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A Naughty Visit to the British Museum

Dear Readers,

This rather titillating story was recently received by your faithful publisher:

On a day filled with cloudy drizzle, Lady G and Lady A strolled through the imposing gates of Montagu House, the grand but fading Baroque mansion that housed the British Museum. Once inside, the scents of old stone, polish, and vellum clung to the high-ceilinged corridors. A liveried attendant took Lady G’s letter of admission, glancing over it before nodding them through.

They made straight for the Egyptian hall—in truth, if it could be called a hall, for it was little more than a wide room lined with relics. They perused the dark and impressive Rosetta Stone, fascinated by the nearly four-foot-tall slab of black granodiorite etched with three distinct scripts.

“Onward!” Lady A said after a few minutes. “I must see what all this fuss is about the Parthenon marbles.”

Lady G nodded. “Lord Elgin has certainly taken some harsh criticism.”

They traipsed through narrow halls to a room smelling of fresh paint where the Parthenon sculptures loomed larger than Lady G had imagined.

There were shattered gods and half-draped goddesses aplenty.

“The marbles are magnificent, are they not?” Said Lady G.

Lady A walked to a frieze, “The Lapiths and the Centaurs,” and then to a nude male warrior. She shook her head. “The ones that remain intact…I shall never understand.”

Lady G tilted her head. “Understand what?”

Lady A walked to a small sculpture and wafted a hand over Hercules seated on a rock. “His intact phallus, one of the few not broken off. The size! It’s smaller than my pinky! They are all like that.” She waved her hand around the room. “My Horace… Well, I confess I am rather shocked by their diminutive size.”

Lady G tittered. “I saw the ‘Farnese Heracles’ in Naples and ‘Laocoön and His Sons’ at the Vatican. I found it passing odd as well.” She offered Lady A a mischievous look. “So I investigated.”

“How shocking!” Lady A whispered, her eyes glittering as she moved closer to Lady G.

“Indeed.” Lady G giggled. “You see, large phalluses in Ancient Greece were undesirable.”

“Really?” Lady A said. “Why ever not?”

“The Greeks believed small genitalia implied that person had an expansive and potent intelligence up top.”

“No!” Lady A said. “How very odd.”

“Statues with small genitalia make clear the sculptors believed these men were rational and intelligent, their urges under control.”

“My Horace certainly does not…” Lady A cleared her throat.

“Aristophanes,” Lady G said.

“Who?”

“The famous comedic playwright,” Lady G said. “He said in his The Clouds that the ideal male had ‘a gleaming chest, bright skin, broad shoulders, tiny tongue, strong buttocks, and a little prick.’”

“How do you possibly remember that?”

Lady G gave her a knowing look. “How could I not?”

Lady A tittered.

“Naturally, Priapus was the exception. Yet any man with a large member was considered lustful, depraved, and villainous by the ancient Greeks.”

“How very unfair!” Lady A.

Lady G smiled. “I always thought my Samuel was somewhat villainous!”

The Seer

A quest for truth. A legacy in stone. A love forged in danger.

When Lady Claire Pheland is publicly humiliated by London’s Society of Antiquarians, she vows to prove her radical theory: that the iconic ancient Greek statues were once vividly painted. Claire’s search for evidence leads her to Greece in the company of Lord Theseus Ashworth—a brilliant scholar on a dangerous mission of his own: returning his father’s Greek sculptures to their rightful home.

Their journey is fraught with peril. Bandits lurk in the shadows, a Greek prophetess whispers cryptic warnings, and a traitor mirrors their every move. In Delphi, tensions erupt when Lord Byron arrives, a priceless bust vanishes, and a villager is murdered. As Claire nears proving her theory, Theseus’ mission spirals into a deadly game when seven ancient sculptures are stolen and a second life is taken.

What begins as a battle of wits between Claire and Theseus soon ignites into a passion as fiery as the dangers surrounding them. But when Theseus is brutally attacked upon their return to England, they realize the thieves will continue their murderous ways until they are stopped. With time running out, they must unmask the killers before they become their next victims. Will they uncover the truth—or be buried by it?

