3 Awesome books that, like my new release, feature epic personal challenges
Thank you to Angela for inviting me to guest post on her blog. One of the things I have in common with Angela is an active, yearly Goodreads reading challenge. I’ve been participating since 2011. Nothing is more rewarding than sinking into a well-crafted story, and taking on the challenge reminds me that I’m a reader first, THEN a writer.
The hero of my new release, Her Duke at Midnight, is a man who is forever challenging himself. His favorite myth is Heracles and he thinks of his personal challenges in terms of labors. What he doesn’t know is that, in challenging himself to uncover the secrets of his godchildren’s new nursemaid, he has taken on his greatest labor yet. But the nursemaid’s secret is a child—one she will not ever relinquish again. And, like Heracles, Hurtheven must risk everything he values to win the love of this unwed mother and child.
I went over my Goodreads challenges looking for other stories featuring characters who face their fears and change. Here are my top three, one from each of the past 3 years:
1. Delilah Swanpoole in Julie Anne Long’s Lady Deering Takes a Lover
When newly-widowed Delilah finds herself penniless, she does the unthinkable and joins forces with Angelique, her deceased husband’s mistress. With money from Angelique’s pawned jewelry, the two women set out to transform the one thing Delilah’s husband’s creditors are unable to seize—a former brothel near the docks. With a vision of a welcoming home and hearth, Delilah and Angelique open their boarding house. But when Captain Tristan Hardy tracks a notorious smuggler to their doorstep, everything they built is at risk.
I LOVED this book. Delilah is strong and determined, but good-hearted and warm. And she meets the challenge of creating a home out of a former brothel and a beautiful life out of the tatters of her dreams.
This book is several years old, but I read it as part of my 2023 challenge
2. Nora Stephens in Emily Henry’s Book Lovers
Nora’s persona as a cut-throat literary agent is at odds with the tender spot she has for the little sister she practically raised. So she takes up her little sister’s challenge to visit the setting of a long running series written by one of Nora’s clients, even though she knows her sister hopes for the kind of small town Hallmark transformation of Nora’s character that she feels is utterly impossible.
This book has heart and hilarity—and the twists on romance reader’s expectations are utterly sublime. I don’t want to give much away but if you’re a lover of romances sit back with this one and enjoy the rollercoaster ride of subverted expectations complete with an absolute chef’s kiss of an ending.
Read as part of my 2022 Challenge
3. Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes
OK, so this isn’t a romance. Nor is it a novel. But this story of an epic personal challenge taken on by a writer who, through Bridgerton and Queen Charlotte, has entered the world of romance is sublime. After Shonda Rhimes’s sister criticizes her for always saying no, Shonda decides to say yes to every opportunity—no matter how scary—for the period of one year. What follows is a sometimes funny and always poignant story of growth, appreciation, and gratitude. I found this book truly inspiring.
Read as part of my 2021 Challenge
Thank you again to Angel. Like my hero and the protagonists of these three books, I wish you all delightful books & challenges that satisfy you & enrich your experience!
MYTHIC DUKES TRILOGY
Her Duke at Daybreak
His Duchess at Eventide
Her Duke at Midnight
A governess and her secret take an invincible duke by storm…
Her Duke at Midnight
Mythic Dukes Book 3
by Wendy LaCapra
Genre: Historical Paranormal Regency Romance
A governess and her secret take an invincible duke by storm…
The Duke of Hurtheven will stop at nothing to protect those he loves. So, when a mysterious new governess captures his godchild’s affection, he vows to uncover her secrets. Instead, she sets him aflame.
Miss Hera Bythesea accepted a governess position to secure the character reference she needs to reclaim her secret child. But she did not count on Hurtheven—curious, relentless, and temptation in human form.
In Hera’s world, Hurtheven faces a challenge his power and wealth cannot solve. But for the love of unwed mother and child, he’ll undertake any Herculean Labor.
Amazon * Apple * B&N * Google * Kobo * BookBub * Goodreads
He was close enough for his breath to raise gooseflesh on her neck. Who could steal up behind a person so quickly and not make a sound? A devil incarnate, that was who.
No matter. She squared her shoulders. She’d faced devils before.
She swiveled around with as much dignity as she could muster. “There you are!” She addressed Felicia. “I’m very disappointed in you, young lady.”
Felicia chewed her lip, glancing between her nursemaid and the duke. With eyes wide and innocent, she wrapped her arm more tightly around the duke’s neck.
“You must be the incomparable new nursemaid.” Hurtheven’s tone suggested he found her anything but.
“Indeed.” Though she dropped a quick curtsy, she made certain her tone revealed her own disdain. “I’m afraid, however, you have me at a loss.”
“Do I?” He revealed a line of white, even teeth in neither a smile, nor a sneer, but a chilling combination of the two.
“Well”—she wet her lips—“I imagine I would remember if we’d been introduced.”
“Of course you would.”
Ugh. The arrogance. Her initial assessment had, of course, been correct.
Well, if he wasn’t going to own up to being a duke, she needn’t treat him as one. She fixed a level gaze on him and held out her arms. “If I might have my charge, Mr.—?”
He did not immediately reply. In fact, he didn’t speak until the tendons on the back of her knees started to quiver. A useful silence, Karl had called that trick. But she could no longer be tricked. She kept her expression patient, pleasant.
The duke returned his attention to the child. “Hurt?”
Fee scoffed. “No.”
