Book picks similar to
The Earl Returns by Lillian Marek


historical-romance
historical
regency
romance

Highland Refugee


Aileen Adams - 2020
    With her faithful maid and companion she begrudgingly embarks on a voyage to new lands to marry the laird her father has determined will prove a fruitful alliance with her their clan. Alas, the ship she is on does not weather a storm well, leaving her cast upon the sea.Laird Duncan McAbee of Duffus is mourning his father on the shore when he notices a body bobbing among the waves. Little does he know, the body he pulls forth is a raven-haired spitfire of a lass with a steel will of determination not to marry her betrothed. He is caught unawares when she wields a poker and even further caught offguard when she manages to broach his defenses and capture her heart.How is he supposed to recover when she chooses to leave him for Laird Jared Stewart?

The Duke Conspiracy


Wendy May Andrews - 2015
    Growing up, Rose and Alex were the best of friends until their families became embroiled in a feud. Now, the Season is throwing them into each other’s company. Despite the spark of attraction they might feel for one another, they each want very different things in life, besides needing to support their own family’s side in the dispute. Miss Rosamund Smythe is finding the Season to be a dead bore after spying with her father, a baron diplomat, in Vienna. She wants more out of life than just being some nobleman’s wife. When she overhears a plot to entrap Alex into a marriage of convenience, her intrigue and some last vestige of loyalty causes them to overcome the feud. His Grace, Alexander Milton, the Duke of Wrentham, wants a quiet life with a “proper” wife after his tumultuous childhood. His parents had fought viciously, lied often, and Alex had hated it all. Rose’s meddling puts her in danger. Alex will have to leave the simple peace he craves to claim a love he never could have imagined. Can they claim their happily ever after despite the turmoil?

The Way the Wallflower Wed


Eva Devon - 2020
    The rakes, rogues, and dukes won't know what's hit them...Lady Pippa Post is one of London's most woeful wallflowers. With a father who has lost it all and an intellect as sharp as a cutlass, she's firmly on the shelf.But Pippa has no desire to retire to a wilting life in the country, even if she adores learning dead languages and pouring over ancient tomes. So, when a position opens, curating the Earl of Roxly's ever growing Egyptian collection, she knows exactly what must be done. But she doesn't expect that Roxly's rugged demeanor and wicked wit will entice her into a game of passion.Lord David Drake, Earl of Roxly, has no time for shrinking violets. He has no time for Londoners at all! He's a man of power, passion, and purpose. In but a short time, he is determined to leave English shores behind and return to the Nile he loves so well... But when a waspish wallflower shows up, determined to take care of his artifacts, he's intrigued and shocked to find that she is a mystery to be discovered... And adventurer that he is, there's nothing Roxly loves more than a mystery.Will Pippa shrink from a chance at love with this wild brute of a lord... or will the wallflower wed?

Dare to Be Wicked


Emma V. Leech - 2021
    When the hat is rediscovered, dusty and forlorn, the remaining dares spark a series of events that will echo through all the families… and their daring daughters.Dare to be WickedTwo daring daughters…Lady Elizabeth and Lady Charlotte are the daughters of the Duke and Duchess of Bedwin. Raised by an unconventional mother and an indulgent if overprotective father, they both strain against the rigid morality of the era. The fashionable image of a meek, weak young lady, prone to swooning at the least provocation, is one that makes them seethe with frustration. Their handsome childhood friend… Cassius Cadogan, Viscount Oakley, is the only child of the Earl and Countess of St. Clair. Beloved and indulged, he is popular, gloriously handsome and a talented artist. Returning from two years of study in France, his friendship with both sisters becomes strained as jealousy raises its head. A situation not helped by the two mysterious Frenchmen who have accompanied him home. And a simmering sibling rivalry… Passion, art, and secrets prove to be a combustible combination, and someone will undoubtedly get burned.

A Secret Deal with the Devilish Baron


Lucy Langton - 2019
    Fierce like a tiger, she storms into the Baron’s estate to regain her pride and property, but instead of the scandalous scoundrel she expected to meet, she finds a broken man trying to hide his scars. Will she eventually be the one to heal his broken soul?The legends about his bad behavior make the Baron, a person to be feared. When seeing Isabel and intrigued by her reckless personality, he offers a condition in return; she must be a companion to his ailing sister, and live in his estate until he says otherwise. But with every moment he shares with the passionate Isabel, Baron’s bad manners soften into admiration…and more. Will he be able to handle the sizzling passion?Isabel, surprisingly finds out that not everything is as it seems in the Baron’s estate. As time goes by, she finds herself falling for the Baron’s charm, but not before she berates him for his ignoble behavior. Will she be able to make him open his heart to love again? While everything seems to be going out of control, can Isabel take the reins and steer her life towards the future she dreams of?

