Determined to do right, he reclaims his illegitimate daughter Penelope and heads to London in search of a very rich wife. Abigail Merriweather's farm has been quiet since she lost custody of her four young half-siblings-until a roguish gentleman named Fitz stops for a rest, his rebellious daughter in tow. His etiquette is questionable, his parenting deplorable-so why does Abby delight in his flirtations? And when she seeks a suitor to help her regain the children, why does Fitz keep popping up?

    Her talent finds a patron in Ali Enor of Aquitaine and more than a music tutor in the Queen's finest troubadour and Commander of the Guard, Dragonetz los Pros.Weary of war, Dragonetz uses Jewish money and Moorish expertise to build that most modern of inventions, a paper mill, arousing the wrath of the Church. Their enemies gather, ready to light the political and religious powder-keg of medieval Narbonne.Set in the period following the Second Crusade, Jean Gill's spellbinding romantic thrillers evoke medieval France with breathtaking accuracy. The characters leap off the page and include amazing women like Eleanor of Aquitaine and Ermengarda of Narbonne, who shaped history in battles and in bedchambers.

    James What readers are saying about Reluctant Guardian ~ I was pleasantly surprised to find that the characters captivated me from the start. The story is entertaining and suspenseful. ~ ~ Just finished reading this book I enjoyed it very much. I loved the compassion that the author made sure the reader grasped and also the length that when you truly love anyone you will go to. ~ ~ I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Its premise is fresh and well thought out. The characters are likeable and believable. ~ She's lost almost everyone and everything she cared about... After a heartbreaking tragedy leaves Devon O'Leary and her brother alone in the world, news of an unexpected inheritance offers hope for a new beginning. But when they arrive in Charleston, they discover a vengeful grandfather has set the stage so that no matter which course they choose, they cannot win. To make matters worse, their dashingly handsome guardian - a rake in sheep's clothing – seems bent on ensuring their financial ruin. Devon's brother is prepared to do whatever it takes to keep their home, and she vows to do everything in her power to help. The question is, will it be enough? The one thing he's ever wanted is finally within his reach... Though Tristan Montgomery hated Lucas O'Leary for years, he always coveted the land adjoining his. Now, if he can bring himself to agree to the terms of a cruel will, in two years’ time, it will be his. But in order to gain the prize, he must to agree to take responsibility for the grandchildren he's prepared to hate on sight. To his dismay, however, he finds he actually likes his new charges. And while the thought of throwing them out of their family home fills him with guilt, giving up his dream is not an option.

    Quite by happenstance, she's introduced to the Hawthorne family and their close family friend, Anthony, the reformed marquis of Raeburn. They welcome her into their world, but just as she's beginning to gain some confidence and even suspect she may have caught Anthony's eye, she's blindsided by an unexpected twist in her situation accompanied by nasty rumors. Will she lose her reputation when the world that has only just accepted her turns its back on her, or will she rest in the support of the friends who've become like family and the man who's shared his faith and captured her heart?A Lady of Esteem is an e-only novella that gives an exciting introduction to Kristi Ann Hunter's new Regency romance series about the aristocratic Hawthorne family! Includes an extended excerpt of Kristi's debut full-length novel, A Noble Masquerade.

    Eight years ago, her brother disappeared while fighting alongside Gypsy partisans in Spain. From his letters, Rose has just two clues to his whereabouts—his descriptions of the spectacular south slopes of the Sierra Nevada and his love for a woman who was carrying his child.In Spain, it has been eight years since Lola Aragon’s family was massacred. Eight years since she rescued a newborn girl from the arms of her dying mother and ran for her life. She has always believed that nothing could make her return…until a plea for help comes from a desperate stranger.Now, Rose, Lola, and the child set out on a journey from the wild marshes of the Camargue to the dazzling peaks of Spain’s ancient mountain communities. As they come face-to-face with war’s darkest truths, their lives will be changed forever by memories, secrets, and friendships.

    The nuns called her Louise. Never adopted, at the age of 13, she was sent out west on an Orphan Train where she was placed out as a housekeeper and farm laborer. Unwanted and unloved she fought to survive in a lonely, abusive environment and an uncertain future. Only the hope of escaping from her prison-like existence kept her alive. Follow her adventures as she escaped from the farm and struggled to find her way in a world she knew nothing about. A short marriage left her alone with her little girl, Jennie. In Desperation she moved from life in a small farm community to the glittering life of Las Vegas. This move opened the door to their future. Thrown together by chance, Jennie met a troubled young girl name Carla who became part of their family. Their life long friendship led them into a world of intrigue, murder, heartache and survival. Through tears, laughter and love, Louise gave them all the hope and motivation they needed to become strong, powerful women. This is their story.

