A Victorian erotic romance, A Delicate Seduction: A Harwell Heirs Legacy Romance is Book Four in the Harwell Heirs series.

Published by Viridium Press, 2023
Purchase ebook: Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada, Amazon Australia
Apple Books * Barnes & Noble/Nook
Eden Books * Google Play
Kobo USA, Kobo Canada, Kobo Australia, Kobo New Zealand, Kobo UK, Kobo Ireland, Kobo South Africa
Everand * Smashwords * Tolino * Books2Read * Request from your local library & read for free!
Purchase paperback: Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Bookshop, The Ripped Bodice
Order from your local bookstore: ISBN 978-0-9978893-9-0

Love is patient… but desire is demanding

Percival Wood, the Marquess of Norrington, is free. His former lover Jack — a blackguard and a brute — is dead. Percival no longer needs to hide. While his father insists Percival take the opportunity to rejoin Society, Percival has other plans. He wants to get away, far away from the traumas of the past.

For years, Bertram Atherley, the Viscount Ravensburgh, had waited on the sidelines, helpless while his cousin Jack had been a cruel beast to his boyhood chum Percival. Now Jack was dead, and Bertram is eager to resume his friendship with Percival. This time, though, Bertram feels something more than mere camaraderie.

At Percival’s behest the two embark on a Grand Tour of sorts, a journey from England to Italy and France. While abroad, friendship blossoms into something more. But trauma and pain have a way of reasserting themselves no matter where one may go. For Percival, physical contact with Bertram dredges up the horrors of his past. But Bertram has waited so long for a chance to woo his boyhood crush and his patience is running out.

Will the two be able to bury the past and embark on a future together in each other’s arms?

A Delicate Seduction is Book 4 in the Victorian erotic romance Harwell Heirs series. The story takes place in 1879, at the same time as Book 1, and is a male-male slow-burn, childhood friends-to-lovers, vacation abroad, historical romance. Interwoven with the romance is a story-within-a-story featuring a pirate hunter and his trusty mate. A Delicate Seduction can be read as a stand-alone; however, the novel is enhanced by first reading The Pleasure Device.

Sexy fun includes: kissing, masturbation, mutual masturbation, frottage, sixty-nine aka topsy-turvy
Tropes include: male-male, slow-burn, childhood friends-to-lovers, boy next door, vacation romance, there’s only one bed, healing emotional wounds

Content Note for A Delicate Seduction

The character of Percival Wood, the Marquess of Norrington, is a survivor of intimate partner violence. The abuse happened prior to the timeline of this novel, and is not described overtly on page. However, past abuse is referenced, and some situations trigger Percival’s memories. For this very reason, the heat level of this book is different than my other works. As the author, I felt compelled to protect Percival. The heat level is best described as a languidly paced, slow-burn sensual romance.

The Harwell Heirs connection

Nicholas, his father, and the butler Mason from The Pleasure Device all make an appearance.

The Harwell Heirs Series

Book 1: The Pleasure Device, Helena and Nicholas’s story
Book 2: Disobedience By Design, Sophia and Joseph’s story
Book 3: Where Destiny Plays, Arthur and Lavinia’s story
The Harwell Heirs Legacy Romances
Book 4: A Delicate Seduction, Percival (Norrington) and Bertram (Ravensburgh)’s story, set in Italy and France
Book 5: Discovering Her Delight, William Peel and Beatrice Smythe’s story, set in Turkey
Book 6: Their Noble Deceit, Percival, Bertram, Penelope Hardcastle, and Lady Viola Pemberton’s story, set in England, France, and Spain

Reviews for A Delicate Seduction

“The author has crafted an engaging period work of love and lust against a European background. The story is evenly paced, and the author is good at building up the ‘will they or won’t they’ tension between Percival and Bertram. … While the work delivers on romance conventions, the vivid setting and refreshing LGBTQ+ content allows the novel to brightly stand out.” — The BookLife Prize

“This was a totally new to me author when I stumbled across this book. The blurb really intrigued me, and I knew I had to read it and I am happy that I did. … The author approaches the sensitive subject matter, the couple’s blossoming romance, and Percival’s wounded heart and bruised soul with a delicate sweetness.” — Gladys, four stars on Goodreads!

A Delicate Seduction Inspiration

What drove me to write A Delicate Seduction? Read my blog post “Inspiration: Romance in the Interstices”.

Check out my Pinterest board with images used as historical research and inspiration for A Delicate Seduction.