Book picks similar to
Loving Sands, Deadly Sands by Charlotte Keppel
gothic
open-library
gothic-romance
vintage
Lord and Lady Spy
Shana Galen - 2011
But he isn't the only one with secrets...She's Been Outsmarting Him For Years...Now that the Napoleonic wars have come to an end, daring secret agent Lady Sophia Smythe can hardly bear the thought of returning home to her tedious husband. Until she discovers in the dark of night that he's not who she thinks he is after all.
Jane Eyre
Stacy King - 1847
Though she meets with further abuse, she receives an education, and eventually takes a job as a governess at the estate of Edward Rochester. Jane and Rochester begin to bond, but his dark moods trouble her. When Jane uncovers the terrible secret Rochester has been hiding, she flees and finds temporary refuge at the home of St. John Rivers.
Miss Leslie's Secret
Jennifer Moore - 2017
But now, with the days of battle finally behind him, it seems that his dreams of home have been in vain: the land of his youth lies in ruins, and his family is gone. Though he will never stop searching for his kin, Conall knows he must begin again. But when he takes on a rented farm in a nearby town, he finds far more than the fresh start he was looking for . . . After catching a mischievous local lad stealing, Conall returns young Jamie to his mother, Aileen Leslie—and finds the woman’s coddling of the child maddening. What Conall does not realize is that Aileen hides a frightening secret: her devoted protection of Jamie is all that shelters them from discovery by a dangerous man from their past. Drawn together by circumstance, Conall soon develops a fatherly relationship with Jamie—as well as romantic feelings for Aileen. But even as the couple accepts their growing affection for one another, time runs out for Aileen and her son: after years of hiding, they have been found. Conall lost his family once—he will do all in his power not to let history repeat itself . . ..
With this Kiss: The Complete Collection
Eloisa James - 2013
When he returns home to exuberant celebrations, will he even notice the quiet wallflower he grew up with … or will he fall for Grace's sparkling, gorgeous sister?With This Kiss: Part Two Lady Grace Ryburn has accepted another man's proposal after the love of her life, Lieutenant Colin Barry, asked for her own sister's hand in marriage.But when Colin returns home from the wars, injured in body and spirit, will she be able to turn her back and marry another? Or will she throw away every rule her mother taught her and try to seduce a man who has shown no interest in her kisses?With This Kiss: Part Three Lieutenant Colin Barry returns from the wars knowing that he has no right to steal Grace from the arms of her fiancé. Yet the same warrior's spirit that won so many battles at sea is prompting him to throw propriety to the winds, imitate his pirate father, and simply take what he most desires!
A Sensible Lady: A Traditional Regency Romance
Judith Lown - 2012
So she leases the Dower House from a kindly baron on a neighboring estate, believing that she has successfully met the greatest challenge of her life.How wrong she is! The kindly baron dies. An orphan arrives, whom Katherine accepts as her nephew. She is determined to provide for him, which means she must forget about love and marry a gentleman with money.There are three possibilities.Her cousin, Sir Clive Brampton, is eager to let bygones be bygones and marry Katherine. She would be able to return to her family home and live a life of financial ease. Her nephew would be provided for and launched into a career deemed suitable by Sir Clive. Can Katherine just accept Sir Clive’s generous offer?The Reverend Mr. Augustus Wharton, the newly arrived vicar, listens attentively to Katherine’s anguished musings over the loss of her brother on a distant battlefield in Spain. There are rumors that Mr. Wharton’s present vocation is a stunning contrast to his past as a hard drinking, gambling rake. Katherine dismisses the rumors and wonders if she could live happily with a man for whom she feels only sisterly affection.Finally, there is the new baron, Lord Henry Dracott. Lord Harry, as he is called, is clearly attracted to Katherine. But in spite of their best efforts to be civil to each other, their disagreements end up in arguments. Although there is mutual attraction, Katherine knows that Lord Harry’s heart is buried with his dead wife.Katherine tries to be a sensible lady and accept a practical marriage. But will her heart let her?
The Caged Graves
Dianne K. Salerni - 2013
Instead, she finds a father she barely knows and a future husband with whom she apparently has nothing in common. One truly horrifying surprise awaits her: the graves of her mother and aunt are enclosed in iron cages outside the local cemetery. Nobody in town will explain why, but Verity hears rumors of buried treasure and witchcraft. Perhaps the cages were built to keep grave robbers out . . . or to keep the women in. Determined to understand, Verity finds herself in a life-and-death struggle with people she trusted.Inspired by a pair of real caged graves in present-day Catawissa, this historical YA novel weaves mystery, romance, and action into a suspenseful drama with human greed and passion at its core.
No Marriage of Convenience
Elizabeth Boyle - 2000
Clair, the new Earl of Ashlin, has inherited a title for which there is no longer a fortune, thanks to his elder brother. Steeped in debt, with three ungainly nieces to marry off, Mason is desperate for relief. Only he doesn't expect it in the form of Madame Fontaine, a woman of questionable reputation. She arrives on his doorstep with partial payment on a debt owed to the former earl. When Mason demands full payment, she is at a loss. It's wacky Cousin Felicity who suggests that this woman, whom men cannot resist, can work off the rest of her debt by teaching the three wards how to attract worthy husbands. In a bind, Riley, as the Madame is known, agrees. Once the bargain has been struck, Mason finds that he too is falling under the Madame's spell, and it's not long before an additional couple is heading to the altar.
