#this collection was titled 'mayfair lady'

[atenderofsycamoretrees]

Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood Fall 2021 Ready-to-Wear

Photos courtesy of Andreas Kronthaler

#fashion #andreas kronthaler for vivienne westwood #fall 2021 #ready-to-wear #scopophobia / #this collection was titled 'mayfair lady' #and was inspired by my fair lady/pygmalion #also quite a few of the menswear looks involved the kind of laced-up two-separate-legs trousers that used to go under codpieces #so i guess that's where we're headed

[silksandcravats]

All Tied Up - Viscount!Kylo

Once again I find myself taking my sweet time with the backstory kylo piece so in its place please accept another piece of viscount!kylo smut <3

Lady Ren stumbles across a rather indecent piece of literature which leads to her taken certain sexual liberties with her husband OR reader insert ties Kylo to the bed.

masterlist

Warnings/contents: fem!reader, bondage, PIV sex, unprotected sex, regency era, reader still has limited sexual knowledge, historical inaccuracies probably

You fidgeted with the ribbons in your hand, turning them over and over again. Blue felt like as good a colour as any to use. It was a wicked idea, surely not one that might be expected from a gently bred lady such as yourself. But then, the idea wasn’t originally yours, that terribly indecent book was to blame. And it’s not like you sought the book out! You had only been seeking out the newest Jane Austen novel, which had the town abuzz (though the opinion of the female author herself was rather mixed). 

You, unfortunately, had been rather late to hearing about the work, meaning there was not a copy to be spared in all of Mayfair. Not to be deterred, you had linked arms with your ladies maid, and bribed one of your coachmen a whole two pounds to take you into the city. (The act of bribery had become necessary after the man expressed concern that the Viscount might not approve of your excursion, he was right of course but you were not easily dissuaded.)

Whilst scouring the shelves of that London bookshelf, you noticed a book at the end of the row had been turned down so the spine was hidden and pushed back slightly as if someone had been trying to hide it. Upon further inspection you found the title to be, “The art of Basketweaving”. 

How curious, you thought to yourself, turning the book over in your hands. Why would anyone have need to hide this? 

It took only a brief look inside for you to realise the book had nothing to do with baskets at all. Your cheeks grew very hot and you slammed the book shut, not wanting to be caught reading it, at least not here. And so in the end you returned to Mayfair with a very different sort of book.

Which lead you up to now, sitting in your bedchambers, awaiting your husband who should return from parliament any time now. You turned the book open to study the position once more. It was the most devious, most erotic drawing you had ever seen. The way the man’s wrists had been crossed over and snuggly tied to the bedpost, the way the woman on top appeared to be lowering herself onto him, you had to admit you hadn’t even known it was possible!

You slammed the book quickly when you heard approaching footsteps you knew belonged to your husband. You hid the book in the top drawer of your writing desk, beneath loose stationery, and pushed the door shut.

The Viscount used your first name to greet you, coming into the room just as you tossed the ribbons onto the bed.

“Hello darling,” you smiled turning to face him. You felt slightly nauseous as you watched his eyes flicker briefly to the ribbon on the bed. You made yourself take a deep breath as he turned back to you, trying to force your nerves to calm, he didn’t know what you were up to, he couldn’t.

“I did not expect to find you here at this time of day,” he spoke walking towards you. You hated when he looked at you this way - like he already knew all of your secrets, but you knew you couldn’t look away, that would be as good as branding yourself with the word “guilty”.

“I was hoping we might enjoy each other’s company for a while, before dinner,” you did your best to sound innocent, snaking your arms around his neck.

“Is that so?” He queried, his hands coming down to grasp your waist.

“Yes,” you breathed, tipping your face up to meet his. He kissed you briefly, before pulling back.

“And what might be the occasion?” 

“No occasion,” you shook your head, tugging slightly at his cravat. He hummed thoughtfully but didn’t reply, allowing you to pull the material free. You knew he was suspicious, but he didn’t push, allowing you to pull through his layers. His hands roamed you, undressing you at a much slower pace than you were him. And so when you finished you splayed your hands across his chest, and leaned forward, kissing slowly up his torso. 

“You’re very eager,” he noted, finally removing your drawers.

“Is such a sin to want one’s husband?” You looked up at him through your lashes, hoping to replace his curiosity with lust.

“Not at all,” He smirked, pulling your now naked form closer to him and kissing you again. You knew you had to be careful here, one wrong move and you would end up below him, and then you might as well forget your plans. You let your hands roam him a moment longer and slowly, slowly backed him up to the bed and then-

“I know you left Mayfair today,” He broke away, speaking down to you. Your brows furrowed.

“How did you-”

“I gave him five pounds.” 

He then took you by surprise, dropped back on the bed, and pulling you along on top of him. This was good, now he was right where you wanted him. 

“Five?” You gasped, trying to linger on the topic of staff rather than your unauthorised outing. “We shall be out a coachman when he runs off with his new fortune.” 

His fingertips grazed the flesh of your hips, tracing your skin, his touch was sinful but you couldn’t allow yourself to bask in it now, you needed his hands higher up. Your situation was still quite precarious after all, he might flip you onto your back at any moment.

“I don’t know what was more foolish, you leaving Mayfair or thinking I wouldn’t know,” he admonished. You grasped his hands, feeling pleased when he cooperated, and dragged them up slowly.

“I did bring Daisy along,” you pointed out, frowning innocently.

“I’m beginning to believe I allow you too many liberties, perhaps I ought to take you in hand,” He spoke suggestively, the meaning of his words not lost on you. His eyes were darkening, you were running out of time, if you were going to act it had to be now.

“Actually,” you leaned in.

All at once, you took over. In a speed even you hadn’t known you possessed, you snatched up your hair ribbons, which were already within arms reach, and shoved his wrists against the headboard, tossing one over the other and tied them to the spot, quickly and firmly. You prayed it was tight enough.

“I should like to take a few more liberties before the day is through,” your lips ghosted over his, your stomach lurched at the boldness of your actions but you held your composure.

“You devilish woman,” he pulled his head back from you, leaning against the pillow to look up at your handiwork. He survived the bonds for a moment but made no effort to yank free, instead he sighed.

“That was very clever of you darling,” he admitted, turning his gaze from his hands to meet you again. “But what do you plan to do now that you have me?”

“A great many things I should think,” you spoke boldly. You reached down and grasped his length, first loosely, then you tightened a bit, give him a few teasing strokes. You watched proudly as his already partially hard cock grew firmer in your grip, fully standing at attention now. Still in the first bloom of marriage, you hadn’t mastered his body yet. You were still learning the best ways to touch and tease. 

A few drops were beginning to collect at his tip so you swiped your thumb along his slit, collecting the moisture, the contact making him hiss. And then, feeling incredibly vulgar, you lifted your thumb to your mouth and licking slowly. Kylo let out a shameless moan in response, watching you with great interest. This was going very well indeed.

“And where might my sweet little wife get such a wicked idea from?” He quirked a brow, watching your hand work him. Even now, bound to the bed he looked calm and collected, and perhaps even somehow still in control. In fact, he looked almost as if he was lying in the garden of your country home, basking in the summer sun. 

You didn’t answer. He was fully and entirely erect now and so you pulled away, leaning up on his thighs and looking down at him with determination. Your hand slipped between your legs and you touched yourself, pushing two fingers inside of yourself and moving them in a sort of scissoring motion the way Kylo always did before he took you. It wasn’t the same of course, your fingers were smaller and you couldn’t work yourself open the same way, but you did your best given your position. 

“If you need help wife, you need but ask,” he chimed, watching you touch yourself. His demeanour was still collected but there was a hunger in his eyes, clearly you weren’t the only one who wished it was his fingers plunged inside of you.

“That’s quite alright husband,” you shook your head, pulling your fingers away and moving above him. You grasped him again aligning himself to your opening and taking a deep breath.

“Go ahead, darling.”

Perhaps he was asking you to hurry along because he was eager, but it was also possible his words were encouraging, and you couldn’t have him thinking you were nervous, so you briskly lowered yourself all the way down, filling yourself to the brim. You both moaned loudly at your action. 

You hadn’t been able to open yourself up as well as he does, so the stretch of him burned more deeply than you were used to causing you to wince. Being on top you knew you had all the time you would like to adjust, but you couldn’t give your husband the satisfaction of knowing how affected you were.

And so you adjusted slightly and, -consequential soreness be damned- you began rocking yourself on top of him, up and down. The third time you moved you went too far and he slipped out of you. You nearly cursed but instead you simply repositioned and tried again. 

It took you a few tries to set a rhythm, and Kylo, knowing when and when to not tease his wife, kept his amusement to himself as best he could while you gathered your bearings. Finally, you slipped into a fluid pattern, bouncing on top of him rather pleasantly.

Whenever Kylo bedded you, he fully sheathed himself with every single thrust, knocking against something deep inside of you, and he couldn’t help but notice that now that it was your turn you made sure to never drop all the way down. Not because you didn’t enjoy the feeling, he knew you liked it quite a bit, but rather he realised it was too intense for you to subject yourself to. 

It felt wonderful to have him this way, but it was taking quite a bit of energy to maintain your pace and you were beginning to develop a newfound sense of respect that he was able to ravish you so frequently and for so long. You knew you’d be able to finish this way, and you were fairly sure he could too, and so you willed yourself to carry on. It wasn’t until you begin to pant softly that Kylo couldn’t resist speaking up.

“You seem to be overexerting yourself, dear, shall I take over for you?” He cooed, his voice sweet and heavy like honey. It was a tempting proposition, to roll over and let him have you, but you finally held power in your grasps, and who knows when you might have it again?

“N-no,” you shook your head violently, picking up the speed even though your muscles were screaming, begging you to stop.

“Very well, come here then,” he nodded once, urging you toward him. You complied, sliding your hands further up his chest and leaning down to kiss him. Once he had your mouth on him he began to move beneath you, rocking up in time with you so that the next time you came down he slid farther inside of you knocking against your cervix making you screech his name, and then he did it again, and again.

