Hi, everyone. I’m Samantha Grace, RITA-nominated author of
the historical romance series, Rival Rogues. Today I’m very happy to be joined
by Benjamin Hillary, the hero of my latest novel, THE BEST OF BOTH ROGUES, and
the heroine’s brother, Sebastian Thorne. Ben’s younger sister, Lady Lana
Forest, has graciously agreed to act as the interviewer, and she has promised
to put these two rogues through the paces.
Lana looks down her nose at both men: I’ll have none of your
nonsense today, gentlemen. You will answer the questions as I pose them or
else.
Both men smirk.
Lana: I mean it, Ben. I refuse to tolerate any trouble from
you or your friend.
Sebastian: We’re not
friends.
Lana: Why ever not? Ben is a wonderful man. He’s kind, generous,
and affable.
Sebastian glares at Ben: And he left my sister at the altar
two years ago.
Lana: Yes, well. Aside from that one horrible, stupid,
unforgivable, self-centered, imbecilic—
Ben: I object!
Lana: To what? Even though you couldn’t help it, you did
leave the poor girl on her wedding day.
Ben face turns red: Um...I object to your overuse of
adjectives.
Lana rolls her eyes then ignores Ben to speak to Sebastian:
My brother made a mistake, Lord Thorne. Surely, even you’ve made horrible, stupid,
unforgivable mistakes, like when you ran into Ben on his way back to explain
everything to Eve and you challenged—
Sebastian: Yes, all right. I’ve made my share of mistakes,
but he doesn’t need my forgiveness. He needs Evie’s.
Lana folds her hands in her lap and smiles: Well, I am
certain that will come in time. And isn’t it best that you remain friends for
Eve’s sake?
Ben and Sebastian: We are not friends.
Lana throws her hands in the air and marches away: You
mulish, unreasonable, half-witted, ridiculous...
Lana’s grumblings fade eventually until she can no longer be
heard.
Sebastian: She does know a fair amount of adjectives.
Ben: She’s a voracious reader.
Author:
Samantha Grace
Series: Rival
Rogues, Book 3
ISBN:
9781492608103
Pubdate: July
7th, 2015
Genre:
Historical Regency Romance
Book Summary
The worst thing Mr. Benjamin Hillary ever did was abandon his bride-to-be
on their wedding day.
The hardest thing he will ever have to do is watch her marry another man.
After two long years abroad, Ben finds Eve every bit as captivating as
she was the first time he saw her, and he vows to set things right.
Lady Eve Thorne has a new man in her life, and Ben is nothing but
trouble. She is no longer a starry-eyed young woman, and now that he’s back, he
can go hang for all she cares. At least that’s what she keeps telling herself…
IndieBound – bit.ly/1BEe8oG
Biography
Historical
romance author Samantha Grace
discovered the appeal of a great love story when she was just a young girl,
thanks to Disney’s Robin Hood. She didn’t care that Robin Hood and Maid Marian
were cartoon animals. It was her first happily-ever-after experience and she
didn’t want the warm fuzzies to end. Now Samantha enjoys creating her own happy
endings for characters that spring from her imagination. Publishers Weekly
describes her stories as “fresh and romantic” with subtle humor and charm.
Samantha describes romance writing as the best job ever.
Social Networking Links
Website: http://samanthagraceauthor.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamGraceAuthor
Excerpt from THE
BEST OF BOTH ROGUES by Samantha Grace
Ben made a slow circle of the brightly lit
ballroom, stopping occasionally to study the couples as they sashayed past,
their cheeks pink from exertion. After several moments, he was satisfied Lord
Wellham wasn’t among the dancers, not that Ben was surprised. If his memory
served, the earl favored gambling over gamboling.
Reaching a secluded corner near a dark
alcove, he paused to check once more for his quarry before he sought out the
card room.
“What are you doing here?” a voice hissed.
“You are not on the guest list.”
“Pardon?” Ben spun toward the speaker and
came up short. His eyebrows veered toward each other. “How do you know?” he
whispered back to the mass of green palm fronds.
“Because I helped make the list.” The
plant’s fronds parted, and Eve Thorne’s stern glare greeted him. What the devil
was she doing?
Her frown deepened when he simply stared,
at a loss for words. “Do you have a death wish, Mr. Hillary?”
The corners of his mouth twitched. “Let me
guess, you’ve been attacked by a man-eating plant. Are you in need of rescue,
Kitten?”
She growled softly and the fronds snapped
back into place. Ben checked the surrounding area to be certain they hadn’t
earned any unwanted attention, then peered around the massive greenery. Eve was
wedged against the wall, her yellow chiffon skirts crushed against the large
pot. Her chest rose and fell in rapid movements, drawing his attention to the
modest swell of her breasts peeking above her lacy neckline. A rosy glow
infused her ivory skin, making the sprinkling of freckles across her cheeks
almost unnoticeable.
God, he had missed her – her freckles, her
pouty lips, her soulful brown eyes. He had been smitten from the moment he had
spied her at the theater during the little Season, and two years on a faraway
continent had done nothing to cool his ardor.
“What are you doing back there, Miss
Thorne, and shouldn’t you have a chaperone?”
She crossed her arms as if erecting a wall
between them. “God only knows why, but I am trying to save your skin, Benjamin
James Arran Hillary.”
Damnation. He had almost
forgotten he’d been burdened with so many names, and that she had a habit of
invoking every one when she was perturbed. His smile expanded. Despite her
pretense of indifference, she was worried for him. “Am I to conclude your skulking
about means you still care?”
“I care about Lady Eldridge, and I do not
want to see her ball ruined by you and Sebastian coming to fisticuffs. You
really must leave before he sees you and demands another meeting on the field.”
Crossing paths with Sebastian Thorne didn’t
concern Ben. Her brother’s need to defend her reputation after Ben jilted her
had been satisfied three weeks earlier in a duel, and Thorne would not issue a
second challenge for fear of losing. Ben suspected neither of them wanted to risk
looking like fools again either. Instead of dueling with pistols or swords as
any other normal men would do, they had allowed Eve to choose the weapons. She
had chosen gloves.
He scowled. “Do you have any idea how
ridiculous it looked for two men to engage in a slapping match?” The gents at
Brooks’s hadn’t stopped talking about the duel for days, and Ben had endured
the brunt of the teasing since he’d followed his youngest brother’s advice and
allowed Thorne to win.
Eve’s smile radiated with self-satisfaction.
“Since no one died, I would say I made an excellent choice.”
H grudgingly admitted her cleverness had
managed to resolve the conflict without bloodshed – or much, anyway. Ben had
walked away with a cut on his cheek and a nasty bruise, thanks to her brother
filling his glove with pebbles. But bruised pride and a bruised mug were small
prices to pay to see Eve’s position in Society restored.
Goodreads
Giveaway
3 signed copies of IN BED WITH A ROGUE by Samantha Grace open 6/24/2015 – 7/31/2015
My Thoughts:
Ben left Eve at the altar without a word then disappeared for two years. He comes back and finds that Eve is betrothed. I really didn't like Ben in the beginning. He was going to have to need a really good reason for his behavior for me to like him. He ended up redeeming himself and I found the story to be sweet. It seemed to me that there were some loose ends that didn't get tied up, but since they were mostly related to another character, I figure it will probably be addressed in another book. I enjoyed this book and would read others in the series.
My Rating: ****
Steam Factor: !!!!
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