Book picks similar to
The Spanish Rose by Shirlee Busbee


historical-romance
romance
historical
bodice-ripper

Deception


Amanda Quick - 1993
    Once Olympia Wingfield had been free to devote all her time to her true passion: the study of ancient legends and long-lost treasure. But now, with three hellion nephews to raise, the absentminded beauty has very little time for research. Which makes it seem all the more serendipitous when a handsome stranger strides into Olympia's library unannounced and proceeds to set her world to rights. Tall and dark, with long, windswept black hair, Jared Ryder, Viscount Chillhurst, is the embodiment of Olympia's most exotic dreams ... a daring pirate, masquerading in teacher's garb, whose plundering kisses and traveler's tales quickly win her heart. Yet all too soon innocent Olympia will discover that the enigmatic and wickedly sensual Chillhurst is no lowly tutor, but a future earl with a wealth of secrets-—the kind that will lead them both on a perilous quest for hidden fortune and a love worth more than gold.

Dark Rider


Iris Johansen - 1995
    Cassandra Deville's carefree life on the islands of Hawaii is shattered by the sudden arrival of a savagely seductive stranger. She's the key to Jared Daremount's plan to avenge his father, actually only a pawn in his plans, but once she becomes his captive, Jared realizes she's a prize he can never surrender.

Tangled


Mary Balogh - 1994
    He had come back, wounded but still vibrantly, sensually alive, from the Crimean War. Julian Cardwell, her sweet, gentle bridegroom--and David's foster brother--had not. She blamed wild, reckless David for Julian's decision to enter the Queen's Guards, and for the devastating loss of her perfect young husband, whose memory even now broke her heart and filled her dreams. ONE PROMISED HER A FUTURE...His blue eyes shadowed by dark secrets, David had come to claim the woman he had always loved. All his life he had protected the charming Julian, hiding the truth from Rebecca about the women Julian dallied with, the child he had fathered, the scandalous way he died. Now David offered Rebecca a life of privilege and wealth...as his wife. She wanted a marriage of convenience, but he intended to awake her deepest passions, to make her forget Julian Cardwell...and to find in his bed all the ecstasy of a man's true love.

Outlaw


Susan Johnson - 1993
    He was her enemy, the infamous Laird of Ravensby, a bold privateer who'd abducted her to win his brother's freedom from an English dungeon. Yet even though tomorrow they'd be adversaries once more, tonight she could not deny herself the pleasure of his touch.She was a temptress who made him ache with desire--and forget they were enemies.The lady was his prisoner, completely at his mercy, yet when the feisty angel whose hair glittered with moonlight stood proudly before him and insisted he spend the night, Johnnie Carre was shocked to feel a restless, aching need to possess her, to taste her secrets and make her his forever. But keeping her with him would force a battle with leacherous foes--men who'd vowed to tear his beloved from his arms and send him to the gallows.

Seven Years to Sin


Sylvia Day - 2011
    Shocked, yet strangely titillated, she nevertheless walked down the aisle into a life serene yet unremarkable. But what she kept hidden fueled wildly imaginative and very illicit dreams. . .Alistair Caulfield ran far from the temptation of the prim debutante--all the way to the West Indies. As a successful merchant, he has little in common with the rakehell youth Jessica once knew. But when newly widowed Jessica steps aboard his ship for a transatlantic passage, seven years' worth of denied pleasures are held in check by nothing more than a few layers of silk--and the certainty that surrender will consume them both. . .

Once in Every Life


Kristin Hannah - 1992
    Though deaf, she is a free spirit--a woman full of life and love. She is struck down all too soonBut for Tess, a new life begins at her death, in post-Civil War America. She is now Amarylis Rafferty, wife and mother of three--and she can hear. Shocked and disoriented by her new surroundings, she is drawn into the savage heartache burdening the family, especially her husband, Jack, a man who fears himself capable of anything.

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?

Shunned No More


Christina McKnight - 2014
    Eight years later, she has her life in order: a fulfilling business, a few trusted friends, and no plans to return to London society. What she doesn’t expect is to come face to face with her past.A Lord Betrayed by One…Brock Spencer, Earl of Haversham, only wants vengeance. Recently returned from his military service to the King, his plans include repairing his family estate, finding a bride, and destroying the girl responsible for the untimely death of his twin brothers. What he doesn’t anticipate is falling in love with the only woman who should never be part of his future.An Impossible Match, Destined to Be…

Stormfire


Christine Monson - 1984
    But even as Sean vowed to have his revenge on Catherine, with each encounter he became more attracted to her. Her fiery innocence was a seduction that lured the passions of long smoldering hostility into a blazing inferno of desire.Locked in a love-hate duel, he did not suspect that the captivating beauty who fought him with such tenacity was struggling desperately against her own awakened desires, and that his touch had become the burning reminder that the fierce hatred she felt for him had become an all-consuming love.

