Anthologies

In JANE CHARLES’s Compromised for Christmas, Miss Elizabeth Whitton craved excitement and adventure. Unwilling to endure one boring Season after another, she convinces her uncle in the Home Office to let her work for him. * John Phillip Trent has been spying for the Home Office in the stables of Tuileries as Jean Pierre Bouvier for more than two years, his only English contact – Lisette Renard a servant girl inside the palace. * When a summons from the Duke of Danby slips through the proper channels, both Elizabeth and John’s covers are compromised. To escape the palace and France with their lives, they’ll have to depend on each other and the miracle of Christmas.

~ * ~

In OLIVIA KELLY’s It Could Only Be You, Harry Connelly has crossed an ocean and pushed his half-healed, battle weary body to its limits to confront the man who stole the life he should have had; his grandfather, the Duke of Danby. Wounded, Harry collapses in a small village’s church, and is nursed back to health by the vicar's beautiful daughter, Lily Beaumont. A man haunted by the demons of war, he should know better than to become involved with such an innocent but he cannot stay away from her. Harry's forced to make a decision. He can wield his decades old anger and bitterness against his grandfather, to compel him to acknowledge the damage he caused, and demand that the duke make monetary amends. Or he can turn his back on the past, and create a future with the woman he is beginning to think he cannot live without.

~ * ~

In PHYLLIS CAMPBELL’s Becoming a Lady, Dorothy Paxton is not pleased when a handsome Englishman walks into her inn and announces he's taking her back to England to reunite with the grandfather who turned his back on her years ago. Her escort, Calvin Seton, bribes her by paying her brother's doctor's bills, and soon she's on the ship sailing for London. Little by little, Calvin's charm softens her heart. While her lady's companion teaches her to become a lady, Dorothy is secretly wishing Mr. Seton would do some teaching of his own...in his bedroom. Yet she must control her desires or she's no better than her mother who succumbed to a nobleman, only to have him leave her. Dorothy will not repeat history. Or will she?

In AVA STONE's By Any Other Name...

Lady Philippa Casemore caused quite a scene at her very first ball of her very first season. She even landed herself, somehow, on the pages of the infamous betting book at White's gentleman's club. Unfortunately, she doesn't remember one moment of the night in question. Not the music. Not the notorious rake she'd dragged into the middle of the dance floor. Not the flask of opium-laced brandy she'd downed without realizing it's contents...

Jason York, the wicked Earl of St. Austell, can't quite forget the lady who stole his breath away the previous night. Of course, his broken nose, courtesy of the girl's brother, did have a way of making an impression. When he stumbles into Lady Philippa the next day, his ego is more than bruised when she doesn't seem to recall him at all and a scheme to make certain she never forgets him again quickly forms in Jason's mind.

~ * ~

In CATHERINE GAYLE's Flight of Fancy... 

Cedric Loring, the Earl of Montague, has been an honorary member of the Bexley-Smythe family for years. He’s always had a special, if sometimes strained, bond with Georgie. But when her name ends up in the betting book at White’s before she’s even made her debut, he knows no one can protect her quite like he can. If only she’d stop chasing after the very gentleman who could single-handedly see to her ruin.

Lady Georgianna Bexley-Smythe has the uncanny ability to remember nearly everything she’s ever read, and thus knows everything about almost everything. But as knowledge and experience are not interchangeable, she intends to make her first Season one of adventure. What could be more adventurous than seeing London from Lord Haworth’s gas balloon? Now she must avoid Monty long enough to make Haworth’s acquaintance and beg an airborne adventure.

~ * ~

In JANE CHARLES's Landing A Laird...

Heiress Lady Moira Kirkwood will do anything it takes to marry a laird to take her north - far, far away from London and her domineering mother. Unfortunately, a pair of gentlemen overhear her jest about Scotland and compromising a fellow if she has to. Before the sun has risen the next day, Moira’s name and a scandalous wager have found themselves inside the infamous betting book at White’s. 

One penniless gentleman after another begs Gideon Baxter, Viscount Ainsely, for his assistance in wooing Lady Moira. Unfortunately, Gideon would like to woo the charming lady himself. If only she cared more for him than for the location of his estate, he’d could be assured of where her true feelings lie.

~ * ~ In JERRICA KNIGHT-CATANIA's The Marriage Trap... 

