Mark of the Rose: The Tudor Vampire Chronicles

“More rich historical details . . . making it exceptional. There’s something fun about rewriting history and making memorable characters like Anne Boleyn into vampires. Pearce expertly weaves her historical background and knowledge into a truly captivating tale.”

—
Romantic Times

“Passionate and fresh with a unique twist on European history and creatively new vampire lore. A not-to-be-missed read.”

—Fresh Fiction

“An engaging . . . historical thriller.”

—
Midwest Book Review

Kiss of the Rose

“Kate Pearce gives historical romance some serious fangs with
Kiss of the Rose
. Better plan on losing some sleep, because this is a guaranteed all-nighter!”

—Jessica Andersen, author of the Nightkeepers Novels

“A book you can really sink your teeth into! It has everything: adventure, romance, history, and Druids and vampires too!”

—Brandy Purdy, author of
The Boleyn Wife

“Wonderfully dark and intriguing . . . a fascinating, sensual world filled with adventure!”

—Colleen Gleason, author of the
Gardella Vampire Chronicles

“Original and outstanding,
Kiss of the Rose
is a brandnew take on vampires.... I am really looking forward to Kate Pearce’s next installment of this highly provocative series. Her ability to tell an awesome story with sensual and sinfully delicious love scenes is just one of the many reasons why I can’t read enough from this amazing author! Five ribbons.”

—Romance Junkies

“Refreshingly imaginative and deliciously sensual...
Kiss of the Rose
is an exhilarating tale that will make you want to invest your time, your undivided attention, and maybe even a bit of your heart. This novel will seduce you with all its sensuality, passion, intrigue, danger, and magic. Nine out of ten stars!”

—The Season for Romance

“Pearce brings otherworldly passion, danger, and intrigue to life in her sensational new series . . . a wonderful, unique story penned by an amazingly talented author.”

—Joyfully Reviewed

“A unique and thrilling series that will delight fans of vampire fiction and historical romance enthusiasts as well.... Combining history, the paranormal, and a whole lot of sensual excitement, author Kate Pearce deftly delivers . . . a distinctive tale that fans of both genres are sure to scoop up and enjoy.”

—Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews

PRAISE FOR THE NOVELS OF KATE PEARCE

“What an amazingly rich and engrossing story! I was hooked from the very beginning and absolutely did not stop reading until the very end. I hope to read more by this very talented author in the future.”

—The Romance Studio

“Intelligent characters, complex emotions, and a plot that engaged my emotions to a rare high. Very highly recommended.”

—TwoLips Reviews

“Can you say
hot
? . . . From the first scorching page to the last, Kate Pearce takes you on a wild ride of sex and suspense, keeping you guessing until the very end.”

—Simply Romance Reviews

“This book has something for everyone: hot sex scenes, a sexy hero with a tragic past, a smart and compassionate heroine, intrigue, danger, and Regency London at its most decadent!”

—
Romantic Times

“Guaranteed to quicken the pulse.”

—Joyfully Reviewed

“One of the most arousing and enigmatic historical novels I have read this year.”

—Romance Junkies

“Hot and steamy . . . with vividly imagined scenes.”

—Ecataromance

ALSO BY KATE PEARCE

Kiss of the Rose
Blood of the Rose

SIGNET ECLIPSE

Published by New American Library, a division of
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,
New York, New York 10014, USA
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First published by Signet Eclipse, an imprint of New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

First Printing, September

SIGNET ECLIPSE and logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

ISBN : 978-1-101-54391-7

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

http://us.penguingroup.com

This book is for my husband, Dermot. Twenty-five years
of wedded bliss deserves a romance novel dedication,
don’t you think? DD4CH 4Ever.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many thanks to Tracy Bernstein for her excellent editing. I’ve learned a lot over the past year and I’ve enjoyed the experience immensely. Thanks to my agent, Deidre Knight and everyone at the Knight Agency for all their hard work on my behalf. Dayna Hart critiqued this book for me and did a fantastic job as usual.

I’d also like to thank members of the Oohshiny group for keeping me sane and my family for embracing the joys of the Crock-Pot and letting me get on with my writing.

If you’d like to learn more about the Tudor Vampire series, please visit my Web site at Thetudorvampire-chronicles. com, where I have a lot of information about the places and people of Tudor England. While I have made every effort to be historically accurate, this is a work of fiction and all mistakes are definitely my own.

Chapter 1

Richmond Palace, the Court of King Henry VIII, 1537

“W
here is Jasper?” The golden-haired Vampire frowned and looked around the deserted bedchamber as he spoke.

“Why do you want to know, Vampire?”

Verity Llewellyn kept her dagger aimed at the man’s throat as she slowly backed away. Her heart was beating wildly against her embroidered bodice, but she was proud of herself for not screeching like a barn owl. The man had appeared behind her as she rifled through the contents of Jasper’s desk and almost startled her to death. She supposed she should be glad that he didn’t seem inclined to suck her blood, as she had completely failed to protect herself.

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