Romance Reads

*HOT* (1840s [Victorian] England) Desperate to escape the clutches of her greedy relatives, heiress Evangeline Jenner makes a deal with Viscount St. Vincent to exchange her fortune for a marriage of convenience, only to discover the true nature of passion in his arms.

*HOT* (1831 England, Scotland) After surviving the perils of Egypt, Peregrine Dalmay, Earl of Lisle, is back in London, facing the most dire threat of all: his irrational family ... and Miss Olivia Wingate-Carsington. A descendant of notorious--but very aristocratic--swindlers, the delectable redhead has the ability to completely unhinge him and a long history of dragging him into her scandalous schemes. Olivia may be Society's darling, but she's aware a respectable future looms menacingly. And so when Lisle is forced to go on a family mission, she sees this as the perfect chance for one last adventure--even if it is with the one man in the world she can't wrap around her finger. But really, she only wants to "help". Which is why Lisle and Olivia find themselves in a gloomy Scottish castle inhabited by spiteful ghosts and craven murderers ... and a shocking secret: the greatest peril of all may be burning within their own stubborn hearts.

*WARM* (1802, France) She's never met a man she couldn't deceive...until now. She's braved battlefields. She's stolen dispatches from under the noses of heads of state. She's played the worldly courtesan, the naive virgin, the refined British lady, even a Gypsy boy. But Annique Villiers, the elusive spy known as the Fox Cub, has finally met the one man she can't outwit.

Quinn writes Regency-era Romances with appealing characters, emphasizing humor and family relationships. She is best known for her series featuring the eight members of the Bridgerton Family.

*WARM* (Regency England) First in the Bridgerton series. Daphne Bridgerton and Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings, come from very different backgrounds. Daphne Bridgerton grew up as one of eight children in a loving family. Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings, lost his mother at birth, and his father rejected him because he had a stutter.

Our story opens as Simon returns to England after a six-year journey around the world, which he undertook to avoid his recently deceased father. Simon is determined to never marry, and he has no desire to participate in the activities of the London season. But when invited to a ball by an old friend, he accepts. There he meets Daphne.

The two pretend to be courting for different reasons. Simon figures this will keep the match-making mamas at bay, and Daphne figures Simon's attentions will make her more attractive to other suitors. The only problem is that soon they only have eyes for each other.

*WARM* (Regency England) Jack Turner grew up in the darkness of London's slums, born into a life of crime and willing to do anything to keep his belly full and his siblings safe. Now he uses the tricks and schemes of the underworld to help those who need the kind of assistance only a scoundrel can provide. His distrust of the nobility runs deep and his services do not extend to the gorgeous high-born soldier who personifies everything Jack will never be. After the chaos of war, Oliver Rivington craves the safe predictability of a gentleman's life--one that doesn't include sparring with a ne'er-do-well who flouts the law at every turn. But Jack tempts Oliver like no other man has before. Soon his yearning for the unapologetic criminal is only matched by Jack's pleasure in watching his genteel polish crumble every time they're together.

*WARM* (1813 England) 1st in Spindle Cove series.

Kicking off her wonderfully inventive Spindle Cove series, set in England’s Regency Era in a small seaside resort town that caters specifically to ladies “of good breeding and delicate constitution.” Fans of Lisa Kleypas, Christina Dodd, and Liz Carlyle will delight in the passionate chaos that ensues when a dashing British officer, under orders, “invades” this community of strong-willed “spinsters,” only to discover he’s met his match in Miss Susannah Finch!

Valinda Lacy's mission in the steamy heart of New Orleans is to help the newly emancipated community survive and flourish. But soon she discovers that here, freedom can also mean danger. When thugs destroy the school she has set up and then target her, Valinda runs for her life--and straight into the arms of Captain Drake LeVeq. As an architect from an old New Orleans family, Drake has a deeply personal interest in rebuilding the city. Raised by strong women, he recognizes Valinda's determination. And he can't stop admiring--or wanting--her. But when Valinda's father demands she return home to marry a man she doesn't love, her daring rebellion draws Drake into an irresistible intrigue.

*HOT* (1800s Jamaica)

When Lady Jessica Sheffield makes a transatlantic voyage on Alistair Caulfield's ship, she decides to act upon the fantasies she has been having about this scandalous man whom she encountered years earlier-- in a licentious scene no innocent young miss could imagine, scenes that fueled very illicit dreams... Now seven years of denied pleasure are held in check by nothing more than a few layers of silk... and the certainty that surrender will consumer them both...

