Book picks similar to
A Laird for the Governess by Catherine Tinley
romance
historical-romance
widow-widower
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Highlander's Unwanted Bride
Ann Marie Scott - 2020
The exact opposite of what Susanna dreamed of as her husband.Susanna leaves England and her two beloved sisters behind to travel to the Baxter castle, where instead of a warm welcome, she finds an unpleasant surprise. William has been married before, and his heart only has room for his late wife and Flora, his sweet young daughter.Unfortunately, Susanna realizes that William got remarried mainly to acquire the dowry and the alliance with her uncle, as his clan is in a dire situation, and not as an effort to rebuild his life.Alone in a hostile place, Susanna feels unwanted. But when secret forces and enemies threaten William, she will be there to prove that the quality of her character is such, that she cares even for those who seem to reject her at first."Highlander's Unwanted Bride" is a standalone story by best selling author Ann Marie Scott, packed with passion and romance and redemption, set on the beautiful backdrop of the Scottish Highlands.
The Tower Room
Rona Randall - 2001
Life for Sarah Willcox has not been easy since her father died. It’s the late 1920s and Sarah loves her work as an apprentice in the sheds at the Staffordshire-based pottery Frenshaws. She is able to escape her miserable home life where her hateful step-father Joe abuses her mother. But there’s no escaping it completely, as Joe also works at the pottery company. When Sarah’s talent is recognized by the master potter and owner, Daniel, she is sent to Design School where she meets wealthy Annabel and they quickly become friends. But Sarah’s life is far from settled. Beneath Daniel’s dedication to work lies a deep compassion and a long-standing interest in Sarah and her family. On her fifteenth birthday, a violent tragedy sends Sarah’s life spiraling into an entirely new direction. She escapes to live with her grandmother where she learns secrets about her past and a heritage that she never knew existed. A whole life she had never imagined opens up for her, but will it come at too high a price? The Tower Room is a thoroughly moving tale about secrets, deception and new beginnings.
Caught by the Scot
Karen Hawkins - 2017
Fans of Julia Quinn, Monica McCarty and Julie Garwood will be won over by the spellbinding Made to Marry series.When the dark Duke of Hamilton loses his beloved wife, he heeds her dying wish that he make certain her three brothers marry well for she fears they are all headed to ruin. Heartsick, the Duke approaches the task with a heavy hand, ordering the three brothers to marry within three months or forego their inheritance.The middle brother, the dashing Conner Douglas, is not about to give up his independence, but he knows marriage doesn't always mean one must change, does it? If anything, being married to a pliable sort of female would give him even more opportunity to seduce the married women of the ton. So he heads straight for the most pliable female he knows - a childhood acquaintance and now mousy spinster, the English born and bred Miss Theodora Cumberbatch-Snowe.Conner is so certain Theodora will joyously agree to marry him, that he takes his time traveling to her house and has only one month to secure her hand and marry. Yet when he arrives at her parents' house he discovers that Theodora has just run away with a local landowner—a farmer, no less! Unknown to Conner, Theodora has been wildly, passionately in love with him for years. But she's accepted that he sees her only as a friend. Unable to sit forever in her parents' front parlor and wait for what will never happen, Theodora decided to marry someone comfortable in the hopes they might at least become good partners.Unaware of Theodora's feelings, Conner isn't about to let 'the perfect wife' get away so easily. But as Conner seduces Theodora, his own feelings stir. And after surviving a trip of mishaps and traps, he discovers that he can't image her marrying anyone but him.
Highlander's Stolen Destiny
Alisa Adams - 2018
Love never ceases in the Highlands it goes on and on from generation to generation.Brave Alastair Macleod and his beautiful Mary are back in this lovely standalone story; only this time it is their eldest son who has found love.Can it survive in a period ravished by war?Only raw courage and belief will prevail as the English capture Brice Macleodand his father after the ignominious defeat at Neville Cross.Will Brice ever see Skye again? Only destiny can tell or maybe the benevolence of a king and his son will decide the course of fate..
The Rogue's Wager
Christi Caldwell - 2016
He knows he must someday do right by the Somerset line, but he’s in no hurry to give up his carefree existence.Helena Banbury is a bookkeeper in a gentleman’s gambling club, adept at analyzing numbers and accounts but helpless for lack of influence. She’s never belonged among the nobility on the gaming hell floors, but neither does she feel completely herself among the men who run the Hell and Sin Club, despite the fact that they are family. The once-illiterate girl from the streets wants more than the gilded walls her protective cage can offer.When Robert mistakenly enters her chambers one night, Helena is forced out of her predictable life and thrust into the glittering world of Society. Will the charms of the marquess prove more perilous than any danger she ever knew on the streets?
