Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Victorian Scoundrel by Stephanie Burkhart (spotlight, review and GIVEAWAY)





                                          

(from ELF....SO sorry to be late!)

Victorian Scoundrel

by Stephanie Burkhart

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BLURB:

It's 2011 and compressed natural gas has taken over from the coal producing steam machines of the Victorian Age. Alice Windsor, Princess of York, follows her mischief-making cousin, Edmund of Wales, back to 1851 where Prince Albert is hosting Britain's Great Exhibition.

Alice soon finds herself over her head in trouble. Edmund is determined to help Prince Albert build a dirigible and the prime minister appears intent in preventing her from stopping Edmund. Alice knows it's too early for the massive flying machine to take to the air. Complicating matters is the passionate Grayson Kentfield, Earl of Swinton. Alice can't stop her pulse from pounding when she's near him.

Can Alice give her heart to a man from the past while working to stop Edmund from changing history?


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EXCERPT

Tired and thirsty, she finally made it to the courtyard. Edmund was nowhere to be found. She should have expected it, really. No doubt he was in the palace filling their great-grandfather's head with forward-thinking ideas. She crossed her arms, staring at the steps. Several carriages waited nearby. No one in their right mind would let her into the palace looking like she did -- like she had just stepped out of the gutter.

"Excuse me, who are you?"

Alice spun around to find herself face-to-face with two gentlemen who stood near one of the waiting carriages. One gentleman was older, Alice guessed in his fifties, one younger. The older gentleman stared at her like she truly was a guttersnipe, but the younger one -- he was tall, with chiseled cheeks and sensitive hazel eyes. His broad chest filled his suit well and he measured her with a cool, appraising look that hinted at... appreciation. An uncomfortable feeling washed over her. Never had a man's stare made her feel so... warm.

"Well?" asked the older gentleman.

Alice straightened her posture with her usual royal dignity and took off her glasses as she always did when she introduced herself. "I am Her Royal Highness, Princess Alice of York."

The men looked at each other, at her, then back at themselves. She wasn't sure if they were befuddled, confused, or wanted to laugh. Finally, the older gentleman spoke. "Princess Alice is seven years old."

Alice bit the inside of her lip, realizing she had totally forgotten where she was due to the younger gentleman's attention. She slid her glasses back on. "Simply call me Alice -- Alice Windsor."

"And you may call me Prime Minister."


BUY LINKS:
AMAZON KINDLE


BARNES & NOBLE NOOK


ALL ROMANCE EBOOKS


PUBLISHER'S BUY LINK


KOBO

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:



 Author Bio: Stephanie Burkhart is a 911 dispatcher for LAPD.  She was born and raised in Manchester, New Hampshire.  After serving 11 years in the US Army she currently calls Castaic, California her home. Stephanie was married in Denmark in 1991 and has two young sons. She adores chocolate, is addicted to coffee and enjoys early morning walks.  She's also an assistant den leader for her son's Cub Scout den and is a Boy Scout mom. She writes paranormal, contemporary, and steampunk romance and has two children's books published with 4RV Publishing.

FIND ME ON THE WEB AT:

WEBSITE

TWITTER

FACEBOOK

GOODREADS

YOUTUBE CHANNEL

PINTEREST



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GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here 


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REVIEW




Victorian Scoundrel by Stephanie Burkhart is Book One in ‘The Windsor Diaries’ series and is an intriguing look at the conundrum of time travel with the added twist of an alternate past being explored.  Edmund Windsor and Alice Windsor are royalty in 2011 but have the invaluable opportunity to interact with their forebears in 1851 but Alice is attempting to make sure that her cousin Edmund does not substantially change history, only to fall afoul of the dreaded potential paradox herself.  Grayson Kentfield, Earl Swinton develops a fascination for the unusual female, Alice, but his suspicions about her and Edmund are almost too fantastical for him to accept.  He will have to balance his obligations to his country and the desires of his heart but unfortunately, time may be his enemy.

This steampunk romance blends fact and fantasy in an enjoyable tale.  There are interesting quirks such as the use of ‘whuzzies’ which allow messages to be exchanged once the owner’s scent is known, a heroine who has overcome a significant learning disability, and a search using magic and science for alternative fuel sources.  I was a little surprised that there didn’t seem to be any difficulty with the cousins sharing a hotel room despite being opposing sexes but I have to admire the tenacity and daring that allows them to travel to the past and experience history firsthand.  The reader should be reminded that this is the first in a series and the story ends on a bit of a cliffhanger but it is a fun and exciting tale that will stir one’s imagination and whet the appetite for more adventures involving these intriguing characters.

