Book picks similar to
A Perilous Attraction by Patricia Frances Rowell
historical-romance
historical
harlequin
romance
The Impossible Governess
Margaret Bennett - 2013
She must earn her own way in the world, but her good looks and aristocratic upbringing make it near impossible for her to maintain a position. Her last hope is governess to Lord Raynor's five year old niece, a sullen and tantrum prone orphan. Now Georgeanne finds her biggest challenge is not losing her heart to her employer.As Georgeanne's third employer in four months, Lord Raynor is amazed by her success to control his troubled niece. Yet, no servant has ever tried his patience more. One minute he’s tempted to wring the governess’s beautiful neck for her antics. Then he’s consumed with the desire to take her in his arms.
Rake with a Frozen Heart
Marguerite Kaye - 2012
The last thing she remembers is being attacked by a housebreaker—yet being rescued by the notorious Earl of Pentland feels much more dangerous!Since the cataclysmic failure of his marriage, ice has flowed in Rafe St. Alban's veins. But meeting impetuous, all-too-distracting governess Henrietta heats his blood to the boiling point.When she's accused of theft, Rafe finds himself offering to clear her name. Can Henrietta's innocence bring this hardened rake to his knees?
The Cinderella Governess
Georgie Lee - 2016
Except, instead of a warm welcome, she's given a frosty reception by her employers—and her charges! The only person who pays her any attention is the dashing Major Preston… Despite their stolen conversations and tantalizing glances in the ballroom, Luke and Joanna know that their stations in life are just too different. But when this Cinderella governess's life is transformed and their roles are reversed, will they risk everything to be together?
The Abduction of Julia
Karen Hawkins - 2000
So when he accidentally snatches her instead of her lovely, scheming cousin for an elopement to Gretna Green, Julia leaps at the chance to make her passionate dreams come true.Alec's in no position to quibble: if he doesn't marry by midnight and live scandal-free for a year, he loses his inheritance. At least marriage with do-gooder Julia will guarantee his fortune. But as his plain brown wren transforms herself into an elegant swan, Alec suddenly can't stay away from his last-minute wife--and when he kisses her, the inheritance is the last thing on his mind. Unfortunately, scandal can occur from the best of intentions...and Julia is never short of good intentions!
Once Upon a Wedding Night
Sophie Jordan - 2006
Now that she's suddenly husbandless and penniless, where else would she, her addled father, and spinster aunt reside? Yet who should appear but Nicholas Caulfield, the new Brookshire heir, claiming the estate is rightfully his by law. The brute is as arrogant as he is handsome—besides, he's supposed to be dead. And the only plan resourceful Meredith can devise to save her family from homelessness is a desperate scheme that may lead her to salvation or ruin...and the bed of the man she has vowed to hate.A reluctant aristocrat, Nick does not trust this fiery, infuriating chit whom he suspects of subterfuge—yet who bewitches him with her innocent green eyes. The sooner he can get this tempting beauty married off to some stodgy old blueblood—and off his hands for good—the better. There is one slight problem, however: Nick can't bear the thought of her wedding any man but him.
A Lady's Pleasure
Renee Bernard - 2006
Merriam Everett has always been regarded as a shy, docile creature. But for one night, Merriam the Mouse has become a temptress who will recklessly take her pleasure with the arrogant earl who once slighted her, and then leave him aching with lust. A fine plan, if Merriam had not just seduced the wrong rogue! Drake Sotherton left England amid dark speculation and has returned to seek vengeance against Julian Clay, the man he believes murdered his wife. Convinced that the masked beauty who seduced him is Julian's pawn, Drake tracks her down and proposes that she become his mistress for the Season. Every sensual desire, every secret longing will be explored...and fulfilled. But keeping his enemy close is a dangerous game. Merriam is an irresistible mix of innocence and abandon, and each encounter proves more soul-searing than the last. With a passion this wild, this wonderful, one Season will never be enough....
The Duke's Desire
Margaret Moore - 2000
But Verity Davis-Jones could never forget Galen Bromney, "her" notorious duke, for she saw him daily in the face of their child -- the daughter she must deny him, along with her heartfelt love!Ten years of self-imposed exile had done little to dissuade Galen Bromney of the rightness of being with Verity. Yet how would he ever convince the woman of his dreams that a life together raising their daughter was his deepest desire?
