Book picks similar to
Dark Cloister by Sharon Wagner


gothic
zebra-gothic
gothic-romance
romance

Wings of the Seraph


Sarah Hawke - 2018
    Welcome to the Far Rim.” I spent my entire childhood dreaming about flying starships, and a few years ago that fantasy finally became a reality. I have a fast ship, a reliable partner, and a cute alien girl in almost every port in the sector. Life is good. Or was, until I met her. My heart nearly stopped the first time I laid eyes on her. She is a Velothi Succubus, a genetically engineered concubine whose body and personality are attuned to the needs of a specific person—in this case, a human male who isn’t me. Her long legs, her silky blue skin, her faintly-glowing eyes…I’ve never seen anything like her before. And if I want to score the biggest payday of my life, all I need to do is deliver her into the harem of a scumbag pirate on the other side the sector. Oh, and of course I’ll forfeit my payment if I so much as lay a finger on her during the trip, even though she clearly wants me every bit as much as I want her. What could possibly go wrong? WINGS OF THE SERAPH is an action-packed erotic sci-fi adventure filled with daring chases, heart-pounding space battles, and plenty of explicit sex (31,000 words).Publisher's Note: this book is part of the anthology Wings of the Seraph: The Complete Series . The second edition (released 10/2020) includes many editorial improvements.

Sanctuary


Donna Ball - 1991
    Legend has it that their home is built on holy ground. Other legends tell of hideous beasts that roam the mountainside, Yeti-like creatures so terrifying that no one has ever dared disturb their sanctuary… until now.First there are random acts of vandalism, then small pets begin to disappear, and then men go into the woods and don’t come back. When Christy’s nightmares begin to suggest that she can actually communicate with the creatures who are wreaking such havoc on their small and vulnerable community, Laura is terrified. Because Christy’s dreams tell her that the monsters are coming for her next.And she is right.Sanctuary is a suspense-filled tale of love, courage and redemption that will take you in its grip from the first page and leave you breathless by the last. Because sometimes the real monsters are the ones you can’t escape, no matter how far you run.

Postcards from Last Summer


Roz Bailey - 2006
    'Postcards from Last Summer' follows the lives and loves of three girlfriends as they reconnect in the Hamptons each summer for cold margaritas, hot hookups and plenty of drama.

Let Love Come Last


Taylor Caldwell - 1949
    . . Even when, brutally overriding her refined sensibility, he imprisoned her in a mansion of overwhelming opulence, an accursed house that brought all who lived there grief. . . Even when, before her eyes, she saw him destroying their children with his misguided indulgence. . . For here was a man more powerful, more truly gigantic than any she had ever known, a man she knew she would love until death. . .

Madeleine: A Regency Romance Novella


Mary Lancaster - 2019
    A soldier wounded in mind and body, he has the soul of an artist and the hands of a musician.She falls in love and marries in haste...but will she live to repent? For the castle seems to have a personality of its own, and Roderick, haunted by his past, lives on the edge of insanity.Inspired by Edgar Alan Poe's Fall of the House of Usher, Madeleine is a gothic tale of mystery, danger, passion, and love overcoming all.(Note: This story was first published as part of the USA Today Bestselling Boxed set, The Midnight Hour: All Hallows' Brides, October 2019)

The Governess: a classic Victorian gothic romance


Camille Oster - 2016
    That she would have to travel all the way to Hungary sent nerves twisting inside her gut, as would meeting the mysterious count who would now be her employer. Unable to speak the language or with much to guide her, she found her new home nestled in remote mountains where hungry wolves prowled outside a dark and drafty castle scared by a long history and recent tragedies.

Fearless


Nicola Claire - 2015
    Brilliant. A Liability?Doctor Anna Cassidy has been trained by the best; the former Chief Surgeon for the Auckland Police Force. She knows how to dissect a body. She knows how to treat any ailment. And she knows how to find a cause of death. But society is not ready for a female surgeon.Fighting for what she believes in has been ingrained in Anna since she was a young child. But the battles she faces now are not all based on equality. A murderer stalks her fellow Suffragettes and the police inspector in charge of the case could be Anna's downfall.Experienced. Dedicated. Something to hide?Inspector Andrew Kelly holds duty and honour in the highest regard. His role as a detective proves just that; he never stops until justice is served. Love is something he has forsaken, for reasons he'd rather you didn't know.But Anna is not a woman a man can ignore.Fighting his instincts with cold determination is something Kelly has become accustomed to. But a murderer is loose in his adopted city, bringing memories to the fore of a killer who walked in the shadows of Whitechapel, and shining light on a dark past the Inspector is trying hard to forget.A gritty, twisted, and authentic Victorian romantic suspense, sure to rip you apart... just like old Jack.

It Started in June


Susan Kietzman - 2018
    After a few weeks of exhilarating secret dates, Grace--forty-two and divorced--realizes she's pregnant.For Grace, whose estranged mother refers to her own teenage pregnancy as her biggest mistake, the prospect of parenthood is daunting. She's just been made vice president of a media relations company and is childfree by choice. Still, something deeper than her fear makes her want to keep the baby. She knows she can be a better, more capable parent than her mother was to her.As months pass and seasons change, Grace questions her decision to include Bradley in her plans. But they continue to navigate their complicated relationship, each struggling with what it means to make a commitment to someone. Most importantly, Grace begins trusting her instincts--maternal and otherwise--finding courage that will guide her through an uncertain future ripe with new possibilities . . .Praise for the novels of Susan Kietzman "Beautifully written and closely observed . . . captures the deep and complicated love of family. Reading this lovely novel, I felt the embrace of summer on the shoreline."--New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice on The Summer Cottage "Readers will find themselves drawn into the tragedies and triumphs of this fictional family--distinct and yet utterly relatable." --Hartford Books Examiner on The Good Life

Gentle from the Night


Meagan McKinney - 1995
    Hired to teach his troubled younger brother, Samuel, to speak, she soon discovers the castle harbors many terrible secrets. Secrets that lead Alexandra through a labyrinth of twisted lies and ancient mysteries, to where the answers lie waiting in the innermost chambers of the heart.

