Three years ago, she told her childhood sweetheart that he could talk to her once he planned to be serious. He disappeared that very night.Except now he’s back. Jeremy Wentworth, the Duke of Lansing, has returned to the tiny village he once visited with the hope of wooing Chloe. In his defense, it took him years of attempting to be serious to realize that the endeavor was incompatible with his personality.All he has to do is convince Chloe to make room for a mischievous trickster in her life, then disclose that in all the years they’ve known each other, he’s failed to mention his real name, his title… and the minor fact that he owns her entire village.Only one thing can go wrong: Everything.

    But what of her stepsisters, the homely pair exiled into ignominy by the fame of their lovely sibling? What fate befell those untouched by beauty ... and what curses accompanied Cinderella's looks?Set against the backdrop of seventeenth-century Holland, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister tells the story of Iris, an unlikely heroine who finds herself swept from the lowly streets of Haarlem to a strange world of wealth, artifice, and ambition. Iris's path quickly becomes intertwined with that of Clara, the mysterious and unnaturally beautiful girl destined to become her sister. While Clara retreats to the cinders of the family hearth, Iris seeks out the shadowy secrets of her new household -- and the treacherous truth of her former life.

    What future is there for such a girl? But a mysterious figure steps forward and offers to instruct her in the highest forms of martial arts--a path to a life of strength and independence.Half a world away in England, a young boy's idyllic summer on the Sussex downs implodes with the firing of a single bullet. Torn from his family, he becomes the hostage of a urbanely sadistic uncle. He dreams of escaping to find his beloved friend--but the friend is in China, ten thousand miles away.The girl trains to be deadly. The boy flees across continents. They do not know it yet, but their lives are already inextricably bound together, and will collide one fateful night when they least expect it.'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon' meets 'Downton Abbey,' this remarkable tale of friendship, danger, and coming of age will stay with you long after you have finished the last page.A prequel to MY BEAUTIFUL ENEMY.

    and brokenhearted since the death of his true love many years ago. Resigned to remarry, Sir Gareth decides to request the hand of a woman he respects and admires -- Lady Hester Thealer. But fate takes an impish turn when, en route to propose to his sensible acquaintance Lady Hester, Ludlow finds a saucy young lady who identifies herself as "Amanda Smith." Pretty Amanda is alone and unchaperone, and wandering unattended, and Ludlow, whose interest in her was purely avuncular, knows it is his duty to bring her back to her family. But it is to prove no easy task for the Corinthian. This turns out to be a challenge as Amanda seems to possess an imagination as intriguing as it is dangerous. Finally, resigned Sir Gareth Ludlow arrives at the Theale estate with the runaway schoolgirl in tow. After his proposal, Lady Hester stuns both him and her family when she refuses him. At her age, no one would expect her to turn down such an eligible suitor. But rational Hester has met the beautiful indomitable Amanda. How can the quiet, shy Hester hope to compete with such a lively young lady? The headstrong Amanda is young--but old enough to know her own romantic mind--Amanda ran away from her doting grandfather, who objected to her proposed marriage to a youthful, impecunious officer. And the young Amanda will be who will show Hester how to win Ludlow's elusive heart.

    When Edward is tragically killed, Viola survives the best way she can, and ends up becoming partner with another widow in a laundry and dressmaking business, barely making ends meet. When her partner deserts her and her husband's debts threaten to destroy her, Viola offers William Donovan - a self-made Irish man - a deal he can't resist. She offers to be his personal mistress for three months; in return, Donovan agrees to house and feed her, which allows Viola to turn down the advances of Paul Lennox, a treacherous man whom she loathes. As Viola and William start to trust each other - much to both of their surprise - things heat up as Lennox plots to kidnap Viola. But will the growing bond between Viola and her Irish devil prove strong enough to overcome the dangerous circumstances that are headed their way?

    Sunday’s only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true.When Sunday meets an enchanted frog who asks about her stories, the two become friends. Soon that friendship deepens into something magical. One night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland—and a man Sunday’s family despises.The prince returns to his castle, intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was. But Sunday is not so easy to woo. How can she feel such a strange, strong attraction for this prince she barely knows? And what twisted secrets lie hidden in his past—and hers?

