The Petticoat Letters by Kelly Lyman
At the outbreak of the Revolutionary war, Nora Bishop’s home is burned to the ground—along with her dreams, plans and all her family members except one. At 20-years-old and still unmarried, she moves to Manhattan to live with her Loyalist uncle, hoping to find her brother who has joined the Patriot cause against her late family’s wishes. But, battle breaks out and she finds herself at the mercy of one American ranger, Alex Fos-ter, who is the only person in a position to bring her to safety.
Her growing feelings toward Alex and his passion for freedom help her reevaluate her stance on the case for independence and makes her question her loyalties further. When she is asked to spy for the rebels, she agrees. But can she partake in the act of treason and do what is asked of her when the sadistic Captain William Roth seems to watch her every move and threatens the life of her brother who has been captured? And how can she grow closer to Alex when the war threatens to tear them apart?
Description
Find more from this author on:
Amazon
GoodReads
Facebook
PinterestAbout the author:
Kelly Lyman is a dreamer, a planner and a doer. Her favorite mantra is: “Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention.” She writes adult historical romance and YA paranormal/fantasy. She has a degree in education from West Chester University and taught 5th grade before deciding to stay home full time. She loves, loves, loves history and can usually be found daydreaming about people who lived centuries ago…that is, when she’s not taking care of her four kids. Traveling to Scotland, England, and Ireland are on her bucket list. Skydiving is not. She’s mildly obsessed with mint chocolate chip ice cream, peanut butter M&MS, drinking coffee (cream only), and thinks chips and salsa is a perfectly acceptable dinner option. Her favorite color is green and if she could, she would sit on the beach and read all day long.
What inspired you to write your book?
The Petticoat Letters was inspired by the woman, known in history as "Lady 355," who was part of the very first spy ring in America, put together by George Washington during the American Revolutionary War.
Here is a short sample from the book:
“I asked you who you are and where you were going, madam,” he said, staring at me full on, though his eyes did not hold any threatening luster.
I raised my chin and snorted, hoping to convince him he did not have any effect on me. God, he’s handsome. And tall. He’s the tallest man I’ve ever seen. “And are you going to shoot me if I don’t answer then?” I snapped.
He cocked his head to the side as if he was considering my question. I bit the inside of my cheek waiting for his response. Bloody hell, what will I do if he says yes?
“No. In truth, I don’t want to harm you, nor do I have the strength at this moment.” His eyes wandered over my person. He lowered his pistol. “Though you don’t look very heavy, so I could manage to throw you over my good shoulder if need be,” he said, shifting his weight. He winced, and his face paled.
I glanced at both his shoulders and grimaced at the amount of blood oozing down his injured left side. If I could keep him talking and standing long enough, maybe he’d faint, and I could go on my way.
“And why would you feel the need to throw me over your shoulder?”
“Because you’re coming with me.”
“I most certainly am not.”
“You are. I can’t, in good conscience, allow you to traipse all through these woods alone. Besides, I haven’t quite determined if you’re a spy.”
“A spy?” I said, having a hard time believing my ears. “You’re daft. What sort of idea is that? Do I look like a spy?”
“Nothing better than a spy with breasts. They are the least suspecting. It doesn’t help that you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
I resisted the urge to cover up and straightened my spine instead.
“I am no spy, sir. Now please step out of the way so I can continue on with my journey.”
“You’ll come back with me to camp. And, spy or not, it isn’t safe for a lady to be out here alone.”
He took a step toward me.
“I know where I’m going,” I said, watching him sway. Is he going to faint?
“And where is that?”
“You’re hurt.” I gestured toward him, dismissing his question.
The corner of his mouth turned up though his face grew whiter still. “Believe me, I know.”
He put his pistol inside the waist of his pants and took a few clumsy steps toward an oak tree where he leaned up against its bark. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. When he opened them, he stared into my eyes. His look was so open and honest my heart lurched, and I could not but help take a couple of steps toward him.
He twitched a bit, then his legs gave out from under him. He slid down the bark of the tree. “What are you doing?” he said, eyeing me.
I knelt beside him and pulled back his shirt collar. My eyes grew wide. “Christ,” I said. “It’s a wonder you were still standing.”
