Rogue. Scoundrel. Each of these words has been used to describe Damien Largess, youngest prince of Cardenas. But when he steps into a glittering ballroom on the night of his twenty-fifth birthday, the roguish young prince’s life will be forever changed. Beautiful. Graceful. Sensual. When Esmeralda steps into king’s ballroom to perform for the prince’s twenty-fifth birthday, every eye in the room is upon her. One pair of eyes intrigues her most of all … those of Prince Damien, seeming to stare straight through to her soul. The two know nothing can ever come of their love; he is a prince, and she a Gypsy dancer. Yet, neither can seem to resist the passion that sparks when they are together, or the unmistakable call of destiny forcing their lives onto the same path. However, love is not the only thing destiny has in store … With a deadly plot against the royal family surrounding him in danger and intrigue, Damien will face a decision he never thought he would have to make. Will he step up to claim a responsibility that should never have fallen to the third son? Or will he abandon it to risk all for love? Kings of Cardenas Series Reading Order The Third Son The Second Son The Lady Knights of Barony Gypsy Rose The Gypsy The Mistress (Bonus Novella) Interview with the Author Q: So, what makes the Kings of Cardenas series special? A: I’ve always been a romance reader, but the historical sub-genre has always been my first love. There’s something about the decadence and beauty of it that just enraptures me. So when I got the idea for The Third Son, I kept that opulence foremost in my mind. I knew that this kind of story couldn’t take place in an actual country and end the way I wanted it to, so I created my own fantasy kingdom. I love that element of it because it gave me freedom to make my own rules about the society that these characters live in. The cool part, I think, is that even though it has that fantasy aspect of being set in a made-up kingdom, it still has the familiarity of historical romance and the elements we all love: balls and masquerades, secret intrigues, and of course the fashion! I also think it’s special because of how unpredictable it is. The twists and turns incorporate elements of suspense and mystery along with the romance, and I loved crafting a multi-dimensional story using those elements. Q: Why should readers give these books a try? A: I think anyone who appreciates a good, meaty plot along with their romance will truly enjoy the series. While these stories are about love and romance, there are also elements of loss, intrigue, betrayal, and the dynamic of family weaving them all together. If you love mystery, suspense, and action woven through your romance, you’ll love the Kings of Cardenas series. Q: How many books will be in the complete series? A: The complete series is comprised of 6 books: 5 novels and 1 novella. While the series has been concluded, I do have plans for a spin-off series entitled Sons of Cardenas. The first book of that series might release in 2016.

    BUT THE ONE WHO KNOWS THEM BEST MAY HAVE OTHER PLANS ...Abigail Stanton's whole life was rooted in her faith, a faith she now clings to solely to survive. In the wake of losing her husband and young son, Abby sets out alone, bereft and heartsick, to discover what God wants her to do. When he leads her to Conor MacKay's doorstep, though, the very foundation of her beliefs starts to shift.As the volatile rancher's new housekeeper, Abby is supposed to keep his affairs --- and his equally capricious little girl --- in order. Why, then, does she feel confusion, passion, desire, and anything but order every time they are together? Conor tries to hide his own seething emotions beneath a cold facade, but there is something about his prim new housekeeper that sets him on edge. And the more ruthlessly he attacks Abby's faith, the more his defenses crack.As Abby and Conor draw closer to the flame of their attraction, they must grapple with their deepest beliefs and fears. In opening their hearts again, both risk even greater loss for a chance at the greatest love of all.

    G. Wells could not have imagined. It’s 1914. The Great War grips the world—and from the Western Front a strange story emerges…a story of St. George and a brigade of angels descending from heaven to fight beside the beleaguered British troops. But can there be any truth to it?H. G. Wells, the most celebrated writer of his day—author of The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man—is dispatched to find out. There, he finds an eerie wasteland inhabited by the living, the dead, and those forever stranded somewhere in between…a no-man’s-land whose unhappy souls trail him home to London, where a deadly plot, one that could turn the tide of war, is rapidly unfolding.In league with his young love, the reporter and suffragette Rebecca West, Wells must do battle with diabolical forces—secret agents and depraved occultists—to save his sanity, his country, and ultimately the world.

