Book picks similar to
The Locket by Ruth Saberton


historical
romance
historical-fiction
fiction

The Wicked Wager


Anya Wylde - 2012
    A plan that should have brought the lovers together and had them married within a month. It was a simple matter of masquerading as the duke’s gardener, compromising the lady, and then having the duke rush them off to Gretna Green.Alas, he underestimates the duke’s intelligence and the tangled situation on the estate—never had he imagined that compromising a lady could be so difficult.His endeavours lead to a comedy of errors, charades, and knotty love affairs. Yet he forges ahead in spite of pesky house guests, a flea bitten mattress, his lovesick best friend, and a blackmailer.Just when things seem to be going well, someone is murdered (very inconvenient), and he happens to be one of the suspects (extremely inconvenient).His simple plan for winning the wager suddenly becomes … a tad complicated.

Death's Disciple


James Whitworth - 2013
    Mabel Downing has been brutally murdered.She has been strangled -- and her mouth filled with cassette tape and a copy of Bram Stoker’s Dracula has been left next to her body.There is one obvious suspect - Charlotte Sanderson who discovered the body.But Miller has been having a relationship with Charlotte - and refuses to believe she could be guilty of such a terrible crime. But if not her, who is the killer?Is Miller allowing his personal life to interfere with the investigation?What is the connection to Dracula - the Victorian gothic masterpiece partly set in the Yorkshire coastal town? And will the murderer strike again?Miller has to find out - before it is too late. 'Death’s Disciple' is a gripping contemporary crime novel set in the North Yorkshire coastal town of Whitby. It is the first in a series featuring Detective Inspector Miller and is perfect for fans of Peter James and Ian Rankin. "An intricate, compelling crime story that kept me turning the pages." - Tom Kasey, best-selling author of 'Trade-Off'. "You can taste the salt in the air...and the fear." - Robert Foster, best-selling author of 'The Lunar Code'. James Whitworth is a writer and cartoonist, Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.

Belle of the Ball


Pam McCutcheon - 2003
    But a wish at a magical rock formation is about to change all that, in a most a-MUSE-ing way. . . . The three Sullivan sisters, named for the Three Graces of Greek legend who embody beauty, charm and grace, don’t live up to their names. Belle is no beauty. Charisma lacks charm. And Grace is somewhat less than graceful. But this doesn't deter their ambitious mother from bribing three bachelors to escort them to Colorado Springs’ beautiful Garden of the Gods. When the girls overhear their escorts mocking how little they resemble their names, each girl makes a wish at the magical Three Graces rock formation. Belle wishes aloud for beauty, but only so she can use it as a weapon to punish the cads who hurt her sisters. Her true wish is for revenge. Handsome viscount Kit Stanhope regrets his rude remarks and apologizes to Belle. He’s surprised when she tells him that's not enough. If he truly regrets his behavior, he has to make her beautiful in time for the Founders’ Day Ball. Kit isn’t sure he’s up to the task. But, intrigued by the spirited Belle, he agrees to assist her transformation from an ugly duckling into a swan with the help of a mysterious Greek dressmaker with muse-like qualities. Unfortunately, Belle makes a rather awkward swan. Still, after a few embarrassing escapades, she masters the flirtatious language of the fan and takes the town known as Little London by storm. Belle soon finds herself falling for the viscount and his sinful mouth. It seems he returns her regard, but she can’t renege on her promise to humiliate him . . . can she? Will her secret muse grant the wish she voiced . . . or the one she holds in her heart? Note to readers: This title was originally published in 2003 by Zebra Ballad.

Clara's Song


Kitty Margo - 2015
    This much she knows. What she doesn’t know is what other gifts will be revealed when she turns eighteen in a few months. While her grandmother has been diligent in her efforts to prepare her for the inevitable changes to come, Clara can focus on precious little besides the devilishly handsome man she met at her coming out ball. Secure in the knowledge that she has a bright future ahead of her, the future Clara discovers is one that she could never have conjured in her wildest dreams.

