Before I Met You
Lisa Jewell - 2012
She had forfeited university, parties, boyfriends, summer jobs - all the usual preoccupations of a woman her age - in order to care for Arlette in their dilapidated, albeit charming home on the English island of Guernsey. Her will included a beneficiary unknown to Betty and her family, a woman named Clara Pickle who presumably could be found at a London address. Now, having landed on a rather shabby street corner in '90s Soho, Betty is determined to find the mysterious Clara. She's ready for whatever life has to throw her way. Or so she thinks . . . In 1920s bohemian London, Arlette De La Mare is starting her new life in a time of postwar change. Beautiful and charismatic, she is soon drawn into the hedonistic world of the Bright Young People. But two years after her arrival in London, tragedy strikes and she flees back to her childhood home and remains there for the rest of her life. As Betty navigates the ups and downs of city life and begins working as a nanny for a rock star tabloid magnet, her search for Clara leads her to a man - a stranger to Betty, but someone who meant the world to her grandmother. Will the secrets of Arlette's past help Betty find her own way to happiness in the present? A rich detective story and a captivating look at London then and now, "Before I Met You" is an unforgettable novel about two very different women, separated by seventy years, but united by big hearts and even bigger dreams.
The Whispers on the Moors Collection
Sarah E. Ladd - 2014
Keeping it could cost her everything."Darbury, England, 1814"Amelia Barrett, heiress to an estate nestled in the English moors, defies family expectations and promises to raise her dying friend s baby. She ll risk everything to keep her word even to the point of proposing to the child s father a sea captain she s never met.When the child vanishes with little more than an ominous ransom note hinting at her whereabouts, Amelia and Graham are driven to test the boundaries of their love for this little one.Amelia s detailed plans would normally see her through any trial, but now, desperate and shaken, she s forced to examine her soul and face her one weakness: pride.Graham s strength and self-control have served him well and earned him much respect, but chasing perfection has kept him a prisoner of his own discipline. And away from the family he has sworn to love and protect.Both must learn to have faith and relinquish control so they can embrace the future ahead of them."The Headmistress of Rosemere"Patience Creighton has devoted her life to running her father s boarding school. But when the enigmatic master of the estate appears at her door, battered and unconscious, the young headmistress suddenly finds her livelihood and her heart in the hands of one dangerously handsome gentleman."Darbury, England, 1816"At twenty-five, Patience Creighton is already a spinster. The busy headmistress of Rosemere always expected a dashing man to sweep her off her feet and take her away . . . but that man never came. And since her father s death, keeping the school running and her mother happy has been plenty to keep her occupied.William Sterling dallied his way into financial trouble and mortal danger. When he is assaulted by his creditors henchmen on the road home from a tavern, he guides his horse to the doorstep of his tenant, the Rosemere School for Young Ladies. After being tended to by Patience, the wounded William rides off into the dawn but makes a point to learn more about the lovely headmistress.As he spends more time at Rosemere, something delicate begins to develop between William and Patience. But that will not deter William s creditors. With little money to repay his debts, and less for the upkeep of his estate, it becomes clear that sacrificing Rosemere may be the only way to preserve his legacy. But it may also cost him his happiness."A Lady at Willowgrove Hall"Her secret cloaks her in isolation and loneliness. His secret traps him in a life that is not his own."Darbury, England, 1819"Cecily Faire carries the shame of her past wherever she treads, knowing one slip of the tongue could expose her disgrace. But soon after becoming a lady s companion at Willowgrove Hall, Cecily finds herself face-to-face with a man well-acquainted with the past she s desperately hidden for years.Nathaniel Stanton has a secret of his own one that has haunted him for years and tied him to his father s position as steward of Willowgrove Hall. To protect his family, Nathaniel dares not breathe a word of the truth. But as long as the shadow looms over him, he ll never be free to find his own way in the world. He ll never be free to fall in love. When the secrets swirling within Willowgrove Hall come to light, Cecily and Nathaniel must confront a painful choice: Will they continue running from the past . . . or will they stand together and fight for a future without the suffocating weight of secrets long kept?"
