Book picks similar to
The Bargain by Jane Ashford


romance
historical-romance
historical
regency

What the Duke Desires


Sabrina Jeffries - 2013
    When a mysterious note arrives from Tristan Bonnaud asserting that the Duke's brother is alive, it leads Max straight to the winsome Lisette Bonnaud, illegitimate daughter of a viscount and Tristan's sister. Soon he and Lisette are traveling to Paris posing as husband and wife, in search of Tristan, who has disappeared. And the longer he spends with Lisette, the easier it is for Max to see that the line between dukedom and desire is easier to cross than he imagined...

Three Weeks With Lady X


Eloisa James - 2014
    But to marry a lady, Thorn must acquire a gleaming, civilized façade, the specialty of Lady Xenobia India.Exquisite, head-strong, and independent, India vows to make Thorn marriageable in just three weeks.But neither Thorn nor India anticipate the forbidden passion that explodes between them.Thorn will stop at nothing to make India his. Failure is not an option. But there is only one thing that will make India his—the one thing Thorn can't afford to lose...His fierce and lawless heart.

The Heir


Grace Burrowes - 2010
    To escape his father's inexorable pressure to marry, he decides to spend the summer at his townhouse in London, where he finds himself intrigued by the secretive ways of his beautiful housekeeper...A LADY WHO CAN'T BE PROTECTED...Anna Seaton is a beautiful, talented, educated woman, which is why it is so puzzling to Gayle Windham that she works as his housekeeper.As the two draw closer and begin to lose their hearts to each other, Anna's secrets threaten to bring the earl's orderly life crashing down - and he doesn't know how he's going to protect her from the fallout...

One Dance with a Duke


Tessa Dare - 2010
    A handsome and reclusive horse breeder, Spencer Dumarque, the fourth Duke of Morland, is a member of the exclusive Stud Club, an organization so select it has only ten members--yet membership is attainable to anyone with luck. And Spencer has plenty of it, along with an obsession with a prize horse, a dark secret, and, now, a reputation as the dashing "Duke of Midnight." Each evening he selects one lady for a breathtaking midnight waltz. But none of the women catch his interest, and nobody ever bests the duke--until Lady Amelia d'Orsay tries her luck. In a moment of desperation, the unconventional beauty claims the duke's dance and unwittingly steals his heart. When Amelia demands that Spencer forgive her scapegrace brother's debts, she never imagines that her game of wits and words will lead to breathless passion and a steamy proposal. Still, Spencer is a man of mystery, perhaps connected to the shocking murder of the Stud Club's founder. Will Amelia lose her heart in this reckless wager or win everlasting love?

One Night for Love


Mary Balogh - 1999
    . . One passionate woman. Enter the world of Mary Balogh—the glittering ballrooms and vast country estates of Regency-era England, where romance, with all its mystery, magic, and surprises, comes vibrantly alive. It was a perfect morning in May... Neville Wyatt, Earl of Kilbourne, awaited his bride at the altar—when a ragged beggar woman raced down the aisle instead. The cream of the ton saw him stare, shocked, then declare that this was his wife! One night of passion was all he remembered as he beheld Lily, the woman he'd wed, loved, and lost on the battlefield in Portugal. Now he said he'd honor his commitment to her—regardless of the gulf that lay between them. Then Lily spoke her mind... She said she wanted only to start a new life—wanted only a husband who truly loved her. She had to leave him to learn how to meet his world on her terms. So Lily agreed to earn her keep as his aunt's companion and study the genteel arts. Soon she was the toast of the ton, every inch a countess fit for the earl, who vowed to prove to his remarkable wife that what he felt for her was far more than desire, that what he wanted from her was much more than... One Night for Love .