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. . . .

The Measure of Katie Calloway


Serena B. Miller - 2011
    To protect herself and her young brother from her violent and unstable husband, she flees north, finding anonymity and sanctuary as the cook in a Northwoods lumber camp. The camp owner, Robert Foster, wonders if the lovely woman he's hired has the grit to survive the never-ending work and harsh conditions of a remote pine forest in winter. Katie wonders if she can keep her past a secret from a man she is slowly growing to love.With grace and skill, Serena Miller brings to life a bygone era. From the ethereal, snowy forest and the warm cook-stove to the rowdy shanty boys and the jagged edges of the saw, every detail is perfectly rendered, transporting the reader back to the time when pine was king, men were made of iron, and rivers were choked with logs on the way to the sawmills. Readers will have a hard time leaving the Northwoods when they turn the last page.

Unlaced


Kristina Cook - 2004
    Instead, she’s caught up in a whirlwind of balls, marriage proposals, and ton intrigues. Worse, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to her sponsors’ maddening neighbor, Henry Ashton, the Marquess of Mandeville. The handsome, arrogant, sometimes infuriating Mandeville stokes a passionate fire within her that won’t be denied, no matter the consequence.Deep, emotional scars secretly plague Henry, Lord Mandeville. As a result, he’s avoided romantic entanglements at all costs. Only, now he needs a wife—someone from a wealthy, powerful family to further his political aspirations. Instead, he finds himself all but obsessed with the beautiful but unconventional Lucy Abbington—a woman whose passions and wit stir desires he’d rather ignore. And yet…she might just be the one woman who can heal his wounded heart.Lucy and Henry’s heads say no, but their hearts say yes. Will they find themselves undone by love?

Treasures of the North


Tracie Peterson - 2001
    Disillusioned by her father's insistence, she forges a daring plan to escape the sinister hand of her intended.Peter Colton sees the Alaskan gold rush as an opportunity to establish his family's fledgling shipping business. An unexpected partnership enables him to pursue those dreams and opens the door to an aquaintance with Grace, who has purchased passage north.Drawn together by need and circumstance, Grace and Peter form a faltering friendship. But when her deserted fiance continues to manipulate her loved ones, can she find peace in the wake of his wrath?

Paper Roses


Amanda Cabot - 2009
    Leaving the past behind in Philadelphia, mail-order bride Sarah arrives in San Antonio ready to greet her groom, Austin Canfield, a man she has never met but whose letters have won her heart from afar. But there is one problem--he has died. And Sarah cannot go back East.As Sarah tries to reconcile herself to a future that is drastically changed, Austin's brother, Clay, struggles with his own muddled plans. Though he dislikes working on the family ranch and longs for a different life, Clay is driven to avenge his brother's death. But something between them is growing and neither Clay nor Sarah is ready to admit it. Book 1 of the Texas Dreams series, Paper Roses will sweep readers into the Hill Country with a tale of love and loss, closed doors and beautiful possibilities that will leave them wanting more.

The Earl's Inconvenient Wife


Ruth Ann Nordin - 2012
    Now he is bound by duty to get an heir. Unfortunately, to get the heir, he must find a wife. As luck would have it, he gets caught in a scandalous situation not of his doing, and the next thing he knows, he's married...and to a lady whose family is reported to desire money above all else.Miss Claire Lowell wanted to get married. But she never intended to marry a gentleman who felt trapped into it, and she certainly never thought her family would have a hand in the scandal that forced Lord Roderick's hand in marriage. Can love find a way to thrive under such conditions or will her father's eagerness to see her married off to an earl condemn her to a loveless marriage?