Matilda and Montagu: The Story So Far
Emma V. Leech - 2020
When these overlooked girls make a pact to change their lives, anything can happen.Eleven girls – Eleven dares in a hat. Twelve stories of passion. Who will dare to risk it all?This book is not a new story, but a compilation of all the instances throughout the Girls Who Dare series where Matilda Hunt and Lucian Barrington, Marquess of Montagu interacted and/or corresponded, as well as bits where Matilda, Lucian or Phoebe, Montagu’s niece, may have been thought of or talked about.That said, this is a wonderful prequel for Matilda’s upcoming story, To Hunt the Hunter and really highlights how their relationship began and how it has progressed over time.NOTE: While this book and To Hunt a Hunter CAN be read as a standalone, many of the characters would be unknown to the first time reader and reading the Girls Who Dare series is highly recommended.And now, Matilda & Montagu, the Story so Far!Happy Reading!
The Susanna Kearsley Collection
Susanna Kearsley - 2014
History has a habit of not letting go...From the Cornish coast, to an archaeological dig, to the windswept ruins of a Scottish castle, collected together for the first time are three novels by bestselling author Susanna Kearsley: The Rose Garden; Sophia's Secret; The Shadowy Horses.
The Matchmaker’s Rogue
Regina Scott - 2020
She is the hostess of the spa, arranging introductions and entertainments and playing matchmaker to the ladies and gentlemen who come to take the waters, promenade through the shops, and dance at the assembly. But when a rogue returns from her past, Jess finds herself suddenly at sea.Always an adventurer, Larkin Denby left Grace-by-the-Sea to right the wrongful death of his father. Now he’s back on a mission: to identify the mysterious Lord of the Smugglers who allegedly sails from Grace Cove and takes England’s secrets to France. But Grace-by-the-Sea is the perfect little spa town, run by the still oh-so-perfect Jesslyn Chance. When the village’s future is threatened, Jess must work with Lark to solve the mystery and protect the town’s own. In doing so, the matchmaker of Grace-by-the-Sea may just find that the best match for her is the rogue who stole her heart years ago.
Brides of Beckham
Kirsten Osbourne - 2013
Included are: Mail Order Mayhem, Mail Order Mama, Mail Order Madness and Mail Order Mix-up. Harriett Long, a widow in Beckham, Massachusetts, begins her journey as a matchmaker by matching up four brides with grooms in the West. Follow her and her butler, Higgins, as they give desperate women their happily ever afters.Mail Order MayhemWhen Maude is told she must marry a repulsive man, she instead responds to an Iowa farmer who is looking for a mail order bride. After sneaking out of town on a train, she goes to Iowa and marries. She quickly falls for the wonderful man she marries, but does he feel the same? And will she be able to escape her past? Mail Order MamaWhen Emily’s mother decides to marry, her fiancé says that twenty year old Emily needs to find a new place to live before the wedding. She runs across an advertisement for mail order brides and responds, hoping to find a good situation. Benjamin lost the love of his life just months before. He and his girls need a new mama in their house. Will Emily be the mama they need? Mail Order MadnessSusan cannot stand living with her eleven younger siblings, so she answers an advertisement for a mail order bride, choosing a man who has no children so she won’t be plagued with other people’s ill-behaved offspring. When she arrives in Fort Worth, she finds out her fiancé has been killed, and his older brother is offering to take his place. Mail Order Mix UpWhen Ellen and her sister are forced out of the only home they’ve ever known by a local banker after the death of their father, they answer an advertisement placed by Harriett Long for mail order brides. Ellen chooses to marry the sheriff of a town in Colorado while Malinda agrees to marry his brother, a banker. Each sister is immediately drawn to one of the brothers….too bad it’s the wrong one!
Elusive Bride
Nancy Kay Moore - 2016
When she leaves a church filled with family and friends and tells the limo driver to "just go" she has no idea she will land up in a near-by town at a neighborhood bar, befriended by Weston Morris, a local veterinarian and all-around good ole boy. Will Weston convince Ava to go back and work things out with her fiancé or persuade her to hang around his hometown and start a new life? A life that includes him and his young son, Toby. Elusive Bride will hopefully convince you that sometimes even when you think you have it all figured out there is still time to change your mind.
