What the Stubborn Viscount Desires by Sandra Sookoo is a KU Event pick #romance #ku #giveaway
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    • Nov 15, 2022
    • 5 min read

What the Stubborn Viscount Desires by Sandra Sookoo is a KU Event pick #romance #ku #giveaway



Title: What the Stubborn Viscount Desires (Lords of Happenstance #1)


Author: Sandra Sookoo


Genre: romance, Regency romance, historical romance, adventure romance


Book Blurb:


Stubborn hearts might be the last to fall, but when the hard tumble comes, it’ll last forever.


Jonathan Banshire, Viscount Trewellain, has become a bitter, sarcastic lord and against anything remotely smacking of romance. Though engaged to a woman whose hand he’d won in a game of cards years ago, he hasn’t thought of her in years. But he’s also a king’s agent, and as his duty to the Crown, he’s being sent to Spain to track down a missing peer. He goes to escape his personal life.


Miss Sophia Wickham is tired of men deciding her future. She’s on a mission to live her life on her terms, but can’t due to an ambiguous engagement to the Viscount Trewellain. Determined to gain her freedom, she sneaks onboard the ship intent to have Jonathan release her from that old promise. When he refuses in a fit of pique, she’s stuck as a stowaway, bound to the one man she can’t stand.


In Madrid, they search for not only the missing lord, but also stolen Spanish crown jewels and an ancient relic. Through crashing a glittering ball to hunting down clues to exploring the hidden catacombs and caves beneath Barcelona, the unlikely pair comes to an understanding. Vulnerable and trapped, truths are revealed as well as the fragile state of their hearts. But machinations of a madman bent on revenge could destroy a budding romance, and when the specter of death makes an appearance, Jonathan must finally decide what it is he desires the most.


Excerpt:


As soon as the door closed behind him, Jonathan surveyed the bedchamber where he’d spend the next five days. A cheerless place, and decorated in dark colors and wood, there were worse places to pass the time when he wished to avoid the sickeningly sweet romantic overtures of the Hawkinses. Foul misfortune, that, to travel with them. Yes, they were in love, but they shouldn’t subject their friends to such displays. Why the devil Miles insisted on making a cake of himself in that manner escaped him.


The prickling feeling he’d experienced while on the docks assailed him again. He gripped the silver head of his cane tighter in his right hand. Something is amiss. And he’d wager a year’s income that whatever had bothered him would explode soon.


A faint trace of apple blossoms lingered on the air. The scent reminded him of his father’s country estate in the spring. As he stood stock still, he took a brief inhale. Yes, faint but it was there, and his porter hadn’t worn any sort of scent. Then the young man had argued with him about handling and unpacking his luggage, which now rested on a trunk at the foot of the bed. He’d learned from long experience that, as a king’s agent, one couldn’t be too careful about personal belongings. He’d let the porter carry his one trunk and one bag, but that was as far as it went.


But none of that explained a potential intruder. He narrowed his eyes as he scanned the compartment. The counterpane had recently been mussed as if someone had sat there. What the deuce? In the corner near the door, a pile of things rested, and they most certainly did not belong to him. As quietly as he could, and from years skulking about for the Crown, he crossed the floor. A cloak of heavy navy wool half covered a worn carpet bag.


Devil take it. Jonathan straightened and again threw a questing gaze around the space. What was at play? His chest tightened and his pulse pounded hard in his ears. It wasn’t outside the realm of possibility an assassin was there. Lord knew he’d angered more than his fair share of men and women the world over. It came with being an agent. Protecting England’s interests, at times, didn’t involve doing the pretty.


With a wry grin, Jonathan stealthily returned to the place where he started and scrutinized every bit of the floor space. Ah, there. A tiny seed pearl lay like an unassuming speck on the hardwood. As if he were a cat, he padded over, his boots making no sound, and he grasped the bauble between his thumb and forefinger. Holding it up to the light, he studied it. The barely visible hole through the pearl indicated it belonged on a gown.


What did this mean? Perhaps leftover of a previous guest, but since the ship was primarily used for military transport, it was highly unlikely a female had occupied this cabin. And even more doubtful a previous guest would have left luggage. Which meant someone had been here… and perhaps still was.


He tossed the pearl away, and after transferring his cane to his other hand, he slowly drew his revolver from the pocket of his greatcoat. Grim reality rode his spine. He had hoped that for at least five days he wouldn’t need to worry about threats. As if I do not have enough to occupy me on this mission. Did the assassin wish to seduce him before she attempted his murder? No matter why she had come, he’d relish throwing her arse over the railing, and he would grin when she hit the water.


This plot wouldn’t succeed.


A muffled sneeze—a distinctly feminine sneeze—fairly exploded in the silence, and that muted sound confirmed his theory. Damn it all. He was not alone in this cabin, and it was time to do something about it.


Jonathan cocked his pistol, strode to the wall where he’d heard the sound, and spying a brass latch, he pressed the handle. “If you think to kill me, let me disabuse you of that notion.” He wrenched the narrow closet door open and was obliged to take a step backward when a woman tumbled out of the space in a flurry of lavender skirts. At the last second, he caught her before she hit the floor. The bonnet she’d worn, at least two years outdated, remained wedged in the closet as it had been torn from her head upon her exit. The lavender-dyed feathers quivered from the sudden activity.


“What the devil is the meaning of this?” Through the shock clouding his brain, he stared into the face of the one woman he’d hoped never to see again on a personal basis—Miss Sophia Wickham. Or rather, the woman to whom it was assumed he was engaged.


Buy Links (including BookBub):





What makes your featured book a must-read?


Who doesn’t like a handsome, sexy viscount who is also brooding, blond, and a treasure hunter?


Giveaway –

Enter to win a $35 Amazon gift card:

Open Internationally. You must have a valid Amazon US or Amazon Canada account to win. Runs November 15 – November 24, 2022. Winner will be drawn on November 25, 2022.



Author Biography:


Sandra Sookoo is a USA Today bestselling author who firmly believes every person deserves acceptance and a happy ending. She’s written for publication since 2008. Most days you can find her creating scandal and mischief in the Regency-era, serendipity and happenstance in the Victorian era, or historical romantic suspense complete with mystery and intrigue. Reading is a lot like eating chocolates—you can’t just have one book. Good thing they don’t have calories!


When she’s not wearing out computer keyboards, Sandra spends time with her real-life Prince Charming in Central Indiana where she’s been known to bake cookies and make moments count because the key to life is laughter. A Disney fan since the age of ten, when her soul gets bogged down and her imagination flags, a trip to Walt Disney World is in order. Nothing fuels her dreams more than the land of eternal happy endings, hope and love stories.


Social Media Links:


Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/sandra.sookoo


Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/sandrasookooauthor/


Private reader group on FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1985711228318050/


Amazon page: amazon.com/author/sandrasookoo


Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandrasookoo/


Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sandrasookoo/


Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sandra-sookoo


Website: http://www.sandrasookoo.com


Also, if you want to join my ARC review team on BookSprout, here's the link: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/team/10540/sandra-sookoos-review-team Bear in mind, these ARCS go fast, like in a few hours the day I post so make sure you're signed up for notifications.

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