Book picks similar to
The Darkest Heart by Brenda Joyce
historical-romance
romance
historical
brenda-joyce
Reckless Love
Elizabeth Lowell - 1989
Now all three must join forces and make their escape, or die trying. Reissue.
Love in the Wind
Madeline Baker - 1986
But fate had other plans. En route to her destination, the coach in which Katy traveled was attacked by Indians and Katy, the lone survivor, was taken captive. Thus she became the slave of the handsome, arrogant Cheyenne warrior known as Iron Wing. Quickened by desire that transformed hatred into love, both were soon ablaze with an erotic flame which neither time nor treachery could quench.
Royal Seduction
Jennifer Blake - 1983
She has tasted a sweet morsel of ecstasy and now she can never return to a prim and proper life. Rolfe is savage with his kisses and brutal in his caresses, but for Angline his exquisite punishment is a heaven she never imagined. But how long will the passion last before Rolfe tires of his plaything and moves on to new conquests, leaving Angline a broken and shamed woman? Can Angline's flaming hair and bewitching eyes capture the heart of the arrogant prince?
The Flesh and the Devil
Teresa Denys - 1980
Spanish court of King Philip IV, this is the story of lovely, spirited young Juana de Arrelanos. Taken against her will from her home and from Jaime de Nueva, the man she loves, she is brought to the massive, magnificent Castillo Benaventes, the home of Bartolomé, Duque de Valenzuela - the man to whom she must be wed. Within the castle's heavy walls the rebellious Juana finds an atmosphere of secrecy, almost of conspiracy, and a number of cunning, sinister figures, chief among whom is the sardonic Felipe Tristán, the Duque's protector and mercenary, behind whose scarred face lie memories of horror Juana can only guess at.But the greatest horror is reserved for Juana, and for Juana alone. For the young Duque she is forced to marry, she discovers, is a cruel caricature of a man, a person twisted in mind and body. His wealth and rank can supply Juana with undreamed-of luxury - but also with incredible suffering, for the perfumed silks of the master bedchamber conceal the depravity of an unbalanced mind. Juana's brave attempts to escape from the marriage are dealt with harshly, and, to her limitless despair, she finds herself irrevocably betrothed to the terrifying, unbalanced Duque.Yet, against all hope, there is a way out. Swift and brutal action by the arrogant Felipe can insure Juana's escape from the secrets and treachery of the Castillo Benaventes. But Felipe's protection, she fears, may be more dangerous than his enmity, and all too soon he begins to demand a humiliating payment....
Silk and Shadows
Mary Jo Putney - 1991
He was superbly handsome, fabulously wealthy, overwhelmingly seductive. He cut a dazzling swath through Victorian London—and wove a web of desire around beautiful and proud Lady Sara St. James, pledged to wed another man.In Peregrine's arms Sara learned the meaning of forbidden passion—and forbidding mystery. Only the burning power of love could pierce Peregrine's chilling silence about his secret past and hidden purpose...as Sara plunged into a whirlpool of yearning and uncertainty with a man who was everything a woman could want or fear...
Surrender
Pamela Clare - 2006
Battling the French in a no-holds-barred combat, they forged a new brand of honor, became a new breed of men...MacKinnon's RangersIain MacKinnon had been forced to serve the British crown, but compassion urged him to save the lovely lass facing certain death at the hands of the Abenaki. He'd defied his orders, endangered his brothers, his men and his mission, all for a woman. But when he held Annie's sweet body in his arms, he could feel no regret. Though he sensed she was hiding something from him, it was too late to hold back his heart. In love and war, there are times when the only course of action is...Surrender.
Gypsy Lady
Shirlee Busbee - 1977
While dancing in a Gypsy encampment, Lady Catherine Tremayne ignites the interest and passion of Jason Savage. Thinking her a Gypsy, he whisks her away for his own enjoyment. As soon as he discovers her true identity, Jason and Catherine marry. The story does not end there, however, for Jason is on a government mission and in pursuit of revenge. He will allow nothing to stand in his way. But love has a way of interfering with even the most determined plans, and Catherine will settle for nothing less than Jason's full love.
