Read Your Writes Book Reviews: SMELLING DAISIES by Elysia and Mark Stevens ~ Heroine Profile, Excerpt & Giveaway

Smelling Daisies
by: Elysia and Mark Stevens
Genre: Historical Romantic Comedy
Release Date: August 24, 2024
Publisher: Tellwell Talent

Whenever things seem to fall apart around Daisy, romance novels are her way of escaping. When immersed in a novel, she can imagine herself in the story as the lead female character. Still, the difference between her and the typical female character in her novels is that she is not your average damsel in distress.

Daisy was raised by a military father who ensured his daughter knew survival skills and how to protect herself. Following in her beloved father's footsteps, Daisy joined the army and met Justin. Eventually, Daisy's dreams would come true. While on a decompression stop after a deployment overseas, she finds herself at the Lachlan Castle in Scotland. There, she is thrown back in time to the era she loves to read about, but things are nothing like she imagined.

When Daisy befriends a bonnie Scottish lass, she finds herself in a haven under the roof of the girl's brother, a laird named Alick. It becomes clear that the laird is constantly challenged by the many nuances of Daisy's status as a modern-day female soldier as she attempts to navigate the dangerous life in medieval Scotland. While trying her best to fit in, Daisy stumbles upon a psychotic baron named Thomas, who loves to torture women and is fascinated with her.

Both Laird Alick and Baron Thomas want to tame the lioness in Daisy but for different reasons. But Daisy is ill-prepared for medieval love or warfare and must train her heart and head to face what's coming next.

Name: Daisy Dufresne (Evangeline Lilly - Photo from Pinterest)

Age: 27 (18 years old at the beginning of the story)

Physical Description: Brown hair, hazel eyes, slight build, scar above the eye

Occupation: Canadian Armed Forces - Infantry

3 likes in no particular order:

Reading Romance Novels
Eating - on a see-food diet.
Watching The Notebook and crying when nobody is looking

3 dislikes in no particular order:

Ultimatums
Being told what to do
Nasty Barons

Drink of choice: Shirley Temple

Favorite food: Smashed potatoes and gravy

Favorite dessert: Coconut Cream Pie

Favorite song: Space Lord - Monster Magnet

Favorite color: Plaid

Choice of transportation: Two feet and a heartbeat

Most prized possession: Swiss Army Knife

Favorite way to unwind: Watching warheads drop on foreheads

Favorite way to spend an evening: Turning my bathtub into a jacuzzi

Best friend: Mairi Lachlan

Best memory to date: Pranking the highlanders

If you could have a do-over, what would you do differently? I should have only eaten half of the burger!

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Interpretive Dancer (I’m great at charades 😀)

What profession would you not like to do? Mime (I can’t keep my mouth shut long enough 😉)

Most romantic gesture: When Justin, who usually mocks my naughty scenes in my romance novels, had me read my dirty scene out loud, and he acted out the parts from the book

Words to live by: Better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission

Enthralled by my new romance novel, I approached the intricate love scene, and my body reacted. My pupils dilated, my blood heated, and my skin became a lovely pink as butterflies fluttered in my tummy. This was my normal reaction when reading certain parts of my romantic novels, and I feel I wouldn’t have the same reaction if I read a spicy scene in a Penthouse Forum, to which Justin always tried comparing my books. What I feel men don’t realize is that the love scenes in a romance novel are about the journey and not about the destination.

Completely oblivious to what was happening around me, I didn’t notice Justin had stopped watching his movie to sneak behind me and read over my shoulder until I heard him laugh.

Closing my book and placing it on my lap, I looked at him with disappointment that he couldn’t let me have my moment; Turning in my chair to look up at Justin, I asked him in an annoyed tone, “What is so funny?”

He responded, “That would never happen.”

“What do you mean that would never happen? It is romantic and perfect,” I refuted.

My eyes followed Justin as he rounded the chair to kneel in front of me. Then he told me, “Read.”

“No, I am not going to read to you. That would be weird,” I argued.

Taking my foot into his hand, he started to massage it and repeated, “Come on, read.”

I wasn’t sure at first, but I thought, What the heck? Maybe he will learn a thing or two about romance. Finding a spot on the page, I began to read, the words rolling off my tongue like warm honey. To my surprise, Justin began to act out the scene.

Purchase Smelling Daisies from:

(Affiliate Links Used)

Hi, I am Elysia Stevens, and I am a big fan of rom-coms, which should not be a surprise after reading this story. Most would describe me as eccentric in my personality, which really stands out in my choice of attire. I love to wear fun socks, and every Friday I celebrate “Fabio Friday” by wearing a Fabio T-shirt for all to enjoy (luv ya, Fabio!). Thankfully, my husband, Mark Stevens, has a lot of patience because I can’t sit still for more than five minutes at a time and always have my head in the clouds. He has been my partner in life for over eighteen years, and there is nothing we can’t and don’t tackle together. My husband’s taste generally ranges from Stephen King to classic literature, but being the great guy he is, he not only read my rom-com novel but also co-authored it with me! Unfortunately, he still doesn’t understand the appeal of a good naughty scene in a book, but I won’t hold that against him.

Places to find Elysia and Mark Stevens:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Threads | Goodreads

You can follow the Smelling Daisies Book Tour here.