📖 Blog Tour ~ Captivating the Cynical Earl by Catherine Tinley

Thrilled to be hosting a stop on this Blog Tour

Harlequin Historical
27 July 2021

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of the book 
and to Rachel's Random Resources for my invitation to the blog tour

The cool, aloof earl

And the enchanting lady

For Jack Beresford, Earl of Hawkenden, emotional entanglements are the path to pain. But when his brother brings his new wife and her best friend to his country home, everything changes. Lady Cecily Thornhill is both vibrant and beautiful, and Jack finds himself increasingly captivated by her sunnynature. Yet he must resist her charms, for in a month she’ll be gone unless his frozen heart thaws before then...

📖 My Thoughts..

Lady Cecily Thornhill is certainly no shrinking violet and when she meets Jack Beresford, the Earl of Hawkenden, at an evening soiree she is not surprised to find that her best friend's new brother-in-law is both arrogant and rude. The Earl's reputation for brusqueness is well known but Cecily is determined not to let him spoil her friend, Nell's happiness and wishes to smooth the relationship between the Beresford brothers. Lady Cecily agrees to spend time with Nell and Tom Beresford at their country home, but is little prepared for her reaction when Lord Hawkenden also arrives to spend time there with two of his hunting friends.

I really enjoy reading this author's historical fiction, her Regency stories which are so beautifully researched, never fail to entertain, and she always makes her stories come alive with lively conversation, a hint towards a trouble past and the sizzle of a will they, won't they romance. The setting, this time at a beautiful country home, highlights the attraction of the  countryside, whilst at the same time allows the customs and practices by which the elite of society lived, the restrictions of what was acceptable behaviour, and the subtle nuances of etiquette are all brought vividly into focus. It was interesting to observe how,  as Lady Cecily and Lord Hawkenden become better acquainted, so a flair of passion starts to ignite between them.

Captivating the Cynical Earl is a lovely Regency romance which has all the trademarks of this author's fine ability to recreate the social niceties of the Regency era, in an entertaining story of female friendship, brotherly rivalry, and the sizzle of an unexpected, romantic attraction.

About the Author

Catherine Tinley is an award winning author of historical romance. She writes witty, heartwarming Regency love stories for Harlequin Mills & Boon. Her first book,Waltzing with the Earl, won the Rita Award for Best Historical Romance 2018, while Rags-to-Riches Wife won the RoNA Award for Best Historical Romance 2021.

She has loved reading and writing since childhood, and has a particular fondness for love, romance,and happy endings. After a career encompassing speech & language therapy, Sure Start, maternity campaigning and being President of a charity, she now manages a maternity hospital. She lives in Ireland with her husband, children, cats, and dog and can be reached at catherinetinley.com 

Facebook

Twitter @CatherineTinley 

Instagram

@rararesources

 

🎄 Fabulously Festive with Catherine Tinley 🎄

In the run up to Christmas, I have wonderful author interviews to help get you into the festive spirit

Here's the fabulous, Catherine Tinley

A warm festive welcome, Catherine and thank you so much for being our guest today

🎅What’s your earliest Christmas Memory?

Getting a doll called Wanda. She was supposed to walk when you touched her with a wand but never really worked.

🎅Do you have any special Christmas Traditions?

Yes, lots! Our Christmas starts on Christmas Eve in the afternoon, when the whole family goes for a walk at a local beauty spot, the Fairy Glen. There are almost thirty of us now – my parents, brothers, sisters, their husbands and wives, and all the grandchildren. We meet again that evening at Christmas Eve Mass, then on Christmas morning we all go to my parents’ house for gift swapping and bacon sandwiches. We all cook dinner in our own houses though.

🎅What’s your favourite festive carol or song?

O Holy Night. It gives me goosebumps.

Do you have a favourite festive film?

I do like the Santa Clause trilogy. And It’s a Wonderful Life. And Scrooged. And – I seem to like lots of them!

🎅What’s your favourite festive read?

I like finding new romances set at Christmas, so I’ll be indulging in a few of those over the holidays.

🎅Are you organised or do you leave everything until the last minute?

A bit of both. I’m generally fairly well organised, but there are always those last minute extras, aren’t there?

🎅Christmas tree – real or artificial?

Both! We have an artificial tree that we put up in our front room every year, but we always get a real tree for the sitting room. I love the real tree.

🎅Tinsel or Glitter?

Tinsel, definitely. I drape it over picture frames as well as on the trees.

🎅Christmas cracker or party popper?

Crackers. Every year we have them on the table on both Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day.

