Friday, December 18, 2020

Book Tour: GRACE BY CONTRACT by Rachel Rossano

 


  Rachel Rossano is a happily married mother of three children. She spends her days teaching, mothering, and keeping the chaos at bay. After the little ones are in bed, she immerses herself in the fantasy worlds of her books. Tales of romance, adventure, and virtue set in a medieval fantasy world are her preference, but she also writes speculative fantasy and a bit of science fiction.







After her father uproots the family to the northern duchy of Brackenhurst, Grace Eldon and her four younger sisters struggle with a new life of hardship. Desperate to keep a roof over their heads amid mounting debts, she and her youngest sister seek employment in the Duke of Brackenhurst’s household despite fearsome rumors.

Scarred and maimed from a terrible fire Silas Isling, Duke of Brackenhurst, buries himself in his work to avoid the stares of pity and fear. When one of the new maids shows no fear at his appearance, he is intrigued. That is until his meddling steward gives her the task of cleaning Silas’ bookroom. It is a most unwelcome disruption since he prefers to be alone.

While a thief plagues his castle, an old nemesis reappears, and enemies invade in the guise of guests. Amidst the distractions and chaos, Grace brings some unexpected order. Once convinced his scars had stolen all hope for love, Silas finds his life forever changed by the quiet maid. Could she love a scarred Duke?

  
  




This fantasy with its medieval feel to it, Grace Under Contract is an interesting romance full of intrigue and suspense.

Grace’s father, after pulling some shenanigans that put his family in a bad situation, moves his five daughters in the hovel of a home with their grandmother. Instead of working the farm to provide for his family and pay the taxes on the grandmother’s property, he spends most of his income at the local pub. He befriends and becomes beholden to Sir Webb who is after one of the daughters named Beauty. She is beautiful, but not overly intelligent. To cover the tax shortfall, Grace convinces Duke Silas’s steward to agree to a contract of indenture for both her and Beauty—her to cover the debt; Beauty to keep her out of the clutches of Sir Webb.

I enjoyed the growing relationship between Grace and Silas with his scars and disability. Never a dull moment with the vindictive housekeeper, the neighboring duke with political ambitions who wishes to cement a treaty with Silas through marriage with one of his daughters, and the spy who somehow breeches the castle’s defenses to steal food and weaken the duchy from within.

The tension was high, the action was engaging, the romance was sweet, and there were some surprises at the end that made this a must-read story.



1 comment:

  1. Thank you so much for the review! I am so glad you enjoyed it.

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