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Seer-Book-Secret-Tales-ebook/dp/B0FCDMJPB2

About the Author

Award-winning author Vicki Stiefel now also writes as Sanna Brand, including Regency Romances, THE BOND (Book 1, The Secret Tales), THE DECEPTION, and now, THE SEER. Vicki’s s fantasy romance series, The Made Ones Saga, launched with ALTERED, continued with CHANGED, and climaxed with ASCENDANT.
Vicki continues work on her Afterworld Chronicles and her award-winning mystery/thrillers feature homicide counselor Tally Whyte.
Vicki tapped into her love of knitting to produce Chest of Bone The Knit Collection and co-write 10 Secrets of the LaidBack Knitters.
After running The Writers Studio with her late husband, William G. Tapply, Vicki taught fiction and modern media writing for six years at Clark University.
She grew up in professional theater and planned to become an actress. Instead, she slung hamburgers, managed a scuba shop, and became a college professor. She is a mom to two wonderful humans and a furry pack. Her passions for scuba diving, fly fishing, knitting, and horses pop up in her novels, as do chocolate, bourbon, and lobster. Currently, she’s playing with her menagerie while working on THE UNSEEN (as SANNA BRAND) , the fourth book in The Secret Tales.

SCANDAL ON THE SHORE

A PRINCE, A PLAIN DRESS, AND A MOST INCONVENIENT KISS

Dearest Readers,

While all of London buzzed with anticipation for the arrival of His Highness Prince Alex von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, it appears the Prince had other plans—plans that involved sun-drenched cliffs, sea-kissed breezes, and a certain merchant’s daughter.

Yes, you heard it here first.

Rather than sweeping into London with pomp and procession to greet his intended bride (whose dowry, I am told, rivals the Crown Jewels), the elusive Prince Alex was seen disembarking not at Dover—but in a sleepy cove in Cornwall. And he was not alone.

Who should be at his side but Miss Seraphina Lyndon, daughter of the fabulously wealthy (and frightfully ambitious) shipping magnate Mr. Lyndon? But before one clutches one’s pearls too tightly, allow me to add the most curious detail of all: Miss Lyndon wore a gown so simple, so unadorned, it would hardly suit a lady accustomed to ballrooms and betrothals. Unless, of course, she didn’t want to be noticed.

Too late, my dear.

Sources—sunburned but steadfast—report the pair engaged in what can only be described as clandestine solitude: long walks, quiet laughter, and—oh, scandal!—a kiss behind the dunes that had more heat than the midsummer sun.

Now, let us connect the dots, shall we?

Miss Lyndon is promised to a foreign prince—a prince she’s never met.

Prince Alex is promised to a lady in London—a lady he has yet to acknowledge.

So why are they together in Cornwall? And why do their footsteps trace the very same stretch of sand?

Could it be…they are the betrothed pair, unknowingly entangled in a twist of fate? Or perhaps the Prince seeks to lose himself in love before duty calls? Or most delicious of all…has Miss Lyndon fallen for a stranger, not knowing she kisses the very prince she is meant to wed?

Whispers say a storm is coming. And this time, it’s not from the sea.

Yours in ink and intrigue,

Yours in eager anticipation,

The Teatime Tattler

How To Lose a Prince This Summer

by Sara Adrien and Tanya Wilde

They’re destined for duty. But will an impossible love on the Cornish Coast rewrite their fate?

Lady Seraphina Lyndon treasures the wild beauty of her summers on the Cornish Coast. But this year is bittersweet—it’s her last taste of freedom before an arranged marriage to a foreign prince. Her father’s business depends on this union, but Sera’s heart is drawn to someone else. A handsome and mysterious stranger on the beach has stolen her breath with his tender kisses and unforgettable charm. Now, she’s desperate to find a way to lose the prince she’s promised to and stay with the man who makes her feel truly alive. And how can she do this before the end of the summer?

Prince Alexander von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen is a man of honor. Bound by duty, he knows he must head to London to complete his engagement to a woman he’s never met. But lingering on the Cornish sands is a captivating beauty who stirs his soul. Drawn to Sera like the tide to the shore, Alex gives his heart away, despite its forbidden risk. She believes him to be a simple man, and he’d rather keep his identity hidden than lose that treasure. He doesn’t want her to discover that he’s already promised to another. Not until he can break off his engagement. But even then, if she finds out all he’s been keeping from her… It might shatter the fragile bond they’ve built. So, how can he be with the woman he loves as just Alex and not Prince Alex?

