Book picks similar to
The Decadent Duke by Virginia Henley


romance
historical-romance
historical
virginia-henley

Fairchild


Jaima Fixsen - 2013
    They should have a son and if it can be managed, he should be handsome. Cleverness isn’t important. Daughters in limited quantities are fine so long as they are pretty. Bastards are inconvenient and best ignored. It's not a big problem, unless you are one. Unfortunately, Sophy is. Sick of her outcast role, she escapes her father’s house, only to fall from her horse during a spring storm. Injured, soaked, and shivering, she stumbles to a stranger’s door—Tom, a blunt edged merchant from a family of vulgar upstarts. Mistaking Sophy for the genuine article, he takes her in. Sophy can’t resist twisting the truth. Soon she’s caught in her own snare—and it might just be a noose.

Moonstruck Madness


Laurie McBain - 1977
    She's one thing by day, something else altogether by night...After escaping the slaughter of her clan at a young age, Scottish noblewoman Sabrina Verrick provides for her siblings by living a double life, until the night she encounters the Duke, and her secret and all she holds dear is threatened...He's so disillusioned, he's completely vulnerable...With his inheritance at stake, Lucien, Duke of Camareigh, sets a trap for the Scottish beauty with the piercing violet eyes, never imagining what will happen when the trap is sprung...As their lives become irreversibly entangled, Lucien and Sabrina become each other's biggest threat, as well as their only salvation...

Pride and Pleasure


Sylvia Day - 2011
    . .There are disadvantages to being an heiress, as Eliza Martin knows well. Fortune hunters corner her, friends become opportunistic, and lately, someone is engineering "accidents" to propel her into marriage. Not one to be bullied, Eliza needs the right man to infiltrate the nest of suitors. . . . . .So Do Certain MenBy all measures, Jasper Bond is the wrong man for the job. He can't dance, isn't known for his restraint, and his blood heats whenever he's near his latest employer. Eliza Martin insists no one will believe an intellectual like her could be seduced by a man of action like Jasper, but the combination of his desire and her mystery makes the case one he can't resist. Client satisfaction is a point of pride and it's his pleasure to prove he's just the man she needs after all. . . "Everything romance readers expect and more." --RT Book Reviews

Seductive Secrets


Carrie James Haynes - 2012
    Shunned from London society for being the daughter of England’s most notorious spy, Alyce Hythe desires only to clear her father’s name. For years, she has been hidden away from all prying eyes, given a new identity and told to forget who she was. But strange things have been happening causing old rumors to once more be whispered.Long has Lord Julian Casvelyn lived with guilt brought on when his brother was murdered by England’s most infamous traitor. But one eventful night has changed everything Lord Julian believed about his brother’s death. Never did he suspect the woman he has just saved from certain harm is the daughter of that man. Now Julian is caught in midst of a conspiracy and desire for that woman.Thrown together by fate, the two search for answers long denied them and along the way discover a love that can free them both.Previously published as Daughter of Deceit under Carrie James Haynes

Come the Night


Christina Skye - 1994
     Silver St. Clair has vowed to reclaim her family birthright at any cost, but the precious formula for a rare fragrance coveted by all of fashionable London is lost, hidden somewhere in the misty lavender fields of her Norfolk estate. Now Silver must risk her reputation and her life, striking a wanton bargain with England's most notorious highwayman, whose price will be her unconditional surrender, her unbridled passion – and her stubborn heart.

The Reluctant Reformer


Lynsay Sands - 2002
    Writing under another name, she’s been exposing the notorious scandals of the ton—this time it’s the “working girls” of London. While interviewing the women, a client enters, and Maggie is shocked to see her beau. She changes clothes with one of the girls and flees out the window, only to be whisked away by a stranger.Lord James is honoring a deathbed promise: watch over his late friend’s sister. Following Maggie to a house of ill repute, he’s stunned to see her emerge dressed as the notorious Lady X! Hard times must have driven her to such a desperate act, and he is intent on reforming the wanton chit. No amount of protest will stop him from saving her reputation. Now if only he can hold his own desires in check—and keep himself from falling in love.

Isabeau: A Novel of Queen Isabella and Sir Roger Mortimer


N. Gemini Sasson - 2010
    For years, Isabella is a loyal wife, who repeatedly salvages her husband's kingship, even as she endures his neglect. When she finally speaks out against Edward's favorite, Lord Hugh Despenser, her income, lands and children are taken from her. In an age when women are not supposed to openly defy their husbands, Isabella vows to get her children back and have her revenge on Despenser - no matter what the cost.Imprisoned in the Tower of London for leading a rebellion against King Edward, Mortimer escapes with Isabella's help and finds refuge in the French court. But when Isabella arrives in Paris to negotiate a peace treaty, it is a temptation the ambitious Mortimer cannot resist.

Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife: Pride and Prejudice Continues


Linda Berdoll - 1999
    And every woman will fall madly in love with Mr. Darcy-tall, dark and handsome, a nobleman and a heartthrob whose virility is matched only by his utter devotion to his wife.Their passion is consuming and idyllic-essentially, they can't keep their hands off each other-through a sweeping tale of adventure and misadventure, human folly and numerous mysteries of parentage.Hold on to your bonnets! This sexy, epic, hilarious, poignant and romantic sequel to "Pride and Prejudice" is not for Jane Austen purists. Self-published in 1999 as "The Bar Sinister," this sequel continues the story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy through a sweeping tale of adventure.

My Steadfast Heart


Jo Goodman - 1997
    His two younger brothers were lost to him, perhaps forever, and now a dark mission of revenge had brought the ruthless ship captain to England.Penniless aristocrat Mercedes Leydon was beautiful...and desperate. Colin Thorne was claiming the estate of her dissolute uncle, the Earl of Weybourne, as payment for a gambling debt. She was treated as a servant at Weybourne Park, but it was home to her and the earl's children. Now Mercedes would use anything—lies, promises—even her own body—to stop Thorne from destroying their lives.A man consumed by the fires of vengeance. A woman determined never to love. An unexpected passion that could damn them both...

The Heir


Grace Burrowes - 2010
    To escape his father's inexorable pressure to marry, he decides to spend the summer at his townhouse in London, where he finds himself intrigued by the secretive ways of his beautiful housekeeper...A LADY WHO CAN'T BE PROTECTED...Anna Seaton is a beautiful, talented, educated woman, which is why it is so puzzling to Gayle Windham that she works as his housekeeper.As the two draw closer and begin to lose their hearts to each other, Anna's secrets threaten to bring the earl's orderly life crashing down - and he doesn't know how he's going to protect her from the fallout...

I Love the Earl


Caroline Linden - 2011
    She had no suitors when she was young and starry-eyed, though regrettably poor, and it's unlikely any man will court her now that she's older, wiser, and still just as penniless. Until, that is, her brother unexpectedly inherits the dukedom of Durham and settles an enormous dowry on her, making her the most eligible heiress in town.No gentleman in London is more in need of a wealthy bride than Rhys Corwen, Earl of Dowling. He contrives an introduction to Margaret because of her dowry, but she swiftly sets him right: no fortune hunter will win her heart or her hand. Far from put off, Rhys is intrigued. Interested. Entranced. And soon the only thing he needs more than Margaret's fortune...is her love.

When You Wish Upon a Duke


Isabella Bradford - 2012
    The dark-haired, blue-eyed beauty would rather ride a horse than attend a stuffy ball. So when Charlotte learns that she is to leave immediately for London to wed the Duke of Marchbourne, a perfect model of aristocratic propriety, she is less than enchanted with her arranged marriage.   But to her delight, their first encounters are brazenly flirtatious, and their wedding night burns with passion. March’s broad shoulders and dark countenance make Charlotte want to rip every button off his waistcoast. She may even be falling in love with her new husband. Yet whenever their desire boils over, March reluctantly pushes Charlotte away. Will past secrets and present misunderstandings mire their marriage in scandal, or serve to strengthen a bond that is destined to last a lifetime?

A Duke in Shining Armor


Loretta Chase - 2017
    Most are upstanding members of Society. And then there’s the trio known as Their Dis-Graces.Hugh Philemon Ancaster, seventh Duke of Ripley, will never win prizes for virtue. But even he draws the line at running off with his best friend’s bride. All he’s trying to do is recapture the slightly inebriated Lady Olympia Hightower and return her to her intended bridegroom.For reasons that elude her, bookish, bespectacled Olympia is supposed to marry a gorgeous rake of a duke. The ton is flabbergasted. Her family’s ecstatic. And Olympia? She’s climbing out of a window, bent on a getaway. But tall, dark, and exasperating Ripley is hot on her trail, determined to bring her back to his friend. For once, the world-famous hellion is trying to do the honorable thing.So why does Olympia have to make it so deliciously difficult for him . . . ?

My Fair Princess


Vanessa Kelly - 2016
    Now, in a delightfully witty new series, she introduces The Improper Princesses—three young women descended from royalty, each bound for her own thrilling adventure . . .Despite being the illegitimate daughter of a prince, Gillian Dryden is happily ignorant of all social graces. After growing up wild in Italy, Gillian has been ordered home to England to find a suitable husband. And Charles Valentine Penley, the excessively proper, distractingly handsome Duke of Leverton, has agreed to help transform her from a willful tomboy to a blushing debutante.Powerful and sophisticated, Charles can make or break reputations with a well-placed word. But his new protégée, with her habit of hunting bandits and punching earls, is a walking scandal. The ton is aghast . . . but Charles is thoroughly intrigued. Tasked with taking the hoyden in hand, he longs to take her in his arms instead. Can such an outrageous attraction possibly lead to a fairytale ending?

The Making of a Duchess


Shana Galen - 2010
    Duke Northrop orders governess Sarah Smith, surname for her orphan status, to pose as Seraphina, the Duc's intended, and prove Julien a traitor working for Napoleon. Sara disagrees and follows Julien from London ballrooms to Paris dungeons. Plus preview.