Book picks similar to
The Wedding Wager by Cathy Maxwell
historical-romance
romance
historical
cathy-maxwell
Never a Mistress, No Longer a Maid
Maureen Driscoll - 2011
After a night of passion, the two are separated. With nothing but the alias Jane used to protect her family, Lord Edward is unable to find the woman he cannot forget.Seven years later, Jane courts scandal by serving as the unofficial surgeon in the village of Marston Vale. When Edward arrives to formalize his betrothal to a viscount's daughter in accordance with his late father's wishes, Jane has no choice but to watch the match proceed. When a threat from the past emerges, Jane must join forces with Edward to safeguard her loved ones. But at what risk to her heart?
Heiress Without a Cause
Sara Ramsey - 2012
With rumors of insanity swirling around them, his sisters desperately need a chaperone. Ferguson thinks he’s found the most proper woman in England–and he won’t ruin her, even if he secretly desires the passionate woman trapped beneath a spinster’s cap.One chance to break the rules...Lady Madeleine Vaillant can’t face her blighted future without making one glorious memory for herself. In disguise, on a London stage, she finds all the adoration she never felt from the ton. But when she’s nearly recognized, she will do anything to hide her identity–even setting up her actress persona as Ferguson’s mistress. She’ll take the pleasure he offers, but Madeleine won’t lose her heart in the bargain.One season to fall in love...Every stolen kiss could lead to discovery, and Ferguson’s old enemies are determined to ruin them both. But as their dangerous passion ignites their hearts and threatens their futures, how can an heiress who dreams of freedom deny the duke who demands her love?
An Improper Arrangement
Kasey Michaels - 2015
As if his new responsibilities weren't enough, Gabriel's aunt enlists him to sponsor a young heiress through London's Little Season. Yet Miss Thea Neville is hardly the tedious obligation he expected. She's exotic and enchanting—and utterly unaware of the secret poised to destroy her family's reputation. After ten years in America, Thea is ready to do her duty and marry well. Deportment lessons, modistes, balls—the ton is a minefield she could scarcely navigate without Gabriel's help. By rights, she should accept the first bachelor who offers for her. Instead, she's succumbing to a dangerous attraction to her wickedly handsome chaperone—one that could unhinge her plans in the most delicious way.
Secrets of a Proper Countess
Lecia Cornwall - 2011
Strict rules in her husband's will ensure that if she remarries or even forms friendships her mother-in-law does not approve of, then she will never see her young son again. But one night, in a dark garden at a masquerade ball, Isobel gives in to temptation, and lets an innocent flirtation turn into seduction.Phineas Archer, the notorious Marquess of Blackwood, may hold the reputation as the worst rake in London, but as a spy for the crown, he merely plays the role of a fool to learn the most closely guarded secrets of the ton.As a new threat to England's success in the war against Napoleon emerges, Phineas must foil a plot to kidnap the exiled Bourbon heir to the French crown. Every clue seems to lead to his mysterious lover, but while Phineas can spot trouble a mile off, and see through the cleverest of disguises, he cannot find any trace of his elusive femme fatale. No man alive would imagine the prim widow Maitland could be his dream lover. But behind the mask and the secrets, Isobel is everything Phineas has ever desired....
The Wyndham Legacy
Catherine Coulter - 1994
The Duchess never asked to be illegitimate. And neither of these two asked that their fates become so entwined.Marcus is passionate, quick to rage, just as quick to laughter. He's tough, opinionated, domineering, known as the devil's own son. The Duchess is serene and aloof -- she has silence down to a fine art. She is always in control, her smiles as rare as bawdy jests in the pulpit. She is self-reliant once she realizes that a very special talent can make her so, a talent no one suspects.Surrounding this unlikely pair are three servants cast in the Shakespearean mold: Spears, Badger, and Maggie -- all cocky, smart, good plotters and better friends, who don't know the meaning of subservient.
Seven Years to Sin
Sylvia Day - 2011
Shocked, yet strangely titillated, she nevertheless walked down the aisle into a life serene yet unremarkable. But what she kept hidden fueled wildly imaginative and very illicit dreams. . .Alistair Caulfield ran far from the temptation of the prim debutante--all the way to the West Indies. As a successful merchant, he has little in common with the rakehell youth Jessica once knew. But when newly widowed Jessica steps aboard his ship for a transatlantic passage, seven years' worth of denied pleasures are held in check by nothing more than a few layers of silk--and the certainty that surrender will consume them both. . .
Love Is a Rogue
Lenora Bell - 2020
Their most troublesome obstacle? Rogues!They call her Beastly Beatrice.Wallflower Lady Beatrice Bentley longs to remain in the wilds of Cornwall to complete her etymological dictionary. Too bad her brother's Gothic mansion is under renovation. How can she work with an annoyingly arrogant and too-handsome rogue swinging a hammer nearby?
Rogue. Scoundrel. Call him anything you like as long as you pay him.