    While amassing his fortune in India, not a day passed he did not recall Felicity's fair loveliness, did not recall the silken tones of her sweet voice, did not desire to possess her. Now a widow, Felicity Harrison does not recognize the handsome nabob as the young man left for dead by highwayman years earlier. Though she wants nothing more than to snub the arrogant man who promises to rescue her family from financial ruin in exchange for presenting his sister to Society, she cannot snub him. She must force herself to bear his company. But the longer she is with him, the more she has to force herself to remain true to her dead husband's memory. Why is it the humbly born Thomas Moreland possesses more nobility that any man of her class? And why is it she finds it harder and harder to mourn a dead man when Thomas's virility awakens her deepest desires?

    She has taken a North Texas quarter horse racer and liquor baron named Archie Carpin--the last of a dynasty of criminals from the 1920's--for a ride and cleaned him out of a neat two million bucks. And thus begins the adventure of Bill’s life.Ensues a chase north across Texas to recover the money and shake the pursuit of a couple of rednecks with a penchant for rifles and rigged explosives. Yet, through all this action the compelling tale of yet another mystery—an 80-year old missing person’s case—begins to unravel.

    He's been too busy helping to provide for his family. Now that he's heading west, Dex is hoping to start a family of his own. However, his attempt to acquire a mail-order bride fails miserably when the lady writes back ridiculing his terrible spelling. Rachel Oliver may be the last person he wants to know what a dunce he is, but she's also the smartest woman in town--and it's clear he needs her help.Rachel Oliver has lingered in town for three years secretly mooning over Dex Stanton, but now she's done. If the fool wants to write to a mail-order bride company, so be it. Once she begins giving Dex lessons, however, Rachel realizes she may not be prepared to give up just yet.As their time together runs short, can two of the most stubborn people in town set aside their pride long enough to find love?Love by the Letter is a companion novella to A Bride for Keeps, Melissa Jagears's full-length debut novel available fall 2013. Includes an extended sneak peek at A Bride for Keeps.

    When a mysterious accident transports Simon and his assistant, Elizabeth West, back in time, Simon finally finds both the proof that he's been looking for, and the romance that he hasn't.Simon and Elizabeth's developing relationship is tested by demons real and imagined. In 1920s Manhattan, there are more than mobsters vying for power in the city's speakeasies. When the local kingpin with a dark secret sets his sights on Elizabeth, day to day struggles become a fight for their very lives.When the Walls Fell (Book #2)Professor Simon Cross and his assistant Elizabeth West have returned from their accidental journey into the past and are adjusting to their new life together as a couple. But an unwanted visit from the Council for Temporal Studies could change everything.A murder in the past is changing the future, and if the killing isn't stopped, Simon Cross might never be born.When they arrive in 1906 San Francisco, Elizabeth and Simon have no idea who wants Victor Graham dead or how it will happen. With the earthquake that leveled most of the city just days away, the race to save Graham thrusts them into a complex mystery of jealousy and revenge where murder might be the least of their worries.Fragments (Book #3)Simon & Elizabeth are back in book #3 of the Out of Time Series! Professor Simon Cross and his assistant, Elizabeth West, thought their time traveling days were over. That's before they stumble across a World War II photograph -- with missing time traveler, Evan Eldridge, injured and in desperate need of help.They find Evan in 1942 London, ill and not quite sure what's happened. He remembers only one thing with crystal clarity -- the whereabouts of an artifact Hitler believes can win the war. That's information every Nazi spy in the country would kill to know.As if saving Evan and surviving war-torn England weren't enough, the outcome of the war hinges on Simon and Elizabeth finding Evan's artifact before the Nazis do. But time is running out: for them, for London, for the world.Be sure not to miss the rest of the Out of Time Series!