The Maidstone Lighthouse


Sally Smith O'Rourke - 2003
    More curious than afraid, Susan is immediately intrigued by the ghost of this sad and beautiful girl who gazes out at the Maidenstone Lighthouse. The startling truth behind a century-old mystery emerges to shed a beacon of light on dangerous shadows in Susan's past.

The Loving Husband Trilogy: The Complete Box Set


Meredith Allard - 2014
    The collection includes the full texts of Her Dear & Loving Husband, Her Loving Husband’s Curse, and Her Loving Husband’s Return, plus a Q&A with Meredith Allard, series inspirations, and discussion questions. The Loving Husband Trilogy Box Set will please devoted James and Sarah Wentworth fans as well as fans new to the series. Book One: Her Dear & Loving Husband James Wentworth has a secret. He lives quietly in Salem, Massachusetts, making few ties with anyone. One night his private world is turned upside down when he meets Sarah Alexander, a dead ringer for his wife, Elizabeth. Though it has been years since Elizabeth's death, James cannot move on. Sarah also has a secret. She is haunted by nightmares about the Salem Witch Trials, and every night she is awakened by visions of hangings, being arrested, and dying in jail. Despite the obstacles of their secrets, James and Sarah fall in love. As James comes to terms with his feelings for Sarah, he must dodge accusations from a reporter desperate to prove that James is not who, or what, he seems to be. Soon James and Sarah piece their stories together and discover a mystery that may bind them in ways they never imagined. Do vampires and witches live in Salem? Will James make the ultimate sacrifice to protect Sarah and prevent a new hunt from bringing hysteria to Salem again? Book Two: Her Loving Husband’s Curse How far will you go to protect the one you love? Finally, after many long and lonely years, vampire James Wentworth's life is falling into place. Together with his wife, Sarah, the only woman he has ever loved, he has found the meaning behind her nightmares about the Salem Witch Trials, and now they are rebuilding the life they began together so long ago. But the past is never far behind for the Wentworths. While Sarah is haunted by new visions, now about the baby she carried over three hundred years before, James is confronted with painful memories from his time with the Cherokee on the Trail of Tears. Through it all, the persistent reporter Kenneth Hempel reappears, still determined to prove that the undead walk the earth. If Hempel succeeds in his quest, James and Sarah will suffer. Will the curse of the vampire prevent James and Sarah from living their happily ever after? Book Three: Her Loving Husband’s Return What would you do to return to the only one you have ever loved? Vampire James Wentworth’s secret is no longer a secret, and now he and his beloved wife, Sarah, have been separated. While suffering his own internment, James is reminded of his time with Japanese-Americans in the Manzanar Relocation Camp during World War II, and he cannot allow the past to repeat itself. With the help of his friends—Chandresh, Jocelyn, Timothy, even the irreverent Geoffrey—James learns what it means to return, and he is determined to return to his Sarah no matter the challenges—or the consequences. In the end, it may be up to Olivia, the most powerful of witches, to grant James’s most fervent wish. Will James and Sarah be reunited once and for all despite the madness surrounding them?

A Moment In Time


Deb Stover - 2000
    But they do get worse--a lot worse. A blizzard strands her in an abandoned ghost town, then a blazing inferno and a lewd painting thrust her back to 1891, where she is mistaken for a a famous saloon singer. When she lands in the arms of a miner with a heart of gold, her bad hair day may become a dream come true. Maybe...

Desired


Thea Devine - 1994
    When Dayne Templeton dismounts from her horse in the mist of morning, she is unaware of the stranger lurking in the shadows. Flint Rutledge, long-ago her adversary, and the town's prodigal son, has come home.Despite the antagonism of the past, Dayne and Flint are inexorably drawn together by desire. But smoldering secrets, family feuds, and vengeful passions threaten to consume their relationship.

The Earl and the Governess


Sarah Elliott - 2009
    So when William Stanton, Earl of Lennox, offers her a job as governess to his ward, she can't refuse.But Isabelle soon discovers that working for tall, broad-shouldered William, with his disheveled hair and intense green eyes, is more of a challenge than she expected!When the attraction between them culminates in a bone-melting kiss, Isabelle knows she must leave. Only, the earl has other plans for his innocent governess...

Forget Me Not


Michelle M. Pillow - 2004
    Pillow comes a tragically beautiful love story that defies perception.When the scandalously independent Isabel Drake refuses to marry the man her parents choose for her, they force her to take lessons on how to become a respectable lady. However, her new tutor makes her feel anything but proper. Although her attraction to Mr. Weston is instantaneous, he resolves to keep her in her place—even as his desires for her become unmistakable.Things are not what they seem at Rothfield Park. With Mr. Weston’s arrival, there comes an abundance of restless spirits who insinuate themselves into her life. Quickly, Isabel loses her grasp on reality, not knowing who’s alive or dead. Time is running out, and Isabel must solve the ghostly mystery of the eerie night mist that surrounds the manor before it comes to claim everyone she holds dear—including her Mr. Weston.Forget Me Not, Re-Edited and Revised 17th Anniversary Edition published November 2020Paranormal Regency Historical Ghost Gothic RomanceFormerly Titled: The Mists of Midnight, Originally Published 2004​