5 STAR review for IMPOSTER from Uncaged!

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14 reasons to read ALIBI and all the stories in Scarlett Affairs!

1. The First Kiss is a Smacker! Our hero stands in the road to Malmaison and our heroine comes riding past. Why kiss her? Why is he there? In reality, he is there to abduct Bonaparte! Did this really happen? In June 1800 along the road leading to Malmaison, a group of revolutionaries (who may or may not have been supported with money and/or men by Britain) attempted to abduct Bonaparte on his way home to his wife! The attempt was unsuccessful, as were dozens of other attempts to assassinate Bonparte throughout his years in power. But this scene along a road that I have travels 3 times, is my introduction of my hero, Kane, to our heroine, Augustine! It is also their FIRST KISS!  https://books2read.com/u/mdPpVd
2. Kane, Lord Ashley, meets Bonaparte, the First Consul. What does Kane think of the fellow who is 8 inches shorter than he? (And frankly, not as handsome, either!) 
3. WAS BONAPARTE really a short man? At 5’6’ or 7”, he was average height for his time and his lineage. Often portrayed as a little fellow and even called the Little Corporal by the British, the derogatory remark was meant to belittle him. And it did. If one accepts that the aristocracy of Britain was affected by the Norman/Viking blood line, then perhaps our hero was indeed must taller than our Little Frenchman.
4. Reason #4: meet Josephine! Josephine holds sway over society. Her polite manners, her graciousness, her demure smiles that cover bad teeth maker her mysterious. What does she think of our heroine, Augustine?
5. Travel with Gus to wonderful towns in France!  Gus must find her missing friend, Amber St. Antoine who has fled Paris—and the deputy chief of police. The man is a true villain, ruthless and cunning. Gus goes first to a town north of Paris where their aunt owns a house. This town is one of the many Gus travels to in order to find her friend.
6. Travel with Gus to wonderful places in Paris!  Gus flees one day into old Montmartre to escape the police who track her. This part of town, before its greater popularity 50 years later as an artists’ haven, had a few characteristics that attracted residents. It was cheap. It was tawdry. It was on the hill above Paris where breezes blew and the climate beckoned many who could not stand the crowded nature of lower Paris. It was also away from the Seine and its filth. There were vineyards, a pottery factory and a small stone quarry. 
7. Gus has an idea that her friend Amber has taken refuge in a town north of Paris, Compiegne. But she cannot find her there. 
8. Gus joins with Kane and they go to the town of Reims. There, where French kings were crowned, they learn to travel on to another famous town.
9. Gus and Kane go to Varennes to look for Amber. In this small town, there is a  famous church where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were captured and returned to Paris to prison.
10. Facts you will learn about Bonaparte include when he began to cut his hair in more classical style, bathe more often, and insist on white stockings and red velvet frockcoats!
11. Gus and Amber were adopted when children by an Englishwoman who was a former mistress of the Prince Regent and the old Duc d’Orleans. This fictional character, their Aunt Cecily, actually existed. She was imprisoned, along with Josephine, during the Terror. I have made her real!
12. The four heroes of the first four books in this series are sent to France on official business. But beneath that cover, each man is an agent for the British Crown. They are sent by a woman who owns a merchant company. Is this a cover that was real? YES! Why? Because those how knew Europe best wear those who lived, worked and traded in European cities.
13. The romances in the first four of the series occur mostly in France. Lord Fournier’s story takes you to a German duchy along the Rhein. The duke became an ally of Bonaparte…for money. Bonaparte required the duke to conscript his citizens to fight for Bonaparte. This duke also conscripted my great-great grandfather in the Army of the Confederation of the Rhein. My ancestor survived the wars. I am shocked. The death rates of these soldiers was astronomical as they were often used in the front lines.
14. There will be a map in each of the romances so you can keep pace with where everyone is…and where they go! To each of these towns, these churches, these villages, these palaces, I have been. I loved each one…and I wanted you to get to know them more intimately.
15. Lastly, I have long introduced you in my historical romances to the sites, the food, the flavor of the places my characters live in. Dancing in the Moulin de la Galette (THOSE NOTORIOUS AMERICANS), strolling the stony beach of Brighton (CHRISTMAS BELLES), and getting married through newspaper advertisements (MATRIMONY!) are a few of the realities I paint for you in my historical romances. Here in SCARLETT AFFAIRS, I take you deep inside Bonaparte’s empire to show you the places he conquered, the problems he created…the ones he solved, and the love affairs I imagine endured all hardships during the years he took the world by storm.

