#Kathleen Ayers

[triviareads]

Could you recommend some historical novels with some kind of game involved? Idk chess, cards, etc

Yes! This is by no means a comprehensive list because there are a lot that are tangentially set in gambling hells and the like, but here are some of my favorites:

Convergence of Desire by Felicity Niven has a card game subplot; Harry is a savant and can easily count cards, and she realizes her and Thomas's houseguests are cheating them during cards so they devise a plan to win back their money. Tom's also a gambler and a high-stakes one from what I remember.

What I Did For The Duke by Julie Anne Long has a sexually tense game of blindman's bluff complete with not-very-discreet groping, and then a dramatic card game that finally makes Genevieve realize in a very roundabout way that the duke loves her and wants her to be happy unconditionally.

The Design of Dukes by Kathleen Ayers has a way-too-sexually-tense game of lawn bowling. The hero later admits he wanted to tug the heroine's skirts up on the lawn and take her then and there.

Prince of Broadway by Joanna Shupe has a heroine who wants to start a gambling hell for ladies so she asks big bad casino owner Clay Madden for lessons.

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean: There's a really hot card game scene at the end where Ralston is basically Done and ready to get this seduction started after Callie is all "hm I wonder what it would be like to be a courtesan".

The Awakening of Ivy Leavold by Sierra Simone: this is a historical erotic romance; There's a game of blind-man's bluff that turns into an orgy by the end.

All the Ways to Ruin a Rogue by Sophie Jordan: Aurelia likes to sneak out and go to a pleasure club dressed as a courtesan and play cards and at one point I believe the hero has to pay a forfeit where he strips naked in front of everyone.

The Viscount Always Knocks Twice by Grace Callaway: It's a house party so there's lots of games; I remember hide and seek which ended with Violet and Carlisle making out in a Priest Hole, and Carlisle also gifts Violet with a handmade bow and arrows during their courtship because she likes those kids of games/sports.

Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas: Derek Craven owns a gambling hell, there's a GREAT scene where Sara is disguised by a mask and she's playing cards and all them men can't help but he drawn to her including, of course, Derek Craven. This is actually suuuch a romantic part of the book, at least until he finds out it's Sara under the mask and then it descends into (horny) farce.

Then Came You by Lisa Kleypas: Lily agrees to a high-stakes card game and if she loses she has to sleep with the hero Alex; obviously she loses, there's this really interesting bit where Derek Craven half-assedly protects her honor in that he tells Alex to be gentle with her, but also, says she needs to honor her debts and basically shoves her into a private room to await Alex lolol.

Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas: Annabelle and Hunt play a lot of chess while she's recovering from a snake bite and it does get to the point where she's having sex dreams about it. Both this book and It Happened One Autumn have scenes where the wallflowers are playing rounders (kind of like baseball?), most notably in SoSN where they're playing in their underwear and Simon Hunt and Westcliff happen upon them.

The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn has a pall-mall scene where Kate and Anthony are super competitive and Kate ends the game by whacking Anthony's ball into the lake.

Gavin Hunt from Her Wanton Wager by Grace Callaway, Cross from One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean, and Aiden Trewlove from The Duchess in his Bed by Lorraine Heath are some of my favorite gambling hell heroes except I can't quite remember how much gaming there is in their books, but I strongly recommend them.

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

An Heiress for August by Kathleen Ayers

The Rake Review #8

Delightful enemies to lovers romance with assumptions, misinformation, and other issues to overcome before August and Hazel are able to achieve their happily ever after.

What I liked: * The prologue with very young Hazel and August at a lawn party that introduced the main characters and set the stage, in a way, for their future encounter

* Hazel: draper’s daughter, wealthy, charitable, has a chip on her shoulder, disliked/envied by the ton, believes that she is only wanted for her money, has given up on love and marriage…mostly

* August: the nephew and cousin of the previous Dukes of Courtland, commissioned officer, survived Quatre-Bras, valiant, has nightmares/PTSD, needs a fortune to refurbish his Duchy

* Maria Talbot: widow, married for love, Hazel’s friend, hostess of the house party

* Eliza: August’s cousin, knows the estate needs money, has her eye on someone other than Hazel for her cousin, and has some past issue that I am curious about related to Everhurst

* Everhurst: ex-military, admires August, good friend, admirable person, and seems to still be interested in Eliza

* Wondering if and when Eliza and Everhurst might get a book of their own

* The plot, pacing, setting, and writing

* That though it took awhile to warm up to and be able to see August and Hazel together…gradually as more was uncovered…I couldn’t see them with anyone else

* That I cared about and became invested in the outcome of the romance and would have loved to have had an epilogue to see how the couple are in the future

What I didn’t like:

* Who and what I was meant not to like

* The machinations, scheming, and rudeness of some in the ton

* The desire of some parents for status more than the happiness of their children

Did I like this book? Yes

Would I read more by this author? Yes

Thank you to the author for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

BLURB

London’s most notorious rake needs to wed. August Wade was never meant to be the Duke of Courtland. Now he’s inherited the title from his uncle along with the poorly managed ducal estates. After months of attempting to remedy the situation, August concludes that he must wed an heiress. Specifically, Miss Hazel Dartmont, only child of an obnoxiously wealthy textile merchant. Not only is Miss Dartmont wealthy, but she is several years on the shelf and far beneath him socially. She will be thrilled to draw the attention of a duke. Desperate, even. Miss Hazel Dartmont is an expert at avoiding marriage. Hazel only accepted the invitation to Lady Talbot’s house party to escape London and the attentions of an overly amorous gentleman. As a wealthy heiress, albeit one with a pedigree most of society turns their noses up at, Hazel is accustomed to being targeted by every desperate dandy in London. Now well past marriageable age, Hazel delights in her independence and has no intention of ever taking a husband. Not even the rakish Duke of Courtland can change her mind. An Heiress for August is book 8 in the multi-author series The Rake Review. If you enjoy watching some of London's most notorious scoundrels getting raked over the coals, then be sure to collect all twelve bachelors in The Rake Review!

