Book picks similar to
Truly Yours by Barbara Metzger


regency
romance
historical-romance
historical

Cousin Kate


Georgette Heyer - 1968
    She has never met her Aunt Minerva Broome, and hardly knows what to expect at majestic country home of Staplewood. Her aunt, uncle, and cousin welcome her to their estate, buy her new clothes, and provide all the amenities a young lady of quality should have. Soon, Kate begins noticing strange things about the manor. Though the guests are few, even family dinners are formal. Unexplained noises and events occur in the night. Surrounded by her domineering Aunt, handsome but moody cousin Torquil, and cousin Philip, who appears to have taken her in instant dislike, Staplewood soon turns from an inviting stately house to a cold and gloomy mansion

What the Duke Desires


Jenna Petersen - 2009
    The Duke of Billingham must find a proper wife and continue his family’s exalted name—but the woman he desires may be the most unsuitable bride of all . . .

An Improper Arrangement


Kasey Michaels - 2015
    As if his new responsibilities weren't enough, Gabriel's aunt enlists him to sponsor a young heiress through London's Little Season. Yet Miss Thea Neville is hardly the tedious obligation he expected. She's exotic and enchanting—and utterly unaware of the secret poised to destroy her family's reputation. After ten years in America, Thea is ready to do her duty and marry well. Deportment lessons, modistes, balls—the ton is a minefield she could scarcely navigate without Gabriel's help. By rights, she should accept the first bachelor who offers for her. Instead, she's succumbing to a dangerous attraction to her wickedly handsome chaperone—one that could unhinge her plans in the most delicious way.

Blood For Ink


L.L. Muir - 2012
    But this time it’s different. This time, she interferes with one of the Four Kings, and the brotherhood will not rest until they marry her off and place her securely under a man’s thumb. Only they have to catch her first.The Earl of Northwick is falling for this writer, sight unseen. Will she be pretty? Will she have all her teeth? In his rush to claim her for himself, regardless of who she might ultimately be, he places her in grave danger - her desperate enemies are watching closely for the moment her mask is removed.

More Than a Stranger


Erin Knightley - 2012
    Her letters kept him going—until the day he had to leave everything behind. Years later, Benedict has seen his share of betrayal, but when treachery hits close to home, he turns to his old friend for safe haven…. After five torturous years on the marriage circuit, Lady Evelyn Moore is finally free to live her life as she wishes. So when her brother shows up with a dashing stranger, she finds herself torn between her dreams...and newfound desires. Despite his determination to keep Evie at a distance, Benedict cannot deny the attraction that began with a secret correspondence. Yet as they begin to discover one another, the dangers of Benedict’s world find them, threatening their lives, their love, and everything they thought they could never have…

Miss Prim


Jane Myers Perrine - 2005
    Because of her age, refined nature, and strict moral code she is considered to be "Miss Prim."Louisa's guarded existence is disrupted when she accepts an invitation from her sister. She believes that she is simply helping her sister and brother-in-law by watching the children during their travels. However, upon her arrival she meets William, Viscount Woodstone, and an adventure beyond her wildest imagination begins. Starting with the questionable heritage of a baby in her care, she decides to join Woodstone's secret quest to outwit French spies and thwart their evil plan.Despite all Louisa's beliefs, this refined gentlewoman careens around the back roads of England in an ancient cart, poses as a countrywoman, and even saves Woodstone's life.Once the adventure ends, Louisa is concerned that her "Miss Prim" image is shattered, and hopes that Woodstone feels the same emotions for her that she has developed for him.

To Wed a Scandalous Spy


Celeste Bradley - 2005
    So when she drags the unconscious man she accidentally hit with a slingshot home, they arrange a hasty marriage and pack the couple off with best wishes. Armed with a groggy husband and a new future, Willa's pie-eyed optimism has no limits...until she discovers the secret, dangerous world of Nathaniel Stonewell, Earl of Reardon, a.k.a. "Lord Treason."Though Nathaniel is reviled by most of England for his devious plot against the Crown, he is, in reality, a member of an elite cadre of secret royal defenders on a daring undercover mission. He must keep his secrets at all cost, especially from Willa. And yet, he is enchanted...though he stubbornly refuses to surrender to his passion. Far better, he tells himself, to turn his back on love than risk everything for it. Luckily, his bride has other plans...

The Elusive Lord Everhart


Vivienne Lorret - 2015
    Assuming, of course, that his deepest secret—a certain letter containing a marriage proposal made in a moment of passion—doesn't surface. After all, without Calliope Croft to tempt him, there's no danger of losing. Or of falling in love.Calliope wants revenge. Five years ago, an anonymous love letter stole her heart and ultimately broke it. Now Casanova has struck again, and Calliope vows to unmask the scoundrel, stopping him from breaking any more hearts. Yet, time and again, Gabriel distracts her from her task, until she can no longer deny that something about him calls to her…Gabriel was a fool to ignore the depth of his feelings for Calliope, but the threat that kept him from her five years ago remains. Now he must choose between two paths: break her heart all over again or finally succumb to loving her… at the risk of losing everything.

