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Dark Heart by Elizabeth Ellen Carter


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When a Lady Deceives


Tara Kingston - 2016
    In Victorian London, reporter Jennie Quinn employs deception as a weapon. Going undercover to seek justice for a murdered informant, she’s drawn into a powerful criminal’s seductive game of cat and mouse. Enigmatic former lawman Matthew Colton is as dangerous as he is clever, but the passion in his kiss is too tempting to resist. She aches to trust him, but she will not abandon her quest for the truth. Colton is a man with secrets of his own. Thirsting for vengeance, the disgraced Scotland Yard detective has infiltrated the criminal world he’s vowed to destroy. Jennie intrigues him, even as she breaks down the barriers around his heart. He yearns to uncover her secrets—in and out of his bed. Driven to shield her, he’ll risk everything to protect the woman whose love heals his soul.

Ante Up


Caroline Lee - 2019
    Augustus King. He's got the brains and the muscle to keep the townspeople cowed, so no one stands up to him.Except The Black Ace.This masked vigilante swoops out of the hills with six-guns blazing, protecting the town from Mr. King's machinations and economic ruin. He's a local hero, a folk legend, and everyone—including Regina Vickers, the daughter of the town doctor—would love to know is identity.With her father under King's control, Regina is the only doctor available when Hart's grandfather falls ill. At his ranch outside of town, he's handed the opportunity to spend more time with the woman he's always loved.But between King's suspicions, a sick grandfather, the arrival of a mysterious child, and Hart's midnight masquerades as The Black Ace, there's not going to be anything "typical" about this courtship at all. If Hart wants to play such a dangerous game, it's time for him to ante up!******The Black Aces series is the sequel to the Sunset Valley series. If you've been anxious to discover all you can about this mysterious vigilante, you're in for a wild ride!

The Warrior Series #1-3


Denise Hampton - 2013
    No one will stop him not her father, his king or the lady herself. The Warrior's Maiden: A baron and his daughters are dead, slaughtered on the king's road, when the sheriff should have kept the peace. Can his ungainly daughter solve the mystery of their deaths before the baron's grieving widow and his bastard son wreak vengeance on her father, the man they hold responsible? The Warrior's Game One knight's widow trapped at court and longing for home, one common-born knight determined to marry her. Add a king who enjoys turning his subjects into pawns and let the game begin.

Swept Away


Marsha Canham - 1999
    Before it is too late." Those were the half-naked stranger's only words as he opened his eyes, looked into her soul, then lost consciousness in the shallow tidal pool. Annaleah Fairchilde, heiress and noblewoman, soon learned the identity of the man she saved: Emory Althorpe, adventurer, accused traitor, and Napoleon's spy. Even as she bound the dangerous scoundrel's wounds, she fell deeper under the spell of a man handsome as the devil, sent to her by fate.He remembered nothing. Only the need to escape. Emory Althorpe was wanted for treason, yet his only hope was a shadowy memory hovering just beyond his grasp, and beautiful Anna, who aroused unexpected passions. He had no choice but to abduct her, needing her to gain access to London's ballrooms, where he could prove his innocence. Together they raced into the face of danger, determined to find the key to his past and live--or die--together, as destiny decreed....

Of Moths and Butterflies


V.R. Christensen - 2011
    Gina Shaw is a servant in his uncle’s house. Clearly out of place in the position in which she has been discovered, she becomes a source of fascination . . . and curiosity. A girl with a blighted past and a fortune she deems a curse, Gina has lowered herself in order to find escape from her family and their scheming designs. But when she is found, the stakes suddenly become dire. All Gina wants is the freedom to live her life as she would wish. All her aunts want is the money that comes with her. But there is more than one way to trap an insect. An arranged marriage might turn out profitable for more parties than one. Mr. Hamilton is about to make the acquisition of a lifetime. But will the price be worth it? Can a woman captured and acquired learn to love the man who has bought her?

