But one social issue Christopher has never considered much is violence against women. A Robert Browning poem and a chance encounter with Katerina Valentino change everything.Katerina is in fear for her life from her father's constant beatings. That is, until Christopher becomes entranced by the delicate dark-haired beauty, and decides that he must rescue her from her father--by marrying her. But Katerina's years of abuse have left her physically and emotionally scarred. And those scars threaten the newlyweds' hope for happiness. Is Christopher's tender affection enough to help Katerina heal her broken spirit?

    He will not marry a commoner, of course. It is just a pretense. Or it was. Until the sparks fly, and he finds himself falling hard and fast for a woman who is completely wrong for the role of his Duchess.A penniless Irish commoner living among polite society is unlikely to find a suitor. Especially in England. Or at least that's Niamh's experience. Living in a troublesome household of her uncle, she is desperate to get away and go back to Ireland. When Niamh meets the Duke during the festivities, however, she finds herself at crossroads. Will she be willing to give up her freedom for a chance at love?

    As for Willoughby Winter, all that stands between him and his inheritance is to marry Bethany off. Can he succeed in his efforts before his past becomes known or will she manage to distract him from his goal—by hook or by crook?

    Five handsome, willing men are vying for her hand in marriage. The stakes are ownership of a medieval keep perched on the rocky edge of a stormy ocean. Each man seems more stunning than the last, and it is her choice which will reward the prize.To make the game even more interesting, Kay is disguised as a handmaiden to her sister, Em, so that she might more freely mingle with the suitors. In this way she can learn their strengths and catch them in their most unguarded moments.As the threat of border reivers approaches the keep, Kay finds that her pleasurable pastime takes on a far more serious overtone. Knowing who to trust and who to depend on becomes a matter of life and death! All author's proceeds from sales of the Sword of Glastonbury series benefit battered women’s shelters. Knowing Yourself is book one in the Sword of Glastonbury series. Each novel ends in a happily ever after, which then leads into the next book in the series. Each of these full-length romances features its own flavor, atmosphere, and main characters. Each is set in a different part of medieval England and showcases the natural beauty of its region. Knowing Yourself is set in Cumbria, in northwestern England. Knowing Yourself is a lighthearted tale of romance and courtship, with a pair of fun-loving sisters, in the style of a medieval bachelorette contest. It is suitable for teens and older. It does not feature any strong language nor any intimacy beyond a gentle kiss.To learn more about the widespread use of the wax tablet for note taking in medieval times, be sure to read this article:https://www.bl.uk/eblj/1994articles/p...

    Now an encoretante whose family has lost a fortune, Lydia discovers that the beau monde is hard on a nouveau riche social climber, particularly one who is no longer riche and only wants to climb trees. Lydia must stave off the effrontery of rakes and conniving competitors long enough to make a good match, or else incur society's scorn by earning her own money. Falling for the unattainable Lord Aldley is a distraction she cannot afford. But they share such an enchanted history, how can her heart resist?The tragically virtuous Earl of Aldley is tired of ambitious families hurling debutantes at his head, but cannot hide in France forever. He returns to London to seek out the mysterious tree-climbing girl who once saved him from a scheming chit, and finds more than he bargained for. Abductions, seductions, trickery and injury all endanger Lydia, but Lord Aldley's heart is imperiled beyond rescue. He has only just found her; will he lose her forever to his enemy, his best friend, or his own dangerous mistake?Three Abductions and an Earl is a full length novel and the first book in Tessa Candle's Parvenues and Paramours series.

    Unable to find new work, she’s demanding compensation from the man who got her sacked: a petty, selfish, swinish duke. But it’s not the duke she fears. It’s his merciless man of business—the man known as the Wolf of Clermont. The formidable former pugilist has a black reputation for handling all the duke’s dirty business, and when the duke turns her case over to him, she doesn’t stand a chance. But she can’t stop trying—not with her entire future at stake.He cannot give in…Hugo Marshall is a man of ruthless ambition—a characteristic that has served him well, elevating the coal miner’s son to the right hand man of a duke. When his employer orders him to get rid of the pestering governess by fair means or foul, it’s just another day at the office. Unfortunately, fair means don’t work on Serena, and as he comes to know her, he discovers that he can’t bear to use foul ones. But everything he has worked for depends upon seeing her gone. He’ll have to choose between the life that he needs, and the woman he is coming to love…

    Aster Simmons lives a quiet and orderly existence working as a secretary and indulging in her love for puzzles--until her routine is disrupted by the arrival of an impertinent Scotsman who lounges around her office like an overgrown dog. The heated glances he casts her way make her think very non-routine thoughts.Hamish Logan, captain in the Highland Wolves, has been given a mission to protect the man working on a coded list of traitors. If the Wolves are ever to have the same rights as ordinary men, he has to prove to those in power that a wolf can be civilised. The only problem is the fascinating secretary, who makes his wolf rise to the surface and makes him want to do very uncivilised things.When the traitors strike, Aster flees with a wolf in pursuit. But can she determine who is behind the plot against England before she forfeits her heart and her life?

    But Lady Jocelyn Rathbourne's will remains strong. If the only way to save her family's estate and reputation is by aiming a small pistol at the Duke of Calydon, then so be it. For Lady Jocelyn demands satisfaction - and she will have it at any cost. Even if it means demanding the hand of the intense and foreboding Duke himself... But she's made the first move against a very dangerous opponent... For Sebastian Thornton is no stripling to be trifled with. The lady has played her hand. Now it's his turn. For Sebastian is in need of a wife. And to find a wife with spirit and fire - even if she means to only marry for his money - would be a great prize indeed. And he intends to thoroughly take his pleasure with her... and demands his own satisfaction in return.