Intentions of the Earl


Rose Gordon - 2011
    The innocent he's selected, however, has no plans to settle for anything less than marriage and will go to almost any length to secure him. With no other means for an income, the impoverished Andrew Black, Earl of Townson, makes an agreement that will put a definite end to his eight year poverty streak. But, in order to gain his fortune he must do only one simple thing: ruin an innocent young lady’s reputation enough to make her flee to America.Brooke Banks isn’t interested in marriage, or so she thinks. She came to London to have a good time, and that’s exactly what she’s doing. Widely known for her tendency to flout the rules, she suspects nothing when a handsome stranger appears on her doorstep. Thirteen days, a handful of kisses and one scandalous situation later, Andrew and Brooke will have to choose to stick to their original plans, or decide if a life together is worth the risk. ***This is a full-length novel, approx. 100,000 words.

Scandal


Carolyn Jewel - 2009
    But when he meets Sophie Evans, the young wife of a fellow libertine, even he is shocked by his reaction. This unconventional and intelligent woman proves to be far more than an amusing distraction - she threatens to drive him to distraction. Unlike the women who usually fall at Banallt's feet, and into his bed, Sophie refuses to be seduced. And soon Banallt desires her more than ever - and for more than an illicit affair.Years later, the widowed Sophie is free, and Banallt is determined to win the woman he still loves. Unfortunately, she doesn't believe his declaration of love and chivalrous offer of marriage - her heart has already been broken by her scoundrel of a husband. And yet, Sophie is tempted to indulge in the torrid affair she's always fantasized about. Caught between her logical mind and her long-denied desire, Sophie must thwart Banallt's seduction - or risk being consumed by the one man she should avoid at all costs...* Booklist

Miss Wonderful


Loretta Chase - 2004
    To prove he is not an idle fop only concerned with sartorial pleasures, Alistair agrees to help his old friend, Lord Gordmor, by traveling to the wilds of Derbyshire to convince Gordmor's neighbors to support the nobleman's proposal to build a canal. Upon arriving, Alistair, a famous war hero and eligible bachelor, finds everyone couldn't be nicer, everyone except for respectable, practical, spinsterish Mirabel Oldridge. The last thing Mirabel wants is for her tranquil little corner of England to be destroyed by a noisy, nasty canal, and she is prepared to use every weapon at her disposal--including her disheveled coiffure and unstylish wardrobe--to stop Alistair.

Penelope and Prince Charming


Jennifer Ashley - 2006
     England 1819 Wallflower Penelope Trask believes nothing will ever happen in her village of Little Marching, Oxfordshire. Handsome princes only sweep in and carry off innocent maidens in the fairy tales she collects, never in real life. Prince Damien of Nvengaria is tired of living inside a fairy tale. His entire life has been ruled by prophecy, magic, and avoiding being assassinated by his mad father and the head of the Council of Dukes. When his father dies, he inherits a kingdom divided, his opposition led by Grand Duke Alexander, who will do anything to keep the monster's son from ruling Nvengaria. To make good his claim to the throne, Damien must fulfill a prophecy that reunites the lines of the original two princes of Nvengaria, best friends who'd carved a kingdom out of wild lands near the Transylvanian mountains. Damien's task—to bring back the Princess of Nvengaria, her line lost centuries ago. The price of disappointing the people, Alexander promises, will be Damien's execution. Damien tracks down the long-lost princess to the village of Little Marching in England, where nothing remotely interesting ever happens. He will have to convince the lovely Penelope that he is no charlatan, and that Damien's life and his kingdom depends on her facing danger with him. Along the way, the prophecy says, they will fall in love. And the prophecy is never wrong ... Note: The Nvengaria series is paranormal historical, the books loosely based on well-known fairy tales: Penelope and Prince Charming—Cinderella The Mad, Bad Duke—Beauty and the Beast Highlander Ever After—Snow White and the Seven … Highlanders The Longest Night—Little Red Riding Hood (and the Big, Bad Wolf)

A Fallen Lady


Elizabeth Kingston - 2015
    Even more shockingly, her refusal came on the heels of her scandalous behavior: she and her betrothed were caught in a most compromising position. Leaving her reputation in tatters and her motivations a mystery, Helen withdrew to a simple life in a little village among friends, where her secrets remained hers alone. For reasons of his own, Stephen Hampton, Lord Summerdale, is determined to learn the truth behind the tangled tale of Helen's ruin. There is nothing he abhors so much as scandal - nothing he prizes so well as discretion - and so he is shocked to find, when he tracks Helen down, that he cannot but admire her. Against all expectations, he finds himself forgiving her scandalous history in favor of only being near her. But the bitter past will not relinquish Helen's heart so easily. How can she trust a man so steeped in the culture of high society, who conceals so much? And how can he, so devoted to the appearance of propriety, ever love a fallen lady?