The Reluctant Duke


G.L. Snodgrass - 2015
    It wasn’t supposed to happen. But duty has a way of pulling a man into things he doesn’t want and away from the things he needs.The only thing Miss Guinevere Harding needs is a safe place to hide. A job as the downstairs maid at Brookshire is the perfect place to hide from a frightening past. Or at least it was until the arrival of the new Duke. Heat and passion pull Thomas and Gwen together even as society and duty fight to keep them apart. She won’t become his mistress and can’t become his wife. Thomas is determined otherwise, even if it cost’s him everything.

Rogue's Honor


Brenda Hiatt - 2001
    When she is rescued from the near-disaster of recognition by a charming serving-man, Pearl pretends to be simple-minded to safeguard herself from any unwanted advances. But soon she begins to suspect that her rescuer is far more than the common servant he seemed at first.Luke St. Clair lives a double life, pretending to be a gentleman while in reality sustaining himself and the needy as the notorious Robin Hood-type thief, the Saint of Seven Dials. The last thing he needs in his life is a beautiful simpleton in need of protection. But "Purdy" proves to be anything but simple-or common! Once he learns the truth, does he dare continue, in the ballrooms of the elite, the flirtation that began in the slums of London? The risk is enormous, but Lady Pearl's sweet kisses may just be worth it.

Heroes of Medieval Wales: Daughter of Time/Cold My Heart/The Good Knight/The Last Pendragon: Four First-in-Series Romances


Sarah Woodbury - 2016
    four historical romances, each the first installment in series of adventure and romance set in medieval Wales.Daughter of Time (novel): Time travel to medieval Wales ... A medieval man with an uncertain destiny and a modern woman with a troubled past. Only by working together can Llywelyn and Meg navigate the shifting allegiances that threaten the very existence of Wales-and create their own history that defies the laws of time.Cold My Heart (novella): Myrddin and Nell, two of the king's companions, have a secret that neither has ever been able to face: each has seen that on a cold and snowy day in December, Saxon soldiers sent by Modred will ambush and kill King Arthur. Together, they must decide what they are willing to do, and to sacrifice, to avert that fate.The Good Knight (novel): Intrigue and rivalry among princes casts a shadow on the court of the king of north Wales. When a royal groom is murdered on the way to his wedding, the bride's brother tasks Gareth and Gwen, his two best detectives, with bringing the killer to justice.The Last Pendragon (novella): Rhiann knows that demons walk the night. She has been taught to fear them. But from the moment Cade is dragged before her father's throne, beaten and having lost all of his men to her father's treachery, he stirs something inside her that she has never felt before. When Cade is revealed to be not only Arthur's heir but touched by the sidhe, Rhiann must choose between the life she left behind and the one before her--and how much she is willing to risk to follow her heart.

The Enchanting of an Earl


Emma Locke - 2013
    When an unmarried gentleman happens by her brother's smithy, it is up to her to act quickly—and rashly—to secure his interest. But Grantham Wendell, Lord Chelford, isn't in the market for anything more than a new horseshoe. What's a bachelor to do when an innocent miss turns up at his annual bacchanalia? He ought to make her leave, but his Twelfth Night party just became more entertaining...Publisher's Note: This book was originally published as The Cheer in Charming an Earl

The Landlocked Baron


Sahara Kelly - 2017
    But he has no choice other than to say farewell to the sea and accept the title of Baron Ridlington—which includes the almost-ruined estate, and his five resident siblings. He is going to need some help, and soon. It comes in the unexpected form of a nasty crack on the head, a ministering hand and a woman who has hidden herself away in the countryside. Rosaline Henry finds the unconscious Baron strangely appealing, and when he makes an unexpected but practical suggestion - she agrees, as much for him as for herself. Thus begins a voyage of discovery which takes them to new heights of familial creativity, private passion and risky adventure. The sea is in Edmund’s veins, so of course there are ships, spies, fogs and storms, not to mention flirtatious Hussars, a mustache of unsurpassed magnificence, a chicken with unusual preferences…and a fortuitous attack of mal-de-mer! Can Edmund take the helm of a different kind of ship and steer Ridlington back into the calmer waters of the countryside? Of course, but he needs the right woman’s hand on the wheel…

