Title:
Angel Comes to the Devil’s Keep: Book 1 of the Twins’ Trilogy
Author:
Regina Jeffers
Genre:
Regency romance; romantic suspense; trilogy; historical fiction; mystery
Book Blurb:
Huntington McLaughlin, the Marquess of Malvern, wakes in a farmhouse, after a head injury, being tended by an ethereal "angel," who claims to be his wife. However, reality is often deceptive, and Angelica Lovelace is far from innocent in Hunt's difficulties. Yet, there is something about the woman that calls to him as no other ever has. When she attends his mother's annual summer house party, their lives are intertwined in a series of mistaken identities, assaults, kidnappings, overlapping relations, and murders, which will either bring them together forever or tear them irretrievably apart. As Hunt attempts to right his world from problems caused by the head injury that has robbed him of parts of his memory, his best friend, the Earl of Remmington, makes it clear he intends to claim Angelica as his wife. Hunt must decide whether to permit her to align herself with the earldom or claim the only woman who stirs his heart—and if he does the latter, can he still serve the dukedom with a hoydenish American heiress at his side?
Taylor Jones
The story is charming, with interesting and realistic characters, a complex plot with plenty of surprises, and a sweet romance woven through it all. The author has a good command of what it was like to be a woman in 19th Century England—almost as if she had been there. She really did her research for this one.
Regan Murphy
Angel Comes to Devil's Keep is a well-written tale of courage and sacrifice and what women went through in order to marry well in Regency England. The author did her homework, and it shows in an authenticity we don't often see in Regency romances.
Excerpt:
Angel pulled herself over the lip of the stone roadway before collapsing into a cold muddy puddle. Several inches of water stood upon the odd-shaped stones while the excess cascaded over the edges sliding down the slope to meet the rising stream crawling its way upward. If the rain continued for much longer, one would not be able to tell where the road ended and the water began. Pulling herself to her knees, she rose slowly. She did not hear the stranger’s approach over the rumble of the thunder.
It was only afterward did she realize her sudden appearance had frightened the man’s horse. The beautifully powerful animal rose up on his hind legs to paw the air above Angel’s head. Covering her head with her arms, she heard the man attempts to calm the animal and the shrill cries of the beast in counterpoint to the continued war with nature. A hard thump announced one of the battles had been lost.
Without considering the consequences, Angel caught the animal’s reins before it ran off.
“Easy, boy,” she pleaded as the animal jerked its head to free her grip. She stroked the stallion’s neck to quiet its fear. “I shan’t hurt you.” The horse showed its teeth, but it did not bite. Her hand traced the animal’s neck to its shoulder. “Permit me to see to your rider.” Gently, Angel patted the steed’s neck before dropping the loose reins and praying the animal was trained to remain in place.
Lifting her rain soaked gown, she sloshed her way toward where the man lay upon his side in the muddy water.
“Sir?” she said in regret. “How badly are you injured?” The stranger offered no response nor did he move beyond a single breath escaping his lungs.
Carefully, she edged the man onto his back before running her hands up and down his legs and arms. She realized he could have an injured ankle, but removing his boots was not an option at the moment. It was imperative for her to assist him to his horse before he, literally, drowned, in the muddy waters rushing across the road.
Angel placed her hand upon his shoulder to give it a good shake. “Sir.”
Immediately his eyes sprang open, and a string of curse words announced she had discovered his injury. “Bloody hell!”
Angel jumped away, not wishing to touch him again. “I apologize. I did not mean to bring you pain. Are you able to stand?” She shot a glance at the rising water sloshing against his side. “We are in a tenuous situation. We must seek higher ground.” In hesitation, she knelt beside him. “Have you suffered injuries beyond your shoulder?”
* * *
Hunt looked up into the most mesmerizing eyes he had ever beheld: A bluish green, the shade of the ocean upon a sunny day. For a moment, he could not think. His head hummed a song he did not recognize.
“Where am I?” He was aware of a cold rain dripping from her worn bonnet to splash upon his chest.
She watched him with an indefinable emotion. “We are somewhere in Warwickshire.” A quick glance to the right preceded her frown. “At least, I think we are.” Her scowl deepened. “We are in a steady rain, and the water is rising quickly. I insist upon supporting you to your horse. I doubt I could lift you to the saddle, but I would endeavor to do so if your injury prevents your mounting on your own.”
Her words amused him. Unless Hunt underestimated her stature, she would not reach his shoulder. “Assist me to sit, instead.”
He noted how the water sloshed against his jacket’s sleeve. He was lying in a stream of water!
