Anna St. ClAire
Usa Today Bestselling Author
Sweet & Sassy Historical Romance
Rakes of Mayhem
The Earl of Excess
RONE FINALIST 2022
A British officer’s life is saved when a young woman and her dog risk their lives and rescue him from beneath dead bodies while trying to escape the New Orleans battlefield before shooting begins.
Welcome to book 1 in the new Rakes of Mayhem series from bestselling author Anna St. Claire!
Colonel Matthew Romney, a favored son of the British military, is gravely wounded during the Battle of New Orleans. With most available British forces dead and his weak pleas for help muffled beneath the dead soldier he lies below, the British report him missing in the aftermath.
Bethany Phillips and her dog visit the Villeré Plantation’s gardens searching for herbs and food and unexpectedly become caught in the crossfire of grapeshot and cannon fire and forced to take cover until the battle ends. When the smoke clears, Bethany follows the sound of a man’s moans and pulls him from beneath a pile of dead soldiers being readied for a mass grave. Bethany saves Matthew’s life but in doing so, threatens her heart and her own life.
Against all odds, sparks fly between Matthew and Bethany. A hired investigator for his father finds Matthew and encourages him to journey home. Matthew and Bethany leave the safety of her home and travel a dangerous path through the wilderness of America and across a ravaged, war-torn ocean to reach his family.
Can their romance survive the dangers and uncertainty that follow them?
Praise from readers
★★★★★ "Having grown up along the bayous south of New Orleans, I find the story telling, the use of the locale and speech, to be rather good. I have seen the reenactment of the Battle of New Orleans and it was indeed a bloody battle for the British. The leprosy colony I grew up knowing and visiting in my nurses training was much further up the Mississippi River. Yellow fever was common back then as well. To have woven these facts through the storyline was good. It gave more depth to the story." ~ Brebre716
★★★★★ "What a wonderful start to a new series! Anna St. Claire has done a fabulous job with this one. An engaging tale of class differences in a time and place where the hero and heroine are on equal ground. Our heroine is strong, resourceful, and independent while our hero is wounded, determined, and more than our heroine thinks he is. Ms. St. Claire's descriptive writing has me imagining myself there in that place and time. Worth more than 5 stars!"~ Dee
★★★★★ "Ms. St. Claire has done a wonderful job of providing us with a distinct view of an often overlooked historty specifically The War of 1812 and especially the aftermath of The Battle of New Orleans. Her characters are rich and engaging while her commitment to historical themes and morays of the times is commendable to say the least. I'd highly recommend her new novel to any who love historical or romance. Well done ma'am, well done indeed." ~ fiddlertrain
★★★★★ Loved the entire story. Well written and entertaining. The characters are engaging and kept your attention. The secondary characters are just as colorful and appealing as the main characters. The storyline keeps your attention and the secondary characters leave you wanting to know more about them. All in all another well executed book. Ps. I love the fact that the author always tries to add a puppy into her stories and Dandie definitely doesn't disappoint !!” ~ Heather
★★★★★ “Anna St. Claire has again brought to life a period in America history that shaped our future with the unlikeliest pair of young hearts . The Earl of Excess presents us with a dutiful young Officer from a land far from the bayous of Louisiana who becomes the charge of a young and resourceful strong woman. Beyond her years, Bethany Phillips follows her sturdy moral compass on a path that changes courses for the dutiful Colonel Matthew Romney and her mission to only see he survived his wounds to that of saving the wishes of her own heart. To successfully complete her mission she must have the guidance of her Grandmere who as the rock in Her life must be consulted. The ensuing journey to complete her tasks forces her to enlist assistance which brings her both favor and mayhem. The conclusion of this ordeal has its twist and reminds us that Wars bring out the best and worse of its participants. This is an entertaining and enjoyable read.” ~ Paula Baldwin