Meet a duke and a beauty in

Kristi Ann Hunter’s

historical romance

An Inconvenient Beauty

Bethany House

*****

The Story

Griffith, Duke of Riverton, likes order, logic, and control, and he naturally applies this rational approach to his search for a bride. He’s certain Miss Frederica St. Claire is the perfect wife for him, but while Frederica is strangely elusive, he can’t seem to stop running into her stunningly beautiful cousin, Miss Isabella Breckenridge.

Isabella should be enjoying her society debut, but with her family in difficult circumstances, her uncle will only help them if she’ll use her beauty to assist him in his political aims. Already uncomfortable with this agreement, the more she comes to know Griffith, the more she wishes to be free of her unfortunate obligation.

Will Griffith and Isabella be able to set aside their pride and face their fears in time to find their own happily-ever-after?

Introducing Griffith & Isabella

Griffith, Duke of Riverton

Physical Description

Griffith is a big guy. He’s tall and broad, which makes him a bit awkward in crowded situations like ballrooms. Like the rest of the Hawthorne family, Griffith is blond with green eyes.

Resembles

While the eyes are a different color, Griffith’s appearance was based off of Chris Hemsworth.

Strengths and Weaknesses

As can often be the case, Griffith’s greatest strength and weakness are the same thing – his logic. Griffith thinks things through, makes plans, and executes them. Life, however, doesn’t always make sense, especially because God works in ways we can never expect or understand. So while brains and logic can solve a lot of problems, expecting everything to follow your well thought out plan can mean you get caught off guard when the human element comes into play.

Quirk

Griffith likes order. He sets his tea cup down just so, always leaves a door open a hands width when he enters a room, straightens pictures, and likes things to remain how he put them.

Your inspiration for the character

I am emotional. I react to things emotionally first and logically second. My husband is the opposite. Attending Georgia Tech, I met a lot of people who were the opposite. Logic and rules are the order of the day for them. All too often, these people come across as cold and I wanted to show the world a man who put forth all the mental effort first, but still had emotion and heart underneath.

Isabella Breckenridge

Physical Description

Isabella is gorgeous. So gorgeous it’s more of a fact than an opinion. The only unfashionable thing about her is the slight red tint to her hair, which she hides with false hair and starched powder to make it look more blonde. Her description in the book is actually kept a little bit vague because everyone has their own opinion of what the most beautiful girl in the world would look like and I wanted to leave her open for interpretation.

Resembles

For my purposes, however, I based her off of Eleanor Tomlinson.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Isabella is the opposite of Griffith in that her heart is stronger than her mind. She cares deeply for the people in her life and makes decisions that will help them without considering the long term consequences of those actions. This lands her in some difficult situations but she doesn’t see a way out of them without hurting the people she loves. This makes her heart both a strength and a weakness.

Quirk

Isabella doesn’t have a lot of quirks – honestly, Griffith has enough for both of them – but she does love plants. For a girl stuck in London for several months, that can be a difficult desire to feed.

Your inspiration for the character

I wanted Isabella to be a contradiction of stereotypes. She is beautiful, popular, capable of manipulation, but also caring and down-to-earth. Hers isn’t a hidden beauty. This is not a makeover story. But that beauty hasn’t opened doors for her, until now. As people, we make assumptions. First impressions are a very real thing and it can be difficult to let go of those first impressions as we get to know the person. This is the journey I wanted to take the reader on with Isabella. The woman within is not the girl one would expect to find underneath her beautiful exterior.

Background of the story

This story is, at heart, a story in questioning assumptions. We make assumptions about people, about God, and about ourselves. When we hold tight to those conceptions we don’t leave room for growth. God is not constrained by human thoughts or abilities and people – ourselves included – are not defined by what people expect of us. Griffith is not the typical aristocrat. He doesn’t dance. He does menial labor when he wants to get away and think. He doesn’t drink. Isabella is not the typical belle of the ball. She’d rather live in the country. She doesn’t care much for jewelry. She’s prepared to sacrifice herself for the benefit of her friends and family.

These two have ideas of each other that get challenged through out the book. They also have to face the fact that what they thought about themselves could be wrong. Placed against the background of a highly contested law and the end of the Napoleonic Wars, this book is a journey in discovering that people – including yourself – might not be what you thought and that one should never put limits on what God can do.

Thanks Kristi!

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