“Touch yourself for me,” he groaned against your mouth. And so you did without thinking, having to shift in the process so you could reach, which only allowed him to further space to thrust up into you. You couldn’t believe it, he was topping from the bottom? 

“Oh Kylo!” you exclaim, jolting when your fingers found your own little bud.

“That’s it darling,” he groaned, his own composure beginning to cripple, “come with me.” Your chest tightened, your rocking had grown sloppy and he was doing the bulk on the work now, he pushed up into you once, twice more and then your world shattered. Your eyes squeezed shut and your head tilted back, your mouth falling ajar. You felt him finish inside of you, gushing around your walls. 

You were breathing heavily, even after the effects of your release had faded, feeling utterly and completely exhausted.

“That was excellent my love,” he spoke, and before you had the chance to free him, he tugged away from the bonds all on his own. The ribbons fell to the bed and you realised he had merely been allowing you to believe you had him subdued. He leaned up to wrap his arms around you, pulling you down to the bed. In instant, you were lying on your back and he on his side, holding you tenderly and wrapping you up in sheets. 

“But in the future, I should think it better suited if you were the one in bondage, dear wife.” He dropped a swift kiss on your cheek. “And we will be having a discussion later about your little trip.”

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[tothemattresses]

2020 Reading Challenge - E-Book Edition!

According to Amazon, I have exactly 294 e-books currently sitting in my Kindle library. 

Granted, some of these books have been read and are being saved for a second (or third, or fourth) re-read, but when it comes down to it, that number is around 40 books, give or take. 

Which means I still have over 250 books that need to be read. 

And it’s not like I haven’t tried! There are plenty of titles that, when opened up, will go to the last place I left off - that being chapter 5, or maybe chapter 10. But sometimes life gets in the way. Or a sudden interest in another author. Or a new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. But whatever the reason may be, it’s over 250 books that haven’t been read. Challenge accepted! 

For 2020, I commit to not buying any new books to add to my Kindle library (checking out books from the library is ok, because you’ve gotta support your local library!), and instead focus on the books I already have. So no addition of 99 cent books, or Kindle Unlimited books, or books that are suddenly 75% off. Only the books that I currently have. 

As the reading commences, and after the book is finished, I’ll update my list to indicate what has been completed, along with the date purchased, and a short review (or a reason I just couldn’t finish it at all). 

Below is the list for future reference - and to clarify my what my favorite genre is. Spoiler: it’s romance novels. 

Here we go!

Adulting: How to Become a Grown-up in 535 Easy(ish) Steps – Kelly Williams Brown

An Affair with Mr. Kennedy (Gentlemen of Scotland Yard) – Jillian Stone

All About Love (Cynster Book 6) – Stephanie Laurens

All Afternoon with a Scandalous Marquess: A Lords of Vice Novel – Alexandra Hawkins

Almost a Scandal: A Reckless Brides Novel (The Reckless Brides Book 1) – Elizabeth Essex

Alpha – Jasinda Wilder

A Duke’s Guide to Seducing His Bride (Chase Family Series- The Jewels Book 4) – Lauren Royal

The American Heiress: A Novel – Daisy Goodwin

When an Earl Meets a Girl (Chase Family Series- The Jewels Book 1) – Lauren Royal

The Andy Cohen Diaries: A Deep Look at a Shallow Year – Andy Cohen

Angel in a Devil's Arms: The Palace of Rogues – Julie Anne Long

Angel in Scarlet: A Bound and Determined Novel – Lavinia Kent

Anything He Wants & Castaway – Sara Fawkes

The Astronaut Wives Club – Lily Koppel

At Any Price: A Billionaire Virgin Auction Romance (Gaming the System Book 1) – Brenna Aubrey

At Any Turn: A Billionaire Romance (Gaming the System Book 2) – Brenna Aubrey

At Your Pleasure – Meredith Duran

The Awakening of Ivy Leavold (Markham Hall Book 1) – Sierra Simone

Badd Motherf*cker (The Badd Brothers Book 1) – Jasinda Wilder

Bare Ass in Love (Hard, Fast, and Forever Book 1) – Sasha Burke

Because of Miss Bridgerton: A Bridgertons Prequel (Rokesbys Series Book 1) – Julia Quinn

The Bed and the Bachelor (Byrons of Braebourne Book 5) – Tracy Anne Warren

Betrayal (Infidelity Book 1) – Aleatha Romig

Beware That Girl – Teresa Toten

Beyond Scandal and Desire: A Sins for All Seasons Novel – Lorraine Heath

The Big Bad Office Wolf (Kings of the Tower Book 1) – May Sage

Bittersweet (True North Book 1) – Sarina Bowen

Blame It on Bath: The Truth About the Duke – Caroline Linden

Bound by Your Touch – Meredith Duran

The Bride (Lairds' Fiancees Book 1) – Julie Garwood

Bridget Jones's Diary: A Novel – Helen Fielding

Burn (The Breathless Trilogy Book 3) – Maya Banks

Burning Offer (Trevor's Harem Book 1) – Aubrey Parker

Captivated by You (Crossfire, Book 4) – Sylvia Day

Captive of Sin – Anna Campbell

Cash: A Power Players Stand-Alone Novel – Cassia Leo

Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson – Peter Ames Carlin

Catching Sin (Las Vegas Sin Book 2) – J. Saman

Catholicism For Dummies – John Trigilio

A Certain Age: A Novel – Beatriz Williams

Chasing Lady Amelia: Keeping Up with the Cavendishes – Maya Rodale

Checkmate: This is War (Travis & Viola, #1) (Checkmate Duet) – Kennedy Fox

Claiming the Courtesan (Avon Romantic Treasures) – Anna Campbell

Collide: Book One in the Collide Series – Gail McHugh

The Controversial Princess (The Smoke & Mirrors Duology Book 1) – Jodi Ellen Malpas

Crave: A Billionaire Bachelors Club Novel (Billionaire Bachelors Club Series Book 1) – Monica Murphy

Dating You / Hating You – Christina Lauren

Deal with the Devil (Forge Trilogy Book 1) – Meghan March

Desperate Duchesses – Eloisa James

Desperate to Touch (Hard to Love Book 2) – W. Winters

Destiny – Sally Beauman

Devil's Daughter: The Ravenels meet The Wallflowers – Lisa Kleypas

Dirty Sexy Inked (A Dirty Sexy Novel Book 2) – Carly Phillips

Dirty Sexy Saint (A Dirty Sexy Novel Book 1) – Carly Phillips

Double Down: Game Change 2012 – Mark Halperin

The Duchess Diaries: The Bridal Pleasures Series – Jillian Hunter

The Duchess Hunt (House of Trent Book 1) – Jennifer Haymore

The Duke and I (Bridgertons Book 1) – Julia Quinn

The Duke Is Mine (Fairy Tales Book 3) – Eloisa James

Duke of Scandal (Moonlight Square, Book 1) – Galen Foley

The Duke of Shadows – Meredith Duran

Duke of Sin (Maiden Lane Book 10) – Elizabeth Hoyt

The Duke's Holiday (The Regency Romp Trilogy Book 1) – Maggie Fenton

Dusk with a Dangerous Duke: A Lords of Vice Novel – Alexandra Hawkins

Edenbrooke: A Proper Romance – Julianne Donaldson

Elite (Elite Doms of Washington Book 1) – Elizabeth SaFleur

Entwined with You (Crossfire, Book 3) – Sylvia Day

Everything Is Perfect When You're a Liar – Kelly Oxford

The Fall of Legend (Legend Trilogy Book 1) – Meghan March

The Fight for Forever (Legend Trilogy Book 3) – Meghan March

A Fine Imitation: A Novel – Amber Brock

The Fix Up – Kendall Ryan

Flowers from the Storm – Laura Kinsale

For Everly – Raine Thomas

For the Earl's Pleasure – Anne Mallory

For the Record – K.A. Linde

Gabriel's Inferno (Gabriel's Inferno Trilogy Book 1) – Sylvain Reynard

Gabriel's Rapture (Gabriel's Inferno Trilogy Book 2) – Sylvain Reynard

Gabriel's Redemption (Gabriel's Inferno Trilogy Book 3) – Sylvain Reynard

Going Down Easy (Billionaire Bad Boys Book 1) – Carly Phillips

A Good Debutante's Guide to Ruin: The Debutante Files (The Debutante Files Series Book 1) – Sophie Jordan

Good Girl: A Rockstar Romance (Wicked Book 1) – Piper Lawson

The Good Luck Charm – Helena Hunting

Grayson's Vow – Mia Sheridan

Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian (Fifty Shades of Grey Series Book 4) – E.L. James

Hard As Stone: Heart of Stone Series #8 – K.M. Scott

Hard to Love – W. Winters

The Hardest Fall – Ella Maise

Hating The Boss – Natalie Wrye

The Heir (Windham Book 1) – Grace Burrowes

Heiress in Love: A Ministry of Marriage Novel (The Ministry of Marriage Book 1) – Christina Brooke