    Money, social standing and the protection of her step-brother. Or so she thought. When she discovers his dark secrets, he turns on her and sells her to a western brothel to keep her quiet. There, she's forced to work or participate in an auction. A virgin auction...and she's the prize.One look at Emma James and Whitmore Kane and Ian Stewart know she would belong to them. Marriage was the only way to truly claim her...so they bid and bid well. As their bride, they return to the Bridgewater Ranch and teach her the ways to please not one husband, but two. But danger has tracked Ian around the world and threatens their newfound relationship. Together, can they fight the demons of the past while forging a future?>This is the first book in the Bridgewater Ménage Series, where you'll meet all of the men in Kane and Ian's army regiment and discover their unusual beliefs on marriage. Read the entire series to follow along as the men, two or three at a time, claim their brides. Bridgewater: Where ménage meets marriage.

    The villagers blame her corrupted bloodline—her father was a Yehuli man, one of the much-loathed servants of the fanatical king. When soldiers arrive from the Holy Order of Woodsmen to claim a pagan girl for the king’s blood sacrifice, Évike is betrayed by her fellow villagers and surrendered.But when monsters attack the Woodsmen and their captive en route, slaughtering everyone but Évike and the cold, one-eyed captain, they have no choice but to rely on each other. Except he’s no ordinary Woodsman—he’s the disgraced prince, Gáspár Bárány, whose father needs pagan magic to consolidate his power. Gáspár fears that his cruelly zealous brother plans to seize the throne and instigate a violent reign that would damn the pagans and the Yehuli alike. As the son of a reviled foreign queen, Gáspár understands what it’s like to be an outcast, and he and Évike make a tenuous pact to stop his brother.As their mission takes them from the bitter northern tundra to the smog-choked capital, their mutual loathing slowly turns to affection, bound by a shared history of alienation and oppression. However, trust can easily turn to betrayal, and as Évike reconnects with her estranged father and discovers her own hidden magic, she and Gáspár need to decide whose side they’re on, and what they’re willing to give up for a nation that never cared for them at all.In the vein of Naomi Novik’s New York Times bestseller Spinning Silver and Katherine Arden’s national bestseller The Bear and the Nightingale, this unforgettable debut— inspired by Hungarian history and Jewish mythology—follows a young pagan woman with hidden powers and a one-eyed captain of the Woodsmen as they form an unlikely alliance to thwart a tyrant.

    As this boisterous baker's dozen approaches adulthood, the king and queen lovingly tell their daughters, "You must make your own fortune, for we cannot enrich you without impoverishing our people or leaving our lands defenceless, and that we will not do."Happily, the princesses of Swansgaard are eager to meet this challenge, for they yearn for adventures both near and far from home.Clarice, an expert swordswoman, is the first to depart. Disguising herself as Clarence, she signs on for a voyage to the New World. The captain is vile and blackhearted, and the crew soon mutinies. Clarice becomes first mate - and finds her heart captured by the new captain, Dominick, who is, to his own surprise, increasingly attracted to Clarence.Now outlaws, Dominick and his crew turn to piracy - though their hearts are not entirely in it. They soon run afoul of the Pirate Council, who orders them to retrieve the Heart of Light. All who have searched for this great treasure have vanished, with neither ships nor crews ever seen again and no sign of their fates ever discovered.But none before have carried with them the sorceress Shamal, who stakes a claim of her own on Dominick's heart.

    Finding property and preaching to the lost are his only ways of honoring his deceased fiancée. He hasn't counted on Elmer (Elsie) Smith claiming the same plot and refusing to leave. Not only is she a burr in his side, but she is full of the homesteading know-how he is sadly lacking. Obtaining a claim in the Cherokee Strip Land Run is Elsie Smith's only hope for survival, and not just any plot, she has a specific one in mind. The land's not only a way to honor her pa and his life, but also to provide a livelihood for herself. She's willing to put in whatever it takes to get that piece of property, and Elsie's determined to keep it. Her bitterness is what protects her, and she has no intentions of allowing that preacher to lay claim to her land . . . or her heart. Written for the General Market (G) (I): Contains little or no; sexual dialogue or situations, violence, or strong language. May also contain some content of an inspirational/religious nature. Similar novels in this genre may be categorized as: historical romance, inspirational historical romance, christian romance, and wholesome historical romance.

