Book picks similar to
The Smuggler's Bride by Rosalind Laker


gothic
historical-fiction
historical-romance
read-more-than-once

The Secret of Mirror House


Jennifer Blake - 1969
     After Amelia Harveston loses her mother to tragic circumstances, she fears she will be forced into poverty and the position of a desperate woman. When distant relatives invite her to live with them at Mirror House, the plantation home built by her grandfather, she readily accepts. Her expectations of a warm family embrace where she'll be loved and protected, though, are soon shattered. Mirror House is a home haunted by the past, by dark secrets and by the cruel games its inhabitants play. Alone and with no one to confide in, Amelia struggles to unearth the house's secrets. Then the accidents begin, and Amelia knows she's become the target for the hate that infests it. Out of the despair, two seeming allies appear. Two offers of marriage promise sanctuary. Both men claim to love her. One of them is lying. Amelia must choose the one man whose embrace promises the love and safety her very life depends on. But the house, it seems, has other ideas...

Hemlock and Honey


Elizabeth Preston - 2017
    They are dying from ergot poisoning, from eating infected crops. But this is the year 1244, and almost no one has heard of this condition, a disease later called, St. Anthony’s Fire. Desperate to save his clan, Laird Gus turns to a soothsayer for answers. The mystic tells him to hunt down and capture a special Sassenach woman with God-given healing gifts. Laird Gus tracks down Lady Sybilla and kidnaps her. Only trouble is, she keeps insisting that she has no magical abilities, nor healing skills of any sort. She’s not even clever with herbs. He has captured the wrong lass. English Lady Sybilla might not have the ability to break curses and cure a castle of folk, but she is clever. And cleverness turns out to be exactly what he needs.

A Matter of Honor and Passion


Lucy Langton - 2020
    When an accident during a wild storm renders him amnesiac, with no recall of either his recent or distant past, his life will change forever. Rescued at the last moment, destiny brings Laurence, a seductive lady to his side, to care for him. Why does he feel such an instant attraction though? Was this accidental meeting a coincidence or was it meant to be?Recently freed from her position due to the death of her employer's father, Harriet is experiencing first-hand the hardships of being a fiery woman with neither a name nor any prospects of a suitor. Life will bring her to the nursing bed of the dashing Sir Laurence, with the only aim to bring him back to good health. Her task will prove to be unexpectedly challenging, as the sizzling passion between them is undeniable. But when his darkest secret is revealed, will she give him a second chance?Once Laurence regains his memory, she will find out that he is the notorious Sir Laurence she's been fighting against for months, petitioning against his land development. Harriet's own romantic feelings will be thrown into chaos when she realizes who she has been helping. Will Sir Laurence reciprocate the love and kindness he has received? Or will he ignore his chance at true love again over his lust for money and power?

The White Empress


Lyn Andrews - 1989
    She's full of hope, determined to make her fortune and be someone. Joe Calligan, a deckhand who saves Cat's life, can't bring himself to tell her, the most beautiful girl he's ever set eyes upon, that Liverpool is full of people walking the streets, looking for work. As soon as Cat sees the luxury liner the White Empress her heart is set on becoming Chief Stewardess. Despite her lack of money or education, Cat sets about achieving her incredible dream. Whilst doing so, she discovers that having a good man by her side will bring her more happiness than she could ever have hoped for.The White Empress is the story of a young woman who is determined to make her own way in life - and see the world whilst doing so.

Where He Leads


Angela Castillo - 2019
     Compared to an arranged marriage to the odious Bernard Regent, a prairie schooner on the Oregon Trail doesn't seem like such a bad trade to Amethyst Kent. When desperate Martha Davis reveals her need for a mother's helper on the trail, Ami decides to up and leave the pampered life she's always known for a land of freedom. But trail life is hardly a tea party, and Ami must draw from the deepest wells of her faith to survive. With the sunset always before her, and Shiloh Talon, a handsome trail scout, guiding the way, she might just make it through.

When It Rained at Hembry Castle


Meredith Allard - 2021
    When the 8th Earl of Staton dies, his eldest son, the unreliable Richard, inherits the title and the family’s home—Hembry Castle. The Earl's niece, the American-born Daphne, is intrigued by Edward Ellis, a rising author with a first-hand knowledge of Hembry Castle—from the servants’ hall. And Edward, though captivated by the lovely Daphne, has his own hurdles he must overcome. Can Richard come to terms with his title before bringing ruin on his family? Will Edward and Daphne find their way to each other despite the obstacles of life at Hembry Castle? When It Rained at Hembry Castle is a page-turning, romantic novel with vivid characters and an engrossing story that will keep you guessing until the end.

Julia's Gifts


Ellen Gable - 2017
    As a young girl, Julia began buying gifts for her future spouse, a man whose likeness and personality she has conjured up in her mind, a man she calls her “beloved.” Soon after the United States enters the Great War, Julia impulsively volunteers as a medical aid worker, with no experience or training. Disheartened by the realities of war, will Julia abandon the pursuit of her beloved? From Philadelphia to war-torn France, follow Julia as she transitions from unworldly young woman to compassionate volunteer.

Rainbow's End


Katie Flynn - 1997
    Tracing the stories of two quite diffrent girls: Ellen Docherty, in Liverpool, bringing up her younger sister and brother single-handedly, and Maggie McVeigh, in the Dublin tenements, finding a better life working for the Nolan family, and falling in love with Liam, the eldest son, RAINBOW'S END follows two girls on their struggle for happiness. But the First World War changes everything -and unearths a long-buried link between the families.

