Monday Giveaway: A Dangerous Beauty

Today, I’m giving away a signed copy of A DANGEROUS BEAUTY, the latest book by author (and RT cover model) Sophia Nash. I’ll also be giving away a copy of the RT on which she appears.

(In passing… wow, check out that cover!)

A Courageous Outcast . . .
Rosamunde Baird has lost everything and has no choice but to accept an invitation to spend a season with a dowager duchess and her clandestine ladies club. Determined to stay in the shadows and live quietly, she has sworn never again to come face to face with adventure and temptation, two things that brought her ruin years ago. But then the Duke of Helston dangles before her the very things she craves most…

Lord Fire & Ice . . .
Mysterious Luc St. Aubyn is well known for exuding blistering passion at night and frost the morning after. But dark mystery swirls around this audacious war hero. A tragic past has driven the Duke of Helston to hide the twin secrets of the dowager’s Widows Club and his own infamous writing talent. When he’s blindsided by his reactions to a virtuous siren, he has no choice but to reveal all during a scandal that will doom them …or save them, if only they dare to believe in love.

Check out the Chicago Tribune review! “Richly emotional and lusciously sensual, ‘A Dangerous Beauty’ is simply superb.”

I read this book on the plane ride yesterday (forgive me if I’m somewhat less than peppy this morning; jet lag is a bitch) and I loved it. For those who are concerned about the “death” of the traditional regency, fear not, because Nash brings that old-school tone to the longer historical format. You could tell you were in for a different type of read from the opening scenes, which begin, as the classics do, with an omniscient look at the birth and upbringing of the heroine. As a fan of that style of storytelling (why, oh why has it fallen out of fashion?) I felt instantly sucked into the world that Nash had created. It was as if I was settling down with a beloved 19th century novel. It was definitely an unusual sensation for me when reading a historical romance. I’m a big fan, as always, but I rarely forget that the book is written by a contemporary with contemporary sensibilities. Nash’s voice feels to me like something out of my Women and the Rise of the Novel class.

The book is peppered (somewhat anachronistically, as the writer herself acknowledges) with epigraphs lifted from Ambrose Bierce’s Devil’s Dictionary, a personal favorite of mine. Bierce’s work, in fact, inspires part of the storyline. (No one said he was the first to write such a tome!) I found the quotes hilarious, as always, and eminently suitable for the chapter they each began.

To win, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. If you’re curious as to what to comment about, a few prompts:

• What is your favorite historical (or classic) romance novel?
• Do you think a lot of “historicals” sound too contemporary?
• Have you ever read Sophia Nash before?
• What historical period/place do you like reading about the most? Which do you wish there would be more books about?