Bound by an arranged marriage and separated by hidden identities, Sera and Alex face a web of secrets and a scheming villain. Can love prevail over duty, or will fate keep them apart forever?

Don’t miss this summer’s most romantic adventure! The perfect beach read now in Kindle Unlimited!

Note: This series is part of Dragonblade’s Flame line, so this is a scorching-hot read with open-door steam.

Tropes/Themes:

✅ Arranged Marriage

✅ Hidden Identity

✅ Forbidden Love

✅ Summer Romance

✅ Love at First Sight

✅ Secret Royal / Royal in Disguise

✅ One Last Taste of Freedom

✅ Hero Falls First

✅ Scheming Villain

✅ Beachside Kisses

✅ Duty vs. Desire

✅ Swoony Prince

✅ Star-Crossed Lovers

Get the book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FCNGHDMZ

Get the FREE companion book: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/4mrzm42ill

Wedding Fever Series

Book 1: Dare to Tempt an Earl This Spring

Book 2: How to Lose A Prince This Summer

Book 3: How To Seduce A Duke This Autumn

Book 4: Ways To Kiss A Marquess This Winter

About the Authors

Bestselling author Sara Adrien writes hot, heart-melting regency romance with a Jewish twist. As a law professor-turned-author, she writes about clandestine identities, whims of fate, and sizzling seduction. If you like unique and intelligent characters, deliciously sexy scenes, and the nostalgia of afternoon tea, then you’ll adore Sara Adrien’s tender tear-jerkers. She is the author of the series Infiltrating the Ton, Diamond Dynasty, Check Mates, and Miracles on Harley Street. Get 50% off her #1 bestselling 9-book bundle https://www.saraadrien.com/products/diamond-of-the-ton-collection-1

Find her at:

Instagram: @author_sara_adrien

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565938324623

Substack: authorsara.substack.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22249825.Sara_Adrien

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sara-adrien

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=digital-text&rh=p_27%3ASara+Adrien

 

Tanya Wilde developed a passion for reading when she had nothing better to do than lurk in the library during her lunch breaks. Her love affair with pen and paper soon followed after she devoured all of their historical romance books! In 2020, she won the Romance Writers Organization of South Africa (ROSA) Imbali Award for Excellence in Romance Writing for Not Quite a Rogue.

When she’s not meddling in the lives of her characters or drinking copious amounts of coffee, she’s off on adventures with her partner in crime.

Wilde lives in a town at the foot of the Outeniqua Mountains, South Africa.

 

 

A Widow of Questionable Virtue

 

Dearest Mr. Clemens, thank you for the delightful Tea you arranged for my sister and I before we left London. As you predicted, there is much delicious information to be had at Sir Peter and Lady Somerville’s house party in the lovely Sussex countryside. My sister Prudence will have already alerted you to the goings on of the night rider Captain Midnight. There will be more on that subject!

My purpose this morning is to inform you about one particular story of potential interest to your readers. A stranger appeared in the nearby village a week or so ago. While he appears to be a gentleman, he is not, in fact a guest of the Somervilles. He has been staying at the common hotel all this time. He has taken close, even obsessive interest in a woman who lives alone with only her small son for company.

Mrs. Tessa Fleming is a war widow and as such should be admired, but really, is it proper for her to be living on her own? The stranger has made repeated visits to her home, and I’ve heard not one word of a chaperone. The ladies here about, both of high and low estate generally attest to the woman’s virtue. Still, one must wonder about these visits by a man of particularly attractive visage and form, and the ladies watch the situation avidly.

What led me to write today is that the identity of the stranger has been revealed. He introduces himself as Titus Flavius Brannock, lately major in His Majesty’s 11th Dragoons. What was revealed last night is that he is the brother of the Earl of Astleigh! Lady Somerville, of course, immediately insisted that he be her guest when she discovered this. He will be at the closing ball. I am agog to discover how he will react when he finds that the widow has been invited also.

