Book picks similar to
The Unwanted Suitor by Michelle Pennington


romance
regency
historical
historical-romance

A Reluctant Bride


Jody Hedlund - 2019
    Wealthy and titled, Joseph leaves home and takes to the sea as the ships surgeon to escape the pain of losing his family. He has no intention of settling down, but when Mercy becomes his assistant, they must fight against a forbidden love.

Defying the Dashing Duke


Ella Edon - 2020
    When the gentleman of her dreams is issued to wed her older sister, Charlotte is truly devastated. Getting caught with him in a compromising position may be a devious way to prevent their marriage, but surely it was all an accident. Or was it not?With a preference for blondes, Kenneth Blackmore, Duke of Rutherford, could have any lady he wanted begging on her knees. Many a woman has cried for him, but only a plain-looking brunette that Kenneth truly cared for. Even if that meant staying away from her forever…Now intended for a loveless union with Charlotte’s sister, Kenneth no longer has to fear for his family’s curse. But when fate’s wicked games condemn him to marry Charlotte instead, he must soon find a way to break the spell.For being in love with his wife can be very dangerous…A scandal brought them together, another one will tear them apart…"Defying the Dashing Duke" is a Historical Regency romance novel of more than 80,000 words (around 440 pages). STANDALONE, no cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

Wyndcross


Martha Keyes - 2019
    She wants neither. With a tainted inheritance in the balance, she receives one offer to become a scoundrel's mistress and another offer of a marriage of convenience. Before resigning herself to a choice, she accepts the invitation to visit a childhood friend, considering it a last hurrah before embarking on a bleak future. The visit goes sideways when she falls for the gentleman her friend intends to marry, a man well out of Kate's league--and one who seems to be hiding something. Smuggling has overtaken the county, and it seems that everyone is complicit in the trade that killed her father. One by one, her options dwindle as she struggles against her strengthening feelings for a duplicitous man, a determination not to hurt her friend, and keeping the promise she made long ago: to stand up to the people who killed her father.

A Dashing Duke for Emily


Hanna Hamilton - 2018
    She is surprised when Mark Linfield, the handsome and powerful Duke of Edgerton, and his Uncle Silas invite her and her sisters to supper together. Both Mark and his uncle are smitten with the elegant, statuesque Emily, and the Duke, a patron of the arts, suggests he would like to help launch her career as a solo pianist throughout Europe. Silas wants to help Emily too, but only if she will agree to accept his advances toward her. And not only must she contend with Silas, but there are forces within her own family that want to prevent her from achieving her dream. Despite these difficulties Mark and Emily, are becoming intensely attracted to each other. But Emily has a beau, and Mark's family wants him to marry a woman of his social class. Neither one is certain how to deal with these challenges by themselves. But might they succeed together, or will they be overpowered by the forces working against them? *A Dashing Duke for Emily is a historical Regency romance of 90,000 words (around 450 pages). No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a sweet happily ever after. Get this book for free with Kindle Unlimited!

A Stolen Kiss


M.A. Nichols - 2020
    A forced engagement. Can it become something more?Lily Kingsley accepts that she is destined to be a spinster—but not until she gets her first kiss. And she knows the perfect gentleman to enlist. Unfortunately, she kisses the wrong one and ends up in the arms of an overbearing and exceptionally frustrating merchant.When busybodies catch them in their illicit embrace, an engagement is the only solution, but Lily doesn’t want a fiancé who’s only doing his duty. And she certainly doesn’t want a gentleman far too used to getting his own way. She simply must make him see how ill-suited they are.But why is the fellow so determined to see their engagement through?Jack Hatcher hates surprises, but when a beguiling lady mistakes him for someone else and launches herself into his arms, he discovers not all surprises are bad. Marriage was not in Jack’s plans, but Lily stirs something inside him he never expected to feel.But with his fiancé desperate to break with him and a new enemy working to woo Lily away, Jack discovers force of will won’t keep her by his side. Can he find a way to win her heart before it’s lost forever? The Victorian Love series is a spin-off series that follows the children of the heroes and heroines of the Regency Love Series. Each book in both series is a standalone sweet historical romance and can be read in any order.