The duke exhaled, holding her close for a significant moment.
Hera inhaled sharply. Hot embarrassment prickled in her neck as if she were witnessing something she ought not. He’d been genuinely frightened.
“Fee,” the duke addressed the child, “you must go back inside…and stay there.”
Her little fingers dug into his skin. “Can’t I stay with you?”
He angled his head to meet her gaze and his expression softened. “Ah, but if you do stay with me, you’d have to be a proper lady and greet every one of your father’s guests.”
Fee dropped her jaw, widened her eyes, and then violently shook her head.
“I didn’t think so.” He touched her nose. “Now, you go back upstairs, and I promise I’ll be up to see you when the party is finished.”
Fee pouted. “You’ve been gone forever.”
He nodded. “An interminable amount of time, I agree. And I missed you every day—”
No. No. She would not reconsider her judgement of the man just because he looked into Felicia’s eyes with tenderness and spoke to her as if she were the most important thing to him in the world.
“—An hour longer is all I ask. Surely the party guests will be leaving by midafternoon. And, if you go quietly, and Mrs. Montrose tells me you’ve been good, I promise presents tonight.”
Fee considered. “Good presents?”
“The best, of course.” Fleetingly, he met Hera’s gaze over Fee’s head. “They’re from me, aren’t they?”
Hera bit back a groan.
“You do give good presents.” Felicia nodded. “I’ll go.”
“And be good?” he prompted.
“And be good.” She parroted.
“That’s my girl.” He kissed Fee’s forehead before planting her on her feet.
As Hera reached out to take Fee’s hand, her arm brushed his, singeing her flesh. Fire and brimstone.
“I trust”—he spoke as if she were the errant child—”you will not to lose her again.”
“Of course not. She’s promised you to be good.” Hera matched his authoritative baritone with her best no-nonsense nursemaid voice. “Good day.”
Her still-tucked-up skirts may have belied her bravado, but she turned and walk back to the house, head held high. All will be well.
“Mrs. Montrose?”
She stopped.
“That is your name?”
His voice dripped with undisguised suspicion.
She glanced back over her shoulder. How had he discovered her surname was false? Or—she narrowed her eyes—was he just guessing?
“Why would I lie about my name?” she asked.
“Why, indeed.” He lifted a brow, not in the least cowed nor convinced by her insouciance. “I was merely making sure I remembered correctly.”
She smiled, briefly and innocently. “Allow me to reassure you…your memory is sound.” She tilted her head in a pitying manner. “My father had trouble remembering things in his later years, too.”
Without waiting to see his reaction, she returned her gaze to the door and quickened her pace.
Obviously, all was not going to be well.
She could carefully advance across this checkered board while employing every ounce of competence and skill she possessed and still find herself ruthlessly knocked aside. This man wasn’t a pawn. He wasn’t even a rook, a knight, or a king.
This man was the player.
And his presence challenged everything.
His Duchess at Eventide
Mythic Dukes Book 2
Lovers reunited & a dukedom reclaimed—the Regency meets the Odyssey
Lord Cheverley, son of the Duke of Ithwick, returns to England devastated physically and emotionally by seven years of war, a shipwreck, and six years in the captivity of a brutal pirate. The courts have declared him dead, and his wife is entertaining suitors. Should he demand his rightful place, disrupting his family’s lives, or should he return to sea, seeking vengeance against the pirate? He sets out to find the answer in disguise.
Penelope once believed in love, but then the man who swept her off her feet deserted her, leaving her and her unborn child utterly alone. She will do anything to protect her son, including enlisting the aid of a mysterious sea captain to uncover the true intentions of her devious suitors. But the captain soon awakens something in Penelope, and she begins to suspect he is no stranger. But, as they peel back the layers of a deadly plot, can this broken family heal their wounds in time to save what really matters?
Amazon * Apple * B&N * Google * Kobo * BookBub * Goodreads
Her Duke at Daybreak
Mythic Dukes Book 1
2018 Romance Writers of America® RITA® Contest Finalist
A devilish duke & a proper widow agree to three nights, but will explosive passion cost more than they have bargained?
Infamous for his pedigree of madness and murder, the reclusive Duke of Ashbey believes he cannot feel until a mysterious woman unlocks a world of sensation in a single, shattering moment of connection. Ash casts a desperate bid for more.
Recent widow Alicia Stone has long been reviled as the chief impediment to a love affair that captured the nation’s imagination. Publicly, she settled for respectability’s cold comfort, but, secretly, she longs to experience what she never found with her famous husband—uninhibited passion. When Ashbey proposes a discreet three-night assignation, Alicia shocks herself by accepting. But will their explosive union cost them both far more than they bargained?
** Get it FREE for a limited time!! **
Amazon * Apple * B&N * Google * Kobo * BookBub * Goodreads
Historical Romance author Wendy LaCapra writes award-winning books reviewers describe as ‘heart-pounding, entrancing’, ‘lusciously romantic and sparkling with wit.’ As a teen, Wendy discovered spine-tingling gothics in her local public library, inspiring her to craft her own seductive tales full of secrets and scandal. She lives with her husband in a quirky, historic building in NYC and loves a girls’ night in. For new release, sale alerts and other news, sign up at http://bit.ly/GetWendyNews
Website * Facebook * Instagram * BookBub * Amazon * Goodreads
$10 Amazon
Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
The cover looks great. Sounds like a really good story.
looks like a great book