Heiress Without A Cause (Muses of Mayfair Book 1) – Sara Ramsey

Hello Stranger: The Ravenels, Book 4 – Lisa Kleypas

Her Forbidden Love Match (A Willow Cove Novel, #1) – Theresa Paolo

Her Husband's Harlot (Mayhem in Mayfair Book 1) – Grace Callaway

Hidden Gabriel: Formerly Winter Peril (Hidden Alphas Book 1) – Victoria Pinder

Highland Surrender – Tracy Brogan

Highlander Betrayed (Guardians of the Targe Book 1) – Lauren Wittig

His Favorite Mistress: A Novel (The Mistress Trilogy Book 3) – Tracy Anne Warren

His Virgin: A First Time Romance (His and Hers Book 1) – Vivian Wood

Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling – Bret Hart

Hollywood Dirt – Alessandra Torre

Hollywood on Tap (Sweet Salvation Brewery) – Avery Flynn

The Hotel – Lola Darling

House of Scarlett (Legend Trilogy Book 2) – Meghan March

How a Lady Weds a Rogue: A Falcon Club Novel – Katharine Ashe

How to Marry a Duke Vicky Dreiling

How to Ravish a Rake – Vicky Dreiling

How to Seduce a Scoundrel – Vicky Dreiling

If He's Wicked (Wherlocke Book 1) – Hannah Howell

The Imperfectionists: A Novel – Tom Rachman

In the Arms of a Marquess (Rogues of the Sea Book 3) – Katherine Ashe

In the Unlikely Event – L.J. Shen

In Total Surrender – Anne Mallory

An Irresistible Temptation (The Cavallo Brothers Book 2) – Elsa Winckler

It Had to Be You (Chicago Stars Book 1) – Susan Elizabeth Philips

It Happened One Midnight: Pennyroyal Green Series – Julie Anne Long

It Started with a Scandal: Pennyroyal Green Series – Julie Anne Long

It's Not You: 27 (Wrong) Reasons You're Single – Sara Eckel

Just Roll With It (A Perfect Dish Book 4) – Tawdra Kandle

Kaleidoscope Hearts (A brother's best friend romance) – Claire Contreras

The Kingmaker (All the King's Men Duet Book 1) – Kennedy Ryan

Lady of Desire (Knight Miscellany Book 4) – Gaelen Foley

The Last Arrow (The Medieval Trilogy Book 3) – Marsha Canham

The Last Summer – Judith Kinghorn

Lead by Example: 50 Ways Great Leaders Inspire Results – John Baldoni

The Legend of Lyon Redmond: Pennyroyal Green Series – Julie Anne Long

Legend (The REAL series Book 6) – Katy Evans

Let's Do It: A Journey's End Novel – Ann Christopher

Life with My Sister Madonna – Christopher Ciccone

Lily and the Duke (Sex and the Season Book 1) – Helen Hardt

Lord of Scoundrels – Loretta Chase

Losing It – Cora Carmack

Lost Without You (The Debt Book 1) – Molly O’Keefe

A Loving Scoundrel: A Malory Novel (Malory-Anderson Family Book 7) – Johanna Lindsey

Luck Is No Lady (Fallen Ladies Book 1) – Amy Sandas

Lucky (Elite Doms of Washington Book 4) – Elizabeth SaFleur

A Mackenzie Clan Gathering (Mackenzies Series) – Jennifer Ashley

Mad About the Earl: A Ministry of Marriage Novel (The Ministry of Marriage Book 2) – Christina Brooker

Maid for the Billionaire (Book 1) (Legacy Collection) – Ruth Cardello

A Man Above Reproach – Evelyn Pryce

Manwhore (The Manwhore Series Book 1) – Katy Evans

Marriage For One – Ella Maise

Masques of Gold (Casablanca Classics Book 0) – Robert Gellis

Melt For Him (Fighting Fire Book 2) – Lauren Blakely

Midnight Angel (Stokehursts Book 1) – Lisa Kleypas

Midnight Pleasures With a Scoundrel (Scoundrels of St. James Book 4) – Lorraine Heath

Mine (The REAL series Book 2) – Katy Evans

Mine Till Midnight (Hathaways Book 1) – Lisa Kleypas

Miss Hillary Schools a Scoundrel (Beau Monde Book 1) – Samantha Grace

More Than Charming (Book 3 Dashing Nobles Series) – JoMarie DeGioia

The Most to Lose (The Redeemed series Book 1) – Laura Landon

Mr. Corporate (The Mister Series Book 3) – JA Huss

Mr Imperfect: Lost Boys #1 – Karina Bliss

Mr. Mysterious (The Mister Series Book 4) – JA Huss

Mr. Romantic (The Mister Series Book 2) – JA Huss

My Lady, My Lord: A Twist Series Novel – Katherine Ashe

My Notorious Gentleman (Inferno Club Book 6) – Gaelen Foley

My Reckless Surrender – Anna Campbell

My Ruthless Prince (Inferno Club Book 4) – Gaelen Foley

My Scandalous Viscount (Inferno Club Book 5) – Gaelen Foley

The Nearness of You – Iris Morland

Never a Mistress, No Longer a Maid (Kellington Book 1) – Maureen Driscoll

Never Let Me Go – Kazuo Ishiguro

No Good Duke Goes Unpunished: The Third Rule of Scoundrels (Rules of Scoundrels Book 3) – Sarah MacLean

No Mistress of Mine: An American Heiress in London – Laura Lee Guhrke

A Notorious Countess Confesses: Pennyroyal Green Series – Julie Anne Long

Notorious Pleasures (Maiden Lane Book 2) – Elizabeth Hoyt

Once a Soldier (Rogues Redeemed Book 1) – Mary Jo Putney

Once More, My Darling Rogue (Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James Book 2) – Lorraine Heath

One Last Time – Corinne Michaels

One Night in London: The Truth About the Duke – Caroline Linden

One Taste (The "One" Series Book 1) – K.A. Berg

One with You (Crossfire Series Book 5) – Sylvia Day

Only With Your Love (Vallerands Book 2) – Lisa Kleypas

The Paris Wife: A Novel – Paula McLain

Party Animals: A Hollywood Tale of Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll Starring the Fabulous Allan Carr – Robert Hofler

Perfect (Elite Doms of Washington Book 3) – Elizabeth SaFleur

The Phantom of the Opera – Gaston Leroux

The Pleasure of Your Kiss – Teresa Medeiros

Prince of Dreams (Stokehursts Book 2) – Lisa Kleypas

Princes at War: The Bitter Battle Inside Britain's Royal Family in the Darkest Days of WWII – Deborah Cadbury

The Princess and the Peer (The Princess Brides series Book 1) – Tracy Anne Warren

Princess Charming: A Legendary Lovers Novel – Nicole Jordan

Pulse: Book Two in the Collide Series – Gail McHugh

A Rake's Midnight Kiss (Sons of Sin Book 2) – Anna Campbell

Reason to Wed (The Distinguished Rogues Book 7) – Heather Boyd

The Rebel Queen (The Rebel Queen Duet Book 2) – Jeana E. Mann

Refining Felicity (The School for Manners Series Book 1) – M.C. Beaton

Reflected in You (Crossfire, Book 2) – Sylvia Day

The Revenge of Lord Eberlin (The Secrets of Hadley Green) – Julia London

Ripped (The REAL series Book 5) – Katy Evans

Rock Me (Bodyguard Bad Boys Book 1) – Carly Phillips

Rogue (The REAL series Book 4) – Katy Evans

The Royal Arrangement (The Rebel Queen Duet Book 1) – Jeana E. Mann

Royally Bad (Bad Boy Royals Book 1) – Nora Flite

The Rule Book (Rule Breakers 1) – Jennifer Blackwood

The Scandal in Kissing an Heir: At the Kingsborough Ball – Sophie Barnes

Scandal Wears Satin (The Dressmakers Series Book 2) – Loretta Chase

A Scoundrel by Moonlight (Sons of Sin Book 4) – Anna Campbell

Seduced By A Scoundrel – Olivia Drake

The Seduction of Lady X – Julia London

The Seduction of Lord Stone (Dashing Widows) – Anna Campbell

Shattered With You (Stark Security Book 1) – J. Kenner

The Shoemaker's Wife: A Novel – Adriana Trigiani

Shutdown Player: Game On in Seattle (Seattle Sockeyes Book 7) – Jami Davenport

Signed (The Agency Series) – Marni Mann

A Single Glance (Irresistible Attraction Book 1) W. Winters

A Single Kiss (Irresistible Attraction Book 2) – W. Winters

A Single Touch (Irresistible Attraction Book 3) – W. Winters

The Six Wives of Henry VIII – Alison Weir

The Sleeping Beauty Trilogy (A Sleeping Beauty Novel) – A.N. Roquelaure

The Soldier (Windham Book 2) – Grace Burrowes

The Stolen Mackenzie Bride (Mackenzies Series Book 8) – Jennifer Ashley

The Studying Hours: How to Date a Douchebag – Sara Ney

Suddenly You – Lisa Kleypas

Summer Heat: A Storm Inside Novel (The Wild Pitch Series Book 1) – Alexis Anne

A Summer Seduction (Legend of St. Dwynwen Book 2) – Candace Camp

Tangled Beauty (Tangled, Book 1) – K.L. Middleton

Tank (Blue-Collar Billionaires Book 1) – M. Malone

Tempt the Devil – Anna Campbell

Tempted to Kiss (Hard to Love Book 3) – W. Winters

That Woman: The Life of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor – Anne Sebba

Thief of Shadows (Maiden Lane Book 4) – Elizabeth Hoyt

This Man (A This Man Novel Book 1) – Jodi Ellen Malpas

This Side of Paradise – F. Scott Fitzgerald

Three Nights of Sin – Anne Mallory

Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood – William J. Mann

To Beguile a Beast (Legend of the Four Soldiers series Book 3) – Elizabeth Hoyt

To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee

To Seduce a Sinner (Legend of the Four Soldiers series Book 2) – Elizabeth Hoyt

To Taste Temptation (Legend of the Four Soldiers series Book 1) – Elizabeth Hoyt

Too Distracting (The Lewis Cousins Book 3) – Bethany Lopez

Too Wicked to Kiss (Scoundrels & Secrets Book 1) – Erica Ridley

The Trouble With Being a Duke: At the Kingsborough Ball – Sophie Barnes

The Trouble with Dukes (Windham Brides Book 1) – Grace Burrowes

Troubles (Beekman Hills) – K.C. Enders

Truth or Beard: Enemies to Lovers Small Town Romantic Comedy (Winston Brothers Book 1) – Penny Reid

Twilight with the Infamous Earl: A Lords of Vice Novel – Alexandra Hawkins

Undisputed: How to Become the World Champion in 1,372 Easy Steps – Chris Jericho

Untouchable (Elite Doms of Washington Book 2) – Elizabeth SaFleur

Untouched – Anna Campbell

Victoria Victorious: The Story of Queen Victoria (Queens of England Book 3) – Jean Plaidy

The Viscount's Wicked Ways – Anne Mallory

Wallbanger (The Cocktail Series Book 1) – Alice Clayton

The Way to a Duke's Heart: The Truth About the Duke – Caroline Linden

We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals – Gillian Gill

Well Hung (Big Rock Book 3) – Lauren Blakely

What a Duke Dares (Sons of Sin Book 3) – Anna Campbell

What Color Is Your Parachute? 2019: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers – Richard N. Bolles

When a Duke Loves a Woman: A Sins for All Seasons Novel – Lorraine Heath

When the Duke Found Love (The Wylder Sisters Book 3) – Isabella Bradford

Where Good Girls Go to Die: A Second Chance Romance (The Good Girls Series Book 1) – Holly Renee

Wicked Becomes You – Meredith Duran

Wicked in Your Arms: Forgotten Princesses – Sophie Jordan

Wicked Intentions (Maiden Lane Book 1) – Elizabeth Hoyt

Written on Your Skin – Meredith Duran

#2020 reading challenge #books and literature #booksarelife #goodreads #romance novels #fiction #book review #reading list #reading

[gadgetgirl71]

Amazon First Reads February 2021

Well I can’t believe January has already been and gone. So it’s that time again for Amazon Prime Members to choose one free book before it’s published next month. This month we have nine books to choose from.