The Promise of Miss Spencer


Sarah L. McConkie - 2020
    Yet when her father suddenly becomes ill, she agrees to his dying wish—to marry Mr. Lacy and secure her future. Cast suddenly into a mourning period, Suzanna and Mr. Lacy agree to keep their engagement a secret until the proper six months have passed. But when Suzanna and Mr. Lacy find themselves thrown together with Miss Grysham and her handsome uncle Lord Haversley, everything becomes complicated. If only Lord Haversley didn’t expose his true bravery. If only there wasn’t so much more to him than a gaudy Lord in Parliament. If only he would leave Suzanna alone. As the threat of smallpox looms close, all four friends must work together—and apart—to save the lives of those they love. Forced into keeping a promise, or securing the promise of her future, Suzanna must reconcile her obligations with her heart as she searches for a love she never had.

A Very Dutiful Daughter


Elizabeth Mansfield - 1979
    Even Roger agreed. And he was certain his overwhelming attraction to her was returned. Then why on earth was Letty refusing his offer of marriage?

The Widow of Larkspur Inn


Lawana Blackwell - 1998
    Worse, she is told by his bankers that he gambled away their fortune. Now, the family's hope rests on The Larkspur, an old abandoned coaching inn in the quaint village of Gresham.Driven by dread and her desire to provide for her children, Julia decides to turn the dilapidated inn into a lodging house. But can she--who was accustomed to servants attending to every need--do what needs to be done and cope when boarders begin arriving? And then an eligible new vicar moves into town...

Scandal of Love


Janelle Daniels - 2011
    Close to receiving a proposal from the Duke of Wathersby, Sera's reputation is ruined after a rumor spreads through the ton that she had been compromised by Lord Devericks--and in a library no less! Lord Quinton Devericks, the Earl of Surrant, never thought inheriting his father's title would leave him destitute, but the gambling debts his father had accumulated did just that. Desperate, he decides to take advantage of the gossip surrounding him and Lady Sera, a woman he has never met. Hoping that her ample dowry would be enough to repair his neglected estates, Quinton risks everything on yet another gamble: a proposal of marriage.With their lives in shambles, they agree to the only recourse left to them: to convince the ton that their scandalous interlude was a marriage proposal, and that their engagement is based off of love. When a vicious plot against Sera is revealed, she doesn't know who she can trust. Is Sera's love for Quinton true, or is she only caught up in a scandal of love?

Arabella (Novel)


Georgette Heyer - 1949
    Armed with beauty, virtue and a benevolent godmother, the impetuous but impoverished Arabella embarked on her first London season with her mother's wish in mind: snare a rich husband. On her way to London Arabella's carriage breaks down outside the hunting lodge of the wealthy and socially prominent Robert Beaumaris, fate cast her in his path. Arabella's only fault is impetuosity, and her pride stung when she overhears a remark of her path of arrogant host, who accused her of being another petty female after his wealth, the proud, headstrong ingenue made a most startling claim -- she was an heiress! A pretense that deeply amuses the jaded Beau. To counter her white lie, Beaumaris launches her into high society and thereby subjects her to all kinds of amorous fortune hunters in London and other embarrassments.Suddenly Arabella found herself the talk of the ton and pursued by some of the most eligible young men of the day. But only one caught Arabella's fancy: Beaumaris, the handsome and dedicated bachelor. She should know better than to allow herself to be provoked by nonpareil Beau. But would her deceitful charade destroy her one chance for true love...?Beaumaris, however, although a most artful matrimonial dodger, badly underestimated his seemingly naive adversary... When compassionate Arabella rescues such unfortunate creatures as a mistreated chimney sweep and a mixed-breed mongrel, she foists them upon Beaumaris, who finds he rather enjoys the role of rescuer and is soon given the opportunity to prove his worth in the person of Bertram Tallant, the also impetuous young brother of Arabella....

