Uncaged: Your latest book, Lady Abigail’s Perfect Match released in October and is second in a series. Can you tell readers more about this book and the series? Can they be read as standalones?
Sure! Lady Abigail’s Perfect Match is part of my Townsbridge novella series in which each of the five Townsbridge siblings eventually get their HEA. In Lady Abigail’s Perfect Match, it’s James’ turn. Having experienced his parents’ wonderful marriage and his older brother Charles’ blissful union, he believes in love and longs to find the right woman with whom to settle down. Unfortunately, he ends up getting caught in a compromising situation with a woman who seems to dislike his company entirely, to the point where he believes he makes her feel physically ill. But, he’s determined to give the inevitable his best shot anyway and his effort does pay off since it allows him to learn that Lady Abigail’s constant queasiness is caused by painful shyness – particularly relating to him – and this is something he plans on helping her overcome.
These books can be read as standalone stories.
Uncaged: What are you working on next that you can tell us about?
I’ve been pretty busy. Since publishing Lady Abigail’s Perfect Match in October, I’ve finished writing the third and final book in my Crawford series as well as a Gothic inspired Regency romance novella that’s going to be part of an anthology in September 2020. Right now I’m plotting the sixth book in my Diamonds In The Rough series so I plan to start writing that one soon.
Uncaged: What inspired you to write in the historical genre?
My mother-in-law introduced me to the historical romance genre and then one day, when I happened upon Julia Quinn’s, Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, I just knew I had to try writing my own historical romance novel. Julia Quinn’s style is lovely and it spoke to me more than any other romance novel I’d read at that time, because of the brilliant sense of humor.
Read the rest of the interview in the January issue of Uncaged Book Reviews below
Born in Denmark, USA TODAY bestselling author Sophie Barnes spent her youth traveling with her parents to wonderful places all around the world. She’s lived in five different countries, on three different continents, and speaks Danish, English, French, Spanish, and Romanian (with varying degrees of fluency). But, most impressive of all, she’s been married to the same man three times—in three different countries and in three different dresses.
When she’s not busy dreaming up her next romance novel, Sophie enjoys spending time with her family, swimming, cooking, gardening, watching romantic comedies and, of course, reading.
sophiebarnes.com
The Forgotten Duke
Sophie Barnes
Historical Regency
He never imagined he’d be the man he was born to be, or that one woman’s faith in him would change his life forever…
When Carlton Guthrie, Scoundrel of St. Giles, encounters a runaway bride in the London slums, he offers to help her. Not out of kindness, but because she’s the Earl of Hedgewick’s daughter. Using Regina to exact his revenge on her father seems like the perfect plan. Until Carlton starts to fall for the innocent beauty.Seeking refuge with a notorious crime lord, was never part of Regina’s plan. But in her blind attempt to escape the fate her parents have planned for her, options are limited. What she doesn’t expect, is to pull aside Carlton’s facade, and to find a tormented man who makes her feel safe and cherished – a man she could easily love, if he’ll let her.
Seeking refuge with a notorious crime lord, was never part of Regina’s plan. But in her blind attempt to escape the fate her parents have planned for her, options are limited. What she doesn’t expect, is to pull aside Carlton’s facade, and to find a tormented man who makes her feel safe and cherished – a man she could easily love, if he’ll let her.
Chapter One
London
September, 1820
Everything in Regina’s life had always gone according to plan. She’d been born on March fourteenth, exactly as the physician and midwife had predicted. Since then, her sole purpose had been to become an accomplished lady. She’d been educated in a manner befitting the daughter of a British peer. And so, it was not surprising that she could play the pianoforte, embroider monograms on handkerchiefs, converse in French, and dance as if floating on air.
Her life was as it should be, as it had been designed to be, and she had no illusions about the duty that would one day be required of her. As a female, she would have to make the best possible match. Love would not factor into this eventuality since her marriage would without doubt be one of convenience.
Her parents had spent the last eighteen years preparing her for this. And yet her father, Charles Berkly, Earl of Hedgewick, still managed to surprise her when he interrupted tea one afternoon to inform her that she and the Marquess of Stokes were to be married.
The very next day.
By special license.
Apprehensive and slightly dazed, Regina told herself that all would be well. Her father had made a magnificent match – one that would elevate not only her but her entire family. She trusted him to have her best interests at heart, so she did not think to protest the hasty union or to remind her father that she and Stokes had never met. Instead, she breathed a sigh of relief when he described the marquess as a handsome youth with a fondness for poetry and music. She imagined herself enjoying his company, of entertaining him in the evenings with music and song, and of giving him children as duty required. She convinced herself that in time, love would blossom between them and that they would be happy together.
But when Stokes arrived that same evening for an introductory dinner, and was shown into the parlor by Plath, the butler, Regina realized that everything she’d imagined was but an illusion. Instead, she was expected to walk into hell and live there.
The resolve required to maintain her composure as Stokes approached her, to drop into an elegant curtsey and not run screaming from the room, was extraordinarily difficult. Like sitting still while a swarm of bees tried to sting you. But she now understood why she’d never met the marquess before and why she had to marry him faster than she could blink. Most likely, her father hoped to complete the task before she realized she was marrying a child.
Read the rest of this excerpt in the issue below
