Spotlight & Giveaway: The Princess Stakes by Amalie Howard

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Amalie Howard to HJ!

Hi Amalie and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Princess Stakes!

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

A biracial Indian princess sneaks onto the ship of the young English gentleman she once loved and spurned, in order to escape an assassin, only to find out he’s now a duke and hellbent on retribution. But forced proximity, sizzling attraction, and buried memories conspire against them on the high seas, and by the time they reach London, a fake engagement scheme is the least of their worries…because falling in love is the very real danger.
 

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

T is for Temptation
H is for Hellion
E is for Enemies

P is for Pretending-You’re-Not-Interested
R is for Retaliation and Regret
I is for Irritating-Thorn-in-Rhystan’s-Side
N is for No-Second-Chances
C is for Chaos
E is for Equals
S is for Second Chances
S is for Seduction
S is for Sorry-Not-Sorry

T is for Time-To-Stand-Up-For-Yourself
A is for Attraction
K is for Kissing
E is for Everything You Ever Wanted
S is for Sanguinity
 

Please share your favorite quote from the book

“Belonging isn’t always defined by earthly margins.” He tapped his heart and then his temple. “It can be here and here. Home is where you make it.”

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• The heroine is a weapons expert, especially with her kukri blades. Inspired by the Rani of Jhansi, an Indian queen born in 1835, who was raised as a trained fighter, horsewoman, and independent thinker, Sarani is not someone to be messed with. There’s a scene on the ship where she schools a handsy sailor and it is fantastic!
• A lot of the story happens on Rhystan’s ship! JUST ONE CABIN, new trope!
• Sarani is a bit of a prankster and some of the tricks she plays on the captain are just terrible. Terrible and AWESOME.

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

Oh, wow, this is a tough one! I think a great audition scene would be when Rhystan tries to convince her to do the fake engagement of convenience. There is a lot of tension, sexual attraction, and fire in that scene.

SCENE SNIPPET:

“We don’t suit,” she whispered, something like desolation flickering in her gaze. “You said it yourself. No one will believe that we are to be wed.”
Pushing off from the rail, he shuttled the distance between them, noting the wild pulse in her throat and the immediate widening of her eyes. His brow lifted. “I counter that we suit rather well.”
“That’s lust.”
“Lust is as good a basis for an aristocratic marriage as any,” he said.
“But you said you wanted love.”
Rhystan reached out a hand to tuck a loosened strand of hair behind one ear. Her lush mouth parted on a soundless sigh that she couldn’t quite hide. “No, you misunderstand me. I require the pretense of love. Easy enough when one puts one’s mind to the task. A glance here, a touch there. Whispered nothings and sentimental looks. Love is but a show, you see. You have to admit that Byron had the right of it—the man was a swindler of women’s soft hearts.”

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

Notwithstanding that it’s a diverse interracial romance, THE PRINCESS STAKES is a heartfelt, feminist romance at its core. With a strong, independent biracial heroine who fights to figure out her place in the world as well as how to best serve her people while falling in love with a man she cannot have, I particularly wanted to showcase a woman of color in this book. My inspiration came from both the Rani of Jhansi, an Indian queen during the British Raj who fought and died for her people, and Sophia Duleep Singh, a Sikh princess turned suffragette, who was Queen Victoria’s goddaughter. As an author of color myself, I’ve been in an interracial marriage for over twenty years, and it’s not without its challenges, but love takes work. It takes care and understanding and effort. And it’s worth fighting for, even when the journey is challenging. What this book is not…is a dissertation on colonialism. It is a romance, and while the experience of many people of color during this time is seeded in trauma, we aren’t only about our trauma. So what do I want people to take away from reading this book? I want them to feel joy, to root for the couple, to maybe learn something new about a different culture, and to feel satisfied with the HEA.

If you could have given your characters one piece of advice before the opening pages of the book, what – would it be and why?

To Sarani, you’re not a pawn to be moved by others, you’re the queen.
To Rhystan, go back and fight for the girl you love.
 