Penelope


Anya Wylde - 2013
    The dowager, no less, has invited her for a season in London, where she will attempt to catch a husband.Thus begins our heroine’s tale as she attempts to tackle the London season with all her rustic finesse. Unfortunately, her rustic finesse turns out to be as delicate as a fat bear trying to rip apart a honeycomb infested with buzzing bees.What follows is a series of misadventures, love affairs, moonlit balls, fancy clothes, fake moustaches, highwaymen, sneering beauties, pickpockets, and the wrath of a devilishly handsome duke.

Deadly Engagement


Lucinda Brant - 2003
    Career diplomat Alec Halsey returns to London to the shocking news his estranged brother, the Earl of Delvin, has not only killed his friend in a duel but is engaged to the woman Alec hoped to marry. The dead man’s mother wants Alec to investigate, so he reluctantly attends a weekend house party celebrating the engagement. Houseguests get more than they bargained for when a lady’s maid is murdered, the bride-to-be is attacked, and a guest is shot dead. Uncovering a connection between these sinister acts and his brother's duel, Alec confronts a cruel twist of fate and why his brother will go to any lengths to ruin him in Polite Society.The Alec Halsey mysteries explore the darker side of Lucinda Brant’s deliciously romantic 18th century world. Along with her trademark wit and high drama there are deeper subplots and even quirkier characters that will have you shuddering and laughing in equal measure!

Crow Hollow


Michael Wallace - 2015
    She’s convinced her daughter is alive but cannot track her into the wilderness alone. Help arrives in the form of James Bailey, an agent of the crown sent to Boston to investigate the murder of Prudence’s husband and to covertly cause a disturbance that would give the king just cause to install royal governors. After his partner is murdered, James needs help too. He strikes a deal with Prudence, and together they traverse the forbidding New England landscape looking for clues. What they confront in the wilderness—and what they discover about each other—could forever change their allegiances and alter their destinies.

The Bride Gift


Sarah Hegger - 2014
     Determined to control her own destiny, wilful Helena of Lystanwold has chosen just the husband to suit her purposes. But when her banished guardian uncle attempts to secure her future and climbs through her bedroom window with a new husband by a proxy marriage, she understandably balks. Notorious warrior Guy of Helston is everything Helena swore she would never marry; a man who lives by the sword. This marriage finally brings Guy close to his lifetime dream of gaining lands and a title. He is not about to let his feisty bride stand in his way. A master strategist, Guy sets out to woo and conquer his lady. Against a backdrop of vengeance, war, and betrayal, Guy and Helena must learn to forge a united front or risk losing everything.

The Thief's Countess


Cecelia Mecca - 2017
    The son of a baron, he has been reduced to stealing the resources he needs to reclaim his family legacy. Just when he’s on the verge of success, his uncle asks him to put his plans on hold to help protect a wealthy countess. It’s a distraction Geoffrey resents, even more so when he meets Lady Sara. The gorgeous, complicated and alluring lady is everything he’d want in a woman—and everything he can’t have. THE COUNTESS With her betrothed coming to claim her hand in marriage and a distant cousin intent on usurping her earldom, Lady Sara Caiser feels beset by controlling, unwanted men. As if that weren’t enough, her father’s deathbed request was for two lawless border reivers to serve as her protectors. Despite her misgivings, an undeniable attraction pulls her into Sir Geoffrey’s arms. The man she thought nothing more than a thief is more dangerous than she believed, for he’s noble, caring and sinfully attractive. As the threats against her continue to mount, Sara must decide what’s more important—her duty or her heart.