When Miss Patience Findley discovers, at her first ball of her first Season, just how much her father's scandal has affected her chances of marriage, she resigns herself to being alone and dying a spinster. That is, until she hears that her friends' names have landed in the Betting Book at White's. In a moment of desperation, she asks her reprobate cousin to place a bet on her behalf, in hopes of trapping an unsuspecting gentleman into marriage.

Tristan Wallford, Lord Swaffham, loves a good challenge. So when his friend, Rowan Findley, claims that his cousin Patience cannot be cured of her melancholy state, Tristan lays a bet that he will be the one to cure her. He could certainly use the money, after all. But as the game begins, Tristan begins to realize that not only does Miss Findley not need curing, but she might be worth trapping for himself.

In Jane Charles’s Devil in My Dreams...
Devlin Bartlett was never meant to be Viscount Marston, yet he has inherited not only the title but three younger sisters, all of marriageable ages. He soon learns that thwarting the French was much easier than playing guardian to three young ladies, and decides the simplest solution is to marry them off. * Louisa Whitton needs to find a husband of her own choosing before Christmas. At her sister’s house party, she meets the perfect gentleman—thus foiling her grandfather’s plans. However, Marston refuses to even think about courting her until his sisters are wed, and he has the audacity to ask her to wait. Louisa’s grandfather will never agree, so she sets out to find the perfect substitute for Marston, forcing him to choose between his sisters’ future and his own.
~ * ~
In Catherine Gayle’s To Enchant an Icy Earl... 
As the Earl of Fordingham, Tristan Cavendish has lived by the code his father beat into him for so long he’s driven everyone in his life away, including his brother. Now he is alone. Loneliness dictates he must change, so he sets out to make amends with his only sibling. Alas, his brother seems none too inclined to hear him out, and a woman who must be a vision from Fordingham’s dreams walks into his path. Now, more than ever before, he knows he must change his ways or risk driving her away as well…but how? * Calista Bartlett is on the hunt for a husband—but one who is nothing at all like the betrayer who was her former beau. When she sees the Earl of Fordingham across the room at a soiree, she knows she’s found the very man who is everything her one-time beau was not. Fordingham presents an icy façade to the world, but Calista discovers a passionate man who kisses her feverishly and warms her through to the bones. Can she ever convince him to let down his guard permanently?
~ * ~
In Ava Stone’s My Lord Hercules...
Miss Miranda Bartlett is on a mission to locate her missing friend. Determined hoyden that she is, she’ll do whatever it takes to get the answers she seeks too, even if that means dressing like a dandy, sneaking into a gaming hell, and surrounding herself with London’s worst reprobates. However, she didn’t plan on bumping into a Herculean gentleman along the way. The handsome and honorable Lord Harrison Casemore immediately thwarts her plans and seems determined to save her at every turn, making it more than difficult to accomplish her task. * Ever since Harry Casemore spotted the exotic temptress trying to pass herself off as a fop, he’s been drawn to her. He hasn’t figured out what she’s after, but he’s fairly certain he’d sell his soul if she’d just let him help her with whatever it is.
~*~
In Jerrica Knight-Catania’s A Penny For Your Thoughts... Penelope Bartlett has had a rough year, to say the least. She lost her eldest brother and her father in one fell swoop, and to make matters worse she had to miss out on her very first London Season. Now she's in the thick of the Little Season and all she wants to do is run away. It's torture to watch her siblings fall in love and she's simply not in the mood to make merry with all of them. Especially when they treat her as if she's still a little girl in leading strings. 
* Enter Drake Lockwell, Viscount Flitwick. He, too, is typically eager to escape crowded ballrooms and matchmaking mamas in favor of his own company in a deserted garden or library. But a chance meeting in his brother’s garden one night changes everything. Miss Bartlett is young and impetuous, yet he can't help but fall prey to her charms. Perhaps she will be the one to finally mend the hole in his heart...

Or will his secrets be more than Penelope is able to handle?

In AVA STONE's A Bit of Mistletoe, Everett Casemore, the very serious Marquess of Berkswell, returns home for Christmas, slightly shaken by the death of an old friend. Determined not to suffer the same sort of fate at the hands of a woman, Berks resolves himself to eternal bachelorhood. Unfortunately, both his resolve and his peace of mind are threatened by the arrival of a beautiful, thoughtful, but mostly unsuitable lady. * Miss Theresa Birkin knows better than most that an error in judgment can lead one down an unfortunate path. If only she'd been wiser when she was younger. If only she hadn't followed her foolish heart. If only she'd met Lord Berkswell long before now. 

