Book picks similar to
The Pretty Horse-Breakers by Barbara Cartland


romance
barbara-cartland
historical-fiction
historical-romance

Blackmoore


Julianne Donaldson - 2013
    Her plan is to travel to India instead—if only to find peace for her restless spirit and to escape the family she abhors. But Kate’s meddlesome mother has other plans. She makes a bargain with Kate: India, yes, but only after Kate has secured—and rejected—three marriage proposals.Kate journeys to the stately manor of Blackmoore determined to fulfill her end of the bargain and enlists the help of her dearest childhood friend, Henry Delafield. But when it comes to matters of love, bargains are meaningless and plans are changeable. There on the wild lands of Blackmoore, Kate must face the truth that has kept her heart captive. Will the proposal she is determined to reject actually be the one thing that will set her heart free?Set in Northern England in 1820, Blackmoore is a Regency romance that tells the story of a young woman struggling to learn how to follow her heart. It is Wuthering Heights meets Little Women with a delicious must-read twist.

Wild Angel


Miriam Minger - 1994
    and the last thing he needed was a troublesome woman. Yet this fierce Irish warrior took a deathbed oath to protect a chieftain's rebellious daughter.Triona was a hellion of a woman...who would let no man rule her. Raised in the ways of a warrior, she defied Ronan's every command. So he planned to marry her off, to be rid of the wild lass forever. But in the heat of battle—enflamed by her passionate spirit—Ronan decided he wanted this beautiful, impossible woman for himself!

The Stolen Princess


Anne Gracie - 2008
    Here, meet Gabriel Renfrew, who rescues a runaway princess—and falls head over heels in love.The estranged younger son of an earl, Gabriel Renfrew earned glory and honor on the battlefield, but now, without purpose, he finds himself deliberately courting danger at every turn. Then one night he races his horse along a dangerous moonlit cliff—and stumbles upon a beautiful woman obviously in need of saving.A princess on the run, Callie has disguised herself and her son, the crown prince, as commoners, hoping to protect him from those intent on stealing the throne. She has no choice but to trust the handsome ex-officer who's come to her rescue, even when he insists that only a marriage of convenience will provide her the ultimate protection. But while her new husband may keep Callie and her son safe from assassins, what will he do to her heart?

Along Came a Duke


Elizabeth Boyle - 2012
    That is, until she is left a vast fortune payable only upon her marriage to the very respectable Mr. Barkworth—a match that offers little chance of discovering exactly what her aunt means by "untoward attentions."But the same can't be said when the Duke of Preston happens along Tabitha's path. He spies a rebellious streak in her that matches his own and he makes it his mission to save her from such a passionless match, interfering in her life at every turn. All too soon, Preston—whose very name spells ruin—has Tabitha caught between the good fortune that guarantees her security, and his kiss, which promises an entirely different kind of happily-ever-after.

The Loyal Heart


Merry Farmer - 2011
    Several problems. Her childhood love, Ethan, has returned home from the Crusades, but he’s more interested in winning his land back than wooing her. She has to rescue a pair of nuns who are being held prisoner in Derby Castle’s tower by the sadistic Sheriff Buxton. And to top it all off, she’s developing scandalous feelings for Buxton’s lackey, the dark and devilish Crispin. Faced with all that what’s a girl to do but don her disguise as the Derbywood Bandit and take matters into her own hands?Sir Crispin is at his wit’s end. Not only does he have his hands full keeping Buxton from killing half the shire, now his arch nemesis, the Derbywood Bandit, has joined forces with his old rival Ethan. And that’s nothing compared to the burning torch he carries for his ex-fiancé, Lady Aubrey. He would do anything to win Aubrey’s love …… until he suspects that there could be a closer connection between Aubrey and the Derbywood Bandit than anyone knows.

