: Bookworm Mama
April 16: bigreadersite
April 17: cherylbbookblog
April 17: A Greater Yes
April 19: Henry Happens
April 19: Karen Hadley
April 21: Proverbial Reads
April 21: Heidi Reads…
April 24: Giveaway Lady
April 24: Under His Wings

Giveaway

To celebrate the release of her book, Roseanna is giving away a few of Roseanna’s favorite things. Click the link to enter: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e146afbf20/?

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