Once Upon a Lady by Addie Jo Ryleigh - Book Tour - Book Review - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hi lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Addie Jo Ryleigh and her new book, “Once Upon a Lady”!  For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Addie Jo and to increase your chances of winning!

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous giveaway!

Once Upon a Lady

by Addie Jo Ryleigh

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GENRE: Fantasy/Paranormal

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BLURB:

Respectable Lady Katherine Baxton, striving to meet the requirements of her station, has become the ultimate dutiful daughter. And now, the Duke of Blackthorn’s betrothed. Far from a love match, Kate is nevertheless determined to do as expected and marry.

That all changes the night she panics at her impending future and runs, stumbling upon a private grove, a mysterious tree . . . and a half-naked man.

The youngest son of a viscount widely thought to have purchased his title, Jackson Cooper demonstrates his disdain for the aristocracy by affording himself every luxury available—drinking, wenching, and gambling—while eschewing anything representing the ton. Jackson has little care for his reputation and no desire to marry. His escape from London is all but complete.

Until fate—in the form of a beautiful, mysterious lady—interrupts his plans, enticing him with the very thing he never wanted.

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EXCERPT TWO:

“What is your name?” As much as he longed to forever think of her as his private wood sprite, he needed more.

Her voice held a touch of hesitation. “Kate.”

He wrapped her name around his mind and held it tight, all the while knowing, illogical or not, she would always be his seductive nymph.

“This is unwise.” His base desire cursed him for injecting prudence into the moment . . . and in opposition, his common sense decried his lack of better judgement for having her in his arms.

He ignored both.

Kate remained silent as he lifted his hand and traced his gloveless finger over her cheek, mesmerized by the smooth silk of her skin.

As much as he wanted to pull away, flee before it became too late, he was lost.

He curved his hand around the back of her neck, urging her closer. Their eyes remained locked as he lowered his head, drawn to the inviting promise of her lips. Instinctively, Jackson knew the moment he acted on the sweet provocation, everything would change. I don’t give a damn.

He needed to possess her.

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BOOK REVIEW:

This book was an amusing, enjoyable, entertaining read that swept me away for a romantic adventure.

This book is about Lady Katherine “Kate” Braxton, who is on her first season out (available for marriage) and is now betrothed to the Duke of Blackthorn.  Kate is struggling with going along with this arranged marriage as she does not know or love Blackthorn.

This book is about Jackson Cooper, who is the youngest son of a Viscount, and spends his days and nights causing all sorts of havoc – drinking, wenching, gambling, and such.  He does not care about his reputation, has no plans to marry, and his only goal is to save up enough money to get out of London.  Unfortunately, his dad threatens to cut off his allowance unless he cleans up his act, marries, and rejoins society.

While attending a ball Kate decides to step out to get away from her sisters and the pressures about her arranged marriage to Blackthorn.  She walks out to a beautiful garden and is drawn to the magical Soul Mate Tree.  While experiencing the captivating essence of the Soul Mate Tree she bumps into a half-naked man – Jackson Cooper, who is in a very compromising position with a woman.  Although Kate is shocked upon her discovery, she is unable to advert her eyes from Jackson – she is completely mesmerized by him.

Will Kate and Jackson become an item?  Will Kate decide to marry Blackthorn?  Will Jackson leave London?  No spoilers here!!  But you definitely will want to read this book and find out!!

This book was a quick, easy, fun read at only 145 pages!  I was able to read it over a cozy weekend curled up on the couch.

I really liked the main characters, Kate, Jackson, and Blackthorn.  They were realistic and genuine.

I liked that Kate wanted to please her dad and not disappoint him; but I feel like if he’s your dad, he would ultimately want you to be happy and if marrying Blackthorn wasn’t what made you happy then he would understand you not marrying him.  However, these were old-fashioned times, and I don’t think women really had much say in these matters, as they were more told what to do, then asked their opinions.

