Book picks similar to
Mr. Hunt, I Presume by Valerie Bowman


historical-romance
romance
novella
netgalley

Miss Goodhue Lives for a Night


Kate Noble - 2016
    Resigned to a quiet life, Cecilia is surprised when she finds out that her young cousin has run off with a man of no means. Cecilia had once been a teenaged girl who also fell for a young man’s charms—only to be devastated by his betrayal. Determined to not let her cousin meet the same fate, she heads off to London to but is shocked when her investigation leads her right to the front door of the very man who broke her heart: Theo Hudson. Together, they reluctantly embark on finding her cousin and returning her to her family. During their searching in London, it soon becomes clear that they both remember their short-lived romance differently and perhaps now, years later, they have a fresh chance at love.

The Second Seduction of a Lady


Miranda Neville - 2012
    Now, five years later, Max still can't get Eleanor out of his head or his heart. He has a single chance to make a second impression—one that will last forever.

Seduction on a Snowy Night


Madeline Hunter - 2019
    plus one or two dukes, one heiress, and one headstrong beauty—to a surprise snow storm, the comfort of a blazing fire, and the heat of a lover's kisses...A CHRISTMAS ABDUCTION by Madeline HunterCaroline Dunham has a bone to pick with notorious rake Baron Thornhill—and a creative plan to insure his undivided attention. Yet once in close quarters, she finds herself beholden to their smoldering connection. A PERFECT MATCH by Sabrina JeffriesWhisked away from a wintry ball by a commanding colonel, Cassandra Isles struggles with her feelings for Lord Heywood. For he is a man sworn to marry only for money—and Cass is an heiress who will accept nothing less than love. ONE WICKED WINTER’S NIGHT by Mary Jo PutneyDressed as a veiled princess, Lady Diana Lawrence is shocked to discover that the mysterious corsair who tempts her away from the costume ball is the duke she once loved and lost. Now ensconced with Castleton at a remote lodge, will she surrender to the passion still burning hotly between them?

The Pirate & I


Katharine Ashe - 2017
    Years ago, Miss Esme Astell fell hopelessly in love with Charles Brittle, an unassuming and highly respectable London bookmaker.Then he disappeared without a word.The last thing Esme ever dreamed was to meet Charlie again—In a dark alleyway—In a drenching rain—In a chase with the police—In Scotland.Can she resist falling again, this time for the dangerous scoundrel he’s become?

The Heiress and the Hothead


Sabrina Jeffries - 2016
    Return to the beloved Sinful Suitors series from New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries in this delightfully sexy winter-themed novella!Stunned by the heat of an unexpected kiss on a cold winter’s eve, two strangers from vastly different worlds turn hotheaded principles into burning passion in Sabrina Jeffries’s charming yuletide story, The Heiress and the Hothead.Can also be found in the anthology, What Happened Under the Mistletoe.

No Groom at the Inn


Megan Frampton - 2015
    Instead, she accepts the shocking proposition. After all, what’s her other choice? To live with her cousin, caring for six children and a barnyard full of chickens?James Archer has roamed the world, determined never to settle down. He’s faced danger and disaster…he fears nothing and no one—except his mother and her matchmaking ways. So when ordered to attend a Christmastime house party filled with holiday cheer and simpering young misses, he produces—a fiancée!Sophronia and James vow to pretend to be in love for one month. But when they promise to give each other a Christmas kiss, it becomes clear that this pact made out of necessity might just be turning into love.

Mad About the Major


Elizabeth Boyle - 2015
    But she is a Tremont, after all, and the morning after she is nearly ruined at a ball by a handsome stranger, Arabella's father demands she make an arranged match with the heir to a dukedom. In desperation, Arabella takes matters into her own hands.Takes a London holiday with the most unsuitable of chaperones…Major Kingsley is in London to avoid his parents' dreadful house party. To his surprise he runs into the enticing—and unforgettable—minx he met at a ball the previous night. Arabella, or Birdie, as he knows her, insists he owes her three favors—for he's put her in a terrible pinch. Kingsley agrees, if only to delay his trip home and because the notion of spending the day with this enchanting bit of muslin is too tempting to resist. But all too quickly he discovers Arabella's requests are hardly what he expected…

The Last Chance Christmas Ball


Mary Jo Putney - 2015
    For at the top of each guest’s wish list is a last chance to find true love before the New Year…A chance meeting beneath the mistletoe, a stolen glance across the dance floor—amid the sumptuous delicacies, glittering decorations, and swell of the orchestra, every duchess and debutante, lord and lackey has a hopeful heart. There's the headstrong heiress who must win back her beloved by midnight—or be wed to another....the spinster whose fateful choice to relinquish love may hold one more surprise for her...a widow yearning to glimpse her long-lost love for even one sweet, fleeting interlude...a charming rake who finds far more than he bargained for. And many other dazzling, romantic tales in this star-studded collection that will fill your heart and spice up your holidays...Contents:Prologue by Jo BeverleyMy True Love Hath My Heart by Joanna BourneA Scottish Carol by Susan KingChristmas Larks by Patricia RiceIn the Bleak Midwinter by Mary Jo PutneyOld Flames Dance by Cara ElliottA Season for Marriage by Nicola CornickMiss Finch and the Angel by Jo BeverleyMistletoe Kisses by Anne Gracie