[darlenefblog]

Hot Duke Summer: Regency Historical Romance Anthology

Thank you to NetGalley, Dragonblade Publishing, Inc, and all the authors involved for this advance reader copy of the book. Below is my honest review.

By Scarlett Scott, Alexa Aston, Annabelle Anders, Meara Platt, Kathleen Ayers, Chasity Bowlin, Sara Adrien, Jude Knight Publisher: ‎ Dragonblade Publishing, Inc. Publication date: ‎ August 24, 2024 Print length: ‎ 406 pages Rated a 3 out of 5 stars

An anthology of never-before published novellas. What a cute Summer read; it didn't take long to finish each story which is perfect for Summer when I seem to always be on the go. Taking a bit of time for myself was easier to do with each being a short story. I'm always up for a historical romance involving a hot duke. While each story is a standalone some fit into a series if you're interested in reading more of a particular author.

A few of the stories weren't up to par for me. Vering off the historically correct path a bit is ok, but I prefer not to go so far that it's unbelievable. A couple weren't interesting. I don't want to spoil anyone's enjoyment or bias you unkindly to a story you might think is grand. I'm going to pick my favorite to give you a taste of the material.

Love is the Duke's Best Remedy by Sara Adrien. A play on Pretty Woman and a bit of Cinderella. I've never read any of this authors work and was pleasantly surprised by how well the plot moved along, the dialog was enjoyable, the characters likeable. Edmund and Lola are our couple with Brewster as the bad guy lawyer. For me using the plot of the movie as the basis for the story worked, with a few changes it fit into Regency England without too much fuss. Edmund can't sleep, Lola grows flowers and herbs to sell at an apothecary, Brewster is a mover-and-shaker lawyer using Edmund as his pawn in deals to make himself rich. One of the tweaks is Lola's job. The Cinderella aspect has a bit of a twist but it also works. There're mean shopkeepers, rubies, opera, and a brown polka-dot dress. I loved it.

[orangepeelshortbreadcookies]

Early days in slowly going through Kathleen Ayers's The Beautiful Barringtons series and damn, Amanda, what the hell were you thinking naming your youngest child Phaedra? Did you run out of Greek myth heroines that you resolved to stick the baby with 'horny stepmom who would do a frame-up on her underage stepkid when he wouldn't fuck her.' It's like naming your daughter Klameddia or Rapestia now. It just doesn't work, especially when Hecate, Atalanta and Selene were like right there? No wonder the kid needs more adventurous hobbies growing up.

[missygoesmeow]

Hi, hello! If it's not a bother, may I ask if you have any recommendations for historical romance novels, please? 👀

hello! and no bother at all :)

these are some of my favourites

If you want something more historically accurate you can’t go wrong with Georgette Heyer! These books do not have sex in them but they’re wonderfully written and feel like they were written in the time period they’re set in.

I’m a harlot so I mostly read trashy romance ones like those above haha Tessa Dare is probably my favourite author and so I’ve read a lot of hers but I really like Kathleen Ayers as well.

[bucolicbook]

Hot Duke Summer: Regency Historical Romance Anthology by Scarlett Scott, Alexa Aston, Annabelle Anders, Meara Platt, Kathleen Ayers, Chastity Bowlin, Sara Adrien, Jude Knight 

US pub date - 8/24/24

The Duchess Bride - Scarlett Scott 

*character called Buttercup ✔️

*character named Westley ✔️

*masked, yet familiar, man kidnaps MFC to save her from a miserable marriage not to a Prince Humperdinck but to a Humberton  ✔️

Dilemma over a Duke - Alexa Aston 

*MFC decides on a marriage of convenience to a friend ✔️

*childhood friend / crush (her betrothed’s brother, oops) returns from war ✔️

The Duke’s Day Off - Annabelle Anders 

*titled man falls for his mother’s long suffering amanuensis / companion ✔️

*Memento Mori leads to love? ✔️

The Moonstone Mermaid - Meara Platt 

*injured soldier and duke falls for the woman he ‘accidentally’ spies on while she’s swimming ✔️

Say Anything, Duke - Kathleen Ayers

*accident prone MFC ✔️

*MFC’s mother = 🤬🤬🤬✔️

I Know this Much is True - Chastity Bowlin 

*insta insta love ✔️

Love is the Duke’s Best Remedy - Sara Adrien

*My Fair Lady / Pretty Woman vibes ✔️

The Worth of an Earl - Jude Knight 

*reverse Aladdin 

Anthologies are an excellent way to discover new-to-me authors or read shorter offerings from favorites and I found this one to be a very enjoyable read 🙂

Thank you to Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for the DRC

[the-book-queen]

Hide your wallets, it’s that time again! #TBQsBookDeals

Your Wednesday thread of #romancedeals is ready, FREE to $2.49. Happy shopping! 📚❤

    FREE ✦ Coming Home to the Top of Main Street by Meg Easton

Best friend's sister. He's a chef, she's very business savvy, they team up to open an ice cream shop.