His Wayward Duchess (The Lady Adventuress, #1)


Daphne du Bois - 2014
    Who better to help him set the crumbling estate to rights? But Miss Millforte is much more than Sylvester, or even she herself, could ever imagine! When Holly turns the tables on him, charming London society and stealing his heart into the bargain, can their marriage take a most inconvenient turn towards love instead? An old-fashioned comedy of manners in which adventure, blackmail, rakish cousins and true love abound…

Black-eyed Devils


Catrin Collier - 2009
    Amy Watkins and miner 'Big' Tom Kelly were in love. But can they keep their feelings secret or face the threat of death in a community torn apart by the miner's strike? Tonypandy, South Wales, 1911. Starving, striking miners fight soldiers and police on the picket lines for the right to earn a wage that will feed their families, while Irish labourers are brought in the take their place in the pits, for half their pay. Handsome 'Big' Tom Kelly, an Irish worker, comes to Wales looking for a better life and believes he has found it when he falls in love with Amy Watkins, the daughter of a strike leader. At night, the miners search out the Irish men, drag them from their beds, beat them and then hang them from the street lamp posts. Can Amy and Tom keep their love a secret forever? All they want is a future together. But in a world full of hatred, anger and violence, their dream seems impossible. Until another strike leader offers them a way out.

Mail Order Susanna


Charlotte Dearing - 2020
    A vulnerable mail-order bride, traveling alone.Beau Bailey is tasked with protecting travelers on an east Texas train route. A famed Texas Ranger, Beau tangles with plenty of rough outlaws.His scars come from years of collaring hardened criminals.When he meets Susanna, a lovely, elegant young woman traveling alone, she stirs his protective instincts. She’s a mail-order bride going to Sweet Willow, a town he knows well. Beau’s gut tells him there’s a problem waiting for her.Susanna is on her way to marry a man who Beau believes is dead...

Ireland Rose


Patricia Strefling - 2011
    Rose's father finds a suitable husband, Captain Camden Lovell, twenty-seven years her senior. Captain Lovell takes his bride to Charleston, provides her with a beautiful home on the Battery and good standing in Charleston Society.Three years later Rose is a widow. Captain Wyatt, her husband's trusted employee is now in charge of her affairs. Rose senses he does not like her. One day he brings a young woman with child to her - and a secret that must be kept. A little girl is born, and Rose becomes a mother. Captain Wyatt offers to marry her in name only to protect her from Charleston society gossip, but she is determined she will not marry a second time for protection. She will marry for love or live alone.Just three months later, August 31st, 1886 the city of Charleston suffers the worst earthquake of the century. Her beautiful home is in shambles. Rose has no choice but to return to her parents' birthplace in Ireland. The only record she has of her Irish ancestry is in her mother's Bible. She and her infant daughter take the next ship to Ireland. She has begun to hope she has finally found happiness when Captain Wyatt comes with news that shatters her heart.Every person Rose loves is taken away. Her faith in God is shaken. There is a plan for her, but she can't see it. Captain Wyatt breaks her heart, not once but twice.

An Undeniable Rogue


Annette Blair - 2002
    What she needs is a husband, and she knows well enough that romance and matrimony aren't always compatible. While providing for her twins and the child she now carries is paramount, wedding a virtual stranger—even a wealthy one, like Gideon St. Goddard, Duke of Stanthorpe—is no light matter.Sabrina knows the friend who arranged the union would not promise her to a true scoundrel, but one look at her future husband convinces her that he is a shameless rogue. A shockingly handsome and desirable one, at that. Why has he agreed to marry her? When Gideon flashes that wicked, seductive smile, the reason hardly matters, but the chance that he'll steal her heart becomes all too real...

The Yuletide Countess


Alicia Quigley - 2014
    Her fondness for her family, along with her ability to find joy in everything, endears her to most who know her. On her annual sojourn with Isobel to Ballydendargan, Scotland, Harriet finds more than the peace and quiet of the countryside. She meets Miss Catherine Dalburn, governess to Lord Glencairn’s two children as well as the children themselves. The two women form a friendship and Harriet grows fond of the children. While Isobel pursues her “secret bluestocking” interests and Lord Francis Wheaton arrives in Ballydendargan to continue his pursuit of Isobel’s heart, Harriet finally meets Lord Glencairn. A dashingly handsome man in his later years with twinkling blue eyes and beautiful white hair, he and Harriet become fast friends, united in their desire to see Isobel and Lord Francis finally admit their feelings for each other and marry. Fate has a surprise in store for Harriet, who has long thought herself “on the shelf.” Are her feelings for Lord Glencairn more than friendship? Can he possibly feel the same for her, especially since he all but disappeared from polite society after his wife’s death ten years before? The Yuletide Countess is a “co-quel” or “side-car” to The Secret Bluestocking/A Lady of Passion, in that the much of it happens in parallel with the other books. However, the point of view is strictly Harriet’s.