In JANE CHARLES's Lady Disguised, Mr. Sebastian Stanwick never intended to marry. It was bad enough that his father gambled away everything they owned and then drank himself to death, leaving his mother broken until she could not go on. But the death of his good friend at the hand of the man’s wife only solidifies Stanwick’s decision to remain a bachelor. Women were simply unpredictable and unstable if not taken care of properly. * Hélène Mirabelle wants few things in life. One, is to perform on the stage, and the other, is to be out from under the roof of her overbearing new family: Lord Bentley and the Trent brothers. Since her mother’s recent passing, Hélène's desire to return to Milan and the stage has only grown. A husband could never fit into the plans because no decent man would take an actress as a wife. * One fateful night leaves Hélène questioning if being an actress is the only thing she wants, while Stanwick begins to wonder whether all women are truly prone to madness and if they are, he may never get Hélène off of his mind. 

In CATHERINE GAYLE’s Thick as Thieves, David Hounslow, the Marquess of Preston, will not stand aside while those he loves are hurt. When it becomes clear his brother-in-law’s guest is up to no good, Preston determines to scrutinize every move of the would-be thief. Not that he minds such a task—Lady Frederica is as beautiful and intelligent as she is enigmatic. Considering her close relation to a wastrel brother and her current proclivity for the less-than-savory, Preston never expected to be won over to the lady’s charms. Yet she just might steal his heart. * Desperation has become Lady Frederica Bexley-Smythe’s constant companion due to her brother’s recent affinity for gambling and carousing. With the fate of both her mother and sister resting upon her shoulders, perhaps the time has arrived for Freddie to bend the rules. How else can she secure their future? Unfortunately, Lord Preston’s scrutiny is complicating her task. Far more perplexing than his perusal is his caring nature, which is distracting her from the treasures she intends to steal. But desperate times call for desperate measures…

 

In Jerrica Knight-Catania's ALL HE WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS, Rowan Findley can't imagine a fate worse than what his friend suffered at the hands of his mad wife, so he's made the decision to remain a bachelor for all eternity. That is, until Olivia walks into his cousin's drawing room for a Christmas party. Her fiery red hair and sweet demeanor remind him of a night so many years ago that he would never forget. * Olivia Edwards can't quite believe her eyes when Rowan Findley waltzes back into her life, as handsome and charming as ever. It's been almost seven years since she's seen him, and the secret she's been harboring all that time has her on edge whenever he's about. Yet she can't deny that she's still drawn to him, nor can she deny the desire she's kept hidden in her heart these many years. 

In Aileen Fish’s CHASING LORD MYSTERY, Lord Northcotte is not in the holiday spirit when he joins his sister’s family shortly after the brutal death of a friend. Discovering a matchmaking scheme is afoot, he tells them he will never marry Lady Miriam or any other woman. Now if only his heart would listen. * Lady Miriam’s mother accused her of chasing Lord Mystery after a noble act by a handsome stranger six years ago became the measure of all other men. Now he’s staying at the home where she’d hoped to escape a summons from her grandfather, the Duke of Danby. Terrified Northcotte will recognize her and reveal the contents of the scandalous letter she wrote him years ago, she can’t decide which is the bigger threat: the duke armed with a special license, or Lord Mystery, who carries a secret she’d never live down. 

In Julie Johnstone’s ’TIS THE SEASON FOR SURRENDER, Lillian Lancaster would rather catch the plague than a husband. Unfortunately, her abusive, recently deceased father’s will stipulates her inheritance hinges upon her marrying a lord. With time running out, Lillian proposes to the guilt-ridden, marriage-adverse Lord Edgeworth after securing his agreement to a marriage in name only. * Edgeworth feels responsible for his former betrothed’s death and believes he doesn’t deserve love, which makes Lillian’s proposal oddly perfect. Commanded by his grandfather to marry by Christmas or become penniless, the obviously perfect choice is a woman who wants nothing to do with him. * When Lillian displays a brave and true heart and Edgeworth reveals his honorable, protective side maintaining a marriage of convenience becomes harder than these two wounded souls imagined. Now, Lillian and Edgeworth must decide if they are courageous enough to risk their hearts and surrender to love.