Contemporary Romance (MF) | https://amzn.to/3MbeIT3 

$0.99 ✦ Wild Cowboy Ways by Carolyn Brown

He's the new owner of a very ramshackle ranch and needs her carpentry skills to get things in order.

Contemporary Romance (MF) | https://amzn.to/3Mbq0qn 

$1.49 ✦ Alpha's Moon by Renee Rose

1st POV. Wolf shifter + human kindergarten teacher + fake date.

Paranormal Romance (MF) | https://amzn.to/3NTef9k 

$1.99 ✦ Duke of Sin by Elizabeth Hoyt

A notorious rake/blackmailer returns from exile intent on revenge + heroine who becomes his housekeeper to search for blackmail being used against her mother.

I liked this one.

Historical Romance (MF) | https://amzn.to/3pngE1Y 

$2.49 ✦ The Theory of Earls by Kathleen Ayers

She wants to be introduced to his friend. He agrees . . . but only if she plays the piano for him while dressed only in her underwear.

KU Title

Historical Romance (MF) | https://amzn.to/42p2DzA 

 Putting these lists together takes time. If you appreciate this content, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi. http://ko-fi.com/danielletbq 

[worldfreshnews]

Michigan family soothed by 'guardian angels' who appeared after scary early-morning car crash

Michigan family soothed by 'guardian angels' who appeared after scary early-morning car crash

A family in Michigan is thanking their lucky stars – and a series of fortunate coincidences – after their car was totaled in a crash early in the morning on New Year’s Day.  Nate and Kathleen Ayers, of Fruitport Township, Michigan, along with their children Gideon, 3, and Gwen, 11 weeks, were driving home from a combination Christmas/New Year’s Eve party at about 1:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day when…

[newswireml]

Michigan family soothed by 'guardian angels' who appeared after scary early-morning car crash#Michigan #family #soothed #guardian #angels #appeared #scary #earlymorning #car #crash

Michigan family soothed by ‘guardian angels’ who appeared after scary early-morning car crash#Michigan #family #soothed #guardian #angels #appeared #scary #earlymorning #car #crash

A family in Michigan is thanking their lucky stars – and a series of fortunate coincidences – after their car was totaled in a crash early in the morning on New Year’s Day.  Nate and Kathleen Ayers, of Fruitport Township, Michigan, along with their children Gideon, 3, and Gwen, 11 weeks, were driving home from a combination Christmas/New Year’s Eve party at about 1:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day when…

[rnewspost]

Michigan family soothed by 'guardian angels' who appeared after scary early-morning car crash

Michigan family soothed by ‘guardian angels’ who appeared after scary early-morning car crash

A family in Michigan is thanking their lucky stars – and a series of fortunate coincidences – after their car was totaled in a crash early in the morning on New Year’s Day.  Nate and Kathleen Ayers, of Fruitport Township, Michigan, along with their children Gideon, 3, and Gwen, 11 weeks, were driving home from a combination Christmas/New Year’s Eve party at about 1:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day when…

[agendergorgon]

It made sense to me, friend Taka, having heard long conversations about your from long conversations while walking or sat about cups of coffee. I've a few OCs from WormRP back in the day, not many took off or had romances but there was one, Mewl, a "Nyanbinary catenby" with vaguely slasher movie themed secondary powers and a primary power to understand the layout and lines of sight of any room they'd been in. Mewl themself was originally an alternate identity for a more Saw themed villain named Squeak, but Squeak was just some boring carpenter with a mouse mask and for some reason I can't put my finger on playing a trans character was appealing to me, even when it started as just a joke and a purposefully cringe costume adopted by a villain who wanted a heroic identity for sinister purposes. Mewl dated two characters, both played by people who were my long distance partner at one time or another. The first was Leanan Sidhe, a mob boss that granted super powers to their minions in exchange for a measure of control and a physical mark on their body. She kept Mewl as a pet, one who was happy for the affection, chance to submit, and money towards their surgeries and medication. Leanan was played by an ex of mine named Kathleen, who was a friendly figure who helped me explore my feelings early on before transition, and who would later be banned from all servers we shared for attempting to groom a minor (not myself, different server), making me reflect a lot less favourably on our interactions. No song pick cos I can't think of one rn idk fucking Poison from Hazbin Hotel or something, that one's cringe enough to match my memories of that entire relationship. https://youtu.be/xEGWKXwUb54?si=6z9zJ1d28VkxC-cY I was a somewhat different person at the time. Mewl later ended up dating one half (two people sharing a body, each played by a different person) of Sister Stigmata, a nun with a reality warping vision of hell that she could show to others and sometimes physically overlay atop them and the environment. Sister Stigmata was played by my now fiance, Nash, and our characters dating was a sorta slow entry into us dating. A few excitable discussions of how the two would interact on casual dates and continued slowburn romance turned into long calls together and chatting about every little obsession and interest we had. Because I'm always about as literal with my song choices as David Ayer's Suicide Squad, song choice would be Demon's Are A Girl's Best Friend, on account of Sister Stigmata interacting mostly with a fucked up eyeless incubus rendition of Mewl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhK2ev_O-pc @nashoid is still in my DM's calling me cute to this day, and I owe it to a silly roleplaying server and a lot of trial and error.

