Spotlight & Giveaway: How (Not) to Hate a Duke by Jennifer Haymore

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Jennifer Haymore to HJ!

Hi Jennifer and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, How (Not) to Hate a Duke!

 
Thanks so much for having me!
 

Please summarize the book a la Twitter style for the readers here:

An engaging and playful enemies-to-lovers romance about what happens when a high-minded heiress clashes with the dastardly duke next door…
 

Please share the opening lines of this book:

Georgiana hid a yawn behind her gloved hand.

She shouldn’t be so bored. She should be gazing adoringly at the young man who’d approached her and her mother during their walk in the park and who was now gushing effusively about the lovely weather.

But it had been a long Season. She was exhausted. Thank God it would soon be over.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• I went to England to research this book!
•  The book takes place at a house party in Derbyshire, in the English countryside.
• There are several cave systems in Derbyshire. The house party visits one, The Devil’s Arse. It’s called that for a very specific reason (described in the story)!
•  The party plays party games in the book…these are games most of us jaded moderners would scoff at, but the partygoers in that time thought they were a riot!
• While I was in Derbyshire, I got to visit Mr. Darcy’s house, from the movie Pride & Prejudice starring Colin Firth. In real life, it’s a decadent country house called Chatsworth.

What first attracts your main characters to each other?

Theo is attracted to Georgiana’s biting wit, sharp tongue, and confidence. Georgiana is attracted to Theo more and more as she discovers the real man behind the handsome aristocratic mask.
 

Using just 5 words, how would you describe your main characters”love affair?

rocky, escalating, absolute, burning, complete.
 

The First Kiss…

He lifted her wrist and tugged at the fingers of her glove. When all five of them were loosened, he pulled the supple fabric slowly down over her arm. Sparks seemed to crackle between them as he slid the silk over her pale skin until her hand was exposed. Tossing the glove aside, he laced his fingers with her delicate, feminine ones, brought her hand up to his lips, and pressed a kiss to each of her knuckles.

His chest was tight, his body strung taut. He wanted her so goddamn much.

She closed her eyes in a long blink, then looked up at him. They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. Theo could gaze into her changeable eyes forever.

“One kiss,” he murmured, pulling her infinitesimally closer. “Just one.”

Without revealing too much, what is your favorite scene in the book?

The Devil’s Arse Cave scene was fun to write! A dark adventure for our hero and heroine, with plenty of opportunity for a little romance and alone time….

Theo tightened his hand on Georgiana’s arm. “We’ll go first,” he announced.

Georgiana turned to him, the glower on her face evident in the flickering candlelight. “We will, will we?”

“We will,” he said mildly, leading her to the pond’s edge. The cave-dweller guide tucked his candle between his teeth and went into the pond to help steady the boat, the water lapping at his hips.

Lady Merrick and Charlotte stepped forward to help Georgiana while Theo knelt and held its edge to keep it steady—it was an old, wobbly wooden structure. He hoped it was seaworthy enough to get them where they needed to go.

After Georgiana was securely reclining on the bed of straw lining the bottom of the boat, Theo went in, making a show of lying down as closely as possible to the edge opposite the one Georgiana was pressed to.

Still, the boat was literally the size of a coffin, so it was inevitable they touched. Her arm, the curve of her hip, her leg—all of them pressed against his body. He closed his eyes and gritted out, “Ready.”

Merrick handed him his candle. “Godspeed, friend! See you on the other side.”

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would be absolutely crucial to include?

That would have to be when Georgiana’s parents interrupt the house party and discover their archenemy, the Duke of Desborough (our hero, Theo) is in attendance:

“We had no idea that the Duke of Desborough was here,” her father said darkly. “Why didn’t you inform us of that fact?”

Georgiana hesitated, then spoke truthfully. “Because I knew that if I told you he was here, you’d force me to come home, and I didn’t wish to come home.”

Her father seemed bewildered. “Why would you even desire to go within fifty feet of the man, given everything you know about him?”

“I didn’t do it on purpose, Papa. I didn’t know that the duke was invited to the party. In point of fact, I don’t believe he actually was formally invited.”

“But—” her mother started, but Georgiana continued. “I wasn’t formally invited, either, or certainly he would have known I’d be in attendance and wouldn’t have come. As it was, we discovered each other’s presence only after we both arrived.”

“Why didn’t you leave immediately?” her father asked.

“I thought about it. So did he.”

“Oh goodness!” her mother exclaimed. “How on earth could you know that man’s thoughts?”

“He told me, Mama.”

Her mother clutched her throat and stared at her with wide eyes. “You’ve spoken to him?”

“They are in attendance at the same small house party, Eliza,” Papa said. “It seems to me their speaking to each other was inevitable. As distressing as that is.” He looked like he was on the verge of being ill. Her mother melted into one of the chairs as if she no longer had the strength to stand.
Her father shook his head, and his shoulders sagged. “Your entire life, I’ve tried to keep you safe from him, and now—”

“I have not been unsafe in the least,” she said soothingly. Although, if her father knew what had really happened…

Well, she couldn’t even contemplate that.

