Book picks similar to
The Handfasters by Helen Susan Swift


historical-romance
romance
historical
historical-fiction

Heroes & Thieves


Heather C. Myers - 2014
    However, they both need each other - his ship needs supplies and she needs any way to get off Tortuga. A Robin Hood pirate captain straight out of legends encounters a saucy barmaid with a dark secret from her past threatening to ruin her present, and life for both of them will never be the same.

Gabriella


Brenda Hiatt - 1992
    . . but won a treasure. Due to a lost wager, the Duke of Ravenham is obliged to bring a pretty little nobody from the country into fashion among the high-sticklers of London Society. Ravenham would never refuse a debt of honor, no matter how unorthodox, so he overlooks Miss Gordon's vulgar relations to do what is necessary, escorting the unsophisticated chit to balls, etc. But what he expects to be an irksome duty turns out to be something quite different as he falls under the spell of his protege's innocent charm. When he lost that wager, he definitely never counted on losing his heart as well! First impressions can be deceiving. Miss Gabriella Gordon only came to London at her mother's and sister's insistence, for she'd much rather assist in running her father's veterinary practice than attempt to fit into fashionable society. No sooner has she arrived in London than the exalted (and exceedingly handsome) Duke of Ravenham comes to call. The reason is less than flattering, however: due to a lost wager, the Duke is forced to bring Gabriella into fashion, a "favor" she would certainly refuse if her family would let her. But the more time she spends in the dashing Duke's company, the more conflicted she feels-- particularly when she discovers they have more in common than she ever dared dream. A sparkling traditional Regency romance from bestselling author Brenda Hiatt.

Giovanna: The Cowboy's Calabrese Mail Order Bride


Lorena Dove - 2015
    Hard-working, beautiful, and honest to a fault, Giovanna's dreams of a life with her husband, Frank, were cut short when he died soon after they arrived from Calabria, Italy, four years earlier. Now Giovanna must find a way to help her sick daughter, Rosa, before she loses the only thing she loves! Laars Gundersen has broken from his family in Minnesota to work a claim in the Dakota Territory. He needs a wife, but his work ethic and cool Nordic ways don't leave much time for children. Will Giovanna find the love she deserves and be able to care for Rosa before it's too late? Find out in this clean, sweet historical romance, Book One in the Sweet Land of Liberty Brides series. Lorena Dove writes sweet, clean, inspirational Western romance, suitable for readers of all ages.

Courting A Sinful Stranger


Emily Honeyfield - 2021
    Sarah yearns for so much more, secretly lusting for an enthralling adventure... When she attends a masquerade ball, she is allured by the raven-haired seductive stranger, who whispers shockingly tempting things into her ear, without revealing his identity. She knows all this is far from how a lady should behave, but she finds this game of seduction simply irresistible. After all, what hope can a respectable young lady have in finding any kind of tantalizing excitement? While trying to unveil this captivating masquerader's identity, will she indulge in an adventure of inappropriate promises and lustful desire?Arthur Colton, the Viscount Nordarken, is a bored gentleman, ready to risk it all for the sake of pleasure. While visiting his father in the district, he is on the hunt for a rousing distraction. Sadly, not even one of the eligible young ladies sparks his interest after the whirlwind of excitement that London was. Little did he know that everything was about to change with the announcement of a masquerade ball and the appearance of an enticing dark-eyed beauty into his dangerous path. Being used to always getting what he wants, he comes up with a wicked plan, to make her succumb to his sinful passion. How far is he willing to go in order to conquer her fiery heart?Against all odds, their lives and their feelings get tangled and challenge everything they have ever known. That is when a game of false identities and flaming desire begins... A game that must end soon, or it could otherwise lead to their destruction. For Sarah it is being in the midst of a scandal and losing her gracious place in society. For Arthur it is being targeted and risking turning into a social pariah. Will an arising old scandal threaten their affair to its very core? Will their untamed passion for one another be enough to thrive, in spite of all the hardships or will they drift apart after all?

Hattie Glover's Millinery


Bonnie Dee - 2020
    Sparks ignite! Harriet Glover’s heart is not open for romance. Creating a millinery business has been her sole focus ever since a youthful heartbreak ruined her reputation and changed the course of her life. But fate has more in store for Hattie than adorning the heads of London’s elite with one-of-a-kind chapeaus. When a man who sets her head spinning and a young woman in dire need of help both enter her shop on the same day, Hattie’s life will transform once more.For years, Guy Hardy has romanced one mistress after another but has never truly given his heart. One casual visit to a hat shop interrupts the flow of his easy, shallow life. The bold, hard-headed, witty proprietress sells him a hat and steals his desire for any other woman. He begins to haunt the millinery more often than any gentleman should.Meanwhile, Hattie aids a society miss facing a loveless marriage while pining for her secret sweetheart. In helping the girl achieve the almost insurmountable goal of finding happiness, Hattie reassesses the barriers she’s erected around her heart. Perhaps it’s time to open shop and trust a man again, even if she fears the object of her desire may be more charm than substance.

