Book picks similar to
Scandalous Passions by Nicola Davidson


romance
historical
historical-romance
historical-fiction

The Bone Orchard


Abigail Roux - 2014
    The story of his capture, and the marshal’s bravery, has already become legend back east by the time Pinkerton inspector Ezra Johns gets off the train from New York City to testify in the murderer’s trial.When Ambrose is unable to give witness to the evils he’s seen, Ezra becomes their lone hope for putting Jennings in a noose. But if Ezra thinks that’s his biggest problem, he’s got plenty to learn about life—and the afterlife—in the spirited West.Fortunately, Ambrose is there to assist, and more than happy to oblige Ezra—in the courtroom or the bedroom. He spent his life bringing justice to the Wild West, and if he has a say in it, that’s how he’ll be spending his death too.

Traitors of the Black Crown


Cate Pearce - 2021
    A Knight. A Duchess. A Queen.Raena Schinen narrowly escaped when the Queen’s guard murdered her entire family. If Raena’s survival is exposed, she’ll be next. For fifteen years Raena has hidden as a male Knight, “Sir Rowan”, consumed by her vengeful desire to assassinate the Queen. The moment Raena is close enough to exact her revenge, she is unexpectedly exiled to a foreign land. There she serves the common-born Duchess Aven Colby, whose suspicious kinship with the Queen further threatens Raena’s delicate secrets.Just as they become united in a common goal to curb a looming invasion, unexpected heat and romance blossoms between “Sir Rowan” and Aven. The peril demands they set out on a journey to form clandestine political alliances, risking the Queen’s wrath, and drawing Raena and Aven closer together.But no one in the kingdom could have imagined the sinister foe rising from below the surface. In order to save themselves and those they love, Raena, Aven, and the Queen must recognize who are the oppressors and who will unite against the Black Crown.

Blessed Isle


Alex Beecroft - 2012
    But his criminal attraction to his upper-crust First Lieutenant, Garnet Littleton, threatens to overturn all he’s ever worked for. Lust quickly proves to be the least of his problems, however. The deadly combination of typhus, rioting convicts, and a monstrous storm destroys his prospects . . . and shipwrecks him and Garnet on their own private island. After months of solitary paradise, the journey back to civilization—surviving mutineers, exposure, and desertion—is the ultimate test of their feelings for each other. These two very different men each record their story for an unfathomable future in which the tale of their love—a love punishable by death in their own time—can finally be told. Today, dear reader, it is at last safe for you to hear it all.Note: This is a revised, stand-alone edition of the story originally published in the Hidden Conflict anthology in 2009.

The Breath Between Waves


Charlotte Anne Hamilton - 2021
    Heartbroken, Penelope isn’t looking forward to the weeklong journey. Or that her parents want her to find a husband in America. To make matters worse, she also has to share a cabin with a complete stranger.Ruby Cole, her spunky Irish roommate, is unlike anyone Penelope ever met. They become fast friends as they bond over crushing family expectations and sneaking into lush parties together. That Ruby likes women, too, comes as a surprise to Penelope, but she knows their affair can only be temporary. Because as soon as the Titanic arrives in New York, Penelope will have to marry someone of her father’s choosing.Before long, though, they’ll both have to decide what–and who–is really worth fighting for.

Kneel, Mr. President


Lauren Gallagher - 2015
    Then, the First Lady—a woman who barely tolerates his presence—approaches him with a request that startles the hell out of him.Carlene Broderick is scared. Her husband James is buckling under the strain of the highest office in the land. With the weight of the country and an impending war on his shoulders, he’s a heart attack waiting to happen. Carlene is out of options, so she resorts to the man whose name James calls out in his sleep—a buddy from his SEAL days. His ex-lover. Kent.There’s nothing Kent won’t do for his best friend, but he quickly realizes it’s not him that James needs—the Commander in Chief is desperate to give up complete control in the bedroom. And if she’s willing, Kent can teach Carlene to be what her husband needs.Now James is caught deep in forbidden territory—torn between his beloved wife and the man he’s never stopped loving.This 95,000 word novel was previously published.

Moontangled


Stephanie Burgis - 2020
    If Juliana needs to use magic to get her stubborn fiancée to pay her attention...well, then, as the top student in her class, she is more than ready to take on that challenge!Unbeknownst to Juliana, though, Caroline plans to nobly sacrifice their betrothal for Juliana's own sake - and no one has ever accused iron-willed Caroline Fennell of being easy to deter from any goal.Their path to mutual happiness may seem tangled beyond repair...but when they enter the fey-ruled woods that border Thornfell College, these two determined women will find all of their plans upended in a night of unexpected and magical possibilities.Moontangled will be published in ebook and paperback on February 3, 2019.

Reputation


Lex CroucherLex Croucher
    A classic romcom with a Regency-era twist, for fans of Mean Girls and/or Jane Austen.Abandoned by her parents, middle-class Georgiana Ellers has moved to a new town to live with her dreary aunt and uncle. At a particularly dull party, she meets the enigmatic Frances Campbell, a wealthy member of the in-crowd who lives a life Georgiana couldn't have imagined in her wildest dreams.Lonely and vulnerable, Georgiana falls in with Frances and her unfathomably rich, deeply improper friends. Georgiana is introduced to a new world: drunken debauchery, mysterious young men with strangely arresting hands, and the upper echelons of Regency society.But the price of entry to high society might just be higher than Georgiana is willing to pay ...

