#NewRelease: A CURIO FOR THE COUNT, #ReadaRegency
It’s release day for fellow Bluestocking Belles author Elizabeth Ellen Carter, and she’s sharing her new book here today!
A Curio for the Count
To find his future, he must own his past…
Raised as an Englishman, Armand Danger, Comte de Ytres, is troubled by a dream from his childhood that leaves him speculating on his French past.
He is convinced that the answers he seeks can be found in an elaborate clock which belonged to his father who was executed during the French Revolution.
Miss Jade Bridges works as a valuer in her family’s London antique shop and auction house. One day she receives a mysterious letter from an anonymous client willing to pay any price for a very specific statue clock.
While in pursuit of the timepiece, Jade and Armand meet, and there’s immediate attraction. But how can it amount to anything when they are rivals for the very same object? As the couple grow closer and attraction deepens, they agree to join forces to find the timepiece together.
Then an antique dealer is killed. It appears someone else is willing to extract a fatal price to possess the clock for themselves.
Why is someone willing to commit murder for this curio for the count?
Excerpt
Jade looked about the sale room. Of the sixty in attendance, there was one man who stood out. He was tall. Hair as black as polished ebony, swept back from a hawkish but youthful face. Not quite thirty years of age was her estimation. He spent such a great deal of time examining the furniture that at first she thought he might have been a new dealer, but he was too finely dressed for that.
Jade never worried about being recognized by the upper classes. their steward or man of business would attend these auctions on their behalf. So, what was it that made her wonder if she had seen him before? Then she twigged. It was not the man’s face, rather it was the cut of his suit she identified. It was from a tailor in Bond Street.
Had he registered to bid?
Jade casually made her way to the counter and examined the register. Her action caught the eye of a middle-aged woman who wore a dun apron like hers.
“’E’s a bit of a looker that one,” observed Dottie. She was Pete’s wife who helped out on auction day.
“Who?” asked Jade without betraying interest.
“The man whose details you’re looking up.”
“I’m doing no such thing!”
Dottie patted her arm, nodding with a knowing look, before moving away to attend to some other matter.
Jade found the entry.
Armand Danger, St James’ Wood.
Buy link
A Curio for the Count (Gems of London Book Two): https://www.amazon.com/Curio-Count-Gems-London-Book-ebook/dp/B0BQ4C6DHK
About the Author
Elizabeth Ellen Carter is a USA Today best-selling author who writes richly detailed historical romantic adventures that have been praised for their strong characters and ‘edge-of-seat intrigue’. Her twelfth full length title, A Curio for the Count, will be released on 19 January 2022 by Dragonblade Publishing.
A former newspaper journalist, Elizabeth ran an award-winning PR agency for 12 years. She lives in Queensland, Australia with her husband and two adorable and mischievous cats. In addition to writing books, Elizabeth produces an online reader magazine called Love’s Great Adventure.
Web site: https://elizabethellencarter.com/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/6CCBA860-8532-439A-8E16-6A43F47D0C18