Book picks similar to
The Patrician by Joan Kayse


historical-romance
historical
romance
historical-fiction

Sweet Surrender


Evelyn MacQuaid - 2015
    As the eldest daughter of Lord Henry Tarrington, Olivia must honour her father’s arrangement with the powerful Mercers, which will erase his burgeoning debt and ensure her sisters marry according to their choosing. Torn between her growing desire for a dangerous man and another who’d give her the life she’s accustomed to, she has to make a choice. But to find the freedom she desperately yearns for, she must first unlock her heart. “Sweet Surrender” is a stand-alone mail order bride themed sweet, western romance and the first book in the Mercers of Montana Series.

A Rake's Reward (Merry Men Quartet #2)


Meredith Bond - 2015
    Her father had long ago renounced his title and abandoned his country, but desperate financial straits call for desperate measures. Gaining access won’t be easy. The jewels are hidden on an estate Sara’s grandfather lost long ago in an unlucky turn of the cards. And then there’s the vexing, villainous, valiant Viscount Reath… A jewel of a woman… Sinclair Stratton, Lord Reath has always gotten everything he wants—money, privilege, and woman. But after ten years in India, he’s returned to England, ready to make amends for his youthful follies. He plans to return his ill-gotten estate to its rightful owner, but the man is impossible to find. And despite still being one of the most sought after rakes in town, the bold American beauty he keeps encountering seems to be immune to his charms and dashing good looks. While Sara has promised to not just search for her grandfather’s jewels, but make an attempt at fitting into society, it might just be that Viscount Reath is the treasure she actually needs.

Rogues, Rakes & Jewels


Claudy Conn - 1979
    So when his mother requests that he go to the Isle of Wight to court another eligible woman, Ryker decides on a little game … his cousin Robby will pose as him, and he will pose as his cousin—a rake and a gambler. If the woman falls in love with him, it will be for himself. Only then will he reveal who he is.What the marquis doesn’t expect, however, is someone like Jewelene. Lovely and provocative, intelligent and headstrong, Jewels cares not for status and wealth. Ryker finds her irresistible, and she finds herself falling for the handsome man she believes to be the marquis’ cousin.But Jewelene is playing a game of her own. In a daring bid to repay her family’s debts, each night she poses as Babette, the French card dealer. When Ryker begins flirting with the sultry Babette, Jewelene realizes she has become her own rival. If she reveals the truth, will her house of cards come tumbling down?

Pieces of Dreams


Jennifer Blake - 1996
    The kitten dropped on her bridal quilt as she worked on it predicted, in an old wives’ ritual, that this is the man she will marry, but how can that be? As the wedding draws near, she is torn by long-held affection for one man and sensual attraction to the other. Animosity between the two men reaches such a fever pitch that a tragic break seems inevitabl—unless Melly can force her unruly heart to decide which brother to favor and which to send away forever.

For Love of the Duke


Christi Caldwell - 2014
    When he’s coaxed out of his self-imposed exile to attend the amusements of the Frost Fair, his life is irrevocably changed by his fateful meeting with Lady Katherine Adamson.With her tight brown ringlets and silly white-ruffled gowns, Lady Katherine Adamson has found her dance card empty for two Seasons. After her father’s passing, Katherine learned the unreliability of men, and is determined to depend on no one, except herself. Until she meets Jasper…In a desperate bid to avoid a match arranged by her family, Katherine makes the Duke of Bainbridge a shocking proposition—one that he accepts.Only, as Katherine begins to love Jasper, she finds the arrangement agreed upon is not enough. And Jasper is left to decide if protecting his heart is more important than fighting for Katherine’s love.

White Lion's Lady


Tina St. John - 2001
    Yet even as she discovers his treachery, Isabel cannot deny that Griffin lingers in her dreams, awakening the passion in her steadfast heart.Then a twist of fate puts a price on both their heads, embroiling them in a life-and-death chase that will force Griffin to choose between his own freedom and his fierce desire for the woman who would redeem his noble spirit. But to reclaim his lost honor, the White Lion could lose Isabel forever. . . .