Just Like Heaven


Julia Quinn - 2011
    . .D) all of the above

To Save a Sinner


Adele Clee - 2015
    But when his brother inherits the viscountcy and pleads for his return, the opportunity to show his contempt and loathing for the Society who turned its back on him proves to be far too enticing to resist.When the dishonourable Lucas Dempsey steps into the ballroom after a four-year absence, Helena Ecclestone is quick to label the gentleman a murderous rogue. That is until she stumbles upon a secret conversation and feels a moral obligation to see justice done. But while the ladies swoon over his handsome countenance, Helena is determined to look beyond such superficial features, intrigued to find the true character of the gentleman he hides beneath his arrogant façade.

A Heartless Design


Elizabeth Cole - 2013
    Yet men still try to win her, drawn by her sharp wit and intoxicating green eyes. But Cordelia knows a marriage could reveal her deepest secret and truly endanger her life. Besides, she hasn't met a man worth considering, until... Sebastien Thorne, a spy in the service of Crown. One of the elite agents in the group known as the Zodiac, he comes to London determined to solve a mystery with roots on the Continent. He won't let anything distract him. But is Cordelia a distraction, or the key to the mystery? As he learns more about the "heartless" woman, he becomes embroiled in secrets, plots, and a design that could change the future...and Cordelia is at the center of it all.

Rogue's Honor


Brenda Hiatt - 2001
    When she is rescued from the near-disaster of recognition by a charming serving-man, Pearl pretends to be simple-minded to safeguard herself from any unwanted advances. But soon she begins to suspect that her rescuer is far more than the common servant he seemed at first.Luke St. Clair lives a double life, pretending to be a gentleman while in reality sustaining himself and the needy as the notorious Robin Hood-type thief, the Saint of Seven Dials. The last thing he needs in his life is a beautiful simpleton in need of protection. But "Purdy" proves to be anything but simple-or common! Once he learns the truth, does he dare continue, in the ballrooms of the elite, the flirtation that began in the slums of London? The risk is enormous, but Lady Pearl's sweet kisses may just be worth it.

Bath Tangle


Georgette Heyer - 1955
    Leaving Fanny, a widow younger than his own daughter Serena is one thing, but quite another is leaving his daugther's fortune to the trusteeship of Ivo Barrasford, marquis of Rotherham -- a man whom Serena once jilted and who now has the power to give or withhold his consent to any marriage she might contemplate. Lady Serena Carlow is an acknowledged beauty, many eager suitors have vied for her hand, but she's got a temper as fiery as her head of red hair. When her father dies unexpectedly, Serena discovers to her horror that she has been left a ward of the odious Lord Rotherham. Serena raged as she heard her father's last will and testament! How could he mortgage his only daughter to Lord Rotherham, making the very man she had recently jilted caretaker of her inheritance and her heart?Her father's heir is eager to take over his inheritance--and her lifelong home-- but the the fiery-hearted Serena is not so easily controlled. She with her lovely young stepmother, Fanny as "chaperone", decide to move to Bath. There they'd turn the ton inside out! Volatile Serena and gentle Fanny could not be less alike but they are good friends. Serena makes an odd new friend and discovers a childhood sweetheart, Major Hector Kirkby. All too soon, the scandalous Serena had more beaux than she could dangle on a string, but none of them seemed to matter--now that her former suitor Rotherham pursued another beautiful belle! What she cannot know is that the astute Rotherham has a calculate scheme of his own for capturing her heart. Before long, Serena, Fanny, Kirkby, and Rotherham are entangled in a welter of misunderstood emotions, mistaken engagements, and misdirected love.