Gawen's Claim


Stella Knight - 2019
    and right into the arms of a dashing Highlander...Lila Fletcher is determined to prove the strength of her magical time traveling ability to herself, her family, and her coven. But when she travels back in time to fourteenth century Scotland to contend with a malevolent foe, she must also battle an all-consuming desire for a dashing Highland laird...After losing his family to illness, Gawen MacRaild has turned his back on love. Yet his obligation to duty conflicts with his growing desire to claim the bonnie time traveling lass for his own...As Lila and Gawen work together to destroy a dark enemy intent on altering time, they struggle against their pull of mutual love and desire, while their powerful foe—and time itself—threatens their future...If you're a fan of Scottish time travel, handsome highlanders, strong heroines, romance, and magical adventure, you'll love Gawen's Claim, the first book of the Highlander Fate, Lairds of the Isles series.

The Winter Sea


Susanna Kearsley - 2008
    Settling herself in the shadow of Slains Castle, she creates a heroine named for one of her own ancestors and starts to write.But when she discovers her novel is more fact than fiction, Carrie wonders if she might be dealing with ancestral memory, making her the only living person who knows the truth-the ultimate betrayal-that happened all those years ago, and that knowledge comes very close to destroying her...Please note: This novel has also been published under a different title: Sophia's Secret.Please note, this title is the original recording, which is now known as Sophia's Secret©2010 Susanna Kearsley (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Impossible Dream


Gemma Jackson - 2018
    They are placed in the home of Captain Charles Whitmore but soon discover that the household is in turmoil. Charles, hoping to amass a fortune, is preparing to set off on a long sea voyage, deliberately leaving his wife Georgina almost penniless to fend for herself and the servants. Georgina, who has been desperate to break free from a life of violent marital abuse, is relieved that he will be gone for some years, but nevertheless the future is frightening. Then help comes from an unexpected quarter. An organisation that helps women escape lives of abuse or genteel poverty makes Georgina an offer. They propose that her house should become a school designed to train such women to seek employment in the American West. The very idea is at once shocking and appealing. Can Georgina step into the unknown and lead the women under her care into the future? The orphan maids listen and wonder. Can they too dare to dream of a better life for themselves?

The Rake and The Recluse: A Tale of Two Brothers


Jenn LeBlanc - 2011
    but there's something not quite right and though he wishes to be done with the entire situation, he just can't keep her from his thoughts...Francine Larrabee was on a path bound for certain glory, until she lands in Victorian England and is nearly killed by a team of terrifying black horses led by a Duke, Gideon, who matches them in spirit and demeanor and always seems to be cross. Though she is drawn to her rescuer, he wants nothing to do with her.Brother to The Duke of Roxleigh, the Lord Peregrine Trumbull, is Viscount of Roxleigh in name, but a rake of the worst order by action.... until he meets his match in a girl who requires his complete submission, something he has never been familiar with.Lilly Steele was a simple country miss until she was kidnapped, brutally attacked and left for dead in the far reaches of Great Britain, now she has escaped the aftermath and has asked Perry to do the untenable.She managed to recover her physical injuries... but the emotional scars run deep and will require absolute trust and healing from an altogether unlikely source.What is love? Where does it come from? What makes two people crash, and two other people burn. In this six part serial novel we learn what it means to love, what it means to care, and what it feels like to give up everything you know, to save the one person you can't live without.VOTED BEST HISTORICAL ROMANCE BY READERS for the 2012 Bookie Award!THIS IS THE COMPLETE NOVEL.All six parts of the serial are included in this edition:FREEDOMFOUNDTAKENRUINATIONSUBMISSIONRETRIBUTIONTHIS EDITION IS NOT ILLUSTRATED