If you’re a regular reader of the blog, you probably know by now I’m writing a Victorian romance series. The tagline for my Harrow’s Finest Five series is “Smart women, sexy men, steamy passions, and the occasional scandal in 1870s England”. The first book in the HFF story world, Too Clever by Half, is already out in the real world. And very soon, that book is going to get some company.
One Kiss from Ruin, the first full-length novel in the series, will be released in February! Here, for the very first time anywhere on the interwebs, is the book’s lovely cover. And while I shared the first version of the back cover copy way back in 2018, that’s been updated, so here’s the latest and greatest book description.
Once upon a time, they were in love. Then everything went wrong…
Mr. Daniel Hallsworth lost his title and was driven out of England by claims of his illegitimacy. Now he’s returned to reclaim his title and his family’s reputation, which requires marrying a virtuous lady. He has his sights set on the woman he once loved. If only the lady would graciously accept his proposal.
Lady Emme Radcliffe made a mistake that could destroy her family. To hide it, she’s withdrawn from society and dedicated herself to spinsterhood. Now the man she’s loved for ages has returned with an offer of marriage, but accepting it means risking her secret. If only the gentleman would kindly stop tempting her to fall in love with him again.
With their own match an impossibility, Daniel needs Emme’s assistance to find a suitable wife, and she needs his help to thwart her father’s matchmaking. But each moment together brings them to the brink of passion, and every stolen kiss brings them one step closer to ruin.
I’ll tell you more about the book release in a few weeks from now. In the meantime, you can learn more about the series, sign up for my newsletter (and chances to read early versions of all the HFF books), and read the first chapter of One Kiss from Ruin on my website.
What fun news do you have to share this week?
Eight Ladies Writing 
Beautiful cover, Nancy! What fun to see your book reveals.
Thank you! Now I just have to complete the other 10,000 things that have to happen before the book goes out into the world.
You do such gorgeous covers. Congratulations!
The designer does the hard work. But (as you know) the author has to give much more input to the art than I ever expected. And now it’s time to think about the next cover already, so we begin again. 🙂
I think this is absolutely lovely and if I saw it on a bookshelf, I’d definitely pick it up. That’s a cover doing it’s job!
I’ve decided to redo my covers. In my gut, I’m mostly-but-not-completely satisfied with what I have and want to give it another go, basically starting from scratch, except for the couple I want on the cover. My new designer is just breaking into historical and some of the stuff she’s done is pretty good, but for this first cover, I bought the “everything” package, which includes an unlimited number of revisions, so we can get it right. But she’s truly a digital artist, able to take the dress off one image and put it on another…that sort of thing. And that’s what I think I need right now to get the “I love it!” feeling when I see it. Or, to quote Marie Kondo, it has to “spark joy.” 🙂
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