Book picks similar to
A Rational Proposal (Furze House Irregulars Book 1) by Jan Jones


historical-romance
romance-regency
reviewed-arcs
19th-century

Silent in the Grave


Deanna Raybourn - 2006
    Before he can show them to Nicholas Brisbane, the private inquiry agent he has retained for his protection, Sir Edward collapses and dies at his London home, in the presence of his wife, Julia, and a roomful of dinner guests. Prepared to accept that Edward's death was due to a long-standing physical infirmity, Julia is outraged when Brisbane visits and suggests that Sir Edward has been murdered. It is a reaction she comes to regret when she discovers the damning paper for herself, and realizes the truth. Determined to bring her husband's murderer to justice, Julia engages the enigmatic Brisbane to help her investigate Edward's demise. Dismissing his warnings that the investigation will be difficult, if not impossible, Julia presses forward, following a trail of clues that lead her to even more unpleasant truths, and ever closer to a killer who waits expectantly for her arrival.

Bella's Band


Alina K. Field - 2014
    His brother’s murder has forced Steven into a new and completely unwanted role, and worse, he has no idea how to salvage his family’s depleted estate. A rumor that his brother had a son by a woman who may be a) the murderer, and b) his brother’s secret wife, sets Steven on a mission to find her, the boy, and—Steven ardently hopes—the proof of a marriage that will set him free. Confirmed spinster Annabelle Harris is a country heiress with a penchant for taking in orphans and helping the downtrodden. Her philanthropy hides her desperate search for her disgraced sister, the mistress to the Earl of Hackwell. When the Earl is murdered, her sister thrusts her child into Annabelle’s care and disappears. Now, with suspicion pointing at the sister, Annabelle has begun a new quest, to find the woman, and clear her name. When their paths converge, the reluctant Earl and the independent spinster find themselves rethinking their goals, and battling the real murderer together.

How to Lose an Earl in Ten Weeks


Jenni Fletcher - 2021
    Welcome to the hottest Season that Regency London has ever seen.An enemies-to-lovers regency romance that's like watching an episode of Bridgerton. Perfect for fans of Georgette Heyer, Outlander and Romancing the Duke.Miss Essie Craven has been engaged since birth to a man she has only met once. The haughty, black-haired man with the intense blue eyes: Aidan Ravell, Earl of Denholm. The most coveted man in all of the Ton.The day of their marriage is set. The only problem is, spirited Essie dreams of more than being a Countess. She soon finds out that Aidan has his own reasons for not wishing to marry, but is compelled to proceed due to his sense of honour and the financial baggage his father has left him.So, Aidan and Essie strike up a deal. Essie will find him a more suitable match, and in the meantime they will keep up appearances as the most fashionable couple in all of the Ton.But soon what is real and what is fake begins to converge. Suddenly, what seemed to be a simple agreement is no longer quite that straightforward . . .

Lady Fortescue Steps Out


Marion Chesney - 1992
    If each of five geriatrics relieve a rich relative of a costly trifle, they can turn her house into a hotel for the ton. Her nephew, Duke of Rowcester, is horrified, until he meets hotel chef Miss Harriet James, green-eyed beauty who remembers their waltz - before she lost parents and inherited debts.

Lady Ashby's Major Scandal


Myretta Robens - 2018
    first class writing....not-to-be-missed author", author of FLIRTING WITH DEATH Patricia Grasso "A memorable heroine and a sexily honorable hero make for a delightful romance." author of THE DUKE'S DAUGHTERS series, Megan Frampton Lady Ashby has a pressing problem Widowed at a young age, Isabel Ashby, yearns to marry again—this time to a young, handsome, titled husband—and live a nice, quiet life with two or three cherubic children. Having limited choices among the gentlemen of her acquaintance, Isabel decides to orchestrate a compromising position for herself to entrap the Earl of Caenby into marriage. But it all goes dreadfully wrong when she ends up unwittingly catching Major Sidney Chamberlayne instead. Major Chamberlyane has a stoic solution Sidney Chamberlyane is a second son, a military man of honor who is far more comfortable on the back of a horse than in a ballroom flirting with ladies of the ton. But when Sidney is caught in a passionate kiss with the delectable Lady Ashby, he can do nothing less than marry her. With their marriage off to a stormy start, both Isabel and Sidney wade through the murky waters of mistrust. But as they begin to recognize the changes in their feelings, will the winds of scandal and gossip drag them down into dangerous depths, or will truth and love guide them home?