Highland Sons: The Mackay Saga
Dawn Ireland - 2012
. . BANE’S BELIEF Kenzie McCleod thought the witch-hunting frenzy would never find her in the Highlands. Her un-natural connection to animals and her bothersome beauty could be hidden, as long as she and her mother kept to themselves. So what had prompted her to accept the invitation of the compelling, and wickedly handsome, Laird of the Mackays? Laird Bane Mackay knows he should marry a woman of his clan, but none have sparked his curiosity like the black-haired lass with the winning smile. Why can’t he ignore his attraction to this unsuitable stranger whose haunting violet eyes and strange abilities make him rethink magic in the world? In following his heart, he may very well bring the wrath of the Witch Pricker (hunter) down on them all. WANDERING HEART Sharing a soul-searing kiss with the most devastatingly handsome man she’s ever met was not part of Fiona Keenan’s plan. Neither was stealing an ancient family heirloom out of his pocket. When Cameron Mackay decides to pursue the ring, neither one of them is prepared for what happens between them. For, in a rough and tumble mining town, where everyone is a fortune hunter and a gambler, love might just be the one risk no one is willing to take.
The French House
Helen Fripp - 2021
“Marry me,” he’d said. “We’ll run these vineyards together.” But now he is gone. There is no one to share the taste of the first fruit of the harvest. And her troubles are hers alone…In sleepy little Reims, France, grieving Nicole Clicquot watches her daughter play amongst the vines under the golden sun and makes a promise to herself. Her gossiping neighbours insist that the rolling fields of chalk soil are no place for a woman, but she is determined to make a success of the winery. It’s the only chance she has to keep a roof over her head and provide a future for her little girl.But as the seasons change, bringing a spoiled harvest and bitter grapes, the vineyards are on the brink of collapse. Without her husband’s oldest friend, travelling merchant Louis, she’d truly be lost. No one else would stay up all night to help count endless rows of green bottles deep in the cellars, or spread word far and wide that Nicole makes the finest champagne he’s ever tasted. One magical night, as a shooting star illuminates their way under a velvet sky, Nicole gazes up at his warm smile and wonders if perhaps she doesn’t need to be quite so alone…But when Louis shrinks from her touch after returning from a long trip abroad, Nicole fears something is terribly wrong. And as an old secret about her husband – that only Louis knew – spreads from the cobbled village streets all the way to the Paris salons, her heart and fragile reputation are shattered. Was she wrong to put her trust in another man? And with Napoleon’s wars looming on the horizon, can she find a way to save her vineyards, and her daughter, from ruin?Fans of Chocolat, Carnegie’s Maid, Dinah Jeffries and anyone longing to sip champagne under the stars will adore this stunning historical read, inspired by the true story of how Nicole Clicquot blazed her own path to build the world’s greatest champagne house: Veuve Clicquot.Previously titled: The Champagne Widow
The Bride of Black Douglas
Elaine Coffman - 2000
In this unforgettable romance, a marriage that starts off to defy fate, just might end in love…Lady Meleri Weatherby is desperate to escape the unthinkable: marriage to a man she does not love, a man she knows to be unspeakably cruel. In a bold move, she breaks off her betrothal to Lord Philip and flees her home in Northumberland, vowing to marry the first man she meets, never considering the consequences of such a show of independence.Robert Douglas has been dealt an equally dark hand by fate: the proud Scot must take an English bride or lose his ancestral home and noble name. It seems an impossible situation, until destiny puts him in the path of a strong-minded English lass with a will to survive that equals his own.Marriage is an ideal salvation for both. Meleri will be safe from her vengeful fiancé in Beloyn Castle with the Douglas clan, and Robert will be able to keep all he holds dear. But neither has bargained on a heartless man who will go to any lengths to seek revenge, the tenacity of a stubborn ghost and the most powerful force of all: love.
Highland Crown
May McGoldrick - 2019
Among the fray is a lovely young widow who possesses rare and special gifts.WANTED: Isabella DrummondA true beauty and trained physician, Isabella has inspired longing and mystery―and fury―in a great many men. Hunted by both the British government and Scottish rebels, she came to the Highlands in search of survival. But a dying ship’s captain will steer her fate into even stormier waters. . .and her heart into flames.FOUND: Cinaed MackintoshCast from his home as a child, Cinaed is a fierce soul whose allegiance is only to himself. . .until Isabella saved his life―and added more risk to her own. Now, the only way Cinaed can keep her safe to seek refuge at Dalmigavie Castle, the Mackintosh family seat. But when the scandalous truth of his past comes out, any chance of Cinaed having a bright future with Isabella is thrown into complete darkness. What will these two ill-fated lovers have to sacrifice to be together…for eternity?
