Book picks similar to
The Nomad Harp by Laura Matthews


trad-regency
historical-romance
historical
romance

The Temporary Bride


Julie Tetel Andresen - 1993
    Darcy. While helping him recover an item that is of great value to him, she loses her heart to him. Once he recovers that item, will he offer her his heart?

A Proper Companion


Candice Hern - 1995
    Why, just about anyone would make a more suitable match...even her own paid companion, Emily Townsend! But if her dear, practical-minded Robert were to back out of the betrothal, the tongues of the ton would never stop wagging...At the very least, the dowager decides, she will extract a promise from her grandson to find Emily a husband. But when the handsome, rakish earl comes to know the charms of Emily Townsend, he suddenly regrets his hasty engagement-and is sorely tempted to win her hand for himself.

The Marriage Mart


Teresa DesJardien - 1992
    She knew she was no great beauty, and at the ancient age of 28 she was prepared to settle for an older gentleman, one happy to settle down and start a family of his own. Yet, one glimpse of the incomparably handsome Marquess of Rothayne put every practical plan to rout. Mary would be less than a woman if her heart remained unaffected by such a man, but more the fool for giving in to such folly!Nothing intrigued the Marquess of Rothayne more than a challenge, particularly where women were concerned. And Lady Mary Wagnall, with her quick-witted banter and forthright nature would certainly provide enough sport to alleviate his increasing sense of ennui. But as he helped to plot her course to matrimony, he began to wonder if it was to be his sworn bachelorhood which would succumb to her charming nature and lively smile!

The Five-Minute Marriage


Joan Aiken - 1977
    It was just a make-believe ceremony, and, in exchange, Delphie's ailing mother would receive an annuity for life. Delphie was in no position to refuse. She was already losing the struggle to support herself and her mother. But Delphie soon discovered that she was bound by law to the marriage and bound by love to more lies...

The Country Gentleman


Fiona Hill - 1987
    Anne pines for the social and political life she has left behind, especially when confronted with the society of her nearest neighbor, country bumpkin Henry Highet. Yet all is not what it seems, as Anne soon discovers in this pleasant Regency tale.

A Sensible Lady: A Traditional Regency Romance


Judith Lown - 2012
    So she leases the Dower House from a kindly baron on a neighboring estate, believing that she has successfully met the greatest challenge of her life.How wrong she is! The kindly baron dies. An orphan arrives, whom Katherine accepts as her nephew. She is determined to provide for him, which means she must forget about love and marry a gentleman with money.There are three possibilities.Her cousin, Sir Clive Brampton, is eager to let bygones be bygones and marry Katherine. She would be able to return to her family home and live a life of financial ease. Her nephew would be provided for and launched into a career deemed suitable by Sir Clive. Can Katherine just accept Sir Clive’s generous offer?The Reverend Mr. Augustus Wharton, the newly arrived vicar, listens attentively to Katherine’s anguished musings over the loss of her brother on a distant battlefield in Spain. There are rumors that Mr. Wharton’s present vocation is a stunning contrast to his past as a hard drinking, gambling rake. Katherine dismisses the rumors and wonders if she could live happily with a man for whom she feels only sisterly affection.Finally, there is the new baron, Lord Henry Dracott. Lord Harry, as he is called, is clearly attracted to Katherine. But in spite of their best efforts to be civil to each other, their disagreements end up in arguments. Although there is mutual attraction, Katherine knows that Lord Harry’s heart is buried with his dead wife.Katherine tries to be a sensible lady and accept a practical marriage. But will her heart let her?

The Irresistible Earl


Regina Scott - 2011
    Meredee is determined to avoid the earl at all costs. But saving a drowning young lady thwarts Meredee's plans when her act of heroism nets her the attention of the lady's brother and guardian—none other than Chase himself.Meredee's gentle ways and tranquil beauty touch Chase's guarded heart from the moment he meets her. He's waited a lifetime for a worthy companion—someone he can trust with his deepest secrets. But then he discovers that Meredee has harbored a secret of her own, one that love may not overcome.

A Stolen Kiss


M.A. Nichols - 2020
    A forced engagement. Can it become something more?Lily Kingsley accepts that she is destined to be a spinster—but not until she gets her first kiss. And she knows the perfect gentleman to enlist. Unfortunately, she kisses the wrong one and ends up in the arms of an overbearing and exceptionally frustrating merchant.When busybodies catch them in their illicit embrace, an engagement is the only solution, but Lily doesn’t want a fiancé who’s only doing his duty. And she certainly doesn’t want a gentleman far too used to getting his own way. She simply must make him see how ill-suited they are.But why is the fellow so determined to see their engagement through?Jack Hatcher hates surprises, but when a beguiling lady mistakes him for someone else and launches herself into his arms, he discovers not all surprises are bad. Marriage was not in Jack’s plans, but Lily stirs something inside him he never expected to feel.But with his fiancé desperate to break with him and a new enemy working to woo Lily away, Jack discovers force of will won’t keep her by his side. Can he find a way to win her heart before it’s lost forever? The Victorian Love series is a spin-off series that follows the children of the heroes and heroines of the Regency Love Series. Each book in both series is a standalone sweet historical romance and can be read in any order.

The Mysterious Heir


Edith Layton - 1984
    No one could guess she had been forced to take a position in trade—or that she had come to the Earl of Auden’s estate to entice him into naming her dismayingly disagreeable cousin Anthony heir to a fortune that she then could share.But Elizabeth had stiff competition for the Earl’s imperious favor…from the schemingly seductive Lady Isabel Courtney and her odious little boy, Owen…from the implacably upright Richard Courtney and his unfortunate honesty…and from the memory of the Earl’s first wife, who had made him despise women who deceived.Elizabeth knew she could never reveal the truth to the Earl—even when she forgot about gaining his fortune and began losing her heart….

