BOOK INFORMATION
By: Vanessa Kelly
Releasing
August 30, 2016.
Zebra
Zebra
FOLLOW THIS TASTY BOOK TOUR HERE!
BOOK SUMMARY
First,
Vanessa Kelly brought readers The Renegade Royals. Now, in a delightfully witty
new series, she introduces The Improper Princesses—three young women descended
from royalty, each bound for her own thrilling adventure . . .
Despite being the illegitimate
daughter of a prince, Gillian Dryden is happily ignorant of all social graces.
After growing up wild in Italy, Gillian has been ordered home to England to
find a suitable husband. And Charles Valentine Penley, the excessively proper,
distractingly handsome Duke of Leverton, has agreed to help transform her from
a willful tomboy to a blushing debutante.
Powerful
and sophisticated, Charles can make or break reputations with a well-placed
word. But his new protégée, with her habit of hunting bandits and punching
earls, is a walking scandal. The ton is aghast . . . but Charles is thoroughly
intrigued. Tasked with taking the hoyden in hand, he longs to take her in his
arms instead. Can such an outrageous attraction possibly lead to a fairytale
ending?
TBR/BUY LINKS
EXCERPT
They
stood on the quiet street, locked in a silent contest of wills. Gillian half
expected him to begin lecturing her again. Yet his gaze warmed with
understanding—and sympathy.
“I am not the first man to ask you to
trust him, am I?” he asked.
She winced. “Blast. Is it that obvious?”
He started her forward again, for which
Gillian was grateful. It would be easier to discuss such an embarrassing topic
if he wasn’t looking at her.
“I put two and two together,” he said.
“And, as a reminder, I would suggest you refrain from using terms like blast when in polite company.”
“All right, but only on the understanding
that I can say whatever I want to immediate family.”
“I suppose I can’t really stop you, can I?
“I doubt it. Some things are just bloody
difficult to change.”
“You can’t shock me, you know. Although I
think I must drop a word in your brother’s ear, all the same.”
“Ha. That’s not much of a threat. I was
using bad language long before I ever met Griffin.”
“No doubt.”
Gillian pretended to ponder for a moment.
“Perhaps if you write down all the words I’m not supposed to say, I can commit
them to memory.”
“I’m quite sure you know exactly what you
should and shouldn’t say,” he said.
Gillian couldn’t help giving him a little
smirk.
“Very well,” he said. “We’ll leave the
language lessons for some future date. We have again been diverted from our
main topic, which is—”
“Mr. Stratton.” The duke clearly wasn’t
going to let it go, so she might as well get it over with. “From your reaction,
I imagine you already have a good idea of what he said.”
“Did he insult you or importune you?” he
asked in a hard voice.
“Mr. Stratton would be walking with a limp
right now if he had. Or not walking at all, depending on my aim.”
Leverton made a slight, choking noise, then
cleared his throat. “Then what did he say, exactly?”
“He asked me to meet him for a walk or a
drive in the park.”
“By yourself? And without telling your
grandmother?”
“Yes.”
“Bastard,” Leverton muttered.
She couldn’t resist. “Language, Your
Grace. But don’t worry. Why would I want to go driving in the park with a
married man? I’m supposed to be finding a husband, not larking about with
ineligible men.”
“You’re not to be engaging in such
behavior with an unmarried man, either. Not unless you have the expression
permission of your mother or grandmother, and only after they’ve met your
escort.”
“I’m not a half-wit, nor am I naïve. I
know exactly what men like Stratton are after. I’m quite familiar with the
type.”
That silenced him for half a block. “I’m
sorry you even have to worry about that,” he finally said.
“Grandmamma warned me some years ago what
to expect.” After Pietro. Because of that gentleman, Gillian would never be
naïve again. “I have no intention of allowing myself to become a member of the
demimonde. I would not enjoy such a life.”
“I should bloody well hope not,” Leverton
said.
Gillian feigned astonishment. “Sir, I am
truly shocked. Perhaps I should draw up a list of words for you.”
“I would ask for your apology, but I doubt
very much that I offended you.”
“Of course not. I’m as tough as old
boots.”
“No, you’re not. And you’re as deserving
of respect as any young woman. I regret that we even need to have this
unfortunate discussion.”
She couldn’t help smiling. “I know you’re
trying to help. And I don’t mind at all. Truly.”
“You should mind,” he said. “But back to
Stratton.”
Gillian groaned. “Must we?”
“I need you to understand that he might
well not be the only cad who tries to take advantage. I want you to be well
armored against that possibility.”
“Of course. But Mr. Stratton is harmless,
you know.”
He shook his head. “He’s exactly the type
you have to worry about.”
Gillian heard something in his voice that
gave her pause—an undertone of bitterness. This was more than a
well-intentioned warning. It sounded personal to Leverton. “I’ll be careful,
Your Grace.”
“You’re to come to me or to your grandmother
if you have any concerns of this nature at all.”
“Yes, I promise.”
He let out a reluctant laugh. “Now you’re
patronizing me. Or behaving as if I’m a fussy old maid who sees a rake lurking
behind every tree.”
“No, you’re behaving like someone who
cares. But why are you doing this?”
“Warning you about bounders like
Stratton?”
She tugged on his arm. “Now you’re being
deliberately obtuse.”
“Perhaps just slightly evasive,” he said
with a wry smile. “But now let me ask you a question. Do you want this little
experiment your grandmother cooked up to actually work?”
“You mean teaching me not to swear, and
how to curtsey without falling on my ear?” she asked in as innocent a voice as
she could muster. Sadly, Gillian didn’t do innocent very well.
CAT'S REVIEW
"My Fair Princess" by Vanessa Kelly. In this first book of a new series, Ms. Kelly introduces us to Gillian and Charles. Charles is a do-gooder, always follows the rules and dislikes disruptions. Well, Gillian is the biggest disruption he ever encounters. I really liked Charles. Despite coming across as aloof and bit standoffish, his dedication to the ones he loves cannot be denied. While I liked Gillian and commiserated with her circumstances, at times she did tend to annoy me a touch. She is a strong heroine and I admired that about her but sometimes I felt her behavior and attitude was just a bit much. However, it didn't detract too much from the story itself or the growing affection between Charles and Gillian. It was fun to see her frustrate him and how his orderly world becomes just a bit chaotic when she enters it. Other characters in the book were in a previous story by this lovely author, however, that has not much bearing on this tale at all. Having read "Confessions of the Bridegroom", which is Griffin's story, it was nice to see him back again. Ms. Kelly once again has written a tale that swept me away and had me flipping each page just to see where our lovely couple would end up. I look forward to future books of this series and hoping that Ms. Kelly will bring in old characters just so we can say Hi! (received copy for honest review)
★★★★
AUTHOR INFO
AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS
GIVEAWAY!! GIVEAWAY!! GIVEAWAY!!
TOUR ORGANIZED BY
 |
| TASTY BOOK TOURS |
Lovely review. Thank you for hosting MY FAIR PRINCESS today!
ReplyDeleteCrystal, Tasty Book Tours
Thanks so much for hosting me today!!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for hosting me today!!
ReplyDelete