I found it interesting that Kate, being so young, was mature enough to understand and accept marrying Blackthorn – being his dutiful wife.  She knew her place and if that’s what she was told to do, she would do it.  She said that Blackthorn was a good man, and that she did care for him.  Even though there wasn’t that attraction or intimate spark, she said she could do far worse.

This made me think about how this relates to marriages in today’s society.  Arranged marriages are less common, but people are still marrying out of duty and responsibility.  Perhaps a different take on it, but still the same basics and principles.  It’s saddening, because love and passion is what people should be marrying on.  Not being able to live without that person is true love and wanting to spend the rest of your life with them is why couples should marry, not for titles or obligations.  Marriage should not be a business transaction.

I found it interesting that Kate’s sisters were helping persuade her into not marrying Blackthorn and telling her that she wouldn’t be truly happy with him.  It was surprising since her sisters were also put through arranged marriages by their father and said that they were happily married.  I liked the witty banter between Kate and her sisters.  It was quite comical and entertaining.

I wasn’t a huge fan of Jackson at first, it took some time to win me over.  He was just such a womanizer, lazy, carefree, irresponsible, and reckless.  But he really worked hard, and you could tell he wanted to improve and change.

I have to do a shout-out to Blackthorn for being such a gentleman through the whole thing.  He was so polite, kind, and understanding.  I hope he gets his own book and his own HEA!  He truly deserves it!  He really could have gone another way, but he chose the high road and that truly warrants a gold star in my book!

This book has a great storyline that flows, terrific writing style with detailed scenes, well-developed characters, is steady paced, and keeps you completely entertained through the last page.

This book is book eight of the Soul Mate Tree Book Series.  Each book in this series is written by a different author, but all of them tie in to the Soul Mate Tree theme.  Therefore, each book can easily be read on its own.  This was my second book in the series and I did not have any trouble reading it or get lost in the story.

I will be reading and reviewing additional books in this series and look forward to sharing my take on those books with you soon!

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and would absolutely recommend this book to all romantic, fantasy, paranormal readers!

**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations.**

Did you find this review helpful?

If so, please, please, please mark it as helpful on Amazon here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R3UVWVXWDVCU0O

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AUTHOR BIO:

Addie Jo Ryleigh writes historical regency romances that feature rakish heroes and strong feisty heroines.

Addie Jo has lived in the same cold-winter-hot-summer area of Minnesota her entire life. Sharing in the raising of her three extremely rambunctious boys is her very understanding husband who endured being dubbed “The Duke” by his co-workers. Keeping Addie Jo company while she writes (besides her wonderfully loud children) is her yorkipoo, Bella, who is never far from Addie Jo’s side. And recently the newest addition to their family, a black lab puppy named Max.

Addie Jo has always had a love and passion for romance books and became engrossed in historical romance (particularly Regency) soon after graduating from Lurlene McDaniel’s young adult books. Currently, Addie Jo reads any genre that has a great emotional story that keeps her reading into the early hours of the morning.

Addie Jo has a bachelor degree in accounting and is a financial coordinator when not playing chauffeur for her hockey-playing boys, cuddled up with a good book, or writing her next story.

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CONNECT WITH ADDIE JO:

Addie Jo’s super cute puppy, Cosmo

Website:

http://addiejoryleigh.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/AddieJoRyleigh

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/AddieJoRyleigh

Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.com/AddieJoRyleigh

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/addiejoryleigh

BookBub Author Page:

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/addie-jo-ryleigh

BookBub Book Page:

https://www.bookbub.com/books/once-upon-a-lady-the-soul-mate-tree-book-8-by-addie-jo-ryleigh

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14451816.Addie_Jo_Ryleigh

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35923270-once-upon-a-lady

Amazon Author Page:

http://amzn.to/2ERnpQz

Addie Jo’s adorable furbabies and writing partners, Bella and Max

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BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon Kindle:

http://amzn.to/2Cuow3r

Amazon Paperback:

http://amzn.to/2BC1nPY

Barnes and Noble:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/once-upon-a-lady-addie-jo-ryleigh/1127565557

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Addie Jo will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.