Navy man Stamford Wright is leaving England soon, and renovating Thornhill House is just a job. It's not about the duke's bookish sister or her fiery copper hair. Or the etymology lessons the prim-yet-alluring lady insists on giving him. Or the forbidden things he'd love to teach her.They say never mix business with pleasure. But when Beatrice and Ford aren't arguing, they're kissing.Sometimes, temptation proves too strong to resist…even if the cost is a heart.
The Princess Plan
Julia London - 2019
And when the personal secretary of the visiting Prince Sebastian of Alucia is found murdered, it’s all anyone can talk about, including Eliza Tricklebank. Her unapologetic gossip gazette has benefited from an anonymous tip about the crime, prompting Sebastian to take an interest in playing detective—and an even greater interest in Eliza.With a trade deal on the line and mounting pressure to secure a noble bride, there’s nothing more salacious than a prince dallying with a commoner. Sebastian finds Eliza’s contrary manner as frustrating as it is seductive, but they’ll have to work together if they’re going to catch the culprit. And when things heat up behind closed doors, it’s the prince who’ll have to decide what comes first—his country or his heart.
The Duke Undone
Joanna Lowell - 2021
She covers him up and fetches help. Trouble is, she can't banish his muscular form from her dreams as easily. She finds herself compelled to put every detail down on canvas. What she doesn't know is that she's painting the infamous Duke of Weston, and that her life will never be the same.A second son, Anthony Philby thought he could flee his brutal family legacy and become his own man. Forced back to London by his brother's death, he inherits a fortune... with strings attached. One scandal will sink his bid for independence. It's in his best interest to burn Lucy Coover's shocking painting and pretend he never met the bewitching young artist. Instead, he finds himself offering a devil's bargain. He'll save her aunt's dressmaking shop from ruin, if she'll seek out his missing sister, Effie.As they work together, an unexpected passion ignites between them. But the hunt for Effie leads to unexpected danger, and soon they find themselves risking everything... for a love that might destroy them both.
Beguiling the Beauty
Sherry Thomas - 2012
She’s exactly what he’s been searching for—a beautiful woman who interests and entices him. He falls hard and fast—and soon proposes marriage. And then she disappears without a trace…For in reality, the “baroness” is Venetia Easterbrook—a proper young widow who had her own vengeful reasons for instigating an affair with the duke. But the plan has backfired. Venetia has fallen in love with the man she despised—and there’s no telling what might happen when she is finally unmasked…
The Devil's Waltz
Anne Stuart - 2004
However, there was a most intriguing obstacle to his success.Annelise Kempton desired nothing more than to come between this despicable rogue and the fortune (and virtue) of her young charge. Certainly, Annelise understood the desperation that comes from hard times, but Montcalm would fail—she would personally see to it. All that stands in her way is a man whose rakish charm could tempt a saint to sin, or consign a confirmed spinster to sleepless nights of longing...to give the devil his due.
The Last Letter from Your Lover
Jojo Moyes - 2008
When Jennifer Stirling wakes up in the hospital, she can remember nothing-not the tragic car accident that put her there, not her husband, not even who she is. She feels like a stranger in her own life until she stumbles upon an impassioned letter, signed simply "B", asking her to leave her husband. Years later, in 2003, a journalist named Ellie discovers the same enigmatic letter in a forgotten file in her newspaper's archives. She becomes obsessed by the story and hopeful that it can resurrect her faltering career. Perhaps if these lovers had a happy ending she will find one to her own complicated love life, too. Ellie's search will rewrite history and help her see the truth about her own modern romance. A spellbinding, intoxicating love story with a knockout ending, The Last Letter from Your Lover will appeal to the readers who have made One Day and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society bestsellers.
Any Rogue Will Do
Bethany Bennett - 2020
Now she's determined to be in charge of her own future. So when an unwanted suitor tries to manipulate her into an engagement, she has a plan. He can't claim to be her fiancé if she's engaged to someone else. Even if it means asking for help from the last man she would ever marry.Ethan, Lord Amesbury, made a lot of mistakes, but the one he regrets the most is ruining Lady Charlotte's reputation. He's older and wiser now, but his attraction to Lottie never wavered. Going along with her charade is the least he can do to clean the slate and perhaps earn her forgiveness. And, if he's lucky, her love.
Dark Rider
Iris Johansen - 1995
Cassandra Deville's carefree life on the islands of Hawaii is shattered by the sudden arrival of a savagely seductive stranger. She's the key to Jared Daremount's plan to avenge his father, actually only a pawn in his plans, but once she becomes his captive, Jared realizes she's a prize he can never surrender.
Miss Hillary Schools a Scoundrel
Samantha Grace - 2012
But he receives a dose of his own medicine when his family's entrancing houseguest beds him, then disappears without so much as a by-your-leave. He'd like to teach the little vixen a thing or two about how to love a man...if he can find her.And she won't settle for heartbreak...After the dashing man of her dreams is revealed as a lying scoundrel, heiress Lana Hilary is ready to seek a match with a respectable gentleman—if only they weren't so dreadfully boring. Unable to rein in her bold nature for long, Lana flirts with trouble and finds herself entangled with exactly the type of man she's vowed to avoid.