Dying for a Duke

1815 - Along the wild and untamed coast of Cornwall, smuggling is not only a way of life but a means of survival. Henrietta Morton knows well to look the other way when the free trading 'gentlemen' are at work. Yet when a notorious pirate, known as The Rogue, bursts in on her in the village shop, she takes things one step further. Bewitched by a pair of wicked blue eyes, in a moment of insanity she hides the handsome fugitive from the local militia. Her reward is a kiss that she just cannot forget. But in his haste to escape with his life, her pirate drops a letter.

Since her cheating husband created a scandal by dying beneath his whore, Darcy de Merle is determined to enjoy widowhood and refuses to mourn a man she grew to loathe. Setting the ton ablaze, Darcy holds a ball to relaunch herself into society on the anniversary of his death. Cameron, the duke of Athelby, sees Darcy de Merle skirting the boundaries of respectability and reminds her of the proper etiquette to which she should adhere. Darcy refuses to allow another man to tell her what to do and decides to seduce the duke to show him there is more to life than proper conventions.

Adair Thorne has just watched his gaming-hell dream disappear into a blaze of fire and ash, and he’s certain that his competitors, the Killorans, are behind it. His fury and passion burn even hotter when he meets Cleopatra Killoran, a tart-mouthed vixen who mocks him at every turn. If she were anyone else but the enemy, she’d ignite a desire in him that would be impossible to control. No one can make Cleopatra do anything. That said, she’ll do whatever it takes to protect her siblings - even if that means being sponsored by their rivals for a season in order to land a noble husband.

Rosamund prides herself on her matchmaking skills. After meeting Marcus Worthing, Earl of Somerville and her older sister's childhood best friend, she knows she's found the perfect fiancé...for her reclusive sister. Unfortunately, she's spending far too much time thinking about the man.

After years of unbridled debauchery, Tristan Sinclair, Viscount St. Ashton has hit proverbial rock bottom. Seeking to escape his melancholy, he takes refuge at one of Victorian society's most notorious house parties. As the Christmas season approaches, he prepares to settle in for a month of heavy drinking, until an unexpected encounter changes his plans and threatens his heart.

Widower Benjamin Romilly, earl of Furness, lives a melancholy life. The loss of his wife in childbirth four years before has robbed him of all happiness. He can barely look at his son, who resembles his mother so strongly and is a constant reminder of her loss. But Jean Saunders, a relative of Benjamin's late wife, erupts into the grief-stricken household to restore order and take Benjamin's son away. From all Jean has heard, she assumes he won't care - but she doesn't know how wrong she is. As they come together to raise Geoffrey right, their budding attraction is undeniable.  

A shy wallflower, Caroline hasn't the faintest idea why the Duke of Readington chose her to be his bride. She could ask, but that would mean speaking to him...and she'd rather have a conversation with the devil  Eric married Caroline for one simple reason: he wasn't in love with her. Having seen firsthand how love can bring a man to his knees, he's determined not to make the same mistakes his father did. After a winter storm leaves him stranded with Caroline, Eric turns around and finds himself stumbling over the wife he never wanted...but is slowly beginning to desire....or was it?

The first novel in a new historical romance series from Kelly Bowen.

When the Duke of Ashbury returns from war scarred, he realises he needs an heir - which means he needs a wife! When Emma Gladstone, a vicar's daughter turned seamstress visits wearing a wedding dress, he decides on the spot that she'll do. His terms are simple: They will be husband and wife by night only. No lights, no kissing. No questions about his battle scars. Last, and most importantly...Once she's pregnant with his heir, they need never share a bed again. But Emma is no pushover. She has secrets and some rules of her own....

The first book in Eloisa James's dazzling new series set in the Georgian period glows with her trademark wit and charm. Things are about to get Wilde.... Lord Alaric Wilde, son of the Duke of Lindow, is the most celebrated man in England, revered for his dangerous adventures and rakish good looks. Arriving home from years abroad, he has no idea of his own celebrity until his boat is met by mobs of screaming ladies. Alaric escapes to his father's castle, but just as he grasps that he's not only famous but notorious, he encounters the very private, very witty Miss Willa Ffynche.

When the tragic death of her gamester father leaves her destitute and alone, society beauty Sylvia Stafford 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.

Lady Jane Lovelace has conceived the idea of approaching the most notorious man about town, Lord Charles Welbourne, with a most unique proposition. But when he counters her offer with a condition that he thinks will halt her impudence, much to the surprise of both, she accepts. A novel of passion and intrigue, The Westerby Inheritance is the first volume of this new and emotionally charged romantic saga all played out against a backdrop of elegant 18th-century society.

Captain Maximus Harcourt, the unconventional tenth Duke of Alderidge, can deal with tropical storms, raging seas, and the fiercest of pirates. But he's returned home from his latest voyage to find a naked earl - quite inconveniently deceased - tied to his missing sister's bed. And he has only one place to turn. Now he's at the mercy of the captivating Miss Ivory Moore of Chegarre & Associates, known throughout London for smoothing over the most dire of scandals.

When Lord Greene wagers his daughter's hand in marriage in a card game, no one is less surprised the woman herself. The only thing that shocks Olive is that the man that he has gambled her away to is none other than the Duke of Ruin. Rumors abound that the Sixth Duke of Everleigh callously murdered his late wife and killed her lover in a duel - and now Olive is to become his bride. Ruan Ashford took one look at Olive Greene and knew that he had to have her in his bed. There's only one problem - his new wife despises him.

At the age of 25, confirmed spinster Isabella Peregrine is given an unexpected ultimatum by her new step-mother: find a husband or I'll find one for you. Thoroughly in a tizz, Isabella proposes a marriage of convenience to the nearest male to her - who just so happens to be the brooding, intimidating Duke of Blackmore. This sweet and clean regency romance is a standalone novel with a guaranteed HEA.