Book picks similar to
A Matter of Marriage by Ann Collins


romance
historical-romance
historical-fiction
historical

At the Billionaire's Pleasure


M.G. Morgan - 2012
    When she is dumped by her boyfriend, Richard, it dents her already fragile confidence almost beyond repair. She longs to find a man who can dominate and take her at his whim.Enter David Ashcroft, her boss. He has had his eye on Carrie for quite some time. And what David Ashcroft wants, David Ashcroft gets. His authority and dominant attitude has Carrie begging for more. He opens her up to a world she never knew existed. A world where she is willing to do anything for the billionaire's pleasure.But when a business deal becomes unstable, everything begins to unravel. A woman from David’s past threatens Carrie’s trust in him. And a thwarted business rival makes his revenge personal and deadly. Will they be able to overcome all the odds and get to the bottom of a situation threatening to spin out of control? Or is their budding relationship destined to be destroyed through the obsession of others? If you held the one you love in your arms, would you do anything to keep them safe? Would you do anything for love?

Out of Control


Mary Connealy - 2011
    She particularly enjoys studying the fossils and formations in the magnificent cave near her father's house. The cave seems plenty safe--until the day a mysterious intruder steals the rope she uses to climb out.Rafe Kincaid is a man used to being in control--of himself, his brothers, and his family's ranch. The last thing he expects is to find a woman trapped in the cavern on his land--or to be forced to kiss her!Rafe is more intrigued by Julia than any woman he's ever known. But when their developing relationship threatens a reconciliation with his brothers, will Rafe have to choose between his family and this new love that could heal his troubled heart and secure his happiness?

Someone Else's Daughter


Linsey Lanier - 2011
    Independent. Skeptical.Thirteen years ago her abusive husband stole her baby and gave it up for adoption.She comes to Atlanta to find her daughter.THE PIWade Parker.Ace detective.Wealthy owner of the Parker Investigative Agency.The most eligible forty-four-year-old bachelor in Atlanta.Still mourning the death of his socialite wife, he must solve a disturbing murder case.Before the killer strikes again.THE MURDERERA serial killer strangling young girls in a bizarre ritual.Why?She doesn't need a man.He needs to find a killer.Together, can they save a thirteen year old girl?

Dodge the Bullet


Christy Hayes - 2011
    But Sarah doesn’t know a Colorado Senator has earmarked her ranch for purchase and he’ll do anything to get it. Unwilling to sell, she dismisses his continued offers and moves ahead by improving the land with the help of a sexy stranger. A.J. Dodge is a man with a past. He’s returned to his hometown ready to set down roots and make things right with his family and whatever anyone else thinks he doesn’t give a damn. Until his old friend Tommy Thornton asks a favor, a favor he can’t refuse, and Dodge becomes involved with the beautiful widow Sarah Woodward. She’s alone with her young sons on a dilapidated ranch she’s determined to get up and running with or without his help. Under pressure to deliver the Woodward ranch to a land developer with shady connections, the senator sets in motion a dangerous plot to convince Sarah to sell. Dodge will risk everything to protect Sarah and the boys including his heart.

Brighter than Gold


Cynthia Wright - 1990
    Spirited Katie MacKenzie helps her father run a saloon and writes articles for the local newspaper about the Griffin, a Robin Hood-style highwayman who robs the unscrupulous mine owners and gives back to the townspeople. Irresistibly roguish Jack Adams, an adventurer with a dark secret, rides into the sleepy Sierra town one summer day and changes everything.A powerful attraction smolders and burns between Jack and Katie despite their efforts to resist, but when a tragic death occurs during one of the Griffin's stagecoach robberies, Katie is haunted by thoughts of revenge. Can Jack reconcile his life in Columbia with his surprising true identity in San Francisco... and will this couple find their way to happiness in spite of the dangerous secrets that separate them? Journey back to Civil War-era California with Jack, Katie, and historical characters like Samuel Clemens for a passionate & adventurous romance that will keep you turning the pages to the very end!

No Place for a Lady


Jade Lee - 2003
    But he can't find his way alone.A partner is required.Fantine (Fanny) Delarive is perfect. She knows the slums better than any, has survived its labyrinth alone for years, and knows every criminal lurking in every dark corner.Then, the investigation detours the pair into the bright ballrooms of the ton.And Fantine fits in here, too.Which changes everything.Lord Chadwick knows a woman of Fantine's ilk is entirely unsuitable for him. But she's infinitely more exciting than any well-born lady he's ever met.Now much more than an acquaintance with the independent, self-reliant Fantine is required... and it must end with nothing less than marriage.

The Haunting of Thores-Cross: A Yorkshire Ghost Story


Karen Perkins - 2012
    A haunting historical thriller set in Britain's North Yorkshire Moors about isolation, superstition and persecution, The Haunting of Thores-Cross explores 18th century life in a picturesque but isolated village in the North Yorkshire Moors. When a vulnerable young girl is ostracised within her community and accused of witchcraft, the descendants of her neighbours will suffer for centuries to come.*Silver Medal Winner, European fiction - 2015 IPPY Book Awards *#1 Bestseller in 6 Amazon Categories, including Ghost Suspense, British Horror and Gothic Romance*Top 10 Bestseller in 8 more, including Historical Thrillers and Occult Horror*Over 100 5-STAR reviews on Amazon.com Likened by independent reviewers on Amazon to the Brontë sisters, Edgar Allen Poe, Barbara Erskine and Nathaniel Hawthorne, Karen Perkins' novels are filled with unflinching honesty and an acute understanding of human nature. She explores not only the depths of humanity, but the depths of human motivation behind the actions and pain people inflict upon each other, as well as the repercussions of these actions not only in the short term, but also the later generations who live with the implications of the past. Emma Moorcroft is still grieving after a late miscarriage and moves to her dream house at Thruscross Reservoir with her husband, Dave. Both Emma and Dave hope that moving into their new home signifies a fresh start, but life is not that simple. Emma has nightmares about the reservoir and the drowned village that lies beneath the water, and is further disturbed by the sound of church bells - from a church that no longer exists. Jennet is fifteen and lives in the isolated community of Thores-Cross, where life revolves about the sheep on which they depend. Following the sudden loss of both her parents, she is seduced by the local wool merchant, Richard Ramsgill. She becomes pregnant and is shunned not only by Ramsgill, but by the entire village. Lonely and embittered, Jennet's problems escalate, leading to tragic consequences which continue to have an effect through the centuries. Emma becomes fixated on Jennet, neglecting herself, her beloved dogs and her husband to the point where her marriage may not survive. As Jennet and Emma's lives become further entwined, Emma's obsession deepens and she realises that the curse Jennet inflicted on the Ramsgill family over two hundred years ago is still claiming lives. Emma is the only one who can stop Jennet killing again, but will her efforts be enough? The Haunting of Thores-Cross was previously titled Thores-Cross.The Yorkshire Ghost Stories are all stand-alone, complete books, and can be read in any order

Crowned by the Midnight Duke


Patricia Haverton - 2021
    Abandoned at the altar by the love of her life, she barely bats an eyelid when her father announces her marriage to another. After all, what does she have to live for?There are many things Arthur Coghill, Duke of Redvale, is known for: the scar marring his face and the family history that gave the Dukedom its name being the most prominent. So, he never expected another member of the ton would come to offer him his daughter's hand. Or the Lady Cordelia herself.As the darkness melts away, Cordelia and Arthur finally taste happiness on the tip of their tongues. Happiness that turns into ashes when a sudden bout of unexplainable sickness leaves Cordelia on the brink of death. And true to his name, the Duke of Redvale will do everything to save her. For when is a monster not a monster? Oh, when you love it...

Love's Portrait


Monica Burns - 2005
    It’s an attempt to regain her self-worth after years of a loveless, repressive marriage to her late husband. But the private portrait puts her directly in the path of Morgan St. Claire, one of the Marlborough Set’s most notorious seducers. A man who doesn’t take no for an answer.From the first moment Morgan sees Julia’s portrait, he’s determined to have her. But the woman he meets is a far cry from the image on canvas. What starts out as a simple exercise in seduction quickly evolves into a quest to reveal the true Julia. With each sensual encounter, he employs every erotic weapon at his disposal in hopes of making Julia see she really is the woman in Love's Portrait.

All's Fair in Love & Seduction


Beverley Kendall - 2011
    With scandal nipping at her heels, to avoid total social ruin, Elizabeth must present a fiancé by the end of the Season. But when the viscount proves reluctant, Elizabeth is forced to employ a seduction of a different sort...With his seduction he is determined to ruin herViscount Derek Creswell believes Elizabeth set out to trap him into marriage. After all, her sister attempted the very same thing with his brother six years before. Now the delectable Miss Smith expects a betrothal and a ring, while Derek finds her ruination infinitely more appealing...But as Derek sets out to seduce only her body, Elizabeth is intent on claiming his jaded heart.This is a novella and 29,000 words. Included is a three chapter excerpt of the third full-length book in The Elusive Lords series, AN HEIR OF DECEPTION. The total word count for this book is 43,000 + words. Prior books in The Elusive Lords series are:SINFUL SURRENDER (Book #1)A TASTE OF DESIRE (Book #2)

Intentions of the Earl


Rose Gordon - 2011
    The innocent he's selected, however, has no plans to settle for anything less than marriage and will go to almost any length to secure him. With no other means for an income, the impoverished Andrew Black, Earl of Townson, makes an agreement that will put a definite end to his eight year poverty streak. But, in order to gain his fortune he must do only one simple thing: ruin an innocent young lady’s reputation enough to make her flee to America.Brooke Banks isn’t interested in marriage, or so she thinks. She came to London to have a good time, and that’s exactly what she’s doing. Widely known for her tendency to flout the rules, she suspects nothing when a handsome stranger appears on her doorstep. Thirteen days, a handful of kisses and one scandalous situation later, Andrew and Brooke will have to choose to stick to their original plans, or decide if a life together is worth the risk. ***This is a full-length novel, approx. 100,000 words.

Honor Bound


Brenda Novak - 2011
    Jeannette Boucher, a young French beauty from a family left penniless by the revolution, must marry against her will to save them all from ruin. But almost immediately after the vows are spoken, she learns that her old English husband is impotent—and in his desire for an heir, he plans to compromise her in the worst way. Determined to escape such a fate, she stows away on one of His Majesty’s frigates. But a woman alone is in constant danger. To Lieutenant Treynor, honor means everything...Born a bastard to a wayward marquise, Lieutenant Crawford Treynor was given to a poor farmer to raise and was maltreated until he ran away to join the Royal Navy. Treynor is determined to prove he’s as good as any other man and rise to captain his own frigate. But once he finds Jeannette aboard The Tempest he must decide whether to return her to the man he knows would abuse her—or risk everything, even his life, to keep her safe.'

Bedding The Billionaire


Kendra Little - 2012
    Not only did she quit her job after discovering her ex boyfriend slept with her friend, she's about to have sex with a complete stranger. In front of a hidden camera.Nick Delaware is called The Machine by his employees, but on an interstate business trip, he's not himself - literally. His VP of Marketing has skipped town, so Nick assumes his identity at the last minute to protect his investment. He doesn't expect any problems, especially not in the guise of a beautiful woman who coerces him into having sex with her.What happens when Abbey finds out Nick's not the man she thought him to be? And what happens to Nick when he discovers he's head over heels in love with a woman who makes him lose control.

The House of Closed Doors


Jane Steen - 2012
    Yet Nell is determined to elude the duties and restrictions of matrimony. So when she finds herself pregnant at the age of 17, she refuses to divulge the name of the father and even her childhood friend Martin is kept in the dark.Nell's stepfather Hiram sends Nell to live at the Poor Farm of which he is a governor, to await the day when her baby can be discreetly adopted. Nell is ready to go along with Hiram's plans until an unused padded cell is opened and two small bodies fall out.Nell is the only resident of the Poor Farm who is convinced that the unwed mother and her baby were murdered, and the incident prompts her to rethink her decision to abandon her own child to her fate. But the revelations to which her questions lead make her realize that even if she manages to escape the Poor Farm with her baby, she may have no safe place to run to.

Ambersley


Amy Atwell - 2011
    A duke who doubts his legitimacy. Will secrets destroy their love?Traumatized by a blaze that killed her parents, young Johanna remembers nothing of her privileged past and remains ignorant of the dangers that surround her. She grows up among the servants, where she develops a sense of purpose that helps her survive the betrayal that unmasks her true identity. Once she is forced to take her proper place in Regency society as the highly sought heiress to the Ambersley fortune, she must defy the relatives who would make her a pawn in their struggle for power.When Derek Vaughan inherits the dukedom. his dubious parentage makes it a sacrilege to accept. But touched by the ravaged estate and its destitute staff, he braves a society that once shunned him while he rebuilds Ambersley and guards it from his stepmother's bankrupting clutches. He intends to grant the title to his half-brother when the boy comes of age, but Derek's plans go awry from the moment the gardener's apprentice—once his trusted young friend—is revealed to be not only an heiress of beauty and spirit, but the one woman who may finally capture his heart.