My name is Katherine Parr.I'm 31 years old and already twice widowed.I'm in love with a man I can't have, and am about to wed a man no-one would want - for my husband-to-be is none other than Henry VIII, who has already beheaded two wives, cast aside two more, and watched one die in childbirth.What will become of me once I'm wearing his ring and become Queen of England?They say that the sharpest blades are sheathed in the softest pouches.Only time will tell what I am really made of...For fans of Hilary Mantel, Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir, Elizabeth Fremantle's first novel, Queen's Gambit, is a riveting account of the Tudor queen who married four men and outlived three of them - including Henry VIII. Rich in atmosphere and period detail, and told through the eyes of Katherine and her young maid Dot, it tells the story of two very different women during a terrifying and turbulent time. If you loved Wolf Hall, The Other Boleyn Girl or the BBC drama series The Tudors, then Elizabeth Fremantle's Queen's Gambit is the book for you.

    A dangerous time for a woman to be different . . .Midsummer’s Eve, 1648, and England is in the grip of civil war between renegade King and rebellious Parliament. The struggle reaches every corner of the kingdom, even to the remote Tidelands – the marshy landscape of the south coast. Alinor, a descendant of wise women, crushed by poverty and superstition, waits in the graveyard under the full moon for a ghost who will declare her free from her abusive husband. Instead she meets James, a young man on the run, and shows him the secret ways across the treacherous marsh, not knowing that she is leading disaster into the heart of her life.Suspected of possessing dark secrets in superstitious times, Alinor’s ambition and determination mark her out from her neighbours. This is the time of witch-mania, and Alinor, a woman without a husband, skilled with herbs, suddenly enriched, arouses envy in her rivals and fear among the villagers, who are ready to take lethal action into their own hands.

    The dark-haired, blue-eyed beauty would rather ride a horse than attend a stuffy ball. So when Charlotte learns that she is to leave immediately for London to wed the Duke of Marchbourne, a perfect model of aristocratic propriety, she is less than enchanted with her arranged marriage.   But to her delight, their first encounters are brazenly flirtatious, and their wedding night burns with passion. March’s broad shoulders and dark countenance make Charlotte want to rip every button off his waistcoast. She may even be falling in love with her new husband. Yet whenever their desire boils over, March reluctantly pushes Charlotte away. Will past secrets and present misunderstandings mire their marriage in scandal, or serve to strengthen a bond that is destined to last a lifetime?

    As the body slowly rolls over to reveal her face, it’s clear this was not his intended victim…250 Years Later…When a gown she stole from a historic home as a child is mysteriously returned to Fenella Brightwell, it begins to possess her in exactly the same way that it did as a girl. Soon the fragile new life Fen has created for herself away from her abusive ex-husband is threatened at its foundations by the gown’s power over her until she can't tell what is real and what is imaginary.As Fen uncovers more about the gown and Isabella’s story, she begins to see the parallels with her own life. When each piece of history is revealed, the gown—and its past—seems to possess her more and more, culminating in a dramatic revelation set to destroy her sanity.

    But attend the Christmas festivities of the Ton she must. Even if she has to go through hell just for the sake of her father.Nothing stings more than unrequited love and Ducnan Matthews, the Duke of Reedson, learned this the hard way. And despite living in sin for the past years, his heart still betrays him at the sight of the very woman who broke it.Threatened with financial ruination, Duncan desperately needs a wealthy wife and Kendra needs a savior. With their own futures at stake, it’s finally time to confront the past, to trust in each other, and against the odds, find the love they lost—if she will only say yes.

    two wounded souls are forced on a journey neither wants, resulting in tragedy and disaster. Battle-hardened, untrusting and son of a Scottish Chieftain. Duncan MacThomas wants only to see his country free from English rule. Honor-bound to ensure his clan's financial future, Duncan reluctantly travels to England to wed a woman he doesn't want. Wealthy and pampered. Catherine Gillingham anticipates a marriage to a Duke's son and is dismayed when her king decrees she must wed a Scotsman, the sort of man all of London despises. Can these two opposites find love amidst war and lower their barriers to find the peace they seek within their countries and themselves?