A Bachelor She Loves to Hate


Emily Honeyfield - 2020
    The single bright spot in her desperation comes in the form of a mysterious man who shows up at her door one dark, stormy night and offers her the housekeeper position at his estate. With most of her fortune gone, and bankruptcy hanging over her head, she has to act fast and accept his help. However, upon arriving at his estate, she will realise it is full of dark secrets. While trying hopelessly to bring them to light, an inexplicable desire for her seductive employer will grow in Tabitha's heart. Will she be able to discover Oliver's secrets without upsetting their blossoming affair?Oliver Penderghast has been a bachelor ever since his wife died. Being a vigorous man, who loves to travel all around the continent, he has been named the Spymaster by the very King. Trapped between his hurtful past and lonely future, he is constantly trying to find balance in his turbulent life. When the newly hired housekeeper discovers an abandoned wing in his mysterious estate and hidden passageways that allow people to slip in and out of rooms undetected, hints of a past life come to light... When deep buried secrets come to surface, he must decide if it is worth risking it all for the most attractive Lady in town. Trouble is, once he's tasted her fiery passion, he wants it all...Can he defy everything to be with the woman who conquered his heart and mind?The past always has a way of raising its ugly head and bringing havoc and heartache upon the unsuspecting... Will Oliver manage to fall for Tabitha as madly as she has for him? Or will the skeletons in Oliver's closet overpower the undeniable love and passion that could have grown between them?"A Bachelor She Loves to Hate" is a historical romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

Captain Jack's Woman


Stephanie Laurens - 1997
    He is her dream lover come vividly alive, and his command of the smuggling gang is absolute. His all-knowing gaze penetrates her disguise as the “lad” leader of a rival gang with frightening ease and his “punishment” with kisses leaves her maidenly modesty in tatters.Suddenly Kit finds she’s only too delighted to explore with Jack the pleasures conventionally reserved for married ladies . . . little knowing what dangerous forces she’s unleashing. For even as Kit revels in midnight gallops and cottage rendezvous, Captain Jack is laying a gentle trap that will curtail her freedom . . . and bind her to him with a ring, a promise . . . and ties of devotion and desire.

Torn Between Two Highlanders


Lydia Kendall - 2019
     When Ellen Holton’s father dies, she faces yet another adversity: for her father to forge the business alliance he always wanted, she must marry the son of a Scottish Laird. But arriving at the Highlands she discovers two brothers and, unfortunately, she falls for the wrong one… Alexander Golgow, the youngest of Laird Elairon’s sons, is a man of honor and a true Highland warrior. But the moment he first lays his eyes on his brother’s bride, he feels torn between his duty and his heart. However, trying to escape the luring erotic ropes slowly embracing them is more difficult than they think… When Ellen realizes her father’s death was not an accident, her life changes for the third time. Now she and Alexander must quickly uncover the one behind all misfortunes—the one person who has been pulling the strings right from the very start. *Torn Between Two Highlanders is a steamy Scottish historical romance novel of 80,000 words (around 400 pages). No cheating, no cliffhangers, lots of steam and a happy ending. Get this book for free with Kindle Unlimited!

This Other Eden


Marilyn Harris - 1977
    — He was the last Lord of Eden Castle, Thomas Eden, a man of brooding desire and sudden passion ... — She was his servant girl, Marianne Locke, the fiery young beauty who would rather submit to the cruel kiss of the whip than suffer the lust of a man she did not love...From the wild Devonshire coast to the glittering literary salons of London, the tumultuous union of these two proud people hazed a raging tempest of enduring love.

The Duchess


Bertrice Small - 2001
    . . .As the daughter of the richest man in England, Allegra Morgan attracts a number of fortune hunters willing to overlook her flawed pedigree to gain her enormous wealth. Her most ardent suitor is the arrogant but impoverished Quinton Hunter, duke of Sedgwick, who has little to offer a prospective wife except his grand title. Allegra decides that if she must marry, she might as well be a duchess. So she agrees to the match with one condition: her husband must never ask for her love. She has seen the misery love can cause and has vowed to give her heart to no man— especially a dangerously alluring duke.Quinton is dazzled by his new wife's grace and fortitude, as well as the fierce desire that rages between them. Despite his best intentions, he finds himself falling in love with her. Then the terrors of the French Revolution hit close to home, and the two of them set off on a treacherous adventure that could cost them everything . . . including their final chance at happiness.

Uncommon Vows


Mary Jo Putney - 1991
    Standing in the royal forest, her falcon perched on her arm, she boldly claimed to be a Welsh commoner, not a noble Norman. Lord Adrian beheld in wonder her raven-black hair and defiant blue eyes, heard her lies, and felt a dark, primeval passion rob him of all reason.In one irrevocable move of fate, he ordered this fair beauty locked in his castle’s tower, vowing to entice her into surrendering her kisses with lips as hungry as his own. Never to give in, to die if she must, was Meriel’s vow ... until one rash moment of impetuousness swept them both up in the royal battles of kings ... and into a dangerous intrigue of sweet caresses ... and fiery, all-consuming love.