Falling For The Guarded Duke: A Historical Regency Romance Book


Sally Forbes - 2020
    Since her father The Earl of Shalestone’s death a year ago, she has been left with nothing but crippling debts. Olivia does not want her sister to endure the same fate as her. So when an opportunity to become a dance instructor to a wealthy Marquess arises, she believes it may be the answer to her problems.Alexander Sedgewick is the Marquess of Lovewell and is set to inherit the dukedom of Bembridge. He was born almost blind and has grown accustomed to his world of darkness. A failed courtship and disastrous London Season has led him to a recluse life in the London countryside. His worst nightmare comes true when his father falls ill and forces him to once again attend the London Season. But when a young dance instructor comes into his life, she lights up the dark world he has only ever known.Olivia is intrigued by the recluse Marquess of Lovewell. As she instructs him in the art of dancing, Olivia discovers there is more to Alexander than meets the eye. Alexander vowed not to fall in love again, but being with Olivia has given him hope. Will Olivia and Alexander be able to overcome their biggest fears? Or will the obstacles standing in the way of their blossoming love tear them apart?

Love at Sunset Lake


Sally Bayless - 2018
    An artist who's withdrawn from the world. A property battle that just might heal them both.When struggling caterer Tess Palmer inherits her great-aunt's home at Sunset Lake, Missouri, she thinks she's found the way to save her business. Selling the property can provide just the infusion of capital she needs to pay off her debts and move to a larger commercial kitchen.Wildlife painter Jack Hamlin, who lives across Sunset Lake, wants the area kept exactly as it is--a place where waterfowl can thrive and where he can find peace and solitude to ease his troubled heart. Although he's drawn to Tess's honesty and beauty, he's appalled to learn she would welcome a deal with a developer, and he vows to stop her.As Tess discovers the reasons why Jack is so passionate about protecting the lake, she finds him more and more attractive. She takes a tentative step past her own emotional pain to risk her heart again. But there seems to be no solution to the impasse over the property. As a sale becomes imminent, can Jack and Tess trust God--and each other--and finally find a love that will last?

The Passion of Darius: A Gothic Tale of Love and Seduction


Raine Miller - 2014
    Darius Rourke and his burning passion for a woman. The gentle Marianne…as beautiful as she is mysterious.When presented with an opportunity to make her his bride, Darius takes it, and knows Marianne will finally belong only to him.Or will she?Marianne carries a secret. Something she believes will prevent her from ever being worthy to be loved by any man—even the masterful Darius, despite the fact he captivates her utterly.A look… A caress… A kiss… A brooding sensuality. A lushly passionate tale of lovers entangled in the discovery of each other’s sins and secrets. As Darius and Marianne embark upon the journey together, they will find that learning to command is just as important as learning to surrender.A man who knows what he wants...A woman who needs him in order to know her worth…‘Ti amo, mia cara’2nd edition© Raine Miller Romance, September 2016Originally published with the title: His Perfect Passion

A Run for Love


Callie Hutton - 2011
    When she finds herself the legal guardian of her two nieces, two nephews, and facing eviction from her Kansas home, she enters the 1889 Oklahoma Land Run and confronts a new set of challenges. The biggest obstacle being her new neighbor, cocky lawyer Jesse Cochran, the son of a whore-a man determined to put his past behind him and start a new life and family of his own. Despite the undeniable attraction between them, Tori is determined to keep him at arm's length, but a family emergency brings them together and they declare a truce. Can Jesse win Tori's heart after a series of unplanned events, or will tragedy tear them apart forever?

Searching for Glory


Hunter J. Keane - 2012
    She's on a hit television show and engaged to one of the most desired men in Hollywood. Her life is perfect. But then she gets a letter in the mail that changes everything. The past she has been trying to forget for so long has finally come back to haunt her. Gloria Star hasn't always been an A-list celebrity. She used to be just a regular Midwestern girl named Glory Stark. Now she is forced to reconcile her two lives because Johnny Carter, the only man she ever loved, has asked her to return to her hometown, and she can't say no. Ten years ago, one night changed everything for Gloria and Johnny. Not only did Gloria lose Johnny, but she also lost herself.Now she's headed back to Princeton, Missouri, to reconnect with her sister and make amends with Johnny. She quickly realizes that returning to Glory Stark's life isn't going to be easy. As she faces painful truths about her past and an uncertain future, Gloria learns that forgiveness is essential, family is everything and love is forever.