This months choices are:

Mystery

The Deadly Mystery of the Missing Diamonds by T E Kinsey,   Pages: 330, Publication Date: 1 March 2021

Synopsis: Missing diamonds. Mysterious deaths. And all that jazz.

London, 1925. With their band the Dizzy Heights, jazz musicians Ivor ‘Skins’ Maloney and Bartholomew ‘Barty’ Dunn are used to improvising as they play the Charleston for flappers and toffs, but things are about to take a surprising turn.

Superintendent Sunderland has had word that a deserter who stole a fortune in diamonds as he fled the war is a member of the Aristippus private members’ club in Mayfair—where the Dizzy Heights have a residency. And the thief is planning to steal a hoard of jewels hidden there under the cover of a dance contest.

As mutual pal Lady Hardcastle has suggested, Skins and Dunn are perfectly placed to be Sunderland’s eyes and ears—and Skins’s wife Ellie soon lends a hand with a bit of light snooping. But the stakes change dramatically when a mysterious death at the club brings a sinister note to the investigation.

With the dance contest fast approaching, the trio must solve the mystery of the missing diamonds, unmask the murderer, and prevent more deadly crimes—all without missing a beat.

Memoir

The Psychopath by Mary Turner Thomson, pages: 239, Publication Date: 1 March 2021

Synopsis: In 2006, Mary Turner Thomson’s world shattered when she discovered her husband Will was a bigamist, con man and convicted sex offender. Unbeknownst to her, this would be the start of a bold new chapter in her life, fighting to protect other women from his heartless gaslighting campaigns—and putting a stop to his endless deception.

Mary thought her story would end with the revelation that Will in fact had several families—and numerous children. But when she discovered that he had continued to prey on new victims, she vowed to turn his betrayal into a force for good. On her mission to protect these women and others, Mary also learned more about the psychopathy behind Will’s duplicitous behaviour.

Teaming up with his newest fiancée in the US, Mary attempts to put an end to Will’s devastating activities. But will she and her fellow victims succeed in their ultimate goal: to bring down Will Jordan forever?

Thriller

Infinite by Brian Freeman, Pages: 328, Publication Date: 1 March 2021

Synopsis: From bestselling author Brian Freeman comes an explosive new psychological thriller that pushes the limits of reality as we know it.

One rainy night, the unthinkable happens: Dylan Moran’s car plunges off the road into a raging river, his beautiful wife drowning as he struggles to shore.

In the aftermath, through his grief, Dylan experiences sudden, strange visions: wherever he goes, he’s haunted by glimpses of himself. Dylan initially chalks it up to trauma, but that changes when he runs into a psychiatrist who claims he’s her patient. She says he has been undergoing a unique hypnotherapy treatment built on the idea that with every choice, he creates an infinite number of parallel universes.

Now those parallel universes are unlocked—and Dylan’s doppelgänger has staked a claim to his world. Can Dylan use these alternate realities to get a second chance at the life that was stolen from him? Or will he lose himself…to himself?

Book Club Fiction

The Speed of Light by Elissa Grossell Dickey, Pages: 290, Publication Date: 1 March 2021

Synopsis: A compelling and provocative debut novel told in intersecting timelines over a tumultuous, defining year in one woman’s life.

Simone is trying her best not to think of what she’s lost. Diagnosed with MS, she awaits the results of another anxiety-inducing MRI. She’s just walked away from Connor, “a fixer” but possibly the love of her life. And nearing the holidays, the sights and sounds of winter in South Dakota only prick memories of better years gone by. Then, on a December morning at the university where she works, jarring gunshots pierce the halls. In a temporary safe place and terrified, Simone listens and pretends this will all be over soon.

As she waits for silence, her mind racing, Simone’s past year comes into focus. Falling in love and missing it. Finding strength in family and enduring friendships. Planning for the future, fearing it, and hoping against hope in dark places. Her life has been changing at the speed of light, and each crossroad brought Simone here, to this day, to endure the things she can’t control and to confront those that she can.

Romantic Comedy

The Wedding Game by Meghan Quinn, Pages: 397, Publication Date: 1 March 2021

Synopsis: USA Today bestselling author Meghan Quinn’s latest bauble is the charming story of a crafting queen battling a jaded divorce lawyer on a wedding reality show.

Luna Rossi is a veritable crafting genius—she can bedazzle and bead so hard her Etsy site is one of the hottest in the world. So it’s only natural that Luna would convince her brother and his husband-to-be to compete on The Wedding Game, a “do-it-yourself” TV show, for the title of Top DIY Wedding Expert.

As a jaded divorce lawyer, Alec Baxter scoffs at weddings and romance. But when his recently engaged brother begs him to participate in The Wedding Game, Alec grudgingly picks up a glue gun and prepares for some family bonding.

Both fierce competitors, Luna and Alec clash on national TV as harsh words and glitter fly with abandon. But as they bicker over color swatches and mood boards, they find themselves fighting something else: their growing mutual attraction. While Luna is torn between family loyalty and her own feelings, Alec wonders if he might have been wrong about love and marriage all along…

Fantasy

Wings of Fury by Emily R King, Pages: 296, Publication Date: 1 March 2021

Synopsis: From Emily R. King, author of the Hundredth Queen series, comes an epic novel of ancient Greece, Titans and treachery, and the women who dare to rise up against the tyranny of the Golden Age.

My mother told me that men would speak about the Golden Age as a time of peace and happiness for all… However, the women of our age would tell a very different story…

Cronus, God of Gods, whose inheritance is the world. Among his possessions: women, imprisoned and fated to serve. The strong-minded Althea Lambros controls her own fate and lives to honor her dying mother’s plea to protect her two sisters at all costs. Althea’s journey toward crushing the tyranny has begun. It is a destiny foretold by the Fates. And she is following their visions.

On the southern isle of Crete, hidden among mortal women who have fled the Titans, is the Boy God, son of Cronus and believed dead. He shares Althea’s destiny to vanquish the Almighty—fate willing. Because Cronus has caught wind of the plot. He’s amassing his own forces against Althea’s righteous rebellion and all those who will no longer surrender or run. There will be war. If she’s to survive to write their history, the indomitable Althea must soar higher than any god.

Historical Fiction

After Alice Fell by Kim Taylor Blakemore, Pages: 287, Publication Date: 1 March 2021

Synopsis: Until she discovers the truth of her sister’s death, no one will rest in peace.

New Hampshire, 1865. Marion Abbott is summoned to Brawders House asylum to collect the body of her sister, Alice. She’d been found dead after falling four stories from a steep-pitched roof. Officially: an accident. Confidentially: suicide. But Marion believes a third option: murder.

Returning to her family home to stay with her brother and his second wife, the recently widowed Marion is expected to quiet her feelings of guilt and grief—to let go of the dead and embrace the living. But that’s not easy in this house full of haunting memories.

Just when the search for the truth seems hopeless, a stranger approaches Marion with chilling words: I saw her fall.

Now Marion is more determined than ever to find out what happened that night at Brawders, and why. With no one she can trust, Marion may risk her own life to uncover the secrets buried with Alice in the family plot.

Memoir

Black Boy Out of Time by Hari Ziyad, Pages: 314, Publication Date: 1March 2021

Synopsis: An eloquent, restless, and enlightening memoir by one of the most thought-provoking journalists today about growing up Black and queer in America, reuniting with the past, and coming of age their own way.

One of nineteen children in a blended family, Hari Ziyad was raised by a Hindu Hare Kṛṣṇa mother and a Muslim father. Through reframing their own coming-of-age story, Ziyad takes readers on a powerful journey of growing up queer and Black in Cleveland, Ohio, and of navigating the equally complex path toward finding their true self in New York City. Exploring childhood, gender, race, and the trust that is built, broken, and repaired through generations, Ziyad investigates what it means to live beyond the limited narratives Black children are given and challenges the irreconcilable binaries that restrict them.

Heartwarming and heart-wrenching, radical and reflective, Hari Ziyad’s vital memoir is for the outcast, the unheard, the unborn, and the dead. It offers us a new way to think about survival and the necessary disruption of social norms. It looks back in tenderness as well as justified rage, forces us to address where we are now, and, born out of hope, illuminates the possibilities for the future.

Children’s Picture Book

Agnes’s Place by Marit Larsen, Illustration by Jenny Loulie, Translation by Kari Dickson, Pages: 44, Publication Date: 1 March 2021

Synopsis: Agnes knows she is at home before she even opens her eyes in the morning. The sounds and smells and people swirl around her—she always knows what everyone is up to in the tight-knit apartment building where she lives. But she also knows what it is like to be the only child in a place full of adults who never have time.

