The Duchess of Dedham’s husband was dead.   The wretch had expired nearly a year ago, found with a broken neck at the bottom of the stairs. No one was surprised given how poorly his health and how dependent he was upon whiskey and laudanum to get through each day. No secret, that. Perhaps the only surprise was that he had survived as long as he had before plummeting to his death in the midst of a country house party.   Now, as the Dowager Duchess of Dedham, Valencia was free and ready for revelry. Truth be told, she had been ready upon the discovery that she was a widow, but there were rules. So many rules. Rules that she had followed all her life. Not that they had ever served her well. Rules, she found, rarely served women well. And yet those rules had changed now that she was no longer Dedham’s wife. At long last.   She was done with mourning. Done with her widow’s weeds. Done with hiding away in her Mayfair house.   She had made it a year. Eleven months to be precise, but that was time enough not to raise eyebrows. Time enough devoted…

CHAPTER FOUR EXCERPT OF SOPHIE JORDAN’S THE VIRGIN AND THE ROGUE Something was not right. All throughout dinner the sensation, the aching discomfort, only grew. Following dinner, Charlotte excused herself and managed to make it to her bedchamber, where she hastily shed her clothes as though they burned her skin and climbed into bed. It was bad. Terrible. The queasiness was unlike any other time. The symptoms were different. More . . . pronounced. She curled into a ball and dragged the pillow between her legs, hugging it tightly. Usually she endured the twinges of pain until they passed. The slight cramping that was improved by hot water bottles and Nora’s tonic. She would keep to bed for twelve hours until it passed. This was not like that. This did not feel in any way endurable. She was vaguely aware of her bedchamber door opening and closing and footsteps approaching her bed. She inhaled and exhaled in slow, even drags of air, her fingers digging into the soft linen pillowcase. Her sisters’ voices carried to her ears. Even in her current condition, there was no mistaking the agitation in Marian’s voice floating above her. “What did you do, Nora? She…

Our Year in Review continues with one of our newest reviewers, Jessica Grogan, sharing her top historical romance reads of 2019! 2019 was a fantastic year for books, especially in my preferred genre of historical romance. There were so many great titles that it was often difficult to choose what to read next! With that in mind, here is a quick rundown of 4 of my favorite reads for 2019. My most anticipated read of this year was easily Vivienne Lorret’s THE ROGUE TO RUIN. The third in the Misadventures in Matchmaking series, this title features Ainsley Bourne and Reed Sterling. Ainsley determines that Reed’s gaming hell is keeping her family’s matchmaking business from being respectable and therefore profitable and begins a war with Reed in an attempt to close him down. This was a fantastic enemies-to-lovers tale where the hero and heroine take their time getting to know each other rather than falling into insta-lust. The villain plot added just enough action to the story without being cheesy or ridiculous. This title helped solidify Vivienne Lorret as one of my favorite authors!! A close second for my most anticipated title this year was Eva Leigh’s MY FAKE RAKE. The…

Enjoy this fun interview between bestselling author SOPHIE JORDAN and Fresh Fiction Editorial Manager, Danielle Dresser! For readers who aren’t caught up, can you tell us a bit about the Rogue Files series, and your latest release, This Scot of Mine? Well, believe it or not, This Scot of Mine is the fourth book in the Rogue Files series. They’re all connected through characters often family members. By book four it’s a little challenging to relate how they are all connected. Book five, possibly the last in the series, is coming this October. Hmm. Maybe it’s time for a family tree!?   This Scot of Mine is a crazypants idea I came up with while on a writers retreat …. I pitched it to some of my other fabulous writer friends and we all brainstormed until I arrived at the final idea of a girl who PRETENDS to be ruined and pregnant (all lies for good reason) and gets paired up with the hero who needs to get married but has this curse hanging over his head.  I’ve read about secret babies before, but not so much about made-up pregnancies in historicals! Clara was such a fun heroine. What was your favorite part about writing her…

There’s something for everyone in YA; it only seems like paranormal dominates the shelves in September. Okay, maybe it does a little, but fortunately you have your intrepid Fresh Takes Column to help you find what you’re looking for. Paranormal I don’t know what is its about autumn (Halloween? The shortening of the days? Some sort of Jungian fear of the approaching dark of winter?) but there is a plethora of paranormals coming out these next few months. I don’t even know where to start with all these great books. Yes, I do. FIRELIGHT, by Sophie Jordan. Here’s what she had to say about her YA debut. RCM: What’s the book about? Sophie Jordan: With her rare ability to breathe fire, Jacinda is special even among the drakiÑthe descendants of dragons who can shift between human and dragon forms. But when Jacinda’s rebelliousness leads her family to flee into the human world, she struggles to adapt, even as her draki spirit fades. The one thing that revives it is Will, whose family hunts her kind. Jacinda can’t resist getting closer to him, even though she knows she’s risking not only her life but the draki’s most closely guarded secret. RCM:…

Authors can find themselves writing in different genres for multiple reasons: 1) varied interests that demand you try your hand at … well, varied genres; 2) career security; and, 3) a cheating heart. Yes, Hank William’s twang is running through my head right about now. Anyone else? As you may know, I write historical romances (Sophie Jordan) and paranormal romances (Sharie Kohler), which puts me at writing a book every five months, sometimes less. Why do I hold myself to such a demanding schedule? Which of the above reasons motivates me? I’m guilty of all three. Like most of us, I’m a voracious cross romance genre reader. Right now I have books in the following sub-genres on my nightstand: historical, suspense, single-title, category, paranormal, young adult, women’s fiction, even the occasional inspirational and erotica (talk about extremes!). Seriously though, great books all. Books that move and inspire me. I cut my teeth on historical romances: Kathleen Woodiwiss, Johanna Lindsey, Dorothy Garlock, Julia Quinn. I love(d) these books! I wanted to write books like these. So – I did. Starting with my debut, ONCE UPON A WEDDING NIGHT. Incredibly (at least to me!), Sophie Jordan was born and here she is,…