Readers should read this book …

When they want a fun, quick escape from the outside world.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have planned?

Next up, I have a YA historical romance I’m really excited about! Stay tuned!

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: A print or Kindle copy of THE DUKE’S RULES OF ENGAGEMENT.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: If you attended a house party in the country with old and new friends, what is one thing your party would do for fun?

 
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Excerpt from How (Not) to Hate a Duke:

“What are those?” She gestured to the plant he was studying. It grew on its own trellis, its pot separated slightly from the others in one of the rows of plants that bisected the conservatory. Bright red fruits dangled heavily from its branches.

“The French call them pommes d’amour, I believe.” He glanced up at her. The jolt of awareness that ran through her every time he looked at her was something she really needed to learn to ignore.

She frowned. “Love-apples?”

“Or you might know them as tomatoes.”

“Ooh.” She studied the plant with more interest now. She’d never seen a tomato plant before. “They say those things turn your blood to acid and kill you.”

“An old wives’ tale, surely,” he said mildly. “The French call them love-apples because they claim they have aphrodisiacal qualities.”

She laughed. “So, if you dare to consume one, you’ll either drop dead or be overwhelmed by lust.”
He nodded and looked at her again, challenge flashing in his eyes. “Should I try one?”

“Absolutely not!”

But he’d picked one off the bush and was turning it over in his hand.

“It’s rather pretty,” she admitted. “But sometimes the prettiest things are the deadliest.”

His gaze locked with hers. “Yes,” he said quietly. “I agree.”

A shiver ran down her spine.

Without taking his eyes off hers, he began to lift the tomato toward his mouth.

“I don’t think—”

Too late. He did it. The thing squirted juice as his teeth broke through its skin. He chewed thoughtfully for a few moments and finally swallowed. She gaped at him in horror.

She realized with no small amount of surprise that she preferred him alive. Enemy or not, she did not want his blood to turn to acid.

He pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at his mouth. “Tastes odd.”

“What do you mean, odd?”

“It has the consistency of a…plum, perhaps, with a slightly tougher skin and soft flesh inside. But it has small seeds…” He was studying it again and showed her. “I believe I swallowed a few of them.”

“Why would you do that? That could be the poisonous part!”

He ignored her. “And it is somewhat sweet, but not sweet like an overripe plum, nor sour like an underripe one. It has a mild quality…slightly acidic.” At her wince, he added, “But certainly not acidic enough to poison my blood. Really, I’ve never tasted anything quite like it. Would you like to try?” He held it out to her, the bite taken out of it releasing a drop of juice she stepped back to avoid.

She shook her head, watching him warily.

“Are you awaiting a sign of my imminent death?” he asked with a small laugh.

“Well, yes, actually, I am. Perhaps we should ask Lady Merrick to send for a doctor, just in case.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary.”

She swallowed. “Are you sure?”

“Americans eat them,” he told her. “And that country has recently mustered a strong challenge against our interests in North America. I don’t think the love-apples are killing them there.”

“I’ve been to North America,” she retorted. “I saw no such plant, no such fruit, and no one eating them.”

Appearing unimpressed by her worldliness, he gave a careless shrug. “Maybe you were in the wrong part of America.”

That might be possible—as she’d specifically visited Halifax, Nova Scotia, where the climate was harsh and perhaps too far north for the odd red fruits to be grown. She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re still alive. Do you feel any strange effects?”

His eyes twinkled. “Like the overwhelming urge to ravish you?”

An instant flush heated her cheeks. “That’s not what I meant! I mean, do you feel your breaths becoming short? Tightness in your throat? Swelling of any part of your body?” She flushed deeper. “Well…I mean, not swelling on that part. Oh Lord.” She threw up her arms in exasperation. “I’m just trying to ensure you’re not dying!”

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Georgiana Milford may be a wealthy heiress without title, but even she has her limits. It’s vexing enough to be courted by every fortune-hunting noble during the Season—goodness, you’d think she was hiding a gold mine beneath her skirts! But this is not to be condoned. Because during a merry two-week party at a lord’s country home, she’s forced to endure her father’s greatest enemy and the most wretched duke in all of England: the Duke of Despots.

Theo St. Clair has hardly been the Seventh Duke of Desborough long enough to straighten his cravat, yet the ton are already nipping at his bootstraps. Starting with the Milford family, who are convinced he’s exactly like his blaggard of a father. Unfortunately, nothing tempts the scoundrel in him more than the prospect of kissing the prim-and-proper-ness right off Georgiana Milford’s lovely lips…

Now they’re trapped together, forced to wear polite smiles while they trade acidic barbs and pretend to ignore the growing tension charging the air between them. But while there is danger in ruin, it’s the devastating secret her family has been hiding that will shatter Georgiana’s world…
Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Goodreads |
 
 

Meet the Author:

USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Haymore is the author of sexy historical romance.

You can find Jennifer in Southern California trying to talk her husband into yet another trip to England, helping her three children with homework while brainstorming a new five-minute dinner menu, or crouched in a corner of the local bookstore writing her next novel.
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