Book picks similar to
Runaway Hearts by Alexa Aston


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romance
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How to Steal a Lyon's Fortune


Alanna Lucas - 2021
    unusually. Welcome to the world of THE LYON'S DEN: The Black Widow of Whitehall Connected World, where the underground of Regency London thrives... and loves.When it comes to stealing a Lyon's fortune, it takes two to right a wrong.Visitors to the Lyon’s Den, run by the mysterious Mrs. Dove-Lyon, usually wish to find a spouse, but Audrey has quite another goal in mind. She needs help to secure an invitation to Lyon’s masquerade, the annual event hosted by her once-stepfather, Vincent Lyon, so that she may retrieve the statue he stole from her late mother.Mrs. Dove-Lyon knows just the person to take Audrey to the ball, a shrewd matchmaker that she is, also sees an opportunity to help Lord Peter Dermott, who has been recommended to her as being in urgent need of a wife.When Peter meets Audrey, the attraction is instant, but she presents him with a huge dilemma. Her plan to take the statue is daring, and if it fails, his reputation will be ruined. However, if he walks away, he will most likely lose her, and the chance to make her his...

Always the Lyon Tamer


Emily E.K. Murdoch - 2021
    unusually. Welcome to the world of THE LYON'S DEN: The Black Widow of Whitehall Connected World, where the underground of Regency London thrives... and loves.Always taming gentlemen but never getting her own—but the Lyon's Den will change that...Miss Rebecca Darby is tired of being courted by John Lennox, Marquis of Gloucester. After months of empty promises, it's time to take matters into her own hands. Because John 'the Lion' Lennox is always surrounded by his pride of ladies, and she's never able to get close. His flirting has led nowhere, and Rebecca won't stand for it anymore. Not when the Lyon's Den, the secretive club owned by Mrs. Dove-Lyon, promises to play games leading to happy matrimony.John has no idea what faces him in the game. Rebecca has no idea whether her shyness will allow her to carry through with her plans, but if she doesn't try, she'll always wonder. He doesn't recognize the mysterious woman in the mask. She knows this is her only chance to tame him. In a world where women rule the roost, and gentlemen must do what they're told, it will take a Lyon Tamer to bring John to his knees. But once the masks are removed, will Rebecca have her way, or will the Lyon escape into the night? This novella is a steamy Regency romance with a happily ever after, no cliffhangers, and is part of a series which can be read in any order.

A Lyon's Pride


Emily Royal - 2021
    unusually. Welcome to the world of THE LYON'S DEN: The Black Widow of Whitehall Connected World, where the underground of Regency London thrives... and loves.Pride tore them apart—can forgiveness reunite them?On the death of his father, Mason Redstone returns from the militia to claim his title, only to discover his family estate is nearing bankruptcy. He needs money, and he needs it quickly. What better means to secure it than a rich wife, courtesy of Mrs Dove-Lyon? Having loved, and lost, in his youth, a marriage of convenience is the solution to his problems.Lily Diamond has known known poverty and hardship, and now runs a successful insurance enterprise. Having hardened her heart after her childhood sweetheart abandoned her a decade ago, she’s looking for a titled husband to give her daughters the position in society which was denied her. When she calls upon her mother’s old friend, Bessie Dove-Lyon for help in finding a match, she stipulates that the suitor must have no expectations regarding love, or the marriage bed.When Lily’s prospective suitors take part in one of Mrs Dove-Lyon’s games, the Black Widow of Whitehall weaves her spell once more, then presents Lily with her betrothed—the very last man on earth she thought she’d see again. Can Mason prove to Lily that he’s conquered the pride which tore them apart? And will Lily trust him enough to reveal the secret she’s been keeping for ten years?

Triana's Spring Seduction


Tabetha Waite - 2020
    It's only through her brother's good connections that their family is even accepted in polite society. While Triana cares nothing for the ton, the arrival of the Duke of Chiltern changes everything. He is everything she might have ever dreamed of in a husband, but she knows that something isn't quite right about his sudden resurgence in London. Thankfully, she's willing to do her part in uncovering his secrets.To learn what the gentleman is hiding?Gabriel Wilde, the Duke of Chiltern, is on an undercover mission to find out who is behind the illegal smuggling in the city. Upon his father's death, he returns to society under the perfect guise of assuming the title, believing the culprit to be within the ton. With the help of a trusted colleague, Gabriel believes that when he's done, he can move on with his life—away from England and the unpleasant memories that go along with it. But when he meets Triana, he finds he's not quite as eager to leave as he once was. Unfortunately, the only problem is trying to keep her out of trouble. So he does the only thing he can think of to keep her occupied: seduction.

