Set-Up: Lady Charlotte Hastings and Lord Malverne, along with their aunt, Lady Chelmsford, have taken Sophie Brightwell for a jaunt through Hyde Park during the fashionable hour. . . Lord Malverne leaned closer, drawing her attention away from the lake. “So was I correct in my assessment that ton­nish activities are tiresome?” he murmured in a conspirato­rial fashion. “I’m quite content to enjoy the view,” remarked Sophie, trying to ignore the scent of Lord Malverne’s spicy cologne as it teased her nostrils, or the bump of his pantaloon-clad knee against hers. She didn’t think it would be wise to agree with him within earshot of Charlie, Lady Chelms­ford, or their current conversation partners, the Countess of Poole and her decidedly spinsterish sister. Lord Malverne smiled in such a way that Sophie’s heart tripped and her cheeks heated. “So am I. The view is quite spectacular.” “You really shouldn’t do that,” she said, trying to adopt an expression that would pass as reproving, but wasn’t too stern. It wouldn’t do to appear waspish. Infuriatingly, Lord Malverne’s chiseled mouth simply tilted into a half-smile that was even more roguish. “Do what?” “Openly flirt with me,” replied Sophie under her breath. She tried…

The new Netflix series The Last Czars is a visually stunning and generally accurate account of Nicholas II’s ascent to the Russian throne and the mistakes he and his wife Alexandra made that more or less assured their tragic fate. However, right from the first episode, there are sex scenes galore, as if some studio exec decided it needed ‘sexing up.’ One such scene in the final episode had me yelling out loud at my screen. It showed Maria, third daughter of Nicholas and Alexandra, making out with one of the guards in the Ekaterinburg house where they were held from April to July 1918. She is unbuttoning her blouse while he is ripping off his jacket, presumably about to have consensual sex, when the door is thrown open by Avdeyev, commandant of the guards. This is implausible on many levels. First of all, Maria was a deeply religious girl, who followed the daily practices of the Russian Orthodox church and was unquestionably chaste. She was also a tsar’s daughter, who in other circumstances might have been matched with foreign royalty or a Russian aristocrat, while the guard in question was a lower-class factory worker. Maria was an obedient girl,…

My new book is called How to Cross a Marquess. Five years ago, Roger Berwick and Fenella Fairclough rebelled when their fathers tried to marry them off. They would not be ordered about! A whole lot has happened since then. They’ve both changed, and now a fiery attraction has flared between them. It’s just too ironic. Circumstances have brought these former enemies much closer than they ever could have anticipated. But various people don’t like that idea at all. The path to a happy future is convoluted. So for these two: H is for history. Theirs is complicated. O is for oh! Neither expected the passion that has flared between them. So surprising with someone you’ve known for most of your life. But people change. W is for the worrisome anonymous letters spreading rumors about them through the neighborhood. How do you fight an invisible adversary? T is for time. There seemed to be so much, and now there’s nearly none. O is for opponent. But who is it? C is for choleric. Roger finds his temper sweetened by his lovely neighbor. R is for reminiscence. Roger’s mother has much to recall. O is for overset, as circumstances spiral out…

AMALIE: Hey, Angie, should we tell the Fresh Fiction readers a little about this last book in the Tartans and Titans series? Our kilty little secret….heh. ANGIE: Yes, definitely! WHAT A SCOT WANTS is a hilarious, steamy enemies-to-lovers romance about a stoic Highlander laird who has been burned by love before and an independent heiress who is determined to remain a spinster and run her shelter house. AMALIE: Yes, and when their parents force them into a marriage of convenience, it’s a race against time to see who can make the other cry off first. There’s humor, wagers, antics, constant one-upping, and buckets of sizzling romantic tension. Seriously, buy it and love it (Jedi mind trick). *Hugs each other and does the co-author happy dance! ANGIE: Amalie, I know a lot about you but for those who aren’t as lucky as I am, can you describe yourself in five words or less? AMALIE: Only five words? That’s like torture. I would have to say I’m creative, fun-loving, humorous, passionate, free-spirited. What about you, Angie? ANGIE: I do love to challenge you from time to time! I’m relaxed, creative, inquisitive, cheerful, and active. Amalie, when you walk into a room, what…