To Charm a Naughty Countess (+Giveaway)

It’s always a delight to welcome author Theresa Romain back to Thoughts in Progress. Today she joins us on her Lit Connect Virtual Book Tour for her latest release, TO CHARM a NAUGHTY COUNTESS.

As part of the tour stop, Theresa is sharing an excerpt from her book and also providing an awesome giveaway. Please see the end of the post for the giveaway details.

TO CHARM a NAUGHTY COUNTESS is a regency-set historical romance with a passionate and lighthearted tone. Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca, the book hit the bookshelves Tuesday, May 6. This is the second installment in Theresa’s Matchmaker trilogy.

Here’s a brief synopsis:

CAN A RECLUSIVE DUKE …
        Brilliant but rumored mad, Michael Layward, the impoverished Duke of Wyverne, has no success courting heiresses until widowed Lady Stratton takes up his cause–after first refusing his suit.

WIN LONDON’S MOST POWERFUL COUNTESS?
        Caroline Graves, the popular Countess of Stratton, sits alone at the pinnacle of London society and has vowed never to remarry. When Michael–her counterpart in an old scandal–returns to town after a long absence, she finds herself as enthralled with him as ever. As she guides the anxiety-ridden duke through the trials of society, Caroline realizes that she’s lost her heart. But if she gives herself to the only man she’s ever loved, she’ll lose the hard-won independence she prizes above all.

TO CHARM a NAUGHTY COUNTESS can be found at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-a-Million, Book Depository, iBooks, Sourcebooks, Indiebound, and Goodreads.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
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.

For more on Theresa and her writing, visit her website and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.

You can also connect with Theresa tonight (Wednesday, May 7) during a special TWITTER PARTY held from 8 p.m. until 9 p.m. (EST) using the #NaughtyCountess. For more information, click HERE.

AN EXCERPT …

      “What on earth is the matter, Michael?”
      “I don’t care for your society type of ball.”
      She should have realized that a man ill at ease with touch would not care for the press of crowds or the din of voices. “Ah. That’s why you were out on the terrace at Applewood House. You were escaping.”
      He pressed at his temple with the heel of one hand. “I was enjoying the weather.”
      “Rubbish,” said Caroline. “No one’s enjoying the weather this year, especially not you. Very well, let me consider this. Because you will have to take part in society if you are ever to be accepted by it.”
      She fiddled with the bugled trim that adorned the skirt of her gown. Michael swallowed heavily, watching her fingers.
      “All right,” she decided. “We’ll figure this out using one of your scientific methods, as we did with the whispering.”
      “You didn’t figure out anything related to the whispering. You only said something coarse to amuse me.”
      Coarse? He had no idea. But she only smiled as though he’d caught her in a pleasant little trick. “If you were amused, then I am delighted. But let us call it a hypothesis too. That sounds like something you might enjoy. You do enjoy dealing in hypotheses, do you not?”
      He inclined his head, giving her permission to continue.
      “My hypothesis, Michael, is that when people whisper about you, it is because they are either admiring you or are intimidated by you. They hope, yet fear, that you will take notice of them.
      A word from you, a few minutes at your side, can give them a memory to feast upon for long days ahead.”
      Thus she revealed her long-ago self to him, cloaking it in wrong pronouns and false hypotheticals. Though her memories had held their sweetness only for a short time; they had long since grown stale. She was determined not to let them become bitter, though. She had gained too much to dwell on that old loss.
      And it was sweet again to have him watch her so intently. “That is what you truly think?” His lips pressed together; his dark lashes shadowed his cheekbones with every blink.
      She ached to take away the pressure and the shadows, to learn every angle of his body and mind.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

Theresa is generously gifting all five of her books to one lucky commenter!

*Season for Temptation

*Season for Surrender

*Season for Scandal

*It Takes Two to Tangle

*To Charm a Naughty Countess

The giveaway is open internationally. To enter, just click on the Rafflecopter widget below and follow the directions. It may take the widget a few seconds to load, please be patient.


Thanks so much for visiting. What is it about regency-set historical romances that draws you in? Do you like the setting, the language or just the whole atmosphere of the era?


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