New contest: "A Lady Awakened" by Cecilia Grant!

ETA: This contest is closed. Chelsea B. won the book!

So…I just read the third Blackshear book, A Woman Entangled, which is a bit of a problem because ALL I WANT TO DO RIGHT NOW IS TALK ABOUT HOW GREAT THAT BOOK IS. So great! Not to mention perfectly structured and completely satisfying all the way to the last page. I ended that book with the biggest smile on my face, and I love all the characters, and the protagonists’ unique combination of showmanship/romanticism and practicality/conventionality, was so incredibly appealing and vividly drawn. So I thought this might be a good time to give away a signed copy of the first Blackshear book, A Lady Awakened!

Newly widowed and desperate to protect her estate—and housemaids—from a predatory brother-in-law, Martha Russell conceives a daring plan. Or rather, a daring plan to conceive. After all, if she has an heir on the way, her future will be secured. Forsaking all she knows of propriety, Martha approaches her neighbor, a London exile with a wicked reputation, and offers a strictly business proposition: a month of illicit interludes…for a fee.

Theophilus Mirkwood ought to be insulted. Should be appalled. But how can he resist this siren in widow’s weeds, whose offer is simply too outrageously tempting to decline? Determined she’ll get her money’s worth, Theo endeavors to awaken this shamefully neglected beauty to the pleasures of the flesh–only to find her dead set against taking any enjoyment in the scandalous bargain. Surely she can’t resist him forever. But could a lady’s sweet surrender open their hearts to the most unexpected arrival of all…love?

I was honored to have Cecilia as a guest on her blog tour back when ALA first came out. You can read her awesome interview and also read me fangirling all over her about

1) the sex scenes, which Martha steadfastly refuses to enjoy for quite a while and poor rakish Theo starts out sort of bemused (“but…my prowess!”) and ends up really quite overset by the whole thing (before, obviously, a turnaround full of orgasms and other pleasant things!). Very unique, and VERY hot
2) the tightly emotionally controlled heroine and the hero who helps her open up (one of my favorite things in the ENTIRE WORLD as you…may have guessed from reading my books, although I like to think that my next couple of books will be a bit different)
3) Cecilia’s great taste in TV
4) &c.

Here is what Smart Bitch Sarah Wendell had to say about it: “I am throwing my hands up at the idea that you may not read this book. Please go get a copy. It is to be savored and enjoyed while each character grows into someone amazing, people I have not been able to stop thinking about.”

SO. Just comment on this post to enter, and make sure you enter your e-mail address on the comment form (not in the body of the comment itself, just where it says NAME: URL: EMAIL:). It won’t show up to other commenters, but I’ll get it and then I can easily notify you of your win. As always, if you want to be alerted when a new contest goes up, I recommend signing up for my newsletter.

NB: Cecilia isn’t involved in the giveaway and the book isn’t personalized. So if you want to tell her how much you loved her book, this isn’t the place. That would be her website. (But this IS the place to tell ME how much you loved it!)

23 thoughts on “New contest: "A Lady Awakened" by Cecilia Grant!”

    1. Just to make sure you know, the contest is for the first book. I did talk about how much I loved book 3 at the beginning of the post, hope that wasn’t too confusing.

  1. ALA is one of those debut books that tells me, “You’ve just found another great author.” I have the ebook, but would LOVE a print copy to add to the keeper shelf.

  2. Oh, I would love to own this book! I read a library copy last year & this book was excellent! Thanks for the chance!

  3. In the AAR forum I read some comments about the heroine that made me dislike her, but I’d give the book a try, if I win it.

    1. Well, you know, tastes differ! I think sometimes if a story has a lot of personality, the people who love it will really REALLY love it because they can connect to it in a really intense way, but there also have to be people it doesn’t speak to, that aren’t compatible with it, that’s just the nature of things. Good luck in the drawing. 🙂

  4. I read ALA as an ebook and actually loved how uptight and self-righteous Martha was. A hard copy would be great for passing among friends because not all of us have e-readers. Thanks for the giveaway!

  5. Never heard about her. The book seems interesting, I’d like to read it. Thanks for the contest. Patty

  6. I think it must be karma but earlier this week several of my friends told me that I “just had to read a terrific author they had found”! That author was Cecilia Grant and they were talking about her first two books, A Lady Awakened and A Gentleman Undone!
    I couldn’t believe when I read your post that you were featuring the very same author! I can’t begin to explain allhow thrilled I am that she now also has a third book, A Woman Entangled, that was just released last month!
    Even if I’m not fortunate enough to win your giveaway all three of her books have been added to my TBR list! Thanks to you as well as my friends for introducing me to this great new author!
    I also discovered earlier today that Goodreads is also having a giveaway for A Woman Entangled right now so be sure to check it out!

    1. Clearly it’s kismet! Good luck in the drawing. 🙂 And did you hear that about the goodreads giveaway, people? Can you give us a link, Jeanne? I couldn’t find it myself.

  7. Okay, apparently I need to start this series ASAP! I love me a good historical romance. Everything just seemed more romantic way back then 🙂

  8. I’m definitely adding this series to my TRL. Looking forward to reading this new to me Author. Thanks for the opportunity.
    Carol L
    Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com

  9. One of my favorite movie romances in 2011 was Bella and Edward in BREAKING DAWN Part 1. 😉
    Cecilia is a new author for me. I enjoyed reading her interview and her book appeals to me greatly. I would love to win. Thanks, Rose!
    Meljprincess AT aol DOT com

    1. I loved that movie! I like to imagine it ends with a menage–the movies never go all the way with making Jacob’s imprinting on Renesme romantic, so I am free to dream. 🙂 With Jacob helping her through the pregnancy, they are such a cute little family.
      I think you’d love Cecilia’s book, good luck!

  10. The reviews make this book sound worath reading so I’ve added it to my to be read list. Glad I stopped by the blog today.

  11. I love finding “new” authors – thank you for the recommendation! Just added the series to my Goodreads and Shelfari shelves. 🙂

  12. Thanks for the heads up about this book. It sounds like the kind I love to read. I have yet to read book by this author so would welcome the chance to do so.

Leave a Reply to JustineCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.