Confessions of a Courtesan


Elizabeth Charles - 2011
    Based on the true story of Elizabeth Armistead, one of the most notorious and successful courtesans of 18th century England.From the harsh streets of London, Lizzie Cane rose to become the celebrated mistress of earls, dukes, and even a prince! Then at the height of her career, she risked everything she had struggled to gain by breaking the courtesan's cardinal rule...Never fall in love.

The Lady’s Masquerade


Deborah Wilson - 2018
    Good girls don't go snooping where they don't belong.But Lady Delia Scarborough never claimed to be a good girl. Lady Delia Scarborough wants her sister back from the grave.Since that can't happen, she'll settle for the next best thing...Making sure her sister's murderer does not go free. Lady Delia's happy to play the part of maid as long as it gets her inside the home of Kieran Dearborne, Duke of Cowanfield.He may be able to fool his young daughter into thinking he's innocent, but he can't fool Delia.She knows a murderer when she sees one.  But the attraction that blossoms between them throws her plans into chaos.  The more Delia gets to know the Duke, the more she thinks his innocence is no act.But every clue she uncovers points to him, and he acts strangely whenever she's around.Delia will do anything to avenge her sister's death, but that means putting her own life in peril.Can the duke's love pull Delia back from the brink of danger? Or was her fate sealed the moment she stepped into the Duke's home?

The Heart Hears: Kansas MacPhersons (MacPherson Brides Book 4)


Mischelle Creager - 2019
    He needs to banish his distrust of women. War widow Salina Meier Moffett Dunham doesn’t trust men. Shamefully treated by her father and husband, she is on the run with her children to escape a forced marriage or worse—death. In Ainsley, Kansas, she shortens her name to Lena Meier to hide from the man pursuing her. She finds a position as a clerk in the mercantile with the grouchy storekeeper. But there is something within that grumpy man that her heart hears and draws her. She isn’t sure what that thing is until she discovers a book in the storeroom of the mercantile. Returning from the war, Angus MacPherson takes back the running of his mercantile and keeps his distance from the young women in Ainsley. After a run-in with Lena Meier—literally, his buggy ran into her cart, leaving him injured, he agrees to let her work in his store. After all, his MacPherson family creed is to help and protect all widows and orphans. But this woman, this stranger in town, irritates and interests him as no woman has since Amelia, the woman who betrayed him to marry his rich cousin. Matters get worse when his former fiancé, who is now a wealthy widow, returns to Ainsley and wants Angus as her new husband. Can love weave its way through the heart by things unspoken?

Bleddyn Hall


Amanda L.V. Shalaby - 2015
    After a whirlwind romance during the London Season, Lady Isabel Sutton finds herself quickly engaged to the handsome Lord Tresham  Bleddyn, Earl of Dancy.  When his father passes away suddenly, however, his period of mourning delays their marriage and ruins the season for Tresham’s  younger, twin sisters, Annalise and Rosamund.After the girls invite Isabel to their Yorkshire home, Bleddyn  Hall, Tresham  seems an entirely different man than the one she fell in love with in London.  Not only that, but all is not well within the walls of Bleddyn  Hall. The house’s dark secrets lead to murder, mystery, and a gruesome discovery.Was Isabel’s happy future with Tresham  nothing more than an illusion?  What is more, will she survive her stay at Bleddyn Hall?

A Bride for the Texas Ranger


Charlotte Dearing - 2019
    He must, however, work a deal with her. She needs money to save her ranch and he needs access to the spring on her property. Seems simple, right? But nothing’s ever easy with Pearl. The woman is steely and stubborn, but she’s lovely too, with a carefully concealed, vulnerable side. As much as he tries not to notice, thoughts of Pearl distract him plenty. She stirs all sorts of protective notions. He yearns to shield her from the dangerous outlaws that lurk in the nearby canyons. When whispered rumors turn into deadly threats, Levi vows to do whatever it takes to keep Pearl safe.

The Maidenhead


Parris Afton Bonds - 1995
    Maids must be young, handsome, and honestly educated."Having read this promising broadside, Modesty Brown flees from arrest in London for the safety of married bliss in the New World. At 26, she might not be young, nor handsome, and most certainly not honest. But educated, she is. Upon her arrival in Jamestown, the saucy wench is accused of witchcraft by a ruthless nobleman – and it’s either burn at the stake or wed a savage.In buckskins and a breechclout, Mad Dog Jones is certainly the savage – and he abhors the thought of a wife or family – or anything else that would remind him of his tortured past. In the virgin forests of the newly found colony, Mad Dog regards the tainted pub wench Modesty as the savage. Yet their savage passions for one another cannot be denied by night. And by day each is determined to be rid of the other . . . even if it means for Mad Dog gambling off the indentured contract of his wife, Modesty; even if it means for Modesty killing off her master, Mad Dog.

The Persistent Suitor


Rachel McNeely - 2015
    She’s ramshackle, always says what she thinks and prefers riding and fishing over sewing and social graces. Grayson Lyall, Marquis of Carraway, is Society’s ideal of a perfect gentleman. He’s handsome, wealthy and considered a war hero by everyone but himself. A gentleman, that is, until he sets eyes on the intriguingly different Lady Juliana, emotionally jilted and humiliated and under pressure to change everything about herself. For her, he is quite willing to play the hero to a reluctant damsel in distress. But nothing is ever easy with Lady Juliana. It will take persistence.