Book picks similar to
Eden Creek by Lisa Bingham
historical-romance
romance
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A Mail-Order Heart
Janelle Daniels - 2016
But when nine women arrive, all claiming to be mail-order brides for the same man, his once quiet life is thrown into chaos. Safeguarding them from aggressive suitors is nothing compared to the inner battle he faces over Clara, a woman who heats his blood… but can never be his own.But when Clara is kidnapped by the same person who’s sabotaging their mine, Sawyer must choose between the life he knew and the future he craves.
The Governess Affair
Courtney Milan - 2012
Unable to find new work, she’s demanding compensation from the man who got her sacked: a petty, selfish, swinish duke. But it’s not the duke she fears. It’s his merciless man of business—the man known as the Wolf of Clermont. The formidable former pugilist has a black reputation for handling all the duke’s dirty business, and when the duke turns her case over to him, she doesn’t stand a chance. But she can’t stop trying—not with her entire future at stake.He cannot give in…Hugo Marshall is a man of ruthless ambition—a characteristic that has served him well, elevating the coal miner’s son to the right hand man of a duke. When his employer orders him to get rid of the pestering governess by fair means or foul, it’s just another day at the office. Unfortunately, fair means don’t work on Serena, and as he comes to know her, he discovers that he can’t bear to use foul ones. But everything he has worked for depends upon seeing her gone. He’ll have to choose between the life that he needs, and the woman he is coming to love…
Never a Mistress, No Longer a Maid
Maureen Driscoll - 2011
After a night of passion, the two are separated. With nothing but the alias Jane used to protect her family, Lord Edward is unable to find the woman he cannot forget.Seven years later, Jane courts scandal by serving as the unofficial surgeon in the village of Marston Vale. When Edward arrives to formalize his betrothal to a viscount's daughter in accordance with his late father's wishes, Jane has no choice but to watch the match proceed. When a threat from the past emerges, Jane must join forces with Edward to safeguard her loved ones. But at what risk to her heart?
The Legend of the Bloodstone
E.B. Brown - 2013
Will I still want to touch you when your blood is on my hands? Or will it chase your ghost from my thoughts?" He held his hands out and considered his open palms for a moment, shaking his head. "I think not. I think still you would haunt me." TIME WALKERSMaggie is a modern day woman with all her flaws, thrust back into a time when men were carving out the history of America. She has just enough knowledge of the past to know trouble is coming, yet soon she is kicking herself for not paying better attention in history class. When she is captured by Winn, a warrior who is torn between his duty to kill her and his desire to keep her, she must adapt to a life she had only read about in history books.Winn is a seventeenth century Paspahegh warrior, born in a time before the English settlers arrived on the shores of Tsenacomoco. He has learned the ways of the English and uses his knowledge to ensure the survival of his people, but when he finds a wounded woman in the woods his loyalty is put to the ultimate test.Hunted and feared by both the Powhatan and the English, Maggie struggles to find a way home while Winn plots to keep her there. Maggie fights to survive as she finds herself entangled in the Massacre of 1622, and Winn sees everything he ever believed in shattered by the knowledge she holds. With ties to both the past and future, their lives unfold among the stirrings of a new nation. Maggie and Winn risk everything to survive as the once powerful Powhatan Nation crumbles and the English build a country from the ashes.Praise for the Time Walkers series: The Legend of the Bloodstone - 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, QuarterfinalistA Tale of Oak and Mistletoe - 2013 RWA/NYC We Need a Hero Contest, Finalist"Time travel and romance converge in this tale of star-crossed love" - Publishers Weekly on The Legend of the Bloodstone"This was beautiful! Time Travel at its best!"- Romance Novels in Color"Absolutely consuming" - Amazon reviewer"I love this series. I didn't want it to end!" - Amazon Reviewer"I can easily see where this story could be a fantastic movie." - Amazon Reviewer"My complaint with this book is I couldn't stop reading this one and the next one in the series which resulted in late nights and tired mornings!!" - Amazon Reviewer"An epic historical saga in brilliant cinematic technicolor" - Amazon reviewer
Train Station Bride
Holly Bush - 2012
Julia strikes out on her own to gain independence, traveling to the Midwest to marry an aging shopkeeper and care for his mother. Julia finds her new home rough and uncivilized after the sophistication of a big city, while closely held secrets threaten to ruin Julia’s one chance at love. Jake Shelling was sixteen and grew up quick when his parents died from influenza on the South Dakota prairie. Left with a half-cleared farm and two young sisters, he spent little time on his own needs . .till now. At thirty-five, he figured it was high time to have some sons and a mail order bride would suit him just fine. No expectations of love, just a helpmate from sturdy stock, ready for farm life. Will fate and chance play a trick on Julia and Jake?
