Mistletoe, Mischief and the Marquis by Amelia Grey was released today, Tuesday (November 29th) and to celebrate I am participating in a Blog Tour for the book! If you haven’t already seen it, you can find my review of the book here. See below for more information about the book, an excerpt, and a short author bio. This was a very good read, I would definitely recommend checking it out! It is a short story so its not full of details but it is a great novella for the series.
SUMMARY
The Marquis of Wythebury, is expecting an ordinary Christmastide at Hurst—until he is set upon by a beautiful miss who takes him to task for not allowing his young nephews to play outside. In his mind, a five and seven year old needn’t get chilled in the snow; better to plop them in front of the fire with a book. Few people have ever been brave enough to challenge him over anything, much less the rearing of his wards. The cheeky Miss Prim has no such compunction. No matter how fetching he finds her, he can’t give in to his attraction…for she is the sister of his best friend.
Growing up the middle child of five rambunctious girls, Lillian Prim doesn’t understand why two young boys visiting Hurst don’t know how to play until she meets their dashing guardian. The Marquis of Wythebury is commanding and intensely serious-minded. To her surprise, she’s captivated by him. It’s all she can do not to give into her feminine fantasies about her kissing him. Lillian has no intention of falling in love with the Marquis, but she will create Christmastide mischief and teach the boys and the handsome Marquis how to play, in Mistletoe, Mischief, and the Marquis, by New York Times bestselling author Amelia Grey.
EXCERPT
She retraced her steps down the dimly lit corridor. When she rounded the corner that went into the sitting room at the top of the stairs, she stopped. The Marquis leaned casually against one of the chairs. There were no lamps burning in the sitting area, just light from corridor that bridged one section of the house to the other, but she could see well enough to know he was staring at her. And, she’d swear to anyone that he was looking like he wanted to kiss her.
“My lord, what are you doing here?”
He straightened from the chair and stood before her. “I could ask you the same question.”
“I went to check on Fallon. I hope you don’t mind. I wanted to make sure he didn’t have a—“ She stopped and bit down on her bottom lip.
“You have a habit of not finishing your sentences, Lillian.”
“With you, I’m always afraid I will say something I’ll regret.”
He huffed a grunt. “You? Regret something you’ve said to me? I don’t believe that could happen.”
At times, he could make her smile without trying. “I might have regretted it if I’d told you what I wanted to this afternoon.”
“So you have no remorse for calling me a worrywart, and there’s something worse you could have said. Now, you have me curious. What is it you might regret?”
“You don’t want to know,” she said and started to walk past him, but he sidestepped and blocked her way.
“Oh, but I do.”
“If you insist.” She lifted her chin and said, “I was going to tell you that you are smothering the boys with your rigorous studies and your overly-cautious regimen of their play time. You will end up hurting them more than you help them if you continue.”
“Ah—smothering them, am I?” he said in a tone that held a tinge of humor. “And what exactly is it that you were doing when you came to check on Fallon tonight?”
“I only wanted to make sure he was all right. It’s not that I was particularly worried about him being sick once I knew his stomach was the problem and not a chill from his wet feet.”
“So you came up to look in on him because you weren’t worried. That makes no sense, Lillian.”
“You worry enough for both of us.”
He moved closer to her and lowered his voice even softer when he said, “You gave him a kiss.”
She gasped as he heart jumped up to her throat. “You saw me?”
He nodded. “I decided to pass on the card games tonight and check on him, too because I was worried and wanted to make sure he hadn’t turned sick again. I didn’t want to disturb your time with him so I waited here for you. Why did you kiss him?”
She nervously moistened her lips. “I don’t know other than it seemed the right thing to do. I know it was very forward of me and I shouldn’t have.”
“I thought it was a sweet comforting gesture.”
“You’re not upset with me?”
“I appreciate all kindness shown to my nephews.”
His light green gaze swept up and down her face so gently all she wanted to do was say, “kiss me.” She lowered her lashes so he couldn’t see her hunger for him and murmured, “I wish you hadn’t waited.”
“Why?”
Because she didn’t want to be alone with him. She didn’t want to think about how despite her efforts, she had fallen in love with him and wanted to be caught up in his arms and swept away by his stirring kisses and caresses.
AUTHOR Q&A
Favorite Holiday Memory (can be Christmas, Hanukah, Thanksgiving, etc.)
The smell of a pound cake baking in the oven
Favorite Holiday Food/Recipe
All Sugared Up Spicy Pecans
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
2 teaspoons warm water
3 cups pecans
Put everything but the pecans in a 1 gallon pot and bring to a soft boil over medium heat. Boil 2 minutes and then turn off heat. Add pecans. Stir and continue to coat the pecans until the mixture starts drying and clinging to pan. Empty onto a clean counter top and spread and separate the pecans. After the sugar mixture cools and forms a coating on the nuts you can put them in a Mason jar or candy dish to serve later or my favorite–immediately start eating them.
Favorite Holiday Movie
Miracle on 34th Street
Favorite Holiday Book
The Duke and Miss Christmas
Favorite Holiday Song
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Favorite Gift Received/Given
My parents gave me a ring with a tiny diamond in it when I was 16. My very first ring.
What’s on your wish list this year?
A bracelet that will hold some charms I’ve collected over the years
New Year’s Resolution
To lose the five pounds I didn’t lose last year
Favorite Winter Activity
Taking a walk when the air is cold but the sunshine is warm
AUTHOR BIO
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author AMELIA GREY read her first romance book when she was thirteen and she’s been a devoted reader of love stories ever since. Her awards include the Booksellers Best, Aspen Gold, and the Golden Quill. Writing as Gloria Dale Skinner, she won the coveted Romantic Times Award for Love and Laughter and the prestigious Maggie Award. Her books have sold to many countries in Europe, Indonesia, Turkey, Russia, and most recently to Japan. Several of her books have also been featured in Doubleday and Rhapsody Book Clubs. Amelia is the author of more than twenty-five books. She’s been happily married to her high school sweetheart for over thirty-five years and she lives on the beautiful gulf coast of Northwest Florida.
Author Links
Website: http://www.ameliagrey.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmeliaGreyBooks
Buy Links
Amazon: http://smarturl.it/agreykindle
B&N: http://smarturl.it/agreynook
iBooks: http://smarturl.it/agreyibooks
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