    Villagers whisper the tale, but her father refuses to discuss it. All the while, she dreams of the world beyond—of travel and adventure and romance.When a relative offers to host her in London, Lilly discovers the pleasures and pitfalls of fashionable society and suitors, as well as clues about her mother. But will Lilly find what she is searching for—the truth of the past and a love for the future?

    To save his family from financial ruin, he needs the help of his closest childhood friend, Violette. They must work together so he can gain the hand of her wealthy but spoiled heiress cousin and make a mutually beneficial marriage—a sound business arrangement for them both. In return for her help, Lawrence offers Violette the one thing she covets most—freedom. With his help, she can leave England and her cruel family behind. But there is a vital flaw in this near-perfect plan. Violette Pélet de Castelmarou is secretly in love with Lawrence and has hidden it for years. Yet now she finds herself feeding him lines and coaching him through sticky social situations in order to win over her cousin. But when emotions get involved, hearts become inextricably entangled. When the time comes, will Lawrence be able to say goodbye to Violette or will he compromise her virtue and make her his forever? If he cannot have her for his wife, then he’ll make her his mistress…

    But the beautiful, headstrong Anne is a lamb among wolves, easy prey to treachery and an aging queen's jealousy. She never suspects that handsome courtier Chirstopher Hollier has been sent to ruin her.Christopher Hollier is the only man in Elizabeth's court uninterested in making a rich marriage--for himself. All that matters to Christopher is reclaiming the title Lord Graistan for his brother. If doing that requires him to destroy Anne, so be it...even if her destruction costs him his life. But a tide of betrayal sweeps Anne and Christopher into a dangerous dance of plots to defy crown and country that could ultimately cost them their lives, and their love.

    And behind its doors, amid the flickering shadows and secret passageways, danger lies in wait… TO HIS EVERY DARK DESIREEvangeline Pemberton has been invited to a party at the sprawling estate of reclusive Gavin Lioncroft, who is rumored to have killed in cold blood. Initially, his towering presence and brusque manner instill fear… until his seductive attentions and unexpected vulnerability conquer her resistance.But when a guest is murdered, Evangeline is torn. Could the man to whom she is so powerfully drawn, also be a ruthless killer?

    Abita Carter, a half-Choctaw woman who describes herself as always “in-between,” tells the story of her life and that of the young lawyer/soldier, Minor Barrett, in north Louisiana during the Civil War. The core of the tale involves Abita’s journey to find Minor, who is reported to have been wounded during the siege of Vicksburg. Along the way she faces a cast of characters with varying intentions. General Grant’s wife, a family of slaves with compassion beyond reason, and a small blind mule are among those encountered in the rich, Deep South setting. None, though, is more distracting than Minor’s blue-blooded wife, who seeks her husband for a different purpose. Abita’s state of “in-between” takes on new meanings as she is drawn ever deeper into the turmoil of the times. Passion, self-doubt, and malice finally threaten her existence in any condition.

    Her widowed mother and baby sister are depending upon her for their survival back home in Boston. And the self-appointed mayor of the rugged mountain community is counting on Miss Cooper to prove herself a fitful teacher for the young and old alike. Lord Alexander Barnes is determined to bring a bit of English civility to the wild terrain of Emerson Pass. Using his own resources, the widower and father of five builds a schoolhouse and recruits a young teacher from the east to provide an education for both the adults and the children in his rapidly growing mining town. But when the lovely, and much younger than anticipated, Miss Cooper arrives to town, Lord Barnes finds himself providing more than just employment when the boarding house proves to be an unsafe accommodation for the school mistress. As Miss Cooper takes a room in the Barnes' home, the five Barnes children are delighted. They are sure Miss Cooper is the perfect woman for their lonely father. But when a friend of the Englishman turns up dead, the hope for progress in the untamed town seems immediately lost. Can Miss Cooper and Lord Barnes bring change to the closed-minded locals? And will their endeavor open their hearts to something more? The first installment of USA Today bestselling author Tess Thompson's historical romance series brings a touch of whimsy and an extra dash of mystery to Edwardian romance. Readers will fall in love with the courageous Miss Cooper and swoon for the magnanimous English Lord as they struggle to save their exciting new world at the turn of the 20th Century.

