Book picks similar to
Melissa and The Vicar by S.M. LaViolette


historical-romance
romance
historical
virgin-hero

His Perfect Bride


Merry Farmer - 2015
    She longs for a peaceful life away from the darkness of her past where she can create the paintings that are close to her heart, and where she hopes she can grow to love her husband. But how do you love a man who was persuaded to marry you against his will? Franklin Haskell never planned to marry. What woman would want a man who was crippled due to his own arrogance? But when he is offered the chance to help a woman in crisis, he agrees to wed. Corva is so much more than he expected, and when a baseball game gives her the chance to shine, he loses his heart. But how do you tell a woman you love her when she deserves so much better? The game of love has never been so hard to play…or so worth winning. PLEASE BE ADVISED: Steam Level = HOT If you would like to read this story without any “scenes,” check out Corva: The Perfect Bride .

Disciplining the Duchess


Annabel Joseph - 2013
    If shes not in the library reading about Mongol hordes, shes embarrassing her family or getting involved in impulsive scrapes. Enter the Duke of Courtland, a man known for his love of duty and decorum. Through a vexing series of events, he finds himself shackled to Miss Barrett in matrimony. But all is not lost. The duke harbors a not-so-secret affinity for spanking and discipline and his new wife is ever in need of it. Will the mismatched couple find their way to marital happiness? Or will the duke be forever Disciplining the Duchess?

The Wives of Bowie Stone


Maggie Osborne - 1994
    Knowing that she can save the life of a condemned man by offering to marry him, Rosie Mulvehey opts for a marriage of convenience to ex-cavalry man Bowie Stone, who promises to save her rundown farm as his part of the agreement.

The Falcon and the Flower


Virginia Henley - 1989
    Falcon knew only blind, reckless passion as he swore to tame, at the risk of his life...The Flower.

More or Less a Marchioness


Anna Bradley - 2018
    For the sake of propriety, and her younger sisters’ reputations, Iris Somerset has kept her rebellious streak locked away. But though she receives a proposal from Phineas Knight, Lord of Huntington, Iris can’t marry a man she knows isn’t truly enamored with her. In fact, Iris no longer wants to be chosen—she wants to choose. Under the clandestine tutelage of “wicked widow” Lady Annabel Tallant, she’ll learn how to steer her own marriage prospects—and discover her secret appetites. What kind of debutante refuses a marquess? Finn is surprised, a little chastened—and thoroughly intrigued. This new, independent version of Iris is far more alluring than the polished socialite she used to be. Finn believed he needed a safe, quiet wife to curb his wilder impulses. But the more Iris surprises him, the more impossible it becomes to resist their deepest desires.

Love Me, If You Dare


Alyssa Clarke - 2021
    He has everything planned: his sister is engaged, and now plans to select his duchess from a list of eligible debutantes. The last thing he expects is his sister to go missing a few weeks before her wedding!Lady Theodosia Winfern is upset when a devilishly attractive duke accuses her of persuading his sister to run from her duties. He declares that Theo won’t leave his side (even if it means sleeping in his chamber) until his sister is found Theo has little choice but to go along with his scandalous demands. The last thing she wants is the powerful duke as her enemy, especially as he knows about her secret lady’s club!Both are quick to deny the increasingly fiery attraction between them until temptation becomes irresistible and passion can no longer be denied…

The Affair


Lily Maxton - 2014
    Elizabeth, Lady Thornhill, is restless and hungers for something she cannot name. Society would never accept a countess and a mere bookseller, so they agree to a one week affair to indulge their desire. As their passion ignites and their connection grows, Elizabeth threatens the one thing Cale has protected above all else—his heart. Letting her go is the only solution...and the one thing he is not prepared to do.

Chills


Heather Boyd - 2011
    Bestselling regency romance author, Heather Boyd, brings readers a lively tale of reckless spending, fraudulent correspondence, and the humorous twists and turns of falling for the right rogue…London, 1813Jack, Marquess of Ettington, is at his wits’ end dealing with his twin sister’s distress. Under her name, he’s summoned Constance Grange, his vexing former ward, to London to act as his sister’s companion for the season. Although Pixie’s debt-ridden state comes as a complete surprise, what disturbs him more is his sister’s plan to find her a wealthy husband to pay off her overwhelming debts. And—despite his availability, wealth and title—he’s shocked to be overlooked for the position of Pixie’s husband.With a nickname like Pixie, Constance Grange should be used to disasters, but debt collectors pounding on the Marquess of Ettington’s door demanding payment is beyond mortifying. Given the precarious state of her finances and the previously unknown loss of her family estate, her choices are either incarceration in debtors’ prison or turning fortune hunter to secure a wealthy husband. Yet the man who comes to her rescue more times than she cares to think about is unavailable, betrothed, and her former guardian Jack—the cold-hearted marquess.