    A man of secrets accused of a terrible crime ... In a place of new beginnings their destinies are joined --- in a glorious romantic new work from the incomparable storyteller KATHLEEN E. WOODWISSThe fiery and outspoken adopted daughter of one of England's most formidable women, Shemaine O'Hearn has made powerful enemies. And now her adversaries have found a way to remove the hot-blooded beauty from her life of privilege: by falsely convicting Shemaine of thievery, and sending her in shackles to America, where she is to be sold in indentured servitude to the highest bidder.In a bustling port city in the colony of Virginia, she becomes the servant of Gage Thornton --- a shipbuilder with a young child in need of a nanny. And despite whispered rumors condemning the handsome widower for the untimely death of his wife, Shemaine cannot ignore her desire for this caring, generous and enigmatic stranger who silently aches with his growing need for her --- even as grave peril reaches out from across a vast ocean to threaten their flowering love.

    Penniless and orphaned, she sets off for London to make her fortune as a man. But a position as secretary to Lord Cosgrove proves unexpectedly challenging. Someone is trying to destroy Cosgrove and his life is increasingly in jeopardy.As Charlotte plunges into London’s backstreets and brothels at Cosgrove’s side, hunting his persecutor, she finds herself fighting for her life—and falling in love…

    It is a life built on secrets, lust, and lies, and Sydnee Sauveterre is at the center of the charade. Used as a source of income at a stand on the Natchez Trace, she escapes at a young age to start a new life in Louisiana. Gifted with visions and a knowledge of Hoodoo, Sydnee must find her way through the quagmire of danger and deceit that is 19th Century New Orleans. She bans together with four friends to create an illusion within the elegant, high society of the Louisiana Creole. It is a risky charade meant to fulfill all of their secret desires, and Sydnee gambles everything, including love, to lead this double life. Will she survive the grand masquerade? "Once again Amanda Hughes splashes the pages with gritty adventure and love stories about audacious women in the 18th and 19th Century. Her page-turning tales will keep you on the edge of your seat as you take wild rides through dramatic and dazzling periods of history."

    Her widowed mother and baby sister are depending upon her for their survival back home in Boston. And the self-appointed mayor of the rugged mountain community is counting on Miss Cooper to prove herself a fitful teacher for the young and old alike. Lord Alexander Barnes is determined to bring a bit of English civility to the wild terrain of Emerson Pass. Using his own resources, the widower and father of five builds a schoolhouse and recruits a young teacher from the east to provide an education for both the adults and the children in his rapidly growing mining town. But when the lovely, and much younger than anticipated, Miss Cooper arrives to town, Lord Barnes finds himself providing more than just employment when the boarding house proves to be an unsafe accommodation for the school mistress. As Miss Cooper takes a room in the Barnes' home, the five Barnes children are delighted. They are sure Miss Cooper is the perfect woman for their lonely father. But when a friend of the Englishman turns up dead, the hope for progress in the untamed town seems immediately lost. Can Miss Cooper and Lord Barnes bring change to the closed-minded locals? And will their endeavor open their hearts to something more? The first installment of USA Today bestselling author Tess Thompson's historical romance series brings a touch of whimsy and an extra dash of mystery to Edwardian romance. Readers will fall in love with the courageous Miss Cooper and swoon for the magnanimous English Lord as they struggle to save their exciting new world at the turn of the 20th Century.

    She leaves her San Francisco home to join Behan in Tombstone, Arizona, a magnet for miners (and outlaws) attracted by the silver boom. Though united by the glint of metal, Tombstone is plagued by divided loyalties: between Confederates and Unionists, Lincoln Republicans and Democrats.But when the silver-tongued Behan proves unreliable, it is legendary frontiersman Wyatt Earp who emerges as Josephine’s match. As the couple’s romance sparks, Behan’s jealousy ignites a rivalry destined for the history books…At once an epic account of an improbable romance and a retelling of an iconic American tale, The Last Woman Standing recalls the famed gunfight at the O.K. Corral through the eyes of a spunky heroine who sought her happy ending in a lawless outpost—with a fierce will and an unflagging spirit.