I am Lydia Lloyd and today is release day for my book, WHEN THE EARL DESIRED ME. The third in my Rake Chronicles series, this book is a high heat, second chance Regency romance between Lord Augustus Carrington, the Earl of Montaigne, and Olivia Watson, the resilient, curvaceous beauty who he has never been able to forget.
What can you expect in this one? When Olivia Watson was twenty years old, she was working as a maid in the London townhouse of the Earl of Montaigne—and before long finds herself in a torrid affair with the man himself. She thinks that they have not only passion but love, until he abruptly dismisses her from her position. Devastated but not one to wallow in heartbreak, Olivia accepts a position working for a wealthy woman bound for France, assuming that she will never again return to England. But, then, thirteen years later, her employer decides that her daughter needs to make her debut during the London season, so Olivia has no choice but to go back to her native country. Of course, she almost immediately runs into Lord Montaigne—and, to her great surprise, he seems intent on winning her back. She would love to reject the man coldly, and she tries, but he is persistent, and the same attraction that once crackled between them still lights up their interactions. Can Olivia forgive and forget? Or will the rakish earl, known in society as the Downstairs Menace for his serial seduction of servants, only break her heart again?
I am so delighted that this book is now out in the world. It is such an emotional love story and while I adore Olivia, I had even more fun writing the hero of this book because of the twist his character takes from the prior books in the series. I introduced Montaigne all the way back in book one, WHEN THE DUKE LOVED ME. Each hero in this series belongs to the same friend group of high-ranking noblemen, dubbed the Rank Rakes by society for their scandalous ways, and Montaigne has been a story I have been so excited to write since book one. To celebrate the release of Montaigne’s book, I’ve highlighted my three favorite things about him below!
#1) He is obsessed with Olivia & would do anything for her
You’ll have to read the book to see how obsessed I actually mean—but he is down bad for this girl from day 1 and never lets up, even though they are separated for thirteen years. I won’t reveal the extent of his devotion, but I will give a little hint of it: early in the book, he throws a ball just to get closer to her!
#2) He is a Rank Rake—but he actually isn’t a rake at all
WHEN THE DUKE LOVED ME introduces the world of the Rank Rakes through the perspective of its hero, John, the Duke of Edington. As far as John knows, he and his friends are all rakes who flout convention. What he doesn’t know is that Montaigne hasn’t exactly been truthful with the group about his actual erotic activities—and so Montaigne’s story is a sort of reversal of what John and Trem have presented to be true about the group in books 1 and 2. Not only does Olivia find out the truth about Montaigne, but the other Rank Rakes do, too.
#3) His sweet relationship with his family
In the first two books in the series, the reader only sees the roguish side of Montaigne. But in this book, I really highlight the sweet relationship he has with his tight-knit, Bridgerton-esque family. John and Trem (the heroes of book 1 and 2) are both orphans and are dealing with the fact that their families have been fractured or broken. But Montaigne is different—he comes from a big family and is close with his mother and siblings. The sweetness he shows them is core to his character. When his family is introduced, it is the first big clue that Montaigne is not what he has seemed in book 1 and book 2.
Thank you for reading! I hope you find a chance to pick up WHEN THE EARL DESIRED ME, especially if you love high-heat Regency romances!
xoxo,
Lydia
About the Author.
Lydia Lloyd writes high-heat historical romance set during the Regency period. She enjoys creating love stories between roguish heroes and complex heroines that are driven by authentic conflict and steamy encounters. Lydia holds a PhD in nineteenth-century British literature and, when she isn’t writing historical romance, works as a teacher and scholar.