    War has erupted in the Pacific, spelling danger for Gina Capelli Thorpe, an American expat living in Manila. When the Japanese invade and her husband goes missing, Gina flees with her daughter to the Zambales Mountains to avoid capture—or worse.Desperate for money, medicine, and guns, the resistance recruits Gina to join their underground army and smuggles her back to Manila. There, she forges a new identity and opens a nightclub, where seductive beauties sing, dance, and tease secrets out of high-ranking Japanese officers while the wildly successful club and its enemy patrons help fund the resistance.But operating undercover in the spotlight has Gina struggling to stay a step ahead of the Japanese. She’s risked everything to take a stand, but her club is a house of cards in the eye of a storm. Can Gina keep this delicate operation running long enough to outlast the enemy, or is she on a sure path to defeat that will put her family, her freedom, or even her life at risk?

    For six long years, she’s waited and wondered if he would return. After the shocking murder of her parents, her brother is the only family she has left. Refusing to accept a betrothal to a man she doesn’t love, she decides to take control of her destiny and confront her parents’ killer. Growing up, Alexander Walker has known only violence at the hands of his cruel father. After the death of his mother, he embarks on a journey into the uncharted wilderness to test his resolve as a fur trapper and mountain man. When an impulsive decision leads him back to his childhood home, he finds more than he bargained for.Amid the rugged Teton wilderness, fate suddenly throws Alex and Evelyn together. The quiet protective boy she remembers is now as strange to her as the world she’s been forced into. Wary of the hardened man he has become, Evelyn must put her trust in him in order to survive. Alex’s memories of Evelyn are of a pesky little girl, but he can’t deny his growing feelings for the beautiful and spirited woman she is now. His biggest obstacle in winning her heart may not be her uncertainty of him, but a fear that has haunted him all his life. In a primitive and brutal world, can Alex and Evelyn forge a love as solid as the mountains, or will the past come back to haunt them both?

    Will His Love Endure Once He Learns Her Secret?Three years ago, Captain Brogan Talvis's late wife abandoned their son, leaving no clue as to the boy's whereabouts. After searching relentlessly, Brogan discovers his son was adopted by a New England shipbuilder. And the man's daughter, Lorena Huntley, acts as loving guardian to the child.Lorena, who hides a dark truth, finds herself falling for the handsome captain and ex-privateer who's come to secure ownership of one of her father's ships. She's unaware of Brogan's own secret when another's deceit has her sailing toward Europe against her will.Haunted by thoughts of Lorena in peril, Brogan is compelled to choose between the boy he longs for and the woman who has captured his heart.

    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?

    Three years later, Riot returns to San Francisco to put his ghosts to rest, but the abduction of an heiress snags his attention. Two ransom demands are delivered, and the husband of the abducted Isobel Kingston is hiding the truth.The clock is ticking. Can Riot find Mrs Kingston in time, or will she become one more regret among many?A thrilling historical mystery for fans of Laurie R. King, Louise Penny, and Jacqueline Windspear.

    Grief-stricken, she returns to the small town in England where she was raised to clear out the cottage...and finds a cutting from a London society magazine, with a photograph of her supposedly deceased father dated all of three month before. He's an earl, respected and influential, and he is standing with another daughter-his legitimate daughter. Which makes Rachel...not legitimate. Everything she thought she knew about herself and her past-even her very name-is a lie.Still reeling from the death of her mother, and furious at this betrayal, Rachel sets herself up in London under a new identity. There she insinuates herself into the party-going crowd of Bright Young Things, with a steely determination to unveil her father's perfidy and bring his-and her half-sister's-charmed world crashing down. Very soon, however, Rachel faces two unexpected snags: she finds she genuinely likes her half-sister, Olivia, whose situation isn't as simple it appears; and she might just be falling for her sister's fiancé...From Lauren Willig, author of the New York Times bestselling novel The Ashford Affair, comes The Other Daughter, a page-turner full of deceit, passion, and revenge.