Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
I was wicked eager to host an interview for this blog tour when I first signed on to host the author and her story – however, whilst I was in the throes of co-hosting #WyrdAndWonder (see also Post) for our 3rd Year of celebrating the fantastical throughout May, I was also succumbing to wicked horrid seasonal allergies which truly upturnt my world for the month. Somehow I managed to forget to finish my questions for the author in time for my tour stop and requested to change it to a spotlight as I truly wanted to talk about why this story leapt out to me to be read!
I have a sweet passion of joy reading INSPY Literature – as throughout my blog – you’ll find reviews for INSPY Contemporary Romance, INSPY Contemporary Realistic Fiction, INSPY Historical Romance and/or INSPY Historical Fiction – whereas I have this addiction to reading Suspense novels by INSPY novelists who are being published via the imprint Love Inspired Suspense! This is something I enjoy reading in tandem with my Mum – as getting the chance to read novels and talk about them shortly afterwards with someone who equally appreciates the same kind of stories as you do is pure blissitude.
When it comes to reading INSPY Historical Fiction & Romance – it began in my childhood when I first became a hybrid reader of both mainstream & INSPY literature – Judith Pella and Lois Gladys Leppard were two of my ‘first’ beloved authors in this vein of interest. They were writing the stories and series I was excited to find a a young girl who was thriving on their wonderfully realistic worlds and characters of whom were their own heroines.
The Regency is a timescape I love re-visiting – it is one of those cosy comforting eras of joy for me as a reader second only to the Victorian. I’ve been seeking out stories set in both time periods since I was nine years old and read my first Regency Christmas Romance anthology! It was a turning point for me because it not only showed me period Historical Fiction but it also showed how wicked intriguing a Historical Romance (ie. #HistRom) could be where you find yourself caught inside the fever of what a Historical Romance can give you during the Regency. From the balls to the pretense of courtship – there is a lot to delight inside of a Regency Rom!
Thus, having this background of readerly enjoyment – when I saw this announcement for the blog tour featuring “Masquerade at Middlecrest Abbey” – I truly squealled with delight as I definitely knew I wanted to be reading this lovely new release! When I realised print copies were on hold due to the virus and the limitations in shipping books during the more intense months of lockdowns and isolated quarantines in our country, I opted for an interview and now a featured extract. I’ll definitely be reading this novel – but for now I simply want to help get the word out about its release!
Masquerade at Middlecrest Abbey
by Abigail Wilson
In this new Regency romance, Elizabeth knows she must protect her heart from the charm of her new husband, Lord Torrington. She is not, however, prepared to protect her life.
When the widowed Lord Torrington agreed to spy for the crown, he never planned to impersonate a highwayman, let alone rob the wrong carriage. Stranded on the road with an unconscious young woman, he is forced to propose marriage to protect his identity and her reputation, as well as his dangerous mission.
Trapped not only by her duty to her country but also by her limited options as an unwed mother, Miss Elizabeth Cantrell and her infant son are whisked away to Middlecrest Abbey by none other than the elder brother of her son’s absent father. There she is met by Torrington’s beautiful grown daughters, a vicious murderer, and an urgent hunt for the missing intelligence that could turn the war with France. Meanwhile she must convince everyone that her marriage is a genuine love match if her new husband has any hope of uncovering the enemy.
Determined to keep her son’s true identity a secret, Elizabeth will need to remain one step ahead of her fragile heart, her uncertain future, and the relentless fiend bent on her new family’s ruin.
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 9780785233077
Also by this author: The Vanishing at Loxby Manor
Published by Thomas Nelson
on 26th May, 2020
Converse via: #HistFic or #HistNov
+ #MasqueradeAtMiddlecrestAbbey and #HFVBTBlogTours
Available Formats: Trade paperback and Ebook
Read an Extract of this novel:
Chapter 1
1815
Southeastern England
I blinked a few times and took a deep breath. Apparently I’d survived.
Shaky, I pressed my hand to the wet gash on my temple as the world around me swirled into focus.
Gunshots. Highwaymen. The carriage crashing to its side. The whole awful encounter raced through my mind like a runaway horse.
The blazing afternoon sun filtered in through a window of the overturned carriage, illuminating disheveled squabs that slumped to my right and left. Dust lay suspended in the air, oddly seasoned by the scent of my lavender perfume. The bottle must have broken when the carriage crashed.
Wedged between the door and the seat, I attempted to sit up, but my muscles ached in response.
A faint cry took flight on the wind, and my eyes shot fully open. “Isaac!” I clawed at the splintered wood around me. “Isaac? Mama’s here.” I could hear my cousin’s words resounding in my mind as I struggled to get my bearings. “You really should be more careful with the boy.”
I thrust a loose bandbox from my legs and forced myself semi-upright. The movement sent a shooting pain like lightning through my head, and I cried out. My stomach rolled in answer as blood throbbed its way to my forehead. What was left of the carriage I was pinned within swam around me in circles, but nothing would keep me from my son.
