Book picks similar to
Prelude to a Scandal by Delilah Marvelle
historical-romance
romance
historical
delilah-marvelle
The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie
Jennifer Ashley - 2009
Meet the Mackenzie family—rich, powerful, dangerous, eccentric. A lady couldn't be seen with them without ruin. Rumors surround them—of tragic violence, of their mistresses, of their dark appetites, of scandals that set England and Scotland abuzz. The youngest brother, Ian, known as the Mad Mackenzie, spent most of his young life in an asylum, and everyone agrees he is decidedly odd. He's also hard and handsome and has a penchant for Ming pottery and beautiful women. Beth Ackerley, widow, has recently come into a fortune. She has decided that she wants no more drama in her life. She was raised in drama—an alcoholic father who drove them into the workhouse, a frail mother she had to nurse until her death, a fussy old lady she became constant companion to. No, she wants to take her money and find peace, to travel, to learn art, to sit back and fondly remember her brief but happy marriage to her late husband. And then Ian Mackenzie decides he wants her. The first of a new historical series.
To Taste Temptation
Elizabeth Hoyt - 2008
As such, she is the perfect chaperone for Rebecca, the young sister of a successful Boston businessman and former Colonial soldier.CRAVES AN UNTAMED MANSamuel Hartley may be wealthy, but his manners are as uncivilized as the American wilderness he was raised in. Who wears moccasins to a grand ball? His arrogant disregard for propriety infuriates Emeline, even as his boldness excites her.TO RELEASE HER PASSION . . . But beneath Samuel's rakish manner, he is haunted by tragedy. He has come to London to settle a score, not to fall in love. And as desperately as Emeline longs to feel this shameless man's hands upon her, to taste those same lips he uses to tease her, she must restrain herself. She is not free. But some things are beyond a lady's control . . .
Lord of Desire
Paula Quinn - 2005
Darkly handsome and sensual, Lord Brand Risande-known as "The Passionate"-is temptation incarnate. But his prowess on the battlefield and in the bedchamber hides a bitter secret: the betrayal that has sealed his heart. Now as this most feared warrior rides out to possess the lands he has won in war, he engages his most formidable enemy ever. And One Woman's Destiny. Lady Brynnafar Dumont is prepared to do anything to protect her people-even seduce the savage Norman knight who defeated her father. Prepared to face down a cold-blooded beast, she instead confronts a wickedly attractive scoundrel who wants nothing to do with her. It's enough to sting a lady's pride...and strengthen her resolve. Innocent as she is, now she must use all her charms to defeat Lord Brand in the only battle worth fighting-the one for his love.
The Courtesan Duchess
Joanna Shupe - 2015
1. Learn the most intimate secrets of London’s leading courtesan.2. Pretend to be a courtesan yourself, using the name Juliet Leighton.3. Travel to Venice and locate said husband.4. Seduce husband, conceive an heir, and voilà, your future is secure!For Julia, the Duchess of Colton, such a ruse promises to be foolproof. After all, her husband has not bothered to lay eyes on her in eight years, since their hasty wedding day when she was only sixteen. But what begins as a tempestuous flirtation escalates into full-blown passion—and the feeling is mutual. Could the man the Courtesan Duchess married actually turn out to be the love of her life?
The Earl's Inconvenient Wife
Ruth Ann Nordin - 2012
Now he is bound by duty to get an heir. Unfortunately, to get the heir, he must find a wife. As luck would have it, he gets caught in a scandalous situation not of his doing, and the next thing he knows, he's married...and to a lady whose family is reported to desire money above all else.Miss Claire Lowell wanted to get married. But she never intended to marry a gentleman who felt trapped into it, and she certainly never thought her family would have a hand in the scandal that forced Lord Roderick's hand in marriage. Can love find a way to thrive under such conditions or will her father's eagerness to see her married off to an earl condemn her to a loveless marriage?
The Debutante Is Mine
Vivienne Lorret - 2016
Such an honor ensures the recipient her pick of eligible suitors…”Lilah Appleton’s prospects are looking dim. With one last chance to find a titled husband before she’s forced to wed her wretched cousin, she must make this Season count. Plain, forgettable Lilah must become the Season’s Original. Desperate, she seeks help from the devilishly charming, untitled, and thoroughly unsuitable Jack Marlowe. All she must do now is resist the tempting rogue…Bastard son and self-made man, Jack Marlowe loathes the aristocracy. When he meets Lilah, he expects her to be like all the other greedy husband-hunters. But she’s far more dangerous. Her alluring smiles and sharp tongue intrigue him. Before he knows it, he agrees to help her find a husband, revealing tricks to ensnare any man. The only problem is, his plan works too well—on him.When Lilah becomes the belle of the ball, Jack realizes he may lose her forever—unless he can take a chance on love and claim his debutante...