I ripped the edge of my petticoat, which had fortunately — or unfortunately, depending on one’s opinion — already torn. I pulled hard when I thought I had enough linen, but because of the hem, it was difficult. “Bloody hell!” I said, not bothering to whisper. I didn’t know what possessed me in this moment. I shouldn’t be caring after a man who thought me a spy. But I couldn’t leave him here to die.
The man moved, and when I looked up, he had pulled his dagger out of his belt and was handing it to me. I took it, carefully, and went back to work, slicing through the fabric. After a few pulls, the rest of the petticoat strip came off, and I laid the dagger on the ground.
“Has anyone ever told you that you have the mouth of a sailor?”
“Yes.”
Related products
-
The Wedding Bed by Ava Archer Payne
Miss Calla Lily Staunton. Her given name had meant nothing to him, but he remembered her.he wild one. The troublemaker. The one who’d attacked a cobra with a stick, smoked a hornet’s nest, and challenged him to a horse race across along the muddy banks of the Hooghly River. The one who’d attempted to adopt a tiger cub after local hunters had shot and killed its mother. The scar along her jaw was a reminder of the folly of that act—a lifelong reminder, evidently—proof that the cub, though young, was not nearly as docile as she’d assumed. The Hindu woman kept speaking, and the word nayan caught his ear. Matchmaker. He forced his attention back to her agitated monologue in time to hear, “…has come to England to marry.” His gaze returned to Miss Staunton. “My congratulations. And who is the lucky groom?”
The lamp beside her sputtered and flared, enabling him a better view of her face. Her eyes, he noted, were not brown at all, but blue. Deep blue. Eyes that suddenly twinkled with devilish glee. Her remarkable lips quirked upward as she replied with a single word that made his blood run cold.
“You.”
Ring of Desire by Ryshia Kennie
Whispers of an ancient magic draw them together …
In the medieval land of Hafne, a curse has swept through the land leaving it barren and without hope. As one of the chosen, Vala watches for signs of the prophecy and with it, the owner of a ring who is destined to fight by her side and drive away the darkness. The newly arrived Norman enemy is an unnecessary complication in Hafne—and in beautiful Vala’s heart.
… An unspeakable evil fights to keep them apart.
Giles arrives with his Norman men in time to rescue a mysterious woman from a watery death. Holding Vala in his arms, the stirrings of destiny and desire begin, binding him to a prophecy of which he surely wants no part—binding him to a search for his true origins and a fight to save his soul and hers.
The Music of Us by Uvi Poznansky
In 1970, Lenny can no longer deny that his wife is undergoing a profound change. Despite her relatively young age, her mind succumbs to forgetfulness. Now, he goes as far back as the moment he met Natasha during WWII, when he was a wounded warrior and she—a star, brilliant yet illusive. Natasha was a riddle to him then, and to this day, with all the changes she has gone through, she still is.
“Digging into the past, mining its moments, trying to piece them together this way and that, dusting off each memory of Natasha, of how we were, the highs and lows of the music of us, to find out where the problem may have started?”
To their son, Ben, that may seem like an exercise in futility. For Lenny, it is a necessary process of discovery, one that is as tormenting as it is delightful. He often wonders: can we ever understand, truly understand each other—soldier and musician, man and woman, one heart and another? Will we ever again dance together to the same beat? Is there a point where we may still touch?
This is a WWII romance going back and forth between England to the US, touching upon the plight of war brides. It is a wounded warrior romance, which can be read as a standalone novel as well as part of one of family sagas best sellers. Still Life with Memories is a family saga series tinged with family saga romance, fraught with marital issues, and wrapped with a second chance at love.
Eulogy’s Secret by Grace Elliot
Greed, prejudice and a stolen identity.
In the four weeks since her guardians’ death, Eulogy Foster has lost everything.
Penniless and alone she seeks the help of her estranged brother, Lord Lucien Devlin. But Devlin throws Eulogy onto the streets and the mercy of a passing stranger, Jack Huntley, who becomes an unlikely ally. As Eulogy seeks the truth behind her birth, she is drawn into the world of art and artists, where her morals are challenged and nothing is as it seems.
Jack Huntley: bitter, cynical and betrayed in love. He believes women are devious, scheming, untrustworthy creatures – and when he rescues a naïve Miss from being raped, his life is about to change forever. There is something about Miss Foster that haunts him and challenges his emotions. But despite their growing attraction, Eulogy will not share her secret, which means he cannot trust her. Caught in a deadlock, both denying their true feelings, events take a sinister turn as someone seeks to silence Eulogy…forever.