Logan's Lady


Rosanne Bittner - 2019
    She leaves for America full of hope, only to lose everything to a villain hiding treachery behind his smile. Lost in this strange and lawless land, Elizabeth vows to track down the man who did her wrong...but she can't do it alone. What she needs is someone hardened by the west and unflinching toward its dangers: notorious bounty hunter Logan Best.Ill-mannered and seemingly ruthless, Logan exorcises his dark past by throwing himself into his vengeful profession—hunting wanted men. There's nothing about the pampered Englishwoman that should call to him, and yet as their adventure takes them across the wild and treacherous west, he realizes he'll do anything to keep her safe...and defend his Lady to his final breath.

Kiss of the Lyon


Meara Platt - 2021
    unusually. Welcome to the world of THE LYON'S DEN: The Black Widow of Whitehall Connected World, where the underground of Regency London thrives... and loves.He was only supposed to win the high stakes game of chance, not a bride along with it.Lord Matthew Lyon is often called upon by the Crown because of his mathematical brilliance, and participating in a high stakes game of chance at the notorious Lyon’s Den should have been the easy part of his assignment...only it goes terribly wrong. He wins the pot, as expected since his probability calculations never fail. But no one calculated on his winning the hand of Lady Danielle Haverfield, daughter of the Earl of Haverfield, the prime suspect in a treason plot against the Crown and the very man he is assigned to bring down. She was only trying to stop her brother from gambling his life away. Lady Danielle Haverfield knew she did not belong in the Lyon’s Den, but she had to stop her brother before he gambled away his entire inheritance. Not only did she fail to stop him, but she’s ruined her life as well. Lady Dove-Lyon will not allow her brother to go unpunished, even though the handsome Scottish lord who’s wiped him out is willing to forgive the debt. But the Black Widow of Whitehall has a fearsome reputation to maintain. Someone is going to have to pay for her brother’s inability to pay up, and she’s decided it is to be Danielle. Well, the handsome Scot could have asked for her only for the one night, but he’s proposed marriage instead. Can their love survive his secrets and her father’s betrayal?

Fall of the Lyon


Chasity Bowlin - 2020
    unusually. Welcome to the world of THE LYON'S DEN: The Black Widow of Whitehall Connected World, where the underground of Regency London thrives... and loves. Faced with the devastating and impending loss of her stepfather and the all too real threat of unscrupulous relatives who would have her inheritance at any cost, Miss Margaret Upshaw flees to London. Her stepfather has tasked her to make her way to the Lyon’s Den to seek the assistance of Mrs. Bessie Dove-Lyon, the most scandalous matchmaker in all of London. Her matches aren’t made in the ballrooms of Mayfair, but over the faro tables and a notorious betting book in the gaming hell she rules with an iron fist in a velvet glove.Leander Thurston-Hunter, Viscount Amberley, or Leo as he prefers, is a man with a very particular problem that can only be solved with money. And as a nobleman, there’s only one way to get a lot of cash and get it quickly—you have to marry it. When Mrs. Dove-Lyon informs him that she’s made the perfect match for him, he’s not exactly thrilled, but certainly willing to do his duty to preserve his family’s standing. But then he meets Meg Upshaw. Beautiful, vulnerable, terribly alone… and she makes him question for the first time whether a marriage born out of duty and necessity has to be an unhappy one.But there’s one terrible catch… Meg’s family, the relatives who would have her fortune by any means, are the very ones responsible for the brutal events that nearly ended his life and left him permanently scarred. But that isn’t the only secret they’re keeping, and those secrets are worth dying for and worth killing for. Leo and his new bride find themselves in danger of far more than simply falling inconveniently in love. Even in the Lyon’s Den, the stakes have never been higher.

The Earl of Excess


Anna St. Claire - 2021
    Claire!Colonel Matthew Romney, a favored son with the British military, is gravely wounded during the Battle of New Orleans. With most available British forces dead and his weak pleas for help muffled beneath the dead soldier he lies below, the British report him missing in the aftermath.Bethany Phillips and her dog visit the Villeré Plantation’s gardens searching for herbs and food and unexpectedly become caught in the crossfire of grapeshot and cannon fire and forced to take cover until the battle ends. When the smoke clears, Bethany follows the sound of a man’s moans and pulls him from beneath a pile of dead soldiers being readied for a mass grave. Bethany saves Matthew’s life but, in doing so, threatens her heart and her own life.Against all odds, sparks fly between Matthew and Bethany. A hired investigator for his father finds Matthew and encourages him to journey home. Matthew and Bethany leave the safety of her home and travel a dangerous path through the wilderness of America and across a ravaged, war-torn ocean to reach his family. Can their romance survive the dangers and uncertainty that follow them?