🎅Mince Pie or Yule Log?

Yule Log – definitely! I’m not a fan of dried fruit, so no pudding, Christmas Cake, or mince pies for me. I love chocolate, so we always get a Yule Log. But my favourite traditional Christmas dessert is trifle and custard.

🎅Christmas Dinner – Traditional Turkey, Nut Roast Veggie or something a bit different?

Turkey and ham is the tradition in Ireland. We have it with sage & onion stuffing, cocktail sausages, at least three types of potato (creamed, roast, garlic), and lots of vegetables.

🎅Christmas Tipple – Bucks Fizz/Mulled Wine or something stronger?

Whatever’s going, really!

🎅A fun game of after dinner charades or more chocolates and the television?

Both. We do play games as a family, and eat lots of chocolate. We also have a food-coma nap at various points. In terms of TV, we watch the Dr Who and Call the Midwife Christmas specials, but not much else.

About the Author

Catherine Tinley writes heartwarming Regency love stories for Harlequin Mills & Boon. She has loved reading and writing since childhood, and has a particular fondness for love, romance, and happy endings. After a career encompassing speech & language therapy, NHS management, maternity campaigning and being President of a charity, she now works in Sure Start. She lives in Ireland with her husband, children, cat, and dog.

Catherine's novel The Makings of a Lady is out now and The Earl's Runaway Governess is due out in March 2019.

Website

Facebook

Twitter @CatherineTinley

Amazon

🎄Happy Christmas 😊

Blog Blitz ~ The Makings of a Lady by Catherine Tinley

🌠 Jaffareadstoo is delighted to be involved in the Blog Blitz for  The Makings of a Lady 🌠

Harlequin
Mills and Boon
1 October 2018

My thanks to the author and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of the book
and the invitation to be part of this blog blitz

What's it all about...

Be calm, she thought.

Be gracious. Be twenty-two.

Lady Olivia Fanton is eager to prove she’s no longer a child. However, just as she thinks she’s found a suitable match in the suave Mr Manning, charismatic Captain Jem Ford walks back into her life, bringing with him all the embarrassment of her infatuation four years before! She’s determined to appear mature, distant, friendly. But does she dare hope he’ll notice her as the lady she’s become? 

Here's what I thought about it...

This is now the third book in The Chadcombe Marriage mini series and in The Makings of a Lady we follow the story of Lady Olivia Fanton, who, as an eighteen year old, said goodbye to the first man who made her heart flutter. Now aged twenty-two, Olivia still remembers, Jem Ford, the gallant young soldier who stole her heart but, older and a little wiser, Olivia is now looking to find love with an entirely different sort of man. 

What then follows is a lovely Regency romance which, set against the background of the Chadcombe estate in Surrey, brings all the sights and flavours of an aristocratic family doing what they do best, that is, entertaining the local gentry with tea parties and balls and riding horses and walking in the countryside. 

The author writes this type of gentle romance with a lovely light touch and brings such a warmth to her characters that you can't help but bond with them, and yes, even the dastardly villains, of which there are a few splendid ones in this story, make their own rather special impact.There are several strands to the story, not just the "will they, won't they" aspect of a relationship, but also in the darker elements of the story which together help to create a nice blend of light and shade.

I'm sure that fans of this series will be delighted with The Makings of a Lady as it continues the lovely atmosphere which runs like a ribbon throughout the stories. It was lovely to meet up with the characters from the previous novels, particularly Adam and Charlotte who we met in Waltzing with the Earl and Juliana and Harry who took centre stage in The Captain's Disgraced Lady. However, it must be said that each of the stories work really well on their own merits and can be comfortably read as standalones.

There is no doubt that the author has found a real niche in writing Regency Romance and I think that, there is still scope for more lovely stories within this series. I look forward to seeing what happens next...

About the Author

Catherine Tinley writes heartwarming Regency love stories for Harlequin Mills & Boon. She has loved reading and writing since childhood, and has a particular fondness for love, romance, and happy endings. After a career encompassing speech & language therapy, NHS management, maternity campaigning and being President of a charity, she now works in Sure Start. She lives in Ireland with her husband, children, cat, and dog and can be reached at:

Website

Facebook

Twitter @CatherineTinley

Amazon

Don’t forget to take a look at Catherine Tinley’s Social media accounts. She is running a giveaway to win a copy of the book, along with two other (surprise) romance novels by other writers. 

2 x UK/Ireland Winners and 1 x International Winner. 

For all the details look out for Catherine Tinley on Facebook and Twitter