Sons of Blackbird Mountain


Joanne Bischof - 2018
    Upon arrival, she finds herself in the home of her late husband’s cousins—three brothers who make a living by brewing hard cider on their three-hundred-acre farm. Yet even as a stranger in a foreign land, Aven has hope to build a new life in this tight-knit family.But her unassuming beauty disrupts the bond between the brothers. The youngest two both desire her hand, and Aven is caught in the middle, unsure where—and whether—to offer her affection. While Haakon is bold and passionate, it is Thor who casts the greatest spell upon her. Though Deaf, mute, and dependent on hard drink to cope with his silent pain, Thor possesses a sobering strength.As autumn ushers in the apple harvest, the rift between Thor and Haakon deepens and Aven faces a choice that risks hearts. Will two brothers' longing for her quiet spirit tear apart a family? Can she find a tender belonging in this remote, rugged, and unfamiliar place?A haunting tale of struggle and redemption, Sons of Blackbird Mountain is a portrait of grace in a world where the broken may find new life through the healing mercy of love.

All's Fair in Love & Seduction


Beverley Kendall - 2011
    With scandal nipping at her heels, to avoid total social ruin, Elizabeth must present a fiancé by the end of the Season. But when the viscount proves reluctant, Elizabeth is forced to employ a seduction of a different sort...With his seduction he is determined to ruin herViscount Derek Creswell believes Elizabeth set out to trap him into marriage. After all, her sister attempted the very same thing with his brother six years before. Now the delectable Miss Smith expects a betrothal and a ring, while Derek finds her ruination infinitely more appealing...But as Derek sets out to seduce only her body, Elizabeth is intent on claiming his jaded heart.This is a novella and 29,000 words. Included is a three chapter excerpt of the third full-length book in The Elusive Lords series, AN HEIR OF DECEPTION. The total word count for this book is 43,000 + words. Prior books in The Elusive Lords series are:SINFUL SURRENDER (Book #1)A TASTE OF DESIRE (Book #2)

The Hesitant Heiress


Dawn Crandall - 2014
    Now, the only way to achieve her goal comes with high stakes for someone set on avoiding men as much as possible: Marry within the year to inherit the immense fortune of her estranged grandmother. Amaryllis reluctantly moves in to her aunt's Boston home and rubs shoulders with fashionable society. Despite her own misgivings, she soon finds herself quickly falling in love with the most unlikely of men, Nathan Everstone, the envy of every eligible female, whose father has haunted her dreams for the decade following her mother's tragic death. However, Nathan turns out to be much more than he seems...and everything she never knew she wanted. But can she ever really trust an Everstone man?

Ridiculous!


D.L. Carter - 2012
    Funny. Sexy. Cross Dressing. Not your mother's Regency Romance.After the death of her miserly cousin, Anthony North, Millicent Boarder is determined her family should never be poor or vulnerable again. To protect them she conceals her cousin's death and assumes his identity. Now she must face the Ton and the world as Mr. North and accept the price she must pay for her family's safety -- she will never be loved.Which means, of course, at this point she will meet the perfect man.

Prelude for a Lord


Camille Elliot - 2014
    A haunted young man. A forbidden instrument. Can the love of music bring them together . . . or will it tear them apart?Bath, England—1810At twenty-eight, Alethea Sutherton is past her prime for courtship; but social mores have never been her forté. She might be a lady, but she is first and foremost a musician.In Regency England, however, the violin is considered an inappropriate instrument for a lady. Ostracized by society for her passion, Alethea practices in secret and waits for her chance to flee to the Continent, where she can play without scandal. But when a thief’s interest in her violin endangers her and her family, Alethea is determined to discover the enigmatic origins of her instrument . . . with the help of the dark, brooding Lord Dommick.Scarred by war, Dommick finds solace only in playing his violin. He is persuaded to help Alethea, and discovers an entirely new yearning in his soul. Alethea finds her reluctant heart drawn to Dommick in the sweetest of duets . . . just as the thief’s desperation builds to a tragic crescendo . . .