trueromance

Setting: Regency England and the wide-open sea
Subgenre: Regency Historical
Hero: Lord Alex Savege, aka the pirate Redstone
Heroine: Miss Serena Carlyle

One sentence summary:
Rakish lord by land. Robin Hood by sea. The hero of her dreams.

Scene you like most and would never cut:
I am very attached to a scene in which Alex finds himself trapped in a locked room in his own house. But the absolutely hands-down un-cuttable scene must be when, unbeknownst to Alex, Serena boards his ship. It is a scene of revelations and truths, of seduction and surrender, a love scene, and so very much more…

Thing your heroine would never be caught dead saying:
“I don’t give a fig about my family.”

What celebrity is your hero like:
I don’t know! He looks a bit like Hugh Jackman. But in terms of his character and personality, I can’t say. I would love to hear what readers think.

What celebrity is your heroine like:
Same as above — except for the Hugh Jackman part, of course. (In appearance she’s probably a lot Gwyneth and a little Kate Hudson, with darker hair.)

What is your heroine’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should she be doing:
Serena is the daughter of a baron, so she has no occupation per se. But she has made it her life’s mission to see her younger sisters safely settled as far away from her wicked stepmother’s influence as possible.

What is your hero’s occupation, or if unemployed, what should he be doing:
Alex is an indolent, town-loving, rakish earl. He is also the brazen pirate Redstone who cruises England’s coastline seizing spoiled noblemen’s yachts and giving the proceeds to war widows and orphans. What he wishes above all else, however, is to enjoy the peace and beauty of his coastal Devonshire estate — simply as himself.

What you think readers will like best about this book:
From ballrooms to the rolling sea, CAPTURED BY A ROGUE LORD mingles all the delightful fun of Regency society with the adventure and intrigue of a pirate story. But most of all, I hope readers enjoy the romance — rich, deep, heart-stopping romance.

The person that readers want you to write about but you haven’t yet:
I have had lovely requests for a story for Calanthia from A LADY’S WISH, which just tickles me. She has so much spirit and a great deal of growing up to do. I can already imagine the man who will help her accomplish that!

What’s next:

IN THE ARMS OF A MARQUESS
~ A passionate lady, a powerful lord, and an enduring love to defy the world. ~
(Book #3 in my Rogues of the Sea Trilogy, coming August 30, 2011)

What is your favorite story of romance and high adventure? Book or film, or both!

With those words, Lara’s life turned upside down. Hunter, Earl of Hawksworth, had been lost at sea. Or so she’d been told. Their unhappy marriage–with its cold caresses and passionless kisses–was over. But now a powerful, virile man stood before her, telling secrets only a husband could know, and vowing she would once again be his wife in every way. While Lara couldn’t deny that this man with smoldering dark eyes resembled Hunter, he was attentive and loving in ways he never was before. Soon she desperately wanted to believe, with every beat of her heart, that this stranger was truly her husband. But had this rake reformed–or was Lara being seduced by a cunning stranger?

Stranger In My Arms was completely unexpected, and I can honestly say it threw me for a loop. Despite my recent historical and Regency reading jag, I love historicals but had gone through quite a long while, of not reading good historical novels. Then luckily within the last 2 weeks, my mailbox exploded with great historical novels to chose from of which Stranger in My Arms was one.

Stranger in My Arms combines the best of what historical Regeny Romance and Suspense is, the story is twisty, turning, so you as the reader don’t know which way is up by the time you find yourself at the end of the novel. Ms. Kleypas does this extraordinarily well, she manages to only give you two option, is he or isn’t he, yet by the end of Stranger In My Arms, you don’t know which one to believe, is he or isn’t he?

Lara’s husband was an ass. He left her and a mistress to go seek his fortune, fame and fun in India and for all intents and purposes died there. Left in the clutches of his money hungry societal whoring aunt and uncle, Lara is removed from her manse and lives in a paupers cottage at the edge of their land, spending her days, happily helping at the local orphanage, resigned to her fate but happy that her abusive and neglectful husband is no longer with her, until he returns, changed, but the same.

Stranger In My Arms is about redemption, but also about introduction, its about getting two people together, that have history, ghosts, mistresses, their pasts and their presents thrown in between them, Stranger In My Arms is about finding love with the most unlikely person in the most unusual of circumstances.

Stranger In my Arms is one of those rare books, that in every way is perfect, except it still manages to leave you slightly haunted, as if it was JUST there, but something, some elusive thing was not quite perfect, and I’ll be a monkey’s uncle but I can’t figure out what that thing was. Lara was written exceedingly well, as were both of Hunter’s personalities, Lara’s sister, family and friends were all written perfectly, the plot was developed flawlessly, there was more than enough backstory, but there was something…..

Stranger In My Arms was as good as a good book gets, without it being mind-blowingly great. If you’re in the mood for a Regency romance, about redemption and unlikely hero’s then this is your novel.

Cover Art: A-
Writing: A-
Plot: A-
Characters: A-
Overall Grade: A-

Alix Taylor is a blogger and avid reader of all things book. You can find her at www.romancebooksforum.com, or on twitter @alixntaylor, where the snark flows free and the romance books are dissected with abandon.