but falling in love? George, Viscount Hexham, is quite literally thunderstruck when he meets Lady Anne in the park, and he can’t get her off his mind. Her brother, Gabe, is happy to act as a matchmaker, never once mentioning he might already be acting on behalf of the other side. Can two who are so perfectly matched end up married before Anne must endure her first Season in London? Meanwhile, when a neighbor appears to be spying on George’s twin sister through the telescope in his garden observatory, an incensed Lady Angelica is determined to give him a piece of her mind. Sir Benjamin may end up with her heart as well, as mistletoe and moonlight work their magic in The Angel of an Astronomer.An abridged version of this story was previously published in the Once Upon a Christmas Wedding anthology

    With her sister and hard-drinking father in tow, she needed all her strength for the long trek westward. But Abby could hold her own with any man, until she met a rugged gunman named Rourke...a man who roused the unspoken yearnings of her passionate soul.Rourke was a battle-scarred Union veteran, hired to guard the wagon train. A loner by choice and by fate, his heart was moved by Abby's plight--though the young beauty proudly refused his aid. Yet with the wagons rolling on through dusty plains and treacherous deserts, a tenderness bloomed between them as he taught her how to survive in a brutal land. Mile by mile, she grew to adore this magnificent man, and when he touched her she longed to be his alone. But as she tasted rapture's first, wild depths, she faced a bitter secret from the gunman's violent past. With Rourke in mortal danger, they would challenge destiny itself--to save the love and happiness they discovered on a perilous...Passage West...

    He's not prepared for Miss Charlotte Sanborn, who wears her independence like a suit of armor, cloaks her identity behind her pen name, and flat out refuses to raise her kin!Of all the gall! How dare this man stride into her home and expect her to rearrange her life?Charlotte won’t risk any more heartache. After raising her brother by herself, and watching him leave, it’s her time to enjoy some peace—and use her new typewriter! So why do these children and this handsome stranger awaken a yearning for something more than the life she has painstakingly created?One letter changes everything…When Charlotte forsakes all that’s familiar and enters Reed’s world of Boston high society, concealed malice abounds in the glittering Beacon Hill mansions. Facing sinister forces and scorned women—and with passions ablaze—can Reed and Charlotte escape An Improper Situation?An Improper Situation is Book 1 in the Victorian-American series Defiant Hearts. Engaging, believable characters, attention to period detail, and sensual romance, you’ll find it all in this series by highly acclaimed writer Sydney Jane Baily."…the ending was perfect... Many wonderful characters including nasty villains and villainesses. I had a hard time putting it down!"~ Lady McNeill, Mrs. Condit, Friends Read Books“Delicately crafted, deliciously told. A book that transports you to a time and place from which you won’t want to return.”~ Award-winning, bestselling author, Marliss Melton

    Or at least, she was. But this season her prospects are brighter and, much to her mother's delight, she may just make a match. When the duke she once adored from a distance arrives at the house party she's attending with her friends, she knows for certain her luck has changed.Until she meets him.A Lord for Miss LilyLily’s lord is her long lost friend. He’s also her worst enemy.Lord Merrick is perfectly handsome and charming…but this lord is a complete traitor. Lily knows this for a fact as she is the very person he turned his back on. Now she’s determined to avoid him at the house party she’s been trapped at with her former friend.The only problem? Lord Merrick is like the plague… he just keeps cropping up.A Marquess for Miss MarigoldAll this wounded marquess wants is solitude. Instead, he stumbles across a wallflower…literally.It wasn’t as though Marigold was hiding, she was just…lying low. In an abandon shed. Admidst a houseparty where both her best friends had managed to become engaged.In a few days she can escape to her quiet life a solitude and books. Alone. Forever. But then the prodigal son returns to the manor and charges into her life with the military precision one might expect from a war hero. Even more terrifying, he refuses to ignore her like the rest of society. Of course, he doesn’t.

    A storm is brewing in the Scottish Highlands. Hawke is the son of the well-known and respected laird, Storm MacKeefe (from Lady Renegade - Legacy of the Blade Series.) When the King's Chronicler arrives at the castle to record the heroic acts of the MacKeefe Clan, Hawke decides it is time for him to be noticed.But before he can devise a way to get mentioned in the Highland Chronicles, disaster strikes. A hunting trip turns into a deadly battle, and things go from bad to worse. Hawke is wounded and left for dead while his grandfather, laird of the clan, is abducted by the enemy. In one final attempt to even the score, Hawke captures the MacNab's daughter when she tries to strip him of his belongings on the battlefield.Phoebe MacNab starts out on a journey to find the coveted rare herbs that will heal her dying father, but her escorts have other plans. Before she knows it, they've killed or abducted some of the MacKeefes. She ends up taken captive by the enemy. If she doesn't find the herbs she needs and escapes soon, her father will die. However, after one kiss from her captor, the handsome Hawke MacKeefe, she starts wondering if she really wants to leave at all.Will an unexpected attraction between enemies turn hatred into passion? And can one kiss be the catalyst to ending a lifelong feud, or will it only put Hawke and Phoebe in unfavorable graces, turning their own clans against them instead?