OC Ship Song Tag

Tagged by @gabeorelse - ahh thank you!! Okay this will be fun because I don't tend to talk about my ocs much here

Rules: list the ships of your wip (canon or otherwise!) and the song that "describes" your ship, or that would be used for a fan edit of the ship.

This is a bit complicated because actually a lot of my wip projects aren't exactly shippy, especially since I am trying to write predominantly aromantic stories - but Gabe said I could do platonic or single characters if I wanted to 😌 I think what I'm actually gonna do is songs for the characters who , if I had a fandom, people would end up shipping lol. I'm gonna do these for Onkalo because I think that's got the most to going on (and also the longest playlist haha) and actually I think it'll be funny to do this by how common or rare I think the pairing would be hahah

For those who don't know: Onkalo is my original tv series concept set in several hundred years after the collapse of our civilisation. It follows Peregrine, a grief-stricken father who dedicates himself to finding Onkalo, a mythological structure buried under the ground that is said to contain an item of great power. He believes that he can use whatever is inside to protect his son, Ash. On the flip side, Ash, who believes he has been abandoned by his dad, sets off to find him after a disaster destroys their community.

Harper/Reo or Harper & Reo - these two are basically my og spydoc - childhood friends who bonded in adverse circumstances, but then Harper manages to escape the Bad Situation, and Reo is left to suffer the consequences. Reo ends up becoming something of an antagonist, bitter and set on making Harper pay, whilst Harper becomes a semi-parental figure to Ash as he looks for his dad (she is absolutely terrible at it). But, eventually, Reo choses to help Harper, Ash and Connie escape, and sticks with them. It's not completely smooth going, but fundamentally they missed Harper and their friendship too much. If any ship is canon in this show, it's these two.

Songs: Go Down Together by Foxing or La Lune by Madeon for more shippy fandomy stuff, but Sink by Brand New is my song for them, and it's a lot angrier. However, in the show, I'm 100% intending to have the very intense sequence of Reo and the others escaping be set to The Bike Song by Mark Ronson and The Business Intl, because bikes are involved and I'm hilarious - so if anyone set a video to that song, they would absolutely correct.

Peregrine/Caleb or Peregrine & Caleb - the canonical-ness of this one is very muddy, because I'm fighting with my fascination over their dynamic and how they do or don't feel about each other, and my overwhelming desire for this show to be as aromantic as possible. As it stands, Peregrine is entirely driven by his grief and guilt surrounding the death of his wife, Heather, but if he wasn't, then he'd be open to it. I reckon Caleb has a hell of a crush but will take it to his grave. As it happens, they're super doomed by the narrative and almost certainly not going to survive anyhow. However, I reckon if there was a fandom, this would be one of the Big Ships because I know what fandom is like.

Song: Wild Country by Wake Owl

Peregrine & Ash - the relationship between these two is so mired with desperate, familial love and aching anger. Ash wants to hate his dad, but fundamentally he still travels across the country to find him. Peregrine is so driven by the need to protect his son like he couldn't protect his wife that he completely abandons his son to hunt down a folktale that ends up killing him.

Songs: Above the Clouds of Pompeii by Bear's Den, and Welly Boots by The Amazing Devil

Harper & Connie or Harper/Connie- I think anyone who ships this would be so galaxy brained, tbh, but Harper and Connie both travel with Ash and lowkey become his stand-in parental figures, but not in any standard sort of way. Harper is like, reluctant dad figure, and Connie is the only person with the braincell. I reckon the appeal of this one is that this is that they're both people who have been defined by their own communities and families, but in very different ways. I think Harper would learn a lot about what family can be from Connie, and Connie would learn to blame herself less from Harper. People who ship Harper/Connie/Reo would be even MORE galaxy-brained, but adding Reo into the mix would make the whole thing a bit more rancid, bless. I think Connie and Reo would actually be super interesting.

Songs: if it's just Harper/Connie, it's Hello My Old Heart by The Oh Hellos (this one also works really well for Peregrine and Caleb too). If it's Harper/Connie/Reo....ooh, it would probably be Soldier, Poet, King by The Oh Hellos, with Reo being the soldier, Harper being the poet and Connie being the king. Okay damn I lowkey love how that works, like non-romantically.

