FRIDAY FREEBIE: Elsa Holland’s ‘The Veiled Heart’
Tell us about The Veiled Heart:
The Veiled Heart is a historical and erotic romance but doesn’t really fit neatly in either of those two categories. One of my reviews said I was a good in-between read. Traditional historical readers may like my stories but I think more so contemporary readers looking for something a bit different would enjoy The Veiled Heart and would be able to relate to the heroine, Miriam, and the structure of the story.
The Veiled Heart is a journey of personal empowerment through love and passion. It’s about the courage to build the life you want despite your past or how you feel about yourself, life, or the world around you. There are elements of neo feminism, and an unobtrusive series of snapshots of the power inequities faced by women of various classes in the Victorian era.
I think it’s very romantic, the most romantic of The Velvet Basement Series.
What inspired The Veiled Heart?
The Veiled Heart started out as a writing exercise from my writing group. We all pulled out different characters and situations from a bowl, I got a teacher meets a mechanic while buying condoms and having sex in a car. Having a historical bent, The Veiled Heart, starts with Miriam purchasing a box of sheaths from under the hero’s nose and refusing to sell him even one. Before the night is out, her carriage breaks and Max is conveniently close by to begin the negotiations again.
Who are the main characters and why will we love them?
Lady Miriam Rothbury is a strong tenacious and remarkably courageous woman. Despite an abusive past she reaches out to create a meaningful life through helping others. But she’s not a blue stocking or suffragette, she is simply determined to build the life she dreamed she would have as a young woman. A chance encounter with a man whose blue eyes trigger an unexpected feeling of affinity and she takes another more personal leap to experience passion.
Lord Max Worthington establishes himself as Miriam’s protector and is more than willing to introduce her to the world of the body’s pleasures yet it is her heart and her full person he is really fighting for. Max is such a wonderful man, he is not without his flaws but he is so tuned into Miriam and so aware of what is right under the surface, he facilitates her release from her past even at the expense of his own happiness.
For you, what’s the best thing about Fridays?
We’ll this Friday… that I have the chance to give a copy of The Veiled Heart away. There are no words to express how much pleasure I get knowing someone has read The Veiled Heart! Seriously! Maybe that changes with your tenth book but with this being my first one, I still do a happy dance for every reader I know reads the book.
What’s coming up next for you?
I am wrapping up my next book in The Velvet Basement Series called The Bound Heart. The Bound Heart is a darkness to light journey. A man set on protecting the woman he is drawn to only to find he is really protecting himself. It has darker sexual tastes, sensual shibari rope work and Japanese culture set in the Victorian era. Style wise, it’s a very intimate read, less of an external over-arching plot and more of a moody, sensual and emotional journey.
The Veiled Heart
Elsa Holland
A woman who has never known desire …..And the man who has always wanted her…
After a cold and cruel Victorian marriage, Lady Miriam Rothbury is determined to turn her mind to good works with London’s fallen women. But when a fleeting brush with a handsome stranger at the scandalous Velvet Basement and a broken carriage combine, they create an invitation to sin. Surrendering once to a tempting rogue could be forgiven, but what happens when this dangerous game promises to extend beyond one unforgettable encounter to a passion that threatens the very foundation of her world?
At first, Max, Lord Maxwell Worthington, is amused that this lovely visitor to the decadent Velvet Basement mistakes him for a lowly mechanic. And when the veiled beauty welcomes his help and then invites his caresses, he’s delighted to explore the attraction sparking between them. But the flammable seduction turns world-shaking when the veil lifts and he discovers the irresistible woman who has always haunted his dreams. Is this his chance to transform those searing desires into breathtaking reality? Or will revealing his true identity push Miriam far out of reach forever?
Passion can only go so far to pave the way for love, after that, the heart must navigate the shadows alone.
E-BOOK
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PRINT BOOK
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Here’s your chance to win a copy of The Veiled Heart!
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Thank you J’aimee and AUSROMTODAY. It’s always a pleasure to be featured with you 🙂
Woo Hoo Elsa Holland. So happy to see you here. I don’t think I need to win your book (I already have it in ebook and hardcopy personally autographed) but I wish whoever does win it a great reading experience. Turn off everything and lock the door. You won’t want to stop reading once you start.
Thx Zoe *hugs*