Book picks similar to
Where Hearts Meet by Maureen Driscoll


romance
historical
historical-romance
historical-fiction

Claiming the Duchess


Sherry Thomas - 2014
    James Kingston and her faithful correspondent Miss Julia Kirkland, whom Clarissa has never met.Now both Mr. Kingston and Miss Kirkland are due to arrive at Clarissa’s house—and Clarissa is about to find out that nothing of either is as she has been led to believe…A story of longings--and longings fulfilled.

A Proper Companion


Candice Hern - 1995
    Why, just about anyone would make a more suitable match...even her own paid companion, Emily Townsend! But if her dear, practical-minded Robert were to back out of the betrothal, the tongues of the ton would never stop wagging...At the very least, the dowager decides, she will extract a promise from her grandson to find Emily a husband. But when the handsome, rakish earl comes to know the charms of Emily Townsend, he suddenly regrets his hasty engagement-and is sorely tempted to win her hand for himself.

Never a Bride


Amelia Grey - 2001
    That's all Mirabella Whittingham knows about the man responsible for her best friend's death—so she's been kissing bachelors all over town in hopes of finding him. London society is shocked—but why should she care what people say? Her fiancé—a man she's never even laid eyes on—has been gone for years, and shows no signs of returning. She's given up hope of ever becoming a bride...Then, having resigned herself to a lifetime of pretend passion, Mirabella is shocked when a man's kiss makes her tremble with lust. She is even more shocked to discover that he is none other than her long-gone betrothed. His painful past and her ruined reputation may stand in the way of true love, but if there's one thing Mirabella's learned, it's never say never...

The Look of Love


Meara Platt - 2019
    A dingy old book tucked away in an old Regency London bookshop holds magic and love for those who use the 'recipes'! When Lady Olivia Gosling finds The Book of Love in a musty bookshop, she is most eager to try out its love “recipes” on someone safe. Did she say safe? Well, Beast isn’t really safe, but with her odious guardian about to marry her off to one of his unsavory friends, Olivia needs her childhood friend to fall in love with her... fast. If Beast can love her, then any man she chooses will surely do the same. Alexander Beastling, Duke of Hartford, is known as Beast among the ton. He is big and muscled, and there is a dark aura of mystery about him that he makes no effort to dispel. Now that he’s returned from battle, he’s appalled to learn of the marriage plans Lady Olivia’s loathsome guardian has for her. Beast has decided that he will help her find a proper husband, even if it means putting up with her ridiculous experiments taken out of a book she refers to as The Book of Love. Olivia calls them magical recipes for love. Is it possible they actually work? Because suddenly, Beast can’t seem to get Olivia out of his mind... or his heart. Read for FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

House of Catesby #1-3


Sunny Brooks - 2017
    Lady Emily Thurston desperately needs her brother’s help to escape from her vicious husband, Victor. After mustering all her strength to entrust Francis with the truth of her life, she must now confront the reality that she will live in her own private misery forever as her brother is caught in a daze between his grief and his newfound responsibility as Lord of the family estate. Just as all hope seems lost, an unexpected man considers taking on the challenge of rescuing Lady Emily. With the unexpected arrival of her brother’s friend to her home, Emily is unsure of his intentions. However, she quickly realizes that not only is she fiercely drawn to him, but he may be her only hope of getting out. Will Lady Emily and Lord Markham be able to find a way to hatch a secret plan? Or will Victor's obsessive rule prove to be too much to overcome? ****** Book 2: ”Charles and the Intruder” Looking forward to a new life filled with literary discussions and hours playing on his beloved piano forte, Charles moves to his newly inherited London townhouse with his eyes vigorously set on figuring out what this next chapter will bring. What he never expects is to wake to a sword tip pointing directly at his throat! When the captivating Abigail appears in Charles’ life, he is not quite sure what to do with her. Her rebellious disregard for societal standards has her fleeing the arranged marriage that her gambling-addicted father has supposedly wagered her into. Charles is compelled to help her…but as gossip spreads around town, Charles soon comes to find out that Abigail may not be the damsel in distress that he once thought. With his roguish sidekick, the affable Lord Richard, at his side, Charles must navigate his new city life and figure out what is truth and what is fiction. Will Lord Charles Catesby help the beguiling Miss Abigail Sidmore? Or is he in for the swindle of his life? ***** Book 3: ”The Mysterious Lord Livingstone” Sometimes the person you love isn't quite who you thought they were... Lord Richard Livingstone and Lady Helena Catesby have loved one another from afar for years, without either being sure how the other truly felt. When Helena goes to visit her brother and sister-in-law in London, she is excited for the opportunity to finally spend time with Lord Livingstone, as he is her brother’s closest friend. Richard is thrilled when he hears that Helena is coming to town, and plans to formally court her and ultimately confess his love for her. There is only one problem with his plan…and it is a problem that has haunted him for years, causing him to lie to all who know and love him. Helena’s stay in London starts well, except that every time she and Richard are together, he leaves at a moment’s notice. His affable charm has served him well for many years, causing his close friends to laugh off his flighty habit as a whimsical eccentricity, but Helena has had enough.