Connie & Peregrine or Connie/Peregrine- Peregrine actually meets both Harper and Connie on separate occasions earlier in the plot. The dynamic between Harper and Peregrine is lowkey hilarious to me, because I'm pretty sure they look at each other and go 'oh, yikes' and leave it at that. Connie and Peregrine actually get on really well, though, and hang out together for a long while. Peregrine is allergic to nice things though, and actively avoids making new emotional ties. With Caleb, he fails drastically - but he also fails regarding Connie too. Con actually wanted him to stick around, but he tricks her into getting left behind (because he's an ASS, but actually it's mainly because he didn't want her to die/get hurt. And it's a good thing tbh because by the next episode he's captured by an amnesia cult who try to lobotomise him, so....). Anyway, I think both Caleb and Connie are people that Peregrine could have learnt to overcome his grief with, in a different world. I think Connie and Peregrine in particular find common ground in how much their communities mean to them. They are both driven on journeys, spurned by grief and guilt - but for Connie, she still remains in orbit of her family, whereas Peregrine has isolated himself entirely. I feel like not so many people would ship this, but I'm soft about it

Ship Song: I Will Remain by Matthew and the Atlas

Peregrine/Heather - the only CANON ROMANCE, but I killed it lol because Heather is dead from the start. She haunts this entire series, but her relationship with Peregrine is SO IMPORTANT because it drives the entire plot. I love them both a lot augh

Ship song: You Are a Memory by Message to Bears

That ended up SUPER LONG and also won't make sense to anyone probably rip, but!! Here it is!

Tagging - this is obviously optional, and feel free to make this about fandom characters instead if you like! But! @taardisblue, @novantinuum, @chaoticacecryptid, @subducting, @agendergorgon (I think you have ocs? For worm?)

THANKS GABE!

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

The Design of Dukes by Kathleen Ayers

The Beautiful Barringtons #2

 Enemies to Lovers and/or Opposites Attract ~ Great  Historical Romance that had me waiting with bated breath.

 What I liked:

* Lady Adromeda “Romy” Barrington: designer of extraordinary clothing, hiding her talents from the ton, loves her family, more than a pretty face, strong, intelligent, knows what she wants, not willing to settle for less than what she desires…and deserves

*  David Warburton, Duke of Granby: an upright prig, rigidly and abusively raised, following a path set out by his father, drawn to Romy though she is all wrong for him…or so he thinks, grew through the story

* David’s aunt…much more to admire before the book ended…really liked her

* Theodosia “Theo” Barrington: has a crush on Lord Blythe, vanity precludes wearing glasses with predictable results, artist, will star in book 3 (already read and adored)

* Being reminded of the rest of The Beautiful Barringtons and knowing each, hopefully, will get his/her own book

* Meeting some of David’s friends and wondering if they will show up in future books and if so, who they will be paired with

* The “bubble” that the Barrington family created and lived within…and how they all cared for one another

* Seeing how Tony and Maggie were doing….and hearing Leo is away on business (think I will be reading about him next in book 4)

* The sound of the gorgeous outfits created by Romy

* That some of the “mean girls” did not win

* That the emotions, feelings, and behaviors were believable and in keeping with the characters

* That Romy was true to herself, stated her feelings strongly without excess emotion, and stood true to herself

* The truth that emerges toward the end of the story and how it impacts Granby’s future

* All of it really except…

 What I didn’t like:

* Granby’s father

* The mean girls, the gossip, and the hatefulness of the ton

* Thinking about how difficult it must have been to be a woman in that era…and also how difficult to be poor

 Did I enjoy this book? Yes

Would I read more in this series? Definitely!

 Thank you to IndiePenPR and the author for the ARC – This is my honest review.

 4-5

     BLURB

  Lady Andromeda Barrington is the most unsuitable young lady in London. At least in the Duke of Granby’s opinion. Granby doesn’t care for bastard relatives or tainted pedigrees and Andromeda possesses both. Nor does he like opinionated young ladies who enjoy hurling insults in his direction. Andromeda is, in short, the most annoying creature he’s ever met. When she arrives, uninvited, to a house party given at his estate, Granby can’t decide whether to kiss Andromeda senseless or send her packing. Andromeda is the victim of infatuation and bad luck. The infatuation is that of her sister for the Earl of Blythe, but the misfortune belongs solely to Andromeda after she is forced to attend a house party hosted by the Duke of Granby. She and the duke are previously, unpleasantly, acquainted. The entire party is bound to be awkward, and their mutual dislike difficult to hide. Her only recourse is to avoid the giant block of ice masquerading as a duke. Thankfully, Granby’s estate is enormous. But instead of mutual hostility upon arriving, Romy is greeted with unexpected attraction. Insults turn into flirtation. Heated discussions become lingering kisses. Her heart is ruined. Granby may not even have one. And the duke has already chosen another young lady to be his duchess. The Design of Dukes is steamy historical romance with a guaranteed happily ever after and next in the series The Beautiful Barringtons.

[storybook-lili]

!! Please and thank you 💜

Hmm ... why don’t I go a more into Enid Lacewood? :3c She’s the protag of a lite-fantasy romance OG-story I’ve been tinkering away with.

Left: Original artwork of Enid

Right: Picrew by shima.h that served as the inspiration for Enid

Full Name: Enid River Lacewood

Age: 22 or 24 (haven’t decided)

Height: 5′2″ (157.5 cm)

Sexuality: Bisexual

Occupation: Mail Carrier

Enid is the youngest child and only daughter to Kathleen Lacewood and Dr. Sean Sage* (name pending). Her older brothers are Evan and Anton Lacewood; the former is married to Dr. Sarina Ayers, a herbalist and part-time teacher.

Strangers and acquaintances describe Enid as polite and pleasant to talk to, but rather dull and plain in character. Family and friends, however, know that Enid just struggles expressing herself under society’s strict rules of etiquette. When around familiar people, Enid is shown to have a romantic, witty and spitfire personality and will talk your ear off over whatever topic or interest has possessed her that week.

