Book picks similar to
The Unlacing of Miss Leigh by Diane Gaston


historical-romance
historical
romance
novella

Little Miss Independent


Julia Templeton - 2011
    Now, five years later, Lord Drayton has returned to London with hideous battle scars that have made him a social pariah. Adelaide doesn't see Roan's wounds, but rather the man she has always secretly loved. Although she has been courted by a handsome lord with marriage on his mind, it is Roan she secretly desires. Roan is stunned when he is reacquainted with Addy Bruce. In the years that have passed, Addy has grown into a true beauty and the toast of the ton. He is not sure which surprises him more—her transformation, or the fact she is the only woman who treats him as though his scars do not exist. When Roan learns of Addy’s engagement to a rival, he must move fast…or lose her forever.Please note: LITTLE MISS INDEPENDENT is a short novella (9,700 words) that was originally published in THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF REGENCY ROMANCE. The story is a sweet romance (no sex).

The Scandalous, Dissolute, No-Good Mr. Wright


Tessa Dare - 2012
    And waiting.Because of a foolish mistake in her youth, she's not allowed "out" in Society until her three older sisters are wed. But while she's trying to be good, she keeps bumping elbows—and, more distressingly, lips—with notorious rake Harry Wright. Every moment she spends with him, she risks complete ruin.The sensual passions he stirs in her are so wrong . . . but Eliza just can't resist Mr. Wright.

The Lost Letter


Mimi Matthews - 2017
    When the tragic death of her gamester father leaves her destitute and alone, she finds work as a governess in a merchant's household in Cheapside. Isolated from the fashionable acquaintance of her youth, she resigns herself to lonely spinsterhood until a mysterious visitor convinces her to temporarily return to her former life--and her former love.A SCARRED BEASTColonel Sebastian Conrad is no longer the dashing cavalry officer Sylvia once fell in love with. Badly scarred during the Sepoy Rebellion, he has withdrawn to his estate in rural Hertfordshire where he lives in near complete seclusion. Brooding and tormented, he cares nothing for the earldom he has inherited--and even less for the faithless beauty who rejected him three years before.A SECOND CHANCEA week together in the remote Victorian countryside is the last thing either of them ever wanted. But when fate intervenes to reunite them, will a beastly earl and an impoverished beauty finally find their happily-ever-after? Or are some fairy-tale endings simply not meant to be?

The Lady Always Wins


Courtney Milan - 2012
    As a child, Ginny was his best friend and comrade-in-arms. As a young lady, she became his sweetheart. But when his parents discovered their growing affection, they threatened to cut Simon off without a penny if he married her. And when Simon planned an elopement, Ginny refused: She wasn’t going to marry a poor man. Ever.Until someone loses a fortune.In the seven years since they last saw one another, Ginny has been married and then widowed. Simon has built an empire as a railway financier. When they meet again, there’s still that same delicious, playful attraction between them. But only Simon knows how tenuous his second chance really is. Everyone believes that Simon is wealthy. In truth, his company has been taken over by a hostile competitor and he is ruined. He knows from bitter experience that Ginny won’t marry a poor man. And so he has three days until the news becomes public—three days to seduce, woo, and marry the woman he cannot forget, or risk losing her…and this time, for good.

Rebellious Desire


Julie Garwood - 1986
    And of all London's ladies, he wanted the tender obedience of only one--Caroline Richmond.She was a ravishing beauty from Boston, with a mysterious past and a fiery spirit. Drawn to the powerful duke, undeterred by his presumptuous airs, Caroline was determined to win his lasting love. But Bradford would bend to no woman--until a deadly intrigue drew them enticingly close. Now, united against a common enemy, they would discover the power of the magnificent attraction that brought them together...a desire born in danger, but destined to flame into love!

The Earl's Dilemma


Emily May - 2008
    He’s resigned himself to a marriage of convenience and has even chosen a bride: Kate Honeycourt, his best friend’s sister.Kate has been on the shelf for years. Why, then, does she so firmly turn him down? Surely she can’t be holding out for a love match?But Kate has a proposal of her own: she’ll find James a bride he can fall in love with.Armed with a list of requirements, Kate sets out to find James the perfect wife. But things don’t progress as either of them expect…A Regency romance featuring an earl who needs to marry in a hurry, the spinster he turns to for help, and a list that grows…and grows…and grows.

Embraced by a Rogue: A Trilogy of Second Chance Romances


Collette Cameron - 2016
    Doesn't it?One magical night, Fate orchestrates the reunion of three pairs of lovers at the same Regency ball. Beneath a balmy starlit sky, do the wounded rogues and the resilient women who once adored them, dare open their hearts and gamble on love one final time?A Kiss for a Rogue: A sweet romance of love relinquished and redeemed as once betrothed Allen Wimpleton and Olivia Kingsley meet again after a three year separation only to discover, their love is stronger than ever.A Bride for a Rogue: A tender tale of enduring love, uniting a clumsy noblewoman resigned to spinsterhood with the man she's loved since girlhood; a penniless soldier who returns to England from India, a disfigured and disillusioned man.A Rogue's Scandalous Wish: When an obligatory marriage offers turns into an unexpected second chance for love, Viscount Kingsley seizes it, but Philomena's desperation-borne acceptance forces her to trust the man who betrayed her once already.Caution: This set contains loveable rapscallions whose ears you'll want to box, spinsters determined to take matters into their own hands, the consequences be damned, a meddling aunt with terrible fashion sense, and villians you'll love to loathe.Buy this entertaining Regency historical romance set for emotional romantic reads you won't want to put down.