So when a little girl moves in to the building, Agnes is excited and sends her a subtle message. But the girl doesn’t respond. Then things start to change around Agnes’s place—and Agnes knows exactly who is to blame. It seems like the girl is interested in everyone except for Agnes!

Will Agnes and the new girl ever meet? And what secrets does the new girl hold? First published in Norway, this is a lovely story about home and belonging and how one person can transform our world.

*** Which book will you choose? I have no idea which book I’ll choose as there a couple of books that interest me this month. ***

#Amazon, #AmazonFirstReads, #Amazonkindle, #AmazonPrimeMembers, #BookClubFiction, #ChildrensPictureBook, #Fantasy, #HistoricalFiction, #Kindle, #KindleBooks, #Memoir, #Mystery, #RomanticComedy, #Thriller

[roseharlaws]

Dearheart

Much like Helene, this friend was enchanted by books in a way that animated his every word; what resonated between Helene’s voice on the page before me and my friend’s in my memory, was the respect, need, and love for books that characterized their mutual passion.

books provide: a way of reaching out across time and space to friends and strangers, and to the absent presences that play such a large part in all our lives. I

The books arrived safely, the Stevenson is so fine it embarrasses my orange-crate bookshelves, I’m almost afraid to handle such soft vellum and heavy cream-colored pages. Being used to the dead-white paper and stiff cardboardy covers of American books, I never knew a book could be such a joy to the touch.

The day Hazlitt came he opened to “I hate to read new books,” and I hollered “Comrade!” to whoever owned it before me.

I require a book of love poems with spring coming on. No Keats or Shelley , send me poets who can make love without slobbering—Wyatt or Jonson or somebody, use your own judgment. Just a nice book preferably small enough to stick in a slacks pocket and take to Central Park.

Please write and tell me about London, I live for the day when I step off the boat-train and feel its dirty sidewalks under my feet. I want to walk up Berkeley Square and down Wimpole Street and stand in St. Paul’s where John Donne preached and sit on the step Elizabeth sat on when she refused to enter the Tower, and like that. A newspaper man I know, who was stationed in London during the war, says tourists go to England with preconceived notions, so they always find exactly what they go looking for. I told him I’d go looking for the England of English literature, and he said: “Then it’s there.”

The Newman arrived almost a week ago and I’m just beginning to recover. I keep it on the table with me all day, every now and then I stop typing and reach over and touch it. Not because it’s a first edition; I just never saw a book so beautiful. I feel vaguely guilty about owning it. All that gleaming leather and gold stamping and beautiful type belongs in the pine-panelled library of an English country home; it wants to be read by the fire in a gentleman’s leather easy chair—not on a secondhand studio couch in a one-room hovel in a broken-down brownstone front.

Thank you for the beautiful book. I’ve never owned a book before with pages edged all round in gold. Would you believe it arrived on my birthday? I wish you hadn’t been so over-courteous about putting the inscription on a card instead of on the flyleaf. It’s the bookseller coming out in you all, you were afraid you’d decrease its value. You would have increased it for the present owner. (And possibly for the future owner. I love inscriptions on flyleaves and notes in margins, I like the comradely sense of turning pages someone else turned, and reading passages some one long gone has called my attention to.)

Thank you again for the beautiful book, I shall try very hard not to get gin and ashes all over it, it’s really much too fine for the likes of me.

Write me about London—the tube, the Inns of Court, Mayfair, the corner where the Globe Theatre stood, anything, I’m not fussy. Write me about Knightsbridge, it sounds green and gracious in Eric Coates’ London.

P. S. Your mother is setting out bravely this morning to look at an apartment for you on 8th Avenue in the 50’s because you told her to look in the theatre district. Maxine you know perfectly well your mother is not equipped to look at ANYTHING on 8th Avenue.

You may add Walton’s Lives to the list of books you aren’t sending me. It’s against my principles to buy a book I haven’t read, it’s like buying a dress you haven’t tried on, but you can’t even get Walton’s Lives in a library over here.

You can look at it. They have it down at the 42nd street branch. But not to take home! the lady said to me, shocked. eat it here, just sit right down in room 315 and read the whole book without a cup of coffee, a cigarette or air.

Doesn’t matter, Q quoted enough of it so I know I’ll like it. anything he liked i’ll like except if it’s fiction. i never can get interested in things that didn’t happen to people who never lived.

Boy, I’d like to have run barefoot through THEIR library before they sold it.

Fascinating book to read, did you know John Donne eloped with the boss’s highborn daughter and landed in the Tower for it and starved and starved and THEN got religion. my word.

You want to be the murderer or the corpse?

You’ll be fascinated to learn (from me that hates novels) that I finally got round to Jane Austen and went out of my mind over Pride & Prejudice which I can’t bring myself to take back to the library till you find me a copy of my own.

I houseclean my books every spring and throw out those I’m never going to read again like I throw out clothes I’m never going to wear again. It shocks everybody. My friends are peculiar about books. They read all the best sellers, they get through them as fast as possible, I think they skip a lot. And they NEVER read anything a second time so they don’t remember a word of it a year later. But they are profoundly shocked to see me drop a book in the wastebasket or give it away. The way they look at it, you buy a book, you read it, you put it on the shelf, you never open it again for the rest of your life but YOU DON’T THROW IT OUT! NOT IF IT HAS A HARD COVER ON IT! Why not? I personally can’t think of anything less sacrosanct than a bad book or even a mediocre book.

The Book-Lovers’ Anthology stepped out of its wrappings, all gold-embossed leather and gold-tipped pages, easily the most beautiful book I own including the Newman first edition. It looks too new and pristine ever to have been read by anyone else, but it has been: it keeps falling open at the most delightful places as the ghost of its former owner points me to things I’ve never read before. Like Tristram Shandy’s description of his father’s remarkable library which “contained every book and treatise which had ever been wrote upon the subject of great noses.” (Frank! Go find me Tristram Shandy! )

THOU VARLET? Don’t remember which restoration playwright called everybody a Varlet, I always wanted to use it in a sentence.

I shall be obliged if you will send Nora and the girls to church every Sunday for the next month to pray for the continued health and strength of the messrs. gilliam, reese, snider, campanella, robinson, hodges, furillo, podres, newcombe and labine, collectively known as The Brooklyn Dodgers. If they lose this World Series I shall Do Myself In and then where will you be?

Have you got De Tocqueville’s Journey to America? Somebody borrowed mine and never gave it back. Why is it that people who wouldn’t dream of stealing anything else think it’s perfectly all right to steal books?

I write you from under the bed where that catullus drove me. i mean it PASSETH understanding.

Up till now, the only Richard Burton I ever heard of is a handsome young actor I’ve seen in a couple of British movies and I wish I’d kept it that way. This one got knighted for turning Catullus—caTULLus—into Victorian hearts-and-flowers.

And poor little Mr. smithers must have been afraid his mother was going to read it, he like to KILL himself cleaning it all up.

I go through life watching the english language being raped before my face. like miniver cheevy, I was born too late. and like miniver cheevy I cough and call it fate and go on drinking.

I am starting with a script about New York under seven years of British Occupation and i MARVEL at how i rise above it to address you in friendly and forgiving fashion, your behavior over here from 1776 to 1783 was simply FILTHY.

When, as a little boy, William Blake saw the prophet Ezekiel under a tree amid a summer field, he was soundly trounced by his mother.

I will read the three standard passages from Sermon XV aloud,” you have to read Donne aloud, it’s like a Bach fugue.

i am going to bed. i will have hideous nightmares involving huge monsters in academic robes carrying long bloody butcher knives labelled Excerpt, Selection, Passage and Abridged.

Thought of you last night, my editor from Harper’s was here for dinner, we were going over this story-of-my-life and we came to the story of how I dramatized Landor’s “Aesop and Rhodope” for the “Hallmark Hall of Fame.” Did I ever tell you that one? Sarah Churchill starred as Landor’s dewy-eyed Rhodope. The show was aired on a Sunday afternoon. Two hours before it went on the air, I opened the New York Times Sunday book review section and there on page 3 was a review of a book called A House Is Not a Home by Polly Adler, all about whorehouses, and under the title was the photo of a sculptured head of a Greek girl with a caption reading: “Rhodope, the most famous prostitute in Greece.” Landor had neglected to mention this. Any scholar would have known Landor’s Rhodope was the Rhodopis who took Sappho’s brother for every dime he had but I’m not a scholar, I memorized Greek endings one stoic winter but they didn’t stay with me.

Wasn’t anything else that intrigued me much, it’s just stories, I don’t like stories. Now if Geoffrey had kept a diary and told me what it was like to be a little clerk in the palace of richard III—THAT I’d learn Olde English for. I just threw out a book somebody gave me, it was some slob’s version of what it was like to live in the time of Oliver Cromwell—only the slob didn’t live in the time of Oliver Cromwell so how the hell does he know what it was like? Anybody wants to know what it was like to live in the time of Oliver Cromwell can flop on the sofa with Milton on his pro side and Walton on his con, and they’ll not only tell him what it was like, they’ll take him there.

“The reader will not credit that such things could be,” Walton says somewhere or other, “but I was there and I saw it.”

that’s for me, I’m a great lover of I-was-there books.

We had a very pleasant summer with more than the usual number of tourists, including hordes of young people making the pilgrimage to Carnaby Street. We watch it all from a safe distance, though I must say I rather like the Beatles. If the fans just wouldn’t scream so.

I introduced a young friend of mine to Pride & Prejudice one rainy Sunday and she has gone out of her mind for Jane Austen.

I hope you and Brian have a ball in London. He said to me on the phone: “Would you go with us if you had the fare?” and I nearly wept.

But I don’t know, maybe it’s just as well I never got there. I dreamed about it for so many years. I used to go to English movies just to look at the streets. I remember years ago a guy I knew told me that people going to England find exactly what they go looking for. I said I’d go looking for the England of English literature, and he nodded and said: “It’s there.”

Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t. Looking around the rug one thing’s for sure: it’s here.

We all lead busy lives—perhaps it’s better so.

If you happen to pass by 84, Charing Cross Road, kiss it for me. I owe it so much.

[jenniferfaye34]

#Excerpt ~ Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean... #Books #HistoricalRomance #amreading

New York Times Bestselling Author Sarah MacLean returns with the next book in the Bareknuckle Bastards series about three brothers bound by a secret that they cannot escape—and the women who bring them to their knees.

The Lady’s Plan

When Lady Henrietta Sedley declares her twenty-ninth year her own, she has plans to inherit her father’s business, to make her own fortune, and to live her own life. But first, she intends to experience a taste of the pleasure she’ll forgo as a confirmed spinster. Everything is going perfectly…until she discovers the most beautiful man she’s ever seen tied up in her carriage and threatening to ruin the Year of Hattie before it’s even begun.

The Bastard’s Proposal

When he wakes in a carriage at Hattie’s feet, Whit, a king of Covent Garden known to all the world as Beast, can’t help but wonder about the strange woman who frees him—especially when he discovers she’s headed for a night of pleasure . . . on his turf. He is more than happy to offer Hattie all she desires…for a price.

An Unexpected Passion

Soon, Hattie and Whit find themselves rivals in business and pleasure. She won’t give up her plans; he won’t give up his power . . . and neither of them sees that if they’re not careful, they’ll have no choice but to give up everything . . . including their hearts.

  About the Book

Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean

SeriesBareknuckle Bastards Series

GenreAdult Historical Romance

PublisherAvon Books

Publication Date July 30, 2019

Purchase Your Copy Today! Amazon  |  Avon Romance  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Google Play  |  iBooks

  EXCERPT: In twenty-eight years and three hundred sixty-four days, Lady Henrietta Sedley liked to think that she’d learned a few things. She’d learned, for example, that if a lady could not get away with wearing trousers (an unfortunate reality for the daughter of an earl, even one who had begun life without title or fortune), then she should absolutely ensure that her skirts included pockets. A woman never knew when she might require a bit of rope, or a knife to cut it, after all. She’d also learned that any decent escape from her Mayfair home required the cover of darkness and a carriage driven by an ally. Coachmen tended to talk a fine game when it came to keeping secrets, but were ultimately beholden to those who paid their salaries. An important addendum to that particular lesson was this: The best of allies was often the best of friends. And perhaps first on the list of things she had learned in her lifetime was how to tie a Bosun knot. She’d been able to do that for as long as she could remember. With such an obscure and uncommon collection of knowledge, one might imagine that Henrietta Sedley would have known precisely what to do in the likelihood she discovered a human male bound and unconscious in her carriage. One would be incorrect. In point of fact, Henrietta Sedley would never have described such a scenario as a likelihood. After all, she might have been more comfortable on London’s docks than in its ballrooms, but Hattie’s impressive collection of life experience lacked anything close to a criminal element. And yet, here she was, pockets full, dearest friend at her side, standing in the pitch dark on the night before her twenty-ninth birthday, about to steal away from Mayfair for a night of best-laid plans, and… Lady Eleanora Madewell whistled, low and unladylike at Hattie’s ear. Daughter of a duke and the Irish actress he loved so much he’d made her a duchess, Nora had the kind of brashness that was allowed in those with impervious titles and scads of money. “There’s a bloke in the gig, Hattie.” Hattie did not look away from the bloke in question. “Yes, I see that.” “There wasn’t a bloke in the gig when we hitched the horses.” “No, there wasn’t.” They’d left the hitched—and most definitely empty—carriage in the dark rear drive of Sedley House not three-quarters of an hour earlier, before hiking upstairs to exchange carriage-hitching dresses for attire more appropriate for their evening plans. At some point between corset and kohl, someone had left her an extraordinarily unwelcome package. “Seems we would’ve noticed a bloke in the gig,” “I should think we would have,” came Hattie’s distracted reply. “This is really just awful timing.” Nora cut her a look. “Is there a good time for a man to be bound in one’s carriage?” Hattie imagined there wasn’t, but, “He could have selected a different evening. What a terrible birthday gift.” She squinted into the dark interior of the carriage. “Do you think he’s dead?” Please, don’t let him be dead. Silence. Then, a thoughtful, “Does one store dead men in carriages?” Nora reached forward, her coachman’s coat pulling tight over her shoulders, and poked the dead man in question. He did not move. “He’s not moving,” she added. “Could be dead.” Hattie sighed, removing a glove and leaning into the carriage to place two fingers to the man’s neck. “I’m sure he’s not dead.”  

Tour Wide Giveaway

To celebrate the release of BRAZEN AND THE BEAST by Sarah MacLean, we’re giving away a paperback copy of Wicked and the Wallflower!

GIVEAWAY TERMS & CONDITIONS:  Open to US shipping addresses only. One winner will receive a paperback copy of Wicked and the Wallflower by Sarah MacLean. This giveaway is administered by Pure Textuality PR on behalf of Avon Romance.  Giveaway ends on 8/12/2019 @ 11:59pm EST. Avon Romance will send the winning copy out to the winner directly. CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

    About the Author

New York Times, Washington Post & USA Today bestseller SARAH MACLEAN is the author of historical romance novels that have been translated into more than twenty languages, and winner of back-to-back RITA Awards for best historical romance from the Romance Writers of America.

Sarah is a leading advocate for the romance genre, speaking widely on its place at the nexus of gender and cultural studies. She is the author of a monthly column celebrating the best of the genre for the Washington Post. Her advocacy for romance and the women who read it earned her a place on Jezebel.com’s “Sheroes” list of 2014 and led Entertainment Weekly to call her “gracefully furious.”

A graduate of Smith College & Harvard University, Sarah now lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.

Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  |  Amazon

      This promotion is brought to you by Pure Textuality PR.

#Brazen and the Beast #Sarah MacLean #historical romance #Pure Textuality PR #Hearts & Scribbles

[gyrlversion]

Corbyn’s aide’s family sold £50m Picasso and then got £1.3m home

When it comes to showing loyalty to the Labour leader and all that he stands for, Laura Murray has got it down to a tee.

She is on social media backing striking university lecturers, protesting against the bombing of Syria and calling for a free Palestine.

Holiday snaps show her posing by a statue of Lenin and a banner bearing the hammer and sickle, symbol of the Soviet Union.

And since actually landing a job in Labour head office — she was made a £40,000-a-year political advisor to the Shadow Cabinet in 2016 — there have been plenty of opportunities to pose alongside Jeremy Corbyn himself.

Laura Murray, 30, is the daughter of one of Jeremy Corbyn’s most senior aides – Andrew Murray. After her mother died in 2007 she sold an inherited Picasso painting for £50million and ended up with a £1.3million home in North London

In another photo, taken in the Houses of Parliament, she smiles as she shows off a necklace adorned with the words ‘F*** the Tories’. Meanwhile on Facebook, the self-proclaimed socialist states: ‘Please no bourgeoisie on my profile.’

All well and good in theory. But in practice, how do those beliefs sit with someone whose blue-blooded family recently sold one of the country’s best-loved paintings for £50million?

Because The Daily Mail has pieced together the extraordinary story that links Ms Murray to one of Picasso’s most celebrated works. Painted in 1901, Child with a Dove was described by Arts Council England as ‘probably the most famous work by Picasso in a UK collection’. For almost four decades from 1974 it was on public display in the National Gallery. But in 2012 it was put up for sale, prompting an outcry from the art world.

Attempts to find a British buyer failed and in 2013 it emerged it had been sold for £50million, making it one of the most expensive sales in art history. The buyers? Super-rich Qataris.

Painted in 1901, Child with a Dove was described by Arts Council England as ‘probably the most famous work by Picasso in a UK collection’

Self-proclaimed socialist, Laura Murray smiles as she shows off a necklace adorned with the words ‘F*** the Tories’

Ever since, the precise identity of the vendors has remained a mystery. But not any more. The painting was in fact sold by 30-year-old Ms Murray’s mother, Professor Susan Michie. She and her two siblings had been left the picture by their mother, the celebrated IVF pioneer Dame Anne McLaren.

When she died in 2007 she left an estate valued at £52,105,910. The vast bulk of that sum represented the value of the painting.

In her will, the Mail can reveal, she stated that if her children chose to sell then ‘if possible it should be sold to an art gallery or museum in the United Kingdom’.

According to a source, family members were ‘disappointed’ at the decision to put the painting on the market. While the sale attracted a tax bill of £20million, that would have left the trio about £10million each — more than enough to share around other members of their extended family.

Months after the painting was sold, Ms Murray was registered as the owner of the family’s £1.3million five-bed home in North London. It had previously been owned by her mother. At almost exactly the same time her older sister purchased a property for £1.2million nearby, albeit with a mortgage.

Four years earlier her brother had become the owner of a £450,000 flat attached to the family home, apparently a gift from his mother.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with a parent giving family members a leg up the property ladder.

As Ms Murray once observed on Twitter: ‘Yes, privilege is handed down through generations in wealthy families. That’s why I think society should radically change by increasing taxes on the rich, reducing inequality, empowering workers and increasing opportunities for all.’

That the media spotlight has fallen on Ms Murray follows her secondment to Labour’s National Complaints Team — a particularly sensitive role that includes dealing with anti-Semitism claims.

Months after the painting was sold, Ms Murray was registered as the owner of the family’s £1.3million five-bed home in North London. It had previously been owned by her mother. At almost exactly the same time her older sister purchased a property for £1.2million nearby, albeit with a mortgage

Ten days ago leaked emails showed she had apparently blocked the suspension of a member who had defended an anti-semitic mural. Further controversy ensued when Ms Murray was drawn into a row with Countdown star Rachel Riley.