Attonement
James Bailey - 2012
A man sits on a bench in front of his old school remembering the place where one particular day changed his life and those of many others dramatically years earlier.
The Escort Collection
Leigh James - 2017
When billionaire mogul James Preston hires an escort as a date for his brother’s wedding, he knows he’s taking a risk. One thing he won’t be taking? The escort’s clothes off. He just wants a date—not a girlfriend. Not a relationship. No strings. No ties. No games. No sex. He has his reasons. He lost someone he loved, and isn’t interested in trying again. Too many opportunities for mistakes or worse, heartbreak. Audrey Reynolds became a high-end escort to keep her brother in his expensive group home. James Preston is the client of her dreams—he’s offering to pay her more money for two weeks than she’s ever made before. But James is... difficult. He’s gorgeous, troubled and all too human for Audrey's business-like tastes. Determined to complete her assignment and collect the money, Audrey tries to play by James’s rules. But before she knows what's happening, he's rewriting the contract. When Audrey ends up in James’s bed, he realizes that she’s everything he’s wanted… and everything he’s been running from. Escorting the Actress He was my party-boy billionaire stepbrother... Now he's my disinherited, sexy escort? FML! Kyle: She was my geeky, brace-faced stepsister. Now she's a stunning Hollywood actress. And she just became a client at the upscale escort agency where I work. Things might finally be looking up. Lowell: I had a PR disaster on my hands. I needed a pretend boyfriend--so I called the escort service. But then stepbrother bad boy showed up. Now I'm all sorts of screwed. Or wishing I was. Wait--I take that back! I take it back! Kyle: My powerful father will do anything to keep me away from Lowell, including dangling my fortune in front of me. But I just might be more interested in what my sexy ex-stepsister has to offer. That is, if I can convince her to give it to me. Escorting the Player Win or Lose... Winning is important but this is championship quarterback Chase Layne's last chance for glory. All he wants for his final season is to win the Superbowl. But dreams of ending his career on a high will be sacked if his soon to be ex-wife has her way. She and her new boyfriend have plans to ruin Chase in a media smear, stealing everything he's worked to achieve. He just has to show the press he's still in control and on top of his game, in business and his private life. It's How You Play the Game... Avery Banks knows all about being played. Life has done that to her for years now and she's tired of being the loser. All she needs is a big score...a job paying enough money to allow her stop turning tricks for good and to get her sister into rehab. Then it happens! She gets the dream job pretending to be a star football player's girlfriend. All she has to do is make him look good, help him keep up his All American Boy image for the next few weeks. Easy, right? Except her sister sees an even bigger payoff: Blackmailing Chase. As Chase and Avery play offense to everyone trying to bring them down, Avery must also face the hard truth: she's made the ultimate rookie mistake...falling in love with a client. Escorting the Groom TO HAVE AND TO HOLD… Ruthless technology billionaire Lucas Ford has run out of time. The rules of his trust make it clear: be married by thirty-five and stay married for one year. Otherwise, bye-bye inheritance—and the family fortune will be inherited by his sister, who might very well blow it on Botox and funding her sorority alma mater.
The Zodiac Queen: Season Two
Gemma James - 2021
USA Today bestselling author Gemma James brings you season one of the Zodiac Queen, a unique and steamy tale of a young queen caught between twelve signs.Twelve men, a virgin queen, one arranged marriage…Cancer: Vance Morgan—a kinky doctor with an exhibitionist streak.Leo: Sebastian Stone—the rebellious and passionate man whose ocean eyes set me ablaze.Virgo: Miles Sinclair—the virgin of the brotherhood and someone not to be crossed.Twelve men from twelve houses, and I must spend a month with each one, yielding to their desires and shedding my innocence so long as my virtue remains intact.Because the men of the Zodiac Brotherhood want a virgin queen after the last month concludes, and my uncle plans to auction me off to the highest bidder.Out of the twelve men on this island, only one has my heart.And only one can claim my hand in marriage.If only it were up to me to decide.Includes Cancer, Leo, and Virgo.
Twice a Rake
Catherine Gayle - 2011
. .When Aurora Hyatt loses her journal in Hyde Park, her ruin is a foregone conclusion. After all, if anyone discovers her writings, they'll find scandalous fantasies involving the newest rake in Town alongside entirely-too-candid thoughts about her typical dreary suitors. Aurora will either be forced into a loveless marriage with the first nodcock to make an offer, or she'll be assigned a permanent position on the shelf. Oh, dear good Lord. What catastrophe will God smote down upon her next?If Niles Thornton, Baron Quinton, desires to maintain any semblance of his current lifestyle, he must fulfill the requirements his grandfather has set for him. First and foremost: he must marry and begin filling his nursery within the year. When he is nearly barreled over by a racing curricle and a journal flies out to land at his feet, his troubles are over. Inside the journals pages, Quin discovers a scandal waiting to happen. Surely a young lady who would write such brazen things in a journal (and then dare to lose it) must recognize the necessity of a hasty marriage, even if the gentleman making the offer is rather less-than-honorable.In a drunken haze, Quin kisses Aurora on a crowded ballroom floor, necessitating their immediate marriage. Quin's troubles are only beginning, however, as Aurora's writings are soon the focus of both gossip rags and drawing room conversation. When word arrives of an even greater scandal following in his wife's wake, will he prove himself a drunken abuser like his father, or will he become the loving husband of Aurora's fantasies?
Dead Already
Mike Krentz - 2020
Broken bonds. Lives in peril. Redemption. Past-haunted emergency physician Zack Winston and casehardened defense attorney Bridget Larsen battle a malicious malpractice suit. They uncover a medical conspiracy trading in drugs and murder. As they peel back layers of truth, past relationships and current alliances destabilize —threatening both their lives.“Absolutely stunning! This is the heart-stopping medical thriller I've waited for.” —Stella Cameron, NYT bestselling author. "A heart-pounding thriller. Krentz taps his richly lived experience as an emergency physician and takes the reader on a deep dive into the medical challenges, legal battles, and lingering emotional wounds of Dr. Zack Winston. A page turner, with twists that surprise — and satisfy.” —Deborah Serani, award-winning author of THE NINTH SESSION. "Krentz applies his insider’s knowledge of the ER in a taut thriller that will rivet fans of medical dramas.” —Kimmery Martin, author of THE QUEEN OF HEARTS and THE ANTIDOTE FOR EVERYTHING. "DEAD ALREADY opens on the adrenaline rush of emergency room action and never slows down. Murder, nuanced characters, and deadly secrets make for a roller-coaster thrill ride. The push-pull relationship between ER doc Zack Winston and defense lawyer Bridget Larsen rings true all the way to their plunge into life-threatening danger.” —Jayne Ann Krentz / Amanda Quick, NYT and USA Today bestselling author.
The Blue Mustang
Will Henry - 1955
The only friend he can rely on is a blue mustang with the cunning and heart of a fighter.
Friends ForNever
Melissa Baldwin - 2016
She’s focused on her career and determined to leave her tiny cubicle behind for a fabulous corner office! But when a new co-worker, a friendship drama, and a hot workplace crush collide, Erin finds it harder and harder to focus. Especially when that crush on the oh-so-yummy Aiden Thomas starts to materialize into what feels like a magical relationship. Erin's life seems to finally be heading in the right direction...until suddenly friends aren't such great friends after all, her magical relationship hits a bumpy road, and her career could be derailed by it all. Erin learns a lesson the hard way: Sometimes people aren’t who they seem to be. With her happiness on the line, can Erin rise above her disappointments and create the life she's always dreamed of or will she be stuck being Friends ForNever? "Packed with love, laughter, and deliciously devious frenemies, Friends ForNever is an entertaining romantic comedy for the keeper shelf!" ~ Gemma Halliday, New York Times & USA Today bestselling author