Spotlight & Giveaway: Terms of Their Costa Rican Temptation by Pippa Roscoe

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Pippa Roscoe to HJ!

Hi Pippa and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Terms of Their Costa Rican Temptation!

 
Hello Sara, The HJ team and to all you lovely readers – it’s wonderful to be back here.
 

Tell us about the book with this fun little challenge using the title of the book:

If you’d told Skye Soames two months ago that she would fly to Costa Rica, hide in the back of a stranger’s jeep and follow him in to the jungle to find a one-hundred-and-fifty year old map, she’d have laughed until she cried. But there is nothing funny about finding herself stuck for five days with the gorgeous, brooding Benoit Chalendar, or the fact that she so desperately needs his help that she’s willing to agree to a convenient marriage!

Terms of their Costa Rican Temptation is the first the Diamond Inheritance Series, a trilogy featuring the Soames sisters. In a will, left by a grandfather they had never met, Skye, Star and Summer are set to inherit a sprawling English country estate. On one condition! That they find the family diamonds that have been missing for over one hundred and fifty years. The sisters’ only interest is to help pay for their mother’s much needed medical treatment so they have little choice but to search the globe for clues to the whereabouts of the missing heirlooms. It’s a daunting, adventurous journey that started over one hundred and fifty years ago and must be concluded within two months, or – as the will dictates – the estate reverts to the National Trust. Following the clues to the missing treasure takes each of the sisters far and wide, but all will end in a happy-every-after!

What’s your favorite line(s) from the book?:

‘And what is this by-law?’
‘It requires me to get married or step down as CEO.’
‘That’s crazy,’ she replied.
‘No more crazy than searching for a one hundred and fifty-year-old map of secret passageways and hunting for missing jewels,’ he bit back angrily, mentally at war with the need to defend his great-aunt whilst also cursing her. He was the only one who could do that.
‘No, I mean what’s crazy is the assumption that marriage would suddenly stop you being a philanderer.’
‘Philanderer?’
‘Would you prefer another description? Playboy, womaniser, Lothario, rake, libertine—’
‘You’re having too much fun with that,’ he growled again.
*
His eyes flared in the dark room, the moon shooting stars across his icy blue irises.
‘One night? You just want one night?’
‘Yes,’ she breathed, not caring about the longing in her voice.
‘It will never be enough, Skye.’
‘Your arrogance is astounding,’ she breathed, outraged.
‘I didn’t mean for you.’ His voice was dark, angry with warning. It matched the fire he’d started within her and there was only one way forward now—to let it burn.
‘It will have to be,’ she said on a shaky breath. Because she wasn’t ready for more. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready for more.

Please tell us a little about the characters in your book. What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Benoit Chalendar is a French billionaire tycoon who is on a knife edge of losing everything that he holds dear. He’s powerful, proud and very used to getting his own way. But he’s not met a woman like Skye Soames, who seems unimpressed with his wealth, is determined to think the worst of him and who utterly confounds him. She challenges him to be better, to think harder and to fight for what he believes in.

Skye Soames didn’t know what she was missing until Benoit opened her up to the hidden passions of her heart. Helping to raise her two younger sisters had led her to make sacrifices – ones she would willingly do all over again in a heartbeat. But she hadn’t realised how much of her true self she had denied along the way. Benoit shows her that she can be everything she wants and more if she is brave enough to reach out and take it. Under his gentle guidance she embraces an innately power and adventurous nature and changes her life forever.

When you sat down to start this book, what was the biggest challenge you faced? What were you most excited about?

I’ve always loved treasure hunt stories, films like The Goonies, Romancing the Stone, Tomb Raider, Indiana Jones, National Treasure… the adventure, the danger, the romance! And I couldn’t resist the temptation to explore that here, with the Soames sisters. I wanted the bond between the women of this family to have been something that survived generations, that surpassed time and connected them all. I hope some of that shines in the three books.

I think one of the biggest challenges was keeping the focus on the romance while exploring the necessary steps in the treasure hunt, but I definitely loved writing these two fiery characters and the stunning location of Costa Rica!

What, in your mind, makes this book stand out?

The Diamond Inheritance Series is a trilogy of romances with a little bit of action and adventure, with a treasure hunt that spans all three books. Each sister has a part to play before all the clues can be gathered and the jewels found. But none of them could do it without the gorgeous heroes they meet on the way!