There will be more

Your most devoted correspondent,

Abigail Danvers

About the Book: Love’s Perilous Road

Travellers, a house party, smugglers, spies–and a mysterious highwayman. Who is the infamous Captain Moonlight? And how many lives will he change–for good or for ill?

Pre-order it for August:  https://books2read.com/u/mqx0W6

About the Caroline Warfield’s Story: Charred Hope

Major Titus Brannock believes the charred painting that fell into his hands must be valuable to its owner. When he finds her, he finds a true treasure. Tessa Fleming’s first instinct was to burn the miniature her late husband scorned, but the admiration she sees in Titus’s eyes gives her different ideas. Perhaps the little gem will give them both a pearl beyond price.

What happened to the wedding?

Dear Readers, I received the following most interesting letter:

Dear Mr. Clemens,

For those readers acquainted with the popular gentleman, Mr. William Cole, they might be interested to know that he was spotted at the Twelfth Night celebration hosted at the home of Lord and Lady Penrose. Alone.

It was certainly a surprise to see him there as he left Munro very abruptly several months ago, supposedly to be married, yet he was very much unattached at the baron’s festivities. Where was the bride he had dashed off to claim?

Make no mistake, now that he has joined the military, Lieutenant Cole cuts an even more dashing figure in his uniform. The young ladies could not wait for their turn under the mistletoe, and he was happy to oblige. But no Mrs. Cole was there to object to his popularity or claim a kiss for herself.

Rumor has it that the bride was to have been Miss Verity Lockhart, daughter of the vicar of Fernbridge. It is hard to imagine the charming and witty young lieutenant married to a young woman of such sober upbringing. Perhaps that is why the nuptials fell though.

It is our understanding that they were childhood friends and that the potential match was more their parents’ hopes than their own. Though it does make one wonder why Lieutenant Cole rushed off to be wed if his heart was not in it. Could it be that he was willing but that Miss Lockhart was not? It seems so unlikely. And yet, not impossible.

If the attentions of Miss Frances Penrose at the Twelfth Night celebrations are any indication, Lieutenant Cole might not remain unmarried for very long. The young lady has just come out into society and clearly has her eye on the handsome gentleman. Of course, the baron will likely be seeking someone of higher social standing for his youngest child. But young ladies can be very persuasive.

We shall be watching this development with interest.

Signed,

Waiting for a wedding invitation

Verity’s Choice

A man with a past could change her future.

Having failed to win the hand of the woman he loves, William Cole returns to his childhood home the same vain, shallow gentleman who relies too much on his charm and good looks. He wants to join the military, but his father decides William should take over the reins from the retiring vicar and—while he’s at it—marry the vicar’s daughter.

Unlike William, Verity Lockhart has changed in the five years since he saw her last. While he might remember her as a quiet, mousy sort of girl, she has developed opinions and habits deemed unsuitable for a young lady, the worst of which is a fascination with science and—gasp!—insects. No man, says her mother, would want a wife who is always running off with a butterfly net.

William and Verity can agree on one thing only: they have no desire to marry each other. They will have to encounter an utterly shameless rogue, an unusually honorable gentleman, and a very real war to form a love so deep, it could be the best choice either has ever made.

To be released on 27 June (available now to pre-order)

Buy Link https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F3JYY2LX

Verity’s Choice is Book 3 in the 5-book “Ladies of Munro” series.

Ladies of Munro
1) Sophia’s Letter
2) Ellena’s Secret
3) Verity’s Choice
4) Jillian’s Wild Heart (Due for release in September)
5) Irene’s Fall (Due for release in December)

Note: This series is part of Dragonblade’s Sweet Dreams line, so this is a sweet, wholesome Historical Romance where passion beyond the bedroom door is left to the reader’s imagination.

Tropes you’ll love:
✔ Reformed rake
✔ Bluestocking heroine
✔ Small village romance
✔ Family expectations vs. personal dreams
✔ Sweet slow-burn romance
✔ Redemption arc & emotional growth

What begins as a mismatch may just become the love story neither of them dared to imagine.

A sweet Regency romance filled with wit, warmth, and the quiet courage to choose love on your own terms.

Read in Kindle Unlimited!

About the Author

Elizabeth Donne writes award-winning sweet Regency romance, a natural outpouring of a lifelong love affair with English literature.