While she prefers solitude over social gatherings, this does not mean she’s antisocial or apathetic. She is highly empathetic and attuned to the feelings and impressions of others, which often results in her feeling uncomfortable or depressed when she senses people judging her.

During her time at etiquette school, Enid was often the subject of ridicule and criticism by her peers and instructors whenever she fumbled over even the most basic rules of etiquette. It didn’t help that Enid would often argue with the instructor with rules that she considered to be pointless or rude, or got into fights with her classmates who bullied her. She ended up having to stay at the school longer that most, and was eventually allowed to graduate when her social skills were deemed passable.

As a member of the upper-middle class, people were taken aback by Enid’s decision to become a mail carrier. Usually people of her status would go into careers related to medicine, academics, politics, law or finances; a mail carrier is considered too low-class. Enid has always found the work interesting and fulfilling though, and loves how quiet and beautiful the town is early in the morning when she is out on the job.

Enid loves nature, and likes taking long walks at the park by the woods. She has a long-lasting love for lilac flowers, to the point where she tends to dress herself in lilac colours.

She also enjoys cross-stitching and has been practicing since she was 6-years-old. She often becomes so focused on her work that she doesn’t notice anyone or anything around her, or loses all sense of time. She does prick her fingers with the needle a lot, however, and thus always has bandages on her fingers.

She adores horses and enjoys horse-back riding, ever since her parents had her participate in equine therapy when she was a child. Unfortunately, her family do not have the money to own a stable for a horse.

---

That’s all I can think of to share at the moment. Sorry for the long post! 😅

---

*In this world, women do not take their husband’s surname or vice versa. Instead, their children take the surname of the partner who gave birth to them.

[triviareads]

@anon here are snippets from five HR novels with mirror scenes that actually happened that I think are very hot:

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean

The Designs of Dukes by Kathleen Ayers

Sutton's Sins by Scarlett Scott

How to Steal a Scoundrel's Heart by Vivienne Lorret

What I Did for a Duke by Julie Anne Long

also, here's my (incomplete but still superior) list of carriage scenes:

Wait...I literally just saw someone post a quote about Colin wanting to do in front of the mirror like yesterday. Are people making this up? What is going on. Mind you I only just found out about this since people only talk about the carriage scene didn't even know this was like a thing.

Lol so it's been a long time since I read RMB, but I was kind of thrown by the mirror discussion because I didn't remember that happening, and I felt like that was something I remembered in general, but DEFINITELY in a Bton book. Because the sex is so boring that Sir Phillip's "efforts" are seen as incredible lol.

Then @triviareads let me know that she and @jeanvanjer verified that there was in fact no mirror scene. He just talks about it. Which most certainly does not count. An anon recently reiterated that lol.

The carriage scene is also incredibly lame, to be real. It is very normal. Light stuff. If you want a real carriage scene, try Joanna Shupe's The Devil of Downtown (... is he ever ...), The Bride Goes Rogue, or Grace Callaway's Fiona and the Enigmatic Earl.

I actually really get annoyed when heroes TALK about what they're going to do versus just DOING IT. But that's a typical Colin moment, tbh.

[missygoesmeow]

I was browsing your blog (oh gosh I hope that doesn't sound too weird?) and I saw you posted about the Wallflower Series by Lisa Kleypas. I loved that series so much, I didn't think many other people knew about it! It's definitely part of what got me into historical romance. That and her Hathaways series, which is also fantastic!

hello! and no, not weird at all - I am happy it is browsable haha

yes, I love her Hathaways series too! I mostly read historical romance and I love her books. my kindle is pretty much just full of historical romance lmao if you haven't read it, I really enjoyed The Beautiful Barringtons Series by Kathleen Ayers - though I haven't read them all. but I love the first one in particular and re-read it a lot!

[papermoonloveslucy]

ZIEGFELD FOLLIES

April 8, 1946

Directors: Lemuel Ayers, Roy Del Ruth. Vincente Minnelli, George Sidney,  Norman Taurog, Charles Walters. Robert Lewis Producer: Arthur Freed for Metro Goldwyn Mayer

The shooting schedule ran between April 10 and August 18, 1944, with retakes plus additional segments filmed on December 22, 1944 and then between January 25 and February 6, 1945. The film was first proposed in 1939. 

Synopsis ~ We meet a grayed, immaculately garbed Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. in Paradise (his diary entry reads "Another heavenly day"), where he looks down upon the world and muses over the sort of show he'd be putting on were he still alive.

PRINCIPAL CAST

Lucille Ball ('Here's to the Ladies') is appearing in her 64th film since coming to Hollywood in 1933. 

Fred Astaire ('Here's to the Ladies' / Raffles in 'This Heart of Mine' / Tai Long in 'Limehouse Blues’ / Gentleman in 'The Babbit and the Bromide') also appeared with Lucille Ball in Roberta (1935), Top Hat (1935), and Follow the Fleet (1936). His name was mentioned twice on “I Love Lucy.”

Lucille Bremer (Princess in 'This Heart of Mine' / Moy Ling in 'Limehouse Blues') 

Fanny Brice (Norma Edelman in 'A Sweepstakes Ticket') appeared in the original stage version of many editions of The Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway.

Judy Garland (The Star in 'A Great Lady Has An Interview') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943). 