Vienna Waltz
Mary Lancaster - 2016
But Lizzie is determined not to remain dependent upon her aunt and uncle for long. After witnessing a daring theft, she recruits the unusual thief to carry out her plan – which should hurt no one except her father’s heir, the vile Russian cousin she’s dubbed Ivan the Terrible.However, Lizzie’s simple scheme is soon complicated by a wounded Austrian spy, a formidable English matron, a masked Russian rakehell from the Emperor’s masquerade ball, and a mysterious villain selling information that could ruin the Congress before it properly begins. And then there’s Cousin Minerva’s romantic difficulties, and Cousin James’ gambling debts to sort out.While Vienna dances, Lizzie tries to solve everyone’s problems, and ends by falling disastrously and dangerously in love.
Caught
Christina J. Michaels - 2017
I plan to look for more by this author. - Top Contributor: Historical Fiction Books With proper manners and impeccable breeding, the beautiful Miss Alison Brooke should be the envy of London's 18th-century royal society. When villainy occurs, an unexpected hero comes to her aid. But rumors result, and Miss Brooke finds herself in the center of tawdry gossip. Her rescuer, Robert Anderson, Viscount Charmaine, is preoccupied with troubled finances, an ill father, and defense of the Crown. Problematically, Charmaine's best friend, Marquis Anthony Farrington, is clandestinely helping fund the American Revolution. Miss Brooke's large dowry tempts both men. Her father, however, wants his daughter to marry for love, not money. Without her father's permission for marriage, is Miss Broke ready to relinquish her privileged life for love? In this realistic tale of historical fiction brimming with wealth and uncertain allegiances, society's obligations draw them together, along with Miss Brooke's constant companion, the timid Miss Brenda Boswell. When Charmaine discovers proof of Farrington's betrayal, he is forced to choose between friendship and patriotism. Shots are fired, tears fall, and love conquers all in this remarkable historical romance.
Awaiting the Moon
Donna Lea Simpson - 2006
It is said that werewolves roam the woods around Wolfram Castle--but Elizabeth Stanwycke, newly arrived tutor to the Count's niece, is not a child to be frightened by bedtime stories. Of more pressing concern is her attraction to the mysterious Count.
The Book of Scandal
Julia London - 2008
But when he hears gossip that his estranged wife, Evelyn, is about to be named in The Book of Scandal, he has no choice but to remove her from London to protect her and himself from charges of treason -- even if it calls for abduction! While Evelyn has no legal recourse against the man who broke her heart years ago but is still considered her lord and master, she is no longer the immature girl Nathan married. Her enforced homecoming quickly turns into a battle of wills that tears down her husband's defenses and lays bare the passion that still burns between them. Before it is too late, Nathan must confront powerful adversaries as he convinces Evelyn that she is not only his wife, but the one woman he will love for all time.
In the Shadow of Lakecrest
Elizabeth Blackwell - 2017
Kate Moore is looking for a way out of the poverty and violence of her childhood. When a chance encounter on a transatlantic ocean liner brings her face-to-face with the handsome heir to a Chicago fortune, she thinks she may have found her escape—as long as she can keep her past concealed.After exchanging wedding vows, Kate quickly discovers that something isn’t quite right with her husband—or her new family. As Mrs. Matthew Lemont, she must contend with her husband’s disturbing past, his domineering mother, and his overly close sister. Isolated at Lakecrest, the sprawling, secluded Lemont estate, she searches desperately for clues to Matthew’s terrors, which she suspects stem from the mysterious disappearance of his aunt years before. As Kate stumbles deeper into a maze of family secrets, she begins to question everyone’s sanity—especially her own. But just how far will she go to break free of this family’s twisted past?
Three Nights of Sin
Anne Mallory - 2008
No one would help her save him from the gallows—no one but Gabriel Noble. In exchange for taking the case, Gabriel requests three favors from the desperate young beauty, and Marietta has no other choice but to make a deal with the sinfully handsome devil.Three nights of pleasure...Searching for clues in the rough underbelly of London, Marietta must masquerade as a shamelessly wanton wench—much to Gabriel's delight. But Marietta swears to herself that her passionate moans are just for show. She could never fall in love with such a maddening, arrogant, seductive stranger . . . could she? Three nights of sin...Night after night, she satisfies his wicked cravings. But soon Gabriel wants more from Marietta than just three nights of sin—and even a sordid secret in his past won't prevent him from trying to possess her forever.
Upon a Moon-Dark Moor
Rebecca Brandewyne - 1988
Maggie was Sir Nigel Chandler's proud daughter and the mistress of Highclyffe Hall; Draco was the misbegotten son of Sir Nigel's dead brother and a carefree Romany maid. And Maggie knew from the first day she saw her cousin that he was as mysterious and untameable as the moors that stretched endlessly along the sea. She had lived a virtual prisoner in a mansion haunted by dark secrets, a father's cruelty, and a stepmother's cunning. Then, on a black and rainy night, a stagecoach drew up bringing the darkly handsome Draco into her life, and Maggie's fate was sealed. On the starlit moor the seeds of a forbidden desire would grow, spawning a love so strong that no power on this earth could deny its rapture - though its consequences could destroy them both...
Outlaw's Bride
Joan Johnston - 1993
The brat he remembered from Fort Benton, Montana was now a luscious lady hunting for her man: him! Nothing, not even his outlaw past would keep her off his trail. Ethan Hawk couldn't afford the luxury of love. Not with the law - and a vengeful enemy - hot on his tracks.
Now a Bewitching Beauty Determined to Lasso His Heart...
Patch Kendrick always knew Ethan Hawk was the man for her - even as he galloped out of her childhood with a price on his head and nary a backward glance. Now that she's found him again, she was armed and ready for love. But before Ethan could yield his heart, he had to clear his name. So Patch set out to find the villain who framed him - and ambushed her lifelong dream...