A Love by Any Measure


Killian McRae - 2011
    An English lord. A love that overcomes all boundaries, but at what cost?Lord August Grayson, English landlord, has secretly, and much to the dismay of his father, held in reverence the object of his first fancy: poor Irish tenant Maeve O'Connor. Returning to the Ireland for the first time since his youth, August discovers that Maeve has grown into a woman of beauty and tenacity. August understands, however, that he could offer Maeve nothing but shame if her pursued her. But when circumstances allow him an opportunity to indulge his fancy, even if only in a limited scope, August finds himself unable to resist the temptation. Maeve,for her part, knows the danger falling for August holds, but finds her heart and her good senses becoming confused the longer she spends in his company. As two hearts become hopelessly entangled, both Maeve and August are forced to question the costs of their love. As consequences of their romance manifest, both struggle with the pain and difficulties their love causes, both for them and for their loved ones.Killian McRae's delve into historical romance will challenge reader's presumptions of the genre. A title garnering controversy due to McRae's preference towards historical truth versus genre-standard "love despite the realities of the day" perspectives, it asks at what cost winning love is justified. "A Love by Any Measure" is an exploration of a romance that strives to overcome divisions of cultural, socio-economic, and religious differences in an era where options for lovers in such situations were limited.

The Bride Price


Tracey Jane Jackson - 2010
    She finds refuge with a doctor and his family, but develops a volatile relationship with their neighbor, Richard Madden. His expectations become difficult to ignore, and Sophie must figure out a way to hold off his advances. When a soldier shows up looking identical to Jamie, but not knowing who she is, Sophie decides she must make him remember. Will her love for him help him remember? Will they rediscover their love in the new century, or will Richard threaten their chance to reunite? Will Sophie survive the threat against her life and destiny?

The Loyal Heart


Merry Farmer - 2011
    Several problems. Her childhood love, Ethan, has returned home from the Crusades, but he’s more interested in winning his land back than wooing her. She has to rescue a pair of nuns who are being held prisoner in Derby Castle’s tower by the sadistic Sheriff Buxton. And to top it all off, she’s developing scandalous feelings for Buxton’s lackey, the dark and devilish Crispin. Faced with all that what’s a girl to do but don her disguise as the Derbywood Bandit and take matters into her own hands?Sir Crispin is at his wit’s end. Not only does he have his hands full keeping Buxton from killing half the shire, now his arch nemesis, the Derbywood Bandit, has joined forces with his old rival Ethan. And that’s nothing compared to the burning torch he carries for his ex-fiancé, Lady Aubrey. He would do anything to win Aubrey’s love …… until he suspects that there could be a closer connection between Aubrey and the Derbywood Bandit than anyone knows.

The Storyteller's Secret


Sejal Badani - 2018
    Desperate to assuage her deep anguish, she decides to go to India to uncover answers to her family’s past.Intoxicated by the sights, smells, and sounds she experiences, Jaya becomes an eager student of the culture. But it is Ravi—her grandmother’s former servant and trusted confidant—who reveals the resilience, struggles, secret love, and tragic fall of Jaya’s pioneering grandmother during the British occupation. Through her courageous grandmother’s arrestingly romantic and heart-wrenching story, Jaya discovers the legacy bequeathed to her and a strength that, until now, she never knew was possible.

The Practice House


Laura McNeal - 2017
    Aldine’s sister converts and moves to America to marry, and Aldine follows, hoping to find the life she’s meant to lead and the person she’s meant to love.In New York, Aldine answers an ad soliciting a teacher for a one-room schoolhouse in a place she can’t possibly imagine: drought-stricken Kansas. She arrives as farms on the Great Plains have begun to fail and schools are going bankrupt, unable to pay or house new teachers. With no money and too much pride to turn back, she lives uneasily with the family of Ansel Price—the charming, optimistic man who placed the ad—and his family responds to her with kind curiosity, suspicion, and, most dangerously, love. Just as she’s settling into her strange new life, a storm forces unspoken thoughts to the surface that will forever alter the course of their lives.Laura McNeal’s novel is a sweeping and timeless love story about leaving—and finding—home.