Impetuous


Candace Camp - 1998
    Now it is 150 years later, and Cassandra Verrere is desperate to find the riches in order to save her family from poverty. Unfortunately, only a Neville can help her. Clearly, he considers his hatred of her as much his birthright as the dowry is hers--but even an ancient family feud is no match for the passion that soon burns between them.

The Suitor


Mary Balogh - 2013
    He is certainly the perfect gentleman and everything her parents want: titled, handsome, respectable. His blindness only reinforces his quiet power and strength. But Philippa does not love him. Her heart is already taken and there is only one thing she can do: Thwart the matchmaking plans.Julian Crabbe is desperate to rescue the woman he fell in love with two years ago. Then, he was a reckless cub, justly earning Philippa’s parents’ scorn. Now, he is every inch a respectable suitor and determined to prove it before it is too late. Intrude on the viscount’s house party? Gladly. Interrupt the match of the season? Happily. For nothing can stop the power of a love that will not be denied.  Includes a preview of Mary Balogh’s new novel, The Arrangement.

Love Is Blind


Lynsay Sands - 2006
    Stomping on toes and burning piffles, the chestnut haired beauty was clearly a force with which to be reckoned. But for Adrian Montfort, Earl of Mowbray, veteran of the Napoleonic wars, this was just the challenge he needed. He could handle one woman and her “unfortunate past”. Could any woman handle him?‘TWIXT THE CHIT & HIS LIPSLady Clarissa Crambray wanted a husband, but maybe not as much as her mother wanted one for her. Really! Doffing her spectacles might make a girl prettier, but how would she see? She’d already caused enough mayhem to earn a rather horrible nickname. Yet, as all other suitors seemed to shy away in terror, there came a man to lead her to the dance floor. A dark, handsome blur of a man.Clumsy Clarissa was about to stumble onto true love.

Least Likely to Marry a Duke


Louise Allen - 2019
    Despite his methodical approach to finding such a lady, he stumbles—quite literally—into freethinking and rebellious bishop’s daughter Verity Wingate. And when they find themselves stranded overnight on a tiny island, compromising them completely, he knows exactly what he must do…

Once Upon a Moonlit Night


Elizabeth Hoyt - 2016
    Pursued by hounds on a cold rainy night, the heiress flags down a passing carriage and throws herself at the mercy of the coach's occupant. Whoever this handsome traveler may be, he is her only hope to escape a terrible fate. But should he agree to escort her to safety, he's in for much more than he bargained for.At first Matthew Mortimer doesn't believe Hippolyta's story, that she's a fabulously wealthy heiress who's been kidnapped. He assumes she's a beggar, an actress, or worse. But once his new travel companion washes the mud from her surprisingly lovely face, and they share a breathtaking kiss, there is no turning back.

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)

Master of Temptation


Nicole Jordan - 2004
    . . He is a brilliant military commander . . . and every woman's temptation. When Max Leighton unexpectedly comes to her golden Mediterranean island, Caro Evers longs to heal his emotional battle scars. But during one glorious night in his arms, she discovers a sensual master whose mere touch drives her to wild abandon.She is the bewitching angel he can't forget. Jaded by the glittering ballrooms of Regency London, Max returns to Cyrene to find the temptress who haunts his dreams . . . only to learn that Caro leads a dangerous double life. She's a warrior as well as a healer--a member of a secret society of protectors, sworn to fight evil and tyranny across Europe.Afraid to lose her heart to Max again, Caro vows to conquer her fierce tenderness for him and thwart his campaign to win her. Then a perilous mission of adventure takes them far from Cyrene's sun-splashed shores, entwining their destinies and challenging their deepest desires.

A Pirate for Christmas


Anna Campbell - 2015
    The gallant naval captain’s first landlocked Christmas promises mayhem – and a lifetime of breathtaking passion Pursued by the pirate… Bess Farrar might be an innocent village miss, but she knows enough about the world to doubt Lord Channing’s motives when he kisses her the very day they meet. After all, local gossip insists that before this dashing rake became an earl, he sailed the Seven Seas as a ruthless pirate. Bewitched by the vicar’s daughter… Until he unexpectedly inherits a title, staunchly honorable Scotsman Rory Beaton has devoted his adventurous life to the Royal Navy. But he sets his course for tempestuous new waters when he meets lovely, sparkling Bess Farrar. Now this daring mariner will do whatever it takes to convince the spirited lassie to launch herself into his arms and set sail into the sunset. A Christmas marked by mayhem. Wooing his vivacious lady, the new Earl of Channing finds himself embroiled with matchmaking villagers, an eccentric vicar, mistaken identities, a snowstorm, scandal, and a rascally donkey. Life at sea was never this exciting. The gallant naval captain’s first landlocked Christmas promises hijinks, danger, and passion – and a breathtaking chance to win the love of a lifetime.