Lady Luck and the Lyon
Chasity Bowlin - 2022
unusually. Welcome to the world of THE LYON'S DEN: The Black Widow of Whitehall Connected World, where the underground of Regency London thrives... and loves.Kissing her had been a terrible miscalculation on his part. But laughing with her, finding something to enjoy about being in her company, that could well be an unmitigated disaster.Welcome to the next Lyon's Den book by USA Today Bestselling author Chasity Bowlin!Garrick Bancroft, Viscount Lynley, is in dire need of both a wife and a fortune. He thought he’d found the perfect woman to fulfill both very nicely. But just days before they were to marry, she fled to Scotland in the arms of her younger brother’s tutor. Left high and dry, there’s only one option—Mrs. Bessie Dove-Lyon, London’s most notorious matchmaker. With desperation as his constant companion, Garrick informs her that any young lady will do…so long as she has the appropriate accompanying fortune.Miss Ellis Lockhart is in a terrible situation. Embarking on her fourth season with not a prospect in sight, her sisters are beginning to turn on her. Her infamously tightfisted father has refused to have more than one daughter launched in society at any given time. Until she makes a match, her sisters must hover in the background—waiting as spinsterhood looms over them all. Out of desperation, she reaches out to Mrs. Dove-Lyon and begs for her assistance…anyone will do, so long as he is a gentleman of rank.There’s really only one problem and it becomes apparent when the duo meet at the church for their wedding—Garrick and Ellis are not unknown to one another. In fact, they rather hate one another.
But with the help of a little luck, and the meddling of Mrs. Dove-Lyon, they might soon realize that the line between love and hate is a fine one, and a fiery one, indeed.
Until We Meet Again
Rosemary Goodacre - 2019
An office worker, she lives at home, along with her parents and spirited younger brother, Bertie. But her life is transformed when she meets handsome young man, Edmond Derwent, son of one of the wealthiest families in the small town of Larchbury, and student at Cambridge University.The couple are falling deeply in love when war breaks out and, eager to do his duty for England, Edmond signs up as an officer. The couple plan to be wed, eager to start a new life together - but their happiness is short-lived when Edmond is sent to Flanders to lead his men into battle. Amy trains as a VAD nurse and is soon sent to France, where she sees the true horror of war inflicted on the brave young men sent to fight.Separated by war, Edmond and Amy share their feelings through emotional letters sent from the front line. But when Edmond is critically wounded at Ypres, their love faces the biggest test of all – can their love stay strong while the world around them is crumbling?A romantic, emotional saga set in WW1 – readers of Rosie Goodwin, Katie Flynn and Val Wood will be captivated by this story of love.
Portrait of Stella
Susan Wüthrich - 2014
Jemima Ashton is desperate to discover her real identity. With scant information and the burning question 'who am I?', she embarks on an incredible journey of detection. On learning of her late mother Stella's disappearance during WWII, she retraces her footsteps across the globe and at a distant vineyard, unearths a family she had no idea existed. While treading a path of narrow-minded bigotry, scandalous revelations emerge of two families inextricably linked by one woman and the drastic steps they took to hide the truth. ‘A powerful story of love and loss spanning two generations’ Frances di Plino - author of the Paolo Storey Crime Series
In Debt to the Earl
Elizabeth Rolls - 2015
While her surroundings are impoverished, her dignity and refinement are unmistakable, and James faces an unsettling question—what will be her fate if he brings her father to justice? Although yearning for love and comfort, Lucy resists the earl's surprising offer of protection. That is until a price is made on her virginity, and James is the only man who can save her.
Ruined (The Salvation Society)
Annabelle Anders - 2021
Holy cow! The more I read of it, I’m literally blown away. Because my great (like quadrupled or something) grandmother and I have more in common than I ever could have imagined… It’s uncanny…MILTON COTTAGE, ENGLAND, 1828Mrs. Naomi Gilcrest believes her life is settled. She has a husband, a home. She is happily awaiting her husband to return from battle and after that, the birth of their first child. Until a late autumn visit from her husband’s commander shatters everything.Lord Major Lucas Cockfield solemnly travels to Arthur Gilcrest’s house to deliver the news, to honor one of his soldiers. He does not intend to stay more than a day, let alone a week, or a month, but when he meets Naomi, he finds it impossible to walk away.The timing is all wrong. The circumstances are unacceptable. But life is short and when secrets are revealed, the obstacles begin to fall away. Until the shadow of another man returns. Will he cast darkness on their love before it has the chance to blossom? Or will Lucas and Naomi beat unsurmountable odds and reclaim the love that fate tried to deny?
Where the Lost Wander
Amy Harmon - 2020
Eager to leave her grief behind, she sets off with her family for a life out West. On the trail, she forms an instant connection with John Lowry, a half-Pawnee man straddling two worlds and a stranger in both.But life in a wagon train is fraught with hardship, fear, and death. Even as John and Naomi are drawn to each other, the trials of the journey and their disparate pasts work to keep them apart. John’s heritage gains them safe passage through hostile territory only to come between them as they seek to build a life together.When a horrific tragedy strikes, decimating Naomi’s family and separating her from John, the promises they made are all they have left. Ripped apart, they can’t turn back, they can’t go on, and they can’t let go. Both will have to make terrible sacrifices to find each other, save each other, and eventually…make peace with who they are.