    Through Hope, Faith, and Honor, ye can rule,” were the last words Lady Hope MacAlister’s father spoke before dying. Those very words direct her every action and thought. Sword fighting and leading the men of her clan was second nature to Hope and she has little time for herself or any thoughts of love. Until Aidan MacKerry is captured spying on the clan.She is beautiful, strong, and quick to pull a sword. But when he kisses her, all thoughts of the lairdship Aidan MacKerry seeks flee his mind. When the enemy continues to undermine Hope, Aidan is determined to aid her—only he didn’t think he’d lose his heart to the Laird of Wild Thistle Keep. When the enemy reveals Aidan’s secret, he must fight for his right to be laird and prove, despite their differences, he loves Hope.The enemy refuses to back down and continues to threaten not only Hope, but the security of the entire clan. Only together will they be able to save the clan and save their love.

    His captain, Lieutenant Johnson, has previously withheld a recommendation for command – Richard is too ill at ease with his men and too fond of his Bible. Just as Johnson changes his opinion, the submarine is involved in a tragic accident and sinks, leaving Johnson dead and the survivors trapped on the seabed with a diminishing air supply. It’s a race against time for Richard to save his men. In March 1912, Richard’s cousin, Elizabeth Miller, is an activist in the Women’s Social and Political Union, standing alongside the Pankhursts to gain the vote for women. When Elizabeth faces arrest and is later imprisoned, Richard comes to her aid and the two become engaged, to the disapproval of his mother. War is brewing, and no one knows what the future brings. After her father dies and her brother goes off to fight, Elizabeth is left to run Miller’s Shipyard, building submarines and ships for the Navy, whilst Richard takes command of a submarine and heads off to war. The fight for women’s equality takes a backseat to the war effort, but Elizabeth knows where women can do the most good – in her shipyard. Set in the dying days of the Edwardian era, and the violence and heartache of World War I, The Custom of the Trade is filled with rich, historical details of the hazards of life in early submarines, the successful submarine campaign in the Dardanelles and women’s own battles against prejudice to gain the vote.

    Rather, the House of Devon takes the romance below stairs, to the people who live, laugh, and love all while they serve. Meet the staff of the House of Devon, and discover how they find their happily ever afters...

    This much she knows. What she doesn’t know is what other gifts will be revealed when she turns eighteen in a few months. While her grandmother has been diligent in her efforts to prepare her for the inevitable changes to come, Clara can focus on precious little besides the devilishly handsome man she met at her coming out ball. Secure in the knowledge that she has a bright future ahead of her, the future Clara discovers is one that she could never have conjured in her wildest dreams.

     The Railton family are intimately involved in the world of espionage, which will become so crucial to the conflict’s outcome. With the death of General Sir William Railton, the family patriarch and hero of Balaclava, the family is thrown into a world of violence and intrigue. Manipulated by the new head of the family, the ruthless arch-intriguer Giles Railton, each member of the dynasty comes to play their part in the ‘Great Game’ of Intelligence. Through the story of one family, whose lives become caught up in some of the greatest struggles of the twentieth century, John Gardner traces the birth, the successes and the failures of the organizations now known as MI5, MI6 and GCHQ. From the battlefields of the Western Front to Russia on the eve of revolution, this epic work of fiction tells the story of the dramatic history of Britain’s intelligence and security services. ‘The Secret Generations’ is a towering saga of adventure, romance and intrigue by an author of international stature writing at his very best

    Set in 1789 in the years leading up to the French Revolution, it is full of intrigue, romance and adventure.────Celeste, Duchesse de Saint Tours, is forced into hiding when she is falsely accused of the murder of her husband. She flees to the south of France, where her distant cousin, Marcel Daunou reluctantly agrees to hide her in plain sight on his farm. However, she must learn to live as a peasant farmer to complete the deception, a feat which appears next to impossible to the haughty Duchess. Especially knowing that the unsettling Marcel is watching over her at every turn. She can’t wait to return to her beloved Paris, and the exquisite, hedonistic lifestyle she has left behind.Marcel knows that he places his loved ones in danger when he agrees to hide Celeste. However, his committee has agreed to hide her in exchange for a large sum of money that will assist their gravely poor community, and since she is his family, he takes responsibility for her. But Republican fervor is running high and Marcel knows if the Duchess is found out, she will be marched back to Paris, and to the guillotine. And his family will face harsh retribution from the agitating revolutionaries for hiding a member of the despised nobility.Forced to work together, Celeste and Marcel discover a passion that they cannot resist. And Celeste discovers a feeling of belonging and acceptance from the people of the village that she has never felt before. She begins to dream about a future with Marcel.When her well-meaning lawyer appears in the village and gives her identity away, it isn’t only Marcel that Celeste stands to lose – it’s her life as well.How can a noble Duchess and a peasant farmer find their happily ever after?