    Meredith Divine clings, using Rowena's plain appearance as a foil for her auburn curls and fuller figure. He would break the friendship, but the more he complains, the more time the girls spend together. Ceasing his disagreement, he hopes the friendship will die, believing Meredith will take a wrong step soon... Meredith clings to her only friend, Lady Rowena Stanforth, despite the disgusted looks thrown by Rowena's proud, judgmental brother. Lord Morton cannot abide Meredith because of her low standing, but Meredith's heart favours him . . . then in his single act of kindness, Meredith grasps an opportunity she cannot resist...

    Charming. Devastating. He was the last man she needed, but the only one she wanted. Orlando Holt has never assassinated a woman before. The lovely, feisty Lady Lynden will be his first. She's supposed to be a vicious murderess, but when Orlando begins to have doubts, he sets out to discover the identity of the person who hired him. What he learns will turn his world upside down, and propel him headlong into love with a woman who's immune to his charms. Twice widowed by the age of twenty-four, Lady Susanna Lynden has had enough of charming men. Her last husband knew all the right things to say to get her to the marriage bed…then made her life miserable. Money may be scarce and her house falling down around her, but the exotic fruit from her orange trees will keep poverty away. Except someone is thwarting her at every turn. Someone who may even want her dead. The books in the Assassins Guild series are: #1 The Charmer #2 The Rebel #3 The Saint #4 The Sinner

     MacFARLAND'S LASS by Glynnis Campbell - writing as Kira Morgan (formerly Captured by Desire) A woman on the run…a man on the hunt. He has forty days to earn her trust. She has forty days to win his heart. They have forty days to outwit their enemies. When Florie Gilder, the once-respected jeweler to Queen Mary, claims sanctuary in an abandoned church for a crime she didn't commit, huntsman Rane MacFarland, a local hero of the common folk, vows to protect her. But when his overlord charges him with preventing the fugitive lass's escape, Rane finds himself torn between duty and desire when he begins to fall for his spirited captive. And when powerful foes conspire to turn Rane and Florie against each other, they need courage, wits, and, most of all, love, to survive.

    Her only weakness might be the love she still harbors for the man who betrayed her. A wicked and deceitful plot brought about the unwanted marriage between young Anna Locke and Jude Sinclair, the handsome son of an earl. Furious over his new circumstances, the groom left his bride and England behind to travel the world. When he returns after eight long years, his first intention is to put an end to his farce of a marriage once and for all. But he never expected the woman his wife has become, or his fierce attraction to her. Living by her own rules, Anna has achieved success and independence as the owner of the finest Thoroughbred stables in Britain. She believes herself long-cured of the childish infatuation she’d once held for the man who married her and left her. With her husband’s unexpected return, Anna’s first desire is for revenge, but she soon realizes that she faces a difficult choice between fighting him and fighting for him. With a past tangled in lies and blackmail, Anna and Jude declare their marriage a battleground as passionate anger slides too easily into bold desire. To claim the love that could be theirs, they must overcome mutual distrust and destroy a long-held secret before it destroys them.

    Denied her dream of attending medical school, Sarah Howard is desperate to leave Boston far behind. Determined to prove that she can make it on her own, she poses as a married woman and boards a schooner bound for San Francisco. Stuck working in his family’s merchant bank, Jamie Thompson eagerly accepts the challenge of setting up a branch in San Francisco. He’s been restless for some time now, and barely escaped the clutches of the woman determined to marry him. The attraction between Sarah and Jamie is instant and powerful, yet each has something to prove, if only to themselves. Will their single-minded determination derail a blossoming romance?

    She longed to be free. Pressured by forces beyond their control, will they give in to forbidden desire?England, 1823. After establishing a successful practice in America, Dr. Harry Radcliffe swore he wouldn’t set foot on British soil again. But when he’s named the Duke of Ashton after his callous brother’s sudden death, he begrudgingly returns to the pretentious world he detests. And his pledge to his dying mother to find a wife is thrown into chaos when he meets his stunning sister-in-law.Margaret Radcliffe finally escaped her abusive marriage. Yet her late husband’s final cruel act left her penniless, with her only option to remarry... the one thing she vowed she’d never do again. But the new duke’s startlingly familiar features awaken yearnings she thought long-forgotten, dangling the heartbreaking whisper of a passion impossible to fulfill.Although convinced the accusations that she murdered her husband are only salacious gossip, Harry's real torment comes when he wishes for a union that would make them outcasts. But even when they finally submit to their simmering attraction, Margaret’s dream of happily-ever-after may be derailed by society’s schemes.Can a scandalous affair turn into a lifetime of love?The Reluctant Duke's Dilemma is the suspenseful first book in The Hope Clinic Regency romance series. If you like swoon-worthy heroes, uplifting humor, and heroines beating the odds, then you’ll adore Trisha Messmer’s tale of tortured hearts.

    He lives for the moment, indulging in temporary pleasures. Until Lady Caroline Seton sets her eyes on him and the heat of her gaze lures him in. Now he wants more than one stolen kiss, he wants forever. But Caroline hides a dangerous secret, one that could cost him his life. Will his love be enough to save them both...?Genres: Dark Fantasy / Vampire / Historical / Regency