Excerpt + GIVEAWAY: Letters Take the Lady by Anna Valleria

 

LETTERS TAKE THE LADY

Anna Valleria

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Genre: Historical Romance Release Date: September 10, 2025 Buy Link: Amazon

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BLURB

Antigone Sprague, the spirited daughter of a gentleman scholar, has no patience for arrogant lords. So when she meets the reserved and bitingly clever Lord Michael Northram, she’s immediately put off by his condescending manner. She has no idea that he is utterly captivated.

Tongue-tied and overwhelmed by a passion he doesn’t understand, Michael can only confess his feelings in secret poems never meant to see the light of day. But when Antigone begins receiving those very poems from a charming and ambitious suitor, she believes she’s found the man who understands her soul. Believing he has lost her forever, a heartbroken Michael accepts a diplomatic mission to America, unaware that the woman he loves has actually fallen for his words.

Years later, his return to England ignites a shocking reunion and an undeniable spark. But their second chance is built on a foundation of lies. When the truth of the letters emerges, it exposes a scheme of shocking deception, and her spurned suitor reveals a desperate and dangerous side, threatening her very freedom. To win her trust, Michael must finally bridge the gap between the poet on the page and the man by her side, proving he is the hero she’s always deserved.

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EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT

As she sat, she played with a letter in her hands that had been delivered ages ago, but she had been too lost in her thoughts to notice it. She glanced down at the letter, realizing it might be from Sir Trevathan from the seal, and she opened it and read: 

I shall not compare thee to a summer’s day. 

For thou art far more enduring than she. 

Much more like the morning star... 

As she read, she felt the back of her neck prickle as if she experienced almost the opposite sense of stepping out of time. It was as if she were meant to read these particular words at this particular moment, as though they were meant to unlock something unknown inside of her.

She read the letter three times. She turned it over and it was signed in ornate script, different from the writing on the front: AT.

“Ambrose Trevathan.” She murmured.

No one had ever written her anything like this. It wasn’t a perfect sonnet, but somehow, she felt as if the author saw the real her, or at least the person she wanted to be, rather than the one she presented to society. While she had received a few lines from gentleman about her shining black hair or graceful form, there is a difference to a lady between general and specific poetry, just like the difference between a general and specific compliment. The poem she had just received made very little mention of beauty, but somehow it made her feel like a lantern on the darkest, coldest night t was as if she was on the precipice of something enormous, a direction her life could take. In that moment, she began to allow herself to think of Sir Trevathan not just as lovely gentleman with whom she had shared a romantic dance, but as someone who could be her partner.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Anna Valleria writes historical romance that is sweet with steam. Her stories have been praised for their rich, realistic tone and aching romanticism, reminiscent of classic romance novels. She crafts deeply layered characters, like the honorable heroes and resilient heroines in her Victorian Historical Rogues Fall First series, that will remind you why you fell in love with romance in the first place. Anna was also a runner-up in Dragonblade Publishing's 2024 "Write Track" Writing Contest, soon to be seen in the Tales of Timeless Love Vol. 4. 

A lifelong lover of coffee and writing in cafes, she finds inspiration in the historic city that she lives in.

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Website: http://www.annavalleriabooks.com

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GIVEAWAY

Anna Valleria will be awarding a $15 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner!