Regency Romance outside the London Ballroom: Cathy Maxwell and The Devil’s Heart

Hi friends! Today we’ve got Kim visiting with us. 🙂 She’s been a long time visitor to the blog, and I also believe she’s a “wrangler” for Cathy Maxwell. So if you get Ms. Maxwell’s newsletter, yes, she’s that Kim. 😀 Or I’m just wrong, overtired and cranky from missing RT. Your pick. 😉

Regency Romance outside the London Ballroom: Cathy Maxwell and The Devil’s Heart

I am an unabashed fan of Downton Abbey. The Edwardian ensemble is a visual treat – the house, the village, and the countryside – sights fans would not see if the melodrama took place in a London Ballroom. The Ballroom is the center of most Regency Romances … and that’s why I appreciate when an author takes to the countryside. Cathy Maxwell not only takes to the countryside, she delivers readers to the soul of Scotland, the Highlands, in The Devil’s Heart, Book Three in the Chattan Curse:

They call her the Unattainable. Lady Margaret Chattan spurned every suitor for her hand, vowing never to marry. The only way to break the curse plaguing her family for two centuries is this ultimate sacrifice. But now her brothers’ lives are in danger. Determined to save them, she risks her very soul by traveling into the heart of the highlands to battle a force that has transcended time.

Heath Macnachtan is not superstitious. Laird of the most independent, nonconforming, madly infuriating clan ever to grace Scotland, he believes he has his hands full. And then, a woman lauded as one of the most beautiful in England, arrives on his doorstep with wild accusations and a mystical quest . . . one that just might help him discover who murdered his own brother.

But the real danger for Heath and Margaret is not a supernatural foe, but a very real love that could destroy them both.

I have traveled to Scotland and scoured the Highlands for crumbling castles. I have sat in quiet solitude as the wind whistled through the romantic ruins, breathing life into the stones that have witnessed a violent history. Maxwell captures the majesty, mystery, and magic of the Highlands in The Devil’s Heart. But it’s more than countryside, it’s the characters. Lady Margaret Chattan abandons London society to confront a long dead witch. Heath Macnachtan transforms from Naval Officer to unexpected laird of a poor clan. Together, they find love against all odds … the thrilling climax requires a box of tissues.

Check out an excerpt for The Devil’s Heart on Cathy’s website at cathymaxwell.com. Follow on Twitter @maxwellcathy and Facebook at the Cathy Maxwell Fan Page.

I would like to share The Devil’s Heart with one commenter here at A Little Bit Tart, A Little Bit Sweet.

I guess the question comes down to me, because I like having substance to comments. I find it more interesting. So my question is – or slew of questions but you can pick your favorite to answer (or all of them!): do you have a favorite setting for books? Have you ever been to Scotland? Or a Regency themed ball? Ever read a book set somewhere that you then desperately wanted to visit?

Or just say how your weekend is going. (If you’re at RT, I don’t wanna hear it, unless you’re going to send me something. E.g. my favorite author. ;))

20 thoughts on “Regency Romance outside the London Ballroom: Cathy Maxwell and The Devil’s Heart

  1. Timitra

    Historicals set in Scotland have definitely made me want to visit there, I haven’t so far but I’m still hopeful that I get to visit one day.

    Reply
  2. jeannemiro

    Hi Limecello!

    I’m definitely with you and bummed out I couldn’t go to RT AGAIN this year! I’ve wanted to for years but work keeps getting in the way.

    Loving Cathy’s books is so easy to do especially if you’re like me the Highland calls to you and it’s also my favorite setting for books. I was fortunate to have earned a trip to Scotland for my husband from my job at the time and when we were there he finally understands why the home of my ancestors calls to me.

    Since he’s a Master Stone Mason (as well as not only a Mason but a Knights Templar) he also now has even more respect for those who went before him and loved the wonderful castles and stone walls that dotted the countryside.

    Since you didn’t get a chance to go to RT maybe you’ll be able to visit Scotland to make up for it!

    Reply
  3. Annwitch

    I too am a Downton Abbey fan. I love reading historicals and being transported to different times and countries. I would love to visit England and Scotland, but it will have to wait until the kids are out of college and the weddings paid for, hopefully I will still be young enough to travel, lol

    Reply
  4. Kim in Hawaii

    Aloha! Funny that I don’t get Cathy’s newsletter … so maybe there is another Kim?!? My first RT was Daytona/2006. I was new to romance … what a way to be baptised by fire! But I sought out Cathy Maxwell at the convention .. and we have been buddies since then. I may be a “wrangler” but I am a fan girl to the heart!

