Book picks similar to
Once A Pirate by Diana Bold
historical-romance
pirates
historical
pirate
The Price of Paradise
Susana López Rubio - 2017
Young Patricio flees impoverished Spain and steps into the sultry island paradise of Havana with only the clothes on his back and half-baked dreams of a better life. Blessed with good looks and natural charm, he lands a job as a runner at El Encanto—one of the most luxurious department stores in the world.Famous for its exquisite offerings from French haute couture to Arabian silks, El Encanto indulges the senses in opulent extravagance. It caters to visiting Hollywood stars, rising politicos, and prerevolutionary Cuba’s wealthiest power players, including the notorious mobster César Valdés.Falling in love with the mobster’s young wife, Gloria, is suicide. But Patricio is irresistibly drawn to the beautiful girl with sad eyes, a razor-sharp intellect, and a penchant for both Christian Dior’s clothes and Einstein’s theories. Within the walls of El Encanto, anything seems possible, even a love that promises to heal them and a desire that thrums with the mambo beat of the city itself.In a reckless love affair that spans half a century, Patricio’s and Gloria’s lives entwine time and again, challenged by every twist of fate—for in a world of murder, betrayal, and revolution, those who dare to reach for paradise seldom survive unscathed.
Until the Day Breaks
Paula Scott - 2016
After sailing around Cape Horn, and barely surviving the perilous journey, devout Protestant Rachel Tyler, arrives in California just in time for her father’s wedding and the unfolding of the Bear Flag Revolt. Though already engaged to marry a minister in Massachusetts, Rachel’s ambitious father arranges her betrothal to Roman Vasquez, a blue-blooded Catholic son of the gente de razón, the ruling class of California. Roman, a proud, Spanish soldier is ready to fight and die for his homeland. As the Yankee rebels raise their bear flag in Sonoma square, the last thing Roman wants is an arranged marriage to the American daughter of his enemy Joshua Tyler. But his Uncle Pedro, the Patrón of the family, has other plans. Neither Rachel nor Roman desire this unlikely engagement that assaults their religious beliefs, but they cannot escape the passion flaming between them as war looms on the horizon and bitter rivals rise up to destroy them amid the breathtaking backdrop of the last days of the Californios. Until the Day Breaks is the first book in the sweeping saga of California Rising, a tale of love, intrigue, and destiny, where passionate men and women lay the foundation of the Golden State with their very lives.
Caversham's Bride
Sandy Raven - 2012
Lia would do anything to save her little brother from her murderous aunt, even marry a man she knows wants nothing more than use of her body.Marcus Renfield Halden, Ninth Duke of Caversham, needs an heir to secure his legacy and the futures of his young sisters from a desperate cousin whom he suspects of targeting him in pursuit of the title and fortune. When he sees a woman running from her guard in a market in Tangier, he is at first captivated by her beauty. After Ren learns her story, he's in awe of her bravery. He then makes Lia an offer she cannot refuse.Her brother for an heir.What neither expected was to fall in love.Caversham's Bride is set in 1819. Locations include Genoa, Tangier, London and the hero's merchant ship.
A Game of Persuasion
Emma Locke - 2015
So devotedly, she’s vowed never to marry anyone else. But her beloved libertine is hardly aware of her existence, and not the least deserving of her affection. Deciding her cause is lost, she makes plans to open a girls’ school in Bath. There’s just one thing she needs to do before she confirms her spinsterhood forever: spend one blissful night in Roman’s arms. But her handsome rogue isn’t ready to have the tables turned. It will take more than a coquettish smile to turn his head. She must play a game…of persuasion.
A Wallflower's Wish Boxed Set: Three Regency Romances
Maggie Dallen - 2021
Or at least, she was. But this season her prospects are brighter and, much to her mother's delight, she may just make a match. When the duke she once adored from a distance arrives at the house party she's attending with her friends, she knows for certain her luck has changed.Until she meets him.A Lord for Miss LilyLily’s lord is her long lost friend. He’s also her worst enemy.Lord Merrick is perfectly handsome and charming…but this lord is a complete traitor. Lily knows this for a fact as she is the very person he turned his back on. Now she’s determined to avoid him at the house party she’s been trapped at with her former friend.The only problem? Lord Merrick is like the plague… he just keeps cropping up.A Marquess for Miss MarigoldAll this wounded marquess wants is solitude. Instead, he stumbles across a wallflower…literally.It wasn’t as though Marigold was hiding, she was just…lying low. In an abandon shed. Admidst a houseparty where both her best friends had managed to become engaged.In a few days she can escape to her quiet life a solitude and books. Alone. Forever. But then the prodigal son returns to the manor and charges into her life with the military precision one might expect from a war hero. Even more terrifying, he refuses to ignore her like the rest of society. Of course, he doesn’t.
Stone Devil Duke
K.J. Jackson - 2014
To protect her family, to protect herself, she is determined to find the men before they find her.
The last thing she wanted was an entanglement with a duke that threatens her very survival...
Hardened long ago, the last thing the Duke of Dunway wanted was an entanglement with a chit of the ton. But in the flash of a pistol, his fate is altered as he finds himself honor-bound to protect Lady Augustine from, of all things, herself.
The Bride Price
Tracey Jane Jackson - 2010
She finds refuge with a doctor and his family, but develops a volatile relationship with their neighbor, Richard Madden. His expectations become difficult to ignore, and Sophie must figure out a way to hold off his advances. When a soldier shows up looking identical to Jamie, but not knowing who she is, Sophie decides she must make him remember. Will her love for him help him remember? Will they rediscover their love in the new century, or will Richard threaten their chance to reunite? Will Sophie survive the threat against her life and destiny?
Shades of Honor
Wendy Lindstrom - 2010
Desperate for peace, Radford is ambushed by his unexpected and forbidden love for Evelyn—his brother's fiancée.
Thistles and Thieves: Highlander Romance
Elizabeth Preston - 2017
Her job is to pull a valuable warlord out of his black hole. The king wants Laird Tam out of the doldrums and back doing what he does best: killing in the name of Scotland. Juliette reluctantly agrees to the king’s task, because she has no choice. Lady Juliette is sweet, sassy, and determined, but also a little spoilt. She knows she’ll cope with the bleak north, the boredom and the barbarous Scotsmen, but when these two hundred days are done, she’s bolting back to England as quickly as her silk slippers will take her. Juliette underestimates the Scottish Highlands. She greatly underestimates Laird Tam. And there’s something else she doesn’t realise: the Highlands are never boring . . . “We’re going into the sea, Juliette.” “No, no, no . . .” “Aye, we are. You’re a strong Sassenach, remember that. You’ll survive this shipwreck.” “No. I won’t . . .” “I’ll find you, my darling, I’ll always find you . . .” Then the wave hits. Now Lady Juliette must survive the sea, the Irish outlaws, runaway nuns, and the ancient Caledonian Forest. Not to mention her growing attraction to Laird Tam . . .
The Dashing Widow
Elizabeth Bramwell - 2016
Where it not for the gentle guidance of her best friend, Abby doubts she would have survived the Beau Monde's disapproval for even a week - and especially not the critical gaze of the Earl of Gloucester. The man is insufferable, arrogant, and everything that Abby hates about the Ton - except those rare moments when he laughs, and Abby's heart starts to beat in a most uncomfortable rhythm. George, Earl of Gloucester, is horrified at the scrapes his sister's best friend keeps falling into. True not all of them are her fault, but that doesn't change the fact that her actions reflect poorly on his family. Since Mrs Merriweather doesn't have any intentions of leaving London before the Season's end, there's nothing for it but for George to step in and help her navigate the treacherous waters of the Ton. She's impulsive, tempestuous, headstrong and willful; in short, everything that he claims to dislike in a woman... except after spending time with Abigail Merriweather, he's starting to wonder whether her faults are what make her so endearing. Abby and George may be developing a strange sort of friendship, but they come from different worlds that are not entirely compatible. The real question is whether they can get past their own prejudices - and the interference of their friends and family - to find out whether an arrogant Earl and a dashing young widow can fall in love without creating a scandal.
The Garment Maker's Daughter
Hillary Adrienne Stern - 2016
It is the story of Lena Rothman, a shirtwaist-maker and active suffragette whose plans get derailed when she falls in love with her best friend’s boyfriend; Jake Brenner, a passionate labor organizer determined to lead the shirtwaist-makers on a high-stakes strike; and Daniel Cowan, a brilliant and ambitious night-school student hobbled by a shameful past. Fate draws them together. Emotions bind them to each other. But secrets will tear them apart. When a devastating blaze engulfs the shirtwaist factory, Lena must fight for her life. And in the chaos of the fire’s aftermath, mistakes will be made with consequences that continue into the next generation. Spanning the first half of the twentieth century, this is a story about unforgettable characters and the threads of friendship, love, betrayal, and redemption that form the fabric of their lives. FAns of Adriana Trigiani, Kristin Hannah, and Christine Baker Kline, will love The Garment Maker’s Daughter. It's that rare novel you’ll be thinking about long after you’ve finished it.
A Secret Deal with the Devilish Baron
Lucy Langton - 2019
Fierce like a tiger, she storms into the Baron’s estate to regain her pride and property, but instead of the scandalous scoundrel she expected to meet, she finds a broken man trying to hide his scars. Will she eventually be the one to heal his broken soul?The legends about his bad behavior make the Baron, a person to be feared. When seeing Isabel and intrigued by her reckless personality, he offers a condition in return; she must be a companion to his ailing sister, and live in his estate until he says otherwise. But with every moment he shares with the passionate Isabel, Baron’s bad manners soften into admiration…and more. Will he be able to handle the sizzling passion?Isabel, surprisingly finds out that not everything is as it seems in the Baron’s estate. As time goes by, she finds herself falling for the Baron’s charm, but not before she berates him for his ignoble behavior. Will she be able to make him open his heart to love again? While everything seems to be going out of control, can Isabel take the reins and steer her life towards the future she dreams of?
The King's Commander
Cecelia Mecca - 2020
I’m to go to Murwood End, the land of the Voyagers, to retrieve the king’s secret son. With the heir dead, it’s our only hope for saving our kingdom from those who would destroy us. But complications arise from the start. No one knows when the king’s son will return from his latest mission, or at least no one will say. And his closest friend—a woman, a Garra—seems to loathe me on sight. A further complication: I’m completely captivated by her. In Meria, Garra practice their healing arts in secret, but there’s nothing covert about this bold, beautiful woman. In the beginning, I tell myself I’m only pursuing Aedre Lorenson for her connection to the king’s son, but I know it for a lie. She has awakened something in me, and I’m torn between doing my duty as the king’s commander and following my heart.
Crow Hollow
Michael Wallace - 2015
She’s convinced her daughter is alive but cannot track her into the wilderness alone. Help arrives in the form of James Bailey, an agent of the crown sent to Boston to investigate the murder of Prudence’s husband and to covertly cause a disturbance that would give the king just cause to install royal governors. After his partner is murdered, James needs help too. He strikes a deal with Prudence, and together they traverse the forbidding New England landscape looking for clues. What they confront in the wilderness—and what they discover about each other—could forever change their allegiances and alter their destinies.
Pride of Honor
Andrea K. Stein - 2020
She must ensure her marriage to a “suitable gentleman of the ton” before her twenty-first birthday or she’ll be destitute, per the terms of her ducal grandmother’s will. Close to having her own poems published, Sophia has her hopes dashed each time by someone revealing her secrets. That same someone so desperately wants her to fail the terms of the will, they’re willing to commit violent acts to ruin her reputation. Captain Arnaud Bellingham has ascended the ranks of the Royal Navy in spite of his half-French heritage by proving himself at the Battle of Algiers and with the West African Squadron. He seeks a simple marriage of convenience to a mature woman, a widow who has been his sometime mistress the last several years. The very thing he does not want, an exotic Italian innocent, literally falls into his life when he rescues her from kidnappers, although she disputes she needed saving. And now, honor and duty dictate he has to waste the rest of his leave guarding her through the mad whirl of the Season.