Kathryn Grayson (Kathryn Grayson in 'Beauty') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943).

Lena Horne (Lena Horne in 'Love') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943).

Gene Kelly (Gentleman in 'The Babbit and the Bromide') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943),  Du Barry Was A Lady (1943), and A Guide for the Married Man (1967). He made an appearance on the Lucille Ball special “Lucy Moves to NBC” (1980).  

James Melton (Alfredo in 'La Traviata')

Victor Moore (Lawyer's Client in 'Pay the Two Dollars')

Red Skelton (J. Newton Numbskull in 'When Television Comes') also starred with Lucille Ball in Having Wonderful Time (1938), Thousands Cheer (1943),  Du Barry Was A Lady (1943), and The Fuller Brush Girl (1950).  On TV he appeared on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” in “Lucy Goes To Alaska” (1958). Ball and Skelton appeared in numerous TV specials together. 

Esther Williams (Esther Williams in 'A Water Ballet') also appeared with Lucille Ball in Easy To Wed (1946). 

William Powell (Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.) also played the same character in The Great Ziegfeld (1936). 

Edward Arnold (Lawyer in 'Pay the Two Dollars') appeared with Lucille Ball in Roman Scandals (1933) and Ellis in Freedomland (1952).

Marion Bell (Violetta in 'La Traviata')

Cyd Charisse (Ballerina in 'Beauty') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943).

Hume Cronyn (Monty in 'A Sweepstakes Ticket') was honored by The Kennedy Center in 1986, at the same ceremony as Lucille Ball. 

William Frawley (Martin in 'A Sweepstakes Ticket') played the role of Fred Mertz on “I Love Lucy” and “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”. He also appeared on “The Lucy Show,” his final screen appearance. 

Robert Lewis (Chinese Gentleman in 'Limehouse Blues' / Telephone Voice in 'Number Please')

Virginia O'Brien (Virginia O'Brien in 'Here's to the Ladies') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943),  Du Barry Was A Lady (1943), and Meet The People (1944). 

Keenan Wynn (Caller in 'Number Please') appeared with Lucille Ball in Easy To Wed (1946), Without Love (1945), and The Long, Long Trailer (1954). 

SUPPORTING CAST

Ziegfeld Girls

Karin Booth  

Lucille Casey  

Aina Constant  

Elizabeth Dailey  

Frances Donelan  

Natalie Draper  

Karen X. Gaylord  

Aileen Haley  

Carol Haney  

Shirlee Howard  

Margaret Laurence  

Helen O'Hara  

Noreen Roth  

Elaine Shepard  

Kay Thompson  

Dorothy Tuttle  

Dorothy Van Nuys  

Eve Whitney - appeared on “I Love Lucy” episode “The Charm School” (ILL S3;E15).

Dancers

Gloria Joy Arden

Jean Ashton  

Irene Austin  

Judi Blacque  

Bonnie Barlowe  

Norman Borine  

Hazel Brooks  

Ed Brown  

Kathleen Cartmill  

Jack Cavan  

Marilyn Christine  

Laura Corbay  

Rita Dunn  

Meredyth Durrell  

Shawn Ferguson  

Jeanne Francis  

Jean French  

Mary Jane French  

David Gray  

Bill Hawley  

Doreen Hayward  

Charlotte Hunter  

Virginia Hunter  

Patricia Jackson

Margaret Kays  

Laura Knight  

Laura Lane  

Dale Lefler  

Melvin Martin  

Diane Meredith  

Lorraine Miller  

Joyce Murray  

Janet Nevis  

Ray Nyles  

Billy O'Shay  

Jane Ray  

Dorothy Raye  

Beth Renner

Melba Snowden  

Walter Stane  

Ivon Starr  

Robert Trout  

Chorus Boys

Rod Alexander

Milton Chisholm  

Dick D'Arcy  

Dante DiPaolo  

Don Hulbert  

Herb Lurie  

Matt Mattox  

Bert May - appeared on “The Lucy Show” in “Lucy and Tennessee Ernie Ford”

Jack Purcell  

Tommy Rall  

Ricky Ricardi (!)

Alex Romero

“LIMEHOUSE BLUES” starring Fred Astaire, Lucille Bremer, and Robert Lewis

Robert Ames (Masked Man)  

James Barron (Couple with Banners)  

Eleanor Bayley (Couple with Branches)  

Mary Jo Ellis (Couple with Banners)  

Sean Francis (Ensemble)  

James King (Rooster)  

Harriet Lee (Bar Singer) 

Eugene Loring (Costermonger)  

Charles Lunard (Masked Man)  

Patricia Lynn (Ensemble)  

Ruth Merman (Ensemble)  

Garry Owen (1st Subway Policeman)  

Ellen Ray (Couple with Parasols)  

Jack Regas (Masked Man)  

Billy Shead (Couple with Parasols)  

Ronald Stanton (Couple with Branches)  

Wanda Stevenson (Ensemble)  

Ray Teal (2nd Subway Policeman)  

“LOVE” starring Lena Horne

Juliette Ball (Club Patron)   

Lennie Bluett (Dancer)   

Suzette Harbin (Flirt)   

Avanelle Harris (Club Patron)  

Maggie Hathaway (Dancer)  

Charles Hawkins (Club Patron)  

Marie Bryant (Woman Getting Her Man Taken)   

