A Match Made in Autumn is Here!

After more than a year in the making, A Match Made in Autumn, is finally here! Today, the series starts with the release of The Duke of My Desire by Sylvie Sinclair. A new novella will be released every week until the end of October.

Do you adore a second-chance romance and the cosy vibes of autumn?

Then look no further.

From the Scottish Isles to English shipyards, the streets of London and country villages, enjoy these sensual stories of love amidst the falling leaves.

What’s a second-chance romance?

The second-chance romance can encompass two scenarios.

The more traditional story plot features 2 people who share a past connection, separate, spend time apart and later reunite to try to love each other again. In historical romance couples may have been separated by miscommunication, betrayal, duty or social pressures.

The second-chance trope can also be expanded to include individuals who may have been unlucky in a previous love, but have a second chance to find happiness with someone new. In historical romance the ‘unlucky’ element is often the result of the death of a spouse.

My favourite part of the more traditional second-chance trope is when the former lovers meet again for the first time. I just adore the surge of feelings (be they happiness or hatred) and the tension of that first meeting.

To celebrate the launch of A Match Made in Autumn, here are a couple of excerpts from the series featuring that first ‘reunion’ meeting.

Stay Here Forever

by Andie James

Coming 2nd October

She’s done waiting for love—then the last person she expects walks back into her life

At the tender age of nineteen, Audrey Jacobs fell head over heels in love. Soon after, the desire to explore before settling down saw her beloved, Rufus, set out on his Grand Tour with Audrey’s blessing. But now, eleven years later, she realizes that waiting on his promise to return has turned into wasting away. With Rufus still absent, her eyes are opened to the reality that the world regards her as a sad, abandoned spinster.

Lucas Kent harbored feelings for his friend Felix’s sister, Audrey, but witnessing her fall for another, he let her go before leaving the country to take up a diplomatic post on the Continent. Now, a decade later, Luke returns to London—worn down after the Peninsular wars and grieving. Freshly widowed and still reeling from all he’s experienced; Luke needs to find renewed purpose.

As Audrey and Luke begin to rebuild their lives, a chance meeting connects them once again, taking both by surprise. But while friendship blooms between them, the relationship is quickly challenged when past secrets and family betrayals come to light.

Neither is looking for love after experiencing heartbreak, but it might be just what they both need to move forward. Can they resolve their complicated feelings, both old and new, before it’s too late for a second chance at love?

Excerpt

“Miss Jacobs?”

Audrey looked up, startled by the masculine voice drawing her out of her thoughts. A man stood before her, just to her right. He must have come up the path. There was a bend not far from where she was perched that would have obscured his approach.

He looked familiar, but she was too thrown by his sudden presence to immediately place him, though he clearly knew her. He was handsome. Deep brown eyes with lines extending from the corners, hinting at a kindness, or at least a propensity to smile, were the first thing Audrey noticed. Tanned skin suggested he’d been in climes other than England. And mussy, light brown hair gleamed in the late-afternoon light.

“I don’t mean to presume, my apologies if you are no longer Miss Jacobs, but I am not familiar with your current address.” A shy smile accompanied his admission, and sudden recognition came with a flush of fondness.

“Mr. Kent,” she said, rising from the bench to greet him properly. A warmth filled her seeing this man she had not seen or thought of since Rufus entered her life before her. Long-abandoned memories came rushing back—the weeks he’d spent assisting Felix after her father passed, leaving her brother to assume the baronetcy. He had been such a kind man, the level head Felix needed to help him sort through everything related to the estate. But Mr. Kent seemed bound for diplomatic life. Had he been away all this time?

“You are correct, it is still Miss Jacobs,” she offered after realizing she’d been staring without saying anything for too long. “How lovely to see you again after all this time.”

“And you. I can hardly comprehend running into you at this moment, no one else appears to be in the park. But it’s wonderful to see you.”

There was so much warmth in his smile and genuine delight in his tone. Audrey could tell that he was happy to see her and not simply offering polite sentiments. And she was pleased to have his company, feeling instantly at ease in his presence even though after a decade—he was practically a stranger.

