Book picks similar to
The Emperor's New Clothes by Victoria Alexander


historical-romance
romance
victoria-alexander
historical

Pot of Gold


Judith Michael - 1993
    Claire Goddard is thirty-four years old, of modest means and looks. She has raised her teenage daughter, Emma, by herself, working as a designer, but without the confidence or means to fully realize her talent. Her only indulgence, once a week, is buying a lottery ticket. Then, one week, she wins sixty million dollars. Overnight everything changes. She quits her job, indulges in the shopping spree of a lifetime - new house, new clothes, new car, new hairstyle and makeup - and then treats herself and Emma to a celebratory cruise in Alaska. There they meet Quentin and Brix Eiger. Handsome, glamorous, a wealthy entrepreneur, Quentin sweeps Claire into his fast-lane fashionable world, while his temperamental son, Brix, engages Emma in her first love affair. Suddenly Claire and Emma are living in the glittering, colorful world of wealth and power. But inside the rainbow, all is not what it seems - Brix persuades Emma to choose a modeling job over college, and has seduced her into his dangerous round of fashion, sex, and drugs. And as Claire discovers a shallowness and predatory drive in Quentin that has been disguised by his manipulative charm, she realizes that his world is in no way superior to hers and that in buying a new life she is losing touch with everything that has always meant the most to her - her daughter, her friends, her work, her sense of home. But Quentin will not let Claire go easily: he and Brix have their own plans for the Goddard women. And when another man, more open and idealistic, more real than Quentin, enters Claire's life, she discovers what she always possessed but never fully recognized - an ability to love deeply and to protect those she loves - strengths and inner resources more valuable than any pot of gold. Judith Michael creates a world as fabulous as a glossy dream, as exciting as a once-in-a-lif

Impetuous


Candace Camp - 1998
    Now it is 150 years later, and Cassandra Verrere is desperate to find the riches in order to save her family from poverty. Unfortunately, only a Neville can help her. Clearly, he considers his hatred of her as much his birthright as the dowry is hers--but even an ancient family feud is no match for the passion that soon burns between them.

Truly


Mary Balogh - 1996
    As a ragged impoverished boy, he had been one with the villagers. Now, as the new Earl, he's met with hostility and resentment, especially from his childhood sweetheart, Marged Evans. To make things right with his people (and to win back Marged), he masquerades as a "Rebecca," one of the bewigged, white-cloaked leaders of the 1842 riots against Welsh toll roads. Disguised as a man, Marged rides as one of Rebecca's "daughters," and, as to be expected, falls in love with the man behind the mask.

The Gunslinger's Bride


Cheryl St. John - 2001
    After all, a man whose livelihood was tied to the ivory-handled six-shooters at his hips couldn't allow emotions and memories to dull his senses. But seeing her again had brought it all back: the passion, the hunger, the confusion. Nothing had changed, and yet, when he looked into the face of her child--everything had changed. Abby needed a man to match her fire, and he would be that man. He would know his son, teach him and be a father to him. Now if he could just convince Abby to believe in him again... and the future that was meant to be!Return to Whitehorn, Montana--where legends are begun and love lasts forever beneath the big sky...

The Highlander


Elaine Coffman - 2003
    To escape this unwanted marriage, her loyal servants help her escape her escort and she finds herself on a ship bound for Norway instead. When a storm arises, Sophie and the crew are shipwrecked off the coast of Scotland, and Sophie is taken to Monleigh castle, the home of James Graham. To avoid being sent south to the dreaded English duke, she pretends to have lost her memory and seeks sanctuary in the arms of the only man who can help her--the Highlander.

An Heiress at Heart


Jennifer Delamere - 2012
    After five years living in exile, she’s finally returning home, but she’s still living a secret life. Her best friend, Ria’s dying wish was for Lizzie to assume her identity, return to London, and make amends that Ria herself would never live to make. Bearing a striking resemblance to her friend, and harboring more secrets than ever before, Lizzie embarks on a journey that tempts her reckless heart once again . . .A committed clergyman, Geoffrey Somerville’s world is upended when he suddenly inherits the title of Lord Somerville. Now he’s invited to every ball and sought after by the matchmaking mothers of London society. Yet the only woman to capture his heart is the one he cannot have: his brother’s young widow, Ria. Duty demands he deny his feelings, but his heart longs for the mysterious beauty. With both their futures at stake, will Lizzie be able to keep up her façade? Or will she find the strength to share her secret and put her faith in true love?

Every Wish Fulfilled


Samantha James - 1997
    But she is content running the earl's grand country manor -- until Damien Tremayne hires on as estate manager. Then Heather suddenly fears her world may never be the same. Intense and fiercely passionate, Damien arouses feelings long denied -- with only one kissQuestions about his brother's murder have led Damien to this place ... and to Heather. And though desire and destiny seem to bind them, he must battle his dangerous attraction to this beauty. There are shattering secrets to be faced and lies to be untangled. Yet what if the truth destroys her trust in him ... and imperils them both?

Nora


Diana Palmer - 1994
    Now Nora's love for Cal will cost her everything she holds dear. . .

Lord Ravenscar's Revenge


Barbara Cartland - 1978
    LORD RAVENSCAR'S REVENGEEvery day since she had fled to the farm, Romara had yearned for Lord Ravenscar, and had cried many bitter tears over him at night into her pillow.How, she asked herself, could she have been so foolish, so stupid, as to fall in love with a man who could only feel for her rage and disgust?Yet when she closed her eyes she could see his strong, noble face; his beautiful eyes looking searchingly into hers."It was...inevitable that I should...love him," Romara whispered to herself.

When Passion Rules


Johanna Lindsey - 2011
    There, Alana enjoys every privilege a daughter of the nobility could hope for, plus an education fit for a queen. Now, on the eve of her debut into London Society, she learns the shocking secret of her birthright. Can it be true? Is she really the lost princess of the European kingdom of Lubinia? Persuaded by her guardian to return to their homeland to quell a bloody revolt, Alana finds herself in an isolated, mountainous country whose customs strike her as medieval!With controversy and intrigue brewing around the beautiful newcomer, Christoph Becker, the captain of the palace guards, arrests Alana on suspicion that she is either a wily imposter or a seductive spy working for the shadowy figures determined to depose the king. No stranger himself to seduction, Christoph uses every means at his disposal to draw the truth from his alluring prisoner, even if he must lay his own life on the line to protect her from harm. Now, as a fiery passion flares between Alana and the man who has wrongly imprisoned her, the fate of a nation rests in their hands and on their hearts.In each of her dazzling bestsellers, Johanna Lindsey’s “mastery of historical romance” (Entertainment Weekly) shines stronger than ever!

Once and Always


Julia Harper - 2015
    With a whopper of a blizzard closing in, that's all he has time for. But the lawbreaker he pulls over is anything but typical. From her mile-long legs to her razor-sharp wit, Maisa Bradley is like nothing Coot Lake, Minnesota, has ever seen . . . and she's about to take Sam on the ride of his life. BEING BAD HAS ITS BENEFITSWhoever said blood is thicker than water probably wasn't related to a former Russian mobster. But an innocent mix-up and rumors of stolen diamonds soon have the Russian mob taking an unusual interest in the sleepy little town-and Maisa facing heated scrutiny from a certain tall, dark, and handsome deputy. Sam's dazzling blue eyes beg her to reveal all her secrets, but how much should she tell? Getting snowed in with the sexiest lawman in the frozen north may not be the worst way to decide . . .

Kentucky Bride


Hannah Howell - 1994
    Her father's death has left her penniless, ostracized from Pennsylvania society, and abandoned by her fiancé. All she has now is a grieving mother, two hungry little brothers and no prospects...until a wealthy Kentucky backwoodsman with a deep Scottish burr comes to town-and inspires her to make a most daring move...It's no secret that rugged, roughhewn Scotsman, Ballard MacGregor is ready to marry. Nonetheless, he is surprised by genteel Clover's sudden proposal...and more than pleased. For the lass's sweet innocence is bewitching. But settlement life proves harsh on his refined young wife. And Ballard fears that unless he can awaken her passion and win her love-as she has won his-he may lose his Kentucky bride..."The superbly talented Howell never disappoints." —Romantic Times

The Viscount's Wicked Ways


Anne Mallory - 2006
    But Patience Harrington, try as she might, has never been a proper lady. Her bumbled London season left her with no marital prospects and no recourse but to accept her father's invitation to travel to gloomy Blackfield Castle. Surely, spending a few nights in the presence of priceless antiques and a devilish viscount can't be as bad as facing the ton gossip.Focused solely on his secret government project, Thomas cares little for the valuable antiques he's recently inherited. The troublesome young woman who has come to assess them, however, stirs his senses in every way. Patience is a distraction Thomas can ill afford --- a beautiful temptation that makes him ache with desire. For a spy is threatening to destroy all he has built, and Patience is hiding something. With so much at stake, Thomas must do whatever it takes to seduce the truth from Patience's lips before lives --- and his own heart --- are lost.

Crooked Hearts


Patricia Gaffney - 1994
    But he gets an eyeful when the pretty sister lifts her skirts to adjust the little silver derringer strapped to her thigh ... So begins this sexy, rollicking ride through the gambling halls and sinful streets of 1880s San Francisco, where two "crooked hearts" discover that love is the most dangerous -- and delicious -- game of all.

A Most Scandalous Proposal


Ashlyn Macnamara - 2013
    Claire has foresworn love and put herself firmly on the shelf. Unfortunately, her social-climbing mother and debt-ridden father have other ideas, and jump at the chance to marry Julia off to the newly-named Earl of Clivesden…the man of Sophia’s dreams.Since resigning his Cavalry commission, Benedict Revelstoke has spent his time in London avoiding the marriage mart. But when he discovers that the Earl of Clivesden has set Julia in his sights, Benedict tries to protect his childhood best friend from the man’s advances—only to discover more than friendship driving his desire to defend her. He surprises them both with the force of his feelings, but when she refuses him and her father announces her betrothal, he fears he’s lost her forever—until Julia approaches him with a shocking scheme that will ruin her for all respectable society……and lead them into an exquisite world of forbidden pleasures.