The Duke and Miss Christmas


Amelia Grey - 2015
    When he gets into a tussle with her—and she can hold her own—Crispin knows he has finally met his match.Miss Gwen Prim is mortified that she attacked a duke, but even more concerning is the way her resolve melts when she's near him. She's never felt this way about a London gentleman in her life. And with the magic of Christmas in the air, she may end up with a proposal she didn't expect...in this delightful Regency gem, The Duke and Miss Christmas by New York Times bestselling author Amelia Grey.

Your Wicked Heart


Meredith Duran - 2012
    Fans of Julia Quinn, Jane Feather and Eloisa James will delight in Meredith's trademark headstrong heroine, cunning hero and tale of deep emotional intensity!Amanda Thomas is stranded a thousand miles from home. Jilted by a viscount and abandoned without a penny, she'll do whatever it takes to secure a berth on an England-bound ship. But when the anchor lifts, she's not the only impostor on board—for the stranger in her bed claims to be the real viscount. Can she trust this devastatingly attractive scoundrel? Or is his offer of friendship only a pretext for seduction...and revenge?

Heir to the Duke


Jane Ashford - 2016
    As his father's eldest son, Nathaniel's identity remains the "heir to the Duke of Langford." But this quiet, restrained life changes the minute he marries sweet Lady Violet Devere.Oppressed by her family all her life, Violet is longing for her marriage vows to be spoken. Though her arranged marriage to Nathaniel was not a match made for love, they're both looking forward to the comparative freedom of married life. And Violet is determined to show Nathaniel how to enjoy it, both in and out of the bedroom.

Midsummer Delights


Eloisa James - 2018
    Fortunately, a gorgeous musician at the Duchess of Ormond's house party presents the perfect candidate for scandal…​Previously published in the Essex Sisters Official Companion Guide (e only). At Midnight ​Elias Hempleworth-Gray has one thing and one thing only of value—his title, Earl of Leyton. Determined to leave England and the scandal of his gambler father behind, Elias hopes to turn his fortunes around and come back a respectable man to claim the only woman for him, Miss Penelope White. But Penny has other plans for the man she has loved all her life…plans that include a masquerade, a stolen kiss and a lost shoe.Previously published in the Fairy Tale sampler (print only). Ever After When she was sixteen, Miss Violet Leighton spent one blissful month romping around her family estate with Rothwell Talcott…thirty days of shared kisses, culminating in a very illicit afternoon in a berry patch. As Rothwell leaves for his grand tour, he gives his word of honor that he will return for her. Four years and seven refused proposals later, Violet is about to give up and marry when he finally returns. Now the Duke of Cambridge, Rothwell wants to make her his duchess. But how can Violet trust the man who stole her virtue—and then broke her heart?Previously published in The Ugly Duchess (print only).

Merely a Marriage


Jo Beverley - 2017
    Her brother, Norris, is a strapping young man, but he’s also happily unmarried and childless. Norris agrees to take a wife on one condition: that Ariana take a husband first. Although she realizes she risks a lifetime in a loveless marriage, for the sake of her family, Ariana accepts his challenge. When the Earl of Kynaston met Ariana eight years ago, he broke her heart. Since then, his own heart has been broken, and he’s sworn off love... until he sees Ariana all grown-up and his resolve is threatened. Could Ariana’s bargain with Norris actually lead her to happiness? With real love on the line, she must win over the one man who refuses to be had.

Lady, It's Cold Outside


Deb Marlowe - 2016
    She’s lost her grandfather and the bookshop they ran together. If not for the invitation from the Duke of Danby, she would have no place to go.No Christmas festivities for Baron Ellesworth this year. His newly inherited estate is in bad shape—and so is his bank account. He’ll spend the holiday traveling to do a bit of business with Lord Danby, in hopes of bringing Christmas to Elleshaven next year.Traveling during the holiday season doesn’t sound romantic, but a star in the East, an abandoned child and a quest for holiday cheer might just convince these two that love is the best gift of the Season.

Stormswept


Deborah Martin - 1995
    Albans spent with the dark and daring Rhys Vaughan was intoxicating, the heady culmination of her new husband’s driving hunger and her own awakened sensuality. When he mysteriously disappeared the next morning, she waited for him in hope and desperation. And when he was finally proclaimed dead in a shipwreck, she bitterly mourned the loss of her love.The second wedding night that Juliana spent with Rhys Vaughan was six years later, after he returned to claim her just as she was about to wed another. This Rhys was different—bolder, harder, and convinced that she’d betrayed him. Only their blazing passion remains from their years apart. But is it enough to light their way through the maze of mystery, menace, and mistrust—to the love they once shared and would have to find again?