“Won’t you please join me?” Audrey gestured to the bench behind her, wishing to prolong the moment.

The Rogue and the Viscountess

by Misty Urban

Coming 9th October

He’s either her kidnapper, or he’s saving her life.

Prunella Price is done with marriage. Her husband died over a foolish bet, and now his debts are haunting her. The best Prunella can hope for is a quiet life as a slightly scandalous widow. But when the man claiming to hold her ex-husband’s debts sets out to claim the fortune Prunella doesn’t have, her life is at stake—unless the rogue who kidnapped her before can make her disappear.

The first time Pete Wilkins held Prunella Price in his arms, he knew no other woman would fit him the way she does. Since then, his entire life has been upended. He has a new home, a new title, a new estate, and new burdens. But when Prunella is hunted by the criminal Pete once worked for, he’s the only man who can save her.

A rogue could never claim a viscountess. A hostage shouldn’t fall for her kidnapper. But the man with a past and the woman with no future can only cling to each other if they want to escape the shadow that hounds their steps…and the passion that threatens to overwhelm them both.

Excerpt

It was astonishing to think how narrow the bounds of her life had been. Here, with the hills of the Cotswolds in the distance and the bucolic views of farmland and pasture and forests and sheep, Prunella was realizing how little she’d been exposed to, really. How lacking her life was in adventure.

A man’s voice sounded outside on the road, a deep bass voice, and the back of Prunella’s neck prickled. She knew that voice, without being able to place how she knew it.

The door to the carriage opened, and Prunella blinked. An enormous man stood framed against the afternoon light. A bear of a man. A great, brawny beast of a man. His mouth opened in surprise, and the gap between his front teeth gave him away.

“You!” Prunella cried.

“And you yourself,” he rumbled in return.

Then he slammed the door shut.

A burst of conversation ensued, not in English. Welsh, she thought, though she didn’t understand a single word.

The door opened. “Where’s th’other?” he demanded, speaking English now.

“Who?”

Her mind had halted, routed in confusion. What was he doing here? Was she imagining things?

Her thoughts galloped off like startled sheep. She was going mad. She had thought too much of being held in his arms, that strange, brief moment of enjoying a safety she had never known. She might be faint with hunger and in need of a mid-day nuncheon and hallucinating.

There was no mistaking the jut of that brow, the lock of tousled brown hair that fell across his forehead, or the stone-hewn square of his jaw.

“The old crow,” he clarified.

“Lydia? I mean, the Dowager Viscountess Penrydd.”

“Not here?”

“It’s just me.”

“Aight, come along then.”

“I am not going anywhere with you,” Prunella said with all the indignation she could muster, even though she battled the insane urge to throw herself at him and see if he would catch her.

“Oh, have it that way, then.” He rolled his eyes.

And the next thing she knew, Prunella was in his arms again. Though she’d revisit the moment many times in her mind, trying to sort how it had happened, she’d never actually recall. Had he grasped her arm and simply hauled her out of the carriage as if she were as light as one of those seed pods decorating the hedgerows? Had she launched herself at him in truth, so startled at the reappearance of this man who haunted her dreams?

The result was, a flurry of movement threw her off balance, there was a blaze of light as she went from the dark confines of the chaise to the bright afternoon sun, and she could manage no more than a breathless squawk because an enormous shoulder was pressing into her midsection. An arm the size of an oaken timber fastened across the backs of her thighs, one hand clamped on her rump—he was touching her backside—and a great swoop of terror held her immobile. He was going to drop her. She was going to faint.

“Put. Me. Down,” Prunella gasped.

Beneath the Harvest Moon

My contribution to the series will be the next release on 18th September.

I’ve already posted my reunion scene.

We really hope you enjoy these second-chance novellas. You can also listen to us discuss second-chance romances in historical romance on the First Encounter podcast.

Bonus Episode—A Match Made in Autumn – YouTube