Today I'm thrilled to be hosting a tour stop for Cathy Maxwell's A Little Thing Called Love. This novella kicks off the "Marrying the Duke" series, from Avon Impulse, and it's definitely does the job of setting the stage. I'm a fan of historical romance, and I love getting in at the start of a series, particularly when book one is due out later this year!
Check out the other stops on the tour at Tasty Book Tours.
And
it’s a fortune—or rather his grandmother the fortune teller—who foretold that
Fyclan would meet “the one”, a love prophesied in the stars. He vows nothing
will stand in the way of making Jennifer his bride, but is the price too high?
Or is a thing called love worth every challenge?
My Review
A Little Thing Called Love is a short novella that introduces us to Jennifer (quite an uncommon name during this period!) and Fyclan. For Fyclan, from the moment he sees her, he knows she's the one. His Romany Gran's predictions have prepared him for this moment.
On her end, Jennifer's just trying to retain her sanity under the thumb of her recently-returned-from-military-service father. They don't exactly see eye-to-eye about her future, you see.
This novella is all about showing us the fairy-tale romance that establishes the family that will be, I presume, the focus of the full-length books in the series. It does a solid job of setting a high standard for romance for the family, one that I expect future books in the series to harken back to--"Well, if Mom and Dad/Grandma and Grandpa/etc. can marry for love/can hold out for their true love/didn't have to marry for money, so can I!" I have high expectations, future books!
There are some rather novel elements in this book--particularly Fyclan's courtship of Jennifer. I liked that neither of these two were pushovers, and I liked that there was nothing drawn-out about any point of the plot. I zipped along from start to finish quickly.
There's a nice preview of the first book in the series included with this novella, and perhaps even more so than the novella itself, that had me eager to get my grubby hands on book 1 of the Marrying the Duke series. Check it out, and then let me know what your first reaction to it was! I don't want to spoil anything, but I did *shout* something in reaction at my ebook reader!
Bottom line:
A Little Thing Called Love is a strong novella. As historical romance, it's a bit earlier than most of what I read, but I liked it. It's a quick read, there are some delightful moments, and I think it bodes well for the Marrying The Duke series.
4 stars
For fans of historical romance, series starters, novellas
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Check out the other stops on the tour at Tasty Book Tours.
The Book
Grandmother, grandmother,
who shall it be
Who shall it be who will
marry me?
Duke, Earl, a powerful
marquess?
When my heart is given to
Fyclan Morris…
In
New York Times bestselling author Cathy Maxwell’s new novella, beautiful
Jennifer Tarleton has no lack of noble suitors, but the only man who captures
her attention is the one her father will never let her marry: Fyclan Morris.
He’s a brash adventurer, witty, courageous…and Irish! Even worse, her father blames her for their
reversal of fortune…
A Little Thing Called Love is available now!
Amazon | B
& N | iTunes | Kobo | Goodreads
Excerpt
London 1780
“Have
you taken leave of your senses, man? Do you know who she is?”
Fyclan
Morris shrugged off his friend John Bishard’s astonished questions. “She’s a
goddess,” he replied, moving after the heavenly creature who had passed them as
they had come out of the watchmaker’s shop.
The
young woman, a vision in blue ribbons and lace from the top of her pert brimmed
bonnet to the trim of her hems had not noticed him, as a proper young woman
should not. Accompanied by a manservant and maid, she’d weaved her way through
the crowded street, her attention on a piece of paper in her hand, unaware that
she’d changed his life forever.
It was her. Fyclan did not doubt the fact.
“You’ll recognize her immediately,” his Gran
had said. “She’ll be fair to your dark, a light to your step, a force you will
not deny.”
His
Gran had claimed to see the future. She saw it in dreams, she said. The Irish
believed in prophecy and accepted what they could not understand, but even
among them, his Gran’s gift was special. She was Romany born, a gypsy until the
day Fyclan’s Grandfather claimed he’d woven moonbeams into a rope and captured
her to keep her.
Fyclan
had never doubted the story. There had
been something magical about her. She had a knowledge of things that no one
could explain. Even the priest claimed to be puzzled, and it was whispered that
a few times, he’d asked her a question or two himself.
A Little Thing Called Love is a short novella that introduces us to Jennifer (quite an uncommon name during this period!) and Fyclan. For Fyclan, from the moment he sees her, he knows she's the one. His Romany Gran's predictions have prepared him for this moment.
On her end, Jennifer's just trying to retain her sanity under the thumb of her recently-returned-from-military-service father. They don't exactly see eye-to-eye about her future, you see.
This novella is all about showing us the fairy-tale romance that establishes the family that will be, I presume, the focus of the full-length books in the series. It does a solid job of setting a high standard for romance for the family, one that I expect future books in the series to harken back to--"Well, if Mom and Dad/Grandma and Grandpa/etc. can marry for love/can hold out for their true love/didn't have to marry for money, so can I!" I have high expectations, future books!
There are some rather novel elements in this book--particularly Fyclan's courtship of Jennifer. I liked that neither of these two were pushovers, and I liked that there was nothing drawn-out about any point of the plot. I zipped along from start to finish quickly.
There's a nice preview of the first book in the series included with this novella, and perhaps even more so than the novella itself, that had me eager to get my grubby hands on book 1 of the Marrying the Duke series. Check it out, and then let me know what your first reaction to it was! I don't want to spoil anything, but I did *shout* something in reaction at my ebook reader!
Bottom line:
A Little Thing Called Love is a strong novella. As historical romance, it's a bit earlier than most of what I read, but I liked it. It's a quick read, there are some delightful moments, and I think it bodes well for the Marrying The Duke series.
4 stars
For fans of historical romance, series starters, novellas
About the Author
New York Times
Bestselling Author, Cathy Maxwell, spends hours in front of her computer
pondering the question, “Why do people fall in love?” It remains for her the
great mystery of life and the secret to happiness. She lives in beautiful
Virginia with children, horses, dogs, and cats.
Thank you for hosting A LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE
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