The Drifter
Susan Wiggs - 1998
Being awakened in the dark of night to heal the sick is a common occurrence, but never before has she woke to a threatening gun barrel and a dangerous stranger demanding her services. Outlaw Jackson Underhill is grimly determined that the doctor will save his childhood friend, but nothing about his difficult and dark past has prepared him for the changes the beautiful doctor will bring to his life. When Leah manages to disable his sailboat and force him to bring his "wife" to her boarding home to be cared for, Jackson has no option but to comply, setting forces in motion that will change both of their lives forever.Dr. Leah Mundy is a strong but emotionally vulnerable woman who has struggled her entire life to win the approval of her difficult, indifferent father. Now that he is dead, she is determined to build a life on Puget Sound's beautiful Whidbey Island. Accused of committing a murder he can't deny, outlaw Jackson Underhill is a man on the run, committed to saving his childhood friend while eluding the law. Leah is a woman who cannot leave the island that has become her sanctuary and Jackson Underhill is a man who cannot stay. Reason and logic tell them that they should never have fallen in love, but their hearts ignore all warnings. Inexorably drawn together by circumstance and fate, what possible resolution can bring them happiness and not disaster? Thrown together by chance, they find a love that neither of them had ever dared hope for - but darker forces and old alliances threaten their chance at happiness. With crisp, clean writing, Ms. Wiggs deftly weaves a seamless tale set against the background of the sea and sky of the Pacific Northwest. The beauty of Puget Sound pulses from every page, elevating the land and elements of nature to the level of a living character that is essential to the healing of Jackson and Leah's inner scars. Emotionally intense and well-plotted, The Drifter has all the components of a great summer read and is a jewel of a novel.
A Scandalous Wife
Ava Stone - 2011
However he wasn’t prepared when his cad of brother ruined and then abandoned a young lady. To right the wrong, Robert married the girl himself; but his chivalry only went so far. He didn’t want a wife, and most certainly not a scandalous one. So after repeating his vows, he sent her packing, off to a secluded estate and expected her to stay put. After years of mistreatment at the hands of her family, Lydia was prepared to be an accommodating wife; but her rigid and unforgiving husband asked too much of her. After languishing for years in her opulent prison, Lydia leaves her country estate for the glamour and excitement of London—and unfortunately her husband’s path.
Heaven In His Arms
Lisa Ann Verge - 1995
She’ll even switch places with a King’s Girl, one of many penniless young noblewomen destined to be shipped to the savage French colonies. It’s a dangerous masquerade that comes with a high price: Once in Quebec, Genny must marry a stranger....
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?
The Kindling Heart
Carmen Caine - 2011
They were nothing but trouble. Leaving the rash life of his youth behind, he returned to Skye, seeking peace. He never meant to split the clan or start a war with the MacDonald of Duntulm. He certainly never foresaw an arranged marriage to the most scandalous woman in Scotland. Even though she was twice his age, the size of a horse and mother to more than one illegitimate child, he agreed to secure his sister’s freedom. However, even that plan goes drastically awry. On his wedding day, he finds himself faced instead with an enticing, green-eyed lass named Bree. A walking disaster, his bride immediately turns his world into chaos and threatens to melt his resolve never to love again.Betrayed by her own mother, Bree flees to Skye, thinking only to reunite with her long, lost father. Instead, she finds herself wed to Ruan MacLeod as a replacement bride. When she is forced to remain in the castle, she is soon caught between brothers and the mentally ill wife of the laird.Shy, yet strong, Bree embarks on a journey of independence and learns along the way that all men are not necessarily evil. In fact, one particularly brooding, yet gentle-hearted warrior is worthy of love, and she soon loses her heart forever.Excerpt from Chapter Six:...All at once, he noticed he was still holding her, apparently at the same moment understanding dawned in her face.Bree launched into another attack, jabbing his midriff and raking his skin with her nails.“Be still, ye wee hellion!” Ruan bellowed, pinning her wrists behind her back.For a moment, he thought she was going to retch; her pasty skin seemed almost yellow, purple and black streaks adorned her nose and cheekbones. Marriage to him had not served her well; in two days, she had transformed from a lass with a pair of bright green eyes to a drowned, underfed chicken.As her foot grazed his shin, he winced, quickly amending the thought; a mean-spirited, drowned, underfed chicken.Another well placed kicked wrenched a new succession of curses from his lip, but as her tears began to flow, real ones, his exasperation fled. Of all things, tears affected him the most. One slid down her cheek. Succumbing to a wave of pity, he wiped it gently with his thumb. Bree gulped, frowning in a way he could not fathom. For several long minutes, they stared wordlessly at each other.Finally, her cracked lips opened and she wailed, “I’m not wedding anyone!”Gazing down into the bright eyes brimming with tears, Ruan sighed. “Aye, ‘tis a wee bit late, lass.”It was supposed to be comforting, or so he thought, but his response seemed only to renew her resistance. Balling her fists, she struck his chest but more in blows of frustration than anything else. In spite of his best efforts, he grinned. Battling to the last breath was something he could understand, even for a hopeless cause such as this one. Lips twitching, he easily recaptured her wrists in a single hand. They were unusually small hands, perfectly shaped.The fingers jerked free from his grasp. Startled, he met her eyes once more.“You’ll die if you touch me!” Her slurred threat ended with a hiccup, rendering it anything but intimidating.He could smell the whiskey on her breath.His grin widened.Her hand fumbled near his belt before closing over the hilt of his sword. Assuming a fierce expression, she attempted to frighten him. “I’ll sever your manhood whilst you sleep!”To emphasize the statement she tugged at the blade, several times.On the third attempt, the sword cleared the scabbard almost an inch.“Aye.” Ruan laughed outright, his lips curving into a suggestive smile, “But it would take even a larger blade; ye haven’t a prayer if ye can’t lift this one.” His hand closed over hers. Not as a deterrent, but simply to watch her eyes flash defiantly once more....