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A lady's run thru Montmartre and a public bath house in 1802? YES!

A taste of Montmartre in 1802? Before it became a haven for artists during the last part of the century?

Yes!

I take you there in LORD ASHLEY'S BEAUTIFUL ALIBI when Gus, our heroine, must meet a fellow conspirator there. She goes north near the old basilica of St. Denis where all the kings and queens of France are buried and enters a public bath house for men and women.

Facilities were separate for each, but it did exist. Here is a picture of a model of one that existed Paris during that period. I took this picture during one of my trips there. It is part of the exhibit's in the Paris Musee de Carnavalet. 

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Fabulous reviews of RAMSEY by those who love the spice, the action, adventure and the historical accuracy!

“A breathtaking plot.”

“…a mixture of fact and fiction woven so cleverly together, it made a book that was hard to put down.”

“…very well thought out book, well researched and cleverly written.”

“…they make an incredibly well-suited pair - that is if they can live long enough to enjoy a future together.”

“…captures the readers attention from the first sentence to the very last period.”

“…loved the mix between fact & fiction in this very well researched book.”

“Ram is a protective cinnamon roll hero and Amber a strong heroine who is willing to sacrifice her happiness for the good of others.”

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Today's Historical tidbit from LORD RAMSEY'S RED HEADED RUIN!

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 You know I love to weave in great historical detail and couch my stories in the goodies that your history teacher never offered you!

Here's a goodie: In RAMSEY, just as in ALIBI, a character who is a former courtesan and mistress of the old Duc D'Orleans, still lives and because she was imprisoned with Josephine in Carmes, she remains her friend.

She calls herself an adoptive mother to Amber, our heroine in RUIN, and she calls herself the aunt of the heroine in ALIBI, Augustine, but who is she really?

An Englishwoman of rather dubious repute was indeed the mistress of the Prince Regent who then had her married off to a sickly fellow. Our lady "disappeared" for a few months, then went to Paris. There, she was introduced and recommended to the old Duc d"Orleans. There she remained with him and when he was carted off to the guillotine, the lady was sent to Carmes.

True story.

Have any idea of her real name? Your guesses can go in comments!

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Nibble! Nibble of my new cherry and yummy pix of Lord RAMSEY!

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It’s dangerous to be an honest woman. 

Torture to be the man who loves her.

Amber St. Antoine flees Paris—and her role to spy on Bonaparte.

Ramsey must find her and keep her safe.

But the lady objects.

Stubborn, defiant and stunningly beautiful, Amber accepts Ram’s protection…even as she refuses to leave France.

What’s a man to do, if he’s determined to save her from herself…and is foiled at every turn?

Is he a fool to believe that love conquers all?

Excerpt, LORD RAMSEY’S RED-HEADED RUIN, Copyright, 2024, Cerise Deland.

“Scarlett Hawthorne definitely knows you,” Ramsey conformed with a shrug of indifference. “She showed me a watercolor portrait of you. A fine one.”

Whose painting could that have been? Only Augustine. For years, her best friend Augustine had refined her art by redoing Amber’s portrait in ink or pencil or watercolor over again and again. “I know you best,” Gus had often said when Amber complained. “It gives me joy.”

However, the gentleman before her was not joyful. He frowned at the door slats. “That portrait is how I have been able to track you in and out of town the past few days. Even in your men’s attire, to say nothing of your numerous changes of public carriages, hired coachmen—and haylofts.”

“I tracked you today,” she blurted at him as a ripple of despair shot through her. 

“I know. A double play, eh?”

This man trailed her. Were there others? More whom she had not noticed? Were they from Scarlett or from Vaillancourt? What had she not seen? Who else was out there plotting her capture?

Her bravado was for naught. She clutched her arms around her middle. If she had had more space in this cramped closet, she would have doubled in distress.

“Come out, Madame,” her captor murmured with sweet appeal. “I long to meet you face to face. I have admired your courage.”

“And my stupidity to allow you to corner me?”

He waved a hand. “Curiosity was bound to snare you.”

That was true. “You allowed me just enough of you to lead me on.”

“Ah, well. Essential to one who wishes to meet you.”

“But sir, I have no desire to meet you.”

“You will.”

Did he toy with her? Rather carefree, wasn’t he? Yet his discovery of her was so dire a challenge to her. “Huh! You think very highly of yourself.”