    Her parents may want her to catch a title, but she will never change who she is for the promise of marriage. Her husband will be a man who can appreciate her sharp mind as well as her body. A sophisticated man who loves life in London. A man who considers her his equal―and won’t try to tame her wild heart...IN THE HIGHLANDSRough, rugged Highlander Niall MacTaggert and his brothers know the rules: the eldest must marry or lose the ancestral estate, period. But Niall’s eldest brother just isn’t interested in the lady his mother selected. Is it because Amelia-Rose is just too. . . Free-spirited? Yes. Brazen? Aye. Surely Niall can find a way to soften up the whip-smart lass and make her the perfect match for his brother for the sake of the family.JUST GOT A WHOLE LOT HOTTER.Instead it’s Niall who tempts Amelia-Rose, despite her reservations about barbarian Highlanders. Niall finds the lass nigh irresistible as well, but he won’t make the mistake his father did in marrying an Englishwoman who doesn’t like the Highlands. Does he have what it takes to win her heart? There is only one way to find out...

    It is said the Targe can shield the heart of the Highlands from invaders and now, as part of his plan to crush the Scottish rebellion, the English king wants the Targe for himself...Rowan MacGregor, orphaned niece to the chief of the MacAlpins and the rock her family depends upon, is worried. With the dwindling health of her aunt, the Guardian of the Targe, the protections that have kept the clan safe and prosperous are fading, and the new Guardian, one of her cousins, has yet to be chosen. Rowan wants nothing more than to see the clan protected again, but when it seems that will never happen, she despairs—even when a handsome and charming stranger comes to her aid. Nicholas fitz Hugh is not what he seems. Half-English, half-Scottish, he turned his back on his Scottish heritage early in his life, giving his loyalty to England instead. Now he is a talented and cunning spy charged with finding and stealing the Highland Targe for his king. But when Nicholas finds himself falling for the bonny Rowan and wanting to protect the family she holds so dear, he is forced to choose between his king’s will and his own: Will he betray his king and his mission? Or will he turn his back on the woman he has come to love?

    

    . .and wed?WILL A FALSE MARRIAGEShipping heiress Georgiana Caversteed is done with men who covet her purse more than her person. Even worse than the ton’s lecherous fortune hunters, however, is the cruel cousin determined to force Georgie into marriage. If only she could find a way to be . . . widowed? Georgie hatches a madcap scheme to wed a condemned criminal before he’s set to be executed. All she has to do is find an eligible bachelor in prison to marry her, and she’ll be free. What could possibly go wrong?LEAD TO TRUE AND LASTING LOVE?Benedict William Henry Wylde, scapegrace second son of the late Earl of Morcott and well-known rake, is in Newgate prison undercover, working for Bow Street. Georgie doesn’t realize who he is when she marries him―and she most certainly never expects to bump into her very-much-alive, and very handsome, husband of convenience at a society gathering weeks later. Soon Wylde finds himself courting his own wife, hoping to win her heart since he already has her hand. But how can this seductive rogue convince brazen, beautiful Georgie that he wants to be together…until actual death do they part?

    And before Boudicca, there was Gwyndolyn of Cornwall, a fierce warrior queen who raised an army to unite nations. Said to be a changeling child awarded to the King and Queen of Cornwall, Gwyndolyn is “blessed” at her christening with three fae gifts: a prophecy for her future, a gift of “Reflection,” and a golden mane—literally. Every lock of her clipped hair will turn to filaments of gold, provided it is cut by her one true love.Alas, no one understands more than Gwyn that her blessings are in reality curses. Any man who gazes upon her will see his own heart reflected in her countenance, and depending on his virtue, she is either the loveliest woman in all the land... or the most hideous. It's a cruel jest of the capricious Fae, for unless a man's heart be true, she is destined to be coveted for her wealth, and despised for her face.To make matters worse, Gwyn's aging and ailing father is desperate for an alliance with King Brutus of Loegria. The Romans are coming, and according to the Goldenchild Prophecy, only by uniting their Draig banners can they stem the Red Tide. He offers her to the ambitious and cruel Loch, who fought his way through the ranks and is reputed to have murdered his elder brothers. But so far as Loch is concerned, his betrothed is only an eyesore to be tolerated. He would never have married the girl if it weren’t for the fact that her shining golden tresses were supposed to fill his coffers—a lie, because her hair is no more than a tangled nest of golden curls.But Gwyndolyn was not destined to be a spurned wife. To achieve her destiny as the Pen Draig, she must survive the treachery of Loegria's court, and the torments of her betrothed...

    At first, it is a whirlwind of long days, hard work, new friends and plenty of mischief, but just 10 months later Britain declares war on Germany and life at the hospital is transformed. Phyll's days become an endless cycle of air-raid sirens, injured servicemen, and anxiously waiting for news of loved ones. And when she falls in love with a handsome young soldier, Alistair, Phyll's work provides the only distraction from worrying about his safety. Bandaging the Blitz is a true story of coming-of-age in terrible times, of the blossoming of first romance into a life-long love affair, and of a young woman whose eagerness to do good in the world brought her suddenly face-to-face with death and drama in all its many guises.