The Duke's Marriage of Convenience


Fiona Miers - 2020
    This spirited tomboy would rather care for her horses than tend to a husband—even if her betrothed is a dashing Duke. But to save her family, Raven accepts the dull life of a Duchess, and the societal expectations that will surely crush her soul. Her handsome fiancé, with his extravagant stables and shared love of horses, takes her by surprise. And so does the attraction she feels with every whispered word and flammable touch. This once reluctant bride soon yearns for more than a marriage of convenience.Andrew Seymour, Duke of Somerset, is resigned to his fate… he will marry for duty, rather than love. Since the crushing blow of his parents’ deaths, guilt has driven Drew’s every decision. A quiet loveless marriage is all he deserves. But his fiancé is no simpering society Miss. With a sharp wit and an even sharper tongue, she has him bewitched and bewildered. Raven’s joy for life pulls him out of the cold, dark shadows of regret, ready to embrace life again. But Drew’s stubborn streak turns Raven’s passion to anger. And the engagement is broken—along with his heart.Drew is determined to win back the only woman he’s ever loved… before it’s too late. Can Raven forgive Drew and give him a second chance?

My Lord Rogue


Katherine Bone - 2014
    The only thing more dangerous is being in love…Gillian Chauncey, Baroness Chauncey, is a master of disguise, trained by her expatriated husband, a former French royalist, in the arts of espionage. When a dangerous life or death secret lands in her lap, she’s thrust into a perilous world of ticking clocks and desperation, arrowing her directly into the arms of the man who arranged her marriage.Lord Simon Danbury is no ordinary nobleman. He’s been tasked by Admiral Nelson to organize an elite group of clandestine first sons willing to sacrifice all to protect England’s shores. When an assassination attempt is made on Nelson, Simon isn’t sure what poses more danger, the enemy or the masterfully seductive Gillian.

What the Hart Wants


Emily Royal - 2020
    One lesson in love. Fraser MacGregor, thirteenth Duke Molineux, seizes the opportunity to use the title he unexpectedly inherited, to further his whisky business. He leaves his Highland home and heads for London where he’s accosted by a feisty lass, who smashes a vase over his head.Delilah Hart should be relishing her first London season. But she’d rather be a writer than a bland society wife. Her secret occupation of writing anonymous, inflammatory articles about the notorious Molineux family, is the first step to realizing her dream.But when the new duke makes her an offer she can’t refuse—to learn about her cause for social justice in exchange for five lessons in the art of pleasure—she begins to question her beliefs and desires. Before long, Delilah realizes that her heart, as well as her career, is at stake.

Last Dance in London


Sydney Jane Baily - 2021
    Too bad for him, clever and impossibly desirable Julia Sudbury shows up in his bedroom.Like a shadow, Julia slips from Mayfair's ballrooms into the nobility's private chambers where nothing is more appealing than a spare piece of jewelry. Earrings, necklaces, and cravat pins, oh my!With Julia's bad behavior tarnishing his reputation in ways he'd never imagined, Jasper goes on the run to escape the brutal gossips shredding his family name.It's enough to make a cocky rake wish he were safely married! Who will tame whom?

A Broken Betrothal


Rose Pearson - 2020
    Can they reconcile their differences?When Lord Pendleton loses his brother, his entire world changes. Inheriting the title of Marquess of Leicestershire, he soon finds himself surrounded by nobles and sought-after by their daughters. He becomes determined to make a name for himself – and not be seen as a rogue like his late brother.Lady Augusta is destined to be married to him in a rigid, business-like agreement. Hating her father at first for not letting her choose her own husband, over time she grows to accept it – but she finds herself thrust aside by Lord Leicestershire’s newfound status. With Lord Leicestershire hounded by ladies and faced with distractions at every turn, will he and Lady Augusta be able to make their coming marriage work? Or will the strife between them be too much to overcome?

