THE SCHOOLMASTER'S DAUGHTER by Naomi Laeuchli ~ Guest Post & Giveaway

The Schoolmaster’s Daughter
by: Naomi Laeuchi
Genre: Regency Romance
Release Date: February 19, 2024

Deep in debt and desperate for a solution, Julius Claydon knows that marrying a wealthy woman is his only hope. When he meets the beautiful and rich Clara Haughton in Bath, he believes she could be his salvation, but there's one obstacle in his path: Lydia Cray, Clara's sharp-witted and penniless companion.

When Lydia quickly sees through his fortune-hunting motives, Julius proposes an alliance. He will help secure her future if she helps him secure Clara's heart.

But Lydia is not all she appears to be, and she has a plan of her own: to teach him a lesson he won't soon forget. But her scheming soon leads to unforeseen consequences for them both.

Can love spring from deception?

I'm a romance reader. But I've never read Regency/Historical romance. Why should a contemporary romance lover give Regency romance a try?

There’s are number of things I love about stories set in the regency era. One thing is the obstacles. Part of the enjoyment of a good romance is seeing how characters overcome the obstacles that are in the way of their happily ending.

Regency romance is set in a time with very strict social order and norms. These aren’t all bad but some of them do offer unique obstacles for the characters. You can still have misunderstandings, characters who don’t know their own heart, characters who have to learn about themselves and each other, but it’s within this context of being bound by these strict rules of society. People have to behave a certain way or face steep consequences. They have fewer options. The world is smaller. This means that characters have to push harder and fight more if they want to break out of the molds they’re being shoved into. Or it can be interesting to see how they navigate those consequences when they break the rules.

The romance is also often focused on subtext. There are strict rules of what can be said and how much can be said between members of the opposite sex. Declarations of love are not casually made. Feelings are usually only hinted at. The main characters are often in a metaphorical (and usually at least once per book a literal!) dance with each other, feeling one another out, in ways that always keep me glued to the page.

Finally, there’s a grace and elegance in the way of life as it’s portrayed in the genre. From the clothes and balls to the manners and decorum. There’s the idea of a gentleman and a lady, and what those roles entail of proper behavior, morality, and ethics that make is a world that’s a pleasure to visit.

He fetched them both a glass. “Now, tell me. How goes our business?”

“Do we have a business? I thought we had a scheme.”

“Business sounds more honorable.”

“Do you care about honor?”

He frowned and opened his mouth to retort, and then noticed her expression. Her voice might be serious, but her face was laughing, and her eyes glinted gaily. She was, he thought, very hard not to laugh along with. And so he did. “Touche,” he said. “Scheme it shall be.”

“Well then, our scheme is going quite nicely. Clara was in raptures over your care of William and Margaret. She said she had never known a man could have such a natural affinity with children.”

He grimaced. “Maybe as a rule we can’t, but we can have a natural affinity with rogues and ruffians and those two were equal parts of both.”

“I wouldn’t tell her that,” she replied thoughtfully. “It would probably not go over very well.”

“She can’t actually think those children are well behaved?”

“She thinks they are naturally high-spirited and that high spirits in children must not be checked.”

“William at least, if not checked, is likely to end up on the gallows. Margaret may even join him there. And I shall watch with pleasure.”

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Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Naomi Laeuchli has lived overseas in nine different countries on three different continents where her family was posted with the American Foreign Service. In November 2012 she moved from the Democratic Republic of the Congo back to the states and currently lives in Arizona with five horses. She works as a freelance writer and part time at the local library. She has written several interactive stories for Choice of Games, Tales, and Dorian.

Places to find Namoi Laeuchi:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

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