“I think very highly of you, Madame. You are quick, nimble, thoughtful in your escapade. Add to that, you are lovely from afar. I can only imagine how stunning you are closer.”

She snorted. “I am no imbécile who will welcome your compliments or your protection in exchange for my obedience.”

His jaw, square and blunt as it was, went rigid with his displeasure. His pale eyes grew eerie. “Madame, you test my good nature. I do not want you servile. I am here on a mission. You are my quest. I have found you, and now you will do me the courtesy of appearing without further ado. This delay grows tiresome. We have much to say, more to plan.” He extended one hand toward the closet and waggled his fingers at her. “Come out, I say.”

Out, she had to go. With a huff and a shake of her skirts, she emerged into the golden candlelight of his presence.

She stood, toe to toe with him. But that was all that matched. Her breasts came to his ribcage. Her chin was level to his throat. Her gaze took in his mouth, generous and strong. His own eyes, in the fuller light now afforded her, could have sent her to her knees. How could a man possess such an erotic gaze of Nordic blue with long brown lashes so sweeping she could envy them herself?

“Yes,” he pronounced the word in a long low draw that had her sensing his bass voice down through her stomach to her loins, “I see one reason why Vaillancourt pursues you. T’is not simply your hair. The red does claim the eye, burn the mind. It is your demeanor.”

“Far from it!”

The fellow shot up a hand to make her pause. “You are rare.”

“Not at all.” How unique, she dare not say.

“I disagree. No freckles. No blemishes. No girlish whimsy. No frailty of bone or eye or gumption.” He grinned, broad and nigh unto evil in his praise of her. 

Praise. Hunh. She would have no more of this. She spun to one side and strode toward his sideboard. “Have you whisky in that decanter?”

“I’m surprised you did not pour yourself a draught.”

She flashed him a withering gaze. “That would have been poor manners. Besides, I was not here long enough to sample it. I do gather you clocked how long I’ve been here.”

“Upstairs?” He fished his watch from his waistcoat pocket and noted the time with a swift dash of humor. “Eight minutes. Perhaps not long enough for your particular taste.”

She availed herself of the decanter and one earthen cup. A strong dose of spirits would be just what she needed to endure this inquisition. She downed it and the warmth sank through her limbs. With her cup empty but still in hand, she spread her skirts and sat upon the edge of his firm wide bed. The sumptuous fell off it had her spine easing. She smiled in relief but killed the expression for this man would not need to know how she desired the comfort of his bed. “Now that you have me, what do you propose to do with me?”

“I hoped you would readily see the value of my company.” He offered her a brilliant sample of his most pleasant bow.

“Fit for the Tuileries, you certainly are.” She lifted her cup in fake homage.

“I’m thrilled you see it that way,” he said with sarcasm. “But we both know you do not wish to return. Frankly, I don’t blame you. I have been there and I did not find the court’s questionable charms amusing.”

She snorted. “Touché. So then, regale me with your solution.”

“We travel together.” He said it with such finality that it left little room for her objections.

“You are presumptuous.”

With a theatrical sigh, he turned on his heel and claimed the only good chair in the room.“I am prudent.”

Whatever she might think, he would argue against. From his commanding position near the door, he watched her like a king on his throne. At his leisure, so easy in his skin, he ran his large blue eyes over her as if she were a diamond to regard, measure and seize. She was no man’s. But she tipped her head and said, “Do enlighten me.”

“You are in a precarious situation. A woman alone. Fleeing not merely one man, albeit one who is the second most capable of detaining anyone in the country, but eluding his entire cadre of underlings. You have limited resources. Money goes only so far for so long, then you must return home to Reims or to Paris to get more. Under disguise and in the dead of night, too. That carries dangers of discovery. Alternately, you could try to live France and go to the coast, Britain, or south to Spain or one of the Italian states. But they are far and require a long journey, perilous and hot. Going to one of the German duchies on the Rhine is not a good idea, either. They, after all, are beholden to Vienna.”

“Not for long, from what I hear.”

“Right you are. For once they are officially aligned with France, you cannot find succor there. Plus, one thing more.” He lifted a finger. “You do not speak any German.”

She sat taller. “You have done quite a bit of research about my background.”

He smiled. It was perfunctory. “I have.”

“So then you offer me your presence, your protection, and your funds. I am shocked, sir. Do you not offer me, as well, your prayers?”

“If you wish.” Humor warmed the cool self-confidence in his gaze.