Nobody's Darling
Teresa Medeiros - 1998
Lucky for him, she's a mighty poor shot. Instead of killing him, she hires him to find her runaway brother. He should turn down her offer. He should resist her charms. But he doesn't. Because there comes a time in every man's life when he's got nothing left to lose...but his heart.
His Perfect Bride
Merry Farmer - 2015
She longs for a peaceful life away from the darkness of her past where she can create the paintings that are close to her heart, and where she hopes she can grow to love her husband. But how do you love a man who was persuaded to marry you against his will? Franklin Haskell never planned to marry. What woman would want a man who was crippled due to his own arrogance? But when he is offered the chance to help a woman in crisis, he agrees to wed. Corva is so much more than he expected, and when a baseball game gives her the chance to shine, he loses his heart. But how do you tell a woman you love her when she deserves so much better? The game of love has never been so hard to play…or so worth winning. PLEASE BE ADVISED: Steam Level = HOT If you would like to read this story without any “scenes,” check out
Corva: The Perfect Bride
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Texas Outlaw
Adrienne deWolfe - 1995
No man can resist her smoky voice and violet eyes—and that includes the federal tinstar, Cord Rawlins.Cord may have tracked her all the way to Texas to recover the U.S. minting plates that she stole, but the Nevada penitentiary is a long ride north, giving her plenty of time to charm, seduce, or just plain outsmart the handsome Texas lawman.Deputy U.S. Marshal Cord Rawlins is sworn to bring renegades to justice—including the brazen lady train robber who turned the tables on him near Carson City.Tracking Fancy down is Cord's job, but resisting her persistent persuasions is a matter of personal honor. With Fancy's life in his hands, Cord begins to wonder if his clever prisoner is really as shameless as she pretends. Could her wicked smile be hiding a desperate secret—one that can steal his heart?AWARDS:Rita Finalist, Best First Book, Romance Writers of AmericaRita Finalist, Best Historical Romance (under 100,000 words), Romance Writers of AmericaFinalist, Reviewers Choice Award (Best Debut Novel), Romantic Times MagazineWinner, Honey of a Heroine Award, West Houston Chapter, Romance Writers of America
Borrowed Dreams
May McGoldrick - 2003
Her only hope is a marriage—in name only—to the notorious widower the Earl of Aytoun. THE GROOM Devastated by the tragic accident that killed his wife and left him gravely wounded, Lyon Pennington, fourth Earl of Aytoun, is tormented by the accusations that blame him for the catastrophe. Filled with despair, he lets his mother lure him into a marriage of convenience—for the sake of a good-hearted woman on the verge of financial ruin.THE DESIREUnder Millicent’s gentle gaze, Lyon begins to regain his strength and his wounded heart begins to heal. And soon Millicent discovers that beneath his unruly beard and grim demeanor, Lyon just may be the most handsome—and caring—man she’s ever encountered. For the first time in her life, she realizes that she is alive—alive with a smoldering desire for the one man she’ll love forever…
Night Hawk
Beverly Jenkins - 2011
Preacher. Night Hawk. He's had many names, but he can't escape the past. Since Ian Vance's beloved wife was murdered years ago, the hardened bounty hunter knows he'll never feel love or tenderness again, so he's made it his mission to ensure others get their justice. But when he's charged with delivering a sharp-eyed beauty to the law, Ian can't help but feel he may still have something left to lose. Orphaned at twelve, Maggie Freeman has always found her way out of trouble. But now there's a vigilante mob at her back who would like nothing more than to see her hang for a crime she didn't commit. Maggie may have to accept help for the first time in her life . . . even if it's from the one man standing between her and freedom. As the past closes in, the sassy prisoner and toughened lawman may just find a passion between them that could bring blinding happiness . . . if they'll let it.