A Love That Never Tires


Allyson Jeleyne - 2014
    As the daughter of a famous archaeologist, she’s been everywhere and seen everything—except London. When the Talbot-Martin team travels there for her father’s investiture, Linley finally gets her wish. But when the time comes to trade her jodhpurs and work boots for silk gowns and kid gloves, she may be in over her head.Even though she can out-ride, out-shoot, and outsmart any girl in London society, Linley is destined to be the failure of the season. No one she meets cares about ancient pottery or lost Buddhist texts, and fundraising efforts for future expeditions keep coming up short. If the Talbot-Martin team doesn’t find money soon, they will be out of a job, and Linley will lose everything she holds dear.Patrick Wolford, Marquess of Kyre (pronounced 'Keer'), is a man who knows his place. Well-connected and respected, he is everything everyone expects him to be, but beneath his façade, he is as neglected and crumbling as the family estate. Now the strain of keeping up appearances is taking its toll. The smart thing would be to marry the heiress nipping at his heels and be done with it, but when he meets Linley Talbot-Martin, who dares to shake up his seemingly proper world, he must choose between the life he’s always known and one he never dared to dream of.

Liberty Hill


Sonja Heisinger - 2013
    But in New York City, two young Irish immigrants are fleeing something else. For Evelyn Brennan, an impending marriage she doesn’t want. For Lucius Flynn, the burden of a life in business and trade under his tyrannical father. Brash and adventurous, Lucius decides the only way to be free of his doomed future as a bored tradesman is to risk everything on the burgeoning and dangerous gold fields of California. However, that “everything” that he plans on risking is in fact the dowry of his headstrong bride, Evelyn. The truth that they were once childhood friends is something Evelyn sorely tries to forget as her new husband drags her along the quickest but deadliest path to the California gold rush: the Panama Route. Under the pretense of honeymooning in New Orleans, Lucius and Evelyn board a steamship bound for California, where they bear each other’s company with little grace and frequent bickering. Evelyn’s contempt for Lucius’ adventure is soothed, however, when she meets an Australian named Brock Donnigan. Sharp, handsome, and heartless, Brock sets out to seduce Evelyn just as Lucius finds himself falling in love with her. Through their adventures and misadventures over land and sea, the two men try to win Evelyn’s affections. But as they draw nearer to Panama City, where a mass migration of Argonauts lies in wait for transportation to California, a battle of wits and wills escalates into a war where all fortunes, dreams, and innocence may be lost; where lust demands blood, and love inspires sacrifice.From the black cliffs of Ireland to the streets of New York, from the Spanish fortress of Havana to the beaches of Panama, Liberty Hill is a sweeping historical romance that combines what we love most about the West- guns, saloons, horses, and handsome outlaws- with the tropic heat of Central America.The first young adult fiction in her Western Tide series, Sonja Heisinger molds a fresh and epic literary experience from an old world setting. Liberty Hill awakens the past with the exciting elements of drama, comedy, and action, with the additional zests of forbidden pleasure and unrequited love. This adventure book takes you on a wild journey that anyone looking for an exciting historical fiction will love!

Charming the Shrew


Laurin Wittig - 2004
    In order to take his place as heir to the chiefdom of Culrain, he must choose a wife within the month or have one chosen for him. Angered by his family's decree, Tayg delays the inevitable by volunteering for a mission for the king that takes him deep into the Highlands. Preoccupied by his marital obligation, the brooding warrior sets out with no hint of the fateful encounter that awaits him...Catriona MacLeod is known throughout the Highlands as the Shrew of Assynt, thanks to her razor-sharp tongue and her unwillingness to yield to her five brothers. When she's told that her eldest brother has promised her hand in marriage to a man she has good reason to hate, she flees into the Scottish wilderness, determined to seek the king’s intervention in her plight. When she reluctantly joins forces with a handsome traveler, she cannot anticipate the treacherous plot that will soon embroil them—nor the passion that will ignite between them.

Lachlan


Hazel Hunter - 2017
     When Kinley Chandler abruptly lands in medieval Scotland, there isn’t much she’s leaving behind. With her body shattered and her military career over, Kinley has resigned herself to death. But in the past, all that changes. Lachlan McDonnel, the laird of a clan of immortal highlanders, can hardly believe his good fortune. Not only does the mysterious lass save his life, she awakens his heart in a way he’d thought no longer possible. But the druid spells that allow Lachlan’s clan to live forever have a dark side as well. He and his men know all too well that the magic folk never give without taking. Though he is sworn to protect them, the price of his loyalty may finally be too high. Lachlan is the first book in the Immortal Highlander series. If you love brawny heroes, a mystical world, and a heroine with courage, then you’ll love this sizzling series. Join the romantic realm of the Immortal Highlanders by picking up a copy of this book today.

Born of Persuasion


Jessica Dotta - 2013
    Orphaned and unmarried in a time when women are legal property of their fathers, husbands, and guardians, she finds herself at the mercy of an anonymous guardian who plans to establish her as a servant in far-off Scotland.With two months to devise a better plan, Julia’s first choice to marry her childhood sweetheart is denied. But when a titled dowager offers to introduce Julia into society, a realm of possibilities opens. However, treachery and deception are as much a part of Victorian society as titles and decorum, and Julia quickly discovers her present is deeply entangled with her mother’s mysterious past. Before she knows what’s happening, Julia finds herself a pawn in a deadly game between two of the country’s most powerful men. With no laws to protect her, she must unravel the secrets on her own. But sometimes truth is elusive and knowledge is deadly.