Book picks similar to
The Gentleman Thief by Deborah Simmons


historical-romance
romance
historical
regency

Miss Billings Treads the Boards


Carla Kelly - 1993
    But beautiful Kate was an impoverished orphan—and her only escape from a lecherous employer's embraces was to go upon the stage. It was dangerous enough that a charming French playwright wanted her as his leading lady, and an ambitious impresario demanded that she bare her charms to an eager audience. But when a magnificent marquess, Lord Henry Grayson, proposed that she join him in a masquerade of mating in a mock marriage, Kate found that putting on an act in public could be even more perilous in private...if the act was an act of love....

My Steadfast Heart


Jo Goodman - 1997
    His two younger brothers were lost to him, perhaps forever, and now a dark mission of revenge had brought the ruthless ship captain to England.Penniless aristocrat Mercedes Leydon was beautiful...and desperate. Colin Thorne was claiming the estate of her dissolute uncle, the Earl of Weybourne, as payment for a gambling debt. She was treated as a servant at Weybourne Park, but it was home to her and the earl's children. Now Mercedes would use anything—lies, promises—even her own body—to stop Thorne from destroying their lives.A man consumed by the fires of vengeance. A woman determined never to love. An unexpected passion that could damn them both...

The Debutante Is Mine


Vivienne Lorret - 2016
    Such an honor ensures the recipient her pick of eligible suitors…”Lilah Appleton’s prospects are looking dim. With one last chance to find a titled husband before she’s forced to wed her wretched cousin, she must make this Season count. Plain, forgettable Lilah must become the Season’s Original. Desperate, she seeks help from the devilishly charming, untitled, and thoroughly unsuitable Jack Marlowe. All she must do now is resist the tempting rogue…Bastard son and self-made man, Jack Marlowe loathes the aristocracy. When he meets Lilah, he expects her to be like all the other greedy husband-hunters. But she’s far more dangerous. Her alluring smiles and sharp tongue intrigue him. Before he knows it, he agrees to help her find a husband, revealing tricks to ensnare any man. The only problem is, his plan works too well—on him.When Lilah becomes the belle of the ball, Jack realizes he may lose her forever—unless he can take a chance on love and claim his debutante...

Lord of Scandal


Nicola Cornick - 2005
    A man women want to bed--and men want to do away with. Now he has tasted the woman of his dreams, Catherine Fenton, and he will do anything to make her his.Though heiress to eighty thousand pounds, Catherine is trapped in a gilded cage, and duty bound to a man she detests. The ton has woven a fantasy around Ben, Lord Hawksmoor, that any woman would find hard to resist, but she senses there is more to the man behind the glittering facade.She believes he can rescue her--but has she found her hero, or made a pact with the devil himself...?

Loving the Lost Duke


Louise Allen - 2017
    A beauty resisting love. Almost seven years ago the young Duke of Calderbrook left England for the self-imposed exile that seemed the only way to save his life. Now Cal is back, a grown man bent on taking back his birthright and discovering who so nearly killed him – even if they prove to be someone he loves. The truth, revenge, then a suitable marriage are Cal’s aims, but his determined quest is stopped in its tracks by Society beauty Sophie Wilmott. He wants Sophie and Sophie, armoured against love by her own secrets, wants Cal. He needs to keep her safe, she needs to guard her heart – but death is waiting at the heart of the Duke’s great house and only courage and love are going to give them the strength to overcome it.

A Little Bit Wild


Victoria Dahl - 2010
    Nor does he wear the most fashionable coats. But when Marissa York's brother approaches him, desperate to preserve Marissa's tenuous reputation, Jude does prove heroic enough to offer to marry the girl. In fact, the union should more than make up for his lack of social graces --- and his own scandalous past ...BUT MINDS CHANGE ...Marissa knows that betrothal to the son of a duke --- even one as raw and masculine as Jude --- will save her from ruin, but that doesn't mean she's happy about it. Soon, though, she finds that Jude has a surprisingly gentle touch --- and plans to use it to persuade Marissa that their wedding day cannot come soon enough ...

False Colours


Georgette Heyer - 1963
    Kit returns to London on leave from the diplomatic service to find that his twin brother Evelyn has disappeared and his extravagant mother's debts have mounted alarmingly.The Fancot family's fortunes are riding on Evelyn's marriage to the self-possessed Cressy Stavely, and her formidable grandmother's approval of the match. If Evelyn fails to meet the Dowager Lady Stavely in a few days as planned, the betrothal could be off.When the incorrigible Lady Fancot persuades her son to impersonate his twin (just for one night, she promises) the masquerade sets off a tangled sequence of events that will greatly affect everyone involved.