The Countess
Lynsay Sands - 2011
He had been horrible enough to Christiana during their short marriage, and she was not going to allow the traditional period of mourning to ruin her sisters' debuts as well. So she decides to put him on ice and go on as if nothing's happened ...Until the real earl appears. Richard Fairgrave had every intention of confronting his villainous twin who had robbed him of his name and title ... only to discover that he had died. Quietly assuming his identity, Richard must now deal with a maddening desire for his ravishing inherited wife --- certainly a gold digger and possibly a murderess. And Christiana must deal with an unwanted new husband ... and they both must figure out what to do before the ice melts.
To Tempt a Scotsman
Victoria Dahl - 2007
But the arrival of darkly handsome Collin Blackburn awakens her curiosity and her desire - and the advantage of being a fallen woman is that she can be ruined only once...After a promise sworn to his father, Collin Blackburn is compelled to seek the aid of the woman who brought about his brother's death in a senseless duel. Yet Lady Alexandra is not the shameless femme fatale he expected. In fact, Collin suspects she is guilty of nothing more than a hunger to experience passion, and the brawny Scot is certainly equipped to oblige. But the quick-witted, keenly sensual Alexandra has a few lessons of her own to impart - on life, love, and the delicious joys of succumbing to temptation...
Confessions of an Improper Bride
Jennifer Haymore - 2011
Now, with her family's future in peril, she reluctantly agrees to return to England and assume her late twin's identity. The price? Marry a man she doesn't love and spend the rest of her days living a lie. Jonathan Dane, Earl of Stratford, has become an incorrigible rake, drinking, gambling-and trying to forget Serena Donovan. Yet the moment he's introduced to the prim and proper "Meg", he recognizes the sensual young woman who captured his heart. Haunted by his past mistakes, he refuses to lose Serena again. But convincing her to trust him is no easy task. Claiming his lost love means exposing the truth and destroying the life Serena has sacrificed everything to rebuild. With the future of all the Donovans at stake, and their undying passion capable of triggering yet another scandal, how much will Jonathan and Serena risk for a chance at true love?
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.
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.
The Devil Wears Plaid
Teresa Medeiros - 2010
Emmaline Marlowe is about to wed the extremely powerful laird of the Hepburn clan to save her father from debtor's prison when ruffian Jamie Sinclair bursts into the abbey on a magnificent black horse and abducts her in one strong swoop. Though he is Hepburn's sworn enemy, Emma's mysterious captor is everything her bridegroom is not: handsome, virile, dangerous . . . and a perilous temptation for her yearning heart.Jamie expects Emma to be some milksop English miss, not a fiery, defiant beauty whose irresistible charms will tempt him at every turn. But he cannot allow either one of them to forget he is her enemy and she his pawn in the deadly Highland feud between the clans. So why does he still want her so badly for himself? Stealing his enemy's bride was simple, but can he claim her innocence without losing his heart.
The Naked Duke
Sally MacKenzie - 2005
Scandalous. In fact, Miss Sarah Hamilton, a proper Philadelphian, finds London society altogether shocking. How can it be that she has awakened from her innocent slumber to find herself in bed next to a handsome--and exceedingly naked--man? The laughing onlookers standing in the doorway are no help whatsoever and surely this amorous lunatic cannot be a duke, as he claims. She is compromised--though she most certainly will not marry him!
The Sweetest Moment Of His
James, the Duke of Alford, is enchanted by his unexpected bedmate--and not at all afraid of her pink-cheeked fury. True, the circumstances and place of their meeting are most unusual, but the spirited American who's pummeling him with a pillow is an incomparable beauty. If Sarah will only listen to his perfectly reasonable explanation, James is sure that he can capture her heart. . .forever.
The Beast of Beswick
Amalie Howard - 2019
With a ruined face like his, it's hard to like much about the world. Especially smart-mouthed harpies—with lips better suited to kissing than speaking—who brave his castle with indecent proposals.But Lady Astrid Everleigh will stop at nothing to see her younger sister safe from a notorious scoundrel, even if it means offering herself up on a silver platter to the forbidding Beast of Beswick himself. And by offer, she means what no highborn lady of sound and sensible mind would ever dream of—a tender of marriage with her as his bride.
With This Ring
Amanda Quick - 1998
But he is also a noted antiquities expert, which is why Beatrice Poole has demanded his reluctant assistance. The freethinking authoress of "horrid novels," Beatrice is searching for the Forbidden Rings of Aphrodite, a mythic treasure she suspects played a role in her uncle's death. Beatrice finds Leo every bit as fascinating as one of the heroes in her novels-and she's convinced he's the only one who can help her. But after only five minutes in her company, Leo is sure he's never met a woman more infuriating...and more likely to rescue him from boredom. Yet the alliance may well prove to be the biggest mistake of their lives. For a villain lurks in London, waiting for the pair to unearth the Forbidden Rings-knowing that when they do, that day will be their last....