USA Today bestselling author Beverly Jenkins returns with the first book in a breathtaking new series set in the Old West Rhine Fontaine is building the successful life he's always dreamed of--one that depends upon him passing for White. But for the first time in years, he wishes he could step out from behind the façade. The reason: Eddy Carmichael, the young woman he rescued in the desert. Outspoken, defiant, and beautiful, Eddy tempts Rhine in ways that could cost him everything . . . and the price seems worth paying. Eddy owes her life to Rhine, but she won't risk her heart for him. As soon as she's saved enough money from her cooking, she'll leave this Nevada town and move to California. No matter how handsome he is, no matter how fiery the heat between them, Rhine will never be hers. Giving in for just one night might quench this longing. Or it might ignite an affair as reckless and irresistible as it is forbidden . . .

(19th Century California) Award-winning romance author Beverly Jenkins offers up another high-stakes historical romance that is sure to make you swoon. With Destiny's Embrace, Jenkins brings readers back to the American West, where Logan Yates, a self-important ranch owner, must confront his feelings for his beautiful, free spirited housekeeper, Mariah Cooper. While they bicker incessantly, their sexual tension is palpable, and only rises when Mariah's former lover arrives on the scene. Will she accept Logan's heart?

(1884 Wyoming) Outlaw. Preacher. Night Hawk. He's had many names, but he can't escape the past. Since Ian Vance's beloved wife was murdered years ago, the hardened bounty hunter knows he'll never feel love or tenderness again, so he's made it his mission to ensure others get their justice. But when he's charged with delivering a sharp-eyed beauty to the law, Ian can't help but feel he may still have something left to lose. Orphaned at twelve, Maggie Freeman has always found her way out of trouble. But now there's a vigilante mob at her back who would like nothing more than to see her hang for a crime she didn't commit. Maggie may have to accept help for the first time in her life, even if it's from the one man standing between her and freedom.

*KISSES* (1870s Colorado) Christian Romance. Determined to establish herself as a photojournalist, Elizabeth Westbrook travels to Timber Ridge, Colorado. But when one of her pictures is used as evidence in a murder trial, she finds her life in danger.

Daniel Ranslett, haunted by his past as a Confederate, will do anything to protect his land and his solitude. Then Daniel is called upon to repay a debt by protecting Elizabeth. He's a man of his word, but repaying that debt could reveal secrets from his past he would prefer remain buried.

*WARM* (1870s Colorado) Second n the Runaway Brides series.

The next in Kaki Warner's sweeping new series about unlikely brides who make their way west--discovering newfound freedom and rediscovering love... After only three letters and one visit during her six-year marriage to a Scottish cavalry officer, Maddie Wallace decides to build a life without him. Accepting an assignment from a London periodical to photograph the West from a female perspective, she sails from England, determined to build a new life as an independent woman.

After injury ends his military career, Angus Wallace returns home to find his wife gone, his family decimated by fever, and himself next in line to an earldom. His new mission is clear: to find his wife and sire heirs. His search takes him across an ocean and half a continent, but he finally tracks her to Heartbreak Creek, Colorado. There, his biggest challenge awaits--convincing his headstrong wife to return home as his viscountess. Amidst statehood struggles, claim-jumping, and railroad disputes, their passionate battle rages...until word comes that Angus has become the earl. Now they must decide between a life in the mountains of Colorado or in the glittering ballrooms of London...and between duty and desire

(19th Century China) Requirements for being a royal consort: 1) Exemplify purity. 2) Pass all demanding tests. 3) Gracefully withstand petty backstabbing. 4) Be chaste. Very chaste. Check to all! Chen Ji Yue is on her way to empress superstardom in nineteenth-century China. She only has to vanquish 300 rivals to bring her family great honor. Oh, and she may not find the deliciously sexy Sun Bo Tao--the emperor's best friend--at all delicious. Or sexy. Damn. Ji Yue is in big trouble. Because Bo Tao is definitely very sexy, and Ji Yue is about to discover that chastity is overrated.

*WARM* (Tang Dynasty China) Bai Huang lives in a privileged world Yue-ying can barely imagine, yet alone share, but as they are thrown together in an attempt to solve a deadly mystery, they both start to dream of a different life. Yet Bai Huang's position means that all she could ever be to him is his concubine, will she sacrifice her pride to follow her heart?

*WARM* (Tang Dynasty (759) China) Second in the series.

Ling Suyin, the Emperor's beloved Guifei, is a precious consort no longer. Now she is happy in her retirement far from court intrigues. Until Li Tao arrives with his armed escort insisting Suyin leave with him for her own safety. For a rival warlord/governor wants to murder Suyin for the secrets she holds and Tao is just as determined to wrest those secrets from her before her demise.