Cleo Herndon (Dancer)   

“THIS HEART OF MINE” starring Fred Astaire and Lucille Bremer

Helen Boyce (Countess)   

Feodor Chaliapin Jr. (Lieutenant)

Naomi Childers (Duchess)

Charles Coleman (Majordomo)   

Sam Flint (Majordomo's Assistant)

Sidney Gordon (Masked Man)   

Count Stefenelli (Count)   

Robert Wayne (Dyseptic)   

“PAY THE TWO DOLLARS”  starring Edward Arnold and Victor Moore

William Bailey (Subway Passenger)

Joseph Crehan (1st Judge) - played a Detective on “I Love Lucy” “The Great Train Robbery”

William B. Davidson (2nd Judge)

Eddie Dunn (3rd Subway Policeman)   

Harry Hayden (Warden)   

George Hill (2nd Subway Policeman)   

Wilbur Mack (Subway Passenger)   

Larry Steers (Magistrate)

“NUMBER PLEASE” starring Keenan Wynn

Peter Lawford (Voice of Porky)

Grady Sutton (Texan)

Audrey Totter (Phone Operator Voice)

Kay Williams (Girl)

OTHERS

Bunin's Puppets

Elise Cavanna (Tall Woman)

Jack Deery (Man)

Rex Evans (Butler in "A Great Lady Has An Interview”)

Sam Garrett (Roping / Twirling Act)

Silver (Horse in "Here's to the Ladies') 

Arthur Walsh (Telegraph Boy in "A Sweepstakes Ticket") - appeared on “I Love Lucy” in “Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined” (ILL S3;E11). 

‘FOLLIES’ TRIVIA

Sidney Guilaroff, Lucille Ball’s hair dresser, who takes responsibility for her famous ‘golden red’ for this movie, becoming her trademark color.

Although they appear in different segments, this is the only feature film collaboration between “I Love Lucy co-stars" Lucille Ball and William Frawley. Coincidently, Frawley's character in this film shares a striking similarity with his iconic character of Fred Mertz on “I Love Lucy.” In this film he plays a money-hungry curmudgeon of a landlord, much like the show. In the above photo, he appears with director Minnelli and co-star Brice. 

The horse ridden by Lucille Ball is the Lone Ranger's Silver!

Lucille Ball was actually fired by Ziegfeld from his road company production of Rio Rita in the 1930s.

In February 1956, Lucy and Desi appeared on “MGM Parade” to promote their MGM film Forever Darling. The show also included footage of Lena Horne singing from Ziegfeld Follies. 

Lucy also played a showgirl in pink in “Lucy Gets Into Pictures” (ILL S4;E19) aired on February 21, 1955. The scene was inspired by Ziegfeld’s legendary stage shows featuring beautiful women wearing elaborate costumes navigating long staircases. To solidify the comparison, Ricky says he is going to a meeting with Mr. Minnelli. Vincente Minnelli was one of the directors of Ziegfeld Follies. 

Lucy Ricardo had previously cavorted around in a lampshade in the manner of a Ziegfeld girl in both the unaired pilot and “The Audition” (S1;E6).

Ziegfeld Follies includes a sketch for Red Skelton called “When Television Comes” aka “Guzzler’s Gin” in which a (future) television spokesman gets increasingly sloshed on his product. This sketch was an obvious influence on Lucy’s Vitameatavegamin routine in “Lucy Does a TV Commercial” (ILL S1;E30) aired on May 5, 1952. 

Ziegfeld Girl Eve Whitney appeared on “I Love Lucy” episode “The Charm School” (ILL S3;E15). She used her own name for the character.  

The Telegraph Boy in "A Sweepstakes Ticket" Arthur Walsh - appeared on “I Love Lucy” in “Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined” (ILL S3;E11) as Arthur ‘King Cat’ Walsh. He teaches Lucy how to jitterbug. 

The first Judge in the “Pay the Two Dollars” James Crehan also played the Police Detective on “I Love Lucy in “The Great Train Robbery” (ILL S5;E5) first aired on October 31, 1955.

Porky, a voice on the telephone in “Number Please” Peter Lawford, played “Password” against Lucille Ball on September 24, 1964.  At the time, Lawford was married to President Kennedy’s sister, Patricia. On November 26, 1968, Ball was a guest on “The Tonight Show” when Peter Lawford was sitting in for Johnny Carson.

Chorus Boy Bert May appeared as a solo dancer on “The Lucy Show” in “Lucy and Tennessee Ernie Ford” (TLS S5;E21) in February 1967. 

In the dressing room, Lucy jokes with Fanny Brice, one of the funniest women in showbusiness.  This was the only time Ball and Brice collaborated and was Brice’s last film. 

Ziegfeld’s follies began on Broadway, so it was appropriate that the show featured past and future Broadway musical stars:

Lucille Ball ~ Wildcat (1960)

Carol Haney ~ The Pajama Game (1954)

Tommy Rall ~ Call Me Madame (1950)

Fanny Brice ~ The Ziegfeld Follies 

Marion Bell ~ Brigadoon (1947)

Victor Moore ~ Anything Goes (1934)

There was a lot of material that was not filmed, but written and cast. Some of the original skits would have added “Lucy” performers Mickey Rooney, Ann Sothern, and Van Johnson to the cast.