The Officer and the Bostoner
Rose Gordon - 2013
Allison Pearson is a well-to-do young lady traveling by stagecoach from her home in Boston to meet her intended in Santa Fe, but instead finds herself stranded in a military fort in the middle of Indian Territory when her stagecoach leaves without her.Given the choice to either temporarily marry an officer until her intended can come rescue her or take her chances with the indians, she marries the glib Captain Wes Tucker, who unbeknownst to her, grew up in a wealthy Charleston family and despises everything she represents.But when it's time for her beau to reclaim her and for Allison and Wes to annul their marriage, will she want to go with him, and more importantly, will Wes let her?
Adora
Bertrice Small - 1980
And in the dying days of the great Byzantine Empire - that last vestige of what had once been Imperial Rome - her value as the emperor's daughter was priceless.Three men claimed her as wife. Orkhan, the powerful Ottoman sultan; the dashing pirate Alexander, lord of Mesembria; and Prince Murad, to whom Adora's heart truly belonged. In a grand epic that sweeps the reader from the golden palaces of fourteenth-century Byzantium to the blazing sensuality of the sultan's harem, Adora was a woman who firmly controlled her own destiny because she and Murad were meant only for each other. And together their passions would forge an empire.Adora! Her name was the secret of all love.Publisher Note: This story was previously published elsewhere, 1980-1995.
Cowboys & Kisses
Vanessa Vale - 2015
For years, she's been content working on the family ranch, but lately she's wanted more. She's determined to strike out on her own and find freedom from her unorthodox family.Chance Goodman has watched Rose grow up from a spitfire little girl into a fiery woman. He's wanted her for years, waiting patiently until he could make her his. When she leaves the Lenox ranch determined to abandon her former life and to say good-bye to him, he knows now is the time he must act. Letting her go isn't an option.This book was previously published as Rose in the Wildflower Brides series.
Lawless
Nora Roberts - 1989
Sarah Conway was something else again. She was every inch an Eastern lady, yet she was determined to make Lone Bluff her home.Jake was annoyed to find himself playing guardian angel to this tantalizing innocent--even more disgusted to find he liked it. Little did he suspect that beneath Sarah's ladylike demeanor beat the heart of a frontier woman ant that her body yearned for his hard embrace, her heart for his words of love .. . .
The Irish Devil
Diane Whiteside - 2004
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?
A Well Pleasured Lady
Christina Dodd - 1997
In the ten years since, she had abandoned her youthful impetuousness and transformed herself into a housekeeper -- disguising her beauty beneath a servant's dour clothing determined to conquer the passions of the past.But Sebastian Durant, Viscount Whitfield, did recognize her as a Fairchild, one of his family's bitter enemies. When he demanded her help recovering a stolen diary, she dared not refuse him. When he proposed they masquerade as a betrothed couple, loyalty forced her to agree. And when the restraint between them shattered and pleasure became an obsession, Mary had to trust a powerful man who could send her to the gallows ... or love her through eternity.
The Duchess Hunt
Jennifer Haymore - 2013
Rumors and innuendo have darkened the House of Trent for decades, and it has fallen to Simon to restore his tattered family name. He lives by a strict code of honor, but when he is called home to investigate his mother's disappearance, the distinguished duke will tangle with temptation. For there waits the only woman he has ever loved-and the last woman he should desire . . .Sarah Osborne has spent her life dreaming of Simon's touch. But dukes do not long for lady's maids--or so Sarah believes, until a stolen kiss sparks a passion that could be her ultimate undoing. As the couple begins a forbidden romance, a cunning enemy plots to destroy the duke and everything he loves. Now, caught in a blackmailer's web, Simon faces an agonizing choice: Sacrifice his family's future, or break Sarah's heart.