Her fingers crawled beneath his shoulders and nudged him upward. Despite lying in a pool of cold rainwater, heat shot straight to his chest. Hunt never experienced anything like. He used the hand, which did not throb with shooting pains, to shove himself to a seated position. Everything about him swirled into a mixture of gray and green and brown. He felt his stomach turn over, but he breathed through the darkness which sought to consume him. The woman had not erred in her estimation. They were in danger, and he must reach Alibi if they were to survive.
Hunt did not know when “he” became a “they,” but it had. The moment his eyes rested upon hers, he claimed himself her protector. He would assist her home and beg for a physician to be called.
Crawling to his knees and then to his feet, Hunt bit into his bottom lip to keep from calling out in pain. He swayed in place, and the woman hurried to brace his weight. Although she was beautiful enough—her skin pearly white—to be a fine lady, Hunt could not imagine her so. What lady of Society would wallow through the mud to tend him?
“Can you cross to the horse or should I bring him to you?” She shoved her wet body underneath his arm to keep Hunt from tipping forward.
With a deep steadying breath, Hunt again clenched his teeth. “Lead on,” he gritted through tight lips. With a knee-buckling lurch, he took a dozen steps to reach Alibi’s rump. “Easy,” he cautioned as he used the horse to brace his weight.
Muddy tracks of water streamed down from his hair, and Hunt used his free hand to sweep it back from his forehead. His hat had long-since drifted away in the narrow stream of water carving a deeper rut in the road.
“Hold his reins,” he instructed the woman, a woman whose name he had yet to learn.
The lady lifted his arm so he might catch the rise of the saddle before she moved away to hold Alibi’s head still. When she nodded her preparedness, Hunt captured a deep breath, placed a foot in the stirrup, and lifted his frame to swing a leg over his horse. His settling heavily into the saddle made Alibi skittish again, but the woman’s melodic voice—one which reminded him of God’s angels—coaxed the stallion to stillness. Even so, in spite of his best efforts, Hunt thought the ground rose up to greet his descent. Desperately, he wrapped his arm about Alibi’s neck and slumped forward.
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What makes your featured book a must-read?
In truth, creating a story that tells a complete and satisfying tale and then have it transform into a whole host of challenges in books that will follow and be equally as satisfying is no easy task, but this trilogy holds up even under the closest of scrutiny. This tale of an American heiress in Regency England keeps the reader coming back for more and more. It is the perfect book to hid from the realities of life to escape into the pages of an award-winning series. A good series is like a treasured friend with which we desperately want to spend time. Angel Comes to the Devil’s Keep allows the reader to discover characters for whom they wish to cheer — for whom they wish to invest their time.
As for the characters, you will adore Angelica’s (“Angel”) hoydenish ways, while also appreciating her fears of ever being good enough for the marquess. The reader will cheer when the way forward for Angel and Hunt becomes clear. That does not mean the pair does not face their fair share and more of external problems, for they do.
Huntington McLaughlin’s transformation from a man unwilling to walk in his father’s footsteps is remarkable to observe as he must overcome a variety of obstacles, finding himself totally dependent upon Angelica as his one true and most loyal memory.
Other Books in the Twins’ Trilogy include:
Angel Comes to the Devil’s Keep: Book 1 of the Twins’ Trilogy
The Earl Claims His Comfort: Book 2 of the Twins’ Trilogy
Lady Chandler’s Sister: Book 3 of the Twins’ Trilogy
Angel Comes to the Devil’s Keep: Book 1 of the Twins’ Trilogy
SOLA’s Eighth Annual Dixie Kane Memorial Awards, Historical Romance;
2017 finalist in the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense;
2017 finalist Derby Award for Fiction
The Earl Claims His Comfort, Book 2 of the Twins’ Trilogy
2016 Hot Prospects Award Finalist, Romantic Suspense
Lady Chandler’s Sister: Book 3 of the Twins’ Trilogy
Award-Winning Finalist in the Fiction: Romance category - 2019 International Book Awards
Giveaway –
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Winner will be drawn on January 21, 2022.
Author Biography:
Regina Jeffers, an award-winning author of historical cozy mysteries, Austenesque sequels and retellings, as well as Regency era romances, has worn many hats over her lifetime: daughter, student, military brat, wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, tax preparer, journalist, choreographer, Broadway dancer, theatre director, history buff, grant writer, media literacy consultant, and author. Living outside of Charlotte, NC, Jeffers writes novels that take the ordinary and adds a bit of mayhem, while mastering tension in her own life with a bit of gardening and the exuberance of her “grand joys.”
Social Media Links:
Every Woman Dreams (Blog) https://reginajeffers.wordpress.com
Austen Authors (Blog) http://austenauthors.net
Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Regina-Jeffers/e/B008G0UI0I/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1479079637&sr=8-1
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/jeffers0306/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/darcy4ever/
You Tube Interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzgjdUigkkU