Happy New Year’s Eve, dear hearts!

I have several surprises to share with you thoughout the next two days, as I had a bit of a scheduling wrinklement happening behind my blog – I was down for the count for three weeks battling through a severe Winter virus, which affected the frequency and posting schedule of what I wanted to share before we head into a New Year of [2019] !! Therefore, I’ll be sorting through those posts on New Year’s Eve & New Year’s Day – releasing them after I’ve finished writing & editing them, whilst happily cheering on a new chapter in all our lives!

I am starting with a conversation I had the joy of having with Catherine Tinley – who happily alerted me about the third release in her Chadcombe Marriages trilogy!! If you might recall, right at the start of 2018 I had the chance to read a novel by Ms Tinley for the first time – marking not just my first Historical Romance of hers but of Mills & Boon! If you are a new reader and visitor to Jorie Loves A Story, I encourage you to read why this first novel of hers had such a strong impact on me as a reader – as it wasn’t the first Chadcombe novel, it was the second!

Uniquely, I reviewed “The Captain’s Disgraced Lady” on the 5th of January, 2018 – a full year later, I am reviewing “Waltzing with the Earl” and hosting Ms Tinley during #SatBookChat (@SatBookChat) for our first New Year’s chat of 2019!

I have three lovely guests scheduled throughout January – wherein I shall be reading stories of either Women’s Fiction &/or Romance whilst hosting the authors on Saturday mornings @ 11a NYC | 4p UK. This kicks-off a full year of features on Jorie Loves A Story part of my new feature which I debuted this Autumn: #SaturdaysAreBookish. I will be showcasing all genres within these two branches of literature whilst seeing where my literary wanderings take me as the seasons & months progress forward. I only have one confirmation for February and look forward to the serendipitousness of who becomes our guest and where those real-time conversations will ultimately lead as we discuss the stories they inspire!

“Waltzing with the Earl” was a novel I thought I had run out of time to purchase, as it was a novel I dearly wanted to read ever since I read the sequel. I was thankful to find one of the last remaining ‘new copies’ available to order and when it finally arrived – the JOY it gave me to place it next to “The Captain’s Disgraced Lady” knows no bounds! As anyone who reads serial fiction knows how lovely it is to have a series nearly completed to read!

I am unsure when I shall be bringing the final installment of the trilogy home – but when I do, you can be assured, I’ll be chattering about reading it!!! For now, as a segue into our new #SatBookChat schedule of authors and the new stories I’ll be featuring during #SaturdaysAreBookish – let us take a moment to become acquainted with Ms Tinley!!

As a preview of why I appreciate her Historical Romance style of narrative – here is a quotation from my review from January, 2018:

I love how Ms Tinley has paced this novel – of how she chose to reveal their behaviour quirks and they try to hold back a bit of themselves at the same time. Rather than reveal a lot about the setting in the beginning, she found a way to break-down the introductions to the main characters by placing them in a setting which would befit close quarters and companionable space – where they would have to sit and converse amongst each other for a specific period of time before departing company. In this, you get to see where their confidences lie and where their insecurities start to bubble to the surface; you also see them caught off-guard either by being outwitted or simply heard something unexpected they hadn’t thought they would hear at all. In this, it’s quite a refreshing way to entreat into a story because your stranded with the characters, seeing how they react to each other and what can be observed through their interactions. If anything, it’s a great study in human behaviour!

I truly read this novel in one sitting – much to my delight! I was happily surprised to find this did not follow the same pattern as Harlequin novels on this side of the Pond; in fact, it had it’s own voice, style and disclosure like I would expect from any Historical Romance; something which surprised me as Harlequin Historicals (as I know them here) have the tendency to follow suit after each other; most Harlequin stories have a ‘trademark’ so to speak and what I found wicked refreshing is this felt wholly original of Ms Tinley without the ‘signature Harlequin mark’ on it!!

Perhaps I am a Mills & Boon girl!?

Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate Harlequin for what Harlequin provides — but ooh. There was something wicked lovely about this author’s spin on this particular story-line… I was so glued to her words, especially the turns of phrases she used and the ways in which she revealled the character’s truer thoughts about one another. You get privy to both the action of the scenes but also, what each lead character is contemplating privately; the balance between the two was delightful but also, it was how it was spaced out and evenly divided to where you never felt one was sacrificed for the other.

I know one thing is for certain – I must hunt down which online book shoppe has the Mills & Boon edition of Waltzing with the Earl and hopefully it shall be the same which will carry the third novel where Olivia’s story is known! The reason I love the elements inside this novel is because they bring back the Regency of my youth with the Regency I know as an adult – the kind of stories I gravitate towards but also, it speaks to the voice I seek out in these kinds of Regencies. Not every writer who writes Regency Romance has this style nor this comprehension of how to curate this kind of voice for the historic period in question. Thereby, the best part of finding this novel #unputdownable was how wicked happy I was to be reading it!

This conversation is a prelude to the 5th – be sure to list your Questions for Ms Tinley in the comment threads – as I can use those in our live discussion as well as have the author know you’ve left messages behind for her on my blog. Be sure to mark your calendars for the 5th and join us as we discuss #HistRom and this lovely trilogy! We’ll be focusing on the first & third novel – as I’ll be reviewing the first and the third is already available for readers to enjoy!

Waltzing with the Earl

Captain's Disgraced Lady NA cover FRONT

The Makings of a Lady

A wallflower’s time to shine… 

The Earl of Shalford needs to marry into money to save his estate. Wealthy and beautiful Henrietta Buxted should be the perfect candidate. So why does his eye keep wandering to her quiet cousin, Charlotte Wyncroft?

Charlotte watches Henrietta’s games of courtship with wry amusement. That is, until a stolen dance reveals a hidden side to the earl. Penniless Charlotte knows she’s far from a suitable match, yet, in Adam’s arms, she can dream of the happily-ever-after she’s always wanted!

Come back early on Saturday, 5th January, 2019 to read my thoughts on behalf of this novel before we discuss this series during #SatBookChat!

I have fond memories of discovering your Historical Romance style earlier in [2018] when I had the pleasure of reading “The Captain’s Disgraced Lady” – which is the second novel in your Chadcombe Marriages series. Focusing a bit on behalf of “Waltzing with the Earl” – how did you want to set the stage for the series within this first story and which of the characters would readers happily find are threading through the rest of the series?

Tinley responds: Thanks – I’m always so happy to connect with a reader who likes my books! The Chadcombe Marriages trilogy focuses on the Fanton family – two brothers and a younger sister. The eldest, Adam, has inherited the Earldom and takes his responsibilities very seriously. In Waltzing with the Earl, he is on the lookout for a suitable wife and a decent dowry as part of the deal. This will help him get the Chadcombe estate back on an even keel financially. He invites two families to visit his country estate in order to help him decide whether to propose marriage to Miss Buxted or Miss Etherington. However it is Miss Buxted’s cousin, the quiet, intelligent Charlotte, who attracts his attention. Waltzing is a Cinderella story, about how sometimes you really should follow your heart, not your head.

Book 2, The Captain’s Disgraced Lady, focuses on Adam’s brother Harry, and what happens when he encounters Charlotte’s best friend, the fierce and passionate Juliana. The book goes from Chadcombe to London, then on to Brussels and the battlefield at Waterloo and includes drama and intrigue as well as romance.

The final book in the series is out now. It’s called The Makings of a Lady, and focuses on Lady Olivia, Adam & Harry’s younger sister. She is tired of being treated as a child, and longs to build her own life – possibly by getting married and leaving her childhood home. Just as she finally meets a man who interests her – the dashing George Manning – her first love Captain Jem Ford reappears after four years. Lady Olivia finds herself in danger and needs to work out who to trust. Read More