    Valentina Ivanova is the darling of St. Petersburg's elite aristocracy-until her romance with a Danish engineer creates a terrible scandal and her parents push her into a loveless engagement with a Russian count. Meanwhile, Russia itself is bound for rebellion. With the Tsar and the Duma at each other's throats, and the Bolsheviks drawing their battle lines, the elegance and opulence of Tsarist rule are in their last days. And Valentina will be forced to make a choice that will change not only her own life, but the lives of those around her forever...

    or is it?Having just inherited his uncle’s viscountcy, George Bennett-Jones is informed by his mistress that he must find a bride, preferably the daughter of an aristocrat. Through a series of lessons, she instructs George on the finer points of meeting and courting a woman of the ton–and she has one in mind for him.It’s love at first sight when George spies Lady Elizabeth Carlington dancing with the Earl of Trenton. But the auburn-haired beauty is quite sure the earl will offer for her hand, and she has every intention of accepting–even if his kiss has her feeling as if she were being kissed by her best friend’s dog!When Elizabeth mentions the unfortunate kiss during the ball’s supper, George implies there is an art to kissing, innocently offering to replace her poor first impression with a proper kiss. Intrigued, and unaware that George is a viscount and a secret patron of her charity, Elizabeth accepts his offer at the next ball. George is more than happy to accommodate her. His kiss has the daughter of a marquess so stunned, so amazed and so aroused, she requests that he demonstrate the pleasures that can be had in a marriage bed. Knowing he has only one night to court the woman who has captured his heart, George sets out to prove himself while promising he will leave her virtue intact.Will the evening of pleasure he has planned for Elizabeth convince her to accept his hand in marriage? Or simply leave her with a vivid memory of what she will be missing should she accept the earl’s marriage proposal? The lessons of a mistress prove invaluable in "The Kiss of a Viscount".

    Despite her better judgement, Ava allows Emily to convince her to swap lives for a month, in order for Ava to scupper Emily’s engagement to a cold-hearted, brute of a man. Imagine Ava’s surprise when Emily’s betrothed turns out to be none other than her unrequited crush, the Duke of Kilbride! Raff Alexander Hamilton, the Sixth Duke of Kilbride, knows that he must do his duty to the line by marrying and procuring an heir. Love was never in the equation in his search for a bride. All that he required was a lady who was well-bred, quiet and biddable—and he thought that he had found just what he was looking for in Lady Emily Fairfax. Imagine his surprise, when overnight, his betrothed goes from meek and compliant to outspoken, alluring, and decidedly unimpressed with him. As Raff battles to woo his bride to be, Ava must navigate the sumptuous world of Regency London, while trying desperately not to fall in love - no matter how much her heart wants it.

    Now that the world is falling apart, bootlegging is a flourishing business, and she's queen of that castle. Then her infant nephew is kidnapped. Her niece, Laura, and Laura's philandering movie star husband, are devastated. The police have few leads, and speculation and rumors abound in the media circus that follows the celebrity abduction. Only one reporter, Erich Muller, seems to care enough about the child's welfare and the parents' feelings to report the case responsibly. Over the course of the investigation, Erich Muller and Laura fall in love, but their relationship is doomed to failure since he suspects her beloved aunt Virginia is behind the kidnapping. Laura, jaded when it comes to men, sides with Virginia.But Virginia has figured out the truth, and she can't tell anyone for fear of losing her niece's affections and having the police ransack her life. So she pursues her own investigation, shaking down, threatening, and killing one petty crook after another during her search.Little Todd's absence shapes everyone's lives. When he is finally found, the discovery will bring disaster for some and revelation for others.

    Smart, Southern, KindChurch GoerSmall Town SeamstressAspiring TeacherAndA Misguided MoonshinerEmmie's sole purpose in life was taking care of her moonshine loving step-father. When he is killed in a fiery crash on their farm, she is left alone and frustrated with a mountain of debt. Working as a seamstress for a crazy-old-coot shopkeeper is not the kind of life she had imagined for herself. The curious events that surround her step-father’s death send Emmie on a quest for answers. Answers that lead to a dangerous secret tucked away on her property. Stumbling on a moonshine still was an unfortunate event for most folks in the hills of Kentucky. She was lucky not to have been shot on the spot. Emmie saw hope in the steam escaping the curved copper pipe of "Ole Maizy". However, a series of mishaps put her front and center in a local moonshine war.In the midst of chaos, Emmie is befriended by an attorney recently transported from Chicago. Silas McDowell is a man seeking some answers of his own. In an attempt to find a little roaring twenties glamour in the small town, he introduces Emmie to the underground world of Speakeasies and Blind Pigs. Loyalty, lies, and murder conspire to push Silas and Emmie together or rip them apart. Cloaked in secrets and unsure whom to trust, Emmie must decide to drown in darkness or find a way to Shine On.