After the Storm


Claudy Conn - 1976
    How can she, when her childhood sweetheart was one of the countless killed at Waterloo?So when the Earl of Danfield proposes a marriage of convenience, it seems the perfect solution. He will secure his inheritance, and she will be spared the necessity of being paraded in society, forced to dance and flirt and do all the things her broken heart cannot do. His proposal will give her what she wants most. Peace. But peace is the last thing she finds in her marriage. Her growing attraction to the earl brings with it guilt that she’s betraying her beloved Johnny. Her mother-in-law considers her an interloper. Her husband’s former lover makes it clear she doesn’t want it to be former. And when a supposed prank nearly kills her, Jenny has to wonder—now that the earl’s inheritance is assured, has she become an inconvenience to be eliminated?**note: this is an updated version of an earlier novel written as Claudette Williams. The updated versions of Claudy's Claudette Williams titles are more sexually explicit than the original versions.

In for a Penny


Rose Lerner - 2010
     Young Lord Nevinstoke enjoys every moment of his deep-gaming, hard-drinking, womanizing life. Then his father is killed in a drunken duel, and Nev inherits a mountain of debts and responsibilities. He vows to leave his wild friends and his mistress behind, start acting respectable—and marry a rich girl. Penelope Brown, a manufacturing heiress, seems the perfect choice. She’s pretty, ladylike, good at accounting, and looking for a marriage based on companionship and mutual esteem, not love. In fact, the only rash thing she’s ever done in her life is accept Nev’s proposal. When the newlyweds arrive at Nev’s family estate, they discover that all the respectability and reason in the world won't be enough to handle a hostile next-door neighbor, mutinous tenants, and Nev’s family's propensity for scandal. In way over their heads, Nev and Penelope have no one to turn to but each other—but to their surprise, that just might be enough.

This Wicked Man


Kate Harper - 2012
    A failed governess, she knows nothing about children and even less about those that are grieving. Thrust into the wilds of Surrey - and the dubious charms of a rundown cottage - she predicts that life will be singularly dull. But that is before she meets her neighbor, a sinfully wicked viscount whose reputation for seduction is legendary. Her well meaning neighbors warn her to stay away and even the man himself seems inclined to think she is a fool to dally with him, but she is convinced that she and Chetwyn have more than just sexual tension in common. What is it about this wicked man that urges her to break the rules? And how can she convince someone who believes himself to be beyond redemption that the heart is always capable of resurrection?

April Lady


Georgette Heyer - 1957
    When newlywed begins to fill her days with fashion and frivolity, her husband has to wonder whether she really did marry him for his money, as his family so helpfully suggests. He thought they were marrying for love, but as the bills and extravagant debts begin to mount up, Giles begins to suspect that perhaps his adored wife isn't as innocent as he supposed. Especially since, as of late, she's been unable to look him in the eye...Impetuous Lady Helen Cardross had collected quite a basket of little white lies in her efforts to help those less fortunate than herself. There were, for example; her own dashing, debt-ridden brother, and her husband's love-sick, youthful sister. But to her adored (and adoring) lord and master, there could be no dissembling of integrity, honor, or truth. One faced up to grim reality -- unless one were Lady Helen.When his family's priceless jewels disappear, Lord Cardross is aghast at the idea that his lovely new wife might be the culprit, but he soon discovers the truth about Lady Nell's situation. And between his concern over his wife's spending sprees, rescuing her impulsive brother from one scrape after another, and attempting to prevent his own half--it's no wonder the much-tried earl can't see where he's gone wrong. And now owing a shocking amount of money, Nell doesn't dare tell him the truth--that she's loved him from the first, and thought he'd married her for convenience.

A Rogue's Rescue


Donna Lea Simpson - 2002
    Which makes her the perfect prey for the unscrupulous “Dapper” Dorsey, who would stop at nothing to seduce a needy and wealthy woman and then coldly fritter away her funds in the gaming halls of London. As Ariadne succumbs first to his wily charms and then to his kisses, will her need for affection rob her of her dignity—and her fortune?Viscount Ingram, whose soiled reputation from one especially salacious incident has left him exiled to the sidelines of society, marks his time as a dark and brooding man, tolerated more for his title than his merit. But even he has his standards, and when he learns of a rival’s plot to seduce and then steal from a helpless spinster, he vows to stop him.Ingram’s noble sentiments and uncharacteristic sincerity are in for a shock, however, as he discovers that the hopelessly gullible Ariadne is in fact a clever and shrewd woman who’s got more than a silly giggle up her sleeve. As the two team up in a devilish scheme to bring about the final undoing of Dorsey, cooperation turns to admiration and then attraction, and they discover that their last chance to repair their reputations may also be their first chance at finding true love.* First published in the anthology, Untameable.

The Baron Next Door


Erin Knightley - 2014
    2) Despite the lingering scandal, she’s not prepared to marry for anything less than love.After an exhausting Season, Bath’s first annual music festival offers Charity the perfect escape. Between her newly formed trio and her music-loving grandmother, Charity is free to play the pianoforte to her heart’s content. That is, until their insufferably rude, though undeniably handsome, neighbor tells her to keep the “infernal racket” to a minimum.Hugh Danby, Baron Cadgwith, may think he’s put an end to the noise, but he has no idea what he’s begun. Though the waters of Bath provide relief from the suffering of his war injuries, he finds his new neighbor bothersome, vexing, and… inexplicably enchanting. Before long, Hugh suspects that even if his body heals, it’s his heart that might end up broken.