Lady Pirate


Lynsay Sands - 2001
    She no longer has to command his pirate band in a quest to regain his birthright. She has been named heir to Ainsley Castle. But no executor would ever hand over the estate to an unmarried pirate wench and her infamous crew—no matter to whom she'd been born. And the will distinctly states that in order to inherit, Valoree must be married to a nobleman...and pregnant.Upon learning that, the virgin captain is ready to return to the seas—but her crew has other ideas—and for those rascally cusses she would do anything. If they could find a way to put on her a sweet face that would fool the ton, she would handle the rest, even with a drunken prostitute as an "aunt" and her merry cutthroat crew as "servants." But to herself she swears one thing: she will only marry a man who fires her blood, a man who is not afraid of a...Lady Pirate.

Surrendering to the Rake


Georgette Brown - 2017
     Determined to save her cousin from certain ruin at the hands a notorious rake, Miss Heloise Merrill impersonates her cousin and takes her place at the 'Chateau of Debauchery.' She intends to convince the rake – Sebastian Cadwell, Earl of Blythe -- to turn his attentions elsewhere. Deprived of his intended guest, Sebastian decides to provide the meddling Miss Merrill a much deserved set-down. But when things take a decidedly hot turn, he finds he wants to go beyond a simple set-down. Can Heloise stand her ground or will she surrender to the rake? For a more wicked version of this story, see Em Brown's SUBMITTING TO THE RAKE.

Axios: A Spartan Tale


Jaclyn Osborn - 2017
    At age seven, I left home to train with other boys where we were taught obedience, solidarity, military strategy, and how to withstand pain. My harsh upbringing stripped me of my weaknesses and forced me to become strong. Ruthless.But, I craved something greater—a life I could never have.Against all odds, and the toughest training a warrior could endure, I found an unexpected love in the arms of a fellow Spartan. He was the very air I breathed and the water that sustained me. Fighting side by side with him, we were invincible. Where he went, I followed.However, there was no place for love in Sparta. Feelings were for the weak. The only life for a Spartan was one of battle and brutality with no guarantee of tomorrow. In times of war, all men were put to the test, but the greatest challenge for us was not one of swords and spears, but of the heart.*M/M Historical Romance set in Ancient Sparta*

Prisoner of My Desire


Johanna Lindsey - 1991
    And the magnificent Warrick deChaville is the perfect choice to sire her child--though it means imprisoning the handsome knight...and forcing him to bend to her amorous whims.SLAVE OF PASSIONVowing to resist but betrayed by his own virility, noble Warrick is intoxicated by Rowena's sapphire eyes and voluptuous beauty. Yet all the while he plans a fitting revenge--eagerly awaiting the time when his sensuous captor becomes his helpless captive ... and is made to suffer the same rapturous torment and exquisite ecstasy that he himself has endured.

Sunset Embrace


Sandra Brown - 1985
    Two passionate travelers, united by need, threatened by pasts they could not outrun ...Lydia Bryant --- voluptuous and russet-haired, fleeing from a secret shame, vowing that never again would a man, any man, overpower her ...Ross Coleman --- dark, brooding and iron-willed, with the shadow of a lawless past in his piercing eyes, sworn to resist the temptation of his wanton longings ...Fate threw them together on the same wild road, where they fought the breathtaking desire blazing between them, while the shadows of their enemies grew longer. As the wagon train rolled west, the danger to them drew ever closer, until a showdown with their pursuers was inevitable. Before it was over, Lydia and Ross would face death ... the truth about each other ... and the astonishing strength of their love ...

An Arranged Marriage


Jo Beverley - 1991
    "An Arranged Marriage" is the first of Beverley's beloved tales that began her popular "Company of Rogues" series. Eleanor Chivenham didn't put much past her vile brother, but even she had not anticipated his greedy scheme to dupe a rich earl into mistaking her for a lightskirt! With her reputation in shreds and her future ruined, a defeated Eleanor was forced to agree to a hasty wedding. But marriage to the mysterious Nicholas Delaney was more than she'd bargained for. He doubtless thought the worst of her, but when society gossip soon told her all about his beautiful French mistress, Eleanor tried to act with the cool dignity required in a marriage of convenience. But how long could she hold out against his undeniable charm -- or the secret desires of her heart? For the sake of family honor, Nicolas Delaney agreed to wed a wronged lady. In truth, such chivalry ran counter to his carefully wrought image of a carousing, dissolute rogue -- the guise so vital to his secret political mission. He hoped to keep his new wife in the background until a spy was trapped, but Eleanor's beauty and fighting wit were impossible to ignore. In fact, she presented quite a challenge to his prowess with women -- and a test of his formidable will!

The Forbidden Duke


Darcy Burke - 2016
    Ruined after succumbing to a scoundrel’s excessive charm nearly a decade ago, she’s lucky to obtain a position as a paid companion and committed to behaving with the utmost propriety. She definitely shouldn’t be in the arms of a man capable of utterly destroying what little remains of her reputation... Titus St. John, Duke of Kendal, is known as the Forbidden Duke, a mysterious, intimidating figure who enters Society just once each year at his stepmother’s ball. A decade ago, he was a devil-may-care rake until his idle roguery brought about the ruin of Eleanor Lockhart—and his resulting self-imposed isolation. Now she’s back, and she needs his help. But by “saving” her, he may just ruin her life all over again.