Scandalous Again


Christina Dodd - 2003
    Now, Madeline is free to enter the home of a notorious gambler, and pretends to be meek, humble, and competent with an iron. She is, of course, none of those things; she simply is resolved to win her family's fortune back. Just when she thinks matters can't get worse, she meets Gabriel Ansell, the earl of Campion, and they do. Horribly worse.Four years ago, Madeline was engaged to Gabriel, and worshipped his arrogant kisses. Now, being forced to marry a man she doesn't know pales in comparison to the ordeal of facing Gabriel again, the man who betrayed her -- Gabriel, the only man she ever loved.

The Unruly Chaperon


Elizabeth Rolls - 2003
    The chaperon never imagined that her cousin's betrothed would be the only man she'd ever loved--Crispin Malvern, the Duke of St. Ormond. A fate all the more cruel because one look told her that she'd never stopped loving a man who could never be hers.... Yet widowhood has given Tilda a strength she'd never possessed before. And when one night of passion unleashed her most secret longings, the unruly chaperon must decide whether to follow the dictates of decorum...or desire.

Wicked


Shannon Drake - 2005
    But as an expert in antiquities, she also knows his family's Egyptian artifacts are the finest in England. The problem is, her wayward stepfather knows this, too—and he's determined to steal them. So when he's caught in the act of robbing the so-called Beast of Carlyle, Camille must swallow her fear and boldly confront the man whose mask is said to hide a face to behold.The Earl of Carlyle has lived in the shadows ever since the suspicious death of his parents. But he's never stopped trying to unravel the mystery behind what he suspects to have been their murder. And now that the lovely Camille has stumbled into his life, he has the perfect pawn for his deadly game of vengeance and deceit. But in laying his ruthless trap, will he risk losing his own heart?

The Devil to Pay


Liz Carlyle - 2004
    By night, she is someone altogether different.The notorious Black Angel—so called for her lusciously located angel tattoo—ruthlessly takes from powerful men who exploit, and gives to those who suffer at their hands. Always in disguise, she has eluded capture and her identity remains a mystery.The Marquess of Devellyn, one of the least noble noblemen in town, uses and discards women as he pleases. But when the Black Angel entices him into her bed, ties him up, and pilfers his most valued possession, she may have gone too far. This time, Devellyn tells her, she'll have the devil to pay. And he definitely means to collect.

The Wastrel


Margaret Moore - 1996
    But the sinfully charming Lord Mulholland was renowned for getting whatever, or whomever, he desired ...Paris Mulholland had long guarded his heart with a string of elegant, casual conquests, yet Clara's defiant pride enticed him in a way no coy flirtation ever had, and the prim and proper miss was proving a most engaging opponent in the war between the sexes ...

By Love Undone


Suzanne Enoch - 1998
    So when Quinlan Bancroft, Marquis of Wakefield, comes to direct the household during his uncle's illness, Maddie is determined to detest the nobleman on sight. But though the 'marquis' is easy to dislike, the 'man' himself is a different matter. Quinlan's aplomb in the face of mud, demented pigs, and musket-waving villagers is deucedly appealing. Small wonder, then, that Maddie quite forgets to repulse Quinlan when he enfolds her in a sweet embrace...MEETS THE NOBLE LORDCaught kissing his uncle's lovely young companion, Quinlan feels he should make amends, and use his rank to re-establish Miss Willits in society. Unfortunately, it is soon apparent that Maddie has no idea how to resist imnportunate young rakes who believe her ripe for the plucking. But Maddie knows there is only one rake whose attentions she truly needs to fear—because only Quinlan Bancroft possesses the power to break her heart.

The Inconvenient Duchess


Christine Merrill - 2006
    And I'm more tired and hungry than I have ever been in my life. Please let me come home.Compromised and wedded on the same day, Lady Miranda was fast finding married life not to her taste. A decaying manor and a secretive husband were hardly the stuff of girlish dreams. Yet every time she looked at dark, brooding Marcus Radwell, Duke of Haughleigh, she felt inexplicably compelled—and determined—to make their marriage real!

Someday Soon


Joan Wolf - 2000
    Geoffrey, a second cousin thinks he's the heir, but then Niall McDonald, her father's nephew, turns up and her whole life is thrown into confusion and romantic desire.