    Forbid her from riding astride2. Hide her dueling sword3. Burn all her breeches and buy her silk drawers4. Frisk her for hidden daggers5. Don't get distracted while frisking her for hidden daggers...Anthony Carrington, Earl of Ravensbrook, expects a biddable bride. A man of fiery passion tempered by the rigors of war into steely self-control, he demands obedience from his troops and his future wife. Regardless of how fetching she looks in breeches.Promised to the Earl of Plump Pockets by her impoverished father, Caroline Montague is no simpering miss. She rides a war stallion named Hercules, fights with a blade, and can best most men with both bow and rifle. She finds Anthony autocratic, domineering, and...ridiculously gorgeous.It's a duel of wit and wills in this charming retelling of The Taming of the Shrew. But the question is...who's taming whom?An Excerpt from HOW TO TAME A WILLFUL WIFE: “You need to work on the way you hold a blade,” Lord Ravensbrook said.Caroline turned to find Anthony just beyond the riding ring. He stood with one polished boot raised on the lower rung of the fence. His obsidian hair fell to his collar in rich waves. His chestnut eyes held her as if she belonged to him already.“I have been told I have a great deal of skill with a blade, my lord, both with a rapier and a dagger.”“Then you’ve been lied to. I think we discovered your prowess is lacking when we met last night.”She felt a frisson of irritation at that jibe, but she swallowed it down. “Do you fence, my lord?”“Not with women or youths who do not know enough to hold the proper form.”“And which am I? A woman, or a youth?”“Dressed as you are, I cannot tell.”Caroline laughed, her eyes gleaming with mischief. She knew she had scored a point. In spite of his words, she saw his eyes roaming over the curves of her hips and thighs, the softness of her breasts beneath her vest. He might call her boyish, but he was lying.“Perhaps you will spar with me here.”“I do not tutor amateurs.”“Is that so?”“Not in fencing, at any rate.”She wondered what else he might seek to tutor her in. From the desire in his eyes, she could begin to guess.

    But with her father’s passing and her uncle’s decline into dementia, the family business is at risk. In the Victorian era, unmarried Eleanor cannot run Sheffield Brothers alone.The death of a longtime client, Baron Lydney, offers an unexpected complication when Eleanor is appointed the temporary trustee of the baron’s legendary collection. She must choose whether to donate the priceless treasures to a museum or allow them to pass to the baron’s only living son, Harry—the man who broke Eleanor’s heart.Eleanor distrusts the baron’s motives and her own ability to be unbiased regarding Harry’s future. Harry claims to still love her and Eleanor yearns to believe him, but his mysterious comments and actions fuel her doubts. When she learns an Italian beauty accompanied him on his return to England, her lingering hope for a future with Harry dims.With the threat of debtor’s prison closing in, Eleanor knows that donating the baron’s collection would win her favor among potential clients, saving Sheffield Brothers. But the more time she spends with Harry, the more her faith in him grows. Might Harry be worthy of his inheritance, and her heart, after all? As pressures mount and time runs out, Eleanor must decide whom she can trust—who in her life is false or true, brass or gold—and what is meant to be treasured.

    Deception endangers them. Only an impossible love can save them. When headstrong Elizabeth de Burgh’s evil father threatens to kill her beloved cousin unless she seduces his enemy Robert the Bruce, she begrudgingly agrees. But as she grows close to the arrogant leader of the Scottish rebellion whose savage good looks whisper of pleasure, she discovers that behind Robert’s facade of coldhearted traitor lies a noble fighter who will risk all for the freedom of his country. Now, she can no longer imagine aiding in Robert’s destruction. But does she have a choice? Fierce Scottish warrior Robert the Bruce would do anything to release his country from English rule and claim his rightful throne. Enemies on both sides surround him, however, and Robert must dance a dangerous line between truth and duplicity. One misstep could topple his nation and cost him his life. Yet one irresistible woman tempts him—and jeopardizes his mission—as no other ever has. Robert is in no position to entangle himself with the enemy, especially one who may be plotting his defeat, but the feisty, determined, blue-eyed beauty ignites a longing in Robert that he has never known. But is she his biggest threat or greatest source of strength? Bound by duty and honor but ensnared by uncontainable desire, Robert and Elizabeth must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice for the one thing they thought they’d never find—extraordinary love.