If you’re looking for a fun, sweet, and witty Regency romance, look no further! Rosalyn Eves’ An Unlikely Proposition was released this week, and it is a charming new young adult novel—perfect for readers who love Georgette Heyer or Bridgerton.
An Unlikely Proposition is a companion book to An Improbable Season, making it book two in the Unexpected Seasons series. But the new novel is a standalone work of fiction (so you don’t have to read book one). It is a lovely, lighthearted read about two young women dealing with new loves and friendships.
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In celebration of the book’s release, we’ve joined a book tour to help promote it! So, find out more about the historical fiction book and read the enjoyable excerpt below.
OFFICIAL BOOK DESCRIPTION OF AN UNLIKELY PROPOSITION
A standalone companion to An Improbable Season, this Regency romance — perfect for fans of Bridgerton — is about following your heart, pursuing your dreams, and falling head over heels in love.
Eleanor did not come to London to be proper and boring. After the death of her husband and a year of mourning, the seventeen year old wants nothing more than her independence and to have a little fun. She’s hardly looking to remarry, despite pressures from her late husband’s nephew, who is keen on obtaining her inheritance. Eleanor quickly devises a plan that includes a fake engagement. What’s not a part of the plan? Falling for a dashing, quiet man outside of her social circle – a man who is not her betrothed. Can she survive the Season with her heart and her fortune intact?
Thalia is determined to begin afresh after a disastrous first Season in London. No romantic distractions, but only her work as a poet and newfound companion to Eleanor. Determined to get her poems published, she struggles to be taken seriously as a female writer. As the spring progresses, Thalia does not expect to take interest in a man from her past (a man who is engaged to her employer, no less!), but some feelings demand to be felt even if the timing isn’t quite right.
Rosalyn Eves’s An Unlikely Proposition is a transportive Regency drama that captures the sparkle of London, thrill of friendship, and swoon of new love.
AN UNLIKELY PROPOSITION EXCERPT
Mr. Smythe-Hampton turned to Eleanor. “I have no such improper intentions, I swear to you. Only the most honorable.” He reached out as though to take her hand, and Eleanor, who had no desire to be proposed to in a jewelry store (or anywhere, really), put both hands behind her back.
Clearly, nothing but plain speaking would serve here.
Or perhaps . . . Smiling shyly up at Mr. Smythe-Hampton, Eleanor said, “Oh, do you mean to propose to me? Well, I own it would be such a relief to have my future settled. I suppose you are very rich?”
Eyes bugging slightly, Mr. Smythe-Hampton said, “I—but you are so wealthy, surely it doesn’t signify whether I am or not?”
A fortune hunter then. Had Mr. Lockhart set him on her?
“Oh, but don’t you know? My late husband set a rather unfortunate condition to his will: I am to have the majority of his estate, but only until I marry, at which point the estate reverts to his nephew, and I am to have a small jointure, enough to cover pin money. Dear Albert did not want me to marry someone who only wanted my money. But you must love me, to wish to marry me despite all?”
Mr. Smythe-Hampton’s face was white beneath the brim of his hat. “I said nothing about marriage. I am afraid you must have misunderstood me. Good day, Mrs. Lockhart.” He wheeled about and exited the store so swiftly, he tripped over the threshold.
. . .
“You did not seem surprised to see Mr. Smythe-Hampton.”
Miss Blakesley said, “Such a nice boy. I am sorry you did not like him.”
“How did he know where to find us?”
Miss Blakesley looked out the carriage window and fiddled with a handkerchief. “Whatever could you mean?”
“You told him where I meant to be, did you not?”
Miss Blakesley was silent for a long moment, her only movement the handkerchief twisting between her fingers.
“Do not be angry, dear Eleanor. I always had a weakness for romance.”
“If I marry,” Eleanor said, “I would no longer have need of a companion. Do you care so little for your position?”
“Oh, but surely your husband would—”
“I have no idea what my hypothetical husband would do,” Eleanor said. “I will have no control of my finances or my staff, once I marry.”
“Oh, but Mr. Lockhart promised—” Miss Blakesley fell silent, one gloved hand going to her mouth as though she’d said more than she meant.
“Mr. Lockhart promised to secure your position if you helped him?” Eleanor hazarded.
Miss Blakesley did not respond, which Eleanor took as confirmation.
She steeled herself. “You have reported on my movements to him for some time, have you not? And I think this is not the first suitor you have tipped off.”
“Slang, Eleanor!” How Miss Blakesley could contrive to look offended when it was she who had misbehaved, Eleanor could not fathom. “The ton will think you belong to a lower class if you speak so.”
“Then perhaps it is good I am not a true lady, so we may speak frankly. Miss Blakesley, I told you this morning that I would not brook interference from my companion, and so I shan’t.”
“Oh, but you cannot dismiss me! Please, Eleanor, where would I go?”
To Mr. Lockhart, Eleanor wanted to say, but she knew too well the terrifying feeling of an uncertain financial future to wish that on Miss Blakesley, no matter how irritating the woman was. She took a slow breath. “For the love Albert bore you, I will continue to pay you a stipend, but you cannot stay with me. I will write to hire a new companion at once, and when she arrives, you may go wherever you like so long as it is not here.”
“Oh, but Eleanor—”
Eleanor turned to look out the window as Miss Blakesley poured out a litany of grievances mingled with tears. Really, perhaps this was for the best. Eleanor meant to enjoy herself in London, and it was rather hard to do so when her every move was criticized or strategized against. A young companion, that’s what she needed. Enough to satisfy the gossips but not enough to hobble her.
And she really ought to do something to put off all the suitors who saw her only as a naive, rich young widow, ripe for the taking.
Chapter 1, pages 15-18
ABOUT ROSALYN EVES
Rosalyn Eves grew up in the Rocky Mountains, dividing her time between reading books and bossing her siblings into performing her dramatic scripts. As an adult, the telling and reading of stories is still one of her favorite things to do. She is the author of the historical fantasy trilogy Blood Rose Rebellion and Beyond the Mapped Stars. When she’s not reading, writing, or teaching writing at Southern Utah University, she enjoys spending time with her chemistry professor husband and three children, watching British period pieces, or hiking.
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PURCHASE THE BOOK
You can find the purchase links on the official Macmillan Book Page for An Unlikely Proposition.
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