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: A print copy of THE PRINCESS STAKES by Amalie Howard

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: If you had unlimited funds and could visit anywhere in the entire world for a week, where would you choose and why?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from The Princess Stakes:

The sight of his head bent over her was doing strange things to her equilibrium. His distinctive masculine scent wafted to her, and all she wanted to do was breathe him in. Lean into him. Obviously, it was a moment of weakness because she was in pain.
Memory leached into the present with scattered images of a different Rhystan, a younger Rhystan, head bent over her hands that had been decorated with mehndi in the Mughal tradition by one of her handmaidens. He’d kissed each of her red-stained fingers and the dotted sphere at the center of each palm when she’d explained that the stain had been made from the ground leaves of a plant.
“What is it for?” he had whispered.
“Blessings for luck, joy, and beauty.”
One of her handmaidens had piped up. “Also for marriage and fertility, sahib.”
Sarani’s blush had nearly matched the color of the dye on her hands, but Rhystan had only smiled a secret smile and continued kissing her fingertips. Until he’d approached her in her chambers that fateful night, she’d been hopeful of his intentions and a future between them. Marriage. Maybe even children someday.
But then duty had intervened and destiny had conspired to throw them apart. Only to hurl them back together. The symbolism of the current moment was not lost on her. Not that he was flirting or kissing her fingers. Even now, the memory of his lips on her skin was so fresh that a rash of gooseflesh broke out on her arms.
Huffing a shallow breath, she almost snatched her hand away.
“Does that hurt?” he asked, glancing up.
Sarani forced herself not to give away her roiling emotions or the lie that left her lips. “Some.”
Reaching for more clean linen strips, he added some salve from a jar and expertly bandaged her palms. “There. Better?”
“Yes, thank you,” she whispered.
Rhystan stood upright but made no move to step away, instead caging her with his arms on either side of her hips on the desk. Her newly bound and dressed palms sat cradled in her lap, a puny barrier to the tension that was unspooling between them. Had he been thinking about the last time he’d held her hands as well? Nothing showed in his expression—no softening in those hard, inscrutable eyes.
But still he stared.
Their breaths loud in the silence, the duke studied her face in wordless fascination while she did the same. Relearning him. Remapping his features. Taking in the maturity of his stern bristled jaw and the dissolute curve of his mouth. Oh, that mouth… It had known hers intimately. Tasted her skin, sipped at her hands, her neck, the slope of her cleavage.
With a blush, Sarani wrenched her eyes away to trace his strong, bold nose, the arch of his cheekbones, and those darkened, storm-hued irises. Silky blond-brown hair streaked gold by the sun framed his cheeks and curled into his brow, and her injured hands ached to sweep it away.
Her tongue darted out to lick dry lips, and his stare returned there. Within a heartbeat, the tension humming between them spiked and ignited, spreading like wildfire over spilled oil. Rhystan’s sharpened gaze turned hot and desirous, scorching her, making her breasts tighten and lust settle between her thighs.
Heavens, she wanted to be consumed. She wanted to burn.
Sarani didn’t know if it was out of gratitude or desire or madness. She didn’t care. She was hurt, scared, and she wanted comfort. She wanted him.
Shoving to the points of her toes, she collided her lips with his.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Born to an Indian maharaja and a British noblewoman, Princess Sarani Rao has it all: beauty, riches, and a crown. But when Sarani’s father is murdered, her only hope is the next ship out—captained by the boy she once loved…and spurned.

Captain Rhystan Huntley, the reluctant Duke of Embry, is loath to give up his life at sea. But duty is calling him home, and this is his final voyage. Leave it to fate that the one woman he’s ever loved must escape to England on his ship.

Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo | Google |
 
 

Meet the Author:

AMALIE HOWARD is the award-winning author of YA novels critically acclaimed by Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, VOYA, School Library Journal, Booklist and Kid’s INDIE NEXT. She is also the co-author of the #1 bestseller in Regency Romance, My Rogue, My Ruin. She resides with her husband and three children in Colorado.