Several heart-pounding seconds passed as I pawed through the disheveled interior. Finally I located Isaac’s curly blond head in the far corner. Black spots crept into the sides of my vision as I stared at his motionless form. Was he injured—or worse?
I stretched out my trembling hand just as his eyes popped open. He let out a frantic cry and his gaze found mine. Gasping for air, I screamed, “Oh Isaac!” Tears spilled down my cheeks as he crawled over the various pieces of luggage and into my lap, my fingers sliding over every inch of his precious body.
“Madam, are you hurt?” A deep voice echoed from somewhere above, but I couldn’t maneuver around to see its owner. My ears buzzed as I drew Isaac close, reveling in the feel of his warm arms.
We had a rescuer, but what now? My entire body throbbed in pain. And—the Palmers! They were expecting us in Dover. Tonight. The horrid highwayman had ruined my carefully laid plans.
Blood trickled down my wrist as I pressed the wound on my forehead. “I don’t think anything is broken, sir . . . only, my head . . . I believe I hit it rather hard.”
“It was a ghastly accident, I’m afraid.” The voice was that of a gentleman, a passerby perhaps? “I’m afraid your coachman has suffered greatly. I’ve bound up his leg, but he has not yet regained consciousness.”
I clenched my jaw. “Indeed, it was ghastly! Did you see the devil who ran us from the road?”
A pause. “Well, yes.” A metallic squeak sounded, and the equipage jolted. “I’ve the door open above you now. I think it best if I come in and assess your wounds before lifting you out.”
Unable to take the sudden flash of bright light, I shielded my eyes with my hand. “That sounds reasonable. My son seems unharmed, though I’m not certain I can move at present. My head is awfully tender.”
The carriage shivered as the man dropped safely into the coach. He pushed my valise out of the way and knelt at my side, bringing his face into view at last. I stifled a gasp as an icy wave filled my chest.
It was him—the highwayman. I clutched Isaac against me.
Whenever a carriage ride ends in a crash, I feel as if I were inside it myself – especially when you get such a visceral experience of these crashes by stories you’re reading and/or through period television series or films. When you add-in Highwaymen to the scheme of what happens with carriages it only heightens the danger and the fears you have if you were a passenger – I cannot even imagine what was going through her head! And, that dear hearts is one wicked way of starting a novel on a cliffhanger (in the extract) to entice you to continue reading! I cannot wait now to know how this story evolves and what develops right after the extract leaves off! Ooh, my!
This blog tour is courtesy of:
Follow the Virtual Road Map
as you visit others participating:
As this particular one has a bookaway along the route:
NOTE: Similar to blog tours wherein I feature book reviews, book spotlights (with or without extracts), book announcements (or Cover Reveals) – I may elect to feature an author, editor, narrator, publisher or other creative person connected to the book, audiobook, Indie film project or otherwise creative publishing medium being featured wherein the supplemental content on my blog is never compensated monetarily nor am I ever obligated to feature this kind of content. I provide (98.5%) of all questions and guest topics regularly featured on Jorie Loves A Story. I receive direct responses back to those enquiries by publicists, literary agents, authors, blog tour companies, etc of whom I am working with to bring these supplemental features and showcases to my blog. I am naturally curious about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of stories and the writers who pen them: I have a heap of joy bringing this content to my readers. Whenever there is a conflict of connection I do disclose those connections per post and disclose the connection as it applies.
{SOURCES: Book covers for “Masquerade at Middlecrest Abbey”, book synopsis, author biography, author photograph of Abigail Wilson, the tour host badge and HFVBTs badge were all provided by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours and used with permission. Post dividers and My Thoughts badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets were embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Book Spotlight banner and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2020.
Comments via Twitter:
Book Spotlight | "Masquerade at Middlecrest Abbey" by Abigail Wilson https://t.co/H4EgOs6aJR via @joriestory
— Frankie | Chicks,Rogues & Scandals. (@ChicksandRogues) June 1, 2020
Stop by @joriestory to read an #excerpt from MASQUERADE AT MIDDLECREST ABBEY by @acwilsonbooks!https://t.co/Qao5LqN7NN#HFVBTBlogTours #historicalromance #booklovers #Reading #BlogTour pic.twitter.com/zR7zqbjrVk
— HistFic Virtual Book Tours (@HFVBT) June 1, 2020
Thank you so much for hosting Abigail’s blog tour, Jorie! This book is getting some great reviews!
Amy
HF Virtual book Tours
Hallo, Hallo Ms Bruno,
I believe I found this available either on Scribd or my local library’s audiobook catalogue – wherever I saw it, I have it earmarked to be heard. I can’t wait to see what my thoughts are about this story as it charmed me since the first moment I read about the blog tour. I’ll update you of course after I’ve heard it. I was just happy to be on the tour.