Salt Bride


Lucinda Brant - 2010
    High drama, witty prose, a deft palette of historical detail, and a weave of subplots will keep you mesmerized from beginning to end.England, 1763. The Earl of Salt Hendon and squire's daughter Jane Despard share a secret past of mistrust and heartache. Forced into a marriage neither wants, the patient and ever optimistic Jane believes love conquers all; the Earl will take some convincing. Enter Diana St. John, who will go to extremes, even murder, to hold the Earl's attention. Can the newlyweds overcome past prejudices and sinister opposition to fall in love all over again?Non explicit (mild sensuality)

The Seduction of Lord Stone


Anna Campbell - 2015
     Caroline, Lady Beaumont, arrives in London seeking excitement after ten dreary years of marriage and an even drearier year of mourning. That means conquering society, dancing like there’s no tomorrow, and taking a lover to provide passion without promises. Promises, in this dashing widow’s dictionary, equal prison. So what is an adventurous lady to do when she loses her heart to a notorious rake who, for the first time in his life, wants forever? Devilish Silas Nash, Viscount Stone is in love at last with a beautiful, headstrong widow bent on playing the field. Worse, she’s enlisted his help to set her up with his disreputable best friend. No red-blooded man takes such a challenge lying down, and Silas schemes to seduce his darling into his arms, warm, willing and besotted. But will his passionate plots come undone against a woman determined to act the mistress, but never the wife?

The Price of Innocence


Vicki Hopkins - 2009
    The book is historical fiction, with romantic elements, set in 1878 Paris and London. The book is the first in a series of three entitled the Legacy Series.It is the tender story of Suzette Camille Rousseau, a young woman in late 19th century Paris, who makes a difficult journey from innocence to maturity. After losing a sheltered life with her father, Suzette is thrown into the harsh reality of poverty, struggling as a homeless woman on the streets of Paris. In order to survive, she faces difficult choices that offer little hope of redemption. Her journey takes her from the charities of St. Vincent de Paul, to a local laundry house where she toils endlessly in filth and squalor. To her surprise, one of her customers is the Chabanais, the most famous brothel in France that only caters to aristocrats. Like a fly drawn to a spider's web, the mistress of the brothel entices Suzette into a world of opulence, comfort, and beauty, but there is a price to pay -- her innocence. Succumbing to a life of prostitution, she meets a handsome English Lord who saves her from the unthinkable.

An Undeniable Rogue


Annette Blair - 2002
    What she needs is a husband, and she knows well enough that romance and matrimony aren't always compatible. While providing for her twins and the child she now carries is paramount, wedding a virtual stranger—even a wealthy one, like Gideon St. Goddard, Duke of Stanthorpe—is no light matter.Sabrina knows the friend who arranged the union would not promise her to a true scoundrel, but one look at her future husband convinces her that he is a shameless rogue. A shockingly handsome and desirable one, at that. Why has he agreed to marry her? When Gideon flashes that wicked, seductive smile, the reason hardly matters, but the chance that he'll steal her heart becomes all too real...

Shades of Honor


Wendy Lindstrom - 2010
    Desperate for peace, Radford is ambushed by his unexpected and forbidden love for Evelyn—his brother's fiancée.

The Warrior's Wife


Denise Hampton - 2001
    His kisses awaken her heart and her body in ways she never dreamed possible.Rafe Godsol is determined to take Kate to avenge his father's death and reclaim property stolen by Kate's family. When he discovers the daughter of his foe could be the wife of his heart when he never expected to marry, he'll defy anyone who tries to take her from him, be that her father, his king...or even the lady herself.

Stone Devil Duke


K.J. Jackson - 2014
    To protect her family, to protect herself, she is determined to find the men before they find her. The last thing she wanted was an entanglement with a duke that threatens her very survival... Hardened long ago, the last thing the Duke of Dunway wanted was an entanglement with a chit of the ton. But in the flash of a pistol, his fate is altered as he finds himself honor-bound to protect Lady Augustine from, of all things, herself.

Rogue's Honor


Brenda Hiatt - 2001
    When she is rescued from the near-disaster of recognition by a charming serving-man, Pearl pretends to be simple-minded to safeguard herself from any unwanted advances. But soon she begins to suspect that her rescuer is far more than the common servant he seemed at first.Luke St. Clair lives a double life, pretending to be a gentleman while in reality sustaining himself and the needy as the notorious Robin Hood-type thief, the Saint of Seven Dials. The last thing he needs in his life is a beautiful simpleton in need of protection. But "Purdy" proves to be anything but simple-or common! Once he learns the truth, does he dare continue, in the ballrooms of the elite, the flirtation that began in the slums of London? The risk is enormous, but Lady Pearl's sweet kisses may just be worth it.

Silk and Shadows


Mary Jo Putney - 1991
    He was superbly handsome, fabulously wealthy, overwhelmingly seductive. He cut a dazzling swath through Victorian London—and wove a web of desire around beautiful and proud Lady Sara St. James, pledged to wed another man.In Peregrine's arms Sara learned the meaning of forbidden passion—and forbidding mystery. Only the burning power of love could pierce Peregrine's chilling silence about his secret past and hidden purpose...as Sara plunged into a whirlpool of yearning and uncertainty with a man who was everything a woman could want or fear...