The Notorious Flynns Bundle
Jess Michaels - 2015
* * *The Notorious Flynns Bundle:A new duke with an inherited bride, a lady with a secret desire and a gentleman determined to destroy himself. Along with their friends, the Flynns are not your average family. Pick up the bestselling series readers are raving about.The Other Duke: Rafe Flynn has just inherited an unexpected dukedom and an unwilling bride. Can he overcome Serafina McPhee's troubled past and prove to her that love is worth fighting for?The Scoundrel's Lover: Annabelle Flynn needs a proper husband to combat the bad reputations of her brothers. What she wants is Marcus Rivers, proprietor of an erotic club and the most improper man of all.The Widow Wager: Crispin Flynn has been riding a dangerous path to ruin since he lost the woman he loved. But when he wakes up with widow Gemma Quinn in his bed, he just might have to change his way of life to win her.No Gentleman for Georgina: Georgina Hickson has lived a life of utter propriety without any success in the marriage mart. But she has a secret, she has been in love with Paul Abbot, the manager of an erotic club, for years. Can one stolen night give her everything she ever wanted?A Marquis for Mary: Mary Quinn is almost out of time. If she cannot find a proper husband before the end of the Season, she will have to return to her father's home and his dangerous plans. But a stolen kiss in the garden with the handsome and troubled Edward, Marquis of Woodley, may solve all her problems and put her on the path to the love of her life.
How to Marry a Duke
Vicky Dreiling - 2011
Love is not necessary--nor desired. But how to choose among a dizzying array of wealthy-yet-witless candidates? Hire London's infamously prim and proper matchmaker. Then pretend she's not the most captivating woman he's ever met...Helping a devilish Duke create a contest to pick his perfect mate is the kind of challenge Tessa Mansfield relishes. Her methods may be scandalous, but she's determined to find the notorious bachelor more than a wife--she'll bring him true love. Yet when Tessa watches the women vie for the Duke's affections, she longs to win his heart herself. And after a stolen kiss confirms Tristan's desire, Tessa knows she has broken a matchmaker's number one rule: never fall in love with the groom.
His Lady to Protect
Justine Covington - 2020
Her trust… When Nate promises to protect his best friend’s little sister from her traitorous uncle, he knows it’s the least he can do to atone for his past sins. And if a marriage of convenience is the most efficient way to guarantee her safety? So be it. He’s ready for anything…except how quickly his lovely new bride would steal his heart… Susannah never intended to marry the man who led her brother to his death. The fact that she once loved him? Irrelevant. She just can’t allow herself to trust him again. But it’s not long before she starts to wonder if there’s more to Nate than meets the eye. What if he’s not the villain she assumed he was? And if that’s the case…can her poor, beleaguered heart survive another inevitable fall? Nate and Susannah have much to overcome if they have any hope of finding their way to happily ever after. But what if trust is simply a luxury neither can afford? Buy His Lady to Protect to read the first in an exciting new series centered around six friends from Eton and set in the infamous Regency period.
Haunted by the Earl's Touch
Ann Lethbridge - 2013
He is as remote as the ghosts that supposedly haunt the Abbey, …and like its crumbling walls her dreams fall apart.Occasionally she sees a different, more caring man behind the facade, so is she foolish to long for a happy home …and a family? His proposal is for a marriage of convenience, but his touch has awakened within her a fervent and forbidden longing….
The Mysterious Miss M
Diane Gaston - 2004
But when Lord Devlin Steele finds himself responsible for her -- and her child -- he comes to know the real Maddy: the loving, passionate woman who drives away the nightmares of the Waterloo battlefield.But the aristocratic soldier can't support his new family. He will inherit his fortune only on marriage to a suitable lady -- and Maddy is far from suitable. With the dangers of London's underworld closing in, how can he protect the woman he has come to love?
An Improper Aristocrat
Deb Marlowe - 2007
The scandalous son of a disgraced mother, he has no time for the pretty niceties of the ton, nor the simpering debutantes who populate its ballrooms.He has returned to England to aid an aging spinster facing an undefined danger. But Miss Latimer's dark and sultry beauty, her fascinating mix of knowledge and innocence, arouse far more than his protective instincts.Can such an improper aristocrat learn to be the true gentleman Miss Latimer deserves?
To Marry the Duke
Julianne MacLean - 2003
Though I fear I am making social blunders left and right I am having some measure of success in my (or rather, Mother's) objective. Mother is beside herself with glee at the attentions I have been receiving from a few gentlemen she finds supremely suitable as husband material. But my dearest sister, it is so hard for me to even look at any gentleman but a certain duke, who, if I may confess, makes my heart beat so that I fear it can be seen across a ballroom. He is James Langdon, the Duke of Wentworth, and though I may sound dramatic, he makes me feel as no man ever has before. But I must push these feelings away. I sometimes hear whispers about his dark past, and he is quietly called the Dangerous Duke. Oh Clara! I am secretly overjoyed that he may love me, and at the same time terrified of his attentions. I have waited so long for my true love, and now I must resist him to protect my heart. If only I knew how to proceed… Your devoted sister, Sophia
The Wedding Gamble
Julia Justiss - 1999
Sarah Wellingford would Do Her Duty -- even if that meant putting herself on the Marriage Mart during a London season she could ill afford.Now ironic circumstance had wed her to the compelling Marquess of Englemere, a fabled gamester, who had awakened passions she was honor-bound not to express.A marriage of convenience could be deucedly inconvenient -- even for a marquess -- when one was perilously close to loving his own wife! But that was impossible, Nicholas Stanhope knew, for hadn't his tragic past proven that women -- especially wives -- were not to be trusted?