Lost with a Lord


Emily E.K. Murdoch - 2018
     But in all his thirty years, he has never met anyone quite like the fiery Italian Miss Florence Capria. After a riot forces them to take shelter for the night in an intimate small room, can Lord George ignore the growing passion Miss Capria is igniting in his once cold heart? Will being lost with a lord change Florence's destiny forever? This is the first in a series of eight Ravishing Regencies.

The Dashing Widow


Elizabeth Bramwell - 2016
    Where it not for the gentle guidance of her best friend, Abby doubts she would have survived the Beau Monde's disapproval for even a week - and especially not the critical gaze of the Earl of Gloucester. The man is insufferable, arrogant, and everything that Abby hates about the Ton - except those rare moments when he laughs, and Abby's heart starts to beat in a most uncomfortable rhythm. George, Earl of Gloucester, is horrified at the scrapes his sister's best friend keeps falling into. True not all of them are her fault, but that doesn't change the fact that her actions reflect poorly on his family. Since Mrs Merriweather doesn't have any intentions of leaving London before the Season's end, there's nothing for it but for George to step in and help her navigate the treacherous waters of the Ton. She's impulsive, tempestuous, headstrong and willful; in short, everything that he claims to dislike in a woman... except after spending time with Abigail Merriweather, he's starting to wonder whether her faults are what make her so endearing. Abby and George may be developing a strange sort of friendship, but they come from different worlds that are not entirely compatible. The real question is whether they can get past their own prejudices - and the interference of their friends and family - to find out whether an arrogant Earl and a dashing young widow can fall in love without creating a scandal.

The Duke of Fire


Jennifer Monroe - 2019
    Working as a governess has brought her fulfillment, but when she finds herself suddenly without a position, Jane begins to fret. When her cousin alerts her that a Duke is seeking a governess for his son, Jane is overcome with joy. That is until she finds out that this is a man who is believed to have killed his wife, a man known as the Duke of Fire. Michael Blackstone, Duke of Hayfield, knows all too well the rumors surrounding his wife’s death. For years, he has remained isolated inside his home with his son, allowing his misery and the guilt of her death to consume him. When the latest in a string of governesses leaves their home, he sends word in hopes of finding anyone who would risk being in his employ. Desperate for employment, Jane agrees to work for the man she fears, but when she meets the Duke she is left to wonder if there is any humanity left within him. As times progresses, Jane begins to see a different side of the infamous Duke of Fire, for she sees a man who is overcome with guilt and grief—a man so lost, he is losing his mind. For Michael, Jane has brought more than excellent teaching inside his home, she has also brought hope into an otherwise dark life. Finding the woman intriguing and enjoying her company, his feelings for her begin to grow, although he fears his love will never be returned. Although she is afraid, Jane allows herself to fall for the broken Duke despite not knowing if her love will be enough to save the man from himself...

Masked Intentions


Diana Bold - 2020
    However, by night, he is a masked avenger named Prometheus, rescuing unfortunate children from lives of prostitution. Horribly burned as a child, he loves the anonymity of his mask.Vanessa Bourke, the famous actress, is fascinated by both Adrian Strathmore, who throws flowers at her feet but remains in the shadows, and Prometheus, the masked man who shows up in her flat in the middle of the night with a small boy he’s saved. When she discovers they are one and the same, she begs him to unmask himself, to no avail. He is willing to lose her forever rather than trust her to love him despite his scars. Frustrated, she blackmails Adrian into marrying her, ruining his trust.Will he ever believe she’s come to love the man behind the mask?

The Duchess and the Highwayman


Beverley Oakley - 2017
    She’s on the run from a murderer, he’s in pursuit of one. Married off at a young age to a brutal nobleman, Phoebe, Lady Cavanaugh, longs for love—and enters into a risky affair. Framed for her husband’s murder, she flees wearing only a blood-stained chemise and is rescued by a handsome ‘highwayman’ who believes she’s Lady Cavanaugh’s maidservant. Hugh Redding has his own reasons for hunting down the man who wants Phoebe tried and hanged for murder. And ‘the maidservant with aspirations above her station’ might prove the very weapon he needs—once he teaches her how to behave like a lady. But when Phoebe mysteriously disappears, Hugh realises his feelings for the spirited wench he’d set out to tame are far deeper than he’d realised—while his search for her reveals a woman very different from the one who’d declared her love for him the night he last saw her. Time is running out as Hugh realises he is the only one who can provide evidence to exonerate the friendless duchess—or the gallows will claim the woman he loves. "The plot is fast-paced and the heat level was to my taste. A good read in my opinion." ~ Amazon reader