Peg Leg's Princess


Cyndi Raye - 2019
    Can they overcome these obstacles for love? Josephine Johnson is determined to get away from her gambling step-father who lost her family home - the Union Station Inn. When she sees an advertisement for a cook in Montana Territory, she recognizes the name Zebediah Harris, a wounded civil war veteran who never came back to their small town. When she decides to leave to take the job as cook, she brings something with her that may very well land her in jail. Zebediah Harris, or, Peg Leg, as everyone calls him, doesn't believe he is good enough for anyone. He claims there isn't a woman within ten miles who would want a one-legged man. When the cook they hire for the Pistol Springs Resort shows up, it turns out Joe was actually Jo, or Josephine, a woman he had saved from drowning years ago. With Josephine hiding something that doesn't belong to her and Peg Leg determined to live life without love, can the two make things right in order to find love? Or, will all hell breask loose in the town of Pistol Ridge once again? This is the first book of seven in The Pistol Ridge Series: Peg Leg's Princess Blaze's Beauty Judge's Jewel Raven's Rebel Rider's Renegade Creed's Confidant Preacher's Pearl

Mended by Love


Charlotte Darcy - 2016
    For the sake of the duchy and for the sake of his sisters, he must bring much needed income into the estate. This is made very clear when an unfortunate incident leaves him indisposed in front of some local merchants. Can he keep secret the state of the duchy? Harry Beckleham was a solider, much more at home fighting Napoleons troops than making polite conversation with the ton. However, he understood that as the Duke of Arleton he had duties. An overheard conversation between his sisters brought home just how real it all was. “I shall just pretend to be passionate about the older fashions. After all, I still have some very beautiful gowns.” Edith was as bright and light as always. “That’s not what others will see, darling,” Georgian had told her. Harry knew she was right, soon everyone would know they were broke. This should have been his sister's finest season. They could not attend in old gowns no matter how beautiful. He would have to marry. As the nightmares of his past life come back to haunt him he escapes to his town house for one last week little knowing that it will change his life forever. A meeting with a local seamstress, a plot to destroy the duchy, and a lady placed in danger are all part of this light, clean, and fun historical romance.

The Seventh Season


Cathy Peper - 2015
    But the one thing this wealthy Earl’s daughter is lacking is the very thing she’s never considered to be a priority: finding a husband. When she overhears a jealous matron refer to her as being “on the shelf”, she fears she’s postponed marriage for far too long. Brash American Derek Lang has arrived in England, determined to complete two tasks on his growing list of priorities: purchase inventory for his family’s business and clear his grandfather’s name. What he hadn’t anticipated is abandoning his crusade to help a damsel in distress with a charade intended to make Beau jealous. Will their scheme work, or will it lead to something far too real?

Earth Must BE Stopped (The Assassin Guild, #1)