38 comments:

  1. Hey Stephanie! Good to see you again :) I gotta say, I love steampunk even more than paranormal so I'm really excited for this one!

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    1. Thank you for visiting, Andra Lyn, hope you enjoy the story!

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it, Rita. Thank you for taking the time to visit!

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  3. thanks for the great excerpt :) Congrats on the new release!

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    1. You are very welcome, thank you for visiting, erin!

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  4. Love the excerpt. Thanks for sharing and good luck on this book and all your future ones.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it, I think it's a fun story. Thanks for visiting, Diane.

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  5. After a bad reading experience with my first steampunk book, I ready to try another one. One that someone says is good ;-) I picked other at random. SMH.

    Victorian Scoundrel sounds pretty. I like the idea of whuzzies. Thanks for sharing the excerpt and your thoughts.

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    1. Sorry to hear that, Tallulah. I hope that this one is more to your tastes. If you would like other recommendations, please send me an e-mail (elelwkf1@yahoo.com) and I will tell you of others that I enjoyed as well. Thank you for visiting.

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    2. Great! I'll take you up on your offer.

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    3. I'll keep an eye out for it!

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  6. Never read Steampunk before, but this sounds like a really good book. Might have to try the genre--Rae

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    1. They can be fun and quirky, Rae, I hope you try this one or another in the genre. Thank you for visiting.

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  7. You are welcome, my apologies for adding to your headaches by posting late!

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  8. Sounds like an interesting book

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    1. It was, both fun and thought-provoking. Thanks for visiting, bn.

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    1. Good, then it's done its job, lol. Thank you for visiting, Mary!

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  10. I love time travel stories and this one sounds like an outstanding story and a whole lot of fun. I'm seeing shades of Back to the Future trilogy here! You are a new-to-me author so I will enjoy following your tour to discover more about you and your books.

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    1. Funny, I don't usually like time travel stories as much as others but this one was intriguing. Thank you for stopping by, Karen.

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  11. I haven't read any steampunk stories before, this one sounds like a good place to start.

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    1. Definitely, Theresa. This should whet your appetite for the genre and fortunately there are several stories in this series available! Thanks for visiting.

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  12. I love the Victorian ages, this sounds like a great book,

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    1. I am not as familiar with these events so this was an education for me. Thank you for visiting, collenga!

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  13. Thank you everyone who visited. I apologize that I'm late getting here. I was off work yesterday but had a ton of errands to catch up on.

    Thanks so much for having me here and I'm glad you enjoyed the story. Steampunk is a fun genre to write because you can have so much fun with your imagination.

    Any questions, just ask.
    Smiles
    Steph

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    1. Hi Stephanie! You have my sympathies if you are trying to do errands in our sweltering weather. Thanks for your service and I look forward to reading the other stories in your fun series. I wondered if your sons were old enough to read and enjoy these stories?

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    2. ELF, my sons are 12 and 7. My 7 year old is reading Magic TreeHouse and the "Who is/was" series. He has a speech/language delay and misarticulation problems so he's a little young. My 12 year old is a better reader. There are "mainstream" love scenes in the stories, (not many, I try not to be gratitiuous) but he's not ready to tackle that. He's more a Percy Jackson type reader. Romance isn't his thing now. LOL!! When he's ready, I'd be up for letting him read them. I do have 2 children's books out, "The Giving Meadow, and "First Flag of New Hampshire," which my boys have read and enjoyed. Thanks for asking!

      Smiles
      Steph Burkhart
      Romance Under the Moonlight

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  14. Great review. Sounds like a great read

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    1. Thanks, Crystal! I appreciate your coming by to visit.

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    2. Crystal, thanks for popping in. :)
      Steph

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  15. What a great review. I love Stephanie's books! Great post!

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    1. Thank you for the compliment and for taking the time to visit, Melissa!

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    2. Melissa,
      It's always nice to see you visit. Thanks for stopping by. I'm so glad you enjoy the stories.
      Smiles
      Steph

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  16. I love historical books, so I'm looking forward to read this one.

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    1. I hope you enjoy it, Irma, it's a fun story. Thank you for visiting!

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    2. Irma, thanks for stopping by. I had a lot of fun with Alice and Edmund.
      Smiles
      Steph

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