Title: The Lyon’s Redemption
Author: Sandra Sookoo
Genre: Regency romance, historical romance
Book Blurb:
In need of redemption… Thomas Prestwick, Viscount of Ashbury, has left the thought of love and romance behind. Never again will he allow himself that vulnerability and has, instead, kept himself busy with various vices every fine gentleman of the beau monde indulges in. If only he’d stayed away from the tables at the famed Lyon’s Den gaming hell that night, he might not have been caught up in fate’s unfortunate web, which brought him face-to-face with the past.
In want of vengeance…Miss Olivia Rose Jameson wants nothing to do with men—whether related to her or not. With her parents dead and her worthless brother losing everything of value at the gambling tables, she’s incensed when her hand is bartered for his freedom. That complication will not help her cause of having revenge on the man who killed her best friend, until chance matches her with the object of her ire.
Forgiveness has a way of changing everything… With no choice but to wed at the order of the mysterious Mrs. Dove-Lyon, the pair ushers in the Christmastide season as a married couple. No matter that Ashbury’s heart is locked away and Olivia wishes to carve it from his chest, more than compassion and secrets are shared between the enemies-to-lovers one snowy evening in the viscount’s library. As desire gives way to romance, fate once more intervenes. For one terrible night, everything hangs in the balance, and nothing short of a miracle—or love—can save them.
Because doesn’t the house—and Mrs. Dove-Lyon—always win?
Excerpt:
Finally, a door on one side of the room opened, and the owner of the club came into the room. She didn’t alight on a chair as he expected. Instead, she kept to the shadows of the space, much of her form shrouded in the darkness made by the dim lighting.
“Ah, Lord Ashbury. Would you care for tea?” The gentle clink of china echoed in the room as she apparently pulled out a teacup from a tray.
When the deuce had it been delivered and how had he missed it?
“No, thank you.” He frowned as he waited on her, once again, while she fixed a cup for herself. Was she always this maddening or was it all an act merely to set him off-guard?
“Why are you here, Ashbury? I thought I’d made everything perfectly clear for you when the contracts were signed.”
“Ah, you must mean when you accomplished separating me from my coin.” It was bad enough she’d practically demanded that he give Mr. Jameson two thousand pounds for the honor of marrying his sister, but then she’d also made certain he’d settled the same amount on the woman’s head to be held for her use no questions asked. To say nothing of promising her pin money which she could use without his consent or agreement.
“It is only fair. Some of you within the beau monde have more money than intellect, and since the people you hold beneath your heel are unable to fight back, I must do that for them.” Of course Mrs. Dove-Lyon chose a chair that was mostly shrouded in shadow so he couldn’t see her all that well, and bizarrely enough, she wore a bonnet with a dark, filmy veil handing over the top half of her face. Why? To maintain the mystery or was she truly that deep into mourning that it had now become a daily part of her toilette?
Not that he could fault her if that were the case. There was still a gaping hole in his heart from the loss of Cynthia.
He frowned at the not-so-subtle insult, but then, she didn’t truly know him. “So I am to pay for the sins of other men?”
“Not at all.”
“Then you should disabuse yourself of the notion I need this forced marriage. I am quite happy being on my own, and I cannot imagine the woman involved will appreciate being coerced to the altar.”
“So arrogant and so blind,” she said in a low voice, then paused to take a sip from her teacup. “There are things in your life you should atone for, Ashbury. Things that only redemption will fix.”
What the devil did that mean? “You assume that you should judge me for my life choices as well as carry out an execution, as it were?” How disillusioned could one person be?
“Hardly.” Her chuckle reverberated in the air, but it also served as a light warning. “I have never considered myself better or more sterling in values or decisions than anyone else. Perhaps the opposite is more true.” After resting her teacup on a small rose-inlaid table at her elbow, she rested her hands in her lap. The pale skin was a stark contrast against the dark skirting. “If you can honestly tell me that everything in your existence is perfect and you are truly happy, I will gladly withdraw the contracts.”
Damn and blast.
He rubbed the fingers of one hand over an eye. “It is not, and you know it.” Which was why she had him over a barrel. A huff of frustration escaped him. “I haven’t been happy—truly or otherwise—in a while.” Not since his life was upended and nothing was ever the same. After he lost Cynthia, his mother succumbed to death two years later. Three years after that, his father died from an attack of the heart.
I have known nothing except death for far too long.
For long moments, Mrs. Dove-Lyon remained silent as she stared at him from the shadows. “While I am sorry to hear that, until you can square with your past transgressions, you will continue to suffer. Perhaps over the course of the upcoming holidays, you can find what is missing in your life, and if not, I pray you are able to find peace.”
“In the meanwhile, both I and my bride-to-be must suffer, especially if we don’t suit.” It sounded positively horrid. “Nice little matchmaking scheme you run here.” Not even she would be able to ignore the sarcasm and bitterness in his tone. Now he knew what Pennington had struggled with.
“Everyone requires a catalyst at some point, Lord Ashbury. Only you can decide if your marriage will be just that.” When he tried to offer a protest, she lifted a hand, palm outward. “This conversation has finished. What you should do now is prepare yourself for your impending nuptials.”
“Tomorrow.”
“Yes, and should you think to not go through with them, I will make an appearance. If the ceremony doesn’t go off, I have my statement ready to go out to any and all interested parties regarding your little… hobby.” If there was a threat in her voice, he couldn’t detect it, but they both knew there was all the same.
Damn. If that knowledge of his political cartoons got out, if those interested parties knew who it was who’d run their names and reputations through the muck, he would have no recourse except to escape to the country. Perhaps for the remainder of his days. There was every possibility his reputation, his wealth, his power and influence could be destroyed or at the very least revoked depending on the ire of his opponents.
He shoved a hand through his hair. “At least tell me about the woman I’m to take to wife.” In less than four and twenty hours.
“She has Irish roots, is eight and twenty, is headstrong, and has had her fair share of scandal.”
“Of course.” So much bitterness in that response. Irish. Good God. “Who. Is. It?” he asked from around clenched teeth.
“Her name is Olivia Rose Jameson, and truth be told, your union won’t be dull.”
“No doubt you are quite right.” Thomas shook his head. “If you won’t cooperate, then I shall take my leave.”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-lyon-s-redemption-the-lyon-s-den-connected-world-by-sandra-sookoo
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Author Biography:
Author Biography: Sandra Sookoo is a USA Today bestselling author who firmly believes every person deserves acceptance and a happy ending. That is why her characters are not in the usual style and oftentimes struggle with things out of the norm. She’s written for publication since 2008. Most days you can find her creating scandal and mischief in the Regency-era, serendipity and happenstance in the Victorian era, or historical romantic suspense complete with mystery and intrigue. Reading is a lot like eating chocolates—you can’t just have one book. Give her the chance with one book and you’ll be hooked.
When she’s not wearing out computer keyboards or mice, Sandra spends time with her real-life Prince Charming in Central Indiana where she also runs a gourmet cookie business and makes moments count with the man because the key to life is laughter. Inspired to storytelling by Walt Disney since the age of ten, when her soul gets bogged down and her imagination flags, a trip to Walt Disney World is in order. Nothing fills the well and fuels her dreams more than the land of eternal happy endings, hope and love stories.
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