Ms Murray temporarily deleted her Twitter feed after describing Riley, who has campaigned against anti-Semitism, as ‘dangerous’ and ‘stupid’. Riley, who is Jewish, is now pursuing a libel claim after Ms Murray wrongly claimed that she had said Mr Corbyn deserved to be violently attacked.

Not that the young activist’s involvement with the Labour Party had gone entirely unnoticed before these incidents. Hardly likely, given that her father is 60-year-old Andrew Murray, one of Mr Corbyn’s most senior aides.

Having joined the Communist Party at 18, the author and Morning Star journalist worked his way up the union movement, becoming Unite chief of staff before being seconded to Labour in 2017 as a one-day-a-week consultant.

It was through the hard-Left Stop the War Coalition, formed in 2001 after the September 11 attacks, that he forged strong links to Mr Corbyn.

He has been an outspoken apologist for the Soviet Union — once suggesting brutal dictator Joseph Stalin had been unfairly maligned — and expressing ‘solidarity’ with North Korea, the most repressive dictatorship on Earth.

He is believed to have had a hand in writing the Communist Party’s 2011 edition of Britain’s Road To Socialism, which explains how a ‘revolutionary transformation’ might be achieved and ‘what a socialist and communist society in Britain might look like’.

That includes nationalising ‘all major sectors’ of industry and commerce, and bringing landed estates, luxury tourist establishments and ‘second homes’ under ‘public ownership’. Unlike the brutal regimes he apparently admires, his upbringing could not have been more privileged. Mr Murray is the son of stockbroker Peter Drummond-Murray — note the now-missing barrel from the double-barrelled surname — a descendant of the Earl of Perth who was a senior figure in Scottish heraldry circles where he held the title Slains Pursuivant of Arms.

Mr Murray’s mother Barbara also had noble blood. She was the daughter of a baronet, Lord Rankeillour, who was appointed Governor of Madras in India after the outbreak of the Second World War. He also served as a Tory MP. Privately educated at Worth Abbey in Sussex, in 1981 Mr Murray married Susan Michie, a professor of health psychology at University College London. After having their three children, of which Laura is youngest, they divorced in 1997. It is through Professor Michie’s side of the family that the Picasso descended. Her grandfather was Eton-educated Henry McLaren, a Liberal MP and the 2nd Baron Aberconway.

He inherited major interests in coal, iron, steel and engineering conglomerates and created the sumptuous gardens at Bodnant Hall, a stately home set in 5,000 acres near Snowdonia.

In 1910 he married Christabel Macnaghten, who would become a noted socialite and beauty famous for her wit and patronage of the arts. A particularly close friend — some say lover — was Samuel Courtauld, the industrialist, art collector and founder of the Courtauld Institute of Art. In 1928 he purchased the Picasso painting.

On Courtauld’s death in 1947, the painting was left to Lady Aberconway, along with his house in Mayfair, Central London. When she in turn died in 1974 it was left to her daughter Anne, the fourth youngest of her five children — and Laura’s future grandmother.

From then on, for almost four decades, the painting would hang in the National Gallery.

Displaying works of art to the public in this way can be a way for owners of objects of ‘national significance’ to defer paying inheritance or capital gains tax.

As well as being a communist, Dame Anne was a hugely important scientist who was recognised as a leading authority on mammalian genetics, helping to develop the techniques that led to human in-vitro fertilisation (IVF).

She and husband Donald Michie had three children — Susan, Jonathan and Caroline. The first two would go on to inherit her political outlook.

Susan is an active member of the Communist Party and last year —seemingly oblivious to the irony considering her status as a lifelong beneficiary of inherited wealth — delivered a speech at a party meeting in which she referred to ‘we the working class’. Meanwhile Jonathan, an Oxford economist and university friend of Labour’s communications director Seumas Milne, is described as ‘hard Left’.

As for the Picasso, that would be inherited by the three siblings when Dame Anne and her ex-husband were tragically killed in a car crash in 2007.

In her will, a publicly-available document the contents of which are revealed here for the first time, she makes specific reference to the painting.

One clause reads: ‘I declare that my Executors and Trustees or the beneficiaries thereof (as the case may be) shall feel free to dispose of my painting ‘Child With A Dove’ by Picasso at present on loan to the National Gallery but in the event of a sale I hereby express the wish but without creating any binding trust or legal obligation that if possible it should be sold to an art gallery or museum in the United Kingdom.’

The much-loved painting remained in the National Gallery until 2010 where it was shown alongside masterpieces such as Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and Cezanne’s Late Bathers.

After a short stint in London’s Courtauld Gallery in 2012 it emerged that auctioneers Christie’s had been asked to find a purchaser for the painting. Concerns were immediately raised at the prospect of it going abroad with the Government banning its export while bids from British galleries and museums were sought.

It is understood that attempts to find a British buyer had been on-going for some years and when none was forthcoming in mid 2013 it was reported that the painting had been sold to a private collector from Qatar. ‘Child with a Dove is an iconic Picasso painting and has a long history in British collections,’ said Lord Inglewood, chairman of the Arts Council-managed Reviewing Committee.

‘It is a great shame that institutions could not raise the funds necessary to keep this beautiful piece of art in this country.’

At the time it was unknown which of Lady Aberconway’s descendants was behind the sale.

That became clearer at the weekend when The Sunday Times revealed the sale was ‘overseen’ by Professor Michie and her brother. Only today, however can the full details of its journey down the generations of the family be told.

Neither Professor Michie nor her brother responded to emails asking them to comment on the sale of the painting. Ms Murray, meanwhile, declined to comment when approached by The Daily Mail.

But a Labour Party source defended her, saying: ‘Laura is passionately committed to creating a fairer and more equal society. It’s a good thing when people with relative privilege want to transform society so that wealth and opportunity is shared. It’s called having a social conscience.’

In previous Twitter postings Ms Murray has hit back against charges of elitism, pointing out that unlike so many of her forebears she had in fact attended a comprehensive school.

‘Of course I’ve benefited from class privilege my whole life,’ she wrote. ‘Growing up in a white middle-class North London family, with parents in professional jobs and the cushion of financial security, that’s a given. I’m the first person in the world to acknowledge my own class privilege.

‘But please don’t invent a fairytale education for me that I never had. Just because you know the name of my dad or my boss — you do not know anything about me or my life. Furthermore, nothing about my life invalidates my opinion that private schools are bad for society!’

As for the Labour Party, this week they were busy trying to cash in on the chaos over Brexit.

‘Tonight we got a step closer to a General Election,’ they Tweeted. ‘Unlike the Tories, we can’t rely on a handful of multi-millionaire donors. Will you chip in to help our people-powered movement?’

Maybe they should look closer to home. According to Electoral Commission records shortly before the 2017 General Election, they received a donation of £14,000.

The donor? None other than Communist Professor Michie, whose daughter Laura is now, of course, settled in her own very comfortable North London home. 

The post Corbyn’s aide’s family sold £50m Picasso and then got £1.3m home appeared first on Gyrlversion.

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Baritone History Pt.1

The Don (Story from 1945 - 1966) Born in Brooklyn in 1945, The Don was an orphan after his father was caught and arrested by the ministry for working in association with Voldemorts Army as a Death Eater. Don, at age 8, spent his time working to get money to take tend to himself, ignorant of his magical abilities. Work was slow and he was never being noticed; but he soon be inspired after sneaking into drive in theaters showing mafia films of the day. With his new found drive, Don grew up the rest of his life with selling liquor he stole from the back of pubs and kicking peoples asses for money. He soon achieved the title of “The Don” from business owners that The Don and his grew protected. The Don and his crew soon left Brooklyn and traveled to Nevada after the Irish Immigration movement in the mid 1950’s. This mass cross country trip would be refereed to as the “Beat-it and Deal-it” migration after The Don discovered how well he could capitalist on casinos in Vegas.

The Don only had a handful of his followers left after many had to be left behind or excommunicated during this movement. At this time it was The Don, a few low ranked soldiers and a lady friend The Don had as his “Lil’ Puttana”. This did not discourage The Don, as he focused more on acquiring money. This soon came into his favor when The Don became a multi-millionaire after having his way with winning big money all across Vegas, making him the youngest millionaire in the 20th century. In 1960, the Baritones we’re founded and we’re finally recognized as a high threat all over America. While The Don was proud of his infamy, it was not all the well for him as the height of the Vietnam War sparked in 1966, causing all law enforcement to be on high alert for any form of domestic criminal acts. This was a good excuse for The Don to leave America through a cruise ship they “borrowed”. They aimed to make avoid the war at all costs, taking their action out to the sea. The planned to be in the water for weeks, their destination being from California to Sweden. The Don for the first time, was worried about the fate of his family name, he knew he needed to have a big shot of his own in case anything happened to him. To ease his agita, him and his lady friend finally smashed, conceiving what would soon be Eugene Baritone. By the time The Don docked in a small town in Sweden, the Ministry of Magic soon caught on to The Dons’ soon to be child. They hoped that once Eugene was old enough, he would accept being apart of Hogwarts.

Eugene Baritone (Story from 1967 - 1985) Born in a hospital inside Gothenburg Sweden, Eugene would be quickly introduced to a life of being on the lam. The Don decided to set shop in Sweden, spreading his family named across Europe. His goal was to make way to Italy, all while taking over every other country in his path. But with his new son, he had to do everything he could to train Eugene to be just like him. He personally trained Eugene in debt-collecting, gambling and lady killing. Eugene did everything that The Don did back in Brooklyn, except he was way more efficient with getting his hands dirty. At a early age, Eugene would already be Stand-Up Guy when coming across pigs. What Eugene mastered in strength he lacked in deftness; resulting in him being constantly caught by authorities. This is where Eugene learned how to be more of a brute, unlike his father. This would make the two the perfect duo, The Don being the brains and earner while Eugene would be the muscle.

