I am so thrilled to finally bring The Charmer Without a Cause to your ereaders!
In case you haven’t heard, The Charmer Without a Cause is the third full installment of The Prestons. It picks up three years after the last book, and this time, we’re following Benjamin Preston on his quest to love. In fact, when I conceived the book and through most of the drafting, I thought of it with the tagline “Benjamin Preston loves love” (said in a booming, movie trailer narrator’s voice).
My concept for The Prestons is that each member of the family orients towards the family’s mission differently. Ellen believes it whole-heartedly, an idealist who will never put pragmatism ahead of her principles. Sophia is a “rebel” who believes herself to be damned for wanting to live like the rest of the world. For Benjamin, there is extra weight because no matter how he feels about the ideals his parents gave him, he is the one who will inherit Northfield Hall.
On top of that, I really enjoy discovering how the rest of the world’s perception of the Prestons shapes their lives. Max comes to Northfield Hall with an explicit plan to embroil the family in scandal. John Anderson doesn’t much care about the Prestons, which is one of the reasons why Sophia likes him, since she is feeling trapped in a household that reveres her father.
For Benjamin, being a Preston is a liability. It keeps him from being taken seriously as a suitor, and it also puts extra pressure on him to be a champion of causes, to a point where he feels seriously overwhelmed. Yet in a twist that I find endlessly delicious, it also makes him a target for Lydia, who wants to use his family’s reputation for her own purposes.
All of this combined for a juicy, angsty story. I’m thrilled that one of the early reviews says The Charmer Without a Cause is in the same vein as a Sherry Thomas historical romance because I wrote it as much angst as I could muster!
I’ll be sharing more about the historical research I did for the novel in my monthly research deep dives, available to my newsletter subscribers. In the meantime, I hope you read, love, and review The Charmer Without a Cause!
Everyone knows that a happy marriage begins with a lot of money and one good lie…
When Benjamin Preston falls in love with Lady Lydia Deveraux at first sight, his family thinks this is the start of yet another of his failed courtships. Benjamin is almost as surprised as they are when Lydia encourages his attention and even agrees to marry him. His family suspects she is after his newly-inherited ten thousand pounds, but Benjamin holds out hope that at last he has found his true love.
Lydia can’t help finding Benjamin attractive. After all, he is handsome, kind, and compassionate. But her heart belongs to Ireland - and to an Irish rebel who died for the cause of freedom. Now Lydia is determined to marry for wealth and political influence so she can help free Ireland from Britain’s rule.
Even if that means trapping Benjamin in a loveless marriage.
As their courtship progresses, Lydia and Benjamin find themselves caught in a web of lies, plots, and unquenchable lust. The only question is: can they help Ireland without breaking each other’s hearts?