You can’t juge a book by its cover- and not even by its blurb, at times. So what you need to do is read a sample and see if you like the author’s style. Then you know you can stick with that book to the end.
So, to make sure you won’t be disappointed if you decide to read I LOVE TO HATE YOU, here’s an excerpt, featuring a scene between the heroine, Athene Hartville, and her arch-enemy (or so she thinks), Viscount Oliver Rushbourne.
I’ll put the cover and the blurb at the end, just to make sure you have the full package! And some links so you can get the book, which is currently FREE on Kindle Unlimited.
“The wait for Athene in the orangery was the longest ten minutes of Rushbourne’s life. He’d put together so many pretty speeches, rehearsed them in his head like an actor, but the moment she glided through the doorway, every single word fled from his mind.
“You’ll be wondering why I was lurking behind the shutters,” she said, with apparent joviality.
“Not the best hiding place, when you can be seen from outside.” Damn. He sounded as if he was patronising her, so he attempted a grin.
“We were playing a little trick on Harry. He’ll doubtless tell you about it, unless he’s too embarrassed to, in which case I wouldn’t press him. Nothing serious, I assure you.”
He didn’t want to talk about Harry. “Hide and Seek—yes, I understand. In some ways I still see Harry as a child, but in other ways he is very much a man. Having a younger brother is a major responsibility.” He ground to a halt.
“Did you want to speak to me?” She’d moved closer, near enough for him to smell her perfume.
“I wanted to find out if the gifts I sent were acceptable.”
“Oh, most certainly.” She fanned a hand across her face. “Although one has no need of them in here. Is that steam coming out through the vents?” She tugged at the front of her dress and released it a couple of times to cool herself.
“Possibly.” What did he mean, possibly? Of course, it was steam. Why could he not think straight? Perhaps the humid heat in here was interfering with his logical mind.
“So, the gloves and shawls were suitable?” he persisted. “The colours pleased you? I mean, both of you?”
“Of course. You already knew my colouring, but you must have studied Kat’s too. Tell me, do you think men would find her attractive?”
“Probably.” He pondered a moment, then added, “But they’d scarcely notice her when you were in the same room.”
Good God, he was trying to flatter her. Was it working? He had no idea. He’d never attempted to flatter a woman before. He’d never needed to—wealth and good looks had always been enough. But not for Athene. Was his a forlorn hope?
She was so close now he could feel the brush of her skirts. She twinkled up at him. “How gallant of you to say so. I never expected such praise to fall from your lips.”
“Nor did I.” He felt as if he’d been hit by a thunderbolt. Athene had never before been so well inclined towards him.”
The first rule of setting a trap is not to get caught in it yourself.
Miss Athene Hartville must marry quickly, or risk spending the rest of her days in a gloomy garret, embroidering baby’s gowns. When her flirtatious chaperone secures an invitation to spend the week with an eccentric duke and his guests, Athene’s hopes of finding a rich husband soar. Until, that is, her childhood nemesis Viscount Rushbourne, arrives. He threatens to trample her ambitions into the dust.
Struggling to manage his ailing father, a maverick younger brother, and an unwieldy earldom, Rushbourne’s reunion with the fiery Athene is a welcome distraction. Then he uncovers a conspiracy against him that could lead to his total ruin.
His only hope is to win Athene’s heart…but can he pay the price and accept her imaginative revenge?
Seduction, Scandal & Spies 