The First Kiss…

His eyes flared in the dark room, the moon shooting stars across his icy blue irises.
‘One night? You just want one night?’
‘Yes,’ she breathed, not caring about the longing in her voice.
‘It will never be enough, Skye.’
‘Your arrogance is astounding,’ she breathed, outraged.
‘I didn’t mean for you.’ His voice was dark, angry with warning. It matched the fire he’d started within her and there was only one way forward now—to let it burn.
‘It will have to be,’ she said on a shaky breath. Because she wasn’t ready for more. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready for more.
She looked up at him to see if he’d heard, or even understood. He watched her for so long she was ready to turn and leave, when finally he nodded. Once.
And that was all the warning she had before his lips crashed down on hers, his hands coming to frame her face, pressing against her hair and anchoring her to him, angling her to him in a way that she couldn’t resist. She opened up for him, his tongue plunging deep within her, filling her in a way that she felt she’d missed her entire life.

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would you use for the audition of the main characters and why?

I chose this scene because it’s the first time Summer realizes how attracted she is to him and instinctively fights it, but it also shows some of the banter and tension that sparks in their interaction.

‘You’re bleeding!’
He frowned, touching his hairline and pulling his hand away with fresh blood on his fingertips. ‘It’s nothing.’
‘It’s a head wound.’
‘It’s hardly a—’
‘Sit down,’ she commanded, channelling her feelings into anger at him for not saying anything. She swallowed her surprise when he actually did as she’d asked and ignored the wry raising of a single eyebrow.
She came around in front of the seat he had chosen, eyeing the cut that bordered his hairline, leaning and stepping forward slightly to get a better look. He tensed. ‘I’m not going to hurt you,’ she said, sounding as exasperated as she felt until she reached down to pick up the witch hazel and realised that she’d somehow stepped right in between his legs. Trying to ignore the sudden awareness of…him, his chest, his maleness, the heat coming off all that, she poured the clear liquid onto a cotton pad before reaching to lift a wave of hair, dark and slick with rain, away from the cut.
She squinted through the dim lighting in the cabin and saw a cut about two centimetres long but thankfully not wide. Cuts to the head always bled profusely, as she’d discovered early on with Summer, whose mind was always on a daydream rather than what was in front of her. And as her mother had a very different idea of what a medicine cabinet consisted of, Skye had become well versed in the use of herbal remedies, even if she’d always longed for proper painkillers and antiseptic cream.
‘This is going to—’
‘I’m not a—’
The word ‘child’ that would have come out of Benoit’s mouth was cut off as she whacked the cotton pad onto the cut and instead she heard a deeply satisfying hiss. Only then did she realise she was close enough to feel it on her cheek, and somehow on the hairs on her arms and shivering down her spine and shockingly deep within her core.

What do you want people to take away from reading this book?

I would love it if readers felt the connection between all the women in these books and how that bond supports each heroine through their journey not only to find the jewels, but also their happy ever after. The message that Catherine Soames left with the hidden jewels is one of love, trust and faith and each of the sisters are tethered to that same message – one that is hopefully shared with the readers.

What are you currently working on? What are your up-coming releases?

I’m currently putting the finishing touches on the last book in the trilogy, and I’m thrilled to reveal that the second book in the trilogy – Star’s story – is called From One Night to Desert Queen and will be available in July. It’s full of mystique, passion and romance!
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: I have (3) three copies of Terms of their Costa Rican Temptation to send to three readers internationally.

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Excerpt from Terms of Their Costa Rican Temptation:

BENOIT PUT A hand to his head, where the sting of pain was more acute than throbbing and cursed when he saw the traces of blood on his fingertips. Fighting through the haze in his head, he twisted, ignoring the pain in his ribs, to make sure the woman was okay.
‘Tu va bien?’ he called, hoping that the stowaway in the back of his car would answer.
Nothing, no response. Panic began to build in his chest, outweighing any of his own aches or pains. He was ready to kill her, but first he needed to make sure she was alive.
‘Es tu blessée?’ His breath only escaped his lungs when he heard her groan. At least she was conscious.
‘I don’t think so,’ came the feminine English-speaking voice from the back. ‘I just need to—’
‘Stop!’ he commanded in English as he saw her reach for the door. ‘You may have hurt your neck. Just…just stay there.’
Quickly checking himself over mentally, aside from the cut on his temple, a sore—but thankfully not broken—nose from the airbag and an ache in his side that didn’t feel like anything worse than bruising, he wasn’t too bad. His blood pressure, though, was a different matter. He was probably going to need statins after this.
He kicked at the door from where it had bent shut in the crash and poured himself out of the Jeep. He opened her door and took in the sight of the dishevelled brunette crumpled in his back seat. Stifling a curse, he ignored the wide stare of startlingly rich brown eyes with a sheen that looked horrifyingly as if it might be tears if given the chance.
‘I just want to make sure you’re okay.’ He leaned in and placed his hands either side of her neck, slender and long, the flutter of her pulse quick but strong beneath his palms. She stiffened but held her tongue as he gently pressed. ‘Does it hurt?’
‘A little, but I’m okay. Really, I am.’ The second statement was stronger and, Benoit noticed, irritated. Casting a glance over the rest of her, not seeing any cuts but a whole lot more clothing than was appropriate for the Costa Rican jungle, the woman seemed to be faring much better than he was.
‘Okay,’ he said, leaning back out of the car. ‘Then would you mind telling me who you are and what the hell you think you’re doing in my car?’ he demanded hotly.
She flinched and the sight caused him to step back. Adrenaline had spiked pinpricks into his skin but as it receded it left an anger he had to get a grip on.
‘I needed to speak to you,’ she said as she finally struggled out of the back of the car and onto the forest floor beside him. The woman wasn’t tiny but she still had to crane her neck to look up at him. ‘It’s a matter of great importance,’ she insisted, her eyes piercing him with a strange sincerity.
Taking her in with one quick glance, he genuinely didn’t know where to start. Usually he wouldn’t have given her a first glance, let alone a second one. She was attempting to smooth her shoulder-length brown hair into submission. Her body was entirely hidden by a pair of jeans that were neither skin-tight nor baggy, their only saving grace that they were a pleasant dark inky blue, a white shirt buttoned up to the collar, over which sat a grey blazer that did absolutely nothing for her skin tone. Then again, it was possible the pallor of her skin could be due to the accident. Or because she was English; it really could go either way at this point. Which drew him to her shoes. He didn’t think he’d ever seen a pair of Oxford brogues outside of, well, Oxford. Benoit’s lips pressed together against the curse that wanted to be let loose.
‘Are you from Stransen? Is this about the contract?’
Her eyes rocketed up to his face and if her cheeks had been flushed before then the blush that rose to her skin was almost painful to see.
‘Well?’ he demanded.
‘About that…’
‘Yes?’
‘It’s not exactly… There is… Mmm…’
He watched as she stumbled over her words, wondering whether perhaps she had hit her head in the crash.
‘There-is-no-contract,’ she said, the words rushing out together so quickly that it took him a moment to mentally translate them.
‘What do you mean, no contract?’
‘Stransen. There is no unsigned contract. We needed to speak to you.’
Benoit paused for a beat that served only to fan the flames of his ire. ‘Do you mean to tell me that you had nearly thirty members of staff searching through five years of contracts because you fancied a chat?’ For once he didn’t care that his voice had risen to a shout. Only her lips thinned and it was a look that reminded him a lot of Anaïs when she got annoyed at him and he had a sneaking suspicion that he might just have made a grave mistake.
Fire. That was what he saw when she looked at him next, turning her rich, smooth chocolate eyes to molten lava.
‘I will not talk to you like this. You’re in a mood.’
‘Of course I’m in a mood,’ he huffed out through an incredulous laugh. ‘We’re stuck in the middle of the Costa Rican rainforest, a ten-hour walk from civilisation, the sun is setting and the car is a write-off.’

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

TERMS OF THEIR COSTA RICAN TEMPTATION

A deal forged in paradise…A connection built to last?

Skye Soames’s search for her family’s long-lost diamonds leads her to Benoit Chalendar’s mansion in the Costa Rican rain forest. The billionaire offers to help her find the diamonds—if she agrees to marry him! To remain CEO of his company, he must look like he’s settling down.

For Benoit, watching prim and proper Skye discover her adventurous side among the wildlife and waterfalls is an unexpected thrill. It only fans the flames of their potent attraction. But can their pact survive the test when they return to reality?

Book One in The Diamond Inheritance Trilogy
Book Links: Amazon | B &N | iTunes|
 
 

Meet the Author:

Pippa Roscoe lives in Norfolk near her family and makes daily promises that this is the day she will leave the computer and take a long walk in the countryside. She can’t remember a time when she wasn’t dreaming of gorgeous alpha males and misunderstood heroines. Totally her mother’s fault of course – she gave Pippa her first romance at the age of nine! She is inconceivably happy that she gets to share those day dreams with you! @PippaRoscoe www.pipparoscoe.com
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