    After she instructs him to “grow up first,” he joins the Army Air Corps. Stationed at Hickam Field, the air base adjacent to Pearl Harbor, John survives the devastation of December 7. The aftermath of the attack only begins his odyssey through the South Pacific, four years that burden him with guilt and shame. Returning home a wearied man, John seeks to start a family with Nora, but the young couple confronts hardships intensified by the harrowing memories both carry from their pasts. Amid the unrest of the Cold War and John’s worries about the arms race, he and Nora find solace in raising their daughter, Cassie. But it is not until the impact of September 11 leaves John’s grandson, Johnny DeRosa, overrun with anguish and despair that John fully comprehends how the sacrifices of his generation will have a profound influence on the decisions his grandson makes.The Sky Buries All Sorrow is a riveting, momentous novel that bridges Pearl Harbor with 9/11 and examines how those two tragic events changed the world and shaped the lives of one family over three generations. From the pivotal battles in the Pacific to the homesteads outside of Pittsburgh, and from the beaches of Southern California to the desert terrain of the Nevada Test Site, it is an unforgettable family saga and an intimate story of personal struggle and the challenges of enduring love. In the same vivid fashion as his first novel, The Ramos Brothers Trust Castro and Kennedy, Roger DeBlanck’s second epic novel explores the lives of an array of fascinating characters. The narrative also brings back Juan and Alberto Ramos, as the brothers and their father, Florencio, make appearances in The Sky Buries All Sorrow.

    Fearing his daughter losing everything when he dies, Charlotte’s father forces a match with an old friend, Richard Howard. But Richard is much more interested in an heir than a wife, and will do anything to continue his bloodline. Beaten and battered, Charlotte sees no way out of the union… Then the handsome Scottish laird Conner MacLeod crashes the social scene. He sets her body on fire with a mere touch, but he has a bad reputation of leaving a string of women in his wake. Nonetheless, when Conner offers his emerald queen sanctuary in his Highland castle, Charlotte flees with him into the night, escaping her marriage. But those who wish to trap her are never far behind. The Highlands give her hope, but fill her life with new perils… She and Conner begin growing closer, although the shadows of his former relationships haunt her. Still, the magnetic forces that pull them together are making it harder for her to stay away. And just as Charlotte is beginning to settle into her life, she learns someone wants her gone for good and will do so…by any means necessary. When Charlotte escapes one marriage only to find herself on the cusp of another, will she ever be free?

    Survivors of the Great War are desperately trying to piece together the fragments of their broken lives. While many have been reunited with their loved ones, Edie’s husband Francis is still missing. Francis is presumed to have been killed in action, but Edie knows he is alive.Harry, Francis’s brother, was there the day Francis went missing in Ypres. And like Edie, he’s hopeful Francis is living somewhere in France, lost and confused. Hired by grieving families in need of closure, Harry returns to the Western Front to photograph soldiers’ graves. As he travels through France gathering news for British wives and mothers, he searches for evidence his own brother is still alive.When Edie receives a mysterious photograph that she believes was taken by Francis, she is more certain than ever he isn’t dead. Edie embarks on her own journey in the hope of finding some trace of her husband. Is he truly gone, or could he still be alive? And if he is, why hasn’t he come home?As Harry and Edie’s paths converge, they get closer to the truth about Francis and, as they do, are soon faced with the life-changing impact of the answers they discover.An incredibly moving account of an often-forgotten moment in history—those years after the war that were filled with the unknown—The Poppy Wife tells the story of the thousands of soldiers who were lost amid the chaos and ruins in battle-scarred France; and the even greater number of men and women hoping to find them again.

    Still, she resists being the prize that her parents—an ambitious society maven and an equally ambitious politician—war to control. Surprising even herself, she breaks free. America has just entered the First World War and Chloe learns how to make her own way in 1917 New York City--a place nothing like home.Soon Chloe is swept up in the heady tides of change in the young 20th century. The NAACP moves forward in the midst of race riots, women’s fight to gain the vote is at its peak. Chloe becomes the independent woman she never thought possible. But then the unexpected forces her to return home. Yet even in the South, the 1920’s are roaring with flappers, speak-easies and the Charleston, and for a time Chloe loses her way--a reluctant member of the “Lost Generation” in postwar America. She loved one man and lost him and now is pursued by another but will she ever be able to connect with the one she hopes could help her make sense of her life? As she recalls the woman she once was, she strives to become the woman she wants to be. Will she succeed?The Carlyle Women-four generations, each facing the challenges of her time and each harboring her own painful secret~