Bride of Dunloch (Highland Loyalties Trilogy, Volume 1) by Veronica Bale @VeronicaBale1
Author Veronica Bale’s debut novel, Bride of Dunloch, is a gripping story of love and conflict in the time of the first Scottish War of Independence, and of one young girl’s struggle to determine for herself what is right and what is wrong.
In the watery grey light of a late spring dawn, two forces meet to oppose one another at the main gate of Dunloch Castle, an imposing structure nestled deep in the Scottish Highlands. On the attacking side are the MacGillivrays—a clan dispossessed of its ancestral lands and home because its members would not swear loyalty to the English King Edward the First. Dunloch is theirs, and they will take it back—by any means necessary.
So is the world in which Jane Sewell, a young and naive English girl of noble birth whose hand has been given away in marriage, finds herself. It is a land that is as bloody and brutal as it is beautiful. But when she stumbles upon a wounded Scottish warrior from the enemy MacGillivray clan, her compassionate nature will not allow her to abandon him. Against her better judgement, she resolves to help him in secret.
As tensions at Dunloch intensify, however, Jane finds herself torn between her duty—and her heart. For in these Scottish Highlands, loyalties can change as quickly as the weather …
Threads of Betrayal by Monica Koldyke Miller
Reagan Burnsfield has no interest in finding himself a wife. But that’s exactly what he must do when a lumber contract falls through and threatens the family business. Marrying the beautiful debutante Amanda Bruester for her dowry will solve his short term need as well as give him the wife of his dreams.
His courtship is hindered until they are arrested after stumbling upon bounty hunters hotly pursuing runaway slaves. In the ensuing scandal, Amanda chooses marriage over betraying her Aunt Gabriella’s illegal activities in the Underground Railroad.
Yet, despite being properly wed, another suitor, Derrick Banning, is determined to break apart their hasty marriage. He fancies it is he, not “that arrogant lumberman,” who should be enjoying Amanda’s wealth. While snowed in at his lumber camp, Amanda discovers papers that imply Reagan’s offer of marriage wasn’t the sacrifice she thought it to be. Despite his assurances that he acted to protect her, Amanda begins to doubt everything about him.
To complicate matters, mysterious scratches on Reagan’s back seem to point to infidelity, further proving he’s the untrustworthy knave Derrick claims him to be. When a prostitute’s body is found in his office and Reagan is arrested for murder, Amanda flees to her aunt’s house until the mystery can be solved.
The Impossible Lover Book 1 of the GrailChase Chronicles by Dara Fogel
When Imperialist tool, Lt. Colonel Christopher Jordan Haldane goes to Italy to negotiate a shady mining deal, he finds himself inadvertently drawn into a turf war between the scions of the Illuminati and the Grail Guardians over an ancient castle guarding forbidden secrets and technology. Can Haldane solve the riddle of Villa D'Amici and his own strange paranormal experiences without losing his mind or the woman he loves?
A sexy, existential romp through archetypes, conspiracy theories and alternate realities.
“The DaVinci Code meets Steampunk, with Dune flavor crystals”
#1 Bestselling Free Steampunk Ebook and #1 Bestselling Free Metaphysical and Spiritual Ebook on Amazon
The Laird Returns (Highland Loyalties, Volume 3) by Veronica Bale
Volume three, The Laird Returns, concludes Veronica Bale’s gripping debut Highland Loyalties trilogy.
Tensions rise in the Highlands as the Scots fight for their independence from English tyranny. But amidst the chaos, Robbie MacGillivray and Jane Sewell are able to carve out a sliver of happiness for themselves, however brief and intermittent their time together may be. The odds are against them: he is the dispossessed chief of Clan Gillivray; she is the young, English wife of his enemy, Lord Reginald D’Aubrey, Baron of Dunloch.
Those odds will eventually topple their precariously balanced happiness. Infuriated by the MacGillivray chief’s royal pardon, Lord Reginald will stop at nothing to bring the chief of Clan Gillivray to his death. Caught in the middle of the conflict, Jane must decide, once and for all, where her loyalties lie – with her English King, Edward the Longshanks, or with her love, her Highlander?
And what will she do when the true laird of Dunloch returns?
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.