A Bride To Herd


George H. McVey - 2019
    Put them all together in a house in Bent, Colorado. What could possibly go wrong? Chance Redburn lost his ranch and his only living relative, his Aunt Viola, in the same week. Now he has no choice but to try and make a go of his inheritance., Viola’s matchmaking service. He arrives in town to a shipment of brides to match and no idea how to do so. To make matters worse his aunt kept no records of who her clients were. The only thing he finds is a stack of letters that informs Chance that one of the women expects to be matched to him! Only he never asked Aunt Viola for a bride. Violet Montgomery left her classroom and home in Greenbough Alabama to become the matchmaker’s assistant and hopefully make a match with matchmaker’s rancher nephew. Only when Violet arrives the matchmaker is dead, and the nephew is now running the matchmaking service. Does he know Violet is supposed to be his love match? Can Violet help the clueless man figure out how to match brides to grooms? Why is the town calling him The Bride Herder? Even worse why is Chance checking the women’s teeth and asking their weight? Find out in the first book of the exciting Bride Herder Series: “A Bride to Herd.”

One Night at the St. Nicholas


Jodi Thomas - 2019
    At twenty-one, future heiress Jacqueline Hartman needs a husband, or so her father claims. And at tonight’s ball, she must choose one, even though what she longs for is independence and adventure far from the Texas ranch where she was born. Gruff, honorable former Army captain Cody Lamar is just one of the local ranchers who plans to ask for her hand, even if his primary attraction is to the land she will inherit. A down-and-out actor mistaken for a bank robber (and currently impersonating a marshal) and an Irish hotel maid with dreams of her own are only two of the people who will complicate the evening. When it comes to love, this Christmas promises to deliver the most unexpected gifts... Previously published in the anthology, A Texas Kind of Christmas

The Christmas Heart


Mary Lancaster - 2019
    However, when the road is blocked by snow, she has to seek refuge at the Hart—and all the rooms are full. In the end, she has to share an old stable with a highly suspicious neighbor, a thief and a depressed rake. But there are plenty of unexpected gifts that night, and love is the greatest of them all. (Note: This story was first published as part of the Bestselling Boxed set Stars are Brightly Shining, November 2019)

A Baker for Bear (Mail-Order Mama, #6)


Kimberly Grist - 2021
    A compulsive widowed blacksmith with two young daughters. Will they find a way to coexist or even better, forge a romantic relationship? Ada Pike longs to leave the life of a socialite and use her skills as a baker to love and nurture a family. A move to the country will perfectly suit her first steps into life on her own. Barrett Montgomery rejects the idea of a mail-order bride. What he needs is a housekeeper—someone he can fire if things don’t work out the way he likes. Can a matchmaking agency work miracles to bring two people with opposing goals together?

Kissed by a Stranger


Cynthia Woolf - 2016
    Josie is the light of her life and the only reason Laura keeps going. Offered a home and a job in Morgan’s Crossing by her cousin, Laura jumps at the opportunity. Bill Simms lost his wife and daughter to influenza seven years ago and has closed himself off from everyone, hoping to never feel that pain again. A chance run in with a beautiful little girl who kisses his cheek, changes his life forever. A threat from Laura’s past forces Bill and Laura to work together to save Josie and perhaps themselves in the process.

To Dream of You


Tamara Gill - 2020
    All she has to do now is survive her murderous uncle’s attempts to steal the throne for himself. But when a mysterious gentleman washes up on the shores of her beach, she’s shocked to realize she needs his help almost as much as he needs hers …When Drew Meyers left his estate, his plan was to escape the arranged marriage, his scheming father brokered for him. The storm that nearly killed him was not part of the plan. Neither was meeting her. Holly is everything he ever wanted, and he will do anything to keep her safe and get her home—even if doing so means he’ll be forced to let her go forever…A union between a princess and a lowly future duke is forbidden. But as intrigue abounds and their enemies circle, will Drew and Holly defy the obligations and expectations that stand between them to take a chance on love? Or is their happily ever after merely a dream?

The Fake Bride Rescue


Jo Grafford - 2020
    Folks tend to expect a little more action in the romance department from a former star linebacker and an ex party machine. But a decade in the Special Forces followed by career in fire rescue operations hasn’t left him much time to play Romeo. So he does the unthinkable — he hires an actress to pose as his bride for the weekend. Serena Chandler is supposed to be working on her doctoral dissertation, not filling in for her bestie’s slightly scandalous rent-a-date service. However, her short-term “husband” seems like a perfect gentleman, so she relaxes and decides to enjoy their weekend trip together while keeping things strictly professional between them. He’s made it clear he’s a no strings attached kind of man, and that’s fine with her. Their carefully negotiated agreement works right up to the point when a fire breaks out at his alma mater, and she becomes trapped in the gym. Watching the ripped and ready Ransom take charge in a daring rescue operation, however, makes all her best-laid plans go up in smoke. She finds herself scheming with her Mensa-level I.Q. for a way to turn their fake marriage into a real one. If they survive the fire, of course! Step into the world of Disaster City Search and Rescue, where officers, firefighters, military, and medics, train and work alongside each other with the dogs they love, to do the most dangerous job of all — help lost and injured victims find their way home.