Saxon Andrew - 2018
    Fifty-colonies were founded hundreds of years ago, after Nordstrum Haladay discovered Phase Field technology. Millions of Colonists left Earth to escape the incessant wars, famine, and over-population plaguing the planet. Earth regressed to a primitive civilization after nuclear holocaust killed more than twelve-billion. They became little more than primitive farmers; blaming science and technology for the climactic nuclear war and abhorred all technology. The colonies were left to fend for themselves. Four-hundred-years after the war, the Colonies sent starships back to Earth to trade for the crops and forced an unfairly low price on the farmers. Earthlings came to detest the colonies and decided that technology might be needed for defense. Earth began evolving quickly and three-hundred-years, after the colony traders first arrived, Earth rivaled the colonies in advanced technology. However, Earth did not possess Phase Field Technology, and was held captive inside their Solar System for lack of stardrive technology. The colonies knew if Earth possessed a stardrive there would be reason to worry. The President of the Colonies’ Council has intel information that a scientist on Earth might be close to developing a working Phase Field Stardrive and felt that Earth must be stopped! The Assassins Guild was contracted to eliminate the scientist and all those working around him to prevent the discovery of a stardrive. The Assassins Guild kills millions of citizens in the colonies every year and receives billions in payment. This contract would be the most difficult ever accepted by the Guild. The assassins will take on the daunting task of blending in with Earth’s population, being forced to operate on a planet they are completely unfamiliar with while avoiding Earth’s formidable Security Forces. The top two ranked assassins are chosen for the contract and don’t know what lies ahead. The twists and turns in this full-length novel at 94,000 words will keep you guessing at what’s coming next as you keep turning the pages to find out. Excerpt: Earth Must Be Stopped Tal lowered his eyes, “The Council will be extremely unhappy if the Assassins Guild fails to carry out their contract.” The Guild Master’s face turned angry, “What are you saying? Is this a threat?” “No, Guild Master, I’ll accept the job on one condition?” “And what is that?” “I want the names of the guild members that paid you off to send us?” The Guild Master stared at Tal, and Tal continued, “You know you’d prefer to not have to look over your shoulder wondering if they’re angry if we survive. I’d be doing you a favor, Guild Master.” The Guild Master turned to Ka, “Are you in or out?” Tal turned to Ka, “He’s right, Ka. The reason he’s sending two-agents is because the security forces on Earth know that assassins usually work alone. If either of us tried to do this alone, Earth’s agents would be on us like white on rice. We know nothing about what we’ll be facing on Earth and scouting will be close to impossible. Going as a couple makes sense and increases the odds of success.” Ka stared at Tal and then turned back to the Guild Master, “I’m in, if you give him the names…” The Guild Master stared at her and she smiled, “before we leave.” “You won’t have time to do anything about it.” “Even so.” The Guild Master took out a business card from a desk drawer and wrote on the back of it.

Echo of Another Time


Audrey Howard - 1995
    Harper. By the age of 18 she has become a talented cook, but when she falls in love with a Latimer, all their lives change with frightening swiftness.

Captive of the Corsairs


Elizabeth Ellen Carter - 2017
    Orphaned as a child and raised by the wealthy Cappleman family, she has become the companion to her attractive younger cousin, Laura, while harboring to her breast an unrequited love for Laura’s diffident brother.Sea captain Kit Hardacre’s past is a mystery – even to him. Kidnapped by Barbary Coast pirates at the age of 10, he does not remember his parents or even his real name. All he recalls are things he would rather forget.When Laura’s reputation is threatened by a scandal, Sophia suggests weathering the storm in Sicily with their elderly uncle, a prominent archaeologist.Their passage to Palermo is aboard Hardacre’s ship, but the Calliope, like its captain, is not all it seems. Both have only one mission – to rid the world of the evil pirate slaver Kaddouri or die in the attempt.Initially disdainful of the captain’s devil-may-care attitude, Sophia can’t deny a growing attraction. And Kit begins to see in her a woman who could help him forget the horrors of his past.Sophia allows herself to be drawn into the shallows of Kit’s world, but when the naive misjudgment of her cousins sees Laura abducted, Sophia is dragged into dangerous depths that could cost her life or her sanity in a living hell.