Until You


Jennifer McNare - 2012
    Having grown coldhearted and cynical, as well as older and wiser, he has vowed to never again allow another woman to affect him emotionally, for he has learned his lessons and learned them well. So, when the breathtakingly lovely Ashleigh St. John suddenly and unexpectedly enters his life, as well as his home, he is determined to keep the alluring interloper at an emotional and physical distance. Unfortunately, he quickly discovers that some things are easier said than done.Reckless and daring, Ashleigh St. John is an unconventional young lady with the heart of a hopeless romantic. When she meets Nicholas Leighton she knows she has met the man of her dreams, but unfortunately, the man of her dreams seems bound and determined to keep her at a distance, hiding behind a self-erected wall of cool detachment and calculated indifference. Willing to do almost anything to break through the intractable barriers that guard his heart, she will willingly surrender her innocence, and time and again risk her ravaged heart to ultimately win his trust, and more importantly, his love.Original Publication Date: 6/1/2012Please note that the previous title of this novel was Forever and Always.**

To Seduce an Earl


Lori Brighton - 2011
    What’s a girl to do when she’s left poor and destitute? Seduce an Earl, of course. Handsome and rich, the Earl of Rodrick is the perfect target. Unfortunately, Rodrick despises innocent virgins. There’s only one place where Grace can learn the secrets of seduction… Lavender Hills. The moment Grace spots Alex, the man who will teach her the ways of intimacy, she knows she must guard her heart. Alex is charming and gorgeous and completely inappropriate.As a young man, Alex Weston is blackmailed into working at Lavender Hills in order to save his family from London ’s prisons. There could be worse ways to spend his days and nights. Still, seduction has become a chore and thoughts of freedom keep him up at night. Until he receives a new client, the sweet Grace Brisbane. He should be thinking only of his growing need to escape, instead he’s captivated by the lovely Grace. The more time they spend together, the more he realizes that their brief meetings aren't enough. For while marriage between a lady and a whore could never happen, Alex knows in his heart that he is willing to accept nothing less.

Secrets and Sensibilities


Regina Scott - 2000
    But one moment in his company and she’s in danger of losing her heart. There are secrets aplenty at Brentfield, enough to challenge any lady’s sensibilities, even those of Hannah’s protégé, Lady Emily Southwell. As events unfold at Brentfield, Hannah quickly learns that loving David comes at a price, to her future plans of being a portrait painter, to her position as a teacher, and to her very life. This clean romance with a touch of romantic suspense was previously published by Zebra as A Dangerous Dalliance.

The Dark Lord


Karen Keegan - 2011
    With her mother having died and her father having abandoned her, she has been left at their mercy for the last eighteen years. Then, on her twentieth birthday a dark and dangerous stranger shows up at her door. It is none other than the rakish Jonathan Thornley, an English Viscount who announces that he was sent to collect her by her father, The Duke of Lancaster. With no choice but to trust him, Catherine agrees to leave her Aunt's home, to accept her place as one of the wealthiest heiresses in England.But Catherine's joyful reunion with her father is short-lived. The Duke is soon murdered and it becomes clear that the person who killed him now wants Catherine dead. Catherine must be careful who she trusts. So when Count Thornley insists it was her father's deathbed wish that she and Thornely marry immediately, Catherine must decide whether the Count lusts for her or her fortune.Count Jonathan ThornleyFor as long as he can remember Jonathan Thornley has resented the daughter of Duke Greystow - the cousin who raised him. He thinks Catherine a silly girl, content with receiving his cousin's fortune but refusing to see the man himself. When asked by his dying cousin to retrieve the girl he crosses the Atlantic to collect the selfish, spoiled brat. But when he arrives in the States he is surprised to find not a bratty child but an unspoiled woman, as unaware of her fortune as she is of her beauty.He resists his attraction to her and brings her home. But he is soon to recognize that his cousin's illness is no accident. And with the knowledge that someone wanted the Duke dead comes the realization that they now want Catherine dead as well. Someone has arranged a series of deadly accidents for Catherine and in order to save Catherine, Jonathan must marry her. But to do so, he must make her believe that he loves her and not her fortune - before it is too late.

The Return of Lord Avondale


Lucy Adams - 2019
     Now he’s back…and Eliza is nothing less than horrified. He is widowed, sorrowful and desperate to explain what happened all those years ago. Determined not to give in and holding tightly onto her pain, Eliza refuses to give him even a moment of her time and instead tries to develop an attachment with Lord Montrose. Lord Montrose is both suave and amiable, but Eliza is struggling to make herself feel as much for him as she does for Lord Avondale. Then, when Lord Avondale discovers a terrible truth, Eliza is forced to look deep into her heart, questioning everything she thinks she knows about both gentlemen. Is Lord Montrose truly the man he seems? Or will her engagement to him all come crashing down once the truth is revealed… Author’s Note London Season Matchmaker is a five-book series about four sisters and their cousin all being reluctant when it comes to love. But of course, in the end, they all do fall madly in love.

Earls Just Want to Have Fun


Shana Galen - 2015
    She runs with the Covent Garden Cubs, a gang of thieves living in the slums of London's Seven Dials. It's a fierce life, and Marlowe has a hard outer shell. But when she's alone, she allows herself to think of a time before-a dimly remembered life when she was called Elizabeth.Maxwell, Lord Dane, is intrigued when his brother, a hired investigator, ropes him into his investigation of the fiercely beautiful hellion. He teaches her to navigate the social morass of the ton, but Marlowe will not escape so easily. Instead, Dane is drawn into her dangerous world, where the student becomes the teacher and love is the greatest risk of all.

Written on Your Skin


Meredith Duran - 2009
    To save herself from an unwanted marriage, she turns her wiles on a darkly handsome stranger. But Mina's would be hero is playing his own deceptive game. A British spy, Phin Granville has no interest in emotional entanglements ... until the night Mina saves his life by gambling her own.THE JADED SPY WHO VOWED TO FORGET HER ...Four years later, Phin inherits a title that frees him from the bloody game of espionage. But memories of the woman who saved him won't let Phin go. When he learns that Mina needs his aid, honor forces him back into the world of his nightmares.IN LIVES BUILT ON LIES, LOVE IS THE DARKEST SECRET OF ALL ...Deception has ruled Mina's life just as it has Phin's. But as the beauty and the spy match wits in a dangerous dance, their practiced masks begin to slip, revealing a perilous attraction. And the greatest threat they face may not be traitors or murderous conspiracies, but their own dark desires ...

Oh, Cherry Ripe


Claudette Williams - 1988
    She had no choice but to run away.Sky Westbrooke had no wish to marry, but his mischievous siblings sorely needed a firm maternal hand. Yet, how could he court his unseen bride, when into his employ had come the most remarkable, enchanting governess?And Cherry, playing at being a governess was smitten by the handsome, cavalier Lord Westbrooke. His stolen kisses left her breathless—yet, he was betrothed to another. Whatever was a love struck governess to do?**note: this is an updated version of an earlier novel written as Claudette Williams. The updated versions of Claudy's Claudette Williams titles are more sexually explicit than the original versions.

The Abyss


Lara Blunte - 2020
    Two lovers in Lisbon will be split by war — only to find each other again in a new land; a land as wild as their passion.Clara and Gabriel are in love, but when he is disinherited for loving her, she must refuse his marriage proposal. Now he must make his own way in the world without her ...But when, years later, the Portuguese court sets sail for Brazil to escape Napoleon, Clara and her family must leave as well. And in Rio de Janeiro Clara meets Gabriel again.He has made his fortune, and they can get married. But as they travel to Gabriel’s vast sugar estate in the interior, a letter from Lisbon confirms a dormant suspicion in him, and an abyss will open between husband and wife.

Winning the Earl of Winchester


Jillian Eaton - 2019
     Eighteen days before she turns twenty-one and becomes a spinster. Eighteen days before her inheritance is passed on to her loathsome cousin Beatrice. Eighteen days before she must marry a stranger… or lose everything she has. But Calliope isn’t worried. She has a plan. One that involves a bit of luck, the help of her daring best friend, and the curmudgeonly (albeit very handsome) Earl of Winchester. All she needs to do is secure an invitation to London’s most elite ball (something which she has no hope of getting), convince the earl to dance (something he never does), and have him propose before the night is over (something he has vowed never to do). How hard can it possibly be? Find out in Winning the Earl of Winchester, the first book in a whimsical new Regency romance series from best-selling author Jillian Eaton! Winning the Earl of Winchester is a 30k word (approx. 160 page) novella.