    Reply
  5. Mary Preston

    I love DOWNTON ABBEY.

    I’m actually happy with wherever a book is set. I just need it to be totally appropriate.

    Scotland is on my travel wish list. One day maybe.

    Reply
  6. LSUReader

    I have been to Scotland, which I loved. But I’ve not yet visited London. Because I read so many historical romances set there (and for other reasons, of course) I’d love to visit.

    I’ve never been to RT, but it sure sounds like fun. Thanks for visiting today, Kim.

    Reply
  7. Linda

    I don’t have a favourite setting for books, it’s the story & characters which are more important. I’d love to be able (to afford to!) visit Scotland. It sounds like such a beautiful country – not to mention the hunky Scots with their charming brogue :p

    A weeper climax – it’s got to be a good book!

    Reply
  8. Sebella Blue

    I like historicals set in Scotland or Ireland. Something just resonates in me with these settings. In a contemporary I prefer the U.S. I really would like to visit Ireland and see some of the places where my favorite characters have told their stories.

    Reply
  9. maybe

    Kim, I really have to start reading this book because you rave about Cathy so much… 3 times in one day! 🙂

    I went to Scotland 10 yrs ago. It was cold… BUT I love the castles… although I wouldn’t want to live there…. Canada is more than cold enough for me!

    Reply
  10. Tina B

    Lol, Kim.
    I am a huge fan of Scottish Historicals. It is on my bucket list to visit someday. I don’t know that I have a favorite setting because whenever I read these type of books, no matter where they are in the country, I have a desire to hop on a plane and check them out. 🙂
    Now, if I only had the money to do so.
    I love the balls as well, but I am afraid that I would stick out like a sore thumb because I am definitely more clumsy than graceful. 😉 My favorite balls are the masked ones. I think it is the whole mystery behind it. No one knows who you are, so you can be yourself without any repercussions.
    Great post.

    Reply
  11. Diane Sallans

    I was in Scotland once many years ago and would love to get back there and travel around at my leisure. Love books set there and am drawn to tv shows and movies set there like ‘Monarch of the Glen’ and even the newest James Bond ‘Skyfall’ had some scenes filmed in the highlands.
    Wouldn’t it be fun to attend a Regency Themed Ball! If only I knew how to waltz or do any of those other dances they do – the closest I’ve come is some square dancing many years ago.

    Reply
  12. Jane

    Kim is an awesome lady. I haven’t been to Scotland or attended a Regency themed ball yet. Some of my favorite settings include NYC, England, San Francisco and New Orleans.

    Reply
  13. Diane P. Diamond

    I love my settings for Regency romance, to be in London. For some reason, it makes it seem more realistic, especially in the story where they are balls being held during the season. At that time, there were so many balls being held, and it was easier for people to travel from one ball to another. It’s much easier to do that in the city, rather than in the country, where one would have to travel great distances.

    I’ve been to Scotland, and I absolutely adored it. I wandered around Culloden, and was able to picture in my mind, the battle that transpired there, with so many lives lost. Such sad images!!

    Thank you for this opportunity to win Cathy’s latest book, which I would love to read.

    Reply
  14. Barbara E.

    I don’t really have a favorite setting for books, although I do really like English house parties out in the country and a Scottish setting is always nice. I’ve never been to Scotland, but my dream trip is to visit Great Britain, including all the countries that make up GB. So, the question of have I read a book set somewhere I desperately want to visit, yes! Everything set anywhere in Great Britain. 😀

    Reply
  15. Maria

    Hello, I’m a new historical romance reader (since Nov. 2011) but have reading them as fast as I find and discover a new author. I’ve been a Jane Austen student for over 20 years so I suppose it’s natural that I began to read historical romance set in England in Austen’s time. But I’ve also enjoyed the Victorian time period as well (Sherry Thomas) and Edwardian (Laura Lee Guhrke). I also just picked up Donna Thorland’s The Turncoat (set in Revolutionary Philadelphia). I would love nothing more than to visit Jane Austen’s England someday, a JASNA (Jane Austen Society of North America) annual conference, and also an RT convention. Need time and must get over hating to fly. 🙂

    Reply
  16. Janie McGaugh

    My favorite settings for historicals are Scotland and Regency England. I have been to Scotland (about 30 years ago), loved it, and would love to go back.

    Reply
  17. Cathy P

    I love romance books that are set in England and Scotland. I have never been to either of them, and would love to go to a masked ball. I love Cathy’s books.

    Reply
  18. Pingback: Some Fun + Some Winners | A Little Bit Tart, A Little Bit Sweet

Join the conversation!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.