Twice a Rake


Catherine Gayle - 2011
    . .When Aurora Hyatt loses her journal in Hyde Park, her ruin is a foregone conclusion. After all, if anyone discovers her writings, they'll find scandalous fantasies involving the newest rake in Town alongside entirely-too-candid thoughts about her typical dreary suitors. Aurora will either be forced into a loveless marriage with the first nodcock to make an offer, or she'll be assigned a permanent position on the shelf. Oh, dear good Lord. What catastrophe will God smote down upon her next?If Niles Thornton, Baron Quinton, desires to maintain any semblance of his current lifestyle, he must fulfill the requirements his grandfather has set for him. First and foremost: he must marry and begin filling his nursery within the year. When he is nearly barreled over by a racing curricle and a journal flies out to land at his feet, his troubles are over. Inside the journals pages, Quin discovers a scandal waiting to happen. Surely a young lady who would write such brazen things in a journal (and then dare to lose it) must recognize the necessity of a hasty marriage, even if the gentleman making the offer is rather less-than-honorable.In a drunken haze, Quin kisses Aurora on a crowded ballroom floor, necessitating their immediate marriage. Quin's troubles are only beginning, however, as Aurora's writings are soon the focus of both gossip rags and drawing room conversation. When word arrives of an even greater scandal following in his wife's wake, will he prove himself a drunken abuser like his father, or will he become the loving husband of Aurora's fantasies?

The Dashing Widow


Elizabeth Bramwell - 2016
    Where it not for the gentle guidance of her best friend, Abby doubts she would have survived the Beau Monde's disapproval for even a week - and especially not the critical gaze of the Earl of Gloucester. The man is insufferable, arrogant, and everything that Abby hates about the Ton - except those rare moments when he laughs, and Abby's heart starts to beat in a most uncomfortable rhythm. George, Earl of Gloucester, is horrified at the scrapes his sister's best friend keeps falling into. True not all of them are her fault, but that doesn't change the fact that her actions reflect poorly on his family. Since Mrs Merriweather doesn't have any intentions of leaving London before the Season's end, there's nothing for it but for George to step in and help her navigate the treacherous waters of the Ton. She's impulsive, tempestuous, headstrong and willful; in short, everything that he claims to dislike in a woman... except after spending time with Abigail Merriweather, he's starting to wonder whether her faults are what make her so endearing. Abby and George may be developing a strange sort of friendship, but they come from different worlds that are not entirely compatible. The real question is whether they can get past their own prejudices - and the interference of their friends and family - to find out whether an arrogant Earl and a dashing young widow can fall in love without creating a scandal.

Risky Rules of a Passionate Governess


Henrietta Harding - 2019
    Upon running into the son of Roland de Bowes, the Duke of Easterly, something secret and mysterious stirs within her. She can’t help but sign for the job of governess at Bonhomie,where the Duke’s estate is located. What she didn’t expect though were the intense and inspiring emotions sparked by Lord Garret, the Duke’s handsome brother. Will this sizzling passion cost her position? Or will she find a way to tame her feelings? Family is the most precious thing for Lord Garret, who is a remarkably serious and proud man. After the death of his sister in law, he came to a conclusion that his brother is unable to take care of the estate. Even though Lord Garret regards Katherine with suspicion when she is hired, as time goes by, he can’t hide his tremendous admiration and desire for her. Will this rigid man lay aside his doubts for a chance to love passionately? Although Katherine and Lord Garret find themselves madly in love, it only takes one miscommunication for it to be torn apart. Is Lord Garret strong enough to admit to his weaknesses, and keep Katherine at Bonhomie, not as a governess, but as his bride? For Lord Garret de Bowes, it will take admitting to himself that his heart is captured. For Katherine, it means succumbing to the greatest love she has ever known. Will their love overcome society’s expectations? Or will they accept fate and distance themselves forever?

Saving Samantha


Nancy J. Parra - 2002
    She is a serious reporter and bets she will find her front page story in Amesville, Wyoming. Instead, she finds a cranky cowboy whose overbearing protection and passionate kisses keep her from that goal.Honor is everything to Matthew Morgan. He owes Big John Herrington his life. To pay off the debt, he must watch over the man’s only daughter for the space of one summer. It is a situation Matt regrets immediately.Sam’s search for a story brings mayhem and murder, but even worse, her innocence unravels the steel bands that have protected Matt’s heart. Can Matt see her safely out of Amesville before he loses his heart? Or is love their true destiny?