As The Baritones slowly made their way across Europe, Eugene would finally revive his letter of enrollment for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Baffled by this newfound information that both Eugene and The Don were wizards, The Don encouraged Eugene to go and assert his dominance over the wizard world, a chance to prove himself. In 1979 Eugene enrolled into Hogwarts as a Slytherin, just like his grandfather. Eugene quickly heard of his grandfather and discovered he was one of Voldemorts best death eaters. With this knowledge he wanted to follow in his fathers footsteps and followed a route to achieve nothing but power. He never recruited anyone into the family, but he did get a great following at his time at the school, his group being primarily Slytherins and Hufflepuffs. In his sixth year he managed to master Dark Arts as well as acquiring a wealth of six hundred thousand galleons; all from stuffing students inside lockers and doing classified snatchers. He graduated from his sixth year in 1985 and went back to the muggle world, wanting to flaunt his wealth, infamy and mastering of dark magic. Eugene was made and was now Second in Command. He lived his life just like The Don, kicking ass and taking names. Eugene even introduced The Don to many different locations inside the wizarding world.

While vacationing in the forest, far from civilization, the two came across a hoard of giants. While they would typically pay no mind to them, one female giant took a fancy towards Eugene. Giants never seen anything like Eugene and The Don; someone who flaunted such wealth while being very charismatic was something other worldly to them. Eugene went for her since this was his first time getting with a lady, he always tended to himself at Hogwarts, despite having a mass following of ladies. Weeks go by and the two left their time away from the world to go and do work again; Eugene leaving his Giantess behind. Little did he know, he would be a father of a half giant, Sonia Cojocaru.

Sonia Cojocaru - Sonia Baritone (Story from 1985 - 2017) Born inside a forest close to Romania, Sonia would be ignorant of his father as well as her real family. She lived in constant oppression from being a half giant living with other giants. Wanting to prove herself to be different compared to the dim-witted giants by trying to get a education. With nothing being able to do much in the forest, she spend most of her life reading by stealing books left behind by people around the village. She studied everything from the care of mythical creatures to hexes. She also learned fluent Romanian so she could speak with locals who did not harass her and her kind. A small following of wizards and witches would soon praise her for being so progressive compared to her kind, she was someone that nobody else had ever seen. At age 10, her following convinced her to attend Hogwarts. Enthusiastic about the idea, Sonia would soon be rejected by the Ministry as the school does not allow Half-Giants as students. But after extensive protests and under the table negotiations with the school after rumors sparked about her being Baritone blood; the staff of the school soon gave in and took her in secretly, without the Ministries knowledge. By 1995, she would be allowed into the school with massive attention being brought to her by the media. Even more controversy sparked when she would be sorted into Slytherin instead of Ravenclaw, which is what everyone theorized. She was seen as an enemy by most, praised by few. She never minded the attention, as she was already used to eyes watching her. Her hard work eventually payed off when she became one of the highest graduating students. Once she was put down into the history books as the first graduating student as a Half-Giant, she decided to use her knowledge for good when she partnered up with Blaine Mayfair. She is now currently a Auror working with the Ministry, bouncing between her hometown of Romania and Hogwarts.

[businessecommercewebsite-blog]

Promote Your Products With The Help Of Instagram

Are you currently utilizing social internet sites to perform new shoppers?

Have you ever at any time tried out utilizing Instagram?

Instagram capabilities fifteen moments way more engagement than Fb, Twitter or Google+. What was when a straightforward photograph sharing computer software is at present a vital merchandise product sales channel.

Within this post you will uncover how to utilize Instagram to attain brand name recognition and reach new customers.

Recognize how to operate with Instagram to market place your products.

13% of Web conclude end users have Instagram accounts and much more than fifty percent even though within the world’s ideal a hundred firms are on Instagram. Your customers are nearly undoubtedly there concurrently.

Beneath I share a lot of strategies, you will be capable of learning or drawing in folks individuals and include them in the direction of the existing admirer basis.

one. Contain Audience-Specific Hashtags

Hashtags could be a method of team suggestions, concepts or conversations. They permit it to obtain easily for individuals to hunt out other men and women which are publishing about topic locations they may be thinking about.

By these types of as the proper hashtags using your updates, you will be ready to attain new men and women thinking about your objects productively. The real secret part might be to use hashtags that not just clarify your photographs and enterprise, but may additionally be vigorously looked for and utilized on Instagram.

Hashtags aid men and women observe down you on Instagram.

To find essentially most likely probably the most related hashtags to your updates, you've got to use totally free on-line solutions like Iconosquare or Websta. These devices give a summary of common hashtags primarily based on your vital phrases.

Do a quick find out to keep track of down between in essence essentially the most well-known hashtags appropriate for your firms or items.

Use individuals lists to return yet again up with every single from the foremost 10-20 hashtags that relate using your business, firm and things and recognized them inside of the don't forget as well as your smartphone. Using this method, you will be a place to discuss with them no matter the location you could be inserting up from.

two. Use the correct Filters

Plenty of folks never believes about how Instagram filters effect appointment we just use what we predict seems to be great and publish absent. It seems the filter you employ may well have an effect on usual discussion.

TrackMaven just recently unveiled an evaluation that located pictures utilizing the Mayfair filter, no filter or perhaps the Inkwell filter accomplished up with way more likes and remarks.

Photographs with probably the Mayfair filter or no filter get the most engagement.

In an all-natural way, everyone’s viewers are marginally distinct. I propose experimenting with an assortment of filters and using an Instagram administration valuable source that will assist you to see which one is most favored collectively using your crew.

three. Publish at Peak Conditions

Very similar to all social networking websites, comprehending whenever your community is probably to acquire dialogue might aid you to find yourself choosing undoubtedly 1 of probably the most effectual time and electrical power to location up.

The report exhibits black circles symbolizing the events you're presently publishing and light-gray circles symbolizing the section of dialogue gentlemen and ladies posts be offered. One of the most crucial light-gray circles symbolizes one particular in the most powerful situation that you just ought to put up dependant on your followers’ engagement.

Hold keep preserve keep track of when followers are most energetic and established up at individuals situation.

The celebration earlier talked about is taken from the Shopify Instagram account. You'll be able to see the biggest placing up functions inside of this certain circumstance are Friday at 9pm and Monday at 9am, astonishingly.

four. Engage With Competitors’ Followers

Any private subsequent your competitor’s Instagram account is any personal you've to talk to. You need to inform them regarding your (significantly better) website, firms or items, suitable?

Individuals clients have presently confirmed a curiosity within your merchandise generally by pursuing your competitor’s account. Acquiring and interacting with them raises, in the same way, your quantity of followers and seasoned Certified possible consumers.

You may uncover many approaches which could assist you to find out your competitors’ followers. Being an illustration, use JustUnfollow to seem to be within your competitors’ Instagram accounts by title and it gives you a list of each and every personal who follows them. With that checklist in hand, start off collaborating using your new attainable customers-follow them and like or make contact with on between their photographs.

5. Execute With Well-known Instagrammers

Amid numerous only tactics to construct your Instagram team could be to inquire a heavy-hitter within your industry to attribute your reply. As opposed to the ahead of techniques, this a single has a marketing and advertising price related with it-either payment or sending items for review-but the results could be exceptional.

Working with big-time Instagrammers offers your account a lift.

 To discover the biggest accounts employing your marketplace spot, use Instagram’s study total and sort in look for phrases, hashtags, and team names. In the event you uncover and change to a substantial account, Instagram will give you an index of appropriate customers it is possible to adjust to.

When you are fully completely ready to sign up for with any person, validate his / her account profile. Generally, you're going to keep the substitute to inform genuinely quickly irrespective of no matter whether an account accepts sponsored posts or cure testimonies. Several individuals have acknowledge that promises they can be inclined to operate with producers.

Instagram helps you learn almost certainly one of the most well-liked accounts within your industry.

If customers genuinely are not going to explicitly say they function with model title names, digital mail them and inquire whenever they do highlight evaluations or sponsored posts and what their techniques are for each option.

The value of sponsored posts or highlighted critiques is dependent getting a variety of things like industry and viewers dimension. About the complete, the price tag is pretty diminished as compared to other web advertising choices and these partnerships normally finish in elevated engagement.

Instagram’s engagement rate is amongst the much better of all social networking websites. Its image-centric mother nature lends itself to showcasing and advertising products.

When you could have regarded enormous specific viewers and received have confidence in and loyalty, it is the right time to rework browsers to buyers. Underneath are a few approaches you will be ready to get very likely.

one. Emphasize Shortage

Shortage pertains to resource and demand-the substantially considerably less there exists of almost everything, the far better individuals want it. Suppliers and organization folks routinely adhere to this notion by suggesting that items or discounted expenses will only before for almost any limited time.

Fox & Fawn, a New York retailer of vintage clothes, uses an ingenious approach to increasing engagement and income making use of the deficiency tactic.

Lack is a profitable approach to change followers into customers.

The store frequently posts numerous images for each day showing their existing stock. Since products are vintage, there is unquestionably typically a nominal stock. When followers see one aspect they like, they need to leave a remark to reserve the goods.

 two. Spotlight New Goods

Your Instagram profile is the main channel for direct promoting also as getting an outstanding approach to show off your new items.

  three. Highlight Social Proof

Social proof is an effective psychological phenomenon the place individuals presume the actions of other folks reflect the correct behavior for nearly any provided predicament. Getting an illustration, if your friends or family advise a merchandise, you are a lot more actually very likely to decide on those goods greater than another.

Virtually 63% of consumers say they are often significantly a lot more extremely probably to purchase from the web page if it has some form of social proof like solution ratings and critiques. Item critiques are 12 situations a whole lot a lot far more trusted than merchandise descriptions from makers.

In regards to the net retailer, BlackMilk does an outstanding job of delivering social proof by encouraging customers to publish pictures on Instagram using unique hashtags. BlackMilk pulls these pictures into their website so customers can see how well-known a merchandise is.

   What would you come to feel? Do you use Instagram similar to a funds' movement channel? What approaches have worked excellent for converting fans to customers? Permit us to know within the remarks beneath.