King Sized


Jessa Kane - 2020
    He has also sworn to love her forever…secretly, of course. A relationship between a hulking, lowly palace guard and the queen is impossible. Still, when he hears Britta crying one night, he can’t help but offer his king-sized embrace as comfort. Rex is shocked when Britta is not repelled by him in the least. Miracle of miracles, she is eager for much more than solace. The penalty for putting his filthy hands on the virgin queen is dead, but what a way to go...

A Duke in Time


Janna MacGregor - 2021
    Her entire business, along with a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be a royal supplier, is everything she's been working for and now could be destroyed if word leaks about the three wives.Meri's far more upstanding brother, Christian, Duke of Randford has no earthly clue how to be of assistance. He spent the better part of his adult years avoiding Meri and the rest of his good-for-nothing family, so to be dragged back into the fold is…problematic. Even more so is the intrepid and beautiful Katherine, whom he cannot be falling for because she's Meri's widow. Or can he?With a textile business to run and a strong friendship forming with Meri's two other wives, Katherine doesn't have time for much else. But there's something about the warm, but compellingly taciturn Christian that draws her to him. When an opportunity to partner in a business venture brings them even closer, they'll have to face their pasts if they want to share each other's hearts and futures.

The Scandalous, Dissolute, No-Good Mr. Wright


Tessa Dare - 2012
    And waiting.Because of a foolish mistake in her youth, she's not allowed "out" in Society until her three older sisters are wed. But while she's trying to be good, she keeps bumping elbows—and, more distressingly, lips—with notorious rake Harry Wright. Every moment she spends with him, she risks complete ruin.The sensual passions he stirs in her are so wrong . . . but Eliza just can't resist Mr. Wright.

The Two Lords of Wealdhant Manor


Katherine Marlowe - 2015
    Just when he thinks debtor’s prison is inevitable, he receives a visit from Mr. Sutton, railway solicitor, with paperwork to indicate that Algernon is the long-lost heir of Wealdhant Manor. The railway needs a portion of Wealdhant lands in order to lay their locomotive tracks, and Algernon is in no position to look a gift horse in the mouth. He accepts the inheritance at once, heading off to settle the railway’s affairs. The situation he finds in distant Lincolnshire is far more complex than he was led to believe, and Algernon is soon at odds with the gruffly handsome groundskeeper whom the village folk refer to as “Lord Jasper.” As the railway’s deadline approaches, Algernon struggles to forge an alliance with Jasper Waltham, to protect the people of the village, and to make peace with the restless ghosts of Wealdhant Manor. Clean romance, no cheating, standalone novel.

Enchanting the Earl


Lily Maxton - 2017
    For years, she’s been able to live as she wished, freely roaming the wild moors. Now there’s a new earl, as arrogant as he is handsome, and he wants her out. But if he thinks she’ll go quietly, he’s in for a surprise. Theo Townsend returned from war a changed man. After unexpectedly inheriting an earldom and a secluded castle in the Scottish Highlands to go with it, he thinks he’s found the perfect place to hide from the world—until he arrives to find a spirited, beautiful woman already in residence. He can’t just throw her out, but surely there's a way to get her to leave on her own. The sooner she's gone, the better, especially when he realizes there’s more than just mutual dislike between them.

Three-Way Split


Elia Winters - 2018
    Monogamy doesn’t work for her. She needs more. And more is something most people can’t handle.She gets more than she bargains for, though, when she partners up with local brewery owners Mitchell and Ben for a business venture and finds herself attracted to both of them. She proposes polyamory, where she dates each of them with their full consent.Mitchell Fredericks and Ben Harrington have been “friends with benefits” for years. But with Hannah in the mix, it’s not so easy to ignore emotions. She brings out a side of them they’d never been willing to face head-on, especially as their separate relationships shift into a menage. Desire, friendship, and boundaries will be put to the test. If they can’t learn to swallow their fear and communicate, everything will fall apart.

Misfits


Garrett Leigh - 2015
    When he meets a striking young man named Jake on the vibrant streets of Camden Town, their heady first encounter takes an unexpected turn.Jake Thompson can hardly believe his luck when he wakes up in Tom’s bed. Tom is gorgeous, kind, and . . . taken. Tom’s explanation of his open relationship leaves Jake cold, but Tom is too tempting, and when hard times force Jake to accept Tom’s helping hand, he finds himself between two men who’ve lost their way. Cass Pearson is a troubled soul. He loves Tom with all he has, but some days it feels like he hasn’t much to give. Jake seems like the perfect solution. Cass risks everything to push Jake and Tom together, but Jake resists, wary, until the darkness of Cass’s past comes to call. Then Jake finds himself the last man standing, and it’s time to dig deep and shine a light for the men he’s grown to love.

The Scandalous Diary of Lily Layton


Stacy Reid - 2019
    But as a genteel lady, she confines her forbidden fantasies, like those about her employer’s devastatingly handsome son, to her diary…until she loses it.Oliver Carlyle, Marquess of Ambrose, has finally found the perfect wife, a woman who will not hide from his dark, carnal cravings. He just needs to figure out who she is. When he has a secret rendezvous with a mysterious stranger, suddenly he starts to believe she might be the author of the diary.He’s determined to find out who his mystery woman is…His biggest fear—and deepest fantasy—is she may be the one woman he cannot have.