She has spent most of her life in Cape Town, South Africa. In 2015, Elizabeth moved to Iowa with her husband, their two children, two cats, and their African bush dog.

When she’s not writing, or discovering the secret wonders of the Midwest, she is enthusiastically introducing her visitors to the joys of drinking rooibos tea. With a biscuit, of course.

Social Media Links:

Free newsletter signup: https://www.elizabethdonnebooks.com/#subscribe

Website: https://www.elizabethdonnebooks.com

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/elizabethdonne

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093280712789

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/elizabeth-donne

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/35270040.Elizabeth_Donne

 

Who Would Have Thought It?

Dear Readers,

I’ve shared this letter of 28 February with you before, but I am happy to tell you there is a sequel that sheds more light on this matter. I have, of course concealed the identity of the letters’ subjects, but you will perhaps recognized them anyway.

Without further ado:

28 February

My dear Harriet,

Is your cold better? You oughtn’t have gone to church in such rain. At our age, the Lord will see us soon enough, and it has caused you to miss the K ball! Such a crush it was. That dreadful Lord H was drug in by his uncle Lord G, all to meet the M girl. A fresh-faced one, she is, but it didn’t go well! Lud, I wish you had seen the rogue slink away.

And your late friend, A’s girl, L! Did you know she’s bringing out Miss M? Far too young for it, but no one asked me before they set her up in that merchant’s household. Yes and she was seen tête-à-tête in the garden with Lord G! What would A have said? Though one might ask her why she’d die and not leave the girl better-settled than to have to seek employment!

I’m sending a potion made up by Cook. Do try it. I don’t believe it will kill you as she doses the maid and the footman with it upon occasion.

As ever,

Gert

 

21 April

Dear Harriet,

You have retired to the country far too soon! You will never guess the news!

Did I not tell you that A’s girl, L was seen having a tête-à-tête in the garden with Lord G? Oh yes, and I must tell you… well, you will see the announcements soon. Not only has our Miss L found a much better match for the merchant’s girl after Lord H had the courtesy to put himself in the way of a cutthroat (you will have read of his demise). No, there is more!

L and Lord G have married. By special license, it is true, but in a most respectable way and even in the company of a marquess. Who would have thought it?

Mark my word, the new Lady G will be much in demand as a matchmaker next Season!

I am glad the worst of your cold has passed. Do have your cook make up the receipt I’ve enclosed. This elixir is a sure cure for your lingering cough.

Your friend as ever,

Gert

Liliana’s Letter

The Matchmaker

A promise to his long-dead sister forces Lord Grigsby back into society to broker the marriage of his disreputable nephew to the heiress whose money can save the earldom.

The Matchbreaker

Liliana Ashford has been hired to help an heiress pass muster with the ton and snare a titled husband. Though, if she had a magic wand, she’d turn her charge’s fiancé back into the toad he truly was.

Scandal and a New Match

But she never plotted murder! As the young Earl’s sordid death evokes the scandal of the season, a shadow from Liliana’s own past appears, threatening her carefully crafted world. Grigsby sets about finding his nephew’s killer…and Liliana’s secrets. Meanwhile she scrambles to make a new match for the girl, because finding a husband of her own is out of the question.

Or is it?

On sale for 99 cents until June 30, 2025

Buy Link: https://books2read.com/LilianasLetter

About the Author

USA Today Bestselling and award-winning author Alina K. Field earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German literature but prefers the much happier world of romance fiction. Though her roots are in the Midwestern U.S., after six very, very, very cold years in Chicago, she moved to Southern California and hasn’t looked back. She shares a midcentury home with two spunky rescues, a blonde terrier and a people-loving chihuahua.

She is the author of several Regency romances, including the 2014 Book Buyer’s Best winner, Rosalyn’s Ring. She is hard at work on her next series of Regency romances but loves to hear from readers!

Visit her at:

https://alinakfield.com/

https://www.facebook.com/alinakfield

https://twitter.com/AlinaKField

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7173518.Alina_K_Field

https://www.pinterest.com/alinakf/

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/alina-k-field

Newsletter signup:  https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/z6q6e3

Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Alina-K.-Field/e/B00DZHWOKY

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