Smugglers' Summer


Carola Dunn - 1987
    But to Octavia Gray, her plumpish, rather plain cousin, just to able to leave her busy home, where the hum of political discourse dominates all conversations, and see the countryside for the first time, is an adventure.At Cotehele are only Tavy's languid aunt, her sullen cousin, and Julia's once-rejected suitor whose next proposal her parents hope will be accepted. Julia has no time for the engaging (and wealthy) Sir Tristram Deanbridge, however. To her cousin's half-listening ears, Julia must eternally sing the praises of her beloved. The young man, a gentleman without means, is a political radical whose essays, if not his actions, are fiery. An odd choice, indeed, for a diehard Tory's butterfly daughter, but who can predict where a heart might light?Octavia, summoned to be company for Julia, doesn't have an easy task. Julia wants her sympathy and her help in furthering the forbidden romance with James. Sir Tristram looks to her for reassurance that his chances are still alive. And Octavia finds to her distress that --- dare we tell? --- she herself has a growing romantic interest in the delightful Sir Tristram, although he, alas, is smitten by the uncaring Julia.In spite of all this, there are more adventures for Octavia than merely a change of scene. Before she even reaches the estate, she witnesses a smuggling raid and meets a smuggler himself, once more intriguing than ominous. Shortly after her arrival, Julia's maid transforms her appearance quite astonishingly, and the stay continues to provide a series of exciting adventures and misadventures that the most city-weary young women could wish for. There are searches by the King's men, a fall into the sea (and rescue by the combined efforts of a group of smugglers and a pod of dolphins), secret rooms and passageways, a wounded fugitive to be hidden and nursed, and even a visit by a glittering party of the ton. And although it appears at times that there is no way for true love to win out, do not despair, dear reader. Read on with hope.

A Singular Lady


Megan Frampton - 2005
    The Earl of Oakley has money, but, in an attempt to keep gold-digging girls at bay, keeps it a secret. Then he meets Titania, whose sharp wit and keen mind are rivaled only by her lovely face.

Susanna and the Spy


Anna Elliott - 2011
    She certainly has no intention of contacting her family, who cast off her father and scorned her mother years ago. But a chance encounter with a figure from her past suggests that her estranged grandfather was murdered, and that his death was connected to a local ring of smugglers, led by a mysterious figure who calls himself Captain Clark.When Captain Clark himself appears at her door, wounded and in need of her help, Susanna must decide where her true loyalties lie. And she must also discover the truth of her grandfather's death. Otherwise the man she is rapidly falling in love with may be hanged for treason and murder.

Sweet Enemy


Heather Snow - 2012
    Nevertheless, his mother is playing matchmaker and has invited potential brides to visit the family estate. Geoffrey resigns himself to playing host to a gaggle of husband-hunters more interested in his title than in him—until he unexpectedly meets one notable and intriguing exception. Miss Liliana Claremont has no interest in being an earl’s wife, least of all Wentworth’s—the son of the man she believes murdered her father. Liliana is determined to find evidence of the crime, but her behavior rouses the earl’s suspicions as well as her own undeniable attraction to a man she thought was her enemy. As Geoffrey and Liliana explore their growing passion for one another, the truth behind their fathers’ enmity threatens to destroy their newfound love…

How to Catch a Wild Viscount


Tessa Dare - 2009
    Battle stripped away his civility and brought out his inner beast. There is no charm or tenderness in him now; only dark passions and a hardened soul. He has nothing to offer the starry-eyed, innocent girl who pledged her heart to him four years ago.But Cecily Hale isn't a girl any longer. She's grown into a woman--one who won't be pushed away. She and Luke are guests at a house party when a local legend captures their friends' imaginations. While the others plunge into the forest on a wild goose...er, stag chase, Cecily's on the hunt for a man. She has only a few moonlit nights to reach the real Luke...the wounded heart she knows still beats inside the war-ravaged body...or she could lose him to the darkness forever.This is a novella of approximately 20,000 words, or 80 pages. It was originally published under the title The Legend of the Werestag.

Miss Tavistock's Mistake


Linore Rose Burkard - 2020
    But the captain’s been at sea for a decade. When she finally meets him, tempestuous sparks fly, and she impulsively adopts a daring false identity. Going by “Lady X,” she vows never to marry such an infuriating man. Captain Gabriel Rempeare is prepared to fulfill his duty and marry Miss Tavistock—if only he can clap eyes on her. One circumstance or another keeps them apart, though he cannot seem to avoid the beautiful, maddening, Lady X. When fate throws them together in London, Miss Tavistock discovers the real nature of the captain, and regrets her subterfuge. But can such a noble man forgive deceit? Or has her mistake already cost her everything?

The Harlow Hoyden


Lynn Messina - 2014
    It is Emma who is amazed. She has naturally concluded that the man reading in the conservatory must be the country cousin (who else in London would actually read?) and is quite vexed to discover that he is the Duke of Trent himself—imagine, stealing the duke’s prize Rhyncholaelia digbyana under his very nose! But her vexation doesn’t last long. For Emma is a practical young lady with a mission: to end her dear sister Lavinia’s engagement to the villainous (and dreadfully dull!) Sir Waldo Windbourne, and she thinks that the famous libertine is just the man for the job. If he would only seduce her sister away from Sir Waldo…. Well, not seduce exactly, but flirt mercilessly and engage her interest. Perhaps then Lavinia would jilt the baron. The Duke of Trent is resistant, of course. Despite his reputation, he does not toy with the affections of innocents. And besides, it’s not her sister he longs to seduce.