“I have no need of them.”

“Because you are on the right side of your quest?”

She nodded.

He gave her the sharp regard of a predator about to attack prey. “Never in this country or in any other on this green earth, did being right assure one of victory.”

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A reader's review of LORD RAMSEY that had me sobbing with joy! Thank you, Jo, for my 10+ STARS!

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing 

Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2024 

What a wonderful and amazing story! This is the second story in a 16 book series about specific people in the early 1800's who lived through the French Revolution and helped spy on Napoleon as he attempted to take over most of Europe. The characters are exceptional, deeply devoted to doing what is best for all people, not looking to be powerful but genuinely wanting freedom and peace for all. Ram and Amber find that their paths are interwoven even though their original goals were different. A moving story with great authentic information on France, its history, locations and more. This author captures the readers attention from the first sentence to the very last period. Now you can read it as a stand alone, but I don't recommend it as the background of the characters are woven together in such a manner that you won't want to miss any of the connections. If you like historical romance that doesn't fit the standard out of the box balls, social differences, house parties, etc., then rush right out and get this and all the series. You won't be disappointed. A 10+

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Napoleon's ladies! How many do you know?

An early portrait of
Josephine de Beauharnais

The man had a large family of brothers and sisters. His greatest regret was that his first wife, Josephine, could not give him an heir. She, too, regretted her inability to conceive, though she tried many remedies and spas.

Portrait artists of the period—famous Le Brun and Jacques Louis David—painted many of them.

Who was loveliest?

Who was most notorious?

Today, we have a selection of those ladies who influenced Court, banking, fashion—and scandal! 

Oh, you tell us what you think.  

Here are your selections.

Desiree Clary, Queen of Sweden

Napoleon's mother, Madame Mere

Sister Pauline Bonaparte

Caroline Bonaparte, sister

Hortense de Beauharnais, daughter of Josephine

Madame Julie Recamier, wife of a banker, 
Society darling

Empress Marie Louise with her son, Napoleon II,
King of Rome

Join me and my Cherries for a party for LORD RAMSEY's debut! Brin a furry friend for treats!

 

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Cerise's Cherries is a Facebook group for me. Come Thursday for a few minutes of fun, books, and Ramsey!

Here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/610957482267461/

What would you do if...you were a lady pursued by a merciless man? COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS UNTIL LORD RAMSEY'S RED HEADED RUIN DEBUTS!

COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS UNTIL LORD RAMSEY'S RED HEADED RUIN DEBUTS!

What would you do…?
If you lived in Paris, amid the whirl of Court, and the deputy chief of police were in love with you?
Amber St. Antoine lives in the circle of First Consul Bonaparte’s court…and his deputy will do anything to have her as his mistress.
But does he really desire her? Or is it a ruse because he knows she’s a spy?

https://books2read.com/u/brddrE

The most dangerous work a woman can do is spy on her enemies...and fall in love with her protector!

It’s dangerous to be an honest woman. 

Torture to be the man who loves her.

Amber St. Antoine flees Paris—and her role to spy on Bonaparte.
Ramsey must find her and keep her safe.
But the lady objects.
Stubborn, defiant and stunningly beautiful, Amber accepts Ram’s protection…even as she refuses to leave France.
What’s a man to do, if he’s determined to save her from herself…and is foiled at every turn?
Is he a fool to believe that love conquers all?
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Lord Ramsey is coming to town! September 26!

 

                                                    BUY LINK:   https://books2read.com/u/brddrE

Excerpt, LORD RAMSEY'S RED HEADED RUIN, Cerise Deland. 2024, All rights reserved.

    “It’s dangerous to stay here,” she complained, seeing his anger.
     Ramsey whirled on her, an arm out, anger in every growl. “Oui, madame! Dangerous! Because I can’t leave. Because you won’t go. Because the night is long and my temper short. Because I am a man who needs to go swimming in the river, and you”—he poked a finger at her—“cannot follow.”
   She looked as if he’d struck her. “I… But… It’s night. Not safe.”
   He spun away and back again, so quickly that she teetered on her feet.
   He caught her arms and held her against him. Every sensuous muscle in her supple body rubbed against his. Damn his chivalry! 
   “This is not safe. This!” He crushed her against him. “And this!” He jammed one hand up into the thick curls of her hair. “And this,” he whispered against her lush lips, brushing them with the most innocent kiss and prying them open to explore all of her with his tongue.

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